LET MY PEOPLE GO

J. Parnell McCarter

“And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which [are] in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.” – Exodus 3:7-8

Dedicated to the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland,

a good and faithful servant, and the rightful established church

of the millennial nations.

FIRST EDITION

©2002 J. Parnell McCarter. All Rights Reserved.

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LET MY PEOPLE GO

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One : Introductory Thoughts……….…………..………………….p. 4

Chapter Two : Here We Stand……………….……………………………….p 9

Chapter Three : The Mysterious Babylon the Great…..……………….p. 15

Chapter Four : The Seven Plagues……………………………………….p. 35

Chapter Five : The Beast and the False Prophet……………….…….p. 42

Chapter Six : After Babylon Falls ……………..…………..……………p. 64

Chapter Seven : Just a Matter of Time………….……………………….p. 75

Chapter Eight : Some Closing Advice………………..………………….p. 89

Appendices………………………..……….……………………..………….p. 94

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………p. 202

CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS

I make no pretense of being an inspired prophet who has infallible insights into the word of God and providence. Rather, I consider myself a Christian historian who is trying to understand history in the light of God’s word and to write history books with this understanding for The Puritans’ Home School Curriculum. In that capacity, I seek to read God’s word and apply its teachings to history, in light of events that have unfolded over history and are even now unfolding before our eyes. Indeed, I think that the Bible is indispensable in any study of history, for scripture lays out the broad outline of history past, present, and future.

In reading commentaries on the book of Revelation, in sources ranging from Matthew Henry to Patrick Fairbairn, I became impressed with how frequently they noted the connection between elements in ancient Israel’s past and elements in the account of the church’s history as it is related in the book of Revelation. It then hit me how remarkably the history of the church outlined in the book of Revelation retraces the history of ancient Israel, not only in its elements, but also in its chronological order. So we read of earthly Jerusalem equated with Egypt (Revelation 11:8) which the church escapes, we read of a wilderness experience of the church (Revelation 12:6)  [lasting 1260 "days" and beginning in 70 AD when the earthly Jerusalem was trodden under foot (Revelation 11:2)] , we read of a "Promised Lands" experience at the completion of the wilderness years (Revelation 11:15), we read of a "Babylonian" oppression on God's people (Revelation 17:5), we read of a Beastial kingdom that destroys this “Babylon” (Revelation 17:16), we read of a restoration period after the church comes out of its “Babylonian” captivity (Revelation 20:3), we read of a foreign attack on God's people from a Gentile “Magog” (Revelation 20:8), and we read of an Advent of Christ when Christ comes down to earth to be with man (Revelation 21:3). These elements in this order most certainly re-traces the history of ancient Israel. And since ancient Israel’s history in many respects fore-shadowed the life of Christ during His First Advent, this means the church’s history corresponds not only with ancient Israel’s history but Christ’s incarnate life as well. In considering this fact, I realized how very consistent it is with scriptural principle that the new Israel of the church should walk in the footsteps of old Israel and with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

When we realize these correspondences, we can much better understand the history of Christ’s New Testament church, as it is foretold in the book of Revelation. This discovery has enlivened my investigations. My investigations of the Biblical and historical data have led me to the following conclusions, which I will explain more thoroughly in the coming chapters:

1. The book of Revelation traces the Christian church’s history as paralleling that of ancient Israel’s history, with an escape from bondage in an “Egypt”, a wilderness experience, a period of trials and temptations, a “Babylonian” oppression, a restoration (or ‘millennium’), and a visible advent of Christ. This is similar to the way in which Christ’s life paralleled that of ancient Israel’s history, and in this way fulfilled Old Testament typological prophecy.

2. In scriptural prophecy a day represents one year of actual history. So Seventy Weeks in Daniel’s prophecy equals 490 years, and 1,260 days in Revelation’s prophecy equals 1,260 years.

3. The political Beast described in Revelation 13:1-10 as coming “out of the sea” is the civil pagan-to-nominally Christian Roman Empire. The pagan Roman Empire corresponds to the sixth kingdom of this Beast alluded to in Revelation 17:10, and the nominally Christian Roman Empire corresponds to the seventh kingdom of this Beast alluded to there. This sea Beast primarily exercises its authority through its political power.

4. The land Beast described in Revelation 13:11-18 (aka “the False Prophet” in Revelation 19:20) is the Papal kingdom of the Romish Church. This land Beast primarily exercises its authority through its ecclesiastical power.

5. The civil pagan-to-nominally Christian Roman Empire, working with the Papacy, oppress Christ’s elect during the 1,260 year wilderness experience of the church up to the Protestant Reformation. This 1,260 year wilderness period (Revelation 11:3) commences in 70 A.D. at the time of the desolation of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

6. The book of Revelation, along with the book of Daniel, prophesies the ministry of John Wyckliffe as leading the church out of its wilderness experience and into the ‘Promised Land’ of the Protestant Reformation. It accurately predicts his birth around 1330 A.D., which is 1,260 years after 70 A.D. It also accurately predicts the inception of his public ministry around 1360 A.D. And it anticipates the establishment of the reformation movements on the European continent as well as the British Isles by 1405 A.D. In addition, it foretells how this reformation would result in Biblical Protestant nations, where many of the leading kingdoms of this world truly became kingdoms of the Lord. The Protestant Reformation thus served as a triumph for Christ’s church, and as a foretaste of the much later millennial restoration and even later new earth.

7. We are now in the general epoch marked by the “Babylonian” oppression of Christ’s church, which followed in the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation. It is a period characterized most predominantly by the humanistic Enlightenment, which deceived most of the reformed Protestant world and led her into whoredom.

8. Revelation 17:11 refers to an eighth and final kingdom of the Beast. This is most likely the Jesuit empire led by its infamous Black Pope (i.e., the Secretary General of the Jesuit order), which nurtures and is nurtured by the Papal False Prophet. This renewed Beast furtively wields influence over the nations of the world, through its various schools and universities, and its manipulation of the Roman Catholic Church, freemasonry, and many civil governments. She has played the central role in establishing and promoting the humanistic Enlightenment, as a means to thwart and overturn the Protestant Reformation and true reformed Protestantism. But she is working secretly in the background so long as the great city referred to as the mysterious “Babylon” in Revelation 17 reigns.

9. The whorish woman of Revelation 17 probably is Washington, DC, the fruit, seat, and power base of the wicked humanist Enlightenment. If this is true, she would be the mysterious Babylon there foretold, who is manipulated and inspired by the Beast. This whorish woman rides on the Beast during the time of the whore’s preeminence, according to Revelation 17:3. Washington, D.C. is indeed a product of the Enlightenment and Jesuit intrigues, and Washington is the seat of the world’s superpower.

10. We are quite possibly nigh upon the decades when Washington, DC will fall by God’s judgment plagues, including the release of wicked kings from the East (Revelation 16:12) who will participate and cooperate in her destruction.

11. After the fall of the whore, it should be expected that the evil role of the Beast – led by the Black Pope and his wicked Jesuit regime and supported by the Papacy – will become more obvious and apparent. Indeed, the Beast will assume the reigns of power which was lost by the whore. But this wicked regime which has promoted the Enlightenment will ultimately be overturned through the preaching of the gospel.

12. The millennial restoration of the Protestant Reformation will then be ushered in once the mysterious Babylon has fallen, and the Pope and the Black Pope have been removed. This millennium would be consistent with an historic post-millennial eschatology.

13. The millennium will perhaps last a century, as a type and representative foretaste of the eternal eighth day millennium of the new heavens and new earth.

14. The new heavens and new earth will be ushered in by Christ’s Second Advent and the Great Day of Judgment, which follow the millennium.

In order to understand better the rationale for my conclusions, I would recommend readers of this book read some other books as well. For instance, the Biblical rationale for the conclusions in this book is in certain points more thoroughly addressed in my book Sabbath Bible Survey Tests and Assignments, especially its coverage of the book of Revelation. In the process of engaging in research for Sabbath Bible Survey Tests and Assignments as well as research for various history textbooks I am writing, I happened upon F. Tupper Saussy’s book Rulers of Evil (http://tuppersaussy.com/). I found that much of his historical analysis corresponded with conclusions I was coming to as well, and he has presented it in a quite effective manner. His historical examination of the role of the Jesuits in American and world history is especially instructive, and much of his presentation of the data I do not present in this book, rather assuming readers of this book will also read his book. So I would recommend that readers of this book take time to read his book in order to better understand what I write here. I should add, however, that there are some areas where I would take exception with Saussy, and most of these I address in this book.

I would recommend other books as well. Some of these would include Alexander Hislop’s The Two Babylons (http://www.biblebelievers.com/babylon/ ) and J. A. Wylie’s The History of Protestantism (http://www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Fellowship/James.A.Wylie.html). I am preparing a course focused upon topics addressed in this book, entitled “Reformed Historical Studies on the Enlightenment Era”, for The Puritans’ Home School Curriculum. Finally, those who need to become more conversant with world history in order to understand this book may find my book The Real Story of Mankind (which is also available through The Puritans’ Home School Curriculum at www.puritans.net) helpful. The population suffers from a general lack of knowledge of history, and undoubtedly many Roman Catholics are as unaware of the historical political machinations of the Jesuits and the Papacy as are Protestants. The cover-up of the sodomizing of male youth by Romish clerics is only the tip of this diabolical iceberg.

I have added a section of appendices to this book in order to provide the reader with at least some of the historical information and sources that have assisted me in arriving at the conclusions in the body of the book. I encourage the reader to peruse this information in order to better understand my interpretation of history.

Over the course of my investigations, I have been surprised at how God not only prophesies events in His word, but also sometimes prophesies their timing in amazing ways. Obviously He limited the time Israel had to repent and He prophesied the time Messiah would come by His pronouncement relating to the Seventy Weeks in Daniel 9:24. But it was much to my own surprise when I discovered how He even indicated the beginning date of the “time, times, and half a time”. The books of Daniel and Revelation offer independent confirmation that the "time, times and half a time" began in 70 A.D. Daniel 12:11 implies it began when the abomination of desolation was set up, and Revelation 11:2 implies it began when Jerusalem was trodden under foot. Both occurred in 70 A.D. Even more amazing are clues in God’s word concerning the time of the millennium and the Second Advent. I will address all of this in the coming chapters.

Do I expect most Christians to agree with my conclusions in this book at this point in time? I think that is unlikely, and I would even admit that some of my opinions outlined in this book- especially concerning future chronology- are more speculative in nature. Nevertheless, I hope people will be persuaded as they weigh the evidence and if the evidence continues to unfold in its favor. And I would expect more to be persuaded if some of the conclusions in this book relating to future events actually come to pass, such as the downfall of the United States federal government in Washington, D.C.

The devious role and power of the Black Pope, working alongside the “White” Pope, should become ever more apparent to Christians as well. As this information is disseminated, and as the reformed gospel so ably outlined in the Westminster Standards is promulgated, the people and their governments will adopt the reformed Christian faith, and the Black Papacy and the “White” Papacy will be extinguished.

And if I am right in my conclusions in this book, then it suggests that the mysterious Babylon’s days of preeminence are quite numbered. I think there is mounting evidence the mysterious Babylon that has been thwarting Christian rule is headed for its demise. And those who oppose reformed Christian rule are thus especially warned of God’s hatred of rebellion. This then calls us all to repentance and reformation. As individuals, families, churches, and states we must clean our house. But if we do not, we are in serious peril of the judgment of God upon us. And to the kings and rulers of this earth- especially civil and ecclesiastical- I implore you, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish [from] the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little.”

The oppression by wicked rulers bent on thwarting Christ’s glory and Christ’s rule through reformed Christian government will surely come to an end. So the cry goes up to the rulers of this world, “let my people go” into the millennial restoration, and let us be ruled by Christ and Christ’s Commandments, as they are revealed in His word.

CHAPTER TWO : HERE WE STAND

In order to know where we stand now, we need to know from where we have come and to where we are going. It is analogous to the way a point on a line is located by knowing the points on the line on either side of it. So let me explain where we stand in this manner.

Roughly six thousand years ago man was created by God. But man sinned and fell. Nevertheless, God promised to save him through a Savior. God raised up the church of Israel, from which the promised Savior and Messiah would come. Roughly two thousand years ago this Savior came in the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He died on the Cross to atone for the sins of His people, and He rose again on the third day. In rising He became the mediatorial King of the Nations. And so, all nations owe their allegiance to Him. He raised up a new church out of the old Israel and has used the church to spread His gospel and His kingdom on earth. But during the last two thousand years, just as it was prophesied, His enemies used all manner of cunning and deception to thwart Christ’s rightful rule. But the time is coming – and perhaps shortly - when this will cease, and we will enter a period of gospel prosperity, the millennium. Men will still be sinful during this time, but the nations of the earth will be reformed Christian with reformed established churches, albeit imperfect. Following that, God’s people will be ushered into the new heavens and new earth, where there will be no sin and that will last for eternity. But the wicked will be eternally condemned to hell at the Great Day of Judgment.

That is the history of the world in brief, along with where we stand in it. But in order to understand how scripture teaches this outline of history, you must first understand scriptural typology. So let me first define the terms and give some examples, and then describe how God employs the typology in His word.

A ‘type’ is a figure, representation, or symbol of something to come, such as an event in the Old Testament that foreshadows and prophesies of another in the New Testament. An ‘antitype’ is one that is foreshadowed by or identified with an earlier symbol or type, such as a figure in the New Testament who has a counterpart in the Old Testament. And ‘typology’ is simply the theory or use of scriptural types.

Here are some examples of types in scripture:

1. The rest that the Israelites enjoyed in Canaan when they came out of Egypt is a type of the promised Sabbath rest believers will enjoy when they enter heaven, according to Hebrews 4. And indeed the weekly Christian Sabbath is a type of this promised eternal Sabbath rest.

2. King David, who the prophet Ezekiel prophesied would rule in the glorious days ahead, is a type of King Jesus. Circumstances in David’s life foreshadowed and prophesied of circumstances in the life of the Son of David.

3. The Old Testament Jewish Temple is a type of Jesus Christ Himself (see Hebrews 9:24).

4. The Babylonian conquest in the Old Testament is a type of the Babylonian oppression described in the book of Revelation.

5. Gog and Magog described in Ezekiel were a type of the Gog and Magog we find prophesied in Revelation 20, which even full preterist James Stuart Russell somewhat acknowledged with these words in his book Parousia: “There is an evident connection between this prophecy and the vision in Ezekiel concerning Gog and Magog (chaps. xxxviii. xxxix.)”

6. The Old Testament church- in other words, Israel - was a type of Christ, so that events described in its history foreshadowed and prophesied events in the life of Jesus Christ.

7. The Old Testament church was a type of the New Testament church, so that events described in its history foreshadowed and prophesied events in the life of the New Testament church.

8. The shaking of the heavens and the earth described in Haggai 2:6 (in which we read these words: “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it [is] a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry [land];”) was a type of the shaking of the earth accomplished in Christ’s First Advent, according to Hebrews 12:26b-28a (“but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this [word], Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace…”), and is a type of Christ’s Second Advent, which is described in Matthew 24:29 with these words: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:”

Let’s now consider in more detail how Old Testament Israel was a type of Jesus Christ. To understand this, let’s recall the words of Exodus 4, where God says of Israel: "Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, My first-born; and I say unto thee, Let My son go.” By calling Israel His first-born son, God was in effect saying that the Old Testament church was a type of His true Son, Jesus. For example, consider how that at an early age Jesus went into Egypt before returning to Nazareth, which Matthew 2:15 indicates fulfilled the experience of Israel, “out of Egypt have I called my son.”

And we can see how the rest of Jesus’ life also was foreshadowed by the history of Israel. Thus, Israel was baptized in crossing the Red Sea according to I Corinthians 10, paralleling how Jesus was baptized in the Jordan. And Israel endured a 40 year wilderness experience, as Christ endured 40 days in the wilderness. And Israel was destroyed in the Babylonian conquest, as Christ was killed. Following the Babylonian captivity, we learn in Ezekiel 37 that Israel was resurrected from dry bones, paralleling how Jesus rose from the dead, and the Temple of Himself was re-built.

Let’s now also consider how the Old Testament church was a type of the New Testament church. Just as Israel was baptized in crossing the Red Sea, the New Testament church was baptized by the Spirit at Pentecost. This New Testament church came out of the earthly Jerusalem. This earthly Jerusalem had mis-used its 70 weeks prophesied in Daniel, which is equal to 490 years according to the year-day principle. In so doing, the earthly Jerusalem ruled by Judaists henceforth took on the status of a figurative Egypt, as we read in Revelation 11:8, which says “…Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified…”. And it was out of this figurative Egypt that the New Testament church came, just as the Old Testament church came out of ancient Egypt. It came out in 70 A.D., when the Roman army besieged and destroyed the Judaists in Jerusalem, after the Christians had fled, as was prophesied in Revelation 11:2, Luke 21:24, and Daniel 12:11.

And just as Israel went through the wilderness following its baptism, so we read in Revelation chapters 11-12 how the New Testament church had a wilderness experience of 1,260 years (according to the year-day principle which I shall explain in more detail a little later). We read in Revelation chapters 12 and 13 how Christ’s true church is sorely oppressed during this wilderness experience. It is oppressed by the civil Roman Empire, referred to as the sea-beast in Revelation chapter 13. This civil Roman Empire is wounded during the course of the church’s 1,260 year wilderness experience, being transformed then from a pagan Roman Empire to a nominally Christian Roman Empire. When it is wounded, the lamb-like, deceptive land beast (later referred to as ‘the false prophet’) arises and promotes worship of Romanism. This is the deceptive, Anti-Christian Papacy (it is important to distinguish the wicked Romish Papacy from the rank-and-file members of the Roman Catholic Church, many of whom are unaware of what its leadership does). In II Thessalonians 2 it has the title ‘Son of Perdition’ – the very same title ascribed in scripture to the traitorous Christian Judas Iscariot. Just as Israel came through its wilderness experience and entered Canaan, and as Christ had overcome Satan after His wilderness experience, so the Christian church came out of its wilderness experience in the Protestant Reformation. But we read in Revelation 12:17 how only a remnant of the church is pure, for a large segment of Christendom has been deceived by the false prophet, becoming a whore in the process.

And how do the books of Daniel and Revelation prophesy the timing of the Protestant Reformation, following a church wilderness experience? According to Daniel 12:11, “from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” The abomination that maketh desolate refers to the destruction of the earthly Jerusalem and Temple in 70 A.D. In 70 A.D. the church definitively left the figurative Egypt of earthly Jerusalem, and earthly Jerusalem ruled by Judaists was destroyed like Pharoah and his armies. This was followed by the church’s wilderness experience according to Revelation 12. Revelation 12 describes it as lasting 1,260 years (according to the year-day principle which I shall explain in more detail shortly), while Daniel 12 describes it as lasting 1,290 years. The difference is 30 years. Now 30 years was the time from Christ’s birth to His public ministry (Luke 3:23), and it symbolizes the time of birth to public ministry in His prophets. If we add 1,260 years to 70 A.D., we get 1330 A.D. And 30 years later is 1360 A.D. So who was born in 1330 A.D. and began his public ministry in 1360 A.D.? John Wycliffe, the Morningstar of the Reformation. Daniel 12:12 goes on to speak of the blessing of those who will make it to 1,335 years, which is 1405 A.D. By 1405, the Reformation was firmly planted in the British Isles with the Lollards, and it had been planted in continental Europe with Huss. But just as in Israel’s history, there remained and remains a long saga even after coming out of the wilderness.

Just as Israel went through many trials even after its wilderness experience, so has the church. And as Old Testament Israel was subject to Babylonian oppression, so Christ’s church we read in Revelation 17 was subject to a mysterious Babylonian oppression. But just as the Babylonian oppression ceased for Israel, so we read it will cease in the future for the church. The mysterious Babylonian whore will be destroyed.

Then we read how the church will be purified through the instrumentality of the preaching of the gospel according to Revelation 19:15 and 19:21 (described as the sword proceeding out of Christ’s mouth). (This parallels the effect of such preaching in the Protestant Reformation era, as described at Revelation 14:6.)

And just as Israel enjoyed a time of restoration, so we read the church will yet enter an era of millennial restoration. Then as Magog was released against Israel, the figurative Magog will be released upon the New Testament church. But just as Christ came to the rescue of His Old Testament church in the First Advent, so Christ will come to the rescue of His church in the coming Second Advent. And just as the First Advent ushered in a typical new heavens and new earth according to Isaiah 65, so the Second Advent will usher in the ultimate new heavens and new earth we find in Revelation 21.

Now that we have covered some definitions relating to typology, as well as how scriptural typology helps our understanding of history, let’s now consider some additional concepts in typology, to help understand additional aspects of prophecy and history. First, not only are there types which we must recognize in scriptural prophecy, there are types within types. And each type symbolizes and pictures the whole. For example, the history of how Israel endured the wilderness experience and entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, we read in Hebrews 4 is not only a type of the whole history of Old Testament Israel, it is a type of all of human history, in which Jesus brings His elect church into the eternal Promised Sabbath rest. Similarly, the period described in the opening of the 7 seals - which seems to describe the era up to the judgment on the earthly Jerusalem in 70 A.D.– is a type of the history of the New Testament church up to the millennium, as well as a type of the history of the New Testament church up to the Great Day of Judgment ushering in the new heavens and new earth.

Second, we find that by use of typology a prophesied event can be said to occur soon yet still be prophesying a distant anti-type. A good example is Haggai 2:6, speaking of the shaking of heaven and earth. The type itself concerns the restoration in Jerusalem and specifically the re-building of the Old Testament Temple then, following the Babylonian captivity. When just this prophetic type is considered, it is certainly true that it was fulfilled in a very short time. The prophet Haggai was part of the generation which returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity, and Haggai’s prophecies prompted the re-building of the Temple within a short time span, to great effect. Hence we read in Haggai 2:6, “Yet once, it [is] a little while, and I will shake the heavens…” Now this re-building of the Temple in Haggai’s day was a type of Christ’s passion and resurrection on the third day, for Christ described that event too as a building of the Temple (which was Christ Himself), according to John 2:19. This rebuilding of the Temple of Christ’s body in His First Advent shook heaven and earth in typological fulfillment of the Haggai 2:6 prophecy, as we read in Hebrews 12:26-28 (“…Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this [word], Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace…”) So Haggai 2:6 not only prophesied the re-building of the Temple in Haggai’s day, but also the work and resurrection associated with Christ’s First Advent, which was centuries later. And as previously noted, it has typologically prophesied as well the yet future Second Advent, when the heavens and earth will again be shaken, and the Temple of Christ’s body will dwell with man in the New Earth. Finally, as previously noted as well, we learn an important lesson from the Haggai 2:6 prophecy about prophetic interpretation. A scriptural prophecy can employ language of imminence because the prophesied type itself is to occur shortly, even if the anti-type which it also prophesies occurs centuries later. While I do not believe this is the only reason why we find language of imminence used in prophecy of the Day of Judgment and in the book of Revelation’s prophecies (as I address in my critique of full preterism), I think it goes a long way in explaining it. To take another example, the Apostles wrote of an Advent that was in their past (speaking of the first advent, they said things like “Jesus *came* to save sinners”) as well as one in their future (speaking of the second advent, they would warn the disciples to be prepared). That the Apostles spoke of an imminent coming of Christ that was typical of a yet future ultimate coming, this would follow the pattern of the Haggai 2:6 prophecy to the T.

Earlier I had mentioned the year-day principle in interpreting time in scriptural prophecy. Let me explain what I meant by this principle. We find in scriptural prophecy that a day in prophetic time stands for one human year. Accordingly, we should interpret the Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9:24 (“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”) as Seventy Weeks of years (490 years), as most expositors have historically interpreted it. This Seventy Weeks of years was completed shortly after Christ’s Resurrection and Pentecost, which concluded the 70 weeks of years beginning with the decree of Cyrus to re-build the Temple. (Dispensationalists err when they suggest a gap in these Seventy Weeks. For a treatment of this topic by John Calvin, see Appendix 2 of my unabridged critique of full preterism at http://www.puritans.net/ .) This conforms to its use in Leviticus 25:8 (“And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.”) Two additional places where we find it explicitly declared, besides Leviticus 25:8, are Ezekiel 4:6 (“And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.”) and Numbers 14:34 (“After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, [even] forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, [even] forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.”). It is an important principle for interpreting the “1,260 days” (or “42 months”) in the book of Revelation, as I already showed in its prediction of the Protestant Reformation. In chapter six I show its potential relevance in calculating the period of the Second Advent.

But let’s first consider the mysterious Babylon which oppresses Christ’s church.

CHAPTER THREE : THE MYSTERIOUS BABYLON THE GREAT

The Seven Plagues described in Revelation chapter 16 fell a mysterious Babylon the Great. It would seem this Babylon had done much to corrupt humanity and to promote the oppression of Christ’s church, according to the Apocalyptic testimony. Although this Babylon is supposed to figure prominently in the world and its history, its identity is said to be shrouded in mystery (Revelation 17:5).

In order even to begin to identify this Babylon, we first must consider the context in which it appears within the book of Revelation and within history. The following table presents a general outline of the book of Revelation as a whole, as suggested in Revelation 1:19 (“Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;”) and confirmed in Revelation 4:1 (“After this I looked, and, behold, a door [was] opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard [was] as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”):

Section #	Chapters in Revelation	General Topic Covered
1	1	the things which thou hast seen
2	2 - 3	the things which are
3	4 – 22	the things which shall be hereafter

The book of Revelation thus contains the three sections listed above. This outline itself suggests that Revelation is organized basically in chronological order, an idea that is important to remember as we seek a detailed outline of the events described in chapters 4-22, for it is accordingly arranged in chronological order as well.

I would divide the third section of the book of Revelation into sub-sections, for the account of “the things which shall be hereafter” presents itself in these sub-sections, occurring in successive chronological order. Those expositors who have interpreted some or all of these sub-sections as synchronously occurring have pointed to the repetition of certain features and events, such as the presence of the beast or the fall of Babylon. But such an interpretation fails to take into account how each sub-section rather builds upon the previous ones, and often assumes the events described in the previous ones have already occurred. This is most obviously illustrated in the millennium of Revelation 20 and the new heavens and new earth of Revelation 21. The millennium is characterized as follows: “set a seal upon him [Satan], that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled” (Revelation 20:3). But the period before the millennium is generally characterized in this way: the false prophet (aka the land beast of Revelation 13) “deceiveth them that dwell on the earth” (Revelation 13:14). It should thus be obvious enough that the prophesied history before Revelation 20 is not synchronous with the millennium described in Revelation 20. (Hence, amillennialism- which suggests the millennium of Revelation 20 runs from the First to the Second Advent of Christ- is flawed.) The former period is characterized by widespread Satanic deception, whereas the latter period is characterized by an absence of such deception. And it should similarly be obvious that the troubled, unstable condition characterizing the foretold history before Revelation chapter 21 cannot be concurrent with the perfect, stable condition of the new heavens and new earth described in Revelation chapter 21. And close examination of the details of the opening of the seven seals, the sounding of the seven trumpets, and the pouring of the seven plagues shows these build upon one another and are chronologically successive. Hence, we must interpret the visions of Revelation as being generally successive and not synchronous.

Furthermore, the church’s history as it is described in the Apocalypse parallels the history of ancient Israel as we move through the chapters, certainly suggestive of chronological order. I already noted in chapter one how the history of the Christian church foretold in Revelation parallels the history of ancient Israel. Since Old Testament Israel’s history fore-shadows the church’s history as it is revealed in Revelation, we must interpret the sections of Revelation as chronologically successive.

Finally, the primary objection to a chronologically successive interpretation of Revelation is flawed. This objection points out the similarities between some of the details in the section on the sounding of the Seven Trumpets, for example, with the section on the pouring of the Seven Vials, and thus concludes the two sections must simply be re-telling the same history of events. But this objection fails to take into account the very repetitive nature of history in general, especially the history of redemption of God’s people. Consider, for example, the repetition in history of this pattern:

1. the suffering of God’s people, often due to sins

2. their redemption by God

3. restoration and rest as a result of redemption

Here are just some of the times this pattern has been repeated in history:

· God’s people saved in the Ark with Noah after suffering through much sin and the Great Flood.

· Lot saved from Sodom after much suffering.

· The Exodus from suffering in Egypt followed by rest in Canaan.

· The suffering of God’s people before God would raise up a judge in Israel to save the people (this pattern repeated often in the book of Judges).

· The rescue of God’s people by King David after much suffering.

· The rescue of God’s people by good kings like Hezekiah and Josiah after much suffering.

· Return to Jerusalem after Babylonian captivity.

· Rescue of God’s people under the Maccabbees after desolations under Antiochus Epiphanes.

· Rescue of Christians from persecution by Judaists and 70 AD Roman siege of Jerusalem.

· Christianization of Roman Empire under Constantine following severe persecution during the Empire’s pagan era.

· Redemption from suffering and deception under the Papal Anti-Christ during the Protestant Reformation.

· Currently we are suffering through the effects of the Enlightenment in which Romanism and pseudo-Protestant whores, as well as outright pagan Marxism and Fascism, wreak havoc on truth and God’s people. But we have reason to believe these will be over-turned and usher in a millennium.

· The future Second Advent and Day of Judgment will usher in the new heavens and new earth.

So an outline of these chapters of the book of Revelation consistent with a successive chronological order is as follows:

Sub-Section #	Chapters in Revelation	General Topic Covered	Period in History
1	4 – 8:1	Opening of the 7 Seals	The period up to 70 A.D. when Christians were saved from the Roman siege but earthly Jerusalem was destroyed.
2	8:2 - 14	Sounding of the 7 Trumpets*	The “wilderness” period- lasting 1,260 years - up to and concluding in the Protestant Reformation. This is a period, beginning in 70 A.D., marked by the oppression of Christ’s elect by the pagan to nominally Christian Roman Empire (the Beast from the sea of Revelation chapter 13), as well as the rise of the Papal False Prophet (the land Beast of Revelation chapter 13).
3	15 - 19	Pouring of the 7 Vials with the 7 Plagues, including the events leading up to this divine judgment and its immediate aftermath	Rise of the ‘Enlightenment’ during and in the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation, in which a mysterious Babylonian ‘mother of harlots’ arises. This mysterious Babylon rides upon a new manifestation of the Beast (the Black Pope and his Jesuit order), along with the Papal False Prophet. God sends judgments for this wickedness on earth, culminating in the 7 Plagues which destroy the mysterious Babylon. The power of the Jesuit Beast and the Papal False Prophet over the nations then becomes more apparent. Finally, the Beast and False Prophet are overcome by the preaching of the gospel, ushering in the millennium.
4	20:1 – 20:10	The Millennium	Future period in which deception will be significantly lessened among the nations, so that Christ invisibly reigns from heaven over the reformed Christian nations of the world. It will be a restoration of the Protestant Reformation. This is followed by a brief period of significant Satanic activity.
5	20:11ff	Great Day of Judgment	Future Second Advent of Jesus Christ in which all are judged
6	21 - 22	New Heavens and New Earth	Future eternal state when Christ visibly reigns on new earth as well as heaven

* Revelation chapters 12 – 14 present themselves as a flashback to more fully describe what has occurred in the period of the sounding of the 7 trumpets and the opening of the 7 seals as well. In the course of explaining the sounding of the 7 trumpets, a beast and other evil forces released from the bottomless pit were mentioned but not elaborated upon. Revelation chapters 12 –14 elaborate upon them.

As noted in chapter one, the typological nature of Biblical prophecy should be kept in mind as well. While the sounding of the 7 trumpets, for example, has primary reference to the time up to the Protestant Reformation, it typologically foreshadows the whole history of man up to the millennium, and even up to the new heavens and new earth.

During the time leading up to the Protestant Reformation, the earth was dominated by the sixth and seventh manifestations of the Beast. We know the sixth manifestation of the Beast was the pagan Roman Empire, because Revelation 17:10 says that the sixth manifestation of the Beast was in existence at the time John was writing the Apocalypse. We know that this sixth manifestation of the Beast received a deadly wound (Revelation 13:3), but this deadly wound was healed (Revelation 13:3) in the form of the seventh manifestation of the Beast when the land Beast also arose (Revelation 13:11-12). By Beast I mean the earthly manifestation of Satanic power, especially focused upon an earthly kingdom which has dominated world affairs in its era of great power.

Revelation chapter 13 presents the fullest description of the sixth and seventh manifestations of the Beast. The Sea Beast in these manifestations is said there to have “seven heads and ten horns” and to be given his power by the dragon (Satan). Revelation 17:9 tells us what “seven heads” mean in the book of Revelation: “the seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” And Revelation 17:12-13 informs us what the ten horns mean: “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” Since the sixth manifestation of the Beast is alive when John writes the Apocalypse (Revelation 17:10), and since the Seven Mountains or Hills refer to Rome (the Seven-Hilled City), we can infer that the sixth manifestation of the Beast refers to the pagan Roman Empire. This pagan Roman Empire dominated the world in its time, the nations of the earth (“10” representing completeness) generally submitting to it.

But we go on to read how “one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed.” During this severe wounding, a lamb-like Beast arises (see Revelation 13:11) and “exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” His role is as an advocate and false prophet on behalf of the Sea Beast. This lamb-like Beast is apparently Christian in outward aspect and religious in nature, whereas the Sea Beast is a civil power. He corresponds in description with the Man of Sin in II Thessalonians 2, and just as the wicked Son of Perdition Judas aided the wicked civil power, so does this false prophet. We can thus infer that the wounded Sea Beast whose wound was healed was the nominally Christian Roman Empire, aided by the lamb-like yet deceptive Romish Papacy. The nominally Christian Roman Empire thus marked the seventh manifestation of the Beast on earth.

But the church only had to endure 1,260 years (equaling “42 months” or “1260 days” in prophetic time) of its oppression once the church had come out of the earthly Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Then God saved it by means of the Protestant Reformation, and this Babylonian manifestation fell through the preaching of the gospel, as we read in Revelation chapter 14. Peter had referred to Rome as Babylon in I Peter 5:13. Its doom and fall was inevitable, as prophesied by these words in Revelation 14:8: “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. “

The era of the Protestant Reformation and its immediate aftermath was a period of great gospel victory. Many who had been in spiritual darkness were introduced to the Biblical gospel in its full light. Many were thus gathered in to Christ’s kingdom, while many of Christ’s enemies were cast down. As we read in Revelation 14:18, “And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.“ In the decades following Luther’s famous hanging of the 95 Theses, the nations one after another were becoming Protestant. Calvin and Farel spearheaded a reformation in Geneva, which became a model reformed principality for the others becoming reformed. And Calvin’s Institutes summarized the Biblical doctrines which would be adopted by them. The most powerful and influential nations on earth at the time, like Great Britain and the Dutch republic, became constitutionally reformed and Protestant. These were expanding their influence worldwide. It became a true foretaste of the glorious millennium, characterized thus: “the kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ“ (Revelation 11:15). It even was a foretaste of the new earth described in Revelation 21, in which the kingdoms of the earth will serve and glorify Christ without sin.

But even in the midst of the Reformation era, ominous signs also appeared. Ignatius Loyola had created an army of Jesuits to war against Protestantism with every device possible. And the Papacy put all of its support behind this Jesuit army. The Jesuit-trained Descartes – the “father of modern philosophy” – was having a profound influence upon the thinking in Protestant nations. His Enlightenment philosophy elevated human reason so that the Bible seemed an unnecessary appendage. It denied the total depravity of fallen man. And it suggested that human reason unaccompanied by Biblical faith could achieve more in such realms as politics than Biblical faith. This Enlightenment philosophy came in time to dominate the world, thwarting reformed Christian rule.

So today we find ourselves in that epoch of Apocalyptic history marked by the wicked Enlightenment with its seat of power in some mysterious Babylon, the description of which is found in Revelation chapters 15 to 19. This mysterious Babylon is described as a whorish woman. She is not the Beast, but is said to ride upon the 8^th and final manifestation of the Beast before the millennium (see Revelation 17:7 and 17:11). (The first 7 kingdoms alluded to in Revelation 17:10 were Sodom, Egypt, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, the pagan Roman Empire, and the nominally Christian Roman Empire.) The eighth manifestation of the Beast therefore is present and dominates during this ‘Enlightenment’ epoch. The wicked humanist Enlightenment, based upon errors from the Romanist whore and her daughter whores scattered over Christendom, has led to wicked secularist government, which has resulted in numerous judgments of God. It has been manifested in a range of humanistic governments over the epoch, from the communist Soviet Union and China, to fascist Germany, to the whole host of other humanistic governments, including the United States.

The identity of this whorish woman – the mysterious Babylon the Great - is a mystery because it is a truth that God has not made known to the world (especially to true believers) apparently until the time the seven plagues have begun to unfold, similar to the way the term ‘mystery’ is used in Ephesians 3:19. She is described as being a city (Revelation 17:18), because a particular city is the focus and seat of her power. And it is this city which must be brought down before the millennial restoration. Therefore, it behooves us to investigate her identity.

Let me now provide you with some more historical information before telling you who I believe this wicked woman is. Enlightenment thinking crept into many Protestant denominations, as many Protestants began to accept some of its assumptions. For example, the Arminians denied the total depravity of fallen man, thus elevating human reason. Anabaptists and Baptists advocated civil government without religious test oaths and without reformed established churches, on the false assumption that government should be religiously and denominationally neutral. Other groups, like the Quakers, even went further into error. But these sects and heresies were not powerful enough at the time to completely overthrow reformed Christian rule. And although Romanism was opposed to reformed Christian rule as well, it had been locked out of power in Protestant nations and territories by Protestant religious test oaths. In order to vote and hold civil office in such Protestant nations, one had to take an oath of agreement with a Protestant confession. A policy of religious test oaths was a recognition that sound civil government requires officeholders that “kiss the Son” in truth.

A primary avenue for eroding the reformed Christian rule in Protestant nations came by means of Masonic lodges, especially during the 18^th century. These Masonic lodges and other secret societies admitted men from all religious affiliations, whether Romanist, Protestant, or Judaist. And it suggested that they were one brotherhood despite their varied religious affiliations. It advocated “freedom” from religious dogma, which really meant freedom from historic reformed Biblical Christianity. Here is a history of the Masonic lodges taken from the website of the Masonic Lodge of Texas itself:

“…in 1717, four Lodges in London met together and probably for no other reason than to strengthen and preserve themselves, decided to form a Grand Lodge. In 1723 they adopted a constitution to govern themselves. Their success led to the establishment of other Grand Lodges in similar fashion. In 1725 some of the Lodges in Ireland formed a Grand Lodge for that island, and a similar body was instituted in Scotland in 1736. Moreover, the original Grand Lodge of England did not remain without rivals in its own country, and at one time in the eighteenth century there existed in England three Grand Lodges in addition to the one organized in 1717. Two of these died out without influencing the history of Masonry in general, but the third had a great part in the spread and popularizing of Masonry throughout the world. It styled itself the "Ancient" Grand Lodge, while the original body was known as the "Modern" Grand Lodge. The two were long and vigorous rivals, but they finally united in 1813 into the present Grand Lodge of England. Thus, from one of these two Grand bodies in England, or from that of Ireland or Scotland, are descended directly or otherwise all other Grand Lodges in the world today.

It was inevitable that Freemasonry should follow the colonists to America and play a most important part in the establishment of the thirteen colonies. Freemasonry was formally recognized for the first time in America with the appointment by the Grand Lodge of England of a Provincial Grand Master in Massachusetts in 1733. American Masons worked under foreign jurisdiction until 1781, when the first Grand Lodge was established in the State of New York.

One of the most enthralling and romantic portions of all Masonic history lies in the story of the part played by Freemasons in the formation of our country. We will never know just how great a part Freemasonry actually did play; but without exaggeration, we can say that Freemasonry and Masonic thinking contributed most significantly to the founding of this great democracy.

A significant number of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as well as the drafters of the Constitution were members of our Fraternity, many of them most active in the affairs of their Lodges. George Washington was a staunch Freemason, and it is said that before the close of the Revolution he placed no one but Freemasons in posts of importance. He was the first of thirteen Masonic Presidents and the only one to serve as Worshipful Master of a Lodge and President at one and the same time. The others after Washington are Jackson, Polk, Buchanan, Johnson, Garfield, McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Taft, Harding, Franklin Roosevelt, Truman and Ford -- of whom Jackson and Truman served also as Grand Masters.

In the struggle for Independence such well-known patriots as Paul Revere, Joseph Warren, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock, as well as Lafayette, Von Steuben and many others, were members of the Craft. No doubt Freemasonry was responsible for and shaped much of their thinking and opinions.”

With such a notable list of Masonic adherents in the formation of the United States, it is clear that Enlightenment thought pervaded its very foundation. Having established itself in the highest levels of power in the federal government of the United States, it worked subtly over time to eradicate the reformed Christian heritage which most of the colonies had originally enjoyed from the Protestant Reformation.

Freemasonry provided an important conduit as well by which Romanism could again make in-roads in English and English colonial society. Such men as the Roman Catholic Duke of York and the Jesuit Father Cotton assumed prominent roles in the young freemasonry movement, where Biblical dogma was depreciated. This was at a time when otherwise they would have been granted very little authority in the Protestant realm. (In a later chapter I will show how Roman Catholic, and specifically Jesuit, manipulation of the freemasonry movement was even greater than this, however. F. Tupper Saussy has also chronicled this in more detail in his book Rulers of Evil. And Appendix )

An interesting insight into the Masonic philosophy which spearheaded Enlightenment thought in the colonies is found in the following excerpts from an article of The Scottish Rite Journal by a 33^rd degree Mason (see http://srjarchives.tripod.com/1998-03/beless.htm). It focuses upon Thomas Jefferson, but provides insights into Masonic philosophy as a whole:

“Was Thomas Jefferson a Freemason? This question has been asked by Masons and others and not conclusively answered for 200 years. In 1960, Brother William R. Denslow, Masonic scholar and editor of the Transactions of the Missouri Lodge of Research, concluded that Jefferson was not a Mason, saying all claims for his membership are based on association or insinuation, with no proof by records.

Thomas Jefferson was often in Masonic company. His son-in-law Governor of Virginia Thomas M. Randolph, his favorite grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph, and nephews Peter and Samuel Carr were all members of Door to Virtue Lodge No. 44, Albemarle County, Virginia. Freemasons such as Thomas Paine, Voltaire, Lafayette, and Jean Houdon were some of his closest associates in Europe. Masons whom he admired in America included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Benjamin Rush, John Paul Jones, James Madison, James Monroe, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

Brother Denslow showed that Jefferson was reported by Dr. Joseph Guillotin to have attended meetings of the Lodge of Nine Muses in Paris; that he had marched in a Masonic procession with Widow’s Son Lodge No. 60 and Charlottesville Lodge No. 90 on October 6, 1817, at the cornerstone laying of Central College (now the University of Virginia); that the Grand Lodges of South Carolina and Louisiana held funeral orations and processions for him following his death on July 4, 1826; and that a Blue Lodge at Surry Court House, Virginia, was named Jefferson Lodge No. 65 in 1801…

Dumas Malone in his six-volume biography of Jefferson has only one Masonic reference. He reported the Central College cornerstone laying, saying that President Monroe officiated, five visitors (including Presidents Madison and Jefferson) were present, the local Fraternity of Freemasons participated, and a large crowd attended. Still, all of Jefferson’s biographers have considered him an elusive paradox whose private and real nature may not yet have been penetrated.

Malone said that Jefferson was a half-dozen men rolled into one. He was known to his contemporaries as an apostle of Freedom, disciple of Enlightenment, searcher for Knowledge, pursuer of Wisdom through Reason, patron of Education and the Arts, Master Builder and Architect. He believed in God the Creator, and he was the opponent of any union of Church and State. Jefferson may not have been a card-carrying Mason, but his philosophy and actions certainly paralleled Masonic ideals and practices.

Jefferson directed that his own epitaph should be limited to the recitation of what he considered his three most important achievements. The stone obelisk marking his grave at Monticello is inscribed: “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom and Father of the University of Virginia.”

…Freedom was the keystone of Jefferson’s philosophy and the goal of his life. His three most satisfying accomplishments were organically related. To him the independence of a nation could not be separated from the independence of its citizens. Religious freedom was a vital part of the structure of a free society, and Church and State had separate functions. They should always be separate and free from the authority and possible tyranny of each other. Education was necessary for the growth of free minds in a free society. Knowledge should be acquired through public free education. In other words, Jefferson personified the same freedom as is integrated in Freemasonry.

The Enlightenment was the philosophic movement born and nurtured in Europe in the 18th century, principally in France under the guidance of Voltaire. It was characterized by a questioning by reason of authority in politics and religion. It spread an empirical search for truth and light into science, the arts, literature, and education. It called for changes and reforms precursive to the American and French Revolutions.

Freemasons in England and France were acknowledged leaders of the Enlightenment. The famous historians Will and Ariel Durant (in Rousseau and Revolution page 938 of volume ten in their epic series The Story of Civilization) reported that in 1789 there were 629 Masonic Lodges in Paris, each with 50 to 100 members. Voltaire was made a Mason without preliminary preparation in the Lodge of Nine Muses on April 7, 1778. The philosopher and writer was welcomed among the Brothers with the assurance that he had long fulfilled the obligations of a Freemason before his promises to keep them. Among followers of Voltaire and the searchers for more Light in America were Brothers Washington, Franklin, and their associate, Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson was committed to reason, natural law, and the inherent equal rights of man. He had faith in human beings and in the human mind. He believed only an enlightened society could govern itself and ignorant people could not maintain their God-given freedom. He believed knowledge was a prerequisite to wisdom and to a proper exercise of those rights. To him knowledge was power, safety and happiness, and the search for knowledge must be continually pursued. He was an avid reader and collector, and his accumulation of knowledge was in his vocations as lawyer, legislator, diplomat, and executive, and also in his avocations as farmer, architect, builder, philosopher, and scientist.

The superb library of the “Sage of Monticello” had 6,487 books by 1814 when those volumes were sold for $23,950 to constitute the Library of Congress in replacing the small library which had been destroyed by the British in 1812. Another 1,000 volumes, acquired by Jefferson in 1826, were bequeathed by him to the University of Virginia. Specimens of minerals, flora, fauna, and Indian cultures of the West, which had been returned by Masonic Brothers Lewis and Clark in 1806, were displayed at Monticello.

Public education was vital to Jefferson’s ideas of truly republican government. In 1788 he first proposed a plan for free public grammar school education to the Virginia legislature. This was not enacted into law until 1796, but it still was the pioneer effort in America. He wanted a statewide general system of education to include a new university to teach sciences, languages, law and philosophy, with emphasis on scholastic freedom and academic excellence.

The university at Charlottesville resulted from his personal leadership in lobbying the legislature, raising funds, recruiting faculty, selecting curriculum, locating the proper site, and drawing the plans for the school’s rotunda and library, 7 classroom pavilions, and 37 dormitories. He was a visitor of the school from 1819 until his death, and he was without question the “Father of the University of Virginia.”

…Jefferson expressed his firm belief in God in his writings. God is Creator and Nature’s God in the Declaration of Independence. In 1786, the Virginia Act Establishing Religious Freedom underlined the fact that Almighty God created the mind free. The letters to John Adams and the English scientist and theologian Joseph Priestley clearly showed Jefferson’s conviction that church and state must be separate, his opposition to creeds and dogma, and his insistence on tolerance and mutual respect among religions. In 1816, he authored The Life and Morals of Jesus. He would have heartily accepted the Masonic requirement of faith in the Great Architect of the Universe.

Thomas Jefferson may not have been a Brother in a Lodge of Freemasons, but he had all of the prerequisites for membership in the Craft. His life could serve as a role model for all Masons; and, like Voltaire, he fulfilled the obligations of our Fraternity. First and foremost, he was a Freeman.”

We get a sense from the above description focusing on Jefferson what is at the heart of the Masonic philosophy: freedom from religious (read that, Biblical) dogma and distinctively Christian laws. This philosophical perspective abhors enforcement of both tables of the Ten Commandments. The Enlightenment, and the freemasonry movement that helped to propel it, undermined reformed Christian rule in state and church for “freedom’s” sake. The information above lists Dr. Benjamin Rush as a Mason, which is especially interesting because he strongly petitioned Dr. John Witherspoon to cross the Atlantic and lead the young Princeton University. As we read in Alexander Leitch’s “A Princeton Companion”, “more than any other person he was responsible for bringing John Witherspoon to America as Princeton's sixth president.” (see http://etc.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/rush_benjamin.html) Not surprisingly, Witherspoon was sympathetic to various Masonic principles like “freedom of religion” and opposition to the establishment principle.

John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian minister, president of Princeton University and descendant of Scotland's preacher-patriot John Knox, inspired members of the Continental Congress to sign the Declaration of Independence. He had a significant influence upon shaping American Presbyterianism, steering it in a direction away from the doctrines of the original Westminster Standards and towards a view that nations should not be explicitly reformed Christian. Here is what we read at http://www.acton.org/research/libtrad/witherspoon.html regarding Witherspoon:

“According to Ralph L. Ketcham, "under his leadership, Princeton was a hotbed of revolutionary patriotism, and produced one president, ten u.s. senators, nine governors, and nine members of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, in addition to the usual steady stream of clergymen and business leaders." Witherspoon took an active role in the formation of civic institutions for the new nation: He was a member of the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence, and was a delegate to New Jersey’s 1787 ratification convention for the u.s. Constitution. For Witherspoon, religious faith was essential in fostering true liberty, and liberty was concomitant to religious freedom, and his teaching spurred a generation of Americans to seek and establish freedom before and after the Revolution."

It should also be noted how Witherspoon’s epistemological philosophy deviated markedly from that of the historic reformed faith. His ‘common sense realism’, which became synonymous with the philosophy of Princeton University, quite underestimated the effects of the Fall upon human understanding. It lay the groundwork for the adoption of the evolutionary theory as the official position of Princeton University a century later.

Witherspoon’s philosophy is in stark contrast to his forefather John Knox’s philosophy. Knox recognized the impossibility of civil neutrality, and the duty of governments to be explicitly Christian and to enforce the Ten Commandments. Knox also had a more realistic assessment of the total depravity of man, which Witherspoon lacked. Witherspoon opted for an impossibility: a religiously neutral government where human “freedom” is paramount yet men somehow rule and conduct themselves morally. As a graduate of Princeton University I saw with my own eyes the fruits of Witherspoon’s philosophy at that institution, and we all see its fruits in our own society and government. Witherspoon was wrong, but his error and that of the Enlightenment infected far more than Princeton University; it infected the American reformed and Presbyterian community and beyond that society in general.

Continuing on, it should be noted that Enlightenment thinker Lafayette was also a Freemason, who was sent to help the American revolutionary effort from France, along with other Frenchmen, where the Enlightenment had made even greater inroads. As we read at http://www.freemasonwatch.freepress-freespeech.com/frenchrevolution.html :

“… exploitation began with the Freemasons as early as 1772 when the Grand Orient Lodge was firmly established in France, counting 104 lodges. This number grew to 2,000 lodges by the time of the Revolution, with 447 lodge members participating in the 605 member Estates-General. One of their primary goals was the Nationalization of all Church property to help pay off the large debts Revolutionary France incurred in assisting their Jacobite Masonic brethrens plans during the American revolution.”

Two personalities especially significant in the French Revolution were Voltaire and Weishaupt. Voltaire, a Deist, was regarded as the leading intellectual in Europe, gaining the friendship of many of the crowned heads of Europe and such was his baneful influence that it has not ceased to this very day. He boasted, “It took twelve ignorant fishermen to establish Christianity, I will show the world how one Frenchman can destroy it."

Adam Weishaupt was a Jesuit who rose to a prominent university position. I agree with F. Tupper Saussy that the dis-establishment of the Jesuits by the Pope was simply a ruse, and that therefore it is unlikely that Weishaupt ever left the employment of the Jesuits and the Roman Catholic Church. (The Catholic Encyclopedia says this about Weishaupt: “After 1787 he renounced all active connexion with secret societies, and again drew near to the Church, displaying remarkable zeal in the building of the Catholic church at Gotha. he died on 18 November, 1830, "reconciled with the Catholic Church…” It thus appears unlikely his original departure from the Roman Catholic Church and the Jesuit Order was genuine.) In any case, on May 1st, 1776, Weishaupt officially brought into existence a secret revolutionary movement known as the Illuminati. Significantly, Communists and Socialists around the world still commemorate May 1st as Labor Day.

Weishaupt joined forces with a Cabalistic Jew from Egypt named Kolmer and soon a network of Illuminati groups existed all over France. Shortly before the French Revolution broke out, the Marquis de Luchet wrote that the Illuminati were (see http://www.1335.com/frenchrevolution1.html): -

“A subterranean fire smouldering eternally and breaking forth periodically in violent and devastating explosions."

"This society aims at governing the world. Its object is universal domination."

Marat, Robespierre, Danton, Desmoulins and many other Revolutionary leaders, were all Illuminati and the bloodthirsty Jacobin Clubs, which played such a prominent part in the Reign of Terror, based their network on the Illuminati. One of Weishaupt's affectionate titles was "Patriarch of the Jacobins." Every fundamental principle of the Illuminati may be traced through the French Revolution down to present day International Communism. Karl Marx, the grandson of a Jewish Rabbi and the recognized father of Communism, edited his teachings from the writings of Weishaupt, and the first Communist Manifesto published in 1848, the so-called Year of Revolutions, embodies within it the guiding ideals and spirit of Illuminism.”

To repeat, I believe Revelation chapters 15 through 19 describe the rise and fall of the final empire of wickedness thwarting millennial Christian rule of reformed Christian nations. And I believe the Enlightenment is the historical movement which has served as the chief philosophical basis for thwarting reformed Christian government and societies. The Enlightenment’s influences have been widespread, even as we have read in the historical accounts previously mentioned. It has spawned the French Revolution, as well as communist revolutions in Russia and China, and fascist revolutions in Germany and Italy. But there is one chief golden seat of Enlightenment influence, that serves as the beacon of the Enlightenment, and this is the mysterious Babylon of Revelation chapter 17. She is the Woman described as follows: “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”

In my opinion the most likely candidate for this infamous award is Washington, DC! She most completely fits the qualities described of Babylon the Great in Revelation chapters 15-19. There are many reasons to draw this conclusion. First, Washington, DC – as the capital of the United States – has been the foremost model of the ‘enlightened’ conception of nationhood based upon humanism instead of divine religion. “Freedom” so-called is the foundational principle, not the glorification of Christ. For the place of the United States in world history, and its foundational philosophy, consider these words of President Franklin Roosevelt discussing the Great Seal of the United States at (http://www.greatseal.com/symbols/neworderFDR.html) :

“On the Great Seal of the United States, which, for a century and a half, has reposed in the loving care of a long line of Secretaries of the State, appears these words: "Novus Ordo Seclorum" which means: "A New Order of the Ages."

But in the scheme of civilization from which ours descends, I suppose we can properly recognize that in 2500 years there have been only a few "New Orders" in the development of human living under a thing called government.

Without question, the philosophy of orderly government, in which the governed had some voice in civilized society, goes back to the days of ancient Greece…

We come to the Age of Rome – an age of a strange admixture of elections and laws and military conquest and personal dictatorship… It was an age which extended the civilization of the period to the greater part of the then known world. It was an age which forced its own conception of laws and way of life on millions of less civilized people, who previously had lived under tribal custom of centralized direction.

With Rome's collapse and the overrunning of Europe by vast population movements from farther east, orderly progress deteriorated, and the sword drove learning into hiding.

That dark period could hardly be called an Age, because it was an interim between Ages...the appearance of tiny movements in tiny places, led by tiny people, forecast the next vast step forward – the era of 1776 – the Age in which, thank God, we still live. Those beginnings originated, it is true, in the old world – among the philosophers, among the seekers of many kinds of freedom forbidden by those who governed.

There, by processes of trial and error, democracy as it has since been accepted in so many lands, had its birth and its training. We must accept that as fact because, fundamentally, nothing like it had ever existed before.

There came into being the first far-flung government in all the world whose cardinal principle was democracy – the United States of America.

With the gaining of our political freedom came … Thomas Jefferson, an advocate of government by representatives of the people, an advocate of the universal right of free thought, free personal living, free religion, free expression of opinion and, above all, the right of free universal suffrage.

The New Order spread into almost every part of the civilized world. It spread in many forms – and over the next century almost all peoples had acquired some form of popular expression of opinion, some form of elections, of franchises, of the right to be heard…”

Roosevelt’s evaluation of the United States, with its seat of power in Washington, is quite accurate. It stands as the successor to Rome - a humanistic regime dominating world politics and philosophy. And it has served as the paradigm to be variously copied by civil regimes across the world. In the early U.S. republic, the federal government in Washington served as the model to be emulated by the states composing it. Accordingly, the states removed their reformed Protestant test oaths and their reformed Protestant established churches, in favor of “non-sectarian” governments. What this in fact has meant is government based increasingly upon secular humanism. And the only reason it did not immediately lead to the disastrous consequences of the French Revolution is because of the large reservoir of Biblical Christian culture infused in the American society, a holdover from its reformed Protestant heritage in the colonial era. But this reservoir is being drained dry by the humanistic regime.

This change in governance rested upon many myths, but three myths are particularly noteworthy. First, there is the myth that any government can be religiously neutral. This is a lie, because any government that is not Christian will necessarily be anti-Christian. Second, there is the myth that the new U.S. government gave man real freedom. The type of freedom that heretics like Roosevelt and Jefferson dreamed about is a mere figment of the human imagination. Every governing system places various religious restrictions upon those who can be selected for civil office, whether there is a formal religious test oath or not. In the case of the wicked system based in Washington, D.C., the restriction is that no man may serve who does not pledge to defend the constitution, with its anti-establishment principle and opposition to religious test oaths. These are indeed wicked restrictions, because scripture commands that Christian magistrates defend and protect the Christian faith, which means promoting the establishment principle and reformed Christian test oaths. Christianity demands that everything be subject to Christ and His law, including government. But anyone who votes in America must vote for someone who pledges to defend something opposed to Biblical principles. Third, there is the myth that freedom means “free thought, free personal living, free religion, free expression of opinion and… free universal suffrage”. True freedom, rather, is that described by Christ who said, “if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” This true freedom means serving Christ according to Christ’s words. Therefore, civil and ecclesiastical government which defends Biblical Christianity supports freedom, whereas secular humanist regimes support bondage to sin and error. Sadly, the humanistic bondage exemplified in Washington’s government has been copied worldwide, most disastrously where there is little Biblical Christian heritage.

But not only has Washington led the way towards “enlightened” secularist government, even in her origins she manifested the goal of becoming the new Rome. In his book Rulers of Evil F. Tupper Saussy writes (see http://tuppersaussy.com/HTMFILES/ROEtour.htm) :

“I focused on the city’s most hallowed edifice, the Capitol. A cursory title search on the real estate upon which it stands turned up a surprise. In 1663, the property that would become the Capitol’s site was inscribed in the Maryland property records as “Rome,” its owner a man named “Pope.” The southern boundary of this property was shaped by a river named for the river that runs through Rome, the Tiber.

I further discovered that “Rome” was transferred to the federal government in the years following ratification of the Constitution by its owner, Daniel Carroll. Carroll was the chairman of a three-man commission appointed by President George Washington to find a suitable location for the capital city. A signer of the Declaration of Independence, Daniel Carroll was a Roman Catholic educated by Jesuits in Maryland and France. His brother John was a Jesuit priest.

John Carroll became the first Catholic bishop in America, presiding over the See of Baltimore, which included Washington, D.C. John also founded Georgetown University, which has long been regarded as the incubator of federal policy, domestic and international. Strikingly secular in curriculum and student body, Georgetown is still owned and operated by Jesuit priests. Its seal proclaims the union of the Roman Church with the secular State, depicting the Roman eagle with the global world in one talon and a cross in the other, surmounted by the motto Utraque unum, ‘Both together.’”

Georgetown University was being prepared for its future role before the young nation’s leaders even decided upon Washington as the site of the capital in 1791. Here is how Georgetown University describes its own history at http://www.library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/guhist.htm :

- - - - - - - - - - -

“In 1789, John Carroll and the directors of a proposed "Academy at Georgetown" received the deed to the property on which they were already constructing a school building. Planning for the school had begun as early as 1783; fund-raising in 1786; construction in 1788; the building was completed and the instruction of students begun in 1791. This school was the first institution of higher learning opened under Roman Catholic auspices in the new republic; indeed, without the fruits of the American Revolution, the school would have been impossible, since under colonial law, Roman Catholics were forbidden to conduct schools or to celebrate the mass in public. The spirit of the revolution is also evident in the statement that the school "should be open to students of every religious profession", and the numbers of non-Catholic students and teachers have always been substantial.

Who were these men? John Carroll, the founder, was the son of a prominent Maryland merchant. His cousin Charles Carroll was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his brother Daniel signed the American Constitution. John had left America at the age of 14 in order to attend Catholic school on the continent. While there he decided to join the Society of Jesus. In time he was ordained and began a career as a teacher. Had not the Vatican abolished the Society of Jesus, Carroll would probably have lived out his life as a teacher and administrator in Jesuit schools in Europe. With the suppression, Carroll decided to return to America where he intended to serve as a simple country pastor, but it was not to be. First the Continental Congress asked him to join a diplomatic mission to Canada; later, with Independence won, Carroll developed an organization plan for the America clergy, who had been cut off from ecclesiastical authority by the Revolution. Carroll was named superior of the American mission and then the first American Roman Catholic Bishop.

The other directors of the Academy were also former [JPM- I will discuss that more fully, because there is good reason to agree with Saussy that that was simply a ruse] members of the Society of Jesus, but many of the early faculty were members of the Sulpician order and refugees from the French Revolution. With the restoration of the Society of Jesus, the school passed fully under Jesuit auspices, and the long tradition of Jesuit liberal arts education has inspired our programs ever since

Other traditions established in these early years include: - Internationalism: Our first printed prospectus was published in Spanish, French, and English, and many students came from the West Indies and the Iberian peninsula. -Public service: Over a hundred of our graduates have served in the American congress, including our very first student, William Gaston, who represented North Carolina in congress, and was later Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. A number of our alumni are members of the present congress, including Senators Patrick Leahy and George Mitchell. President William J. Clinton is a member of the class of 1968.

Growth of the School

With the full restoration of the Jesuits, it was decided to seek civil recognition for the school. William Gaston helped guide the Charter through Congress. It was passed and signed by President Madison March 1, 1815. The first Bachelor of Arts degrees were awarded in 1817. During the Civil War, the College all but closed, as troops occupied the campus and most students returned home to join the two armies. After the war, the colors Blue and Grey were adopted to symbolize the reunification of North and South.”

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Saussy’s Rulers of Evil chronicles just how pivotal the Jesuits were in stirring up the American Revolution. It also reveals the Jesuit leadership in freemasonry, which itself served such a foundational role in the formation of the United States. The Jesuit empire, based in Rome, employed cunning to turn a thoroughly Protestant society into a Romanized whore based in Washington, D.C. And it should not be ignored that the Jesuit Carroll developed the “organization plan for the America clergy, who had been cut off from ecclesiastical authority by the Revolution.” The Roman Catholic Church, which was to become the largest single denomination in what was to quickly become the most powerful nation in the world, was designed by and for the Jesuit cause.

This information certainly provides additional insight as to why we should regard Washington, D.C. as the new Rome, figuratively sitting upon Seven Hills and succeeding the former Rome. Again, we should remember that the mysterious woman is not said to be the Beast, but rather to sit upon the Beast. While Washington, D.C. is not Rome itself (it is not the Seven-Hilled City itself), there is good reason to believe Washington has served as the vehicle to drive Protestant territories into whoredom and Romanism. The Romanist denomination which in colonial days comprised less than one percent of the population, today is its largest denomination, and still growing.

The very design of Washington, D.C. was intended to establish its place as the successor to ancient Rome. Consider, for example, a central feature of Washington, its Capitol Building. Here is an article that explains it at http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/us.capitol/s2.html :

“The Most Approved Plan: The Competition for the Capitol's Design

Open Competition Thomas Jefferson decided that the Capitol's design should be chosen by a public competition, and advertisements began appearing in American newspapers in March 1792. The entries were disappointing to the judges --

Washington, Jefferson, and the Commissioners of the District of Colombia. Most of the entries survive to this day; they are a revealing reflection of the talent available among America's amateurs, builder-architects, and professionals.

The published guidelines stipulated matters of fact -- size and number of rooms and materials -- not issues of taste, such as style of architecture, historical association, or symbolic meaning. Thus the competitors themselves proposed ideas of how to convey

America's new political structure and social order. Their suggestions, ranging from simple to complex, economical to expensive, reflected commonly held beliefs about America's governing population -- primarily farmers and merchants -- or promoted

benefits promised by the Constitution.

Most competitors drew upon Renaissance architectural models, either filtered through the lens of eighteenth-century English and American Georgian traditions or based directly on buildings illustrated in Renaissance treatises. The Capitol competition

coincided with nascent Neoclassicism in America, in which forms and details from Greek and Roman architecture were revived. Three of the competition entries were inspired by ancient classical buildings.

The Roman Pantheon -- the circular domed rotunda dedicated to all pagan gods -- was suggested by Jefferson, who later shepherded it through several transformations.”

The Pantheon, after which the Capitol was patterned, was in 25 BC dedicated by Agrippa the Pantheon to all the gods. The word Pantheon means of all gods. During the seventh century, in now-Christianized Rome, this temple to all gods became the Rotunda of Santa Maria.”

Washington, D.C., by its architecture was designed to suggest that here lay a resurrected Rome.

In addition, the wealth and power of Washington, D.C. matches the description of the mysterious Babylon the Great described in the book of Revelation. Its power is described thus: “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” And again: “that great city Babylon, that mighty city!” And its wealth and power over wealth is described thus: “The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble…The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her…” Surely no nation has generated so much wealth as the United States, and the seat of power over this wealth is surely Washington, D.C. “What [city is] like unto this great city!”

And the United States, with its capital in Washington, certainly qualifies as a whore. Arguably no people has enjoyed as much gospel light as that which was formerly known in the American colonies before the American Revolution. The American colonies primarily consisted of New England Puritans, Scottish Presbyterians, and reformed Protestant Anglicans. It was thoroughly blessed by the fruits of the Protestant Reformation. It was part of a kingdom that was home to the man instrumental in bringing the Protestant Reformation to the world- Jon Wyckliffe. Its people had the scriptures. Its people were under a Protestant constitution. Its people had the Westminster Standards and the Thirty-Nine Articles. And what did they do with it? They squandered it away and essentially embraced the Enlightenment’s siren song. They were then plagued by heresies that went from bad to worse: Anabaptism, Mormonism, Romanism, Islam, etc. She can without exaggeration be described as “the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.”

The philosophical perspective of the United States is represented in this editorial comment in National Review On-Line by Victor Hanson:

“…A cynic would add that illegitimate regimes will worry as much about a democratic revolution on their borders as they will about the presence of autocrats. A humane, secular, democratic, and oil-producing Iraq may be as dangerous to the interests of the Saudi royal family as is Saddam Hussein…”

Hanson views civil legitimacy in terms of being “humane, secular, democratic.” This is the whorish vision being touted for the world. It contradicts government based on reformed Biblical Christianity. It does not recognize the world’s obligation to yield obedience to King Jesus, and it fails to recognize that blessing can only come through obedience to Christ’s Ten Commandments by every man and institution of man. It errs in believing that love of man can somehow come apart from love of the Trinitarian God. This is what America has come to: a whorish lie.

Some have conjectured that rather than being a city, the mysterious Babylon is a church (e.g., the Romish Church ) or some other institution, but this ignores what is clearly being taught. First, it repeatedly says it is a great city (e.g., Revelation 17:18, 18:10, 18:18, 18:21). Second, the very choice of its name- Babylon - suggests it is a city. And finally, the warning to flee from it when it is nigh unto judgment (Revelation 18:4) corresponds with the warning to flee another city, recorded in Luke 21:20-22.

Washington certainly qualifies as the foremost capital of world power and exemplification of the Enlightenment. Perhaps no people on earth have had as much opportunity to promote worldwide Protestant reformation as the American people, but the federal government in Washington has continually exerted its might to thwart Christian government within the United States. And it has employed all of its might and influence internationally to establish secularized governments based upon the Jesuit Bellarmine’s political philosophy. While it would be premature to say with certainty that Washington is the mysterious Babylon the Great prophesied in Revelation 17, a strong and plausible case can be made to that effect.

CHAPTER FOUR : THE SEVEN PLAGUES

There are many signs that the seven plagues described in Revelation chapter 16 may be coming over the horizon, if they have not even already begun. While it is impossible to conclude this with certainty now, yet there is a strong basis for watchfulness. It is said that in one hour the mysterious Babylon the Great will be destroyed in judgment of her sins and fornications (Revelation 18:9,19). And another place says her plagues will come in a single day (Revelation 17:8). So when judgment is nigh, this warning is best heeded: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.“ (Revelation 18:4).

Already we witness how Washington, D.C. has been targeted for destruction by Muslim leaders in the Middle East, and perhaps some other parties as well. Muslims have historically played the role of the rod by God to punish fornicating Christendom. And in their September 11, 2001 attack upon the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. as well as the World Trade Center towers in New York, they manifested this role yet again.

There are other evidences that suggest Washington is being targeted as well. For example, much of the terrorism associated with the anthrax-laden mailings in Fall 2001 was directed at Washington. The sniper murder attacks in 2002 were also directed at Washington. And there have been strange findings of malaria-infested mosquitoes along the Potomac in the Washington area. Even if Washington, D.C. were not Babylon the Great, there would be reason for wariness. But given the correspondences between Washington and the Apocalypse’s mysterious Babylon the Great, there is need for special watchfulness.

The plagues of Revelation 16 themselves hearken back to the plagues which were visited upon ancient Egypt, a manifestation of the Beast in a foregone era. Matthew Henry comments thus: “We have here a reference and allusion to several of the plagues of Egypt, such as the turning of their waters into blood, and smiting them with boils and sores. Their sins were alike, and so were their punishments.”

In those former plagues Egypt was brought to her knees in order that God’s people might be freed and redeemed. Israel came out of Egypt to form a nation established on God’s grace and law. The plagues which will be visited upon the mysterious Babylon the Great will open the way for a worldwide reformation in which the nations of the earth are Christian, after the Beast and False Prophet have been removed as well.

Here are how these plagues are characterized in God’s word:

“And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and [upon] them which worshipped his image. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead [man]: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous [are] thy judgments. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared…And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [come] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, [which] go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty…And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. “

The first three plagues show some strong correspondences with diseases like AIDS which are even now reaching epidemic proportions. In this description of AIDS found at the website http://www.aad.org/pamphlets/aidspamp.html we see the similarities between the sores commonly accompanying AIDS and the sores resulting from some of the plagues:

“The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the loss of the body's ability to fight infections due to the infection caused by a virus called Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Some patients infected with HIV may develop skin conditions, fungal, viral, and other bacterial infections as well as cancer.

Since first recognized in 1981, AIDS has been found to be a major health problem all over the world. A person can be infected with HIV for several years before the problems of AIDS occur. The development of the life-threatening complications of AIDS are due to the virus' destruction of white blood cells. These cells are essential in the body's natural immune system…

A common skin problem in AIDS is Kaposi's sarcoma. The new combination of drug treatments for AIDS has made Kaposi's sarcoma less common than it used to be. The dermatologist is often the first physician to diagnose Kaposi's sarcoma by doing a small biopsy in the office or clinic. The lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma do not hurt or itch. They can appear anywhere on the skin or in the mouth (especially on the roof of the mouth or on the gums). Kaposi's sarcoma lesions vary from pink to dark red, purple, or brown. They are often mistaken for insect bites, birthmarks, or bruises. They can range in size from a pinhead to the size of a large coin. The lesions frequently continue to develop into thickened bumps and even large tumor growths. There may be one or more lesions with new ones developing any place on the skin during the course of the illness. Occasionally, Kaposi's sarcoma involves lymph nodes, and internal organs such as the spleen, liver, stomach, bowel, and lungs…

Viral infections of the skin are very common in patients with AIDS and patients infected with HIV. These infections can occur on any region of the skin, or mucous membrane surfaces. In such patients, these viral infections are sometimes more severe than the same infections seen in healthy patients.

Herpes Simplex is a virus that may cause recurrent infections. Herpes simplex virus Type I commonly causes sores around the nose and mouth that are sometimes called "fever blisters" or "cold sores." Herpes Simplex Type II will cause recurrent sores near the genital or anal areas…”

It should be especially noted how I the rate of AIDS is among Romish clerics. This is hardly surprising given the high rate of sodomy among its ranks. But it could well explain why Revelation 16:10-11 speaks of the pains and sores thrown upon “the seat of the Beast”. Nevertheless, as we witness, they have “repented not of their deeds.”

But even more deadly and dangerous diseases could be unleashed in international biological and chemical warfare in the future- a war referred to as “Armageddon” in Revelation 16:16. Diseases such as small pox are a real threat. Anthrax was sent through the mail by an as of yet undiscovered party to many offices in Washington, D.C. in 2001. Unusually, malaria was recently discovered to be of domestic origin in the environs of Washington, D.C. It originated from mosquitoes carrying malaria along the Potomac River. And a recent Worldnetdaily article reported on October 2, 2002:

“In addition to the suitcase nukes, Williams reports that al-Qaida has also obtained chemical weapons from North Korea and Iraq. Williams says the FBI confirmed to him that Saddam Hussein provided bin Laden with a "gift" of anthrax spores. Williams says al-Qaida also includes in its arsenal plague viruses, including ebola and salmonella, from the former Soviet Union and Iraq, samples of botulism biotoxin from the Czech Republic, and sarin from Iraq and North Korea.”

So some of these plagues found in the book of Revelation could be epidemic diseases unleashed by terrorists, of which up to now we have only had a fore-taste.

Some of the other plagues could result from devastating war which might annihilate whole cities in nuclear holocausts. This would certainly comport with men being scorched by great heat and fire, especially those residing in the mysterious Babylon the Great. Already nations such as Pakistan and India have come close to such nuclear war. Cultural and religious wars have heated up, even while nuclear capabilities have proliferated worldwide.

Many have resented Washington’s heavy handed exportation of secularism, especially in the Muslim world. They also have resented Washington’s support of Zionism in the Middle East. Even now the United States is on the brink of war with Iraq, as illustrated in this World Tribune article at http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_8.html:

“Wednesday, September 4, 2002 - The United States continues its military buildup in and around the Persian Gulf with analysts estimating up to 100,000 troops within striking distance of Iraq. U.S. military sources and analysts said Washington has sent tens of thousands of soldiers and military personnel to Gulf Arab states, Central and South Asia and the Levant. They said the force includes at least 1,000 military planners who have prepared for a rapid airlift of forces in case Washington decides on a war against Iraq.”

Michael Ledeen recently made these prescient comments in National Review On-Line (http://www.nationalreview.com/ledeen/ledeen090902.asp) :

“Last Friday Iran successfully tested a new ballistic missile, apparently of North Korean vintage. It was the first in a series of tests that will be carried out in coming days, involving five different missiles. Those in our diplomatic establishment who take seriously impending threats to our national security should pay close attention to these tests, as they should to the long-secret nuclear projects under way in Isfahan and elsewhere in the country. The regime's leaders have told their doomsday scientists and technicians that they desperately want to demonstrate a nuclear capacity by the end of the year…Supreme Leader Khamenei stated publicly that Iran would deliver a forceful response to President Bush's condemnation of the Iranian mullahcracy, and the response would be delivered "in the heartland of America." … It's luminously clear to anyone with eyes that Iran will go for our throats at every opportunity. And so they must: The mullahs would be gravely threatened by a free and successful society in Afghanistan and/or Iraq. Tehran has made contingency plans to attack us if we were to invade Iraq (as have the Syrians, by the way, and all have been promised assistance from the Saudis). They mean to teach us a lesson. In Rafsanjani's recent words to the female religious police, ‘the great powers [that's us] and the regional powers [i.e. Israel and perhaps Turkey] in conducting their policies must take into consideration the goals of the Islamic Republic.’”

There is an almost inevitable clash between Washington’s secular humanism and the Islam of many parts of the world, like the Middle East. Here is how one Bush administration official perceives the clash according to http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1031119542559&p=1012571727088 :

“Reinforcing the Bush administration's message that the values of freedom, democracy and free enterprise do not "stop at the edge of Islam", Ms Rice underlined US interest in the "democratisation or the march of freedom in the Muslim world.”

And the possibility of terroristic retaliation to this march is quite real, as reported in this article at http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/national/natl09232002.htm :

“Herald wire services Monday, September 23, 2002 - American Taliban John Walker Lindh has told FBI interrogators that Osama bin Laden had planned a three-phase attack on America and its allies and dispatched 50 al-Qaeda members on suicide missions the summer before the Sept. 11 attacks, it was reported yesterday. The attacks on New York and Washington in which airliners were flown into buildings was only the first phase, The Sunday Times of London reported. Lindh asserted that a senior al-Qaeda commander told him the second phase would be even worse and would make the U.S. ``forget about the first attack,'' and the third would ``finish America.'' The newspaper cited FBI records of Lindh's statements to an FBI special agent and military personnel in Afghanistan last December, and said he told of the ``chilling extent'' of al-Qaeda's training of would-be terrorists from across the globe.”

Al-Qaeda and other Muslim terrorist organizations may well have even nuclear weaponry to exact some punishing blows against Washington. Worldnetdaily reported on October 2, 2002 the following regarding this capability:

“A new book by an FBI consultant on international terrorism says Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network purchased 20 suitcase nuclear weapons from former KGB agents in 1998 for $30 million.

The book,"Al Qaeda: Brotherhood of Darkness," by Paul L. Williams, also says this deal was one of at least three in the last decade in which al-Qaida purchased small nuclear weapons or weapons-grade nuclear uranium.

Williams says bin Laden's search for nuclear weapons began in 1988 when he hired a team of five nuclear scientists from Turkmenistan. These were former employees at the atomic reactor in Iraq before it was destroyed by Israel, Williams says. The team's project was the development of a nuclear reactor that could be used "to transform a very small amount of material that could be placed in a package smaller than a backpack."

"By 1990 bin Laden had hired hundreds of atomic scientists from the former Soviet Union for $2,000 a month – an amount far greater that their wages in the former Soviet republics," Williams writes. "They worked in a highly sophisticated and well-fortified laboratory in Kandahar, Afghanistan."

This work continued throughout the 1990s, the author says.

In 1993, according to the book, Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl, a bin Laden agent who turned into a Central Intelligence Agency source, purchased for al-Qaida a cylinder of weapons-grade uranium from a former Sudanese government minister who represented businessmen from South Africa. The purchase price was $1.5 million and the uranium was tested in Cyprus and transported to Afghanistan.

Al-Fadl reported that, at the time of this transfer, al-Qaida was already working on a deal for suitcase nukes developed for the KGB.

Williams says the Russian Mafia made another mysterious deal with "Afghani Arabs" in search of nuclear weapons in 1996. The Russians who sold the material now live in New York.

Then again in 1998, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim was arrested in Munich and charged with acting as an al-Qaida agent to purchase highly enriched uranium from a German laboratory.

That same year, according to Williams, bin Laden succeeded in buying the 20 suitcase nukes from Chechen Mafia figures, including former KGB agents. The $30 million deal was partly cash and partly heroin with a street value of $700 million.

"After the devices were obtained, they were placed in the hands of Arab nuclear scientists who, federal sources say, 'were probably trained at American universities,'" says Williams.

Though the devices were designed only to be operated by Soviet SPETZNAZ personnel, or special forces, al-Qaida scientists came up with a way of hot-wiring the bombs to the bodies of would-be martyrs, according to the book.

Suitcase nukes are not really suitcases at all, but suitcase-size nuclear devices. The weapons can be fired from grenade or rocket launchers or detonated by timers. A bomb placed in the center of a metropolitan area would be capable of instantly killing hundreds of thousands and exposing millions of others to lethal radiation.

Yossef Bodansky, author of "Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America" and the U.S. Congress' top terrorism expert, concurs that bin Laden has already succeeded in purchasing suitcase nukes. Former Russian security chief Alexander Lebed also testified to Congress that 40 nuclear suitcases disappeared from the Russian arsenal after the collapse of the Soviet Union.”

Another American enemy is North Korea. North Korea has just disclosed that it has nuclear capability, and their missile technology is also well known.

The “axis of evil” which George Bush says threatens the United States consists of nations in the East- Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. In addition to these, Middle Eastern nations like Saudi Arabia, Syria, Libya and Yemen also are funding terrorist groups which threaten Washington.

This all seems to be very consistent with how Revelation 16:12 indicates God would release “the kings from the East” in judgment upon the whorish woman, after her water began to dry up. A.R. Faussett, in his Commentary on Revelation, writes regarding this verse: “The drying up of the waters of Babylon expresses the same thing as the ten kings stripping, eating, and burning the whore. The phrase, "way may be prepared for," is that applied to the Lord's coming ( Isa 40:3 Mat 3:3 Luk 1:76 ). He shall come from the East (Mat 24:27 Eze 43:2 , "the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the East"): not alone, for His elect transfigured saints of Israel and the Gentiles shall accompany Him, who are "kings and priests unto God" ( Rev 1:6 ). As the Antichristian ten kings accompany the beast, so the saints accompany as kings the King of kings to the last decisive conflict.”

We read in Revelation chapters 16 to 19 how quickly judgment will come to the mysterious Babylon. This destruction is said to occur “in one day” by the plagues (Revelation 18:8). And a little further on it says it occurs “in one hour” (Revelation 18:10). Men will be amazed how quickly such a great city can be razed by God’s judgment. And lest men should get the wrong idea about who was sovereign over Babylon’s destruction, Isaiah 48:5 tells us: “…before it came to pass I shewed it thee; lest thou shouldest say, ‘mine idol hath done them…’ “

Isaiah 47-48, which is not only a prophecy of the fall of ancient Babylon, but also typologically prophesies the destruction of the mysterious Babylon of Revelation 16 to 19, also speaks of the speed of its destruction. Many of the same things said about the Babylon of Isaiah 47-48 are also said about the mysterious Babylon of Revelation 16 to 19. For instance, both say they are queens and not widows, that shall never be destroyed (Revelation 18:7 and Isaiah 47:7). Both are said to be rich and powerful. Both are said to have oppressed God’s people. But both are said to be destroyed in a day. It is not so incredible to believe it just may happen soon.

CHAPTER FIVE : THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET

I have already disclosed my opinion that the 8’th manifestation of the (sea) Beast referred to in Revelation 17:11 is the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic Church, led by its Secretary General. We read there how the Beast “goeth into perdition”, just as will Satan and the False Prophet (Revelation 20:10), and just as did the ‘son of perdition’ Judas Iscariot. It is worth noting how this evil beastial league is even in II Thessalonians 2:3 described as the ‘son of perdition’ and ‘man of sin’. They use subtlety, craft, and cunning to deceive and destroy multitudes, even while putting on the façade of Christianity. Let me now explain some reasons why we should so identify the 8’th beastial kingdom.

First, let’s consider how the time of the Jesuit order’s origin and existence corresponds with the time frame associated with the eighth manifestation of the Beast. As noted at http://www.jesuit.org/: “One of the largest religious orders in the Catholic Church, it was founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish nobleman.” And it continues to this day. In other words, it was birthed in the midst of the Protestant Reformation, and it has existed for the duration of the modern Enlightenment era. This corresponds with our Biblical expectation of the eighth manifestation of the Beast found in Revelation chapters 15-19. It must come into power when the power of the seventh manifestation of the (sea) Beast – which was the Holy Roman Empire- is fading, which had occurred by the 16^th century. It brings in a new order, which we know as the Enlightenment era, and lasts throughout this Enlightenment era until it is finally overcome, as we read in Revelation 19:20.

Second, let’s consider how its location corresponds with the location of the eighth manifestation of the Beast. According to Revelation 17:7, the eighth manifestation of the Beast has 7 heads. This represents 7 hills according to Revelation 17:9, a clear allusion to Rome. The Superior General of the Jesuit order is based in Rome. Thus, it is another correspondence.

Third, let’s consider how its nature and methods correspond with the nature and methods of the eighth manifestation of the Beast. The eighth manifestation of the Beast, perhaps even more than any previous manifestation of the Beast, is an image of Satan himself. He has the façade of light and Christianity, but he is instead a cunning imposter seeking to thwart Christ’s rule. As we shall consider, this description well fits the Jesuit order.

Many modern Protestants have very little knowledge or understanding of the Jesuit order, so let me seek to supply some of that information here, but also recommend you read F. Tupper Saussy’s Rulers of Evil which outlines Jesuit history and intrigue. Let me start by supplying excerpted information from the Jesuit website http://www.jesuit.org/. This represents information about the Jesuits from Jesuits themselves. It points out the worldwide reach of the Jesuits: “The Jesuits have currently more than 20,000 members, serving in 112 nations, on six continents.” And here is how it describes its history and character:

“Ignatius and many of his followers through the centuries have won official recognition for heroic sanctity. Many Jesuits are canonized saints; still more are among those who are called “Blessed” by the Church. Among the Jesuit saints are Francis Xavier and Francis Borgia of Spain, Aloysius Gonzaga and Robert Bellarmine of Italy, Isaac Jogues and Jean de Brebeuf of France, Edmund Campion of England and Paul Miki of Japan.
Spanish Jesuits were the first members of the Society to arrive in what is now the United States. Their small boat landed on the coast of Florida in September, 1566.
English, Belgian, Italian, Irish, Swiss, French and German Jesuits followed and contributed to the discovery and development of the New World. Peter DeSmet pioneered efforts to bring the Church to the Great Northwest. Jacques Marquette discovered and explored the Mississippi River. Eusebio Kino labored among Indians in California and Arizona. Both Kino and Marquette are among the one hundred outstanding figures in American history whose statues stand in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol.
Contemporary American Jesuits have continued the ground breaking traditions of their forerunners in fields of theology and human rights. Father John Courtney Murray, an expert at the Second Vatican Council, succeeded in reconciling secular doctrines of separation of church and state and freedom of conscience with the theological tradition of the Catholic Church. He has come to be described as the “architect” of the conciliar document on religious freedom. Father John LaFarge, as editor of America, was one of the first to address American problems of racial injustice and civil rights. His writings on inter-racial justice influenced papal teaching…

21,965
The total number of Jesuits worldwide on January 1, 1998. The Society of Jesus is the largest religious order of the Roman Catholic Church…

29
The number of General Superiors in the history of the Society, beginning with its founder St. Ignatius Loyola. The General Superior lives in Rome and is immediately accountable to the Pope. Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, a Dutch Jesuit who worked for 25 years in the Middle East, was elected the 29th Jesuit General in September, 1983 by Jesuit delegates to the 33rd General Congregation from all the Society’s provinces and vice provinces. A General Superior is elected to serve without limit on his term of office…

International Ministries
Jesuits are commissioned worldwide to proclaim the good news of salvation, in many instances to people who have never heard of Jesus Christ. Some 500 U.S. Jesuit missionaries work abroad with local Jesuits and lay colleagues in Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Near East, India and Micronesia, and at home among Native Americans. This is a continuation of the original vision of Saint Ignatius, who founded the Society to be available to travel to the ends of the earth, wherever the need was greatest. They follow in the tradition of such early Jesuits as Saint Francis Xavier, Robert de Nobili and Matteo Ricci who opened new doors for Christianity in Japan, India and China…”

The Jesuit order is noted for it management of many prestigious Jesuit colleges and universities worldwide, such as Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. These educational institutions continue to attract a significant number of students.

http://sjweb.info/locatio/index.cfm recently noted record enrollments at Jesuit colleges and universities:

“Washington, DC (September 20,2002)- U.S. Jesuit Colleges and Universities are experiencing record enrollments this fall.

Wheeling Jesuit University (Wheeling, WV), Gonzaga University (Spokane, WA), and Spring Hill College (Mobile, AL) are accommodating the largest crop of students they have ever seen. And several more institutions, like Loyola University New Orleans (LA), Le Moyne College (Syracuse, NY) Seattle University (WA), Loyola University Chicago (IL), and Fordham University (New York, NY) have witnessed their largest freshmen classes in the history of their institutions….

In addition to enrollment increasing at many Jesuit institutions, the scores of incoming students is higher than in previous years. At the University of Scranton, the average SAT scores of the freshmen class jumped 11 points from last year, and at Loyola New Orleans, the combined GPA for the Class of 2006 rose to 3.76.

‘The quality of a Jesuit education, combined with the sophisticated recruitment of talented students has led to an overwhelmingly successful year for many of our schools,’ said Rev. Charles L. Currie, S.J., president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. ‘What is even more impressive is that several of our institutions have been increasing their numbers year after year, and it seems likely that this trend will continue.’”

These Jesuit websites, however, fail to paint the full portrait of the Jesuit order. For this we must turn to other sources. A very informative classic Protestant expose on the Jesuit order is found in Rev. J. A. Wylie’s THE HISTORY OF PROTESTANTISM. Here are excerpts from that work from http://www.reformed.org/misc/the_jesuits.html, where the citations can also be read:

“VOLUME 2., BOOK 15

THE JESUITS

CHAPTER 4

MORAL CODE OF THE JESUITS -- PROBABILISM, ETC.

The Jesuit cut off from Country -- from Family -- from Property -- from the Pope even -- The End Sanctifies the Means -- The First Great Commandment and Jesuit Morality -- When may a Man Love God? -- Second Great Commandment -- Doctrine of Probabilism -- The Jesuit Casuists -- Pascal -- The Direction of the Intention -- Illustrative Cases furnished by Jesuit Doctors -- Marvellous Virtue of the Doctrine -- A Pious Assassination!

WE have not yet surveyed the full and perfect equipment of those troops which Loyola sent forth to prosecute the war against Protestantism. Nothing was left unthought of and unprovided for which might assist them in covering their opponents with defeat, and crowning themselves with victory. They were set free from every obligation, whether imposed by the natural or the Divine law. Every stratagem, artifice, and disguise were lawful to men in whose favor all distinction between right and wrong had been abolished. They might assume as many shapes as Proteus, and exhibit as many colors as the chameleon. They stood apart and alone among the human race. First of all, they were cut off from country. Their vow bound them to go to whatever land their General might send them, and to remain there as long as he might appoint. Their country was the society. They were cut off from family and friends. Their vow taught them to forget their father's house, and to esteem themselves holy only when every affection and desire which nature had planted in their breasts had been plucked up by the roots. They were cut off from property and wealth. For although the society was immensely rich, its individual members possessed nothing. Nor could they cherish the hope of ever becoming personally wealthy, seeing they had taken a vow of perpetual poverty. If it chanced that a rich relative died, and left them as heirs, the General relieved them of their vow, and sent them back into the world, for so long a time as might enable them to take possession of the wealth of which they had been named the heirs; but this done, they returned laden with their booty, and, resuming their vow as Jesuits, laid every penny of their newly-acquired riches at the feet of the General.

They were cut off, moreover, from the State. They were discharged from all civil and national relationships and duties. They were under a higher code than the national one -- the Institutions namely, which Loyola had edited, and the Spirit of God had inspired; and they were the subjects of a higher monarch than the sovereign of the nation -- their own General. Nay, more, the Jesuits were cut off even from the Pope. For if their General "held the place of the Omnipotent God," much more did he hold the place of "his Vicar." And so was it in fact; for soon the members of the Society of Jesus came to recognize no laws but their own, and though at their first formation they professed to have no end but the defense and glory of the Papal See, it came to pass when they grew to be strong that, instead of serving the tiara, they compelled the tiara to serve the society, and made their own wealth, power, and dominion the one grand object of their existence. They were a Papacy within the Papacy -- a Papacy whose organization was more perfect, whose instincts were more cruel, whose workings were more mysterious, and whose dominion was more destructive than that of the old Papacy.

So stood the Society of Jesus. A deep and wide gulf separated it from all other communities and interests. Set free from the love of family, from the ties of kindred, from the claims of country, and from the rule of law, careless of the happiness they might destroy, and the misery and pain and woe they might inflict, the members were at liberty, without control or challenge, to pursue their terrible end, which was the dethronement of every other power, the extinction of every other interest but their own, and the reduction of nmnkind into abject slavery, that on the ruins of the liberty, the virtue, and the happiness of the world they might raise themselves to supreme, unlimited dominion. But we have not yet detailed all the appliances with which the Jesuits were careful to furnish themselves for the execution of their unspeakably audacious and diabolical design. In the midst of these abysses there opens to our eye a yet profounder abyss. To enjoy exemption from all human authority and from every earthly law was to them a small matter; nothing would satisfy their lust for licence save the entire abrogation of the moral law, and nothing would appease their pride save to trample under foot the majesty of heaven. We now come to speak of the moral code of the Jesuits.

The key-note of their ethical code is the famous maxim that the end sanctifies the means. Before that maxim the eternal distinction of right and wrong vanishes. Not only do the stringency and sanctions of human law dissolve and disappear, but the authority and majesty of the Decalogue are overthrown. There are no conceivable crime, villany, and atrocity which this maxim will not justify. Nay, such become dutiful and holy, provided they be done for "the greater glory of God," by which the Jesuit means the honor, interest, and advancement of His society. In short, the Jesuit may do whatever he has a mind to do, all human and Divine laws notwithstanding. This is a very grave charge, but the evidence of its truth is, unhappily, too abundant, and the difficulty lies in making a selection.

What the Popes have attempted to do by the plenitude of their power, namely, to make sin to be no sin, the Jesuit doctors have done by their casuistry. "The first and great commandment in the law," said the same Divine Person who proclaimed it from Sinai, "is to love the Lord thy God." The Jesuit casuists have set men free from the obligation to love God. Escobar[1] collects the different sentiments of the famous divines of the Society of Jesus upon the question, When is a man obliged to have actually an affection for God? The following are some of these: -- Suarez says, "It is sufficient a man love him before he dies, not assigning any particular time. Vasquez, that it is sufficient even at the point of death. Others, when a man receives his baptism: others, when he is obliged to be contrite: others, upon holidays. But our Father Castro-Palao[2] disputes all these opinions, and that justly. Hurtado de Mendoza pretends that a man is obliged to do it once every year. Our Father Coninck believes a man to be obliged once in three or four years. Henriquez, once in five years. But Filiutius affirms it to be probable that in rigor a man is not obliged every five years. When then? He leaves the point to the wise." "We are not," says Father Sirmond, "so much commanded to love him as not to hate him,"[3] Thus do the Jesuit theologians make void "the first; and great commandment in the law."

The second commandment in the law is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." This second great commandment meets with no more respect at the hands of the Jesuits than the first. Their morality dashes both tables of the law in pieces; charity to man it makes void equally with the love of God. The methods by which this may be done are innumerable.[4]

The first of these is termed probabilism. This is a device which enables a man to commit any act, be it ever so manifest a breach of the moral and Divine law, without the least restraint of conscience, remorse of mind, or guilt before God. What is probabilism? By way of answer we shall suppose that a man has a great mind to do a certain act, of the lawfulness of which he is in doubt. He finds that there are two opinions upon the point: the one probably true, to the effect that the act is lawful; the other more probably true, to the effect that the act is sinful. Under the Jesuit regimen the man is at liberty to act upon the probable opinion. The act is probably right, but more probably wrong, nevertheless he is safe in doing it, in virtue of the doctrine of probabalism. It is important to ask, what makes all opinion probable? To make an opinion probable a Jesuit finds easy indeed. If a single doctor has pronounced in its favor, though a score of doctors may have condemned it, or if the man can imagine in his own mind something like a tolerable reason for doing the act, the opinion that it is lawful becomes probable. It will be hard to name an act for which a Jesuit authority may not be produced, and harder still to find a man whose invention is so poor as not to furnish him with what he deems a good reason for doing what he is inclined to, and therefore it may be pronounced impossible to instance a deed, however manifestly opposed to the light of nature and the law of God, which may not be committed under the shield of the monstrous dogma of probabilism.[5]

We are neither indulging in satire nor incurring the charge of false-witness-bearing in this picture of Jesuit theology. "A person may do what he considers allowable," says Emmanuel Sa, of the Society of Jesus, "according to a probable opinion, although the contrary may be the more probable one. The opinion of a single grave doctor is all that is requisite." A yet greater doctor, Filiutius, of Rome, confirms him in this. "It is allowable," says he, "to follow the less probable opinion, even though it be the less safe one. That is the common judgment of modern authors." "Of two contrary opinions," says Paul Laymann, "touching the legality or illegality of any human action, every one may follow in practice or in action that which he should prefer, although it may appear to the agent himself less probable in theory." he adds: "A learned person may give contrary advice to different persons according to contrary probable opinions, whilst he still preserves discretion and prudence." We may say with Pascal, "These Jesuit casuists give us elbow-room at all events!"[6]

It is and it is not is the motto of this theology. It is the true Lesbian rule which shapes itself according to that which we wish to measure by it. Would we have any action to be sinful, the Jesuit moralist turns this side of the code to us; would we have it to be lawful, he turns the other side. Right and wrong are put thus in our own power; we can make the same action a sin or a duty as we please, or as we deem it expedient. To steal the property, slander the character, violate the chastity, or spill the blood of a fellow-creature, is most probably wrong, but let us imagine some good to be got by it, and it is probably right. The Jesuit workers, for the sake of those who are dull of understanding and slow to apprehend the freedom they bring them, have gone into particulars and compiled lists of actions, esteemed sinful, unnatural, and abominable by the moral sense of all nations hitherto, but which, in virtue of this new morality, are no longer so, and they have explained how these actions may be safely done, with a minuteness of detail and a luxuriance of illustration, in which it were tedious in some cases, immodest in others, to follow them.

One would think that this was licence enough. What more can the Jesuit need, or what more can he possibly have, seeing by a little effort, of invention he can overleap every human and Divine barrier, and commit the most horrible crimes, on the mightiest possible scale, and neither feel remorse of conscience nor fear of punishment? But this unbounded liberty of wickedness did not content the sons of Loyola. They panted for a liberty, if possible, yet more boundless; they wished to be released from the easy condition of imagining some good end for the wickedness they wished to perpetrate, and to be free to sin without the trouble of assigning even to themselves any end at all. This they have accomplished by the method of directing the intention.

This is a new ethical science, unknown to those ages which were not privileged to bask in the illuminating rays of the Society of Jesus, and it is as simple as convenient. It is the soul, they argue, that does the act, so far as it is moral or immoral. As regards the body's share in it, neither virtue nor vice can be predicated of it. If, therefore, while the hand is shedding blood, or the tongue is calumniating character, or uttering a falsehood, the soul can so abstract itself from what the body is doing as to occupy itself the while with some holy theme, or fix its meditation upon some benefit or advantage likely to arise from the deed, which it knows, or at least suspects, the body is at that moment engaged in doing, the soul contracts neither guilt nor stain, and the man runs no risk of ever being called to account for the murder, or theft, or calumny, by God, or of incurring his displeasure on that ground. We are not satirising; we are simply stating the morality of the Jesuits. "We never," says the Father Jesuit in Pascal's Letters, "suffer such a thing as the formal intention to sin with the sole design of sinning; and if any person whatever should persist in having no other end but evil in the evil that he does, we break with him at once -- such conduct is diabolical. This holds true, without exception, of age, sex, or rank. But when the person is not of such a wretched disposition as this, we try to put in practice our method of directying the intention, which simply consists in his proposing to himself, as the end of his actions, some allowable object. Not that we do not endeavor, as far as we can, to dissuade men from doing things forbidden; but when we cannot prevent the action, we at least, purify the motive, and thus correct the viciousness of the means by the goodness of the end. Such is the way in which our Fathers [of the society] have contrived to permit those acts of violence to which men usually resort in vindication of their honor. They have no more to do than to turn off the intention from the desire of vengeance, which is criminal, and to direct it to a desire to defend their honor, which, according to us, is quite warrantable. And in this way our doctors discharge all their duty towards God and towards man. By permitting the action they gratify the world; and by purifying the intention they give satisfaction to the Gospel. This is a secret, sir, which was entirely unknown to the ancients; the world is indebted for the discovery entirely to our doctors. You understand it now, I hope.[7]”

The Jesuit view regarding bodily sin yet soul sinlessness should be especially noted, before we proceed with further excerpts. This is clear and obvious Gnosticism. It should come as no surprise when we find that Jesuits have fit so easily into freemasonry, which is permeated by Gnostic Jewish Cabalah heresy.

Now proceeding with Wylie’s investigative insights:

“CHAPTER 5

THE JESUIT TEACHING ON REGICIDE, MURDER, LYING, THEFT, ETC.

The Maxims of the Jesuits on Reglcide -- M. de la Chalotais' Report to the Parliament of Bretagne -- Effects of Jesuit Doctrine as shown in History -- Doctrine of Mental Equivocation -- The Art of Swearing Falsely without Sin -- The Seventh Commandment -- Jesuit Doctrine on Blasphemy -- Murder -- Lying -- Theft -- An Illustrative Case from Pascal -- Every Precept of the Decalogue made Void -- Jesuit Morality the Consummation of the Wickedness of the Fall.

THE three great rules of the code of the Jesuits, which we have stated in the foregoing chapter -- namely,

(1) that the end justifies the means;

(2) that it is safe to do any action if it be probably right, although it may be more probably wrong; and

(3) that if one know to direct the intention aright, there is no deed, be its moral character what it may, which one may not do -- may seem to give a licence of acting so immense that to add thereto were an altogether superfluous, and indeed an impossible task.

But if the liberty with which these three maxims endow the Jesuit cannot be made larger, its particular applications may nevertheless be made more pointed, and the man who holds back from using it in all its extent may be emboldened, despite his remaining scruples, or the dullness of his intellectual perceptions, to avail himself to the utmost of the advantages it offers, "for the greater glory of God." He is to be taught, not merely by general rules, but by specific examples, how he may sin and yet not become sinful; how he may break the law and yet not suffer the penalty. But, further, these sons of Loyola are the kings of the world, and the sole heirs of all its wealth, honors, and pleasures; and whatever law, custom, sacred and venerable office, august and kingly authority, may stand between them and their rightful lordship over mankind, they are at liberty to throw down and tread into the dust as a vile and accursed thing. The moral maxims of the Jesuits are to be put in force against kings as well as against peasants.

The lawfulness of killing excommunicated, that is Protestant, kings, the Jesuit writers have been at great pains to maintain, and by a great variety of arguments to defend and enforce. The proof is as abundant as it is painful. M. de la Chalotais reports to the Parliament of Bretagne, as the result of his examination of the laws and doctrines of the Jesuits, that on this point there is a complete and startling unanimity in their teaching. By the same logical track do the whole host of Jesuit writers arrive at the same terrible conclusion, the slaughter, namely, of the sovereign on whom the Pope has pronounced sentence of deposition. If he shall take meekly his extrusion from Power, and seek neither to resist nor revenge his being hurled from his throne, his life may be spared; but should "he persist in disobedience," says M. de la Chalotais, himself a Papist, and addressing a Popish Parliament, "he may be treated as a tyrant, in which case anybody may kill him[8] Such is the course of reasoning established by all authors of the society, who have written ex professo on these subjects -- Bellarmine, Suarez, Molina, Mariana, Santarel -- all the Ultramontanes without exception, since the establishment of the society."[9]

But have not the writers of this school expressed in no measured terms their abhorrence of murder? Have they not loudly exclaimed against the sacrilege of touching him on whom the Church's anointing oil has been poured as king? In short, do they not forbid and condemn the crime of regicide? Yes: this is true; but they protest with a warmth that is fitted to awaken suspicion. Rome can take back her anointing, and when she has stripped the monarch of his office he becomes the lawful victim of her consecrated dagger. On what grounds, the Jesuits demand, can the killing of one who is no longer a king be called regicide? Suarez tells us that when a king is deposed he is no longer to be regarded as a king, but as a tyrant: "he therefore loses his authority, and from that moment may be lawfully killed." Nor is the opinion of the Jesuit Mariana less decided. Speaking of a prince, he says: "If he should overthrow the religion of the country, and introduce a public enemy within the State, I shall never consider that man to have done wrong, who, favorting the public wishes, would attempt to kill him... It is useful that princes should be made to know, that if they oppress the State and become intolerable by their vices and their pollution, they hold their lives upon this tenure, that to put them to death is not only laudable, but a glorious action... It is a glorious thing to exterminate this pestilent and mischievous race from the community of men."[10]

Wherever the Jesuits have planted missions, opened seminaries, and established colleges, they have been careful to inculcate these principles in the minds of the youth; thus sowing the seeds of future tumults, revolutions, regicides, and wars. These evil fruits have appeared sometimes sooner, sometimes later, but they have never failed to show themselves, to the grief of nations and the dismay of kings. John Chatel, who attempted the life of Henry IV., had studied in the College of Clermont, in which the Jesuit Guignard was Professor of Divinity. In the chamber of the would-be regicide, a manuscript of Guignard was found, in which, besides other dangerous articles, that Father approved not only of the assassination of Henry III. by Clement, but also maintained that the same thing ought to be attempted against le Bearnois, as he called Henry IV., which occasioned the first banishment of the order out of France, as a society detestable and diabolical. The sentence of the Parliament, passed in 1594, ordained "that all the priests and scholars of the College of Clermont, and others calling themselves the Society of Jesus, as being corrupters of youth, disturbers of the public peace, and enemies of the king and State, should depart in three days from their house and college, and in fifteen days out of the whole kingdom."

But why should we dwell on these written proofs of the disloyal and murderous principles of the Jesuits, when their acted deeds bear still more emphatic testimony to the true nature and effects of their principles? We have only to look around, and on every hand the melancholy monuments of these doctrines meet our afflicted sight. To what country of Europe shall we turn where we are not able to track the Jesuit by his bloody foot-prints? What page of modern history shall we open and not read fresh proofs that the Papal doctrine of killing excommunicated kings was not meant to slumber in forgotten tomes, but to be acted out in the living world? We see Henry III. falling by their dagger. Henry IV. perishes by the same consecrated weapon. The King of Portugal dies by their order.

The great Prince of Orange is dispatched by their agent, shot down at the door of his own dining-room. How many assassins they sent to England to murder Elizabeth, history attests. That she escaped their machinations is one of the marvels of history. Nor is it only the palaces of monarchs into which they have crept with their doctrines of murder and assassination; the very sanctuary of their own Popes they have defiled with blood. We behold Clement XIV. signing the order for the banishment of the Jesuits, and soon thereafter he is overtaken by their vengeance, and dies by poison. In the Gunpowder Plot we see them deliberately planning to destroy at one blow the nobility and gentry of England. To them we owe those civil wars which for so many years drenched with blood the fair provinces of France. They laid the train of that crowning horror, the St. Bartholomew massacre. Philip II. and the Jesuits share between them the guilt of the "Invincible Armada," which, instead of inflicting the measureless ruin and havoc which its authors intended, by a most merciful Providence became the means of exhausting the treasures and overthrowing the prestige of Spain. What a harvest of plots, tumults, seditions, revolutions, torturings, poisonings, assassinations, regicides, and massacres has Christendom reaped from the seed sown by the Jesuits! Nor can we be sure that we have yet seen the last and greatest of their crimes.”

I should interject here, before proceeding to quote from Wylie, how time has not cured the Jesuits of political intrigue. It should come as no surprise to us of the Jesuit Adam Weishaupt’s role in the French Revolution, as well as the Jesuit role in World War II and the Holocaust. The Jesuit Father Staempfle helped Hitler write Mein Kampf, which served as the marching orders for Hitler’s deadly fascist endeavor. Here is information from http://www.reformation.org/hitler.html :

“Hitler's roommate during his Vienna days was Gustl Kubizek. He said that Hitler never read a book, never went to the library and his sketches were awful!! How then came he to write a book entitled Mein Kampf which became a bestseller? Mein Kampf was ghost-written by a Jesuit priest named Father Staempfle.¹ Hitler the dunce was the tool of much more cunning men. .. . Hitler had only one talent: he was a good public speaker and knew how to harangue the masses. As the son of a Civil Servant, Hitler could have obtained a good job in Vienna had he been inclined to work.

1 Edmond Paris, Secret History of the Jesuits,  Chick Pub., 197”

And evidence suggests Jesuit complicity in the assassination of even U.S. Presidents like Abraham Lincoln. Saussy as well as others have set forth this evidence.

So there is a long history of Jesuit connection with revolutionary movements. There is evidence of a Jesuit connection with many unsavory revolutions and political movements, such as the French Revolution (the Jesuit Adam Weishaupt), the American Revolution (the Carrolls), the German Nazi revolution (the Jesuit ). To this could be added the more modern Marxist revolution in Cuba under Castro. http://www.raptureinfo.com/castro.htm provides this biography of Fidel Castro:
 
“Cuban revolutionary and political leader, premier and president of Cuba, born August 13, 1927 (several sources say 1926), in MayarÍ on his family’s sugar plantation near Biran, Oriente province, Cuba. His father was the owner of a 23,000-acre plantation. As a youth, Castro worked in the family’s sugar cane fields. He attended two Jesuit institutions, the Colegio Lasalle and the Colegio Dolores, both in Santiago. In 1942 he entered the Colegio Belen, a Jesuit preparatory school in Havana, and graduated in 1945. He has a doctorate in law from the University of Havana, 1950. 
 
Castro planned to campaign for a parliamentary seat in the election of 1952, but General Fulgencio Batista overthrew the government of then-President Carlos Prio Socarras in a
coup d’etat, and canceled the election. When Castro protested that Batista had violated the constitution, the court rejected his claim. Castro launched an attack against the military at Moncada Barracks, Santiago de Cuba, on July 26, 1953, but was arrested and imprisoned until 1955. After his release from prison, he traveled to Mexico, where he organized the 26th of July revolutionary movement. On December 2, 1956 he invaded the north coast of Oriente province, and with his brother Raúl, the revolutionary Che Guevara, and nine other rebels, Castro hid out in the Sierra Maestra Mountains and gathered support for a guerrilla campaign that would ultimately topple Batista in 1959. After Batista fled the country, Castro assumed power and established a Communist dictatorship with close ties to the Soviet Union.”
 
The Marxist revolutions in Latin America can also be traced to Jesuit influence. Consider, for example, the Sandinista movement in Nicaraugua. According to http://www.angelfire.com/ky/dodone/WTY4.html :
 
“When Pope John Paul II warns of deep divisions within the clergy in Central America, he is speaking of priests such as Father Fernando Cardenal. "The office shelves of the gray-haired Jesuit are jammed with books by Mao Tse-tung, Gustavo Cesar Sandino and Lenin. The walls are adorned with pictures of the Nicaraguan hero Carlos Fonseca Amador and Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. "Cardenal, who heads the Sandinista Youth Movement, isn't ashamed of his secular and political symbols. He makes no bones about his sympathies. "`There is a perfect compatibility between my Christianity and Nicaragua's Marxism,' Cardenal said. `I will never leave my work in the revolution. I have a commitment to the people of Nicaragua until death.' "Cardenal's adamant defense of and direct involvement in Nicaragua's revolution has put him...in the middle of a bitter split between the church hierarchy...and the predominantly Marxist government of the Sandinista Liberation Front."
 
The French Jesuit Priest Tielhard de Chardin’s writings had a profound effect on Catholic schools everywhere from the 1920’s to the 1950’s and beyond. Chardin’s theistic evolutionism included an early day globalist outlook and incorporated the pagan concept that even rocks have divine force. He is said to have written this (see http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0093bs):
"The Christian God on Hidh and the Marxist God of Progress are reconciled in Christ." Chardin worked for many years in China, where he no doubt influenced society there to prepare the way for the Maoist movement.
 
So there is no shortage of even modern evidence regarding the nature of Jesuit influence. Now proceeding on with excerpts from Wylie:

“We can bestow only the most cursory glance at the teaching of the Jesuits under the other heads of moral duty. Let us take their doctrine of mental reservation. Nothing can be imagined more heinous and, at the same time, more dangerous. "The doctrine of equivocation," says Blackwell, "is for the consolation of afflicted Roman Catholics and the instruction of all the godly." It has been of special use to them when residing among infidels and heretics. In heathen countries, as China and Malabar, they have professed conformity to the rites and the worship of paganism, while remaining Roman Catholics at heart, and they have taught their converts to venerate their former deities in appearance, on the strength of directing aright the intention, and the pious fraud of concealing a crucifix under their clothes.

Equivocation they have carried into civil life as well as into religion. "A man may swear," says Sanchez, "that he hath not done a thing though he really have, by understanding within himself that he did it not on such and such a day, or before he was born; or by reflecting on some other circumstance of the like nature; and yet the words he shall make use of shall not have a sense implying any such thing; and this is a thing of great convenience on many occasions, and is always justifiable when it is necessary or advantageous in anything that concerns a man's health, honor, or estate."[11] Filiutius, in his Moral Questions, asks, "Is it wrong to use equivocation in swearing? I answer, first, that it is not in itself a sin to use equivocation in swearing This is the common doctrine after Suarez." Is it perjury or sin to equivocate in a just cause?" he further asks. "It is not perjury," he answers. "As, for example, in the case of a man who has outwardly made a promise without the intention of promising; if he is asked whether he has promised, he may deny it, meaning that he has not promised with a binding promise; and thus he may swear."

Filiutius asks yet again, "With what precaution is equivocation to be used? When we begin, for instance, to say, I swear, we must insert in a subdued tone the mental restriction, that today, and then continue aloud, I have not eaten such a thing; or, I swear -- then insert, I say -- then conclude in the same loud voice, that I have not done this or that thing; for thus the whole speech is most true.[12] What an admirable lesson in the art of speaking the truth to one's self, and lying and swearing falsely to everybody else![13]”

Again I should interject before proceeding with excerpts from Wylie, how very Clintonesque the Jesuits are. I refer to former President Bill Clinton of the USA, who studied at the Jesuit Georgetown University. He mastered how to lie under oath using such Jesuit casuistry, and almost was impeached and removed from office for the same. Now proceeding:

“We shall offer no comment on the teaching of the Jesuits under the head of the seventh commandment. The doctrines of the society which relate to chastity are screened from exposure by the very enormity of their turpitude. We pass them as we would the open grave, whose putrid breath kills all who inhale it. Let all who value the sweetness of a pure imagination, and the joy of a conscience undefiled, shun the confessional as they would the chamber in which the plague is shut up, or the path in which lurks the deadly scorpion. The teaching of the Jesuits -- everywhere deadly -- is here a poison that consumes flesh, and bones, and soul.

Which precept of the Decalogue is it that the theology of the Jesuits does not set aside? We are commanded "to fear the great and dreadful name of the Lord our God." The Jesuit Bauny teaches us to blaspheme it. "If one has been hurried by passion into cursing and doing despite to his Maker, it may be determined that he has only sinned venially."[14] This is much, but Casnedi goes a little farther. "Do what your conscience tells you to be good, and commanded," says this Jesuit; "if through invincible error you believe lying or blasphemy to be commanded by God, blaspheme."[15] The license given by the Jesuits to regicide we have already seen; not less ample is the provision their theology makes for the perpetration of ordinary homicides and murders. Reginald says it is lawful to kill a false witness, seeing otherwise one should be killed by him.[16] Parents who seek to turn their children from the faith, says Fagundez, "may justly be killed by them."[17] The Jesuit Amicus teaches that it is lawful for an ecclesiastic, or one in a religious order, to kill a calumniator when other means of defense are wanting.[18] And Airult extends the same privilege to laymen. If one brings an impeachment before a prince or judge against another, and if that other cannot by any means avert the injury to his character, he may kill him secretly. He fortifies his opinion by the authority of Bannez, who gives the same latitude to the right of defense, with this slight qualification, that the calumniator should first be warned that he desist from his slander, and if he will not, he should be killed, not openly, on account of the scandal, but secretly.[19]

Of a like ample kind is the liberty which the Jesuits permit to be taken with the property of one's neighbor. Dishonesty in all its forms they sanction. They encourage cheats, frauds, purloinings, robberies, by furnishing men with a ready justification of these misdeeds, and especially by persuading their votaries that if they will only take the trouble of doing them in the way of directing the intention according to their instructions, they need not fear being called to a reckoning for them hereafter. The Jesuit Emmanuel Sa teaches "that it is not a mortal sin to take secretly from him who would give if he were asked;" that "it is not theft to take a small thing from a husband or a father;" that if one has taken what he doubts to have been his own, that doubt makes it probable that it is safe to keep it; that if one, from an urgent necessity, or without causing much loss, takes wood from another man's pile, he is not obliged to restore it. One who has stolen small things at different times, is not obliged to make restitution till such time as they amount together to a considerable sum. But should the purloiner feel restitution burdensome, it may comfort him to know that some Fathers deny it with probability.[20]

The case of merchants, whose gains may not be increasing so fast as they could wish, has been kindly considered by the Fathers. Francis Tolet says that if a man cannot sell his wine at a fair price -- that is, at a fair profit -- he may mix a little water with his wine, or diminish his measure, and sell it for pure wine of full measure. Of course, if it be lawful to mix wine, it is lawful to adulterate all other articles of merchandise, or to diminish the weight, and go on vending as if the balance were just and the article genuine. Only the trafficker in spurious goods, with false balances, must be careful not to tell a lie; or if he should be compelled to equivocate, he must do it in accordance with the rules laid down by the Fathers for enabling one to say what is not true without committing falsehood.[21]

Domestic servants also have been taken by the Fathers under the shield of their casuistry. Should a servant deem his wages not enough, or the food, clothing, and other necessaries provided for him not equal to that which is provided for servants of similar rank in other houses, he may recompense himself by abstracting from his master's property as much as shall make his wages commensurate with his services. So has Valerius Reginald decided.[22]

It is fair, however, that the pupil be cautioned that this lesson cannot safely be put in practice against his teacher. The story of John d'Alba, related by Pascal, shows that the Fathers do not relish these doctrines in praxi nearly so well as in thesi, when they themselves are the sufferers by them. D'Alba was a servant to the Fathers in the College of Clermont, in the Rue St. Jacques, and thinking that his wages were not equal to his merits, he stole somewhat from his masters to. make up the discrepancy, never dreaming that they would make a criminal of him for following their approved rules. However, they threw him into prison on a charge of larceny. He was brought to trial on the 16th April, 1647. He confessed before the court to having taken some pewter plates, but maintained that the act was not to be regarded as a theft, on the strength of this same doctrine of Father Bauny, which he produced before the judges, with attestation from another of the Fathers, under whom he had studied these cases of conscience. Whereupon the judge, M. de Montrouge, gave sentence as follows: -- "That the prisoner should not be acquitted upon the writings of these Fathers, containing a doctrine so unlawful, pernicious, and contrary to all laws, natural, Divine, and human, such as might confound all families, and authorize all domestic frauds and infidelities;" but that the over-faithful disciple "should be whipt before the College gate of Clermont by the common executioner, who at the same time should burn all the writings of those Fathers treating of theft; and that they should be prohibited to teach any such doctrine again under pain of death."[23]

But we should swell beyond all reasonable limit, our enumeration, were we to quote even a tithe of the "moral maxims" of the Jesuits. There is not One in the long catalogue of sins and crimes which their casuistry does not sanction. Pride, ambition, avarice, luxury, bribery, and a host of vices which we cannot specify, and some of which are too horrible to be mentioned, find in these Fathers their patrons and defenders. The alchemists of the Middle Ages boasted that their art enabled them to operate on the essence of things, and to change what was vile into what was noble. But the still darker art of the Jesuits acts in the reverse order; it changes all that is noble into all that is vile. Theirs is an accursed alchemy by which they transmute good into evil, and virtue into vice. There is no destructive agency with which the world is liable to be visited, that penetrates so deep, or inflicts so remediless a ruin, as the morality of the Jesuits. The tornado sweeps along over the surface of the globe, leaving the earth naked and effaced and forgotten in the greater splendor and the more solid strength of the restored structures. Revolution may overturn thrones, abolish laws, and break in pieces the framework of society; but when the fury of faction has spent its rage, order emerges from the chaos, law resumes its supremacy, and the bare as before tree or shrub beautified it; but the summers of after years re-clothe it with verdure and beautify it with flowers, and make it smile as sweetly as before. The earthquake overturns the dwelling of man, and swallows up the proudest of his cities; but his skill and power survive the shock, and when the destroyer has passed, the architect sets up again the fallen palace, and rebuilds the ruined city, and the catastrophe is effaced and forgotten in the greater splendor and the more solid strength of the restored structures. Revolution may overturn thrones, abolish laws, and break in pieces the framework of society; but when the fury of faction has spent its rage, order emerges from the chaos, law resumes its supremacy, and the institutions which had been destroyed in the hour of madness, are restored in the hour of calm wisdom that succeeds. But the havoc the Jesuit inflicts is irremediable. It has nothing in it counteractive or restorative; it is only evil. It is not upon the works of man or the institutions of man merely that, it puts forth its fearfully destructive power; it is upon man himself. It is not the body of man that it strikes, like the pestilence; it is the soul. It is not a part, but the whole of man that it consigns to corruption and ruin. Conscience it destroys, knowledge it extinguishes, the very power of discerning between right and wrong it takes away, and shuts up the man in a prison whence no created agency or influence can set him free. The Fall defaced the image of God in which man was made; we say, defaced; it did not totally obliterate or extinguish it. Jesuitism, more terrible than the Fall, totally effaces from the soul of man the image of God. Of the "knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness" in which man was made it leaves not a tree. It plucks up by its very roots the moral constitution which God gave man. The full triumph of Jesuitism would leave nothing spiritual, nothing moral, nothing intellectual, nothing strictly and properly human existing upon the earth. Man it would change into the animal, impelled by nothing but appetites and passions, and these more fierce and cruel than those of the tiger.

Society would become simply a herd of wolves, lawless, ravenous, greedy of each other's blood, and perpetually in quest of prey. Even Jesuitism itself would perish, devoured by its own progeny. Our earth at last would be simply a vast sepulcher, moving round the sun in its annual circuit, its bosom as joyless, dreary, and waste as are those silent spaces through which it rolls.”

So we can see how the methods of the Jesuitic Beast are consistent with the methods of Satan and Judas Iscariot. They generally revolve around the use of subtle artifice to triumph, instead of obvious frontal attack. They are true hypocrites, assuming different faces depending upon what best achieves their ends. The great Jesuit Historian, Nicolini, stated in regard to the Jesuits (see http://www.acts2.com/thebibletruth/Jesuit_Theology.htm ):

"Draw the character of the Jesuit as he seems in London and you will not recognize the portrait of the Jesuit in Rome. The Jesuit is a man of circumstances, despotic in Spain, constitutional in England, republican in Paraguay, bigot in Rome, idolater in India. He will assume and act out in his own person all those different features by which men are usually distinguished from each other. He will accompany the gay women of the world to the theatre and will share in the excess of the debauchery. With solemn countenance he will take his place by the side of the religious manner church or will revel in the tavern with a glutton or sot. He dresses in all garbs, speaks all languages, knows all customs, is present everywhere though nowhere recognized and all this it would seem, Oh Monstrous Blasphemy, "for the greater glory of God."

When Satan tempted Eve, he did not seek to compel her to reject God, but he rather sought to twist God’s word to confuse and deceive Eve. Similarly, when Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness, he did not seek to persuade Jesus that God did not exist or that God’s word should not be believed. Rather, he used the ploy of twisting God’s own words to entice Jesus to take actions contrary to the real intent of God’s word. Similarly, Judas did not approach Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane with a sword, but with a kiss.

Jesus Christ warned His disciples about this very thing. He warned them not to be naïve as to Satanic ploy, but rather to understand it and recognize it. He does not want His disciples to use Satan’s methods, but He commands us to recognize when they are being used on us. And once recognized, it is our duty to expose the Satanic lie for what it really is. Accordingly, Christ warned His disciples to be as “wise as serpents but as harmless as doves.” And, accordingly, we are commanded in Ephesians 5:11-13: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them]. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. “

But, sadly, when it comes to recognizing and addressing Romish artifices (especially of the Jesuits) in America, American Protestants have generally been as dumb as oxen, and hence unwittingly harmful. This is exemplified in the rise of dispensationalist futurism among Protestant evangelicals. In Appendix 10 of this book the history of the movement is traced. It should be noticed that Jesuits, in seeking to deflect Protestant charges associating the Romish Church with the Beast and Man of Sin, did not simply deny the veracity of scripture, nor did they even simply rest with providing a Romanist analysis of the book of Revelation. Rather, they wrote a book masking their Romish identity, which was picked up and believed by Protestants like Edward Irving and John Nelson Darby. They in turn promoted it as a very Protestant and evangelical scriptural interpretation. Thus, a thoroughly Romanist diversionary interpretation became identified with Protestantism.

A very contemporary example of such Romish (albeit not specifically Jesuit, necessarily) artifice is to be found in Carlos Eire’s book War Against the Idols. This book is sold by such conservative Protestant book distributors as Still Water Revival Books and the Trinity Foundation, primarily to show how significantly the Protestant Reformation was concerned with the issue of idolatry. It is indeed useful for that purpose, but should be read with extreme caution because of its subtle deceptions. It serves as an example of Romish casuistry put into practice.

First, let’s consider Eire’s background, and then consider the content of his book.

Carlos Eire is an ethnic Cuban and a Roman Catholic by religion. Here is a short reference to him that appeared in a Christianity Today article (see http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/138/53.0.html ):

“My Yale colleague Professor Carlos Eire sometimes visits his relatives in a small community of Cuban immigrants near Chicago. Not long ago, a pious Catholic woman there asked him, "Is it possible for Fidel Castro to be in heaven?" Professor Eire told her that the Christian faith teaches that nobody is beyond the pale of redemption. It is possible for Castro to end up in heaven. There was dead silence. Then she said, "Well, I wouldn't want to be in heaven. I can't imagine a heaven in which I would live with Fidel Castro." This woman could not fathom the scandalous truth that no one—not even our mortal enemies—is beyond divine grace.”

Eire was a teacher for two years at St. John’s University, and even in writing his book he acknowledges the assistance of the Benedictine monks at St. John’s Abbey and University. This school and abbey based in Collageville, Minnesota is run by the Benedictines. It is noteworthy today for its St. John’s Bible Project, described on its website as follows:

“The Saint John’s Bible is of interest to museums because it is an epic work of art that has great value to historians, manuscript scholars and bibliophiles. But it is the sacred character of The Saint John’s Bible that makes it such a divine fit for the MIA. "This is a museum very involved in sacred art around the world and biblical subjects. It is a very big part of what we do," noted Maurer. "This is a wonderful opportunity to bring into focus the larger issues of spirituality, ecumenism, art and religion."

It is also noteworthy for its magazine entitled “Worship”, which is described as follows at its website:

“Worship is in the seventy-third year of publication. Formerly known as Orate Fratres, it is published by the monks of Saint John s Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. The first issue appeared on the First Sunday of Advent, 1926. It was originally edited by Dom Virgil Michel with the help of other well-known pioneers of the modem liturgical movement… Its primary aim was to develop a better understanding of the spiritual impact of the liturgy and to promote active participation on the part of all men and women in the worship of the Church…

Virgil Michel had four specific objectives in view. The first was a renewed sense of the corporate nature of the Church, the idea that the parish is the body that can most effectively carry the Gospel to the world, and that corporate evangelism must have priority of expression in all activities of a congregation and in all the worship of Christians. He maintained that through lay participation in the liturgy, congregations could be built up into active communities of service and love.

His second insight was that the local Church must be interested in the daily lives of men and women - in their work, in their leisure activities, and in their social concerns. A parish must be equally interested in and responsibly engaged with national questions, both economic and political, and in the world's problems, especially poverty and war. Its worship must come out of human life and return people to the serious business of life formed not only in the abstract realms of theology but in the concrete realities of marriage and family life, work, sickness, and leisure.

His third conviction involved concern for those alienated from the economic order. It was the realization that unemployed industrial workers in Europe felt themselves to be cut off from all hope of a life of fulfillment that led Michel to see the necessity for new Christian ventures. The unemployed and marginalized were the very people whom the Church, if true to the mission of Jesus Christ, should be specially searching for and serving. He was convinced that one thing the lonely and poor needed was to feel wanted and one thing the Church should be able to give was a sense of belonging to a human community. Without community there was no Christian hope for the hungry and the ragged, the oppressed and the over-worked.

Michel felt that this corporate embrace of others was often lacking in both society and the Church, and so he included a fourth emphasis, namely, that the corporate worship of the laity must be renewed everywhere. Michel taught that worship is something that lay persons must do together in order to grow into the unity of the Body of Christ. In this way he sought to correct the religious individualism that characterized so much of the religious activity of the Church. The worship of the Church must express and be seen to express the fullness of the faith, and it must do so in living, material relation to the concrete life of the people. A liturgy in which all participated fully would become a witness in the United States to a new Christian humanism which could safeguard the dignity of the individual person within the context of a larger community. Against the gray landscape of widespread poverty, the breaking of bread and the sharing of the Eucharistic Bread could challenge the selfishness and narcissism, the emptiness and frustration which regularly result in a withdrawal from others.

Virgil Michel was indeed a prophetic figure who had a profound sense of the essential relationship that must exist between liturgy and life, between liturgy and social justice. Since his sudden death in 1938, the editorial policy of the journal has carried on his rich tradition. His immediate successor was Godfrey Diekmann, a monk of Saint John's Abbey, who had studied at Sant' Anselmo in Rome and at the Abbey of Maria Laach in Germany. He was the editor-in-chief for about forty-five years, was one of the prime movers in the North American Liturgical Conference during the 1940s and 1950s, served as a peritus at the Second Vatican Council, and was one of the founders of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. Since the Second Vatican Council the routine management of the journal has been under the successive direction of Aelred Tegels, Michael Marx, Allan Bouley and Kevin Seasoltz, all monks of Saint John's Abbey. In 1951, twenty-five years after the founding of the journal, its name was changed to Worship, an indication of the growing interest in the use of the vernacular in liturgical celebrations.

Since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the journal has tried to help Christian communities internalize the meaning of the extensive liturgical changes that have taken place in the churches of almost all Christian denominations. With a readership that has gone far beyond the confines of the United States and has included not only Roman Catholics but also Anglicans, Eastern Christians and Protestants, it has tried to evaluate critically the effectiveness of liturgical reforms in light of both tradition and contemporary developments in the arts and the social sciences, and has encouraged the development of new rituals that enable worshipers to praise and serve God and to minister to God's people in the midst of rapidly changing cultural patterns throughout the world…

Although the journal is firmly rooted in both a Benedictine and a Roman Catholic tradition, its editorial policy has never been narrowly confessional, as the membership of the editorial board, the list of authors, and the subjects addressed in the journal indicate. The Benedictine tradition has regularly provided a hospitable context in which the human search for God in diverse traditions can both be discussed and experienced. Liturgy, much more effectively than systematic theology, tends to emphasize the truths which unite Christians; hence it is important for ecumenical encounters. Since 1967 Worship has quite consciously sought to contribute to the ecumenical movement by the appointment of Protestant and Eastern Christian liturgical scholars to its editorial board…”

In order to understand Eire, we must understand this academic background. For even in Eire’s ‘acknowledgements’ section of his book, he lauds the spirit of the Benedictine monks at St. John’s.

Eire is noted for his Romish contributions to historical studies of the reformation. His contributions include such works as “Iconoclasm as a Revolutionary Tactic: The Case of Switzerland 1524-1536” for the Journal of the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association and “Prelude to Sedition? Calvin’s Attack on Nicodemism and Religious Compromise”. It is important to understand Eire’s theological and philosophical background in evaluating the contents of his book War Against the Idols, as well as his other works.

What Eire does to Calvin and the reformers in his works is not very different from what Satan does to the words of God: he twists words for his own wicked end. He seeks to turn Calvin and the reformers into revolutionary liberation theologians on the order of the Jesuit Bellarmine, except with different ends from Bellarmine. He seeks to show the reformers as men dedicated to stirring up popular rebellion against the civil authority for purposes of iconoclasm. Here is what Eire asserts: “When a ruler disobeys the First Table of the Law, when he breaks the covenant of God for pure worship, then and only then is revolution fully justified. This is what Calvinist theorists never tired of repeating.” (p. 309) What an incredible Satanic lie is this!! Here is instead what Calvin wrote in Book IV of his Institutes:

“But if we have respect to the word of God, it will lead us farther, and make us subject not only to the authority of those princes who honestly and faithfully perform their duty toward us, but all princes, by whatever means they have so become, although there is nothing they less perform than the duty of princes. For though the Lord declares that a ruler to maintain our safety is the highest gift of his beneficence, and prescribes to rulers themselves their proper sphere, he at the same time declares, that of whatever description they may be, they derive their power from none but him. Those, indeed, who rule for the public good, are true examples and specimens of his beneficence, while those who domineer unjustly and tyrannically are raised up by him to punish the people for their iniquity. Still all alike possess that sacred majesty with which he has invested lawful power. I will not proceed further without subjoining some distinct passages to this effect.⁶⁵[7] We need not labour to prove that an impious king is a mark of the Lord's anger, since I presume no one will deny it, and that this is not less true of a king than of a robber who plunders your goods, an adulterer who defiles your bed, and an assassin who aims at your life, since all such calamities are classed by Scripture among the curses of God. But let us insist at greater length in proving what does not so easily fall in with the views of men, that even an individual of the worst character, one most unworthy of all honour, if invested with public authority, receives that illustrious divine power which the Lord has by his word devolved on the ministers of his justice and judgment, and that, accordingly, in so far as public obedience is concerned, he is to be held in the same honour and reverence as the best of kings.”

But Eire turns him into the same wicked liberationist mold that characterizes the Jesuits and other Romanist heretics like the Benedictine monks in Collageville, Minnesota.

But it gets even more dastardly than that. He seeks to turn Calvinism into a form of Jewish cabalism. Here is what he writes: “In Jewish Cabalistic legend, it was believed that those who knew how to harness the creative power latent in the Hebrew alphabet could bring anything into existence, even another man…what Skinner proposes is that Calvinists in the sixteenth century made a golem from medieval resistance theories.” (p. 309) While Eire believes Skinner’s theory fails to take proper account of the central place of iconoclasm in stirring not only personal but also civil change, he leaves in tact Skinner’s charge of Jewish cabalism. This is indeed ironic, because it is in Romish orders that Jewish cabalism has been promoted (see Appendix 10 for the relation of Masonic Templarism with the Romish orders), whereas Calvinism has thoroughly rejected it.

The Satanic stratagem should be apparent to anyone. Twist the words of Calvin so that Calvin’s philosophy regarding political revolution or cabalism is like the philosophy of the Romish Jesuit and Benedictine orders. For example, turn Calvin’s philosophy regarding political revolution into the Jesuit Bellarmine’s. Then once you have persuaded Protestants that their historic leaders really held to this course, sit back and watch as the Protestants take actions consistent not with the actual philosophy of Calvin, but rather with the actual philosophy of Bellarmine, yet without necessarily realizing that they are in fact pursuing a course consistent with Bellarmine.

This is precisely what happened in the American Revolution. The revolutionaries, inspired by Romanists via freemasonry, argued that they were carrying out a tradition of revolution consistent with Calvin, Knox, and the Westminster divines. And this is what Eire argues as well: “Though far from democratic, these [JPM- Calvinistic] theories influenced revolutions that would later usher in democracy in other places. Ironically enough, those later revolutions would also usher in religious toleration, and thus render useless the concept of ‘idolatry.’” The revolutionaries then duped many genuine Protestant Christians at the time towards revolution under their leadership, having persuaded them that it was consistent with historic Protestantism. In reality, however, the revolutionaries advocated a theory and a course quite contrary to the historic reformation. The reformers like Calvin and the Westminster divines advocated working with the civil authority insofar as it did not result in sin; and they in no wise advocated popular revolt. The reformed ministers did not advocate that the people rebel against the king and parliament, but rather beseeched the king and parliament to obey Christ. What came out of the American Revolution in America was something far less reformed and Protestant than what had been in place before the political revolution.

All of this is simply to emphasize how very Beast-like and Satanic is the Jesuit order. And its influence is morally corrupting upon Christendom.

Fifth, let’s consider how the structure of the Jesuit order corresponds with the structure of the eighth manifestation of the Beast. The Beasts of the books of Daniel and Revelation are not merely individual kings, but kingdoms. Since the 8^th manifestation of the Beast is said to be a Beast (Revelation 17:11), it must be the case that the 8^th manifestation of the Beast is a kingdom. But in the case of the 8^th manifestation of the Beast, it must be an unusual kingdom that for a significant period of time allows the whorish woman to receive all the glory and have the power (Revelation 17:18), while the 8^th manifestation of the Beast is the foundation of her power, for she rides on the Beast (Revelation 17:7). This corresponds in a most remarkable way with the Jesuit order. It is a kingdom led by its Secretary General, and not a mere individual king. As Saussy has shown in Rulers of Evil, the Jesuits can take considerable credit for the establishment of the secular humanist United States government, based in Washington, DC. She yet rides on the Jesuit order’s back.

Sixth, let’s consider how its status and position correspond with the status and position of the eighth manifestation of the Beast. The Jesuits historically were confessors to the kings. This gave them significant influence in the highest echelons of political power. In modern times their power has often derived from the influence of their schools and universities. These are strategically placed, like Georgetown University in Washington and Fordham University in New York, to achieve maximum effect. They often draw the most influential and the children of the most influential. Also, they can draw upon the vast resources of the Roman Catholic Church, being its most influential and numerous order. This gives it manpower as well as economic resources. This influence and prestige within Romanism is demonstrated by the way the Jesuits have set so much of the agenda of the church, such as the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and the changes associated with the Second Vatican Council.

Seventh, let’s consider how its relationship with the Papal False Prophet corresponds with the Beast and False Prophet of Revelation (see Revelation 19:20, for example). As has been pointed out previously, the real levers of power within Romanism rest more with the Secretary General than with the Pope. He who controls the army (which is what the Jesuit order essentially is) of a kingdom controls the kingdom. But if the role of the Black Pope is to hold the real political power, what effectively is the role of the “White” Pope? It indeed functions as a powerful False Prophet for the Black Pope. This is very analogous to the relation of the nominally Christian Roman Emperor and the Papacy, during the “wilderness period” of the church. So we witness yet another aspect of correspondence.

In light of all these considerations, there is indeed significant evidence that the Jesuit order fulfills the role of the eighth manifestation of the Beast. And as we read in Revelation 17:7, it was this Beast that held up the whorish woman called Babylon the Great for a long season. F. Tupper Saussy chronicles the extent the woman has been carried. But all of that will change, which we will consider in the next chapter.

CHAPTER SIX : AFTER BABYLON FALLS

All Christians should rejoice at the prospect that the current wicked Babylonian regime that rules the world will be overthrown and ultimately be replaced by reformed Christian governments. In Isaiah 49, after rehearsing the destruction of Babylon in Isaiah 47 and 48, the prophet foretells the blessings that await God’s people in the millennial restoration. It is to be a time when the civil governments of the nations are nursing mothers to the reformed Christian church. It is to be a time when the sorcery and idolatry associated with wicked regimes are replaced by obedience and the fear of God. This will result from the removal of deception by the nations. The godly can cheer that this day is coming and may even be nearer in time than most of us dare to imagine.

But we should not think that the fall of the mysterious Babylon will immediately usher in the millennium. We read how the Beast and the False Prophet yet remain after the downfall of Babylon (Revelation 17:17 and 19:20). It is actually the Beast working with the wicked nations of the earth, especially rulers from the East (Revelation 16:12), who will ultimately devour the mysterious Babylon (Revelation 17:16). The mysterious Babylon therefore must be a great Western city- Washington, DC I believe- and it cannot be Rome where the Beast itself is seated, which will survive the Seven Plagues which destroy Babylon. These nations and the Beast will have the world power after Babylon is destroyed. Isaiah 48:21 analogizes this interim period between the fall of Babylon and the blessed millennium to the time between Israel’s exit from Egypt and entrance into the Promised Land. Despite the difficulties of this interim period, which is prophetically said to last “for an hour”, God will provide for His people, even as He provided them water from the rocks in their wilderness journey. But before we consider this interim period, let’s consider the “coming out party” called Armageddon.

Some have interpreted the kings coming from the East after the drying up of the water in Revelation 16:12 as referring to their conversion. But I rather think based on contextual evidence that it refers to their coming in war and judgment against Babylon the Great. They seem to be the primary reference in Revelation 16:14 where it says: “the kings of the earth” gather for “the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” We should keep in mind that even after Babylon has fallen that the kings of the earth at the time will still be wicked, even giving the Beast more power. They are still wicked even when they participate in the overthrow of the mysterious Babylon the Great in the battle called Armageddon (Revelation 16:16). So if they are wicked during and after Armageddon, it would not make sense to believe they were converted to Christianity before Armageddon.

We may already be witnessing how the nations of the earth will align for this battle of Armageddon. On the one side will perhaps be the United States, Israel, Great Britain, Australia, and some other nations. These are the nations which have most supported the wicked Judaistic Zionist movement. (This Zionistic support results in part from the way in which Jesuits fooled most Evangelicals in these nations into accepting dispensationalist futurism, as described in Appendix Ten.) They are also generally the nations which have committed spiritual fornication and squandered their reformed Christian heritage. On the other side will perhaps be what President Bush has called the “Axis of Evil”- Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. But many other nations would secretly or not so secretly be aiding these Axis powers, especially among the eastern Muslim nations. Meanwhile, the Black Pope watches as he works to play both sides against one another, so he and the “White” Pope can gain greater power. This has been the modus operandi of every political revolution in the Enlightenment Era which the Jesuits have promoted. And the long term aftermath has inevitably been to elevate the power of the evil Romish duo.

The Black Pope would use Romish dominated nations like Germany, Ireland, and the Latin American nations as a way to come out of an Armageddon with power. It would be expected that the nations most engaged in an Armageddon would come out most weakened, whereas those non-aligned would be relatively stronger in its aftermath. To see the effects of devastating war, consider how the British Empire was weakened by World Wars I and II. The clearly aligned nations would receive the bulk of the bombs and terrorism, like Britain, Russia, and Germany did in World Wars I and II. The aligned nations will most actively fight in the battle of “Armageddon”, but the real victor would be Rome and Romish dominated nations.

People are surprised that relations between Germany and the United States have grown cold of late, but if my analysis above is right, they should not be. German sources are in fact providing materiel which can be used by the Muslim nations in Armageddon. In a previous chapter I already noted how Al Quaida and Iraq have obtained dangerous weaponry from various secret sources based in Germany. According to

http://www.proasyl.de/presse98/mar14.htm:

“As early as 1991, researchers at the Berlin-based Berghof Foundation calculated on the basis of official statistics that Iraq received arms worth 625 million dollars from Germany between 1982 and 1986. Thus, Iraq was the fourth largest importer of German weapons and the figures contained only the officially approved exports. Government officials at the time suspected about 170 German companies to have circumvented foreign trade regulations to deliver arms or know-how to Iraq. State prosecutors opened investigations against 25 of them. Three companies, Karl Kolb and Pilot Plant, both of Darmstadt, and Water Engineering Trading of Hamburg were held mainly responsible for the supply of chemical plants to Iraq. However, just three of ten managers brought to trial were given probationary sentences after years-long court proceedings. The Darmstadt court criticised the fact that the export of goods which could be used for both civilian and military purposes was permitted for years. ‘Our grand coalition of guilt and responsibility no longer wishes to indulge in denials and suppressions,’ medico international said in a fictitious apology for leading German politicians. Among them were President Roman Herzog, Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Social Democrat parliamentary whip Rudolf Scharping and Joschka Fischer of the Greens.”

Even more intriguing is the German, Irish Republican Army, and neo-Nazi connection in the Oklahoma City bombing in the early 1990’s, along with the Muslim and Iraqi connection. Here are excerpts from an article at http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/1678779 , which addresses aspects of a Middle Eastern connection:

“Iraqis linked to Oklahoma atrocity
By James Langton in New York, for the Evening Standard

The FBI is under pressure from the highest political levels in Washington to investigate suspected links between Iraq and the Oklahoma bombing.

Senior aides to US Attorney-General John Ashcroft have been given compelling evidence that former Iraqi soldiers were directly involved in the 1995 bombing that killed 185 people.

The methodically assembled dossier from Jayna Davis, a former investigative TV reporter, could destroy the official version that white supremacists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were solely responsible for what, at the time, was the worst act of terrorism on American soil.

Instead, there are serious concerns that a group of Arab men with links to Iraqi intelligence, Palestinian extremists and possibly al Qaeda, used McVeigh and Nichols as front men to blow up the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

Davis, who was one of the first reporters on the scene after the blast, has spent seven years gathering evidence of a wider conspiracy. But it is only as America prepares to wage war on Iraq and Saddam Hussein that her conclusions are being taken seriously at the highest level. Finally, she says, the authorities are examining the idea "that the Oklahoma bombing might not simply be the work of two angry white men".

After hearing her evidence, several senior members of Congress have called for a new probe.

What triggered Davis's investigation was a report immediately after the Oklahoma explosion of Middle-Eastern looking men fleeing in a brown Chevrolet truck only minutes earlier. The FBI launched an international hunt for the men but later cancelled the search…

Terry Nichols, now serving life for conspiracy in the bombing and involuntary manslaughter, was the original "John Doe 1" but, with his arrest, the FBI claimed that the case had been wrapped up. They eventually concluded that "John Doe 2" was Nichols all along.

Davis thought otherwise. Early on, she found that a brown Chevrolet truck almost identical to that once hunted by the FBI had been seen parked outside the offices of a local property management company several days before the bombing.

The owner was a Palestinian with a criminal record and suspected ties to the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Later she found that the man had hired a number of former Iraqi soldiers.

He had recruited them to carry out maintenance on his rental properties, but several were later discovered to be missing from work on the day of the bombing. Eyewitnesses have told Davis that they saw several of them celebrating later that day.

But what increasingly drew her attention was another Iraqi living in Oklahoma City, a restaurant worker called Hussain Hashem Al Hussaini, whose photograph was almost a perfect match to the official sketch of "John Doe 2".

Al Hussaini has a tattoo on his upper left arm, indicating he was once a member of Saddam's elite Republican Guard.

Since then, Davis has gathered hundreds of court records and the sworn testimony of two dozen witnesses. Several claimed to have seen a man fitting Al Hussaini's description drinking with McVeigh in a motel bar four days before the bombing.

Others positively identified former Iraqi soldiers in the company of McVeigh and Nichols. Two swore that they had seen Al Hussaini only a block from the Murrah building in the hours before the bombing. With the case against McVeigh and Nichols seemingly watertight, the FBI has until now consistently refused to reopen it...

But she has evidence that up to 12,000 Iraqis were allowed into America after the Gulf war. Some of these, she suspects, are using their status as refugees for cover. "They are here," she said. "And they are highly trained and motivated."

The renewed interest in Washington is clearly linked to America's case against Saddam as broker of world terror.

And there is more. Al Hussaini, who entered the US from a Saudi refugee camp, worked after the Oklahoma bomb as a cook at Boston's Logan Airport - from where the two hijacked aircraft that hit the World Trade Center took off.

There is another confirmed incident that suggests something more sinister. Two of the 11 September conspirators held a crucial meeting at a motel in Oklahoma City in August 2001. The motel's owner has since identified them as ringleader Mohammed Atta and Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker, who has known links with shoebomber Richard Reid.

The motel is unremarkable - except for one thing. It is where a number of Davis's witnesses are sure they saw McVeigh drinking and perhaps plotting with his Iraqi friends.”

And here are excerpts from a Worldnetdaily article which addresses aspects of a Neo-Nazi and Irish Republican Army connection (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=23380):

“By Jon Dougherty
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com

An Indiana State University criminologist has tied a former member of a militant Aryan group to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, who became the first federal prisoner to be executed in 38 years earlier this month.

Professor Mark Hamm, in a new book due out this fall, names former Aryan Republican Army member Mark Thomas, originally of Pennsylvania, and other members of his group as alleged coconspirators in the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building, according to the Allentown, Pa.-based Morning Call newspaper in a June 22 article.

The book, "In Bad Company: America's Terrorist Underground," will be published by Northeastern University Press in Boston.

WorldNetDaily first reported similar information May 30, based on court records and government law enforcement evidence logs.

Thomas, WND said, along with fellow ARA members Peter K. Langan, Scott A. Stedeford, Kevin W. McCarthy, Richard Guthrie and Michael W. Brescia, were all indicted by a federal grand jury Jan. 30, 1997, for a series of bank robberies in a four-state region in the Midwest.

The men, including Thomas, not only had ties to McVeigh and possibly Nichols, but they also had ties to Elohim City, a neo-Nazi community that was under surveillance by federal law enforcement officials and also visited by McVeigh, WND reported.

However, the Morning Call, citing author Hamm, went further, saying Thomas and McVeigh may have linked up as early as December 1992, and that – as WND reported earlier -- McVeigh may have had a hand in some of the ARA's bank robberies.

Hamm said McVeigh may have helped Thomas and the ARA rob as many as 22 banks. However, federal officials have for years denied that the ARA and McVeigh were mutually tied into either the bombing or the bank robberies…

Hamm … said he believes as many as 10 other persons may have helped McVeigh with the bombing of the Murrah building, in terms of providing technical assistance, helping to build the bomb and funding the operation via the bank robberies. He added that Thomas recruited members for the ARA, rather than actually participating in the robberies.

The university criminologist, along with investigative journalist J.D. Cash, who has looked into the OKC bombing since the early days following the explosion, both agree that when McVeigh's travel patterns in the years and months before the bombing are overlaid with those of Thomas and other ARA members, "a pattern appears," Hamm told the paper.

He said he found connections the FBI missed by formulating separate timelines of McVeigh's and the ARA members' activities, then compared them.

Here are some of the things Hamm said he discovered, according to the Morning Call report:

1. In March 1993, ARA member Langan told an undercover police officer that he wanted to bomb a federal building. Langan, the officer discovered, had extensive explosives knowledge and experience.

2. McVeigh wrote his sister, Jennifer, a letter in December 1993 claiming he was part of a group that believed the government should be overthrown and that robbing banks could be a way to finance such an objective. Hamm says McVeigh may have served as a getaway driver in many ARA heists.

3. By March 1995, Hamm found that for more than a year the ARA had provided funding to McVeigh and convicted OKC co-conspirator Terry Nichols, and was to provide "tactical support" for the bombing, the newspaper said. McVeigh, Hamm said, was to carry out the bombing and then take the rap for the rest of the conspirators, "confident in his belief of securing a place in 'patriot history,'" Hamm discovered, according to the paper.

Hamm said the patterns were difficult to find because the ARA modeled itself after the Irish Republican Army. WorldNetDaily reported in May that Irish newspapers and IRA-related materials were found in the possession of ARA members when they were arrested in 1997.

"This deliberate deception makes it difficult for any investigators to put the pieces together," the criminologist told the paper.

‘This is no theory," Cash told WND, noting that Hamm "has the goods to back up his claims and knows what he's talking about.’… “

We cannot afford to be so naïve as to believe there are not connections between the Irish Republican Army and elements (especially the Jesuits) within the Roman Catholic Church. (see Appendix 11) Both have missions to extirpate Protestantism in Northern Ireland and world-wide. They have come to the view that to accomplish this at this point in time, the United States should be dispensed with. In my opinion, what we are facing now is nothing less than the Beast working with various nations to destroy the mysterious Babylon, as described in Revelation 17:12. And they are using kings from the East, like the leaders of Iraq and Iran, to help do their dirty work.

Most of visible Protestantism has already been sucked into Romanism, for all intents and purposes. Liberal Protestantism agrees with Rome regarding the real authority of scripture. And conservative Protestantism is dominated by groups that are some combination of the following:

· Dispensationalist- denying the role of the Papacy as the Man of Sin and looking forward to a restoration of Solomon’s Temple, as did the Jesuit Ignatius Loyola and as do the Masonic Templars (see Appendices 10 and 12)

· Arminian- denying the doctrines of grace with regards to salvation

· In favor of secularized nations where men are at liberty to disobey the Ten Commandments, and in opposition to reformed Christian nations where the Ten Commandments are obeyed and enforced

· Romish in worship- allowing all sorts of man-made innovations into church worship (drama, uninspired hymns, musical instruments, puppets, etc.) instead of worshipping God only as He has commanded the church to worship in the Bible

So most Protestants are open prey to Romanism. They have already effectively embraced many of its tenets.

And the world is open prey too. The Jesuit Order is led by a Secretary General with Jesuits assigned to provinces around the world. The world is already prepared to be ruled by such an organization led by a Secretary General with representatives from around the world. And what organization will have prepared the world for such rule? (This is an easy one to answer.) Yes, the United Nations, which had been spearheaded into existence by the Mason Franklin Roosevelt. As we read at http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/fr32.html : “he devoted much thought to the planning of a United Nations, in which, he hoped, international difficulties could be settled.” Its predecessor, the League of Nations promoted by Woodrow Wilson and guided by a covenant for the nations, was a perversion of the Solemn League and Covenant of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom (and hopefully reformed nations around the world) were to be constitutionally guided by the Bible as interpreted by the Presbyterian Westminster Standards, according to the Solemn League and Covenant of the United Kingdom. Wilson came from a long line of Presbyterian ministers well aware of the Solemn League and Covenant and its millennial aspirations for the world, according to a post-millennial eschatology. But in the hands of humanists like Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt, the idea of such a Solemn League and Covenant was perverted. They concocted something very different indeed. And we should not be so naïve as to believe there was not an even more sinister organization propelling it into existence. It is not at all far-fetched to imagine that the Jesuit Order has long planned to prepare for its rule via the United Nations, probably using the European Union as its base of power.

We should not be surprised either if the Papacy re-locates its throne to Jerusalem, since as Anti-Christ he seeks to usurp the throne that belongs to the true Christ, for Christ will reign from Jerusalem in the new earth (Revelation 21). And we know that it was the Jesuit founder Loyola’s dream to see the Pope sitting in a re-built Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.

The Jesuits and their national allies could come into power looking like heroes as the successor to the United Nations. For a world weary with the war of Armageddon, it would offer “peace.” For a world desiring secularized humanist government with a religious (and even “Christian”) facade, they would be the answer. For a world too proud to fall at the feet of Jesus Christ and receive his salvation by grace through faith, they would satisfy. For a world desiring to worship God on its own terms, they would accommodate. For a world that by and large hates Christ and does not want to glorify Him by having to obey the Ten Commandments, they are the right fit. For a world that loves the empty pomp of man-made religious ritual, they provide Papal Romanism. For a world that prizes its “freedom” to desecrate the Lord’s Day Sabbath, commit sodomy and covenant-breaking divorce, and murder innocents, they would offer Lady Liberty. For a world that abhors those like myself who want to see reformed Christian nations where Christ is honored and His Ten Commandments enforced, they will persecute. For the world after Armageddon, the new Jesuit regime would be a dream come true. It is not hard to imagine they would initially win by popular acclamation.

But it will not take too long for people to realize that their dream is a nightmare. Where there is no love for Christ’s Ten Commandments, there is no true love at all. And the Jesuit Order along with the Papal False Prophet will become more and more exposed for what they really are. The Jesuit Beast is ultimately fascist, because it can only maintain control if it squashes the truth and those who promulgate the truth. Perhaps the very reason it may be acting at this time in history is because the United States is allowing true information to flow too freely, especially since the advent of the internet. The disclosures regarding Romish sexual harassment in the last decade are only the beginning of bad publicity for Rome, and she knows it. And it will be seen how their wickedness was all foretold in the book of Revelation. Their despicable regime will thus only rule “for one hour” according to Revelation 17:12. This suggests a relatively short period of time.

The Beast, the False Prophet, and those over which they rule on earth will be conquered through the preaching of the gospel. This is described in Revelation 19 by the figure of the sword coming out of Christ’s mouth. Pre-millennialists have asserted that Revelation 19 means Christ comes down to earth bodily and visibly reigns on earth during the millennium described in Revelation 20. On the other hand, post-millennialists assert that Revelation 19 is speaking of a spiritual coming in judgment of Christ (similar to the way His ‘coming’ in Revelation 2:5 refers to a spiritual coming in judgment), and that during the millennium He will reign from heaven . There are various reasons we know that post-millennialism- and not pre-millennialism- is the proper interpretation of Revelation 20, and hence the coming of Christ described in Revelation 19 is a spiritual coming in judgment of Christ and not a bodily coming of Christ. First, Christ in Revelation 20:4 is said to be with the dead saints during the millennium, clear evidence that He is bodily in heaven and not bodily on earth during this time. And if He is in heaven, then it must not be that Revelation 19 is describing a bodily coming of Christ. Second, scripture connects the Second Advent of Christ with the Great Day of Judgment. But the Great Day of Judgment is said to occur after the millennium (see Revelation 20:7-15), not before it. Third, the figure of a sword coming out of Christ’s mouth refers to the dissemination of the word of God (see Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 6:17), and not to a literal weapon that Christ might use in warfare. And, finally, this is consistent with the manner of the first reformation, which explicitly says involved the preaching of the gospel “unto them that dwell on the earth” (Revelation 14:6).

God has His people all over the earth who will proclaim this gospel message. Consider this rehearsal of Christian strength even now in China, written by Terry Eastland for an article in Jewish World Review:

“David Aikman is back from three months in China, where he took more than 800 pages of notes. He reports a religious awakening that could have enormous political implications. For 23 years the senior foreign correspondent for Time, Mr. Aikman has reported all the big international stories of our time...Mr. Aikman went to China to discern the state of Christianity there and its impact upon that Communist, and officially atheist, nation. Mr. Aikman now will write a book that will not lack for remarkable stories. At a recent luncheon held by the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., Mr. Aikman related his bold conclusion: In a few decades China will be a Christian nation. Mr. Aikman cites numbers: In 1949, when the People's Republic of China was established, not quite 4 million of 450 million Chinese were Christians. Today, the population is 1.3 billion; Christians are an estimated 80 million, most of them Protestants. At those rates of growth, he says, in a few decades 40 percent of the population will be Christian. Mr. Aikman observes that there need not be a majority Christian population for Christian principles to affect China. Thirty percent or so, he says, would suffice. That is so, he explains, because Christianity has spread well beyond rural China to the biggest cities, it is a seriously held faith, and it is increasingly the faith of young people with evident prospects for societal influence, sons and daughters of prominent establishment figures including government officials. Mr. Aikman is persuaded on those points because of what he saw firsthand. Based in Hong Kong, he traveled on a visa that allowed him multiple entries. Working with contacts old and new, he says he reached "places I didn't know existed." Nor, he says, does the government.

He describes his visit to a large, gated compound in Beijing, the capital. Known to its neighbors as a school where English is taught, it is in fact a Christian music conservatory. Mr. Aikman met 50 students from 19 provinces, all of them worship leaders in "house churches." House churches are ones not registered with the state. But most are known to authorities. They tend to be tolerated, says Mr. Aikman, so long as they don't develop their own cadre of evangelists, people who would spread their faith. The Beijing conservatory would obviously interest the authorities. "Amazingly," says Mr. Aikman, they haven't discovered it. Mr. Aikman reports other "undiscovered" teaching institutions, including an urban seminary offering biblical studies, church history and theology. One school, located on the side of a bamboo-forested mountain, exists thanks to the beneficence of nearby villagers who pay the bills. Such institutions contemplate evangelism within China but also abroad. Mr. Aikman reports the belief of many Chinese Christians that they have been called to spread their faith to Muslims. There is talk of sending as many as 100,000 missionaries to the Middle East.”

So it is not just Christians from the West who can proclaim the gospel. They will be joined by missionaries from the East. And there is evidence that the widespread conversion of Jews at this time will especially propel entry into the millennium (Romans 11:15).

Modern communications and travel make the rapid dissemination of the gospel more possible than ever. And information now flows rapidly worldwide over the internet. This includes information which identifies the Beast and False Prophet, and exposes them for who they really are. God has raised up the internet in our time just as he raised up the printing press in the midst of the Protestant Reformation.

When Revelation 20 speaks of nations not being deceived any more, it is not referring to deception in general, but rather especially the deception of the Beast. The Beast survives on deception, and the False Prophet utters it. Keep in mind, the millennium of Revelation 20 is not the new heavens and new earth of Revelation 21. Men will still be sinful and fallen, even if there is widespread reformed Christian government and gospel prosperity. But this refers especially to the deception of the False Prophet, who for so long has deceived “those who live on the earth” ( Revelation 13:14 ). This deception will be overturned, and God will give the world a millennial restoration. This millennial reign, albeit not free of sin, will be characterized by the domination of reformed Biblical Christianity.

By the end of the millennium though, the situation in the world will have deteriorated, so that Satan will attract huge numbers to seek to destroy Christ’s elect on earth (Revelation 20: 7-10). Christ pictures the circumstances in the closing days of the millennium before His return in the parable of the wise and evil servants in Matthew 24:45-51. We should notice in this parable that all of the inhabitants on earth are professing Christians, and hence servants of Christ. At least nominally speaking, the world will be Christian during the millennium. But some of the professing servants of Christ in the millennium are said to be hypocrites, and therefore are characterized as evil servants. These evil servants believe that Christ has chosen to tarry and not to return at the period that apparently is the generally expected period of His arrival. These will begin to persecute Christ’s elect and to engage in wicked deeds such as drunkenness. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that Satan will be able to attract a large following. But this plot will fail, and Jesus Christ will judge the world in righteousness, with His saints.

What a blessing He will create in the new earth! Throughout scripture Jerusalem is described as the seat of authority of Christ’s kingdom on earth. During the Old Testament times, this seat of authority was the earthly Jerusalem. As the seat of authority of ancient Israel, it represented the whole of ancient Israel. And as the representative of the whole of Israel, the term “Jerusalem” is often used synonymously with the whole of Israel. Analogously, ancient Babylon was the seat of authority of the ancient Babylonian Empire, and was often used synonymously with the whole of the Babylonian Empire, even though in one sense it was distinct from the whole. During the Apostolic era a new “Babylon” had arisen which opposed Christ’s rule on earth- Rome (I Peter 5:13). Rome is described as a “lion’s mouth” (II Timothy 4:17, Revelation 13:2), and as the sixth and seventh manifestations of the Beast in earth’s history (Revelation 17:10). But this “Babylon” called Rome had fallen from its role as dominant political power of the world at the completion of the blowing of the seven trumpets (Revelation 14:8). A new and mysterious “Babylon” is said to have arisen, which was raised up and has ridden upon the eighth manifestation of the Beast in the earth’s history (Revelation 17:3,8,11). We know it is a new “Babylon” and not Rome, because it was evidently raised up and rides on the eighth manifestation of the Beast, and none previous. In addition, we know the Beast in the 7-hilled city (Revelation 17:9) of Rome outlasts the mysterious Babylon (Revelation 17:16-17), which implies the mysterious Babylon cannot be Rome. As I have suggested throughout this book, the mysterious “Babylon” is probably Washington, DC; and the eighth manifestation of the Beast is probably the Jesuit kingdom. The Jesuit kingdom arose during the Protestant Reformation, and it was instrumental in raising up the whore called Washington, D.C., which has dominated earthly politics in this last epoch before the millennium. During the earth’s millennium, the new Jerusalem will remain in heaven, from where it will spiritually but not visibly (to earth’s inhabitants) reign. But in the new earth, the new Jerusalem come down from heaven to earth will be the seat of authority on the earth. This new Jerusalem then is both the seat of authority in the new earth of Christ, and also is synonymous with the entire church on the new earth. We find it used in the latter sense in Revelation 21:2, and we find it used in the former sense in Revelation 21:24. How glorious it will be when this Jerusalem reigns on earth, and all the “Babylons” have been destroyed.

CHAPTER SEVEN: JUST A MATTER OF TIME

The millennial restoration and the Great Day of Judgment following it will come, but when? And when will the plagues against the mysterious Babylon be released? I will in this chapter seek to address these questions, but I first want to issue this caveat: this is surely the most speculative chapter in this whole book. At a number of points I could easily be wrong, and my conclusions in previous chapters in no wise are dependent upon my more tentative conclusion in this one. For His own reasons God has surely obscured the timing of these great events. We should investigate the Biblical clues He has provided, but we must embrace our interpretations of them with humility and with a healthy degree of tentativeness.

It is much to my own surprise and a reversal of my previously held position that I should even venture into the territory of timing of the millennium and Great Day of Judgment. But I have come to the conclusion that for all Christians alive when Christ arrives (and all those alive during the millennial period), they will know the year or at least the general time period (though not the day or hour) when Christ will come. In addition, the people who live during the fall of the Babylonian regime prior to the millennial restoration I think will know when they need to flee their mysterious“ Babylonian” abode, just as first century Christians knew when they had to flee Jerusalem. My new view is based upon a variety of evidences. Let me outline them now.

First and principally, the parable of the ten virgins suggests there will be a general awareness of the time when Christ shall arrive during the millennium. The parable of the ten virgins is surely one of Christ’s most remarkable parables. It implies truths that are quite stunning. For example, it describes the totality (signified by the number ten) of the people alive at the time of Christ’s return as virgins, albeit not all elect virgins. This reminds us of the virgin woman who delivered the man-child in Revelation 12 yet we learn only a remnant of which was truly elect (Revelation 12:17). This surely suggests that they represent Christ’s visible church on earth, and that at the time of Christ’s return the world will consist of Christ’s visible church only. That the world then consists only of Christ’s visible church is testimony to the nature of the Christian millennium then in existence. That these all go out to meet the bridegroom implies they know approximately when the bridegroom is coming. The element that distinguishes them, however, is that they do not all have the “oil” of the Holy Spirit. Those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit we learn are taken up by Christ (Matthew 25:10), while the rest join Satan for a futile attack (Revelation 25:8) before they are destroyed (Revelation 25:9). For our purposes now, the lesson is clear: they know the period [indeed, at least the year, and perhaps the season, because it cannot be the “day and hour” (Matthew 24:36)].

Second, Christ implies in Matthew 24:15-16 that Christians could know the general timing of His Second Advent from information supplied in the book of Daniel concerning the abomination of desolation. Keep in mind that this prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation is not only a prophecy concerning the judgment of 70 A.D. in the Apostolic generation, but it also typologically refers to the event preceding the Second Advent described in Revelation 20:8-9.

Third, there is every evidence in Revelation 18-19 that it is clear why and when the people need to flee “Babylon” and move towards the millennium. They must have some knowledge regarding the time from scripture in order to act at the right time, just as Christians knew when they had to flee first century Jerusalem.

Fourth, the Christian leaders that will lead the people out of the Egyptian-like “Babylon” described in the book of Revelation must know the time when the people are to be led into the Promised Land, or how can they act? How will they otherwise know for sure that the plagues they see coming on the horizon with devastating effect are the ones prophesied in Revelation 16? They must know the time and year to lead as they need to.

Daniel 8:13-14 I believe holds the key to what shall yet happen in the world’s future. And I think this is especially what Christ had in mind when He alluded to a knowledge of time and signs from the book of Daniel, specifically on the abomination of desolation.

Daniel 8:13-14 itself reads: “Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain [saint] which spake, How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily [sacrifice], and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”

Let’s now consider how various commentators have addressed these verses.

John Calvin comments upon Daniel 8:13-14 as follows:

The Wonderful One said to me -- that is, the incomprehensible or the mysterious one said to me -- for two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings, then the sanctuary shall be justified. Here the Hebrews are mutually at variance whether they ought to understand the number of years or of months; but it is surprising to perceive how grossly they are deluded in so plain a matter. The expression, to evening and morning, is not doubtful, since Christ, clearly means two thousand three hundred days; for what else can the phrase, morning and evening, signify? It cannot be used of either years or months. Evidently we ought to understand natural days here, consisting of twenty-four hours each. Those who receive it of years and months are wretchedly mistaken, and even ridiculous in their calculations. For some begin to calculate the, time from Samuel, they next descend to the reign of Saul, and next to that of David; and thus they foolishly trifle, through not understanding the intention of Christ, who wished his Church to be forewarned of the coming empires and slaughters, with the view of rendering the faithful invincible, however sorely they may be oppressed on all sides. Christ therefore wished to hold up a light to direct all the elect through the approaching darkness under the tyranny of Antiochus, and to assure them that in the very depths of it they would not be deserted by the favor of God. Hope would thus elevate their minds and all their senses unto the promised termination. To what purpose, then, do those interpreters speak of the reigns of Saul and .David? We see this to be altogether foreign and adverse to the mind of Christ, and to the use of this prophecy.: No less absurd is the guess of those who prate about months. Their refutation would occupy three or four hours, and would be a waste of time, utterly profitless. It is sufficient to gather this simple meaning from the words -- Christ does not speak here of years or months, but of days. We must now seek the true interpretation of the passage from the whole context. We have shewn how impossible it is to explain this prophecy otherwise than by Antiochus: the event itself proves this to be its meaning. Blind indeed must be those who do not hold this principle -- the small horn sprang from one of those remarkable and illustrious persons who came forth in place of one very large horn. Boys even know this by reading the accredited. history of those times. As Christ here alluded to the tyranny of Antiochus, we must observe how his words accord with the facts. Christ numbers 2300 days for the pollution of the sanctuary, and this period comprehends six years and about four months. We know the Jews to have used lunar years as well as months. They afterwards used interealary periods, since twelve lunar months did not correspond with the sun's course. The same custom prevailed among both Greeks and Romans. Julius Caesar first arranged for us the solar year, and supplied the defect by intercalary days, so that the months might accord with the sun's course. But however that was, these days, as I have said, fill up six years and three months and a half. Now, if we compare the testimony of history, and especially of the book of Maccabees, with this prophecy, we shall find that miserable race oppressed for six years under the tyranny of Antiochus. The idol of Olympian Jove did not remain in the temple for six continuous years, but the commencement of the pollution occurred at the first attack, as if he would insult the very face of God. No wonder then if Daniel understood this vision of six years and about a third, because Antiochus then insulted the worship of God and the Law; and when he poured forth innocent blood promiscuously, no one dared openly to resist him. As, therefore, religion was then laid prostrate on the ground, until the cleansing of the temple, we see how very clearly the prophecy and the history agree, as far as this narrative is concerned. Again, it is clear the purifying of the temple could not have .been at the end of the sixth current year, but in the month wlok, keslu, answering to October or November, as leaned men prudently decide, it was profaned. For this month among the Jews begins sometimes in the middle of October, and sometimes at the end, according to the course of the moon; for we said the months and years were lunar. In the month Keslu the temple was polluted; in the month rda Ader, about three months afterwards, near its close, the Maccabees purged it. (1 Maccabees 4:36.) Thus the history confirms in every way what Daniel had predicted many ages previously -- nay, nearly three hundred years before it came to pass. For this occurred a hundred and fifty years after the death of Alexander. Some time also had already elapsed, as there were eight or ten kings of Persia between the deaths of Cyrus and Darius. I do not remember any but the chief events just now, and it ought it to be sufficient for us to perceive how Daniel's predictions were fulfilled in their own season, as historians clearly narrate. Without the slightest doubt, Christ predicted the profanation of the temple, and this would depress the spirits of the pious as if God had betrayed them, had abandoned all care of his temple, and had given up his election and his covenant entirely. Christ therefore wished to support the spirit of the faithful by this prediction, thereby informing them how fully they deserved these future evils, in consequence of their provoking God's wrath; and yet their punishment should be temporary, because the very God who announced its approach promised at the same time a prosperous issue.

Respecting the phrase, the sanctuary shall be justified, some translate it -- "Then the sanctuary shall be expiated;" but I prefer retaining the proper sense of the word. We know how usually the Hebrews use the word "justify" when they speak of rights. When their own rights are restored to those who have been deprived of them -- when a slave has been blessed with his liberty -- when he who has been unjustly oppressed obtains his cause, the Hebrews use this word "justified." As God's sanctuary was subject to infamy by' the image of Olympian Jove being exhibited there, all respect for it had passed away; for we know how the glory of the temple sprang from the worship of God. As the temple had been defiled by so great disgrace, it was then justified, when God established his own sacrifices again, and restored his pure worship as prescribed by the Law. The sanctuary, therefore, shall be justified; that is, vindicated from that disgrace to which for a time it had been subject.

While I believe Calvin is correct that Daniel 8:13-14 prophesied the events associated with Antiochus Epiphanes, I think he ignored some important information that this passage in its context offers. It employs language that describes something quite beyond what Dr. Francis Nigel Lee accurately calls the tin-pot dictator Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus Epiphanes hardly “waxed great, even to the host of heaven”. And he hardly “cast down some of the host and stars to the ground”. And he hardly was the “prince of the host.” No, there is only one that such a description fully fits: Satan. Now in scripture we can identify that language should be interpreted typologically when two criteria obtain:

1. The language is descriptive of something very much greater or in a magnitude different than the primary reference of the prophecy.

2. We have warrant in scripture to believe there is a later or other manifestation for which the description accurately (or typologically) fits.

We have already seen how the first of the criteria has been met, what about the second? Revelation 20:7-8 describes just such an incident of Satan, immediately prior to the Second Advent of Christ described. So all the evidence suggests we should interpret this verse typologically. Therefore, we can infer that the 2,300 days should be interpreted typologically too, according to the year-day principle, as 2,300 years. This is consistent with the way the Seventy Weeks was to be interpreted as well (i.e., according to the year-day principle). Thus, the abomination of desolation described in Revelation 20:7-8 is to be ended by the Second Advent therein described 2,300 years after the abomination of desolation of Antiochus Epiphanes.

For those who may not be as familiar with Antiochus Epiphanes, and thus have a harder time understanding what is even being discussed in this context, here is an excerpt from a brief biography of Antiochus Epiphanes found at http://latter-rain.com/Israel/antep.htm:

“Antiochus Epiphanes was a Syrian King that came to power about 175 BC… He was one of the Seleucids who in succession to Alexander the Great built a realm in Syria and adjacent lands. Epiphanes' name means God made manifest. Epiphanes sought to force Greek culture and manners on the Jews. In imposing Hellenism, Epiphanes was but following out the intentions of his predecessor, Alexander whose dream was to create an empire, not by the sword but by culture. This had a measure of success among the 'free thinking' section of the priesthood, but there were a hard core of obstinate priests and people who refused to abandon the faith of their fore-fathers and be 'westernized'. By the introduction of Hellenistic cults, Epiphanes tried to put an end to the Jewish religious community. The events were the cause of the Maccabean struggle. Severe punitive measures merely brought the matter to a head and the revolt followed.

In 170 a law was announced requiring all citizens to present themselves four times a year to pay formal homage to Antiochus Epiphanes as the senior god of the Seleucids. The day chosen for these periodic submissions was Shabbat, when Jews preferred not to leave their homes, this being their day of prayer. Epiphanes was met by revolt and the setting up of a small state in which the high priest was the central figure. He launched against the Jews soon after. The Maccebean revolt gained the Jews their independence.

It is an exciting time for Judah when the heroes of the revolt were kindled. In 168 BC Antiochus Epiphanes dared to occupy Jerusalem, enter the Holy of Holies, desecrate the sanctuary by offering unclean animals upon the alter of burnt-offerings, pollute the whole building by sprinkling it with water in which flesh had been boiled, dedicated the Temple itself to Jupiter Olympius, and erected the statue of that deity and plundered the temple treasures…”

Another source, Just What is the Abomination of Desolation by Tom Robinson (http://www.ucg.org/articles/gn38/abomination.html ) , provides similar information, but attributes the abomination of desolation to 167 B.C.:

“"On the fifteenth day of the month Kislev in the year 145" (verse 54, TEV), which corresponds to 167 B.C., "they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar" of the temple (verse 54, KJV). This was apparently a pagan altar with an image of the Greek chief god Zeus set up atop the temple altar. After all, to the Greek mind the God of the Hebrews simply equated to the chief god in the Greeks' pantheon.

We are further told: "Pagan sacrifices were offered in front of houses and in the streets. Any books of the Law which were found were torn up and burned, and anyone who was caught with a copy of the sacred books or who obeyed the Law was put to death by order of the king. Month after month these wicked people used their power against the Israelites caught in the towns. On the twenty-fifth of the month, these same evil people offered sacrifices on the pagan altar erected on top of the altar in the Temple" (verses 55-59, TEV). Indeed, pigs, declared unclean in God's law (Deuteronomy 14:8), were offered over His own altar.

The account in 1 Maccabees continues: "Mothers who had allowed their babies to be circumcised were put to death in accordance with the king's decree. Their babies were hung around their necks, and their families and those who had circumcised them were put to death" (1:60, TEV).”

So according to these accounts, the abomination of desolation in Antiochus Epiphanes’ day occurred somewhere in the time of 167 - 168 B.C.

Let me now supply you with the comments of A.R. Faussett concerning the text and some surrounding texts:

“9. little horn--not to be confounded with the little horn of the fourth kingdom in Dan 7:8 . The little horn in Dan 7:8 comes as an eleventh horn after ten preceding horns. In Dan 8:9 it is not an independent fifth horn, after the four previous ones, but it arises out of one of the four existing horns. This horn is explained ( Dan 8:23 ) to be "a king of fierce countenance," &c. Antiochus Epiphanes is meant. Greece with all its refinement produces the first, that is, the Old Testament Antichrist. Antiochus had an extraordinarly love of art, which expressed itself in grand temples. He wished to substitute Zeus Olympius for Jehovah at Jerusalem. Thus first heathen civilization from below, and revealed religion from above, came into collision. Identifying himself with Jupiter, his aim was to make his own worship universal (compare Dan 8:25 ); so mad was he in this that he was called Epimanes (maniac) instead of Epiphanes. None of the previous world rulers, Nebuchadnezzar ( Dan 4:31-34 ), Darius ( Dan 6:27, 28 ), Cyrus ( Ezr 1:2-4 ), Artaxerxes Longimanus ( Ezr 7:12 ), had systematically opposed the Jews' religious worship. Hence the need of prophecy to prepare them for Antiochus. The struggle of the Maccabees was a fruit of Daniel's prophecy (1 Maccabees 2:59). He is the forerunner of the final Antichrist, standing in the same relation to the first advent of Christ that Antichrist does to His second coming. The sins in Israel which gave rise to the Greek Antichrist were that some Jews adopted Hellenic customs (compare Dan 11:30, 32 ), erecting theaters, and regarding all religions alike, sacrificing to Jehovah, but at the same time sending money for sacrifices to Hercules. Such shall be the state of the world when ripe for Antichrist. At Dan 8:9 the description passes from the literal Antiochus to features which, though partially attributed to him, hold good in their fullest sense only of his antitype, the New Testament Antichrist…

13. that certain saint--Daniel did not know the names of these two holy angels, but saw only that one was speaking to the other.
How long shall be the vision concerning . . . daily sacrifice--How long shall the daily sacrifice be suspended?
transgression of desolation--literally, "making desolate," that is, Antiochus desolating profanation of the temple ( Dan 11:31 12:11 ). Compare as to Rome and the last Antichrist, Mat 24:15 .

14. unto me--The answer is to Daniel, not to the inquirer, for the latter had asked in Daniel's name; as vice versa the saint or angel ( Job 15:15 Psa 89:6, 7 ) speaks of the vision granted to Daniel, as if it had been granted to himself. For holy men are in Scripture represented as having attendant angels, with whom they are in a way identified in interests. If the conversation had been limited to the angels, it could have been of no use to us. But God conveys it to prophetical men, for our good, through the ministry of angels.
two thousand . . . three hundred days--literally, "mornings and evenings," specified in connection with the morning and evening sacrifice. Compare Gen 1:5 . Six years and a hundred ten days. This includes not only the three and a half years during which the daily sacrifice was forbidden by Antiochus [JOSEPHUS, Wars of the Jews, 1:1.1], but the whole series of events whereby it was practically interrupted: beginning with the "little horn waxing great toward the pleasant land," and "casting down some of the host" ( Dan 8:9, 10 ); namely, when in 171 B.C., or the month Sivan in the year 142 of the era of the Seleucidae, the sacrifices began to be neglected, owing to the high priest Jason introducing at Jerusalem Grecian customs and amusements, the palaestra and gymnasium; ending with the death of Antiochus, 165 B.C., or the month Shebath, in the year 148 of the Seleucid era. Compare 1 Maccabees 1:11-15; 2 Maccabees 4:9, &c. The reason for the greater minuteness of historical facts and dates, given in Daniel's prophecies, than in those of the New Testament, is that Israel, not having yet the clear views which Christians have of immortality and the heavenly inheritance, could only be directed to the earthly future: for it was on earth the looked-for Messiah was to appear, and the sum and subject of Old Testament prophecy was the kingdom of God upon earth. The minuteness of the revelation of Israel's earthly destiny was to compensate for the absence, in the Old Testament, of views of heavenly glory. Thus, in Dan 9:24-27 , the times of Messiah are foretold to the very year; in Dan 8:14 the times of Antiochus, even to the day; and in Dan 11:5-20 the Syro-Egyptian struggles in most minute detail. TREGELLES thinks the twenty-three hundred "days" answer to the week of years ( Dan 9:27 ), during which the destroying prince ( Dan 9:26 ) makes a covenant, which he breaks in the midst of the week (namely, at the end of three and a half years). The seven years exceed the twenty-three hundred days by considerably more than a half year. This period of the seven years' excess above the twenty-three hundred days may be allotted to the preparations needed for setting up the temple-worship, with Antichrist's permission to the restored Jews, according to his "covenant" with them; and the twenty-three hundred days may date from the actual setting up of the worship. But, says AUBERLEN, the more accurate to a day the dates as to Antiochus are given, the less should we say the 1290, or 1335 days ( Dan 12:11, 12 ) correspond to the half week (roughly), and the twenty-three hundred to the whole. The event, however, may, in the case of Antichrist, show a correspondence between the days here given and Dan 9:27 , such as is not yet discernible. The term of twenty-three hundred days cannot refer twenty-three hundred years of the treading down of Christianity by Mohammedanism, as this would leave the greater portion of the time yet future; whereas, Mohammedanism is fast waning. If the twenty-three hundred days mean years, dating from Alexander's conquests, 334 B.C. to 323, we should arrive at about the close of the sixth thousand years of the world, just as the 1260 years (Dan 7:25 ) from Justinian's decree arrive at the same terminus. The Jews' tradition represents the seventh thousand as the millennium. CUMMING remarks, 480 B.C. is the date of the waning of the Persian empire before Greece; deducting 480 from 2300, we have 1820; and in 1821, Turkey, the successor of the Greek empire, began to wane, and Greece became a separate kingdom. See on JF & B for Da 12:11.
cleansed--literally, "justified," vindicated from profanation. Judas Maccabeus celebrated the feast of dedication after the cleansing, on the twenty-fifth of the ninth month, Kisleu (1 Maccabees 4:51-58; 2 Maccabees 10:1-7; Jhn 10:22 ). As to the antitypical dedication of the new temple, see Eze 43:1-27 , &c.; also Amo 9:11, 12 .”

The Geneva Bible comments upon these Daniel 8 verses as follows:

“Da 8:9 And out of one of them came forth a {l} little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the {m} south, and toward the {n} east, and toward the {o} pleasant [land].

(l) Which was Antiochus Epiphanes, who was of a servile and flattering nature, and also there were others between him and the kingdom: and therefore he is here called the little horn, because neither princely conditions, nor any other thing was in him, why he should obtain this kingdom.

(m) That is, towards Egypt.

(n) By which he means Ptolemais.

(o) That is, Judea.

Da 8:10 And it waxed great, [even] to the {p} host of heaven; and it cast down [some] of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.

(p) Antiochus raged against the elect of God, and tread his precious stars underfoot, who are so called because they are separated from the world.

Da 8:11 Yea, he magnified [himself] even to the {q} prince of the host, and by him the {r} daily [sacrifice] was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

(q) That is, God, who governs and maintains his Church.

(r) He laboured to abolish all religion, and therefore cast God's service out of his temple, which God had chosen as a little corner from all the rest of the world to have his name there truly called upon.

Da 8:12 And {s} an host was given [him] against the daily [sacrifice] by reason of transgression, and it {t} cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

(s) He shows that their sins are the cause of these horrible afflictions: and yet comforts them, in that he appoints this tyrant for a time, whom he would not allow to utterly abolish his religion.

(t) This horn will abolish for a time the true doctrine, and so corrupt God's service.

Da 8:13 Then I heard one {u} saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain [saint] which spake, How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily [sacrifice], and the transgression of {x} desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the {y} host to be trodden under foot?

(u) Meaning that he heard one of the angels asking this question of Christ, whom he called a certain one, or a secret one, or a marvellous one.

(x) That is, the Jews' sins, which were the cause of its destruction.

(y) That is, which suppresses God's religion and his people.

Da 8:14 And {z} he said unto me, Unto {a} two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

(z) Christ answered me for the comfort of the Church.

(a) That is, until so many natural days have passed, which make six years, and three and a half months: for the temple was profaned this long under Antiochus.”

Finally, here are Matthew Henry’s thoughts on the verses:

“(1.) The question asked concerning it, v. 13. Observe [1.] By whom the question was put: I heard one saint speaking to this purport, and then another saint seconded him. "O that we knew how long this trouble will last!’’ The angels here are called saints, for they are holy ones (ch. 4:13), the holy myriads, Jude 14. The angels concern themselves in the affairs of the church, and enquire concerning them, if, as here, concerning its temporal salvations, much more do they desire to look into the great salvation, 1 Pt. 1:12. One saint spoke of the thing, and another enquired concerning it. Thus John, who lay in Christ’s bosom, was beckoned to by Peter to ask Christ a question, Jn. 13:23, 24. [2.] To whom the question was put. He said unto Palmoni that spoke. Some make this certain saint to be a superior angel who understood more than the rest, to whom therefore they came with their enquiries. Others make it to be the eternal Word, the Son of God. He is the unknown One. Palmoni seems to be compounded of Peloni Almoni, which is used (Ruth 4:1) for Ho, such a one, and (2 Ki. 6:8) for such a place. Christ was yet the nameless One. Wherefore asked thou after my name, seeing it is secret? Jdg. 13:18. He is the numberer of secrets (as some translate it), for from him there is nothing hidden—the wonderful numberer, so others; his name is called Wonderful. Note, If we would know the mind of God, we must apply to Jesus Christ, who lay in the bosom of the Father, and in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, not hidden from us, but hidden for us. [3.] The question itself that was asked: "How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice? How long shall the prohibition of it continue? How long shall the pleasant land be made unpleasant by that severe interdict? How long shall the transgression of desolation (the image of Jupiter), that great transgression which makes all our sacred things desolate, how long shall that stand in the temple? How long shall the sanctuary and the host, the holy place and the holy persons that minister in it, be trodden under foot by the oppressor?’’ Note, Angels are concerned for the prosperity of the church on earth and desirous to see an end of its desolations. The angels asked, for the satisfaction of Daniel, not doubting but he was desirous to know, how long these calamities should last? The question takes it for granted that they should not last always. The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, though it may come upon their lot. Christ comforted himself in his sufferings with this, The things concerning me have an end (Lu. 22:37), and so may the church in hers. But it is desirable to know how long they shall last, that we may provide accordingly.

(2.) The answer given to this question, v. 14. Christ gives instruction to the holy angels, for they are our fellow-servants; but here the answer was given to Daniel, because for his sake the question was asked: He said unto me. God sometimes gives in great favours to his people, in answer to the enquiries and requests of their friends for them. Now, [1.] Christ assures him that the trouble shall end; it shall continue 2300 days and no longer, so many evenings and mornings (so the word is), so many nychtheµmerai, so many natural days, reckoned, as in the beginning of Genesis, by the evenings and mornings, because it was the evening and the morning sacrifice that they most lamented the loss of, and thought the time passed very slowly while they were deprived of them. Some make the morning and the evening, in this number, to stand for two, and then 2300 evenings and as many mornings will make but 1150 days; and about so many days it was that the daily sacrifice was interrupted: and this comes nearer to the computation (ch. 7:25) of a time, times, and the dividing of a time. But it is less forced to understand them of so many natural days; 2300 days make six years and three months, and about eighteen days; and just so long they reckon from the defection of the people, procured by Menelaus the high priest in the 142nd year of the kingdom of the Seleucidae, the sixth month of that year, and the 6th day of the month (so Josephus dates it), to the cleansing of the sanctuary, and the reestablishment of religion among them, which was in the 148th year, the 9th month, and the 25th day of the month, 1 Mac. 4:52. God reckons the time of his people’s afflictions he is afflicted. Rev. 2:10, Thou shalt have tribulation ten days. [2.] He assures him that they shall see better days afterwards: Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. Note, The cleansing of the sanctuary is a happy token for good to any people; when they begin to be reformed they will soon be relieved. Though the righteous God may, for the correction of his people, suffer his sanctuary to be profaned for a while, yet the jealous God will, for his own glory, see to the cleansing of it in due time. Christ died to cleanse his church, and he will so cleanse it as at length to present it blameless to himself.”

Now we return to our discussion of the time of the Second Advent, having considered the insights of various commentators. When would I calculate the Second Advent will occur? If we add 2,300 years (which I had shown earlier is appropriate in this instance) to 167 B.C. we arrive at its calculated year of occurrence according to the assumptions of the argument: 2133 A.D.

Now, this question naturally arises: when will the millennium be? How can one thousand years fit into a period of time that is clearly less than 1,000 years, since there is less than 1,000 years left between now and 2133 A.D.? Here is one very strong possibility. In scripture there is a principle of one representing ten. Thus, we read in Judges 20:10, “And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.” The seventh millennium of human history of the old heavens and old earth, corresponding to the seventh day Sabbath, is a type and shadow of the eighth day (also first day, depending upon how you want to describe it) millennium, which is the eternal Sabbath day of the new heavens and new earth described in Revelation 21. Types in scripture are described by the characteristics of their anti-type. This is how we often can discern they are only types, for they are in fact only shadows of their anti-type.

Therefore, if my tentative conclusions are correct, 2033 A.D. will mark the inception of the millennium. But if 2033 A.D. were to mark the inception of the millennial restoration, this would mean that the figurative Babylon of Revelation chapters 17-18 would have to fall some time between now and 2033 A.D., due to the plagues God will send against it. And then there would be a period before 2033 when gospel light would powerfully go forth in order to extinguish the remaining chief opponents of Christian rule and Christian nations.

If 2033 A.D. indeed marks the inception of the millennial restoration, this would imply that at 2033 A.D. the earth will then have completed its sixth millennial “day” of six thousand years. (I will later explain why the inception of the millennium is marked by the completion of six millennial days.) Thus, the world’s creation would be in 3967 BC. This date falls in between the dates set forward by Ussher and the traditional Jewish calendar. As Jim Cornwell notes in his book “Old Testament Chronology -- From the Flood to Abram (Abraham) " (http://www.mazzaroth.com/ChapterThree/OTChronFloodToAbram.htm):

"The Annales Veteris et Novi Testamenti" (published in 1650-1654), by Anglican Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656), where events were dated in elapsed time since creation, until he found an event that could be dated by extra-biblical means, which was the death of Nebuchadnezzar and the beginning of the reign of Evil-Merodach of Babylon, at 562 B.C.E. or the year 3442. Bishop Ussher’s calculation, based on the Bible, the world was created in 4004 B.C. That is 5,998 years ago as of 1994 A.D. The date according to the Hebrew calendar is only 5,754 which means he varies by 244 years.

The traditional Jewish calendar in which creation is at 3760 to 3761 B.C. had its origin in the rabbinic work entitled "Seder Olam Rabbah" from the second century C.E.

Unfortunately, for such computations, the Biblical data is ambiguous or provides options. Bishop Ussher’s chronology puts the Flood occurring in the year 2348 B.C.

One example of the 244 year variation between Archbishop Ussher’s system and the traditional Jewish system, is in Genesis 11:26. Terah’s heirs, consisting of Abram, Nahor, and Haran, were born in his seventieth year, literally suggesting triplets. According to Genesis 11:32, Terah lived a total of 205 years, and Genesis 12:1 may be taken to mean that Abram set out at age 75 after Terah’s death (Gen. 12:4), in which case Abram was born when Terah was age 130 instead of 70.“

3967 BC as a creation date for the world is corroborated by events in Christ’s life. Here is how. Christ is compared in scripture with the Sun and with light. Consider these passages:

“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” - Malachi 4:2

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” – John 8:12

“I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.” – John 12:46

It should be noted in Malachi 4:2 that Jesus Christ’s (for Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness) resurrection would be like the advent of the Sun, which occurred on the fourth day of the week. And it should be noted that John 12:46 parallels Jesus Christ’s coming to the light’s coming on the first day of the week. Therefore, it is only appropriate that His resurrection (when He was begotten as King according to Psalm 2 and Acts 13:33) should be associated with the first and fourth days, which are described like this in Genesis:

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light…And the evening and the morning were the first day.” – Genesis 1:3-5

“And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth…And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” – Genesis 1:16-19

Since Christ is then the Sun of Righteousness, it is thus necessary that the climax of the fourth millennial “day” should be Christ’s resurrection. Since Christ’s resurrection was in 33 A.D. , in order for it to be in the climactic year of the fourth millennial day, implies creation was 4000 years earlier, or 3967 B.C.

I have often mentioned here the term “millennial day”, let me now elaborate. II Peter 3:8 points out: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Here we have a formula for translating the time of earthly human history into divine time. For each thousand years of human history, the equivalent time for God is one day. This formula becomes especially important when we consider Hebrews 4, where we read:

Hebrews 4:4 – “For he spake in a certain place of the seventh [day] on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works…There remaineth therefore a [Sabbath] rest to the people of God.”

This passage is saying the pattern that God followed in the creation of the old earth will be imitated by the people of God. Since one day with God is equivalent to a millennium with man, it follows that the people of God would endure six millennia before entering their millennial Sabbath. (This alone should make it plain why amillennialism is flawed.) So in terms of human history, this means there must be a seventh millennial “day” rest.

But even after this earthly “week” of human history is complete, there is yet another “day” that presents itself to the people of God. We read in Hebrews 4:10-11 –

“For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

Now Jesus Christ entered into His eternal Sabbath rest on the first day of the week, following His week of earthly work culminating in His crucifixion and burial. So must the people of God enter that rest, if they are indeed true believers. And that rest, which is foreshadowed by our weekly first day of the week Sabbath, is the new heavens and new earth.

It has been the flaw of most efforts at calculating the Second Advent to rely solely on one indicator. But this is in violation of the principle stated in Deuteronomy 19:15, “at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.” Now I have shown you here two witnesses as to the date of the Second Advent. One evidence proceeds from Daniel 8:13-14. The other evidence proceeds from the millennial day consideration, keeping the day of Christ’s resurrection in the fourth millennial day as we must.

But although I think the above conclusions are sound, I still must acknowledge many areas where I could be in error. For example, while I have provided reason why the 2,300 years (according to the year-day principle) will expire with Christ’s Second Advent, there is the real possibility that it will expire with the inception of the millennium instead. Also, while I think there is sound reason to believe the millennium described in Revelation 20 will last one hundred years, nevertheless I must acknowledge the possibility that it could last a literal thousand years, or perhaps some other length of time. And besides these, there are obviously more areas where I could be in error in my calculations. For instance, John Calvin may be correct on the passages in question in Daniel.

However, I hope these and other alternative possibilities do not discourage people from being alert that the calculations may be true (and in my opinion probably are true), and therefore to monitor the signs if they appear to be unfolding. And there are some remarkable respects in which the events prophesied in Revelation 16 seem to be starting to unfold.

CHAPTER EIGHT : SOME CLOSING ADVICE

The story is told how Benjamin Franklin learned a lesson from the New England Puritan scholar and theologian Cotton Mather that we would do well to heed ourselves. As a young man, Benjamin Franklin departed from New England along with its Puritanism. He settled in Philadelphia, where he later became a Mason and a revolutionary and a founding father of a very wicked government. After only a year in Philadelphia though, he returned to Boston for a visit, and the first thing he did was visit Cotton Mather, the wise older man who had given him advice since his youth. Mather had maintained his faith in Jesus Christ and the reformed gospel, whereas Franklin had abandoned it. In any case, Mather graciously invited Franklin in, and they engaged in discussion. As Franklin was leaving, Mather shouted at him, "Stoop, stoop!" Too late! Franklin struck his head on the low doorjamb, and Mather intoned: "You are young, and have the world before you; stoop as you go through it, and you will miss many hard thumps." (see http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1611.htm)

The world at this time in human history is much too proud to stoop to God’s revealed will. And thus, I fear, the world is headed for some thumps. And none of us will escape those thumps. But we would be wise to prepare for those thumps, and to take measures to lessen their blow upon us. Although I am a C.P.A., I will not provide financial advice in this book on my views of how to prepare for what may well be before us. Though I have some definite views, that is not the purpose for which I write this book. But I would commend the following advice for people’s consideration.

I would recommend that Christians move from those areas which evidence already suggests have been targeted for destruction. Even without this book, or even any agreement with my eschatological conclusions, one can see now how certain cities in the world have been targeted. September 11, 2001 obviously revealed that terrorists have targeted Washington, D.C. and New York City for attack. And subsequent events- from sniper shootings to anthrax-laced letters to malarial mosquitoes – have only confirmed suspicions. Baghdad has also been targeted for attack, but that by the United States in its engagement with Iraq. And the Gulf War of the early 1990’s showed that Tel Aviv was target for attack by Iraq if Iraq was attacked. And Iraq has warned of various cities in Muslim nations in the Middle East which will be targeted for attack if they cooperate with the United States. Terrorists also seem to have targeted London. Prudence would suggest that all of these cities, and especially Washington, D.C., should be fled from before it is too late. That does not mean other areas are not in danger as well (remember the Oklahoma City bombing, as well as bombings in Manila and Bali), but these present themselves as most in danger.

I would also recommend that Protestants correct certain errors upon which we have stumbled over the course of our history. Even genuine Christians can be misled in some respects, and these errors have inevitably inflicted their own troubles upon us. Let me briefly outline some of these errors that in my opinion have led Protestants in many cases to be used as unwitting tools for humanist domination.

First, let’s consider the Anabaptist/Baptist error- the myth of religious neutrality. The same myth which leads Anabaptists/Baptists to believe their children should be left religiously neutral and unclaimed for Christ by baptism has also typically led them to believe the civil government can and should be left religiously and denominationally neutral and unclaimed for Christ. But neutrality is a myth indeed. No person and no government is religiously and denominationally neutral. That person which is not Christian will be anti-Christian. And that government which is not reformed will inevitably be anti-reformed. A father should claim his children for Christ by baptism, like Isaac claimed both Jacob and Esau for Christ by circumcision. That some of the children show themselves to be non-elect rebels as did Esau is irrelevant to the duty of the father. His duty is to say, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Similarly, civil government must be reformed and claimed for Christ. That government that is not run to glorify Christ and to obey and enforce the Ten Commandments will inevitably be run contrary to Christ and contrary to the Ten Commandments. There simply is no neutrality, and we should not say that some man or institution of man should in principle be left unclaimed for Christ.

But at almost every turn in the Protestant Reformation and its aftermath Anabaptists and Baptists undermined reformed Christian governments, in hopes of some neutral and more “tolerant” alternative. They opposed reformed Christian government in Calvin’s Geneva. They opposed reformed Christian government in the Netherlands. They were major supporters of Cromwell’s overturning of the Puritan Long Parliament and suppression of established Presbyterianism in the United Kingdom under the Solemn League and Covenant. From Roger Williams to the formation of the United States, they labored to overturn the established Puritan government in New England. And when reformed government has been overturned, the long term consequences have inevitably been in favor of Jesuit-style humanism. Protestants must repent of the Anabaptist/Baptist error. By now in history we should realize what will result if we seek religiously and denominationally neutral civil government. The Baptists’ great experiment with a religiously and denominationally neutral nation- without religious test oaths or established churches – has been found wanting.

Second, let’s consider the pipe dream of obtaining a moral government which does not apply and enforce the first as well as the second table of the Ten Commandments. The first table of the Ten Commandments, of course, concerns man’s duty to God, in such commands as not worshipping idols and keeping the Sabbath day holy. Many Protestants have supposed that they could obtain a government which enforced commands against murderous abortion, sexual sodomy, and the like, without enforcing the first table. But a nation given to false religion and false worship will inevitably plunge into sodomy, murder, covenant-breaking, etc., as we learn in Romans 1. According to Isaiah 47, why was Babylon brought down? Was it not for her false religion and sorcery? And did not these lead to sins relating to the second table of the Law? And why should we believe that any nation where false religion and false worship are not suppressed will lead to something different from Babylon, Sodom, Rome and Egypt? This article recently appeared in Worldnetdaily (see http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=29328):

“A prison sentence for quoting the Bible in Canada? Holy Scriptures treated as "hate literature"?

That could happen if a proposed bill is passed by Parliament, according to opponents who believe it would criminalize public expression against homosexual behavior.

A self-described homosexual member of the House of Commons, Svend Robinson, is expected this week to reintroduce bill C-415, which would add sexual orientation as a protected category in Canada's genocide and hate crimes legislation…

U.S. opponents of this kind of legislation fear that the United States is heading in the direction of Canada and Sweden as battles continued to be waged over the addition of sexual orientation as a protected category in hate crimes laws and employment discrimination.

"I think the U.S. is not far behind Canada," said John Paulk, gender and homosexuality specialist for Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs.

Canadian pro-family activists also are concerned about challenges to the definition of marriage, especially after an Ontario court ruled earlier this year that restricting marriage to a man and a woman is unconstitutional and discriminatory.”

Anyone who does not see that the West has plunged into the same moral morass as every previous society and government founded upon a religion or philosophy other than the Bible must surely be blind. Show me a nation’s government that is not constitutionally reformed and Christian (in fact as well as theory), and I will show you a nation that degenerates into every wickedness imaginable.

And scripture itself testifies to the duty. All of the good judges and kings in Israel’s history were expected to enforce not only the second table but also the first table of the Law. When the book of Romans authorizes government to punish evil doers, it in no wise limits ‘evil’ to infractions of simply the second table. So Christians must recognize the duty of government to protect God’s interests as represented in the first table of the Law as well as man’s interests as represented in the second table of the Law.

Third, let’s consider the poor excuse for non-Christian government rooted in pessimistic amillennial and pre-millennial eschatologies. These eschatological interpretations deny that God will give the world a special period of millennial restoration before Christ’s Second Advent. Now I have already addressed the errors in these interpretations, in this book as well as other books. The prophetic books like Revelation and Isaiah not only foretold the outgrowth of Biblical governments in the Protestant Reformation following the ‘wilderness’ experience of the church, but they also foretold a glorious millennial restoration before Christ’s Second Advent. We must not lose faith that God can accomplish this, even though circumstances now seem so much against it. We have a foretaste of such societies from the days of the Protestant Reformation. And God is a faithful miracle worker, who performs wonders for His own glory. We must not be defeatist.

Finally, let’s reject the error of adopting revolutionary methods to obtain reformed Christian government. This falls into the Jesuit Bellarminian trap. I had previously in this book noted Calvin’s statement about revolution in his Institutes, but it bears repeating:

“We need not labour to prove that an impious king is a mark of the Lord's anger, since I presume no one will deny it, and that this is not less true of a king than of a robber who plunders your goods, an adulterer who defiles your bed, and an assassin who aims at your life, since all such calamities are classed by Scripture among the curses of God. But let us insist at greater length in proving what does not so easily fall in with the views of men, that even an individual of the worst character, one most unworthy of all honour, if invested with public authority, receives that illustrious divine power which the Lord has by his word devolved on the ministers of his justice and judgment, and that, accordingly, in so far as public obedience is concerned, he is to be held in the same honour and reverence as the best of kings.”

So the methods of our warfare against wicked rulers are not carnal. Neither Christ nor His Apostles employed political revolution to accomplish their goals, nor should we. Rather, as Christians we must beseech and pray that civil magistrates would repent and give us reformed Christian government. Every civil magistrate- be it a local city council or a state legislature or a national congress- has the duty to be reformed Christian and to apply and enforce the Ten Commandments. And this must be our message to them. God will judge them if they do not obey, and they cannot use as an excuse that the government over them was not Christian. This is no more a valid excuse than the head of a household allowing idol worship or Sabbath desecration in his household on the excuse that he was a citizen of a nation which required such. Every civil magistrate reports first and foremost to Jesus Christ, and secondarily to the magistrate above him. This means every civil magistrate has the duty to apply and enforce the Ten Commandments within his realm of authority in accordance with scriptural principle.

I fear, however, that some Presbyterians and perhaps others are considering revolution as a tool to attain their ends of reformed civil government, as they did in the American Revolution. As we read at http://www.natreformassn.org/statesman/01/poltheo.html, many Presbyterian dissenters fell into this trap in the past:

“At the time of the War for Independence, Covenanters mingled their blood with that of Christians of various descriptions so that the yoke of tyranny might be thrown off. In 1787, with the establishment of a new, and innovating, written Constitution, the Covenanters found that they had been miserably betrayed.”

This contrasts with the many Scot-Irish Presbyterians who took another course of action, as we read at http://students.imsa.edu/~falcon12/rahlin_5_3/what_if.htm :

“Furthermore, there were many colonists who still supported the King. These men were known as Loyalists, or Tories, and at least 30,000 openly supported the British government. There were Tories who disagreed with the King, but still supported him. Many merchants or well-off colonists were Loyalists, as well as freed slaves and Scot-Irish men. Generally, Loyalists were men did not wish to be governed by "gentlemen" and would rather be ruled by the King of England. 80,000 men left the colonies because of their allegiance to the king. As John Adams estimated, of all the colonists, one third were against the British, one third were Tories, and one third were neutral.”

God’s people did not employ revolution in the restoration following the Babylonian captivity. And as F. Tupper Saussy points out, they did not engage in revolution under the tyranny of the Egyptian rulers. Nor did David kill King Saul in order to become king. Nor did Christ and His Apostles engage in or advocate revolt against their Roman tyrants. It was the Judaistic Zealots who employed such means, and they were judged for it in 70 A.D.

Again, we must beseech and pray, and then be content to watch God move the minds and hearts of kings to embrace the truth of the reformed faith. As individual Christians, we must not join a movement to overturn God-appointed authority, even when that authority does wickedly.

But the kings and rulers of this world should not assume there will be no consequence if they despise God’s law and oppress God’s people. We live in a world where the costs of wickedness are increasing each day. There are more sophisticated weapons and more terrorists willing to use them. Your immoral mismanagement of the world has already caused untold human suffering. If you continue this course God will break you with a rod of iron and dash you in pieces like a potter’s vessel. So I would end where I began this book: a plea to the rulers now in rebellion against Christ’s rule to ‘kiss the Son’ and ‘let my people go.’

APPENDICES

The information presented in the appendices of this book are intended to provide supplemental information for those investigating this book’s contentions. There is much more information available on the internet and in the libraries to substantiate its claims. Also, it is important for readers of this book to examine the books cited in the introductory chapter.
APPENDIX ONE : MORE INFORMATION ON THE INFLUENCE OF FREEMASONRY IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE WORLD

Freemasonry has had a profound influence in spreading the doctrines of the Enlightenment in American society as well as abroad. Information in this appendix from various websites testifies to its influence. It is not my purpose to prove in this appendix a Masonic conspiracy, but rather to demonstrate masonry’s prominent position in the formation and life of the United States, given all the prominent personalities among its ranks. Given its anti-Biblical character and false doctrines, it should come as no surprise how it has been instrumental in promoting spiritual fornication in this country and even in the world.

Below is at least a partial list of famous Masons, listed on the Masonic website http://www.calodges.org/no406/FAMASONS.HTM, :which I encourage you to visit for more extensive information. Clearly, masons have occupied the highest echelons of power in the U.S. and the world.

MASONIC PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES

      George Washington, 1st President, 1789 - 1797, Commanding General during American Revolution, made a Mason August 4, 1753, in Fredericksburg Lodge (now No. 4), A. F. & A. M., Fredericksburg, Virginia.
      James Monroe, 5th President, 1817 - 1825, made a Mason November 9, 1775, in Williamsburg Lodge (now No. 6), A.F. & A.M., Williamsburg, Virginia.
      Andrew Jackson, 7th President, 1829 - 1837 Harmony Lodge No. 1, Nashville, Tennessee, an Honorary Member of Federal Lodge No. 1, F. & A.M., Washington, D.C., and Jackson Lodge No. 1, F. & A.M., Tallahassee, Florida. In 1822 and 1823 he served as the Grand Master of Masons in Tennessee.
      James Knox Polk, 11th President, 1845 - 1849, made a Mason September 4, 1820, in Columbia Lodge No. 31, F. & A.M., Columbia, Tennessee.
      James Buchanan, 15th President, 1857 - 1861, made a Mason January 24, 1817, in Lodge No. 43 (it has no name), F. & A.M., Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
      Andrew Johnson, 17th President, 1865 - 1869, made a Mason during May, 1851, in Greeneville Lodge No. 119 (now No. 3), F. & A.M., Greeneville, Tennessee.
      James Abram Garfield, 20th President. 1881, made a Mason November 22, 1864, in Columbus Lodge No. 30 F. & A.M., Columbus, Ohio.
      William McKinley, 25th President, 1897 - 1901, made a Mason May 3, 1865, in Hiram Lodge No. 21, A.F. & A.M., Winchester, Virginia.
      Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President, 1901 - 1909, made a Mason April 24, 1901, in Matinecock Lodge No. 806, F. & A.M., Oyster Bay, New York.
      William Howard Taft, 27th President, 1909 - 1913 - Chief Justice Supreme Court 1921 - 1930, made a "Mason at Sight" in an "Occassional Lodge" called for that purpose on February 18, 1909, in the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Cincinnati, Ohio, by Charles S. Hoskinson, Grand Master of Masons in Ohio.
      Warren Gamaliel Harding, 29th President, 1921 - 1923, made a Mason August 27, 1920, in Marion Lodge No. 70, F. & A.M., Marion, Ohio.
      Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President, 1933 - 1945, made a Mason November 28, 1911, in Holland Lodge No. 8, F. & A.M., New York, New York, the same Lodge in which George Washington, the Nation's first President, held Honorary membership.
      Harry S. Truman, 33rd President, 1945 - 1951, made a Mason March 18, 1909, in Belton Lodge No. 450, A.F. & A.M., Belton, Missouri. He served as the Grand Master of Masons of Missouri in 1940.
      Gerald R. Ford, Jr. 38th President, 1974 - 1977. He was raised to the Sublime degree of Master Mason on May 18, 1951 in Columbia Lodge No. 3, F. &.A.M., of Washington, D.C., as a courtesy for Malta Lodge No. 465, F. & A.M. of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
      Johnson, Lyndon Baines 1908-1973. President U.S. Entered Apprentice degree Johnson City Lodge No. 561, Johnson City, Texas October 30, 1937. Did not advance.

Presidential Candidates:

      Dewey, Thomas E. - New York Governor
      Dole, Bob - former U.S. Senator/Majority Leader, Kansas; Russell Lodge No. 177, Kansas
      Goldwater, Barry - Former Senator from Arizona
      Humphrey, Hubert H. - Vice President of the United States
      McGovern, George - Senator from South Dakota
      Stassen, Harrold E. - Minnesota Governor &emdash; Fellowship Shekinah Lodge No. 257, St. Paul, MN; 33º, Grand Cross A.A.S.R., S.J.
      Wallace, Governor George C. - Presidential Candidate who was nearly assasinated

Of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence, the following were known to be members of a Masonic lodge:

      Benjamin Franklin - 1 of 13 Masonic signers of Constitution of the U.S. member of St. John's Lodge, Tun Tavern, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Past Provincial Grand Master of Pennsylvania
      Elbridge Gerry, member of Philanthropic Lodge, Marblehead, Massachusetts.
      John Hancock, made a Master Mason, at the age of 23, in 1760, in Merchants Lodge No. 1, Quebec City, the first civilian Lodge established in Canada after the Conquest. In 1763, he went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he affiliated with St. Andrew's Lodge.
      William Hooper, member of Hanover Lodge, Masonborough, North Carolina.
      Richard Stockton, charter member, and first Master of St. John's Lodge, Princeton, New Jersey.
      Matthew Thornton, made a Mason in a Lodge attached to a British Regiment of Foot during the Siege of Louisburg, Canada, in 1745, serving in a New Hampshire Colonial Regiment as a surgeon. Baron Von Steuben, while at Valley Forge, is said to have conferred the higher Degrees on him and to have been the only Signer who attained the 32nd Degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.
      George Walton, member of Solomons Lodge No. 1, Savannah, Georgia.
      William Whipple, member of St. Johnþs Lodge No. 1, Portsmouth, New Jersey.
      The following named Signers have been referred to as members of the Fraternity by various Masonic writers, and in Masonic publications, but their Lodge affiliation is not known:
      Roger Sherman, claimed to have been made a Mason prior to the American Revolution. A Masonic Apron said to be worn by him is in the collection at Yale University.
      Josiah Bartlett, one so named is listed as a charter member of King Solomon's Lodge, Charlestown, Massachusetts. Descendants, however, say he was not a member of the Craft. There is doubt that this Bartlett is the signer, and records of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts do not show his Lodge affiliation.
      Philip Livingston, often referred to as a Mason, but this is open to debate. Records of the Grand Lodge of New York do not disclose his name. Several members, named Livingston, are noted in the records of Holland Lodge No. 8, New York City, New York.
      Joseph Hewes. Records of Unanimity Lodge No. 7, Edenton, North Carolina, show his name as a visitor on St. John's Day, December, 1776.
      Robert Treat Paine, member of a Massachusetts Lodge. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts records do not show his affiliation He was said to be present at the celebration of St. John's Day, Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, in June, 1759.
      Thomas McKean, noted as a frequent visitor to Perseverance Lodge No. 2l, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The McKean genealogy has stated he was a Mason, although his name is not found on the records of the Grand Lodge of Delaware, which was not organized until the close of the American Revolution. A brother, Samuel McKean, was a member of the Fraternity.
      John Penn, known to have attended Lodges in North Carolina, but his Masonic affiliation is not known.
      Lyman Hall, claimed to have been a member of Solomons Lodge No. 1, Savannah, Georgia.
      William Ellery, claimed as a member of a Lodge in Boston, Massachusetts.
      Thomas Nelson, Jr., claimed to have visited Lodge No. 9, Yorktown, Virginia, after the Siege of that place was lifted in the Revolutionary War, accompanied by Lafayette and Washington.
      Absence of definite proof of the Masonic affiliation of the Signers named in the foregoing paragraphs, precludes the possibility of knowing. This is also the case with Thomas Jefferson; John Adams; Benjamin Rush, Robert Morris; John Witherspoon; George Wythe; Francis Lightfoot Lee; Richard Henry Lee, and others. Caesar Rodney, of Delaware fame, had a son Caesar Augustus Rodney - a member of the Craft. George Read, another Signer from Delaware, had a son - George M. Read - who was Grand Master of Pennsylvania. Samuel Huntington had a son who was Grand Master of Ohio.

Foreign Leaders:

      Abbott, Sir John J.C. - Prime Minister of Canada 1891-92
      Miguel Aleman (Mexican President 1947-52)
      Allende, Salvador - Former President of Chile, Lodge Progresso No. 4, Valpariso
      Emilio Aguinaldo (Phillippine Patriot and General)
      Ataturk, Mustapha Kemal, Former President of Turkey 1923-1938
      Barclay, E-J. - President of Liberia in 1930 - 1941. Depute-Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Liberia in 1930
      Barrientos, Rene. - 1925-1969. President of Bolivie 1964
      Batista, Mariano. 1832-1907. - President of Bolivia in 1892.
      Benes, Eduard - President of Czechoslovakia 1935-1938. Lodge Ian Amos Komensky No. 1, Prague and Lodge Pravda Vitezi
      Bennett, Viscount R.B. - Prime Minister of Canada 1930-35
      Bertrand, Francisco - 1870-1926 President of Honduras.
      Sveinn Bjornsson (1st President of Iceland)
      Bolivar, Simon. 1783-1830 - Hero of the Independence of South American countries from Spain. Known as the George Washington of South America.
      Bonaparte, Napolean - Military Leader, Emperor of France (and his four brothers)
      Bonaparte, Joseph 1768-1844. - King of Naples
      Borden, Sir Robert L. - Prime Minister of Canada 1911-1920
      Botha, Pik - Former Foreign Minister of South Africa
      Bowell, Sir Mackenzie - Prime Minister of Canada 1894-96
      Brant, Joseph - Chief of the Mohawks 1742 - 1807
      King Charles XIII (King of Sweden 1748-1818)
      Churchill, Winston, Sir. 1874-1965. - Former Prime Minister Member of the Studholme Lodge 1591, of London.
      Diefenbaker, John G. - Prime Minister of Canada 1957-63
      Doumer, Paul - President of France
      Doumergue, Gaston - President of France
      Edward VIII - King of England who abdicated the throne in less than 1 year
      Edward VII - King of England
      Frederic II - King of Prussia
      Frederick the Great, King of Prussia 1740-86
      Francis I Holy Roman Emperor, 1745-65.
      Francis II Holy Roman Emperor, 1768-1806.
      Frederic VII - King of Denmark. 1806-1863.
      Garibaldi, Giuseppe. 1807-1882. - Deputy of Rome.
      George VI - King of England during W.W. II
      Georges II 1895-1952. - King of Greece
      Gustave V - King of Sweden 1907 - 1950.
      Gustavus VI Adolphus (King of Sweden 1792-1809)
      Joffre 1852-1931 - Marshall of France.
      Kamehemeha IV King of Hawaii (1854-63).
      Kemehemeha V King of Hawaii (1863-72).
      Lafayette, Marquis de - French Supporter of Amerian Freedom
      Leopold I - King of Belgium (1831-65)
      MacDonald, Sir John A. - Prime Minister of Canada 1867-73 and 1878-91
      Mitterand, Alexandre - President of France
      Peter the Great (Emperor of Russia 1689-1725)
      Tirpitz, Alfred Von 1849-1930 - German Naval officer responsible for submarine warfare
      William I (King of Prussia 1861- 88)
      William II (King of the Netherlands (1792-1849)
      William IV (King of England (1830-37)

United States Supreme Court Justices:

      Baldwin, Henry
      Black, Hugo L.
      Blair, John Jr.,
      Blatchford, Samuel
      Burton, Harold H.
      Byrnes, James F.
      Catton, John
      Clark, Thomas C.
      Clarke, John H.
      Cushing, William
      Devanter, Willis Van
      Douglas, William O.
      Ellsworth, Oliver
      Field, Stephen J.
      Harlan, John M.
      Jackson, Robert H.
      Lamar, Joseph E.
      Marshall, Thurgood
      Marshall, John - Chief Justice 1801 - 1835
      Mathews, Stanley
      Minton, Sherman
      Moody, William H.
      Nelson, Samuel
      Paterson, William - Signer US Constitution
      Pitney, Mahlon
      Reed, Stanley F.
      Rutledge, Wiley B.
      Stewart, Potter
      Swayne, Noah H.
      Todd, Thomas
      Trimble, Robert
      Vinson, Frederick M. - Chief Justice 1946 - 1953
      Warren, Earl - Chief Justice 1953 - 197?, Governor of California, Grand Master of California
      Woodbury, Levi
      Woods, William B.

United States Senators:

      Bryan, Richard
      Burns, Conrad
      Byrd, Robert
      Dirksen, Everett
      Douglas, Stephen
      Ervin Samual J. Jr, who headed "Watergate" Committee
      Glenn, John H. - First American to orbit the earth in a space craft. Member of Concord #688 Concord, Ohio.
      Grassley, Charles
      Hatfield, Mark
      Helms, Jesse
      Hollings, Ernest
      Johnston, Bennett Jr.
      Kemp, Jack - Secretary of HUD, New York; Fraternal Lodge No. 625 in Hamburg, NY, Quarterback for Buffalo Bills
      Lott, Trent
      Nunn, Sam
      Simpson, Alan
      Thomas, Craig

United States Military Leaders:

      Aldrin, Edwin E. "Buzz" Astronaut; second man on the moon, Montclair Lodge No. 144 New Jersey.
      Allen, Ethan - General, Revolutionary War; Windsor, Vermont
      Arnold, Gen. Henry "Hap" - Commander of the Army Air Force during World War II
      Bradley, Omar N. - Five Star General of the Army, World War II, U.S.
      Byrd, Richard E. Admiral - Arctic & Anarctic explorer, 1st to fly over North Pole
      Cooper, Gordon "Gordo" - Astronaut
      Chenault, Claire L. - World War II General
      Clark, Mark - World War II General, European Theater
      Doolittle, James - General, famous World War II Air Force Pilot
      Farragut, Admiral David G. (First Admiral of the U.S. Navy)
      Grissom, Virgil (Gus) - Astronaut
      Irwin, Jim - Astronaut
      James, Daniel "Chappie" - General, U.S. Air Force
      Jones, John Paul - Founder and First Admiral of the U.S. Navy - St. Bernard Lodge No. 122 (now St. Cuthbert No. 41)
      King, Ernest J. - World War II Five Star Admiral, Comander of Pacific Theater
      Knox, Henry - Revolutionary War General
      LaMay, Curtis E. - Air Force General, Commander of Strategic Air Command
      MacArthur, Douglas - Five Star General, Allied Commander in the Pacific in World War II,
      Marshall, George C. - Five Star General, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff World War II, Post war Secretary of State and Architect of the Marshall Plan.
      McClellan, George B. - General, Union Army
      Murphy, Audie - Most decorated American Soldier of World War II
      Peary, Robert E. Admiral - First man to reach the North Pole (1909) - Kane Lodge No. 451, NY
      Perry, Matthew Calbraith - Commodore; responsible for opening relations with Japan; Holland Lodge No. 8, New York City
      Pershing, John Joseph "Blackjack" - General of the Armies, Commander of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I
      Pickett, George E. - Maj. Gen. (CSA), led "Pickett's Charge" at Gettysburg
      Pike, Zebulon - Military explorer who discovered Pike's Peak, which is named for him
      Rickenbacker, Eddie - Great American Air Force Ace
      Ridgeway, Matthew B. - US Military Leader, General who succeeded MacArthur in Korea
      Schirra, Wally - Astronaut
      Schwartzkopf, Norman - Former U.S. General, Desert Storm commander
      Stillwell, Joseph - World War II General
      Wainwright, Johnathon - World War II General, survived Battan Death March

Pioneers who helped settle the United States:

      Astor, John Jacob - Fur trader and financier
      Austin, Stephen F. - Father of Texas, Louisiana Lodge No. 109, St. Genevieve, Missouri.
      Blair, John - Signer US Constitution
      Bougainville, Louis-Antoine - Navigator.1729-1811
      Bowie, James - Died at the Alamo
      Brearley, David - Signer US Constitution
      Burbank, Luther - Pioneering botanist
      Burnett, David G. - 1st President of the Republic of Texas
      Carson, Christopher "Kit" - Frontiersman, scout and explorer; Montezuma Lodge No. 109,
New Mexico.
      Clark, William - Explorer (Lewis and Clark)
      Clemens, Samuel L. - Mark Twain - writer
      Cody, William F. "Buffalo Bill" - Indian fighter, Wild West Show
      Colt, Samuel - Firearms inventor
      Crockett, David - American Frontiersman and Alamo fame
      Dayton, Jonathan - Signer US Constitution
      Dubois, W.E.B. - Educator/Author/Historian
      Ellery, William - One of nine Masonic signers of the Declaration of Independence
      Fitch, John - Inventor of the Steamboat
      Fuller, Alfred (Fuller Brush)
      Fulton, Robert - Inventor of 1st Submarine and Steam powered warship
      Gatling, Richard J. - Built the "Gatling Gun"
      Hall, Prince - Founded African Lodge in U.S. African Lodge is the Grandfather of Prince Hall Masonry.
      Henry, Patrick - Patriot
      Henson, Mathew - Explorer
      Henson, Josiah - Inspired the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
      Houston, Sam - 2nd and 4th President of the Republic of Texas
      Jones, Anson - 5th President of the Republic of Texas
      Key, Francis Scott - Wrote U.S. National Anthem
      Lewis, Meriwether - Explorer (Lewis and Clark)
      Lamar, Mirabeau B. - 3rd President of the Republic of Texas
      Lindbergh, Charles - Aviator. First solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean - member of Keystone Lodge No. 243, St. Louis, MO
      Marshall, James W. - Discovered Gold at Sutter's Mill California 1848
      McHenry, James - Signer of the U.S. Constitution - Spiritual Lodge No. 23, Maryland
      Revere, Paul - Famous Midnight Ride - Grand Master of Massachusetts
      Rush, Benjamin - one of nine Masonic signers of the Declaration of Independence.
      Stanford, Leland - California pioneer - Drove the golden spike linking the intercontinetal railroad and founded Stanford University
      Travis, Colonel William B. - died at Alamo
      Wright, Orville and Wilber - Inventors of Airplane

Other Civic Leaders:

      Bradley, Thomas - Mayor of Las Angeles, CA
      Carnahan, Melvin - Governor of Missouri
      Clinton, DeWitt - Governor of New York
      Freeman, Orville - Former Governor of Minnesota and Secretary of Agriculture.
      Hawkins, Augustus F. - US Congressman from California
      Hoover, J. Edgar - Director of FBI
      La Guardia, Fiorella H. - La Guardia Airport, Mayor of New York 1930's and 40's
      New, Harry S. - Postmaster General who established Airmail
      Poinsett, Joel R. - U.S. Minister to Mexico who developed the Poinsettia
      Rangal, Charles B. - U.S. Congressman from New York
      Stassen, Harold - Statesman, signer of U.N. Charter
      Stokes, Louis - U.S. Congressman from Ohio
      Stokes, Carl B. - First Black elected Mayor, Cleveland, Ohio
      Thompson, Tommy - Governor of Wisconsin, Secretary of Health and Human Services 2001 -
      Young, Andrew - Former Mayor of Atlanta

Medical Leaders:

      Desaguliers, Jean-Theophile - Physician. Inventor of the planetarium. 1683-1744.
      Jenner, Edward - Inventor - Vaccination
      Mayo, Drs. William and Charles - Founded the Mayo Clinic
      Menninger, Karl A. - Psychiatrist famous for treating mental illness
      Mesmer, Franz Anton 1734-1815 - practiced Mesmerism which led to Hypnotism
      Still, Andrew T. - American Physician who devised treatment of Osteopathy
      Wootton, Percy, MD - President American Medical Association (1997- )

Sports Heroes:

      Alexander, Grover C.
      Ballard, Harold Owner Toronto Maple Leafs NHL team. Corinthian No. 481, Toronto, ON.
      Brown, Mordecai P.C.
      Chandler, Albert “Happy”
      Cobb, Tyrus R. “Ty” - Baseball Hall of Fame Player
      Combs, Earle Bryan - Baseball Hall of Fame
      Corchran, Gordon “Mickey”
      Dempsey, Jack - Heavyweight boxing champion
      Hornsby, Rogers - An original member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
      Hubbel, Carl - Baseball; Meeker Lodge No. 479, Oklahoma
      Johnson, John A 'Jack' - Heavyweight boxing title holder
      Mathewson, Christopher “Christy”
      Palmer, Arnold - Golf Pro
      Rickey, Branch - Baseball Legend, Signed Jackie Robinson (first black in major league).
      Robinson, Sugar Ray - World Champion Boxer
      Starr, Bart - Football Quarterback - Green Bay Packers.
      Wagner, Honus - Baseball batting legend
      Young, Cy - Famous baseball pitcher for whom the Cy Young Award is named

Authors, Publishers and Poets:

      Abbott, Robert Sengstacke - Founder/publisher Chicago Defender
      Burns, Robert - National Poet of Scotland; St. David's Lodge No. 174, Tarbolton, Scotland.
      Chagall, Marc - Artist, painter.
      Collodi, Carlo - Author of Pinocchio
      Conan Doyle, Arthur - 1859-1930. Member of Phoenix Lodge 257, Portsmouth, in 1886. Author of Sherlock Holmes
      Dac, Pierre. 1895-1975 - Humorist
      Doyle, Sir Author Conan - Writer - Sherlock Holmes
      Fleming, Sir Alexander - USA. Invented penicillin. 1881-1955.
      Fortune, Timpothy Thomas - Journalist
      Gannett, Frank E. - Hobosco Lodge No. 716, Ithaca, NY - media empire
      Gibbon, Edward - Author of "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"
      Gray, Harold Lincoln - Creator of "Little Orphan Annie"
      Guest, Edgar A. - Poet; "The Lambskin Apron"
      Haley, Alex - Author
      Harvey, Paul - Radio personality
      Johnson, John H. - Publisher EBONY and Jet magazines
      Kipling, Rudyard - Author.  Nobel Prize in 1907.
      Lemon, Mark - Founder of Punch, humorous British magazine
      Pushkin, Aleksander - Russian Poet
      Salten, Felix - Creator of Bambi
      Scott, Sir Walter - Writer
      Service, Robert, Poet of the Klondike Gold Rush
      Shakespeare, William - Writer
      Swift, Johathan - Wrote Gulliver's Travels
      Tolstoi, Leo - Russian Author
      Voltaire, François-Marie Arouet 1694-1778. - French writer and philosopher
      Wallace, Lewis - Wrote "Ben Hur"
      Wilde, Oscar. 1854-1900. - Writer

Entertainment Industry:

      Accuff, Roy - Entertainer
      Armstrong, Louis - Jazz Musician.  Montgomery Lodge No. 18, PHA, New York.
      Arnold, Eddy - Entertainer
      Atkins, Chet - Musician, Guitar
      Autry, Gene - Actor - Western Heritage Museum, Catoosa Lodge No. 185, Catoosa, Oklahoma
      Bach, Jahann Christian - Composer
      Bassie, William "Count" - Orchestra leader/composer, Wisdom Lodge No. 102 PHA, Chicago and Shriner, New York.
      Beethoven, Ludwig Van. - 1770-1827. Composer
      Berlin, Irving - Composer/Entertainer
      Borgnine, Ernest - Actor
      Brown, Joe E.
      Burns, Bob
      Cantor, Eddie
      Caine, Michael - Actor
      Cervi, Gino 1901-1974. - Italian Actor, famous for his roles in films as "Don Camillo"
      Clark, Roy - Country western singer; Jenks Lodge No. 497, Oklahoma
      Coburn, Charles D.
      Cohan, George M. - Composer/Broadway star
      Cole, Nat 'King' - Great ballad singer
      Cody, William F. “Buffalo Bill”
      Costello, Lou - Comedian
      Crisp, Donald       Crosby, Norm - Entertainer
      DeMille, Cecil B. - Epic Film Director
      Dix, Richard
      Eastwold, Scott - Musician
      Ellington, Duke - Jazz composer, arranger and stylist
      Fairbanks, Douglas, Sr. - Silent film actor
      Fields, W.C. - Actor
      Gable, Clark - Actor
      Gibson, Hoot - Cowboy actor; Truth Lodge No. 628, Los Angeles, CA
      Gilbert, Sir William S. - Was the librettis for "Pirates of Penzance"
      Gilbert and Sullivan - Composers and playwrights
      Godfrey, Arthur - Actor
      Goethe, Johann Wolfgang 1749-1832.
      Griffith, David W.
      Grock - Swiss Circus Clown
      Hampton, Lionel - Orchestra Leader/Composer
      Handel, George Fredrick - Composer
      Handy, William C. - Composer "Father of the Blues"
      Hardy, Oliver - Actor - Comedian (Laurrel & Hardy)
      Hayden, Franz Josef F. 1732-1809 - Composer
      Hershfield, Harry - Radio entertainer
      Hersholt, Jean
      Houdini, Harry - Magician
      Ives, Burl - Entertainer
      Jolson, Al - Fame as the first 'talking picture' the Jazz Singer. St. Cecile Lodge No. 568, New York
      Jones, Charles “Buck”
      Keaton, Buster - Movies, Comedian
      Kellar, Harry
      Kern, Jerome - Composer
      Lincoln, Elmo - First actor to play Tarzan of the Apes (1918)
      Lizt, Franz. Composer
      Lloyd, Harold C. - Silent movie comedian
      Mayer, Louis B. - Film producer who merged to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
      Meichior, Lauritz
      Miller, Glenn - Musician, Band Leader
      Mix, Tom - U.S. Marshal turned actor. Stared in over 400 western films
      Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus - Child musical genius - composer

Mozart's Magic Flute is the background music for this page

      O'Connor, Carroll - Actor
      Powell, Dick
      Ringling Brothers - All 7 brothers and their father were Masons.
      Rogers, Roy - American cowboy and screen star, Hollywood Lodge No. 355, California
      Rogers, Will - Actor; Claremore Lodge No. 53, Oklahoma
      Sellers, Peter 1925-1980 - Actor, Chelsea Lodge # 3098.
      Sibelius, Jean 1865-1957 - Composer (Finland)
      Skelton, Richard B. “Red” - Comedian/Entertainer
      Smith, John Stafford - Wrote the music that became the US National Anthem.
      Sousa, John Philip - Composer - Led the U.S. Marine Band from 1880 - 1892
      Stratton, Charles "Tom Thumb" - Entertainer
      Thomas, Danny - Actor, Entertainer
      Thurston, Howard - Last of the great vauderville magicians.
      Tillis, Mel - Country Singer
      Warner, Jack - Warner Brothers Studio fame
      Wayne, John - Actor; Marion McDaniel Lodge No. 56, Tucson, AZ
      Wagner, Richard
      Whiteman, Paul - "King of Jazz"
      Wyler, William - Director of "Ben Hur"
      Wynn, Ed
      Zanuck, Darryl F. - Co-founder of 20th Century Productions in 1933
      Ziegfeld, Florenz - His Ziegfeld's Follies began in 1907

Religious Leaders:

      Allen, Richard Founder/First Bishop AME Church
      Baker, James C. (Bishop, Methodist Church, organized first Wesley Foundation in U.S.)
      Baylor, Robert E. B. (Baptist clergyman, founder of Baylor University)
      Ballou, Hosea (Founder, Universalist Church)
      Booth, Rev. William - Founder of the Salvation Army
      Bradley, Preston (founder of the Peoples Church)
      Calvo, Father Francisco - Catholic Priest who started Freemasonry in Costa Rica 1865
      Evans, Hugh I. (National head of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.)
      Fisher, Geoffrey - Archbishop of Canterbury 1945 - 1961
      Frank, Eugene M. (Methodist Bishop)
      Jackson, Reverend Jesse - Minister and founder of the Rainbow Coalition
      Low, Titus (President of Methodist Council of Bishops)
      Newton, Joseph Fort - Christian Minister
      Peale, Norman Vincent - Minister and Founder of "Guidepost"
      Sanders, Bishop Carl J. - United Methodist Church
      Sexson, Mark - Minister and Founder: Intl. Order of Rainbow for Girls
      Wesberry, Dr. James P. - Former Exec. Dir./Editor Southern Baptist Publication Sunday

Industrialists and Entrepreneurs:

      Balfour, Lloyd - Jewelry
      Bell, Lawrence - Bell Aircraft Corp
      Carson, Curtis L. - Entrepreneur
      Chrysler, Walter P. - Founded Chrysler Corporation
      Citroen, Andre - French Engineer and motor car manufacturer 1878-1935
      Dow, William H. - Dow Chemical Co.
      Drake, Edwin L - American Pioneer of the Oil industry
      Dunlop, John Boyd - Tire Manufacturer
      Faber, Eberhard - Head of the Eberhard Fabor Pencil Company
      Ford, Henry - Pioneer Automobile Manufacturer
      Forten, James - Abolitionist/Manufacturer
      Gillette, King C. - Gillette Razor Co.
      Hilton, Charles C. - Founder of Hilton Hotels
      Hoe, Richard M. - Invented the rotory press, revolutinizing newspaper printing
      Hoover, Frank - Vacuum cleaner fame
      Lake, Simon - Built first submarine successfull in open sea.
      Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent 1743-1794 - Chemist
      Lipton, Sir Thomas - Famous Yachtsman, Founder Lipton Tea Company
      MacAdam, John - Invented "blacktop pavement"
      Maytag, Fredrick - Maytag appliances
      Mecherle, George Jacob - Founder, State Farm Insurance
      Mellon, Andrew - American industrialist, banker and philanthropist.
      Nash, Charles - Automotive industry
      Olds, Ransom E. - American automobile pioneer
      Penney, James C. - Retailer (J.C. Penney)
      Sanders, Harland "Colonel" - Founder Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurants
      Sarnoff, David - Father of T.V. (RCA)
      Teets, John W. - Chairman and President of Dial Corporation
      Thomas, Dave - Founder of Wendy's Restaurant
      Watson, Thomas - Founder of IBM

Other Famous Masons:

      Agha Khan. 1877-1957.
      Appleton, Sir Edward Victor - English physicist. Nobel prize 1947. Isaac Newton Lodge, No. 859, Cambridge.
      Arnold, Benedict - Major General and early American Revolution war hero. Changed allegiance and sided with British, being named a traitor ever since. Affiliated member of Hiram Lodge No. 1, New Haven, CT.
      Ashmole, Elias - Founder member of the Royal Society, first known English speculative Mason at Warrington, Lancashire, in 1646.
      Bartholdi, Frederic A. - Designed the Statue of Liberty
      Baylor, Robert E. B. - Founder Baylor University
Beard, Daniel Carter - Founder Boy Scouts movement in United States, Mariners Lodge No. 67, New York City.
      Bellamy, Rev. Francis - Authored U.S. Pledge of Allegiance
      Benitez, Conrado, 1889-1971. Philippines.
      Borglum, Gutzon and Lincoln, - Father and son who carved Mt. Rushmore
      Brundage, Avery - Olympic Committee
      Campbell, Sir Malcolm - Land speed record holder
      Casanova - Italian Adventurer, writer and entertainer
      Chagrin, Jean Francious - Designer of The Arc De Triomphe in Paris, France
      DuBois, W.E.B. - Educator/scholar
      Dunant, Jean Henri 1828-1910 - Founder of the Red Cross
      Evers, Medger Wiley - Civil Rights Leader
      Gompers, Samuel - Founder of American Federation of Labor (AFL of AFL-CIO)
      Gris, Juan - Spanish Artist - Synthetic Cubism
      Guillotin, Joseph Ignace - Inventor of the "Guillotin"
      Hedges, Cornelius - "Father" of Yellowstone National Park
      Hoban, James - Architect for the U.S. Captial
      Hooks, Benjamin L. - Former Executive Director, NAACP
      Houdon, Jean-antoine 1741-1828 - Sculptor
      Jones, Melvin - One of the founders of the Lions International
      Khan III, Aga - Statesman
      Lafontaine, Henri - Nobel Prize in 1913.
      Land, Frank S. - Founder Order of DeMolay
      Leazer, Gary - Investigated Freemasonry for Southern Baptist Convention and later joined Freemasonry
      Lewis, John L. - Long time leader of The United Mine Workers
      Livingston, Robert - Co-Negotiator for purchase of Louisiana Territory
      Madison, James - Hiram Lodge, Westmoreland County, Virginia
      Mays, Benjamin - Educator/former President Atlanta University
      Metcalfe, Ralph H. - Olympic Champion
      Michelson, Albert Abraham - Successfully measured the speed of light in 1882
      Montgolfier, Jacques and Joseph - Co-developers of the first practical hot-air balloon
      Morris, Dr. Robert - Poet and Founder of the Order of Eastern Star
      Naismith, James - Inventor of Basketball
      Otis, James - Famous for "Taxations without Representation is Tyranny"
      Papst, Charles F. - Coined the term "Athletes Foot"
      Pound, Roscoe - Former Dean Harvard Law School
      Pullman, George - Built first sleeping car on train.
      Randolph, A. Phillip - Founder - first president, International Brotherhood Sleeping Car Porters.
      Retief, Piet - Afrikaans leader and one of the founders of the South African nation.
      Rhodes, Cecil - Rhodes Scholarship
      Sax, Antoine Joseph - Invented the Saxophone (1846)
      Schoonover, George - Founder of "The Builder"
      William Mark Sexton (International Order of Rainbow for Girls)
      Schadow, Johann G. (Prussian Court Sculptor)
      Schweizer, J. Otto
      Thomas, Lowell - Brought Lawrence of Arabia to public notice. radio announcer/newsman
      Wadlow, Robert Pershing - Tallest human on record being almost 9 feet tall
      Washington, Booker T. - Educator/Founder Tuskegee Institute

Information from the freemasons of Texas website (http://www.grandlodgeoftexas.org/heroes.html) :

“By 1846 Masons had served in nearly every major governmental post in the Republic. All the Presidents and VicePresidents of the Republic of Texas were Masons. In 1844, George K. Teulon, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the Republic of Texas, addressing a gathering of Masons in Portland, Maine, observed "Texas is emphatically a Masonic Country: Our national emblem, the 'Lone Star', was chosed from among the emblems selected by Freemasonry, to illustrate the moral virtues -- it is a five-pointed star, and alludes to the five points of fellowship."

Here is the list of some Texan Masonic “heroes” the site lists:

Stephen F. Austin "The Father of Texas"

Sam Houston "Hero of San Jacinto"

William B. Travis "God and Texas. Victory or Death."

James Bowie "Greatest Fighter in the Southwest"

David Crockett "King of the Wilderness"

James Bonham "Faithful to His Trust"

Ben Milam "Who will follow old Ben Milam?"

David G. Burnet "Elder Statesman of the Republic"

James Fannin "Commander at Goliad"

Mirabeau B. Lamar "Father of Education in Texas"

Anson Jones "First Grand Master"

Lorenzo de Zavala "First Vice President of the Republic"

Edward Burleson "Fourth Vice President of the Republic"

Jose Navarro "Texas Patriot and Legislator"

Adolphus Sterne "First Scottish Rite Mason in Texas"

Thomas Rusk "Chief Justice"

Robert M. Williamson "The Patrick Henry of the Texas Revolution"

Juan N. Seguin "Tejano Patriot"

R.E.B. Baylor "Pro Ecclesia -- Pro Texana"

The major political parties early became dominated by Masonic-oriented political machines. Such was the case with the Albany Regency, arguably the first such political machine arising after 1820. It was developed by Martin Van Buren. As http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0803053.html explains: “the name derived from the charge that Van Buren's principal supporters, residing in Albany, managed the machine for him while he served in the U.S. Senate. During the Jacksonian period the Regency controlled the Democratic party in New York. It was one of the first effective political machines, using the spoils system and rigid party discipline to maintain its control. Notable figures in the Regency were William L. Marcy, Silas Wright, Azariah C. Flagg, and the elder Benjamin F. Butler. After 1842 it split into factions (Barnburners and Hunkers) over issues of internal improvements and slavery, thereby losing its power.”

The power of these political machines is described at

http://www.americanpresident.org/kotrain/courses/AJA/AJA_Campaigns_and_Elections.htm :

“Yet Jackson's victory in the 1828 election was about more than popular approval of his heroic personality and stand on the issues. It also reflected a new era in party politics. As never before, a presidential victory was based upon a powerfully disciplined party organization. In fact, Jackson won the presidency because he had the support of a coalition of newly created party machines (organizations): the so-called Richmond and Nashville Juntos (or clubs), the Albany and Concord Regencies, and the South Carolina organization tightly run by John C. Calhoun. Although the Jackson vote was hailed at the time as a victory for the common man, it was more accurately a victory for a new party organization run by a new breed of campaign managers—men like Martin Van Buren of New York.”

An anti-masonic party arose in response to the killing of a former Mason named William Morgan who wrote a book revealing Masonic secrets. The response is explained at http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0804240.html : “…in reaction local organizations arose to refuse support to Masons for public office. In New York state Thurlow Weed and William H. Seward attempted unsuccessfully to use the movement, which appealed strongly to the poorer classes, to overthrow Martin Van Buren and the Albany Regency. Anti-Masonry spread from New York to neighboring states and influenced many local and state elections. At Baltimore, in 1831, the Anti-Masons held the first national nominating convention of any party and issued the first written party platform—innovations followed by the older parties. The vote for their presidential candidate, William Wirt, mostly hurt Henry Clay. Usually the Anti-Masons in national politics acted with the National Republican party in opposition to Jacksonian democracy, and in 1834 they helped to form the Whig party.”

Even up to our current era Masonic connections figure prominently. Consider the following information pertaining even to our current president:

http://www.dailycatholic.org/issue/2002Feb/feb8fat.htm :

Preston was, and the two Georges are, members of the Masonic Skull and Bones Society. [49] 49. Antony C. Sutton, America's Secret Establishment (Billings, MT: Liberty House Press, 1986), pp. 180-81, 136; "My Heritage is Part of Who I Am," Time, 7 August 2000, p. 42. Further, George Senior was present at Gorbachev's 1995 State of the World Forum assembly at which it was decided that Christianity is mostly to blame for the "population dilemma" and 90% of the world's population has to be cut. [50] 50. John Henry Westen, "World's Elite Gather to Talk Depopulation," The Interim (Toronto), Apri11996, p. 6. James Baker, the elder George's Secretary of State, is a co-chairman of Gorbachev's Forum, and he helped George Junior in his electoral fight. Present Secretary of State Colin Powell was a keynote speaker at the Forum last year.

http://davidicke.www.50megs.com/icke/magazine/vol10/articles/secretoriginssbt.html :

“In May of 1994 a Texas Monthly story (p. 146) by Skip

Hollandsworth, on George W. Bush, briefly stated: "Although he

did not graduate Phi Beta Kappa as his father had, he did follow

his father into the university's Skull and Bones Club, a secret

society for the males of prominent families."

The majority of Bonesmen are from old-line Puritan families.

They include the following families: Whitney, Lord, Phelps.

Wadsworth, Allen, Bundy, Adams, Stimson, Taft, Gilman and

Perkins. A second group of families in the Skull &Bones are:

Harriman, Rockefeller, Payne, Davison, Pillsbury and

Weyerhauser. The Order of Skull and Bones was once called the

"Brotherhood of Death."(1)

http://members.fortunecity.com/lord_visionary/george_w_skull_and_bones.htm :

George W. Bush's Interview With Time Magazine. :

TIME: But you sure shared a lot of the same upbringing: Andover, Yale, even Skull and Bones. Did you have any qualms, say, about joining an elite secret club like Bones?

Bush: No qualms at all. I was honored. I was fairly nonchalant. I didn't view it as a great heritage thing. I didn't take it all that seriously.

TIME: Demystify it a bit for those who might think it's a cross between a Masonic Lodge and the Trilateral Commission. Did your father show up for your initiation, like your grandfather showed up for his?

Bush: Without revealing all the great secrets? I got a few of my old club mates who could demystify it right off the bat. My dad didn't tap me. Someone a year ahead of me tapped me. There was an entry celebration. I can't remember whether my dad showed up or not. I don't think so.

TIME: What was the most important thing about your family legacy?

Bush: The unconditional love I got from my family liberated me. It gave me a sense of security. We were all at a church in Maine recently and the preacher asked whether anyone in the congregation had a perfect family, and the only hand that went up without hesitation was Dad's. It helped Jeb and me not be afraid of defeat.

http://members.fortunecity.com/lord_visionary/skullandbones.htm :

“…William Howard Taft, 27th. President of the United States (R) Confirmed Mason. Was a member of the Order of Skull and Bones. In fact, the Taft family which dates back to Braintree Mass. in 1679, helped start the Skull & Bones Order and at least eight Taft's have been in the Order. Coleman DuPont, went in business with President Taft’s brother Charles P. Taft (member of the Skull & Bones) in 1910 to build McAlpin Hotel in New York City. (Taft’s other brother Horace Taft, was a member of the Order of Skull and Bones.

W. Averell Harriman (init. into Skull & Bones in 1913), the man who helped finance Hitler to power. The Skull and Bones also incorporates sexual activities into their practices. "The death of the initiate will be as frightful as the use of human skeletons and ritual psychology can make it..." (Esquire Magazine, "The Last Secrets of Skull and Bones", Ron Rosenbaum, p. 89). Sexual perversion is part of ritual psychology. Ron Rosenbaum, author of the Esquire Magazine article, stated that on initiation night, called tap night, "...if one could climb to the tower of Weir Hall, the odd castle that overlooks the Bones courtyard, one could hear strange cries and moans coming from the bowels of the tomb as the 15 newly tapped members were put through what sounded like a harrowing ordeal..." (Esquire, September, 1976, p. 86). Further, [initiates] "lay naked in coffins and tell their deepest and darkest sexual secrets as part of their initiation." (Esquire, p. 85).

These experiences in the coffins incorporated sexual pain and resulted in being born-again, into the Order, as we mentioned above. (Cooper, p.95) Powerful force charges through the participants of these ceremonies, transforming their lives dramatically. This type ritual is classic Satanism. Anton LaVey states, in his book (The Satanic Rituals: Companion To The Satanic Bible, (p. 57) "The ceremony of rebirth takes place in a large coffin.. This is similar to the coffin symbolism that...is found in most lodge rituals."

Make no mistake about it: Any organization which utilizes this coffin ritual to simulate rebirth is practicing Satanism, including Skull and Bones. The Skull and Bones believes that on the night of initiation, the initiate "dies to the world and be born again into the Order..." (Esquire Magazine, September, 1977, p. 89). Remember Hitler's belief that he had been born anew after his ritualistic initiation and training? This term is a common one in occultism.

During the 1988 Presidential Campaign, a TV reporter asked Vice-President Bush if he were a Christian. Bush initially stammered, but then said, "if you mean born again, then, yes, I am a Christian". Now we know what George Bush meant by his deliberately misleading statement…”

http://members.tripod.com/~philangelus/future/masonry.html :

“Before the era of "Enlightenment" dawned, the demand for stonemasons had dwindled along with the demand for castles. Of necessity, the organization opened the doors of membership to all men of wealth, and perhaps it is from this time the birth of Freemasonry is reckoned.

Many of the great thinkers of the Enlightenment period were Freemasons, and so were several of our country's founding fathers, such as Thomas Jefferson. Masonic "Temples" and "Lodges" flourished in the new world, except during a brief period of persecution from 1826 to 1836.

The Anti-Masonic Movement, which even produced a presidential candidate, was partially sparked by the unresolved murder of New York banker William Morgan in 1826. Morgan, despite his Masonic oath of secrecy, had announced that he intended to write a book exposing the secrets of Masonry.

During this decade, many Christians left the brotherhood in the U.S., which had a stabilizing effect on the "Craft" according to the Scottish Rite's Southern Jurisdiction Supreme Commander, Albert Pike, in 1871.

Pike lectured his fellow Masons that "Masonry jealously conceals its secrets, and intentionally leads conceited interpreters astray." (Morals and Dogma, p. 105) Pike's work wasn't intended for any Mason below the 32nd-Degree.

The alleged chief purpose of the Lodge, says Dr. Hubert S. Box, is to teach men about the nature of God, yet the known writings of several Masons differ on whether it is a religion or not. Even Pike contradicts himself on the matter.

Foster Bailey, 32nd-Degree Mason, writes, "Masonry is all that remains to us of the first world religion ... Today we are working again towards a world universal religion." (The Spirit of Masonry, p. 29)

Pike explains that "Masonry is a search after light," an explanation echoed by Bailey, 33rd-Degree Mason Manly P. Hall and others. Pike names the Light-bearer as Lucifer (Hebrew for "morning star") who "bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable blinds feeble, sensual or selfish Souls?" (Ibid, p. 321)

Rev. Maximilian Kolbe, who died in Auschwitz, wrote that in 1917 in Rome the Freemasons loudly celebrated their 200 year anniversary by demonstrating in the streets against the Catholic Church. Some carried "black banners depicting the Archangel Michael being trodden underfoot by Satanic Lucifer, as he is called."

Most of these testimonies date from the early part of this century ... isn't Freemasonry different than before? Not according to recent former Masons, such as former 33rd-Degree Mason Rev. Jim Shaw. In 1988, Jim Shaw wrote an autobiographical account of his time with the Masons as a book titled "Deadly Deception," in which he alleges an anti-Christian nature to the fraternity.

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the summer of 1998, Ignatius Press published William Whalen's expose, "Christianity and American Freemasonry," which he wrote with the help of three former high-ranking Masons (now active Catholic laymen). The "Lodge" is not as innocently benevolent as it seems, Whalen alleges.]

All this hardly scratches the surface and is defective by its very abridged treatment. For more information you might inquire with H.R. Taylor Ministries, Box 12, Newtonville, NY 12128. I haven't yet, but the founder is a Protestant minister and another former Mason.”

http://www.jeremiahproject.org/Washtimes1.htm :

Many of the Founding Fathers were Masons, including George Washington, who headed up a lodge in Alexandria, Va. Fifteen presidents, as recently as Gerald Ford, belonged to the fraternity.
     The latest researcher to weigh in on Washington's past is Ron Campbell, a Nazarene minister from Colorado Springs, who moved here two years ago to organize a prayer ministry for the city. Also in 1997, he wrote an article for a Christian magazine detailing how the underpinnings of Washington's founding back in the 1790s were influenced by Masons.
     The city, which was designed by yet another Mason, Pierre L'Enfant, reflected ancient Egyptian paganism, he wrote, dating back to Akhnaten, a pharoah of the 18th dynasty. After Akhnaten placed boundary stones around his city, which was designed as an exact square, he then dedicated the territory to the sun god.
     Washington was similarly marked by Masons in 1791 with foundation stones marking its perfectly square boundaries, Mr. Campbell reported. The Masonic god was invoked in a ceremony and the foundation stone was lowered into the ground in symbolic movements representing the sun in its course. The ceremony ended with a deposit of corn, wine and oil.
     "Just a harmless liturgy?" Mr. Campbell wrote. "To what deity was Washington, D.C., dedicated? Is it possible that through nation's government has been symbolically offered to the kingdom of darkness?"

“From early days, when such noted Brethren as Oliver Ellsworth and James Monroe sat in that august body, through the nineteenth century, when such individuals as Thomas Hart Benton, Henry Clay, Stephen Douglas, and William Boyd Allison filled its ranks, Masons have played a prominent role. In the twentieth century, Robert LaFollette, George Norris, Hubert Humphrey, Henry Jackson, and Barry Goldwater among other noted Masons left their mark on the Senate.

In recent years, several Masons have continued to serve our nation well from the Senates halls. Among those in the 1990s have been Robert Byrd, John Glenn, Robert Dole, and the current majority leader and subject of this sketch, Brother Trent Lott, 33°, Grand Cross, of Mississippi…

During his years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Chester Trent Lott also advanced in Masonry. Shortly after completing law school and returning to the Gulf Coast, he had petitioned, been accepted and initiated an Entered Apprentice in Pascagoula Lodge No. 419 on September 18, 1967. However, the busy schedule of a congressional aide and freshman House member made advancement a challenge. Nonetheless, he was finally passed to the Degree of Fellowcraft on August 23, 1975, and raised a Master Mason on August 29, 1975. That October, Brother Lott took most of his Scottish Rite Degrees in the Valley of Gulfport, but did not receive his 32nd Degree until October 23, 1976. He subsequently received the K.C.C.H. in 1983 and was coroneted a 33° Inspector General Honorary on December 12, 1987…

Since becoming Senate Majority Leader in June 1996, one additional Masonic honor has come to Chester Trent Lott. On October 3, 1997, he was elected to receive the Grand Cross, the highest honor the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, can bestow. Only a few modern political figures have attained this exalted rank.” 

Per http://www.geocities.com/endtimedeception/famous.htm, here is a list of freemasons:

“As Freemasonry is a secret society it is very hard to maintain a current list as many masons remain in the 'closet'. I will endeavor to try my best to keep this list updated.

Political Leaders USA

1. Bill Clinton, Senior Demolay (Masonic youth group)

2. Newt Gingrich, 33rd Degree Freemason

3. Bob Dole, 33rd Degree Freemason

4. Jack Kemp, 33rd Degree Freemason

5. Strom Thurmond, 33rd Degree Freemason

6. Colin Powell, 33rd Degree Freemason, U.S. Secretary of State

7. Jesse Helms, 33rd Degree Freemason

8. Barry Goldwater, 33rd Degree Freemason

9. Al Gore, Freemason

10. George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, James Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Warren Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George Bush were all Masonic Presidents of the U.S.A. All this evidence will be fully documented in my "Masonic Conspiracy" page. (when completed)

Political Leaders Canada

1. Sir John A. MacDonald, Prime Minister of Canada 1867-1873 & 1878-1891

2. Sir John J.C. Abbott, Prime Minister of Canada 1891-1892

3. Sir Mackenzie Bowell, Prime Minister of Canada 1894-1896

4. Sir Robert L. Borden, Prime Minister of Canada 1911-1920

5. Viscount R.B. Bennett, Prime Minister of Canada 1930-1935

6. John G. Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada 1957-1963

Political Leaders Australia

1. Sir Edmond Barton, Prime Minister of Australia 1901-1903

2. Sir George Huston Reid, Prime Minister of Australia 1904-1905

3. Sir Joseph Cook, Prime Minister of Australia 1913-1914

4. Vincent Stanley Melbourne Bruce, Prime Minister of Australia 1923-1929

5. Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, Prime Minister of Australia 1930-1939

6. Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia 1939-1941 & 1949-1966

7. Sir Arthur William Fadden, Prime Minister of Australia 1941

8. Sir John Grey Gorton, Prime Minister of Australia 1968-1971

9. Sir William McMahon, Prime Minister of Australia 1971-1972

10. Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia

International Political Leaders

1. King Hussein, King of Jordan, deceased, 33rd Freemason

2. Yitzak Rabin , assassinated leader of Israel

3. Yassar Arafat, leader of the PLO

4. Prince Phillip, British Royalty

5. Duke of Kent, British Royalty

6. Winston Churchhill, British Leader

Religious Leaders

1. Billy Graham, World's most popular 'Christian' evangelist is a 33rd Degree Freemason

2. Norman Vincent Peale, 33rd Degree Freemason, ex Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of New York, Past Grand Prelate of the Knights Templar and Shriner. (now deceased)

3. Robert Schuller, 33rd Degree Freemason, Pastor of the Crystal Cathedral and host of the popular "Hour of Power" television programme

4. Oral Roberts, 33rd Degree Freemason, founder of Oral Roberts University

5. Jesse Jackson, 33rd Degree Prince Hall Freemason

6. Louis Farrahkan, leader of the Nation Of Islam

7. Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury 1945-1961

8. Father Francisco Calvo, Jesuit Catholic priest who started Freemasonry in Costa Rica

9. G. Bromley Oxnam, 33rd Degree Freemason, friend of Billy Graham, head of the FCC churches

Mormons, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

1. Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon cult

2. Hyrum Smith, brother of Joseph Smith

3. Brigham Young, 2nd leader of the Mormon cult

4. Sidney Rigdon, early Mormon

5. Heber C. Kimball, wished that all men were Freemasons

6. Spencer Kimball , closet Freemason, grandchild of Herber, friend of Norman Vincent Peale

Economic Leaders

1. Two of the World's largest international banking dynasties namely the Rothschilds and the Rockefeller family are both Masonic families. Their combined wealth is incalculable. (much more research is in progress and this list will be added to)

Leaders and Founders of Satanic Cults

1. Aliester Crowley, 33rd & 97th Degree Freemason, self proclaimed 666 Beast, taught human sacrafice, wicked Satan worshipper and master satanist of this century

2. Gerald B. Gardner, founder of the modern Wiccan (white witchcraft) revival

3. Dr. Wynn Westcott, member of the Societas Rosicruciana and founding member of the occult Order of the Golden Dawn

4. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, female co-freemason, wicked satanist, occult leader and co-founder of the Theosophical Society. Wrote occult classics entitled 'The Secret Doctrine' and 'Isis Unveiled' which state "It is Satan who is the God of our planet and the only God. Lucifer represents...Life...Thought...Progress...Civilization...Liberty...Independance...Lucifer is the Logos...the Serpent, the Savior". I have recieved evidence that this book is issued inside Masonic Lodge libraries and is being read by Masons and will present the proof soon.

Other Famous Freemasons

1. Rich DeVos, 33 Degree Freemason, founder of the Amway Corporation

2. Franz Anton Mesmer, practiced Mesmerism which led to Hypnotism

3. George Bush, 33rd Degree Freemason, ex-president of the USA, ex-director of the CIA

4. J. Edgar Hoover, 33rd Degree Freemason, Director of the FBI

5. Walt Disney, founder of the Disney Corporation

6. Giuseppe Mazzini, Italian Illuminati leader, friend of Albert Pike, founder of the Mafia”

APPENDIX TWO : MORE INFORMATION ON THE PLANNING OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

Here is a description of Washington, D.C. from the website http://www.pe.net/~rksnow/dc.htm :

“Washington, D.C. was designed by Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant around 1791. It was the first American city planned for a specific purpose. It was designed to be a beautiful city with wide streets and many trees. The city's business is centered around the government. Another name for Washington, D.C. is the District of Columbia. The district was originally a 10 miles square crossing the Potomac River into Virginia. Both Virginia and Maryland donated part of their land for the capital district. The Virginia portion of D.C. was later ceded back to Virginia.”

Here is some more information about Washington, DC from the website http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/lenfant.htm:

“Major L'Enfant (1755-1825), a French artist and engineer who had formed a friendship with George Washington while serving in the Revolutionary War, requested the honor of designing a plan for the national capital. The fact that the area was largely undeveloped gave the city's founders the unique opportunity to create an entirely new capital city.

After surveying the site, L'Enfant developed a Baroque plan that features ceremonial spaces and grand radial avenues, while respecting natural contours of the land. The result was a system of intersecting diagonal avenues superimposed over a grid system. The avenues radiated from the two most significant building sites that were to be occupied by houses for Congress and the President.

L'Enfant specified in notes accompanying the plan that these avenues were to be wide, grand, lined with trees, and situated in a manner that would visually connect ideal topographical sites throughout the city, where important structures, monuments, and fountains were to be erected. On paper, L'Enfant shaded and numbered 15 large open spaces at the intersections of these avenues and indicated that they would be divided among the states. He specified that each reservation would feature statues and memorials to honor worthy citizens. The open spaces were as integral to the capital as the buildings to be erected around them. L'Enfant opposed selling land prematurely, refused to furnish his map to the city commissioners in time for the sale, and was reluctantly relieved of his duties by George Washington. Ellicott was then engaged to produce a map and reproduced L'Enfant's plan from his memory.

In the context of the United States, a plan as grand as the 200 year old city of Washington, DC, stands alone in its magnificence and scale. But as the capital of a new nation, its position and appearance had to surpass the social, economic and cultural balance of a mere city: it was intended as the model for American city planning and a symbol of governmental power to be seen by other nations. The remarkable aspect of Washington, is that by definition of built-out blocks and unobstructed open space, the plan conceived by L'Enfant is little changed today.”

And here was its constitutional basis per http://www.narpac.org/ITXDCHIS.HTM:

“June 21, 1788: The 1788 U.S. Constitution, as adopted by the Constitutional Convention on September 15, 1787, is ratified by the states. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17, gives Congress authority "to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may by cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States...."

Here is how Bob Arnebeck describes the naming of its district as “the District of Columbia” at http://www.geocities.com/bobarnebeck/name.html :

“During the Revolution, Columbia became the goddess protecting America against Britannia. For example Phyllis Wheatley sent a poem to General Washington in 1775, and it was published in the Pennsylvania Magazine in 1776, which contained these passages:

"Celestial choir! enthron'd in realms of light,

Columbia's scenes of glorious toils I write.

While freedom's cause her anxious breast alarms,

She flashes dreadful in refulgent arms....

Fix'd are the eyes of nations on the scales,

For in their hopes Columbia's arm prevails.

Anon Britannia droops the pensive head,

While round increase the rising hills of dead.

Ah! cruel blindness to Columbia's state!

Lament thy thirst of boundless power too late.

Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side,

Thy ev'ry action let the goddess guide.

A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine,

With gold unfading,Washington be thine."

In 1784 Washington wrote to Lafayette's wife: "When the weight of so powerful an advocate is on our side, will you My Dr. Marchioness deny us the pleasure of accompanying him to the shores of Columbia?"”

During this period the many counties and cities named Columbia got their names. So if one were to create a district which would represent all of the United States of America, the name everyone seemed to agree on was "Columbia." In the competition for the capital, some Pennsylvanians planned a city on the Susquehanna to be named Columbia.

In letters, debates and official documents the ten mile square along the Potomac was called the "Federal District." However, officially the congress met in "The City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia." In the early debates in Congress about the city, both names were used. Take this example in 1803 the House turned to the affairs of the "District of Columbia" and began discussing a bill to return portions of the "Territory of Columbia" to Virginia. I suppose the "Territory of Columbia" was no longer used after the District lost what home rule it had in the second half of the 19th century.”

APPENDIX THREE: INFORMATION ON THE EFFECT OF ENLIGHTENMENT PHILOSOPHY AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

In his treatment of “Sex in the 1790s” Bob Arnebeck writes this at http://www.geocities.com/bobarnebeck/sex.html:

“In this period, the elites in the principal cities of the United States considered sex one of their inalienable rights. As Peter Porcupine put it, "in this enlightened age, the work of generation goes hummingly on, whether people are married or not." During the Revolutionary Era there was much public profession of the need for virtue public and private. After the war, especially with the stability brought about by the adoption of the Constitution, which put the elites well in control of society, there was a public embrace of the libertine values that were the hallmark of late Enlightenment high society in Western Europe. "Freedom of sexual expression was one of the many by-products of the eighteenth century pursuit of happiness," wrote Lawrence Stone in his Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500-1800. In America, the sumptuary laws of the Revolutionary Era were repealed or ignored. Theater with its attendant whores returned to American cities.”

He goes on to write this about some of its results:

“The 1790s were plague years in American cities. A short list of the major epidemics and number of dead provides a feel for the devastation: Philadelphia 1793 (5,000 dead); Baltimore 1794 (700 dead); New York 1795 (1,000 dead); Philadelphia 1797 (1,000 dead); New York 1798 (2,000 dead); Philadelphia 1798 (4,000 dead.) Usually epidemic diseases cull the very old and very young. The prime victims of yellow fever were young men, and perhaps the assault on the virility of the nation inspired a sexual

reaction among those who did not view the epidemics as a moral lesson.

The foremost student of the epidemics was Benjamin Rush. Although other commentators on the 1793 epidemic in Philadelphia spoke of drunkenness at the temporary hospital outside the city to where many of the sick poor were taken, Rush was frank about what was going on, though he tried to couch his description in a way to save the city's reputation:

"The convalescence from this disease was marked, in some instances, by a sudden revival of the venereal appetite. Several weddings took place in the city between persons who had recovered from the fever. Twelve took place among the convalescents in the hospital at Bush-hill. I wish I could add that the passions of the sexes for each, among those subjects of public charity, was always gratified only in a

lawful way. Delicacy forbids a detail of the scenes of debauchery which were practiced near the hospital, in some of the tents which had been appropriated for the reception of convalescents. It was not peculiar to this fever to produce this morbig excitability of the venereal appetite. It was produced in a much higher degree by the plague which raged in Messina in the year 1743." p 67 vol 3 Medical Inquiries and Observations 1815.

By 1798 displays of "venereal appetite" engendered by the fever were no longer confined to the lower classes. Rush was shocked by women patients who left their bodies uncovered when men were present. He made a redeeming generalization in his memoir: "A want of delicacy, in exposing parts of the body which are usually covered, was a bad symptom. I saw but one recovery where it took place." (Ibid. vol 4 p 49.) In the medical school lectures he gave in the fall, he included that observation and also noted that those convalescing from malignant fevers were "exceedingly" prone to lust. Rush's reaction cannot be dismissed as that of a prude. As the physician most habituated to the insane wards of the Pennsylvania Hospital he was not unfamiliar with women abandoning morals and clothes. This fever induced lust and

lasciviousness were far more menacing, and in his memoir he quoted Boccaccio on the plague: "It suspended all modesty, so that young women, of great rank and delicacy, submitted to be attended, dressed, and even cleansed by male nurses." Rush all but says he saw the same in Philadelphia despite the segregation of the sexes at the hospital. Meanwhile, Edward Garrigues, a member of the city's board of health, who was distributing relief at the State House, also noticed the lasciviousness suddenly rife in the city. "Many who apply for pecuniary aid," he wrote in his diary, "appear to have lost part of that delicacy which characterizes the female sex."

APPENDIX FOUR : SOME INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET RELATING TO VIRUSES LIKE SMALL POX, THE WEST NILE VIRUS, AND MALARIA

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52992-2002Sep22.html :

“Smallpox has not been seen in the United States for decades, and the disease was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980. Still, it is perhaps the most feared biological weapon because it is contagious and often incurable, and can kill at least one-third of its victims. Since routine vaccination was halted in this country in 1971, there is little immunity left in the population and little expertise in dealing with the disease or vaccine.

Only the United States and Russia are known to possess stocks of the virus, but security experts fear a hostile nation such as Iraq may have acquired a cache of the virus. Vice President Cheney has contended the risk of attack may necessitate inoculating every American as a protective measure.

"One of the real concerns about Saddam Hussein, as well, is his biological weapons capability," he said recently on NBC's "Meet the Press." "The fact that he may, at some point, try to use smallpox, anthrax, plague, some other kind of biological agent against other nations, possibly including even the United States."

Ten months ago, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson signed a $428 million contract to buy a dose of vaccine for every American. Production is under way, and the United States already has stockpiled nearly 100 million doses.

Federal experts since have been working furiously on two tracks: a vaccination program for the emergency medical workers most likely to see an initial case of smallpox, and a mass vaccination plan if an attack occurs, said Julie L. Gerberding, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

http://members.aol.com/webmedic4u/WNV.html :

“West Nile virus (WNv) has emerged in recent years in temperate regions of Europe and North America, presenting a threat to public health, equine health, and since 1999, the health of bird populations. The most serious manifestation of infection is fatal encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in humans and horses, as well as mortality in certain domestic and wild birds. West Nile virus was first isolated from a febrile adult woman in the West Nile District of Uganda in 1937. The ecology was characterized in Egypt in the 1950s. The virus became recognized as a cause of severe human meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the spinal cord and brain) in elderly patients during an outbreak in Israel in 1957. Equine disease was first noted in Egypt and France in the early 1960s. The appearance of WNV in North America in 1999, with encephalitis reported in humans and horses, may be an important milestone in the evolving history of this virus... In August and September, 1999, West Nile (WNv) virus was recognized in the Western Hemisphere for the first time when it caused an epidemic of encephalitis and aseptic meningitis in the New York City metropolitan area. Intensive hospital-based surveillance identified 62 cases including 7 deaths in the region, with 9 cases residing within the outbreak's epicenter, an approximately 9 km2 area of the borough of Queens.”

http://duke.usask.ca/~misra/virology/stud2002/westnile3/wnvwhat.html :

“The virus itself fits into a family of genetically similar viruses known as flaviviruses. (1) This particular virus has been present throughout most of the world but, until its clinical presence in 1999 in the United States, it was not known to occur in North America. The viral strain most closely related to the one isolated from the North American outbreak was the Israeli strain. (2) West Nile virus disease has been present thoughout Asia, Africa and Europe.  The virus has caused break outs of disease in many areas, most recently in France in horse populations in 2000, and humans in Israel in 2000. (3)… It has not been deduced how the disease first crossed into North America.  In other countries that have endemic disease the main vectors for spreading the virus have been mosquitos and birds.  Due to the limited range of mosquitos the only way for them to transfer the virus into North America would be if carried over on a plane and the probability of this is minimal. (4) Birds are the other main route in which the virus could have made it to North America.  There is very limited migration of birds from infected areas to North America. These birds which migrate are regular inhabitants of these routes, and if the virus were to have spread this way, it probably would have long ago. (4) It can then be assumed that the virus was carried by the human transport of animals into the United States, or possibly by an sub-clinically infected person.”

http://www.gazette.net/200217/potomac/news/101715-1.html :

“To prevent the disease from spreading, county health officials must rely on the public. Measures like spraying for mosquitoes don't work, Piety said. Officials sprayed for mosquitoes in New York City when they discovered the disease in 1999, but infected birds spread the disease to mosquitoes again, she said.

Mosquitoes can breed in a quarter-inch of water and commonly do not fly farther than 100 yards in their lifetime, county health officer Carol Garvey said.

The virus is spread when infected birds are bitten by a new group of mosquitoes. Since it first appeared in New York City, West Nile has spread as far west as Illinois and as far south as the Cayman Islands.

To reduce breeding grounds for mosquitoes, area residents should change water in fountains, birdbaths and plant containers once or twice a week. Water in ponds or swimming pools should circulate to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs, Garvey said.

"The good part about that is, if you keep your property free of standing water and your neighbors do likewise, you should not have a mosquito problem," Piety said. "If you're more than 100 yards from the [C&O Canal], those mosquitoes are not likely to be coming to you."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A40036-2002Sep19?language=printer :

washingtonpost.com

West Nile Blamed in 6 Paralysis Cases
Health Officials Also Conclude the Virus Can Spread Via Transfusions

By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 20, 2002; 4:56 PM

The West Nile virus has apparently caused six people in Mississippi and Lousiana to develop polio-like paralysis, federal officials reported today.

While medical officials have known that West Nile virus can cause muscle weakness and paralysis in some people, the reports of a polio-like paralysis represent a broadening of the concern. Previously, the most common serious complication from the newly arrived, mosquito-borne disease has been encephalitis.

In most of the paralysis cases, the victims were previously healthy and middle-aged. The extent of the paralysis varies widely, with some victims losing the use of an arm or a leg while several others were forced to use ventilators to breathe, and none has recovered, CDC officials said.”

There has been a most suspicious outbreak of malaria in the Washington, D.C. area in the past year. Here are excerpts from an article at http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20020930-21250115.htm :

“Military to help subdue malaria
By Arlo Wagner
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

     Montgomery County health officials have called in the military to help find, trap and eradicate mosquitoes carrying malaria.

     The county asked for help from the Uniform Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda after learning that two teenagers just across the Potomac River in Loudoun County, Va., had contracted malaria.
     Mosquito traps have been set at water depositories, primarily around Poolesville, near the 10-mile border with Loudoun. Montgomery borders 25 miles of the Potomac, but malaria has not been found elsewhere.
     Like other jurisdictions throughout the United States, Montgomery County was already on alert for mosquitoes this year — but for the Culex species, which transmit West Nile virus.
     West Nile — which first came to the United States in 1999, killing seven persons in New York City — has spread this year to infect 2,206 and kill 108 in 32 states and the District, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.
     Malaria, which has been around since before the Civil War, is not as deadly now in the United States. The CDC reported 1,402 cases of malaria in 2000.
     However, up to 400 million malaria cases in 90 nations are reported each year. Most severe malaria strikes sub-Saharan Africa. More than 2 million die annually in Africa and Asia, according to the World Health Organization…’There is malaria out there, and we have to pay attention to it,’ said Richard W. Steketee, chief of the malaria epidemiology branch at the CDC. Clarke Mosquito Control, the company Loudoun County hired to catch mosquitoes, found the first pool of malaria-infected mosquitoes in a trap set up at a local retirement community concerned about West Nile virus...

Source: The NandoTimes
U.S. intelligence believes Iraq has smallpox samples

By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. intelligence has concluded that four nations outside of the United States - Iraq, North Korea, Russia and France - probably possess hidden samples of the smallpox virus, a U.S. official said Monday.

Al-Qaida is also believed to have sought samples of smallpox for weaponization, but U.S. officials don't believe the terror network is capable of mounting an attack with smallpox. Evidence recovered in Afghanistan pointed to Osama bin Laden's interest in the disease, the U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

U.S. officials worry that Iraq and North Korea could develop potent biological weapons with their samples, and Russian laxity could allow other nations to obtain the deadly disease for use as a weapon.

The fears that smallpox, declared eradicated in 1980, could again be loose on the world have driven the Bush administration to consider vaccinations for the American populace and prepare emergency plans should an outbreak be detected.

Smallpox kills about one-third of its victims and can be transmitted from person to person, unlike other biological weapons such as anthrax.

Many experts suspected North Korea had samples of the smallpox virus. A Russian intelligence report made public in 1993 accused Pyongyang of having a smallpox weapon, though that has not been publicly corroborated.

A declassified U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report from May 1994 also quotes an unnamed source saying Russian scientists gave North Korea smallpox samples. That report had not been confirmed either.

Before 1998, U.N. weapons inspectors discovered limited evidence of a smallpox program in Iraq. They found a machine labeled "smallpox" and Iraq's experimenting with a related virus that infects camels.

APPENDIX FIVE : SOME INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET RELATING TO AN IMPENDING WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND KINGDOMS IN THE EAST LIKE IRAQ AND IRAN

There is the growing possibility of major war in the Middle East. Here is one report in the World Tribune dated August 30, 2002 at http://216.26.163.62/2002/ss_israel_08_29.html :

“Friday, August 30, 2002

TEL AVIV — The United States has told Israel that it will attack Iraq before the end of November.

Israeli military sources said a a senior U.S. military visited Israel earlier this week and toured facilities where the U.S. military has prepositioned equipment and weapons for an emergency in the Middle East.

The sources quoted a visiting U.S. general who heads army logistics as saying that Washington intends to strike the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by late November.

The Israeli sources said the two countries discussed Israel's role in any U.S. military attack, Middle East Newsline reported….

The general was quoted as saying that Washington's aim is to topple the Saddam regime. The general was not named.

In joint military discussions earlier this summer, Pentagon officials said Iraq would be only the first stop in the U.S. war on terror, an Israeli parliamentarian said.

Yuval Steinetz, chairman of the Knesset subcommittee on military doctrine, said he held talks with senior Pentagon officials in June regarding Washington's vision of a post-Saddam Middle East. Steinetz said Washington envisions a new order in the Middle East after Saddam is toppled and a democratic regime is installed.

"Iraq is the key but not the last stop [in the U.S. effort]," Steinetz said. "It is the first stop. After that there will be massive [U.S.] pressure on Syria and Iran to halt weapons of mass destruction programs and Syria's occupation of Lebanon."

U.S. military sources and analysts said Washington has sent tens of thousands of soldiers and military personnel to Gulf Arab states, Central and South Asia and the Levant. They said the force includes at least 1,000 military planners who have prepared for a rapid airlift of forces in case Washington decides on a war against Iraq.

Israeli officials have confirmed that both military and civilian officials from Israel and the United States have been discussing Washington's plans to attack Iraq. They said the talks have included the Bush administration's vision of a post-war Iraq and U.S. policy in the Middle East...”

The sources said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has told the Bush administration that it would not pledge any policy of restraint as that during the 1991 Gulf war. In a Newsweek article entitled “How Saddam Happened” in its September 23, 2002 issue, the U.S. role in building up Saddam Hussein’s Iraq is clearly exposed (http://msnbc.com/news/807688.asp ) :

“By going to war with Iran, he could bleed the radical mullahs who had seized control of Iran from the pro-American shah. Some Reagan officials even saw Saddam as another Anwar Sadat, capable of making Iraq into a modern secular state, just as Sadat had tried to lift up Egypt before his assassination in 1981.

But Saddam had to be rescued first. The war against Iran was going badly by 1982. Iran’s “human wave attacks” threatened to overrun Saddam’s armies. Washington decided to give Iraq a helping hand. After Rumsfeld’s visit to Baghdad in 1983, U.S. intelligence began supplying the Iraqi dictator with satellite photos showing Iranian deployments. Official documents suggest that America may also have secretly arranged for tanks and other military hardware to be shipped to Iraq in a swap deal—American tanks to Egypt, Egyptian tanks to Iraq. Over the protest of some Pentagon skeptics, the Reagan administration began allowing the Iraqis to buy a wide variety of “dual use” equipment and materials from American suppliers. According to confidential Commerce Department export-control documents obtained by NEWSWEEK, the shopping list included a computerized database for Saddam’s Interior Ministry (presumably to help keep track of political opponents); helicopters to transport Iraqi officials; television cameras for “video surveillance applications”; chemical-analysis equipment for the Iraq Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC), and, most unsettling, numerous shipments of “bacteria/fungi/protozoa” to the IAEC. According to former officials, the bacteria cultures could be used to make biological weapons, including anthrax. The State Department also approved the shipment of 1.5 million atropine injectors, for use against the effects of chemical weapons, but the Pentagon blocked the sale. The helicopters, some American officials later surmised, were used to spray poison gas on the Kurds.”

Commenting upon the current crisis in Iraq, Joseph Farah wrote the following in a July 23, 2002 editorial appearing on WorldNetDaily (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28363 ) :

“We're going to have something in the way of a major nuclear event in this country," Warren Buffett, the second wealthiest man in the world, told stockholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. just 11 weeks ago. "It will happen. Whether it will happen in 10 years or 10 minutes, or 50 years ... it's virtually a certainty."

What does Warren Buffett, whose major business is insurance, know that you don't know?

He probably knows a great deal more than I know. But, because of my position, I'm blessed with intelligence sources. I'm also cursed with them.

I don't like to be an alarmist, but withholding information is not in my nature as a newsman. People turn to me for my analysis and my insight into current events. Based on what I know, I believe the next 12 months will be life-changing for many of us. I believe we will see dramatic developments and experience horrors that will make Sept. 11 pale by comparison.

You've read and heard a great deal about a likely U.S. attack on Iraq. It is coming. I am not giving away any state secrets here. Saddam Hussein knows it is coming, and he is preparing for it. Shortly, some time in the next year, the U.S. will launch an all-out attack on Iraq designed to finish the war we should have finished a decade ago. The objective will be to hunt down Saddam Hussein and his inner circle and kill them all, while simultaneously locating and destroying his growing stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.

1. Iraq has nuclear weapons and will be in a position to mass produce them within a year.

2. Iraq has enormous stockpiles of biological weapons, most hidden beneath mosques and palaces.

3. Iraq has chemical weapons.

4. Iraq has delivery systems with a 650-kilometer range and, within two years, will be producing its own inter-continental ballistic missiles with a range of 3,000 kilometers.

5. Iraq has terrorists prepared to bring weapons of mass destruction into major cities in the United States and throughout the West.

According to my intelligence sources, Baghdad is waiting for the inevitable U.S. attack to launch its suicide bombers and missiles.

When the U.S. attacks, a new fiendish, apocalyptic wave of mass destruction and terrorism will begin. The longer the U.S. waits, the more the threat and Iraq's capabilities increase.

The attack on Iraq, when it comes, will be severe. It will involve hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops. It will make Afghanistan look like a tea party by comparison. It will make the Persian Gulf War look like a dress rehearsal. There will be heavy casualties. Iraq will be hit hard. Casualties will be heavy – including civilians. There's no way around it.

This war will not just involve Iraq and the United States. Iran will be involved. Syria will be involved. Other Muslim states are likely to be involved. International terrorists will be unleashed from all corners of the earth.

And this war will also come home, my intelligence sources say. Suicide bombers are already here – just waiting for their orders to deploy hand-carried weapons of mass destruction in the United States. Israel and Europe will also be hit hard.

Yes, what I am describing sounds like World War III. That's what it will be. Sound like Armageddon? It may well be.

As I said, I'm not giving away any state secrets here. The U.S. government is making the necessary plans to fight this war – with one exception. It is not preparing to protect Americans from the destructive wrath of the coming attacks.

Therefore, it's up to Americans themselves to be as prepared as they can possibly be for the coming holocaust. We're on our own. The government is making plans for the continuity of government. It's up to us to ensure that there is a continuity of America, a continuity of our families, a continuity of life.

There are obvious reasons the government is not telling you what I am telling you. It would be devastating to the economy. People might panic. And, as I said, the government can't protect you – or won't.

Could I be wrong? Could my sources be wrong? I surely hope so. I sincerely and fervently pray they are wrong. But the threat is real. Things could get very ugly real fast.”

From the September 18, 2002 issue of the Washington Times:

“Terror cells at liberty to strike
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Information obtained from self-professed September 11 organizer Ramzi Binalshibh indicates al Qaeda has decentralized its leadership structure, making it more dangerous, according to U.S. officials…

U.S. intelligence agencies have estimated that as many as 5,000 al Qaeda members may be operating inside the United States. Five Americans of Yemeni descent were arrested last week near Buffalo and charged with supporting a terrorist organization…”

Many nations are ominously lining up against the U.S.A. Turkey just elected an Islamic party to rule. And an Islamic party also has won in the important nation of Pakistan, which has nuclear weaponry:

“Source: The NandoTimes
Pakistan parties craft coalition; Musharraf's power threatened

By MUNIR AHMAD, Associated Press
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Hardline Islamic parties and a pro-democracy bloc have reached a deal giving them the parliamentary majority needed to form a coalition government and choose the next prime minister, officials at both parties said Tuesday.

The agreement is a blow to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, but a spokesman for the pro-Musharraf party refused to concede defeat on Tuesday, saying his group was still working to form a majority and was confident it would succeed.

The hardline Islamic parties have supported Afghanistan's Taliban movement and are staunchly opposed to Musharraf's alliance with the United States in the war on terror.

The religious and pro-democracy parties said they would announce their choice for prime minister later Tuesday, but officials in both camps say the top spot would likely go to Fazl-ur Rahman, the head of Jamiat-e-ulema Islam, or Party of Islamic clerics.”

APPENDIX SIX : AMERICA’S SYMBOLS

http://www.greatseal.com/mottoes/seclorum.html :

“Beneath the pyramid on the reverse side of the Great Seal is the Latin phrase "Novus ordo seclorum." Charles Thomson chose this motto, probably borrowing it from Virgil, the famed Roman poet who lived in the first century B.C.

Virgil wrote the phrase, "Magnus ab integro seclorum nascitur ordo," in the fifth line of his classic Eclogue IV. It has been translated in different ways, including:

A mighty order of ages is born anew.
The great series of ages begins anew.
The ages' mighty march begins anew.
The majestic roll of circling centuries begins anew.

The phrase is part of a prophecy about the fate of the Roman empire:

"Now the last age by Cumae's Sibyl song has come and gone,
and the majestic roll of circling centuries begins anew . . .
the Iron age shall cease, the Golden race arise . . .
and shall free the earth from never-ceasing fear."

Thomson coined the motto "Novus ordo seclorum." The accepted translation is: "A new order of the ages." Thomson explains:

"The date underneath [the pyramid] is that of the Declaration of Independence and the words under it signify the beginning of the new American Æra, which commences from that date."

A fuller excerpt from Virgil’s poem is as follows:

“Muses of Sicily, essay we now
A somewhat loftier task! Not all men love
Coppice or lowly tamarisk: sing we woods,
Woods worthy of a Consul let them be.
Now the last age by Cumae's Sibyl sung
Has come and gone, and the majestic roll
Of circling centuries begins anew:
Justice returns, returns old Saturn's reign,
With a new breed of men sent down from heaven.
Only do thou, at the boy's birth in whom
The iron shall cease, the golden race arise,
Befriend him, chaste Lucina; 'tis thine own
Apollo reigns. And in thy consulate,
This glorious age, O Pollio, shall begin,
And the months enter on their mighty march.
Under thy guidance, whatso tracks remain
Of our old wickedness, once done away,
Shall free the earth from never-ceasing fear.
He shall receive the life of gods, and see
Heroes with gods commingling, and himself
Be seen of them, and with his father's worth
Reign o'er a world at peace…”

Here is some information on Saturn, explaining his mention in the above poem: In Roman mythology when Jupiter (Zeus) ascended the throne, Saturn (Cronus) fled to Rome and established the Golden Age, a time of perfect peace and harmony, which lasted as long as he reigned. In memory of the Golden Age, the Feast of Saturnalia was held every year in the winter at the Winter Solstice. During this time no war could be declared, slaves and masters ate at the same table, executions were postponed and it was a season for giving gifts. This was a time of total abandon and merry making. It refreshed the idea of equality, of a time when all men were on the same level. Christians adopted the feast and renamed it Christmas.

http://www.greatseal.com/symbols/neworderFDR.html :

Franklin Roosevelt’s commentary on the Great Seal: “On the Great Seal of the United States, which, for a century and a half, has reposed in the loving care of a long line of Secretaries of the State, appears these words: "Novus Ordo Seclorum" which means: "A New Order of the Ages."

But in the scheme of civilization from which ours descends, I suppose we can properly recognize that in 2500 years there have been only a few "New Orders" in the development of human living under a thing called government.

Without question, the philosophy of orderly government, in which the governed had some voice in civilized society, goes back to the days of ancient Greece…

We come to the Age of Rome – an age of a strange admixture of elections and laws and military conquest and personal dictatorship.

It was an age which extended the civilization of the period to the greater part of the then known world. It was an age which forced its own conception of laws and way of life on millions of less civilized people, who previously had lived under tribal custom of centralized direction.

With Rome's collapse and the overrunning of Europe by vast population movements from farther east, orderly progress deteriorated, and the sword drove learning into hiding.

That dark period could hardly be called an Age, because it was an interim between Ages...the appearance of tiny movements in tiny places, led by tiny people, forecast the next vast step forward – the era of 1776 – the Age in which, thank God, we still live. Those beginnings originated, it is true, in the old world – among the philosophers, among the seekers of many kinds of freedom forbidden by those who governed.

There, by processes of trial and error, democracy as it has since been accepted in so many lands, had its birth and its training. We must accept that as fact because, fundamentally, nothing like it had ever existed before.

There came into being the first far-flung government in all the world whose cardinal principle was democracy – the United States of America.

With the gaining of our political freedom came … Thomas Jefferson, an advocate of government by representatives of the people, an advocate of the universal right of free thought, free personal living, free religion, free expression of opinion and, above all, the right of free universal suffrage.

The New Order spread into almost every part of the civilized world. It spread in many forms – and over the next century almost all peoples had acquired some form of popular expression of opinion, some form of elections, of franchises, of the right to be heard…”

Here is some information on the The Statue of of Liberty at http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?ID=313 :

“We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected."

— President Grover Cleveland accepting the Statue of Liberty on behalf of the U.S., October 28th, 1886

Introduction

A symbol stands for an idea. The Statue of Liberty stands in Upper New York Bay, a universal symbol of freedom. Originally conceived as an emblem of the friendship between the people of France and the U.S. and a sign of their mutual desire for liberty, over the years the Statue has become much more. It is the Mother of Exiles, greeting millions of immigrants and embodying hope and opportunity for those seeking a better life in America. It stirs the desire for freedom in people all over the world. It represents the United States itself.”

William F. Dankenbring makes the following comments about the Statue of Liberty at http://www.hope-of-israel.org/paganlib.htm :

“…The world at large is totally ignorant of the occult symbolism which lies behind the famed statue of liberty which sits astride the harbor of New York, symbolizing its true inner character and purpose. The sculptor who made the great statue was Italian. His name was Auguste Bertholdi. His work was greatly influenced by the ancient sculptor Phidias who made gigantic statues of the ancient goddesses, particularly Athena, the "goddess of wisdom" and Nemesis (another name for Venus), a goddess who held a cup in her right hand. Before beginning the statue of liberty project, Bertholdi was seeking a commission to construct a giant statue of the goddess "Isis," the Egyptian Queen of Heaven, to overlook the Suez canal. The statue of Isis was to be of "a robed woman holding aloft a torch" (Statue of Liberty: 1st Hundred Years, Bernard Weisberger, p.30, quoted in Beyond Babylon, James Lloyd, p.103)…

The world at large is totally ignorant of the occult symbolism which lies behind the famed statue of liberty which sits astride the harbor of New York, symbolizing its true inner character and purpose. The sculptor who made the great statue was Italian. His name was Auguste Bertholdi. His work was greatly influenced by the ancient sculptor Phidias who made gigantic statues of the ancient goddesses, particularly Athena, the "goddess of wisdom" and Nemesis (another name for Venus), a goddess who held a cup in her right hand. Before beginning the statue of liberty project, Bertholdi was seeking a commission to construct a giant statue of the goddess "Isis," the Egyptian Queen of Heaven, to overlook the Suez canal. The statue of Isis was to be of "a robed woman holding aloft a torch" (Statue of Liberty: 1st Hundred Years, Bernard Weisberger, p.30, quoted in Beyond Babylon, James Lloyd, p.103)…

The Masons, of course, trace the origin of their secret society back to king Solomon, and from him back to ancient Egypt. Says Alexander Hislop in his magnificent book The Two Babylons, concerning the origins of Masonry:

"It is admitted that the secret system of Free Masonry was originally founded
on the MYSTERIES OF THE EGYPTIAN ISIS, THE GODDESS-MOTHER,
OR WIFE OF OSIRIS. But what could have led to the union of a Masonic
body with these Mysteries, had they not had particular reference to architecture,
and had the god who was worshipped in them not been celebrated for his success
in perfecting the arts of fortification and building. Now, if such were the case,
considering the relation in which, as we have already seen, Egypt stood to Baby-
lon, who would naturally be looked up to there as the great patron of the Masonic
art? The strong presumption is, that NIMROD [the arch-rebel against God -- Gen.
10:8-10] must have been the man. He was the first that ganed fame in this way.
As the child of the Babylonian goddess-mother, he was worshipped, as we have
seen, in the character of Ala mahozim, `The god of fortifications.' Osiris, in like
manner, the child of the EGYPTIAN MADONNA, was equally celebrated as `the
strong chief of the buildings.' This strong chief of the buildings was originally
worshipped in Egypt with every physical characteristic of Nimrod" (Hislop, The
Two Babylons, p.43).

As Hislop shows, Isis is the Egyptian name for the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, who is also the same as Athena (Greece), Minerva (Egypt and Greece), Astarte (Syria), Cybele (Rome), Ashtoreth (Israel), and Diana (Ephesus). This statue of the pagan Madonna, the Statue of "Liberty," is a statue of this same ancient pagan "Queen of Heaven," the wife of Nimrod, or Semiramis!

But Nimrod has a consort, a woman, a "harlot-mother," who became deified with him -- his mother-wife Semiramis. One of her names under which she was worshipped was "Feronia" in Rome, the goddess of liberty. Says Alexander Hislop:

"The Sabine goddess Feronia had evidently a relation to Phooroneus, as the
`Emancipator.' She was believed to be THE `GODDESS OF LIBERTY,'
because at Terracina slaves were emancipated in her temple. . . . The Chaldee
meaning of the name `Fernonia,' strikingly confirms this conclusion. Her
contemplar divinity, who was worshipped along with her in a grove, was, like
Ninus, a youthful divinity. He was regarded as the `youthful Jupiter'" (p.52).

As we said earlier, another name for Semiramis or "Isis" was Cybele in Rome. As Nimrod was the "god of fortifications," so she was also an architectural deity -- the "goddess of fortifications." This version of the goddess is universally represented as wearing a crown of towers, like the Statue of Liberty! Alexander Hislop writes:

"But of the existence of a goddess of fortifications, everyone knows that there
is the amplest evidence. That goddess is Cybele, who is universally represented
with a mural or TURRETED CROWN, OR WITH A FORTIFICATION ON
HER HEAD. Why was Rhea or Cybele thus represented? Ovid . . . says, why
the STATUE OF CYBELE WORE A CROWN OF TOWERS was, `because
she first erected them in cities.' The first city in the world after the flood (from
whence the commencement of the world itself was often dated) that had towers
and encompassing walls was BABYLON; and Ovid himself tells us that it was
SEMIRAMIS, the first queen of that city, who was believed to have `surrounded
Babylon with a wall of brick.' Semiramis, then, the first DEIFIED QUEEN
of that city and TOWER [the Tower of Babel] whose top was intended to reach
unto heaven, must have been the PROTOTYPE of the goddess who `first made
towers in cities'" (p.30).

Diana of the Ephesians was this same dame -- the goddess of towers -- the original Semiramis, wife of Nimrod. Says Hislop,

"When we look at the Ephesian Diana, we find evidence to the very same
effect. . . the Ephesian Diana . . . was represented with all the attributes of
the MOTHER OF THE GODS, and, as the Mother of the gods, she wore a
TURRETED CROWN, such as no one can contemplate without being forcibly
reminded of the TOWER OF BABEL. Now this TOWER-BEARING DIANA
is by an ancient scholiast expressly identified with SEMIRAMIS. When,
therefore, we remember that the Rhea or Cybele, the tower-bearing goddess, was,
in point of fact, a Babylonian goddess, and that Semiramis, when deified, was
worshipped under the name of Rhea, there will remain I think, no doubt as to the
personal identify of the `godddess of fortifications" (Hislop, p.30-31).

This pagan licentious queen of vice and prostitution, infamous for her flagrant wanton spirit, was the original "tower woman." The very same goddess, known as Ashtoreth, which is cognately related to Ishtar and Astarte, the "Queen of Heaven" and "Mother of God" of the pagans, the original "Madonna" and "Celestial Virgin" (although she was no virgin!), was the pagan prototype of the "Virgin Mary" or "Madonna" of the Roman Catholic Church.”

The Statue of Liberty was originally called "Liberty Enlightening the World".

Here is information on the Statue of Freedom on the Capitol Building (http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/freedom.htm ):

“The bronze Statue of Freedom by Thomas Crawford is the crowning feature of the dome of the United States Capitol. The statue is a classical female figure of Freedom wearing flowing draperies. Her right hand rests upon the hilt of a sheathed sword; her left holds a laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States with thirteen stripes. Her helmet is encircled by stars and features a crest composed of an eagle's head, feathers, and talons, a reference to the costume of Native Americans. A brooch inscribed "U.S." secures her fringed robes. She stands on a cast-iron globe encircled with the national motto, E Pluribus Unum. The lower part of the base is decorated with fasces and wreaths. Ten bronze points tipped with platinum are attached to her headdress, shoulders, and shield for protection from lightning.”

The Statue of Freedom on the Capitol Building, as well as the Statue of Liberty in the works in New York City, also inspired the Goddess of Liberty on the Texas Capitol (see http://www.tmm.utexas.edu/events/past_events/goddess/godhist.html ):

“Hoisted by workmen to the top of the Texas Capitol dome in late February 1888, the monumental zinc statue known as the "Goddess of Liberty" remained on the building nearly 98 years. During that time, the white-painted sculpture holding aloft a gilded Lone Star intrigued literally millions of visitors to the Capitol.

Standing nearly sixteen feet tall, and weighing just over 2000 pounds, the statue probably represents Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, justice, and arts and crafts. Athena, later called "Minerva" in Roman mythology, served as the protectress of the democratic city-state of Athens. A lack of information about the statue's origin created an aura of mystery which surrounded the Texas Goddess of Liberty for decades, but which has lifted as recent investigations have helped chronicle the statue's history. Probably inspired by the statue of Freedom placed on the dome of the National Capitol in 1863, and by publicity about the Statue of Liberty under construction in New York harbor during the 1870's, Texas State Capitol architect Elijah E. Myers of Detroit designed the statue as the crowning element of the Texas Capitol. His early 1881 competition drawings for the Texas Capitol show the statue represented much as we know her today.”

http://www.libertystory.net/LSARTSLIBERTYASAWOMAN.htm :

“Throughout history, liberty has been depicted as a woman.

     The Roman Republic built a temple to Libertas, the Goddess of Liberty, on Aventine Hill, and her face appeared on the denarius silver coin -- according to the Bible, the denarius was a day's pay for a laborer.  Historian Nancy Jo Fox explained, "the Goddess of Liberty appeared in art as a robed female holding a scepter, indicating sovereignty over herself, with a liberty-loving cat at her feet alongside a broken jug (shattered symbol of confinement) and crowned by Phrygian cap, the pilleus libertatis, bestowed upon slaves when granted freedom."…

The Indian Queen, or Indian Princess, appeared on maps, books, newspapers, engravings, embroidery and coins as a big woman wearing a headdress, holding a tomahawk and bow and arrow, sometimes mounted on a llama, armadillo or alligator. When the American colonies struggled to be free, she came to symbolize them rather than the continent.  She subsequently served as the principal symbol of the United States until about 1815.

     By then, with interest in Greek culture and design in vogue, the female figure was depicted as a Greek goddess. “The Princess’s headdress changed from eagle feathers to ostrich feathers worn in a turban, bonnet, or helmut,” Fox observed. “This new classical lady with flowing brown hair was tall, full breasted, and draped in a toga and cloak to her ankles, revealing her feet clad in sandals. The Plumed Goddess also held the caduceus, the staff of Mercury with two snakes intertwined around it.”

In France, following the Revolution of 1830, Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863) painted Liberty Leading the People. Trained in the low key neoclassical style, Delacroix embraced bright colors and dramatic subjects, and he emerged as the most important French Romantic artist. Liberty Leading the People, displayed at the Louvre museum, shows a strong woman with bare breasts, holding a musket in her left hand and the French flag in her right hand, walking amidst the bodies of fallen revolutionaries.

     In 1855, the American sculptor Thomas Crawford, then living in Rome, was commissioned to design a statue of Lady Freedom which would go atop the U.S. Capitol, then being constructed…

     The most famous symbol of liberty began amidst the frustration of a Frenchman at his country’s tyrannical ruler, Napoleon III. The Frenchman was Edouard Rene Lefebvre de Laboulaye (1811-1883) who was a professor of comparative law. He wrote spoke out against slavery and wrote about Benjamin Franklin. It was in 1865 that he conceived the idea of a statue about libery. This would be a gift to America and a symbol of ideals suppressed by Napoleon III. One of Laboulaye’s friends, the French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904), was thrilled with the idea, and by 1869 he was sketching designs…”

While R.A. Coombes has some outlandish theories, the following observations of him are not to be ignored (see http://aoreport.com/currentpages/mystbabwoman.htm ):

“the Statue of Liberty is an artistic rendering of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar... as scultped by Bartholdi, a Freemason... who claimed it was his representation of the Roman goddess Libertas...but in my research, the Romans borrowed the goddess of freedom concept from Babylon's Ishtar... a.k.a. in Egypt as Isis. Ditto applies to the statue atop the US Capitol Dome... the Statue of Freedom... whose masonic sculptor also fashioned after the Roman goddess Libertas. Also, the US Capitol itself is a replica of the Roman Pagan Temple, the Pantheon...but the Romans borrowed the concept from Babylon, which was the most popular temple of Babylonia and was dedicated to all the gods of Babylon. Also, the second most popular Temple in all of Babylonia was called the WHITE HOUSE ! I mention the masonic aspects because Masonry likes to think it connects as far back as Egypt and her gods/goddesses... but the Egyptians borrowed the deities like Ishtar (Venus) and Marduk (Mars). Ishtar was Isis in Egypt, and Marduk was Horus.”

http://stand77.com/wwwboard/messages/13064.html :

“George Washington was a Mason as were most of the key founding fathers. Not only is this acknowledged by masonic websites but also in Federal governmental documents including those relating to the cornerstone-laying of the Capitol building and a bronze-relief artwork portraying Washington laying the cornerstone in his masonic apron with trowel. There is the issue of the masonic monument to Washington (the Washington Monument). Jefferson was not a member of freemasonry but he shared many of their views, he was more of a follower of Adam Weishaupt who founded the Bavarian Illuminati movement in 1776. Both groups have dictums that point to Egyptian religion, and also to Crusaders secret dogmas, both of which can be traced back to the Sumerians/Babylonians. All of the pantheistic ancient religions, from Egypt to Assyria, to Greece, to Rome, and also Phoenicia...all were derived from Babylon but transformed & adapted to their own culture. Ishtar worship was the most popular and was adopted almost universally but with various doctrinal elements altered. Other famous founding fathers who were masons included Ben Franklin, Thomas Payne and many more. I also provided links on that. From the US Library of Congress are documents showing that the Capitol building was modelled after the Roman Pantheon... and the Roman pantheon was a copy of the Babylonian Pantheon.”

Much of the following information is from "The Statue of Liberty" by Marvin Trachtenberg Published by Viking-Penguin, New York, New York.

“The key book on the history of the Statue of Liberty written by Marvin Trachtenburg is cited regarding the history of the Statue of Liberty. He meticulously points out from the diary of the sculptor Bartholdi that the concept was based upon the ancient roman goddess known as Libertas (Liberty) from 4th-6th Century B.C. The Romans borrowed this goddess from Babylon's Ishtar. Ishtar was the chief goddess of Babylon and was called by many names, including main titles of "queen of heaven." "goddess of freedom/liberty," (she was the goddess of slaves who prayed to her for liberation). She was also called the goddess of prostitutes because this goddess introduced prostitution to the world and it was considered "holy." In Ishtar worship ones sins were forgiven by going to the temple and engaging in ritual sexual relations with a temple priestess or priest and paying money. This action cleansed one from sin. This process also promoted homosexuality equally to heterosexuality and both were holy within the temple framework. As I stated, she went by other titles also. She was also the goddess of Immigrants and Immigration. Now, the sculptor, Bartholdi...was a freemason. So too was the fellow who led the fundraising efforts for the statue, LaBoulaye. But the Statue of Liberty isn't the only artistic representation of Ishtar floating on the American Cultural scene. So too is the statue atop the US Capitol dome. She is the Statue of Freedom. As you research into this statue you find the artist was also a freemason who also took up the project from a Congressional award. The statue was to be a rendering of the goddess of Freedom of Rome... i.e. Libertas. Libertas= Liberty or Freedom depending on how you wish to translate it. In the early part of the 19th century (prior to the Civil War) Libertas was primarily translated as "freedom". This rendering was of the goddess as a warrioress...which was also another aspect of Ishtar...she was the goddess of war and also the goddess of love. She promoted both war and wild, wanton sexuality. She introduced the concept of not only homosexuality but also incest, and bestiality as well as other strange perversions. Ishtarism promoted the concept of "if it feels good, do it." I've just scratched the surface of her various dogmas. Needless to say, the statue on the US Capitol dome is another rendering of Ishtar of Babylon.

In addition to this there are statues/paintings of many other "Greek/Roman gods" inside the US Capitol building, including inside on the dome ceiling. These deities were borrowed from Babylon. America has a hidden connection to Babylonian influences as have all other great empires and nations…

Don't believe it? Read: "The Statue of Liberty Revisited -- Essays" Edited by Wilton S. Dillon and Neil G. Kotler Published by Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.
"The Statue of Liberty" by Marvin Trachtenberg Published by Viking-Penguin, New York, New York. [ the author is a well-known and respected artistic historian. His book is considered to be one of the definitive histories of the Statue. ] Both will confirm the masonic connections and the links to goddess Libertas concept.“

APPENDIX SEVEN : THE GOVERNING COALITION IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

There is an ideological connection of many distinct groups which explain in large measure the philosophy that rules in Washington, D.C. Here is some information about these disparate groups and some of their ideological connections to one another:

One element in this governing status quo are the evolutionists. They encompass people from diverse religious denominations that nevertheless embrace a common assumption about the world and man’s autonomy and a common disrespect for scriptural revelation. Some form of evolutionary presupposition is helpful- if not critical – in order logically to maintain the conception of human freedom promoted by the Enlightenment. It is the next logical step from the human autonomy of the Deistic philosophy. It was virtually inevitable that evolution would become so integral to humanism, and to a governing coalition based upon humanistic foundations.

We should not be surprised then that evolution and freemasonry – with its perverse views of human freedom- are so closely connected. Consider the following information on Erasmus Darwin, one of the fathers of western evolutionary thought, found at http://www.ummah.net/harunyahya/evol/ebk2-2.html :

“Erasmus Darwin was virtually the first man who put forward the notion of “evolution” in England. He was known to be a physicist, psychologist and poet and he was a quite “respected” person. According to his biographer, Desmon King-Hele, he was even “the greatest Englishman of the eighteenth century”.  However, he had a quite dark private life and at least two illegitimate children. 

Erasmus Darwin’s most important characteristic was his being one of the few forerunner “naturalists” of England. Naturalism was a trend of thought which assumed that the essence of the existence of the universe was in nature, denied a metaphysical Creator and considered the nature itself as the Creator. In other words, it was one of the variations of the materialist thought dominating over the 19^th century. 

Erasmus Darwin’s naturalist studies were qualified enough to pave the way for Charles Darwin. "Father Erasmus" had left both an ideological and organic inheritance to his grandchild. On one hand, he had developed arguments that would lay the basis for Darwinism by the researches he led in his two acre botanical garden and compiled these in his books of The Temple of Nature and Zoonomia. On the other hand, he had established a society in 1784 that would show the way to spread these ideas: Philosophical Society. Not surprisingly, tens of years later, Philosophical Society indeed became one of the greatest and hottest backers of the theory advanced by Charles Darwin. 

In short, Erasmus Darwin was the most important factor that caused Charles Darwin to yield his religious beliefs rapidly despite his theology education, to take the materialist-naturalist "side" and then to publish The Origin of Species by undertaking a great mission on behalf of that side. Before everybody, Erasmus Darwin was the main person that determined Charles Darwin’s mission. 

And Erasmus Darwin had another very significant attribute; he was the representative of masonry which was the foremost founder and the sovereign of the New Secular Order which reached its peak in the 19^th century. Senior Darwin was one of the masters of the famous Canongate Kilwining Lodge in Scotland Edinburgh.  Moreover, he also had connections with the Jacobean Freemasons in France and the Illuminati society which had made anti-religionism their primary task.  Erasmus had brought up his son Robert (Charles Darwin’s father) just like himself and had enrolled him to the masons lodges.  Due to this, Charles Darwin was to take over a Masonic inheritance both from his father and his grandfather. 

This certainly conveyed an important meaning. Because as we have mentioned in the previous chapter, masonry was one of the two power centres that conducted the long struggle carried out to overthrow the socio-political order relying on religion and replace it with a secular one. Besides, freemasonry was the biggest power leading the essential intellectual change with various mechanisms which is needed to realise this socio-political order transformation. The organisation had gained a considerable victory against the Church thanks to the alliance it established by anti-Christian powers, primarily the Jews. 19^th century was the gala of the New Secular Order instituted by this victory. 

But as we have defined at the beginning, there was a single aspect missing in the gala of the New Secular Order; to bring a non-religious explanation to the existence of the living things. Master Erasmus Darwin had toiled a lot to bring up this explanation and had gone a long way. And now the way he had opened was to be advanced by his grandson. The result reached by moving on this way would be the greatest present given to the gala of the New Secular Order. Because it would close down the biggest gap of the new order. “

Freemasonry has been another element then in the governing humanistic coalition, as we have previously illustrated in this book. But let’s consider some more information about freemasonry. Terry Melanson provides this very helpful information on freemasonry at http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/NWO/Freemasonry.htm :

“Every Masonic Lodge is a temple of religion; and its teachings are instructions of religion.— Albert Pike, 33^rd degree

The majority of Masons today don't have a clue as to the true meaning of their rituals and symbols. And they certainly cannot be called bad people. Misled, yes, and most really are the good natured philanthropists helping their community, that we see outwardly. You see it is not required of initiates to ascend any higher than that of the third degree Master Mason. They know there are another 30 degrees if one wished to continue, but the initiation process is a tedious and drawn out affair (it might take a year to reach the third degree), which the participants, for the most part, are happy it's over with. For them it is good that they not continue. And that's just the way higher initiates, or adepts, like it…

‘The Blue Degrees are but the court of portico (porch) of the Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the initiate, but he is intentionally mislead by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them; but it is intended that he shall imagine that he understands them....their true explication is reserved for the Adept, the Princes of Masonry.’ (32^nd & 33^rd degrees) General Albert Pike wrote those words in a work called: Morals and Dogma in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, 1871. At the time his title was the Grand commander of the Supreme Council, of the Scottish Rite in Washington D.C. This book is revered by occult groups across the globe, and most masons have never read it, let alone understood it. If they did understand it, there's a good possibility they would leave the craft. It deals with the occult origins of the symbols, initiations, and rituals of Freemasonry. It is also a handbook for degree initiation, as it details them all up to the 33^rd degree, which was invented by Pike himself, some say in order to have a higher degree than the president, who ceremoniously receives the 32^nd degree if elected.

From the first degree, and initiation, the Mason is urged mightily to "seek the light!". The average Mason is continually saying that he is "seeking the light" and will spend his entire life "moving toward the light." Concerning this light that every mason is told to eagerly seek, Pike gives his answer; "Lucifer, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the light, and with its splendors intolerable blinds feeble sensual, or selfish souls? Doubt it not!"

This is the task of the initiate in all Occult groups. The initiator shows the candidate his latent faculties, his dormant powers, and initiates him into their use. He explains or demonstrates to him how the candidate may awaken the static energy into dynamic power.

To hide these damning truths at the very heart of the mystery Pike said...the initiate is intentionally misled by false interpretations. Another esteemed Mason put it this way:

Freemasonry is a fraternity within a fraternity....an outer organization concealing an inner Brotherhood of the elect...it is necessary to establish the existence of these two separate and yet interdependent orders, the one visible the other invisible. The visible society is a splendid camaraderie of 'free and accepted' men enjoined to devote themselves to ethical, educational, fraternal, patriotic, and humanitarian concerns. The invisible society is a secret and most August fraternity whose members are dedicated to the service of a mysterious arcannum arcandrum. [defined as 'a secret, a mystery']
~Manly P Hall 33^rd degree, Lectures on Ancient, p.433]

"When a mason learns the key to the warrior on the block is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, he has learned the mystery of his craft. The seething energies of Lucifer are in his hands and before he may step upward, he must prove his ability to properly apply energy." [The Lost Key of Freemasonry, Manly P. Hall,33^°, p.48]

The above quote may be surprising to some, but occultists have a clear concept of what Manly P. Hall was talking about. To them the true definition of occultism is the science of energy flow and energy relationships. Occult meditation is a means of consciously and purposefully directing energy from a recognized source to the creation of some specific effect.

Freemasonry has always, admittedly, held deep occult secrets, which it hides from the "profane" and unworthy. One person who believed this to be true was Alice Ann Bailey. Her praise and admiration — she appeared to be almost in awe of the craft — was evident throughout all her works. A typical flattery can be found on p.511 of The Externalization of the Hierarchy:"...It is a far more occult organization that can be realized, and is intended to be a training school for coming advanced occultists. In its ceremonials lies hid the wielding forces connected with the growth and life of the kingdoms of nature and the divine aspects of man."

On the front cover of Morals and Dogma, Pike writes a phrase in Latin 'DEUS MEUMQUE JUS'. The literal meaning is 'God and my right.' The average reader, even if he knew Latin, wouldn't grasp the significance of this statement. However, one look at this phrase would alert any Satanist that the contents within are Satanic. A Satanist would also understand immediately that all of Freemasonry is satanic. Former Illuminist-Satanist Doc Marquis says this statement is a very typical one within Satanism. Marquis says that this phrase is very dangerous within Satanism. The second a Satanist sees this phrase in Latin on Pike's book, he knows the material within is Satanic, without reading a word!

"Masonry makes no profession of Christianity.. but looks forward to the time when the labor of our ancient brethren shall be symbolized by the erection of a spiritual temple.. in which there shall be but one alter and one worship; one common alter of Masonry on which the Veda, Shatra, Sade, Zeda-Avesta, Koran and the Holy Bible shall at who's shrine the Hindu, the Persian, the Assyrian, the Chladean, the Egyptian, the Chinese, the Mohammedan, the Jew and the Christian may kneel." [ "The Kentucky Monitor" Fellowcraft Degree p. 95 ]

".... the literal meaning (of the Bible) is for the vulgar only." [Albert Pike "Digest of Morals and Dogma," p. 166 ]

"What is True to the philosopher, would not be truth, nor have the effect of truth, to the peasant. The religion of many must necessarily be more incorrect than that of the refined and reflected few.. The truest religion would in many points, not be comprehended by the ignorant.. The doctrines of the Bible are often not clothed in the language of strict truth, but in that which was fittest to convey to a rude and ignorant people.. the doctrine."
[ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma," 14th Degree, p. 224 ]

"The true name of Satan, the Kabalists say, is that of Yahweh reversed; for Satan is not a black god.. for the initiates this is not a Person, but a force, created for good, but which may serve for evil. It is the instrument of liberty and free will." [ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma," Master Mason / 3rd Degree p. 102 ]

"Masonry is a search for light. That light. That search leads us back, as you see, to the Kabala. In that ancient and little understood (source book) the infinite will find the source of many doctrines; and (he) may in time come to understand the Hermetic philosophers, the Alchemists, all the Antipapal Thinkers of the Middle Ages, and Emanuel Swedenborg."
[ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma," 28th Degree p. 741 ]

"All truly dogmatic religions have issued from the Kabala and return to it; everything scientific and grand in the religious dreams of the Illuminati, Jacob Boeheme, Swedenborg, Saint Martin, and others is borrowed from the Kabala; all Masonic associations owe to it their secrets and their symbols." [ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma," 28th Degree p. 747 ]

"Though Masonry is identical with the ancient Mysteries, it is so only in this qualified sense: that it presents but an imperfect image of their brilliancy, the ruins of their grandeur .."
[ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma Fellowcraft Degree p.22 ]

"Masonry, successor to the Mysteries (Babel, Mythras, Tummuz, Whicka,etc.) still follows the ancient manor of teaching." [ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma Fellowcraft Degree p.22 ]

"These two divinities (Sun and Moon, Osiris and Isis, etc) were commonly symbolized by the generative parts of a man and a woman; to which in remote ages no idea of indecency was attached ; the Phallus (penis) and the Cteis (vagina), emblems of generation and production, and which, as such appeared in the Mysteries (I believe Masonry is the revival of these). The Indian Lingam was the union of both, as were the boat and mast and the point within the circle." (key Masonic symbols) [ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma," 24th Degree, p. 401 ]

"If your wife child, or friend should ask you anything about your invitation - as for instance, if your clothes were taken off, if you were blind folded, if you had a rope tied around you neck, etc, you must conceal.. hence of course you must deliberately lie about it. It is part of your obligation .. " [ Ibid p. 74 ]

Question: "what makes you a Freemason ? Answer: My obligation." [question and answer from the Entered Apprentice/First Degree]

".. binding myself under no less penalty that that of having throat cut from ear to ear, my tongue torn out by its roots, and my body buried in the rough sands of the sea, a cable length from the shore where the tide.." [ from the oath of obligation Entered Apprentice/First Degree ]

".. binding myself under no less penalty than having my left Brest torn open, my heart plucked out, and given to the beasts of the field and fowls of the air as prey."
[from the oath of obligation , Fellowcraft/Second Degree]

".. binding myself under no less penalty that that of having my body severed in twain, my bowels taken out and burned to ashes, the ashes scattered to the four winds of heaven.."
[ from the oath of obligation, Master Mason / Third Degree ]

" .. in willful violation whereof may I incur the fearful penalty of having my eyeballs pierced to thru center with a three edged blade, my feet flayed and forced to walk the hot sands upon the sterile shores of the red sea until the flaming Sun shall strike with a livid plague, and my Allah the god of Arab, Moslem and Mohammedan, the god of our fathers, support me to the entire fulfillment of the same." [ from the oath of obligation, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ] ("Shriners")

"You must conceal all the crimes of your brother Masons... and should you be summoned as a witness against a brother Mason be always sure to shield him.. It may be perjury to do this, it is true, but your keeping your obligations." [ Ronayne, "Handbook of Masonry" p. 183 ]

"We shall unleash the Nihilists and atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirit will from that moment be without a compass (direction), anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the pure light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view, a manifestation which will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time." -Albert Pike, on a plan for world conquest, written in a letter to Mazzini dated August 15, 1871.

"..Thirty-third degree Freemason Albert Pike (1809-1891), the man destined to develop the Luciferian Doctrine for the Masonic hierarchy, could not accept the Lucifer and Satan were the same personality. While teaching his beliefs to a select few in the Supreme Council, Pike became the most powerful Mason in the world. Although an obscure general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, he was hardly inconspicuous in Freemasonry. From 1859 until his death in 1891, Pike occupied simultaneously the positions of Grand Master of the Central Directory at Washington, D.C., Grand Commander of the Supreme Council at Charleston, S.C., and Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry. He was an honorary member of almost every Supreme Council in the world, personally receiving 130 Masonic degrees. Pike also was one of the most physically and morally repulsive individuals in American history. Weighing well over three hundred pounds, his sexual proclivity was to sit naked astride a phallic throne in the woods, accompanied by a gang of prostitutes. To these orgies he would bring one or more wagonloads of food and liquor, most of which he would consume over a period of two days until he passed into a stupor. In his adopted state of Arkansas, Pike was well known as a practitioner of Satanism, Portraits of his later years show him wearing a symbol of the Baphomet around his neck."
-Scarlet and the Beast, John Daniel, vol 1

"Masonry gives rogues and evil-minded characters an opportunity of visiting upon their devoted victim, all the ills attending combined power, when exerted to accomplish destruction. It works unseen, at all silent hours, and secret times and places; and, like death when summoning his diseases, pounces upon its devoted subject, and lays him prostrate in the dust. Like the great enemy of man, it has shown its cloven foot, and put the public upon its guard against its secret machinations." -CAPT. WM. MORGAN'S ILLUSTRATIONS OF MASONRY, 1827.

"Membership of secret societies such as freemasonry can raise suspicions of a lack of impartiality or objectivity. It is therefore important the public know the facts. I think it is the case that the freemasons said they are not a secret society but a society with secrets. I think it is widely accepted that one secret they should not be keeping is who their members are in the criminal justice system." - Home Secretary Jack Straw, 1997 Home Affairs Committee England

"It is generally agreed that the biggest single influence in the modern expansion of ritual magic, and the occult explosion in general, in the Western world, was the Golden Dawn. This magical fraternity, founded by Freemasons at the end of the 19th century, developed a complex ritual system with ten degrees of initiation relating to the Cabalistic Sephiroth." (World renown witches, Janet and Stewart Farrar, authors of A Witches Bible Compleat)
- Janet and Stewart Farrar, The Life and Times of A Modern Witch, Phoenix Publishing Company, p. 121.

From the information above, one reads the ideological connection between Jewish Cabalism, freemasonry, Wicca, Illuminists, etc. Now let me provide you with information on these connections and more. For example, consider the connection between Jewish Cabalism and New Age Movement:

Per http://www.jewsweek.com/spirituality/031.htm :

“it should be even more so when the subject deals with what can be arguably seen as one of the most intellectually challenging facets of Judaism. What can be found instead is a New Age version touted by Hollywood stars… The most frightening aspect of this proliferation of pop-Kabbalah is its trendiness. Hollywood personalities such as Roseanne Barr and Madonna have embraced the Kabbalah Learning Center, bringing the profile of the organization even higher.”

In American history a notable portion of Judaists were also members of freemasonry, as illustrated in this excerpt at http://www.kkbe.org/history.html :

“Almost two dozen men of Beth Elohim served in the War of Independence, among them the brilliant young Francis Salvador, who as delegate to the South Carolina Provincial Congresses of 1775 and 1776, was one of the first Jews to serve in an American legislature. Killed shortly after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Salvador was also the first Jew known to die in the Revolutionary War…Other congregants pioneered in steamship navigation, introduced illuminating gas to American cities, and numbered four of the eleven founders of the country's Supreme Council of Scottish Rite Masonry.” 

As well, many of the early leaders of Mormonism were freemasons, per the Watchman Expositor at http://www.watchman.org/lds/whoisjosephsmith.htm#15:

“[Joseph Smith’s] brother Hyrum joined the Masonic Order in Palmyra at the time Joseph claimed to find the golden plates. It is likely that the idea for discovering the golden plates came from Jewish Cabalistic lore and carried into Masonic legend where Enoch is said to have found buried treasure of gold and brass plates. Characters on the plates were said to be in Egyptian hieroglyphics, all of which sounds remarkably similar to Smith's supposed discovery of the golden and brass plates in the hill Cumorah near his home. Despite this likely early plagiarism of Mormon lore, Smith later became a Mason through the influence of Dr. John D. Bennett at Nauvoo. He subsequently brought virtually every male member of his religion into the order.”

So there are ideological connections between freemasonry, the New Age Movement, Jewish Cabalism, Mormonism, and even Satanism. This does not mean there is necessarily a structural connection, but one can see how these have embraced common false doctrines, and how they can work together in the governing coalition of the United States.

I dedicate an entire appendix to the role of Roman Catholicism in freemasonry, especially with regards to its Jesuit order. But let me assert this here: Roman Catholicism utilized freemasonry as an entrée into power in Protestant nations in the eighteenth century. Consider these insights at http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/roman_catholic_freemason.htm :

“Masonry was the only institution of the period which welcomed Roman Catholics, who were contemptuously called "Papists." If we read the newspapers
of the period, such as The Craftsman or The Gentleman's Magazine, we find a passage concerning the Craft stating: "They admit all men, including Jacobites and Papists themselves." This statement in that time was the utmost limit
of scandal! We can go even further and say that during that period when Roman Catholics were considered as outlaws in England, the Roman Catholic Duke of Norfolk was not only admitted, but became Grand Master of the Craft. I have even traced the presence, among Masons of the period, of a Jesuit called Father Cotton, who was also Brother Cotton. This was lawful in those days because the Papal condemnation had not yet been promulgated.”

This, however, only scratches the surface of the role of Romanism, and especially the Jesuits, in freemasonry. That I will demonstrate in the next appendix. Suffice it for now to say that once political power was opened up to Roman Catholicism, it has had an increasing influence in the governing coalition in Washington over time.

To the above groups could be added other heretical groups which are agreed in thwarting reformed Christian government.

APPENDIX EIGHT : THE ROLE OF ROMAN CATHOLICISM, AND ESPECIALLY THE JESUIT ORDER, IN FREEMASONRY

Roman Catholic prohibitions on freemasonry are more on paper than reality. This is apparent from the very prominent role which Roman Catholics have played in freemasonry over history. The Roman Catholic Duke of Norfolk was not only admitted into freemasonry, but became Grand Master of the Craft in the eighteenth century. The Catholic Priest Francisco Calvo started Freemasonry in Costa Rica in 1865. And many other Roman Catholics have played prominent roles in freemasonry as well.

The website http://www.freemasonry.org/costarica/Historia.htm provides information on the establishment of freemasonry in Costa Rica. Here are some excerpts from the website, in the Spanish language:

“Un medio como Internet, no llenaría el objeto que se propone, si en él no figuran todas las Instituciones humanitarias, de beneficencia, de socorro mutuo y las de índole social que revisten positiva importancia. De la cultura de Costa Rica habría de juzgarse incorrectamente si al mundo no se le hiciese saber que dentro de los confines de este país pueden vivir tranquilamente todos los hombres de buena voluntad, cualesquiera que sean sus creencias religiosas o sus ideas respecto a los medios de obtener el perfeccionamiento físico y moral de las sociedades.

Tomando esto en cuenta, vamos a ocuparnos ahora de la Masonería en Costa Rica, desde su fundación hasta nuestros días.

La Francmasonería fue introducida a Costa Rica en 1.865, cuando el Gran Oriente Neo-Granadino expidió con fecha 28 de junio del propio año, la carta patente a la Respetable Logia Caridad Nº 26, para trabajar en San José. Después, en 1867 se estableció la Logia Unión Fraternal Nº 19, bajo los auspicios de la Gran Logia de Cuba…

La fundación de la Masonería en Costa Rica, tuvo su origen en un viaje que el Q:.H:. Pbo. Dr. Francisco Calvo realizó al Perú, en donde se encontró con unos sacerdotes masones y allí fue iniciado masón a invitación de ellos. Cuando el Q:.H:. Francisco Calvo regresa a Costa Rica, se une a otros masones que ya residían en el país y fundan la Respetable Logia Caridad Nº 26, para lo cual la carta constitutiva que había de servirles para su fundación, fue otorgada el 28 de junio de 1.865 por el Gran Oriente Neo-Granadino. Desde su fundación hasta nuestros días, la Masonería Costarricense ha contado entre sus miembros, con personas muy destacadas en nuestra sociedad. Su servicio a la comunidad es indiscutible hasta nuestros días. Podemos poner como ejemplo al siempre bien recordado Q:.H:. y Pbo, Dr. Carlos María Ulloa.

Los Miembros que compusieron ese Alto Cuerpo, fueron los II:. HH:. Siguientes:

Pbo. Dr. Francisco Calvo Luis D. Sáenz Francisco Peralta Joaquín Fernández Félix Bonilla Dr. Andrés Sáenz Dr. Lorenzo Montúfar José Quirce Dr. José María Castro Leoncio de Vars  Manuel Bonilla

Soberano Gran Comendador Ten:. Gr:. Comendador 1er Gran Representante 2º. Gran Representante Gran Tesorero Gran Secretario General Ministro de Estado Gran maestro de Ceremonias Gran Canciller Gran Hospitalario Porta estandarte

So information like this alone should alert one that there is more to the story than the ostensible prohibition of Roman Catholics from freemasonry. I hope this appendix will suggest to you that there is a lot more connection between Romanism and freemasonry. In order to understand that connection, we must go back in history to the Crusades and the Knights Templar, even as F. Tupper Saussy suggests in his book Rulers of Evil.

Important information on the current connection between Romanism and Masonry can be read at the website http://www.trosch.org/bks/rvw/supporting-bks.html , excerpts of which are below (note: this is a Roman Catholic and not a Protestant website, as is obvious based upon various statements in it):

“Freemasonry and the Vatican is the latest book dealing with an entirely new phase in the orientation of Masonry in the modern world. There is at present in Catholic circles a constant, subtle and determined campaign in favour of Freemasonry. It is directed by the progressive element which is currently enjoying a great influence in French and American Church circles and beginning to show its hand in England too. Its avowed object is to obtain from the Vatican the revision or even annulment of the various condemnations pronounced by the Popes upon the Craft since 1738. This element consists of a number of priests, including a Jesuit, Editors of Catholic newspapers and several writers of note.

Shroud of Secrecy offers an insider's account of intrigue, sex, and corruption within the Vatican. It is the first treatise of written protest from within the Church since 1517, when Martin Luther posted his historic 95 theses on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Written by a small group of Vatican prelates who call themselves the Millenari, its publication breaks a code of silence that has allowed impropriety and hypocrisy within the Catholic Church to flourish.

The Millenari's main concerns are rampant careerism within the Vatican hierarchy, a secretive and corrupt selection process for bishops, Freemasonry within the Vatican walls, and the lack of an employee union. Their charges are supported by extensive anecdotes. Consider the priest who smuggled a suitcase of cash into Switzerland; the priest who was married by Papal sanction to the sister of a Vatican official and then boasted about his access to secure information; the priest who engaged in homosexual acts and was moved and promoted to cover up the scandal.

T H E   M I L L E N A R I   are a group of Vatican prelates who wish to remain anonymous due to their fear of repercussions from this book's publication. The only author to come forward is 72-year-old retired Vatican prelate Monsignor Luigi Marinelli [ mysteriously now dead ]. Marinelli worked for many years in the Vatican department of the Congregation of Eastern Churches. He was recruited to the writing team by an unnamed Vatican official who had heard Marinelli criticize the inner workings of the Vatican. 

AT THE TIME OF VATICAN II, MANY WORKED diligently at establishing who was issuing the orders to reject the ancient liturgical traditions. The customs are the untouchable patrimony of the Church, whose secular roots originate at the time of the Apostles who, in turn, descend from the Chosen People of the Old Testament. As it turned out, the culprit was none other than the Secretary of the papal Department for the Divine Cult, Archbishop Annibale Bugnini.

After following him for some time and observing his residence, the secret service followed him to the Masonic headquarters of the Great Orient of Italy. It seems that Bugnini was working for the grand master who was paying him handsome monthly sums for his services…Many magazines and newspapers have written about the Masonic infiltration of the Vatican. For two centuries, the Freemasons have continued to thwart the true Church in Rome. Clement XII imposed an excommunication on the Freemasons in 1738 with a Papal Bull. This lasted until 1974, when Jesuit father Giovanni Caprile, in a conciliatory article called "Catholic Civility," reassured the Catholics affiliated with Freemasonry: "If your faith as a Catholic doesn't detect anything systematically hostile and organized in the Masonic group to which you belong, against the Church and its principle doctrines and morality, you can remain in the organization. You should no longer feel yourself excommunicated, and therefore like all other believers, you are entitled to share in the sacraments and participate fully in the life of the Church. You do not need a special absolution from the excommunication." In reality, a large number of Catholics and Masonic prelates had been "participating fully in the life of the church" for years. As soon as Monsignor Montini arrived as the Archbishop of Milan, he appointed the most Catholic Mason, Michele Sindona, as his financial adviser. Later, as Pope, he placed the financial fate of the Institute for the Work of Religion in the undisputed criminal and thieving hands of Sindona and his partner, Roberto Calvi, who employed the services of two other Masons of the Propaganda 2 (P2) Lodge, Licio Gelli and Umberto Ortolani. In 1987, the Masonic journalist Pier Carpi confirmed the recruitment of "brother" Fulberto Lauro, who claimed that the P2 Lodge included cardinals and bishops among its members. He indicated that it was called the "Ecclesia Lodge" and that it was in direct contact with the grand master of the United Lodge of England, Michael, the Duke of Kent. That particular lodge had been in place in the Vatican since 1971. More than 100 cardinals, bishops, and monsignors are among its members. They manage to maintain the utmost secrecy, but not enough to escape every investigation.

The Catholic Mexican magazine Trial (no. 832, October 12, I992) reported that Masonry had divided the Vatican into eight territories, four of which were Masonic lodges of the Scottish rite whose members were all high-ranking officials in the Vatican. Because these groups are independent of one another, the members are unknown to each other even if they tap three times with their thumb… How does a Freemason infiltrate the Vatican offices? Or, how does an ecclesiastic of the Curia become a Freemason? These questions were posed to a prelate in the Curia by a young priest who was working in an Islamic country and who was distressed by the constant anti-Catholic propaganda shown on television there.

The young priest stated: "When it is convenient, our nation pretends to ignore the Catholic Church, the Pope, and the hierarchy; but, when a scandal is rumored, it is presented to the public in detail, to denigrate it altogether. The entire press corps is mobilized to report the deeds and misdeeds, armed with facts. They speak of this Cardinal Secretary of State, or that bishop, and still many more prelates affiliated with the Masons. They have the first names and family names of some of them, the date of their initiation, the positions they occupy in the Vatican, and even their lodge affiliations. Our small Catholic communities in these countries are left literally dumbfounded by these reports, and the authorities turn to us for explanations on the authenticity of these developments and how to respond to them. You, Monsignor, what do you think? Is it possible for a cardinal or a prelate in the Curia to join a Masonic lodge and collaborate with the grand master? It seems incredible that such a thing could happen. If it isn't true, why doesn't the accused sue the slanderers in national and international courts? Why doesn't the Vatican intervene through its apostolic nuncio and officially deny so many scandalous assertions?"

The young priest was equally concerned about the rumors surrounding the death of Pope John Paul I, which was shrouded in mystery. Claims were circulating that he had been murdered, but these rumors were fueled almost entirely by circumstantial evidence. During another scandal, the Vatican bank was accused of having an enormous amount of dirty money that had been laundered and deposited in foreign banks. Referring to these two events, the young priest commented: "They are naming high-ranking Vatican dignitaries as accomplices of the leaders of the Italian Freemasons. There is talk of murders, suicides, and arrest warrants being issued by the Italian government for members of the institute for the Work of Religion. They are talking about the dismissal of Monsignor Marcinkus and of the promotion of Donato De Bonis to the Order of Malta. I will give you another example: after the attempt on the Pope's life, the newspapers published a photograph of him seated beside the pool at his summer residence at Castelgandolfo. They further claimed that it had been taken by a Vatican employee, unbeknownst to security officials, and that it had been found in Ali Agca's possession on the day of the botched assassination, May 13, 1981. The photo was apparently bought for three hundred thousand dollars by the P2 member, Licio Gelli, who is reported to have told his `brother,' Vanni Nisticò: `It was worth it; if these photos can be taken of the Pope, imagine how easy it will be to shoot him!' For those of us surrounded by enemies of the faith, these assertions are particularly disruptive and they threaten to undermine us."

The Institute for the Work of Religion is the papal bank.

A religious and military brotherhood, the Order of Malta's leaders
must take religious vows of celibacy, poverty, and obedience.

Ali Agca is a Turkish national who shot and seriously wounded
Pope John Paul II in 1981.

As he concluded these remarks, the monsignor noticed that his colleague was profoundly dismayed. He knew that the young priest was tirelessly devoted to the young in his country, and that he had to provide him with a serious answer.

"You see, my dear brother, yours is a question that we all ask ourselves. The photograph of the shirtless Pope was taken from inside his summer residence by an insider whose identity everyone wants to know. Personally, I do not side with those who want to deny everything at any cost, as if, for example, the attempt on Pope John Paul II was nothing but a simple hunting accident. The ostrich that buries its head in the sand as the storm approaches to avoid its wrath becomes its victim. This is how I see it.

"I consider the idea impossible that a Freemason would leave his lodge, find himself a prelate or cardinal of consequence, and propose that he join the Masons. That this dignitary should then, as if nothing were the matter, immediately agree and join the side that destroys the very God he has taken vows to serve is equally unthinkable. On the other hand, it is difficult to contest that Freemasons exist among the ecclesiastics and have penetrated the upper levels of the Roman Curia.

"You alluded to the dirty money that the self-declared Masons funneled out of the country with the cooperation of high-ranking ecclesiastical dignitaries of the bank, whose story broke during the 1994 trial on the Enimont scandal. During these proceedings, it was revealed that more than $100 million had been laundered through the Vatican for ignoble Masonic ends, and that the curious death of the son of one of the principal actors, Roberto Calvi, who was found hanged under Blackfriars Bridge in London, was likely a casualty of criminal activities. So you see, Freemasons are definitely at work in the Vatican, even if its headquarters is elsewhere. Pope John Paul I should have known immediately when journalist Paolo Panerai, on August 31, 1978, suddenly addressed a mournful open letter to the Pope in the influential economic weekly Il Mondo: `Holiness, is it right that the Vatican operates in the stock market like a speculator? Is it right that the bank intervenes in the illegal transfer of capital from Italy to other countries? Is it fair that the bank helps Italians avoid paying taxes?' The Pope hadn't even recovered from the shocking questions directed at him when, on September 12, the weekly publication directed by Mino Pecorelli, a Mason who was later murdered, published a list of 121 names of Vatican representatives and important prelates affiliated with the Masons. “

This information alleges significant current connection between Masonry and Romanist leadership. It reveals how Jesuits are the apologists for freemasonry within Romanism. Now let’s consider information relating to the historic connection between the two.

Andrew Michael Ramsay and the German Baron Karl Von Hundt in the early 1700s revealed information about the connection between the order of the Knights Templar and freemasonry. The order of the Knights Templar was Roman Catholic as well as Masonic, and has served as a means for Roman Catholic influence over Masonry in general. Here are excerpts from a history of the Knights Templar found at http://www.templarhistory.com/mts.html :

“In order to look at the history of the founding history of the Knights of the Temple we must look at the first crusade and particularly the Liege Lords who were involved, the house of Henry of Champagne, Baldwin and the leading families who made the first Crusade successful. We must also look at a strange mystical man, called Peter the Hermit.

1112. Hughes De Payen visits the Holy Land with a letter of introduction to Baldwin the king of Jerusalem, from Count Henry De Champagne.

1118 The Knights Templar were founded to protect pilgrim routes in the Holy Land by Hugh de Payens in the reign of Baldwin II who granted quarters in Jerusalem on the site of the Temple of Solomon; hence the name Knights of the Temple. The secular overlord was the Count of Champagne with spiritual leadership given by St. Bernard of Clairvaux.350 Cistercian houses are created in his name.

Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint (1090-1153), born near Martiney, the village where Hugues De Payen was the Leige Lord holding his title from Bernards Uncle, the Count of Champagne. In 1113 he became a monk and joins the Order, with 20 of his family and friends, in the Cistercian monastery of Cîteaux, a small village south of Dijon, and in 1115 he became abbot of a monastery at Clairvaux, north of Dijon. Under his rule the monastery at Clairvaux became the most prominent of the Cistercian order. Reputed miracles and the eloquent preaching of Bernard attracted numerous pilgrims. Bernard becomes the patron and writes the code of the Templar Order In Praise of the New Knighthood. Between 1130 and 1153, more than 90 monasteries were founded under the auspices of the one at Clairvaux, and Bernard's influence in the church spread throughout the world.

1120 The rise of the Champagne fairs. And the development of the Artisan.

1128 Hugues de Payen visits Scotland, Balentrodach is created from a bequest by David 1, to be followed by Bequests by future Scottish Kings see Regis Scotum.

1129 Council of Troyes under the guidance of St. Bernard of Clairvaux

1136,The creation of the Cistercian Abbey of Melrose. Scotland

1137.A Lodge of Stonemasons working on Melrose Abbey is created in St John lane, Newstead.

1140 The creation of Newbattle Abbey,four miles from Balentradoch.in Midlothian.

1147 Use of the red cross of the Order initiated,By Pope Eugenius III.

1153 St.Bernard of Clairvaux dies.His feast Day becomes the 20th of August.

1154 Sovereign authority of the Grand Master recognised by Louis VII of France

1187.Jerusalem Falls and is lost to the Christians.

1203 6th of April the sacking of Constantinople. Important relics are looted and fall into Templar hands, including the Mandylion. The Orkney crusade,Scottish Templar Families including the Sinclairs join the crusade.

1265. The Temple sets the Gold and silver standards for coin weight, throughout the whole of Europe,the Templar cross can still be seen on British coinage today used as a proof mark.

1274 .Robert the Bruce is Born.

1291 With the fall of Acre the Templars found themselves distanced from the Holy Land and lacking support from some European kings.

1297.The Battle of Stirling Bridge. Scottish Army under William Wallace defeats a superior English force.

1297 The decline of the Fairs of Champagne.

1298.Battle of Falkirk, Brian Le Jay The English Templar preceptor is killed by Scottish archers while fighting for Edward 1,the English king which would have been considered a breach of the rule of the Order. The treachery of some of the Scottish Lords, loses the Battle for Wallace and the Scots.

1303. The Battle of Roslin,8,000 Scots defeated 30,000 English in 3 battles in the same day. Sir Symon Fraser, Sinclair of Rosslyn and the Red Comyn are the commanders on the Scots side, Bruce at this time was in Ireland. Hence the battle is not well known in Scottish history.

1306. March.27th Robert the Bruce is crowned King at Scone,using the real Stone of Destiny.Which was given by the Abbot of Scone,the Traditional keeper of the Stone.

1307.12th October,Templar ships under the command of the Templar Admiral of the Fleet,leave at midnight from La Rochelle.

1307. Black Friday the 13th October,The arrest of Jaques De Molay,the Grand Master of the Temple by Philip of France.

1309. The Island of Rhodes is bought by the Knights Hospitallers.

1310.12th of May,54 Templars were executed by burning at the stake, a total of 115 knights of the Temple are executed in this way, in France, without any real evidence of guilt being produced.

1311.Adam de Middleton, Preceptor for Scotland is interviewed by Bishop Lamberton of St. Andrews,and given his protection.

1312. 3rd of April.Following false charges the Order is dissolved by Papal decree in Vienne,near Lyon,by ClementV and Philip of France. The Order is subjected to a cruel persecution but not in Scotland where Templars fleeing France found refuge under an Excommunicated King Robert the Bruce.

1312. Bruce welcomes the Templar Order to a divided and excommunicate Scotland.

1314. 18th of March The Grand Master Jaques de Molay and De Charney the preceptor for Normandy, are executed in innocent,by being burned alive in Paris.

1314. Knights Templar fight alongside Bruce at Bannockburn on 24th June, Midsummer's day, the Feast day of John the Baptist. Bruce creates the Order of Heridom and the Brothers of the Rosy Cross.Later to be Kilwinning. - They hold lands in Argyllshire near Sadell Abbey. Part of the Templar Fleet becomes integrated into the Lords of the Isles and the Northern (Sinclair)Fleet. They hold lands in Argyllshire near Sadell Abbey.

1315. Bruce Protects the Order and the Temple keeps its land in Scotland,and the Templars land is administered but not owned, by the Knights Hospitallers.

1314 Balentrodoch comes under the protection of The St. Clairs of Rosslyn.

1320. The Signing of the Declaration of Arbroath. Which was strongly influenced by the Templar ideal. Sinclairs of Rosslyn are signatories.Which principally rids Scotland of serfdom.

1328. February,The treaty of Edinburgh is signed by the Scots and English Kings enshrining Scottish sovereignty.Later ratified by the Treaty of Northampton in October 1328.

1329. King Robert the Bruce dies.and is buried in Dunfermline Abbey,Templar Ritual is used.

1330. A group of Scottish Knights and Templars under the commandership of Sir James Douglas take Bruces Heart to the Holy Land, but make a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella in Spain, and take part in the first great successful battle against the Moors at Teba, Calavatra, (this is where the name Braveheart comes from when Douglas throws the heart of Bruce in a silver casket forward into the Moorish lines, and calls "go Braveheart and we, your Knights will follow"). Only four Knights survive and return to Scotland out of twenty-two.Two Sinclairs of Rosslyn die with the Douglas. Hay who brought back both the heart of Bruce and Douglas.The name of the family becomes Lockhart. In 1990 a member of M.T.S. is present at the 660 year anniversary of the Battle.

1331. Henry de St Clair who fought at Bannockburn is buried at Rosslyn as Grand master of the Temple.

1333. The Battle of Halidon Hill, Adam De Vipont, Knight Templar is captured by Edward III.When the Holy Rood is lost to Scotland and is kept in Durham Cathedral.

1334. David the Second, King of Scots, in exile in The French court, creates The Guarde De Ecosse, Personal Bodyguard to the French(Valios)Kings, in Fealty of Scotland. This was the time of two Kings of Scots, David the second Bruces son, and Alexander Comyn who had given fealty to Edward the Third. It was the time when the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France was formed. The Templar Ideals are kept in the best of the Scottish Nobles. The Scottish nobles from the Bruce Line become the heritors of the Templar Order, and its knowledge; the head of the Jacobite line becomes the Unknown Superior and secret protectors of the Templar Order. The StClairs being the cupbearers, feature prominently.

1398. Earl Henry Sinclair voyage from Orkney to Nova Scotia using Templar Knowledge and ships.He is buried as the Master of the Temple.

1431. Earl William Sinclair Becomes a Knight of the Golden Fleece and Knight of the Cockle,The Santiago de Compostello, where two of his grand uncles had visited with Bruces heart.

1445. Earl William Sinclair starts to build Rosslyn Chapel to hold some of the Templar Mysteries,and to create a book in stone to enshrine for posterity the Templar ideals. The Chapel is built using the Golden Mean. The Templar order is never proscribed in Scotland ,its lands are not confiscated they are administered by the Hospital,but ownership is never transferred to the Hospitallers The Principality of Drem is created. The Guarde De Ecosse still draws its members from Scottish Templar Families.

1640 The Lands of the Hospital are dissolved by the last master, Sandilands with the permission of Mary, Queen of Scots.

1650.The vault at Rosslyn is sealed after the burial of Earl William Sinclair, who is killed at the Battle of Dunbar.

1689 July 27th, James Grahame of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, died at the battle of Killiecrankie wearing the Grand Cross of the Order.

1705 General Statutes and Election Charter

1738. Chevalier Andrew Michael Ramsay's Paris Oration.

1742. Lord Kilmarnock and other exiled Stuart participants showing that the Jacobite Templar link still existed receive Karl Gotthelf, Baron Von Hund into the Order of the Temple in Paris.

1745. 24th,September Prince Charles Edward Stewart, himself a senior Templar gives a soiree for the Chivalry of the Order in Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh. It is recorded in a letter from the Duke of Perth to Lord Ogilvie.

1754. Meeting at College of the Jesuits in Clermont.

1796. Alexander Deuchar becomes the Heritor to the Jacobite Templar legacy.

1807.January, Deuchar holds a meeting of Knights Templar in Edinburgh.

1808.28th of March, Abbot Clovet, pronounced the funeral oration of the Martyrs of the Order of the Temple at Church of St Paul in Paris.

1810 Alexander Deuchar becomes Master of Militi Templi Scotia and the heritor of the Stuart line of the Temple, an office he was to hold until 1835.

1825.Guzet published the manual of the Order of the Chevaliers of the Temple.

1838. Admiral Sir William Sydney Smith was elected Grand Master in Paris.

1840.Headquarters of the Magisterial Legation of the Order (SMOTJ) were established in Brussels.

1853 Napoleon III acknowledges the Order as a Sovereign Power and Grants the right to carry decorations on French territory.

1871.On the 15th of August Regent General,Dr Verois deposited the Archives of the Order into the National Archives of France,Paris ABXIX boxes 125/158.

1894.Reinstatement of the Regency,and the Establishment of an International Secretariat of the Templars,with magisterial powers.

1934.1st of October Regency Council of the Order,SMOTJ, six Officers HQ.Brussels.

1935.8th of August Emile Clement Joseph Isaac Vandenburg, KGC, assumed the Office and Guardian of the Order with all its rights and Privileges.SMOTJ. Baron Anton Leuprecht moves offices and Archives to the safety of Portugal, because of the war.

1942.23rd December Count Antonio Campbell Pinto de Sousa Fontes,GC becomes Regent by Magisterial Degree.

1960. Grand Regent, dies. Regency is assumed by his son Fernando Campello Pinto Pereiro de Sousa Fontes.

1961.21st of April,the Regent General confirmed his Excellency Baron Anton Leuprecht as Mondial Chief of all Autonomous Grand Priories as had his Father earlier.

1962. The Scottish and American Autonomous Grand Priories are created by C.M.Baron Anton Leuprecht.

1963.Militi Templi Scotia becomes an officiated brother of S.M.O.T.J. But retains its separate historical identity.

1995 Representatives of the Grand Priories of Germany and Austria are granted an audience with His Holiness the Pope. Major International Conclaves in London and Salzburg with Scotland represented produce a full democratic re-structuring of Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani ready for service in the 21st century.”

From the above information it is more than obvious that Roman Catholicism is intimately connected with the Masonic Templars. One should note the entry: “1754. Meeting at College of the Jesuits in Clermont.” The Jesuits made great use of freemasonry, as in this instance, to promote their agenda and even control freemasonry. And the Romish Jacobite movement was very much connected with the Masonic Templars, as is also obvious from the history above.

The same website provides the information below as well, which tells of how the Roman Catholic Andrew Ramsay and others used the history of the Templars to create additional higher degrees within freemasonry. These higher degrees were filled with men who would assist the Romish Jesuit agenda.

“The Ramsay Oration of 1737

Andrew Michael Ramsay was born in 1686 and was known throughout his adult life as Chevaliers Ramsay. He was born in Ayres, Scotland, but spent much of his life traveling and living in Italy, Holland and France. An educator and gifted writer, Ramsay is said to have been a supporter of the Stuart cause and even tutored the Stuart Princes. Although it is not known when he first became a Freemason, it is known that he was the Grand Chancellor of the Grand Lodge of Paris and in this capacity was in a position to have his words listened to. The man is best remembered for the oration he gave in 1737 to the Grand Loge Provinciale D'Angleterre in which he created for the Freemasons a lineage connected to the Crusading Knights of Medieval times. Although it is common for researchers and writers to paint that Ramsay's oration mentions the Knights Templar specifically, this is actually not the case, but was a later addition of the Baron Karl Von Hund, whom we will look at next. In his lecture, Ramsay refuted the earlier claims connecting the Freemasons to the legend of Enoch and the legends of the Temple of Solomon and painted the tale of Masonry originating with the Crusading Knights who wrested Jerusalem from the Turks during the first crusade. According to Ramsay:

"In the time of the Holy Wars in Palestine, many princes, nobles, and citizens associated themselves together and entered into vows to reestablish Christian Temples in the Holy Land, and encourage themselves by an oath to employ their talents and their fortunes in restoring architecture to its primitive condition. They adopted signs and symbolic words, derived from religion, by which they might distinguish themselves from the infidels and might recognize each other in the midst of the Saracens."

Ramsay additionally claimed that these Crusading Masons allied themselves with the order of St. John or the Hospitallers and this is the reason that many Masonic lodges latterly carried the name of St. John in their titles. His assertions were speculative at best and almost certainly spurious as many Masonic historians would disagree with his assertions about St. John. However, one thing that Ramsay, like Von Hund, whom we will presently focus on, can be accredited for is the addition of the higher degrees to Masonry, especially those orders known as the Chivalric Order.

The Rite of Strict Observance

So as we have seen, if Michael Andrew Ramsay was not entirely responsible for adding the Templar legend to the Craft, who is then? The answer to that question is, Baron Karl Von Hund, the creator of the grades of Masonry known as the Rite of Strict Observance. It is this rite of Masonry that brings us back around the circle to the legend of Pierre D' Aumont.

In contrast to the Larmenius Charter, it is said that while in prison, Jacques de Molay, passed the Mastership of the order to Pierre D' Aumont, who according to some traditions was a Marshal of the order and in others he was the Provincial Grand Master of Auvergne. It is unlikely that so important a position would be passed to a mere Marshal and it has been shown in Baigent and Leigh's book, "The Temple and the Lodge", that De Aumont was not the Provincial Grand Master of Auvergne. In either case the legend goes that D' Aumont fled to Scotland with seven Brother Templars, two Commanders and five knights, disguised as operative stone masons , where they created the degrees of Freemasonry as a covert continuation of the Knights Templar. The tradition goes that they landed on the Island of Mull, but as this island was under the possession of King Edward, it is unlikely, disguised or not that they would have found safe harbor there. Still, the legend contends that D' Aumont was elected Grand Master of the Templar order on St. Johns day, June 24, 1313. In 1364, D' Aumont transferred the Templar seat of authority to the city of Aberdeenand it is from this new position that it spread, as Freemasonry throughout Europe.

This theory was the basis of and brought to light by the German Von Hund in 1754 and carved out a pedigree for speculative Masonry that would last to the present time. Von Hund's Rite of Strict Observance spread throughout Europe including parts of Switzerland and even as far as Russia.

Although Karl Von Hund was a German, his Rite of Strict Observance met with particular acceptance in France where the original Templars had originated at the end of the first crusade. It has been said, and it is more a matter of speculation, than of historical fact that Von Hund was first introduced to the theory and to Templarism in France where he was initiated by an unknown Templar who, Von Hundt truly believed to be the pretender Charles Edward Stewart.

Whether this is the case or merely wishful thinking on the part of Von Hund, it cannot be denied that his Rite of Strict Observance met with the favor of many of Europe's well to do. It can also not be denied that it is the theories of the Chevalier Michael Ramsay and latterly Von Hund, that thousands of North American men don their Templar mantle, hat and sword and meet in Freemasonic lodges under the guise of Christian Chivalry.

Of course these modern day members of Masonic Templarism are no longer a part of the Rite of Strict Observance, but there is no doubt that the Order of the Temple, the highest of the Chivalric Orders in the York Rite and the Knight Kadosh grade of the Scottish Rite owe a great allegiance to the D' Aumont legend first put forth in Von Hund's Rite of Strict Observance.

In all likelihood, it will never be proved or disproved that the modern orders of Templarism sprang from the ashes of the original order over six centuries ago, it has however, been proven that both the SMOTJ and the Templars of the Scottish and York rites of Freemasonry have outlived the original order by some years and that those men and women who call themselves Templars believe themselves to be carrying out the same spirit of Chivalry that began in the Levant in the twelfth century.”

http://members.aol.com/forumlead/History/Freemasonry-ramsay.htm says this about the Additional Degrees instigated by The Chevalier Ramsay:

”No study of freemasonry, its history and customs, would be complete without an examination of the "additional degrees." Much has been studied, published and written regarding the first three degrees in Blue Lodge Masonry often with emphasis on the Hiramic Legend, and its essential use to develop the aspiring Mason. Purists recognize that Blue Lodge Masonry teaches its candidates the fundamentals of morality and offers plenty of opportunity to grow, develop and play a critical and active part in the organization as well as contributing to the community of men. There is, however, further opportunity in Masonry, at least for twentieth century Americans. Through its appendant or concordant bodies, the York Rite and Scottish Rite, Masonry in America treats its members to further examination of those truths which all good men recognize as essential and necessary. Though there is no requisite for any Mason to participate in either organization, many do. They reap the benefits of further contact with their distinguished members. However, most of the participants know little about the origins of the "additional degrees". "Gould's History of Freemasonry" offers some incite and is an excellent resource for studying the development of the Craft as it exists today.
Within a few years after the establishment of The First Grand Lodge in England (1717), it is known that masonry existed not only throughout the island but had established itself on the European mainland as well. The members on the continent, regardless of their nationality, owed their pedigree to English Freemasonry. No working Craft guilds contributed to their makeup. These Freemasons were strictly speculative and their constituency was reserved for the upper classes. Interestingly enough, even in Germany, the language of the Craft was conducted, not in German or even in English, but in French. The formality of the time dictated that diplomatic custom prevail. All minutes and lodge names were recorded in French.

In 1740, an important change arose. Our European forefathers became aware of Scottish Masonry. It's usages were considered to be derived from a more ancient source then English Grand Lodge customs. Its reputation on the continent was presumed to be superior to the previously known Craft and possessed of a more "recondite knowledge and extensive privileges."

The Scottish Degrees were embellished with "Chivalric Degrees." This was in keeping with the tradition of knighthood reserved for the nobility of Europe. A variety of degree systems arose including structures consisting of 7, 10, 25, 33 ,90 and even 95 degrees. Similarly the York Rite in America still hosts 14 degrees for its candidates, and the Scottish Rite, thirty-three. One theory has it that the Stuarts, refugees from England living in France at the time, devised the Scottish degree system as a method of winning favor from the growing continental Masonic organizations. This theory is further supported by the fact that some of the earliest names associated with French freemasonry, were indeed allied and supportive of "The Pretender." However, no direct proof exists and it is important to note that the Stuarts themselves were never members of the Craft. The inducement to change can be attributed to a speech by a Scotsman, The Chevalier Ramsay. The result is, at least to many scholars of Masonic history, that every innovation of the time is thought to have Scotland as its birthplace. The connection is not accurate, and any thoughtful professor of the degrees should quickly dispute such references.
"Prince Charles Edward Stuart is said to have established the Rite de la Vielle-Brethren at Toulouse, which he denominated Ecossais (Scots) Fideles, in honor of the kind reception which his aide-de-camp, Sir Samuel Lockhart, had received from the Freemasons in Scotland; and the Degrees of Ramsay were blended in this Rite. Ramsay issued a manifesto to the town of Arras, giving the Lodge there the power to confer his Degree of the Eagle and the Pelican. This formed the first authorized Chapter for working the higher grades."-Gould

Americans familiar with York Rite Masonry will recognize some of the structure of Ramsay's degree system. Nine degrees were exemplified, beginning with the first four which we see done in some manner or form in American Blue Lodge. "This first Chapter
was known as Symbolical Masonry." Four further degrees constituted the "Masonry of the Crusades", the second Chapter, while a ninth degree, or final chapter was termed "Scientific Masonry." Together all chapters were termed "The Consistory."

Privacy was essential and candidates were told that "silence and secrecy are the very soul of the Order." This admonishment to the newly inducted Brethren, makes it difficult for modern historians to discern the truth about the degrees. As for Ramsay, many infer that his objective in creating this system was to reintroduce the new degrees in England so as to usurp established Freemasonry and act as an agent of the Stuarts. He is further ascribed as having authored "The Ineffable Degrees" by which are exemplified the extended allegory of Hiram Abiff. Whatever the facts are, however, can not be easily ascertained as documentation is scarce. The work stands by itself as "a pleasurable fiction."

The Chevalier Andrew Michael Ramsay was born in Ayr on June 9th, 1686. His father was a Calvinist and baker by trade. At the age of fourteen he entered Edinburgh University and studied for the next three years. During this time he favored mathematics and classical Greek literature, subjects which would continue to give him pleasure throughout life. It was also during this time that he left his father's Calvinist teachings behind. The teachings of Antoinette Bourignon (who had died in 1680) had been gaining popularity in Aberdeen at that time and rumor had it that her travels took her through the area, disguised as a hermit, some years before. As a teenager in 17th-century Belgium, she had deep spiritual longings that her family and town priest could not satisfy. One night as she prayed, a voice spoke to her: "Forsake all earthly things. Separate thyself from the love of the creatures. Deny thyself."

Antoinette took these intuitions earnestly. But her parents would not allow her to enter a convent. When they betrothed her to a wealthy merchant, she kept putting off the wedding date. One morning, dressed in a hermit's habit she had sewn herself, she stole into the pre-dawn darkness. She had stashed a penny in her pocket to buy bread, but the voice asked, "Where is thy faith... in a penny?" so she tossed it away. "Thus," a disciple would later write, "she went away wholly delivered from the heavy burthen of the cares and good things of this world and found her soul so satisfied that she no longer wished for anything upon earth." Later Antoinette served in a convent and supervised an orphanage.

As an outcome of her teachings, Ramsay was in contact with Poiret and the Quietist's movement in France. About 1706, he left England for Flanders where he joined the army commanded by the Duke of Marlborough. In 1710 he was introduced to Fenelon, the Archbishop of Cambrai where he secured his release from the army to further persue his religious and Quietist studies. In 1715, Fenelon died and Ramsay published his biography at The Hague in 1723. Ramsay went on to Paris and became Tutor to the young Duc de Chateau-Theirry. He further counted the Regent, Phillipe d'Orleans as his friend. The Regent was the Grand Master of the Order of St. Lazarus. Ramsay was inducted into the order, and thus, gained the title "Chevalier."

In 1724, Ramsay accepted the responsibility of tutor to Charles Edward and Henry (Cardinal of York), who were the recently exiled Stuart Princes. It should be noted that Ramsay resigned his position after a year. The circumstances were unclear, however, he remained a loyal Jacobite and referred to James III as "a very clever, fine, jovial, free-thinking man."

In 1725, he was offered to tutor the second son of George II, but declined citing religious differences. He was, however, allowed unobstructed travel through England and took advantage of the offer to visit the Duke of Argyll at Invery. In 1727 his work, "The Travels of Cyrus" was published in Paris. In 1728, he was the guest of the Marquis d'Abais. On March 12, 1729, he became member of the Gentleman's Society at Spalding. This organization was comprised mostly of Freemasons including Martin Folkes, Rawlinson, Desaugiers, Lord Paisley, Stukeley, the Duke of Montagu, Richard Manningham, the Earl of Dalkeith, Lord Corelaine, the Duke of Lorraine (afterwards the Emperor of Germany) the Earls Strathmeore, Crawford and Aberdoour, Martin Clare and Francis Drake. During this period he obtained several degrees from Oxford, a notable achievement for a Roman Catholic and supporter of "The Pretender." When he returned to France he became actively associated with Freemasonry. In 1737 he was Chancellor (Orator) of the Grand Lodge of France. It was during the Grand Mastership of Lord Harnouster that he made his famous oration. A copy of the oration was later burned in Rome by the Pope (1738) on the grounds that it weakened the loyalty of the people. (Nobody ever expects the Inquisition).

By this time he was Grand Chancellor of the Paris Grand Lodge ... The Oration itself is an embellishment of Anderson's degree work, printed in 1723…

As an educator, Ramsay sought to dispel the misunderstandings surrounding the Craft particularly in light of the grumblings of the Church. He declared that the Grand Masters of France, Germany, Italy and England were engaged in soliciting from their members, contribution to a great work, a "Universal Dictionary of the Liberal Arts and Useful Sciences" excepting only theology and politics. Perhaps his hope was to invision the fraternity as functioning similar to the Royal Society and remove any thought of Jesuit or Jacobite purpose…

In this history, the ancient Brethren are shown to adopt the sacred signs and words for protection as noted above. The Order is predicated upon the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. "This union was made after the example set by the Isrealites when they erected the second Temple who, whilst they handled the trowel and mortar with one hand, in the other held the sword and buckler." This allusion did not refer to any existing degree of the time, but quickly served as the basis for the Knightly Scottish Degrees.
The Crusaders, having been dispersed from the Holy Lands are said to have erected lodges in Germany, Italy, Spain, France and thence Scotland, "because of the close alliance between the French and the Scotch. James, Lord Stewart of Scotland, was Grand Master of a Lodge established at Kilwinning, in the West of Scotland, MCCLXXXVI, shortly after the death of AlexanderIII, King of Scotland and one year before John Baliol mounted the throne." In this way, Ramsay ties Scottish Freemasonry more anciently to the Crusader past, and proports the degrees to be more pure and complete…

From these passages and the history that Ramsay proported grew "the higher degrees." It is not fair to say that he authored them directly, or even that he intended to corrupt the existing degree work. It is not his fault that others, inspired by the fiction that he related, chose to embellish and develop them into the presentation that we know today. What is fair to say, is that Ramsay had a genuine love of the Craft and sought in its promotion the healing virtues that the educated World needed during the volatile eighteenth century. It is clear that he held the highest respect for the fraternity and sought to connect it to the knightly organizations with whom his membership is documented and clear. These "additional degrees" stand for what they are, a further "pleasurable fiction" from which all learned men can aspire to do great things.”

Here is another historical account of the Militi Templi Scotia, an Order of Knights Templar. Its international name is The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem. The historical account below is found at http://www.princehenrymts.org/Militi_Templi_Scotia.html :

In order to look at the history of the founding history of the Knights of the Temple we must look at the first crusade and particularly the Liege Lords who were involved, the house of Henry of Champagne, Baldwin and the leading families who made the first Crusade successful. We must also look at a strange mystical man, called Peter the Hermit.

1112	Hughes De Payen visits the Holy Land with a letter of introduction to Baldwin the king of Jerusalem, from Count Henry De Champagne.
1118	The Knights Templar were founded to protect pilgrim routes in the Holy Land by Hugh de Payens in the reign of Baldwin II who granted quarters in Jerusalem on the site of the Temple of Solomon; hence the name Knights of the Temple. The secular overlord was the Count of Champagne with spiritual leadership given by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. 350 Cistercian houses are created in his name. Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint (1090-1153), born near Martiney, the village where Hugues De Payen was the Leige Lord holding his title from Bernard’s Uncle, the Count of Champagne. In 1113 he became a monk and joins the Order, with 20 of his family and friends, in the Cistercian monastery of Cîteaux, a small village south of Dijon, and in 1115 he became abbot of a monastery at Clairvaux, north of Dijon. Under his rule the monastery at Clairvaux became the most prominent of the Cistercian order. Reputed miracles and the eloquent preaching of Bernard attracted numerous pilgrims. Bernard becomes the patron and writes the code of the Templar Order In Praise of the New Knighthood. Between 1130 and 1153, more than 90 monasteries were founded under the auspices of the one at Clairvaux, and Bernard's influence in the church spread throughout the world.
1120	The rise of the Champagne fairs. And the development of the Artisan.
1128	Hugues de Payen visits Scotland, Balentradoch is created from a bequest by David 1, to be followed by Bequests by future Scottish Kings see Regis Scotum.
1129	Council of Troyes under the guidance of St. Bernard of Clairvaux
1136	The creation of the Cistercian Abbey of Melrose, Scotland
1137	A Lodge of Stonemasons working on Melrose Abbey is created in St John lane, Newstead.
1140	The creation of Newbattle Abbey, four miles from Balentradoch in Midlothian.
1147	Use of the red cross of the Order initiated, by Pope Eugenius III.
1153	St.Bernard of Clairvaux dies. His feast Day becomes the 20th of August.
1154	Sovereign authority of the Grand Master recognised by Louis VII of France
1187	Jerusalem Falls and is lost to the Christians.
1203	6th of April the sacking of Constantinople. Important relics are looted and fall into Templar hands, including the Mandylion. The Orkney crusade, Scottish Templar Families including the Sinclairs join the crusade
1265	The Temple sets the Gold and silver standards for coin weight, throughout the whole of Europe, the Templar cross can still be seen on British coinage today used as a proof mark.
1274	Robert the Bruce is born.
1291	With the fall of Acre the Templars found themselves distanced from the Holy Land and lacking support from some European kings.
1297	The Battle of Stirling Bridge. Scottish Army under William Wallace defeats a superior English force.
1297	The decline of the Fairs of Champagne.
1298	Battle of Falkirk, Brian Le Jay The English Templar preceptor is killed by Scottish archers while fighting for Edward 1,the English king which would have been considered a breach of the rule of the Order. The treachery of some of the Scottish Lords, loses the Battle for Wallace and the Scots.
1303	The Battle of Roslin, 8,000 Scots defeated 30,000 English in 3 battles in the same day. Sir Symon Fraser, Sinclair of Rosslyn and the Red Comyn are the commanders on the Scots side, Bruce at this time was in Ireland. Hence the battle is not well known in Scottish history.
1306	March 27th Robert the Bruce is crowned King at Scone, using the real Stone of Destiny. This was given by the Abbot of Scone, the Traditional keeper of the Stone.
1307	12th October, Templar ships under the command of the Templar Admiral of the Fleet, leave at midnight from La Rochelle.
1307	Black Friday the 13th October, The arrest of Jaques De Molay, the Grand Master of the Temple by Philip of France.
1309	The Island of Rhodes is bought by the Knights Hospitaller.
1310	12th of May, 54 Templars were executed by burning at the stake, a total of 115 Knights of the Temple are executed in this way, in France, without any real evidence of guilt being produced.
1311	Adam de Middleton, Preceptor for Scotland is interviewed by Bishop Lumberton of St. Andrews, and given his protection.
1312	3rd of April. Following false charges the Order is dissolved by Papal decree in Vienne, near Lyon, by Clement V, and Philip of France. The Order is subjected to a cruel persecution but not in Scotland where Templars fleeing France found refuge under an Excommunicated King Robert the Bruce.
1312	Bruce welcomes the Templar Order to a divided and excommunicated Scotland.
1314	14th of March The Grand Master Jaques de Molay and De Charney the preceptor for Normandy, they are executed, even though they were innocent of all the charges, by being burned alive in Paris.
1314	Knights Templar fight alongside Bruce at Bannockburn on 24th June, Midsummer's day, the Feast day of John the Baptist. Bruce creates the Order of Heridom and the Brothers of the Rosy Cross. Later to be Kilwinning. - They hold lands in Argyllshire near Sadell Abbey. Part of the Templar Fleet becomes integrated into the Lords of the Isles and the Northern (Sinclair)Fleet. They hold lands in Argyllshire near Sadell Abbey.
1314	Balentrodoch comes under the protection of The StClairs of Rosslyn.
1315	Bruce Protects the Order and the Temple keeps its land in Scotland, and the Templars land is administered but not owned, by the Knights Hospitallers.
1320	The Signing of the Declaration of Arbroath. This was strongly influenced by the Templar ideal. Sinclairs of Rosslyn are signatories. Which principally rids Scotland of serfdom.
1328	February, The treaty of Edinburgh is signed by the Scots and English Kings enshrining Scottish sovereignty. Later ratified by the Treaty of Northampton in October 1328.
1329	King Robert the Bruce dies and is buried in Dunfermline Abbey, Templar Ritual is used.
1330	A group of Scottish Knights and Templars under the commandership of Sir James Douglas take Bruces Heart to the Holy Land, but make a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella in Spain, and take part in the first great successful battle against the Moors at Teba, Calavatra, (this is where the name Braveheart comes from when Douglas throws the heart of Bruce in a silver casket forward into the Moorish lines, and calls "go Braveheart and we, your Knights will follow"). Only four Knights survive and return to Scotland out of twenty-two. Two Sinclairs of Rosslyn die with the Douglas. Hay who brought back both the heart of Bruce and Douglas. The name of the family becomes Lockhart. In 1990 a member of M.T.S. is present at the 660 year anniversary of the Battle.
1331	Henry de St Clair who fought at Bannockburn is buried at Rosslyn as Grand master of the Temple.
1333	The Battle of Halidon Hill, Adam De Vipont, Knight Templar is captured by Edward III. The Holy Rood is lost to Scotland and is kept in Durham Cathedral.
1334	David the Second, King of Scots and Bruce's son, in exile in The French court, creates The Garde d'Ecosse, Personal Bodyguard to the French (Valios) Kings, in Fealty of Scotland, from the sons of the finest families of Scotland. When David  escaped after  the battle of Halidon Hill 1333, the French King gave him sanctuary, and he was asked for The Fealty of the Scottish Throne. David offered instead a bodyguard to  the French Kings drawn from the finest ScotsFamilies in perpetuity. David, along with Alexander Comyn , had given fealty to Edward III. The Templar Ideals are kept in the best of the Scottish Nobles. The Scottish nobles from the Bruce Line become the heritors of the Templar Order, and its knowledge; the head of the Jacobite line becomes the Unknown Superior and secret protectors of the Templar Order. The StClairs being the cupbearers feature prominently.
1398	Prince Henry Sinclair voyage from Orkney to Nova Scotia using Templar Knowledge and ships. He is buried as the Master of the Temple.
1431	Earl William Sinclair Becomes a Knight of the Golden Fleece and Knight of the Cockle, The Santiago de Compostella, where two of his grand uncles had visited with Bruce's heart.
1445	Earl William Sinclair starts to build Rosslyn Chapel to hold some of the Templar Mysteries, and to create a book in stone to enshrine for posterity the Templar ideals. The Chapel is built using the Golden Mean. The Templar order is never proscribed in Scotland, its lands are not confiscated they are administered by the Hospital, but ownership is never transferred to the Hospitallers The Principality of Drem is created. The Garde d' Ecosse still draws its members from Scottish Templar Families.
1659	The vault at Rosslyn is sealed after the burial of Earl William Sinclair, who is killed at the Battle of Dunbar.
1689	July 27th, James Grahame of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, died at the battle of Killiecrankie wearing the Grand Cross of the Order.
1705	General Statutes and Election Charter.
1738	Chevalier Andrew Michael Ramsay's Paris Oration.
1742	Lord Kilmarnock and other exiled Stuart participants showing that the Jacobite Templar link still existed receive Karl Gotthelf, Baron Von Hund into the Order of the Temple in Paris.
1745	24th, September Prince Charles Edward Stewart, himself a senior Templar gives a soiree for the Chivalry of the Order in Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh. It is recorded in a letter from the Duke of Perth to Lord Ogilvie
1754	Alexander Deuchar becomes the Heritor to the Jacobite Templar legacy.
1790	Alexander Deuchar becomes the Heritor to the Scottish Templar legacy.
1807	January, Deuchar holds a meeting of Knights Templar in Edinburgh.
1808	28th of March, Abbot Clovet, pronounced the funeral oration of the Martyrs of the Order of the Temple at Church of St Paul in Paris.
1810	1810 Alexander Deuchar becomes Master of Militi Templi Scotia and the heritor of the Stuart line of the Temple, an office he was to hold until 1835.
1825	Guzet published the manual of the Order of the Chevaliers of the Temple.
1838	Admiral Sir William Sydney Smith was elected Grand Master in Paris.
1840	Headquarters of the Magisterial Legation of the Order (SMOTJ) were established in Brussels.
1853	Napoleon III acknowledges the Order as a Sovereign Power and Grants the right to carry decorations on French territory
1871	On the 15th of August Regent General, Dr Verois deposited the Archives of the Order into the National Archives of France, Paris ABXIX boxes 125/158.
1894	Reinstatement of the Regency, and the Establishment of an International Secretariat of the Templars, with magisterial powers
1934	1st October, Regency Council of the Order, six Officers. HQ Brussels.g
1935	8th of August Emile Clement Joseph Isaac Vandenburg, KGC, assumed the Office and Guardian of the Order with all its rights and Privileges SMOTJ. Baron Anton Leuprecht moves offices and Archives to the safety of Portugal, because of the war
1942	23rd December Count Antonio Campbell Pinto de Sousa Fontes, GC becomes Regent by Magisterial Degree.
1960	Grand Regent dies. Regency is assumed by his son Fernando Campello Pinto Pereiro de Sousa Fontes.
1961	21st of April, the Regent General confirmed his Excellency Baron Anton Leuprecht as Mondial Chief of all Autonomous Grand Priories as had his Father earlier.
1962	The Scottish and American Autonomous Grand Priories are created by C.M.Baron Anton Leuprecht,
1963	Militi Templi Scotia becomes an officiated brother of S.M.O.T.J. But retains its separate historical identity.
1995	Representatives of the Grand Priories of Germany and Austria are granted an audience with His Holiness the Pope. Major International Conclaves in London and Salzburg with Scotland represented produce a full democratic re-structuring of Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani ready for service in the 21st century.
1998	In June, Militi Templi Scotia is Represented at International Meetings where the focus is taking the Order into the next Millenium.”

The Order of Knights Templar called Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani describes the following as it current goals at http://www.osmth.org/:

“Welcome to the International Website of Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani. OSMTH is based on an ancient Christian brotherhood, and is an international association of ecumenical Christians concerned with human rights, peace, religious and political freedom. As a network of educated professionals (politicians, military officers, diplomats, clergy, sociologists, anthropologists, physicians, historians, engineers), OSMTH represents a top-level pool of expertise and an influent voice to support commitment to peace and further the chivalric ideals of honesty, honour, tolerance and ecumenical faith throughout society and throughout the world.”

These goals are fully compliant with the historic goals of the Jesuit Order, so long as we understand that “tolerance” means “tolerant of everything that would not seek to implement Biblical Christianity.”

The Masonic website http://www.templarhistory.com/masonic.html provides some information on the relation of Templarism and the York Rite and Scottish Rite Masonic societies of freemasonry:

”Regardless of ones acceptance or rejection, it cannot be argued that Masonry does carry within its side degrees a form of Masonic Templarism. While the Scottish Rite contains a degree revolving around the Templars, this page will deal with York Rite Templarism. Within Freemasonry's York Rite are found four bodies, which are in Canada as follows:

The Craft or Speculative Lodge

1. Entered Apprentice

2. Fellowcraft

3. Master Mason

Capitular Masonry - Chapter

1. Mark Master Mason

2. Virtual Past Master (USA)

3. Most Excellent Master

4. Royal Arch

Cryptic Rite Masonry

1. Royal Master

2. Select Master

3. Super Excellent Master

Chivalric Masonry

1. Illustrious Order Of The Red Cross

2. Order Of Malta

3. Order OF The Temple - Knights Templar

It is important to note that in the UK and the United States there are some differences to the degrees and their order, but essentially they follow the above model.

A Potential Candidate for Masonic Templarism, must be a member of the Craft Lodge, and Royal Arch Chapter. In some jurisdictions it is required that the potential member must also be a member of the Cryptic Rite.

Unlike most branches of Freemasonry, wherein the Candidate need not follow a particular faith, the Chivalric Orders of Masonry require a belief in the doctrine of the Trinity. That is to say they must profess a faith in Christianity.

History Of The Order In North America.

The first Templar to be initiated in the United States was William Davis who was given the degrees of Excellent, Super Excellent, Royal Arch, and Knight Templar by the St. Andrew's Royal Arch Lodge on August 28th, 1769. Davis owned an apothecary business in Boston, but is perhaps most noted for his efforts at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Here it was Davis who suggested the "Barrel Defense" in which Barrels full of earth and stone were rolled down on the attacking units.

Of course other Revolutionary War notables would be invested with the honor of being Knights Templar, among them Paul Revere who was initiated on December 11th, 1769. Latterly, on May 14th 1770, Joseph Warren another Revolutionary War hero would add his name to the roster of early American Templars.”

Jesuit presence should also be noted in such societies as the masonic Bilderberger Society and the Club of Rome. So according to http://www.cephasministry.com/famous.html :

“Joseph Rettinger-- Jesuit priest-- Founder of the Bilderberger Society which schemes to control the world from above.” And according to http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/clubrome.htm :

“Initial Membership List of the Club of Rome:

Irving Bluestone
Willy Brandt
Thomas Burney
Ann Cheatham
Harland Cleveland
Jay Forrestor
Richard Gardner
B. R. Gifford
Guido Goldman
Mrs. Katherine Meyer Graham
Gabriel Hague
Walter A. Hahn
Averill Harriman
Paul G. Hoffman
Thomas L. Hughes
Milton Katz
Dr. Alexander King
Donald Lesh
Bernard Levin
John J. McCloy
George McGhee
Dennis Meadows
Elizabeth Midgely
Senator Claiborne Pell
James A. Perkins
Frank M. Potter
Cardinal Joseph Rettinger
David Rockefeller
Douglas Ross
Keith Suter
Joseph Slater
Russell Train”

APPENDIX NINE : THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF COLLEGIATE GREEK FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES

It is important for people to understand how collegiate Greek fraternities and sororities are an extension of the same basic historical Enlightenment movement associated with freemasonry.

Bill Fleming provides a concise history of these Greek societies, culled from a variety of sources, at http://www.shsu.edu/~eng_wpf/frat_hist.html . Here are some excerpts from that website, but you are encouraged to review the actual site for yourself:

“All members of social fraternities and sororities learn that the origin of today's organizations is Phi Beta Kappa, now an honorary scholastic fraternity. It was conceived as a social organization in 1776 ...College social fraternities, as they exist today, began in 1776, the year America declared its independence as a nation. However, history records the existence of secret societies in ancient times, and from these roots the essence of "fraternity" had its foundation. In the Middle Ages, brotherhoods of men were created to unite those skilled in specific trades. Even though the existence of religious and trade societies is crucial to the establishment of college fraternities in their basic form, the founding of Phi Beta Kappa, the first Greek-letter college fraternity in America, was due to the desire by its members to unify students at the nine colleges in the colonies and to strengthen the intellect of the members. A resident of one colony was as much a "foreigner" to another colonist as a European is to the American today (Hale 99).

Ancient Secret Societies and Trade Unions. Fraternal groups began with the first assembly of men who gathered regularly for any reason at all; historical evidence suggests that religion was the focus of early fraternal gatherings. Ancient Egyptians had secret and mysterious religious cults; the Greeks and Romans formulated secret societies which were primarily religious in nature. Through the centuries many secret societies were formed which had rituals and initiations, primarily for the purpose of camaraderie and "rites of passage" for young men. Most religious societies came to a halt during the third and fourth centuries due to proclamations of Emperor Constantine I, who lifted the ban on Christianity in the Roman Empire, and later, Emperor Theodosius I, who completely banned all secret religious groups (Harris and Level).

During the Middle Ages, several "semisecret friendly societies" were formed by craft unions, whose membership was limited to those skilled in the particular craft. (The best known of these societies is the Freemasons.) Each union had an apprenticeship program designed to attract the most talented of the younger men. Therefore, each union selected its apprentices very carefully. Once chosen, the younger men became part of the brotherhood. Secrets were devised to identify those who were truly skilled and to discourage impostors from being employed. Although these unions restricted their members to those in the trade, in 1717, they began to disseminate to other professions, accepting those men who were notable in their fields. However, these groups had little to do with the establishment of the college fraternity, which was conceived by young college students in an environment of learning and need for social escape. [JPM’s note: I disagree with this last statement. I think evidence suggests there is very much a link between freemasonry and the origin of the Greek fraternity.]

Williamsburg. Williamsburg, in colonial Virginia, was a quiet town part of the year and a frenzied town the other part; this duality created a unique atmosphere for the college student! …The Capitol Building and the College of William and Mary were at either ends of the mile-long main street, the Duke of Gloucester Street, with other structures sprinkled along the main thoroughfare. A student walking from William & Mary at one end would pass Blair House, Washington's home, then Bruton Parish Church, "the center of religious life in Virginia." Chancellor George Wythe's home, used as Washington's headquarters during the battle of Yorktown," faced the Palace Green where the lavish Governor's Palace was located---"the center of the official life of the new commonwealth" (Vanderbilt 5-19). Down the street was the Court House where many of the law students argued cases in moot courts. There were several coffeehouses and taverns where visitors could lodge during busy times…

The College of William & Mary. The purpose of the College was expressed by its royal namesakes to be "a place of Universal Study, a perpetual College of Divinity, Philosophy, Languages, and the good arts and sciences" ("Old William and Mary," 172-176), a truly progressive idea in education at the time.

"The educational methods of the College were as revolutionary as the political environment of the capital [sic.]." The college, under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson, was truly innovative. Upon completion of Grammar school at the age of fifteen, after being tested in Greek and Latin by the officials of the College, a male student was admitted to the Philosophy School, in which debating took place (Vanderbilt 11-12). This aspect of education became an essential part of Phi Beta Kappa's makeup…

The excitement of independence of the colonies, the progressive educational environment of Williamsburg and the College of William & Mary, and the ingenuity of the men who conceived Phi Beta Kappa are the primary factors for the society's founding, its continued strength, and its later influence for future college fraternities…

The Founding of Phi Beta Kappa. On Thursday evening, December 5, 1776, five young undergraduates had dinner in the Apollo Room at the Raleigh Tavern. They were members of the well-respected and very competitive Latin-named literary societies at William & Mary. On this night, these men decided to form a secret organization, one which would be different from the ones which "had lost all reputation for letters, and [were] noted only for the dissipation & conviviality of [their] members," such as the notorious Flat Hat Club which existed briefly at William & Mary about 25 years before. Phi Beta Kappa "was purely of domestic manufacture, without any connexion whatever with anything European, either English or German." Therefore, John Heath, the instigator of Phi Beta Kappa suggested the development of a fraternity which would have honorable intentions, "and in conformity with his own reputation formed and adopted the Greek phrase indicated by the initials" PBK (Hastings 83-85).

The principles of Phi Beta Kappa were "Fraternity, Morality, and Literature." A badge was designed in the shape of a square; a secret handshake was devised; a secret ritual, including an obligation, was written; a motto---"Philosophy is the guide of life"---was patterned after the name of the fraternity: Phi Beta Kappa. The men decided to use Greek letters for their society because Latin was already used in the names of existing literary societies and because Heath, who later became a Congressman from Virginia (U.S. Government Printing Office), "was the best Greek scholar in college." They recruited new members from students at the college. "They declared the society was formed for congeniality and to promote good fellowship, with `friendship as its basis and benevolence and literature as its pillars.'"

Although the concept of Phi Beta Kappa was not unique, it developed uniqueness because it became "highly selective, it was secret, and [later] it initiated a pattern of sister branches within and without the state." At first the only secrets were the mysterious letters used on the badge. (Hastings 4-5. Hastings believes that the "S" and "P" on the badge, which meant Societas Philosophiae, Philosophical Society, was the original name of the Society and that the name Phi Beta Kappa came from the motto "Philosophy the Guide of Life." The heading on the original list of members states: "A List of the members, who have been initiated into the S.P. alias Phi Beta Kappa Society." Hastings 54.) In May, 1777, two new signs were devised: "a salutation of the clasp of the hands, together with an immediate stroke across the mouth with the back of the same hand, and a return with the hand used by the saluted"; these new gestures were for the purposes of distinguishing Phi Beta Kappa members ``in any foreign country or place" (Hastings 59).

Gaining Stability. At the first meeting on Sunday, January 5, 1777, four men were selected to join and they, along with the founders, were the first to obligate themselves to preserve the secrets of the fraternity.

"I, [name], do swear on the holy Evangelists of Almighty God, or otherwise as calling the Supreme Being to attest this my oath, declaring that I will, with all my possible efforts, endeavor to prove true, just, and deeply attached to this our growing fraternity; in keeping, holding, and preserving all secrets that pertain to my duty, and for the promotion and advancement of its internal welfare."

…Phi Beta Kappa was not formed merely as a social fraternity; it was based primarily on philosophical ideas. At each meeting the debated issue was the focal point. Phi Beta Kappa "was intended to form a philosophical club, whose purpose should go far beyond the narrow range of the college studies of those days, and should include not only the wide range of what was then called `philosophy,' but the consideration, at the same time, of political questions. These, too, were discussed, not in the abstract, but in their bearing on the events of the day" (Hale 99)…

Many of the fifty men who became members of the Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Kappa over a four-year period became noted in law and politics; most fought and some died in the Revolutionary War; many participated in the Continental Congress which ratified our Constitution. The most famous of these fifty was John Marshall, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but others were equally prominent as congressmen and senators.

Expansion. The founders decided to form chapters at other colleges in 1778. Four chapters were added in 1779, and were, at first, given names that corresponded with the order of the Greek alphabet---Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta---which started the tradition of most fraternities which identify their chapters this way. In 1780, a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was established at Yale, and in 1781, when William & Mary was closed because its buildings were used by British, French, and American troops in the war, another chapter appeared at Harvard. If these two chapters had not been created, Phi Beta Kappa may have died out, but these chapters remained strong. Yale members renamed their chapter Alpha of Connecticut, which started the alternative practice of naming chapters that some fraternities use today. (Sigma Phi Epsilon and Alpha Tau Omega are examples.) Expansion stopped for several years, but in 1817, a chapter was installed at Union College in Schenectady, New York, which eventually led to the founding of more fraternities structured similarly to Phi Beta Kappa. (Today Phi Beta Kappa is an honorary fraternity.)

The Union Triad. At Union College, three fraternities were created in the mid-1820's. In 1825, Kappa Alpha Society (considered the oldest college fraternity as they now exist) and in 1827, Sigma Phi and Delta Phi were founded, and the Union Triad was born…

Although the Union Triad fraternities did not spread as widely as ones which came later, they firmly established the college social fraternity as it is now. In the 1830's five new fraternities were founded at four Northern colleges and one in the South. Because of the successful growth of these fraternities, several others followed. For example, in 1844, Delta Kappa Epsilon (Dekes) was founded at Yale and quickly installed chapters at several colleges, one of them being Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

The Miami Triad. In 1855, the Miami Triad was completed with the founding of Sigma Chi. The Triad, composed also of Phi Delta Theta and Beta Theta Pi, greatly influenced the fraternity "system" because of their advancements and influence. For example, between 1846 and 1850 at the University of Michigan, where fraternities were called a "giant evil," Beta Theta Pi resolved the hostility of the faculty by initiating professors (Ferguson 39). Soon, because of the prestige of the men who joined the Miami Triad fraternities and the fraternities' involvement with the colleges, positive feelings about fraternities prevailed.

Fraternities Become Integral Part of College Life. During the last half of the 19th century, Greek-letter societies were considered "valuable adjuncts of student life and, instead of opposing them, most institutions decided that they might be put to work helping run the school, keeping recalcitrant students in line, acting as convenient units of discipline in college life" (Ferguson 40). Many felt that fraternities were important in character development and many prominent men acknowledged that their fraternity involvement helped them achieve success. John Addison Porter, private secretary to President McKinley, stated: "The most prominent characteristic of American undergraduate social life" is the college fraternity (Stevens 328). Thomas Marshall, Vice-President under Wilson, stated that "the influences which had been the greatest in his life were his faith in God and his college fraternity" (Ferguson 35).

Today there are over four million initiates of the 56 recognized college fraternities and nearly 5,000 chapters…”

These Greek fraternities and sororities seek to create a brotherhood and sisterhood of man apart from true Christian brotherhood based upon scriptural truth. They are thus humanistic and ultimately anti-Biblical.
 
 
 

APPENDIX TEN : THE JESUIT ROLE BEHIND DISPENSATIONALIST FUTURISM, AS WELL AS PRETERISM
 
Seventh Day Adventists have a website where they show the Jesuit role in promoting dispensationalist futurism as well as preterism. While I am staunchly opposed to Seventh Day Adventism, I must acknowledge that the information they provide on this topic is invaluable, and commend it to others. It is not only useful towards understanding the historical origins of these erroneous interpretations of the book of Revelation, but even more importantly it affords a window to peer into Jesuit methodologies. These were all part of an effort to deflect the charges of Protestantism regarding the Papal Man of Sin.
 
The url is: http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/antichrist.htm 
 
Here are some excerpts from the site, especially relating to dispensational futurism:
 
“Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) was a Jesuit doctor of theology, born in Spain, who began writing a lengthy (500 page) commentary in 1585 on the book of Revelation (Apocalypse) titled In Sacrum Beati Ioannis Apostoli, & Evangelistiae Apocalypsin Commentarij, and published it about the year 1590. He died in 1591 at the age of fifty-four, so he was not able to expand on his work or write any other commentaries. In order to remove the Catholic Church from consideration as the antichrist power, Ribera proposed that the first few chapters of the Apocalypse applied to ancient pagan Rome, and the rest he limited to a yet future period of 3 1/2 literal years, immediately prior to the second coming. During that time, the Roman Catholic Church would have fallen away from the pope into apostasy. Then, he proposed, the antichrist, a single individual, would:

1. Persecute and blaspheme the saints of God.

2. Rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

3. Abolish the Christian religion.

4. Deny Jesus Christ.

5. Be received by the Jews.

6. Pretend to be God.

7. Kill the two witnesses of God.

8. Conquer the world.

So, according to Ribera, the 1260 days and 42 months and 3 1/2 times of prophecy were not 1260 years, but a literal 3 1/2 years, and therefore none of the book of Revelation had any application to the middle ages or the papacy, but to the future, to a period immediately prior to the second coming, hence the name Futurism.

Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, one of the best known Jesuit apologists, published a work between 1581 and 1593 entitled Polemic Lectures Concerning the Disputed Points of the Christian Belief Against the Heretics of This Time, in which he also denied the day = year principle in prophecy and pushed the reign of antichrist into a future period of 3 1/2 literal years.

Manuel De Lacunza (1731–1801), a Jesuit from Chile, wrote a manuscript in Spanish titled La Venida del Mesías en Gloria y Magestad ("The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty"), under the pen name of Juan Josafa [Rabbi] Ben-Ezra about 1791. Lacunza wrote under an assumed name to obscure the fact that he was a Catholic, in order to give his book better acceptance in Protestantism. Also an advocate of Futurism, Lacunza's manuscript was published in London, Spain, Mexico and Paris between 1811 and 1826.

Edward Irving (1792-1834), a Scottish Presbyterian and forerunner of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, translated Lacunza's work from Spanish into English in a book titled Preliminary Discourse to the Work of Ben Ezra - Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty, published in London in 1827 by L.B. Seeley & Sons, which included Irving's own 200+ page preface.

Margaret McDonald, a 15 year old Scottish girl, and member of Edward Irving's congregation, had visions in early 1830 that included a Secret Rapture of believers before the appearance of the Antichrist. She informed Irving of her visions by letter. Irving then attended the prophecy conferences that began in Dublin Ireland in 1830 at Powerscourt Castle, where he promoted both Futurism and a Secret Rapture…

John Nelson Darby (1800–1882), a Church of Ireland clergyman, later with the Plymouth Brethren, also promoted Futurism and a secret rapture. Darby attended the series of meetings on Bible Prophecy that began in 1830 at Powerscourt, Ireland, and at these conferences Darby apparently learned about the secret rapture as revealed by vision to Margaret McDonald, and promoted by Edward Irving, and he soon visited Margaret MacDonald at her home in Port Glasgow, Scotland. Darby later visited America several times between 1859 and 1874, where his Futurist theology was readily accepted.

Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921), greatly influenced by the writings of J. N. Darby, incorporated Futurism in the notes of his Scofield Reference Bible. First published by Oxford University Press in 1909, one million copies were printed by 1930. The Scofield Bible was instrumental in firmly establishing the Jesuit inspired Futurist interpretation in the Protestant Bible schools of the United States in the 20th century…”

The article goes on to show how the dispensationalist error was embraced by an increasing circle of evangelical Christians. And it shows how another Jesuit proposed a preterist interpretation, again to deflect the charges of historic Protestantism.

APPENDIX ELEVEN : COLLUSION BETWEEN ELEMENTS IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY 
 

The Irish Republican Army commits acts of terrorism itself as well as supports acts of terrorism by other revolutionary groups. Its goal is to extirpate Protestantism from the island of Ireland. Its goals and its methods are fully consistent with the historic goals and methods of the Jesuit Order. So it would be naïve to believe there is no connection between elements in the Roman Catholic Church, like the Jesuits, and the Irish Republican Army. Indeed, there is significant evidence for such collusion, but I will simply provide a sample with excerpts from http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5567/pat.htm:

“…The Ancient Order of Hibernians is an organization which appears to support IRA/S.F. The AOH presented its highest award to a known terrorist and a man connected closely to terrorist and who is a member of the Irish Republican Army Council: Mr. Jerry Adams...The AOH in St. Louis Missouri has appointed a PIRA terrorist to be the Grand Marshal of the St.Patrick's Day Parade (1997)-Mr. Matt Morrison- Mr. Morrison was at the time facing deportation for his crimes...In Baltimore Maryland U.S.A. the AOH  in 1997 represented by the Irish Parade Committee have  invited NORAID (A branch of the IRA) to take part in its parade… In 1997 the Roman Catholic Church  publicly installed the Grand Marshals of the Baltimore Md. St.Patrick's day Parade within the context of an official Roman Catholic Mass. The Grand Marshal will preside over a parade which includes a unit representing NORAID….Prior to Sunday March 2 1997 His Eminence Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore,Md. USA was informed of the nature of the AOH (An organization which has given awards to terrorists and has named terrorists as Grand Marshals of Parades) as organizations which have encouraged and supported terror in Northern Ireland. We are absolutely sure that he is aware of the link between his church via the AOH to the IRA…Other concrete and primary evidence for the support of Terror by the Roman Catholic Church comes in the form of actual statements made in his role as an official of the Roman Catholic Church and a representative of the Pope by Cardinal Cahal Daly. Fr. Eamon Stack, Fr. Des Wilson and Fr. Denis Faul support the Cardinal's political proclamations on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church that: Northern Ireland a part of Britain should be ruled by joint authority by the foreign government of the Republic of Ireland, and that Protestants should be discriminated against and persecuted to redress ancient wrongs and that Protestant Cultural Expressions should be banned and forbidden. The priests mentioned above are all closely involved in political anti-Protestant campaigns in Northern Ireland-and they are involved as priests wearing their official uniforms of religious office and not as private individuals in civilian clothing! ….Recently the former terrorist Sean O'Callaghan told how after being involved in a sectarian murder he was sheltered in a parochial house where he was celebrated as a hero by the clergymen there. Mr. O'Callaghan has also testified to the important role played by the clergy in his motivation to join the IRA.”

This by no means implies all Roman Catholics, or even all Roman Catholic clergy, support the IRA. Many do not. But again, we must not be naïve where collusion exists.

APPENDIX TWELVE : JESUITS AND THEIR DISPENSATIONALIST LACKEYS

In Appendix Ten I showed the historical connection between Jesuits and Dispensationalism, now I would like to show the dangerous ideological one. Dispensationalists are nothing less than deceived lackeys for the Jesuit Order, because they are working for the same wicked goals.

The following is one of many sources that could be cited showing what Jesuits believed (see http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/sj/scientists/villalpando.htm ), focusing upon one Jesuit named Villalpando, but also explaining Loyola’s views :

Juan Bautista Villalpando, S.J. was born in Cordova and died in Rome. He studied geometry and architecture under Juan de Herrera, the royal architect of the Spanish king Philip II. As a young man Juan was fascinated by the structure of the temple of Solomon and the temple described by the prophet Ezekiel. After entering the Society this interest, shared with another Jesuit, Jerome Prado, S.J., led both to collaborate in the exegesis of the prophet Ezekiel. Because of this Villalpando is remembered in Carolus Sommervogel's Bibliothèque for his exegetical work instead of for his contribution to the applications of geometry to architecture. That he was more than a theorist is evident from the fact that at the age of 27 while still an unordained Jesuit scholastic, he was in charge of constructing three major Jesuit buildings, one of which still stands, the church of the Jesuit college in Seville. He designed the first oval church ever built in Spain.

Juan published works in geometry and architecture and also interpreted inscriptions both in Rome and Jerusalem along with Jerome Prado; when the latter died he inherited Prado's unfinished commentary on Ezekiel. Juan's mathematical contributions center on proportion and harmony and follow the architectural usage of Euclid. He produced 21 original propositions on the center of gravity and the line of direction. These can be found in the collection of Father Marin Mersenne, Synopsis mathematica (1626). Isaac Newton used the works of Villalpando in his architectural studies.


In the history of architecture he is most renowned, however, for his famous work, the design and reconstruction of the temple of Solomon. King Philip II had granted 3,000 scudi for engraving the prints. Villalpando had to undergo considerable harassment after his work had become the target of a good deal of criticism. The campaign against him was mounted by Benito Arias Montano, editor of the celebrated Polyglot Bible of 1572. Ostensibly the latter's main objection to the Jesuit's reconstruction was on the grounds that the building described by Ezechiel had nothing to do with the Temple built by Solomon, as described in the Book of Kings and in other sources. When this exegetical question arose the Jesuit General Aquaviva involved himself in the project as did Pope Sixtus V, who appointed a commission to investigate Villalpando's orthodoxy. The result was that Villalpando was completely cleared of misrepresenting Sacred Scripture.

An investigation into Baroque art illustrates how Villalpando's Ezechielis Explicatio (1596-1604) combines mysticism and science. An appreciation of Juan's work is expressed in Rudolf Wittkower & Irma Jaffe's book "Baroque Art: The Jesuit Contribution" in the chapter entitled "Hermetism and the Mystical Architecture of the Society of Jesus" by René Taylor.

Villalpando had undertaken to provide the world with the first full-scale imago of Solomon's Temple on the grounds that only by translating Ezechiel's vision into terms of real architecture could one fully apprehend its mystical import. The form and proportions of the Temple, which necessarily had to be perfect, since they were inspired by God, provided an insight into the perfection of the City of God.

In this context it should not be forgotten how deeply the traditional concept of the Temple of Solomon as the forerunner of the celestial Jerusalem was rooted in the Jesuit Society's early history. In 1523 the founder, Ignatius Loyola, had undertaken the long and hazardous journey to the Holy Land, and had seen the earthly Jerusalem with his own eyes. It is recorded that, while he was there, he was seized with a burning desire to convert the Moslems. His impulse may well have stemmed from the conviction so widespread at the time that the conquest of the terrestrial Jerusalem, by either evangelization or force of arms, would be closely followed by the reign of Christ upon earth.

Compared to the complex task which Villalpando had been compelled to face in determining the form and dimensions of the Temple, his design was simplicity itself. According to the book of Genesis, Noah's Ark was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 high. Much, of course, depended on the precise value of the cubit. Origen had claimed that it was equivalent to six Roman feet, which the Jesuit scholar, Athanasius Kircher dismissed as absurd since it would have made the Ark inordinately vast. Villalpando had maintained that it was about two and a half feet, basing his claim on the authority of Vitruvius, whereas Kircher, likewise arguing from Vitruvius, had come to the conclusion that it was one and a half feet.

The truth is that Villalpando, like his master Herrera, was one of those ambivalent figures who displayed a combination of the mystical and the practical which characterized men such as Copernicus, Cardan, Tycho, Porta, Kepler, Leibniz, and Newton. So, in the Jesuit's work there seems to have been something for everyone. In 1626 Father Marin Mersenne, that inveterate enemy of everything Hermetic, drew the attention of the scholarly world to what he considered to be the innovatory nature of Villalpando's remarks on the center of gravity in his third book.”

In truth, the Jesuit interest in re-building Solomon’s Temple is more rooted in Gnostic Masonic Templarism than anything Biblical. But Dispensationalists followed the Jesuit lead, breaking with historic Protestant theology.

Here is how one source has outlined Dispensationalist teaching at http://www.geocities.com/lasttrumpet_2000/pd6.html :

“Traditional dispensationalism rests heavily on a specific interpretation of the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel nine. We agree with traditional dispensationalists regarding the interpretation of this passage, including:
1. the gap between the 69th and 70th weeks
2. the fulfillment of the 70th week at the end of the present age
3. the identification of the "prince that shall come" with the Antichrist
4. the future rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, and its defilement in the middle of the 70th week”

Here is some more information:

“Left Behind gave a lot of publicity to the view known as "Dispensationalism." Fathered by John Nelson Nelson Darby in the first half of the nineteenth century, Dispensationalism is a package consisting of several integrated components:

1. The first 69 weeks of Daniel 9 began with the 20th year of Artaxerxes and ended about the crucifixion of Christ.

2. The 70th week is yet future.

3. The prince that confirms the covenant in Dan. 9:27 is a future antichrist who will stop the sacrifices in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.

4. Prophecy ceased when the Jews rejected Christ.

5. Prophecy will resume after the secret rapture.

6. We are living in the church age during which salvation is dealt with quite differently than at a previous time.”

It should be noted that it is considered by Dispensationalists ‘good’ that the Temple will be re-built and animal sacrifices offered, and anti-Christian to stop such sacrifices. This means that Dispensationalism effectively defines all of the Protestant Reformers as anti-Christian, because they all opposed any such idea as a re-built Temple and a return to animal sacrifices. It is an effective denial of Jesus Christ’s once-for-all-time atonement at Calvary to seek to return to animal sacrifices. It is not very different from the Romish Mass, which also involves re-sacrifice for sins.

Here is additional information about dispensationalists (http://www.virginiawater.co.uk/christchurch/articles/prophecy.html) :

“Lindsey's latest book, The Final Battle, includes the statement on the cover "Never before, in one book, has there been such a complete and detailed look at the events leading up to 'The Battle of Armageddon.'" It asserts that the world is degenerating and that the forces of evil manifest in godless Communism and militant Islam are the real enemies of Israel. Various speculative apocalyptic scenarios are postulated, centred upon a great battle at Megiddo between massive armies that will attempt but fail to destroy Israel. These will only hasten the return of Jesus Christ to be the King of the Jews who will rule over the other nations from the rebuilt Jewish temple on the site of the destroyed Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem will be the spiritual centre of the entire world...all people of the earth will come annually to worship Jesus who will rule there.

One of the reasons fundamentalists appear so enthusiastic about such a terrible scenario may have to do with their doctrine of the secret rapture. Just before the final conflagration they believe Jesus will,

...'rapture' true Christians into the upper air, while the rest of humankind, was being slaughtered below. 144,000 Jews would bow down before Jesus and be saved, but the rest of Jewry would perish in the mother of all holocausts.

Authors such as Lindsey also Goldberg, a professor of Theology and Jewish Studies at the Moody Bible Institute, offer detailed illustrated plans ostensibly showing future military movements of armies and naval convoys leading up to the battle of Armageddon…

Following the Gulf War, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism hired the Fundamentalist musician Pat Boon to promote pilgrimages in North America through a series of costly advertisements in Evangelical journals and on television. According to Wagner there are a number of Evangelical Christian Zionist leaders even more right wing than Falwell and Robertson, who in the 1980's had direct access to Reagan and the White House. These include Terry Risenhoover and Doug Kreiger who were very influential in gathering American support for the Jewish extremist organisation, the Temple Mount Faithful. These particular Christian and Jewish Zionists believe that the Moslem Dome of the Rock must be destroyed and the Third Jewish Temple built in order to ensure the return of Jesus.

Basilea Schlink, for example is typical of many who elevate the State of Israel to a privileged status far above any human sanction or criticism.

Anyone who disputes Israel's right to the land of Canaan is actually opposing God and his holy covenant with the Patriarchs. He is striving against sacred, inviolable words and promises of God, which He has sworn to keep.

In a conversation reported in the Washington Post in April of 1984, Ronald Reagan, then President of the US, told the chief Israeli lobbyist, Tom Dine,

You know, I turn back to the ancient prophets in the Old Testament and the signs foretelling Armageddon, and I find myself wondering if-if we're the generation that is going to see that come about. I don't know if you've noted any of these prophecies lately, but believe me they certainly describe the times we're going through.

For Fundamentalists such as Jerry Falwell and Mike Evans, America is seen as the great redeemer, her role in the world providentially and politically preordained. The two nations of America and Israel are like Siamese twins, linked not only by common self interest but more significantly by similar religious foundations. Together they are perceived to be pitted against an evil world dominated by Communist and Islamic totalitarian regimes antithetical to the values of America and Israel. So for example, Mike Evans, founder and president of Lovers of Israel Inc, in the following quotations from his book, Israel, America's Key to Survival, almost mimics and plays on the apocalyptic scenario of Benjamin Netanyahu, offering 'biblical' grounds for their countries mutual survival.

If America goes down, then the whole world goes down. Nothing will remain of the world. If America was not around, the Soviet Union would take over the world in three days. Their goals are to destroy America...to destroy it...to reduce it to nothing; and they feel they can effectively do it through terrorism.

Only one nation, Israel, stands between Soviet-sponsored terrorist aggression and the complete decline of the United States as a democratic world power...Surely demonic pressure will endeavor to encourage her to betray Israel. This must not happen. Israel is the key to America's survival. For God has said of the nations who will oppose Israel, "Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted...I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curseth thee..."(Isa.60:12; Gen. 12:3)...As we stand with Israel, I believe we shall see God perform a mighty work in our day. God is going to bless America and Israel as well. It is not too late. I believe this is the greatest hour to be alive, and the key is unity, standing tall, proclaiming with a voice of love our commitment to the House of Israel, and to the God of Israel.”

In truth, however, the United States is a very wicked nation, as is Judaistic Israel, and as are the Muslim nations. They are all seeking to thwart reformed Christian government. And frankly, it is time for these pseudo-Protestant Dispensationalists either to admit they are Romanists (for most American Dispensationalists are deceived Arminian, freedom-loving [read that, opposed to law based on both tables of the Ten Commandments], re-sacrificing professing Christians) or to repent and become reformed and truly Protestant. But whether they repent or not, God is going to use wicked Muslims to destroy their designs. There is no rapture before the millennium. And most likely their beloved Washington, D.C. will be destroyed as Babylon, along with their beloved Judaistic Israel. God is establishing their destroyers in the East. As we read at http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=29387 :

“© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com

Hezbollah terrorist leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warns "Christian Zionists" are gaining strength in the United States and are having a powerful impact on U.S. foreign policy.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony in Lebanon, Nasrallah charged oil companies and weapons manufacturers have financed these "Christian Zionists," according to a report in Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper.

"Their aim is to redraw the world's political map," he said. "It is said that several U.S. presidents are affiliated with the Christian Zionists."

Nasrallah said the aim of the Christian Zionists in the U.S. is to return the Jews to Israel and rebuild their temple over the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

However, Nasrallah added, "if they (Jews) all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide."

"Although the United States is powerful, it has its weaknesses," he said.

Nasrallah said he is not threatened by a country that calls itself ‘great.’”

And as we read in excerpts from this Washington Times article dated October 28, 2002:

“Al Qaeda nukes are reality, intelligence says
By Neil Doyle
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

     LONDON — Soon after September 11 last year, the notion that al Qaeda might have nuclear weapons was largely dismissed by intelligence professionals.    It is, however, a working assumption in security circles now that the terror group does have nuclear capabilities. Al Qaeda's secret nuclear stash is assumed to be somewhere in Afghanistan, although finding it is proving to be as hard as locating Osama bin Laden.
     The first clue came during Christmas, when low-grade uranium-238 was discovered in tunnels near a former al Qaeda base in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
     U.S. officials said that enough material was found to make one "dirty" radiological bomb, which involves combining nuclear materials with conventional explosive to spread contamination over a wide area.
     The black market in radioactive materials has been booming for some years, and the archives are littered with stories of smuggling.
     In March 2000, for instance, customs officers in Uzbekistan stopped a truck, destined for Quetta in Pakistan, that was carrying 10 lead-lined containers filled with strontium-90, enough to manufacture scores of dirty bombs.
     The uranium found in Kandahar is in theory suitable for a radiological weapon, but not a fission bomb.
     That the retreating fighters from al Qaeda and Afghanistan's Taliban regime chose to leave this behind when they took to the mountains fueled suspicion that their nuclear crown jewels went with them…One former Soviet GRU (military intelligence) agent says he knows for certain that al Qaeda possesses small atomic warheads.
     "Mossad [Israeli intelligence] reported that bin Laden bought tactical nuclear weapons from some former Soviet republics," he said. "They are not the suitcase-type bombs that people often refer to, but more the warhead-type munitions. These are the payloads of short-range missiles, torpedoes, and the like." He declined to elaborate.
     Others believe that pilfering military warheads is unfeasible, but that al Qaeda might have bought some of Russia's missing Cold War-era "suitcase nukes" on the black market.
     In 1997, the Red Army's former chief, Gen. Alexander Lebed, acknowledged that 84 such devices were missing from the military's inventory.
     Atomic Demolitions Munitions (ADMs), as portable nuclear weapons are formally known, are miniaturized warheads that were developed by the United States during the Vietnam War. They were designed for use against key infrastructure targets, such as bridges and dams. The Soviets soon followed suit and produced their version in huge quantities.
     They were secretly buried near targets in the West by specially trained GRU agents as part of a Soviet strategy to knock out key government and military targets and hamper response to a nuclear attack.
     According to informed sources, these weapons constantly circulated around the world in diplomatic baggage, and large numbers were buried along Russia's borders for use as nuclear land mines in the event of invasion. They were often disguised as boulders.
     Each has a yield of about 1 kiloton — equivalent to 1,000 tons of TNT.
     It has been estimated that one ADM could immediately kill 100,000 people if it exploded in a major city center, with hundreds of thousands dying from cancer in the fallout.
     ADMs have a shelf life of about eight years, after which they need to be retrieved and sent to a laboratory for refurbishment.
     One source said that a semi-skilled operative could set one off easily, given the right codes. They can be set to detonate using an built-in timer or can be triggered remotely with a mobile phone call…  one senior Western intelligence contact is adamant that the terrorists do have a number of these weapons — nine, to be precise. The price on the deal is put at $30 million, plus 2 tons of opium per nuke…   The pamphlet ends with a vow of revenge, and what appears to be a euphemistic reference of future intent: ‘O Muslims, the times are critical indeed. Seek the approval of Allah quickly, for this is imperative. Then it won't take as long for the American jinn [in Islamic tradition, a powerful spirit lower than an angel] to be put back into the bottle as it takes for the first light of dawn to turn into the break of day.’”

APPENDIX THIRTEEN : MORE INFORMATION ON HOW THE ‘KINGS OF THE EAST’ ARE CONSPIRING TO BRING DOWN THE MYSTERIOUS BABYLON

Here are excerpts from articles on Worldnetdaily discussing the alliance against the United States:

“The North Korea-Islamic alliance
Brought world to brink of war in 1992, says book

Posted: October 30, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com

An alliance between North Korea, Iran, Syria and Iraq brought the world to the brink of war in 1992, says a new book exploring U.S. policy failures in the Middle East and the way they opened the door for dramatic terrorism in the 21st century.

The alliance, detailed in terror expert Yossef Bodansky's "The High Cost of Peace," takes on special significance with recent admissions by North Korea that it has already joined the nuclear club. Iran, significantly, also has nuclear weapons, Bodansky says.

"During the spring and early summer of 1991, as the Soviet Union was wobbling toward its demise, the anti-U.S. strategic mantle passed to an informal grouping of rogue states – the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran," writes Bodansky. "All aspirant powers, they were alarmed by the demonstration of American military might, resolve and technological expertise in the war against Iraq. However, with time, these regimes reached more realistic conclusions about the lessons of the Gulf War."

…Though Iran had fought a bloody war with its neighbor Iraq – a conflict that killed as many as 1 million people on both sides – by 1991, Tehran and Baghdad began to see their mutual fates were tied together, writes Bodansky.

By the spring of 1992, with Iran's help, Iraq was not only trading with Syria for basic consumer goods, it was also buying sophisticated weapons systems from China and North Korea – delivered through Iran. By July, Iran was assuming leadership of this new axis with plans to evict the U.S. from the Persian Gulf and the Middle East on its way to destroying Israel…

War was planned for the fall – and North Korea was to play a significant role, according to Bodansky.

In October, Iran deployed its two nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles.

But, after the buildup, the preparations for war fizzled out. An internal political crisis in North Korea was the reason. Dictator Kim Il-Sung was ill. But he was not yet ready to yield power to his son, Kim Jong-Il.

Though North Korea officials told Iranian leaders they were still ready to go to war with the U.S. before the U.S. elections, Tehran determined that "confidence was lacking at the highest level."

This history raises questions about North Korea's recent announcement that it, too, has joined the nuclear club. Some intelligence analysts believe the timing of that public declaration was meant to deter or delay the imminent U.S. attack on Iraq. They say both Iraq and Iran are on the verge of significant technological breakthroughs that could change the balance of power in the region. And, they say, North Korea is once again working in concert with this anti-American alliance.

"In the spring of 2002, Iran crossed a major operational threshold with the successful test-firing of the Shihab-3 ballistic missile," Bodansky writes. "Launched from the Semnan region on May 1, the Shihab-3 achieved a range of more than 600 miles and struck its intended target – a major first. Any lingering doubts about the actuality of the Iranian nuclear threat were dispelled on May 24, during the Bush-Putin summit in Moscow, in a briefing by the Russian deputy chief of the general staff, General Yuri Baluyevsky. Addressing the significance of the Iranian ballistic-missile program as a regional and global threat, Baluyevsky was most explicit: 'Iran does have nuclear weapons. Of course, these are non-strategic nuclear weapons. I mean these are not ICBMs with a range of more than 5,500 kilometers and more.' While Iran may not be able to hit Moscow or Washington with its nuclear-tipped missiles, it can certainly strike Israel."

Resa LaRu Kirkland wrote:

Iraq, Arafat, bin Laden coalition formed?
Terrorism expert reports joint offensive against West planned

Posted: October 28, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com

Iraq's Saddam Hussein's defense against an imminent attack by the U.S. will be a strong offense – including terrorist operations coordinated with Yasser Arafat and Osama bin Laden, writes a top terrorism expert in a new book.

Yossef Bodansky, author of "The High Cost of Peace," says joint preparations by Hussein, Arafat and al-Qaida for a new wave of anti-U.S. terror began last spring. The model for the terrorism campaign is Arafat's Black September Organization of the 1970s.

The initiative for the alliance came from Palestinian Islamists based in Lebanon and Syria, according to Bodansky, the U.S. Congress' top terrorism adviser. The response from al-Qaida came April 2, says Bodansky.

2-front war

Posted: October 30, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern

Editor's note: This is the third of three commentaries on North Korea and its ties to the Middle East. Be sure to also read Part 1 and Part 2.

© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com

"[James] Kelly made it clear that something had gone dreadfully wrong in his trip to the North."
– "A Puzzling Move by Pyongyang," by Don Kirk, MSNBC, Oct. 18, 2002

Years ago, I was telling friends and associates that if they wanted to watch the birth of Armageddon, look to North Korea. They laughed. And when they dried their eyes, they laughed again. Then they said, "Everyone knows that it's coming out of the Middle East … even the Bible says that, dummy!"

I swallowed, and went on to risk looking even more the fool.

I told them yes, indeed, the Middle East will be involved, and because they are larger, it will seem as if it is all them. But I reminded them to study history, and the way God works. You see, it is always the thing you never expected that gets you. This is how He tests our mettle … sort of "What-will-you-do-if-I-throw-this-at-you" situation. How we respond with foresight and wisdom determines our success. But being a loving Father, He always gives us plenty of indicators – signs, if you will – that we might do our best to be prepared in the face of great evil, for He wants us to succeed. He designed us for success. He achieves nothing on our behalf if we lose.

And beyond that, we have seen in the past – over and over again – that evil seeks out evil, that they create secret combinations and make blood oaths against the good people of the earth. They bond together in their mutual treachery, and no malevolence is too much for them to consider. They will try to distract us from their wickedness by claiming it is all for God – as Islam does. Or it is our fault for being fat, spoiled Americans – as North Korea does daily. Or, even more vile, they will point to American sins and excess and claim that we are merely "reaping what we've sown." And being kind, forgiving and self-evaluating people, we hesitate just long enough for them to strike at us.

Last year, Pakistan was on the verge of war with India – which terrified us – because we well-documented Pakistan's nuclear technology, and know of their intimate relationship with North Korea. The man who is at the head of the nuclear program in Pakistan hates all things Western … he and North Korea were made for each other. That is exactly the problem.

"A barter deal that traded North Korean missile technology for Pakistani nuclear know-how was engineered by A.Q. Khan, the father of Pakistan's bomb and a man whose anti-Western values have been known for years, sources told NBC News on Friday. News of the involvement of Pakistan's top scientist in the secret pact comes on the heels of North Korea's admission that it has been pursuing nuclear weapons in violation of a 1994 agreement with Washington …

"U.S. OFFICIALS who spoke on condition of anonymity told NBC News on Friday that Pakistan, a key ally in the U.S. war on terrorism, was a major technology supplier of North Korea's nuclear weapons program … "Khan visited North Korea in the late 1990s," a reliable source outside the government said, noting that the eminent scientist provided "information and technology" to the North Koreans and also hosted a delegation from Pyongyang in Pakistan."
– "Pakistan Scientist Brokered N. Korean Deal," by Robert Windrem, MSNBC, Oct. 18, 2002

APPENDIX FOURTEEN : THE TEN HORNS WHICH WORK WITH THE BEAST

It is apparent from Revelation 17:16 that the 8^th manifestation of the Beast is distinct from the nations which comprise the ten horns. And it is interesting to note how both the 8^th manifestation of the Beast as well as the sea Beast of Revelation 13 have these ten horns. In both cases it would seem these are the European nations allied with the Vatican. Such an alliance came into existence with the pagan-to-papal Roman Empire, and such an alliance has again taken shape- now with the 8^th manifestation of the Beast. These shall ultimately destroy the mysterious Babylon (Revelation 17:16), even using the Kings of the East apparently to do some of the dirty work (Revelation 16:12).

Here are excerpts from some relevant articles:

Plan for EU constitution unveiled amid row

By George Parker and Daniel Dombey in Brussels and James Blitz in London

Published: October 28 2002 20:58 | Last Updated: October 29 2002 11:28

A possible new European Union constitution was unveiled in Brussels on Monday proposing that the EU could have a new president, greater co-operation between nation states and dual-citizenship.

However, while Valery Giscard d'Estaing, president of the convention on the future of the EU, compared the draft constitution to the work done by the founding fathers of the US, the mood within the EU was marred by one of the most serious diplomatic disputes in recent years between France and the UK.

As Mr Giscard d'Estaing unveiled plans to rebrand the EU as "United Europe," it emerged that French President Jacques Chirac had cancelled December's traditional Anglo-French end-of-year summit with British prime minister Tony Blair…

In Brussels, Mr Giscard d'Estaing unveiled the proposed outline for a new EU constitution, which he believes will endure for the next 50 years.

Article 1 of the proposed constitution defines the EU as "a union of European states", retaining their national identities, but co-operating and sharing power, sometimes on a federal basis.

Supporters of the federal model believe an enlarged EU of 25 or more members will descend into gridlock, with each national leader playing to a domestic gallery and threatening to veto new initiatives.

Mr Giscard d'Estaing's document leaves open the prospect of a greater use of majority voting under the "community method" in some areas. As a result, the European Commission could play a greater role in foreign and economic policy.

But the convention president personally favours closer co-operation between member states, without necessarily involving the European Commission.

European leaders hope the new constitution will help to tackle the malaise that has gripped the EU, symbolised by a stuttering economy, a lack of political leadership and a weak presence on the world stage.

The draft constitution, in three parts with 46 articles, is the result of eight months of work by a special convention on Europe's future.

Mr Giscard d'Estaing has compared it to the work of the US founding fathers and their Philadelphia convention in 1787."We need a constitutional treaty to mark the beginning of a renewed Europe, as we accept new member states into our midst, a Europe in which all citizens should recognise themselves as European," Mr Giscard d'Estaing told the Convention.

Among the most controversial suggestions is the creation of an appointed president, running the European Council for up to five years, to act as the union's political driving force and face on the world stage.

Mr Giscard d'Estaing's paper proposes a rebranding of the EU, possibly to be called United Europe. Britain ruled out his alternative suggestion of "United States of Europe".

Among the other proposals are:

* Incorporating the EU's charter of rights

* Beefing up the role of the High Representative on EU foreign policy, a job currently held by Javier Solana

* Giving privileged status to the EU's neighbouring states, including Turkey, Ukraine and possibly Russia

* Giving countries an exit clause from the EU for the first time

The paper also proposes that every citizen of an EU member state should have "dual citizenship" with the EU, a concept that appears in the current Maastricht treaty, but which has aroused British skepticism.

October 29, 2002, 9:30 a.m.
Not-So-Super Superstate
A bad thing gets bigger.

By Hugo Gurdon

“Yes" means yes and "no" means maybe — at least that's so among Europe's new masters. Which is ironic, because the continental bien pensants would shudder if they heard this excuse for harassment and manipulative control in another circumstance. But when it is only democracy that's getting screwed, they don't mind a bit.

Which brings us to why Americans should care about this month's Irish referendum ratifying the Treaty of Nice. Its supporters, including American newspapers that should have known better, appeared to believe that all the treaty did was admit ten former Communist countries to the European Union. This was seen as a triumph — recently freed nations joining what purported to be the democratic, free-market fold.

The truth, however, is very different. What really happened was that the European Union moved past the tipping point beyond which its development into an anti-democratic, anti-American, anti-free market superstate ceases to be an uphill struggle and becomes a downhill gallop.

The EU has admitted new member countries three times since the Irish joined in 1973, but this was the first time Ireland needed a referendum. That's because Irish law demands that voters give their permission before sovereignty is drained from their national parliament. And the Treaty of Nice — named after the French resort town where it was drafted — involves a massive transfer of power away from the people of Europe and their elected representatives to an unelected authority in Brussels…

This anti-democratic manipulation should come as no surprise, for the EU is an inherently undemocratic institution. The European Commission, a bureaucracy, is the only body allowed to propose legislation. Think of it for a moment — elected politicians may consider only those policies that bureaucrats put in front of them.

But again, why should the United States care about this? Because the EU is exporting its methods of governance and, with ruthless determination (and dishonesty), is attempting to demolish the concept of national sovereignty. It is already far along that road among the EU's 15 nations, but it wants similarly to cage American sovereignty within multilateral frameworks and legalisms.

Let's look at the treaty. It abolishes national veto rights, so member nations can neither opt out of nor prevent continent-wide standardization in 39 key policy areas. It begins harmonizing criminal law, so offences in each nation will no longer be based on the mores or traditions — or the democratic judgment — of that country's citizens. Liberal pressure groups are already planning pan-continental challenges to domestic laws on abortion, divorce, and euthanasia.

Worst of all, perhaps, is the treaty's mechanism to strip member nations of their vote in EU affairs if they breach EU human rights standards, the nature of which may be judged by a decision in the late 1990s when Britain was ordered, on human-rights grounds, to scrap laws banning sadomasochistic torture. The centralizing EU elite can be expected to disenfranchise nation's that slow down the creation of the superstate.

The EU project, which began as an effort to enfold Germany in a constitutional embrace that would prevent it plunging Europe into war again, has turned into an overweening drive to subordinate all member states to a Franco-German command based in Brussels. The suppression of national sovereignty has become the cardinal aim, for that is what makes the EU a power to be reckoned with globally.

Now it is turning that effort on to the United States. It is the EU leaders, France and Germany, that most vociferously oppose America's right to decide that self-defense and enlightened self-interest make it wise to take military action against Iraq, unilaterally if necessary. It is the EU that is most determined to force the United States back into the economy-hobbling Kyoto climate change treaty. And Pascal Lamy, the EU trade commissioner, has made it clear he intends using the World Trade Organization, which originally buttressed national sovereignty, into a tool of European policy.

Two years ago next month, Jacques Chirac, the French president, speaking at the Hague about Kyoto, said: "I call upon the United States of America…to cast aside their doubts and hesitations…[and join in] building this unprecedented instrument, the first component of an authentic global governance…"

Just as the builders of the European Union are burying the nation state on their own continent, so they are working toward the imposition of global governance. EU power blooms amid multilateral structures that militate against American power. That is now the EU's raison d'etre.

Having twice in the past century sent its sons to fight in Europe, with great loss of life, America understandably wants to see the development of a united Europe as benign. But the lens of 20th-century war now prevents America from seeing the European Union properly, and it needs to be put aside. European leaders do not hide their ambition to make the EU a global counterweight and rival to America; we should take them at their word.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

F. Tupper Saussy, Rulers of Evil, http://tuppersaussy.com/.

J. Parnell McCarter, The Real Story of Mankind, http://www.puritans.net/curriculum/.

Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, http://www.biblebelievers.com/babylon/ .

J. A. Wylie, The History of Protestantism, http://www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Fellowship/James.A.Wylie.html.

Various other internet websites referenced throughout this book.