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, Pr