I begin writing this to you, whom our Father loves so much on the Sabbath day, Saturday, January 21, 2006.

There are some points I'd like to make before I begin. The first is that in my heart of hearts I say this to you. I would rather suffer the fate of Satan himself than lead even one of God's children to error and ruin. You must not accept even a single word of this before you apply two tests to it. The first is that it MUST NOT be in conflict with Holy Scripture in any meaningful way. Scripture is our only true guide to discern the will of Him who made us. Words not born-out by Scripture are the words of men, and they have no light in them. If, after you carefully study the Word, these words are in conflict with them they are a lie and I will suffer the fate of all liars. The second is that you must compare it to the testimony of the Holy Spirit which is within you. If these words cry out as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit then they are a lie.

The second point is that this is quite lengthy. As you might expect a mystery that has been hidden from almost all the scholars over all the centuries up until the time of the end may not be simple. In order for you to understand we must reason through it together. Please don't continue to read until you have the time to apply the power of reason that God gave you and the time to give this your full consideration.

The third point is that our Father promises an amazing and truly special blessing upon those who read, understand and abide by these words should they be found to be true after the tests I described have been applied. This blessing is in addition to the promise of eternal life spent in the presence of the Living God. This blessing has been sought after since the first man and woman walked the face of the earth and has not been given. Faithful servants such as Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist and all the apostles did not receive this special blessing. It has been reserved by our Father for those who walk the earth at the time of the end. As you read and understand, this blessing will be revealed to you. You must also know that if you read and understand this, then disobey God's instruction found here and in Holy Scripture the most serious and painful punishments ever described by the Word of God will be leveled against you. So take care my brothers and sisters, for what you learn here cannot be unlearned. You can no longer claim ignorance.

The War That Rages On

In order to understand this question, "What is the mark of the beast and how do I avoid accepting it?" we must know the origin of the war that has been raging since Adam and Eve's original sin. This conflict forms the reason and the basis for the first lie that was ever told and the last lie that will ever be told. So what is this fight about? We need to know the character of those in opposition to each other and what claims they make to the truth. We need to know why each of the combatants are doing what they're doing.

Our Father's Perspective

Before the foundation of this world God and His Son Jesus Christ sought what each of us seeks. It is the desire placed inside all pure hearts. The desire to love and to be loved. The heavens, earth, sea and all that is within them were created for this purpose. To populate it with beings whom God and Jesus would love and they would love God and Jesus and each other. They applied all of Their magnificent power to create a perfect expression of love. A place where this love could exist and beings with the capability to express and benefit by this love were brought into existence. These beings were given the power of free will. This was absolutely necessary because what is love if it is not given freely and without coercion? If you are a just an animal incapable of choosing to love or to hate, what value would there be in you? If you were forced to love or programmed to love and had no choice or free will in the matter, how could that expression of love have any value?

Because you were given free will, you have the capacity to choose to love or hate. To help or to hurt. To build or destroy. It had to be this way. There is no love without free will. What joy would there be in anything for us if we are not able to choose that which gives us joy? In the beginning, in order to protect us from the destructive things that are harm, hate or destruction, our first parents Adam and Eve were not given the knowledge of good and evil. They were instructed by God not to eat of its fruit. They were given the warning that if they choose to take for themselves this knowledge, they would open up their ability to choose evil over good. They would surely die. Disobedience over obedience. Death instead of life. Prior to the taking for themselves this knowledge of good and evil, death did not exist. Our loving Father and His Son built a universe where death had no part. Because they were deceived with the very arguments Satan himself voiced against the father, they chose this knowledge and brought death into existence.

Before the foundation of the earth, God's laws of love existed. They are immutable. If you abide by them, you become part of that perfect expression of love that was the purpose of this creation. Now that man has the knowledge of good and evil, they have the capacity to choose disobedience of these laws of love. If they disobey and do harm instead of good, or express hate instead of love, they oppose the very purpose of creation itself and must be removed from it. This removal is called spiritual death or the second death.

Satan's Point of View

Satan had another name, which is Lucifer or the "Light Bearer". This was a name of honor amongst all beings. He held a special and high place within the kingdom. Beneath only the Son of God Himself and of course the Father. Satan lived under these laws of love. In time, he grew weary of service to the Father. He began in his mind to conceive of himself as God. He sought to take the place of God and to be worshipped AS God. He told his brothers and sisters that God's laws of love were a heavy burden and that abiding by them was drudgery. He suggested there was no joy in obedience. This lie is ever present and is told everywhere. It has been from the day of his rebellion against God and will be told with ever increasing fury until the last day. It is the first lie and the last lie. Along with this lie is the other lie, which is if you disobey God's laws of love you will NOT die.

Satan sought to prove this by tempting Adam and Eve into disobedience. He would show them the way to disobedience to attempt to prove his point spoken against the Creator. He persuaded a third of the angels with him to accept this lie and to disobey.

So, the war is about this; obedience to the God's laws of love is life and a fulfillment of the very purpose for which everything was created. Disobedience to them is death. God wishes you to obey and live. Satan wishes you to disobey and die, thus attempting to prove his sinful point. Neither of them can force either life or death upon you. You alone, given the power of free will to choose, must select from among these two choices.

God allows the existence of this world, though filled with disobedience to these laws of love to exist. Why? Couldn't He have completely destroyed Satan and all those who chose to follow him the moment they opted to disobey? Yes He could have. He did not because He wished to prove to everyone watching from all over His created universe what the outcome of sin would be. Rather than ending it, it is a demonstration that not only does He have the authority as Creator to give us law, but what the natural consequence of rejecting His authority to give law would produce. The existence of this hopeless and sinful world is for the purpose of demonstration for all who will see. It is for the purpose of proving the power of His law and proving for the entire universe His authority as the Law Giver.

It is exactly God's authority as the Law Giver that is at the heart of obedience and disobedience. If you accept His authority as Creator and Law Giver, you will obey. If you reject His authority as Creator and Law Giver, you will disobey. This is at the heart of the war for your obedience. The Seal of God as described in the book of Revelation is acceptance of His authority as Law Giver. The mark of the best is rejection of His authority as Law Giver. But this seal and mark can be seen or detected by God, so how specifically can we accept the Seal of God or the Mark of the Beast? Let's continue to reason and the truth will be revealed.

What are they?

Now we need to identify what the Seal of God is and what the Mark of the Beast is. First let's start with the Seal of God.

The Seal of God of course is found in Scripture. He would have never left us to imagine it without specific instruction. So let's start by discerning what a seal is. In biblical times through today a seal is a mark or stamp placed on something by someone who holds office. It is a mark of authority. The seal of God is the mark of God's authority. The mark of the beast is the mark of Satan and sinful man's authority. After all, this fight is all about whose authority you will accept. God's authority comes from the fact that He is the Creator and the Law Giver, so His Seal is found in the act of His creation and is found in His Law. God made it easier for us to discern His Seal because He placed it in the place where His creation is defined and His Law has handed down to us. This makes perfect sense.

So here's a question for you. Where did the phrase "etched in stone" come from and what does it mean? To me, it means that it is unchangeable. If it's not etched in stone, it can be changed. If it is, then it cannot be changed. So, if we look for a place where God defines for us His Creation His Law and it is unchangeable and it is etched in stone, we're on our way to this revelation. Of course, you know where this place is. It is in His 10 commandments. The only instruction given to man written by the finger of the Father Himself, etched in stone, unchangeable. His seal is found in the 10 commandments. Praise God for simplicity of His instruction!! We're getting closer to knowing his Seal!

What things does a seal contain? Throughout history a seal defines the name, the office and the dominion of the office holder. The President of the United States has such a seal as does many other office holders throughout the world. His seal states "George Bush, President, of the United States of America." So his seal contains his name; George Bush, his title; President, and his territory or domain;
The United States of America.

Our Heavenly Father possesses just such a seal. It is; God, Creator, The Heavens the Earth the Sea and all that is within them. This is His seal. It establishes His authority as Law Giver and is contained within His law that is unchangeable and is etched in stone.

The Sign of the Covenant

God has made covenants with man in Scripture and man makes covenants with each other. In biblical times covenants between God and man have contained signs of that covenant. The sign of the covenant with Abraham was circumcision. The sign of the covenant between God and Noah was the rainbow. How do we find the sign of the unchangeable covenant between God and Man? The signs of covenants between God and man have been articulated in the center of the covenant. In the center of the covenant between God and Noah is the description of the rainbow. An equal number of concepts, thoughts or phrases precede the expression of the rainbow in that covenant and an equal number of thoughts or phrases follow it. The rainbow is in the center of the covenant with Noah. The observance of this sign is the expression by both parties of acceptance of the covenant.

What is the sign of the unchangeable covenant etched in stone between God and Man? The central phrase of the 10 commandments covenant is "Remember the Sabbath Day, to Keep it Holy". By my count, 15 phrases or concepts are expressed before it and 15 follow it. That central phrase, "Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it Holy" is the sign of the everlasting covenant. The sign of your acceptance of this covenant is to Remember the Sabbath day to Keep it Holy. It is in the heart of God's laws of love created before the foundation of the world. It is unchangeable.

Does this sign also contain God's Seal? Does the Sabbath commandment contain the Seal of the Creator God? In this commandment does He establish His authority as the Law Giver? Yes.

God Himself Observed the Sabbath

Genesis describes the act of God's creation. On the seventh day He rested. Did He get tired? The answer in my heart is a resounding NO!! How could the divine strength and power and source of all good and all love get tired? NO, definitely no. So why did He rest then? Was he sending us a message? What is God's number? Is it seven perhaps? Do you see the number seven appear in scripture often? What is sinful man's number? Well, he was created on the sixth day wasn't he? In revelation, what is the number of the beast? Is it 666? Could that be an expression of sinful man which is 6 magnified perhaps?

Here's another question for you. As you read the 10 commandments do you see something a little different about the Sabbath commandment? Which other commandments begin with the instruction to remember? Why would an all-knowing God, who is the beginning, the middle and the end tell us to remember? Could it be that He KNEW we'd FORGET?

What about the most important act of our salvation? If you ask me it would have been the crucifixion of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ and His resurrection. It was after all the defining moment in this war, because now we have a way to shake-off death. We can now claim the sacrifice of His pure blood as our defense for the charges of disobedience to God's Laws of love. Did Jesus observe the Sabbath in His life and even in His death and resurrection?

Study scripture to see if He observed the Sabbath during His earthly ministry. There you will also find the true meaning of the Sabbath and what things God wishes us to do on that day each week. What about the resurrection? Jesus was crucified on a Friday. By the time He achieved victory over sin on behalf of all of us with His saving sacrifice, the sun was low on Friday evening. This caused those who took his body and prepared it for burial to hurry, so their work could be completed before the Sabbath began.

The seventh day begins and ends as any other day in biblical times. All days in biblical reckonings are "evenings and mornings". So the seventh day of every week begins at sunset and continues to the following sunset. Hence evenings and mornings. You just have to think of the holiday we celebrate comemerating His virgin birth to understand this reckoning. We have Christmas eve followed by Christmas day. So it was for all days in biblical times and so it is now.

So what does that have to do with the resurrection? Jesus and God themselves observed the Sabbath during the very act of Jesus' resurrection!! After Jesus' body was laid in the tomb at the start of the Sabbath, He wasn't resurrected until Sunday morning, why? Why did God decide not to resurrect Jesus right away? Why did He wait? Because the message of the Sabbath would be very important to those living during the end of days and this was yet another message to us living now. Praise the Lord of Hosts that He repeats Himself so many times so our sin clouded minds would understand!! I know what you're thinking, once the Sabbath was over at sunset on Saturday night, why not then resurrect Jesus? I'll answer your question with another question. Jesus is the light of the world. His resurrected body is the light by which we see through spiritual darkness. Would a loving and all-knowing God resurrect His Son in the dark? When then, after the Sabbath had been completed would the next daylight appear in Jerusalem? The daylight by which all who were present could see the living body of the sacrificed Jesus? Is that when He first appeared? So then, in the most important event in the history of God's Creation I ask you, was the Sabbath observed?

Is there yet another purpose for Sabbath observance?

Since God ordained His laws of love for our benefit, it would make sense that the Sabbath commandment has a specific benefit in it for us. As we know God didn't need to rest, but why do we? I would like to ask your attention be directed toward the book of Exodus. When Moses went to Pharaoh to demand he let God's people go, what was one of the measures Pharaoh took to hinder this effort? Did Pharaoh not say "You are idle! You are idle! Therefore you say, Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord!" "Therefore go now and WORK; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks."

Doesn't this world continually try to pull you away from the things of God? Is not the work you do to earn your living and maintain your household prevent you from thinking of things of God? Do you not need time away from this world to rest, consider the things of God and have fellowship with those who share your love of obedience to Him? Pharaoh created more work for the children of Israel so that they would not have time to think of God or do God's will.

Aren't we all in bondage to the things of this world? Doesn't this world try to drown-out the voice of God and His Holy Spirit in your heart? Isn't this rest and fellowship with God on the seventh day of each week intended to create a sanctuary for you apart from this world so that you might strengthen your spiritual senses and understanding? Was this God's purpose in creating the Sabbath? Isn't it Satan's purpose for the world that he rules to cut-off the voice of the Holy Spirit that speaks to you?

I just noticed something in my New King James bible. I was wondering if it is correct for me to capitalize the word "Sabbath" as I write of it to you. I looked in my bible to see if it was capitalized. It is!! I always thought capitalization was reserved for the first word in a sentence, proper names and all references to God, Jesus and that which is Holy! Is the word Sabbath capitalized in your bible? If so, why do you think that is?

WARNING

Now that this revelation is forming in your mind and you begin to consider these things, the people and things that are controlled by the father of lies will seek you out. They will present to you the argument that the 10 commandments, ESPECIALLY the Sabbath commandment has been abolished. Then they will say that 9 of these commandments have been re-installed in the New Testament. They will cite the observation that rarely in the New Testament is Sabbath observance referred to. They will say this virtual absence from the New Testament is somehow telling us that the unchangeable commandments given to us by our Creator and Law Giver is proof that they have been abolished. Then because the other 9 commandments are frequently referred, to that they have been restored. They say the 10 commandments are an old, useless and abolished covenant but that 9 of them have been returned to us by virtue of their repeated references in the New testament. They will also say, and correctly so that in the minds of sinful men it was conceived of long ago to CHANGE THE TIME of this Holy observance. To CHANGE THE TIME of this weekly acknowledgement of our God's Creation and by it His authority as Law Giver. They will tell you that they have not only CHANGED THE TIME of this SEAL OF GOD to Sunday, but that they have changed it's name from Sabbath Day to "the day of the lord." They will admit to you the authority for this change, which was conceived of long ago comes from NO AUTHORITY WHATSOVER given anywhere in the Holy Scriptures, but in an imagined authority claimed by men who held an office created by sinful men. The men who have held this office that has no scriptural basis have made the claim to be infallible, and that claim also has NO BASIS is Holy Scripture. If you don't already know the name of the office that has no scriptural basis held by men to claim for themselves the mantle of infallibility, The Father will reveal it to you soon.

In response to those arguments, the Spirit instructs me to tell you this. The answer to that question begins with a question. Would you like me to e-mail you every morning and remind you to tie your shoes? Of course not you say! Why would you need to remind me to tie my shoes? It is a given that if I wear shoes and they require tying that it is such an obvious thing that you do not need to remind me of it. You would ask me if I think you're foolish and don't know to do that.

During the time the men of God at the direction of the Holy Spirit wrote the New Testament, there was a religious observance, ordained by God that was almost universally practiced by those who love God. This practice was Sabbath observance. The clear and simple reason we are not reminded to keep the Sabbath is that virtually everyone was already observing it. It did not occur to the writers of the Gospels and the books that followed to remind everyone to observe the Sabbath. There are many truths told of in these books. Many important ideas to be communicated. They simply never thought to remind everyone to tie their shoes.

Still they argue that because of the very limited references to Sabbath observance in the New Testament, it was perfectly fine to abolish it, change it's meaning, CHANGE THE TIME of it's observance and CHANGE THE LAW. THIS IS THE VOICE OF THE DECEIVER. It is the voice of the one who would deceive all the world. This is the voice of he who would THINK TO CHANGE THE TIMES AND THE LAW.
They will also say that because Jesus was resurrected on a Sunday the immutable law of love, written by the finger of God himself has been changed. If you fall prey to this deception, you will have laid at your feet the most fearful and horrible reward ever warned against in all of Holy Scripture. This terrible penalty is reserved only for those who fall victim to this deception and who are alive at the time of the end of days.

The Mark of the Beast

Who is this beast and what is it's mark? Our Father will reveal it.

There is more than one beast. The one that has existed for many centuries is not a person but an institution claiming for itself and its leaders the complete authority of God. It is this form of the beast that we must identify to discern it's mark. For it is this particular form of the beast and its image that will attempt to cause you to accept its mark.

It has at its root the world power described in Daniel. It is the world power that follows the empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece. This beast’s beginnings were formed within the time of the rule of the empire represented by the iron legs of the statue in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. This world empire revealed in the dream to the King and interpreted by God for the benefit of Nebuchadnezzar and the prophet Daniel is the iron legs that breaks into pieces and shatters all things. Though in history and in the prophecy this empire is itself broken into pieces and never re-unified, the beast I speak of got its start there and exists to this day.

The world empire that gave its beginnings to the beast is the Roman Empire. Now to better understand the beast that would have you accept its mark, it's best if we go back to Satan, his argument against God's authority to rule and be the Giver of Laws and what Satan would hope to accomplish through his rulership of the beast.

As we know, the goal of Satan and this beast which he rules is to deceive us into disobeying God. It is to reject God's authority as Law Giver and accept the laws of man instead. It is specifically the Sabbath commandment that will be the target of this beast for the reasons we discussed. Observing the Sabbath commandment is the Seal of God and the sign of God's covenant with us, so it stands to reason this beast will be in opposition to it. So now we have the basis to examine the attributes of the beast who would have us accept its mark.

The beast will think to change the times and the laws as we have discussed. He will think to change them because they are unchangeable. Hence we will "think" to have changed them. The beast will speak great truths and great blasphemies. The beast will have an "image". As I've said, this beast is an institution and its leader will bear a name that is itself a great blasphemy. The number of his name is 666. Just as Babylon is described differently by more than one prophecy describing great world powers, this beast will be represented in different ways by different prophecies describing great deceivers. This beast is also described as being ridden or controlled by a Harlot, and as spiritual Babylon. By riding this beast, it tells us she controls it.

Who is this Harlot? In biblical references the pure church is referred to as a woman who is pure. She is the bride of the leader of the pure church, Jesus Christ. The harlot is a woman, so also a church. This church however interacts with governments, even controlling governments. It is with these governments that she commits spiritual fornication, thus becoming impure and a harlot. She is clothed in purple and scarlet and is exceedingly wealthy. Hence, this church is clothed in purple and scarlet and is very rich.

Being a spiritual harlot, this church would teach error and deception. This church teaches the worship of idols. This church teaches salvation through works in the place of faith. This church teaches not the confession of sins to Jesus Christ who is the only means to come to the father, but to confess to men instead. This church supposes to teach that it has the power to summon Christ, kill him and resurrect him every week during its services. It is this church who took upon itself the imagined power to change the time and the law regarding the Sabbath.

Please don't misunderstand. There are countless members of this church who love God and seek to do His will. They simply do not know that they are being deceived. By virtue of the wealth of this church it has helped countless poor. It operates many hospitals that heal the sick. It's doctrine contains great truths. It is not its members that are the beast but the institution, the office of its leader and the power it once had and will have again to control the governments of this earth to do its bidding in the practice of deception.

This beast, this woman have an image. Though other churches have risen up in opposition to this one, over time they have softened their conflict and have accepted its mark. The mark of this beast, this woman is its refusal to observe the Sabbath. This beast, this harlot, this spiritual Babylon is the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Its image is the organized religions of this world who also accept the harlot's false teaching regarding the Sabbath, hence they have accepted its mark.

Up until recent times the leader of the Holy Roman Catholic Church wore an inscription upon the headdress he wears. This inscription reads "The Vicar of Christ" or something very similar. Forgive me, I'm getting tired and I'm not sure I remember it clearly. But it's a simple matter to search the history books for the exact inscription. Take this inscription in its original Latin, then Greek, then Hebrew. Assign a number to this inscription according to the number of the alphabet in each of those 3 languages. The first letter of the alphabet is assigned the number one, the second two and so on. In all 3 languages this inscription will then have a numerical value for each of the letters in it. Add up the numbers representing each letter of the inscription for each of those languages. Each of them will total 666.

There are many prophecies in Scripture defining this truth. Some that are time references describing the time this church will have the power to control governments. From its beginning through the dark ages, ending with the French Revolution, this church has had the power to control governments until it was taken away. Many of the Saints or faithful of God were killed during the centuries of the rule of this church, hence she is drunk with the blood of the saints. They were forced to comply with church doctrine or be put do death. This will happen again in the last days. At the end of the time that was given to this church to rule over governments, a seemingly fatal wound was dealt to it. The Pope was captured by the French and imprisoned. He died in captivity. The office of the papacy obviously survived as we know. This is the mortal wound suffered by the little horn in prophecy that was healed. As I mentioned it also signified the end of that period where it would rule over nations and kings, but it will rule again.

In a moment I'll explain how it and its image the other churches, will recapture that power and use it to try and force you to disobey.

There's one more thing to consider when contemplating the Seal of God and the mark of the beast. In Revelation, the mark of the beast is taken in the hand or in the forehead. Search the true underlying language which is Greek. The correct interpretation of the text is not ON the hand or forehead, but IN the hand or forehead. The Seal of God is taken ONLY IN the forehead. This is of particular importance as you will see.

Remember the Sabbath day. It is a day of rest and contemplation of the things of God designed to strengthen your faith. When you observe it, your hand does nothing as you are resting as God commanded. If you disobey the Sabbath commandment, you are working and thinking disobedience. The works or things you do are symbolized by your hand. Your thoughts are symbolized by your mind or IN your forehead.

If you disobey the Sabbath commandment, you are doing so with your hand in disobedience and with your mind in disobedience. That's why you take this mark in your hand or in your forehead. When you obey, it is only in your forehead or mind as you are at rest as commanded. In your mind, you are thinking of the things of God, which is where His Seal upon you will be found.

The Last Days

How will this beast regain the power it needs through the governments of this world to force you to disobey or die? Here is the revelation.

The storms will increase in their intensity until they are truly horrific. Men will tremble with fear at the raging of the sea. The hurricanes, tsunami, the tornado and the typhoon will rise up to great intensity never before seen by mankind. Great earthquakes of terrible intensity will increase as the earth trembles with unimaginable violence. Great plagues will kill many millions. The nations ruled by Islam will rise up in war against the West.

Men will finally truly know that there is a God and they will know that He is angry. They will frantically search for a way to placate this angry God, but having no knowledge of His true character nor his commandments, they will be at a loss to know what to do. Then they will decide we must honor the Sabbath to please God since neither the true Sabbath or the false one is being observed. They will pass laws around the globe forcing all to observe the false Sunday Sabbath created by Satan and the beast. All the world's governments will gladly comply to save them selves from the rath of the Creator. If you do not comply they will place an economic boycott against you. Your money will be worthless and you won't be able to buy or sell. Many will comply to save themselves from the economic starvation of their faithlessness. All the Christian world will wonder after these laws created by the beast and be deceived. The United States and the Christian conservatives will play a major role in these events. There will be great famine and countless millions will starve.

The Islamic armies will then capture and destroy the city that sits on seven hills. The Vatican and the whole city of Rome will be burned. You will watch on TV as Pope Benedict XVI is dragged from his place of hiding and put to death. All according to the prophets sent to us by the Living God and written in the Scriptures.

All the world except the elect will cry as they watch Rome burning. The merchants who grew rich by her will be saddened. The Kings of the world will lament her loss.
Then, as if by miracle the anti-christ will rise-up and re-fulfill the prophecy of the seemingly fatal blow being delivered to the little horn which is the Papacy being healed. He will take for himself the office of the Pope and he will call himself Peter. He will perform many miracles and signs and everyone save we faithful will believe he is our Messiah Jesus Christ. He will stand in the Holy place in Rome. It is there that the abomination that causes desolation will stand in the Holy Place. As our Lord and Master Jesus Christ commanded us, we must at that time flee to the wilderness, for this anti-christ will declare all those who refuse the obey the false Sabbath be put to death. If you are captured you will choose between disobedience to the Ancient of days and his commandments etched in stone by His own finger or death. If you are caught, choose death. Do not accept the mark of the beast.

There is much more detail to provide but I'm not sure if even all this will fit in the space of this posting. Maz, please separate this into parts if you must so this can be seen by those to seek the truth.

The wonderful Blessing Promised Those Who Hear and Obey

If you should survive these times and remain faithful to the Father until the time of the return of our Messiah, which still will happen some time after these things, you will be blessed in a truly wonderful way. The time of His return will follow even more horrible events that I will describe to you another time as they do not pertain to the Seal of the Living God that you must bear in your forehead. Let it be known that through all this, and that which will come after if you rely on your faith in the Heavenly Father and His Pure Spotless Matchless Son, you will not fear these things.

And if you should persevere until the end you will NOT TASTE DEATH. No one in the history of this world has escaped death. All, even the most faithful ones have breathed their last breath and wait in the earth as dust and nothingness for the return of our Savior. Yet if you heed these words and put on the armor of the power and faith that comes only from He Who Made the Living Waters, you will not taste death.

This is your wonderful reward. After these times we will together in the presence of God and the Son sing a song of joy and hope and the deepest thankfulness as we stand by the lake of glass.

Test these words by the Holy Scripture. Search your heart and hear the Holy Spirit within you.

I am an imperfect vessel chosen for reasons unknown to me to send these words to you. If there is even the slightest error of fact or interpretation found here it is not by the Holy Spirit that is so, but because of my own clouded sinful heart that distorts that which is given to me. The faithful and loving ones who seek to do God's will stand to correct and clarify. I say this to you. The substance and every important meaning of these words is truth. If it is not, I will suffer the fate of all those who attempt to deceive the children of God.

I am your servant. Pray for me.

No. If you are guided by the Holy Spirit in this prophesy not one Word will be wrong. The Message will be perfect. God's prophets never made mistakes in the utterances, nor shall they ever make mistakes.




Not necessarily. Many false prophets have come to the truth repented of their deeds and accepted Jesus as Messiah.







All Praise The Ancient Of Days

Mr. David,

God has blessed you with this wonderful message. As I read this I have a fire burning within me which tells me this is true. May the Lord carry this message to the masses! You will be in my prayers always...

Blessings...
Love, Lisa

People are drawn to God because of His love, not because of His judgment.

Hi beloved Nettekkie,

Thank you for your reply, it is much appreciated. And thank you for taking the time to read my message. As long as it is, I know it is an act of kindness to me just to spend the time needed to read and consider it.

It is plain to see that you feel you've found error in what I have said. I would like to better understand your concerns and get a clearer grasp of your views. Please understand that it is because I wish to honor you that I ask these questions. It is because I respect your opinion that I seek to undertand it.



It looks as if you agree that the particular beast power we're discussing is in fact a church. Is that correct? When you refer to "seven Noahide laws" are you referring to the cerimonial laws governing the sacrifice of animals, the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, the innermost Holy of Holies and the mercy seat?

If so, you are correct in your view that they have indeed been abolished. Maybe it would help for people to understand their purpose. Then we might understand why they have been rightfully abolished, and in fact nailed to the cross.

The building of an earthly tabernacle was the instruction of God to the Children if Isreal. It was a facsimilie of the perfect things that are in heaven. It's important to understand whose idea it was. It wasn't the idea of the Children of Isreal to build it, but it was God's idea. It was so because it was for instructional purposes. It was so that they would understand the nature of the Messiah who would follow; His saving sacrifice, and His devine and perfect ministry on our behalf. After all, Jesus has many roles. He is the Word Made Flesh, he is the Son of God, He is the Son of Man and he is our High Priest.

God knows that Aaron is not our High Priest, but He asked him to perform that role for the education of the Israelites. God knows that the sacrifice of animals is meaningless to our salvation but He asked the people of Israel to sacrifice them for their instruction.

Once the true and perfect sacrifice became flesh, lived without sin and was cricified, the lesson was complete. The props of instruction that were the temple and the sacrifice; the cerimonial laws pointed to Jesus. Once the task of instruction was completed, the props were no longer needed and indeed were abolished.




If the Sabbath commandment was abolished as you suggest, I have no idea why Jesus would issue such a warning. Why would He or anyone else care if their flight were on an abolished Holy Day?

If the Sabbath however has NOT been ablished, then the warning makes sense. The Sabbath is a day of rest. How can you flee and rest at the same time?



How true!! The Sabbath was indeed made for man, by God. Observed by God during the very act of creation. You seem to suggest that the Sabbath is an abomination. I pray I've misunderstood you!! Becuase if that is so, God himself ordained and then observed an abomination! It cannot be so.

Which commandment would be the easiest for Satan to attack? With no spiritual discerning whatsover, anyone can see the benefit of obedience to the other 9 commandments. It would have been a much tougher prospect for him to fool all the world into thinking it is good to kill.

By the way, all the world having been decieved will try to kill those who observe the true Sabbath and reject the man-made false one. All the faithfull will be hunted and hated by the whole world!! They will blame all the terrible calamities befalling them on those who worship He who made the Living Waters. The anti-christ will instruct them in this hate. Oh Father, give me strength.



Yes, in our hearts and IN our minds, exactly. I'll post soon a discussion for your consideration on what it means to have His laws written in our hearts. It will take some words, so please accept my apoligies if I don not answer here.



My beloved Netekkie, I make this promise to you. I may disagree with you and still love you. I may debate with you and still be your servant. But I will NEVER accuse you. Satan tempts us to sin. When we succumb and sin he then accuses us before the Father night and day. Satan's is the heart of the accuser.

Forgive me if I ask yet another question. If the Sabbath commandment, which is at the heart of the 10 commandments, has been abolished as you feel, has not all the other commandments been abolished as well? Is it not written that it is sin to kill? Is it not sin to steal, lie, covet and bear false witness?

Is it not written that it is sin to make for yourselves things of wood or stone that represent that which is in heaven, the earth or the sea and bow down to them?



Please help me understand. Do you consider the tablets of stone, cut out by no human hand but in fact by the hand of God to be of the flesh?



Is obedience to God an external observance? Is not worship and obedience inseparable? Is there nothing we must do to worship and obey him?

A note about me. I was born and raised in the Catholic Church. When these truths became known to me I angrily refused them. Then, in time I learned that truth cannot be disproven. I learned because I tried and tried. After I accepted them I was still angry. I was taught many many wonderful and sacred truths by the Catholic Church. Because of this I accepted all the teachings of that church. I learned that I was angry because not all that I was taught was truth. I was angry because I was decieved in some ways while accuratly instructed in others.

I say this to you all. Be skeptics!! Question everything! Take every word spoken to you and hold it up against the purifying fire that is Holy Scripture. It is only then that you will discern truth from error.

Mr David re ... "The Vicar Of Christ".

You said: "Take this inscription in its original Latin, then Greek, then Hebrew. Assign a number to that inscription according to the number of the alphabet in each of those 3 languages. The first letter of the alphabet is assigned the number one the second two and so on. In all 3 languages this inscription will have a numerical value for each of the letters in it. Add up the numbers representing each letter of the inscription for each of those languages. Each of them will total 666."

Mr David ... the term you couldn't recall is ... Vicarious Fillii Dei

My question to is as follows:

I am familiar with the numeric values in Latin ie Roman numerals summing at 666, but would sincerely like to see your examples for Hebrew and Greek as you claim

Also, did you mean to take the values as 1 2 3 4 ... etc as singular increases, or as Hebrew with it's values 1-400 and the Greek 1-800 ?

PS I agree with your identification of Mystery Babylon ... its not rocket science is it ?

Ok, now you all have me confused.... back to my bible!

Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

You took the words right out of my mouth.
I am confused too.
I will admit it,it isn't the first time I have ever been confused.

Here is an often over looked fact. Revelations is a complex book. It has historical, current (as in at the time it was written) and prophetic writings. The Beast in revelations is a very clear reference to the emperors of that time. There were 7 major emperors and 3 minor ones. Hence the seven heads and 10 horns. Emperor Nero's name in Hebrew adds up to 666, interestingly his name in Latin adds up to 616. (Fits perfectly with the obscure text found referring to 616) You have to keep in mind that at the time this was written Nero would have hunted them down and killed them. Now the book of Revelations also speaks of the anti-Christ coming at the end times. This is where the book is being prophetic.

Here is a comprehensive study in reference to the Left Behind series of books. It starts with the pre-trib rapture and then progresses through the book of Revelations. About half way down is a section titled Interpreting Bible Prophecy which talks to many of the issues being discussed in this post. It is quite long but very complete.



Though it does not use the term rapture, the Church does acknowledge that there will be an event where the elect are gathered to be with Christ. Scripture clearly declares it:
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:16–17)
The point of contention is the timing of this event: It occurs at the Second Coming, not several years before it. This is indicated by Paul’s reference to it taking place when Christ descends from heaven: the Second Coming. Scripture does not envision the Second Coming accomplishing the Rapture, followed by a "Third Coming" inaugurating the eternal order or the Millennium.

This is a sensitive point for Dispensationalists, who try to overcome the "Third Coming" problem by arguing that the Rapture and the final coming of Jesus are simply "two phases of one coming." But this is rationalization. If Jesus comes to die for our sins, goes back to heaven, comes again to rapture his followers, goes back to heaven, and then years later comes again to slay the Antichrist, then that is three comings, not two.

What does the Church say about the Millennium? It has not authoritatively addressed the issue of amillennialism and post-millennialism. Indeed, it does not even use those terms. But it is clear that the Church adheres to what has been the dominant view throughout Christian history—that the Millennium is going on now. It equals or is roughly equal to the Christian age.

Does this mean that there is no reign of Christ? No. Christ is reigning now, from heaven. As he told the apostles, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Matt. 28:18). And, discussing the resurrection of the dead, Paul explains:
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Cor. 15:20–26, emphasis added)
The destruction of death involves the resurrection of the dead—all of the dead, not just some dead, or death would not have been destroyed. This occurs in Revelation 20:13–14, which is after the Millennium (cf. Rev. 20:1–6).

Thus Christ reigns—along with the saints (cf. Rev. 20:4–6)—in heaven, and this reign is extended on earth through the Church, which is an expression of the mystery of the kingdom of God (cf. Luke 17:20–21). Thus, we are presently living in the golden age of Christ’s reign.

Some may think that the current age doesn’t seem very golden, but this is due to a problem of perspective. The proper frame of reference for judging the quality of the current age is not how paradisiacal we can imagine the world to be. It is what the world was like before the Christian age. Before Jesus, the world was swallowed in pagan darkness, with only the Jewish people and a few "God-fearers" attached to the Jews having reliable knowledge of the true God. Everywhere else, men were in spiritual darkness.

But the prophets foretold that "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Is. 11:9; cf. Hab. 2:14). This prophecy was fulfilled by the coming of Christ and the inauguration of the Christian age. Today a third of the human race is Christian, and fully half of the human race worships God in one way or another. The remainder has—with few exceptions—at least heard of the true God, and by the standards of biblical history, knowledge of the Lord does indeed cover the earth like the waters cover the sea. The light has dawned, and the darkness been dispelled. The biblical prophets would have wept for joy at the unimaginable prospect that so much of the human race would have embraced the worship of God. This was simply unthinkable in their time, and they would have regarded the current age—for all its problems—as unquestionably golden.

But notice what this quality consists in: It is a spiritual goldenness of men knowing and worshiping God in a way unheard of in pagan times. It is not an economic or a socio-political goldenness, which was not what Revelation promised. John writes:
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were ended. After that he must be loosed for a little while. (Rev. 20:1–3)
The promise is not that the world will be free of temporal problems but that the Devil will be bound in such a way that he cannot deceive the nations. That has happened. He has been bound in such a way that he cannot stop the proclamation of the gospel. As Jesus himself said when reflecting on the results of the disciples’ ministry, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke 10:18).

However, this still leaves one with a number of significant questions: How does the Church see the end of the ages playing out? What are we to make of the book of Revelation and other prophetic passages?

Regarding the first, the Church acknowledges that, as the book of Revelation says, the Christian golden age will end. There will come a time of great apostasy (cf. 2 Thess. 2:3; 2 Tim. 4:3) in which many will leave the Christian faith and the Devil will again be able to hinder the gospel and deceive the nations (cf. Rev. 20:3, 7). The Catechism speaks of this episode, saying:
Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.
The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God’s triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.
There are indeed dark times ahead at the end of the Christian age. Many will abandon the faith and lead the Church almost to the point of extinction, only to be saved at the last moment by the return of Christ. Thus, the Church will "follow her Lord in death and Resurrection." It will be a time of Great Tribulation.

In this time, the final villain of world history, the Antichrist, will emerge. The Antichrist, according to Catholic tradition, is both a man and a movement, and the movement has already been active in the world, as St. John indicates (cf. 1 John 2:18). The Catechism thus states:
The Antichrist’s deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope that can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment.
How will the Jewish people figure in this the endgame of history? Though the details are not certain, the Church recognizes that the Jewish people still have a destiny to be fulfilled in God’s plan, and they will convert to Christ. Whether this happens down to the last individual Jew is not clear, but as a people they will turn back to Christ, just as the majority turned away from Christ in the first century (cf. Rom. 11:13–15, 25–29). Thus the Catechism states:
The glorious Messiah’s coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by "all Israel," for "a hardening has come upon part of Israel" in their "unbelief" toward Jesus (Rom. 11:20–26; cf. Matt. 23:39). St. Peter says to the Jews of Jerusalem after Pentecost: "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old" (Acts 3:19–21). St. Paul echoes him: "For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?" (Rom. 11:15). The "full inclusion" of the Jews in the Messiah’s salvation, in the wake of "the full number of the Gentiles" (Rom. 11:12, 25; cf. Luke 21:24), will enable the People of God to achieve "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ," in which "God may be all in all" (Eph. 4:13; 1 Cor. 15:28).
The Church thus acknowledges certain points in the Left Behind scenario as true: There will be an Antichrist, an apostasy, a time of tribulation, and a corporate conversion for the Jewish people. Christ will return, the dead will be raised and judged, and God will usher in his eternal kingdom on the new heaven and the new earth. The differences are that we are living in the Millennial, spiritual reign of Christ now and that there will not be a rapturing of the Church prior to the Second Coming:
According to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Spirit and of witness, but also a time still marked by "distress" and the trial of evil which does not spare the Church (cf. Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 7:26; Eph. 5:16; 1 Pet. 4:17) and ushers in the struggles of the last days. It is a time of waiting and watching (cf. Matt. 25:1, 13; Mark 13:33–37; 1 John 2:18; 4:3; 1 Tim. 4:1).
Interpreting Bible Prophecy


Interpreting Bible Prophecy

This leaves us with the question of how the Church interprets the book of Revelation and other prophetic passages of Scripture. Here matters are much less clear. Although the Church does discern the outlines of how the end of the world will occur, it does not have specific teachings about the interpretations of most passages of Scripture, the prophetic ones included. Catholic Bible scholars are free to interpret these passages in the way they think the evidence best supports, as long as they do not violate Church teaching in doing so. There is thus considerable liberty for Catholics in how to regard particular Bible verses.

I am going to exercise a bit of this liberty, because there is a notion in the Left Behind series that needs to be challenged. This subject has not been directly addressed by the Church, but it needs to be raised: A basic problem with the Left Behind books is that they regard the book of Revelation as applying almost exclusively to the future.

It may come as quite a surprise to some that Revelation might not be principally about the future. If you have encountered Left Behind and similar pre-millennial works, you have seen that it is taken for granted that the prophecies of Revelation are largely unfulfilled. But this is not the only perspective, and—it seems to me—it is not the correct one.

The book of Revelation opens and closes by telling its readers that the book describes "what must soon take place" (Rev. 1:1, 22:6). Since it was written in the first century, this would lead us to expect that the bulk of what it has to say concerns either the first century or the first few centuries.

How does our own time fit into the book? Toward the end, there is the prophecy of the Millennium (cf. Rev. 20:1–6), which even many pre-millennialists admit may not be a thousand years but simply a long period of time. What we see in the book is a great deal of material (the first nineteen chapters) seeming to talk about the same, short time period, then six verses covering a very long time period, and then the remaining two and a half chapters devoted to the end of the world and the eternal order.

Since we would expect the bulk of the book to apply to the opening of Christian history, this interpretation makes sense. It is natural to regard the first nineteen chapters of the book as applying to the time when Christianity was small and persecuted, the six verses dealing with the Millennium to the bulk of the Christian age (including our own time when there are more Christians alive than at any prior point), and then the last part of the book dealing with the end of the Christian age and what happens afterward.

This timeline makes sense. It is harder to explain things if we take the common pre-millennial view that the bulk of Revelation is unfulfilled. Why would John say that the book deals with "what must soon take place" and then leap over twenty or more centuries to get to where the book’s real action begins? It makes more sense to understand the book’s timeline in the way we have suggested.

The chief objection to doing so—and one fans of the Left Behind series would be certain to make—would be that the judgments we see in the first nineteen chapters of Revelation do not appear to have literally been fulfilled in the first few centuries. However, this is a book of prophecy, and prophecy is often highly symbolic.

For example, in one prophecy Jesus stated that "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Matt. 24:29). Revelation uses similar language (cf. Rev. 6:13; 8:12). This kind of celestial cataclysm language has precedents in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 13:10 the prophet says: "For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising and the moon will not shed its light." But in this verse it is easy to determine the meaning of the prophecy: Isaiah is predicting the overthrow of Babylon by the Assyrians, which occurred in 689 b.c.

This is so clear in context that in their commentary on this verse even the authors of The Bible Knowledge Commentary (written by the faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary, an ardently Dispensationalist school) admit that the language is not literal:
The statements in [Isaiah] 13:10 about the heavenly bodies (stars . . . sun . . . moon) no longer functioning may figuratively describe the total turnaround of the political structure of the Near East. The same would be true of the heavens trembling and the earth shaking (v. 13), figures of speech suggesting all-encompassing destruction.
That this language is to be taken symbolically was pointed out as early as the twelfth century, when the great medieval Jewish commentator Moses Maimonides wrote:
I do not think that any person is so foolish and blind, and so much in favor of the literal sense of figurative and oratorical phrases, as to assume that at the fall of the Babylonian kingdom a change took place in the nature of the stars of heaven, or in the light of the sun and moon, or that the earth moved away from its center. For all this is merely the description of a country that has been defeated; the inhabitants undoubtedly find all light dark, and all sweet things bitter; the whole hearth appears too narrow for them, and the heavens are changed in their eyes.
We thus must face the possibility that much of the "cosmic disaster" imagery in Revelation and other prophetic passages is impressionistic, meant to figuratively express the inner terror and anguish of those who live through the predicted events, but that it is not meant as a literal description of what you would see if you were recording the events with a camcorder. The language involves an exterior projection of what people will feel inwardly.

Taking this into account, how might the book of Revelation be understood? One theory is that it involves God’s judgment on the pagan Roman Empire, which persecuted Christians. There is significant evidence for this.

Consider the Beast of Revelation: It has seven heads, which we are told are both seven mountains (17:9) and seven kings who reign sequentially (17:10). The Beast considered as a person is specially identified as one in this line of kings (17:11). Further, he compels people to worship it on pain of martyrdom (13:12, 15), and his mark is 666, which is "the number of a man" (literal translation of 13:18). What are we to make of this?

The seven mountains have often been identified with the seven hills of Rome. (Note that Vatican Hill is not one of these, as it is on the other side of the Tiber River. The seven hills are the Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, and Viminal.) In early Christian history, did Rome have a line of kings? Yes, the Caesars (as in "We have no king but Caesar," John 19:15). Was there a cult of worship around them? Again, yes. Julius and Augustus Caesar were declared divine after their deaths. Caligula forcefully demanded to be worshiped as a god during his life. And Claudius and Nero also were worshiped as gods while living.

Did any have the number 666? One did. Revelation 13:18 invites the reader to calculate the number of the Beast, and the logical way to do this is by adding up the numeric values of a person’s name, since in ancient languages the letters of the alphabet doubled as numbers. (The Arabic numbering system hadn’t been introduced yet.) The reader is given enough clues about the Beast to tell whose names should be considered as candidates, and when one adds up the numbers for "Nero Caesar" in Hebrew and Aramaic, it turns out to total 666.

Finally, the Beast persecuted those who did not worship it, as Christians would refuse to do. Did Nero persecute Christians? Indeed he did. In fact, he executed two of the apostles—Peter and Paul!

Nero thus is a very good candidate for being the Beast of Revelation. This would make a good bit of the book of Revelation apply to the first century rather than the twenty-first.

What would the Church make of this viewpoint? As we have noted, the Church does not have an official interpretation of Revelation, but a historical rather than futuristic identification of the Beast is suggested by the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Discussing the sin of idolatry, it notes that "many martyrs died for not adoring ‘the Beast’ (cf. Rev. 13–14) refusing even to simulate such worship."

Back to the Left Behind series:…

But such slips are not where the problem lies. The authors repeat a familiar litany of charges: i.e. In the fourth century the Emperor Constantine brought horrible disaster on the Church. "He turned over to the Christian leaders the temples of the pagans," with the result that "the pagan practices and teachings of Babylon began to worm their way into Christianity. These included prayers for the dead, making the sign of the cross, worship of saints and angels, instituting the mass, and worship of Mary." Babylon was the original wellspring of this evil, for "every false religion in the world can be traced back to Babylon," and Catholicism—being large and already corrupted with Babylonian paganism—makes an ideal candidate to spearhead the future One World Religion.

This is all nonsense.

Constantine didn’t turn over pagan temples to the Church. He didn’t even make Christianity the state religion. All he did was declare toleration for it so that it was no longer illegal to be Christian. Catholics do not give Mary, the saints, and angels the worship due to God (adoration); they honor them, as we are expected to do for others. (Remember "Honor thy father and mother"?) Making the sign of the cross was a Christian custom long before Constantine’s time. It can be shown to date back to the second century, if not the first. And the Mass was instituted when Jesus held the Last Supper.

Finally, the idea that every false religion stems from Babylon is preposterous. The city of Babylon was founded in the third or fourth millennium b.c., and we know a great deal about its religious beliefs thanks to archaeological finds. There are religions in other parts of the world (e.g., China, the Americas, Africa) that had no contact with the Babylonians and clearly are not derived from religious ideas in Babylon. They have different pantheons of gods, creation stories, ideas about the afterlife, and rituals.

The Babylon-connection charge is very common in Fundamentalist literature. The two most influential books in this regard are The Two Babylons, written in the mid-nineteenth century by Englishman Alexander Hislop, and Babylon Mystery Religion, a twentieth-century popularization of Hislop’s material written by American Ralph Woodrow. However plausible Hislop’s ideas may have been in his own day (when archaeology and anthropology were in their infancy), we now know them to be utterly false. Even Ralph Woodrow realized this after he wrote Babylon Mystery Religion, and he proved himself to be a man of conscience by writing a new book (The Babylon Connection?) to disprove his own and Hislop’s earlier work.

Unfortunately, this has not stopped The Two Babylons and Babylon Mystery Religion from continuing to have a great influence on Fundamentalist prophecy writers, since the earlier discredited claims serve their doctrinal agenda.

The book of Revelation speaks of "the great city" and figuratively depicts it as a harlot (cf. Rev. 17:16–18). In his vision, John sees that "on her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth’s abominations’" (17:5). This is the famed "Whore of Babylon," though Revelation doesn’t call her that.

Fundamentalist prophecy authors—in keeping with their futuristic understanding of Revelation—see this city as the Antichrist’s capital. Some see it as the city of Rome. Others (including LaHaye) see it as the literal city of Babylon in Iraq, which they hold will be rebuilt and made the center of the One World Government. (This idea’s implausibility is admitted in the first Left Behind book; when one character is reporting that the Antichrist wants to put his capital there, he concedes that "it sounds stupid.")

But as the center of the One World Government, it is also the center of the Antichrist’s One World Religion, which Fundamentalist authors see as simply a revived Babylonian paganism that has grown to syncretistically include all the world’s other religions. In particular, they see it as including the Catholic Church. Hence the view that Catholicism is already corrupted by Babylonian paganism.

But who is the Whore of Babylon, really? It isn’t literally Babylon. That’s why we’re told that its name is "a mystery"—a secret, only figuratively said to be Babylon. Could it be Rome? Perhaps. The harlot is shown riding on the Beast with seven heads (cf. Rev. 17:3), which we know to be seven hills (17:9). Rome was famous for its seven hills, so there is a possible connection here. But it would be pagan, pre-Christian Rome, not a Christian, Catholic Rome.

It strikes me as more likely, however, that it isn’t Rome at all. The fact that the harlot is seated on the Beast does not tell us how the city that the harlot represents is physically situated. It depicts her alliance with Rome. The Beast is indeed pagan Rome, but the city allied with it in the persecution of Christians is none other than Jerusalem. Thus Revelation elsewhere identifies "the great city" as one "allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord [i.e., Jesus] was crucified" (Rev. 11:8). Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem, which has a history of persecuting the prophets. Thus, in prophetic passages, it receives symbolic names of evil places such as Sodom, Egypt, and Babylon. It is even called a harlot (cf. Is. 1:1, 21). Revelation notes that "in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth" (Rev. 18:24). Jerusalem—unlike Rome—was famous for slaying the prophets (cf. Matt. 23:37).

The whole Babylon theme in Left Behind is simply misdirected. In Revelation the symbol of Babylon isn’t about a future "One World Religion." It isn’t about a rebuilt city in Iraq. It is a symbolic depiction of a city that, in the ancient world, persecuted prophets and Christians (cf. Rev. 18:20).

The complete study can be found here, www.catholic.com/library/false_profit.asp ( I post the link because I do not have the right to claim these words as my own and so you can verify and understand the source) I have made a few edits of sections I didn't think were relevant to the topic, I.E. Criticisms of Tim Lahey, or that I thought might be to inflamintory.

God Bless,
Kansas Dad

it'll be great to see some of this in original writing.
the difference between the 3 and 2 "comings" is that he plants His feet on earth only twice if I'm not mistaken.
The quote that says we will meet Him in the air is different than the other two visitations.
But again...i'd like to understand it in original text.

I provided the reference to the sight for the study (at the end in my blue section) . It is way to long to post in it's entirety, and its original premise is about the left behind series of books, which is not in context to the original post of this thread, and not part of what I was wanting to interject into the discussion. There are many historical facts that help us to understand the book of Revelations, and the imagery and language used.

God Bless,
K.D.

"The seven hills of Rome".

The Vatican Hill is not among the seven, it is located on the other side of the Tiber.

And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven .....
Rev 17:11.

Brothers and Sisters Hello! I pray that your faith is growing ever stronger each day!

Beloved Nettekkie, God's response to you about the Seal of God is found in Scripture of course. There are many more references, but would you do me the kindness of reading a chapter in the Book of Revelation and then answering a question for me?

Can anyone guess which chapter I have in mind? It has a number as do all chapters. The number seven seems to be so very good to me.

Here's the question. If the Holy Spirit is the Seal of God rather than the observance of the true Sabbath as you suggest, then why does the angel of the morning, or from the east hold back the 4 winds until the elect receive this seal? The Holy Spirit was given to all who beleive beginning after Jesus ascended back to heaven. We have the Holy Spirit in us already don't we? As did all the faithful who've lived for the last 2,000 years right?

One more question. Where is it written that God has allowed virtually all of the organized religions of the world to change His law? If it is not written in scripture is it not the words of men?

I believe the Lord fulfilled the law. It does not matter what men think as Christ performed it all. That is why He said "It is finished" on the cross."

I have always concluded the sabbath under this scripture:

Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]: Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.

It says here all this ... sabbath keeping included... is a shadow of things to come...which things would be found in the "rest of God." I believe it is made cleas that Christ is our rest.

Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Heb 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. Heb 4:5 And in this [place] again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Heb 4:6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Heb 4:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Heb 4:8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Hi Kansas Dad!

May God bless you too!

Some questions for you. According to Scripture, on his heads the beast has a blasphemous name. Is the name Nero blasphemous? Did Nero have more than one head? See Revelation 13:1

You were kind enough to supply for us a quote from a book written by men. In the quote the writer(s) supply the teachings of the church or consider them in their conclusions at least. In light of this, here is my suggestion to you.

Keep your eyes on Jesus. Jesus is the Lamb, He is the Light of the world, He is the Word Made Flesh. So keep your eyes on the Word that was made flesh. It is the only infallable source. Books are great, but for me I'll stick to the One Book.

If I had a bumper sticker on my car, it would say "Scripture or Bust"!

For me, because I wish to stay clear of confusion, I do not trouble myself the Rapture if there is one or when or how or if. I concern myself with understanding the Character of God, His Law and receiving His Seal in the end-times which are now.

Just some food for thought Brother!!

I believe the Lord fulfilled the law. It does not matter what men think as Christ performed it all. That is why He said "It is finished" on the cross."

I have always concluded the sabbath under this scripture:

Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]: Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.

It says here all this ... sabbath keeping included... is a shadow of things to come...which things would be found in the "rest of God." I believe it is made cleas that Christ is our rest.

Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Heb 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. Heb 4:5 And in this [place] again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Heb 4:6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Heb 4:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Heb 4:8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
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Hi Maz! I hope all's well with you today. Thanks for your post. It looks to me that the only Scriptural reference you provide that might appear to be in conflict with the message I'm trying to convey is the one from Colassians. If I've misunderstood please help me out.

By all means, let no man judge you!! Do me a favor. Look at as many references to the word sabbath as you care to in scripture. You will find some where the word Sabbath is capitalized and some where it was not. Where ever the reference is to the Seventh Day Sabbath, that goes on perpetually from the foundation of the universe, you find the word is capitalized. Where ever you find it in references to feasts or observances other than the perpetual Seventh Day Sabbath you will see that it is not capitalized. The one designed for the purpose of commerating the very act of God's creation and is observed as a sign between God and His people forever as their acceptance of His authority as Law Giver that has not been abolished and is always capitalized. The ones designed as commerations of other events of importance which isn't relevant and might be observed on any day of the week are not capitalized.

This I submit to you. The term sabbaths was applied both to feasts and other observances and also to the perpetual Seventh Day Sabbath at the heart of God's Law. The term sabbath itself is defined as a commeration isn't it?

When Jesus was challenged with the fact that He taught and healed the sick on the Sabbath day (note it was capitalized in Scripture here), what was his response? Did He ask "What Sabbath? I've fulfilled it and it is no more?" No, he explained that it is good to help and teach and heal the sick on the Sabbath. Why? If the weekly Seventh Day Sabbath written in stone had been abolished why did Jesus create confusion by not saying so instead of defending his actions on the Sabbath? By defending his actions on the Sabbath, is he not verifying its existance?

Here is another illustration to help with this question of their being two kinds of sabbaths. Say if have two trucks. One a Ford and the other a Chevy. Both are trucks and can be referred to correctly as trucks. Yet one is a Ford and the other a Chevy. A Ford is not a Chevy nor vice-versa yet both are trucks. I hope I'm making sense here.

God Bless you all!

The same can be said for Saturday Sabbath observance. People have been observing Saturday as the Sabbath for a long time now so why do the angels need to wait? Saturday Sabbath is with us already.

Revelations say it is the angels who will be giving the Seal and it will only be given to the 144,000. 12,000 from every tribe of Israel.


All Praise The Ancient Of Days

Hi Adstar!

I should say so! I wonder how many people really do now though but who other than God knows. I also wonder how many of them who've observed the Sabbath accept the purifying blood of Jesus. The real question is how many of them will under a penalty of death and live in the end times which is now.

You're right though, I shoud have done a better job of explaining my point. My point was that everyone receives of the Holy Spirit. You don't build faith and obedience by yourself, then receive of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps you build faith and obedience. When you practice sin, still the Holy Spirit is within you, you're just not listening to it. This whole wonderful discussion is about the mark of the beast and the Seal of God. It's about the end-times. I'm sorry if by my referring to the past I mislead you into thinking this was a discussion of the past. I hope this helps more than my first attempt.

You're right, the Angel of Rev 7 will be bringing the Seal with him. I'm sure you'll agree he isn't going to toss it out at random. I can guarantee he won't be giving it to those who've accepted the mark of the beast for you can't serve two masters.

Yes, my friend it looks like there will be but 144,000 to the best of my understanding. I sincerely hope I've missed something with regards to that, for how I wish it would be so many many more. How I pray that even just one of them has or will read what we are writing here and be moved to act.

Lot's of people have questions about them coming from tribes of Isreal. Could it be that those without Jewish lineage who hear and obey the commandments of god will not be sealed and will suffer the horrible plagues allotted to all those who accept the mark of the beast? All the people of the earth will receive one or the other. Do you think a Loving God who is the source of ALL wisdom would condemn us because of something that was totally out of our control? If that were so, and we are living in the end times, why not destroy us now since we would have absolutely no hope. This cannot be so.

Here's another way of looking at it. There is literal Babylon which has been destroyed and will never be rebuilt, then there is spiritual Babylon which rules this world. There is literal fornication and there is spiritual fornication. There are literal idolators and spiritual ones. There are literal beasts and there are spiritual beasts. Are there literal Jews and spiritual Jews?

Read the parable about the man who wished to have a feast. I think it was a wedding feast but I can't remember. Never the less, he invited all his friends and they were too busy. He became angry and invited anyone who would come instead. What does that say to you?

Hi RTKii66!!

Thanks for your reply, well said. I think Minnesota is a nice place to be.

For Roxygirl and RosielovesJesus,

I'm so sorry if this subject is causing you confusion. Just remeber, we are all given different gifts for different purposes and all are equal in that they serve our Father's purpose. So if things of like this get confusing because of the debate and all the different facets of it, just trust that the debate is good because it reveals truth.

If when first seeing it the spirit within you was bursting, trust that. You each have very strong abilities that are unique within you. Learn what they are and trust them.

Look at the parable of the seeds. What sprouts can sometimes wither and die if it is choked-out by thorns. The thorns come because if they don't the seed might grow. Thorns are confusion. Use your spiritual gifts to fight the thorns.

When Jesus was challenged with the fact that He taught and healed the sick on the Sabbath day (note it was capitalized in Scripture here), what was his response? Did He ask "What Sabbath? I've fulfilled it and it is no more?" No, he explained that it is good to help and teach and heal the sick on the Sabbath. Why? If the weekly Seventh Day Sabbath written in stone had been abolished why did Jesus create confusion by not saying so instead of defending his actions on the Sabbath? By defending his actions on the Sabbath, is he not verifying its existance?

A thing few people take into consideration is the fact that Jesus was sent to the Jews. He spoke to them in accordance with the law, for the law was in full effect when He ministered to them. He did not fulfill the law until He said It is Finished" as he died on the cross. He took issue with the pharisees who were upbraiing Him for working on the Sabath.

Mar 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Mar 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

I do not see the Sabbath day issue as a salvation issue or an earmark of the antichrist spirit. The colossians scripture is quite pointed.

Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]: Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ

Christ "worked" on the sabbath as the pharisees accused Him of doing. But Christ showed the higher application of it. The rest as we know it came from the revelations to Paul, particualarily in Galatians...In the scheme of things, it was not the Lord's immeadiate function to release the Jews from bondage to the law until after the cross, and of course He was no longer ministering to them from that point on, save it be a few interventions of instruction to the inner twelve. As a mattere of fact He knew they would remain under law and not under grace and they still are. Until they acknowledge Him as the Saviour, they remain in bondage to the law and to the sabbath. But we are of a different house and we are of a different Spirit.

Hi Nettekkie! I hope all's well with you today.

You're so right! It's disrespectfull to be asked a question and not answer. I have done that to you and I appologize. Will you forgive me?

The reason I don't take exception to your Scriptural reference is because I don't take exception to it. It so true!! What I'm unable to subscribe to is the idea that the seal you refer to is the Seal of God as it pertains to the end of days.



Oh yes! The Remnant Church. What is the Remnant Church?

This is from the new book.

Rev 12:17 "And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

The woman is the true church. The dragon is at war with those who keep the commandments of God. These commandment-keepers have the testimony of Jesus Christ, so surely they haven't turned-away from Jesus. The true church can't do that can they or they wouldn't be the true church. Jesus is the focus of our salvation, and the focus of the new book, yet these commandment keepers have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The remnant church keeps the commandments of God. How is it then that they are unbeleivers? Why would the dragon make war with unbeleivers who keep God's commandments? Are commandment keepers unbelivers?

This is from the new book.

Romans 4:11 "And he received the sign of circumcision, the seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be of the father of all those who beleive, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed on them also."

Literal or spiritual circumcision is a sign and a seal also.



True indeed!!



Yes, true! What do they transgress? The law. And those who are guilty in one point of the law are guilty if all points of the law.



True again! The law is the means, and Christ is the end. Please see Rttkii's quote from Christ himself earlier in this discussion about the law. Not one iota of the law will pass away.



Yes!! Maybe you make an understatement here. Christ is the best and he speaks of the best of things! Things don't seem to turn out well for the unbeleivers though.



You say obedience to God's laws is bondage and I say it isn't. You say the 10 commandments contain a carnal ordinance and I say they do not. You say you do not need to obey to be saved and I say you do. You say we must choose between Christ and the law and I say we do not. We have traded the same arguments and rebuttals on these points several times and it's clear we're at an impasse. I say reasonable people can agree to disagree, how about you?



True. I'm not sure of your point here unless it is that there is a cut-off for God the Law Giver to give laws. You're not telling God "After Tuesday Morning that's it. I'm not accepting your authorty to make law, even if you carve it in stone with your own hand." are you?



Please provide the over and over Scriptural references including their location so we can see the context of statements you ascribe to the Lord. I sure hope these don't pertain to the cermonial laws of temple sacrifice as we've already agreed they were nailed to the cross and are no more.

Wheeew!! Okay, I've addressed every one of your points regardless of whether or not they've been addressed before. I wanted to be sure I left not a single question you've put to me unanswered.

I don't think I have any new points to make about the subject. This whole talk we've had has been wonderful and I'd like to thank you. If you'd like to have the last word on the subject I'll glady ceede it to you.

May God bless you and keep you always Nettekkie.

your servant,
David

In what way does any of this have anything to do with the point i was making in my reply? I agree this discussion is about the Mark of the Beast and the Seal of God, about the end times.





No the angle will not be giving it to those who receive the mark of the beast He will be giving it to 12,000 of every tribe of Israel. You seem to think belief in Jesus will be required to receive the Seal? Or following laws? Where does it say that?

It does describe some things about the 144,000

Revelation 14
These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

What human beings in this world are virgins and in there mouths are found no deceit and are without fault?

Could they be little ones? Who at the time of His coming will be innocent, not knowing good or evil? Would God be unjust in Sealing humans who do not need saving? Who are now like Adam and Eve where in the garden of Eden?





I doubt they need to read this discussion to receive the Seal.





And your one of them.





They will not need the Seal. For God states that we are not to face His wrath but we will face tribulation in this world. The Seal is to protect 12.000 of each tribe to protect them from the wrath.





Why do you assume that? There are more than 2 possibilities there is a third people who do not receive the Mark or the S