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Things from the

Book of Revelation 13 and 17

(part I)

Apostle John in his book Revelation 13 told us of a particular strange beast as follows:

The beast mentioned above seems to be the posterity of a lion, and of a bear, and of a leopard, because although it is a leopard, the mouth seemed to be a mouth of a lion, and the feet seemed to be the feet of a bear. To have fully understood the beast and its identifications, let us first reveal the aforementioned beasts from which this beast of Rev. 13 is derived. And for this reason let us first turn to the statements given us by Mrs. E.G. White, the author of the third angel’s message of Rev. 14 : 6 – 9, when she said:

“In the Revelation all the books of the Bible meet and end. Here is the complement of the book of Daniel. One is a prophecy; the other is a revelation. The book that was sealed is not the Revelation, but that portion of the prophecy of Daniel relating to the last days.” – The Acts of the Apostles, p. 585.

Since the book of Revelation is the complement of that portion of the prophecy of Daniel, then the leopard like beast of Revelation 13 would certainly be the complement of the beasts of Daniel 7. Let us first read,

The Prophetic Beasts of Daniel 7

The prophet Daniel said:

“Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings : I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and man’s heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it; and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads, and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth : it devoured and break in peaces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it : and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I consider the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots : and, behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” – Daniel 7 : 2 – 8.

Bro. Victor T. Houteff, the author of the message of the angel of Rev. 18 : 1, who had united all the four angel’s messages into the SPIRIT OF PROPHECY (of Rev. 19 : 10) in this time of the end, has commented on the Daniel 7 as follows :

“The lion, the bear, the leopard, and the non-descript beast depict the same kingdoms as the gold, the silver, brass and iron (of the great image of Daniel 2).” “The gold, silver, brass, and iron have been interpreted to represent Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia and Rome.” – The Shepherd’s Rod. Vol. 2, p. 30.

So the beasts must represent the p e r i o d of history and the nations, and each of the beasts represents each of the kingdoms respectively. And since the kingdoms just emerged upon the earth after the flood, we should also take into consideration that before the flood there was a great kingdom governing the earth, and that is the Adamic Empire. The servant of the Lord says:

“According to Biblical reckoning the flood came more than 1600 years after the creation. God originated the human race through Adam and Eve. Therefore, one people, one race, one language and nation from creation to the flood. The ruler ship given to Adam we call the first universal Adamic Empire. Babylon was the second; Medo-Persia is the third; Grecia the fourth; Rome the fifth; the broken states of Rome (symbolized by the feet and toes of the great image of Daniel 2, which is the present unstable civilization) is the sixth; and from the close of the millennium after the resurrection of the wicked to their second death, is the seventh and last. Thus the Biblical number seven, as always, signifies completeness. Therefore, seven such universal empires, revealing a complete history of the world, denote the end of sin and its dominion.” – The Shepherd’s Rod, Vol. 2, p. 41.

Now it is clear, that the non-descript beast of Daniel 7 symbolized a very long period of history and the nations, from the Rome as the fifth worldly kingdom up to the broken states of Rome, which is the present unstable civilization. In regard to the non-descript beast, Daniel the prophet said:

“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly ………… and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it has ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots; and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.”— Daniel 7 : 7, 8.

Since the fulfillment of the fourth beast in the history of the world would reach to the period of New Testament, it is unavoidable to conclude that the little horn with eyes of man, and the mouth that speaking great things, is to represent the papacy of the Roman Catholic Church. The servant of the Lord said:

“In Daniel 7, this same prophecy of the world’s history is repeated in symbols of beasts. The kings represented by the toes of the great image are this time represented by ten horns of the ‘fourth’ and ‘non-descript beast’ in verse 7. The reason for the duplicate is to bring the truth of the little horn (papal power, verse 8). The ten horns (kings) are repeated again in Rev. 13 : 1, to point out the t i m e of the prophecy as explained by Daniel, — “in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom.” — The Shepherd’s Rod, vol. 1, p. 211.

The Leopard like Beast of Revelation 13 : 1 – 10

John the Revelator said:

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea , and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindred’s, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killed with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” – Revelation 13 : 1 – 10.

Prior to the dealing with the passage above, let us first make some conclusions, that

1. The prophetic beasts of Daniel 7 represent the periods of history of the world and the nations in the respective period of history.

2. The heads of the beast of Revelation 13 : 1 represent the leadership of the Churches.

3. The horn represents civil power or state or the kingdom.

4. The crown represents sovereignty or kingly authority.

5. The number “7” (seven) signifies a “completeness”.

6. The number “10” (ten) signifies the wholeness or the universal.

Hence, since the beast of Revelation 13 is a complement to the fourth beast of Daniel 7, then the servant of the Lord said:

“In chapter 13 (verses 1 – 10) is described another beast, like unto a leopard, to which the dragon gave his power, and his seat, and great authority. This symbol, as most Protestants have believed, represents the p a p a c y, which succeeded to the power and seat and authority once held by the ancient Roman Empire. …………..This prophecy, which is nearly identical with the description of the little horn of Daniel 7, unquestionably points to the p a p a c y.” – The Great Controversy, p. 439.

This is to say, that the power of the p a p a c y dominated the world, which is symbolized by the little horn of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, is the same to one of the heads of the leopard like beast of Rev. 13 before it got its deadly wound. So prior to discussing the whole story of the beast of Revelation 13 fairly, let us first divide the whole period of the time into three parts, namely

A. The period prior to the time when one of the heads got its wound to death,

B. The period during the wounded state of the head,

C. And the period after the recovery of the wounded head.

[A] The period prior to the wounded state of the head

The period, prior to the time the head of the leopard like beast of Rev. 13 : 1 got its deadly wound, is represented by the little horn of the fourth beast of Daniel 7.

That little horn, represented the power of the p a p a c y of the Roman Catholic, the prophet Daniel said:

“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth : it devoured and break in peaces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it : and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I consider the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots : and, behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” – Daniel 7 : 2 – 8.

The servant of the Lord gave us the explanations as follows:

“Power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” And, says the prophet, “I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death.” And again: “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killed with the sword must be killed with the sword.” The forty and two months are the same as the “ time and times and the dividing of time,” three years and a half, or 1260 days, of Daniel 7 — the time during which the papal power was to oppress God’s people. This period, as stated in preceding chapters, began with the supremacy of the papacy, A.D. 538, and terminated in 1798. At that time the pope was made captive by the French army, the papal power received its deadly wound, and the prediction was fulfilled, “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity.” — The Great Controversy, p. 439.

The ten horns of the non-descript beast of Daniel 7, represented the civil governments and the kingdoms in the history of the Roman Empire. Since the horns had no crowns of their own, it is the reason why with the emergence of p a p a c y to power, represented by the little horn, the other three horns have been rooted out. And under her repressive power, dominating the world of that day, no single state nor government nor any man, had ever dare to file a lawsuit with the government to find justice for their case. They were indeed under the persecution of the Devil in the form of a pope and his Roman Catholic Church. During the rein of the papacy the things that have been blackened from the church among other things are,

All the people must be fully dependent upon the Church leaders as the only ones vested with authority to investigate the Word for them,
The Bible had been proclaimed to be banned from the reach of the people,
The doctrine of “Saved by Grace” had been changed to an obligation to pay a sum of money for the remission of sin.
Baptism through immersion which usually be granted to those who understand, had been changed to only sprinkling of water, beginning upon the babes and up to everyone.
The establishment of the new priesthood of pope in the place of the priesthood of Jesus Christ.
The Sabbath of the fourth Commandment had been changed to the Sunday.
The change of the Law of God into the Law of their own version, and the time.
The counting of the day which is usually commences at the sunset to sunset, had been changed to commence at 12th hour midnight to the next midnight.

A Supplement on the

CENTURIES OF PERSECUTION

“That the church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history . . . It is impossible to form a complete conception of the multitude of her victims, and it quite certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize their sufferings.“ W.E.H. Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, Vol. 2, p. 32, 1910 ed. (An excellent, though lengthy, article describing in detail the right of the Roman Catholic Church to do this, will be found in The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 12, p. 266.)

“For professing faith contrary to the teachings of the Church of Rome, history records the martyrdom of more than one hundred million people. A million Waldenses and Albigenses (Swiss and French Protestants) perished during a crusade proclaimed by Pope Innocent III in 1208. Beginning from the establishment of the Jesuits in 1540 to 1580, nine hundred thousand were destroyed. One hundred and fifty thousand perished by the Inquisition in thirty years. Within the space of thirty-eight years after the edict of Charles V against the Protestants, fifty thousand persons were hanged, beheaded, or burned alive for heresy. Eighteen thousand more perished during the administration of the Duke of Alva in five and a half years.” Brief Bible Readings, p. 16.

“The Catholic has some reason on his side when he calls for the temporal punishment of heretics, for he claims the true title of Christian for himself exclusively, and professes to be taught by the never-failing presence of the Spirit of God . . . It is not more ‘morally’ wrong to put a man to death for heresy than for murder . . . (and) in many cases persecution for religious opinions is not only permissible, but highly advisable and necessary.” “The Lawfulness of Persecution,” in The Rambler, 4, June 1849, pp. 119, 126 (English R. C. journal published from 1848 to 1862).

“‘The church,’ said (Martin) Luther . . . ‘has never burned a heretic’ . . . I reply that this argument proves not the opinion, but the ignorance or impudence of Luther. Since almost infinite numbers were either burned or otherwise killed, Luther either did not know it, and was therefore ignorant, or if he was not ignorant, he is convicted of impudence and falsehood; for that heretics were often burned by the church may be proved if we adduce a few examples.” Robert Bellarmine, Disputationes de Controversis Christianae Fidei (“Disputations Concerning Controversies of the Christian Faith”), Tom. II, cap. XXII (Bellarmine, later canonized, was a leading Jesuit leader and writer.)

“The orthodox doctrine, as formulated by St. Thomas Aquinas and confirmed and elaborated by later Dominicans and by Jesuits like the Blessed Robert Bellarmine Suarez, runs as follows:

“Heresy (as defined by Rome) is the willful holding by a baptized person of doctrines, which contradict an article of faith defined by the Catholic Church.” P. Hinschius, “Heresy,” The New Schaff Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. 5, pp. 234-235 (1909).

[B] The period during the wounded state of the head.

Prosperity and the progress of the powerful pope and his associates terminated in 1798. At the time the pope had been captivated by the French army and then is put into prison, to meet the fulfillment of the word: “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.” – Rev. 13 : 10. At the same time the powerful pope suffered his tremendous defeat. That is shown by one of the heads of the leopard like beast of Rev. 13 got its deadly wound. However, the problem now is who had ever inflicted the wound, and how was it inflicted?

The powerful pope seemed to have been paralyzed not by might nor by power of men, but only by the sword of the Lord’s own Word. See Rev. 13 : 14 margin. That is the message of, “The Just shall live by faith,” proclaimed by Martin Luther as the servant of the Lord, at the beginning of his reformatory message to the world, against the pope during the dark ages of religion. In his own testimony Luther said,

“I will preach, discuss, and write; but I will constrain none, for faith is a voluntary act. See what I have done. I stood up against the pope, indulgences, and papists, but without violence or tumult. I put forward God’s word; I preached and wrote — this was all I did. And yet while I was asleep, ……… the word that I had preached overthrew popery, so that neither prince nor emperor has done it so much harm. And yet I did nothing; the word alone did all.” — The Great Controversy, p. 190.

Martin Luther is the first reformer ever known during the 1260 years of the dark ages. He emerged in the year 1500 with the aim to restore the Bible and all the truth, darkened during the ages by the pope. So he was the first to inflict the wound to the head of the beast beginning in the 1500. However, since his time to work only 16 years, he provided us only with the first message which is, ‘the just shall live by Faith.’ So he must be succeeding by other reformers to come after him to continue the work of restoring. It is in the plan of God Himself, that we have had all the reformers coming one after another, with their respective message as follows:

a. Martin Luther, the author of the first message, ‘the just shall live by Faith.’ The true faith of the Bible obliges us to fully believe and trust in Christ, that we must base our faith fully upon the Bible and its Truth. This is the very basically doctrine of Christianity to change the mind of the people during the reign of pope and his Roman Catholic Church. With that message Luther had became the Father of the Protestant Church.

b. John Knox later emerged to succeed Luther with his message, ‘The Holy Spirit’.

The knowledge of the Holy Spirit is to make the people realize of their need to the Bible as the main product of the Holy Spirit. And also to make known to them that only through the Bible men could be able to communicate with Christ as their Savior. As the Protestants refused to accept the message, Knox was later known as the edifier of Presbyterian Church.

c. John Wesley followed later with his message: G r a c e.

The knowledge of this message is to make the people understand that the forgiveness of sin could not be obtained through the Church by paying a sum of money, but only through the grace of Jesus Christ, Who had paid the ransom for us through His own blood. With his message of Grace John Wesley later established his own people to be the Methodist Church.

d. Alexander Campbell was the fourth with his message: ‘Baptism through immersion’.

This is the only way of baptism taught in the Bible, which had been changed by the power of the Roman Catholic Church. Alexander Campbell is known as the promoter of the doctrine, and with it he edified the people of God in the Baptist Church.

e. William Miller followed later with his doctrinal subject: ‘the purification of the world at the end of the 2300 years of the prophecy of Daniel 8 : 14.’

This is the doctrine to teach men, since Adam and Eve, to know Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, that should die on earth, and later to stand for us as the High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, as an Advocate before the Judge in the Judgment hall in the heavenly sanctuary which began in the 1844., and also as the Redeemer of men of sin. This priesthood of Jesus Christ had been changed by the pope during the dark ages to the popery of himself, to be the only representative of God upon the earth.

f. Mrs. Ellen. G. White later emerged with her message: ‘The Sabbath of the fourth Commandment, and the Judgment of the Dead of the third angel’s message of Rev. 14 : 6 – 9.’ It is at the beginning of Mrs. White and her work that the Sabbath as the Day of God and His Kingdom began to be formally proclaimed by the Seventh – day Adventist. Mrs. White is the edifier of the body of Christ, which is the Seventh-Day Adventists.

g. Victor T. Houteff is the last emerged in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church with his message: ‘The Judgment off the Living, and the 144.000 elects of God to be the first fruits of the harvest.’ This is the seventh and the last message of the Bible, which have been very much opposed by the majority of the Laodiceans at this time. And this is the message that has divided the Laodicean Church of God into two classes of people: the five wise virgins on the one side, and the five foolish virgins with the angel of Laodicea as their leaders on the other side.

In regard to the reformers and their messages, the servant of the Lord warned us:

“The Reformation did not, as many suppose, end with Luther. It is to be continued to the close of this world’s history. Luther had a great work to do in reflecting to others the light which God had permitted to shine upon him; yet he did not receive all the light which was to be given to the world. From that time to this, n e w l i g h t has been continually shining upon the Scriptures, and new truths have been constantly unfolding.” – The Story of Redemption, p. 353.

Even the apostle Paul had taught us, that we have to know them carefully by their works, because they are the servants of the Lord in the time of the New Testament period. In his epistle to the Ephesians Paul said,

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, p r o p h e t s, and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the e d i f y i n g of the body of Christ; Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ : That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried a bout with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” — Ephesians 4 : 11 – 14.

If we dare to acknowledge Mrs. E. G. White to be our prophet in this time of the end, then we must also acknowledge the other reformers the same. But alas! The angel of Laodicea and their diehard followers opposed most of the messages even up to this day. Most of us say with their lips that they fully acknowledge Mrs. White and her three angels’ messages in the Spirit of Prophecy. But most of the prophecies taught in the Spirit of Prophecy have been left behind, and the mere ideas of men of those leading at the General Conference of SDA have been regularly offered through the Sabbath School lessons. Why do they still oppose the new light of the message of the angel of Rev. 18 : 1 that came through Victor T. Houteff in his Shepherd’s Rod publications up to this day? It is now clear, that due to the negligence of God’s own people to keep the truth of His word being proclaimed in the world, that the deadly wound of the beast now healed.

[C] A f t e r the recovery of the wounded head

The wounded head of the leopard like beast has been recovered, because the sword of truth of God’s word itself has been blunt, and there is no more enough power available to keep the cutting going on, as the Laodiceans are themselves now in the spiritual condition of poor, blind, and naked. Let us now follow the journey of God’s people on their way down to the time of the end. The Revelator said:

“And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. And he had in his hand a little book open ; and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice ………………………..

“And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware ………… that there should be time no longer. …………….And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said: Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him: Give the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey; and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me: Thou must prophesy again before m a n y peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” – Revelation 10 : 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11.

This chapter 10 of the book of Revelation is actually no more strange to the Seventh-Day Adventists. It reveals the activities of William Miller and his associates ever since 1831 through 1844. In explaining the chapter the servant of the Lord said:

“The books of Daniel and the Revelation are one. One is a prophecy, the other a revelation; one a book sealed the other a book open. John heard the mysteries which the thunders uttered, but he was commanded not to write them. The special light given to John who was expressed in the seven thunders was a delineation of events which would transpire under the first and second angel’s messages. It was not best for the people to know these things, for their faith must necessarily be tested. In the order of God most wonderful and advanced truths would be proclaimed. The first and second angels’ messages were to be proclaimed, but no further light was to be revealed before these messages had done their specific work. This is represented by the angel standing with foot on the sea, proclaiming with a solemn oath that time should be no longer.

“This time, which the angel declares with a solemn oath, is not the end of this world’s history, neither of probationary time, but of prophetic time, which should precede the advent of our Lord. That is, the people will not have another message upon definite time. After this period of time, reaching from 1842 to 1844, there can be no definite tracing of the prophetic time. The longest reckoning reaches to the autumn of 1844.

“The angel’s position, with one foot on the sea, the other on the land, signifies the wide extent of the proclamation of the message. It will cross the broad waters and be proclaimed in other countries, even to all the world. The comprehension of truth, the glad reception of the message is represented in the eating of the little book. The truth in regard to the time of the advent of our Lord was a precious message to our souls (MS 59, 1900).

It is clear now that the angel of Revelation 10 : 1 represents a message, which is the message concerning the activities of William Miller and his associates. They had eaten up the little book (of Daniel and the Revelation) with mood and happiness, but later they had to suffer a very bitter disappointment, because they were wrong. The result of the disappointment in 1844, only to meet its fulfillment in the second angel’s message of Revelation 14 : 8. which proclaimed the fall of the great Babylon. That is, ever since the 1844 the Christian world had to be divided into two sides: The Christian Church of the Laodiceans on the one side, and the fallen Churches of Babylon on the other side. Then to the Church of the Laodiceans came the instruction from Jesus as follows:

“Thou m u s t p r o p h e c y a g a i n before m a n y peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” – Revelation 10 : 11.

As Seventh-Day Adventists, we have been commanded to prophesy again, no more to the whole world, but only to m a n y peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. We are no more commissioned to preach the gospel of the kingdom unto the entire world, because Jesus would not come in our time. This means, to the Seventh-Day Adventists Church, the Lord would have us first accomplished those things which Miller and his associates failed to accomplish in their time. What is wrong with Miller’s teachings? Sister White said:

“Said my accompanying angel, ‘They are again disappointed in their expectations. Jesus cannot yet come to earth. They must endure greater trials for His sake. They must give up errors and traditions received from men and turn wholly to God and His Word. They must be purified, and made white, and tried. Those who endure that bitter trial will obtain an eternal victory.’

“Jesus did not come to the earth as the waiting, joyful company expected, to cleanse the sanctuary by purifying the earth by fire. I saw that they were correct in their reckoning of the prophetic periods; prophetic time closed in 1844, and Jesus entered the most holy place to cleanse the sanctuary at the ending of the days. Their mistake consisted in not understanding what the sanctuary was and the nature of its cleansing.” – Early Writings, p. 243.

So when Sister White emerged as a servant of the Lord and a reformer, we should have been able to obey her message to accomplish the work of Miller. This is, to teach Jesus’ mission in the heavenly sanctuary ever since the end of the 2300 prophetic days, to purify the church through the process of judgment. But what have we been teaching for a long time up to this day? Have we not been teaching the second coming of the Lord in our time, to again repeat the mistake of Miller and his associates?

Here is the reason why we have failed to keep the sword of God’s word continually cutting the head of the leopard like beast, and to maintain its deadly wound there. And so, when the last message of the angel of Revelation 18 : 1 came in 1929 against so grave opposition from the General Conference of SDA and the leaders, the wounded head then recovered. This is markedly fulfilled when the Pope of Vatican received its sovereignty and power from the Italian Government in February 11, 1929.

Messages of Reform have now been limited

To only Seventh-Day Adventists Church

The message of reformation is a cumulative message. That means, the new message will never throw away the old ones, because all of them are the messages of reformation, restoring the Bible and all its truths to the people. Through God’s own providence, that the reformers have emerged upon the stage one after another, one message complemented the other. And now we have the whole messages of reformation in the SPIRIT OF PROPHECY, to be the rules of implementation to the LAW OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD.

From the time of Luther up to the time of Miller and his associates, the reformers have proclaimed their messages far and wide. Not only in Europe up to the American continent, but to the entire world. Sister White said:

However, when arrived in our own period of Seventh-Day Adventists Church, instead of commanding us to go to the whole world to accomplish the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom, we have been only commissioned by the Lord to go to m a- n y peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. And even now, after the last message of the angel of Revelation 18 : 1 arrived in 1929, through Bro. Houteff and his Shepherd’s Rod message, we are now having been more limited to study ourselves the whole messages of reformation in our own midst. It seems clear that the spiritual condition of our people after the 1929 have been so weak, that we ourselves are in need of a spiritual revival and a spiritual reformation. And this is the challenge the Lord sent us through His servant, Mrs. Ellen G. White, in her following message entitled:

THE CALL FOR A SPIRITUAL REVIVAL AND REFORMATION

“‘Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.’

“I am instructed to say that these words are applicable to Seventh-day Adventist churches in their present condition. The love of God has been lost, and this means the absence of love for one another. Self, self, self is cherished, and is striving for the supremacy. How long is this to continue? Unless there is a recon version, there will soon be such a lack of godliness, that the church will be represented by the barren fig tree. Great light has been given to her. She has had abundant opportunity for bearing much fruit. But selfishness has come in, and God says, ‘I ….. will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.’

“Jesus looked upon the pretentious, fruitless fig tree, and with mournful reluctance pronounced the words of doom. And under the curse of an offended God, the fig tree withered away. God help His people to make an application of this lesson while there is still time.

“Just before His ascension, Christ said to His disciples, ‘All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ God’s people today are not fulfilling this commission as they should. Selfishness prevents them from receiving these words in their solemn significance.

“In many hearts there seems to be scarcely a breath of spiritual life. This makes me very sad. I fear that aggressive warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil has not been maintained. Shall we cheer on, by a half-dead Christianity, the selfish, covetous spirit of the world, sharing its ungodliness and smiling on its falsehood? Nay! By the grace of God let us be steadfast to the principles of truth, holding firm to the end the beginning of our confidence. We are to be ‘not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.’ One is our Master, even Christ. To Him we are to look. From Him we are to receive our wisdom. By His grace we are to preserve our integrity, standing before God in meekness and contrition, and representing Him to the world.

“Sermons have been in great demand in our churches. The members have depended upon pulpit declamations instead of on the Holy Spirit. Uncalled for and unused, the spiritual gifts bestowed on them have dwindled into feebleness. If the ministers would go forth into new fields, the members would be obliged to bear responsibilities, and by use their capabilities would increase.

“God brings against ministers and people the heavy charge of spiritual feebleness, saying, ‘I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see.’

“God calls for a spiritual revival and a spiritual reformation. Unless this takes place, those who are lukewarm will continue to grow more abhorrent to the Lord, until He will refuse to acknowledge them as His children.

“A revival and a reformation must take place under the ministration of the Holy Spirit. Revival and reformation are two different things. Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, a quickening of the powers of mind and heart, a resurrection from spiritual death. Reformation signifies a reorganization, a change in ideas and theories, habits and practices. Reformation will not bring forth the good fruit of righteousness unless it is connected with the revival of the Spirit. Revival and reformation are to do their appointed work, and in doing this work they must blend. …………” – Review and Herald, Feb. 25, 1902.

Since we are now living in the period represented by the leopard like beast of Revelation 13, and since our spiritual condition at this time, is not too good than those of Babylonian Christian Churches, then it is undeniable to conclude, that one of the heads of the leopard like beast must represent us, and together with the other heads of those Churches having the same shawl of blasphemy covering around the heads. So at this time there is no single Church in the sight of God that could be found without any condemnation. This is what the prophet Isaiah saw in his prophetic words, when he said : “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, we will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel : only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” – Isaiah 4 : 1.

In that day, means in the time of the end, when the prophecies of the Bible be revealed in the Church of the Laodiceans, all the Churches of the world would be found taking hold upon Christ only to be called by His name (Christian Church), to cover all of their falsehood. All of their spiritual need will be produced by themselves.

The Two Horned Beast of Revelation 13 : 11 – 18.

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he 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. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads : And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man ; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” – Revelation 13 : 11 – 18.

This two horned beast represents United States of America. The two horns represent two big political parties in that country which dominate all civil powers in America. The servant of the Lord said:

“When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalty upon dissenters will inevitably result.

“The beast with two horns ‘causeth ( commands ) all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads : and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.’ Rev. 13 : 16, 17. The third angel’s warning is: ‘If any man worships the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.’ The beast mentioned in this message, whose worship is enforced by the two-horned beast, is the first, or the leopard like beast off Revelation 13 — the papacy. The image to the beast represents that form of apostate Protestantism which will be developed when the Protestant churches shall seek the aid of the civil power for the enforcement of their dogmas.” – The Great Controversy, p. 445.

If the leopard like beast of Revelation 13 represents the world in the time of trouble under the domination of the papacy of the Roman Catholic Church, then the image to the beast must represent a similar form of trouble in the future under the domination of the apostate Protestantism.

The Image of the leopard like Beast

Is the Beast of Revelation 17

The image of the leopard like beast must have the same form and character of the first beast itself. Since the leopard like beast of Revelation 13 represents the world history and the nations during the time of trouble in the past, then the image to the beast must also represent a period of the same time of trouble in the future. And that is the image represented by the beast of Revelation 17. However, there is still another time of trouble in the future predicted in the book of Daniel 12 : 1, which is called “the Jacob trouble.” Daniel said: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” – Daniel 12 : 1.

“The children of thy people” to suffer in that time of trouble are the Jacobites, the 144.000 antitypical Israelites, who are to face a very great trouble from their own brothers and sisters, the Esauites, of the same Laodicean Church. However, since all of them have been sealed prior to the coming of the troublous time, then they shall be delivered, every one of them that shall be found written in the book of life. This is a time of trouble to occur in our own churches of Seventh-Day Adventists, prior to the other one that is to occur in the whole world. And regarding the time of trouble that is to occur in the whole world, the apostle John said:

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the r e m n a n t o f h e r s e e d, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” – Revelation 12 : 17.

The woman represents the church of God. Her son is Jesus Himself, because Jesus was born by the woman representing the church of the Jews. Her seed is the Christian people, and the remnant of her seed will be those who are the last called to repentance a short time before the close of probation. These are they who are the last to be called to repentance during the time of trouble represented by the beast of Revelation 17. Mrs. White gave her comments as follows:

“The commencement of that time of trouble, here mentioned, does not refer to the time when the plagues (the seven last plagues) shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period just before they are poured out, while Christ is in the sanctuary. At that time, while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angel. At that time the “the latter rain”, or refreshing from the presence of the Lord will come to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out.” – Early Writings, pp. 85, 86. (In the brackets from the writer).

Since the future time of trouble is a repetition of the troublous time of the past, it is necessary for us now to deliberate the matter into details as presented in the Revelation 17.

(to be continued)

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