Things from the
Book of Revelation 13 and 17
(part II)
Revelation 17
“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said unto me, wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
And he saith unto me, the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” – Revelation 17.
In prophecy, woman represents the people of God or the church. The long journey of the woman from the beginning of history up to the end of time is foretold in the Revelation 12. However, the woman presented in this Revelation 17, is not the church of God. The identities of the woman are as follows:
(1) “…..upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.— Rev. 17 : 5.
(2) With h e r the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication Rev. 17 : 2
(3) And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Rev. 17 : 18. Most of the kings and kingdoms in Europe embrace Protestantism.
(4) “And i n h e r was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” – Rev. 18 : 24; 17 : 6.
(5) The woman was seen sitting upon several places: First, upon many waters. “The waters …..where the whore sitteth are peoples, and multitudes, and nations and tongues. Rev. 17 : 15. Second, upon seven heads of the scarlet colored beast. ‘The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.’ Rev. 17 : 9. As the seven heads of the beast represent the churches, then the seven mountains would have the same meaning, the churches. Note, the mountains of brass of Zechariah 6 represent the church of God in two separate locations. Third, upon the back (body) of the beast. To John was given to see the whore sitting upon the scarlet colored beast, after which she met her destruction. John said: ‘so he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast’ Rev. 17 : 3.
It appears that the whore should have been in existence ever since the time of Cain and Abel, because she is the culprit who led Cain to kill his brother. She is the one who lead the people in the time of Noah to rebel against God, and to let them all die in the flood, whereas she herself escaped. She is also the one who lead the repression upon the Christians during the dark ages of religion in Europe. With her all the kings in Europe have committed adultery, and later the whole world has been implicated in her fornication. They have been drunk of her wine of fornication. And she is now leading the kings in Europe. Her name is popularly known among the Seventh-Day Adventists up to this day, as Babylon, the great city. The wine of her fornication represents books of her doctrines.
Through the second angel’s message of Revelation 14 : 8, which is fulfilled in 1844, the name “Babylon” had been applied to the Protestant churches, the popular churches of today. These churches have been fallen into ‘partial darkness’ because they failed to receive every new message offered to them in their respective time. The servant of the Lord said:
“When a message comes in the name of the Lord to His people, no one may excuse himself from an investigation of its claims. No one can afford to stand back in an attitude of indifference and self-confidence, and say: ‘I know what is truth. I am satisfied with my position. I have set my stakes, and I will not be moved away from my position, whatever may come……….. It is from pursuing this very course that the p o p u l a r c h u r c h e s were left in p a r t i a l d a r k n e s s, and that is why the message of heaven have not reached them.” – Counsels on Sabbath School Work, p. 28.
Let us also be very careful against those who come with a message to implicate our Seventh-Day Adventists Church into Babylon, and then to call our people to come out of it. Mrs. Ellen G. White warned us against such message as follows:
“Those who assert that the Seventh-Day Adventists churches constitute Babylon, or any part of Babylon, might better stay at home. Let them stop and consider what is the message to be proclaimed at this time.” “When anyone arises, either among us or outside of us, who is burdened with a message which declares that the people of God are numbered with Babylon, and claims that the loud cry is a call to come out of her, you may know that he is not bearing the message of truth. Receive him not, nor bid him Godspeed; for God has not spoken by him, neither has He given a message to him, but he has run before he was sent.” – Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 37, 41.
Although the angel of Laodicea, who represents the leadership of SDA churches, has been spued out of the mouth of Jesus, the woman or the whore would never be able to dominate us. That is the reason why we should always remember, that in the near future in the process of the purification of the church, the angel of Laodicea and her diehard followers would first be wiped out from the map of world history, before the whore emerge to sit upon the heads of the scarlet colored beast.
The Woman sitting upon the Heads of the Scarlet Colored Beast
(The World Federation of Churches Established)
The commencement of the time of trouble in the future, would be marked by the establishment of a world federation of churches, which is a move initiated by the people of American Protestant churches. Mrs. White said:
“The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this three-fold union, this country (the United States) will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.” – The Great Controversy, p. 588.
The federation would be a three-fold union, consists of the Protestants of the United States, and the spiritualism, and the Roman Catholic power. But who are those of the Spiritualism? How could we identify them? Mrs. White added:
“Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. …………..”
“As spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day, it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is converted, after the modern order of things. He will appear in the character of an angel of light. Through the agency of spiritualism, the miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and many undeniable wonders will be performed. And as the spirits will profess faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church, their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power.“
“The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and world lings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium.”
“Through spiritualism, Satan appears as a benefactor of the race, healing the diseases of the people, and professing to present a new and more exalted system of religious faith; but at the same time he works as a destroyer.” – The Great Controversy, 588, 589.
Basically those of spiritualism are not Christians. Only because they profess faith in the Bible they have been more progressive in disseminating their teachings, than the ordinary Christians. And they gain more success in the world today, through their performance of many undeniable wonders. However, they are not of a single organized body, because their emergence upon the stage was marked by only through personal ambition of each of the leadership. The servant of the Lord had categorized them into only one single entity, which is the spiritualism.
The establishment of the world federation of churches, which is the three-fold union of the Protestant and the Roman Catholic and the Spiritualism, will mark the preparation toward the time of trouble. In the same time the Davidic kingdom in Palestine, with its first citizens of those 144.000 elects of God, would also be established by Jesus. Read Revelation 14 : 1. And not long after that, when Jesus again officiates before the golden altar in the heavenly sanctuary, he shall pour out the Spirit of latter rain unto the earth. This is to enrage the nations against the loud cry of the third angel message that is to be proclaimed with great power unto the entire world.
The Time of Trouble
commences in America
As the two horned beast plays the role in establishing the image of the leopard like beast, to become the scarlet colored beast of Revelation 17, then it is understandable that the time of trouble must begin in America. Just at that time the two horned beast shall begin to speak as a dragon. That is, begin at the time all the words and acts of American government will no more be restricted to those stipulated in their Constitution, to safeguard the freedom of religion that they begin to act as freely as against the will of God. 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 penalties 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 worship 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 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.
Mark carefully, that the two-horned beast, which represents United States, will command all its citizens (not all the people of the world) to receive the mark of the beast, or its name, or the number of his name, which is the 666.
The Mark of the Beast
In regard to the mark of the beast, the servant of the Lord said:
“Sunday keeping i s n o t y e t the mark of the beast, and will not be until the decree goes fort causing men to worship this idol Sabbath. The time will come when this day will be the test, but that time has not come yet (MS 118, 1899).” – EGW. SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7 – A, p. 421.
“No one has yet received the mark of the beast. The testing time has not yet come. There are true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion. None are condemned until they have had the light and have seen the obligation of the fourth commandment. But when the decree shall go forth enforcing the counterfeit Sabbath, and the loud cry of the third angel shall warn men against the worship of the beast and his image, the line will be clearly drawn between the false and the true. Then those who still continue in transgression will receive the mark of the beast.” – Evangelism, pp. 234, 235.
The mark of the beast seems to be the Sunday law, which is the decree to enforce Sunday observance by the law. That decree has yet to come in the future.
The N a m e, and N u m b e r of His N a m e
The apostle John in his book of Revelation said:
“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 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.
Let him that hath understanding know for sure, that the beast discussed here is the two-horned beast, which represents the United States of America. The number of the beast is the number of a m a n, who is to represent the beast in the future, when this prophecy will be fulfilled. The “6 6 6” is the number of that m a n. Although the two-horned beast has been identified to be the United States of America, yet the name of the man, who is to represent the United States in the future, is not yet known. Since the man is not as yet emerge even up to this day, then his name and even the number “666” of his name, could not as yet be applied to anyone in America.
After sitting upon the heads of the scarlet-colored beast, which represents the establishment of the three-fold union of Protestantism and the Catholic, and the Spiritism, her next step is to form a federation with the nations of the world. This will clearly appear when the whore moves to ride on the back of the scarlet-colored beast.
The woman rides on
the back of the scarlet-colored beast
As the beast symbolizes the period of time or the history of the world, and the nations, then the woman riding on the back of the beast, would show us how the woman would dominate the world in the future. The apostle John said:
“And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” – Revelation 17 : 12, 13.
The ten horns, which represent all civil powers or governments or states, during the future time of trouble, have not received their kingdoms as yet. This means, they are still lacking power of their own as sovereign states. It is from the fact, that during the troublous time under the powerful influence of the woman, all the horns wear no crowns. They have of one mind, and have surrendered temporary their power to the beast, to be fully influenced by the woman. However, this condition would last only for one symbolical hour, during the whole time of trouble. And then comes the fulfillment of the following statement:”And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.” – Rev. 17 : 16.
The end of the woman and her activities will mark the end of the proclamation of the Loud Cry of the third’s angel, which is to close the whole time of probation for the world. And the destruction of the woman would mark the commencement of the seven last plagues that is to be poured out upon the wicked, soon after the close of probation. The servant of the Lord again reminded us:
“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 (during the one symbolical hour) just before they are poured out, while Christ is (accomplishing His mediatorial work in the judgment hall) in the (heavenly) 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).
The woman later rides on the back of the beast that she would again federate with the nations of the world. This means, that the Protestant churches in America will gain access to the world body of the United Nations in New York, to carry out her evil concept, for the whole time of trouble, during a symbolical hour. That will cover a period from the commencement of the time of trouble to the end of probation. So, the one symbolical hour does not mean to be a prophetic hour of about fourteen days, but a parabolic hour of the parable of Jesus in Matthew 20 : 1 – 16, from the eleventh hour in the afternoon to the twelfth hour at the end of the day, which represents the end of the work to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom unto all the world. The parable of Jesus in Matthew 20 : 1 – 16 is a separate subject of the doctrine entitled: The Eleventh Hour Call. This is to be dealt with separately.
During her riding on the back of the beast ……. “The beast with two horns is also to say “to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast;” …………. It has been shown that the United States is the power represented by the beast with lamblike horns, and that this prophecy will be fulfilled when the United States shall enforce Sunday observance, which Rome claims as the special acknowledgment of her supremacy. But in this homage to the papacy the United States will not be alone.” – The Great Controversy, pp. 578, 579.
“Papists, Protestants, and world lings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union (this three-fold union) a grand movement for the conversion of the world and ushering in of the long-expected millennium.” – The Great Controversy, pp. 588, 589. (In bracket is added).
Since the Headquarters of the United Nations is located in New York, USA, then it is understandable when the draft of the Sunday Law to enforce the observance of Sunday “to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast;” should have come from the United States. He will certainly be the concept or of the draft to present to the United Nations. And here after gaining the approval from all the countries’ representatives, the world body would issue a sort of a Convention, containing the draft of the Sunday Law to all governments to be ratified by their legislative bodies. Then comes a new law of Sunday Observance to be enacted against the people of God.
The problem now is, why is the Sunday Law become so urgent? What have been so disturbing in the world that causes so much trouble in the communities, that the Unites States and even the United Nations as a world body need be implicated in?
The Main Cause for issuing
the Sunday Law
Due to the fact that Sunday has ever since been established to take the place of the Sabbath of the Lord, then in the future proclamation of the loud cry of the third’s angel message, the restoration of the Sabbath observance would be the most important point of people’s discussions everywhere. Let alone when the Spirit of latter rain would have been poured out upon them. The Sabbath will be more fully proclaimed than ever before. This is to enrage ‘the dragon against the woman, to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.’ The servant of the Lord said:
“I saw that God had children who do not see and keep the Sabbath. They have not rejected the light upon it. And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully. This enraged the churches and nominal Adventists, as they could not refute the Sabbath truth. And at this time God’s chosen all saw clearly that we had the truth, and they came out and endured the persecution with us.” – Life Sketches, pp. 101, 102.
“Among earth’s inhabitants, scattered in every land, there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Like the stars of heaven, which appear only at night, these faithful ones will shine forth when darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people. In heathen Africa, in the Catholic lands of Europe and of South America, in China, in India, in the islands of the sea, and in all the dark corners of the earth, God has in reserve a firmament of chosen ones that will yet shine forth amidst the darkness, revealing clearly to an apostate world the transforming power of obedience to His law. Even now they are appearing in every nation, among every tongue and people; and in the hour of deepest apostasy, when Satan’s supreme effort is made to cause ‘all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,’ to receive, under penalty of death, the sign of allegiance to a false rest day, these faithful ones, ‘blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke,’ will ‘shine as lights in the world.’ Rev. 13 : 16; Philippians 2 : 15. The darker the night, the more brilliantly will they shine.” – Prophets and Kings, pp. 188, 189.
“The outpouring of the Spirit in the days of the apostles was ‘the former rain,’ and glorious was the result. But the latter rain will be more abundant. What is the promise to those living in these last days?” – Testimony Treasures, vol. 3, p. 211.
If during the first Pentecost, in the days of the apostles, up to three thousand souls have been won in one single day, let alone when the Spirit be poured out in the second Pentecost. The result will be more abundant, that is more than three thousand, even millions of people would return to the observance of the true Sabbath, everywhere in the whole world. And this is the reason why the states, the governments, and even the whole world businesses, have to rearrange their time and appointments, because millions of people will take leave on every Sabbath. The situation will turn even worse, when it happens to cause stagnation in many fields of activities, such as in government offices, in the military, in the traffic: on the sea, on lands, and in the air. Even In the production plants as factories and transportations etc. without exception. Mrs. White said:
“In the time of trouble we all fled from cities and villages, but were pursued by the wicked, who entered the houses of the saints with a sword. They raised the sword to kill us, but it broke, and fell as powerless as a straw. Then we all cried day and night for deliverance, and the cry came up before God.” – Life Sketches, p. 102.
The time of trouble,
prophesied in several versions
The journey of God’s people on earth has been predicted in the prophecies of the prophets of the Old Testament, and also by Jesus’ own parables and the book of Revelation, in the New Testament. That is why the event during the time of trouble in the future, should be traced through several prophecies and the parables. John the Revelator, in his book of Revelation said:
“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimonies of Jesus Christ.” …… worship God : for the testimony of Jesus Christ is the Spirit of Prophecy.” – Revelation 12 : 17; 19 : 10 margin.
The woman, whom the dragon hates, represents the church of God. In this prophecy, she represents the church of the Jews. Her son represents Christ, because Christ was born of a woman, who represents the church of the Jews. Her seed inevitably represents the Christians, and the remnant of her seed must certainly represents those converts, who are the last won into the kingdom in Palestine, through the loud cry of the third’s angel message, prior to the close of probation. The dragon is to go to make war with the remnants, that is, to make the remnant seriously suffer during their ordeal in the time of trouble.
However, the 144.000 elects of God could no more be touched by the dragon, because they have been delivered from their own ordeal (the Jacob time of trouble), prior to the commencement of the time of trouble. Regarding the company and their deliverance, we read in the book of Daniel,
“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, everyone that shall be found written in the book.” – Daniel 12 : 1.
Michael means: the same with God. Jesus Himself as the great prince is to come down to deliver the 144.000 Jacobites out of their trouble. And later to stand with them on the mount Zion in Palestine. Rev. 14 : 1. The 144.000 have been sealed on their foreheads, containing the name of God, the Father, which is the mark of their deliverance. This is to make them invulnerable to attack. And after being poured with the Holy Spirit, they will go unto the entire world with great power to preach the Sabbath more fully.
Through the prophecy of Isaiah we read:
“For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the garden behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. …………. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, ………… to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations ……… to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.” – Isaiah 66 : 16, 17, 19, 20.
Since this prophecy is to be interpreted in the time of the end, following the interpretation of the books of Daniel and the Revelation, we should have understood that by fire and by his sword, is to be, by His spirit and by His word in the Spirit of Prophecy; the Lord will speak amicably with all Seventh-Day Adventists. After that, the purification of the church would take place, and the slain of the Lord shall be many. The Lord would set a seal upon their foreheads as a mark of deliverance, and then to send them that escape unto the entire world. These escaped ones are the 144.000, who are to preach the Sabbath more fully during the time of trouble.
Our position in the history of the beasts
Bro. Victor T. Houteff in his capacity as messenger with the message of the angel of Revelation 18 : 1 said:
“The period represented by the scarlet colored beast commenced in 1929, at which time the deadly wound was healed. But his career is not fully developed until the “the woman” shall sit upon his back.” – The Shepherd’s Rod, vol. 1, p. 114.
Since all the beasts representing the history of the world, have all emerged one after another, we must know for sure where our position is now in this time of the end. The period of the scarlet colored beast has begun in 1929. But since his career is not yet fully developed, then we are actually still in the period of the leopard like beast of Revelation 13. One of its head that was deadly wounded has been healed since 1929. And all the horns have now worn crowns of their own, which represent the countries and their civil powers, who are now no more dominated by the papacy. However, since the shawl of blasphemy written upon it, is still covering around all the seven heads until now, it is inescapable to conclude that our Seventh-Day Adventist Church is to be one among the heads. This is understandable because the spiritual condition of our leadership, which is represented by the angel of Laodicea, has been prophesied to be in the condition of poor, naked, and blind spiritually. Jesus even has spued them out of His mouth prophetically since about the year 1935. Read Revelation 3 : 16.
The shawl of blasphemy written around the seven heads of the beast shows us that in this time of the end, all the churches have rebelled against God and His Truth. This condition has been foretold by the prophet Isaiah in his prophecy, which has been interpreted in the Spirit of Prophecy as follows:
“And in that day (in the time of the end) 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.
Since woman symbolizes a church, then the seven women in this time of the end are to be the seven heads of the leopard like beast. All of them take hold of Jesus Christ, the one man, only to be called by His name: Christian Church or the Church of Christ, to cover up their falsehood. Because instead of eating the bread of life provided us by His messengers, they eat their own bread and wear their own apparel.
Therefore we must be on alert, because the whore will soon take a seat to sit upon all the heads, to establish the world federation of churches, as a preparation for an all-out attack on the remnant. Although our SDA Church would never be able to be dominated by the whore, it does not mean that the present SDA Church would be delivered ahead of the time. The SDA Church would soon be purified, prior to the establishment of the federation. The name “Seventh-Day Adventist Church” would soon be banished, because those 144.000 escaped ones would soon be called by a new name, which the Lord Himself is to pronounce. Read Isaiah 62 : 2.
Next, let us advance to the following verses of Revelation 17, John said:
“And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when his cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
“And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” – Revelation 17 : 10 – 14.
The number “7” in the prophecy indicates “completeness.” The above prophetic words show that the whole history of the world in sin, up to the commencement of the millennium, has been under the rule of seven kings or kingdoms. The world before the flood is the first kingdom. Then after the flood there are four kingdoms, namely: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greek, and Rome, symbolized by the four beasts of Daniel 7. We are now living in the period of the sixth king, symbolized by the leopard like beast of Revelation 13 and the scarlet-colored beast of Revelation 17. This is the period of the kingdom of Rome in its broken state, in the time of the end; which is also symbolized by the feet and toes of the great image of Daniel 2. The next kingdom, which is the seventh, is not yet come. John further said:
“…… and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.”— Rev.17 : 10, 11.
Since there are only seven beasts up to the commencement of the millennium, namely : four beasts of Daniel 7, two of Revelation 13, and the one of Revelation 17, then the next coming beast, will be the eighth. There is no history during the millennium, because the world will be void of its inhabitants, and there is no life upon the earth. The eighth beast symbolizes the world and the nations that would again emerge after the millennium, to continue live for a short space, and then go into perdition. It is the beast that was, and is not during the millennium, even it is the eighth, and of the all seven beasts. Brother Houteff said:
“The beast that ‘w a s’ is the period prior to the millennium; and, ‘i s n o t’, is during the time of the millennium; and ‘shall ascend out of the bottomless pit,’ is the period after the millennium, at which time all the wicked will be resurrected and go into perdition; that is, at the end of the one hundred years, the wicked, Satan and his angels shall be consumed by fire.” – The Shepherd’s Rod, vol. 2, pp. 116, 117.
One Hundred Years
after the second Resurrection
Actually, the period of the one hundred years, has been prophesied long before by the prophet Isaiah, when he said : “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days : for the child shall die and hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.” – Isaiah 65 : 20. Bro. Houteff as the servant of the Lord, said:
“The scripture (of Isaiah 65 : 20) speaks of the time at the end of the 1000 years (millennium) after the resurrection of the wicked. At that time there will not be any births to infants. ‘There shall no more thence an infant of days.’ The lesson therefore is not so difficult for one to comprehend. All the wicked are called forth in the second resurrection, whether old or young (at the time of death). All come up at the same time. This hour becomes the birth of all the wicked in the second life. There is to be no natural, or unnatural death, for all must live to the time of the second death, which is by ‘fire come down from God out of heaven and devoured them’. Read Revelation 20 : 7 – 10. “And as a sinner shall be accursed he who (dieth) at an hundred years old.’ This scripture predicts the span of life of the wicked after they are resurrected as being 100 years. ‘For as a lad shall one die a hundred years old; and as a sinner shall be accursed he who (dieth) at a hundred years old.’ During this 100 year period, the wicked make preparation for their attack on the holy city. Read Revelation 20 : 8, 9. “ – The Shepherd’s Rod, vol. 1, pp. 164, 165
C o n c l u s i o n
For the conclusion of the whole story, I wish to direct your attention to the picture provided us by the servant of the Lord, Bro. Victor T. Houteff at the next page. May the Lord bless you to share with us this beautiful story from the book of Revelation, outlining our history from the past, now, and from now on to the time of the deliverance of the saints unto the kingdom in Palestine. Let the prophecies of the Revelation be open to all of us, to be investigated more seriously that ever before. Even the whole prophecies of the Bible and the parables of Jesus, should be carefully studied. Just in this time of the end are those prophecies revealed in our Church. At the beginning, and at the closing of the book, John wrote to remind us in the following remark:
“Blessed is h e that readeth, and t h e y that hear the words of t h i s p r o p h e -c y, and k e e p those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” – Revelation 1 : 3.
“Behold, I come quickly: blessed is h e that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” – Revelation 22 : 7.
Mrs. White then reminded us in her following remark:
“Heaven is pure and holy, and those who pass through the gates of the city of God must here be clothed with inward and outward purity.” “All our preparation for heaven must be completed here. When Christ comes our characters will not be changed. These vile bodies will be changed and fashioned after the likeness of His glorious body, but there will not be a moral change wrought in us then.” – Counsels on Health, p. 103; Review and Herald, vol. 2, p. 236.
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