I am posting chapters from my sister's book, "The End is Near
Continued from previous post:
“Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names…And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.” “There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them….”
Rev. 13:1, 2, 5-7
Picture by: Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing
Continued from previous post:
“Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names…And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.” “There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them….”
Rev. 13:1, 2, 5-7
Picture by: Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing
This
beast came out of the sea, meaning it arose out of people (see Appendix 2) and
the dragon, Satan, backed this beast with all his power. Here again we see the 42 months, the1260
years, of authority, so this beast must be the same entity as the horn. Revelation 17:9 says, “The seven heads are
seven mountains on which the woman sits.”
The woman referred to is Jezebel, the false church, “…Babylon the
Great, the mother of harlots…” Rev. 17:5.
The seven mountains give us her location: the seven hills of Rome, the city where the
Pope lives and from which the Catholic Church rules. We know that a beast represents nations,
kingdoms, or political powers (see Appendix 2), so the Catholic Church’s
depiction here as a beast shows the political authority it wielded as well as
its religious authority.
One thing you must remember: the Catholic Church
referred to in prophecy describes the leaders of the church, those who operate
with the spirit of Balaam and the Nicolaitans.
There have been millions, and there are still millions, of innocent and
sincere members of the Catholic Church who do not know the truth and are led
astray by the leaders of the church.
We have not explored why
the false church persecutes those who refuse to follow her lead. Revelation 12:17 tells us that the persecuted
depicted in Revelation are those who “…keep the commandments of God
and hold to the testimony of Jesus”.
What does this mean and why does it threaten the false church?
“…commandments of God…”
Even if we do not know
exactly what the commandments are, most of us have at least heard of the Ten
Commandments. You can find them listed
in Exodus 20:3-17.
But even the Catholic
Church knows that the Ten Commandments are still in effect, right? Yes they do, as do almost all Christians of
all denominations, but there is one commandment that the Catholic Church
changed and that the followers of truth refused to honor.