Revelation of John Part 32

Part 32

The Rise of Islam

Worship of Mary as protectress of the church and the Queen of Heaven

c. worship of the Virgin as Divine Mediatrix

1. 754 A.D. Council of Constantinople

all who refuse to acknowledge her supreme power

by merely refusing to seek her intercession on their

behalf was to be anathematized

d. the seventh day was to be a day of honor and worship

to the Virgin Goddess of Heaven (1095 Urban II)

1. The day was to be kept as a fast day with bread

and water especially sacred to the worship of

the virgin

2. It was taught that Virgin herself had a special power over

Christ to enforce his forgiveness upon the sinner which

she alone interceeded for.

3. Mary was the only real hope of reconcilliation for

mankind, according to the Pope. It was the Virgin alone

who could quite the pains of Purgatory.

And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. -- Rev 2:21 (KJV)

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. -- Rev 13:11 (KJV)

Vicarius Fillii Dei ==> Vicar of the Son of God = 666

Worship of Mary as virgin with child and mother of god

Immortality achieved through pagan rituals

contrasted with

Immortality achieved through catholic rituals

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? -- 2 Cor 6:15 (KJV)

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. -- 2 Cor 6:16 (KJV)

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, -- 2 Cor 6:17 (KJV)

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. -- Rev 18:2 (KJV)

For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. -- Rev 18:3 (KJV)

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. -- Rev 18:4 (KJV)

But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. -- Rev 2:24 (KJV)

But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. -- Rev 2:25 (KJV)

Fourth Seal

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. -- Rev 6:7 (KJV)

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. -- Rev 6:8 (KJV)

Behold, I will cast her into a bed (of sickness and suffering), and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation (of intense suffering), except they repent of their deeds. -- Rev 2:22 (KJV)

And I will kill her children with death (with pestilence and thouroughly exterminate them); and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. -- Rev 2:23 (KJV)

During these Middle Ages you have the Bubonic plague and the Black Death.

The Black Death struck England in 1349, reducing the population by as much a third ^{^[1]}

In 1348 the bubonic plague entered France from the Mediterranean via Marseille. The resulting pandemic, known as the Black Death, engulfed the country in two years, killing as much as one-third of the population. ^{^[2]}

The later Middle Ages were dominated by the plague, a deadly disease known as the Black Death. Perhaps as many as 5 million Germans—about one-third of the population—died during the first wave of plague from 1348 to 1350, and subsequent outbreaks prevented the population from recovering to preplague levels until 1500.^{^[3]}

Plague, term applied indiscriminately in the Middle Ages to all fatal epidemic diseases, but now restricted to an acute, infectious, contagious disease of rodents and humans, caused by a short, thick, gram-negative bacillus, Yersinia pestis. In humans, plague occurs in three forms: bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and septicemic plague. Bubonic plague is the best-known form and is so called because it is characterized by the appearance of buboes, or enlarged, inflamed lymph nodes, in the groin or armpit or on the neck. Bubonic plague is transmitted by the bite of any of numerous insects that are normally parasitic on rodents, and that seek new hosts when the original host dies. The most important of these insects is the rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis, which is parasitic on the brown rat. Pneumonic plague, so called because the lung is the site of infection, is most often transmitted by droplets sprayed from the lungs and mouth of infected persons; the infection may spread from the lungs to other parts of the body, resulting in septicemic plague, which is infection of the blood. Septicemic plague may also be initiated by direct contact of contaminated hands, food, or objects with the mucous membranes of the nose or throat.

Untreated bubonic plague is fatal in 30 to 75 percent of all cases, pneumonic plague 95 percent of the time, and septicemic plague almost invariably. Mortality in treated cases is 5 to 10 percent.

II SYMPTOMS
In bubonic plague, the first symptoms are headache, nausea, vomiting, aching joints, and a general feeling of ill health. The lymph nodes of the groin or, less commonly, of the armpit or neck, suddenly become painful and swollen. The temperature, accompanied by shivering, rises to between 38.3° and 40.5° C (101° and 105° F). The pulse rate and respiration rate are increased, and the victim becomes exhausted and apathetic. The buboes swell until they approximate a chicken egg in size. In nonfatal cases, the temperature begins to fall in about five days, and approaches normal in about two weeks. In fatal cases, death results in about four days. In primary pneumonic plague, the sputum is at first slimy and tinted with blood; it later becomes free-flowing and bright red. Death occurs in most cases two or three days after the first appearance of symptoms. In primary septicemic plague, the victim has a sudden onset of high fever and turns deep purple in several hours, often dying within the same day that symptoms first develop. The purple color, which appears in all plague victims during their last hours, is due to respiratory failure; the popular name Black Death that is applied to the disease is derived from this symptom.

The 5th Seal

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: -- Rev 6:9 (KJV)

And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? -- Rev 6:10 (KJV)

And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. -- Rev 6:11 (KJV)

Dark Ages and the Inquisition (1200 A.D.)

claims about 68 million victims

Anabaptists were beheaded

Woe, Woe, Woe, The Worst is Yet to Come

And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! -- Rev 8:13 (KJV)

Fifth Trumpet

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. -- Rev 9:1 (KJV)

But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. -- Jude 1:10 (KJV)

Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. -- Jude 1:11 (KJV)

These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; -- Jude 1:12 (KJV)

Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. -- Jude 1:13 (KJV)

And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. -- Rev 9:2 (KJV)

And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. -- Rev 9:3 (KJV)

Locust plagues generally come out of the Sudan. Their eggs need moist soil, and, when rain conditions are ideal, vast quantities can be deposited and develop. Seized by a wanderlust, hordes begin to move straight across the land, eating and evolving as they progress. Reaching the winged stage, they rise and extend their quest for food. Under this gregarious and wandering spell they have been known to travel over 1000 mi.

And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. -- Rev 9:4 (KJV)

And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. -- Rev 9:5 (KJV)

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. -- Rev 9:6 (KJV)

And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. -- Rev 9:7 (KJV)

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. -- Rev 9:8 (KJV)

And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. -- Rev 9:9 (KJV)

And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. -- Rev 9:10 (KJV)

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Bochart remarks, from an Arabic writer, that the locusts

resemble ten different kinds of animals: 1. The HORSE in its head. 2. The

ELEPHANT in its eyes. 3. The BULL in its neck. 4. The STAG in its horns. 5.

The LION in its breast. 6. The SCORPION in its belly. 7. The EAGLE in its

wings. 8. The CAMEL in its thighs. 9. The OSTRICH in its feet. And 10. The

SERPENT in its tail. Vid. Hieroz., vol. ii., p. 475, edit. 1692. But its most

prominent resemblance is to the horse, which the prophet mentions; and

which the Arabic writer puts in the first place, as being the chief.

Verse 5. Like the noise of chariots— Bochart also remarks: — “The

locusts fly with a great noise, so as to be heard six miles off, and while

they are eating the fruits of the earth, the sound of them is like that of a

flame driven by the wind.”-Ibid., p. 478.

And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. -- Rev 9:11 (KJV)

One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. -- Rev 9:12 (KJV)

In the name of Mohammed and Allah, the united Arab armies by the year 651 A.D. controlled Syria, Iraq, Mesopotamia, Iran, and Egypt. Soon they extended their conquests to India and across North Africa to the Atlantic Ocean. In 711 A.D., 7,000 Moslems crossed over from North Africa into Spain.

Southern Spain fell to the Moslems and France followed. The Moslem goal was to conquer all of Europe. In 732 A.D. the Moslem tide was turned back by Charles Martel who was also called the hammer.

Various attacks (674, 677, 717, 718) were made by the Moslems against Constantinople, the eastern part of the empire. These were amphibious asaults. The Christians were able to counter attack with a secret weapon called Greek Fire which could be fire at Moslem ships, and shot from bows and catapults. This strange Greek fire burned more ferociously on water than on land. No one today knows exactly what this secret chemical composition was.

The crowns referred to upopn the heads of these locusts might well represent the turbans which they wore. The Arabs of that time period wore excessively long hair like that of woman.

Byzantine and Persian empires had critically weakened each other allowing the unified Muslim tribes to easilly conquer the Eastern world.

North Africa subdued (665-709) followed by the conquering of the

Goths (711).

Charles Martel (The Hammer) and the Christian Knights (732)

the force that opposes the Muslim world domination

Saint Boniface, (675-754)

Slaughter of the Celtic Christians (British Church [not English] Irish and Scottish)

Saint Boniface, (675-754), known as the Apostle of Germany.

Pope Gregory III named him archbishop and primate of all Germany, with power

to establish bishoprics.

The rising of the Holy Roman Empire (800 A.D)

Charles the Great

Charlemagne, in Latin Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great) (742-814), king of the Franks (768-814) and Emperor of the Romans (800-14)

In the Saxon campaigns he imposed baptism by the sword, and he retaliated against rebels with merciless slaughter.

In other words, he continued the slaughter of christians who opposed the papacy.

Tens of thousands massacred in the name of Christian Evangelism

this method of evangelism made Europe a Christian world.

And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, -- Rev 9:13 (KJV)

Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. -- Rev 9:14 (KJV)

And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. -- Rev 9:15 (KJV)

Around 1000 A.D. the great forces were advancing upon the earth again however this time they would be coming from Turkey. The Seljuk Turks first went south and invaded Iran. Afterwards they adopted the Moslem religion. This new breed of Moslem would become the most dynamic and energetic of all Islamic people. They were extremely quarrelsome, aggressive, and numerous. Their goal was to conquer all of Asia Minor, which is to say the heartland of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine guards stationed in Pontiac and hidden throughout the Taurus Mountains were able to keep the warring Moslems bound at the river Euphrates.

At a critical moment in history, the Byzantine emperor died leaving a mere boy as his successor. The empress quickly married one of the famed generals, Romanus byu name, who thought that he would go forth against the Seljuk Turks and overcome them. He was decisively beaten in 1071 at the battle of Manzikert (Malazgirt) which was located near the headwaters of the river euphrates. The Byzantine army was completely killed off and the Romanus himself taken prisoner. Eventually the Turks set him free to return to his own land but upon his return his own son met him and put out his eyes. He eventually died.

The Turks didn't waste anytime dashing through the unguarded passes in the Taurus and Pontiac Mountains. Very swiftly they seized control of most of Asia Minor. It was at that time that the area of Asia Minor was renamed "Turkey".

The Turks killed off the entire Byzantine Empire.

Crusades

1010 A.D.

Hakam, mad Sultan of Egypt attempted to destroy Christianity in Jerusalem. Jews begin to be persecuted throughout Europe.

1085 A.D.

Pope Gregory VII calls Christians to unite for war against the Muslim infidels to liberate the Holy Land from Islam

1086 A.D.

Pope Victor III promised remission of all sins to whoever would partake in the crusade

1096 Crusade#1 free the Holy Land from Muslims

1099 Jerusalem captured

Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem established

- Many Jews and Muslims slaughtered

beginning with the Jews in Europe

1145 Crusade#2 protect Holy Land from Muslims

- Greek Emperor distrusted the Pope's attention

1187 A.D. Jerusalem captured by Saladin, Saracen ruler

??? Crusade#3 try to regain Holy Land - Emperor Barbarossa, Richard of England,

French King Phillip Augustus

True solidified with Saladin.

Jerusalem remained under Muslim control

1204 Crusade#4 try to regain Holy Land - Pope Innocent III secretly desired to regain control

over Constantinople

Formed new Latin Empire of Constantinople

Russian Orthordox church pulled farther away from Rome.

And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. -- Rev 9:16 (KJV)

And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. -- Rev 9:17 (KJV)

By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. -- Rev 9:18 (KJV)

For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. -- Rev 9:19 (KJV)

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: -- Rev 9:20 (KJV)

Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. -- Rev 9:21 (KJV)

The Ottoman Turkish Empire employed the use of numerous skillfull horsemen as well as a variety of gunpowder weapons. This is very important to biblical prophecy because it is this ruling Moslem empire which was able to conquer the capital Constantinople using the "fire and smoke and sulphur" spoken of by John the revelator.

One of the principal ingrdients in gunpowder (along with carbon and saltpeter) is sulphur. Gunpowder burns with great quanities of smoke which is one reason why it hasn't been used much since the end of the world war. Gunpowder was used to shoot projectiles out of long tubes which could be what John referred to as the horse deadly tails.

The Ottomans used personal firearms as well as mortars, grenades, and cannons. The largest of the Ottoman cannons was so heavey that the Ottomans actually carried large chunks of bronze with them into the war zone and melted it on site forming it into casts to make the cannons right there on the spot. They weren't really accurate enough to be used effectively against infantry or calvary but were very destructive against brick or stone walls that were erected as a defense around castles and principal cities such as Constantinople.

The German emperor at the time, Charles V, would never have allowed Luther to continue on against Rome as he was a devoted Roman Catholic. The German emperor ruled over Spain, parts of Eatern Europe, and a vast number of colnies in North and South America, as well as the Holy Roman Empire which also included Holland, Switzerkand, most of Germany, and Italy. So why didn't he crush Luther and the Protestant Reformation ?

At the time of Martin Luther and his seperation from the Roman Catholic Church, The Ottoman Empire was actually a help to the Protestant Reformation. Moslem armies under the direct control of Suleiman the Magnificient (1520-1566) frequently came to the aid of both France and the Catholic Pope in their warring efforts against the emperor of Germany. The Pope at that time was at odds with the German emperor because in 1527 his troops had attacked Rome and hauled the Pope off to prison.

In 1529, the very year that the word Protestant was actually used to describe the new religious movement, the emperor Charles V launched a campaign against all heretics, which is to say protestants. This ended swiftly as Suleiman the Magnificient suddenly sent his Molsem forces to attack the Catholic city of Vienna. Charles V could not fight the Protestants and Moslems at the same time so instead he sought the aid of the Protestants by dropping his religious differences.

It is quite interesting that one of the fundamental principals of the Ottoman policy was to be a support and encouragement for the Protestants and Calvanists during the 16th and 17th centuries. Charles V finally got his opportunity to wage war against the protestants but now it was to late. The German tongue had displaced mediaeval Latin in public worship and worshippers everywhere where partaking in the services with full understanding. A German Bible lay upon every protestant pulpit throughout the country and many of the people actually had there own copy of the German Bible. Even the children were recieving eductation now as a result of the reformation.

There is absolutely no doubt that God used the Moslem forces to come to the aid or assistance of the Christian church. The Ottoman empire continued as an aggressive power around 1699, just long enough for the protestant church to be firmly rooted in the ground.

The REFORMATION

The Mighty Angel

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: -- Rev 10:1 (KJV)

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, -- Rev 10:2 (KJV)

The Heavenly Throne

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. -- Rev 4:1 (KJV)

And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. -- Rev 4:2 (KJV)

And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. -- Rev 4:3 (KJV)

And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. -- Rev 4:4 (KJV)

And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. -- Rev 4:5 (KJV)

And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. -- Rev 4:6 (KJV)

The Sealed Book

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. -- Rev 5:1 (KJV)

The call for the Kinsman Redeemer

And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? -- Rev 5:2 (KJV)

The Kinsman Redeemer, Goel, Avenger of Blood

The Book Was Sealed Up by Daniel

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book , even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. -- Dan 12:4 (KJV)

Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. -- Dan 12:5 (KJV)

And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? -- Dan 12:6 (KJV)

And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. -- Dan 12:7 (KJV)

And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. -- Rev 10:3 (KJV)

And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. -- Rev 10:4 (KJV)

And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, -- Rev 10:5 (KJV)

And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: -- Rev 10:6 (KJV)

And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? -- Dan 12:8 (KJV)

And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. -- Dan 12:9 (KJV)

Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. -- Dan 12:10 (KJV)

Loosing the Seven Seals

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. -- Rev 5:5 (KJV)

And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. -- Rev 10:3 (KJV)

And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. -- Rev 10:4 (KJV)

SOME THINGS TO REMAIN SEALED

But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. -- Rev 10:7 (KJV)