The Kingdom of Rome and the Antichrist

The Kingdom of Rome and the Antichrist, the Fourth Kingdom [Print Document]

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The Roman Empire was the most powerful empire of the ancient empires. It controlled vast amounts of territory around the Mediterranean Sea. Its roads, many buildings, and aqueducts still exist today, revealing how well-designed they were. But, Rome's legacy never ended. In this article, we will show how Rome never truly ceased to exist as a powerful, multicultural, and geopolitical empire.

We will show how the Roman Empire is alive and well in a form that one may not expect.

Daniel 7:7-8

“[7] 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 brake in pieces, 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. [8] 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.”

The kingdom or Empire to succeed the Greek kingdoms was Rome. After years of fighting on and off with Greece, Rome was able to conquer the Greek city-states, which were not always friendly with each other. Rome spread its control around the Mediterranean Sea and all the way up to Britain. But, the European tribes did not like their conquerors. Later, when Rome was weakened and slowly collapsing, disgruntled Germanic tribes (Goths and others) attacked Italy. The western Roman empire eventually was divided up into small countries or regions controlled by Germanic tribes, including the Franks, Goths, Visigoths, Vandals, and others. But, many of these tribes adopted some of the culture and customs of the Romans.

Diocletian Divides the Empire

A couple centuries earlier, when the empire became somewhat weakened and it could not effectively control its vast territories, the emperor Diocletian divided it in two (in 284-285 A.D.), fulfilling the prophecy in Daniel 2. In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream about a statue, symbolizing major empires that existed through history during Daniel’s time and afterward. It reveals that the Roman Empire, the legs of iron, would be divided into two realms.  These are represented by the two legs of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Daniel 2:33 says: “His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.”

Daniel 2:40 says: “And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.”

After Diocletian divided the empire, the western Roman empire continued to struggle with moral, economic, and social issues, and its administrative power eventually collapsed under the weight of its own corruption. The Apennine Peninsula was captured by Germanic tribes who divided up the land into weak kingdoms. However, Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, became the first “Holy Roman Emperor.” Pope Leo III announced, in 800 A.D., that Charlemagne was the Western Roman Emperor or the Emperor of the Romans. So, in actuality, Rome did not end at this time. Its administrative grip over the land was transferred to the political and religious influence of the Roman Catholic Church, and to the weak Holy Roman Empire. (Note: I write this article not to attack Catholics but because I care about them, and want to point out some historical facts to challenge readers. I present this information to encourage readers to think for themselves about this subject, and to seek God about it.)

Rome Continues to Exist

Meanwhile, the eastern Roman empire, called the Byzantine Empire, lasted for centuries until it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. During this time, while the Holy Roman Empire existed, the main power in Europe was the influential power of the Catholic Church, which influenced the way people lived and the politics of their countries. This organization claimed to get its origin from the 12 apostles, whom Jesus Christ appointed. But, its origin is found in the religions of Egypt and Greece, which got their beliefs from Babylon thousands of years ago, around the time that all the tribes of the world were located in the Middle East when it was more fertile.

In Genesis 11, the Bible tells us how Nimrod and the people in his area built a city and a great tower. This tower of Babel was being constructed by people who all spoke the same language. But, when God saw how they wanted to corrupt themselves with idolatry and with a desire to become like God, He changed their languages so that they spoke different languages. These languages are the parent languages of the modern ones that exist today.

The Egyptians brought from that early culture ideas about a goddess with a child that they worshiped as Isis and Horus. In the Middle East many people of different ethnic groups worshiped Ashtoreth (or Astarte, Ishtar), a goddess of “love,” fertility, the moon, and other attributes, including being the supposed “mother” or “creatress” of mankind (Reference “Ashtoreth”). She was worshiped in connection with Baal.

The Catholic Church took the concept of a motherly goddess and paired that concept with a child god to form their version of Mary with her son. This baby is by no means Jesus. This baby would be the son of the goddess, which pagans from many cultures would be familiar with.

The pagan Romans did not actually worship a mother goddess with her child in the exact way that Catholics do, but the Egyptians did, and the Greeks had the concept of a powerful mother goddess from ancient times. Long before the cult of Zeus was accepted by ancient Greeks, they worshiped a goddess called Hera (Sidwell), a so-called “great goddess,” or a “mother goddess.” Much later, when they adopted the cult of Zeus, the Greeks made Hera into a wife of Zeus, and no longer worshiped her as a great “mother goddess.”

An article by Robert T. Sidwell details how Hera was worshiped as a powerful goddess before the cult of Zeus emerged in Greece. He wrote:

“Hera, however, was originally connected to an older matrifocal world far more ancient than the cult of Zeus in Greece-a world in which she held a powerful and important status in her own right.” [End quote] (Sidwell).

Early Catholics adopted the concept of a mother goddess for their religion by taking pagan teachings from other religions and bringing them together into many of the doctrines of the Catholic Church. They modified the scriptures or twisted them to suit their pagan beliefs. For instance, Catholics often pray to a statue or a picture of Mary with a halo over her head. The halo can be found in pre-Christian artwork, such as a Roman floor mosaic of Apollo with a halo about his head (right). There are many examples of halos found on ancient vases prior to the time of Catholicism.

Pagan festivals and gods were assigned different names and incorporated into the Catholic Church. Easter is an example. Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that Christians should keep Easter. The Easter egg is not found in the Bible. It comes from pagan festivals. The Encyclopedia Britannica (1991) mentioned that:  “...folk customs have collected, many of which have been handed down from the ancient ceremonial…symbolism of European and Middle Eastern pagan spring festivals…for example, eggs…have been very prominent as symbols of new life and resurrection”[.]  

The Catholic Church Is the Incarnation

of Its Predecessor, the Roman Empire.

The Catholic Church has been involved in many wars since its emergence under Pope Leo I. (Historians recognize that he is the first man to claim jurisdiction over the Church. His reign as the pope initiated the papacy, which is unique to the Roman Catholic Church.).

Most people know about the Crusades in the holy land, but fewer are aware that popes ordered European kingdoms to be attacked. In 1208, Pope Innocent III ordered a crusade against the Cathars in southern France. They were a religious group that believed unbiblical teachings, which included the mistaken belief that Satan had put people in physical bodies and that there were two Gods. (The Bible teaches that Satan was created by God {Ezekiel 28:15 and Colossians 1:14-18} and that God created man with a physical body from the dust of the ground {Genesis 2:7}.).

Because they disagreed with the Catholic Church, the pope didn’t want them to live. A representative of the pope (a legate) apparently gave the orders to kill all the Cathars in the town of Béziers. And, the crusaders killed almost everyone in the town. But, their battles against other Cathar towns stretched into several years. The Catholic Church conducted other crusades or battles in northern European lands (in the Baltics); in the Balkans; against Hussites in Bohemia (Czech lands) and in parts of Poland (who disagreed with Catholic teachings); and others.

The Power of the Catholic Church

The reason we mention the Catholic-led crusades is to point out that the Catholic Church had a lot more power than one might think. They had a lot more influence and political power than any countries that existed during the middle ages, and they still have power and influence today.

Pope Francis has great influence throughout the world, particularly in countries which have a large number of Catholics. According to an article on Huffington Post (“Why the Pope Matters”), the pope has more political influence than any other religious or political leader in the world. He has the ability to make decisions that will impact the lives of every one of the estimated 1.2 billion Catholics in the world. And, many countries are affected by his decisions due to large numbers of Catholics in their citizenry.

Some may not know this, but the Catholic military order called the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), or the Knights of Malta, has members in the armed services of the United States and other countries. It has special privileges and boasts a large number of members from many different countries.

In the years from 1970 to 1981, Alexandre de Marenches, a member of the Knights of Malta (i.e. SMOM), was the leader of France’s intelligence agency (See Phelan in the references section.). Bill Casey, a former CIA director, has been reported in the press as being a member of the Knights of Malta (Phelan). The Knights of Malta recognized John Alexander McCone, another former CIA director, as a member of their order (Phelan). James J. Angleton, a former CIA counterintelligence chief, was recognized by the order as a member.

The Catholic Church has its influence in countries and in their governments by way of its daughter organizations. Its power reaches around the ocean to all the pro-Catholic countries, which were often colonies of Spain and  Portugal, which still retain large Catholic populations. The Vatican directs or influences politics in these pro-Catholic countries (and in other countries) due to its sway over adherents to its religion.

Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Catholic Jesuit order, was known to have said:

“Finally, Let all with such artfulness gain the ascendant over princes, noblemen, and the magistrates of every place, that they may be ready at our beck, even to sacrifice their nearest relations and most intimate friends, when we say it is for our interest and advantage.” (Brownlee)

Loyola was saying that the Jesuits sought to control or manipulate political leaders. (Noblemen had power at that time.). His goal was to have government officials and leaders obey orders from the Jesuits.

Samuel Morse

Samuel Morse, the inventor of the the telegraph and Morse code, wrote a book explaining his concerns that Roman Catholicism had a political agenda and had set its sights on the United States. It was titled Foreign Conspiracy Against the Liberties of the United States (Vol. 1).

In the recommendations section is an interesting statement:

“The author undertakes to show that a conspiracy against the liberties of this Republic is now in full action, under the direction of the wily Prince Metternich of Austria, who knowing the impossibility of obliterating this troublesome example of a great and free nation by force of arms, is attempting to accomplish his object through the agency of an army of Jesuits. ... —N.Y. Journal of Commerce.” (Morse)

Morse wrote in his preface some interesting words about the political nature of Catholicism and the pope’s interest in America:

“The public mind is awake far and wide to the fact, that Popery is a political as well as a religious system, … they [the public] will not rest till these more than suspicious manoeuvrings [sic] of Jesuit intriguers ; of Austrian conspirators against their liberties, shall have been searched to the bottom.” (Morse)

General Lafayette

Morse was not the only one to be concerned about the political nature and ambitions of Roman Catholicism. General Marquis de Lafayette of France, who had been raised in Catholicism, said:

“It is my opinion that if the liberties of this country— the United States of America—are destroyed, it will be by the subtlety of the Roman Catholic Jesuit priests, for they are the most crafty, dangerous enemies to civil and religious liberty. They have instigated most of the wars of Europe.” (“Romanism:...” Pages: 139-140)

Napoleon Bonaparte

Regarding the political nature of Roman Catholicism, let’s look at Napoleon Bonaparte’s war against Pope Pius VI. Napoleon fought against papal soldiers who worked for a pope that had broken an armistice treaty with Napoleon.  

According to the book History of the Captivity of Napoleon at Helena (Vol. II), Napoleon wrote a “manifesto” that explained why he had to attack the pope’s army in Italy. Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon quoted Napoleon’s manifesto in pages 56-57 of his book. Napoleon declared that Pope Pius VI wrote manifestos to encourage Catholic people to fight the French. He also wrote how the Vatican had broken an armistice treaty between the Vatican and the French. Why would a mere religious institution make war with Napoleon? Here is the quote:

“1. The Holy See has formally refused Articles 8 and 9 of the Armistice concluded at Bologna…. 2. The Roman government has never ceased to arm and excite the people to war, by means of manifestoes [sic]; it has caused the territory of Bologna to be violated; its troops have advanced to within ten miles of that city, and threatened to occupy it. …. “ 4. He [Pope Pius VI] has confided the command of his troops to Austrian generals and officers…. “ 6. The treaty of armistice has therefore been broken and infringed by the Holy See, ....” (Montholon)

This sounds more like a conflict between two kingdoms than a fight between an empire and a religious institution. In his book, Montholon described a few small battles between papal troops and French soldiers. The pope’s army soon collapsed under the French attacks. After Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops had crushed the pope’s army, papal representatives signed a truce with the French, which included an interesting agreement:

“2. The Pope revokes all adhesion, consent, and accession, whether open or secret, given by him to the coalition in arms against the French republic; .... he engages not to furnish, to any power in arms against the French republic, any succours of any kind or denomination whatsoever, whether in men, ships, munitions of war, provisions, or money.” (Montholon)

Napoleon, at this point, forced the Vatican to not do what it had apparently been doing before, which was supplying countries opposed to Napoleon with funding, weapons, gunpowder (part of the munitions of war), and supplies. This is clearly not the act of a religious institution but a military power. In other words, the Vatican was not behaving as a religious institution, but as a country or an empire. The Roman empire, under the papal flag, existed in Napoleon’s time. It waged wars and assisted countries in their fight against each other. And, it does the same today, but not openly.

The Holy Roman Empire

During Napoleon’s early wars in Europe, and all through the middle ages, a loose confederation of countries known as the Holy Roman Empire existed, which were closely connected to the Roman Catholic Church. But, this alleged empire collapsed in 1806, during Napoleon’s reign in France. It had lasted for over a thousand years, holding its influence over countries and kingdoms, from the fall of the old Roman Empire until the time of the Napoleonic wars, during which Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicated. Much of his empire went into Napoleon’s possession and became the Confederation of the Rhine.

But, the Holy Roman Empire was not really the true power behind Europe. The Roman Catholic Church ordered crusades, conducted wars, controlled its subjects through fear, and collected large sums of money from gullible people that thought their indulgence money would benefit their afterlife or the afterlife of their relatives.

The Bible teaches that we are saved and cleansed from all sin by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no teaching of purgatory, or penitence, or indulgences in the Bible. That is pagan doctrine. Tibetan Buddhists afflict themselves, prostrate themselves on the ground repeatedly, and use prayer beads for the purpose of gaining merit. The prayer beads of Buddhism are sometimes called the “Buddhist rosary”.  

The Bible teaches that we are

saved by God’s grace alone...

The Bible teaches that we are saved by God’s grace alone, through Jesus Christ’s blood alone, and not by our works at all. (See Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 5, Galatians 4, Galatians 3, Romans 4, Romans 5).

Romans 5:1-2

“[1] Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: [2] By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Romans 5:8-10

“[8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. [10] For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Romans 4:2-6

“[2] For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. [3] For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. [4] Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. [5] But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. [6] Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, [7] Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.”

“And the fourth kingdom shall be

strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in

pieces and subdueth all things:...”

We can see from history that the Roman Catholic Church fulfilled the scripture and the prophecies found in Daniel. The fourth kingdom in Daniel 2, is both the Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church. It ruled and continues to rule the world by subduing and controlling the people it extends its dominion to.

Daniel 2:40 says: “And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.”

The Inquisition, especially the Spanish Inquisition, was a brutal tool of the Catholic Church to spread terror into the hearts of anyone doubting Catholic dogma or the authority of the Catholic Church. Many people were burned at the stake, tortured, or assassinated due to their actions or beliefs that opposed or disagreed with the Catholic Church and its teachings.

Today, the Roman Catholic Church still influences and manipulates the world. Through its daughter organizations, such as the Knights of Malta, Rome has its fingers in the intelligence agencies and militaries of many countries. The immense wealth and numerous corruption scandals of the Catholic Church cannot fully be understood.

A quote from The Vatican Billions by Avro Manhattan:

“The Vatican’s treasure of solid gold has been estimated by the United Nations World Magazine to amount to several billion dollars. A large bulk of this is stored in gold ingots with the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, while banks in England and Switzerland hold the rest.

“But this is just a small portion of the wealth of the Vatican, which in the U.S. alone, is greater than that of the five wealthiest giant corporations of the country. When to that is added all the real estate, property, stocks and shares abroad, then the staggering accumulation of the wealth of the Catholic church becomes so formidable as to defy any rational assessment.” (Manhattan)

Conclusion

Its religious beliefs do not come from the Bible but from paganism cleverly blended with some biblical doctrine. This vast, wealthy, political / religious empire (together with the Roman Empire) is the kingdom the book of Daniel prophesied of which: “...breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.” (Daniel 2:40).

The Antichrist

When the Antichrist comes, who both the books of Daniel and Revelation speak of, he will obtain this religious, Roman Catholic empire and all its offshoots, such as the Eastern Orthodox churches. He will also control all other false religions of the world. This person will not be a pope because the pope is only a figurehead of Roman Catholicism, and the pope is not loved by all religions. This man will be a powerful leader, who most of the world will look up to (Revelation 13:3-4).

His false prophet will cause men and women to receive a mark in their foreheads or hands, to show that they are part of his empire (Revelation 13:16-18). People in very remote regions of the earth will not be part of his system (such as those in dense jungles or remote mountain villages), but anyone who depends on modern infrastructure, who does not know God’s Name, will be part of this system.

The Bible says that anyone who receives the mark of the Beast (i.e. the Antichrist) will be cast into Hell, and into the lake of fire (Revelation 14:9-11, Revelation 21:7). People will have to make a crucial choice in the near future: either they will refuse to be a citizen in the Antichrist’s new world order, or they will receive the mark and become a citizen of an antichrist kingdom. Once they have chosen to serve the Antichrist and receive his mark, they are doomed, because their hearts will be very hardened at that time. They would have already gone through three and a half years of supernatural signs, wonders, and plagues (Click to see Endnote).

For them to continue to harden their hearts and choose to serve the Antichrist would be crossing the line. Such people will never turn back, just like Pharaoh, who pursued the children of Israel to his death in the Red Sea. The walls of water, which God had supernaturally held open for the children of Israel to cross on dry land, crashed over Pharaoh and over his army, drowning all of them.

I implore you that if you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, make Him your personal Savior and Lord now, before it’s too late. You never know when you may leave this earth (i.e. death). If you are not certain you are saved by Jesus Christ’s blood, then turn to Him now, and call upon His Name. He will save you if you trust in His blood alone to save you, and trust that He rose from the grave to show that He is indeed God, and that He saved you from your sins. He wants you to know Him personally and be good friends with Him (John 17:3, 1 John 1).

If you want to be saved from your sins, I encourage you to read this. God desires to have fellowship with you, as you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.

Revelation 14:9-11

“[9] And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, [10] The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: [11] And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

________________________

References:

Sidwell, R. T. “Rhea was a broad: Pre-Hellenic Greek myths for post-Hellenic children.” Springer.com.

“Ashtoreth.” Biblicaltraining.org.

Romanism: A Menace to the Nation. Wheaton Illinois: Jeremiah Crowley, 1912 (Pages 139-140).

Phelan, Matthew. “Seymour Hersh...and the Men Who Want Him Committed.” whowhatwhy.org.

Brownlee, W. C. “Secret instructions of the Jesuits.” Archive.org. (Pg. 47). {W. C. Brownlee. Secret Instructions of the Jesuits. New York: American and Foreign Christian Union, 1857.}

(Montholon) Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon. HISTORY OF THE CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON AT HELENA VOL. II. Henry Colburn, Publisher, 1846. (Archive.org.)

Morse, Samuel. Foreign Conspiracy Against the Liberties of the United States (Vol. 1). H.A. Chapin & Co. 1841.

Manhattan, Avro. The Vatican Billions. Chick Publications, 1983.

{Work Consulted: “Semiramis, Ishtar, Easter, Mysteries.” michaelruark.wordpress.com. (https://michaelruark.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/ishtar/)}

Notes:

In the recommendations section of Samuel Morse’s book, Foreign Conspiracy…, the Boston Recorder said:

“The author maintains, that what is called the Roman Catholic Religion is in reality a political despotism, disguised under a religious name. We think he proves it ; and also that the leading enemies of free institutions in Europe are engaged in organized efforts to give that despotism prevalence in the United States. … —Massachusetts, Boston Recorder (Congregational).”

Endnote: This short article will look at the nature of the Antichrist and that he is not a human being, but he looks human. We will also look at how Apollyon will possess the Antichrist's body. We will see how the time of great tribulation, including the time in which many will be killed for not receiving the mark of the beast, is approximately three and a half years. We will also expound Revelation 17:8-13 and the seven mountains. Click here to read it.