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Part One, Reply to Seven Hills...
I am pleased that I don't have to explain to you that there can be more than one inference behind the "seven mountains" and that, as you have already pointed out, they also "could" refer to seven "kingdoms." When we compare history, both with Daniel's revelations (i.e. Dan 7:1-8, 8:20-23), and with John's revelations, we find the interpretation already to have been revealed without guessing... First off, we know that it is Satan's kingdom (of which lineage Daniel wrote about) that is of this world. For example, it is Satan, the little "g" god of this world, who blinds people's eyes from the gospel- 2Co 4:3 "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Satan offered to give the kingdoms of this world to Jesus- Mat 4:8 "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Satan simply could not have made that offer a viable temptation to Jesus if those kingdoms weren't his to give. As to where exactly the throne of Satan's kingdom was during the time of the writing of Revelation, Jesus specifically told us- Rev 2:12 "And to the angel of the church *in Pergamos*... thou dwellest, even where satan's seat (throne) IS" By this verse, we don't have to guess where Satan's throne got off to! Pergamos! How did Satan's throne come to reside in Pergamos? Simple world history... The Seven kingdoms: 1. Egypt, 2. Assyria, 3. Babylonia, 4. Persia (Medio-Persian), 5. Greek, 6. Roman, 7.(Future) The new (upcoming) Roman Empire. We already have Jesus putting Satan's seat (throne), in Pergamos. Next, historical record shows that this throne was bequeathed directly from the Greek Empire to the Roman Empire... "Greek Civilization, Ancient... The end of the struggle for succession, 286-276 (B.C.)... Alexander's empire had settled down into the three territorial states... along with Pergamum (Pergamos)." -Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition, 1984, vol. 8, pgs. 378-379. "Pergamum... became important only in the Hellenistic (Greek) Age (323-30 B.C), when it served as the residence of the Attalid dynasty... When Eumenes's son and second successor, Attalus III, died without an heir, he bequeathed the kingdom to Rome (133). Rome accepted it... The kingdom of Pergamum yielded much wealth... to Rome". Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition, 1984, vol. VII, pg. 873. Jesus called this dynasty, the remnant of the Greek Empire, Satan's seat (throne). Then, in 133 AD, history tells us, the Roman Empire became the legal heir, beneficiary, and repository of the throne of Satan himself! Now, when we consider how the nominal "church" brought herself into cohorts with the Roman Emperor, we see the full meaning of just how precisely, and openly, and as prophesied, she prostituted herself to the heir of Satan's throne!... "The Roman empire (of which Constantine became the head) has been described in Scripture as a 'beast.' Daniel saw four great beasts which represented four world empires- Babylon (a lion), Medo-Persia (a bear), Greece (a leopard), and Rome. The fourth beast, the Roman Empire, was so horrible that it was symbolized by a beast unlike any other (Daniel 7:1-8). We see no reason to suppose that Christ would tell Constantine to conquer with the sign of the cross to further the beast system of Rome. But if the vision was not of God, how can we explain the conversion of Constantine? Actually, his conversion is questionable... Probably the most obvious indication that he was not truly converted may be seen from the fact that after his conversion, he committed several murders- including the murder of his own wife and son! According to the Bible 'no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him' (John 3:15)." Ralph Woodrow, Babylon Mystery Religion, p.48. "Constantine justified raw sins committed by Roman bishops. He stated in one edict, 'pains must be taken to convince them, that the worldly condition of a Christian is one to be desired.' (De Vita, L.3.c. 16-20; J. Kaye, p.49)... Here is what he (Constantine) directed to the bishops. 'Some are won by the prospect of obtaining the means of subsistence; others of gaining influence with the great; some by presents.' He said, 'Men will be disposed to Christianity if they find they are promoting their worldly interests.' '...Hold out temporal advantages as inducements to conversion,' he advised the bishops. (J. Kaye, p.51; Socrates, L.1,c.9; De Vita, Constantine, L.3.c.17; Sozomen, L.1.c.21).) "Nicaea and the Nicean Council of AD 325" pages X-XI, by Rev. Marvin M. Arnold, D.D., Th.D. Satan- (Mat 4:3) "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Constantine- "Some are won by the prospect of obtaining the means of subsistence" Mat 4:4 "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Satan- Mat 4:6 "saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." Constantine- "Some are won by the prospect... of gaining influence with the great" Mat 4:7 "Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Satan- Mat 4:9 "saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Constantine- "Men will be disposed to Christianity if they find they are promoting their worldly interests." "...Hold out temporal advantages as inducements to conversion," Mat 4:10 "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." How much more exactly would the pattern of Constantine's temptations (above) to a worldly minded church have to compare with Satan's temptations of Christ in order for Constantine to be admittedly accepted as Satan's direct heir and descendant in deceiving the church away from the true service of God? Was Constantine a murderer? "...he committed several murders- including the murder of his own wife and son!" So was Satan. Joh 8:41 "Ye do the deeds of your father... 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him." Did Constantine make himself to appear as a Christian? So does Satan- 2Co 11:13 "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." Did Satan not tempt Jesus in the exact same way that Constantine tempts souls into his "church"? Notice again how Jesus replied to Satan... Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. This ought to have been, was, and should be, the reply of any good true Christian toward the temptations of Rome. Only the false would fall to such temptations. Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: Joh 10:5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. Jesus gave us basically only two commandments, upon which all others hang- Mat 22:37 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. By yielding to Satan's heir Constantine, the falsely "Christian," embryonic, (soon-to-be-Roman) Catholic Church, sinned against God, by blatantly violating and desecrating His very first commandment. Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Jer 2:11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. 12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. 13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. The above are the reasons I wanted to respond with this post first. If one can realize just what the Roman Catholic Church represents, and what she has, throughout her history, been attempting to postulate, then all the purposes, and actions, and words of Catholic apologists, including the one's I am presently addressing, can be clearly seen in their true light for the deception they are! "Hold out temporal advantages as inducements to conversion" Gen 3:6 "And when the woman (symbolizing the church) saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat," by TomR Please continue with Part Two, Reply to Persecutions by TomR |