EIGHT!!
NOW Approaching: THE Fourth Reich
ABSTRACT
The predictions of Iasu through Ian as found in the 17th chapter of Revelation concerning the seven (really eight) kings who give their power over to the beast: these kings are unmistakably identified as the Caesars from Augustus through Domitian. The beast is traced through the Emperors of Europe into the 20th century. A page from the Snyder Bible, ©1998,2000 by Iackson Snyder
I
A MIND OF WISDOM
The March 16th (1999) newspaper headline read: "EU executive board resigns en masse." 20 senior exeuctives of the European Union resigned under charges of cronyism and financial irregularities this week. This act of resignation is roughly equivalent to the resignation of the entire US presidential cabinet, leaving a power vacuum in Europe that could readily be filled by a "man of sin" the Bible calls "the Beast" and "the Antichrist."
Continental Europe is the primary subject of the prophecies of The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Several chapters therein deal with the latter-day re-empowerment of the Roman Empire just before the coming of the Messiah. Revelation chapter 17 is particularly apropos, and we will deal with it now.
THE BEAST IS ROME, BUT YOU ALREADY KNEW THAT
The angel of Yahweh interprets John's vision with these words:
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will be amazed when they see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. (Rev 17:8)
Back in Revelation 13, two beasts are mentioned, one from the land and one from the sea. The beast of Revelation 17 is a composite of both of these beasts and symbolizes the Roman Empire, personified by the Roman Emperor. Contrasted with Jesus, who is and is to come, this beast is not and is about to go to destruction. The emperor is an antichrist. Yet worldlings today are amazed at the beast, because the Roman Empire, which we had considered disbanded, has suddenly and powerfully arisen from the ashes of two world wars. And a Beast may soon ascend from obscurity to fill the power vacuum and rule the continent.
THE EIGHT BEASTS OF SEVENTEEN
The angel continues:
This calls for a mind that has wisdom: the seven heads ... are seven kings, of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth (king) but it belongs to the seven(th), and it goes to destruction. (Rev 17:9-11)
These eight kings are the Caesars of the Roman Empire of Jesus' time and beyond. Five had come and gone:
(1) Octavius ("Augustus") (31 BC - 14 AD): Jesus was born during his reign,
(2) Tiberius (14 -37): Jesus was crucified during his reign,
(3) Caligula (37 - 41) ordered his image to be worshipped in the Temple,
(4) Claudius (41 - 54) expelled the Jews from Rome (Acts 18:2),
(5) Nero (54 - 68): burned Rome and blamed the Christians.
"One [Caesar] is living" at the time of John's vision:
(6) Vespasian (69 - 79) was called to Rome from his command of the Roman 10th Legion and its siege on Jerusalem. This passage also dates the Revelation to around 69 AD.
One is to come and remain "a little while":
(7) Titus (79 - 81) was Vespasian's son. According to historian Josephus, Titus destroyed Jerusalem and killed or enslaved 1.5 million people in 70 AD. Titus' mistress was Bernice, wife and sister of Herod Agrippa II (Acts 25:23).
(8) The "eighth" Caesar, Domitian (81 - 96), was popularly thought to be the reincarnation of Nero because Domitian, a paranoid maniac, resumed intense persecution of Christians just as Nero had done. Domitian "belongs to the seventh" because he was Titus' younger brother. The angel identifies Domitian as the prototype of the final Antichrist through an ancient numerical trick: sum the numbers 1 .. 8 = 36 (for he is the "eighth") then sum the numbers 1 .. 36 = 666. This does indeed take a mind of wisdom!
January 30, 1933 - Victory for the Reich
II
THE BEAST IN HISTORY
The next verse tells us about 10 kings of the far distant future. Before discussing these kings, it is essential that we trace a few points of the Beast's (Roman Empire's) history previous to their advent.
Diocletian (245 - 311) was a despotic persecutor of the Christians. He split the Roman Empire into two parts, east and west (286), and took the East to himself and appointed Maximian emperor of the West. The Beast Empire is split in two. Previously, Postumus was declared Caesar by his troops in France in 260. He and his successors retained France, Germany (west of the Rhine) and Britain for nearly 15 years. This same territory would become the First Reich under Charles the Great (Charlemagne). And so it is that Rome was split into three parts, the East, the West and the Gallic -- for
The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell (Rev 17:19).
Constantine (272 - 337) inherited the West at his father's death in 306. By 324 he had defeated all his rivals in battle, including his co-emperor of the East, Licinius. By the 4th century, sun worship was an important part of the Imperial cult. Constantine was a sun worshiper. In 312, before battle against his co-emperor Licinius, he saw a vision of a giant cross (the Chi Rho) rising above the sun, with the words In Hoc Signo Vinces ("victory in this sign"). That night he dreamed that Christ commanded him to paint the cross on his soldier's shields for sure victory. The rest of the story is well known. Constantine is now famous for both Christianizing paganism and paganizing Christianity. He changed the Sabbath to Sunday, the day of Helios, the Unconquered Sun. He proclaimed the birth of Christ on Helios' Day, December 25. He was instrumental in forming church policy at the Nicene Council (325) and in authoring the Nicene Creed. He persecuted the Jews as Christ-killers. He stomped out the Donatist and Arian "heresies." Yet he did not permit baptism until he was on his deathbed.
THE FIRST REICH
By the 5th century, two Germanic tribes, the Goths and the Vandals, surrounded and squeezed the Empire. The (Visi)goth king Alaric entered Italy and looted Rome in 410. The capital of the Western Roman Empire was moved to Ravenna, a fortress city. In 455, the Eastern and Western Empires became truly separate political entities when Theodosius II of the East died and Valentinian II of the West was assassinated. By In 476, the Imperial Army of the West, which was full of German mercenaries, rebelled. The Germanic kingdoms, once Roman provinces, inherited the Empire. The geography we know as France, Germany and Austria (plus satellites) continued to be known as "The Holy Roman Empire" clear up until 1806! The Popes served as the link between The Holy Roman Empire and the city of Rome for 1,000 years, coronating emperors and sharing the power of imperial office. Such was the First Reich.
THE SECOND REICH
It was 1870. "By blood and iron," Prussian Prince Otto von Bismarck (1815 - 1898) brought unity to the 39 German states for war against France in 1870. Bismarck became the first chancellor of the new "German Empire" in 1871. Designed for military conquest, the Second Reich expired when German Emperor William II ("Kaiser Wilhelm") escaped Germany for Holland November 10, 1918. William II lived in seclusion the rest of his life, dying an old man in 1941. But he lived to see the resurgence of German might, and was buried with full military honors by order of Adolf Hitler.
THE THIRD REICH
By his own admission, Hitler asserted the Roman Empire's continuity by the military might of his Third Reich (1934 - 1945). The "axis" of the Axis Powers was between Rome and Berlin, Rome still playing "The Harlot" with the Beast. The Third Reich seemed to have finally ended when Hitler inflicted himself with a fatal head wound in 1945 (just as Nero "the German" had done in 69 AD). More than 50 years later we find Hitler and the Third Reich more alive than ever --- along with the death, destruction, devilishness --- through the medium of television and motion pictures. Even tonight we are reminded of the Holocaust as we watch The Hiding Place on television.
A PROPHECY FOR OUR TIME?
And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are united in yielding their power and authority to the beast; they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful. (Rev 17:12-14)
Here is prophecy for a distant future -- perhaps for our time. Ten kings will rule together with the Beast for a very short time, lending their sovereign powers to his. Ten is meant to mean a small, complete number (not necessarily a literal "ten").
Europe vs US
click pic for article
Fifty-four years have passed since the rise and fall of the Third Reich. Forty-eight years have passed since the initial formation of the European Union. In 1990, the Germanys were liberated and reunified; the capital is now back in Berlin. And Europe is becoming a unified economic entity with Germany once again in a position of leadership. A common currency, the Euro, started circulating January 1, 1999 with great fanfare. The new Roman Empire, the United States of Europe, is scheduled to be chartered exactly 3 1/2 years later, July 1, 2002. ("A time, times and half a time.")
Certainly the prophecy points to Europe, and perhaps the time it points to is now. The European Union (EU) may be comprised of the "ten kings yielding their authority to the beast." Name any ten or so -- French president, German chancellor, English Monarch -- any ten European "kings" will fill the requirement. According to scripture, these kings give their authority over to the Last Caesar, the Final Beast, who will move the capital city of Europe from Strasbourg back to Rome. Get ready!
