Final warning
a history of the new world order
chapter twelve
the curtain falls
prieure de sion
In the mid-1980’s, an incredible revelation was made in regard to the unity of Europe, the forces behind it, and its relationship to the man who will rise to prominence in Europe’s political community. First, let me relate the information as I have gathered it, and then afterward I will comment on how it may fit into the prophetic scheme of things. However, before embarking on this section, I have to warn you that you are going to be reading a mixture of factual history, as well revisionist history that represents a radical departure from the views traditionally held by Christians. I do not share these views, or advocate them in any way, but include them only for you to see how it may possibly have a bearing on end-time prophecy.
In 1891, in Rennes-le-Chateau, a tiny southern French mountaintop village, parish priest Berenger Sauniere, made a discovery while doing renovations to restore a church which had been dedicated to Mary Magdalene in 1059. The altar stone had been removed, which rested on two old Visigoth columns, one of which was found to be hollow. Inside were four parchments sealed in wooden tubes. Two were genealogies, one dated from 1244, which carried the seal of Queen Blanche de Castille, mother of King Louis IX; and the other dated from 1644 by Francois-Pierre d´Hautpoul.
Of the other two documents, the Testament of Henri d´Hautpoul, which was dated 1695, was written in French, and is believed to be a complex code detailing a state secret; and the other parchment, written in the 1780’s by a priest, Antoine Bigou, was written in Latin, and contained two coded Biblical texts, one on each side of the page, which were excerpts from the New Testament. Sauniere went to Paris to present the parchments to Church authorities.
Also during the restoration, a flagstone dating to the 7th or 8th century was removed, allegedly revealing a burial chamber, which contained skeletons; and because of the amount of money he would soon begin to spend– a treasure of some sort. There has been much speculation about what this treasure could have been.
Some talk had centered around the Holy Grail. The Grail was believed to be a chalice made of gold, which was first used by Melchizedek as he offered bread and wine to Abraham on Mount Moriah. It was guarded in a Phoenician temple in Tyre, the city of Hiram, the king who designed and built Solomon’s Temple. It fell into the hands of the Queen of Sheba, who gave it to King Solomon, and it was last used by Jesus and the disciples during the Last Supper. Other traditions have said that it was used by Mary Magdalene or Joseph of Arimathea to catch the blood of Jesus as it dripped off of His body while He hung on the cross. It was believed that Joseph took the cup to Glastonbury in England; while others claim that Mary took it with her to Marseilles in France.
The Cathars, who descended from the Bogomils in Bulgaria, and existed around the 10th and the 11th centuries, were perceived to be a wealthy people, and were said to possess a treasure beyond material wealth. In January, 1244, three months before the fall of their fortress in Montsegur, two men got out with the gold, silver, and money. As their defeat seemed eminent, the northern invaders served them with terms of surrender in March, and gave the Cathars two weeks to make a decision.
One of the terms of this ‘cease-fire,’ was that if anyone tried to escape, they would be killed. A day before the surrender, when they would have been released, four men escaped on a rope, down the sheer western face of the fortress. According to legend, the risk was made to protect their treasure. But if all their gold and silver had been smuggled out three months before, what did they risk their lives to protect. Was it the Holy Grail?
The Knights of King Arthur’s Round Table searched for the Grail, and legend has it that three of them seen it– Galahad, Percival, and Bors. Later stories revealed that the Grail was kept at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Rennes-le-Chateau, which is where she made her home.
Others believe that the treasure Sauniere found may have been the Temple treasure. In 70 AD when Rome ransacked Jerusalem, carrying its treasure back to Rome, it was believed that they may have gotten all of the Temple wealth, including the Ark of the Covenant. In 410, when the Visigoths invaded Rome, they carried away, “the treasures of Solomon, the King of the Hebrews, a sight most worthy to be seen, for they were adorned in the most part with emerald’s and in the olden time they had been taken from Jerusalem by the Romans.”
Or, could the treasure discovered by Sauniere been the treasure plundered from the Temple grounds by the Knights Templar.
Many of the Crusaders who went to Palestine to fight against the Moslem invaders were French Catholics, and by 1061, they had conquered Jerusalem, and put Godfroi de Bouillon (1061-1100), Duke of Lower Lorraine, on the throne of Jerusalem. Known as the ‘Guardian of the Holy Sepulcher,’ he claimed to be of the lineage of David, and between 1090 and 1099, organized a secret society called the Prieuré de Sion (Order of Sion). His aims were to possess the wealth of the world, including the Temple treasure, and to establish world government which would be controlled by a Merovingian king in Jerusalem.
Though deposed in the 8th century, the Merovingian dynasty and bloodline continued, and was perpetuated with Dagobert II, and his son, Sigisbert IV. Through alliances and intermarriages, this line continued through Godfroi. This bloodline was known as a “royal tradition ... founded on the rock of Sion,” which was considered to be equal to other European dynasties.
Their headquarters was at the Abbey of Notre Dame du Mont de Sion, in southern Jerusalem on Mount Sion, where the ruins of a Byzantine basilica from the 4th century stood, which was called the Mother of All Churches. It was Godfroi’s younger brother, Baudouin I, who became the first king of Jerusalem; it was the Prieuré de Sion that created the Knights Templar as its military arm.
In 1118, Hugues de Payen, a nobleman from Champagne, and Godfroi de St. Omer, a French Knight, along with seven other Knights, founded the Order of the Knights Templar (Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon). They swore to live according to the rules of St. Augustine, and to use their swords, arms, and strength to defend the Christian faith. They also took vows of chastity and poverty, and promised not to join any other organization. They pledged to “keep the roads and highways safe ... for the protection of pilgrims” and not to surrender any wall, or foot of land.
They offered their services to Baudouin I, the King of Jerusalem, and an entire wing of the royal palace on the Temple Mount (the site of Solomon’s Temple) was given to them to be used as a living quarters. In 1139, Pope Innocent II decreed that these Knights of Christ owed their allegiance to no one but the Pope (thus becoming a military arm of the Catholic Church), and they began to wear white robes with a red cross on the front. They carried a black and white striped banner which displayed the cross, and the words: “Non nobis, Domine, sed nomini tuo da gloriam,” which became their battle cry. Their meetings were carried out in secret.
It is known, that for nine years, the Knights were searching for something beneath the Temple grounds, and evidence points to the fact that they might have found something. In March, 1952, a copper scroll found in cave III at Qumran, near the Dead Sea, revealed that more than 138 tons of gold and silver were buried in 64 locations, before the Romans destroyed the Temple. It is believed that 24 of these locations were under the Temple Mount, which was plundered by the Knights Templar and taken to Europe, where it became the basis for the establishment of the international banking system.
In 1153, a nobleman, Bertrand de Blanchefort, who lived only a couple of miles from Rennes-le-Chateau, became the 4th Grand Master of the Knights Templar He escalated their growth into the diplomatic and political circles, and established a Templar presence in the area. Their numbers soon increased to 9,000, and the Order spread to Tripoli, Antioch, Cyprus, Portugal, Castile, Leon, Arragon, France, Flanders, the Netherlands, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Italy and Sicily. They had a presence in most areas adhering to Christianity.
In 1187, after the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin, they were forced to move their headquarters to the island of Cyprus; and in 1188, the Prieuré de Sion withdrew their control from the Knights Templar and separated from them. They moved their headquarters to a Temple in Paris, and through their organization and wealth, the Knights became the bankers of Europe.
By the end of the 12th century, they had 30,000 members (mostly French), and they fought in the wars of their own countries. They soon gained so much power, that their Grand Master Jacques du Molay became a challenge to the authority of King Philip IV (‘the Fair’). Between 1303-05, King Philip had Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303) kidnapped and killed, and had his successor, Pope Benedict XI (1303-05) poisoned; then had his own man, Clement V (1305-16), elected to the vacant papal throne. Pope Clement worked with Philip to begin a campaign to destroy the power and the influence of the Knights, the Merovingian bloodline, and to confiscate their treasures.
In Germany, Spain, and Cyprus, they were acquitted of any charges; but not in England, Italy, and France. On October 13, 1307, all the Templars in France were arrested, amidst charges by a former member (Esquian de Horian), and an investigation by Pope Clement, who said that they appeared to serve Christ, but actually worshipped Lucifer. Accusations included: immorality, heresy, denying Christ and the Virgin Mary; spitting and stepping on the cross; burning the bodies of dead Templars and giving the ashes to initiates to mix in with their food and drink; carrying out rituals with a skull, believed to be that of founder Hugues de Payen; and worshipping a demon who took on the form of a cat.
When King Philip’s men broke into the Templar castle in Paris, they discovered a silver bust of a woman’s head, with a hinged top, which when opened, contained two head bones wrapped in a white cloth, with a red cloth around that. They were believed to be part of the skeletal remains of Mary Magdalene.
It was revealed, that part of the initiation, required the initiate to deny, curse, and spit at the cross, as part of a gesture symbolizing St. Peter’s denial of Christ, thus introducing the candidate to the Order as a sinner, so they could teach him the ways of Christianity. In actuality, the Knights had actually become opposed to the Pope, when they realized the Vatican’s pagan relationship to sun worship; and since the Catholic Church had become so identified with St. Peter, the Knights had renounced Peter, and became followers of John.
In 1312, Pope Clement ordered that the Knights Templar were to be suppressed. On March 18, 1314, Jacques de Molay, the 22nd Grand Master of the Knights, Geoffrey de Charney (who possessed the Shroud of Turin, which was stolen from Constantinople), and two of their highest officers were burned at the stake for trying to overthrow the government. In England, Edward II joined in the denunciation by arresting and torturing 140 knights, 54 of whom were burned at the stake.
Some of the remaining Templars fled to Portugal, where there were protected by King Dinis II. Most however took refuge in Scotland, where they stayed for 400 years, developing the Scottish Rite branch of Masonry. In England, where the Templars established the first modern Masonic lodge at York, it was identified as the York Rite; while in France, it became known as the Scottish Rite. To signify the accomplishments of the Order, it was made the highest attainable degree in Masonry. It is said that “every true Mason is a Knight Templar...”
Meanwhile, the Prieuré de Sion existed for another 300 years, until 1619, when the historical record dried up.
According to recent information, it is believed that Sauniere’s ‘treasure’ was actually the knowledge gleaned from the parchments, that the crucifixion of Jesus was a set-up, and that He was alive as of 45 AD. Sauniere’s niece, Madame James of Montazels, inherited the parchments in 1917, and kept them until 1965 when she sold them to Capt. Roland Stanmore and Sir Thomas Frazier, who keep them in a safe deposit box in Lloyds Bank Europe Limited of London. Only two of the parchments have been released, the contents of the other two have not been revealed.
In the original sources concerning the Holy Grail, references are not to a cup, but to a mystery.
In the 1180’s, “Le Roman de Perceval” (or “Le Conte du Graal”), a poem by Chretien de Troyes, chronicles one, Perceval, who seeks his knighthood. At the castle of the “Fisher King” he sees the Grail, which is golden and is studded with jewels. It is not linked to Jesus. Perceval discovers that he is a member of the “Grail family” because the custodian of the Grail is his uncle. Chretian died before completing his work, and no copies exist. However, the story lived on, becoming closely aligned with King Arthur.
“Roman de l´Estoire dou Saint Graal” by Robert de Baron in the 1190’s was the version that Christianized the story, claiming that Joseph of Arimathea filled the cup with Christ’s blood, and that his family became the keeper of the Grail. Galahad was purported to be Joseph’s son, and the Grail was passed onto his brother-in-law, Brons, who took it with him to England, becoming the “Fisher King.” In this version, Perceval is the grandson.
The most noted version is “Parzival,” which was written between 1195 and 1216 by Wolfram von Eschenbach, a Bavarian Knight who claimed that Chretien’s version was inaccurate because Wolfram received his information from a more reliable source. He said that the Grail is some sort of stone. But more important, is his preoccupation with the Grail family, the genealogy, or bloodline.
In early stories, the Grail is called the Sangraal and Sangreal, which was divided to read ‘San Graal’ or ‘San Greal,’ when in fact, it should have read ‘Sang Raal’ or ‘Sang Real,’ meaning ‘Royal Blood.’ So therefore, the Grail actually had more to do with blood, and not a cup which held blood.
The “Queste del Saint Graal” written between 1215 and 1230, indicated that the Grail was brought to France by Mary Magdalene, and that the Grail story occurred about 456 years after the resurrection of Jesus, or about 487, which was about the time of the rise in Merovingian power.
In 1964, according to the book The Jesus Scroll (1972) by Donovan Joyce, an ancient parchment scroll was excavated on the western shore of the Dead Sea, at the ruins of the fortress of Masada. It was there that 965 Jewish men, women, and children, burned the complex, killed each other, and committed suicide, rather than be captured by the Romans.
The Jewish rebellion against Roman rule and their occupancy force came to a head in 66 AD when several thousand zealots stormed Masada and seized King Herod’s fortress. From there, the movement spread, as loyalists hoped to restore the throne of the Maccabean kings, which has been usurped a century earlier. One part of the rebel army stayed at Masada, while the other marched on Jerusalem. The attempt to recapture the city failed, and the survivors retreated back to Masada.
Rome struck back, and four years later, with nearly a million dead, and many enslaved, Jerusalem was firmly in their grasp, the Temple was destroyed, and the entire country was overrun. The Roman Tenth Legion, under the command of Flavius Silva, spent three years with a legion of 6,000 men, and 15,000 Jewish slaves, to build an assault tower in order to destroy the last vestiges of Jewish resistance at Masada.
When the Roman soldiers breached the walls of the fortress, they found only corpses, as the occupants preferred death to being captured and enslaved.
In 1963, Masada was excavated by the Israeli Dept. of Antiquities in a massive archaeological operation led by Israeli scholar and soldier, Gen. Yigael Yadin. They discovered coins, tools, weapons, catapult ammunition, wine jars, beads, rings, buckles, jewelry, cosmetics, ovens, pots, pans, lamps, dishes, baskets, and remnants of woven fabric clothing, as well as 14 parchment scrolls containing Biblical text (Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Ezekiel), the apocryphal Wisdom of Ben-Sira, and Book of Jubilees, and a sectarian scroll which provided a link between the zealots and the Essenes of Qumran, 30 miles north of Masada.
In a cave on the upper face of the southern-most cliff below the plateau, reached by descending to it with a rope, 25 skeletons were found: 14 males, ages 22-60; a man between 70 and 80; six females between 15-22; four children from 8-12; and a fetus. It had been believed that all of the bodies had been thrown over the side; so either the Roman centurions were unaware of this group which were separated from the main complex, or they were allowed to remain where they had fallen, just as the three skeletons found in Herod’s palace at the northern end of the complex, which were believed to be that of Eleazar ben Yáir, the Jewish commander, his wife and child, and left there as a tribute to his valor. The three were formally buried in July, 1969, at the foot of Masada in a common grave, with full military honors.
It seems likely that there was an easier access to the cave, back at that time, which had since eroded away, the face of which was clearly visible from at least two nearby camps, so it had to have been searched. Which means Silva may have known that this was a special group, and also left them untouched.
If the purpose of the rebel’s presence at Masada was to restore the Hasmonean throne, then why did the war continue another six years after the death of their leader Mennahem at the battle in Jerusalem. The prevailing evidence suggested that there was someone at Masada more senior than either Eleazar or Mennahem. Because of the discovery of this document, it is now believed that the Zealots on Masada were actually a bodyguard contingent for the Hasmonean Royal Family, headed by Jesus, their king and Messiah, who they swore to defend till the death.
Another document which was discovered, had been written on the evening of April 15, 73 AD, just after the Roman battering ram had compromised the fortress gate, and was pulled back, to await the Roman attack which would come at first light. The document was signed by Yeshua ben Yákob ben Gennesareth, who described himself as a “son of eighty years” (this would have placed his birth at 7 BC) and the last heir of the Hasmonean (Maccabean) King of Israel.
Translated, the name was ‘Jesus of Gennesareth, son of Jacob.’ This document was the 15th parchment to be discovered on Masada, and it is believed that it was smuggled out of Israel by a rogue archaeologist, and taken to Russia. Because it can not be located, the details given about it were only hearsay. The contents were allegedly revealed to the Vatican in February, 1967, because after a meeting between Podgorny of the U.S.R.R. and Pope Paul, the Vatican did an about face, and began supporting the Moslems in their quest for a homeland in Palestine.
Let me interject, that Yadin, in his book Masada: Herod’s Fortress and the Zealots’ Last Stand says of the 25 bodies, that the “only feasible assumption is that they were flung here irreverently by the Roman troops when they cleared the bodies after their victory.” Plus, he never mentions the discovery of a 15th scroll.
So, how could the veracity of this story even be considered? There is a developing trend that purports that Jesus was not the product of a virgin birth, that He was a normal man with a messianic complex, who was part of a conspiracy to fake his own death in order to fulfill Old Testament prophecy. It is believed that the Last Supper was actually a meeting to plan a way for Jesus to cheat death.
Dr. Hugh J. Schonfield, in his book The Passover Plot (1965), theorized that the vinegar-soaked sponge given to Jesus during the crucifixion, actually contained a drug that made Jesus appear as though He were dead, when he really wasn’t. This insured the prophetic fulfillment that his legs would not be broken (which was done to bring death quicker). Joseph of Arimathea (a member of the Sanhedrin) then went to Pilate to ask for permission to claim the body, so that it could be interred in a tomb owned by Joseph. Pilate sent a centurion to confirm that Jesus was dead. When Joseph asked for the body, he referred to it as ‘soma,’ (living); while Pilate referred to the body as ‘ptoma’ (dead).
To substantiate these facts, it is pointed out that the place of the crucifixion had to be near the tomb. While the other gospels state that He was crucified at Golgotha, “the place of the skull,” John 19:41 says that he was crucified in a garden, where a new sepulcher had been hewn by Joseph. This garden was actually ‘Golgeth,’ the ‘wheel press,’ where olives were pressed into oil, which was the Garden of Gethsemane. Some have even theorized that Joseph was actually the former husband of Mary, who had left Nazareth, and established himself at Jerusalem. After the story about Jesus in the Temple, Joseph is not mentioned again. The ‘angels’ seen at the tomb were said to be Essene physicians who were sent to revive Jesus, thus creating the illusion of a resurrection.
The apocryphal Gospel of Peter, discovered in an upper Nile valley in 1886, had existed as early as 180 AD, and reveals that Joseph of Arimathea was a friend of Pontius Pilate, and that Jesus was buried in the “garden of Joseph.” Basilides, an Alexandrian scholar, who wrote various commentaries on the Gospels between 120 and 130 AD, believed that Jesus did not die on the cross. In December, 1945, an Egyptian peasant discovered a pot near the village of Nag Hammadi in northern Egypt, which contained 13 scrolls, which consisted of copies of Biblical texts, which dated to about 400 AD, and were based on writings that were no older than 150 AD, and provides a good historical reference because they were not altered by the Roman Catholic Church.
In one, the Second Treatise of the Great Seth, it talks about Jesus escaping His death on the cross through substitution, who was identified as Simon of Cyrene. An ancient document, found in the 4th century, in the library of a building used by Greek monks, said that Nicodemus and Joseph conspired to retrieve the body of Jesus so that it could be revived by Essene physicians.
A document found in the 19th century by a member of the Societe Francaise Commerciale in Abyssinia, in the library of an old building formerly occupied by Greek monks, said that Jesus was born in Nazareth, was an Essene, and that after the crucifixion, Nicodemus told Joseph that he was going to resuscitate Jesus, but that John was not to know it. Inside the tomb, using Essene medical knowledge, stimulative substances were burned, and strips of ointment-covered linen were applied to the body. After the treatment, the stone put over the tomb opening held the vapors in.
Three days later, an Essene brother, in festive garments, went to the tomb, and the soldiers, thinking him to be an angel, ran away. Then 24 Essenes showed up, and spirited Jesus away to their commune. However, Jesus insisted on leaving and went to his disciples, and they believed him to have risen from the dead.
A document known as The Crucifixion by an Eye Witness, was a Latin manuscript in the possession of a Masonic library in Germany, which surfaced near the end of the 1800’s, and was said to have been copied from a letter written by a member of the Essene Order, to another in Alexandria, only seven years after the crucifixion.
It revealed that Jesus was the son of Mary and an Essene teacher who was not identified. It talked about the crucifixion, Jesus’ removal from the cross, and the Essene medical intervention which enabled him to survive the crucifixion; and by appearing to His disciples afterwards, made it seem as though He had risen from the dead. It was first published in 1873, but was withdrawn from circulation, its plates destroyed, as well as most copies. One copy did find its way into the possession of a Mason in Massachusetts, and in 1907, it was republished in Chicago.
The letter says of the birth of Jesus:
“I will tell you of the parentage of this man, who loved all men and for whom we feel the highest esteem. He was from his infancy brought up for our brotherhood. Indeed, he was predicted by an Essene, whom the woman thought to be an angel. This woman was given to many imaginings, delving into the supernatural and into the mysteries of life. Our brother the Essene has acknowledged his part in these things and has persuaded the brotherhood to search for and protect the child secretly.”
“Joseph, who was a man of great experience is life and of deep devotion to the immortal truth, was influenced, through a messenger of our Order, not to leave the woman nor disturb her faith in the sacredness of her experience. He was told to be a father to the child until our brotherhood should admit him as a novice. Thus, during their flight to Egypt, Joseph, his wife and the child were secretly protected and guided by our brotherhood.”
Apocryphal writings indicate that while in Egypt, Joseph and Mary stayed at the monasteries of Wadi-el-Natrun, Mataria, and al-Moharraq, which were run by the Essenes.
According to Josephus, the Essenes were “the most perfect of all sects in Palestine.” He wrote that “they despise riches and worldly gains and live in communes,” and “are the most honest people in the world … exercise justice and equality … never marry, and they keep no servants. They all live the same simple, industrious and frugal life.” He described them as a secret brotherhood that were against the Pharisees and Sadducees, abhorred violence, wore white robes, were vegetarians, did not believe in animal sacrifice, studied the healing properties of herbs, possessed a high moral standard, and observed celibacy.
In 1963, scrolls known as the Talmud of Jmmanuel, were discovered by Greek Catholic priest, Isa Rashid, in a cave he claimed was the burial cave of Jesus. Written in old Aramaic, sealed in protective resin, and buried under a flat rock, it is believed to have been written by Judas Iscariot. Pieces of the scrolls were missing, some unreadable, some deteriorating, yet, what had survived, was completely contrary to the story of Jesus as related in the Bible.
The document claims that Joseph of Arimathea realized that Jesus was still alive, and quickly went to Pilate to request the body, taking it back to his own tomb. There was a secret second entrance, and it was through here that his friends were able to bring the herbs and salves necessary to provide medical treatment. In three days he was strong enough to walk.
After a few appearances to his disciples, he went to Syria, then to India, and the area now known as West Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Himalayas, where he continued to teach. He married and had children, and it was believed that he died at the age of, between 110-115 years old, in Anzimar in Khanyar Srinagar, which is located in Kashmir, India. These scrolls were in the possession of his first born son, who returned to Jerusalem, and hid them in the burial cave of Joseph of Arimathea where Jesus had been taken.
The ‘sacred tomb in Kashmir’ is the burial site of a man known as Yazu Asaph (also written as Yuz Asaf), who was known as a prophet. He came to this valley about 2000 years ago from Egypt, teaching the same things as Jesus. Located in a small, rectangular brick and wood structure, he is buried in a wooden sepulcher which contains an inner wooden sarcophagus that is covered with a sacred shroud, and a rectangular stone slab.
The structure seems to be built over an ancient stone structure which actually contains the remains of Asaph. A tiny opening allows you to see into the crypt below the floor, and into the burial chamber.
Inside the shrine is a smaller tombstone, which is that of an Islamic saint Syed Nasir-ud Din, who was buried there in the 15th century. Both tombstones are aligned north-to-south, following Islamic custom, but the sarcophagus in the crypt below containing Asaph’s remains are aligned east-to-west, which is a Jewish custom.
Chiseled on a stone slab are the impressions of his two feet which bear the traces of crucifixion wounds, conceivably of the man who is buried there. The nature of the wounds indicate that the man was crucified with the left foot over the right, with one nail going through both feet– which matches the pattern of the figure on the Shroud of Turin, which is purported to be the burial cloth of Jesus.
It is also believed that Mary, the mother of Jesus, accompanied Jesus and Mary Magdalene to India. She died when she was 70 years old, trying to escape when the Kushans attacked the region of Taxila. The place she was buried in Pakistan (45 miles east of Taxila) was called ‘Mari’ until 1875, when the spelling was changed to ‘Murree.’ The tomb is called ‘Mai-Mari-de-Asthan’ or ‘resting place of mother Mary.’ No other tombs in the world are purported to be that of Mary. Mary Magdalene is reported to have died at Kashgar, in central Asia, and it was actually Martha, that took her son, along with some other followers of Jesus, to France, where she lived till her death.
Then came the story of St. Hazrat Issa. Around 1887, Nicolas Notovitch, a Russian journalist, while traveling in Ladakh in Tibet, had fallen from his horse and broke his right leg, below the knee, and was taken to the monastery at Hemis (Himis), 25 miles from Leh, the capital of Ladakh (400 miles north of Delhi), located in a hidden valley of the Himalayas, some 11,000 feet above sea level. There, the chief lama read him the story of Issa, the man he knew as Jesus, which said that during the 17 years in which he is not mentioned in the scriptures, Jesus was in India.
He was told that they had many scrolls describing the “life and acts of the Buddha Issa, who preached the holy doctrine in India and among the children of Israel.” He visited the monastery at Mulbekh, and was told that at the archives at Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, there were several thousand ancient scrolls detailing the life of Issa, and that some of the principal monasteries also had copies.
The documents, which had been brought from India, to Nepal, and then to Tibet, were originally written in Pali, the religious language of the Buddhists, and then translated into Tibetan. Notovitch believed that the verses “may have been actually been spoken by St. Thomas– historical sketches traced by his own hand or under his direction.”
There are various references to the apostle Thomas (also known as Didymus, Judas, and “twin brother of Christ, apostle of the Highest who shares in the knowledge of the hidden words of Christ…”), who, according to religious tradition, introduced Christianity to India in 52 AD.
The apocryphal Acta Thomae (The Acts of St. Thomas) written in the early 3rd century, said: “When the Apostles had been for a time in Jerusalem, they divided the countries among them in order that each might preach in the region which fell to him; and India (Parthia, northwest region of India, from the Euphrates to Indus and India proper), fell to the lot of Thomas.” He went to India as a carpenter, and preached the gospel to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Bactrians, Indians, and Hyrecaneans.
One story said that he arrived at the coast of Malabar in 52, and established his first church there. Another story said that after spending some time in the North, he went south, along the coast of the Arabian Sea. And yet another story said he arrived in the state of Kerala in 52, where it is believed that Thomas established seven churches: Cranganore, Palur, Kottakavu, Kokkamangalam, Niram, Chayal, and Quilon. After a couple years he went to South Tamil, and Tamil Najd.
According to a 2nd century Syrian manuscript called The Doctrine of the Apostles, it says:
“After the death of the Apostles, there were Guides and Rulers in the Churches; and whatever the Apostles communicated to them, and they had received from them, they taught to the multitudes. They, again, at their deaths also committed and delivered to their disciples after them everything which they had received from the Apostles; also what James had written from Jerusalem and Simon from the City of Rome, and John from Ephesus and Mark from the great Alexandria, and Andrew from Phrygia and Luke from Macedonia and Thomas from India, that the epistles of an Apostle might be received and read in the churches in every place ... India and all its own countries and those bordering on it even to the farthest sea, received the Apostles’ Hand of Priesthood from Thomas, who was Guide and Ruler in the Church which he built there and ministered there.”
His writings speak of the conversion of a king named Gundaphar, and in the 19th century, some coins were discovered in Afghanistan, near the capital city of Kabul, and in the western and southern regions on the Indian Punjab, which bear the name Godophares, and date back to 20 and 40 AD.
He went from the west coast to the east, to Mylapore (near Madras in southern India, now called St. Thomas Mount), on the Bay of Bengal, where in 72, he was killed by an assassin sent by the ministers of the king, while he was kneeling in prayer. After being pierced by the spear, he fell on a hand-carved stone cross.
This cross was rediscovered by some Portuguese workers on March 22, 1547, as they were digging the foundation for the church that was built on the site. His relics were preserved in a cathedral dedicated to him. The Roman Catholic Church considers the Cathedral of St. Thomas a Basilica, because it was erected over his tomb. However, another source said he was buried six miles away at the church he built, near Fort St. George in Tamil Nadj in India.
Notovich published his findings in New York in 1890 as The Life of Saint Issa, and in London in 1894, as The Unknown Life of Christ. He said that the Roman Catholic Church was aware of the existence of these manuscripts, and in fact have 63 complete, or partial copies of similar manuscripts in various languages.
Notovich was treated by Dr. Karl Marx (not the Russian Revolutionary), who recorded the information in his diary that is in the possession of the Moravian Christian Mission at Leh. However, the New York Times published a story about J. Archibald Douglas who visited the same monastery, and they told him they never saw Notovich, and knew nothing of a Saint Issa. They labeled Notovich’s book a forgery.
In 1921, a tourist named Henrietta Merrick visited the monastery at Hemis, was told about Issa, and that there were documents that had been in their possession for 1500 years that talked about him.
In 1922, Swami Abhedananda, a scholar, Hindu monk, and a disciple of Ramakrishna, went to India, visited the same monastery at Hemis, and was also told about St. Issa from their copy of the scroll; and he was shown an original copy of the scroll at the monastery in Lhasa, Tibet, which vindicated the incredible claims of Notovitch. He translated it into English, and then in 1929 to Bengali.
In 1928, Professor Nicolai Roerich also traveled to Ladakh and Kashmir, where he visited the Hemis monastery, saw many scrolls, and found out that the writings concerning Issa were kept in the most isolated part of the subterranean storage areas.
Roerich said that the Tibetan scroll he found indicated that Issa was 13 years old when he secretly left his father’s house left for India, and Notovich records in his book that he was 14 when he went to India, as does the Natha Namavali (or Sutra). He didn’t want to marry, which pushed him into leaving home. He traveled east with a caravan of merchants to Pakistan.
The apocryphal Gospel of the Hebrews (also known as the Gospel According to the Hebrews) said that Jesus traveled to India by way of Assyria and Chaldea with a group of merchants. His first stop was Sindh, where the Indus River and its tributaries flow into the Arabian Sea. He then went to Punjab and Rajputana, and then to Orissa. The evidence suggested that Issa stayed at the Temple of Jagannath in Puri for 6 years. He also visited Rajagriha, Varanasi (Benares) and other holy cities.
Issa then left the temple so he could visit the birthplace of Buddha, and lived in the Buddhist monastery there, where he was educated in the teachings of Buddha.
Sakyamuni Buddha (563 - 483 BC) was a well-educated prince who renounced his royalty (his father was the Chief of the Shakya Clain in Kapilavastu, in Nepal), because of his disillusionment with the ravages of illness and old age. At Gaya, while meditating under a Bodhi tree, he had a vision, and became ‘enlightened.’ He taught about “non-violence, peace, and compassion.” About 300 years later, Ashoka Maurya (269-232 BC), emperor of northern India, converted to Buddhism, and sent missionaries to many countries. In fact, it has been suggested that the Pythagoreans in Greece, and Essene community in Judea, was the result of missionary work by Buddhists. The man known as Issa was considered to be the incarnate of the spirit of Buddha, and was revered as a great prophet and teacher.
After 6 years in the foothills of the Himalayas in southern Nepal, he was recognized as a Master, and “had become a perfect expositor of the sacred writings.” He left, traveling westward. He passed through Punjab, and met up with a caravan of merchants from Kashmir, and he performed miracles among them, including the healing of the sick.
He returned to Egypt where he appeared before the Essene brotherhood, where he passed 7 tests, after which he was proclaimed the Christ. In a meeting before the 7 ‘Sages’ Issa said:
“The history of life is well condensed in these immortal postulates: ‘There are seven hills on which the holy city shall be built; there are seven sure foundation stones on which the universal church shall stand.’ The words I speak are not my own; they are the words of him whose will I do.”
“And from men of low estate I will select twelve men, who represent twelve immortal thoughts, and these will be the model of the church. And when a better age shall come, the universal church will stand upon the seven postulates. And in the name of God, our Father God, the kingdom of the soul shall be established on the seven hills. And all the peoples, tribes, and tongues of the earth shall enter in. The prince of peace will take his seat upon the throne of power; the triune God will then be All in All.”
He returned to Palestine when he was 29 years old, and the remainder of the narrative pretty much parallels the New Testament, except that the Jewish priests and elders are portrayed as supporting him, and Pilate is the one working behind the scenes to bring about his death. The text then ends with the persecution of his followers, and the disciples being sent forth to preach.
According to tradition, Issa died when he was 125 years old.
In 367, Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria made a list of writings which were to become what we now know as the New Testament. His selections were ratified by the Church Council of Hippo in 393, and again four years later, by the Council of Carthage. Therefore certain ‘books’ were left out, and were ‘lost’ even though some may have been historically accurate. One of the primary duties of the Church fathers between the 7th and 12th centuries was to obtain manuscripts from collections in Eastern countries, which contained information that differed from the version accepted and taught by the Church. These original documents may still be in the Vatican archives.
The first mention of the resurrection of Jesus appears in 1 Corinthians 15:3- 8, because it is believed that this was actually written about ten years before Mark was written. Therefore the stories concerning the resurrection of Jesus were unknown to Paul. In 1 Corinthians 9:1, Paul says: “...have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?” yet there is no historical reference that he knew Jesus. The word “seen” was translated from the Greek word ‘ophthe,’ which means to have one’s eyes opened to realms beyond this physical world, which refers to visions.
It is the same verb which is used by Isaiah (Isa. 6:1) when he said: “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne...” It was also used in Luke 24:34 to say that Jesus “appeared to Simon” and in the Book of Acts to describe the resurrection. Paul never spoke of a physical resurrection, because in light of the proper translation, it was only in a spiritual resurrection, where Jesus now “sitteth on the right hand of God.” (Col. 3:10)
Nearly a hundred “gospels” appeared during the first three centuries, and to preserve continuity and protect the new Christian religion, the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were chosen. Despite some gaps and contradictions, they were very similar. These books were not written during Jesus’ lifetime, but date from a time of major revolution in Judea, 66-74 and 132-135, and the earlier writings that they had been based upon have since been lost.
The argument has been made, that though some apocryphal gospels are derived from some sects that are doctrinely different from Christianity, their appearance, some in the early 2nd century, suggest that they were closer to the actual events than the four gospels, and possibly more historically accurate.
What all the writers of the Gospels had, concerning Jesus, was just an outline of the man. There were no eyewitnesses to consult, so where there was a void in detail, they just referred to the Hebrew Scriptures to fill in the blanks. For example, the removal of Jesus to Egypt by His earthly father Joseph, hearkens back to the patriarch Joseph in the Book of Genesis; the story about the young Jesus in the Temple, was modeled after Samuel’s Temple experiences; the Sermon on the Mount was an attempt to paint Him as another Moses; the story of Jesus’ raising of the widow’s son at Nain, was taken from Elijah’s raising of the widow’s son in 1 Kings 17:17; Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 was just a retelling of God’s providing for Moses’ people as they wondered in the wilderness; the story of Jesus walking on the water, was a misunderstanding of the Greek preposition which could mean ‘on’ or ‘alongside of’; and the ascension of Jesus was taken from the story of Elijah being taken up into Heaven.
The earliest Gospel was considered to be Mark, which was compiled between 66-74 in Rome, and was believed to address a Greco-Roman readership, and if he wanted it to survive, he could not make it appear as though the Romans were responsible for the death of Jesus. It actually ends without the disciples’ assertion that Jesus rose from the dead, and only says that the women were told that He had risen. Mark never mentions whether He was ever seen after the crucifixion.
In 1958, in a monastery near Jerusalem, Professor Morton Smith of Columbia University, discovered a letter that contained a missing fragment of the Gospel of Mark, which through the years had been suppressed by Bishop Clement of Alexandria, who was informed that a gnostic sect known as the Carpocratians were interpreting various passages in the Gospel of Mark for their own purposes, which did not coincide with Church doctrine. The passage was part of the story about Lazarus being raised from the dead, and hinted that he wasn’t actually dead.
Along with the exclusion, there was also an addition, because the original manuscript ended with the death and burial of Christ, and the discovery of an empty tomb. Yet, the version that exists today, includes the Resurrection, which was added in the 2nd century, making the last twelve verses of Mark fraudulent. However, research by Ivan Panin (outlined in a booklet called The Last Twelve Verses of Mark), utilizing analysis of numeric design, has done a lot to reaffirm its authenticity.
The gospels of Luke and Matthew used Mark as a source for their writings. Luke (who also wrote the Book of Acts) dates to about 80, and was composed for a Roman official at Caesarea, and therefore was not anti-Roman. While Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus only goes back to Abraham, Luke’s goes back to Adam. Where Mark mentions only an empty tomb, in Luke, the women actually go in and see for themselves that it is empty. They encounter not one, but two angelic beings. Luke goes more into depth regarding the subsequent physical appearances of Jesus.
Matthew was put together about 85, and allegedly not by the disciple Matthew. It was intended to be a revision of Mark, in order to put more emphasis on the divine nature of Jesus, and borrowed references from the Book of Joshua who referred to placing guards at a cave in which he had five captured kings imprisoned, and having the cave sealed with a huge stone. It also alluded to Daniel in the lion’s den, and how he came out alive, when he applied the story to Jesus in regard to him surviving the tomb. In Mark, Peter is quoted to have said to Jesus, “Thou art the Christ,” and in Matthew, he is quoted to have said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The disciples were told to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” which it is alleged that Jesus could not have said, because it actually represented a theological premise that didn’t occur till much later.
Barnabas, a follower of Jesus, uncle of Mark, and a companion of Paul, who traveled around Palestine preaching the good news, wrote an apocryphal book, known as the Gospel of Barnabas. It was accepted as a canonical gospel in the Alexandrian churches until 325 AD, when the Nicene Council ordered all copies of it to be destroyed, and anyone who had it in there possession was to be put to death.
In the 5th century, a copy, written in his own hand, was found lying on his chest, in his tomb in Cyprus, which made its way into the library of Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590) and was made available by a monk named Frater Marino.
Though there is no major deviation from the authorized gospels, one subtle difference appeared in the Sermon on the Mount, which seems to indicate that the account which in written in Matthew may have been embellished, to make it sound better. Barnabas writes: ““Blessed are they that mourn this earthly life, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the poor who truly hate the delights of the world, for they shall abound in the delights of the Kingdom of God. Blessed are they that eat at the table of God, for the angels shall minister unto them.”
Polycarp, author of a letter to the Philippians, wrote about the first three Gospels, but not the fourth, because it didn’t exist, and it wasn’t mentioned until 180 by Theophilus of Antioch. John has come to be regarded as the most accurate of the Gospels, even though it is believed to have been written over a period of years by theologians, at the Greek city of Ephesus, who in 100 AD, sought to fill the void in the contents of the other three.
John has the risen Jesus being seen by only Mary Magdalene, where in other books, other women accompanied her; and also singles her out as being a primary mourner. This hint at a more intimate relationship has given rise to a theory as to the actual role that Mary had in the life of Jesus. In the other three gospels, the Last Supper is portrayed as a Passover meal, after which Jesus was crucified; however in John, the crucifixion occurred before the Passover, whereby John puts more emphasis on the foot washing that occurred.
This discrepancy had been explained by saying that John was using the lunar calendar, while the others were using the solar calendar, however, it is now believed that John’s purpose was to present Jesus as the Passover Lamb of the Jews, who is killed as their sacrifice. Where in Luke, only Peter goes to inspect the tomb; in John, it was Peter and John. Critics claim that the story of Doubting Thomas (John 20:19-31) wasn’t true, based on the premise that Jesus was tied to the cross, rather than nailed. Some have even claimed that there was “no historical proof that he (John) ever existed.”
Simon Peter, the “Rock” upon whom Jesus said He would build His church, was believed to be the first to ‘see’ Jesus after the resurrection, and it was through his efforts that the philosophy of Christianity was perpetuated. The primary contention is that the New Testament was doctored to present Jesus as being divine. Because Jesus was not of the priestly tribe of the Levites, it was necessary to validate His claims so that He would be accepted by the early Christians.
In the Book of Hebrews, completed before the fall of Rome around 68, Jesus was described as being a perfect priest after the order of Melchizedek, who in Genesis was referred to as a priest of the most high God, yet neither was he a Levite. The Book of Hebrews, said to be written by Paul, also refers to the presence of Jesus in Heaven, but never refers to a physical resurrection.
Books such as Forgotten Worlds by Robert Charroux (1971), and Resurrection: Myth or Reality? by John Shelby Spong (1994), have questioned the authenticity of the Bible. In a 1977 book, called The Myth of God Incarnate, 7 scholars and professors from prominent American seminaries seriously questioned whether Jesus was Lord, and said that the Bible should be updated by having all traces of the deity of Jesus removed. They said that Jesus didn’t claim to be divine, but was promoted to that status by early Christians who were under pagan influences.
Another book, The Five Gospels: What Did Jesus Really Say?, a report by 77 Biblical scholars, which were part of the Jesus Seminar, said that Jesus did not say about 80% of the words which are attributed to him in the four gospels. They claim that the words were inserted by Christians after His death. In October, 1994, the Seminar convened and decided that the virgin birth of Jesus was fabricated. One participant called it “theological fiction.” This group began working on a new Bible commentary to reflect all of its findings.
The Gospel of John doesn’t mention the birth of Jesus, but it covers the conclusion of his ministry. The incident of the wedding at Cana is only mentioned in John, and is unusual in that the bride and groom are not identified, yet Jesus, His disciples, and His mother were there. When they ran out of wine, it was Jesus who performed the miracle of turning water into wine. The question was asked– why would Jesus use His divine powers for such an insignificant purpose– unless it was His own wedding.
Researchers have analyzed John 2:9-10, and feel that where the head of the feast is speaking to the bridegroom, it is actually Jesus that he is addressing. It is argued that this marriage was Jesus being married to Mary Magdalene, who it is believed was the woman whom Jesus cast the demons out of, who washed and anointed the feet of Jesus, and who is identified as Mary of Bethany (sister of Lazarus and Martha). She figures heavily in the gospels, and it was to her that Jesus first revealed Himself after the Resurrection.
Since the Essene law forbade marriage, Jesus may have been forced to withdraw from his relationship with her, because it would interfere with His work.
The Gospel of the Ebionites (‘ebionim’ Hebrew for ‘the humble’ or ‘poor’ were purists that believed only the poor could receive Salvation, observed the Law of Moses, and considered Jesus to only be a prophet) or Gospel of the Hebrews, supposedly shed so much light on Jesus, that it was suppressed by Church leaders. In fact, all books of the Ebionite sect have mysteriously disappeared. In the Gospel of Mary, Peter says: “Sister, we know that the Saviour loved you more than the rest of women. Tell us the words of the Saviour which you remember– which you know but we do not, nor have we heard them.”
The apocryphal Gospel of Philip refers to Mary as his “spouse,” and says: “There were three who always walked with the Lord; Mary his mother and her sister (Salome) and Magdalen, the one who is called His companion (partner) ... the spouse (companion) of the Saviour is Mary Magdalen ... (He) loved her more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on the mouth.” Near the end of the book, it says: “There is the Son of Man and there is the son of the Son of Man. The Lord is the Son of Man, and the son of the Son of Man is he who is created through the Son of Man.” It was Mary Magdalene, who carried the Grail, Sangraal, or ‘Royal Blood’ to France.
Around 70 AD, Mary, the wife of Jesus, took his children, and fled the Holy Land to escape the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. They made their way to a Jewish community in Provence, in southern France, where the lineage of Jesus, through marriage, was joined with the royal family of the Franks (during the 5th century, the Sicambrians, a Germanic tribe called the Franks, crossed the Rhine River into Gaul into what is now Belgium and northern France), thus creating the royal Merovingian dynasty. Within the Merovingian royal family, there were many Judaic names. It is believed that she later died at Saint Baume.
It could be that the Holy Grail, ‘Sang Raal,’ or ‘Royal Blood,’ could actually represent the womb of Mary Magdalene, which produced the bloodline. It is even conjectured that French cathedrals like Notre Dame, were built in honor of Mary Magdalene, and not the mother of Jesus.
In 2003, according to a novel by Dan Brown called The Da Vinci Code, the Prieuré de Sion deliberately manipulated the record of Mary’s role in the life of Jesus to spare her family from Roman Catholic leaders who sought to maintain the Biblical depiction. They used a code and symbols to represent and preserve her story, which evolved into the Holy Grail.
In a ABC television documentary exploring the possibility of Jesus being married, Brown uses Da Vinci’s (a Prieuré de Sion member) painting of The Last Supper (c. 1495) as an example. A close examination of the figure on Jesus’ right, long believed to be John, actually looks like a woman, and he believes that it is actually a representation of Mary. Art historians, however, only need to refer to his painting 1516 painting of John the Baptist as proof of his penchant for portraying Biblical figures as effeminate men.
Joseph of Arimathea, uncle to Mary, an Essene and well-to-do merchant in the tin market, who was a member of the Sanhedrin, appears to have been a guardian to Jesus. There is a legend that during one of his trips to Britain, Jesus was with him, and they stayed at a small house at Glastonbury. St. Augustine later wrote to Pope Gregory that Jesus had established a church there. Gildas (516-570), an early British historian, said that “Jesus afforded His light to this island during the height of the reign of Tiberius (who ruled 14-37 AD, with the ‘height’ being around 25-27).”
It is explained that Jesus may have possibly been in the area to learn about the Druids. It is a long-held tradition that after the crucifixion, around 37 AD, Joseph led a group of people who settled in Glastonbury; and a wattle church was built on what became the location of the Abbey, which existed until the 1100’s. It is from this group which came the Culdees (quidam advanae) or Christianized Druids, who lived on the islands off the west coast of Britain.
Merovee was the first king of the Merovingian bloodline, and he is surrounded in legend. He was said to have been fathered by two. When his mother was already pregnant by King Clodio, she went swimming in the ocean, where she was raped by a sea creature “similar to a Quinotaur,” so that when Merovee was born, the blood that coursed through his veins was a combination of both, which gave him superhuman powers. Merovee claimed he descended from Odin, a Norse God (which is where we get Wednesday, Woden’s Day, or Odin’s Day), which some researchers believe actually referred to Dan, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, because the Merovingian kings claimed to be the descendants of the Spartans and Trojans.
The tribe of Dan declined to accept their land when Joshua divided it up, and they marched up the Jordan valley to the city of Laish, conquered it, and called it the city of Dan. They immigrated to what is now known as Greece, where they dominated the people who were living there, the Pelasgians. They became known as the Danaoi. They established the settlement of Ionia on the Ionian Isles. A branch migrated to Ireland and were known as the “Tuatha de Danaan,” then went to Denmark as the Danes, and another branch eventually made their way to Britain. The Celts claim they came from the tribe of Dan, and that the name Denmark, and the Danube River, give evidence of their migration.
The Spartans lived in the southern Greek peninsula of Arcadia, later migrating across the Aegean Sea to build the city of Troy. According to the Iliad, by the Greek poet Homer, the founder of Troy was Dar-dan-us. Over the centuries the Spartans made their way into southern France, while the Trojans moved north and west into Germany, Belgium and northern France, following the Danube River, eventually settling in the province of Lorraine. In the apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees, it was written that the Spartans were related to the Jews and were of the stock of Abraham, and for various reasons, were believed to have been from the tribe of Dan.
When the tomb of Childeric I, son of Merovee, was opened in 1653, 300 miniature bees of gold were found, which Napoleon had sewn into his coronation robe. In the Bible, the Danites were represented by a serpent, an eagle, a lion, and bees. The eagle’s wings on the back of the lion in the 7th chapter of Dan may symbolize Dan breaking away from the tribe of Judah. The tribe of Dan lived in the territory west of Jerusalem, near the coast of the Mediterranean, and after the death of Samson, lost their lands, and went north into the area now known as Lebanon, where they lived for 600 years. In 721 BC, when the Assyrians took ten of the tribes captive, there was no mention of Dan, thus they soon lost their identity.
In Genesis 49:17, Jacob gave a prophetic statement in regard to his sons in that “last days,” and said that, “Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.” In the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, an apocryphal book written about 150 BC, which is said to represent the final words of Jacob’s twelve sons to their families, attributes this statement to Dan, made when he was 125 years old: “I read in the Book of Enoch, the Righteous, that your prince is Satan ... I know that in the last days you will defect from the Lord, you will be offended at Levi, and revolt against Judah (the bloodline of Jesus), but you will not prevail over them.”
When Moses built the Tabernacle, he chose two men to head up the project, Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, and Aholiab of the tribe of Dan; and after it was completed, the tribes were positioned around it, and instructed to display their standard. Dan was in the north, and given the symbol of Scorpio, which according to the Egyptian Zodiac was a snake; and yet, Ahiezer, captain of the tribe, chose an eagle, considered a hunter of snakes. The symbol of ancient Spartan Greece was an eagle, as was the symbol of ancient Trojan Rome. In recent history, the symbol of the Hapsburg dynasty was an eagle.
The offspring of Merovee were noted for a birthmark, a small red cross, above their heart or between their shoulder blades, which became their symbol. The Merovingians were known as sorcerer-kings, who could heal, had clairvoyant powers, and could telepathically communicate with animals. They wore powerful amulets, and were called the ‘long-haired Kings’ because they didn’t cut their hair. Merovee (447-58) was a practitioner of the religious cult of Diana.
His son, Childeric I (458-96) practiced witchcraft. Childeric’s son, Clovis I (496-511) adopted Christianity, converting to Catholicism, and in 496, he was given the title “Novus Constantinus” (‘New Constantine’) by the Bishop of Rome, giving him the authority to preside over the rebirth of a “Christianized” Roman Empire, consolidating the power of the Church, and creating a tie between Church and State. During his rule, the Frank kingdom grew to cover most of France and Germany. It is believed that the Vatican knew the secret of the bloodline.
Merovingian Bloodline
Merovee (447-58)
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Childeric I (458-96)
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Clovis I (496-511)
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Clotaire I (511-58)
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Chilperic I (561-84)
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Clotaire II (584-628)
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Dagobert I (602-38)
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Sigisbert III (629-56)
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Dagobert II (651-79)
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Childeric III (deposed)
The Church had a hand in the assassination of Dagobert II, and Childeric III was deposed by Pepin III, the first of the Carolingian dynasty. The removal of the Merovingians was culminated with the coronation of Charles the Great, Carolus Magnus, or Charlemagne, who in 800 became the Holy Roman Emperor, thus betraying the pact made with the Merovingian bloodline, ending their dynasty. But the bloodline continued in the personage of Sigisbert IV (son of Dagobert II), who fled southward, taking on the surname “Plant-Ard” (eventually “Plantard”), and the title of the Count of Razes.
In 1956, the Prieuré de Sion was registered with the French Government, with the objective of “studies and mutual aid to members.” They were headquartered in Sous-Cassan, and within the group they circulated a magazine called CIRCUIT, which was an abbreviation for “Chivalry of Catholic Rules and Institutions of the Independent and Traditionalist Union.”
In 1976, the excommunication of traditionalist Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre by Pope Paul VI was expected. He represented the conservative branch of the Roman Catholic Church, who fought against the modernization of the Church. In the end, the Pope backed down, and the Guardian (8/30/76) revealed their theory why: “The Archbishop’s team of priests in England ... believe their leader still has a powerful ecclesiastical weapon to use in his dispute with the Vatican. No one will gave any hint of its nature, but Father Peter Morgan, the group’s leader ... describes it as being something ‘earth-shaking’.”
The Order held a convent at Blois on January 17, 1981, the first since the one in Paris in 1956. The 121 at the meeting were all figures in high finance and international politics. A man named Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair was elected as their Grand Master. His name figures prominently in many Prieuré documents. He is the lineal descendant of King Dagobert II and the Merovingian dynasty. In 1960, he spoke of an “international secret” hidden at Gisors.
His grandfather was a personal friend of Berenger Sauniere, and he owns land in the area of Rennes-le-Chateau. In French records, he was listed as the Secretary-General of the Prieuré de Sion. When asked what their objectives were, he said: “I cannot tell you that. The Society to which I am attached is extremely ancient. I merely succeed others, a point in a sequence. We are the guardians of certain things. And without publicity.”
The organization is not limited to just restoring the Merovingian bloodline, and has many Jewish members, though the full extent of the membership is unknown. Documents on file indicate that their organizational hierarchy is similar to the Masons.
In 1979, in Paris, Plantard told reporters of the BBC, when asked if his organization had the treasures of the ancient Jewish Temple, he said: “Yes ... they will be returned to Jerusalem when the time is right.” He claimed that the real treasure was “spiritual” and consisted of a “secret” that would create a major social change regarding the restoration of the monarchy. In talking about France, Plantard said that Mitterand was “a necessary stepping-stone.” He revealed that their Order is on a timetable, and that their plans were unstoppable.
Plantard talked about unrest within the membership of the Prieuré’s Anglo-American contingent. The signatures of Gaylord Freeman, John Drick, and A. Robert Abboud were found on their official correspondence. They were associated with the First National Bank of Chicago. Drick was the President, and on the Board of Directors of other companies, including Stepan Chemical, MCA, Oak Industries, and Central Illinois Public Service. Freeman, an Illinois lawyer, was Chairman of the Board of First National, and on the Boards of other companies, including First Chicago Corporation, Atlantic-Richfield, Bankers Life and Casualty Co., Baxter Travenol Labs, and Northwest Industries.
He also chaired a Committee on Inflation for the American Bankers Association. He was a member of the MacArthur Foundation and a trustee of the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. Robert Abboud had also been Chairman of the Board of First National, and later became President of Occidental Petroleum Corp. It was originally believed that the signatures were forged from a 1974 Annual Report, but it was later discovered they were produced with rubber stamps. Though Freeman denied membership in the Prieuré de Sion, or of having any knowledge of their activities, Plantard has corroborated the information and said that their association with Freeman and other financiers had more to do with their goal of European unity, which had become their primary concern.
Plantard resigned as Grand Master, and member of the Order in July, 1984, “for reasons of health,” plus other personal reasons, foremost being that he didn’t agree with “certain maneuvers” by “our English and American brethren.”
During the 19th century, the Prieuré de Sion, working through Freemasonry and the Hiéron du Val d´Or, attempted to establish a revival of the Holy Roman Empire, which was to be a theocratic United States of Europe, ruled simultaneously by the Hapsburgs and by a radically reformed Church. Their goals were thwarted by World War I and the fall of Europe’s reigning dynasties. However, they continued to work for a United Europe as a protection against the Soviets, and as a neutral power to serve as a balance between Russia and the United States.
Out of the Merovingian bloodline had come most of the ruling families of Europe, and some Roman Catholic Popes. The genealogy of Dagobert’s son, Sigisbert IV, can be traced through a dozen families, including the Houses of Luxembourg, Montpezat, Montesquiou, Sinclair, Stuart, Devonshire, Plantard, and ending with the Hapsburgs. Even though the Hapsburg empire no longer exists, when the first parliament of the European Economic Community met in 1979, one of its primary delegates was Dr. Otto von Hapsburg, the oldest son of Charles I, the last Hapsburg emperor. He and son Karl have been among the leading proponents of a United Europe. Karl von Hapsburg is the heir apparent to the Hapsburg legacy.
In 1909, Hitler found out about the legend behind the Holy Lance of Longinus (the Spear of Destiny, said to be the one used to pierce the side of Jesus during the crucifixion). It was said, that whoever possessed the Spear, would rule the world. It was in the possession of 45 Merovingian rulers from 752-1806, and when Hitler saw it, it was on display at the Hapsburg Treasure House Museum in Vienna. His obsession for the Spear ended, when he began his European military campaign against Austria for the purpose of getting this holy relic, which he did on October 13, 1938. He placed it in the Hall of St. Katherine’s Church in Nuremberg.
When the War got closer to Germany, the Spear and other treasures were secured in a protective vault. On March 30, 1945, when the American invasion was expected, the treasures were moved again, however, the holy spear was accidentally left behind, where it was found by the Americans. Upon the order of Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, it was returned to the Hapsburgs.
It is believed that the Prieuré de Sion has “incontrovertible proof” concerning Jesus and His continuing bloodline, and has been working to again bring this bloodline to power.
With this type of research, which purports to give you ‘evidence’ of their claims, it can be rather unsettling. All of these theories and revelations seem so incredible, that they border on the impossible, because they are completely contrary to everything we have been taught to believe. The arguments are so strong and persuasive, but one thing you must always remember about what is going on, is that it is a Satanic conspiracy– planned from the very beginning.
With that said, bear in mind what it says in John 8:44– “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. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” The three main things that Satan does, is that he kills, steals, and destroys; so if any new information seeks to deviate from what is found in the Word of God, then it must be considered highly suspect. You must use spiritual discernment to separate fact from Satanic lies and deceit.
When I found out about the Prieuré de Sion there seemed to be something here, but for the longest time I just couldn’t put my finger on it. But soon, the deeper I got, certain things stood out. By approaching these theories as being untruths, which they are; and isolating certain aspects of the premise, I think that the Prieuré de Sion becomes an important piece of the puzzle which I have been trying to assemble.
My theological beliefs are based on the fact that Jesus Christ was, and is the Messiah, the son of God; that He was crucified, and died on the cross for the sins of the world; and that after three days, He rose from the dead, and commissioned His disciples to preach the gospel to all people. I was raised to believe that, and as I have gotten older, it continues to be an undeniable fact. Since I consider this to be the truth, there must be a reason why people would go to such lengths to disprove the resurrection of Jesus, and develop a fraudulent background story.
There seems to be a poison that is slowly spreading in Religion. For years, the story has been building that Jesus planned the crucifixion to fake his death in order to fulfill Old Testament prophecies. This basically says that the concept of Christianity is based on a lie, and that Christ was only a man, who was transformed into the Son of God by early Church leaders. There weren’t that many people that held to this belief. However, with knowledge gleaned from archaeological excavations, the discovery and translation of new apocryphal and biblical texts, and new interpretations of Scripture, the liberals have been successful in spreading this propaganda. Even though Jesus has been accepted as a great man, a great teacher, and credited for the establishment of the largest religious group in the world, this movement has sought to strip away his divinity by saying that the Resurrection was concocted to draw people into the Church.
When the revelation of the Prieuré de Sion began to surface amidst talk that not only was the Crucifixion planned, but that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and had children whose descendants became part of the Merovingian Royal Family– there had to be a reason. Although not a lot is known about this group, there seems to be evidence that they may have found much of the Temple treasure, and used this wealth to establish themselves as a financial power in the world.
The Merovingians ruled in Europe, and the Prieuré de Sion has been working behind the scenes to unite Europe under a single form of government. With the advent of the European Union, their efforts have been realized. Their goal has been to establish a World Government that would be ruled by the Merovingian bloodline. After all these years, why does this group continue to work towards this goal? The implication has been made that the group represents the Merovingian bloodline, and by extension, are the living descendants of Jesus Christ.
Biblical references in Daniel and Revelation strongly suggest the rise of a future leader out of the reestablished Holy Roman Empire, which is actually Europe. This leader will have to be a man capable of gaining the political support of all the European states. He will be a military genius who will be able to give Europe a sense of security, and a brilliant statesman whose words and deeds will make him a champion of justice. He will understand the problems of Europe, who will be able to bring peace and prosperity to the land.
As time goes on, and more propaganda is spread concerning this bloodline of Jesus, more people will begin to believe it. Remember what Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945, Nazi Minister of Propaganda) said: “The great masses of people will more easily fall victims to a ‘big lie’ than a small one, if it is repeated often enough.” And remember, only two of the four documents discovered by Sauniere have been revealed; plus, it is believed that the Prieuré de Sion is also in possession of documentation that will prove their contention. Something else that has to be considered, because of all the controversy and secrecy surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls, is there something there that will contribute to this massive deception. When the time is right, this information will be revealed, and it may be the final blow which will allow all of their plans to come together.
Much of the information about Jesus that is cited by the proponents of the various claims that have been made, come from ancient apocryphal documents. Even though some have been proven to be an accurate historical record; others could just be the writings of individuals who refused to accept to truth, and instead came up with their own version of events.
Some of you have probably heard of the British-Israel theory in regard to the migrations of the Jews. Proponents of this theory claim that those populating the country of Israel now are not actually Jews, that the Jewish race actually migrated west to the area of Europe and became the progenitors of the European nations.
The patriarch Jacob produced twelve sons, each of whom became the father of one of the tribes of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. They each settled in a different part of the land of Canaan on each side of the Jordan River. After the death of King Solomon, Israel was split into two Kingdoms, along territorial and political lines. Judah and Benjamin in the South remained loyal to the House of David; while the rest of the tribes to the North were ruled by a succession of monarchies.
The Assyrian conquest of Israel mentioned earlier was a bit more complex than what is generally known. The downfall of the country began in 734 BC, and ended with the defeat of their capital at Samaria in 722 BC. Plus there was another incursion into Samaria in 720 BC. The actual deportation of Israelites which began with the initial Assyrian attacks from 734-732 BC, actually continued until 715 BC. Three different Assyrian kings were responsible for the forced deportation of Israelites to Assyria: Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 BC), Shalmaneser V (727-722 BC) and Sargon II (722-705 BC). The result was that the Israelite population in northern Israel was virtually wiped out.
In 722-721 BC, Shalmanser V, the King of Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel, captured Samaria, and took these ten tribes to Assyria where they were imprisoned in Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan. For all intents and purposes, these tribes seemingly disappeared, and they became known as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. It is believed, for the most part, that the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin make up what is known as the Jewish people of today. However, Biblical evidence points to the fact that it was known where these tribes were.
In 2 Chronicles 30:1-10, recorded many years after the exile of the Northern tribes, you’ll find this passage:
“And (King) Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel ... So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written. So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria ... So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.”
This indicates that the King knew where the tribes were and was able to send them correspondence, so they were never really lost at all.
Genesis relates that Cain made his way to a land where he built “a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son Enoch.” (Genesis 4:17) Although there has been extensive archeological research around the area where Eden was believed to have been located, no remains of such a city has been found. But there is a city that bears the name– Tenochtitlan. However, this was the capital of the Aztec empire, which later became known as Mexico City.
In 1 Chronicles 1:19 it says: “And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg; because in his days the earth was divided: and his brother’s name was Joktan.” Peleg was born around 2248 BC and the confounding of speech took place at the Tower of Babel around 2234 BC. The text in Chronicles could be referring to people dividing up into various groups– according to language similarity.
However, some researchers believe that this passage reflects the fact that prior to Peleg, all the continents were connected. This confirms the scientific concept known as the Continental Drift Theory (even though it happened much later), and illustrates that the descendants of Noah were able to migrate to lands all around the world on natural land bridges.
In Genesis 35:11, Israel is referred to as a “nation and a company of nations,” and is a veiled prophetic reference to what would later occur. Undoubtedly the ten ‘lost’ tribes were assimilated into local populations, and branches also eventually migrated west.
In 1165, Benjamin of Tudela (son of Jonah), in Spain, set out to explore the world, recording his adventures in his Book of Travels. In the mountains of Persia, he ran across Jewish tribesmen who he believed were descendants of the tribes of Dan, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali. In Arabia, he discovered the largest Jewish settlement in the region– the Jews of Kheibar, who he identified as being from the tribes of Reuben and Gad.
In the early 16th century, Bartholeme de Las Casas, wrote of the Indians in the West Indies, Peru, and Guatemala: “Indeed, I can bring proofs from the Bible that they are of the Lost Tribes.” A report 120 years later by Portuguese traveler Antonio Montezinos indicated that there was an Indian tribe living beyond the mountain passes of the Andes that represented a remnant of a Jewish tribe. He wrote: “I myself heard them recite the Shéma (the expression of Jewish faith) and saw them observe the Jewish rituals.”
There is also evidence of Israelites in this country before the Assyrian deportation, such as the unusual custom of the American Indian tribes referring to themselves as nations.
In North Carolina, the Machapunga Indians circumcise their babies and have some traditions that are similar to the Jews, as do the Savanna Indians from the banks of the Mississippi River.
The Yuchi Indians in Oklahoma have a custom which is unique among other American Indian tribes, which proves that they are racially and linguistically different from their neighbors. In True Discoverers of America William Dankenbring, wrote: “Every year on the fifteenth day of the sacred month of harvest, in the fall, they make a pilgrimage. For eight days they live in ‘booths’ with roofs open to the sky, covered with branches and leaves and foliage. During this festival, they dance around the sacred fire, and called upon the name of God.”
This ritual is similar to the Israelite Feast of Tabernacles (details of which are found in Leviticus 23). Dr. Cyrus B. Gordon (professor of Mediterranean Studies at Brandeis University in Boston Massachusetts), an expert in Hebrew, Minoan, and many other Middle Eastern languages, was allowed to witness one of their fall harvest festivals, and said to his companion, “They are speaking the Hebrew names for God!”
So, what we have is documented proof that the Jews did indeed migrate to other countries. In the course of this migration, they produced many branches which assimilated themselves into the local populations of these various countries. With the establishment of the nation of Israel, and in fulfillment of prophecy, many Jews from many lands have returned to their home. The seventh chapter of Revelation speaks of a ‘sealing’ of 144,000 Jews from the following tribes: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph, Benjamin, and Manasses (substituted for Dan).
It is assumed that they will be from within the population of the nation of Israel. Is it possible that there is still pure-blood descendents of these tribes? One would assume that if they are not, can they still be considered members of the tribe? If so, and with their Jewish roots lost, are the various branches that migrated to other countries, where they still continue to live, able to consider themselves as representative of their respective tribes?
Following this course of speculative thinking, can we use this as another confirmation to prove that the ten ‘lost’ tribes, which migrated westward into the area now known as Europe, is actually the “ten horns” or “ten kings,” which is believed to be Europe.
I mentioned earlier that Leonardo da Vinci was a member of the Prieuré de Sion. As a matter of fact, from 1510-1519, he was the Nautonnier (‘helmsman’) or Grand Master of the group. One interesting piece of information I found out was that da Vinci was alleged to have been the one who forged and painted the Shroud of Turin, which is purported to be the burial cloth of Jesus, which is now in possession of the Catholic Church. The authenticity of this cloth has been debated for many years. After it was carbon dated and determined that it is not old enough to have been the burial cloth, then came testing which proved that there was an organic bacterial coating over it which distorts carbon dating results.
It was Dr. Leoncio A. Garza-Valdes, a microbiologist who reached that determination. In a quest to once and for all prove its authenticity, he went a bit farther. There were ‘sticky tape’ samples taken from areas of the shroud that appeared to be blood. Garza-Valdes had these remnants from the left hand (by the STURP group in 1978), and from the occipital region (by Riggi in 1988). Not only was he able to determine that it was actually blood, but that it was the blood (AB group) of a human male.
Since the secret of the Holy Grail centers on the ‘blood’ or to be more precise, the ‘bloodline,’ is the shroud a piece of the puzzle. Dr. Garza-Valdes has allayed any fears of the possibility that someone could try to extract DNA from it in an attempt to clone the man on the shroud, because he said that any blood samples which could be retrieved from it would be so degraded that it would be insufficient to allow the possibility of cloning. However, is the quality of it good enough to prove a bloodline?
The story that has been outlined up to now refers to Jesus and Mary Magdalene being married and having a child. As Christians we know that not to be true. However, it is no secret that Jesus had brothers (James, Joses, Simon, Judas or Juda) and sisters (Mathew 13:55), and their bloodline could have very well survived through their descendents.
Eusebius states that “…there still survived of the Lord’s family the grandsons of Jude (James and Jude), who was said to be His brother, humanly speaking. These were informed against as being of David’s line and brought … before Domitian Caesar … (who) asked them whether they were descended from David, and they admitted it…” Eusebius said that the descendents of Jesus’ family became leaders of various Christian churches, and traced them to the time of the Emperor Trajan (98-117 AD). A Roman Catholic account documents a fourth century incident in 318, when the Bishop of Rome, now referred to as Pope Sylvester I, met with eight Desposyni (descendents of Jesus’ family) leaders.
Each of them was a leader of a branch of the Church at the Lateran Palace. They demanded that the confirmation of the bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus and Alexandria be revoked, and that the titles be conferred on members of their family, and that their Church in Jerusalem be considered the Mother Church. Sylvester refused, and there was no subsequent contact reported. The New Testament (Galatians 2:9) bears out the fact that “James, Cephas (Peter), and John” were the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem, and by virtue of the order they were mentioned, and bloodline, James was probably the head of it.
As far as the Shroud of Turin– it could very well be the actual burial cloth of Christ. But if it is a forgery, to believe that Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) fabricated it may be a stretch, since the earliest report of its existence was in 1357. Of course, if anybody could have done it, da Vinci is probably the most likely suspect in that he had trained to be an engineer, and was a scientific genius, as well as an artist. So, we must consider the fact, that if the shroud is a fake, either somebody else did it, or da Vinci did it and substituted it for the real one.
Just for kicks and giggles, let’s assume that at some point, it will be determined that the Shroud is the authentic burial shroud of Christ (even if it may not be). When some international leader rises to power, and it appears that he embodies every quality that the world is looking for in a leader, and even seems to fulfill the Biblical prophecies of a coming Messiah, what would happen if the DNA of his blood would match the DNA of the blood on the shroud? Who better to lead a united Europe, then a living descendant of Jesus Christ, who could also use New Age philosophy to claim that he is a reincarnation of the Son of God.
In light of this possibility, and the obvious longevity of this group, circumstantial evidence would seem to point to the fact, that the Prieuré de Sion could be the ultimate power behind the Illuminati, using them to bring the world to a point where this man would be accepted with open arms, as the answer to the world’s problems. Once this leader takes his place as the head of the revived Holy Roman Empire, it will not be long before he is revealed to be the antagonist referred to in the Bible as the Antichrist.
After wading through all of the information and speculation I have presented to you, finally you have reached the point where you can understand the whole premise upon which this book was based. It is my belief that the purpose of the movement towards a New World Order, is to establish a one-world government, and to set the stage for the rise of the Antichrist.
THE ANTICHRIST
Waiting For a Man
Paul-Henri Spaak (1888-1972), the socialist leader, President of the Consultive Assembly of the Council of Europe from 1949-51, and former Secretary-General of NATO, who was one of the three major proponents of a united Europe said: “We do not want another committee. We have too many already. What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all people, and to lift us out of the economic morass into which we are sinking. Send us such a man and, be he God, or the devil, we will receive him.”
Such a man will arise, and his ascent to power is discussed in various places in the Bible. This chapter is the culmination of everything you have read up to now. I believe that the Illuminati has been working behind the scenes to create an environment that will enable one man to gain enough power to finally pull the countries of Europe together into one political entity.
“And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eaglés wings (Babylon) ... a second, like to a bear (Media and Persia) ... another, like a leopard (Greece) ... and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth (Rome) ... and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns ... 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 a man, and a mouth speaking great things.” (Daniel 7:3-8)
“...the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured ... And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellow ... the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them ... The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth ... and shall devour the whole earth, and shall trod it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them: and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time (3½ years).” (Daniel 7:19-25)
“...behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns (Media and Persia) ... I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward ... he did according to his will, and became great ... an he goat (Greece), came from the west ... and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn (Alexander the Great) ... and smote the ram, and brake his two horns ... Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and for it came up four notable ones (Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt) ... And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceedingly great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land (Israel) ... he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down ... How long shall be ... to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot ... two thousand and three hundred days.” (Daniel 8:3-14)
“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many.” (Daniel 8:23-25)
“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon (Satan), having seven heads (the five fallen kingdoms of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece; the current, Rome; and the one yet to come) and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” (Revelation 12:3)
“And I stood upon the sand of the sea (Mediterranean), and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns ... And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle ... And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” (Revelation 13:1-7)
“And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” (Revelation 17:10-13)
The Scriptures have given us an excellent indication of the origin of the man who will be known as the Antichrist. The term “Antichrist” is first used in 1 John 2:18, and an indirect reference in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, refers to his opposition to God, which has given rise to the prevalent thought that Antichrist meant “against” Christ, when in fact, as Pastor Milt Maiman (formerly of the Messianic Hebrew Christian Fellowship in Harrisburg, PA) pointed out to me, the prefix ‘anti’ doesn’t refer to the Latin which means ‘against’; but it is actually derived from the Greek ‘ante’ which was used to indicate a contrast or substitution, and means ‘to take the place of,’ or ‘in front of,’ or ‘before or prior to.’
Daniel 8:8 refers to the four powers who are Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt; and Daniel 7:7-8 speaks of the seventh world empire, consisting of ten kingdoms, and the rise of another. The second chapter of Daniel, which refers to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, clearly points out that the ten toes (kingdoms) are an extension of the previous world empire, or Rome, which would then encompass all of the countries that fell within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire: parts of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya; Egypt; part of Saudi Arabia; Jordan, Israel, Syria, and Turkey; Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, part of the Netherlands, England, part of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Greece, part of Hungary, part of Yugoslavia, part of Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Let’s look at the ten horns or kingdoms, which many initially thought was represented by the original Common Market countries of France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, England, Denmark, Ireland, and Greece. The impact of the theory was lessened upon the later addition of Spain, Portugal, and Austria, which made a total of thirteen nations in what is now called the European Union. However, some still tried to make the argument, because Denmark and Ireland were not part of the Roman Empire.
Another fact that supports the theory that the ten kings symbolically represent the area of western Europe is that there are only ten kingdoms, or monarchies now in western Europe: Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland; Great Britain– England, Wales, Scotland).
Another confirming theory emanates from Daniel 9:26 which says: “...the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary...” The people that destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD were the Romans. Revelation 14:8 says: “Babylon (sometimes perceived as a symbolic name for Rome) is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
According to Daniel 7:20, this leader of the eleventh country, will go against three of these nations, and defeat them. Yet, Revelation speaks of the ten kings pledging their allegiance to the Antichrist. Do these ten include the eleventh nation of the Antichrist? Will he defeat the three nations, and replace them in the federation with his, and two others? Or will the three defeated nations remain, under the leadership of the eleventh? What is the purpose for the Antichrist to go against these three nations? Is it because they were not originally part of the revived Holy Roman Empire; or if they were, what else could prompt him to attack these countries?
This beckons the theory about the ten tribes that lived in the area of Rome. Three were defeated because they were Aryans who opposed the papacy– Herulians, Vandals, and Ostrogoths; while the other seven became the nations of western Europe– Visigoths, Franks, Anglo-Saxons, Sueves, Burgundians, Alamanni, and Alans. One possible clue is that these nations may be apprehensive about uniting behind the political leadership of the Antichrist. For example, when the European Community met in Maastricht, the Netherlands, in 1991, Great Britain and Denmark voted against the initiation of a common currency. Another theory that somebody e-mailed me, was that the three nations are Afghanistan (Media), Iraq (Babylon), and Iran (Persia), by virtue of the fact that the U.S. has occupied Afghanistan and Iraq.
There are other theories concerning the origin of the Antichrist. Some researchers believe that he has to come from Greece, Turkey, Syria, or Egypt; but not one of the countries which make up the ten nation federation. That would eliminate Greece. Could this country be Syria. In Isaiah 10:5, 10:24, 14:25, 30:31, he is referred to as the “Assyrian.” In Micah 5:5 it says: “And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then we shall raise against him...”
The Aramaeans, a semi-nomadic people who migrated from the Arabian desert around the third century BC, into Syria and Mesopotamia, have also been called Syrians. Let’s also look at Habakkuk 1:6– “For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs.” The land of the Chaldeans was in southern Babylonia, in what is now southern Iraq. These references seem to point to an Arabic background, and are given credence because they consider themselves the enemies of Israel.
A reference in Daniel 11:37 says: “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers...” This may be an indication of Jewish ancestry, and some researchers believe that the Antichrist will be a Jew from the tribe of Dan. In Genesis 49:17, when the patriarch Jacob is speaking to his sons, he said: “Dan shall be a serpent by the way...” and Jeremiah 8:16 refers to the armies of Dan devouring the land. In the seventh chapter of Revelation, John omitted the name of Dan when he listed the tribes of Israel. Dan and Ephraim were the first to lead Israel into adultery. Dan was replaced by the tribe of Manasseh (Joseph’s oldest son).
Though we can’t be sure of the area of his origin, in the end, the Antichrist will succeed in doing what no man has been able to do since the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD. Charlemagne, Charles V, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm, Benito Mussolini, and Hitler all tried to take over Europe to unify it, but failed. The Antichrist will be a strong political leader, who will gain strength through statesmanship and promises of peace. On December 6, 1961, McGeorge Bundy (of the CFR), Special Assistant to President Kennedy, told the Economic Club of Europe, that if Western Europe would unite as one power to have economic, military and political unity, they would be a truly great power. Time magazine even wrote that the real aim of the Common Market was to become a single country.
The political policies of the Antichrist will bring strength, stability and unity to Europe, while his economic policies will bring prosperity to industry, agriculture, and commerce. His success in doing that will give him international stature.
Candidates For the Antichrist
As the end times quickly engulf us, and prophetic events begin to unfold, many researchers have made suggestions in regard to the identity of the Antichrist.
One of the first was King Don Juan-Carlos I of Spain, born in Rome (January 5, 1938), who is a direct descendant of Queen Victoria of England. In 1948 he was given over to Generalissimo Francisco Franco by his exiled parents, to be educated in Spain. He first attended the Instituto San Isidro, and then was given a private tutor in 1949. In 1955, he graduated from the Navy Orphans College; then attended the Academia General Militar at Zaragoza, where he received a commission in the Spanish Army as a lieutenant (where he graduated 3rd out of a class of 271). Until 1959, he received training from the Naval Academy (attaining the rank of Midshipman in the Spanish Navy) and the Aviation Academy in San Xavier (where he received an officer’s commission in the Spanish Air Force).
In 1960, he entered the University of Madrid to study law, political science, economics, and philosophy. Carlos became King in 1975, and is recognized as Western Europe’s most capable military leader. A new Constitution ratified in 1978, made Carlos the most powerful monarch on the continent.
Prince Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor, who was born November 14, 1948 (a significant year), became the 21st Prince of Wales in 1969. The oldest child of Queen Elizabeth II (and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh) is the heir-apparent to King George VI. His wedding in 1981 captured the attention of the world, and it was rumored that his mother was considering abdicating the throne to him, which would have made him one of the most powerful figures in Europe, by virtue of the fact that England is the most dominant country in Western Europe.
In recent years, especially with books like The Antichrist and a Cup of Tea, by Tim Cohen, Prince Charles has become a more serious candidate because of the following facts:
His heraldic coat of arms bears the symbols presented in Revelation 13, and Daniel 7.
His name breaks down into the number 666 in both English and Hebrew using the Biblical system.
He has documentation that proves his bloodline descent from King David, Jesus and Mohammed; but is most likely from the tribe of Dan.
He has requested to be the King of Europe.
It is believed that his power base is behind the New World Order, and he is very involved in the prospect of world government.
He has already taken a traceable bio-chip implant.
Zaki Badawi, principal of the Muslim College, described him as “the most popular world leader in the Muslim community throughout the world ... a man of such stature, and is able to speak for all of us.”
In the spring of 2002, came the report that Prince Charles was to have a bronze statue erected in his honor in the square of Palmas, the capital of Tocantins State in central Brazil. Although he will already become the ‘Defender of the Faith’ should he become King of England, he appears as a muscular, winged god dressed in a loincloth, with an inscription touting him as the “Savior of the World.”
The statue was commissioned by civic leaders because of Charles’ work to publicize the threat to the rainforests from global warming. Jose Wilson Sequeira Campos, the Governor of Tocantins, said: “It is Prince Charles saving the world. We think he is deserving of it.” It is already being compared to the statue of Christ overlooking Rio de Janeiro from Corcovado. When the sculptor Mauricio Bentes presented a miniature copy to the Prince during his visit to Brazil, he said: “I am amazed and deeply touched.”
One thing you need to realize, is that in the United States, we don’t hear about much of the news that occurs overseas, especially with issues that are germane to Europe only, and have no international bearing. Though his international stature seems rather insignificant from our standpoint, it is actually quite prolific in that region of the world. He has been an ardent supporter of a united Europe, and he has used his political weight to help achieve that goal.
James Lloyd, author on the 1992 book Beyond Babylon, who has an excellent reputation for his intensive research, believes that Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the 6th Secretary-General of the UN, will be the Antichrist. In an interview broadcast on Lloyd’s shortwave broadcast, Boutros-Ghali maintained that the UN needed a “drastic change” if it was going to be able to take its place as the world government. He said it was important for the UN to get a “consensus of the international community.”
Asked if the support of organized religion could help convince people to support world government, he said, “Why not?” Citing Revelation 17:11 which says that the Beast has 7 heads (or leaders), and that “even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition,” Lloyd believes that the 7th head of the UN, Kofi Annan, will not finish his term, and that Boutros-Ghali will be appointed to serve out the remainder of it.
THE MARK OF THE BEAST
The Number of His Name
The Antichrist will use economic terrorism to force the people of the world to follow him.
“And he (the False Prophet) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy and sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” (Revelation 13:16-18)
“...If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God ... 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.” (Revelation 14:9-11)
Many people believe that the number 666 will be his mark, but the Bible doesn’t make itself clear on that point. Six is the number of man, because he was created on the sixth day, and given six ‘days’ to live. The number 666 is the Satanic trinity, and will be the manner in which the Antichrist will be recognized.
Iranaeus (140-202), Bishop of Lyons, a pupil of Polycarp (who was a student of the Apostle John), thought the number 666 was the Greek word “Lateinos”: L (30), A (1), T (300), E (5), I (10), N (50), 0 (70), S (200), which adds up to 666. The word means “Latin kingdom,” and it was later believed that this referred to the religion of the Vatican, because Latin is their official language, which is used in their canons, missals, prayers, and blessings.
Rev. Jerry R. Church, founder and director of Prophecy in the News ministry in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, reported that the Sumerians of Noah’s time, who lived in what is now southern Iraq, used a sexagesimal system of numerics, which means that their numerical system was based on the number six, instead of ten. He theorized that since all language had a common base, and civilization’s first numbering system was based on six, then a code could be devised to “count the number of the beast.”
The English alphabet is based on the root value of six: 6” X 2= 1 foot, 6” X 6= 1 yard, 6 ‘forties’ = 1 section, 6 sections X 6= 1 township, 1 township = a 6 square mile area, etc. What he came up with was an alphanumeric code: A = 6, B = 12, C = 18, D = 24, E = 30, F = 36, etc. Using this code, he discovered that various words and sequences or words, such as ‘Mark of the Beast,’ ‘Computer,’ and ‘New York’ were equivalent to the numerical value of 666.
The number 666 became quite prominent in order to get people familiar with it, and to eliminate the evil connotations that the number has. Listed below are only some of the areas where the number 666 has been used:
1) Koehring and Clark equipment companies used 666 as part of the product identification number on certain models.
2) Stickers distributed at DuPont Co. plants said: “To be in the know, call ‘Mom’ (666).”
3) Products of the Bliss-Hastings Co. contained the number 666.
4) The 85th Annual Frontiers Days Festival, held in Cheyenne, Wyoming, promoted July 23, 1981 as “666 Rodeo Day.”
5) The logo of Australia’s National Bank card contained a configuration of the number 666.
6) In August, 1980, the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. of Virginia notified their customers that the telephone number of the U.S. Weather Service was being changed from 936-1212, to 666-1212.
7) Men’s dress shirts produced in China, and sold in the U.S., had the number 666 on the label, forming the trademark of Kerman Scott Ltd.
8) At the official reopening of the Suez Canal on June 5, 1975, the first Egyptian warship entering it, which was carrying Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, had the number 666 on its bow.
9) The World Bank code number was 666.
10) Some credit cards in the U.S. had the numerical prefix of 666.
11) The Olivetti Computer System P6060, used processing numbers which began with 666.
12) Sears, Belk, J. C. Penney, and Montgomery Ward computers were prefixing their transactions with the number 666, as mandated by its computer programming.
13) Shoes made in Italy had 666 stamped on the inside label. It consisted of a circle, divided in half; with a horned lamb (see Rev. 13:11) on top, and the number 666 on the bottom. It was later put on all Common Market products.
14) IBM computer equipment in supermarkets had the number 3X666 on them.
15) Visa credit cards represent the number 666: the Roman numeral for 6 is “VI”; the number 6 in ancient Greek was taken from the sixth letter of their alphabet, the letter “stigma,” which looks like the English “S”; and in the Babylonian sexagesimal system, and “A” represented 6. Thus the word VISA forms the number 666.
16) Computers manufactured by Lear Siegler, Inc. in the U.S. and shipped to Israel, had a seal on the side stamped with the number 666, which was later discontinued.
17) The Federal Government Medicaid Service Employees Division number was 666.
18) The Internal Revenue Service’s ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) Division had the number 666 on their employeés badges.
19) In 1977, the IRS began requiring the number 666 as a prefix on forms for tax payments on Individual Retirement Accounts (form W-2P): Disability is 666.3, death is 666.4, etc. After a lot of protest, it was omitted in 1978-79, but resumed in 1980-81.
20) IRS instructions for the 1979 non-profit Corporation Employee W-2 form, required the prefix 666.
21) Some states had the number 666 on their requisition paperwork.
22) President Carter’s secret security force had patches with the number 666 on them.
23) Chrysler Corporation manufactured tanks for President Carter’s secret security force that had the number 666 on the side.
24) A contest sponsored by the Israeli Dept. of Education in 1980, featured a tic-tac-toe game, that allowed you to win money if you scratched off the numbers 666.
25) The McGregor Clothing Co. had introduced a “666 Collection” of menswear.
26) A telephone company in the mid-west had its credit cards encoded with the number 666.
27) Identification tags on Japanese-made parts for the Caterpillar Co. in Peoria, Illinois, had the number 666 on them as part of the product code.
28) FLXO Mens Chore Gloves made by the Boss Clove Co., were stamped with the number 666 as a style number,
29) The Crow’s Hybrid Corn Co. of Iowa offered a ‘666’ seed as its top yielding hybrid.
30) Scotty had offered a new improved 666 fertilizer.
31) South Central Bell’s Telco Credit Union cards had the prefix 666, and then the person’s Social Security number.
32) Metric rulers which were distributed in 1979 throughout the country had the number 666 on them.
33) I.D. tags on 1979 General Motor cars manufactured in Flint, Michigan, had the number 666 on them.
34) U.S. Selective Service cards had the number 666 as part of its code.
35) The overseas telephone operator number from Israel was 666.
36) After 1973, Arab-owned vehicles in Jerusalem had the prefix of 666 on their license plates, for the purpose of being able to identify the enemy in case of war.
37) An album by the heavy metal band Black Sabbath was called 666.
38) There was an elementary grade algebra book published by the Thomas Corwell Co. in New York, titled 666 Jellybeans.
39) Mastercard had started to use the number ‘66’ on their statements in August, 1980.
40) The formula for the NCR model 304 Supermarket Computer was 6 60 6(which is six, three score, and six).
41) The ‘Sundial’ style floor tile manufactured by Armstrong, were prefixed with the number 666-13.
42) The cutter boom governing heads on coal mining equipment in Beckley, West Virginia, produced by the Lee Morse Co., were coded with the number 666.
43) Financial institutions in Florida were using the number 666.
44) Parent and Teacher Training books from the Channing L. Bete Co. in Greenfield, Massachusetts, were catalog coded with the number C-666.
45) It has been reported that on one occasion, when Pope John Paul II offered free tickets for papal audiences in Rome, the lower left portion of the ticket displayed a group of numbers followed by the number 666.
The mark may be some sort of identification number, such as your Social Security number, which will serve to identify everyone. In None Dare Call It Conspiracy, author Gary Allen wrote (pg. 13): “...his (the individual’s) freedom and choice will be controlled within very narrow alternatives by the fact that he will be numbered from birth and followed, as a number ... (until) his final retirement and death benefits.” It could be that your Social Security number could be used for such a system, since U.S. law requires every citizen to have such a number by the time they enter the first grade.
The move is on for everyone in the United States to have an identification card. A Special Presidential Commission on Immigration and Refugees had recommended a national identification card in an attempt to keep illegal aliens in check. The U.S. News and World Report, in their September 15, 1980 issue, ran an article called “A National Identity Card?” It reported that the Federal Government was planning an identification card that would prevent anyone without one from working or transacting any sort of business.
This computerized system would keep track of every citizen, According to a 1994 proposal by the Congressional Commission on Immigration Reform, all American citizens and legal immigrants would be given a national identification card. The project was later shelved, but elsewhere the move is on. In 1995, the European Union was to begin issuing identification cards to all the citizens of western Europe.
In California, driver’s licenses were to be issued that would contain a microchip with personal information, motor vehicle records, criminal records, a photograph, and fingerprints. The Department of Defense at the Pentagon issued the MARC (Multi-Technology Automatic Reader) card to their soldiers. It contained a bar code, a magnetic strip, a digitized photograph, and an integrated circuit computer chip. An internal Pentagon memo stated that the card would encode all of a soldier’s records.
This 6.6 megabyte Laser Card from Drexler Technology Corporation can store nearly 2,000 pages of information, which is more than enough for identification numbers, biographical information, school records, photographs, signature, voice print, fingerprints, medical and health care records, credit and banking information, job information and activities. It is believed that this card will be the prototype for any national identification card that will be issued to U.S. citizens.
With all of this computerization going on, it’s obvious that there needs to be a data base to store it all this information so that it can be accessed and used.
Starting back in 1973 it was being reported (most notably in the August, 1976 issue of Christian Life magazine) that three floors of the thirteen-floor headquarters of the European Common Market in Brussels, Belgium was occupied by a massive computer. Dr. Hanrick Eldeman, Chief Analyst for the Common Market, said in a 1974 meeting of Common Market leaders during the unveiling of the huge, self-programming computer known as ‘The Beast,’ that a computerized revitalization project is being prepared to “straighten out world chaos,” and that the computer has the potential of “numbering every human on earth.”
In 1977 (according to a 1990 Moody magazine article), this same Dr. Eldeman is reported to have said that he was preparing to assign a number to everyone in the world. By using three entries of six digits each, he said it would be possible for everyone in the world to be given a distinctive number.
As it turns out, the information was actually taken from the novel Beyond a Pale Horse by Joe Musser, who later adapted it as a screenplay for a David Wilkerson film called The Rapture. It is believed that the confusion between fact and fiction came because there were mock newspapers produced to promote the movie which contained things having to do with the end times, and the ‘Beast’ computer was part of it.
And then came the report that the ‘Beast’ computer had taken a backseat to the computer in the Jean Monnet Building (rue Alcide de Gasperi) in Luxembourg, which has been called the largest in the world. Paul Peterson wrote in his book Sinister World Computerization: “I saw the center in Luxembourg that can compute facts and figures on everyone in the world.”
I suspect that this is also a rumor since I have not been able to find out anything about this book, nor can I connect this author with this type of research. You can see why the association was made when you look at some of the occupants of this building: Commission of European Communities (the European Union’s executive arm), European Bank of Investments, European Court of Justice, and the Secretariat of the European Parliament (who also work out of Strasbourg and Luxembourg).
Well, enough with the fiction. The fact is, there is a worldwide communications network already in place. Established in 1973, with only 239 banks from 15 countries, SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, headquartered at Avenue Adèle 1, La Hulpe, Belgium– a southern suberb of Brussels) now has 7,500 members in 200 countries. This system links member banks across the globe in a manner designed to accommodate any type of computer system. The Burroughs Corporation (who acquired Sperry Corp. in 1986 and is now known as Unisys Corp.) developed the data processing and communications system equipment that is used as a private communications system for the transmission of payment and other international banking transactions.
Tata Consultancy Services, Asia’s largest global software and services company provided the on-site support. It is made up of switching centers in Brussels (Belgium) and Amsterdam (Netherlands), which have been linked to Burroughs data concentrators in Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Milan, Lux, Montreal, New York, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna, and Zurich. These data concentrators are linked to terminals in all the member banks of those countries.
According to the book SWIFT: Banking and Business, Dr. T. Hugh Moreton said: “In early 1982 we are ready to believe every country in the world will be connected in one way or another to SWIFT.” The United States SWIFT Bank, built at a cost of $15 million, is located near the Federal Reserve Office in Culpepper, Virginia.
The biggest concentration of super computers in the world can be found at Fort Meade, Maryland, between Washington and Baltimore, at the headquarters of the National Security Agency, which is the most secret intelligence agency in our government. Occupying an area of a thousand acres, the NSA contains a $47,000,000 subterranean computer facility that stretches for blocks and has ten acres of Cray supercomputers. The supercomputers are tied into each other with 52 separate computer systems from around the world.
It’s just a matter of time before everyone living in the major industrial nations are tied into an international computer system through Social Security numbers, Driver’s License numbers, Credit Card numbers, Checking and Savings Account numbers, Birth Certificates, and Passports. All of your personal and financial information will be on record, including your employment and medical record, taxes paid, banking transactions, and property acquisitions. Basically, any type of information on you that has to be entered into a computer, will ultimately find its way into a database that can be accessed by the government.
In 1798, Adam Clarke, a Methodist minister, said: “The Mark of the Beast will be an 18 digit number, 6 + 6 + 6.” In this digital age, it seems possible that a universal number could be used to identify people, rather than all different kinds of numbers. All other numbers, such as driver’s license numbers, banking account numbers, and credit card numbers would be phased out in lieu of your Social Security number, since it is already tied into your banking transactions, tax returns, and medical history. If any type of personal identification is every issued for the citizens of the United States, it will most likely adapt your Social Security number so that it can be used to accomplish personal and financial transactions electronically.
In the course of research for her books When Your Money Fails ... The “666 System” Is Here, and The New Money System, Mary Stewart Relfe, Ph.D., found out that Christians who sent back credit cards with a ‘666’ prefix were told that by 1982, the number would be on all cards. If that is the case, it must be encoded into the magnetic strip, which can only be read with a scanner. Relfe came to believe that if a Personal Identification Card (PIT) was issued, it would contain a magnetic strip, bar code, photograph, signature, and an 18-digit identification number that would look something like this:
666-110-202-123-45-6789
666- (International Code to Activate the World Computer)
110- (National Code to Activate Central U.S. Computer)
202- (Telephone Area Code)
123-45-6789 (Social Security Number)
The Cashless Society
In 1974, Gary Allen wrote in A Decade Left- Has Orwell’s 1984 Come Early?: “Federal planners forsee the day when every citizen will have a money card instead of money to spend. The cards will be placed in a machine at each point of purchase, and the charge would be electronically subtracted from the customer’s Federal Reserve Account.”
The November, 1975 issue of Progressive Grocer reported: “The day will come when one card will be good at any terminal, in any state...” In the September 21, 1976 issue of the Daily Oklahoman, was an article titled, “The Cashless Society Expected to Become Reality Soon,” which said: “The long-talked about cashless society is almost here. Bank debit cards are expected to go into nationwide use soon.” In the December 27, 1979 issue of Electronic Fund Transfer Report, there was an article titled “Electronic Money” which revealed:
“A sophisticated point of sale system is quietly operated by the Chase Manhattan Bank in one of the banking industry’s best kept secrets. Chase is now directly linked to hundreds of electronic cash registers or P.O.S. terminals in department and specialty stores ... by offering this service to merchants on a nationwide basis, a network will be created that will allow the Chase Manhattan Bank to have a national E.F.T. present.”
On May 29, 1980, during ABC-TV’s Good Morning America show, a Federal Reserve official talked about the existence of a new Federal debit card: “A thin piece of plastic which is to be inserted in automatic machines. One must then punch in his own secret code number ... You are not to write your number down, tell it to anyone, or record it anywhere. It must be memorized.” Giant Food, Inc. and the Safeway Stores were the first to install the Point-of-Sale computerized Electronic Fund Transfer checkout machines in their supermarkets to take bank debit cards. They were later joined by Mobil Oil who installed the system in all of its gas stations throughout the country. Since then, debit cards have quickly assimilated themselves into all aspects of the retail industry.
The plan was to combine the credit card and the debit card into a single multi-use card which could be used to make deposits, pay bills, transfer money, make withdrawals, make purchases, and borrow money. On March 3, 1979, the Knight News Service in Miami, Florida reported: “By 1980, many bankers predict, most shoppers will exchange the wallet full of credit cards they now carry for a single, all-purpose card and number.” In the September 17, 1979 issue of the Electronic Fund Transfer Report, in an article called “MasterCard,” it said:
“In a speech, John J. Reynolds, President of Interbank Card Association, said that ‘the newly named MasterCard (formerly known as Master Charge) will be a full transaction card, rather than just a credit card … In significant ways, Interbank now had brought its EFT strategy in line with Visa’s. The debit card will bear the familiar red and ochre logo, in the same way that all Visa cards are blue, white and gold. Even the magnetic stripe specification adopted for the new MasterCard now embraces an element introduced by Visa’s three digit service code in the discretionary datafield of track two. With this code, it will be possible to determine if a card from one country many be used ... in another country. D. Sean Miller, Interbank Senior Vice-President, told EFT Report: ‘the real reason it’s there is that it would be very difficult to put it in later’.”
According to the October 26, 1981 issue of Business Week, Russell E. Hogg, President of MasterCard International, Inc. predicted: “Within five to seven years, there will be more debit cards in America than credit cards.” An article in Time magazine, September 29, 1980 reported: “It looks and feels like a credit card, payment takes place instantly. A computer deducts funds from the shopper’s bank account and transfers them into that of the store or restaurant where purchases have been made...” The cover of the January 18, 1982 issue of Business Week, depicted a single debit card for nationwide electronic banking. The accompanying article said:
“One month ago key executives from a dozen of the largest U.S. and Canadian banks flew to a secret meeting at Chicago’s O’Hare Hilton Hotel to form a joint venture that would create the first National Retail-Banking Network ... the new networks should be far more powerful than Visa and MasterCard because they will operate with the debit card.”
One of the reasons being given to move towards the cashless society, is the effect it would have on crime. An attorney wrote in the American Bar magazine: “Crime would be virtually eliminated if cash became obsolete. Cash is the only real motive for 90% of the robberies. Hence its liquidation would create miracles in ridding earth’s citizens of muggings and holdups.” A cashless society would also eliminate extortion and blackmail for money; and the purchase of illegal contraband, such as drugs and untaxed alcohol. However, it’s obvious that the real reason for going cashless is that the population can be monitored, controlled and manipulated.
On the reverse side of all credit and debit cards is a 1/2” X 3” magnetic stripe, which is called a ‘magstripe’ and contains three tracks (each about one-tenth of an inch long):
Track 1 is 210 bits per inch (bpi), and holds 79 6-bit plus parity bit read-only characters. The information is contained in two formats– (A) Reserved for propriety use of the card issuer; (B) Start Sentinel (1 character), Format Code=”B” (1 alpha character), Primary Account Number (up to 19), Separator (1), Country Code (3), Name (2-26), Separator (1), Expiration Date or Separator (4 or 1), Discretionary Data (enough characters to fill out remaining maximum capacity of 79 character), End Sentinel (1), Longitudinal Redundancy Check Character (1)
Track 2 is 75 bpi, and holds 40 4-bit plus parity bit characters. The format was developed by the banking industry– Start Sentinel (1 character), Primary Account Number (up to 19), Separator (1), Country Code (3), Expiration Date or Separator (4 or 1), Discretionary Data (enough characters to fill out remaining maximum capacity of 40 character), End Sentinel (1), Longitudinal Redundancy Check Character (1)
Track 3 is 210 bpi, and holds 107 4-bit plus parity bit characters. It is a read/write track which includes an encrypted PIN, country code, currency units, and amount authorized, but its use is not universal among banks.
However, technology is changing so rapidly, that the magnetic strip has been rendered obsolete by the ‘Smart Card,’ which has a 2 line display screen, yet is only slightly larger than a credit card. Instead of a magnetic strip, it is imbedded with an integrated circuit chip for the storage of information, and it can be updated each time the card is used.
With this card, a person could shop, bank, and receive social services; and it could be used to store their medical history, Social Security records and other personal information. It eliminates credit card fraud because there is no number on it. However, since the chip card costs between $20-$50 to produce, and the magnetic strip only costs 60¢ to produce; and most electronic systems have already been set up for the magnetic strip, it is unlikely that the industry will convert.
In the April, 1980 edition of Business Week, there was an advertisement for National Cash Register, for the financial (cashless) terminals, which featured a card called the “Worldwide Money Card” which they said will replace all the world’s currencies. Another advertisement in the November 5, 1981 edition of the Wall Street Journal read: “A new banking era has begun and Citibank invites you to be in the forefront ... A global system linking every major city in America to a bank with a financial service network that circles the entire world.”
Dr. Emil Gaverluk (who has a doctorate in Educational Technology and is an expert in Communications Science), of the Southwest Radio Church, said: “The next card beyond Visa’s stage will be a universal card, and will probably be issued out of Europe. It will be issued to all industrialized nations and they’ll tell you this is the best card you’ve ever had in your life ... the next stage after that is the number on the forehead or hand.”
Paper currency and checks will be phased out in lieu of debit cards, and the plan seems to be for debit cards to be converted to the International Card, as all the nations do away with their monetary systems to do business through computers. But people will lose their card, or have it stolen, or accidentally mutilate it. You have probably noticed that the magnetic strip on your credit cards does not hold up well. The constant rubbing against each other, and against your wallet, causes scratches and drop outs on the strips which can not be read by scanners. These arguments will result in numbers being lasered directly on the body.
Professor B. A. Hodson, director of the Computer Center at the University of Manitoba, had recommended an identifying mark to be put on the forehead of every person. The cover of the September 20, 1973 issue of Senior Scholastics, a high school publication, showed a group of kids with numbers tattooed on their foreheads, and the feature article was titled, “Public Needs and Private Rights - Who Is Watching You?” An advertisement by the First Tennessee Bank, showed a man with his bank number tattooed on his arm, implying that this was the only way to remember your number.
Initially, a process had been developed to create a permanent non-toxic fluid that could be invisibly tattooed on human flesh, until a particular light, such as infrared or ultraviolet, shown on it. The process was tested by tattooing Social Security numbers on babies. In 1974, a Washington State University professor, Dr. R. Keith Farrell, invented a laser gun, which he used to number fish, which accomplished the task in less than a second. When asked if the gun could be used to put numbers on people, he said: “It could indeed be used for such a purpose.” The laser beam can not be felt, the number can not be seen with the naked eye, and it is as permanent as your fingerprints.
In the October, 1980 edition of Advertising Age magazine, TeleResearch Item Movement, Inc. (TRIM) had a full page advertisement for their supermarket computer scanner, which featured the picture of a man with a UPC symbol printed on his forehead. Dr. Ray Brubaker wrote in his book, Is the Antichrist Now Here?: “In Cincinnati, Ohio, an experiment was conducted in which there was affixed on the back of each hand a number that was read by a scanner in the supermarket where these people did their shopping.
As each item was checked out, the cash register simultaneously flashed it to the proper bank, where it was automatically deducted from that person’s account.” A full-page illustration which appeared in a 1993 issue of the London Daily Mail, showed housewives in Europe making purchases by putting their hands on a computer screen at the cash register.
Another alternative has to be considered here also. Note that in Revelation 13:16, it says that the “mark” will be placed “in” the right hand or forehead, not “on” it. An article in the October 2, 1980 edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported:
“Race horses and house cats or other domestic animals may be injected with minute electronic wafers that will help owners trace their animals. Vern Taylor, President of Identification Devices, Inc., said that the wafer is printed with a serial number and injected into the animal, When an electronic wand is passed over the area, the serial number is displayed on a digital readout. He said that the microchip will be sold to vetinarians. A computer data bank, known as the Animal Bureau of Identification, will also help law enforcement officials as well as animal control officers identify animals.”
An article in the June 21, 1981 edition of the Denver Post reported that “a chip ... about the diameter of the lead in an automatic pencil ... can be injected with a simple insulin-type syringe into a human (or animal) ... one wafer is encoded with a 12-digit unique number.” It can also be placed on inanimate objects to electronically monitor the whereabouts of store merchandise and leased equipment. A Washington Times article (October 11, 1993) contained a report by Martin Anderson, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institute, concerning a solution for the problem of people losing their identification cards.
He said: “You see, there is an identification system you can’t lose. It’s the Syringe Implantable Transponder, a permanent method of identification using radio waves. A tiny microchip, the size of a grain of rice, is simply injected under the skin.” With this microchip, satellites can identify your location within 15 feet.
I’ve read reports that suggested that the government was using the mandatory infant immunization program to secretly implant these chips. That was never proven. Besides, I believe that part of the end-time plan is for you to make a choice as to who you are going to serve.
Now, ten years later, the system has been refined and perfected. The Palm Beach, Florida-based company, Applied Digital Solutions has made its VeriChip available for insertion into humans. The microchip, about the size of a tip of a ball point pen (12 mm X 2.1 mm), which contains a unique verification number, is implanted in the (right) arm or the hip, using a syringe-like device and a local anesthetic for the pain. The advantages being touted is that hospital officials and security personnel can access a person’s medical history and confirm identity. The company has said that they are also developing technology that will enable satellites to track people who have been kidnapped.
Details about their product is sketchy. The company has said that the chip does not contain any information, it is not known what the information storage capacity is. It appears that this may be just a prototype system, in that a chip costs $150, there is a $50 annual maintenance fee, and the scanning equipment and software cost $1,200.
The Universal Product Code System
I am sure you have seen the horizontal scanners at the grocery stores which are used to read the UPC symbols off of the items you are buying, so that the computer will automatically print the price of that item. They obviously have the capability of scanning your hand. For a time, a few years ago, I began to see upright scanners. With a flat scanner, the cashier only had to slide the item across the scanning plate; but with the upright scanner, the cashier has to lift the item up in front of the scanner.
I was amazed the first time I seen one, because right away I knew that its purpose wasn’t to make things easier for the cashier, it was to make it easier to scan your forehead and hand. Recent versions have placed them lower on the checkout station. I haven’t seen a lot of them, so I don’t know if the retail industry as a whole is going to upgrade to this version of the scanner.
We have been talking about future developments, so let’s talk about the present. Do you realize that with the Universal Product Code (UPC), we are already buying and selling under the number 666.
In 1970, the National Association of Food Chains, and five other major trade associations representing manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, met, and formed an ad hoc committee to set up guidelines for an encoding system that could be accepted by the entire industry. In 1971, a code management committee came up with the concept of a ten-digit numerical code: the first five to identify the manufacturer, and the last five to identify the specific item. In 1972, the Uniform Grocery Product Code Council, Inc. and Distribution Codes, Inc. (in charge of assigning numbers) was established, with thousands of companies invited to become members.
On April 3, 1973, the ad hoc committee announced that they had selected a twelve-digit bar code that could be printed by conventional methods, and be scanned omni-directionally by an automated system. By the end of 1974, the Uniform Grocery Product Code Council had changed their name to the Uniform Product Code Council, Inc., and had 21 representatives from manufacturers, distributors, and trade associations on their Board. Around 2,600 companies, representing a total of $70.7 billion in annual sales, had become members of the Code Council, and were utilizing the bar coding on their products.
The UPC system functions like this. The prices are marked on the shelf and not the item (although some chains continue to put prices on the items). As the items are carried down the conveyer belt, the cashier pulls the item, symbol downward, across the scanner, and bags the item. The scanner contains a laser beam which emits a beam of light. The white bars or spaces will reflect more light than the black bars, which is measured by a light detector.
A time measurement of how long the beam takes to move across the bar and space, is also used for decoding. The scanner reads the symbol, no matter what direction it is passed over the scanner, from several inches, to a foot away, decoding the number and sending the number to a computer. The computer transmits to the electronic cash register, the price of the product, which is indicated on a display, and printed on the receipt tape.
Checkout time is speeded up by 60-70% over the conventional method, eliminating the need for as many employees. When the register totals the purchase, the printed receipt tape usually indicates the store name, number, and location, item name, item price, whether it is taxable, and the total. It allows for payment in cash, food stamps, check, debit card, or credit card; and deducts the coupons which are presented. It tells how much change is received, the date, time, and lane number. Besides the quickness and efficiency, another feature of the system is the ability to automatically keep track of inventory.
Left Hand Guide Bar (101– 2 black bars and 1 white bar) represents the number 6, and tells the computer that information is coming.
Center Bar (01010– 3 white bars and 2 black bars) which represents the number 6, and separates the design.
Right Hand Guide Bar (101– 2 black bars and 1 white bar) represents the number 6, and tells the computer that the information is complete.
The regular size of the bar code is 1.469” X 1.020,” but it can be printed from 80% of that size, to twice that size. It must appear in a rectangular block on the bottom, side or back panel of a product, or anywhere it can be scanned. The bar code is a series of black and white parallel bars, 30 black and 31 white (for 10 digits), with white margins on each side. Each digit of the code is represented by two black bars, and two white bars, which is composed of seven data elements or ‘modules.’ A module may be white or black. A white or black bar can be made up of 1, 2, 3, or 4 modules. Modules are all the same width, being that they are the foundation of the system, and create the bars which are visible to the naked eye.
If you look at the diagram of the UPC symbol, you will notice that the symbol is split into two sides, a left-hand side, using an odd number of modules; and a right-hand side, using an even number of modules, making them opposite of each other. Thus, it doesn’t matter if the symbol is entered upside-down. For each set of 7 modules is a number, and each number is represented by a field whose optical bars are broken down into the following binary codes, where 0 = a blank space, and 1 = a black bar:
Set 1 (left side)
0 - 0001101
1 - 0011001
2- 0010011
3 - 0111101
4 - 0100011
5 - 0110001
6 - 0101111
7 - 0111011
8 - 0110111
9 - 0001011
Set 2 (right side)
0 - 1110010
1 - 1100110
2 - 1101100
3 - 1000010
4 - 1011100
5 - 1001110
6 - 1010000
7 - 1000100
8 - 1001000
9 - 1110100
The UPS Code begins with a Number System Character (on the left of the symbol):
0 = Grocery
1 = Unknown
2 = Variable weight items such as fruit, meat and produce
3 = National Drug Code and Health Related Items
4 = Reserved for NDC and HRIC, if manufacturer identification code on left has to be expanded to 11 digits (1st five on the left side, 6th will be placed at the right of the symbol)
5 = Reserved for use on coupons
6 = Encodes a 12-digit code when the code must be expanded
7 = Unknown
8 = Unknown
9 = Encodes a 12-digit code in stores where more information is needed on symbol
The first group of numbers (generally 5) is the Manufacturer’s Code, and the second group of numbers (generally 5) is the Manufacturer Product Code (such as an item number). The Code ends with a Check Character (to the right of the symbol) whose purpose is to check for errors, such as an unauthorized addition of lines that could result in the computer reading the wrong number.
There are various other UPC Code designs that have been utilized such as the Zero Suppression Method (Design #2, 2nd most commonly used design) which permits zeros to be eliminated from the ten digit code number, thereby narrowing it to six numbers, which reduces the width of the symbol so it can fit on a product with a smaller package. Known as truncation, this method also reduces the height by shortening the length of the vertical lines; but it also reduces the computer’s effectiveness in reading the symbol omni-directionally.
It is the second most commonly used UPC design. Mary Stewart Relfe believed that the intention of this alternate design was to insure that the general public would not crack the UPC code. It actually represents half of the regular symbol. The design incorporates bar codes from the first and second sets, and from a third set created from the second set.
There is an extended version of the main design (Design #3) for use on magazines and books. While the main portion of the design will only use bar codes from the first and second sets; the extended area on the right side of the symbol will use bar codes from all three sets.
Going back to Revelation 13:17, it says: “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Incredibly, as you have seen, through the use of the UPC system of encoding products, we are actually buying and selling with the number 666. The left and right-hand guides, and center bar patterns in Design #1, is designated by the following binary codes:
left-hand guide: 101
center bar pattern: 01010
right-hand guide: 10
Just to verify, when you consider the number 6 when used as a Data Character, as in the second set, the number 6 is encoded as 1010000. In other words, the only visible modules of the number 6, is the designation of 101, which is used in the left and right-hand guides, and the center bar pattern. Since the Data Characters use a seven module encodation, and the two guides and center pattern consist of three and five modules, it is obvious that the two numerical encodations are different.
While the numbers at the middle of the UPC symbol represent the Manufacturer Code, and the Manufacturer Product Code; the numbers encoded in the two guide bars and center bar pattern, represent the number “666.” This “666” code can be found in every UPC symbol. In Design #2, which is half of Design #1, it incorporates a third bar code for the number six, which is represented by half of the center bar pattern, or a module pattern of 010.
The number 6 is a prominent part of the UPC, symbol. In Design #1, there are six numbers on the left side, and six numbers on the right side. There are six numbers in Design #2. There are six different variations of the UPC symbol. Six is the perfect computer number, a fact, which, according to the Wall Street Journal (November 11, 1981), led Apple Computer, Inc. to introduce their Apple I units at a price of $666.66.
Richard J. Mindlin, Executive Vice-President of the Uniform Product Code Council had said: “There are no unidentified characters in the symbol, as each encodation serves either as data characters or for information to indicate to the scanner to start or stop reading. These start and stop characters are not the same as the encodation for the digit ‘6’.”
George J. Laurer, who invented the UPC in 1973 has said: “There is nothing sinister about this nor does it have anything to do with the Bible’s ‘mark of the beast.’ It is simply a coincidence like the fact that my first, middle, and last name all have six letters. There is no connection with an international money code either.” As of November 2000, Mr. Laurer has stopped responding to questions about this.
I can understand his contention that he is being accused of creating something that is inherently evil. We have been quick to attach a negative connotation to it, but the fact of the matter is, Bible prophecy has been fulfilled, we are buying and selling with the number 666. That is undeniable. The Apostle John made a prophetic observation– he gave us a sign to look for. So, regardless of all the mechanics of how we got there, we are there.
Those stores who already have electronic fund transfer (EFT) capabilities, and are accepting debit cards, are pulling funds directly from a customer’s checking account, and transferring it to the store’s account at the bank. At this point, it is not known if the system can accept an international debit card, however it is reasonably safe to assume that the system was created to accommodate the final step, or the ‘mark of the beast.’ Besides the warning in Revelation 14:10 not to take this Mark; the Law of Moses in Leviticus 19:28 said: “Ye shall not ... print any marks upon you...” Revelation 16:2 indicates that those who take the Mark will be stricken with a “grievous sore.”
Sen. Frank Church said in August, 1975, that “the government has the technological capacity to impose ‘total tyranny’ if ever a dictator came to power. There would be no place to hide.” The Antichrist will be that dictator. With the potential of money and debit cards being lost or stolen, the idea of a number being applied with a laser to your skin may also be going by the wayside because of it being exposed to external conditions. It seems as though VeriChip technology being tested now will be the means through which people will be made part of the ‘beast system.’
The purpose of the Mark is to make a person totally dependent upon the government, and to serve as a surveillance tool. When Revelation 14:17 says that you won’t be able to “buy or sell” without the “mark,” this is an obvious financial connection. When the economic infrastructure of this country is totally converted to a system that is completely cashless, everything will then be in place for the implantable identification technology.
Your pay will be direct deposited, your bills will be automatically withdrawn from your checking account; and when you go to the grocery store, to the doctor, or to get gas, if you don’t have a chip, you will not be able to “buy or sell,” because you will not have a means to access your account. Those who do not take the Mark will be harassed by the government, and eventually be targeted for arrest and detention. True Christians, who refuse to take the Mark, will become fugitives when their rights are taken away.
THE INVASION OF ISRAEL
Bible prophecy and Biblical interpretation have come a long way in the past 40 years. I grew up reading the works and research of many great men of God, which certainly had an influence on how I viewed end-time events. At times, I would just take things for granted, or just assume that someone was right on how they saw things. But as I got older, and started my own research, and I began to put everything together, somehow things just were not meshing. If you are a student of Bible prophecy, like I am, you have probably heard a number of end-time theories and scenarios. Many seem plausible. But again, they don’t always seem to totally fit into the scheme of things.
As I said earlier, space just did not permit a detailed examination, so I have been relegated to just providing an overview of things. Throughout this book, I have tried to give various alternatives for different aspects of prophetic events, rather than concretely saying that, ‘This is the way it is.’ The writings of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation are a collection of very mysterious writings; and Daniel is specifically, because of its concept of using dual prophecy.
In pooling the resources together that I have, I have been slowly developing a picture to provide a sort of chronology of end-time events. As a child, when I would be in church listening to ministers talking about the Antichrist and the last days, I always wondered how all that could be possible– how the world could ever be brought to the place where one man could exercise so much authority over it. When I found out about the Illuminati that seemed to answer all my questions. However, the ensuing research actually created more questions, because the direction it seemed to take veered away from the traditionally held views of Bible prophecy. I actually considered stopping here, rather then taking the chance of compromising this entire body of research, but, being a writer, I have to bring everything to its logical conclusion. So, here we go…
The Antichrist is Revealed
“I am Antichrist, I am Antichrist, I know what I want, I know how to get it; I want to destroy.” (from a song by the Sex Pistols, a punk-rock band)
Daniel 9:27 says that the Antichrist will “confirm the covenant with many for one week.” Obviously to do this, he would have to be in a position of authority to do it. As of this writing, although Europe is as united as it has ever been, talks aimed at drafting a Constitution have broken down. Therefore, Europe as a truly unified political entity does not yet exist. It is believed that the Antichrist’s rise to power will be through that government. Will he be the one that will actually make it happen? Revelation 17:12 says: “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.” So, with the resources of a united Europe behind him, he would definitely have a political base from which to operate from diplomatically.
According to Daniel, “his power shall be mighty,” (8:24) and “he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand,” (8:25). The success he will achieve in Europe will no doubt give him international recognition. In Daniel 11:7, it says: “...and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” This seems to imply a larger scope of authority. Is it possible that he will become the Secretary-General of a UN that has been transformed into a world government (due to the efforts of the New World Order)? How else would he be in a position to exercise authority over such a large group of people?
The Middle East has been a powder keg for many years because the Arab nations (Esau’s descendants) feel they had their birthright taken away by Israel (Jacob’s descendants). A covenant is made with “many for a week,” or seven years. Because the second part of that verse talks about causing the sacrifices to stop, which is an obvious reference to the reinstitution of Temple sacrifice is Jerusalem, it has been assumed that the covenant was just made with Israel. How can just Israel be referred to as “many?” The terminology dictates that the covenant would have to be made with “many” nations, and it would have to be nations somewhat associated with Israel.
This would seem to be a covenant between the Antichrist (leader of the world government), Israel and the Arab nations, in order to seek a peaceful solution to the Middle East crisis. Somehow he will achieve a diplomatic solution that will give the Arabs what they want, and give the Jews the security they want, which will enable them to build or erect a Temple, on its original foundation, so that Temple sacrifice can be resumed. Even though there were 300 specific predictions concerning Jesus, the Jewish people didn’t accept Him because they were expecting a great conqueror to deliver them from the Romans. However, it won’t take long for this western European leader to be heralded as the Messiah they have been waiting for.
The aim of a world government will be to seek complete disarmament in order to maintain peace. Any country that does not willingly join in will be forced to comply, as it says that “he shall destroy wonderfully…”
Meanwhile, the individual who has emerged as the preeminent religious leader in the world will succeed in bringing together the major religions to form a new coalition of Christianity that will be bound together with New Age philosophy. To legitimize his claim of being called by God to lead the Church, he will use his mastery of the occult to give the illusion of being able to perform “miracles.” (Revelation 13:13-14)
In the “midst” (or 3-1/2 years) of the covenant, it seems that diplomacy was not enough to bring lasting peace to this region. In Daniel 11:40, we find a conflict between the “king of the north” and the “king of the south.” Chapter 11:42-43 and historical prospective (dual prophecy) leads us to believe that the “king of the south” will be Egypt. The “king of the north” has been identified as Syria, and it is believed that this is the country that the Antichrist will come out of. This conflict is identified as the vehicle through which the Antichrist gains control of the nations (10 horns) of the old Holy Roman Empire. Well, that’s one scenario.
You have to ask yourself, why would Egypt attack Syria? Since signing a peace treaty with Israel, Egypt has been involved in any armed conflicts. If anything, I could see Syria (who has been very militant) attacking Egypt because of their treaty with Israel. More important, Syria is a small country, and does not have the military capability to do all that is being attributed to it. Anyway, I think that the “king of the north” is referencing western Europe. After the “ten kings” received their power, they were as “one mind.” (Rev. 17:13) Therefore, as one unified nation, they could be referred to as a “king.” And the nations of the Roman Empire are north.
Who is the “king of the south” actually attacking? Daniel 11:40 doesn’t really say that the “king of the south” is attacking Israel. As I said earlier, Egypt does have a treaty with them. Of course, that could be broken. However, the passage seems to indicate that the “king of the south” is attacking the “king of the north.” Apparently the European Federation will have a protectionary force (peace keepers) in place in the Middle East, and this is who the attack will be directed at.
The “king of the north” will then respond with a major ground and naval offensive. However, in the process of putting down this rebellion, “many countries shall be overthrown.” (Dan. 11:41). It is stated that Edom, Moab, and Ammon will not be affected. Ironically, they, along with the Israelites, Arabians, Ishmaelites, and Midianites were the descendants of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the middle son of Noah. Their land was on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, in an area now occupied by the country of Jordan. It is logical to assume that the countries involved will be Arab countries, especially in light of the fact that he moves on the country of Egypt and takes spoils. (Dan. 11:42) At this point, Libya and Ethiopia come to the aid of Egypt.
It is apparent by this time that since Egypt had broken the covenant, all bets are off, as the European military force has responded with extreme prejudice. This upheaval in diplomacy now creates an unstable condition world-wide as an aura of war is manifested. Daniel 11:44-45 says:
“But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain…”
He will withdraw from Egypt, killing as many people as he can, before doubling back to Jerusalem. This is the beginning of the end.
Abomination of Desolation
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place...” (Matthew 24:15)
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God,” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)
“And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” (Daniel 12:11-12)
“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them...” (Revelation 13:5-7)
“I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them...” (Daniel 7:21)
“Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains.” (Matthew 24:16)
“But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains.” (Mark 13:14)
“And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days ... And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuteth the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent ... And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Revelation 12:6, 13-17)
When the Antichrist reveals himself by defiling the Jewish Temple with a statue of his image, and his demand that he be worshipped as the Messiah; the eyes of the Jewish people will be opened. He will become the most dreaded being that ever walked the earth. Revelation 13:2 indicates that “the dragon (Satan) gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority,” and once his Satanic agenda is realized, the Jews will flee Israel to escape his wrath. With the phrase “two wings of a great eagle” it’s possible that an airlift will be mounted to aid the Jews in their escape into the “wilderness.”
This area is believed to be the land of Edom, Moab, and Ammon, which will not be overrun by European forces. There in the southern Jordanian wilderness, 180 miles south of the Ammon, and 75 miles north of Aqaba (which is on the Gulf of Aqaba), is a 20-square mile complex known as the ancient city of Petra (a Greek word meaning ‘Rock’). Located in a valley, and surrounded by impassable sandstone cliffs, the only entrance is a narrow path known as El Ciq, which is about 6,000 feet long, and varies in width from 12 to 30 feet. The sides are part of nearly perpendicular cliffs which range in heights from 300 to 500 feet.
Known as Mount Seir in the Bible, this was the home of Esau, the father of the Edomites (ancestors of the Palestinian Arabs). During the Babylonian captivity of the Jews, the Edomites moved into Israel, and Petra was inhabited by an Arabic tribe known as the Nabataeans (said to be the descendants of Nebajoth, the oldest son of Ishmael) during the 6th century BC, and became an important trade center. They were defeated by the Romans around 55 BC, and in 32 BC, Marc Antony gave Petra to Cleopatra of Egypt as a gift.
Because he was married to Octavia, the sister of Roman Emperor, the Senate stripped him of his rank and ordered him back to Rome. Antony committed suicide in 30 BC, as did Cleopatra later. With the decrease of Roman influence in the 5th century, and after the Islamic invasion during the 7th century, the area became part of the province of Arabia, and remained a ghost town until it was rediscovered in 1812 by Swiss explorer John L. Burckhardt. The last segment of the 1989 Paramount movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed at Petra.
Believed to have originally been built inside an extinct volcano, this rock city contains many elaborate facades among its many structures, which include various tombs, monuments, and dwellings, which were carved into the rock of the mountainside. Some date back to the Edomite era, most are Nabataean, and some are Roman and early Christian.
There are thousands of natural and man-made caves. Even though it is located in a desert area, there are water cisterns there, and dozens of springs and wells, including the Ain Musa (‘Spring of Moses’), two miles from the entrance, which is traditionally identified as one of the two sites where Moses produced water by striking a rock. At one time this spring had been channeled into the city. It has been reported that Petra could hold up to a million people.
In 1935, out of a $5 million trust fund, Dr. William E. Blackstone sent a group of Christians there with Bibles, printed in Hebrew, which were sealed in copper boxes and buried in hewn-out vaults in the mountain. The Bibles are marked at the passages which deal with the Antichrist. In recent years, a construction firm out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, had been hired to restore the water system; and other international teams were schedules to carry out other restoration work.
From this point on is the time referred to as the ‘Great Tribulation.” Revelation 11:2 says: “...for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months (or 3-1/2 years or 1,260 days).” Although his influence will be worldwide, the Antichrist will have absolute power over 25% of the world (Rev. 6:8), with the main concentration being in the nations of the world controlled by the world government. He will seek out and destroy true Christians and all others who will not worship him or take his Mark.
In Matthew 24:9, Jesus said: “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.” Revelation 20:4 talks about those who were “beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands...”
It is at this time when “two witnesses” will emerge to “prophesy,” according to Revelation 11:3. It says, “I will give power unto my two witnesses,” which could indicate that God intends to anoint a couple of ordinary men, who will become ‘super evangelists,’ possessing extraordinary powers like the prophets of old. However, just as angels have been sent to Earth in various capacities, the consensus seems to be that these two will be prophets sent by God.
There have been two possibilities mentioned as to the identities of the two. Matthew 17:3 and Mark 9:4, refer to Jesus being transfigured with Elijah and Moses. In 2 Kings 2:11, the prophet Elijah was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot; and in Malachi 4:5, this prophecy is given: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Moses, unlike Elijah, had died, so it was his spiritual body which had appeared. So the identity of the second witness perhaps points to Enoch, because he was the only other person in the Bible who never died. According to Genesis 5:24, he was taken by God.
These two witnesses, who will preach for 1,260 days, will most likely have a ministry similar to John the Baptist. They will be latter-day prophets, opposing the dictatorship and government of the Antichrist, and spreading the word that the Son of Man, Jesus, the true Messiah, is returning the reclaim the Earth. After their ministry is complete, the Antichrist will succeed in having them killed, and as a warning to others, the Antichrist will demand that their bodies remain unburied, so the world can see the extent of his power. However, God will show his power, and bring them back to life (3-1/2 days later), and they will be taken back to Heaven.
Armageddon– The Main Event
In the 38th and 39th chapters of Ezekiel, the preliminary information is given on the final battle. The Antichrist and the full might of his military forces are now entrenched in Israel. It’s a Battle Royale, with the nations of the world converging upon the tiny nation of Israel in a bid for world domination.
The line-up of combatants that appears in chapter 38 includes the descendents of Japheth (3rd chapter of Genesis), a son of Noah: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras, who repopulated the Earth after the Flood.
Magog’s descendants settled in the area of Armenia, which is in southern Russia, after being driven north through the Caucasus mountains by the Medes. This race came to be known as the Scythians, and were called ‘Magogites’ by the Greeks. The Chinese name for the Caucasus mountains running through Russia mean ‘Fort of Gog,’ while the Russians call their peaks, the ‘Gogh.’ The Arabic term for the Great Wall of China is ‘the wall of Al Magog,’ because it was erected with the intention of keeping out the armies of Magog. Their descendants include the Tarters, Cossacks, Kalmuks, and the Mongols. The Kesses HaSofer, a Jewish Commentary, indicates that the word ‘Mongol,’ which identifies the Siberian-Russian people, comes from the word ‘Magog.’
In the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Bible, it describes ‘Gog’ as the ‘prince of Rosh.’ Rosh was the name of a tribe living in the area of the Volga. In some languages, Rosh is the word for the country of Russia. The ancient form of the name Russia, is ‘Ros.’ The Chinese had called the Scythians ‘Rosh.’ The King James Version translated ‘Rosh’ to mean ‘chief prince,’ because in Hebrew it means ‘head’; but in the Septuagint version, ‘Rosh’ is used as the proper name it is believed to be.
An interesting fact from the Oxford Paperback Encyclopedia (from Oxford University Press) is that there is a British legend that identifies Gog and Magog as the survivors of a race of giants destroyed by Brutus the Trojan, the legendary founder of London. They were depicted in statues erected at London’s Guildhall during the reign of Henry V, but were destroyed by the Fire of London in 1666.
Reconstructed, they were again destroyed during the air raids of the Blitz in 1940. The current statues were created in 1953. Models of these “gods” are carried through the streets during the Lord Mayor’s annual procession. No doubt an offshoot of that is the fact that there are two hills called Gog and Magog near Cambridge, in England, where there are huge drawings in the ground that can only see seen from the air.
The descendants of Meshech (known to the Assyrians as ‘Mushku’), settled in western Russia, where they established a city called Meshech, later known as Mosach, then Moscovi (Muscovy or Moscow), which is the capital of Russia.
Tubal’s descendants lived in the area of the Black Sea, then moved north, settling in the eastern part of Russia, establishing the city of Tobolsk. Their descendants include the Iberians, Georgians, Cappadocians, as well as other Asiatic and European peoples.
This attack will also include Persia (the descendants of Madai, which includes Iran and Iraq), Ethiopia (the descendants of Cush, the son of Ham, another son of Noah), and Libya (the descendants of Phut, the son of Ham). Ethiopia and Libya were the nations that came to Egypt’s aid. Since Egypt is not mentioned, we have to assume that they suffered great destruction.
In 1847, Sir Henry Layard discovered the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh, and the Royal Palace, which contained over 23,000 clay tablets describing all kinds of things. After defeating the Israelites, and taking them captive, they were exiled to an area below the Black and Caspian Seas. These reports gave the names used by the Assyrians for the different groups of Israelites that were planted as a buffer between them and their enemies (Medes).
The “Royal Letters” date back to 707 BC, which is about 14 years after the defeat of Samaria. Letters #1079 (describes the defeat of the Urartians), and its follow-up #197 (which says it occurred in the land of Gamir) were written by Sennacherib to his father, King Sargon. Letter #112 talks about a people (Iskuza or Isaac) that “went forth” from the midst of the Mannai, into the “land of Urartu,” while another letter distinctly separates the Urartians, the Mannai, and the Gamera (or Gimira), which means the people in Letter #112 are Gamerraan, or in English, the ‘Cimmerians.’
The Behistun Rock was found in the 1700-foot high Zargos mountains in northwestern Iran, 300 foot above the ground on a sheer face, The relief had been commissioned by Darius the Great in 515 BC, and lists the peoples and nations he defeated and ruled over as part of the Medo-Persian Empire. It is interesting to point out, that while he was putting down the Israelite insurrection, he was helping the Jews to rebuild the Temple.
The Rock (confirmed by Darius’ tomb, as well as a golden tablet that talks about the ‘Sakka’) is inscribed in three languages, is 100 feet high, and 150 feet wide. By 1840, it had been deciphered by Sir Henry C. Rawlinson. The name ‘Kana’ (Canaan) appears 28 times. ‘Saka’ or ‘Sakka’ in Mede, Persian, Elamite, and ‘Sacae’ in Greek, is ‘Gimri’ in Babylonian.
The Assyrian and Babylonian renditions are nearly the same. ‘Sakka’ refers to a nomad or one who lives in a tent or ‘booth.’ The word ‘booth’ in Hebrew is ‘succoth.’ ‘Sakka’ comes from ‘Isaac,’ (pronounced ‘e-sahk’ with emphasis on the last syllable) and became ‘Saxon.’ ‘Gimri’ comes from the Assyrian ‘Khumri’ (after Biblical House of ‘Omri,’ 6th King of Israel) and became Ghumri, Gimira, Gimmira, the Greek ‘Kimmeroii,’ or English ‘Cimmerian.’
According to the apocryphal book of 2 Esdras 13:40-44, they migrated to Europe. While the main body of prisoners remained in the area about a hundred years, the Israelites slowly began moving to the east and the north. When the power of the Assyrians was broken, there were several migrations, with the two main groups moving west under the Black Sea, north through the Dariel Pass of the Caucasas Mountains into the steppes of southern Russia. A large group also migrated east.
Between 650-500 BC, the Cimmerians in Europe moved up the Danube and became known as Celts, eventually migrating to France than England. Between 250-100 BC, when southern Russia was invaded by the Sarmatians from the east, the Scythians (Isaac is believed to be the foundation for this name) were driven northwest through Poland into Germany. After 450 AD, the Romans called the Scythians ‘Germans,’ meaning ‘genuine,’ to distinguish them from the Sarmatians in Scythia.
So, Gomer’s desecendants (known to the Assyrians as ‘Gimirrai’ or ‘Cimmerians’) settled in central Asia Minor, north of the Black Sea, in southern Russia, then moved west along the Danube River, to the area now known as Germany. He was the father of Eastern Europe. Old world maps identify this area as Gomer, Gomerlunt, Gomeria.
Their descendants include the Galatians, Phrygians, Gauls, Celts (Greek “Keltoi”), Germans, French, Welsh, Irish, Britons, and other Anglo-Saxon (means ‘Isaac’s son’) peoples. In addition, Togarmah (known to the Assyrians as ‘Tilgarimmu’), a son of Gomer, is singled out. His descendants occupied Turkey and Asia Minor, and another branch settled in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, which were later taken over by the Soviet Union. They were granted independence in September, 1991.
Togarmah’s ‘bands’ could also refer to Armenia and Syia, whose ancestors claimed that Haik, the father of their race, was the son of Togarmah. The descendants of another son of Gomer, Ashkenaz, settled in Germany and Austria.
In Ezekiel 38:13, “Sheba, Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof,” seem to be questioning the motives of the Soviet Union, perhaps because they seem far removed from what appears to be a regional conflict. It is not clear whether they involve themselves in the military action.
Sheba (also Saba), was an ancient kingdom in the area of the southwestern edge of Saudi Arabia which became known as the British colony of Aden, until achieving independence as South Yemen (who united with North Yemen in 1990). This was the traditional kingdom of the Queen of Sheba who ruled over the Sabaeans (who dominated all of southern Arabia), and was labeled in Matthew 12:42 as the ‘Queen of the South.’ The historian Josephus referred to her as the “Queen of Egypt and Ethiopia.” Dedan was the name of a Sabaean oasis in the northern part of Saudi Arabia, which was one of their many colonies in northern Arabia.
Another identifying indication again comes from Biblical genealogy. Cush, the son of Ham, was the father of Ethiopia, and other tribes who settled south of Egypt, in Arabia, Babylonia and India. Cush’s sons are identified as Seba (who in Psalms 72:10 is associated with the kings of Sheba, and in Isaiah 43:3 are mentioned with Ethiopia, which indicates that he is the father of the Sabaeans); Havilah (a name associated with the area of the Sinai and northwestern Arabia); Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah (all three of which were associated with tribes in southern Arabia). Sheba and Dedan are listed as sons of Raamah.
Thus, the reference to Sheba and Dedan actually identifies the country of Saudi Arabia (as well as the countries of Oman, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain). They were an ally of the Coalition against Iraq during the Gulf War.
The “merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof” are also named with them. According to Jeremiah 10:9, Tarshish is identified as a land rich with precious metals; and in other passages, such as Isaiah 2:16, are associated with possessing a prominent shipping empire which was used to export goods to places all over the Mediterranean. Some researchers have tried to connect Tarshish with Tartessus (located in the Guadalquivir Valley) in southwestern Spain, where the Phoenicians founded colonies to capitalize on the wealth of minerals found there.
The Phoenicians established the city of Carthage on Africa’s northern coast (in what is now Tunisia), and it was these Carthaginians who began colonizing Spain in 654 BC (until they were driven out by the Romans in 206 BC), and exploring the Atlantic coastline from western Africa to Britain. Recent archaeological evidence has shown that they possessed sailing capabilities far beyond what was originally known.
An inscription discovered in 1780 on a cliff above Mount Hope Bay in Bristol, Rhode Island, which was written in Tartessian Punic, reads: “Voyagers from Tarshish this stone proclaims.” It is believed that this inscription was made about 533 BC. Howard University’s Dept. of Archaeology has found five other areas in the United States where Tarshish had colonies 2500 years ago.
Tarshish was a great-grandson of Noah, whose descendants migrated to the areas which later became Spain and Great Britain. Ezekiel 27:12 indicates that Tarshish was a source of tin, and the word ‘Britain’ means “land of tin.” Both Spain, with their Armada, and England, became major naval powers. An analysis of these facts may indicate that Tarshish is referring to one (England) or two countries of the western European alliance.
The “young lions” (the lion is a symbol of England) could refer to the United States (who came out of England), Canada, Australia, New Zealand (all part of the English Empire), their possessions and allies. Again, we can’t be sure if these countries that are mentioned are participants in this massive assault.
In Revelation 16:12, the 6th angel pours out his vial, which causes the Euphrates River to dry up, so “that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared,” and then in Rev. 9:16 we find that “the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand…” We can connect these two verses together by virtue of numbers and geography.
An estimate made in April, 1961, said that there “were 200 million armed and organized militiamen” in China. The Associated Press reported that one out of every five in China have had military training. Premier Mao Tse-tung publicly boasted the fact that China could field an army of 200 million. A Chinese documentary called Voice of the Dragon revealed that China could produce a military force of 200 million. In an Associated Press article by John A. Hightower, on April 28, 1964, he said: “The documents (secret Chinese military plans) make clear that the Red Chinese leaders believe that they cannot be defeated by long range nuclear missiles, such as U.S. missiles, and if they invaded, they could rely on their vast military manpower.” To comprehend a number this large, bear in mind that the population of the United States is about to 295,000,000.
Napoleon said: “Let China sleep, for when China awakes, let the nations tremble.” In 1953, Premier Mao Tse-tung (who in 1921 founded China’s Communist Party) said: “Members of the Chinese Communist Party do not take second place to the members of any Communist Party in the world.” China is the last bastion of Communist domination, and they likewise will join the fray in a quest for world domination.
The government of Pakistan, with the help of 12,000 Chinese soldiers, constructed the 549 mile Korakoram superhighway, which had been nicknamed the “roof on top of the world.” Starting in Tibet, it weaves its way through the province of Singkiang; the mountains peaks of Manchuria, Mongolia, Nepal, the Himalayas, West Pakistan; and into Afghanistan, to where the Euphrates River rises in Turkey, and runs across Syria. It follows the ancient trans-Asian invasion route used by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and the Mogul invaders. Will China use this highway as a route to Israel?
It is written that the Euphrates River will be dried up at the time of this troop movement. It could be done through supernatural means, as has happened with the Red Sea and the Jordan River (Exodus 14:13-22, Joshua 3:4, 2 Kings 2:8, 14); or it could be the result of manipulation. There are two dams in the Turkish section of the Euphrates, Ataturk and Karakaya. In 1974, Soviet engineers built the Keban dam, and in 1975, built another at Tabka, in Syria. In January, 1990, Turkey began the operation of a dam that caused the river to fall 75% in one day. So, it is quite possible that the river could be made to dry up at just the right time.
Okay, take a deep breath. We have the armies of the Antichrist hunkering down in Israel, we have the Soviet Union and countries of Eastern Europe (perhaps Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia) coming down from the north, we have Iraq and Iran coming from the East, we have China coming from the Far East, and we have Ethiopia and Libya coming from the South. What this amounts to is millions upon millions of men bearing down on Israel from three directions. It does not look good.
And Then Shall the End Come
Revelation 16:13-16 identifies the unholy trinity of Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet working to bring together the armies of the world in preparation for the coming battle. There is a hint here that Satanic inspiration will be used to marshal the coming military forces into a cohesive unit that will be arrayed against Christ himself. This place this will happen at is identified: “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
Armageddon is a combination of the two Hebrew words ‘har’ and ‘magedon,’ which roughly translated, means the ‘mount of Megiddo.’ It is located on a 300 square mile area on the south side of the valley of Megiddo, or the Plain of Esdraelon (Jezreel), southeast of Mt. Carmel, which extends to the Jordan Valley. Megiddo, which stood at the entrance of a pass across the Carmel mountain range, was the capital of the area of Canaan when it was attacked by Joshua.
The port city of Haifa is located at the Valley’s western entrance, and no doubt will be utilized as the drop-off point for troops who are transported by naval vessels. While this area is identified as the area where the armies of the world gather, Joel 3:2, 12, 14, pinpoints the battle area as the valley of Jehoshaphat, which was known as the “valley of decision” and according to tradition is believed to be located near Jerusalem, in the Kidron valley.
It seems obvious that the military might of the Antichrist will use any means at their disposal to do battle against an invincible adversary, and the extent of our present weapons technology is our nuclear capability.
On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. The heat from this blast was 127,200,000 degrees Fahrenheit, or three times hotter than the center of the sun. Although the 20 kiloton explosion affected only a four square mile area, its intensity killed 50,000 people, and wounded another 55,000, On August 9, 1945, the second bomb, was dropped on Nagasaki, and people ten miles away were paralyzed, and even those with only slight wounds, eventually died.
President Harry Truman said: “The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East.” In 1953, a movie was produced which recorded the results of “Operation Ivy,” a military test of a hydrogen bomb detonation in the Pacific which took place in November, 1952. The blast caused an entire island to disappear, turning it into deadly vapor and radioactive ash.
The concentration of the use of nuclear weapons in such a small area could possibly throw the Earth off of its axis– producing disastrous results. An article in the September, 1975 edition of Smithsonian magazine said: “Astronomical theories that attribute climate changes to shifts in the Earth’s orbit or rotation on its axis; solar theories that propose that the Earth’s climate varies in response to changed in the activity of the sun; and geophysical theories that link climatic changes to events and interactions within the land-ocean-atmosphere...” These theories seem to be corroborated by events described in the book of Genesis.
When the Earth was created, the weather was always clear and sunny. There was never any rain. The vegetation was watered by the morning dew, which was why the people scoffed when Noah warned of an impending flood– because they didn’t know what rain was. The pre-Flood calendar was a perfect year of 12 months, with 30 days in each month. Now we have 365 a days in a year.
According to scientists, the reason for this is that the Earth has been moved away from the sun by a million miles, resulting in 2% less heat; and the tilt of the axis is now 23-1/2 degrees, which accounts for the harshness of the seasons. The magnetic field was also changed. This upsetting of the delicate balances of nature has been blamed for the reduction of the human life span. Methuselah lived to be 969 years old, while Moses lived only to be 120.
The movement of the Earth off of its axis would initiate earthquakes, and volcanic activity; affecting the topography of the Earth, and the poisoning of the waters. In addition, the volcanic activity, because its ash, smoke and dust tend to stay in the air for long periods of time, will screen out the light of the sun, as well as the moon and stars. Radioactive particles and the igniting of sulfur deposits (brimstone) will poison the air. Will God allow the possibility of such a devastation to take place– apparently not. It appears that there will be a preemptive first strike.
“The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together ... for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty ... Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine ... Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger ... (it) shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.” (Isaiah 13:4-19)
“...let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness ... A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth ... The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.” (Joel 2:1-10)
“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh ... For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle ... Their flesh shall consume away while they stand on their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” (Zechariah 14:1-12)
“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” (Mark 13:24-26)
“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth ... and every mountain and island were moved out of their places ... For the great day of his wrath is come: and who shall be able to stand?” (Revelation 6:12-17)
According to Revelation 11:13, within the hour after the two witnesses leave the earth, a massive earthquake will occur. This same earthquake is referred to in Zechariah 14:4, as Jesus returns to this world at the same point he left it, on the Mount of Olives, a small range of four summits which overlook Jerusalem from the east. The earthquake is again mentioned in Revelation 16:18-21: “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake ... And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent (114 pounds)...”
It is interesting to note, that when Jesus died on the cross, there was “darkness over all the land” and “the earth did quake, and the rocks rent (Matthew 27:45, 51).” The 18th century scientist von Hoff wrote: “There have been strange colorings of the heavens and unusual fogs noticed as occurring at the same time of earthquakes; such as the unusual color of the sky at Lisbon on the first of November, 1755, and the dry fog (Nebel), which was so thick as to produce total darkness during the earthquake in Calabria in 1783.”
In Revelation 19:11, John writes about this moment: “And I saw heaven open and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” The rider is none other than Jesus, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. He is followed by an army of angels. Verse 19 describes the reception waiting below: “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.”
Ezekiel’s description of “the fire of my wrath,” (38:19) “a great shaking,” (38:19) “an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone,” (38:22) “I will send a fire,” (39:6) certainly paints a picture that will be very similar to the destruction meted out by God at Sodom and Gomorrah.
This event, which occurred about 1897 BC, and is discussed in Genesis 19:24-29: “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground ... and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.”
In 1924, a joint expedition of archaeologists W. F. Albright and Mervyn G. Kyle, from the American School and Xenia Seminary, discovered five oases, on a plain, 500 feet above the level of the southeast corner of the Dead Sea in the Moabite foothills. Evidence of a walled area was discovered at Bab-Edh Dra’a (Bab edh-Dhra) in 1965, part of a fortification built by the Canaanites during the time of Abraham; and from 1975-79, excavations of pots and other items were unearthed, which dated back to 2500 to 2000 BC.
Four other sites have been identified on the east side of the Dead Sea as part of the ruins of the five plain cities involved in the turn of events, including Numeira (discovered in 1973), Safi (identified as Zoar), Feifa, and Hanazir. Because of evidence which proves that the area was fertile and densely populated, all of these sites, along with Sodom and Gomorrah, are believed to be the five cities of the plain. Excavations made since 1974 at the Tell Mardikh, site of the ancient Ebla, in northern Syria, have turned up tablets from their archives which refer to all five cities of the plain, and on one, even names them in the same sequence as in Genesis 14:2.
Nelson Glueck, while Director of the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem (1932-39), made a survey of the southern Transjordan area, east and south of the Dead Sea, and discovered that the area had been settled before 2000 BC, but suddenly had been abandoned. These cities were located at the Vale of Siddim, at the southern end of the Dead Sea in the Great Rift Valley, which extends from Mount Hermon and the Sea of Galilee in the north, as far south as the Gulf of Aquaba, and includes the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea region. It is part of a huge fracture in the Earth’s crust that begins several hundred miles north at the foot of the Taurus Mountains in Asia Minor, and ends beyond the Red Sea in Africa. It is 1,320 feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Dead Sea, between Israel and Jordan, is the lowest spot on the Earth’s surface, and is fed by the Jordan River. Without an outlet, the water has evaporated for hundreds of years, leaving behind a variety of minerals, including sodium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium bromine, magnesium chloride and hydrogen sulfide. As the name suggests, fish cannot live in its waters. Along the southern end of the Dead Sea is a ten mile mass of salt called Jebel Usdim (Arabic for ‘mountains of Sodom’).
The salt at its base is 150 feet deep in places, and geologists have also indicated the presence of sulphur, natural gas, oil, and bitumen. The “slimepits” mentioned in Genesis 14:10, refer to the bitumen, asphalt or pitch, a lustrous black petroleum product which melts and burns. There are vast beds of it on both sides of the Sea, with heavier concentrations at the southern end. The Nabataeans collected the bitumen which floated to the surface for trade.
The southern half of the Dead Sea seems relatively new, and is much shallower than the northern half, which is 1,296 feet deep. It had been written that the ruins were still visible until the first century; and there were even later reports that when the sun was shining in the right direction, the outline of trees were visible under the surface of the water, preserved by the high salt content of the water. These stories were not confirmed by divers, who found no sign of human settlements. However, regardless of any hard evidence, enough circumstantial evidence exists which indicated that the southern end of the Dead Sea was the location of the destruction.
It has been theorized that an earthquake ignited the natural gas deposits, which created a violent explosion, and propelled a mixture of salt, sulphur and bitumen into the air, literally raining fire and brimstone, as the oil basin beneath the cities burned. Some have even gone as far as saying that God leveled the area with an atomic blast.
It appears, that from all descriptions, hell will be unleashed. The very power of the elements themselves will be turned upon the encroaching army.
During the U.S. hydrogen bomb tests on the Marshall Islands, an analysis of the results indicated, that there were also hailstones. The blast caused a tremendous air turbulence to develop, which in turn caused the formation of hailstones large enough to dent the armor plating on surface ships. Similar hailstones are described in Revelation 8:7, and 16:21.
Revelation 8:8 talks about a “great mountain burning with fire” which falls into the sea; and in 8:10, “a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp” falls into the rivers. A meteor that fell in Winslow, Arizona, left a crater a mile in diameter. Indentations on the ocean floor off the coats of South Carolina and Georgia indicate a meteor shower which accompanied an asteroid that hit the western area of the Atlantic Ocean. In 1908, in Siberia, what is believed to have been a meteor, fell with such an impact, that trees for 25 miles around were knocked over, and the resulting smoke was visible for hundreds of miles.
In 1937, an asteroid, called Hermes, which was over a mile in diameter, approached the Earth. Scientists plotting its course thought it might hit the planet, but it only came within a million miles, then veered away. They estimated that if it would have hit an ocean, at its speed of 1,800 mph, it would have generated a tidal wave big enough to destroy all nearby coastal cities. Icarus (discovered in 1949), the closest asteroid to the sun, comes dangerously close to the Earth during its orbit around the sun.
American geologist Dr. Robert Dietz said that if the asteroid, which is a 1/2 mile in diameter, would ever hit the Earth, its impact would be equivalent to that of a 200-million megaton atomic blast, which would sink islands, initiate earthquakes, disrupt the earth’s magnetic field, and maybe knock it off its axis. Another asteroid, Toro (discovered in 1964), over three miles in diameter, also comes close to this planet during its orbit between Venus and the Earth.
In the end, the futile attempt at Armageddon will be in vain, and the combatants will be destroyed within a day (Rev. 18:8). Ezekiel 39:8 says: “Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken.” Ezekiel specifically points out that 5/6’s of the Soviet Army is destroyed (39:2). For some reason God’s wrath is aimed more at them, as far as invading forces, possibly because of what they have done in their past. Or maybe it’s because they got there first, since no one else is mentioned. At any rate, the carnage will be so great, that God will command the birds to the area to feast on the flesh of the fallen (Ezekiel 39:4). It will take seven months to bury the dead (39:12). It will take seven years to burn the weapons (39:9).
It was reported a few years ago that Russia was producing war equipment out of a substance invented in the Netherlands, known as ‘Lignostone,’ which is a compressed laminated wood that is actually five-times harder than solid wood, yet has twice the elasticity. Since it is wood, and not metal, it doesn’t show up on radar. The British are said to be using a similar substance for the gears in their large vehicles. The synthetic resin used to bond the layers of wood together under high pressure burns brightly with intense heat, thus making it easier for the weapons to be burned.
This is another one of those pesky little end-time rumors that seem to be so pervasive. A little research bears out the fact that there is no military equipment produced with this material, only electrotechnical materials, sportsgear, industrial supplies, wooden mallets, furniture, and a few other things. Besides, if the stuff burns so easily, who would want to be on a battlefield in a vehicle which can be ignited so easily.
The Millenial Kingdom
Jesus will then establish his kingdom on this Earth (Joel 3:17), and restoration of this area will begin. The earthquake which caused the Mount of Olives to split (Zech. 14:4), will produce a waterway to issue forth from under the Temple, which will split into two separate rivers south of Jerusalem (Ez. 47:1-12, Joel 3:18, Zech. 14:8); one going to the Mediterranean, and the other to the Dead Sea. This will cleanse the waters of the Dead Sea, and enable it to support life; and will change the desert on the eastern slope of Israel’s mountains into fertile land (Deut. 30:9).
On July 11, 1927, there was an earthquake that shook Palestine from the Sea of Galilee to the border of Egypt. Afterward, geologists discovered a fault line at the Mount of Olives running east to west. Professor Bailey Willis, of Stanford University, said that because of the fault, the area around Jerusalem could expect to experience seismic disturbances because of the slippage that would occur on the fault the runs under the Mount.
Israel will take possession of the land promised to them in Genesis 15:18. The country of Israel will extend from the Nile to the Euphrates River, and include parts of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan; and from the Red Sea, to almost the Black Sea.
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:4)
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