The Strong Delusion Part 9- Rev Commentary Continued

THE STRONG DELUSION—PART 9

The Continuing Synopsis of the Revelation as a Historical Prophecy

7-??-2019

A Continued Unmasking of the Revelation Misunderstanding – The Third Layer of Delusion as Proposed in:  https://freedomfromdelusion.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-strong-delusion-part-1.html

The misunderstanding that the Revelation written by John is actually a blueprint of the events that will occur during the tribulation period.  Fomented by the Scofield Study Bible the understanding by the Church Fathers was changed to a literal interpretation of real events that will occur during a future seven year tribulation period.

The Revelation was originally understood as a prophetic history of the Church age, from the beginning of the teachings of Jesus to the Millennial Kingdom of God.

The Protestant Reformation, beginning with Luther, did not regain the early Church fathers knowledge of the purpose of the Revelation because it had long ago vanished.

At what point the Revelation was viewed as a literal chronology of tribulation period events is unknown to a certain point.  It occurred after Darby’s dispensational theory was employed within Scofield’s note filled study Bible, but the exact timeline of a literal Revelation, the misinterpretation of the 70 weeks, and the misunderstanding of the state of Israel as a fulfillment of all Bible prophecy is not certain.

The following snippets of Revelation commentary were extracted from the series of commentaries written by Dr. Stephen Jones.

THE MARK OF THE BEAST

The beast from the earth, John prophesied, would be characterized by two notable things. First is the misuse of nature, or more specifically, weaponizing nature (atoms) for the purpose of subduing and enslaving other nations. Second, was the misuse of commerce, using money to enslave others. So the beast from the earth created weapons of mass destruction as well as a financial system that would allow no one to carry out commerce apart from using the money that they created. Revelation 13: 14, 15 says,

14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. 15 And there was given to him to give breath [pneuma, “spirit”] to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

Deception

The first thing John tells us is that the second beast is deceptive. The irony is in the fact that the beast, which has arisen from the earth “deceives those who dwell on the earth”.

Deut. 11: 8, 16, and 18 instruct us,

8 You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today… 16 Beware, lest your hearts be deceived and you turn away and serve other gods and worship them… 18 You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.

The law of God was the antidote to worshiping false gods. To prevent deception, we must (figuratively) bind the word of God on our foreheads and on our hands. This puts the mark of God upon us, and it is the opposite of the mark of lawlessness that was put upon Cain (Gen. 4: 15, KJV). The desire of every true believer is to receive the mark (tav, “mark, sign, signature,”) of God upon his forehead, identifying him as a bond slave of Jesus Christ.

What, then, is this “mark” or signature in Rev. 13: 16?  First, it is no more literal than the “frontals” in Deut. 11: 18. The Jews, of course, often set forth their mark of righteousness by literally binding portions of Scripture to their foreheads for all to see. They were called towphaphah in Hebrew and phylakterion in Greek.

This was a “sign” that their thoughts and the works of their hands were bound by the word of God, and that they were obedient to the word. One pair of frontals was taken from the first law (Exodus), and the second was taken from the second law (Deuteronomy). Of course, when we consult the mind of God in this matter, we see that this was never meant to be a literal requirement. At most, it was to be a teaching tool and reminder to be obedient as bond slaves of God. The heart issue was always the goal, not the physical “mark.”

It is the same with the mark of the beast in Rev. 13: 16. Those who worship the beast are branded with his signature to mark his slaves. Those who worship God are branded with His signature to indicate divine ownership.

How does one know which mark he has received? Paul tells us in 1 Tim. 6: 10 that “the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.” Money itself is neutral. The love of money (i.e., greed) is what causes men to go astray and to worship other gods in the earth.

When men are motivated by the love of money, they are automatically owned by the beast from the earth, whether they know it or not. They bear his mark on their foreheads (minds), and so everything they do by the works of their hands is done in the pursuit of wealth. Wealth is their top priority.

In the prophetic context in Revelation 13, we find that the Jewish bankers, led (at least visibly) by the Rothschilds, were motivated by greed, the love of money, and the pursuit of wealth. In their quest, they finally obtained the privilege to create money itself and to loan it to governments at interest with very little cost to themselves. It is of interest to us that the currency of Germany to this day is called the mark. Rothschild was from Hamburg, Germany.

The Image (Icon)

Rev. 13: 14 speaks of “an image TO the beast.” This is how we are to interpret the next verse, which speaks of “the image OF the beast.” The image is not a picture of the beast. The image is “of” (originates from) the beast. The image “to” the beast (i.e., given to him) indicates that it is created for the beast and for his purposes.

The word translated “image” is eikon, or icon. In Luke 20: 22-25 we read about such icons,

22 “Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 23 But He detected their trickery and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness [eikon, “image”] and inscription [epigraphe, “title, writing”] does it have?” And they said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Every coin has an image, or icon, which officially monetizes the metal. Such coins often are struck with the image of the ruler of the nation or empire during whose time the coin was minted. Hence, the “image” is the picture and inscription of the one authorizing the coin. It is not a statue, as so many have pictured it to be. Men worship this image when they have the love of money and when everything they do with their hands is designed to accumulate wealth.

The modern problem reached a culmination point in 1914 when the Federal Reserve Bank was established and certain wealthy Jewish banking families took control of the money supply. US dollars were abolished in favor of Federal Reserve Notes. Other nations’ currencies too came under the control of the powerful banking families. The result was that no one could buy or sell without using these private notes. So Rev. 13: 17 says,

17 and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

There is much more to it than this, of course, for this beast system also turned all men into slaves. Birth certificates were soon required, having a commercial number on them, and these were sent to the Department of Commerce, where each citizen (by his number) is registered as a slave. (The term citizen literally means “subject, or slave.”) This is part of Babylonian slavery and commerce as described in Rev. 18: 13.

So we see that the beast from the earth rules and enslaves mankind through the power of money creation. Its slave trade is its main commercial venture, and this is accomplished through deception. Few understand how the system works, and so not many understand their position as citizen-slaves of the earth beast.

It is not a sin to be a slave of the system as long as we are bond slaves of Jesus Christ in our manner of life. Such slavery did not start with the earth beast. It began a long time ago when God gave Jerusalem into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. This slavery is the result of sin. It is the divine judgment for the sins of past generations. The financial power that arose 200 years ago was merely the last form of divine judgment before the dominion was returned to the saints of the Most High.

666— The Number of His Name

Revelation 13: 18 says,

18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of that beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six [666].

The Greek text that is translated “six hundred and sixty-six” is just three Greek letters chi, xi, and sigma. Like the Hebrews, the Greeks used their letters as numbers, so each letter carries a numeric value. The letter chi served as their number for 600, xi was their number 60, and sigma was their number 6. So by putting these letters together, this was how they wrote the number 666.

The Number Six

John, of course, was well acquainted with these numbers. However, he does not explain this number, other than to tell us that it is the number of “that beast” and the number of “a man.” Every number has both a positive and a negative side to it, depending upon its application. In biblical numerology, we find that the number six is the number of man, or humanity in general. A triple six would indicate the apex or even the perfection of man, for it is built upon the foundation of the number six.

The good news about the number six is that when we view it as a time cycle, it signifies the END of labor or slavery and the beginning of rest (seven).

As with so many things, the New Testament must be interpreted with its double witness, the Old Testament. It is plain that in 2 Chron. 9: 13the number 666 is associated with gold, which is also used as money. Certainly, this statement has an economic color to it, even as we see in John’s reference. Thus, when we look at John’s statement in its natural flow of the revelation of history, it is remarkable that it would coincide precisely with the rise of the international banking system as invented and developed by the family of Rothschilds.

It is not so much the USE of money, but the LOVE of money that determines if one has the mark of the beast. When everything one does is for the sake of money, it is a “mark of the beast” upon one’s hand. When one constantly schemes how to make more money, it is a “mark of the beast” upon one’s forehead.

Solomon’s gold, or wealth, was given to him, along with wisdom and peace, in order to build the Kingdom of God in his day. Unfortunately, the last half of his reign was spent in rebellion.

Because of this, God judged him by dividing Israel into two nations, giving the bulk of the tribes to a political rival (1 Kings 11: 11-13). Just as Solomon’s sin divided the kingdom, so also today we see the Freemasons obsessed with Solomon, his temple, and his dark arts. Freemasonry is part of the earth beast which is characterized by the number 666.

The Rothschild King of the Jews

In the 1800’ s this family became so powerful that they soon began to call their chairman the King of the Jews, and often referred to their family as “our royal family.”

Nathan Rothschild died in 1836, more than a century before the family goal was accomplished. The Israeli state was formed in 1948, primarily due to their money and influence. Of course, we acknowledge the sovereignty of God in this as well, for the fig tree had to bring forth more leaves (without fruit) in order to fulfill Jesus’ prophecy in Matt. 24: 32. Even so, this historic event did not just happen by itself.

It is the belief in upper Jewish circles that in order to qualify as their messiah, a man must first be able to prove some descent from Judah and David, and secondly, he must help establish the Jewish state. So they believe that one of the Rothschild descendants will be the Jewish messiah.

Once we understand the historical connection between modern banking, its money and the mark of the beast, we can see how the “image” has usurped the place of the real and is in direct violation of the Second Commandment that bans graven images. The mark of the beast is the brand of a slave owner upon his slave. The mark (or seal) of God is the brand (or signature) of God upon His bond servants.

The image of God is Jesus Christ Himself (Heb. 1: 3, KJV). The image of the beast is a false Christ, an antichrist, that which usurps the place— and the number— of Jesus Christ, as we will see shortly. Even as “breath” or Spirit was given to Jesus when He was raised from the dead, so also is “breath” given to the image of the beast in Rev. 13: 15.

The Counterfeit Lamb

Recall that Rev. 13: 11 says,

11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.

This beast is a dragon in lamb’s clothing, as it were. It pretends to be a lamb, but its true identity is revealed by his voice and the lawless nature of his commands. This has more than one layer of meaning, but on one level we may apply it to the Rothschilds and extend it to their associates of the banking families, most of which were Jewish, as we have already seen. They pretend to be Israelites, or “sheep” in biblical metaphoric language, but in fact their lawlessness reveals their true identity.

The number 666 actually depicts the perfection (3) of man (6). It is not a bad number in itself, but instead has been usurped by evil men, or antichrists.

Let us take a closer look at Rev. 13: 17 and 18,

17 and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

The beast’s number is 666, but that does not mean that he has obtained it legitimately or that it truly belongs to him. What if he has usurped this number and is using it unlawfully? What if this number actually belongs to Jesus Christ?

This may seem like a strange view, until we see that the phrase “and his number is six hundred and sixty-six” carries a numeric value of 2368. The number 2368 is the numeric value of Jesus Christ in Greek. Jesus is 888, and Christ is 1480. Adding them together comes to 2368. Built into the actual Greek text is a number which reveals the one whose number is 666. It does not belong to the beast, but to Jesus Christ, for He alone is the perfect man represented by three sixes.

Furthermore, the three Greek letters making up the number 666 are: chi, 600, which is short for Christos); xi, 60, which is a cross; and stigma, 6, which means “pierced.” Does not this describe the cross on which Christ was to be pierced?

Therefore, I believe we might paraphrase verse 18 above to read: “Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, which he usurped; for the number is that of a particular man, Jesus Christ; and His number is six hundred and sixty-six.”

The Head (Stone) of the Corner

Psalm 118: 22, 23 prophesies of Jesus Christ, saying,

22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone [“ head stone of the corner,” KJV]. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

Most Christians recognize this as a messianic prophecy, because Jesus quoted it in Matt. 21: 42 and applied it to Himself. What most do not realize, however, is that the phrase “the chief corner stone” carries a numeric value of 666. So who is the chief corner stone? Is it Christ or antichrist?

Obviously, when we understand the big picture in the divine plan, we know that Christ and antichrist are competing for the throne and the Dominion Mandate to rule the earth. But in the end, Jesus Christ is the Perfect Man for the job, while all antichrists are mere usurpers and are just as disqualified to rule the Kingdom as was Absalom.

This “chief corner stone” is the same foundation of the New Temple described in Eph. 2: 20-22. But in Psalm 118: 22 it actually refers to the capstone of the Great Pyramid in Egypt, which is mentioned in Isaiah 19: 19, 20,

19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord near its border. 20 And it will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them.

The Great Pyramid stands as a witness to God on the border between Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt (Nile delta), precisely where Isaiah locates it. The numeric value of these two verses describing the Great Pyramid are exactly 5449, which is the precise height of the Great Pyramid in its internal unit of measure, Pyramid Inches.

The Pyramid is left unfinished, because its capstone was never placed on its summit. If the builders had placed the Capstone, its height would have been 5776 Pyramid Inches, which happens to be the date of 2016 on the Jewish calendar. Perhaps the year 2016 will prove to be an important year in some way.

The End of Beast Dominion

The time of the two beasts has now run its course. As allies, their time was 1,480 years from 534-2014 A.D., beginning when Justinian changed times and law (Dan. 7: 25). Being the last entities on the list of beasts that were to receive the Dominion Mandate, we should expect to see their time run out at the close of the “seven times” given to them by divine contract. The contract is expiring from 2014-2017, as I have explained earlier.

The number 1480 is the numeric value of “Christ” in Greek. So we find that Jesus was crucified on the 1480th Passover from Israel’s first feast in the land of Egypt. This time cycle coincided with the end of Daniel’s 70 weeks (490 years), the only time when the true Christ could have been crucified. Hence, we look in vain for any other man fulfilling even one of the prophecies of Christ at this appointed time.

The second 1480-year cycle was the time of the little horn. That time is now coming to a close over a period of 3 or 3 ½ years from 2014-2018. It appears that we are approaching another climax of history, which will be revealed in due time. Will Dan. 9: 24-27 have a secondary (and perhaps a greater) fulfillment in the second work of Christ?

Revelation 13 gave us a broad sketch of prophetic history. The first beast covered 42 prophetic months (1,260 years), primarily from 529-1789 A.D. The second beast overthrew the first beast, but then used it as a religious front in order to hide its true power and influence in the background. This beast has also used many other organizations (such as Freemasonry) as fronts to hide its intentions. While the first beast is primarily the religious beast of Rome, the second beast is the secular beast primarily led by high-level banking families, visibly led by the Rothschilds.

Since the earth beast is the last power to rule the earth prior to the time when the saints are given the Dominion Mandate, Revelation 13 takes us to the present time and to the manifestation of the overcomers. It is this event that will fully destroy the Babylonian world system.

Revelation 13 brings us to the end of the beast systems insofar as prophetic history is concerned. After this, in Revelation 14-19, John speaks primarily of the overthrow of the beast systems and their spiritual city, “Babylon,” along with the rise of the overcomers. So this marks the end of the main historical section of the book of Revelation.