Unveiling Jesus Christ

Unveiling Jesus Christ

di John Cassinat

[§231] Rev 13:18: The Number of the Second Beast Is 666

This podcast explains the symbolism used by John the Revelator in Revelation 13:18, which states: "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.” The wisdom referred to in this verse is the wisdom of God. This phrase is a voice of latter-day warning for people to understand and protect themselves against the wickedness and evil of the Second Beast in Revelation chapter 13. The dangers of the Second Beast are symbolically represented by the number of the beast, which people are expected to count or calculate. The number of the beast is also the number of a man, meaning it is worldly or evil‒not godly. The name and number of the beast is 666. This number has led to many different and erroneous interpretations using Gematria as explained in this podcast. The number 666 can be correctly interpreted with reference to the symbolism of the numbers themselves. The number six (6) symbolizes evil because it is one short of the perfect number seven (7). When combined with itself three (3) times, the 666 yields a trinity of evil or perfect imperfection. The name and number, therefore, represents the highest or fullest state of evil to be achieved by the Second Beast as of the Second Coming, which is the chronological context for Revelation 13:18.

[§230] Rev 13:17: No One Can Buy or Sell Without the Beast’s Mark

This podcast explains the symbolism and meaning of the words in Revelation 13:17, which say: “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.” This is John’s prophecy that will be fulfilled during the last 3½ years before the Second Coming in the period of time called the Great Tribulation. The Second Beast will control the world's economy during the Great Tribulation. His power will be so great that only people who symbolically have his mark, name or number in their right hand or in their forehead will be able to buy and sell. The model or precedent for this economic control can be seen in the Roman empire when the emperors issued emperor certificates to prove that people had made sacrifices to the Emperor. Those that failed to do so were prevented from buying and selling. A similar precedent can be seen in the Holy Roman Empire, when the popes issued ecclesiastical canons that proscribed heretics of the church from buying and selling. Given the increasing amount of buying and selling that occurs on the Internet, it is not hard to imagine how the Second Beast will be able to prevent people from buying and selling in the worldwide marketplace of Modern Babylon if they do not fit the profile or computer algorithm of the Secret Combinations of the Second Beast that increasingly control worldwide E-commerce.

[§229] Rev 13:16: The Wicked Receive the Mark of the Beast

This podcast explains the meaning of the images used by John the Revelator to describe events that will occur as people worship the Second Beast in Revelation 13 in the modern world. In Revelation 13:16, John tells us that the “[Second Beast] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.” The mark is analogous to a brand placed on animals, as well as slaves in the ancient Roman Empire. Today, people receive the symbolic mark as they become like the Second Beast through the form of their worship. The mark they receive of their own accord, identifies them as the property of the Second Beast. John identified three pairs of wicked people who receive the mark of the Second Beast for a total of six groups. The number six symbolizes evil because it is one short of the perfect and sacred number seven. The three pairs of people in this verse identify people from all walks of life as worshipers of the Second Beast. The placement of the symbolic mark in either the right hand or in the forehead is also symbolically significant. People who receive the mark in their right hand serve and strengthen the Second Beast, while people with the mark in their forehead are fully devoted to the Second Beast with all their heart and mind. The mark of the Second Beast in the forehead is the mirror opposite of the seal of the Living God that people receive when they have their calling and election made sure to exaltation. (Rev 7:1-3) Therefore, people who receive the mark of the Second Beast in the forehead are some of perdition. Wicked people who serve the Second Beast without the same degree of devotion as sons of perdition receive the mark of the Second Beast in their right hand to indicate that they qualify for the telestial kingdom.

[§228] Rev 13:14-15: The Wicked Make an Image to the First Beast

This podcast explains the meaning of the imagery used by John the Revelator to describe events that will occur as the Second Beast from Revelation 13 matures and gains power throughout the modern world. In Revelation 13:14, John tells us that agents of the Second Beast will deceive people throughout the earth by means of the great wonders and miracles that the Second Beast has power to perform in the likeness of the First Beast representing the ancient Roman Empire. The main point of explanation is that earthly rulers in the modern age (both ecclesiastical and political) will exercise the same degree of power worldwide that that the Roman emperors and popes once exercised in the ancient Roman empire. These modern-day rulers will cause people worldwide “to make an image to the [first] beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” (Rev 13:14) This symbolism refers to the fall of the Imperial Roman empire in 476 AD, which led to the establishment of pontifical power in the Holy Roman Empire that finally came to an end in 1806 after the French Revolution. In Revelation 13:14, John alludes to the death of the First Beast as he predicts that the Second Beast in Revelation 13, will rise to power from the ashes of the Holy Roman Empire just as the Holy Roman Empire rise to power after the death of Imperial Rome in 476 AD. When the Second Beast rises to power and is fully matured in Revelation 13:15, it will “give life unto the image of the [First] Beast.” That is, the same type of ecclesiastical and secular control that existed in the ancient Roman Empire will again exist on a worldwide scale. These conditions will fully exist during the last 3½ years of Armageddon. In this day, the Second Beast will have power to decree that “as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” This means that people who refuse to honor and obey the dictatorial decrees of the Second Beast will be killed. This symbolism also includes Latter-day Saints who refuse to worship the idolatrous ideals of the beast. They will also be subject to the decree of death. This podcast further explains, however, that saints who flee unto Zion after the gathering of saints at Adam-ondi-Ahman can find safe haven in new Jerusalem, which will be built during the last 3½ years before the Second Coming.

[§227] Rev 13:12-13: The Power and Miracles of the Second Beast

This podcast explains the symbolic language used by John in Revelation 13:12-13 to describe the power of Satan in the last days leading up to the Second Coming. Satan's power is symbolized by a Second Beast that has a lamb-like appearance, but it speaks like a dragon (Satan). These verses say that this Second Beast “exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.” The power of the First Beast refers to Satan's dominion in the Roman Empire which continued until the Reformation. At that time, Protestant religions broke the ecclesiastical and secular power of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Roman Empire. In the modern era (post-Reformation), the power of the Second Beast evolved from, and grew out of the power of the First Beast. Satan's worldwide influence in the last days causes people to engage in the same types of wickedness and evil that were prevalent in the ancient Roman Empire. This is what it means for them that dwell on the earth to worship the First Beast. The earthly agents of Satan who were part of the religious and secular institutions of the Second Beast do great wonders. These wonders include the great wickedness and false spiritualism that exists in the world today. The Second Beast also makes “fire to come down from heaven on the earth." This fire comes down as a judgment upon the wicked at the time of the Second Coming. The Second Beast causes this fire to come down only in the sense that it's acts of wickedness bring upon itself the fiery judgments of God at the Second Coming.

[§226] Rev 13:11: The Two-Horned Lamb That Speaks as a Dragon

This podcast explains the symbolism used by John in Revelation 13:11, which states: “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.” The context for this verse is the end of the Great Apostasy in 1830, when the true Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was restored. The restoration came at the end of the Protestant Reformation, which also brought an end to the Holy Roman Empire and the power of the First Beast described by John in Revelation 13:1-10. The Second Beast in Revelation 13 rose up from the earth as the First Beast met its demise. The Second Beast rose from the earth to represent its manmade origin, which stands in contrast to the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which was heaven sent. The Second Beast had two symbolic horns that represent its political and secular power on the one hand and its religious and ecclesiastical power on the other hand in the last days. The Second Beast has a lamblike appearance that deceptively portrays its innocence and meekness. However, Satan's kingdom represented by the Dragon is behind this false façade of the lamb. The Dragon has a mouth that speaks with great power in the last days. The Second Beast represents the kingdom of Satan that rose from the earth at the very time of the restoration to stand against and opposes the latter-day Church of Jesus Christ.

[§225] Rev 13:9-10: The Saints of the Renaissance and Reformation

This Podcast explains the symbolism used by John in Revelation 13:9-10 to explain events of the Renaissance and Reformation, which led ultimately to the restoration of the Church and end of the Great Apostasy in 1830. John's prophecy of the Renaissance and Reformation is preceded by the statement in Revelation 13:9 that, “If any man have an ear, let him hear.” This statement emphasizes the importance of John's prophecy and the need for people of the world to both hear and heed the prophetic words spoken by John with reference to the Renaissance and the Reformation, which led ultimately to the restoration of the true church of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 13:10, John symbolically describes the conditions of the Renaissance and the Reformation, saying: "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity.” The captivity in this verse refers to the spiritual bondage of people held hostage to the belief system of the Roman Catholic church throughout the dark ages. Spiritual freedom and liberty came as reformers finally broke the bonds of Roman Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation. Bloodshed paved the way of the Reformation throughout Europe and in Latin American countries where millions of people died for their faith in Jesus Christ. John symbolically describes this scene of carnage in Revelation 13:10, saying, “he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.” This prophecy was fulfilled as the Protestant Reformation ended the political and spiritual control of the Roman Catholic church in an era of great bloodshed. Finally, John described people of faith from the Renaissance and Reformation in Revelation 13:10, saying: “Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” The saints are those people who patiently endured the Catholic Counter-Reformation that included the courts of inquisition, also known as the Holy Office. These ecclesiastical courts of the Catholic Church tried and punished heretics. For hundreds of years, faith-filled saints sought for, and ultimately prevailed in, their spiritual quest for religious and spiritual freedom.

[§224] Rev 13:8: All That Dwell on Earth Worship Satan

This Podcast explains the symbolism used by John to explain the religious conditions and form of worship during the Great Apostasy in Revelation 13:8, where he said that “All that dwell upon the earth shall worship [Satan], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” This verse affirms that the true Church of Jesus Christ was not upon the earth. The correct doctrines, priesthood, and prescribed ordinances had been lost worldwide in Satan’s war against the Saints such that it could be said that all who dwelt upon the earth during the 1260-year Great Apostasy worshipped Satan. To worship Satan means simply that in one degree or another, people failed to worship God in truth and in spirit. This occurred because many were forced to practice an apostate form of Christianity or because they simply did not realize that they were misled in their religious observances. According to John, people who lived during the Great Apostasy did not have their names written in the book of the life of the Lamb from the foundation of the world. This means they did not receive a conditional promise of exaltation and eternal life when they were premortal spirits before their birth, nor did they have the means to qualify for exaltation and eternal life in mortality because the gospel was not present on the earth during the Great Apostasy. These topics and others are discussed in this podcast.

[§223] Rev 13:7: Satan’s Wars Overcome the Saints

This podcast explains the symbolism and meaning of John’s vision in Revelation 13:7, which states that “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.” The HIM in this verse refers to Satan (the dragon) and the saints are members of the ancient church of Jesus Christ located throughout the Roman Empire. The saints are also members of Christ’s church among the Nephites on the Western Hemisphere and among the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. God allowed Satan to make war on all three groups of worshipers during the Great Apostasy. Revelation 13:5 symbolically identifies the period of the Great Apostasy as 42 months, which equates to 1260 days of years from 570 to 1830 AD. There were no legal administrators of God’s priesthood upon the earth for these 1260 years. The loss of earthly priesthood administration occurred as the ancient church in the Roman Empire fell into a state of complete apostasy, as the Nephites were physically destroyed on the Western Hemisphere, and when the Lost Ten Tribes were translated to heaven. The universal loss of earthly priesthood authority among all three groups fulfilled the words of Revelation 13:7, which say that “power was given [Satan] over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” This podcast also describes the history of how Christ’s ancient church fell into a state of apostasy in the Roman Empire during the first three centuries of its existence. The persecutions of Christians by emperors Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Severus, Galerius, Diocletian illustrate Satan’s physical war on the saints. Satan’s spiritual war against the saints began with the paganization of the true doctrines of Jesus Christ in the first century and the complete paganization of the entire church after Constantine the Great made apostate Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.

Rev 13 [§222] Rev 13:6: The Three Blasphemies of Satan

This podcast explains the symbolism of the three blasphemies identified in Revelation 13:6. In this verse, John said that Satan‒acting through the First Beast of the Roman Empire‒opened his mouth “in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.” The first blasphemy against God and his name symbolizes the deification of emperors in the Imperial Roman Empire and popes in the Holy Roman Empire. Both groups blasphemously elevated themselves to godlike status through worship and adoration. The second blasphemy against God’s tabernacle signifies false Christianity that blasphemously purported to be the true church of Jesus Christ during the period of the Great Apostasy. The true church of Jesus Christ was apostate long before the time of Constantine in the 4th century AD. His edits led to the further paganization of the true church. Satan’s third and final blasphemy of them that dwell in heaven signifies the worship and adoration of deceased saints.

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