In the last installment, we began discussing some of the characteristics of the beast (a future charismatic political and military leader ruling ten nations or groups of nations in Europe, compare Revelation 17:12-13, 17) and important aspects associated with him. We saw that he will be worshipped as a god; that he will blaspheme God and that he will persecute the saints who do not accept his mark, his name and the number of his name, which is 666.

In this installment, we will continue pointing out some interesting facts which will identify the coming beast.

In Revelation 16:10, 13-14, we are specifically told that the beast has a throne and a kingdom, and that he will be demon-possessed. It is also revealed that a demon possessing the beast will perform signs. We also read in verse 14 that the false prophet, a religious leader, will likewise be possessed by a demon who performs signs. Furthermore, the dragon, Satan the devil, will send forth a powerful demon who will work lying signs and wonders. Revelation 19:19-20 adds that the beast, in collaboration with the false prophet, will lead the armies of the world to fight against the returning Jesus Christ and His angels.

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In the last installment, we showed that the final resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire has already begun in Europe. We saw that core member states of Europe—ten nations or groups of nations—will unify and become militarily strong (Daniel 2:42). They will only rule for a short time and give their power and authority to a charismatic political personage—the “beast”—(Revelation 17:12-13). That short-lived unification under the beast will be hostile towards Jesus Christ (verse 14). Other passages show us that the “beast” will work together with a religious figure, called “the false prophet.”
 
In this and the next installment, we will discuss some of the characteristics of the beast and important concepts associated with him, as revealed in Scripture. We need to realize that the Bible uses the word “beast” for both the entire Roman system (the ancient Roman Empire and its revivals, including the final resurrection) as well as the final leader of that system. The passages which we will discuss below seem to indicate that the word “beast” refers—at least in part—to the end-time leader himself.
 
In Revelation 13:1-4, 8, 11-12, we are told that it is Satan who will give power to the beast (the system as well as the end-time leader), and that the false prophet, who deceives the nations, causes the nations to worship the beast (Revelation 14:9; compare 20:4). This reminds us of past Greek, Roman and European leaders who were literally worshipped and looked upon as God or a god, and this will also be true for the final leader. For instance, as was pointed out before, it is well-known that Hitler was perceived by many as a or the  “Messiah,” and other leaders such as Charlemagne, Otto the Great, Napoleon or Mussolini saw themselves as successors of the ancient Roman emperors (who, as we will see, were deified). Mussolini in particular was worshipped as a god by many Italians.
 
In the book, “Dark History of the Roman Emperors,” by Michael Kerrigan, the following is pointed out about the deification of several of the Roman emperors:
 
“The Second Triumvirate had the Senate acknowledge the late Julius Caesar as a god… It also had the consequence that, as ‘Divi Filius’ (‘son of god’), Octavian could claim to be ruling by divine right… After his death, Augustus was quite genuinely worshipped as a deity, as was his Empress, Livia Augusta… Caligula proclaimed himself a god in his own lifetime… Hadrian died in 138 C.E. As Emperor, his successor became known as Antonius Pius… because of his efforts to have his adoptive father deified… He adored his wife Faustina and was devastated by her death in 141 C.E.; he had her deified and built her a temple in the Forum.”
 
As will be explained subsequently, ancient Antiochus Epiphanes was a forerunner of the end-time beast. As the Wikipedia Encyclopedia points out, “He assumed divine epithets… such as Theos Epiphanes (… ‘God Manifest’).”
 
In the future, people will worship the beast during his lifetime. They will be deceived to do so by Satan and the signs of the false prophet (who will also be worshipped as God or a god).
 
In Revelation 13:6, we read that the beast will blaspheme God, His name, His tabernacle and the angels—in other words, everything which stands for the true worship of God and what is associated with God. We note Ephesians 3:14-15, pointing out that God’s people belong to the Family of God, and that “from the Father” God’s children “are named.” This shows, as it is confirmed in other passages, that the beast will become very hostile towards the true children of God and that he will severely persecute them.
 
Note the contrast in Revelation 13:16-18, which tells us that those who are not called by God and who do not understand the truth will accept the mark of the beast; the name of the beast, and the number of his name, which is 666. In following and worshipping the beast who will blaspheme God’s name, they will accept the name of the beast and his mark. 
 
Regarding the mark, the commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown states that “The mark may be, as in the case of the sealing of the saints in the forehead, not a visible mark, but symbolical of allegiance. So the sign of the cross in Popery. The Pope’s interdict has often shut out the excommunicate from social and commercial intercourse. Under the final Antichrist [the beast] this shall come to pass in its most violent form.”
 
In chapter 15 of our free booklet, “Is That in the Bible? The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation,” we state:
 
“Revelation 13:16–17 explains that ‘the image’ of the second (religious) beast will cause people to accept ‘a mark’ of the first beast ‘on their right hand’ or ‘on their foreheads.’ Without it, they cannot buy or sell (compare Revelation 14:9).
 
“This mark of the first beast is clearly associated in Scripture with the violation of God’s Sabbath commandment [the time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset] (compare Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:20; Isaiah 56:2; Isaiah 58:13; Amos 8: 5; Exodus 16:23, 26; Exodus 31:15). In the Bible, the ‘right hand’ is associated with work (Psalm 90:17; 137:5). The ‘forehead’ is the seat of thoughts (Ezekiel 3:8; 9:4; Revelation 7:3).”
 
In our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy,” we state the following under the headline, “HOW WILL YOU BE IDENTIFIED?”:

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The ninth resurrection of the Roman Empire under Mussolini and Hitler has ended, and one more revival is prophesied to occur. That last revival of the ancient Roman Empire has been in the making for quite some time, and its final configuration is not that far off. According to the book of Daniel and the book […]

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The ninth, but short-lived revival of the ancient Roman Empire occurred under Mussolini and Hitler. In the previous installment, we concentrated on Mussolini. In this installment, we will discuss some little-known facts about his ally Adolf Hitler and his magical beliefs and demonic powers.

In our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy,” we list several incidents showing that Hitler was demon-possessed. Additional astonishing facts will be presented in this installment, quoting extensively from Paul Roland’s book, “The Nazis and the Occult.” When addressing the revival of the Roman Empire under Otto the Great, we discussed the “holy lance” and other insignias of the Holy Roman Empire. Hitler had a morbid and superstitious fascination with the lance, as the aforementioned book explains:

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The eighth resurrection of the Roman Empire under Napoleon had come and gone. According to the Bible, two more revivals would have to take place before Christ could come back. And so, the ninth, but short-lived revival occurred in the 20th century, over 100 years after Napoleon, under Mussolini and Hitler.

The Ninth Revival under Mussolini and Hitler

Technically, it was Benito Mussolini under whom the ninth revival of the Roman Empire took place, but he was of course greatly supported in this by Adolf Hitler.

The Living World of History states the following about Mussolini:

“Benito Mussolini, the son of a blacksmith, was a man of violent and boastful character, fiery patriotism and flaming ambition. Supported by the bludgeon of his blackshirted Fascist gangs (named after fasces, or rods, which in ancient Roman times had been carried before the chief magistrates), he seized power in 1922 and set himself up as dictator… He even entertained fantastic ideas about reviving the glory of the ancient Roman Empire. In 1935-6, cynically disregarding the solemn covenant of the League of Nations, he invaded and annexed Abyssinia [modern Ethiopia]…”

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Previously, we covered the first six revivals of the ancient Roman Empire, after its demise. The sixth revival under Otto the Great occurred about 962 A.D., but it too would come to an end. It would take more than 450 years after Otto’s death, before the next revival of the ancient Roman Empire would occur.

The Seventh Revival under Charles V of Habsburg

Charles V of Habsburg was crowned in 1530 A.D. by pope Clement VII as Holy Roman Emperor, and Germany could speak again “with its former authority in Europe,” as it had done under Otto the Great. According to P.M. History, Charles V ruled over an empire which never saw the setting of the sun. The Book, “The Living World of History” states:

“Charles V., who was crowned in [1530], dominated Europe… His grandfather, the Emperor Maximilian, had gained the Netherlands by marrying the heiress Mary of Burgundy. His father, Philip the Handsome, had espoused Joanna… [the] future heiress of Spain, the kingdom of Naples (embracing southern Italy) and Sicily and the growing Spanish dominions in the recently discovered New World. And the Habsburg family inheritance included Austria and other districts, as well as the imperial crown of Germany. Such was the colossal empire that Charles possessed when, at the age of twenty, he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in [1530]… [But] when the Pope was intriguing… against Charles, his… troops sacked Rome and imprisoned the Pope…”

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Previously, we covered the first four revivals of the ancient Roman Empire, after its demise. The fourth revival under Justinian occurred about 554 A.D., but it too would come to an end and go back into the “abyss” of history. But almost 250 years later, the world would observe the next revival.

The Fifth Revival under Charlemagne

The Living World of History states:

“Charlemagne’s grandfather, Charles Martel, made 732 a memorable year in European annals. The Moslems, who were then the masters of Spain, surged into France with a great host. But Charles smashed their armies and destroyed their hopes for further conquests in the decisive battle of Poitiers. Charles’ son, Pepin the Short… presented the Papacy with certain districts in central Italy which he had captured from the barbarous Lombards. Thus the Pope, besides being the spiritual head of Western Christendom, became a territorial prince as ruler of the Papal States.

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The Roman Empire fell, but it was to be revived ten times prior to Christ’s return. Following the revival through the Vandals and the Heruli under King Gaiseric and King Odoacer, the third revival would follow shortly.

The Third Revival under King Theodoric the Great of the Ostrogoths:

The Gale Encyclopedia of Biography writes:

“Theodoric was the son of Theudemir, king of the Ostrogoths, a Germanic people who moved into the Roman Empire in the 5th century… Upon his father’s death in 474, Theodoric became king of the Ostrogoths. He was a vigorous and intelligent ruler, and although allied with Rome, he disliked Roman officials and possibly the terms of the treaty allying him with the Romans. On several occasions he threatened Roman settlements, and in 487 he began a march on Constantinople. The emperor Zeno convinced Theodoric that the Western part of the empire offered richer plunder than the East, and he commissioned Theodoric to go to Italy and to punish the barbarian general Odoacer, who had in 476 dismissed Zeno’s coemperor and assumed his rule. Theodoric’s mission was to defeat Odoacer and pacify Italy.

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In the books of Daniel and Revelation, four world-ruling empires are described, which have been identified as Babylon (compare Daniel 2:38; 7:17), Medo-Persia (compare Daniel 2:39; 7:17; 8:20), Greece (compare Daniel 2:39; 7:17; 8:21) and Rome (compare Daniel 2:40-43; 7:17). The Roman Empire was to be divided into Eastern and Western Rome, and the Western part would fall (compare Revelation 13:3), but it was to be revived ten times and would endure until the time of Jesus Christ’s return. Proof for these statements can be found in our literature, including our booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.” In that booklet, we also state the following:

“The Roman Empire fell and the world believed it would never rise again (symbolized by the deadly wound). But God revealed through Daniel and through the Apostle John that there would actually be ten revivals of the Roman Empire, nine of which have already occurred.

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This question has been a highly political issue which has been much debated in the UK, the US and other Western nations, but since we are not getting involved in politics and the affairs of this world, we want to look only at the biblical instruction regarding work for individual Christians, without taking political sides on this issue. Neither are we to “recommend” to a government as to what to do in such a case, except for pointing out the clear biblical principles as revealed in the Bible.

It is obvious that no government on earth rules according to the biblical principles that God reveals in His Word. In fact, man as a whole is cut off from God, and our governments and societies are the products of Satan-influenced and -inspired human reasoning and rationale. We have to accept that in this age of man. As Church members, we are instructed that “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established [better: permitted]. The authorities that exist have been established [permitted] by God” (Romans 13:1 New International Version (1984). (See Q&A #570, 28th December 2012). We are subject to the laws of the land and those in governance as long as there is no conflict with obeying God and His Word. If there is any conflict, we are to follow God’s way and be prepared to take the consequences from the secular authorities.

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