7 Trumpets and 3 Woes

Isaiah 42:9 Behold, the former things are come
to pass, and new things do I declare: before
they spring forth I tell you of them.

There is a study of history that is not to be
condemned. Sacred history was one of the studies in
the schools of the prophets. In the record of His
dealings with the nations were traced the footsteps of
Jehovah. So today we are to consider the dealings of
God with the nations of the earth. We are to see in
history the fulfillment of prophecy, to study the
workings of Providence in the great reformatory
movements, and to understand the progress of
events in the marshalling of the nations for the final
conflict of the great controversy. {8T 307.2}

The history of nations that one after another have
occupied their allotted time and place, unconsciously
witnessing to the truth of which they themselves knew
not the meaning, speaks to us. To every nation and to
every individual of today God has assigned a place in
His great plan. Today men and nations are being
measured by the plummet in the hand of HIM who
makes NO mistake. All are by their own choice
deciding their destiny, and God is overruling all for the
accomplishment of His purposes. {Ed 178.2}

THE PROPHET SPEAKS
TRACING THE FOOTSTEPS OF
PROPHECY ON THE PAGES OF
HISTORY
THERE IS A STUDY OF HISTORY
THAT IS NOT TO BE CONDEMNED.
SACRED HISTORY WAS ONE OF THE
STUDIES IN THE SCHOOLS OF THE
PROPHETS. IN THE RECORD OF HIS
DEALINGS WITH THE NATIONS WERE
TRACED THE FOOTSTEPS OF
JEHOVAH. SO TODAY WE ARE TO
CONSIDER THE DEALINGS OF GOD
WITH THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH.
WE ARE TO SEE IN HISTORY THE
FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY, TO
STUDY THE WORKINGS OF
PROVIDENCE IN THE GREAT
REFORMATORY MOVEMENTS, AND
TO UNDERSTAND THE PROGRESS OF
EVENTS IN THE MARSHALLING OF
THE NATIONS FOR THE FINAL
CONFLICT OF THE GREAT
CONTROVERSY. {8T 307.2}

William Miller comments:
"The seven churches of Asia is a history of the church of Christ in her seven
forms, in all her windings and turnings, in all her prosperity and adversity, from
the days of the apostles down to the end of the world. The seven seals are a
history of the transactions of the powers and kings of the earth over the
church, and God's protection of his people during the same time. The seven
trumpets are a history of seven peculiar and heavy judgments sent ...upon the
earth, or Roman kingdom. And the seven vials are the seven last plagues sent
upon Papal Rome. Mixed with these are many other events, woven in like
tributary streams, and filling up the grand river of prophecy, until the whole
ends us in the ocean of eternity.
"This, to me, is the plan of John's prophecy in the book of Revelation. And the
man who wishes to understand this book, must have a thorough knowledge of
other parts of the word of God. The figures and metaphors used in this
prophecy, are not all explained in the same, but must be found in other
prophets, and explained in other passages of Scripture. Therefore it is evident
that God has designed the study of the whole, even to obtain a clear
knowledge of any part." Miller's Lectures, vol. 2, lecture 12, p. 178 (emphasis
supplied)
Uriah Smith comments:
"While the seven churches present the internal history of the church, the
seven seals bring to view the great events of its external history." The Biblical
Institute, p. 253

the prophet con’t MASS DESTRUCTION
WEAPON
The history of nations that one after another have
occupied their allotted time and place,
unconsciously witnessing to the truth of which
they themselves knew not the meaning, speaks to
us. To every nation and to every individual of
today God has assigned a place in His great plan.
Today men and nations are being measured by the
plummet in the hand of HIM who makes NO
mistake. All are by their own choice deciding their
destiny, and God is overruling all for the
accomplishment of His purposes. {Ed 178.2}

Before His crucifixion the Saviour explained to His
disciples that He was to be put to death and to rise
again from the tomb, and angels were present to
impress His words on minds and hearts. But the
disciples were looking for temporal deliverance from
the Roman yoke, and they could not tolerate the
thought that He in whom all their hopes centered
should suffer an ignominious death.
{Great Controversy, p. 594}
The words which they needed to remember were
banished from their minds, and when the time of trial
came it found them unprepared. The death of Jesus
as fully destroyed their hopes as if He had not
forewarned them. GC 594 {LDE 13.3}
{Great Controversy, p. 594}

So in the prophecies the future is opened before
us as plainly as it was opened to the disciples by
the words of Christ. The events connected with
the close of probation and the work of
preparation for the time of trouble, are clearly
presented. But multitudes have no more
understanding of these important truths than if they
had never been revealed. Satan watches to catch
away every impression that would make them wise
unto salvation, and the time of trouble will find them
unready. {Great Controversy, p. 594}

The history which the great I AM has marked out in
His word, uniting link after link in the prophetic chain,
from eternity in the past to eternity in the future. All
that prophecy has foretold as coming, tells us where
we are today in the procession of the ages, and what
may be expected in the time to come. to pass, until
the present time, has been traced on the pages of
history, and we may be assured that all which is yet to
come will be fulfilled in its order. {Ed 178.3}

“There are those now living who, in
studying the prophecies of Daniel
and John, received great light from
God as they passed over the ground
where special prophecies were in
process of fulfillment in their order.
They bore the message of time to
the people. The truth shone out
clearly as the sun at noonday.
Historical events, showing the
direct fulfillment of prophecy, were
set before the people, and the
prophecy was seen to be a figurative
delineation of events leading down
to the close of this earth's history.”
(Selected Messages, Book 2, p. 102)

1 –> Babylon
2 –> Medo-Persia
3 –> Greece
4 –> Rome (Pagan)
5—> Papal Rome
6 —> U.S.A.
7 —> 10 Kings
8 —> Babylon/Papacy

“The Roman Church is far-reaching in her
plans and modes of operation. She is
employing every device to extend her
influence and increase her power in
preparation for a fierce and determined
conflict to regain control of the world, to
re-establish persecution, and to undo all
that Protestantism has done.” (GC88, p. 565)

“…Rome is aiming to re-establish her
power, to recover her lost supremacy.
Let history testify of her artful
and persistent efforts to insinuate
herself into the affairs of nations; and
having gained a foothold, to further
her own aims, even at the ruin of
princes and people …” (GC, p. 580)

“If the reader would understand
the agencies to be employed in the
soon-coming contest, he has but to
trace the record of the means
which Rome employed for the
same object in ages past…” (GC88,
p. 573)

The Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, February 1886, Vol. 1, No. 2, pg. 3
“To give the Bible to the laity, is to cast pearls before
swine.”—Cardinal Hosius
“There is no other remedy for the evil but to put
heretics (Protestants) to death.”—Belarmine
“We hate Protestantism; we detest it with our
whole heart and soul.”—Catholic Visitor
“We will take this country and build our institutions
over the grave of Protestantism.”—Priest Ilecker
“Religious liberty is only endured until the opposite
can be carried into effect.”—Bishop O’Connor
“We are not advocates of religious freedom and we
repeat we are not.”—Shepard of the Valley

“Let the principle once be established
in the United States, that the church
may employ or control the power of
the State; that religious observances
may be enforced by secular laws; in
short, that the authority of church and
State is to dominate the conscience,
and the triumph of Rome in this
country is assured.” (GC, p. 580)

Five Important Points
in the History of Rome
prior to the Trumpets
Five Important Points
in the History of Rome
prior to the Trumpets

1. Persecution of Christians Ceases
2. Christians Organized Themselves Like
the State
3. Constantine Builds a New Capital in
the Eastern Empire
4. Constantine’s Three Sons Become
Augusti
5. Christianity Made Official Religion of
the State & Eastern and Western
Rome Make a Permanent Split

#1 - Persecution of Christians ceases under
Constantine who converted Christianity in 312 AD.
The Church now finds herself in a position of being
exalted and there develops an apostasy, union of
church and state

“The nominal conversion of Constantine, in the
early part of the fourth century, caused great
rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form
of righteousness, walked into the church. Now
the work of corruption rapidly progressed.
Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished,
became the conqueror. Her spirit
controlled the church. Her doctrines,
ceremonies, and superstitions were
incorporated into the faith and
worship of the professed
followers of Christ.” (GC88, p. 49)

“Constantine the Great let the form or
organization of the church remain, substantially,
as it had been; yet he attempted in some
respects to improve and extend it. While
therefore, he suffered the church to continue to
be, as before… he assumed to himself the
supreme power over this sacred republic, and
the right of…controlling it in such a manner as
would best subserve the public good. Nor did
any bishop call in question this power of the
emperor” (Mosheim, 1871, p. 231).

“It was apostasy that led the early church to
seek the aid of the civil government, and this
prepared the way for the development of the
papacy,—the beast.”(GC88, p. 443)

“When the early church became corrupted by
departing from the simplicity of the gospel,
and accepting heathen rites and customs, she
lost the Spirit and power of God; and in order
to control the consciences of the
people she sought the support of
the secular power. The result was the
papacy, a church that controlled the
power of the State…” (GC88, p. 443)

“Thus again was demonstrated the evil
results, so often witnessed in the history of
the church from the days of Constantine to
the present, of attempting to build up the
church by the aid of the State, of appealing
to the secular power in support of the
gospel of Him who declared, ‘My kingdom
is not of this world.’ [John 18:36.]
The union of the church with the State, be
the degree never so slight, while it may
appear to bring the world nearer to the
church, does in reality but bring the church
nearer to the world.” (GC88, p. 296)

#2 - Constantine allows for religious freedom for
Christians and all other religious with the Edict
of Milan, 313 AD. The corrupted church begins to
organize itself like the Empire.

The Edict of Milan was “a
proclamation that
permanently established
religious toleration for
Christianity within the
Roman Empire… The proclamation… granted all persons
freedom to worship whatever deity they pleased,
assured Christians of legal rights (including the right to
organize churches), and directed the prompt return to
Christians of confiscated property. Previous edicts of
toleration had been as short-lived as the regimes that
sanctioned them, but this time the edict effectively
established religious toleration.” (Edict of Milan, 2009,
¶1)

“After the Edict of Milan granted Christianity legal status,
the church adopted the same governmental structure
as the Empire: geographical provinces ruled by bishops.
… Bishops of important cities therefore rose in power.”
(History and Development of the Papacy, 2009, ¶13)

#3 - Constantine builds a new capital in
the Eastern part of the Empire in 330 AD

“After his defeat of Licinius in 324 Constantine decided to
found a new capital for the emperor. This was not unusual,
since many emperors had founded or re-founded cities, and
the Empire had several capitals in the third and fourth
centuries. Thus, Constantine did not ‘move the capital from
Rome to Constantinople,’ but the new city soon became the
primary capital of the empire and the real heart of Byzantine
civilization. It soon outstripped every other city in beauty
and prosperity and by the fifth century its fortune had
become identified with that of the empire as a whole… In
general, the city was patterned after Rome and its official
title was ‘New Rome;’ there were seven churches, and a
great palace, which later became the central part of the
Great Palace.” (The Founding of Constantinople, n.d., ¶1 &
11)

“[330 CE:] Emperor Constantine decided to build a ‘New
Rome’ on the site of the Greek city of Byzantium (now at
Istanbul, Turkey). It was called Constantinople. It
became the center of the largely Christian empire. By
this time, the church had evolved from a small,
scattering of congregations to a geographically
widespread church under the authority of many
bishops.” (Robinson, 2007, ¶12)

#4- Constantine’s three sons declared
Augusti after his death in 337 AD

According to Uriah Smith (1872) in the book
Daniel & the Revelation, after Constantine died,
Rome was divided into three parts, among his
sons Constantinus (Possessed the East and
resided in Constantinople), Constantine II
(Britain, Gaul, & Spain-Western Division), &
Constans (Illyricum, Africa, and Italy-Western
Division).

The Trumpets affect a “third part” of the Empire
Constantine II
Constans
Constantinus

#5 - Theodosius makes Catholic Christianity the
official Religion of the state, and, upon his death
in 395 AD, his will officially splits the Empire into
separate East & West States ruled by his
incapable sons

“The Emperor Theodosian
issued a series of decrees or
rescripts in the years 341, 345,
356, 381, 383, 386 and 391CE.
The effect of these orders was
to ‘suppress all rival religions,
order the closing of the temples, and impose
fines, confiscation, imprisonment or death upon
any who cling to the older [Pagan] religions.’ The
period of relative religious tolerance in the Roman
Empire ended as Pagan temples were seized and
converted to Christian use or destroyed.”
(Robinson, 2007, ¶ 13)

“At Theodosius' death in AD 395, Honorius assumed
the role of emperor of the west, with his brother
Arcadius becoming emperor of the east. This division
of the empire into eastern and western parts was the
decisive one, which sent the two on separate ways…
the accession of Arcadius and Honorius is widely seen
as the division of the Roman Empire into two
completely separate parts.” (Flavius Honorius, n.d., ¶3)

Important
Principles of
Prophetic
Interpretation to
Keep in Mind
Hosea 12:10 “I have also
spoken by the prophets,
and I have multiplied
visions, and used
similitudes, by the
ministry of the prophets”
Ecclesiastes 3:15 “That
which hath been is now;
and that which is to be
hath already been; and
God requireth that which
is past.”

God has revealed to us in prophetic
symbols the fall of the Roman Empire

“The great leading features of Daniel’s visions were
the four great governments of antiquity, beginning
with the Babylonian, and ending with the Roman, in
its papal form. Not so, however, with John; he lived
when three of those governments had passed away,
and the fourth and last was in being, and in the
height of its glory, as an universal monarchy. Under
that government John was in banishment on the isle
of Patmos, ‘for the word of God, and the testimony of
Jesus Christ.’ Accordingly, instead of predicting the
rise and triumph of either of those four great
governments, it was his part to give the prophetic
history of the fall of the last of the four, and give us
the various means by which that great persecuting
system should come to ruin.” (White, 1875, p. 2)
“The great leading features of Daniel’s visions were
the four great governments of antiquity, beginning
with the Babylonian, and ending with the Roman, in
its papal form. Not so, however, with John; he lived
when three of those governments had passed away,
and the fourth and last was in being, and in the
height of its glory, as an universal monarchy. Under
that government John was in banishment on the isle
of Patmos, ‘for the word of God, and the testimony of
Jesus Christ.’ Accordingly, instead of predicting the
rise and triumph of either of those four great
governments, it was his part to give the prophetic
history of the fall of the last of the four, and give us
the various means by which that great persecuting
system should come to ruin.” (White, 1875, p. 2)

“Although it was not the end of the world…the
fall of Rome is full of lessons that indicate
exactly the things that will be at the end of the
world. For that, with all its terrors, was the
consequence of the evils heaped upon society
by the making and working of the Papacy. And
when the world shall really end, that, with the
terrors that accompany it, will be but the
consequence of the evil that is heaped upon the
society of the world at this time by the making
and the working of the Image of the Papacy.”
(Jones, 1901, p. 14-15)

The Seven Trumpets being
sounded are parallel with the
Seven Last Plagues poured out
onto the world by the seven angels
pouring out the wrath of God in
Revelation 16:1-8 (earth, sea,
fountains of waters, sun, darkness,
the river Euphrates, Christ finishing
His work in the sanctuary)

“…The number 7 indicates
completeness, and is symbolic of
the fact that the messages
extend to the end of time…”
(Acts of the Apostles, p. 585

The First 4 Trumpets are bound together
& cover the entire territories of
creation: The earth, sea,
fountains of waters & the heavens
…signifying that the judgments are upon a
world power-at the time of John this world
power was Pagan Rome
Revelation 14:7 “Saying with a loud voice, Fear God,
and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is
come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth,
and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

These 4 Trumpets tell us about the
Fall of Western Rome and the
fall of the imperial city of
Rome, Italy
According to James White (1875), the first four
trumpets refer to the fall of the Western
Divisions of Rome
(that of Constantine II
& Constans)
Constantine II
Constans
Constantinus

It is out of the Western Roman Empire that we
have the division of Rome into 10 parts
“…when the last vestige of the Western
Empire of Rome had vanished, the
territory was found partitioned into
exactly ten parts, occupied by exactly
ten independent nations; no more no
less.” (Jones, 1901, p. 56)
It is out of the Western Roman Empire that we
have the division of Rome into 10 parts
“…when the last vestige of the Western
Empire of Rome had vanished, the
territory was found partitioned into
exactly ten parts, occupied by exactly
ten independent nations; no more no
less.” (Jones, 1901, p. 56)

The Last Three Trumpets Deal with…
Rise of Islam
Demise of Eastern Roman
Empire & Papal Rule & The
Fall of Islam
Anger of the Nations &
the Battle Between
Two Mysteries: God vs. Babylon

In prophetical scripture, the sounding of
trumpets is always used to denote the downfall
of some empire, nation, or place, or some
dreadful battle, which may decide the fate of
empires, nations, or places… The last three
trumpets will claim our attention in this
discourse; the first four having their
accomplishment under Rome Pagan; to the last
three under Rome Papal. These three trumpets
and three woes are a description of the
judgments that God has sent and will send on
this Papal beast, the abomination of the whole
earth. {Miller’s Works, vol. 2, pp. 115, 116}

“And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets
prepared themselves to sound.” (Revelation 8:6)
Trumpets = Alarms, War/Battle, Judgment

Trumpets = Signify the Fall of a great city
Joshua 6: 13-20

Trumpets = Alarms, War/Battle, Judgment
“The prophet on Patmos was given a threefold view of
events which would take place between the time in
which he lived, and the time when the redeemed
gather about the throne… Another phase of history,
not wholly national, but having to do with nations, is
revealed in the sounding of the trumpets…The
trumpet, or bugle sound, is the call to war; and the
history of the trumpets is one long story of war and
bloodshed, but in order that men might learn that the
hand of God is overruling in every army, and that He
guides in every war, the story of the trumpets is left on
record.” (Haskell, 1906, p. 65)

“The first angel
sounded, and there
followed hail and
fire mingled with
blood, and they
were cast upon the
earth: and the third
part of trees was
burnt up, and all
green grass was
burnt up.”
(Revelation 8:7)

The Campaign of Alaric & the Visigoths, 395-419 AD
First invaded the East and then sacked imperial city of Rome (~410 AD)
“In one city the whole world perished.”
(Jerome, Comm. In Ezech. 1.praef.)

Hail, Fire, Burnt Up =
an act of judgment coming from God
Psalm 21:9; Psalm 148:8, Isaiah 4:4;
Isaiah 28:2, 17; Isaiah 30:30
Psalm 21:9; Psalm 148:8, Isaiah 4:4;
Isaiah 28:2, 17; Isaiah 30:30

Mingled with Blood = Mingled with Mercy (Blood
signifies mercy, See Leviticus 16:14, 15)
Signifies that the judgment did not happen world-
wide or across all of imperial Rome
“...All the judgments upon men, prior to the close of
probation, have been mingled with mercy. The
pleading blood of Christ has shielded the sinner from
receiving the full measure of his guilt; but in the final
judgment, wrath is poured out unmixed with mercy.”
(GC, p. 628)

UPON THE EARTH =
BATTLES ON LAND
Revelation 14:7 “Saying with a loud voice, Fear
God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his
judgment is come: and worship him that made
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters.”

Constantine II
Constans
Constantinus
Third Part = The Western Part of the Empire,
Centering around Rome, Italy

GRASS & TREES = BOTH PEOPLE & FOOD SUPPLY
1 Peter 1:24; Isaiah 40:7;
Mark 8:24; Genesis 1:29;
Deuteronomy 20:19

Alaric’s campaign also signified by fires,
slaughter of life, and the burning &
cutting off of food supplies in Rome, Italy

“We do know that for three days the Goths ransacked
the city, everything of value from temples, palaces,
and private houses, then burned, the villas on the
Aventine Hill, a fashionable part of [where] many
families lived. They broke into the Mausoleum,
dumped the ashes of the caesars on the floor, and ran
off with burial urns and other tomb ornaments. The
magnificent house and Sallust near the Sallarian gate,
as well as the Basilica Aemelia in the Forum, were
consumed in a great fire…” (Craughwell, 2008, p. 20)
Alaric’s Campaign Against Rome

“The Visigoths, under Alaric’s command, entered
Rome through the Salarian Gate on the night of 24
August 410. They remained for three days. The
massacres, fires, and looting especially affected the
wealthier quarters—the Caelian and the Aventine
Hills...The marks of the fire that raged in the hall of
the Senate are perhaps still visible.”
(Arnaldi/Shugaar, 2005, p. 4)

“…Alaric’s army had advanced, plundering, through Italy,
camped outside Rome, and cut off its supplies from the
port of Ostia. Famine quickly sapped resistance…” (Friell
& Williams, 1999, p. 21)
“…Alaric marched on Rome. When the Visigoths
blockaded the food supplies at Portus, the senate,
having briefly rejected a request from Alaric that it join
him against Honorius, capitulated and agreed to form a
government (late 409).” (Cameron & Garnsey, 1998, p.
126)

Saint Jerome wrote: “I hear from the West the terrible news that
Rome is besieged, that her citizens have been obliged to purchase
their salvation in heavy gold, and, already plundered of all their
possessions, they have been besieged anew because, having lost
their goods, they must now lose their lives. My words strangle in
my throat. Behold, the city that conquered the world has been
conquered in its turn. Rome is dying of hunger before it can die by
the sword. There are but few survivors, who will be led away in
chains. The ravenous hunger of the besieged is nourished with an
unclean food. The Romans are eating one another.”
(Arnaldi/Shugaar, 2005, p. 3-4)

“My voice sticks in my throat; and, as I
dictate, sobs choke my utterance. The City
which had taken the whole world was itself
taken.” Jerome, Letter CXXVII (To Principia)

“Alaric's capture of Rome was less significant for the city,
which soon recovered physically, than for the
Mediterranean civilization as a whole. Roman prestige
declined among the barbarian tribes of the north, who
became more confident of their strength. The fall of Rome
indicated to many the end of law and order and
symbolized the decline of the western Roman Empire.
Thereafter Rome's prestige was to be based on the papacy
rather than on the empire.” (Retrieved June 5, 2012 at
http://wizzley.com/alaric/)

Alaric had alliance with the Pope, and the papacy
begins to arise as political broker & seizes
opportunities to increase its influence
“Alaric found the Pope's alliance valuable — or at
least the daily assistance given to his generals by the
Christian priests…” (Bigelow, 1918, p. 48)
“In 407 Alaric entered Italy, surrounded Rome and
prepared to attack. Rome's Bishop entered
negotiations with Alaric and, after paying
substantial tribute, bought him off for the time
being.” (Hines, 2007, ¶20)

“The government at Ravenna began to prepare
for war…Alaric, however, moderated his demands
and through the bishops of the Italian cities made
a new offer for a formal alliance…When
Honorarius , now committed to confrontation,
rejected this offer, Alaric marched on Rome.”
(Cameron & Garnsey, 1998, p. 126)

“…Alaric was a Christian and although his forces caused
widespread destruction throughout the city, he spared
Christian buildings and made an extra effort to attack
pagan structures. When [Pope] Innocent returned to
Rome, he embarked upon extensive charity efforts -
thus, although this seemed like the end of the world to
the people of Rome, it became a great opportunity for
the Church to expand its power and influence.” (Cline,
2009, ¶2)

The 7 Trumpets
Part II
The 7 Trumpets
Part 2

“And the second angel sounded, and as
it were a great mountain burning with
fire was cast into the sea: and the third
part of the sea became blood”
(Revelation 8:7)

The Campaign of Genseric & the Vandals, 419-456 A.D
“Master of the Seas,” Sacked Rome 455 A.D.

Great Burning Mountain Cast into the Sea
= Judgment of God
Jeremiah 51:24-27; Zechariah 9:4;
Revelation 18:21

Jeremiah 51:25 “Behold, I am against thee,
O destroying mountain, saith the LORD,
which destroyest all the earth: and I will
stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll
thee down from the rocks, and will make
thee a burnt mountain.”
Zechariah 9:4 “Behold, the Lord will cast
her out, and he will smite her power in the
sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.”

“These mountains to me are significant.
Subterranean fires, although concealed in
them, are burning. When the wicked shall
have filled their cup of iniquity then the Lord
will rise out of His place to punish the
inhabitants of the earth…There is a furnace of
fire in these old rocky mountains. The
mountain belching forth its fires tells us the
mighty furnace is kindled, waiting for God's
word to wrap the earth in flames…” (Ms 29,
1885, pp. 15-17)

UPON THE SEA =
BATTLES ON THE SEA
UPON THE SEA =
BATTLES ON THE SEA

Sea Becomes Blood Because They Were
Persecutors of the People of God
Revelation 16:3-6: “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the
sea; and it became as the blood of a dead [man]; and every living soul
died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers
and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the
angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and
wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed
the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to
drink; for they are worthy.”

“Genseric … was…king of the Vandal
settlers in Spain, and left, in
conjunction with his brother
Gontharis or Gonderic, in possession
of the throne. His life divides itself
into two parts: 1st, the conquest of
Africa (A. D. 429—439); 2nd, the
naval attacks on the empire itself (A.
D. 439—477).” (Smith, 1870, p. 244)

“Genseric occupied sixteen years in preparations to
sack Rome, … He devoted all the energy of his
nature to construct a navy — not merely one
capable of making raids upon the rebellious towns
to the west of him, but one so great as to ensure
for him the mastery…” (Bigelow, 1918, p. 71)

“SACK OF ROME BY GENSERIC (A.D. 455). — The
Vandal chief failed not to seize such a golden
opportunity. With a large fleet he crossed the
Mediterranean sailed up the Tiber and entered
Rome. Unable to do more, St. Leo obtained
from him that the lives and buildings should be
spared. But the work of pillage went on for 14
days. The Vandals loaded their ships with
ornaments of gold and silver…” (Vuibert, 1886,
p. 615)

“Twice the empire endeavoured to
revenge itself, and twice it failed. The first
was the attempt of the Western emperor
Majorian (A. D. 457), whose fleet was
destroyed in the bay of Carthagena. The
second was the expedition sent by the
Eastern emperor Leo, under the
command of Heraclius, Marcellinus, and
Bantiscus (A. D. 468), which was also
baffled by the burning of the fleet off
Bona.” (Smith, 1870, p. 244)

“But Genseric did not wait for the
Roman fleet to come to attack him in
his capital. When he got word that it
was in the Bay of Carthagena, he sailed
there with a fleet of his own and in a
single day burned or sank nearly all the
Roman ships…” (Haaren, n.d., ¶3)

“The heads of the Catholic community met him in state and in
return for this and other services, the Vandals promised to spare
all Christian sanctuaries....” (Bigelow, 1918, p. 79)
Papacy Continues to Gain More Influence
During the Siege of Genseric
In the campaigns of Genseric we see the
papacy being involved in national affairs.
Pope Leo entreated with Genseric to spare
the lives of the people in the city, to which
Genseric agreed. However, when the city
was sacked, Genseric did not abide by the
agreement. (Ridpath, 1885)

“There is stronger evidence to the fact that three years
later, Leo saved Rome from destruction by his
intercession with an enemy.
Genseric, king of the Vandals, in Africa … advanced to
the neighborhood of Rome with a fleet and army, and
compelled an immediate surrender. Leo could not save
the city from plunder; but he successfully pleaded with
the barbarian king to secure it from the horrors of
massacre and fire…”(Riddle, 1856, p. 182)

“On the third day after the tumult Genseric boldly advanced
from the port of Ostia to the gates of the defenceless city.
Instead of a sally of the Roman youth there issued from the
gates an unarmed and venerable procession of the bishop at
the head of his clergy. The fearless spirit of Leo, his authority
and eloquence, again mitigated the fierceness of a barbarian
conqueror: the king of the Vandals promised to spare the
unresisting multitude, to protect the buildings from fire, and to
exempt the captives from torture; and…the mediation of Leo
was glorious to himself and in some degree beneficial to his
country.” (Gibbon & Smith, 1857, p. 266 & 267)

“Three years later, Rome was again attacked, this time
by the Vandal Genseric, who indeed plundered Rome,
but at Leo's persuasion, agreed not to violate the
inhabitants. Leo ministered to the stricken populace
and worked to rebuild the city and its churches…Leo
died in Rome on November 10, 461. His legacy
advanced the influence of the papacy to unprecedented
heights. In a time of great disorder, he forged an
energetic central authority which affected the papacy
for centuries to come.” (Saint Leo the Great, n.d., ¶13).

“…[Pope] Leo had …really effected some alleviation of the distresses
which had fallen upon the city. The fact that he, and he alone, at such a
crisis, had availed to effect anything, that he had stood forth a second
time as the shield of Rome could not but greatly enhance the prestige
which he had gained three years before. At this fateful moment the Pope
could hardly be regarded as otherwise than by far the most important
personage in Rome and in Italy... Comparatively speaking, at all events,
the Church had once more abode in strength when every other social
institution had been shaken to its base. The shadowy forms of several
puppet emperors flit quickly by; but the Supreme Pontiff sits firm in St.
Peter's chair, unfaltering and unappalled, unquestionably the foremost
man in Rome.” (Beet, 1910, p. 273)

“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a
great star from heaven, burning as it were a
lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers,
and upon the fountains of waters; And the name
of the star is called Wormwood: and the third
part of the waters became wormwood; and
many men died of the waters, because they
were made bitter.” (Revelation 8:10, 11)

Campaign of Attila &
the Huns, 432-453 A.D.
Invasion of Italy
(452 A.D.)
“The Scourge of God”
(Unlike Alaric and
Genseric who were
Arians, Attila was non-
Christian)

Great Star = Notable Ruler/King
Daniel 8:21; Numbers 24:17;
Psalm 136:9

Great Star = Notable Ruler/King
Numbers 24:17 “I shall see him, but not
now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there
shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a
Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall
smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all
the children of Sheth”
See also Judges 5:20, 21

Luke 10:18 “And he said
unto them, I beheld
Satan as lightning fall
from heaven.”
Isaiah 14:12 “How art
thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the
morning! how art thou
cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the
nations!”
Revelation 12:12
Therefore rejoice, ye
heavens, and ye that
dwell in them. Woe
to the inhabiters of
the earth and of the
sea! for the devil is
come down unto you,
having great wrath,
because he knoweth
that he hath but a
short time.”

UPON RIVERS & FOUNTAINS OF WATERS = LOCATIONS
WHERE THERE WAS A CLEAN WATER SOURCE, AND IN THE
HIGH PLACES AND IN THE VALLEYS (MOUNTAINOUS REGION)
Leviticus 11:36; Isaiah 41:18; Deuteronomy 8:7

Leviticus 11:36 “Nevertheless a fountain or pit,
wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but
that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean.”
Isaiah 41:18 “I will open rivers in high places, and
fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the
wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs
of water.”
Deuteronomy 8:7 “For the LORD thy God bringeth
thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of
fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and
hills.”

“Attila ruled over a territory bordered by the
Danube, the Volga and the Baltic…In 450 A.D.
he ravaged the upper Danube, and followed the
Rhine from Basle to Belgium and made its valley
desolate. Attila became known as ‘the scourge
of God’ …Attila and his Huns made the Alpine
lake and river country and the valleys of the Po
all desolate…” (Hemenway, 2007, p. 51)

"It is said particularly that the effect would be on 'the
rivers' and on 'the fountains of waters.' If this has a
literal application… then we may suppose that this
refers to those portions of the empire that abounded
in rivers and streams, and more particularly those in
which the rivers and streams had their origin for the
effect was permanently in the 'fountains of waters.' As
a matter of fact, the principal operations of Attila were
in the regions of the Alps, and on the portions of the
empire whence the rivers flow down into Italy…”
(Barnes, 1859, p. 235)

Wormwood = Curse, Bitterness, Accursed,
Hemlock ; Denotes Judgment Come Down from
God & Destruction, Affliction, and the End
Jeremiah 9:13-16; Jeremiah 23:15; Hosea 10:4; Lamentations 3:19; Proverbs 5:3, 4

Jeremiah 9:13-16 “And the LORD saith, Because they
have forsaken my law which I set before them, and
have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
But have walked after the imagination of their own
heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught
them: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this
people, with wormwood, and give them water of
gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the
heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have
known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have
consumed them.”

“The absinthe plant –Wormwood—grows freely in the
Alps and is bitter and is associated with gall in scripture
(c.p. Deut. 29:18). Wormwood (Aspinthos) is the name
of a river in the Illyrian region ruled by Attila.”
(Hemenway, 2007, p. 51)

“Attila burnt cities, massacred and enslaved inhabitants
and generally caused despair, famine, and bitterness.
The Huns devastated the inhabitants of the Italian
Alps—the source of rivers, causing pollution and disease
for those who drank.” (Hemenway, 2007, p. 51)

“The Latin traditions of Gaul gave him the name
of the Scourge of God and supposed that he
gloried in it... But in the desolations of Attila the
empire had learned a new experience of its
helplessness.” (Church, 1907, p. 22)

“The Illyrian frontier was covered by a line of castles
and fortresses…But these slight obstacles were instantly
swept away by the inundation of the Huns. They,
destroyed, with fire and sword …. The whole breadth of
Europe, as it extends above five hundred miles from the
Euxine to the Hadriatic, was at once invaded, and
occupied, and desolated, by the myriads of barbarians
whom Attila led into the field.” (Gibbon, 1782, Chapter
34)

“In 451, having suffered a setback on the Plains of
Chalons, by the allied Romans and Visigoths, Attila
turned his attention to Italy. After having laid waste to
Aquileia and many Lombard cities in 452, the Scourge of
God met Pope Leo I who dissuaded him from sacking
Rome.” (Kralic, 2009, ¶3)

“Upon reaching Rome, he was
persuaded to turn back by Pope
Leo…”(Hemenway, 2007, p. 51)
Papacy is Now a Political and Social Figure
More Important than the Emperors and
Political Figures of Rome

“Attila advanced towards Rome. The conqueror of
Chalons, Aetius, hung on his march but was unable to
arrest him. But Attila's army was suffering from
exhaustion and disease and he yielded at least for the
time to the supplications and offers of the Roman
ambassadors one of whom was the great Pope Leo.”
(Church, 1907, 22)

Attila was hesitant to sack Rome because of
superstition, but was contemplating it when a Roman
embassy was sent to meet him in his camp. Pope Leo
was a part of the Roman embassy who were sent on
behalf of “The Emperor and the Senate and People of
Rome” Leo proved himself a successful ambassador
and negotiated peace…. (Hodgkin, 1892)

“…it is little open to question that, from the first, Leo was the
real hero of the day. To him, more than to any other, at this
crisis, the Roman Emperor, if not the people also, looked for aid;
and, as they congratulated themselves, had not looked in vain.
His personal prestige and that of his Apostolic Chair were, both
alike, immeasurably enhanced thereby. In the person of Leo, as
in that of none of his predecessors, the Head of the Roman
Church became a personage of the first importance in the State,
more than the peer of senators and military chiefs—the
buttress of a throne and the preserver of the social fabric.”
(Beet, 1910, p. 265)

“The renown and the gratitude which Leo I earned by this
interposition placed the Papal Chair many steps higher in the
estimation both of Rome and of the world. In the dark days
which were coming the senate and people of Rome were not
likely to forget that when the successor of Caesar had been
proved useless the successor of Peter had been a very
present help. And thus it is no paradox to say that indirectly the
king of the Huns contributed more perhaps than any other
historical personage towards the creation of that mighty factor
in the politics of mediaeval Italy the Pope King of Rome.”
(Hodgkin, 1892, p. 161)

And the fourth angel sounded, and the
third part of the sun was smitten, and
the third part of the moon, and the
third part of the stars; so as the third
part of them was darkened, and the
day shone not for a third part of it, and
the night likewise. (Revelation 8:12).

Campaigns of Odoacer, 476-493
of Mixed Decent-Heruli/Gothic

Striking of the heavenly bodies with darkness signifies
judgment and punishment of God, destruction
Isaiah 13:9-11; Ezekiel 32:7-9; Joel 2:10-11; Isaiah 5:30

Sun, moon, and stars = Ruling Bodies
Psalm 136:8, 9 “The sun to rule by day: for his
mercy endureth for ever: The moon and stars to
rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Genesis 1:16-18 “And God made two great lights;
the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light
to rule the night: he made the stars also.
And God set them in the firmament of the heaven
to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the
day and over the night, and to divide the light from
the darkness: and God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:16-18; Psalm 136:7-9

Sun, moon, and stars = Ruling Bodies
“The symbols sun, moon, and stars for
they are undoubtedly here used as
symbols evidently denote the great
luminaries of the Roman government,
its emperors, senators, and consuls.”
(Smith, 1872, p. 192)

Odoacer was “…first barbarian king of Italy. The date on
which he assumed power, 476, is traditionally considered
the end of the Western Roman Empire.” (Encyclopædia
Britannica, 2009, ¶1)

Augustulus became emperor of the Western Roman
Empire in AD 475, Odoacer led an uprising of the German
troops in the Roman army and deposed the new emperor
in 476. This event is usually said to have marked the end
of the Roman Empire in the west…” (Microsoft® Encarta®
Online Encyclopedia, 2009, ¶1)
Odoacer was a “Gothic
chieftain who received
his military training in
the Roman army and
became the first
Germanic ruler of Italy.
When Romulus

“…Western Rome fell in AD 476. Still, however, though
the Roman sun was extinguished, its subordinate
luminaries shone faintly.” (Smith, 1872, p. 192)
“With Odoacer's appointment as King, the system of
Roman government, first Republic than Imperial
ceases to exist. After over a century of near constant
invasions and usurpations, the Roman system finally
collapses, permanently” (Roman Timeline, 2009, ¶52)

“But, in their prophetic order, the consulship and the senate of
Rome met their fate, though they fell not by the hands of
Vandals or of Goths…The succession of the consuls finally
ceased in the thirteenth year of Justinian…. ‘The third part of
the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the
third part of the stars.' In the political firmament of the ancient
world, while under the reign of imperial Rome, the
emperorship, the consulate, and the senate shone like the sun,
the moon, and the stars… and finally, as the fourth trumpet
closes, we see the 'extinction of that illustrious assembly,' the
Roman senate. The city that had ruled the world, as if in
mockery of human greatness, was conquered by the eunuch
Narses, the successor of Belisarius. He … achieved 'the conquest
of Rome,' and the fate of the senate was sealed.” (Keith, 1832,
p. 280-283 & Smith, 1872, p. 193)

“Odoacer in 476 completed the destructions
wrought in series by Alaric the Goth (410)
Attila the Hun (452) and Genseric the Vandal
(455).” (Rogers, 1878, p. 171)

“… imperial influence in Italy weakened the
papacy…” (Richards, 1979, p. 30)
Foundation Now Laid for
Papal Supremacy in the West
“…papal supremacy arose out of the struggle between popes and
emperors…[T]he Imperial seat, when it fell vacant, would be
assumed by the papacy and never thereafter returned to
temporal control. Armed with Imperial power, the papacy would
proceed to exact….oaths from princes and feudatories, to impose
taxes and tribute, and to assert appellate jurisdiction over civil
suits, such that no case at law could ever be resolved except by
consent of the pope.” (Coby, 2009, p. 29)

“When both bishop and emperor resided as rival
powers within her walls these were naturally the
two centres round which this intellectual activity
was grouped. But the emperor passed away the
bishop remained and there was no longer any
disturbing cause to prevent its concentration
round a single figure.” (Sheppard, 1861, p. 758)

“… the emancipation of Italy and the western provinces
from direct imperial control which is signalized by
Odoacer's accession has rightly been regarded as
marking the opening of a new epoch. It made possible
in the West…the growth of new and distinct states and
nationalities; finally it gave a new impulse to the
influence of the Christian Church and laid the
foundations of the power of the bishops of Rome”
(Pelham, 1901, p. 576)

The success of the papacy “continued
through seven centuries, [and] was
audaciously interpreted into a proof of the
divinity of the Papacy. Behold, it has been
said, that when the throne of Caesar was
overturned, how the chair of Peter stood
erect!...(Wylie, 18??, p. 17)

"Christianity…developed an institution which in
part was a rival of the state. It created a society
within the empire which….threatened the very
existence of the latter. The conflict was very
marked in the century or more before
Constantine. . . . When Constantine made his
peace with the faith, however, it long looked as
though the conflict had been resolved by the
control of the church by the state. Yet, even in the
days of the seeming subordination of the church
to the government, ecclesiastics sought to
influence the policies of the latter." (Latourette,
1938, p. 273)

Now that the Imperial Emperor was out of the way…What Next?
“The result was the papacy, a church
that controlled the power of the
State, and employed it to further her
own ends, especially for the
punishment of ‘heresy.’”
(GC88, p. 443)

What Events Mark the Church
Gaining Control Over the State?
The Race to 476 A.D.

1. Papacy Arises As a Civil Power Amidst
the Ruins of Western Rome, the 10 kings
3. Three Horns Plucked up to make way
for the Papacy
4. Paganism Gives Its Seat to Papacy
2. Clovis the Frank converts to Catholicism
The Race to 476 A.D.

1. Papacy Arises As a Civil
Power Amidst the Ruins of
Western Rome, the 10 kings
“…And so, when the last vestige of the
Western Empire of Rome had vanished,
the territory was found partitioned into
exactly ten parts, occupied by exactly ten
independent nations; no more no less.”
(Jones, 1901, p. 56)

“The history of the little horn …is the Papacy—Yet it
cannot be the temporal kingdom of the Papacy; but must
be that spiritual kingdom of the Bishop of Rome…grew at
length into a catholic spiritual empire, …—It was to arise
during the period that the Roman empire was divided
into ten kingdoms… but after the saints had been given
by the secular power into its hand, it was to become an
universal ecclesiastical tyrant…” (Faber, 1806, p. xxviii)
Western Rome, the 10
kings

“Medieval Europe and the Byzantine Empire were
united in a single faith, Christianity. After the fall of
Rome, popes gradually emerged as powerful figures in
Western Europe. The popes claimed supreme religious
authority over all Christians. The emperors and
patriarchs of the east resisted such
claims.” (The Byzantine Empire, n.d., p. 7)
Western Rome, the 10 kings

2. Clovis the Franc converts to Catholicism
“The conversion of the Merovingian chieftain, Clovis, to the
Catholic faith is an event of primary importance in the history
of the papacy. Starting out with a mere handful of followers,
Clovis had by his military prowess attached a number of tribes
to himself. As he expected, the Catholics rallied around him as
the only Catholic prince in the West, and assisted him in
conquering the Arian princes. The Goths had become luxurious
and disinclined to the hardships of war and were easily
overcome by the Frankish warrior.
Victory followed victory until Gaul Burgundy and Bavaria were
more or less firmly united under one government. Thus was
established a vigorous Catholic power which found its interest
in promoting the papacy and which in turn was zealously
supported by it.” (Newman, 1906, p. 404)

“… the see of Rome received its chief temporal
support from the connexion [sic] thus formed
with the monarchy of France” (Miller, 1832, p. 85)
Speaking of Clovis, Westermann (1912) writes,
“The Frankish king seemed to the orthodox
Christians in Gaul to be their defender and leader
against the German tribes of the Arian belief
especially the Visigoths…He was able to conquer
the Arian rulers of southwestern Gaul, the
Visigoths, and add their territory to his Frankish
kingdom…” (p. 484)

“…Up to the time of the conversion of Clovis king of
France, A.D. 496, the French and other nations of Western
Rome were pagan; but subsequently to that event, the
efforts to convert idolaters to Romanism were crowned
with great success. The conversion of Clovis is said to have
been the occasion of bestowing upon the French monarch
the titles of ‘Most Christian Majesty’ and ‘Eldest Son of
the Church.’ Between that time and A.D. 508, by alliances,
capitulations, and conquests, the Arborici, the Roman
garrisons in the West, Brittany, the Burgundians, and the
Visigoths were brought into subjection. From the time
when these successes were fully accomplished, namely
508, the papacy was triumphant so far as paganism was
concerned…” (Smith, 1872, p. 320)

"In Europe, one of the major events that year [508
A.D.] was the conclusion of the war between Clovis,
king of the Franks (later France), and the Visigoths,
whom he defeated and pushed into Spain." William
H. Shea, Bible Amplifier - Daniel 7-12, p. 220.
"It is evident, from the language of Gregory of Tours,
that this conflict between the Franks and the
Visigoths was regarded by the orthodox party of his
own and preceding ages as a religious war, on which,
humanly speaking, the prevalence of the Catholic or
the Arian creed in western Europe depended." The
Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. I, p. 286.

By this victory, "it was decided that the Franks, and
not the Goths, were to direct the future destinies of
Gaul and Germany, and that the Catholic faith, and
not Arianism, was to be the religion of these great
realms." Richard W. Church, The Beginning of the
Middle Ages, p. 39.
"Thus when Clovis and the Franks defeated the Arian
Visigoths and drove them into Spain, it was also a
theological victory for the bishop of Rome." William
H. Shea, Bible Amplifier - Daniel 7-12, p. 220.

3. Three Horns Plucked up to make way for the Papacy
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a
fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong
exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured
and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with
the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts
that were before it; and it had ten horns. I
considered the horns, and, behold, 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 man, and a mouth speaking great
things.” Daniel 7:7, 8

Rome divided into 10 nations
1. Alemani (Germans)
2. Anglo-Saxons (English)
3. Bergundians (Swiss)
4. Lombards (Italians)
5. Suevi (Portuguese)
6. Francs (French)
7. Visigoths (Spanish)
8. Heruli (Extinct)
9. Vandals (Extinct)
10. Ostrogoths (Extinct)

Horns = power; kings
“And his brightness was as the light; he had horns
coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his
power.” Habakkuk 3:4
“Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth
kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all
kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall
tread 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.” Daniel 7:23, 24

According to Uriah Smith (1907), the Arians were
“bitter enemies of the pope and of the Roman Catholic
Church. From these facts it is evident that the spread
of Arianism would check the influence of the
Catholics; and the possession of Rome and Italy by a
people of the Arian persuasion, would be fatal to the
supremacy of a Catholic bishop. But the prophecy had
declared that this horn would rise to supreme power,
and that in reaching this position it would subdue
three kings.” (p. 165-166).

“…Whereas evidently the prophecy of verses 24-25
refers not to his civil power but to his power to
domineer over the minds and consciences of men and
the pope reached this position as will hereafter appear
in A.D. 538 and the plucking up of the three horns
took place before this and to make way for this very
exaltation to spiritual dominion.” (Smith, 1907, p.
169)

Arian Kings in Power in Western Rome
“…As early as the beginning of the sixth century the
bishops of Rome had become powerful enough to
exert considerable of that influence at the imperial
court which ere long exalted them to a station where
they could command the kings of the earth. There was
only one hindrance to their supremacy,-- the
opposition of the Arian powers to the doctrines of
the Catholics, especially to that of the Trinity. These
opposing powers were rooted up, the Heruli in 493,
the Vandals in 534, and the Ostrogoths in 538.” (Bible
Readings for the Home Circle, 1889, p. 29)

The Heruli. "The first kingdom established by the barbarians in
Italy was that of the Heruli."--Ridpath. The historian gives the date of the
overthrow of the Heruli as 493 A .D . They were overthrown by the Goths
under Theodoric by what he called a divine commission from Zeno, the
emperor of Eastern Rome. The fact that the Heruli and Ostrogoths were
both Arian in belief did not restrain the scheming pontiff from using the
one to destroy the other when the outcome resulted in his advancement in
power. See History of the World, by Ridpath, Vol. 4, chap. 74, and Gibbon's
Roman Empire, chapters 39 and 40. The destruction of this Arian nation
was complete. "After the middle of the sixth century, however, their name
completely disappears."--Encyclopedia Britannia, Vol. XIII, p. 403, art.
"Heruli." "After this their "name disappears from history."--Standard
Enyclopedia of World Knowledge Vol. XIII, p. 334. See also the New
Standard Encyclopedia, art. "Heruli." The kingdom was so completely
uprooted that no trace is left, and no modern nation or province bears the
name or can be identified with the Heruli (Bunch, 1950, p. 100)

The Vandals. “There are few instances in history
of a nation disappearing so rapidly and so completely
as the Vandals of Africa."--History of Greece, George
Finlay, Vol. I, p. 232.
Vandals …accepted the Arian doctrine and were therefore
marked for destruction...the Vandals became Christians, but
they were Arians, and fiercely persecuted orthodox believers
and other heretics. In 533 the Byzantine general, Belisarius,
landed in Africa. The Vandals were several times defeated, and
Carthage was entered on Sept. 15, 533; …As a nation, the
Vandals soon ceased to exist."--Nelson's Encyclopedia, Vol. XII,
art. "Vandals."

The Goth’s. Speaking of the final defeat of the
Goths in [538?] Ridpath says that there was
“inflicted on the barbarians a defeat so decisive
as to refix the status of Italy. The greater part of
the Gothic army perished either by the sword or
in attempting to cross the river...As for the Goths,
they either retired to their native seats beyond
the mountains or were absorbed by the Italians.”
(Ridpath's History of the World, Vol. IV, pp. 408-
417)

4. Paganism Gives Its Authority to the Papacy
“In 533 A.D. Justinian, emperor of Eastern Rome,
issued a decree declaring the bishop of Rome the
corrector of heretics and head over all the
churches. Immediately the work of putting down
Arianism was begun with new vengeance in order
that the decree might become effective and the
very next year the Vandals were subjugated this
work being followed in 538 by the uprooting of
the Ostrogoths in 538 A.D.” (Taylor, 1922, p. 109)

“…Justinian, emperor of Rome, with his capital at
Constantinople, espoused the cause of the bishop
of Rome; and in 533 A.D. issued a decree which
constituted that prelate head of all the churches.
But the Arian Ostrogoths had possession of
Rome, and it was not until they had been rooted
up that the city was accessible to the bishop. This
was accomplished in 538, by Belisarius,
Justinian's celebrated general…” (White, 1895, p.
39)

“While Catholics were thus feeling the restraining power of
an Arian king in Italy, they were suffering violent
persecution from the Arian Vandals in Africa. Elliot says:
‘The Vandal kings were not only Arians, but persecutors of
Catholics; in Sardinia and Corsica under the Roman
Episcopate, we may presume, as well as in Africa.
“Such was the position of affairs, when, A.D. 533, Justinian
entered upon his Vandal and Gothic wars. Wishing to
obtain the influence of the pope and the Catholic party, he
issued that memorable decree which was to constitute the
pope the head of all churches, and from the carrying out
of which, A.D. 538, the period of papal supremacy is to be
dated…” (Smith, 1944, p. 127)

“No decree of this nature could be carried into effect until
the Arian hordes which stood in its way were overthrown.
A turn came, however, in the tide of affairs, for in the
military campaign in Africa and Italy, the victorious
legions of Belisarius dealt a crushing blow to Arianism, so
much so that its final supporters were vanquished.”
(Smith, 1944, p. 127)

“As a comment on Rev 13: 2, 3, in regard to giving the power of
the empire to the beast, we have found that the last step in the
full establishing of the Catholic Church was taken by Justinian in
subjecting to the pope all the churches of the East, and
extending the civil powers of the Roman see. The act of
Justinian became effective to accomplish its purpose in A.D.
538…” (Waggoner, 1888, p.162)

“Yea, 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. And an
host was given him against the daily
sacrifice by reason of transgression, and
it cast down the truth to the ground;
and it practiced, and prospered.” Daniel
8: 11, 12

“Then I saw in relation to the ‘daily’ (Daniel
8:12) that the word "sacrifice" was supplied
by man's wisdom, and does not belong to the
text...” (EW, p 74)

James White – Sermons on the coming and Kingdom of our Lord
The daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation represent Rome in
its pagan and papal forms. Leaving out the supplied words, the text
would read, "The daily, and the transgression of desolation." These are
two desolating powers; first, Paganism, then, Papacy. Of these, Paul, in
2Thess.2:38, says: "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 worshiped; so that he, as God,
sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember
ye not that when I was yet with you I told you these things? And now ye
know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the
mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth will let,
until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed,
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall
destroy with the brightness of his coming." That which withheld the
manifestation of the Papacy in Paul's day was Paganism. These are the
two powers which have desolated the people of God, of which the angel
speaks in the vision of Dan.8.

(Now Letteth) “…the reference would seem to be some
agency or state of things under the control of ….some civil
power, that then operated as a restraint on the natural
tendency of things…The most natural interpretation is that
which refers it to civil power, meaning that there was
something in the form of the existing administration which
would prevent this development until that restraint should
be removed…The belief among primitive Christians was, that
what hindered the rise of the man of sin was the Roman
empire, and therefore ‘they prayed for its peace and welfare,
as knowing that when the Roman empire should be
dissolved and broken in pieces, the empire of the man of sin
would be raised on its ruins.’” Bp. Newton ---Barnes, 1859, p.
97-99

“Yea, 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. And an
host was given [him] against the daily
[sacrifice] by reason of transgression, and
it cast down the truth to the ground; and
it practiced, and prospered.” Daniel 8:11,
12

“And arms shall stand on his part, and
they shall pollute the sanctuary of
strength, and shall take away the daily
[sacrifice], and they shall place the
abomination that maketh desolate. And
such as do wickedly against the covenant
shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the
people that do know their God shall be
strong, and do exploits.” Daniel 11: 31, 32

“Then I saw in relation to the ‘daily’ (Daniel
8:12) that the word "sacrifice" was supplied
by man's wisdom, and does not belong to the
text, and that the Lord gave the correct view
of it to those who gave the judgment hour
cry. When union existed, before 1844, nearly
all were united on the correct view of the
"daily"; but in the confusion since 1844,
other views have been embraced, and
darkness and confusion have followed. Time
has not been a test since 1844, and it will
never again be a test.” (EW, p 74)

“These two phases are elsewhere spoken of
as the "daily" (sacrifice is a supplied word)
and the "transgression of desolation;" the
daily (desolation) signifying the pagan form,
and the transgression of desolation, the
papal. (See on verse 13.) In the actions
ascribed to this power, sometimes one form
is spoken of, sometimes the other. "By him"
(the papal form) "the daily" (the pagan form)
"was taken away." Pagan Rome was
remodeled into papal Rome.” – Uriah Smith,
Daniel & The Revelation

William Miller - Views Of Prophecy – pg 28-29
I have come to this conclusion: that this power, called
“daily sacrifice,” is Rome pagan abomination; the
same as Christ has reference to in Matt. xxiv. 15. Luke
xxi. 21. Certainly Christ could not have reference to
papal abomination that maketh desolate until Christ's
second coming; for that was not set up until nearly
five Views Of Prophecy hundred years afterwards. Of
course, it must have been the pagan abomination
which would be taken away. This agrees with Paul, 2
Thes. ii. 3-10: [quoted]. The question then would be,
when was Paganism taken out of the way? I answer,
it must have been after the ten horns arose out of
what is called the Western empire of Rome…”

“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.” Revelation 13:2

“The dragon is said to be Satan; [Revelation 12:9.] he it
was that moved upon Herod to put the Saviour to death.
But the chief agent of Satan in making war upon Christ
and his people during the first centuries of the Christian
era, was the Roman Empire, in which paganism was the
prevailing religion. Thus while the dragon, primarily,
represents Satan, it is, in a secondary sense, a symbol of
pagan Rome.” (GC88, p. 438)
“In chapter 13 [VERSES 1-10.] is described another beast,
‘like unto a leopard,’ to which the dragon gave ‘his power,
and his seat, and great authority.’ This symbol, as most
Protestants have believed, represents the papacy, which
succeeded to the power and seat and authority once
possessed by the ancient Roman Empire.” (GC88, p. 439)

“In the sixth century the papacy had become firmly
established. Its seat of power was fixed in the
imperial city, and the bishop of Rome was declared
to be the head over the entire church. Paganism
had given place to the papacy. The dragon had
given to the beast ‘his power, and his seat, and
great authority.’ [Revelation 13:2; SEE APPENDIX,
NOTE 2.] And now began the 1260 years of papal
oppression foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and
the Revelation.” (GC88, p. 54)

“It was then ‘the belief of Christians in early times’—it is the
recorded testimony of the Church Universal assembled in council—
that Rome's position as the seat of empire was the cause of her
ecclesiastical preeminence.” (Meyrick, 1857, p. 51)
“To the Byzantines, Christianity was more than a religion. It was the
very foundation of their empire. In Byzantine times, the emperor
had supreme authority over the church” …. (The Byzantine Empire,
n.d., p. 5)
“Paganism represented a system where the State controlled the
religion. The Papacy represents a system where the religion controls
the State. The visible head of the first was the Emperor of Rome; the
visible head of the latter is the Pope…” (F.C. Gilbert in A Scriptural
Exposition of H-T-Mid, The Daily, Daniel 8:11-13).

Now that the Imperial Emperor was out of the way…What Next?
“…The result was the
papacy, a church that
controlled the power of the
State, and employed it to
further her own ends,
especially for the
punishment of ‘heresy.’”
(GC88, p. 443)

What Did the Papacy
do with its Power?

“Popes controlled finances across Europe, approved or rejected
clerical appointments, and had a greater reach than any secular
lords in Europe. And as Christianity dictated a policy of obedience
to the pontiff in his capacity of vicarius Christi, he was vested
with unparalleled authority…The papacy by its ‘international’
nature, slowly but surely found its way to the forefront of the
burgeoning medieval field of international politics. First as a
pawn of others, the pope later became a controlling piece on the
chessboard. By the beginning of the twelfth century, popes dealt
with monarchs not only as a spiritual advisor and authority, but
also as international arbitrators, communicators, and
diplomats.”(Gilbert, 2001, ¶ 6, 7)
What Did the Papacy do with its Power?

“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: and power was given
him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”
Revelation 13:5-7

“And they that understand among the people shall
instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and
by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.”
Daniel 11:33

“’Power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.’
And, says the prophet, ‘I saw one of his heads as it were wounded
to death.’ And again: ‘He that leadeth into captivity shall go into
captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the
sword.’ The forty and two months are the same as the ‘time and
times and the dividing of time,’ three years and a half, or 1260
days, of Daniel 7 -- the time during which the papal power was to
oppress God's people. This period, as stated in preceding chapters,
began with the supremacy of the papacy, A.D. 538, and terminated
in 1798.” (GC, p. 439) [Note: The supremacy that she gained in 538
A.D. was spiritual authority]

Referring to the year A.D. 538, Gunner (1851) writes, “in
that year the Ostrogoths were overthrown by Belesarius,
the Greek general under Justinian, for the express
purpose of establishing the Papal church, and of carrying
into effect the ‘Justinian Code of Laws,’ which invested
the Pope with supreme authority, and constituted him
head of the Eastern churches, with power to punish and
pardon at will, whomsoever he might choose.” (p. 108)

“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 fellows. “ Daniel 7:20

“And I beheld, and heard an angel
flying through the midst of heaven,
saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe,
woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by
reason of the other voices of the
trumpet of the three angels, which are
yet to sound!” Revelation 8:13

“…Some prophecies God has
repeated, thus showing that
importance must be given to them.
The Lord does not repeat things
that are of no great consequence.”
(Ms 107, 1897, p. 1, 2)

Woe = Judgments
Jeremiah 50: 26, 27
“Come against her from
the utmost border, open
her storehouses: cast her
up as heaps, and destroy
her utterly: let nothing of
her be left. Slay all her
bullocks; let them go
down to the slaughter:
woe unto them! for their
day is come, the time of
their visitation.”
See also:
Isaiah 3:11; Ezekiel 16; 23-27
Hosea 7:12-14

“The ‘woe, woe, woe!’
was pronounced upon a
church who walked in
the sparks of their own
kindling…” (Pamphlets
28, 1890, p. 3)

“…These visitations upon Papal Rome were
judgments of God, as also were the four
previous trumpets upon Pagan Rome.”
(Cunningham, 1892, p. 362)

“And the fifth angel sounded,
and I saw a star fall from heaven
unto the earth: and to him was
given the key of the bottomless
pit.” Revelation 9:1

Invasions of Islam/the Saracens (Arabians)
1299-1449 (150 years)

Falling Star denotes an apostate power
Luke 10:18; Isaiah 14:12; Revelation 12:9; Jude 1:10-13

The bottomless pit
Strongs G12:
ἄβυσσος, abussos, ab'-us-sos
depthless, that is, (specifically),
(infernal) “abyss”:
- deep, (bottomless) pit.

Bottomless pit = confusion and
darkness, desert, wilderness
Genesis 1:2; Jeremiah 4:23-26; Deuteronomy 8:15
Jeremiah 2:6 “Neither said
they, Where is the LORD that
brought us up out of the land
of Egypt, that led us through
the wilderness, through a land
of deserts and of pits, through
a land of drought, and of the
shadow of death, through a
land that no man passed
through, and where no man
dwelt? “
Jeremiah 3:2 “Lift up thine
eyes unto the high places,
and see where thou hast not
been lien with. In the ways
hast thou sat for them, as
the Arabian in the
wilderness; and thou hast
polluted the land with thy
whoredoms and with thy
wickedness.”

“Arabia” - the word probably signifies ‘a
barren place, desert’ (Heb. Arabah).”
Hughes’ Dictionary of Islam
Arabia, Arabia = “desert or barren”
Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament No. 688

Galatians
4:25
...Agar
mount
Sinai in
Arabia..
A new
religion
arises out
of the
same
region in
which
national
Judaism
began.

Deuteronomy 8:15 [God] Who led thee [the
Israelites] through that great and
terrible wilderness [of Sinai i.e. the
Arabian desert], wherein were fiery
serpents, and scorpions, and drought,
where there was no water…

FALL OF CHOSROES OF PERSIA
= THE KEY TO THE BOTTOMLESS PIT

“‘The spirit of fraud and enthusiasm,
whose abode is not in the heavens,'
was let loose on earth. The
bottomless pit needed but a key to
open it, and that key was the fall of
Chosroes.” (Keith, 1833, p.298)

“The fall of Chosroes II the Persian king may
well be represented as the opening of the
bottomless pit, inasmuch as it prepared the way
for the followers of Mohammed to issue from
their obscure country and propagate their
delusive doctrines with fire and sword until
they had spread their darkness over all the
Eastern Empire.” (Smith, 1944, p. 496)

“The military force of Persia was wasted by the
marches and combats of twenty years and
many of the veterans who had survived the
perils of the sword and the climate were still
detained in the fortresses of Egypt and Syria.
But the revenge and ambition of Chosroes
exhausted his kingdom.” (Gibbon & Milman,
1899, p. 475)

“During the conflict between the Persian and
Roman Emperors, a power was rapidly growing
up in the secret deserts of Arabia which was to
erect its throne upon the ruins of both.
Mohammed had already announced his
religious doctrine, -- ‘There is but one God and
Mohammed is His prophet’-- and the valleys of
Arabia had echoed with the triumphant battle
cry of his followers, ‘The Koran or death!’”
(Milman, 1871, p. 94)

“…Chosroes…had subjugated a large part of the
empire of Rome, and levied an annual tribute upon it
of a fourfold thousand, in talents of gold and silver, silk
robes, and horses, besides a thousand virgins. ‘To
prevent the immediate dissolution of his empire,
Heraclius subscribed to these terms of ransom.’ But
the time which he obtained from Chosroes to collect
treasures from the poverty of the East he used in
preparing for a bold and desperate attack upon
Chosroes. In the interval Chosroes received an epistle
from Mecca inviting him to acknowledge Mahomet as

the apostle of God. This he rejected with disdain. And Mahomet
retorted, ‘God will tear the kingdom, and reject the supplication
of Chosroes.’ With secret joy Mahomet beheld the raging
conflict between Chosroes and Heraclius”
“…Heraclius having completed his preparations, transported his
forces over the Black Sea into central Asia. Thus having
intercepted Chosroes, he caused his immediate recall to defend
his bleeding country that was being rapidly overrun by the army
of Heraclius. The battle of Nineveh, of eleven hours, fiercely
fought, resulted in the complete route of the Persians, and the
star rapidly fell to the earth. A period of anarchy succeeded
among the Persians for about eight years, then factions were
silenced and Persia fell under the yoke of the Arabian caliphs.
Thus the fall of Chosroes opened an inroad for the Saracens in
their mighty work of devastation and conquest.” (Cunningham,
1892, p. 363, 364)

“In 629 Heraclius returned in triumph to Jerusalem
and almost at the same moment the Roman
territories were first attacked by the followers of
Mahomet. The Prophet had no doubt been
diligently watching the course of the war which is
once at least directly alluded to in the Koran. He
could not but see the immense advantage which
he gained by finding the two greatest powers of
the world utterly exhausted by this tremendous
struggle. In such circumstances it seemed hardly
possible that either could resist a new enemy full
of such vigor and enthusiasm as the early
Saracens.” (Freeman, 1876, p. 20)

“Although a victorious army had been formed
under the standard of Heraclius, the unnatural
effort appears to have exhausted rather than
exercised their strength. While the emperor
triumphed at Constantinople or Jerusalem, an
obscure town on the confines of Syria was
pillaged by the Saracens,…These robbers were
the apostles of Mahomet; their fanatic valor
had emerged from the desert; and in the last
eight years of his reign, Heraclius lost to the
Arabs the same provinces which he had rescued
from the Persians.” (Gibbon, 1837, p. 777)

And he opened the bottomless pit; and there
arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of
a great furnace; and the sun and the air were
darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Revelation 9:2

Revelation 9:2
And he [the fallen
star] opened the
bottomless pit; and
there arose a smoke
out of the pit, as the
smoke of a great
furnace; and the
sun and the air
were darkened by
reason of the
smoke of the pit.

the bottomless pit
1. Desolate area located somewhere on earth.
2. Following the downfall of western Rome.
3. These forces are released by a personified
fallen star bearing a key.
4. One of the three bottomless pit powers
5. Satan bound into the 4th bottomless pit after
earth destroyed by fire at the 2nd coming of
Christ. This illustrates the Satanic 3 & 1
6. Star = Notable religious leader. Num 24:17
7. Key = Metaphor for power to open or close.

“…a smoke should come forth that darkened
the earth. It is a fact that at this period [after
the total demise of western Rome] a false
religion arose, led by Mahomet, an impostor;
a vile system which taught men inhumanity
and lust, to live bloody and sensual lives, and
to look for a sensual heaven. This false and
hellish system "darkened" a large portion of
the world, and there are still vast regions
where the light of Christianity once prevailed
which have exchanged the Bible for the
Koran.” - B.W. Johnson, Vision of the Ages, Chap. IX, p.164 (1881)
“The smoke of the pit”

The God of the Bible Allah of Islam
God wants to be in relationship
with us. As John 17:3 says,
"And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee, the
only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom thou hast sent."
Allah is impossible to know. Humans
may only know about him: "The end
result of the knowledge of the [wise
ones] is their inability to know Him,
and their knowledge is, in truth,
that they do not know Him and that
it is absolutely impossible for them
to know Him."vi
God, as revealed in the Bible,
is a person. Genesis
1:27 teaches also that humans
are made in the image of God.
It is taught that Allah is transcendent—that
it is blasphemous to consider him as a
person. "Fellowship with God, which is the
religious experience of the Christian, is
unimaginable to Muslims. They consider
the Christian assertion that man was
created in God's own image to be
blasphemous."vii
In order to provide us a way to have a relationshipwith Him, God became a human—Jesus Christ—who lived on this earth, died to take the penalty for our sins, and was
resurrected.
Allah would never become a human being, and would never yield himself to die. "Accordingto Muslims, divinityand humanity are totally exclusive entities. They believe God
really could not have entered into human life."viii
God loves us, despite our sin. "But God commendethhis love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Allah's love is conditional, based on behavior: "Allah loveth not those that do wrong" (Surah 3:140). "In Islam, God and man are wary of each other, in contrast to Christianity,
in which God and man are in love with each other."ix

In order to provide us a way to
have a relationship with Him, God
became a human—Jesus Christ—
who lived on this earth, died to
take the penalty for our sins, and
was resurrected.
Allah would never become a human
being, and would never yield himself
to die. "According to Muslims,
divinity and humanity are totally
exclusive entities. They believe God
really could not have entered into
human life."viii
God loves us, despite our sin. "But
God commendeth his love toward
us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8).
Allah's love is conditional, based on
behavior: "Allah loveth not those that
do wrong" (Surah 3:140). "In Islam,
God and man are wary of each other,
in contrast to Christianity, in which
God and man are in love with each
other."ix
The God of the Bible is perfectlyholy, hence His need to remove our sin in order to have a restored relationship.1 Samuel 2:2 reminds us that "there is none as holy as
the LORD."
According to apologist Timothy Dunkin, "Allah is unholy because...Allahis not separated from sin, and will allow unwashed sinners into his presence for all eternity, indicating that
Allah really has no separation from sin."x
God is absolutely just, but desires for all people to be reconciled to Himself. "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without
iniquity, just and right is he" (Deuteronomy 32:4). "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconcilingthe world unto himself, not imputingtheir trespasses unto them; and hath
committedunto us the word of reconciliation"(2 Corinthians 5:19).
Allah is not fully just. He chooses when to forgive and when not to forgive. "Those who reject Faith and do wrong,—Allah will not forgive them nor guide them to any way—Except
the way of Hell, to dwell therein for ever. And this to Allah is easy" (Surah 4:168-169).

The God of the Bible is
perfectly holy, hence His need
to remove our sin in order to
have a restored relationship.
1 Samuel 2:2 reminds us that
"there is none as holy as the
LORD."
According to apologist Timothy
Dunkin, "Allah is unholy
because...Allah is not separated
from sin, and will allow
unwashed sinners into his
presence for all eternity,
indicating that Allah really has
no separation from sin."x
God is absolutely just, but desires for all
people to be reconciled to Himself. "He is
the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his
ways are judgment: a God of truth and
without iniquity, just and right is he"
(Deuteronomy 32:4). "To wit, that God
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them; and hath committed unto us
the word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians
5:19).
Allah is not fully just. He chooses
when to forgive and when not to
forgive. "Those who reject Faith and
do wrong,—Allah will not forgive
them nor guide them to any way—
Except the way of Hell, to dwell
therein for ever. And this to Allah is
easy" (Surah 4:168-169).

vi. F. Shehadi, Ghazali's Unique Unknowable God: 37.
vii. M. Youssef, America, Oil, and the Islamic Mind: 74-
75.
viii. Ibid.
ix. Ibid: 82.
x. Timothy W. Dunkin, Ten Myths About Islam 5th
edition (2010).

Married the wealthy owner of a caravan

“Because of its religious history and its strategic
location, the Holy City was considered a priceless
treasure. A scheme had to be developed to make
Jerusalem a Roman Catholic city….
“The Vatican wanted to create a messiah for the
Arabs, someone they could raise up as a great
leader, a man with charisma whom they could train,
and eventually unite all the non-Catholic Arabs
behind him, creating a mighty army that would
ultimately capture Jerusalem for the pope.”
“A wealthy Arabian lady who was a faithful follower
of the pope played a tremendous part in this drama.
She was a widow named Khadijah. She gave her
wealth to the church and retired to a convent, but
was given an assignment. She was to find a brilliant
young man who could be used by the Vatican to
create a new religion and become the messiah for
the children of Ishmael.
Jesuit Cardinal
Augustine Bea
(1881-1965)
relates the origin
and goal of Islam
The role of the Islamic religion

'Khadijah had a cousin named Waraquah, who was also a
very faithful Roman Catholic and the Vatican placed him
in a critical role as Muhammad’s advisor. He had
tremendous influence on Muhammad.
“Teachers were sent to young Muhammad and he had
intensive training. Muhammad studied the works of St.
Augustine which prepared him for his "great calling." The
Vatican had Catholic Arabs across North Africa spread the
story of a great one who was about to rise up among the
people and be the chosen one of their God….
“Muhammad began receiving "divine revelations" and his
wife’s Catholic cousin Waraquah helped interpret them. From
this came the Koran….
“Some of Muhammad’s writings were placed in the Koran,
others were never published. They are now in the hands of
high ranking holy men (Ayatollahs) in the Islamic faith.’ ”
When Cardinal Bea shared with us in the Vatican, he said,
These writings are guarded because they contain
information that links the Vatican to the creation of Islam.
Dr. Alberto Rivera
(1935-1997)

"In their "holy" book, the Koran, Christ is regarded as only a
prophet. If the pope was His representative on earth, then he
also must be a prophet of God. This caused the followers of
Muhammad to fear and respect the pope as another "holy
man."
"The pope moved quickly and issued bulls granting the Arab
generals permission to invade and conquer the nations of North
Africa. The Vatican helped to finance the building of these
massive Islamic armies in exchange for three favors:
1. Eliminate the Jews and Christians (true believers, which they
called infidels).
2. Protect the Augustinian Monks and Roman Catholics.
3. Conquer Jerusalem for "His Holiness" in the Vatican.”
- Vatican briefing as related to Dr. Alberto Rivera (ex-Jesuit priest) by Cardinal Bea

“The pope [Gregory the Seventh] assures the
sultan [the Islamic king] that they both
worship the same God, and may hope to
meet in the bosom of Abraham….”
- Edward Gibbons, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
chap. 51, part 8

What about the Women:
The dress
of the
women of
catholicism a
re identical to
the dress of
Islamic
women. In
both religions
men are
the higher
authority.

This is a definition in the Koran.
Christ - Uzair - Polytheism:- God is indignant if
Christ is believed to be God him self. Vide 19:5, 75
to 78:5. To say nothing of Godship, Christ is not
even the son of God, But only an Apostle like
several others. The same is the case with Uzair a
prophet of the Jews. The priest have often been the
source of trouble in religion, to lead people astray,
and to grow rich at other's expense. It is to be
accepted that Islam is the Religion of truth, and
Muhammed is the Apostle of God, says the Qur'-
aan. Vide 171:4, 30 to 34:9, 27, 28:57 , 113:5.

Protestant preachers for Islam
On May 30, 1997, on the David
Frost program, Billy Gram
said: "...I think Islam is
misunderstood, too, because
Mohammed has a great respect
for Jesus, and he called Jesus
the greatest of the prophets
except himself. And I think that
we're closerto Islam than we
really think we are."
Evangelicals and Catholics:
Coming Together," The Day
Drawing Near (March 1999,
Vol. 1, No. 6), p. 2.

....Schuller did an interview with
Larry King.... Referring
to meeting with the Grand
Mufti, Schuller bragged: "I have
seldom met with a man [with -
D.H.] whom I felt an immediate
kinship of spirit and
an agreement of faith and
philosophy quite like I have with
the Grand Mufti of the [Muslim]
faith."
Dave Hunt, "A New
Christianity," The Berean Call
(Feb 2000), p.1.

Another Larry King interview on Christmas Eve 1999
King: [asking why he met the Grand Mufti] " And why are
you here?" The idea of bring the religions together, right?"
Schuller: "Absolutely.... We're in a totally new era.. the age of
being able to indoctrinate people is finished..."
King: "Does [this visit], Robert Schuller, give you
encouragement...?"
Schuller: Oh, absolutely...the Grand Mufti said...'religion is
like rain that falls....the extremists...pollute the pure water'...I
predict we're going to focus in the next millennium as
religious leaders to clean up the pollution in religion....
NOTE: Clean up the pollution. I wonder who the problem
children are, perhaps the ones that keep the
commandments?

The Pope for Islam
Here is a photo at
the end of an
audience with
Patriarch Raphael
I of Iraq, where
the pope "bowed"
to the Muslim holy
book, The Koran,
presented to him
by the delegation.

To all Muslims throughout the world, I wish to express the readiness of
the Catholic Church to work together with you and all people of good
will to aid the victims of the war and to build structures of a lasting peace,
not only in the Middle East, but everywher...
I close my greeting to you with the words of one of my predecessors Pope
Gregory VII, who in 1076 wrote to Al-Nasir, the Muslim ruler of Bijaya,
present day Algeria: “Almighty God, who wishes that all should be saved and
none lost, approves of nothing in us so much as that after loving him
one should love his fellow, and that what one does not want done to
oneself one should not do to others. You and we owe this charity to
ourselves especially because we believe in and confess one God,
admittedly in a different way and daily praise and venerate him, the Creator
of the world and Ruler of this world.”
i. Pope John Paul II, "Message of Pope John
Paul II to Muslims on Occasion of Id Al-Fitr,"
(April 3, 1991).

Pope John Paul II wrote this in 1999:
MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS ADORE THE ONE GOD
Like Christians and Jews, Muslims look upon
Abraham as a model of submission to God's will and
know that in God we find our origin and end...
Along the path marked out by Abraham in his submission
to the divine will, we find his descendant, the Blessed
Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, who is also devoutly
invoked by Muslims, especially in popular piety...
We Christians joyfully recognize the religious values
we have in common with Islam. Today I would like to
repeat what I said to young Muslims some years ago in
Casablanca: "We believe in the same God, the one
God, the living God, the God who created the world and
brings his creatures to their perfection" (Insegnamenti,
VIII/2, [1985], p. 497). The patrimony of revealed texts
in the Bible speaks unanimously of the oneness of God (
ii. L'Osservatore Romano (May, 12 1999): 11.

he became the first pope to visit an officially Islamic country at the invitation
of its religious leader.
There, at a historic meeting with thousands of Muslim youths in Casablanca
Stadium, he emphasized that "we believe in the same God, the one God,
the living God."
In May 2001, the pope became the first pontiff in history to enter a Muslim
place of worship when he visited the Umayyad mosque in Damascus,
Syria. He paused to pray at a memorial to St. John the Baptist inside
the mosque in an event that was televised around much of the Muslim
world.
Pope John Paul was convinced that prayer could bring believers together, an
idea that inspired the 1986 World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, Italy.
That unprecedented gathering at the pope's invitation drew leaders of
Jews, Buddhists, Shintoists, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Hindus,
Unitarians, traditional African and Native American religions and
many others. Together, under the roof of the Basilica of St. Francis,
they all prayed, side by side, with Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant
leaders for world peace (emphasis added).iv
iv. Pope made important overtures to non-
Christian religions By Jerry Filteau

Vatican - Islamic scheme backfires
“As time went by, the power of Islam became
tremendous…Jews and true Christians were
slaughtered, and Jerusalem fell into their hands.
Roman Catholics were never attacked, nor were their
shrines, during this time. But when the pope asked for
Jerusalem, he was surprised at their denial! The Arab
generals had such military success that they could not
be intimidated by the pope - nothing could stand in the
way of their own plan…. The pope raised up his
armies and called them crusades to hold back the
children of Ishmael from grabbing Catholic Europe.
The crusades lasted centuries and Jerusalem slipped
out of the pope’s hands.” – Ibid.

7 Trumpets and 3 Woes

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