The Three Angels' Messages Versus The Three Demons' Messages

as interpreted by Eugene Shubert

According to the last book of the New Testament there are three powerful endtime messages, which are represented symbolically as being proclaimed with a loud voice by three angels flying in midheaven (Revelation 14:6-12). Immediately after the preaching of these three startling messages, which are later powerfully validated by another angel and a voice from heaven (Revelation 18:1-8), there will then be an unimaginably great harvest of both good and evil (Revelation 14:14-20).

The purpose of this lecture is to disclose the quintessence of what shall fulfill this daring prophecy and to officially begin enlightening the world with the awesome heaven-sent truth that must be heard just before the world ends. The task of preaching the complete gospel of the three angels' messages and all its manifold implications will not be easy. Revelation 14:12 says it takes courage to do this. My inoffensive free-speech contribution shall be in revealing the proper context. The context of this gospel is to be viewed as God's response to the rapidly intensifying delusions that are bewitching men of power and influence to fight against Jesus Christ and His true followers (Revelation 19:11-21). These masterful delusions are in the world today:

"And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty" (Revelation 16:13-14).

The dragon is Satan. "And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him" (Revelation 12:9).

The reference to the three unclean spirits being like frogs means that these are deceiving spirits. Frogs catch their prey with their tongues. I shall refer to their messages as the first, second and third demon's message, respectively.

Continuing further requires a keen hermeneutic. My system of interpretation is based on two axioms:

1). The dragon, beast and false prophet are the powers that have been most greatly deceived by the three temptations described in Matthew 4:1-11, respectively, and these powers are exquisitely typecast by these temptations.

2). The three angels' messages (Revelation 14:14-20) are an antithesis to the three demons' messages, respectively.

Here are my theorems:

Theorem 1: Satan epitomizes self-worship (Ezekiel 28:1-19):

¹² "How you have fallen from heaven,

O star of the morning, son of the dawn!

You have been cut down to the earth,

You who have weakened the nations!

¹³ "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven;

I will raise my throne above the stars of God,

And I will sit on the mount of assembly

In the recesses of the north.

¹⁴ 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.'

Not surprisingly therefore, Satan's advice is that we are to serve ourselves and put ourselves first.

Matthew 4
¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." ⁴ But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

The spirit seen coming out of the dragon is the spirit of the dragon.

The sign of the dragon spirit, in part, is the very popular philosophy of Ayn Rand, which declares: "Altruism is evil."

I truly love this other wonderfully great rebuttal to the first demon's message:

Philippians 2

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
⁶Who, being in very nature God,
   did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death ---
    even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

For the atheist who is incapable of being moved by the Spirit or arguments from Scripture, I cite Christopher Hitchens' comical criticisms of the writings of Ayn Rand:

"I'm invited to be unpleasant at the expense of Ayn Rand and Objectivism. Well, that's easy. Well, they're novels...

"I care very much about literature as the place where real dilemmas--ethical dilemma--are met and dealt with. So to have novels as transcendently awful as Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead sort of undermines my project."

"I don't think that there is any need to have essays advocating selfishness among human beings. I don't know what your impression has been but some things require no further reinforcement."

"So to have a book strenuously recommending that people be more self-centered seems to me, as the Anglican Church used to say in its critique of Catholicism, a work of supererogation. It's too strenuous." [1].

For scholars, some might also find the opinions of other distinguished critics as equally worthy of consideration:

The first angel's message is the antithesis of the dragon's thesis. So the dragon says more than what I've covered so far. Here are other signs of the dragon spirit:

A London bus carrying the Atheist Bus Campaign advertising

Spiritualism is also a Sign of the First Demon's Message

The Quintessence of Spiritualism

If there were no other evidence of the real character of spiritualism, it should be enough for the Christian that the spirits make no difference between righteousness and sin. ... Satan says to the world: "No matter how wicked you are; no matter whether you believe or disbelieve God and the Bible. Live as you please; heaven is your home." The spiritualist teachers virtually declare: "Everyone that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?" Malachi 2:17. --The Great Controversy, pp. 556-557.

Dr. Eben Alexander, a Harvard neurosurgeon, received this message to take back with him from his dead sister in heaven: "You are loved, you are cherished, there is nothing you have to fear, there is nothing you can do wrong." cf. [2].

The First Angel's Message

The Second Demon's Message

The spirit seen coming out of the beast is the spirit of the beast. What is the nature of the beast? The beast is like a chameleon. Its nature is to assume the character that will best accomplish its purpose.

Revelation 13
¹ And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.

Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. ² And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.

The sign of the beast spirit

Historically, the power that has tested the Lord God the most and adapted and conformed best to its pagan surroundings to further its own self-serving purposes is the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.

Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, "the mystery of iniquity" carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work. Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under paganism. But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and His apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions. 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. --The Great Controversy, pp. 49-50. [3].

This compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the development of "the man of sin" foretold in prophecy as opposing and exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of false religion is a masterpiece of Satan's power--a monument of his efforts to seat himself upon the throne to rule the earth according to his will. -- ibid, p. 50.

It is one of the leading doctrines of Romanism that the pope is the visible head of the universal church of Christ, invested with supreme authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world. More than this, the pope has been given the very titles of Deity. He has been styled "Lord God the Pope" (see Appendix), and has been declared infallible. He demands the homage of all men. -- ibid, p. 50.

Satan well knew that the Holy Scriptures would enable men to discern his deceptions and withstand his power. It was by the word that even the Saviour of the world had resisted his attacks. At every assault, Christ presented the shield of eternal truth, saying, "It is written." To every suggestion of the adversary, He opposed the wisdom and power of the word. In order for Satan to maintain his sway over men, and establish the authority of the papal usurper, he must keep them in ignorance of the Scriptures. The Bible would exalt God and place finite men in their true position; therefore its sacred truths must be concealed and suppressed. This logic was adopted by the Roman Church. For hundreds of years the circulation of the Bible was prohibited. The people were forbidden to read it or to have it in their houses, and unprincipled priests and prelates interpreted its teachings to sustain their pretensions. Thus the pope came to be almost universally acknowledged as the vicegerent of God on earth, endowed with authority over church and state. -- ibid, p. 51.

The detector of error having been removed, Satan worked according to his will. Prophecy had declared that the papacy was to "think to change times and laws." Daniel 7:25. This work it was not slow to attempt. To afford converts from heathenism a substitute for the worship of idols, and thus to promote their nominal acceptance of Christianity, the adoration of images and relics was gradually introduced into the Christian worship. The decree of a general council (see Appendix) finally established this system of idolatry. To complete the sacrilegious work, Rome presumed to expunge from the law of God the second commandment, forbidding image worship, and to divide the tenth commandment, in order to preserve the number. -- ibid, pp. 51-52.

The spirit of concession to paganism opened the way for a still further disregard of Heaven's authority. Satan, working through unconsecrated leaders of the church, tampered with the fourth commandment also, and essayed to set aside the ancient Sabbath, the day which God had blessed and sanctified (Genesis 2:2,3), and in its stead to exalt the festival observed by the heathen as "the venerable day of the sun." -- ibid, p. 52.

In the early part of the fourth century the emperor Constantine issued a decree making Sunday a public festival throughout the Roman Empire. (See Appendix.) The day of the sun was reverenced by his pagan subjects and was honored by Christians; it was the emperor's policy to unite the conflicting interests of heathenism and Christianity. He was urged to do this by the bishops of the church, who, inspired by ambition and thirst for power, perceived that if the same day was observed by both Christians and heathen, it would promote the nominal acceptance of Christianity by pagans and thus advance the power and glory of the church. -- ibid, p. 53.

The archdeceiver had not completed his work. He was resolved to gather the Christian world under his banner and to exercise his power through his vicegerent, the proud pontiff who claimed to be the representative of Christ. Through half-converted pagans, ambitious prelates, and world-loving churchmen he accomplished his purpose. Vast councils were held from time to time, in which the dignitaries of the church were convened from all the world. In nearly every council the Sabbath which God had instituted was pressed down a little lower, while the Sunday was correspondingly exalted. Thus the pagan festival came finally to be honored as a divine institution, while the Bible Sabbath was pronounced a relic of Judaism, and its observers were declared to be accursed. -- ibid, p. 53.

The great apostate had succeeded in exalting himself "above all that is called God, or that is worshiped." 2 Thessalonians 2:4. He had dared to change the only precept of the divine law that unmistakably points all mankind to the true and living God. In the fourth commandment, God is revealed as the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and is thereby distinguished from all false gods. It was as a memorial of the work of creation that the seventh day was sanctified as a rest day for man. It was designed to keep the living God ever before the minds of men as the source of being and the object of reverence and worship. Satan strives to turn men from their allegiance to God, and from rendering obedience to His law; therefore he directs his efforts especially against that commandment which points to God as the Creator. -- ibid, pp. 53-54.

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. And now began the 1260 years of papal oppression foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation. Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5-7. (See Appendix.) Christians were forced to choose either to yield their integrity and accept the papal ceremonies and worship, or to wear away their lives in dungeons or suffer death by the rack, the fagot, or the headsman's ax. -- ibid, p. 54.

The accession of the Roman Church to power marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. As her power increased, the darkness deepened. Faith was transferred from Christ, the true foundation, to the pope of Rome. Instead of trusting in the Son of God for forgiveness of sins and for eternal salvation, the people looked to the pope, and to the priests and prelates to whom he delegated authority. They were taught that the pope was their earthly mediator and that none could approach God except through him; and, further, that he stood in the place of God to them and was therefore to be implicitly obeyed. A deviation from his requirements was sufficient cause for the severest punishment to be visited upon the bodies and souls of the offenders. Thus the minds of the people were turned away from God to fallible, erring, and cruel men, nay, more, to the prince of darkness himself, who exercised his power through them. Sin was disguised in a garb of sanctity. When the Scriptures are suppressed, and man comes to regard himself as supreme, we need look only for fraud, deception, and debasing iniquity. With the elevation of human laws and traditions was manifest the corruption that ever results from setting aside the law of God. -- ibid, p. 55.

Those were days of peril for the church of Christ. The faithful standard-bearers were few indeed. Though the truth was not left without witnesses, yet at times it seemed that error and superstition would wholly prevail, and true religion would be banished from the earth. The gospel was lost sight of, but the forms of religion were multiplied, and the people were burdened with rigorous exactions. -- ibid, p. 55.

They were taught not only to look to the pope as their mediator, but to trust to works of their own to atone for sin. Long pilgrimages, acts of penance, the worship of relics, the erection of churches, shrines, and altars, the payment of large sums to the church--these and many similar acts were enjoined to appease the wrath of God or to secure His favor; as if God were like men, to be angered at trifles, or pacified by gifts or acts of penance! -- ibid, pp. 55-56.

Notwithstanding that vice prevailed, even among the leaders of the Roman Church, her influence seemed steadily to increase. About the close of the eighth century, papists put forth the claim that in the first ages of the church the bishops of Rome had possessed the same spiritual power which they now assumed. To establish this claim, some means must be employed to give it a show of authority; and this was readily suggested by the father of lies. Ancient writings were forged by monks. Decrees of councils before unheard of were discovered, establishing the universal supremacy of the pope from the earliest times. And a church that had rejected the truth greedily accepted these deceptions. (See Appendix.) -- ibid, p. 56.

The darkness seemed to grow more dense. Image worship became more general. Candles were burned before images, and prayers were offered to them. The most absurd and superstitious customs prevailed. The minds of men were so completely controlled by superstition that reason itself seemed to have lost its sway. While priests and bishops were themselves pleasure-loving, sensual, and corrupt, it could only be expected that the people who looked to them for guidance would be sunken in ignorance and vice. -- ibid, p. 57.

Another step in papal assumption was taken, when, in the eleventh century, Pope Gregory VII proclaimed the perfection of the Roman Church. Among the propositions which he put forth was one declaring that the church had never erred, nor would it ever err, according to the Scriptures. But the Scripture proofs did not accompany the assertion. The proud pontiff also claimed the power to depose emperors, and declared that no sentence which he pronounced could be reversed by anyone, but that it was his prerogative to reverse the decisions of all others. (See Appendix.) -- ibid, p. 57.

The advancing centuries witnessed a constant increase of error in the doctrines put forth from Rome. Even before the establishment of the papacy the teachings of heathen philosophers had received attention and exerted an influence in the church. Many who professed conversion still clung to the tenets of their pagan philosophy, and not only continued its study themselves, but urged it upon others as a means of extending their influence among the heathen. Serious errors were thus introduced into the Christian faith. Prominent among these was the belief in man's natural immortality and his consciousness in death. This doctrine laid the foundation upon which Rome established the invocation of saints and the adoration of the Virgin Mary. From this sprang also the heresy of eternal torment for the finally impenitent, which was early incorporated into the papal faith. -- ibid, p. 58.

Then the way was prepared for the introduction of still another invention of paganism, which Rome named purgatory, and employed to terrify the credulous and superstitious multitudes. By this heresy is affirmed the existence of a place of torment, in which the souls of such as have not merited eternal damnation are to suffer punishment for their sins, and from which, when freed from impurity, they are admitted to heaven. (See Appendix.) -- ibid, pp. 58-59.

Still another fabrication was needed to enable Rome to profit by the fears and the vices of her adherents. This was supplied by the doctrine of indulgences. Full remission of sins, past, present, and future, and release from all the pains and penalties incurred, were promised to all who would enlist in the pontiff's wars to extend his temporal dominion, to punish his enemies, or to exterminate those who dared deny his spiritual supremacy. The people were also taught that by the payment of money to the church they might free themselves from sin, and also release the souls of their deceased friends who were confined in the tormenting flames. By such means did Rome fill her coffers and sustain the magnificence, luxury, and vice of the pretended representatives of Him who had not where to lay His head. (See Appendix.) -- ibid, p. 59.

The Scriptural ordinance of the Lord's Supper had been supplanted by the idolatrous sacrifice of the mass. Papal priests pretended, by their senseless mummery, to convert the simple bread and wine into the actual "body and blood of Christ." --Cardinal Wiseman, The Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Eucharist, Proved From Scripture, lecture 8, sec. 3, par. 26. With blasphemous presumption, they openly claimed the power of creating God, the Creator of all things. Christians were required, on pain of death, to avow their faith in this horrible, Heaven-insulting heresy. Multitudes who refused were given to the flames. (See Appendix.) -- ibid, p. 59.

In the thirteenth century was established that most terrible of all the engines of the papacy--the Inquisition. The prince of darkness wrought with the leaders of the papal hierarchy. In their secret councils Satan and his angels controlled the minds of evil men, while unseen in the midst stood an angel of God, taking the fearful record of their iniquitous decrees and writing the history of deeds too horrible to appear to human eyes. "Babylon the great" was "drunken with the blood of the saints." The mangled forms of millions of martyrs cried to God for vengeance upon that apostate power. -- ibid, pp. 59-60.

Popery had become the world's despot. Kings and emperors bowed to the decrees of the Roman pontiff. The destinies of men, both for time and for eternity, seemed under his control. For hundreds of years the doctrines of Rome had been extensively and implicitly received, its rites reverently performed, its festivals generally observed. Its clergy were honored and liberally sustained. Never since has the Roman Church attained to greater dignity, magnificence, or power.-- ibid, p. 60.

But "the noon of the papacy was the midnight of the world." -- J. A. Wylie, The History of Protestantism, b. 1, ch. 4. The Holy Scriptures were almost unknown, not only to the people, but to the priests. Like the Pharisees of old, the papal leaders hated the light which would reveal their sins. God's law, the standard of righteousness, having been removed, they exercised power without limit, and practiced vice without restraint. Fraud, avarice, and profligacy prevailed. Men shrank from no crime by which they could gain wealth or position. The palaces of popes and prelates were scenes of the vilest debauchery. Some of the reigning pontiffs were guilty of crimes so revolting that secular rulers endeavored to depose these dignitaries of the church as monsters too vile to be tolerated. For centuries Europe had made no progress in learning, arts, or civilization. A moral and intellectual paralysis had fallen upon Christendom. -- ibid, p. 60.

Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: The uncontested, indisputable examples of Roman Catholic excesses, which are unusually outrageous and numerous, compel us to acknowledge an irrefutable conclusion: Theorem 2-1: The papacy epitomizes unparalleled presumption and the minimal principle.

The papacy is the epitome of presumptuousness

The Minimal Principle:

A prayerful study of the Bible would show Protestants the real character of the papacy and would cause them to abhor and to shun it; but many are so wise in their own conceit that they feel no need of humbly seeking God that they may be led into the truth. Although priding themselves on their enlightenment, they are ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. They must have some means of quieting their consciences, and they seek that which is least spiritual and humiliating. What they desire is a method of forgetting God which shall pass as a method of remembering Him. The papacy is well adapted to meet the wants of all these. It is prepared for two classes of mankind, embracing nearly the whole world--those who would be saved by their merits, and those who would be saved in their sins. Here is the secret of its power. --The Great Controversy, p. 572.

Popery is the religion of human nature, and the mass of humanity love a doctrine that permits them to commit sin, and yet frees them from its consequences. People must have some form of religion, and this religion, formed by human device, and yet claiming divine authority, suits the carnal mind. Men who think themselves wise and intelligent turn away in pride from the standard of righteousness, the ten commandments, and do not think it is in harmony with their dignity to inquire into the ways of God. Therefore they go into false ways, into forbidden paths, become self-sufficient, self inflated, after the pattern of the pope, not after the pattern of Jesus Christ. They must have the form of religion that has the least requirement of spirituality and self-denial, and as unsanctified human wisdom will not lead them to loathe popery, they are naturally drawn toward its provisions and doctrines. They do not want to walk in the ways of the Lord. They are altogether too much enlightened to seek God prayerfully and humbly, with an intelligent knowledge of his word. Not caring to know the ways of the Lord, their minds are all open to delusions, all ready to accept and believe a lie. They are willing to have the most unreasonable, most inconsistent falsehoods palmed off upon them as truth. -- Signs of the Times, February 19, 1894.

What is the Connection Between Babylon and the Beast?

1. The woman rides the beast (Revelation 17).

2. Babylon is characterized as having extraordinary pride (Revelation 18). The second temptation, which is the belief that we can sin with impunity, is virtually the boastful pride of life (1 John 2:16 cf. Luke 4:1-13).

3. Babylon is a counterfeit city. Presumption is a counterfeit faith.

Babylon the Great Counterfeit

Theorem 2-2:

Babylon (the mother of the prostitutes of the beast) is the counterfeit of the city/people of God. Similarly, the foundation of Babylon consists of seven blasphemous kings. And these are a counterfeit of the twelve apostles.

 Proof:

Just note the obviously intended parallels:

The Lord through the prophet Isaiah said: "Awake, awake, Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion; Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the Holy city" (Isaiah 52:1). "O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, Behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies, and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones" (Isaiah 54:11,12).

The Second Angel's Message

Revelation 14
⁸ And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality."

The Third Demon's Message

The spirit seen coming out of the false prophet is the spirit of the false prophet. The sign of this spirit is a vision of world control. By axiom 1, the false prophet epitomizes the lust of the eyes (1 John 2:16 cf. Luke 4:1-13) and is characterized magnificently as the veritable embodiment of yielding to the third temptation to an unprecedented degree.

In every age of the world, there has been an elite class that has cherished the same unchanging, long-lived spirit. Adam Smith understood this spirit back in 1776. He called it "the vile maxim of the masters of mankind" and summed up this vile maxim as "All for ourselves, and nothing for other people."

Revelation 13
¹¹ Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.

There is only one world superpower at the present time. If the Second Coming is near at hand, then this power must be our two-horned corporate state, the currently existing fusion of mega corporations (the Fortune 500) and government as described in the propaganda model of Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky.

Developments within the United States over the years have often foreshadowed what is going to happen pretty soon in other industrial societies in the state capitalist world.

That world, in fact the whole world, is of course always changing, but there are significant continuities and they're worth bearing in mind. One continuity is that those who control the economic life of a country also tend to have overwhelming influence over state policy. That should be a truism taught in elementary school. It was formed succinctly by Adam Smith in words that I've quoted before but are important enough to repeat. He, speaking of Britain of course, wrote that the principle architects of policy are the owners of the society, in his day the merchants and manufacturers, "the masters of mankind" as he called them. And they insure that state policy serves their interest, however grievous the effect on others, including the domestic population, but primarily the victims of what he called their savage injustice abroad, and India was his prime example. That was early in the days of the destruction of India.

Today the masters of mankind are multinational corporations and financial institutions, but the lesson still applies and it helps explain why the state-corporate complex is indeed a threat to freedom and in fact even survival. By now there are important elaborations of Smith's truism applied to the modern world. The most significant and sophisticated version that I know is by political economist Thomas Ferguson, what he calls his investment theory of politics which in brief, simplified, simply views U.S. elections as occasions in which the coalitions of private investors coalesce to invest to control the state. It turns out to be a thesis of quite predictive success over more than a century as he shows. -- Noam Chomsky, The State-Corporate Complex: A Threat to Freedom and Survival  [4], [5].

Subversion of democracy by concentrations of private power is, of course, familiar: mainstream commentators casually observe that "business is in complete control of the machinery of government" (Robert Reich), echoing Woodrow Wilson's observation, days before he took office, that "the masters of the government of the United States are the combined capitalists and manufacturers of the United States." -- Noam Chomsky, Failed States, pp. 205-206.

There is no doubt that our state-corporate complex is remarkably hypocritical and is not to be believed. [6], [7], [8], [9], [10].

Monsanto is Evil

The FDA is a big front for the pharmaceutical industry

http://www.gwenolsen.com/

Dragons are notoriously murderous (Revelation 12)

Prescription Drugs Injure, Kill 2-4 Million Annually

http://truthbarrier.com

The Madness of Christian Leaders Endorsing the use of Zidovudine (AZT)

[11]

The duplicity of appearing lamblike while speaking like a dragon:

The first demon's message is that there is no judgment. There are no restraints. We are to serve ourselves and put ourselves first. Astonishingly, in the next video, it is revealed that Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, doesn't believe that fraud should be regulated:

Watch The Warning on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

As prophesied, the false prophet speaks like a dragon. Here is Mitt Romney, taped secretly during his 2012 Presidential campaign, siding with the masters of mankind in their contempt of the poor by virtually repeating Satan's lie that 47% of Americans are leeches and useless eaters:

Ironically, Mitt Romney received 47% of the popular vote and lives like a self-serving parasite:

"Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitter of heart.
Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more." Proverbs 31:6-7.

Is The War on Drugs "All About the Money"?

Here is the same astounding message in a larger context:

[12], [13], [14], ...

By early 2003, studies revealed that fear of the United States had reached remarkable heights throughout the world, along with distrust of the political leadership. Dismissal of elementary human rights and needs was matched by a display of contempt for democracy for which no parallel comes easily to mind, accompanied by professions of sincere dedication to human rights and democracy. -- Noam Chomsky, Hegemony or survival: America's quest for global dominance, p. 4. [15].

9/11: Explosive Evidence - Experts Speak Out

Unanswered questions remain, such as which governments were manufacturing Nano-thermite in 2001 and what influences prevented a thorough background investigation on 9/11 of the security and maintenance personnel and management at Building 7 and the Twin Towers? And related to suspicious motives for war, why isn't George W. Bush being prosecuted for murder and allowed to plea-bargain so that we can learn something about the shadow government he was serving while President of the United States?

¹² And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

According to verse 15, the worship of the first beast is achieved by worshiping its image.

¹³ He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. ¹⁴ And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.

The power of the false prophet to deceive is unimaginably great. A truly demonic spirit must be behind it.

William Pepper
An Act of State: The execution of Martin Luther King

Hugo Chavez -- Paul Craig Roberts

The body of the false prophet is also guided by a vision of world control. It has already set up the image to the beast, which is the Zionist State of Israel. The next video shows the United States Congress paying homage to Israel through 29 incredibly disgraceful displays of sycophantic applause.

Many Christians worship the image to the beast with even greater devotion and unparalleled admiration. It is the character and self-serving principles of the Zionist State that apostate Christians greatly love and idolize. Consider the audacity required to defraud an entire nation for a people that God has cursed. [16]. The evil is justified by the papal principle of presumption. Even more frightening is that the miraculous power of the false prophet to deceive has intensified to such a degree that the minds of many Christians are now absolutely mesmerized and delighted by a horrific vision of what true Christianity should be.

In this version of the Christian Gospel, the exploitation and abuse of other human beings is a good. ... And this global, heartless system of economic rationalism has morphed in the rhetoric of the Christian Right into a test of faith. The ideology it espouses is a radical evil, an ideology of death. It calls for wanton destruction, destruction of human beings, of the environment, of communities and neighborhoods, of labor unions, of a free press, of Iraqis, Palestinians or others in the Middle East who would deny us oil fields and hegemony, of federal regulatory agencies, social welfare programs, public education--in short, the destruction of all people and programs that stand in the way of a Christian America and its God-given right to dominate the rest of the planet. The movement offers, in return, the absurd but seductive promise that those who are right with God will rise to become spiritual and material oligarchs. They will become the new class. Those who are not right with God, be they poor or Muslim or unsaved, deserve what they get. In the rational world none of this makes sense. But believers have been removed from a reality-based world. They believe that through Jesus all is possible. It has become a Christian duty to embrace the exploitation of others, to build a Christian America where freedom means the freedom of the powerful to dominate the weak. Since believers see themselves as becoming empowered through faith, the gross injustices and repression that could boomerang back on most of them are of little concern. They assuage their consciences with the small acts of charity they or their churches dole out to the homeless or the mission fields. The emotion-filled religious spectacles and spiritual bromides compensate for the emptiness of their lives. They are energized by hate campaigns against gays or Muslims or liberals or immigrants. They walk willingly into a totalitarian prison they are helping to construct. They yearn for it. They work for it with passion, self-sacrifice and a blinding self-righteousness. "Evil when we are in its power is not felt as evil but as a necessity, or even a duty," Simone Weil wrote in Gravity and Grace. And it is the duty of the Christian foot soldiers to bring about the Christian utopia. When it is finished, when all have been stripped of legal and social protection, it will be too late to resist. This is the genius of totalitarian movements. They convince the masses to agitate for their own incarceration. -- Chris Hedges, American Fascists, pp. 146-147.

If you want to go to heaven, you had better get busy overthrowing Syria -- Paul Craig Roberts

Theorem 3-1: Christian Zionists are defending the murderous Zionist regime with pride and absolute contemptuousness for their victims, in the same way that Medieval Catholics defended the papacy. [17]. Scripture identifies their mindset as worship:

And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?" There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Revelation 13:3-6.

How is Zionism an image of the beast? The Greek word for image in Revelation 13:14 is the same Greek word that Christ used in reference to a coin that everyone knew had the likeness of Caesar on it, which Christ used to illustrate His point about rendering to Caesar what belongs to Caesar (Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26). Consequently, the image of the beast must capture the most distinguishing feature of the beast.

Image. Gr. eikōn, "a likeness," "an image." In 2 Cor. 4:4 and Col. 1:15 Christ is spoken of as the eikōn of God. It is the purpose of the plan of salvation to transform man into the eikōn of Christ. An eikōn implies an archetype and in many respects is like its archetype.

An image to the first beast would be an organization functioning on much the same principles as that beast's organization. -- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol 7. p. 821.

The similarity between the Zionist State and the Vatican State is indisputable and clear. In Catholicism, salvation is as easy as praying the Rosary and buying indulgences. In Zionism, salvation is attained through the same mediocre level of works righteousness. The foundation of Catholicism is the freedom to sin with impunity. Zionists are blessed with unconditional salvation. These are remarkably similar concepts.

Consequently, the Zionist State is a colossal monument to presumption. It is certainly more than an abominable image that has been set up with worldwide approval. [18]. Zionism is an institution that embodies on a national level the appalling unbiblical belief in the unmerited, unconditional salvation of the once favored Old Testament people of God, "once-saved, always-saved." That's a striking similarity to the trademark presumptuousness of the papacy.

How is worshiping the character of the Zionist State the same as worshiping the papacy? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Flattery is praise and praise is worship. If we praise A that is imitating or praising B, then we are also praising B.

¹⁵ He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

The image of the beast will get livelier and will call for the death of those who refuse to worship it.

Theorem 3-2: Since the United States is masking all its current wars of conquest under the pretense of national security, and since the quintessence of terrorism is aggressive and/or belligerent opposition to the acts of genocide by the Zionist State of Israel [19], [20], [21], [22], then it's reasonable to conclude that we're not far from a State mandated loyalty oath to the abominable Zionist image.

If the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is already intimidating US citizens with threats of indefinite detention for the bogus crime of belligerent opposition to war, genocide and the ever increasing progress toward the eventual extermination of the Palestinians by the Zionist State of Israel [23], [24], [25], [26], [27], [28], then why can't there be a forthcoming law that forbids buying and selling for those who refuse to revere the Zionist State of Israel?

Clearly, Roman Catholicism and Zionism are unalterable institutions that are not based on truth but share a powerful instinct for self-preservation. Thus their foundational faith is that of eternal security. The nature of the false prophet is also unchangeable and evil since it is plainly evident that whenever its evil policies are exposed and challenged, it defends itself vociferously and, with a dragon's roar, it cites the doctrine of eternal national security. The following are signs of what must be fulfilled to a fantastic degree, in the very near future, for those who refuse to revere the appropriate image.

"One of the major reasons for government secrecy is to protect the government from its own population." --- Noam Chomsky.

WikiLeaks cables reveal "profound hatred for democracy on the part of our political leadership." --- Noam Chomsky.

The Efforts of the Mark of the Beast Maker to Stupefy and Control

Unquestionably therefore, the false prophet wishes that we all become passive, apathetic and obedient. That's the ultimate meaning and purpose of why we are continually being propagandized and systematically urged, slowly but surely, to worship an inglorious image. The false prophet's aim is to make us willing conformists as it seeks to take over the world. The strategy of the false prophet is not difficult to ascertain. It is clearly revealed in Scripture that worshiping idols has a stupefying effect.

2 Kings 17:15
They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the LORD had ordered them, "Do not do as they do."

We Should Aspire to be Like Christ and Reject the Antichrist

To have the name of the beast means to have the same character as the beast. Names in Scripture express a character trait (Genesis 32:26-28).

To receive the mark of the beast means being complicit in thought or actions with all the demon-inspired world forces of oppression and darkness. It doesn't matter if what you advocate is sincere or not. The "mark of the beast" can be received either on the forehead or on the right hand (Revelation 13:16). The forehead represents the mind. The hand represents a person's actions. Those who venture beyond God's forbearance and choose to be willfully deceived or end up spurning the Spirit of truth get sealed with a mark on the forehead. However, those who are mostly conformists to power systems and choose to support monstrous evil out of cowardice and expediency get sealed with a mark on the right hand.

Most Intellectuals Are Slavishly Conformist To Power

¹⁸ Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

For the number of the beast and the archetypical antichrist (Revelation 17:9-11), see The Quintessence of the Meaning of 666.

The Third Angel's Message

Revelation 14
⁹ Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." ¹² Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

With a loud voice we have been warned to not praise antichrist, the spirit of antichrist or any likeness of antichrist, and not be complicit in his crimes. The punishment for disobedience to this law of God will be most unpleasant. [29].

Past Results Often Reveal Future Performance

Ultimately, in their purest and simplest form, the messages of the three angels have a common denominator. Apparently, the endtime requires a warning that proclaims the necessity to be entirely dependent on God and being completely distrustful of everything else.

In the third temptation, Satan wanted Christ to possess the world but to compromise with evil in order to receive it: Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

Likewise, the spirit of the false prophet encourages us to love the world and tempts us with promises of worldly blessings if we would only demonstrate our willingness to compromise. Ludwig Muller, in Nazi Germany, had a keen intuition on the third demon's message. From his understanding, and out of his loyalty to his Fuehrer and love for the principles of Nazism, Muller sought to Nazify the words of Christ. (Adolf Hitler appointed Ludwig Muller as Germany's Reich Bishop of the Protestant Church). Clearly, Christ's way for us to inherit the earth requires meekness. The Nazi method was through propaganda, blind obedience and military aggression.

Christ said, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). In his attempt to make a perfect German out of Jesus, Ludwig Muller, in his rewrite of Christ's Sermon on the Mount, replaced Christ's unalterable beatitude with "Blessed is the one who is a good comrade at all times. He will get on well in the world." [30].

I think it's interesting that the agendas of the three major political parties in the United States fall under the heading of the dragon, beast, and false prophet. The Libertarian platform is primarily the ideology and adoration of Ayn Rand's self-centered philosophy.

The Democratic Party is infamous for being spineless and accommodating. Do a google search for Democrats + spineless and see that the search counts about 1,230,000 results. This is a new development. And it is easy to see why the incredibly spineless character of the Democratic Party angers many Americans. The political leaders of the largest political Party in the United States no longer fight for the middle class and are too easily cajoled into imitating and following the Republicans. So my second point is correct. The Democratic Party is just like the Master Assimilating Chameleon, the archetypal pope of prophecy. For a nice little illustration of this, note that there are loyal Catholics that are absolutely disgusted with the cowardice of Pope Benedict XVI to denounce the atrocities committed by Israel. [31]. One might think that the leader of 1.2 billion people should display greater courage. But how could any pope ever denounce a true image of himself? By all indications therefore, Benedict XVI is a marvelously authentic representative of the papal hierarchy--and the Democratic Party also--and thus obviously typifies the most exemplary citizen of the New World order.

Republicans are frequently characterized as being both hypocritical and evil. So the three great evils of Revelation really do dominate the American political system.

What is especially interesting is that these three political powers, like the three personifications of evil, are beginning to consolidate. Mitt Romney, the Republican Presidential Candidate for 2012, named the ultra-right-wing Ayn Rand devotee, Paul Ryan, as his choice for Vice President.

Modified May 19, 2013

Daniel | The Literary and Prophetic Structure of Revelation 2 and 3 | Revelation

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