The Unbiblical Origin of St. Valentine's Day

Here we are again ── another civic year, and another St. Valentine’s Day. If you are a true Christian, should you be celebrating February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day?

Our beloved apostle John was inspired to write ──

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16) For all that is in the world ── the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life ── is not of the Father but is of the world. 17) And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” – 1 John 2:15-17.

Truly, St. Valentine’s Day is a worldly holiday. It was essentially built upon “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” The true origin of St. Valentine’s Day is outside of God’s living word ── the Holy Bible.

True Christians who might be tempted to compromise should ask themselves whether the origins of St. Valentine’s Day are biblical or pagan.

This is a subject that I researched in my youth, and it wasn’t too hard to figure out.

Notice this from The World Book Encyclopedia (Valentine’s Day. Volume 20. 1993, pg. 261) ──

“The ancient Romans held the festival of Lupercalia on February 15 to ensure protection from wolves. During this celebration, young men struck people with strips of animal hide. Women took the blows because they thought that the whipping made them more fertile. After the Romans conquered Britain in AD 43, the British borrowed many Roman festivals. Many writers link the festival of Lupercalia with Valentine’s Day because of the similar date and the connection with fertility.”

The online Encyclopedia Britannica (Valentine's Day) says  ──

“ … … the holiday has origins in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, held in mid-February. The festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery. At the end of the 5th century Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine's Day.”

Also, this pagan being named Cupid (a son of Venus) was also involved. According to a book I have in my library - Bulfinch's Mythology The Complete Texts - it states ──

“Cupid. The god of love in Roman mythology (Lat. cupido, desire, passion), is identified with the Greek Eros; son of Mercury and Venus. He is represented as a winged boy, carrying a bow and arrows. One legend says that he wets with blood the grindstone on which he sharpens his arrows.”

(Bulfinch's Mythology, Bulfinch, T., Cupid - Dictionary and Index, Crown Publishers, Inc., © 1979, pg. 897).

Does this St. Valentine’s Day sound to you like a holy festival of love or a pagan holiday of lust?

A very bold source writes ──

“The pagan celebrations were reworked to fit the martyr theme—after all, early and medieval Christianity did not approve of rituals that encouraged sexuality. Instead of pulling girls’ names from boxes, it is believed that both boys and girls chose the names of martyred saints from a box. It wasn’t until the 14th century that customs returned to celebrations of love and life rather than faith and death. …

As with so many other holidays that have pagan roots, divination came to play an important role in the development of modern Valentine’s Day. People looked to all sorts of things, primarily in nature, to find some sign of who might become their mate for life—their One True Love. There were also, of course, all sorts of things which came to be used to induce love or lust.”

(Cline, A., Valentine's Day: Religious Origins and Background, 31 Jan. 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2025).

St. Valentine’s Day is from pagan sources and the Roman Catholic Church modified it and the majority of Protestant daughter churches have embraced it, which is why some Europeans also declare it to be a day of birds mating ── as this Catholic Standard article states.

Lupercalia was associated with various Roman “love gods and goddesses,” such as Juno Februata, Eros, Cupid, Kama, and Priapus.

Notice this from the Leftist Wikipedia ──

“ … … an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. A daughter of Saturn, she is the wife of Jupiter and the mother of Mars, … As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman Empire, Juno was called Regina (“Queen”) and was a member of the Capitoline Triad. … The last of her yearly festivals was that of Juno Sospita on February 1. … Hence the community invoked the protection (tutela) of the warlike Juno Sospita, “The Saviour.”

A holiday for the queen of heaven?

What does God’s living word say concerning this? ──

“ ‘... the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. 19) Do they provoke Me to anger?’ says the LORD. ‘Do they not provoke themselves to the shame of their own faces?’ 20) Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place - on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will BURN and not be quenched’” - Jeremiah 7:18-20.

“This says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.’ You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!’

26) Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah [and might I say all the house of Israel] … ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah [or even in the house of Israel] in the land of Egypt [even spiritual Egypt], saying, ‘The Lord GOD lives.’ 27) BEHOLD, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. ... [they] shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them’” - Jeremiah 44:25-27.

Friends, whether St. Valentine’s Day was the Feast of Lupercus/ Lupercalia or a celebration of a “Queen of Heaven,” a Roman goddess named Juno, or any other pagan festival ── it is NOT listed as one of the “feasts of the LORD” – see: Leviticus 23:1-44.

This world’s modern practice of giving Valentine’s Day cards or candies, or asking someone to “Be My Valentine” appears to be directly connected from an ancient “sexual lottery.”

NO ONE who professes our Lord Jesus of Nazareth as our Savior should celebrate and observe February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day, or Lupercalia for that matter. It began as a sexual lottery and continues to have lustful connotations ── even in this 21st-century world.

Even modern scholars and historians have come to see this ── shouldn’t you as well? □

Who or What Is the Beast That Rises Up Out of the Bottomless Pit?

WHO or WHAT is this “beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition”? – Revelation 13 and 17.

The LORD God is speaking concerning a great universal church that has greatly influenced this world.

Revelation 17:1 – “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great [whore] who sits on many waters, ...’”

This ‘great whore’ is universal. Around the world.

Verse 2 – “’ with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’ 3) So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”

The seven resurrections of the “Holy” Roman Empire. The final resurrection of ten kings or kingdoms (kingdoms as the LORD God sees kingdoms).

Verse 4 – “The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, ...”

What do the colors purple and scarlet remind you of? Harlotry and the colors of the great universal church ── the Roman Catholic Church.

“...and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5) And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS [the Mother of prostrating daughters], AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6) I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.”

And this phrase here, “the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints.” The Catholic Church’s willingness to shed blood.

A Book About the Kingdom of Israel

God’s living word──the Holy Bible──is primarily an inspired Book about one man’s family – that of Abraham. But, it’s also a Book about the chosen nation of Israel and the nations that come into direct contact with the nation of Israel.

Before the great Flood, we do not know if there were “nations,” “kingdoms,” or “city-states.” However, not long after the great Flood, Nimrod (a mighty hunter against the LORD) founded the city-states of Babylon – see: Genesis 10:8-12.

As early as 4000 B.C. – the most ancient civilization which began in the Tigris-Euphrates valley was formerly called the Babylonian-Assyrian civilization. And by about 605 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar II had founded the first world empire or Union of Nations.

Incredibly, God’s living word reveals to us the history and prophecy of the gentile world empires──beginning with King Nebuchadnezzar II and onto the glorious and powerful Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ──as well as the history and future prophecy concerning Israel.

Again, Who or What is this mysterious “beast” of Revelation 13 and 17? Because, if you have this “mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” you will ‘share in her sins, and will receive of her plagues.’ Is this “beast” a mysterious ruler that is yet to appear on the world scene? Is this “beast” an antichrist, or a church?

Its Image and Its Mark

A MOST IMPORTANT question for this 11:59 Hour is, What, or Who, is the ‘beast,’ the ‘image,’ and the ‘mark’ of this “beast”? You need to know.

It is those in this present ‘generation’ who shall be worshiping this “beast” or its image, and who have this “mark of the beast” who will suffer unspeakable tribulation!

And ignorance will not suffice. The LORD God says, “’ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. …’” – Hosea 4:6.

We, as watchmen, who see the “sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.” – Ezekiel 33:6. The LORD God expects us to be His “watchman” (Ezekiel 33:7) and to WARN HIS PEOPLE!

On November 6th, 2016, while I lay in my bed at night I had a dream, and behold: I was looking up at the clearest night sky I had ever seen before, filled with crystal clear bright shining stars. I watched the glistening of the stars until I heard a loud booming voice. It appeared to be the end of a conversation. The voice spoke, “They only have 10 years left.” The time is at hand! The wrath of God will soon be poured out upon a Godless, God-defying world, and a careless, lukewarm, indifferent false Christianity!

The apostle John──under the divine inspiration of the Spirit of God──describes for us a grave warning from the third angel: “’ If ANYONE worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his FOREHEAD or on his HAND, 10) he himself shall also drink of the wine of the WRATH OF GOD, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. …” – Revelation 14:9-10.

“...telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast ...” - Revelation 13:14.

So, the beast is the construct of the “Holy” Roman Empire. And the different manifestations of the Empire down through history. The Roman Catholic Church which has its roots in central Europe has always been organized just as the Roman Empire. And so when you read ‘the image to the beast,’ it’s referring to a spiritual or religious organization led by a so-called “holy” man constructed and designed in the very image of the Roman Empire.

Verse 15 – “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, ...” – meaning, this great so-called holy man becomes such a rock star. And you can think about even now, many places in Europe – I’m told, I’ve never been there – these great cathedrals have very few people who attend their services. Because the people right now aren’t very interested in it. But with this religious leader coming onto the scene with all of this ‘power to make lightning fall from the sky,” and other signs and wonders, that organization will become highly relevant. And this religious leader will become a rock star! And he will bring back celebrity status and power to that organization. That’s why it says, ‘He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast.’ “...that the image of the beast should both speak [which means papal announcements] and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” – so, there will become a requirement in Europe (keep this in mind)! This part of the prophecy is talking about what goes on inside of Europe! – primarily. Now, I’m sure there will be other people in other countries and other lands who will be sort of caught up in all of this enthusiasm. But, primarily these passages here are talking about what happens in a future Europe.

Verse 16 – “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and [bond], 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.”

There are quite a few places - Revelation 13:16- 17; Revelation 14:9-11; Revelation 15:2; Revelation 16:2; Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:4 that speak concerning the ‘mark of the beast.’

Now, the term ‘the mark’ – if you look up in your concordance or your lexicon under your Bible study helps – it describes an actual something. An actual thing – a symbol. It’s not a concept or an idea.

The identifying sign of the churches of false Christianity is the cross - from the time of the Roman Empire down to today. Back in the 1930s and 1940s Adolf Hitler had his swastika, or his “broken cross” or“ crooked cross.” But the “Holy” Roman Empire, and from the days of Emperor Constantine the Great, they have used the cross as the symbol of their religion.

But the people of Europe and the people of Western Christianity of the Western world use that mark to identify their religion! It’s an actual mark ── it’s an actual symbol. So, keep in mind–“to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads.”

And those same people–every time they have a prayer–they have to take their right hand, and they have to start at their forehead and they make a cross. And sometimes they’ll just make a cross on their forehead with their finger. THAT’S WHAT THE MARK OF THE BEAST IS!

Again, listen. The apostle John carried these horrible visions on into the terrible “Day of the Lord”! “And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. … So the FIRST went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men WHO HAD THE MARK OF THE BEAST and those who worshiped his image.” – Revelation 15:6; 16:2.

Truly, those who will suffer the full strength of the wrath of God are described as those who worship the “beast” or his “image,” and those who have his “mark.”

There is only one Way to learn the truth. And that is to study God’s living word carefully, methodically, prayerfully, with a mind led by the glorious Holy Spirit, along with all the testimonies and Scriptures that bear on this IMPORTANT SUBJECT.

Who is the Beast?

The “beast,” the “image,” and the “mark” are all primarily described for us in the 13th chapter of the Book of Revelation.

The apostle John was being given this message for you and me for this ‘generation.’ In these series of visions, he saw, this “beast rising up out of the sea, having SEVEN HEADS and TEN HORNS, and on his horns TEN CROWNS, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2) Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.” – Revelation 13:1-2. 

Truly, this description IDENTIFIES the “beast.”

All of these, of course, are symbols. The very word “beast” is symbolic. When we come to know what the heads, the horns, the feet of a bear, the mouth like a lion, and the likeness of a leopard are ──then we will come to know what, or who, the “beast” is.

Let us always understand this truth ──the living word of God always interprets itself. It interprets its own symbols. To properly understand GOD’S TRUTH on any subject, we must allow God’s living word to interpret itself and its own symbols!

Notice: God’s living word sets down for us a basic historical background ── a brief outline of FOUR GREAT CIVILIZATIONS:

1. Babylon – under King Nebuchadnezzar II and then King Belshazzar.
2. Medo/Persian Empire under King Darius I and King Cyrus II.
3. Greco/Macedonian Empire under King Alexander the Great.
4. The Roman Empire.

True to form, you can’t properly understand biblical prophecy unless you understand the significance of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire controlled the known world for centuries! And, Rome itself had a profound effect on the life and times of our Lord Jesus Christ. As well as the New Testament Church of God, the life of the apostle Paul, and all the other disciples. Also, upon the destruction of the 2nd Jewish temple in Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jewish people to many parts of the world in 70 A.D., it became the birthplace and the breeding ground of a great Mother Church ──that to this day is still headquartered in Rome.

In the seventh chapter of the Book of Daniel, we find exactly these same symbols described. Verse 1 – “In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. …”

Verse 3 – “And FOUR great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4) The first was like a lion, …” – a reference to Babylon.

“ … and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.”

Verse 5 – “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. …” – a reference to the Medo/Persian Empire.

“ … It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’”

Verse 6 – “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, …” – a reference to the Greco/Macedonian Empire under King Alexander the Great.

“ … which had on its back FOUR WINGS of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.”

When King Alexander the Great died, his kingdom was divided between four leading generals.

Verse 7 – “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. …” – a reference to the Roman Empire.

“ … It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it and it had TEN HORNS.”

Those ‘ten horns’ are the final installment of the “Holy” Roman Empire! We see this symbolism of the ten in both the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation.

Notice verse 16 – the latter part. “So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things.”

Will you accept the LORD God’s answer to these things? Will you accept God’s living word of what the seven heads are, what the tens horns are, the lion, the bear, the leopard, and what is the great and dreadful beast?

Verse 17 – “Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth.”

The word “kingdom” is used to explain the beasts in verses 18, 22, 24, and 27.

What do the ‘TEN HORNS’ represent?

We are told in verse 24 – “The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. …”

So, ten succeeding “kingdoms” come OUT OF A KINGDOM. This alone makes it plain to us that this “beast” is not some church that is yet to come.

And since the word “king” in these prophecies stands for a kingdom, it follows that these ten horns are ten succeeding kingdoms (as the LORD God sees kingdoms) growing out of this fourth kingdom, which was to rule the world.

A Dream of Kingdoms

In Daniel chapter 2 we read of an amazing dream. A dream dreamed by King Nebuchadnezzar II. A very troubling dream.

Again, these same four world-ruling Gentile empires are described for us in the second chapter of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, who had taken into captivity the kingdom of Judah, had a troubling dream, and the interpretation of which the LORD God gave unto the prophet Daniel.

The dream is described for us in verses 31-35. The king saw in his dream a great image. “This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.”

Eventually, a “stone” ── cut out without hands ── struck the image upon its feet and toes. Breaking into “pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold ── the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this.” Then, the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

“’ This is the dream,’” the prophet Daniel was told, “’ Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37) You, O king, are a king of kings. … 38) … you are this head of gold. 39) But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40) And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.’” – Daniel 2:36-40.

Then, notice verse 44 – “And IN THE DAYS OF THESE KINGS the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”

This stone is our Lord Jesus Christ and His world-ruling kingdom. The proper understanding of this stone is spoken in many different places throughout His living word. As an example ── “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, … This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’” – Acts 4:10, 11.

So, this great and troubling dream, symbolically, is FOUR WORLD-RULING EMPIRES. It begins with King Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom ── the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which took the Jews captured to Babylon (597 BC). And as the LORD God revealed to the prophet Daniel, it was God who had allowed this world-ruling empire to become a succession of Gentile empires to come. And these carry to the glorious and powerful Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the establishment of the kingdom of God──that will fill the whole earth.

The Fourth Beast As Strong As Iron

So, Daniel 2 describes for us the same FOUR WORLD-RULING EMPIRES that are described by the prophet Daniel’s dream of four beasts. Again, this dream begins with King Nebuchadnezzar II's kingdom ── the Neo-Babylonian Empire called “Babylon” after the name of its capital city (606-538 BC).

The second empire, that followed, and we know this from world history, was the great Medo/Persian Empire (538 – 331 BC). It was composed of Medes and Persians.

The third empire was the Greco/Macedonian Empire under King Alexander the Great (331 – 63 BC), he conquered the Persian Empire (334 BC). However, King Alexander only lived a few short years after his blitzkrieg conquest, and his FOUR GENERALS divided the empire into four separate regions──Macedonia and Greece, Thrace and Western Asia, Syria and the territory east to the Indus River, and Egypt. So, symbolically, this represents the FOUR HEADS of the third beast of the prophet Daniel’s dream of Daniel 7.

Then, the fourth empire, which developed into what is known as the Roman Empire (27 BC – 1453 AD), spread out and eventually absorbed one after another these four separate regions ── “dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong.” The ROMAN EMPIRE!

So, this fourth beast was truly unlike anything else that had come along on the earth. It was stronger, greater, and more terrible than any other kingdom before.

This is why the apostle John, in Revelation 13, in vision sees one mighty beast.

So, these ten horns are Ten kingdoms (again, as God sees kingdoms) that shall arise out of the fourth beast (the fourth kingdom) ── the Roman Empire. These kingdoms continue from A.D. 476 until the glorious and powerful Return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation 13:1 – “And I [John] stood on the sand of the sea.” Now, he’s seeing a vision also, much like Daniel. “And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.”

Now, these “seven heads” represent the seven resurrections of the “Holy” Roman Empire. And those ‘ten horns’ are the ten kings or the ten kingdoms that make up the final installment of the “Holy” Roman Empire. The same thing as we saw back in Daniel – the ‘ten horns.’

Seven Resurrections of the “Holy” Roman Empire

1. King Charlemagne – or Charles the Great of France. Pope Leo III – He had been driven from Rome by his enemies. He appealed to Charlemagne for help. Charlemagne reinstated the pope, stayed on in Rome to protect Leo III, and on Christmas day 800 AD, the pope placed the imperial crown on Charlemagne’s head, and hailed him as “Augustus.” And once again, the West had an emperor.

2. Otto the Great – a German of 962 AD. He was the great leader of – what the history books call – a German Roman Empire. He was crowned emperor in 962 by the pope, and Otto as successor to Charlemagne, thought of himself as the leader of the Christian West and the protector of the papacy.

3. Frederick Barbarossa of about 1152 AD – or Frederick I of Germany. He became the first – of what history calls – the Hohenstaufen emperors. And they were Germans. And this very Frederick Barbarossa drowned while on a crusade in Asia Minor in 1190. Then King Henry VI – Frederick Barbarossa’s son. Then Frederick II. He was made emperor by Pope Innocent III.

What an ironic name, Pope Innocent III. This man was responsible for the persecution of the Waldensians. Followers of Peter Waldo. We believe that the Waldensians were members of the Church of God who were hiding up in the mountains. Also, another group, the Albigensians in southern France. And this vile Pope Innocent III persecuted them until they were literally annihilated. He developed a new court called ‘the Inquisition.’ You’ve all heard about that. And this Inquisition accepted neighborhood rumor as a basis for accusation and it used torture to secure confessions. And when we read Revelation 18, where the apostle John wrote, “ ...’ for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24) And in her ...’” – which chapter 17 of the Book of Revelation calls ‘the great whore’ – and “... ‘in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.’” A powerful legacy. And, that court of ‘the Inquisition’ – you know who the most recent holder of this office was? Pope Benedict XVI. He held the office of ‘the Inquisition.’ They changed the title because that old title had a pretty bad name. But that theme has continued throughout history.

4. The House of Hapsburg. It actually had two branches. One which controlled Austria and Hungary – actually had influence there for five- hundred years, beginning in 1438. And also another branch of the Hapsburg family controlled Spain from 1516 until 1698. Now, most of that is considered ‘Spain’s golden age.’ Where their main desire was to export the Catholic faith to the New World. This is why if you go to Mexico, the predominant church is the Catholic Church.

5. Napoléon Bonaparte. A man who was on the scene a very short time, but really had a massive effect on European history. Born on the island of Corsica, and by the age of 9, he was at a military school. By age 24 he became a brigadier general. In 1801 he concluded an agreement with Pope Pius VII which recognized that the majority of French were to be Roman Catholic. And then from 1805 to 1807 he had a series of victories, gained control over the whole continent, and he was the master of Europe. And he was looked upon as the emperor. Rumor says he crowned himself “Holy” Roman Emperor. Just grabbed the crown from the pope, put it on his own head, and said, “I am the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire!”

6. Adolf Hitler from Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy. Mussolini seized power in 1922. Hitler came to power in 1933, and immediately he began the persecution of the Jews, and with help from Germany and Italy, General Francisco Franco gained control of Spain. And then, we know about World War II.

The next revival has not yet occurred, but folks it’s not too far down the road! And the question comes, What will cause this empire to come about? What coalesces Europe to become this United Europe? You think about Europe right now as a secular state, they’re Socialist in their tendencies, and leftist in their policies. They really aren’t that united, they squabble a lot. And yet something is going to happen that will cause all of Europe to gravitate around a great “holy” man and a great religious leader.

A Deadly Wound

Notice again the description of the beast in Revelation 13.

“And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4) So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, … 5) And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.” – Revelation 13:3-4, 5.

This mighty beast symbolizes the royal splendor and kingly power of the mouth of the lion (Babylon); the great strength of the feet of the bear (Medo/Persia), the blitzkrieg speed and cunning cruelty of the leopard (the Greco/Macedonian Empire).

One of its “heads” was “mortally wounded.” This was the SEVENTH HEAD of the Roman Empire ── the head out of which grew ten horns (A.D. 476). This deadly wound was the one administered to the Roman Empire, during its last decaying stages, when the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, was deposed by the Germanic king Odoacer. Ending, officially, the Roman Empire.

Notice that a dragon “who gave authority” to this beast. Who is this dragon? A great many believe that it's “pagan Rome.” But again, let us be led by God’s Spirit, the Holy Bible interprets its own symbols. The dragon represents Satan the Devil.

“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old [speaking of Genesis 3:1; the enchanting whisperer], called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; …” – Revelation 12: 9. Also notice vs. 13.

“So they worshiped the beast; …” – Revelation 13:4. Sadly, a great many conclude that the beast must be the Roman Catholic Church. Yet, don’t forget that the people worshiped the emperors of the Roman Empire!

Now, when the seventh head of this great and powerful beast received its deadly wound in AD 476, was that the final end?

No. Notice that God’s living word says, “and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. … and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.” – vs. 3, 5.

Again, the Ten Horns represent 10 successive kingdoms to come out of this fourth kingdom ── the Roman Kingdom (27 BC – 476 AD).

One of his heads was “mortally wounded.” The Roman Empire in Northern Africa was overcome by the Vandals. The Vandals were a Germanic people was sacked Rome and founded a kingdom in North Africa that flourished for about a century.

In 476 AD, the barbarian soldier and statesman from the Middle Danube, Odoacer, set up his government in Rome. And, although Jordanes writes of Odoacer as invading Italy “as leader of the Sciri, the Heruli, and allies of various races”, modern writers describe him as being part of the Roman military establishment, based on John of Antioch's statement that Odoacer was on the side of Ricimer at the beginning of his battle with the emperor Anthemius in 472. 1

But this did not heal the deadly wound ── this was only an established government set up in Rome.

Then there was the kingdom of the Ostrogoths. A Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire. But they were eventually driven out of Italy and were lost to history.

Three successive kingdoms.

The prophet Daniel also saw in vision “another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom THREE of the horns were plucked out by the roots.” – Daniel 7:8.

So, this “little horn” of Daniel 7, “coming up among the other horns” ── that “in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words” is the Roman Catholic Church which dominated completely all the horns that follow.

That leaves seven horns.

In 527 AD, Justinian I, emperor of the East, from Constantinople, set up his government. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or “Restoration of the Empire.” It was this fourth kingdom, succeeding the fall of the Empire in 476 that HEALED the deadly wound. Justinian the Great, was the Roman emperor from 527 to 565 AD.

This healed beast was to continue for 1,260 years – cf. Ezekiel 4:4-6; Numbers 14:34. Each day represents a year.

In succession came Charles the Great of France, a German Roman Empire, the Hohenstaufen emperors, the House of Hapsburg, and Napoléon Bonaparte. But when Napoleon was defeated in 1815, and then subsequently died in exile in 1825 on the island of St. Helena ── the healed beast continued no longer.

Note that from 556 to 1825 AD., the duration of the “healed wound,” was roughly 1, 260 years!

Then, at that moment in time ── eight of the horns having appeared, then gone, the mighty and powerful beast went into the “bottomless pit.” – cf. Revelation 17:8.

But then, in July 1870, Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi, an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. On 7 September 1870, within three days of the revolution in Paris that ended the Empire, he wrote to the Movimento of Genoa, “Yesterday I said to you: war to the death to Bonaparte. Today I say to you: rescue the French Republic by every means.” It would culminate in the Fascist rule of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

At the time the apostle John saw the beast, “five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come” – Revelation 17:10.

The five that have fallen are the five that were during the roughly 1,260 years in which power was given by the dragon ── by the Roman Catholic Church ── for the healed beast to continue.

The one that “is,” is the kingdom that extended from Garibaldi on down to the fall of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

The SEVENTH HEAD, with its Ten Horns ── in the 17th chapter of Revelation ── will be the resurrected “Holy” Roman Empire, “out of the bottomless pit” by a ‘United States of Europe,’ a confederation of ten European nations (as God sees kingdoms) centered within the bounds of the old Roman Empire – Revelation 17:12-18.

We’re still waiting for this seventh revival. □

1 Jordanes (1915). The Gothic History of Jordanes. Translated by Charles C. Mierow. London: Oxford University Press

Commentary: A Celebration to Demons!

“What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20) RATHER, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to DEMONS and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.” – 1 Corinthians 10:19-20.

The month of January (in Latin, Ianuarius) was named after their god Janus in the Roman pantheon.

So, since the LORD God──the very CREATOR God that every Protestant and Catholic alike claims to worship──does not begin a new year on January 1st, what is the origin of January 1st being New Year’s!?

In the year of our Lord 46 BC, Roman general, statesman, and later dictator of the Roman Empire, Julius Caesar (12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) declared that Ianuarius 1st would mark the beginning of a new year! All of Rome (and a great many in Roman conquered lands) prayed to Janus ── their god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. In Bulfinch’s Mythology, he is listed as “A solar deity; a doorkeeper of heaven and patron of the beginning and end of things. He had two faces, one for the rising sun and one for sunset. The first month of the year was named for him. The gates of his temples were kept open in times of war. He was the builder of the Janiculum which Aeneas saw when he set foot on Italian soil.” 1 They would pray to this false god when they wanted something new in their lives (such as resolutions).

So, the very month of JANUARY as well as Julius Caesar’s New Year is not of the LORD God! And, nowhere is it within God’s living word ── the Holy Bible.

Notice what the historian and first theologian to write in Latin (who was a heretic follower and who did not have the proper canon, and was a trinitarian), Tertullian wrote about winter celebrations, such as Saturnalia, in the late second century AD ──

“The Minervalia are as much Minerva's, as the Saturnalia Saturn's; Saturn's, which must necessarily be celebrated even by little slaves at the time of the Saturnalia. New-year's gifts likewise must be caught at, and the Septimontium kept; and all the presents of Midwinter and the feast of Dear Kinsmanship must be exacted; the schools must be wreathed with flowers; the flamens' wives and the ædiles sacrifice; the school is honoured on the appointed holy-days. The same thing takes place on an idol's birthday; every pomp of the devil is frequented. Who will think that these things are befitting to a Christian master, unless it be he who shall think them suitable likewise to one who is not a master? …

But, however, the majority (of Christians) have by this time induced the belief in their mind that it is pardonable if at any time they do what the heathen do, for fear the Name be blasphemed. … To live with heathens is lawful, to die with them is not. Let us live with all; let us be glad with them, out of community of nature, not of superstition. We are peers in soul, not in discipline; fellow possessors of the world, not of error. But if we have no right of communion in matters of this kind with strangers, how far more wicked to celebrate them among brethren! Who can maintain or defend this? … By us, … the Saturnalia and New-year's and Midwinter's festivals and Matronalia are frequented — presents come and go — New-year's gifts — games join their noise — banquets join their din! Oh better fidelity of the nations to their own sect, which claims no solemnity of the Christians for itself! … not Pentecost, even it they had known them, would they have shared with us; for they would fear lest they should seem to be Christians. We are not apprehensive lest we seem to be heathens!” 2

What Tertullian appears to be saying is that by observing Christmas (formally known as Saturnalia) and the New Year’s celebrations, Christians appear as heathens ── following after pagan gods and goddesses! True Christians SHOULD NOT be celebrating days that actually honor pagan gods and goddesses! New Year’s was observed to honor their goddess Strenua ── a goddess of the new year, purification, and wellbeing. She had a shrine and grove at the top of the Via Sacra.

Brethren, celebrating January 1st as a new year is celebrating for and with demons! Because it’s origin is from paganism.

And, how is New Year’s celebrated today? The traditions vary around the world. As an example: In Spain, revelers eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight, one for each chime of the clock. Each grape represents a month of the coming year, and eating them is believed to bring good luck and prosperity. In Japan, the New Year, or Oshogatsu, is a time for purification and renewal. Temples ring their bells 108 times to symbolize the cleansing of 108 earthly desires, according to Buddhist beliefs. And, in Denmark, people literally break into the New Year—by smashing plates! Residents hurl old dishes at the front doors of friends and family as a gesture of affection and good wishes. 3

In the  United States of America, along with other  Western cultures, many people still make New Year’s resolutions. The very expression “strenas diabolicas observare” roughly translates from Google Translate to “to observe diabolical tricks.” So, it is highly likely that New Year’s resolutions ── Interestingly, a study found the practice of resolution setting may be more common in the U.S., as similar polls in Sweden found just 12% to 14% of people set goals for the new year. 4 ── originate from their goddess Strenua – of “purification and well-being.”

When Is the New Year?

The LORD our God has declared to all that the month of Abib/Nisan will be the FIRST MONTH OF A NEW YEAR ──

“Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2) ‘This month [Abib/Nisan] shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.’” – Exodus 12:1-2.

This month is equivalent to late March/early April. In the year 2025, the LORD God’s new year begins March 29th at sunset.

Again, January 1st is not the beginning of a new year for the LORD our God ── or any true follower of Christ Jesus! □

Bibliography

1 Bulfinch's Mythology, Bulfinch, T., Janus - Dictionary and Index, Crown Publishers, Inc., © 1979, pg. 917.

2 Tertullian, On Idolatry – Chapters X, and XIV. – New Advent - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0302.htm.

3 Sarkar, O., New Year Traditions Around The World: A Celebration Of Cultures, ZeeNews, Retrieved 30 Dec. 2024.

4 Oscarsson M, Carlbring P, Andersson G, Rozental A. A large-scale experiment on New Year's resolutions: Approach-oriented goals are more successful than avoidance-oriented goals. PLoS One. 2020;15(12):e0234097.

Additional Things To Think About...

A Roman 'Mark' !? - Back in Rome, in the times before our Lord Jesus Christ, the Roman government MARKED people by branding them on their hands and on their foreheads – like a tattoo.

Are We Insane? - More and more people are becoming insane!

Blessing or Curses? - IT IS my understanding that of all the remnants of the churches of God – the Intercontinental Church of God has had the most confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths!

Do They Have God's Spirit? - With a heathen person or a tax collector, you sure don’t want to be around them.

Fluffy Fake Religion - This is exactly what the self-professing Christians are all about. They love their fluffy fake religion and claim it to be Christian, ...

A Great Crisis Strikes Judah! - In the land of Judah, the nation of Israel was confirmed as a nation in 1948. And, it was fully established as such in 1968. So, 75 years ago, the tiny nation in Palestine, Israel, was recognized as a nation. 

The LORD God Does Not Change! - If the LORD God – the family of God which at this time consists of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ – places Their wrath in a certain way onto a nation, a country, or a province, that has done certain abominable things that are against Their divine will thousands of years ago, make no mistake about it, the Eternal our God will do the same to the wicked nations, countries, and provinces in this 21st century world – this present evil age!

Did Jesus Have Long Hair?

by Leonard V. Johnson

“’ YOU SHALL NOT make for yourself a carved image – ANY LIKENESS OF ANYTHING that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath [meaning, of anything or anyone that is buried in the earth], or that is in the water under the earth.’” – Exodus 20:4.

The SECOND COMMANDMENT should be crystal clear to all. NO LIKENESS OF ANY KIND OF THE LORD OUR GOD! And this includes the famous and most popular painting of “Jesus” with long hair and feminine features – “The Head of Christ,” also known as “Sallman Head” painted in 1940 by American artist Warner Sallman (1892–1968).

This early morning I had noticed the issue of Did Jesus Have Long Hair? came up. We receive a great number of “friend” requests from people on Facebook who have pictures of a supposed Jesus with long hair and feminine features. Did our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ have long hair!?

According to art historian Thomas Matthews, it was no accident to depict Him with long hair, it was not random on the part of artists. They chose to portray Him with long hair because the male gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon almost always were depicted with long hair.1

In this Cancel Culture “politically correct” society, a growing number of our peoples are saying, “I just can’t see anything spiritually wrong with a man wearing long hair!” Others reason amongst themselves and say, “1st Corinthians 11:14 is nothing more than apostle Paul’s own personal preference.”

In TRUTH what would be considered short hair on men has been with us far longer than most might think. It was the dominant and accepted mode for men in the time of our Lord Jesus. All one needs do is notice the innumerable accurate personified forms of ancient Roman bust sculptures. All the men are wearing their hair short ON EVERY ONE OF THEM! And in a manner that society today would consider “short.” Like the photo to the left – a statue of the first Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus (63 BC-AD 14) who reigned for 45 years and was ruling during the time of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In FACT – from Caesar Augustus to even Romulus Augustus the Roman emperors wore short hair. And, it was Hadrian that first introduced the wearing of a beard for an emperor. The emperor was most often looked at as the trendsetter during these times.

Before the rise of the Roman Empire, it was the Hellenistic Greek culture that was dominating the Eastern Mediterranean. On pages 15 & 146 of the author, historian, and archaeologist Gaalyahu Cornfeld’s book Daniel to Paul it shows illustration photos of a Greek discus thrower and a marble statuette of “an unidentified man of the Hellenistic period — a time of close contacts between the Jewish and Hellenistic civilizations in thought, art, and everyday life. Whether Jewish or Gentile, he evokes his age and environment.” 2 Both with what is considered short hair.

Also, notice this from Andrew Lainis, who prides himself on being a well-read history enthusiast –

“It was widely known in Ancient and Classical Greece, that Spartan Warriors had long hair, …” but “on the contrary, Athenians favored the clean-shaven head for the Military and young children. It was more healthy, you see. … Athenians and later Macedonians favored a short hair approach.” 3

An argument can be made that the Roman busts of emperors were in a “political” likeness only, not an actual likeness. The likeness still set the trend during these times. Sadly, the Left-leaning Cancel Culturist Wikipedia’s opening statement is from the demented Homer – which states, “In the earliest times the Greeks wore their hair long, and thus Homer constantly calls them long-haired.” 4 

Dr. Herman L. Hoeh writes of Homer in  Compendium of World History, Vol. I  –

“It is not generally admitted. But Homer, the famous epic poet of Greece, was mad. … Homer was not merely an insane poet. He was also a mad historian. Through Homer, Greek history was altered.” 5

“Democritus says that no one can be a great poet without being in a state of frenzy, and Plato says the same thing” writes Cicero. 6 He goes on to say, “Let Plato call it ‘frenzy’ if he will, provided he praises it as it was praised in his Phaedrus.” Meaning, Plato’s definition of divination, is “they have derived from furor, a word meaning ‘frenzy.’ A state of excitement or wild behavior. In a sense saying - no one can be a great poet unless he is crazy.

As for Jewish statutes from the time period of our Lord Jesus, historically, Jews were fairly vehement against public or private displays of statues – so there are very few. But the few there are still show a short hairstyle on men of that period. 7

There are a great many people who mistakenly believe and teach that our Lord Jesus Christ was a Nazarite – meaning, a Jew consecrated to the service of God, under vows to abstain from alcohol, cutting their hair, and avoid defilement by contact with corpses. Our Lord Jesus was not a Nazarite.

Notice He drank fermented wine –

“’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and winebibber [a drunkard], …’” – Matthew 11:19.

He also, on occasion, touched dead bodies –

“ … He went in and took her by the hand [a ruler’s young dead daughter], and the girl arose.” – Matthew 9:25.

Both of these actions were forbidden under a Nazarite vow – cf. Numbers 6:3-6.

The online Jewish Encyclopedia states, “From the Old Testament it may be gathered that it was customary for the men to have their hair cut from time to time. … the hair was cut often.” 8

1st Corinthians 11 –

“Does not even nature [Greek, physis] itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? …” – vs. 14.

Physis (pronounced foo-SIS), meaning “Does not even nature itself teach you?” The apostle Paul is saying, “Does not even NATURAL LAW teach this?” The blending of our sexual identity rebels against God’s Way which was created by the CREATOR both “male and female” – cf. Genesis 1:27.

TRULY the key question is, how does NATURE teach us that it’s a dishonor for a man to have long hair?

The apostle Paul is saying that nature – in other words, NATURAL, intrinsic maleness – inclines a man to feel repulsed and shameful for wearing feminine symbols defined by God – not culture. NATURE – the natural, built-in, God-given, intrinsic maleness – inclines a man to feel repulsed and DISHONORED by wearing defined symbols of a woman as defined by God – not popular culture. In similar fashion, there have been several studies on heterosexual men’s physiological stress response to seeing two men kissing is the same as seeing maggots. IT’S UNNATURAL!

Again, many argue – and sadly, even from a supposed Bible authority – “Back in the time of Paul, society (social nature) considered it a shame for men to have long hair and for women to be bald. Modern society does not. Neither God’s nature nor biological nature considers it a shame.”

BLASPHEMOUS! It is a sin for a man to be effeminate.

And on that note: Homosexuality begins in the home – “The mother—either domineering and contemptuous of the father, or feeling rejected by him—makes her son a substitute for her husband, with a close-binding, overprotective relationship. Thus, she unconsciously demasculinizes the child. If at the same time the father is weakly submissive to his wife or aloof and unconsciously competitive with his son, he reinforces the process. To attain normal sexual development, according to current psychoanalytic theory, a boy should be able to identify with his father's masculine role.” 9

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, NOR EFFEMINATE, nor ABUSERS OF THEMSELVES WITH MANKIND, … shall inherit the kingdom of God.” – 1st Corinthians 6:9-10, KJV.

And even here, many want to debate God’s living word and use their own reasoning, saying, “Not all homosexuals are effeminate.” Again, IT’S UNNATURAL and an ABOMINATION in the eyes of the LORD our God! – cf. Leviticus 20:13.

But, PRAISE THE ALMIGHTY GOD, one can (and SHOULD) repent of such lifestyles - cf. Acts 2:38; 1st Corinthians 6:11.

Nowhere in God’s living word are we to be concerned with what our Lord Jesus Christ looked like as a human being! God’s word gives no description. All we are told, speaking of our Savior Jesus, “ … He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.” – Isaiah 53:2.

Our Lord Jesus looked like any other normal Roman citizen or Jew in the streets of Jerusalem. Judas Iscariot had to use a special sign, a kiss, to point out our Lord Jesus to His enemies.

Men wishing to wear long hair are in error when they claim they are following Jesus Christ. The facts of proper history and of God’s living word speak for themselves. □

Bibliography:

1) Matthews, T. The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art. 1993. pp. 126-127.

2) Cornfeld, G., Daniel to Paul, New York, Macmillian, 1902, pp. 15, 146.

3) How did ancient Greeks view long hair on men? Quora, Lainis, A. - https://www.quora.com/How-did-ancient-Greeks-view-long-hair-on-men. Retrieved 14 June 2022.

4) Greco-Roman hairstyles, Wikipedia, 24 May 2022 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Roman_hairstyle.

5) Hoeh, L.H., Compendium of World History, Vol. I, Chapter XVII, 1962 - http://www.herbert-armstrong.org/Miscellaneous/Compendium%20Vol%201.pdf.

6) Cicero, M.T., De senectute, De amicitra, De divinatione, Harvard University Press; London, Cambridge, Mass., 1964, pg. 313.

7) Ibid, Cornfeld, pg. 287.

8) https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7061-hair. Retrieved 14 June 2022.

9 Time magazine, Essay: The Homosexual In America, January 21, 1966, Retrieved 14 June 2022.

Additional Items of Related Interest:

Idol Worship - A great many of our people are grasping hold of their idols! Politics can be an idol. [...]

The Divinity of Jesus Christ - ... the apostle John begins by making the divinity of Jesus Christ clear to all ... [...]

During Passover - Grape Juice or Wine? - In Greek, the word is oinos. And if you were to get on a plane this afternoon and travel to Athens, Greece and go to a restaurant - and if you ordered oinos - what would the servant bring you!?

Will You Recognize Jesus!?

MOST people who profess Jesus Christ will not recognize Him when He returns!

Joseph Farah – an American author, journalist, and editor-in-chief of the conservative website WorldNetDaily – correctly doesn’t believe so:

“Who is Jesus and how is [H]e going to come back?” Farah asked. “You know, a lot of people missed Jesus the first time He came. Most of the Jews did not recognize Him as their Messiah. They had a misunderstanding of how the Messiah was going to come. And they were going a lot by man’s teaching rather than going back to the Scriptures. And I wonder, when Jesus does come back, if many people in the church are going to miss Him too.” …

Farah believes the form of Jesus' return is going to surprise many Christians. And he warned in the interview how believers need to be educated about what to expect so they are not misled into following a disastrous deception. …

Are they going to recognize him? Or are they going to be fooled by an imposter that we call the Antichrist who is going to do all kinds of signs and miracles, et cetera?” …

He mourned the average Christian's lack of knowledge about the Millennial Kingdom and the earthly rule of Jesus. …

"If you ask the average Christian about that, they have no understanding," he explained. …”

(READ MORE: https://www.wnd.com/2017/01/how-christians-will-recognize-jesus-again/#Tv3LCrfs88QtYzZc.99).

Indeed, very few who profess Jesus Christ actually believe in a Millennial Reign of Christ – even though His living word teaches it (cf. Revelation 20:4-6; see also A Book of the Past – And The Future). The majority who are looking for Jesus believe that He will be a “sweet” Jesus. As in "looks like a lamb" - cf. Revelation 13:11. But in fact, He will not be so sweet – as the apostle Jude announces –

“’ Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him’” – Jude 1:14-15.

For “’ He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’”! – Revelation 2:27.

Sadly, even fewer people in this world understand the Good News of the soon-coming kingdom of God!

What about the Roman Catholics – with an estimated 1.2 billion worldwide, according to the Vatican figures!?

Well, officially, they do not believe in a Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ – in spite of the fact that many of their “saints” taught the millennium. The Vatican strongly condemns this doctrine of the Church of God as blasphemous!

“676 The Antichrist’s deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the ‘intrinsically perverse’ political form of a secular messianism.”

(https://www.olmca.org/ourpages/users/evillasenor/CatechismCatholicChurch2ndEdition.pdf).

Note – according to the Roman Catholic Church, this is the only doctrine of the Church of God which is associated with the Antichrist.  Certain Catholic writings and prophecies propagate that the Antichrist will –

• Quote Scripture as proof of His Messiahship.
• Keep and teach the seventh-day Sabbath.
• Teach against idols and the Mass-of-Christ.
• Teach that Catholic (which means all-embracing, or globe-girdling, universal) Christianity is false.
• Teach “Jewish practices.”
• Teach against the Trinity.
• Preach and teach the Millennial Reign of Christ in the kingdom of God.
• Teach that there is coming a future opportunity for salvation.
• Be triumphant in the “Battle of Armageddon.”
• Come after the destruction of The Vatican, Rome, and the “Holy” Roman Empire.
• Claim to be Jesus Christ.
• Have those who claim to be the resurrected saints of Jesus Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ in John chapter 5 verse 39 said that Scripture itself “’ testify of Me.’” He kept and taught the keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath. He taught against the keeping of idols. He taught and WARNED against receiving a mark on your right hand or on your forehead – which is truly the giving of the sign of the cross across your chest or forehead, along with venerating the symbol and image of the cross with the wearing of crosses or the placing of the image of the cross above your doors or on your shield of armaments.  Our Lord Jesus taught that those who held to church tradition (the ‘doctrines of men’) above His living word are but worshiping Him “’ in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” – cf Mark 7:6-13. Our Lord Jesus taught the keeping of all the Ten Commandments – “’ Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called the least in the kingdom [from] heaven’” – Matthew 5:19. Which means they will have a degraded and contemptuous position in the kingdom of God. And I like the way the Jamison Fausset and Brown Commentary writes it – “they shall be reduced by the retributive providence that overtakes them, to the same condition of dishonor to which, by their system and their teaching, they have brought down the eternal principles of God’s Law.” 1 Our Lord Jesus was a Jew – cf. Matthew 1:1-16; Revelation 5:5. Our Lord Jesus kept “Jewish practices,” teaching us to teach all nations the things which He commanded, setting us an example – cf. Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Peter 2:21-25. God’s living word does not teach of the false concept of a Trinity – cf. John 10:30; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Peter 1:3. God’s living word and our Lord Jesus’ true servants teach of His soon-coming Millennium Reign on Earth! – cf. Revelation 11:15; Revelation 14; Revelation 20:1-6. There truly will be a future opportunity for salvation – cf. Ezekiel 37; Revelation 20:11-13. Truly, just prior to our Lord Jesus’ Second Coming – there will be a great earthquake (surely the likes of which the history of this world has never witnessed) “’ the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light’” – meaning the prophesied Two Witnesses will be prophesying and witnessing for 3½ years, given power from God Almighty to shut the atmosphere so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; … and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire” – see also Revelation 8:7-12, and End-Time Prophets - a seven-part series.

Our Lord Jesus Christ prophesied that just prior to His Second Coming – the stars of the atmosphere (speaking about Satan the devil and his demons) will fall to the earth. Meaning that Satan and his minions will not even be allowed in the atmosphere of the earth! “Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up” – truly meaning that just prior to our Lord Jesus Christ’s coming the atmosphere of the earth will be cleared of all the volcanic ash clouds and the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following nuclear blasts. “’ Then,’” as our Lord Jesus says, “’ the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven [in outer space], and then all the tribes of the earth [all the nations] will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory’” – Matthew 24:29-30.

Then those dead in Christ will be resurrected, and we who are still alive will be “caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; see also verse 31 of Matthew 24. God’s holy saints are resurrected – the SEVENTH TRUMP HAS BEEN BLOWN!!

Then, “the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every [bond servant] and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains” – Revelation 6:15.

Why!?

Because of what our Lord Jesus Christ said, “’ they will see [in outer space] the Son of Man [who they will mistake as an invading alien force] coming’”! “Fall on us and hide us,” they will scream, “from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from THE WRATH of the Lamb! For the great day [the Day of the Lord] of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” – vs. 16-17.

Sadly, it appears as if certain private Catholic prophecies – and according to Sandy Hooper, a former Catholic nun, Bible reading is not part of their curriculum – see The Testimony of a Former Roman Catholic Nun in which she stated, “We never read the Bible together outside what we had to do for morning prayers when reciting the Psalms, but even that wasn't in the Bible. The Psalms were in a book by itself” –  warning that when Jesus Christ returns He will be the Antichrist. This will be the main reason why the nations will be angry and will make war against the Lord of lords and the King of kings! –

“’ The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, …’” – this why it is said, “’ Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light’” – Ephesians 5:14. “ … ‘And that You [Jesus Christ] should reward Your servants the prophets [the very possible twelve end-time prophets, culminating in the end-time Two Witnesses] and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth’” – Revelation 11:18. 

“And I saw the beast [the seventh and final revitalization of the “Holy” Roman Empire], the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse [a brilliant white horse] and against His army [who also sat on white horses]” – Revelation 19:19.

So, friends, not only are these false prophecies being propagated across the world, so also is the idea and belief in alien UFOs! This truly is the plan of our enemy – Satan the devil. □

Bibliography

1) Jamieson, R., Fausset, A.R., Brown, D., Jamieson Fausset and Brown Commentary of the Whole Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, 1982, pp. 900.

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