one will be king for a short while (the seventh king — "when he does come he must remain for a little while"),
"one has yet to come" . This sentence has a double meaning for a specific reason: It indicates that one heir was supposed to become the following king, but he died before he could inherit the throne. The reason for this being that "one has yet to come" substantiates the pattern of the seven kings. However, it also indicates the eighth king (who, as shall be seen, is the start of the line of one of the ten kings).
Revelation 17:11The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
To indicate the "five have fallen", and the other sixth, seventh and eighth kings, five lists of kings of five empires will be given and indicated how they fit into the pattern above.(Refer also to chart, p .) Only a short summary of what constituted the development of the beast will be given.
The message Revelation wants to convey, is not the history of the kings, but that Christians died as a result of a struggle building up between State and Church.
ENGLAND
Henry II who was involved in a dispute with the Church that ultimately led to the death of Thomas Becket in 1170, was from the line of William the Conqueror. However the seven kings that are indicated in Revelation are from the line that led up to the death of the Archbishop of Canterbury on Tower Hill in 1381, at that time outside the city of London.
"Five have fallen"
1. John 1199—1216
2. Henry III 1216—1272
3. Edward I 1272—1307
4. Edward II 1307—1327
5. Edward III 1327—1377
"one is"
6. Richard II 1377—1399
Richard II was involved in the intensifying struggle between the crown and the Church and was succumbing to the will of the people.
In 1381 a crowd of peasants took the law into their own hands and dragged the Archbishop of Canterbury (Simon Sudbury) from the Tower Chapel and executed him on Tower Hill. His head was set up on London Bridge, his mitre nailed to his skull. The leader of the peasants, Wat Tyler, was killed, but the king rode among the rebels and by granting their demands induced them to disperse.
"One is yet to come"
7.Edward (son of Edward III known as the Black Prince, because he wore black armour) died before he could become king.
"when he does come"
These words indicate that something happened to cause a break in the line of kings. This was the case in England after the death of Richard II.
In 1399 Henry IV of Lancaster usurped the throne from the last Angevin king. His reign was never secure for it was never free from rebellions and other claimants to the throne.
The intensifying of the strife between the crown and the Catholic Church
From the time of the first of the five kings (John) there was an ever—increasing conflict between the crown and the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Innocent III clashed with king John. Pope Innocent wanted the king to accept Stephen Langton as the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the place of one whose election John had sponsored. John was furious. He seized Church property and drove many of the bishops into exile. Pope Innocent retaliated by excommunicating John, deposing him and transferring the crown to Philip Augustus of France. To save his throne, John abjectly submitted and surrendered his kingdom to the Pope. He received it back, but became a papal vassal. For many years thereafter, papal legates were prominent in the government of England.
The English nobles also threatened the position of the English king. Defeats in France and the subsequent loss of territory undermined his position. His attempts to tax the knights and nobles who resisted joining these unsuccessful campaigns, further discredited the crown. In 1215 he was forced to make a significant compromise in his struggles with the nobles. After lengthy negotiations at Runnymede in Surrey, he sealed the Magna Carta Libertatum — The Great Charter of Liberties — that guaranteed the barons their feudal privileges and promised to maintain the nation’s laws. This was an early indication of the limiting of the power of the king.
Henry III mounted three disastrous campaigns in France. He was reluctant to oppose any decree of the Pope. The Pope, through his legates, had great power in the affairs of England. The Pope rewarded Romans with vacant benefices in England, which brought about a growing resentment against the Church. Henry agreed to finance papal wars in Sicily in return for the Sicilian crown for his son Edmund. The exorbitant sums that Henry demanded from his nobles aroused the barons’ fury leading to a period of civil war. This would lead to the curtailing of the powers of the king and the development of measures to create a Parliament.
Edward 1 took steps to install representative government. In 1295 he formed his "Model Parliament" by summoning representatives from the nobility, the greater and lesser clergy, the knights of the shires and the privileged class of the cities. Thereby bringing the Lords and Commons together for the first time.
Of importance here is the growing demand on the government for justice and general administration. For these expenses the feudal revenues were inadequate. The money was in the hands of the merchant class and to summon national Parliaments was the only way to get it. In this way Parliament became the established method of conducting public business. The need for finance lay behind the conflict with the Church and the barons over taxation.
For five years Edward 1 had to fight against Philip IV of France, and Wales and Scotland gained their independence. These were drains on the royal finances.
Edward II married Isabella of France (daughter of Philip IV) and so joined the royal houses of France and England by marriage. (Later they were estranged, but their son would reign as Edward III of England.)
A feature of the long reign of Edward III was the opening stages of the Hundred Years War with France. Sluys (1340), a naval battle, gave England the control of the Channel. Edward, the Black Prince, achieved much glory for his part in the great English victories at Crecy (1346) and Poitiers (1356), but neither were notable in the longer term.
It is important to note the involvement of Edward III and John Wycliffe. Wycliffe would lead the attack against the Catholic Church and was a staunch supporter of the crown’s interest. By 1374, Edward was in dire financial need. The war in France was not going well under the incompetent leadership of his son John of Gaunt. The king cast a greedy eye on the wealth of the Church and decided to exact a tithe from the income of the clergy to support the war effort. At the same time Pope Gregory XI was involved in a war against Milan, using mercenaries who had to be paid. In addition to the annual tribute that England as a vassal state had to pay to the papacy since the humiliation of king John, Gregory demanded that the English clergy send him a supplement of 100 000 florins. Neither the English clergy nor the king took kindly to this demand. A convocation between the Catholic Church and English representatives was arranged. Wycliffe took part up to a point in the proceedings, but was later left out, possibly because his stance was too unyielding. The representatives from the Pope (nuncios) outmatched the English who proved too vulnerable to temptation to successfully champion their cause. Their personal ambitions and greed conditioned them to seek a settlement on terms most favourable to Gregory. While the papacy made certain concessions, England came off second best. Those who had the power to veto the English surrender — John of Gaunt (Edward’s fourth son) and Bishop Sudbury — did not. However the biggest losers were the English people, who were quick to recognise that their representatives were bought off. Several men, including Simon Sudbury (who was made Archbishop of Canterbury), were provided with prestigious and lucrative positions in the English Church. Gregory paid his debts and the Concordat was affirmed and published by Edward III in 1377.
With this act Wycliffe’s disillusionment with ecclesiastical intrigue and papal politics was complete. He attacked the wealth and the worldliness of the Church and this gave him popularity among the rank and file. When the peasants revolted in 1381, they turned on the Archbishop of Canterbury.
John of Gaunt was not slow in recognising the growing popularity of John Wycliffe and saw in it a powerful weapon to advance his own designs on the estates of the prelates. Thus began an alliance between Wycliffe and John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster. The Duke set about stripping bishops of their wealth. Wycliffe insisted that the Scriptures were the supreme authority and sent out his "poor preachers". In contrast with the wealth of the Catholic clergy these preachers were garbed in russet robes of undressed cloth and were instructed to go without sandals and purse. Long staff in hand, they were to take only shelter and food that was offered them. The followers of Wycliffe and his preachers, the Lollards, were attracted to this new approach to religious teaching by the open denunciation of the corruption of the Catholic Church. Wycliffe also set about the translation of the Vulgate into English.
The bishops could not ignore this widespread movement that cut at the roots of their power and the practices of the Catholic Church. Persecution would later follow.
Richard II married Anne, the sister of the king of Bohemia, and as a result students of Bohemia were educated at Oxford in increasing numbers. The teachings and books of John Wycliffe influenced them. Richard tried to abandon Parliamentary government and later had those who opposed him murdered, banished or beheaded. His reign marked the beginning of a long struggle for the crown by the descendants of Edward III. It was led by John of Gaunt and then by Gaunt’s son Henry Bolingbroke. When Richard deprived Bolingbroke of his father’s estates in 1399, he provoked his downfall. When Richard was on a return journey from Ireland unaccompanied by his army, Henry advanced with his troops and Richard was obliged to submit to him at Flint. Richard resigned the crown and was deposed by Parliament.
By this progression of English kings Revelation indicates the widening rift between the State and the Church of Rome, from John’s submission to the Pope to the beginnings of the early Reformation in England led by John Wycliffe. It also indicates the development of the English Parliament and the gradual curtailing of the power of the king.
What must be kept in mind is that Revelation is revealing and not condemning — therefore this history should be seen as part of the process of man's struggle to contend with corruption within the State and the Church.
If seventy-two years are added to 1066 we reach the year 1138 (about the time of the second foundation of the New Jerusalem in 1140).
1212
This is the year of the third foundation of the New Jerusalem and the year of the advent of Frederick II, as the sixth king of the line of Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire.
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
" Five have fallen"
1. Conrad III 1138—1152
2.Frederick 1 (Barbarossa)1152—1190
3.Henry VI 1190—1197 (also king of Sicily through his wife Constance)
4. Philip of Swabia 1198—1208
5.Otto IV of Saxony 1198—1218
" one is"
6.Frederick II 1212—1250
Frederick ll was also king of Southern Italy and Sicily. He instituted the Inquisition in 1232. The Catholic Church later adopted this institution.
It is known today that the Catholic Church had to contend with certain heresies through the ages, but it is also known that in the way the hearings of the Inquisitions were conducted it is not unlikely that the innocent perished. The crime of heresy was difficult to establish. The Inquisition not only used torture to extract confessions, it used procedures that were banned in secular courts. It contravened customary laws and almost every aspect of established jurisprudence. The names of hostile witnesses were withheld and anonymous informers were used. Accusations of personal enemies were allowed. The accused was denied the right of defence.
(It should be noted that the procedure of torture in the Italian Inquisition was introduced in c 1252, about one thousand years after the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire in 250.)
"one is yet to come"
7. Manfred (son of Frederick II) killed in battle in 1266.
8. Conrad IV, son of Frederick II ( "remain a little while") — 1250—1254
The progression of these eight kings of the Holy Roman Empire constitutes a significant development in the separation of the State and the Church in Italy and Germany (1138— 1254).
With the aid of his advisers Frederick Barbarossa of the Hohenstaufen family, designed a scheme of territorial fiefs, administered by agents of the king, a few years after he had become king. This plan would make the king completely independent of papal support.
Henry VI. In 1197 the Pope was engaged in a conspiracy to murder Henry VI, in conjunction with Henry’s estranged wife Constance of Sicily. The plot was detected and some of the conspirators were arrested. Henry ordered the death of the conspirators. Jordanus of Sicily was brutally killed.
The feud between the hereditary Hohenstaufen kings of the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope reached a zenith during the reign of Frederick II. Frederick made desperate efforts to establish defences against what he believed to be papal exploitation of spiritual power. The pope of Rome ( Clement IV -1265-1268) set about crushing his off-spring. Frederick’s son Manfred, who was killed in the battle at Benevento (1266), was buried without religious ceremony on the orders of the Pope. The papacy so wished to wipe out the influence of the House of Staufen that Manfred’s remains were dug up and reburied outside the Sicilian kingdom. Conradin, the last Hohenstaufen was only sixteen years of age when he was executed in Naples by order of Pope Clement IV.
This progression of the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman Emperors indicated the beginning of the disintegration of the power of the Christian king in whom the ruling of the nation was vested. It also seems to indicate that a papacy that tried to be "king of kings" was not going to succeed.
Of importance here is the determination of the papacy to never again have a hereditary throne in Germany. The papacy did all that it could to destroy the house of Staufen and to have the kings of Germany elected in future.
Conradin went to his destruction, but he was also "destroyed" as he was the last of the Holy Roman Emperors to be king according to the Hohenstaufen hereditary line. After the death of Conradin there was an interregnum and the following Holy Roman Emperors were elected. Through the progression of these eight kings of the Holy Roman Empire, Revelation is indicating that there is a double meaning to the "one is yet to come". It has to do with the destruction of the hereditary king. More about this later when we come to the ten kings going to their destruction.
The two progressions of eight kings in England and the Holy Roman Empire indicate how the following progressions of kings are to be analysed. In the progression of English kings, there was the quarrel with the Church and the diminishing power of the king. In the Holy Roman Empire there was the quarrel with the Church and the destruction of the hereditary line of kings. Revelation gives the progression of the eight kings and through what has been established in the previous chapters, we can determine what is being conveyed. Revelation provides an answer to the gradual disappearance of the influence of the Church in the politics of the major countries of Europe and in the world today. Today people just shrug their shoulders and say that the history of the wars of religion is incomprehensible. I believe that Revelation wishes to give us insight into this history. It seems that it was an inevitable history, and that "the dragon" subtly played a role in misleading man. Man was unable to recognise the onslaught. Most important, the history of the nations was predestined and the Trinity was ever present.
1284 — the year of the fourth foundation of the New Jerusalem and the time of the sixth king ("one is") of the line of French kings.
1.Louis VII 1137—1180
2. Philip II Augustus 1180—1223
3. Louis VIII1223—1226
4.Louis IX 1226—1270
5.Philip III1270—1285
6. Philip IV 1285—1314
Philip IV ordered the arrest of Pope Boniface VIII at Anagni outside Rome in September 1303. Boniface was beaten mercilessly and died in October. (Note that this date is one thousand years after the persecution of the Roman Empire in 303)
On 13 October 1307, Philip had the members of the Order of the Knights Templar arrested and tortured. Jacques de Molay died. Only two days previously de Molay had discussed a crusade with the Pope.
"remain a little while"
7.Louis X 1314—1316
"one is yet to come"
8.John I 1316 (7 days old)
A powerful monarchy
The time of these kings indicate the increased power of the French crown over territories. The first five kings established a powerful monarchy in France by conquering or inheriting most of the English possessions in France. There was also growing friction between the kings of France and the papacy, and growing enmity between the nobles and the king.
Louis VIl aided Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to drive Pope Alexander III into exile in Sicily.
Philip Augustus took large sections of English territory in France: Vexin (1193); confiscated jurisdiction of Kingdom of France (Aquitaine, Anjou and Poitou) from John of England. He secured his possessions by the victory over the combined forces of King John of England and Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, at Bouvines (1214). He strengthened royal authority by crushing rebellious vassels and allying with the towns and the merchants.
Louis VIII married Queen Blanche of Castile(Spain). The linking of the royal houses of Europe through marriage, that took place frequently through the centuries of the second millennium, enhances the concept of a 'total' beast.
Louis IX made war against Henry III of England. He further strengthened the position of the throne. He issued a new code of laws and set up courts of justice. (This is important for it would be the law court of the Louvre that would give Philip IV the legal right to arrest the Pope in 1303.)
Philip III inherited Poitou, the Auvergne and the county of Toulouse.
The feud between the kings of France and the papacy reached its height during the reign of Philip IV. The Kings of France could not reign without taxing the vast properties of the Catholic Church in France. The Pope was also dependent on the revenues of the Church that were collected in France and sent to Rome. So the feud came to a head when Philip IV decided to ban the export of currency and the Church refused to pay its taxes to the crown. In 1302, Philip got the unanimous support of the French Estates-General (French Parliament) for his anti-papal policy. Boniface reacted by the issue of an ultimatum threatening to excommunicate Philip.
In June 1303 Philip accused Boniface at the court of the Louvre of illegal election to the papacy, heresy, irreligion, simony and violence. The court gave the crown the authority to seize the Pope.
Jurists in court and at the mercy of the king were now trying the Pope’s position. These events diminished the authority of the Pope in relation to the king.
BOHEMIA
Some of the kings of Bohemia were also kings of other territories.
1.Vaclav II (also king of Poland) 1278—1305
2.Vaclav III (also king of Poland) 1305—1306
Interregnum 1306—1310
3.John of Luxemburg 1310—1346
4.Charles (also Charles IV of Germany)1346—1378
5. Vaclav IV ( also Wenceslas of Germany)1378—1419
6. Sigismund (also king of Hungary and
Germany 1410—1437) 1419—1437
In 1415 Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund ordered the death of John Huss. Huss was led out of the city of Constance in Germany to be burnt on a pyre.
The Council of Constance who sought to reform the Catholic Church declared Huss a heretic.
7.Albert (also Albert II of Germany) 1437—1440
"one is yet to come"
Young king Ladislas died of the plague in 1458 during the regency of George Podebrad.
In 1466 the Hussite League became a political party.
This progression of kings again indicates the establishment of a strong monarchy under King Charles. Huss was condemned for his theological ideas, but the underlying motives for his conviction were political. He had spoken out against corruption in the Church, the selling of indulgences and the buying of offices. This made him a popular figure with the discontented poor and a threat to both Church and secular leaders. He identified with Czech nationalism that was a threat to the German dominated royal court. In 1444 George Podebrad formed the Hussite League which defied the Catholic Party in Prague and the rest of the country. In this progression religious reform and the death of a martyr gave rise to the establishment of a political party in 1466.
It will be seen that the times of "the number of man", 1266, 1366, 1466, 1566, 1666, 1766, 1866, 1886, 1906, 1926 and 1932( beast out of the earth) can be linked to the beast out of the sea ( the beast with the "ten horns and seven heads"). As mentioned in a previous chapter, this is indicated by the words of Rev 13:17 "which is the name of the beast or the number of his name". This "link" of the beast out of the sea and the beast out of the earth is illustrated by the combined chart of the foundations of the New Jerusalem and the "number of man" on page . The year of the "number of man" that is the link to the beast out of the sea ( the lines of the Chrisian kings that illustrate the gradual fall of the authority of the Christian kings to the rule of men) in the progression of the kings of Bohemia is the year 1466. The year 1466 indicates that in the ongoing rebellion against the Church, political parties would be formed by Christian groups. This was significant, for later the motives of the political parties would be liberty from all forms of authority and the accent would be placed on the "rights of man". In this quest for liberty there would follow the French Revolution and the spread of its ideology. The nations of the entire world in the twentieth century in their quest for liberty ( like locusts eating green grass - Rev 9:3) would ultimately overthrow the power and rule of the Christian Church and State vested in the Christian king and the underming of the truths of Christianity would follow.
SPAIN
Kings of Aragon
1.John I 1387—1395
2. Martin II (of Sicily) 1395—1410
3. Ferdinand of Castile 1412—1416
4. Alfonso V 1416—1458
5. John II 1458—1479
6.Ferdinand II 1479—1516
Ferdinand and his wife Isabella united Aragon and Castile and introduced the Inquisition into Spain in 1478. The Inquisition in Spain led to a multitude of deaths. Being under the control of the monarchs of Spain it was as much a political as a religious agency.
"one is yet to come"
The son of Ferdinand and Isabella dies.
The main message in this progression of Spanish kings is the expansion of the kingdom of Spain to include new territories of the world. Of the utmost importance to us today is the fact that the form of government of the nations that was taking shape in Europe was going to be passed on to the new territories of the world, and eventually the "rule of man" would become the rule of the entire world.
Likewise the Inquisition spread to the new lands across the sea with devastating results on the local people and their descendants who were ignorant of the situation in Europe. They associated Christianity with terrors of physical torture and death.
Ferdinand's daughter Juana was mentally unfit to rule, so her son Charles inherited the Spanish throne.
Five have fallen
It seems as if Revelation is extremely accurate here for Charles inherited a kingdom so large that it was said the sun never set on it. It included numerous territories across the seas. It was a kingdom therefore that had been conquered by kings of different nationalities and therefore the words "five have fallen" take on a new meaning here. It indicate that the time kings would personally lead their armies into battle was coming to an end.
The reader will recall that in Revelation 6:15 "kings and princes" were followed by "generals". These words are going to be repeated later in Revelation 19:18. What Revelation is conveying in the history of the "seven horns and seven hills" is that the authority of those actually waging war would pass from the kings to the ordinary citizens in the armies of the nations. Therefore Revelation is EXPANDING the concept of "five have fallen" to include five countries in which five beasts have already "fallen". The word "fallen" now also has meaning as part of the TOTAL fall of man.
Charles V is categorised under an expanded interpretation of Revelation 17:9—10.
The five kings that were categorised under the words "one is" are the following: Richard II (England), Frederick II (Holy Roman Emperor), Philip IV (France), Sigismund (Bohemia) and Ferdinand II (Spain).
"one is"
Emperor Charles V (1519—1558)
The enumeration of all the territories and titles that Charles inherited, would require pages. Through his mother he became king of Spain, of Naples and Sicily, and ruler of the Spanish dominions in Africa and America (Charles I). Through his father he fell heir to the German possessions of the house of Hapsburg and to the territories of the house of Burgundy. This comprised of Flanders and Artois, the county of Burgundy, Luxemburg and the provinces of the Netherlands (Emperor Charles V). It should be remembered that at this time every ruler in Europe dreaded the might of Spain and the Hapsburgs. The words of Revelation ("remain for a little while") are appropriate here with relation to Spain for Charles had such a vast kingdom that he could spend only a little time on the affairs of Spain itself.
The hill that is associated with Emperor Charles V could well be his institution of the Inquisition to search out heretics in the Netherlands in 1522. Subsequent years saw the publication of nearly a dozen edicts against heresy, each increasingly severe. The harshest was the Edict of Blood issued in 1550. It decreed death for all that were guilty of possessing, selling or copying heretical books. Hundreds of Protestants and Anabaptists were executed.
It seems as if Revelation is symbolically expanding the beast. Because Charles V, was king of such a vast empire world wide, the example that he set would be taken up by numerous countries of the world.
Charles found that the German Catholic princes were unwilling to aid him in stamping out the Lutheran heresy. The princes that had converted to Protestantism were alarmed by Charles’ attitude and on 31 December 1530 they formed the Schmalkaldic League. It would become a formidable force in Europe with devastating consequences.
As mentioned previously Revelation has to do with war. A number of the rulers of the states in Charles' empire were supporting the Reformation and others were Catholic. In other words the division within the Christian Church was leading to war between Christians.
Charles V had an illegitimate son, Don John, who made his name as a commanding officer of the Austrian army, but never became king.
" remain for a little while"
As Revelation seems to be expanding the influence of the beast, it seems that the aspect of the beast that is going to make it acceptable world wide (Rev 17:11 "who once was and now is not") is soon going to become apparent. Emperor Charles V died in 1558 and in 1566 it will be seen how in the provinces of the Netherlands, would revolt against the Church. Religious and political motives ( demands to convene a Parliament) for rebellion would be combined.
Rev 13:17 the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Symbolically Philip II of Spain is regarded as representing both a king in the line of kings that constitute the "seven heads", but also one that is indicated as having made "war against the Lamb" (Rev 17:14). This is done through a correlation with history in a year indicated as " the number of man", the year 1566.
Philip ll succeeded his father as king of Spain and its vast dependencies. He did not inherit the German Empire. He believed that religious unity strengthened political unity and this ideal would bring him into conflict with the Reform movements in the Netherlands. In 1560 he introduced a "more effective" Inquisition in the Netherlands.
In 1566, some four hundred nobles from the various provinces of the Netherlands congregated in Brussels to present a petition to the regent. The petition requested that the Inquisition and the edicts against heresy be moderated and that the States General (Parliament) be convened. While the petitioners were waiting for an answer in Antwerp, Calvinist preachers agitated the mobs that then entered Catholic Churches and smashed images and statues. The revolt spread to other cities. Philip retaliated by sending 10 000 troops under the duke of Alva to the Netherlands.
This action by Philip II seems to conclude the "seven kings" and "the seven hills" for here we have to do with a Christian army moving against Christians because of religious differences. This action therefore indicates "war against the Lamb" and we now have to do with what later will be established as an aspect of the "ten horns" of the beast.
Links to the beasts seen by Daniel
You will remember that the first three beasts seen by Daniel were reversed in Revelation 13:2.
The third beast seen by Daniel "had four wings like those of a bird". As mentioned "four" indicates the four corners of the earth. The influence of the beast would therefore accompany the spreading of the Christian faith to the four corners of the earth.
The second beast seen by Daniel "was raised up on one of its sides". The beast of Revelation 13:2 "had feet like those of a bear". This seems to indicate that the beast was getting ready to "stand up on two feet like a man" (Da 7:4). In the discussion on the red horse in Revelation 6:4, it was said that the the beast of Revelation raised itself on one side in the first millennium and on the 'other' side in the second millennium (see p ). This likely refers to the fact that in two of the progressions of seven kings a new force or political movement developed from the division between Catholics and Reformers. This was the case in Bohemia with the Hussite party and the birth of Bohemian nationalism. The Protestant Reformers in the Netherlands fought against Philip II to gain religious independence but particularly for political independence. Later similar movements would develop in other nations of Europe in the time of the "ten horns". These forces combined to enable "the beast" to ultimately raise itself fully in 1932.
"Get up and eat your fill of flesh" was the other attribute of the beast that resembled the bear, as seen by Daniel. One only has to read the history books concerning the slaughter of human life during the Inquisition and Reformation to understand this.
The "wings were torn off" the lion as seen in the first vision by Daniel, indicates the progression of man’s motives away from the faith in Christ and the supernatural, to the philosophies of the humanists, science, liberation of man, economy, politics, etc.
There is a progression in the seven kings, Richard II, Frederick II, Philip IV, Sigismund, Ferdinand II, Charles V and Philip II from the absolute rule of the king to greater demand by the people for more representative government. There is also the progression from kings protecting the faith, as in the times of the Crusades, to kings taking advantage of religious fervour as a means of gaining political power. "Wings" are symbolic of the power of the faith that spread to the ends of the earth. "Torn off" is symbolic of the decrease in religious drive, when the motives of Christians were essentially for political and other worldly gains.
THE NUMBER OF MAN
It is quite remarkable that what has been said above can be found in the events related to the four years 1266, 1366, 1466 and 1566, that are also part of the first four foundations of the New Jerusalem. (See the chart at the end of the chapter.)
1266
This was the year that Charles of Anjou defeated Manfred, the son of Frederick II and ended the line of Hohenstaufen (hereditary kings of Germany).
1366
At Canterbury Hall, Oxford, Wycliffe allowed monks and parish priests to study together as fellows of the university. In this way the ideas of Wycliffe reached not only the Church, but were carried out to laymen in the parishes and ultimately to other countries of Europe, particularly Bohemia that had royal links with England at that time.
1466
In this year the Hussite political party was formed in Bohemia under George Podebrad. The power of Podebrad’s political party, and the power of Bohemian nationalism, would eventually make him king of Bohemia.
1566
The year in which the people of the Netherlands revolted against Philip II of Spain. This led to the religious war of the Catholic monarch, Philip II gainst the Protestants of the Netherlands.
The chart of the New Jerusalem that is linked to the "number of man"( see p ) can graphically indicate three points of a metaphorical triangle that links the fall of kings ("beast out of the sea") to times of the "number of man".
Holy Roman Empire (which originally included Bohemia)
1212 — Time of "chalcedony" and time of Frederick II (first point of the triangle)
1466 — Time of the rise of the political party in Bohemia, called the Hussite League
1866 — King William I of Germany had little power because Otto von Bismarck actually ruled Germany in the "hour" of twenty-four years that he was king. (The ten horns of the beast will be discussed in the following chapter)
This is symbolic of the total situation in Europe in the second millennium. Kings would move against the Christian church and under the influences of the growing philosophies of man, that faith is not necessary in certain categories of man's endeavours, man would seek ever greater freedom. The quest for freedom brought about rebellions against the State and the Church, and the middle and lower classes of Europe formed strong political parties. Their demands put in place a rule of man that would destroy the powers of monarchy.
Metaphorically many 'triangles' could be drawn to indicate similar situations in other countries of Europe, although they would not necessarily indicate the years of the chart of the New Jerusalem and the number of man. They would, however, indicate:
- the rise of the king and State against the Church;
the revolt of the people against the State and the Church; and
the ultimate setting in place of a government of the people.
These 'triangles' could be extended to the ends of the earth where European colonies sought independence from the kings of Europe.
We can now proceed to the "ten horns" that are ten kings.
Revelation 17:12—14"The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not received a kingdom, but for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings — and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."
To grasp the meaning of these verses we will have to treat them in sections.
Before we go further, consider for a moment the verse:
Revelation 17:11The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king.
He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
In the explanation of the "eighth king", it was said that in the line of ten kings he could be the one that "is going to his destruction" (see p ).
The "beast" in Revelation 17:11 was defined as a line of eight kings. In Revelation 17:12, however, the "beast" is not only the king, but also an "authority" ("along with the beast") in the rule of the nations, that rules with the king. This augmentation becomes apparent once we realise that the development of the "beast" took place over a very long period of time. This great passage of time was conveyed in the explanation of the red horse of the apocalypse (see p ) where it was said that the "beast" that was raised on one side and was getting ready "to stand up on two feet", was linked to the time 1932, but extended over almost the entire second millennium.
The line of seven kings that formed the "seven heads" was the "beast", because at that time the power of the rule of the nations in those seven countries was vested in the king. Under his rule, the conflict with the Christian Church led to the deaths of Christians. In time, the power and authority would shift from the king to Parliament, or to a representative body of another group of people (nobles or ordinary citizens). This representative body would become the "beast" along with the king, because both these authorities were in favour of the ousting of the Christian Church from the direct rule of the nations.
"the beast who was and now is not"
These words indicate a change of opinion. What was once regarded as sinful or unacceptable became acceptable. Considering the tremendous progression of time, this is easy to understand. By the twentieth century most European countries approved the concept that the Christian Church should not be part of the direct rule of the nations.
It therefore seems that the "eighth king" in Revelation indicates a transition from the rule of the king to the rule of the king in conjunction with the rule of ordinary men. This transition would ultimately lead to the destruction of the authority of the anointed king, and the acceptance of the "beast". To pinpoint a specific king is very difficult, but Revelation helps us to overcome this hurdle in the following verse, by indicating ten kings that could be identified by the following directives:
"who have not yet received a kingdom"
This implies that until the end time, when the meaning of Revelation will become clear to us, the kings and their dynasties will never again have absolute power.
2. "for one hour will receive authority as kings with the beast"
For a certain time, they will share the power with an authority that will move against the authority of the Christian Church.
"they have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast"
This implies that the kings are there for only one purpose, and that is to give their power to a body that does not represent the Christian Church.
The question now is how are we going to establish these ten kings.
ONE HOUR
The only way that the length of "one hour" in Revelation could be established, was to look for a span of time possibly relating to what we know as one hour, and to find out whether this number correlates with times of the kings of Europe that were the last of a line of kings. I discovered that several of the kings of the late nineteenth and twentieth century actually reigned for about twenty-four years, but were not necessarily the last of a line of kings.
Therefore, I had to look for ten kings who reigned for approximately twenty-four years and were actually going to their destruction.
Taking into account that the seven kings who were established as the "seven heads" in the previous chapter were of a line of seven kings of seven different countries, I tried to establish whether these kings were of a line of ten kings of ten countries. I discovered that this was the case.
In order to incorporate all the directives of Revelation the "ten horns" had to be linked to the "seven heads" as indicated in the preceding chapter (he belongs to the seven). This seemed to indicate the involvement of the death of Christians, or the enmity of the king against the Christian Church in the time of the rule of the ten kings. It could also mean that they were of the same hereditary line as the seven heads.
What amazed me was that certain events during the times in which the ten horns would "give their power to the beast", could be linked to some of the times of the "number of man" (1266, 1366, 1466, 1566, 1666, 1906,1926 and 1932). Some of the dates of the twenty-four years ("one hour") each of the ten kings reigned, could be linked to the times of the "generations" on the chart of the New Jerusalem.
The ten kings
As we have to do with prophecy, it is possible that other Christian kings could also be added to this list. I chose those kings who definitely indicate the end of a monarchy, or type of monarchy.
In eight of these countries, the king reigned for 24 years or approximately 24 years. In France the 24 years were calculated from the beginning of the reign of Louis XVI to the time of the leadership of Napoleon. This was the time of the French Revolution and the "beast" in France was the desire of the revolutionaries to free man, within the rule of the nations, from the authority of the Christian Church.
In Germany the "one hour" was the time when King William I shared his power and authority with Chancellor Bismarck, who promoted the separation of the Christian Church and State.
Serbia Stephan Urosh IV Dushan 1331—1355
Byzantium John VIII 1425—1448
Poland Sigismund II 1548—1572
England Charles I 1625—1649
Portugal Peter II 1683—1706
France: Louis XVI 1774—1793
Louis died in 1793, but France was without a king until 1798, when Napoleon began to emerge as a leader in France.
HOLY ROMAN EMPERORS
Joseph II August 1765—20 February 179024 years and 6 months
Prussia and Germany
Russia
Spain
I name a sequence of ten kings in each country, because Revelation does not judge any particular king or country. It wants to illustrate the trend of the time and that all nations would at some point follow the same course.
Each of these ten kings, that are the "ten horns", belongs to a progression of ten kings in ten different countries. Each of these "ten horns" was the last of a line of hereditary Christian kings in his own country. After the culmination of his reign of about twenty-four years with the "beast", the power of the hereditary line of which he was a part, would never be restored. The reasons for the fall of these kings differ, but could be attributed to factors related to the "dragon" and the "beast". These factors are recognisable from what we have learned in Revelation about the "dragon" and the "beast".
We know from history that the overthrowing of Charles I in England, and Louis XVI of France during the French Revolution would inspire other countries to set in place governing bodies from the ranks of ordinary men. In the quest for freedom from the bonds of authority of the king and the Church, there was no prerequisite for representation by Christians and no guarantee that Christianity would prevail in the rule of the nations. The "ten horns" therefore did not only relinquish the power of the king, but also the power of the rule of Christianity and Christ. They gave the "beast" the power to rule.
In most European countries, the rule of Parliament gradually replaced the rule of the hereditary kings. Where the progress was too slow, people used violence, which led to revolutions and wars.
The times of the "ten horns", are the times when the kings of these countries finally surrendered their power and authority ("they have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast").
These lines of kings would at some point "make war against the Lamb".
I cannot discuss the history of these kings in detail, because it would take up too much space. I will therefore focus on those aspects of history that seem to link the times of the ten kings, that are the "ten horns", and will clarify the words of Revelation.
THE PROGRESSIONS OF TEN KINGS IN THE TEN COUNTRIES
Nemanjich Dynasty
1. Stephen Namanja 1168—1196
2. Stephen Nemanjich 1196—1227
3. Stephen Radoslav 1227—1234
4. Stephen Vladislav 1234—1243
5. Stephen Urosh 1 1243—1276
6.Stephen Dragutin 1276—1282
7. Stephen Urosh II Miliutin 1282—1321
8. Stephen Urosh III 1321—1331
9. Stephen Urosh IV Dushan 1331—1355
Approximately 24 years
10. Stephen Urosh V 1355—1371
The ten kings of Serbia ruled from 1168—1371, a period of 203 years.
In the combined chart of the foundations of the New Jerusalem and the "number of man", this line of Serbian kings relates to the time of the second foundation of the New Jerusalem (1140—1212) and the second date of the "number of man" (1366). The year 1366 was approximately the time of the fall of the Christian kings of Serbia (see chart, p ).
More about Serbia
Serbia was situated between Rome and Constantinople. The decline of the Byzantine Empire in the latter part of the twelfth century weakened the hold of Constantinople on its domains. It enabled the Serbian prince Stephen Nemanja to subjugate most of Serbia. He was able to consolidate Serbia into a kingdom that would survive up to 1371.
During the time of the Namanjich kings, the monk Rastko, the younger son of Stephen Namanja who later assumed the name of Sava, founded the Serbian National Church. Under Sava, Greek Christianity adapted to Serbian traditions became firmly rooted. This resulted in a close association between the Church and the State of Serbia.
Today we know that the Christian Serbian kingdom of the Namanjich dynasty was not to survive. History tells us that the Namanjichs wished to establish themselves as the heirs of the Greek imperial rulers. In 1346, Stephen Dushan converted the archbishopric of Pec into a patriarchate giving its head the provocative title of Patriarch of the Serbs and the Greeks. Constantinople would not accept this step that threatened its pre-eminence in the Orthodox communion. Nine years later Stephen Dushan was killed on his way to make war against Constantinople. After his death, the kingdom broke up. After 1389, the Christian Church of Serbia had to survive under non-Christian rule. Only in 1878 was the movement for independence successful.
After the Nemanjichs, Serbia would never again have a united Christian Church and king with the power of that dynasty. Therefore, up to this day, almost six hundred years later (1371—1999), the king has "not yet received a kingdom". Could "the beast" have been the intense drive of Stephen Dushan to master Byzantine and dominate the Eastern Orthodox communion that would result in war? This is not impossible, for we know that the "dragon" wanted the division of Christians and "the dragon gave the beast its power" (Rev 13:2). This intense nationalism would continue to the twentieth century.
Lascaris Dynasty (1204—1261)
1.Theodore I 1204—1222
2. John III Ducas Vatatzes 1222—1254
3. Theodore II 1254—1258
4. John IV 1258—1261
Palaeologus Dynasty (1261—1453)
5. Michael VIII (of Nicaea) 1261—1282
6. Andronicus II 1282—1328
7. Michael IX 1295—1320
Andronicus III 1328—1341
8. John V 1341—1391
John VI Cantacuzene 1347—1354
Andronicus IV 1376—1379
John VII 1390
9.Manuel II 1391—1425
John VII (2) 1399—1402
10.John VIII 1425—1448 YEARS
Approximately 24 years
Constantine XI 1148—1453
The time of the ten kings (not including the times of dual monarchs) of Byzantine from 1204—1448 is 244 years.
More about Byzantine
The Byzantinium kings desired a union between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople to strengthen Constantinople against aggression from both East and West. This union was never achieved, for although the two churches held the same truth, irreconcilable differences because of separate development through the centuries, held them apart. It is well known today that political difference between Rome and Constantinople also hindered union.
Could "the beast" in the case of the Byzantinium kings be the inability of the unionists and anti-unionists to overcome their differences and reconcile with Rome in the face of a non-Christian force? Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453. It should be noted that almost the entire reign of John VIII, who reigned for 24 years was devoted to conferences between the churches of Rome and Constantinople seeking to establish union. John VIII wished to achieve union, but the powers and the prejudices of the anti-unionists were too great.
On 13 April 1204 Constantinople fell to the Fourth Crusade. Rightly, historians regard this as the major catastrophe of Western civilisation. Christians, who were supposed to liberate other Christians in Egypt and the Near East, attacked Constantinople and made war against fellow Christians. They looted their possessions. The Byzantinium government, that had shown obvious weaknesses during the twelfth century, could only put up partial resistance. As time progressed, Byzantinium centres of resistance emerged in western Greece, Epirus and Thessalonica and in the Nicaean kingdom in Asia Minor. Some areas in Byzantine were more deeply involved in the struggle to expel the intruding Westerners. The result was Eastern Christians fighting off Western Christians. It was against this background that the kings of Byzantium kings sought union with the Church of Rome. Christians were fighting Christians, "war against the Lamb", before the destruction of the Byzantinium dynasty.
The link to the combined chart of the New Jerusalem and the "number of man" lies in the time of the first foundation (1068) that is linked to the year 1266, a time of ongoing differences between Rome and Constantinople (see chart, p ). In 1266, Michael VIII Palaeologus approached the Pope of Rome, Clement IV, urging the union of the two Churches. This ideal never realised because of the divisions between the two churches ("the beast" ) and Byzantine would fall to non-Christian rule.
Piast Dynasty
1.Vladislav IV (Kujavia) 1320—1333
2. Kasimir III the Great 1333—1370
Angevin and Jagiellon Dynasties
3. Louis of Anjou (King of Hungary)1370—1382
(Queen Jadwiga) (1382—1395) Jadwiga married the grand duke of Lithuania in 1886 and he became king Vladislav V Jagiellon
4. Vladislav V Jagiellon (of Lithuania) 1386 -1434
5.Vladislav VI 1434—1444
6. Kasimir IV (of Lithuania) 1447—1492
7. John Albert 1492—1501
8.Alexander (of Lithuania)1501- 1506
9.Sigismund I 1506—1548
10.Sigismund II Augustus 1548 -1572Approximately 24 years
The ten kings of Poland reigned for a period of approximately 252 years from 1320—1572.
Something more about Poland
During the progressions of the ten kings, both Serbia and Byzantine were empires comprising of a number of states. In the case of Poland, a great and powerful state developed. The nobility in Poland was so influential that they made economic and political arrangements with other governments of Europe, thus undermining the power of the king. By the time Sigismund II, who reigned for 24 years, came to the throne, the position of the king had considerably weakened. When the Jagiellon Dynasty died out after the reign of Sigismund the nobles were so powerful that they elected a foreign king and formed political alliances with foreign countries to advance their own fortunes. The "beast" here, was the desire of the nobles to weaken the authority of the Christian king for their material gain and power.
"War against the Lamb" would be the wars waged by some of these kings of Poland and the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Knights adhered strictly to full co-operation between the Christian Church and State. Revelation is therefore revealing a growing secularism, which is an additional feature of the beast. After the Teutons had been conquered in 1410 and 1466, the Duchy of Prussia changed from a Christian state under the Teutonic Knights to a secular state under Poland.
This history has a link to the combined chart of the foundations of the New Jerusalem and the "number of man" through the years 1466 (the final defeat of the Teutonic Knights) and 1572 (the time of the "hour" of the Polish king that went to his destruction). See chart on page .
Plantagenet Kings
1.Henry V 1413—1422
2. Henry VI 1422—1461
3. Edward IV 1461—1471
Henry VI (2) 1471
Edward IV (2) 1471—1483
4.Edward V 1483
5. Richard III 1483—1485
Tudor Dynasty
6. Henry VII 1485—1509
7. Henry VIII 1509—1547
8.Edward VI 1547—1553
Queen Mary 1553—1558
Queen Elizabeth 1558—1603
Stuart Dynasty
9.James 1 1603—1625
10.Charles I 1625—1649
Approximately 24 years
These ten English kings reigned for a period of 236 years (1413—1649).
Valois Dynasty
- Francis I 1515—1547
2.Henry II 1547—1559
3. Francis II 1559—1560
4.Charles IX 1560—1574
5.Henry III 1574—1589
Bourbon Dynasty
6.Henry IV 1589—1610
7.Louis XIII 1610—1643
8.Louis XIV 1643—1715
9.Louis XV 1715—1774
10Louis XVI 1774—1792 ( As mentioned, from 1792 to 1798 France was without a king.)
From 1774—1798 (the year when Napoleon Bonaparte took over authority of the French government) was 24 years.
These ten French kings reigned for a period of 283 years (1515—1798).
Hapsburg Dynasty
1. Rudolf II 1576—1612
2. Matthias 1612—1619
3. Ferdinand II 1619—1637
4. Ferdinand III 1637—1658
5. Leopold I 1658—1705
6.Joseph I 1705—1711
7.Charles VI 1711—1740
8. Charles VII 1742—1745
9. Francis I 1745—1765
10.Joseph II 1765—1790 (died 20 February 1790)
Approximately 24 years
The last two Holy Roman Emperors followed by Joseph II were:
Leopold II 1790—1792
Francis II 1792—1806
The ten Holy Roman Emperors from Rudolf II to Joseph II reigned for a period of 214 years (1576—1790).
More about England, France, and the Holy Roman Emperor
The progressions of kings in England, France and the Holy Roman Empire seem to relate to the reform movements of Christians and the Reformation which in most countries led to greater parliamentary representation of the middle and lower classes. "War against the Lamb" might include times when the kings were involved in conflict situations with Reformers:
- In 1414, Henry V of England was involved in the uprising of the Lollards ( followers of John Wycliffe)led by Sir John Oldcastle.
In 1545, King Francis ordered the local baron Jean Meynier to massacre the Waldensian Protestants.
Emperor Ferdinand II was one of the kings of Europe involved in the Thirty Years War where Protestants and Catholics waged war.
In the progression of English kings, there was a gradual subordination of the Church to the State, which was particularly evident during the reign of Henry VIII. The struggle between king and parliament in England is well known. After a continuous feud of approximately 24 years, parliament ordered Charles I to be executed. Since then the English kings never again had the same authority.
In France, the revolutionaries were in control between 1874 and 1898. Both Louis XVI and his son Louis XVII died in that time. Not only were the English and French kings stripped of their authority for ever, but the colonies of these two countries would inevitably follow the parliamentary prescriptions of the mother countries. Church and State would ultimately be separate.
"The beast" in these two countries must be representation by the people, and revolution. Revelation is not condemning the rule of the people, but is revealing that man, in exerting his political power, was gradually shifting the influence of the Church out of mainstream politics.
In Austria, Joseph II ruled with his mother Maria Theresa from 1765—1780. After her death, Joseph put into practice his convictions that a new state should be developed embodying ideas that he had culled from the ideas of the philosophers. His ecclesiastic reforms were mainly concerned with the nationalisation of the Roman Catholic Church and its subordination to the State. The first step he took was to pass a decree that no papal regulations were to be published in Austria without the permission of the government. Joseph introduced the same measures in the Austrian Netherlands.
Joseph's adherence to man made philosophies to curb the powers of the Christian Church within the State must be the "authority" of the beast.
The links to the foundations of the New Jerusalem and the "number of man"
In January 1645 (about the time of the ninth foundation of the New Jerusalem), the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, was executed. The English Parliament passed the Five—Mile Act in 1665 and enforced it in 1666. This Act forbade church ministers in England from coming within five miles of their parishes if they refused to take the Oath of Non-resistance. This was an example of how the new institution of government could regulate the Church.
In the year 1788 (the eleventh foundation of the New Jerusalem), the French nobility, the First Estate, the Church, the Second Estate, and the Third Estate (anyone that did not belong to the nobility or the clergy) obtained equal representation in the Estates General (the French Parliament). The French king was compelled to succumb to the will of the bourgeoisie. During the French Revolution the nobility and the Church were ousted from the direct rule of the nation — an ideology that would spread to all of Europe and ultimately the entire world.
Joseph II of the Hapsburg Dynasty started his reign in 1766 (the number of man linked to the sixth foundation [1428] of the New Jerusalem). He wished to put the philosophies of men into practice in his domain. It is interesting to note that after the death of John Huss (1415), mass demonstrations took place in Prague in 1419, and four captains were appointed to administer the city. As early as 1421 Bohemia and Moravia (provinces of Czechoslovakia) renounced the rule of King Sigismund and formed their own governments. Czechoslovakia was later part of the Austrian Empire, under Joseph II. From c 1428, the people of central Europe demanded reform.
Braganza Dynasty
1.Peter II 1683—1706 (approx. 24 years)
2.John V 1706—1750
3.Joseph 1750—1777
Maria I 1777—1816
Peter III 1777—1786
4. John VI 1816—1826
5.Peter IV 1826
Maria II 1826—1828
6.Miguel 1828—1834
Maria II 1834—1853
7.Peter V 1853—1861
8.Luis 1861—1889
9.Charles 1889—1908
10.Manuel II 1908—1910
The ten Portuguese kings reigned for a period of 227 years (1683—1910).
Bourbon Dynasty
1.Philip V 1700 — 1724
Luis 1724
2. Philip V (2) 1724—1746
3.Ferdinand VI 1746—1759
4.Charles III (of Naples) 1759—1788
5.Charles IV 1788—1808
6.Ferdinand VII 1808
7.Joseph Bonaparte 1808—1814
Ferdinand VII 1814—1833
Isabella 1833—1868
8.Amadeus of Savoy 1870—1873
9.Alfonso XII 1874—1885
10.Alfonso XIII 1886—1931( about 24 years, for in 1930 he
and his family were forced to leave Spain)
Alphonso XIII was a minor and only ruled as king from 1906—1931.
The Spanish kings ruled for a period of 231 years (1700—1931).
Hohenzollern Dynasty
1. Frederick the Great Elector 1640—1688
2. Frederick I 1688—1713
3. Frederick William I 1713—1740
4. Frederick II the Great 1740—1786
5. Frederick William II 1786—1797
6. Frederick William III 1797—1840
7. Fredrick William IV 1840—1861
8. William I 1861—1888
The 24 years that Chancellor Bismarck ruled with the king (1866—1890) has been chosen here.
9. Fredrick III 1888—
10. William II 1888—1918
The rule of these ten Prussian and German kings stretched from 1640—1918, therefore a period of 278 years.
Romanov Dynasty
1.Peter I 1682—1725
Catherine 1725—1727
2. Peter II 1727—1730
Anne 1730—1740
3. Ivan VI 1740—1741
Elizabeth 1741—1762
4. Peter III (Holstein Gottrop) 1762
Catherine 1762—1796
5. Paul 1796—1801
6. Alexander I 1801—1825
7. Nicolas I 1825—1855
Alexander II 1855—1881
9. Alexander III 1881—1894
10. Nicolas II 1894—1917 ( 23 years. He was shot in 1918)
The ten Russian kings ruled from 1682—1918, a period of 235 years.
More about Portugal, Spain, Prussia, and Russia
Frederick, the Great Elector, of Prussia was involved in the Thirty Years War. The other progressions of kings that dated from the end of the seventeenth century reigned at a time when the religious wars had more of less subsided. However, all these countries had kings that moved against the Church:
- In 1570, Ivan the Terrible of Russia ordered Christians to be massacred in Novgorod.
Spain and Prussia (as well as a number of other countries) were involved in the Thirty Years War.
Philip II of Spain declared war against the Protestants of the Netherlands. His successors Philip III and Philip IV ruled Portugal for a time (1580—1640).
The histories of the kings in these four countries seem to focus on dramatic changes in government, which led to the rule of man. The king, after a reign of 24 years, lost his power. In the time of the above four progressions of kings throughout the Christian world, the Church and the State were finally separated.
More about Portugal
In Portugal, the Spanish kings governed until 1640. Growing Portuguese demands for independence led to the election of the Braganza Dynasty, which would be the last line of kings in Portugal. In 1688, during the reign of Peter II (who reigned for approximately 24 years), Spain finally recognised the independence of Portugal. In 1693, gold and diamonds were discovered in Brazil that brought great wealth to the Braganza kings. They dispensed with the Cortes (Portuguese parliament ) for almost a century. The close proximity and ideologies of the French Revolution influenced thinking in all countries of Europe, and in Portugal it led to political friction and instability that would last up to the twentieth century.
In Portugal, where the fall of the ten kings started with the king that reigned for twenty-four years, the progression of the last ten kings of Braganza would see the development from independence to republic in 1910. Gradually the Portuguese parliament became more powerful and ultimately in 1910 it was able to overthrow the monarchy.
"The beast" in the history of Portugal during the time of the rule of Peter II must be growing demand by the people for independence from the Spanish crown, and the people's election of the king. These were the first steps in an ever—greater demand to enforce the will of the people. In the time of Peter II, lucrative mining in Brazil brought great wealth to Portugal. Mining laid a tremendous burden on the Indian population of Brazil, who were persecuted and reduced to slavery in the pursuit of wealth.
These hardships and the ideals of freedom spread by the French Revolution inspired the Brazilians to demand freedom from the rule of the mother country. Eventually the rule of man was set in place in South America.
The link of the progression of the Portuguese kings to the foundations of the New Jerusalem must be the time 1716, the tenth foundation of the New Jerusalem. In this interpretation, it is seen as the time of the development of the ideology of the "Supreme Being". The Freemasons incorporated this concept into their 'rules' in order to avoid religious friction when it came to trade and international relations. It was this kind of thinking in the minds of the merchants of the earth that ultimately led to the removal of Christianity from the rule of nations — nations that in the twentieth century would become totally dependent on trade and would scoff at the laws of Christianity within global mercantilism.
In Portugal it was the time that inhumanity to man was overlooked in the course of accumulating wealth. Portugal was not alone, for horrific tales were recorded of cruelties to the inhabitants of the Americas, Africa and the Far East by the maritime nations of Europe, in the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. This attitude was irreconcilable with Christian morality, and those who claimed to be Christian conveyed a "prostitute" message.
Something more about Spain
In 1700, the Spanish throne passed from the Hapsburgs to their archrivals the Bourbons of France. The Austrians would not take this without resistance. The war of Spanish Succession followed, and the territories of Spain were further divided among the powers of Europe. In 1766, a papal order expelled the Jesuits from New Mexico. Charles III saw them as a threat to authority. This is an indication of the corruption that was prevailing in sectors of Spanish authority and Spanish territorial possessions in the New World at that time. The removal of the Jesuits from New Mexico, where they had established a moral and intellectual leadership, and were popular among Creoles and Indians, would lead to rebellion.
From that time until the twentieth century, Spain would experience revolution, the overthrow of the monarchy, and dictatorship. Because of Spain's close proximity to France the ideas of the revolution would spread to Spain. In 1796, Charles IV, allied Spain to France. Nelson defeated the Spanish fleet at Trafalgar in 1808. Spain's domestic problems encouraged revolutionary independence movements in South America and by the time of the reign of Ferdinand VII, Spain's colonial empire in South America had virtually ceased to exist.
The link to the "number of man" is the year 1766 when the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico.
There was a succession crisis after Ferdinand's death and a period of political instability until 1868. A republic was proclaimed in 1873, but a decree of 1874 put Alphonso VII on the throne. He was confronted by a rebellion in Spain in 1876 and died in 1886, leaving the regency to his wife.
In 1898, Spain lost Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the United States. During the reign of Alfonso XIII of Spain "the beast" (action to secure the rule of man) took on various forms. Revolt took place in Catalonia in 1923. Parliament was dissolved and the constitution abrogated. All but one party were banned in 1925. Trade unions revolted and the military took over. After free municipal elections and the proclaiming of the Second Republic, the king had to leave Spain in 1931. The "beast" clearly no longer "the beast".
Something more about Prussia
Austria's decisive defeat by the Prussian army in 1866 in the Seven Weeks War changed the political map of Germany. During the following twenty-four years Bismarck would greatly "take over" authority that was formally vested in the king. "The beast" could possibly be the fact that Bismarck came into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church in 1866 and published a set of laws which forbade the Church from intervening in the affairs of State and the clergy from discussing politics from the pulpit. According to the German constitution, civil and political rights were guaranteed irrespective of religious belief. As discussed in a previous chapter, the removal of the Christian Church from the direct rule of the nations of Europe and the acceptance of freedom of religion seemed to subdue religious differences and achieve peace on earth. The beast was no longer the beast ("the beast that once was, and now is not"). However, the beast was to develop again at the end of the twentieth century as freedom of religion would ultimately lead to the undermining of the truths of Christianity.
Something more about Russia
The last Romanov of Russia, Nicolas II, reigned for 24 years. It seems that his decisions brought about the downfall of the dynasty. Perhaps history was finally indicating that the "rule of man" was inevitable. There was no toleration for absolute power vested in the king. In 1905 a revolution of the citizens of St Petersburg, inspired mutinies and riots throughout Russia. Nicolas was forced to grant the people a constitution, a parliament, and liberty rights. Nicolas was not sincere and instituted a council that curbed the power of the Duma (parliament). The council also frequently dismissed the Duma.
The revolutionary movement was not to be subdued and split into two factions, the Bolshevik (majority) and the Menshevik (minority). The Bolshevick gained the upper hand and new strikes and revolts resulted in the abdication of Nicolas II. Between 1918 and 1922 the Bolsheviks successfully resisted their opposition, but Russia was exhausted and a rigid communist government was set in place.
The "beast" here is likely the revolution and the lawlessness that accompany revolt. When bloodshed and destruction in 1922 disrupted Russia, the communists could adopt a dictatorial government in Moscow.
The "beast" in the last four progressions is likely the institution of the rule of man and the removal of the influence of the Church from government.
The link to the foundations of the New Jerusalem must be the year 1906 in which Nicolas granted concessions, but could not curb the unrest among the people. The rule of man, surely the most severe in the history of any Christian country, was adopted in Soviet Russia. By 1932, ninety percent of the Christian Church, as it was in 1918, had been destroyed.
24 years or 240 years
What is particularly interesting is that the times of these ten progressions of ten kings together give us a total of 2403 years, and an average of 240 years. Therefore, an "hour" could also be 240 years if it included the Far West or last 'fourth' of the earth. This is not impossible considering that Revelation initially divides the earth into three sections and finally into four sections. (See p .) page .
Years
Serbia 203
Byzantine 244
Poland 252
England 236
Portugal 227
France 283
Holy Roman
Emperor 214
Prussia and
Germany 278
Spain 231
Russia 235
2403
It seems as if Revelation is showing how man's quest for political freedom, nationalism, and government by the people undermined the authority of the Church. It also caused a cooling down of religious fervour (therefore ultimately the rider on the pale horse). Through "war against the Lamb" man gradually edged the Church from the rule of the nations until it was generally accepted that the Church must not be part of the State. Of course, it will never be again, for we know that the process of freedom cannot be reversed. During the rule of the ten kings, the masses’ only concern was liberty.
Revelation 17:15—16 Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
The history of the ten kings indicates the meaning of "not yet received a kingdom". Revelation is revealing that the ten kings who reigned for 24 years would never have a kingdom, for "the beast" had already taken over the authority to rule.
We can now establish "the beast". Some nations were brought to a fall because of divisions among Christians (Serbia and Byzantine). Some, after revolt against the king and the Church, sought to right the wrongs of ruthless kings and a corrupt clergy. Nations realised that through the concept of the power of the majority certain privileges could be attained. Initially it was the will of the nobles and the lords against the kings (Poland and England) and later Parliaments against the kings (England, France, Portugal). Later it was the will of the middle classes and the peasants against the kings (France) and ultimately the trade unions and the masses against the kings (Spain and Russia).
Man believed majority rule would be a more just form of government. In this process, however, the Church or the spiritual, was excluded from main line politics. In their determination to obtain majority government, society lost its Christian values.
As mentioned before, rule by ballot or community rule, as well as the separation of Church and State, spread to the new colonies.
Revelation reveals that the gradual exclusion of Christian rule from the State through the "war against the Lamb" and the image of the "prostitute", occurred in all countries: "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages."
This was initially illustrated through the enmity between the kings and the clergy who were caught up in a power struggle, and later in the following generations through the religious wars between Christians.
1932
Through the image of the "waters", we know that we have reached the year 1932. (See the explanation of Rev 8:8 and 14:7, pp .)
Isaiah 17:12 Woe to the multitude of many people,
which make a noise like the noise of the sea;
and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing
like the rushing of many waters.
The nations shall rush like the rushing of mighty waters:
but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off.
Through the images and words of this reference it seems as if the reasons for revolts ("rushing of nations") in Europe were rebuked by God ("woe") and would spread world-wide in the time that ships ("noise of the sea") took men to the ends of the earth ("far off"). Revelation reveals that God will intervene when the revolts of the masses can no longer be controlled, and the final fall will follow when "God remembered Babylon the Great" (Rev 16:18).
The time 1932—1956 is the time of the fall of Babylon and the time that the nations will rise up to secure freedom and independence, throughout the world.
Revelation 17:14 They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them, because he is Lord of lord and King of kings — and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.
Revelation is revealing the truth. The kings and the nations were involved in wars, not only against their fellow Christians, but also against the Lamb. Therefore as the esteem of the Church within politics was diminishing, Christian values were gradually disappearing from society and revolt became more prevalent. As is often seen in Africa, Asia and the Americas today revolt leads to lawlessness: murder, rape, looting and theft. To know that Christ is with his faithful followers at the end of the twentieth century is a great comfort to Christians who have to live in this lawless world.
We should note that "the beast and the ten horns will hate the prostitute". The history of the ten kings illustrates this statement. Through the centuries, there was tremendous friction between the Church and the State. History tells us that all levels of society, from the king to the peasants, came into conflict with the Christians in the Church. So did those in authority, who through their actions were not conveying Christianity. A prostitute sells herself for money. Therefore, Revelation seems to accentuate the actions by Christians that promoted wealth and not the gospel.
Revelation states the revolt of the nations against Christianity emphatically. The image of the prostitute that is cast aside and the idea of lost regard or esteem seem to forego the event of destruction: "They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire."
Considering the ousting of the Roman Catholic Church from Rome to the Vatican in the second half of the nineteenth century, the destruction of the Christian Church in the Soviet Union between 1918 and 1932, and the atrocities of the Third Reich against the Christian Church in Poland and other countries of Europe, Christian nations were ultimately "eating her flesh".
We must remember that it was also a power struggle. The early progressions of seven kings illustrate the "hatred" between the Christian kings of Europe and those within the Roman Catholic Church who wished to gain power over the kings. The Church could only accomplish and maintain power if it had the financial means to support armies. Therefore, the Church had no choice but to obtain wealth in the same way as the monarchs of Europe. However, the Church was in the position to get monies from wealthy members, who had to buy "forgiveness" for their sins. In this way, the Church over centuries changed from the "woman" (Rev 12) to the "prostitute". In the later centuries the "prostitute" included Christians from Europe who accumulated wealth to the detriment of the inhabitants of the new countries of the world, thus carrying out a false concept of Christianity.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Church had lost its position in the governing of the nations. Today it is widely accepted that the Christian Church has no right to be part of the government although Christians know Christ is not satisfied with half measures. You are either for him, or against him.
By the time liberated man took over the government of the nations and came to rule through the power of the ballot, the anti-Christian church tradition within politics had become accepted practice.
The mystery
Why the accent on the kings? It is to illustrate the mystery of the oneness that existed between Christ, the Christian Church and the Christian king. Once this unity had been destroyed, Christian values deteriorated. Man’s hope to achieve peace by the rule of man and by the ironing out of religious differences failed dismally. The history of the Balkans provides a good example.
Majority rule, now and in future, cannot guarantee that Christian values will be maintained.
Although the future looks dark, Revelation has words of hope for every Christian:
Revelation 17:17"God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule until Gods words are fulfilled."
Therefore the democratic rule or rule of the majority will remain in place until the Second Coming.
Revelation 17:18The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.
Revelation wishes to illustrate the development of "the woman" to "the prostitute" through the development of the "great city". In the following chapter, we will follow the progression of trading empires through the centuries. Revelation 17:18 covers a tremendous span of history for it says: "the woman you saw is the great city" In other words from 1068 (the first foundation of the New Jerusalem — before the "woman" became the "prostitute") to the time of the democratic rulers of the earth (kings of the earth) whose main aim will be to maintain the "great city" (a global economy).
Revelation indicates the inevitable. All men, regardless of their status, are prone to succumb to the subtle forces of the beast. They will gradually succumb to worldliness and move away from Christianity. However, Revelation also reveals that the Trinity is keeping a constant check on the situation.
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