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| ''The angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her.'' (Revelation 17:7) | | ''And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.'' (Revelation 17:7) |
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| | William Branham's teachings on Revelation 17 deserve some attention. |
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| The following article is a summary of William Branham's teachings on Revelation 17. | | =Babylon: A city by another name= |
| | [[Image:7Hills of rome.jpg|thumb|230px|The seven hills of Rome]] |
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| <div style="border-bottom:1px #B87333 solid; text-align:center; font-size:140%; padding:1px; margin:1px;">Babylon: A city by another name</div>
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| The Book of Revelation is a book of symbols, and every word has a meaning. When Jesus preached on earth, he spoke in parables, and every object in these parables had a meaning. Although known for his compassion, Jesus spoke in parables so that other people would not understand what he meant (Matthew 13:13). The book of Revelation is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, and follows the pattern of parables and symbolism. | | The Book of Revelation is a book of symbols, and every word has a meaning. When Jesus preached on earth, he spoke in parables, and every object in these parables had a meaning. Although known for his compassion, Jesus spoke in parables so that other people would not understand what he meant (Matthew 13:13). The book of Revelation is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, and follows the pattern of parables and symbolism. |
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| Revelation 11:8 says, “the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” This scripture is speaking of Jerusalem physically, but revealing its underlying immorality. When the book of Revelation speaks of Babylon, it is identifying the spiritual failures of historical Babylon - confusion, anti-god, idol worship – but is speaking of another city: Rome. | | Revelation 11:8 says, “the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” This scripture is speaking of Jerusalem physically, but revealing its underlying immorality. When the book of Revelation speaks of Babylon, it is identifying the spiritual failures of historical Babylon - confusion, anti-god, idol worship – but is speaking of another city: Rome. |
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| | =Rome: Sitting on Seven hills= |
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| <div style="border-bottom:1px #B87333 solid; text-align:center; font-size:140%; padding:1px; margin:1px;">Rome: Sitting on Seven hills</div>
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| [[Image:7Hills of rome.jpg|thumb|230px|The seven hills of Rome, and the Vatican]]
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| The Catholic Encyclopedia states: "It is within the city of Rome, called the city of seven hills, that the entire area of Vatican State proper is now confined" (The Catholic Encyclopedia, Thomas Nelson, 1976, s.v. "Rome").
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| The '''Seven Hills of Rome''' east of the Tiber form the heart of Ancient Rome. The original city was held to have been founded by Romulus on the Palatine Hill, and the other six hills are now called the Aventine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, and Caelian. The independent settlements on these hills began to unify into what is now known as Rome as the marshes between the hills were drained, and as inter-settlement religious games began to be held. | | The '''Seven Hills of Rome''' east of the Tiber form the heart of Ancient Rome. The original city was held to have been founded by Romulus on the Palatine Hill, and the other six hills are now called the Aventine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, and Caelian. The independent settlements on these hills began to unify into what is now known as Rome as the marshes between the hills were drained, and as inter-settlement religious games began to be held. |
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| While the Vatican Hill, Northwest of the Tiber River, is not one of the Seven Hills of Rome, this hill has been included within the city limits of Rome since Pope Leo IV (848 - 852 A.D.) expanded the city walls to protect St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican.
| | =The Identity of the Woman= |
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| <div style="border-bottom:1px #B87333 solid; text-align:center; font-size:140%; padding:1px; margin:1px;">The Identity of the Woman</div>
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| In the New Testament, Christ is referred to as the man, and the Church is referred to as the woman. It is in this context that Paul says in his letter to the Church at Corinth, ''"for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ."'' (II Corinthians 11:2)
| | William Branham stated that |
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| The Woman, therefore, is a church. Based on Revelation 21:2 which says, "''And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband''", church, woman, and city all refer to the same thing. That great city on which the woman sits is Rome, the city of seven hills. The woman, or church, of this city is none other than the Roman Catholic Church.
| | :'' '''A woman in the Bible always represents the church.''' Christ is coming for an espoused virgin. The old prostitute of the Bible was called "the church setting on the seven hills," the Roman church. Oh, church... <ref>BUT.IT.WASN'T.SO.FROM.THE.BEGINNING BLOOMINGTON.IL 61-0411</ref> |
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| | But contrary to what William Branham stated, the Bible does not say refer to "the church setting on the seven hills". What it does say is that "the woman which thou sawest is that great city..." |
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| <div style="border-bottom:1px #B87333 solid; text-align:center; font-size:140%; padding:1px; margin:1px;">Why the Woman is called a Whore</div> | | Jerusalem itself had been pictured as a harlot by both Isaiah<ref>Isaiah 1:21</ref> and Ezekiel<ref> Ezekiel 1:15</ref>. Likewise Nahum describes Ninevah’s barbarities in terms of “the wanton lust of a harlot, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft”<ref>Nahum 3:4</ref>. Similarly Isaiah’s litany over Tyre<ref>Isaiah 23:15–18</ref> calls for her to “take up a harp, walk through the city, you forgotten prostitute; play the harp well, sing many a song, so that you will be remembered.”<ref>Gordon D. Fee, Revelation, New Covenant Commentary Series (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011), 242.</ref> The typing of the city of Rome to a harlot is therefore imagery taken from the Old Testament, something that is common throughout the Book of Revelation. |
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| ''But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.'' (II Corinthians 11:3)
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| ''Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.'' (Revelation 2:20)
| | Another example of blasphemy is the hierarchy of Rome. The Bible instructs that Jesus Christ is the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23). By inserting a Pope and congregation of cardinals between the Churches and Jesus Christ (ie. between the body and the head), the Roman Catholic Church offers the spiritual equivalent of the guillotine to its followers. |
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| A whore is someone who takes her relationship beyond her marriage vows. Paul cautioned the Corinthians not to corrupt their doctrine with the lies of the serpent. For a Church, accepting false doctrine is the equivalent of being a whore: it means leaving the scriptures to supplement God with traditions.
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| Roman Catholic tradition requires its followers to call priests "Father", which was forbidden by Jesus (Matthew 23:9). Roman Catholic tradition also requires its followers to bow in reverance to images (icons) and statues (idols) of saints, which is forbidden by the scriptures (I John 5:21). But above all, the seduction of the Roman Catholic Church is its doctrine, called the "doctine of devils" (I Timothy 4:1) which, among other things, forbids to marry (at least for priests and nuns), and teaches to abstain from meats (traditionally, the only meat Catholics will eat on Friday is fish).
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| | =Guilty of the Blood of the Martyrs= |
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| <div style="border-bottom:1px #B87333 solid; text-align:center; font-size:140%; padding:1px; margin:1px;">The Wine of Fornication</div>
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| |''And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'' (Revelation 14:8)
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| ''And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:'' (Revelation 17:4)
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| In the second century, the Church at Rome began disputing with the churches in the East about the method of celebrating Easter and communion, but was quieted by the personal intervention of Polycarp and Irenaeus. At the council of Nicea in 325, the Roman method of communion was adopted, and was thereafter enforced by Constantine and the Roman Empire. After St. Columba evangelized the Picts in what is now Scotland, the Roman Catholic Church sent its missionaries up, who disputed about the date of Easter and method of communion with the Celtic Christians until the Kings expelled the Ionian monks in favour of the Catholic monks.
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| Throughout history, the Catholic church has been known to withhold and grant its form of communion for political reasons, for money, for discipline, and for other favours. William Branham prophecied that the Catholic Church would unite with the Protestant Churches on the method and form of Communion<ref name="WCC"> [[World Council of Churches]]</ref>. The fact that Rome's form of communion is called the "wine of fornication" reveals only one thing: her form of worship through communion is wrong.
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| <div style="border-bottom:1px #B87333 solid; text-align:center; font-size:140%; padding:1px; margin:1px;">A woman of Power</div>
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| ''And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:'' (Revelation 17:1)
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| ''And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.'' (Revelation 17:15)
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| This immoral church, called the whore, sits upon many water, which represent many and diverse people. Not only does the whore have great religous power, it also has great political and economic power. Revelation 18 prophecies its demise, and says, ''"And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:"'' and, ''"for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived."'' (Revelation 18:11,23)
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| The Roman Catholic Church's membership in 2005 was estimated at 1/6th of the worlds population, or 1.1 billion people.<ref name="Population">Central Statistics Office (2007). Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2005. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. ISBN 978-88-209-7928-7.</ref>. The Vatican is also a strong international diplomatic player, enjoying full diplomatic relationships with 176 different countries as of July 2007. <ref name="Economist"> The Economist, Article: God's Ambassadors, July 21, 2007, Pg. 58-60</ref> Most American Presidents visit the Pope at least once during their term in office, signifying the importance of the Catholic vote in the United States.
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| The Bible calls this great city an attractive woman, as many were enticed by her promises of pleaseure and wealth. Revelation 18:3 says that, ''"all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies."'' Pope Leo X was quoted as saying ''"Since God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it."'' Solomon, however, advised against joining in her pleasure, saying, ''"For the lips of a strange woman drop [as] an honeycomb, and her mouth [is] smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword."'' (Proverbs 5:3-4)
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| <div style="border-bottom:1px #B87333 solid; text-align:center; font-size:140%; padding:1px; margin:1px;">A Woman of Wealth</div>
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| ''How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.'' (Revelation 18:7)
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| The Vatican City is a city of great and ancient culture. In Rome, old pagan temples - priceless pieces of artwork and real estate - were converted into Cathedrals. Today, the Vatican city displays some of the World's most treasured sculptures and paintings, as well as architecture, gold, jewels, ancient artifacts, and literature. From the pavement to the ceiling, each building in the Vatican is a symbol of overwhelming excess and wealth.
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| Revelations 18 says the following about the wealth of this city, that will be lost on its demise:
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| :''And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft [he be], shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;...The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.'' (Revelation 18:22, 12-14)
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| ''The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.'' (Revelation 17:8)
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| The beast is the organization and hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, including the Pope.
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| '''The Beast that was:''' The Pagan Roman Empire, the great persecutor of the Christian Church.
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| '''The Beast that is not, and yet is:''' The Papal Roman Empire, the second great persecutor of the Christian Church.
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| ''And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!'' (Revelation 18:16)
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| Purple is the royal colour of Rome. While Pagan Rome was defeated thousands of years ago, Papal Rome continues today. The Pope often dresses in white, Bishops in Red, Cardinals in purple, and Priests in black. Some Papal tiaras are covered in gold and precious stones, as are many statues and figures within the Vatican City.
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| <div style="border-bottom:1px #B87333 solid; text-align:center; font-size:140%; padding:1px; margin:1px;">Names of Blasphemy</div>
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| ''and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy,'' (Revelation 17:3b)
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| ''And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.'' (Revelation 13:6)
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| The Beast contains the spirit of the Antichrist. Revelation 13:8 says that, ''"all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.'' The names of blasphemy is anything that removes the name of the King of Kings, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, from his rightful place as head of the church. Blasphemy also means to ridicule, and make fun of.
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| One example of the names of blasphemy is the Catholic method of [[Water Baptism|water baptism]], in which a person is sprinkled in the Name of the Father, and in the Name of the Son, and in the Name of the Holy Spirit. The problem is that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not names. The Name that should be used is the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. A close reading of the book of Acts reveals that every baptism of the early church was performed in the Name of Jesus Christ, and not titles. Titles is a substitute, which is spiritual fornication and blasphemy.
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| Another example of blasphemy is the hierarchy of Rome. The Bible instructs that Jesus Christ is the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23). By inserting a Pope and congregation of cardinals between the Churches and Jesus Christ (ie. between the body and the head), the Roman Catholic Church offers the spiritual equivalent of the guillotine to its followers.
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| Smucker's Glorious Reformation records that the Roman Catholic Church martyred 68,000,000 Christians during the Dark Ages and Reformation. Foxe's Book of Martyrs records a similar history of the brutality of the Catholic Church and its inquisitions. No other church or organization today can be said to be guilty of such massive extermination, and even the 6,000,000 who perished in the Holocaust is only 10% of this number.
| | Rome persecuted the Christian church relentlessly once it turned on them. In fact, Nero ordered the death of believers in Rome using them as living torches for his infamous garden parties.<ref>Gordon D. Fee, Revelation, New Covenant Commentary Series (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011), xx.</ref> |
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| The Catholic Church is also the only religous organization with a standing army, the Papal Guards. Regardless of the size of this army, its past has been shared with the Templar knights, the Crusaders, and other organizations of more obvious brutality - all performing their crimes in the name of Christ with the Blessing of the Roman Catholic Organization.
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| ''And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.'' (Revelation 2:23)
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| The Catholic church was prophecied in the book of Revelation as the Great Whore, having mixed the gospel of God with the ideas of men. The Bible tells that she is guilty of the blood of the martyers, and sits in a city built on seven hills (Rome). The Bible also says that this woman is the Mother of Harlots. As the Mother of Harlots, the Catholic Church produced other churches which also mixed the gospel of God with the ideas of men. These Harlots are the Protestant Churches, some of which refer to the Roman Catholic Church as the "Mother Church".
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| ''So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.'' (REVELATION 17:3)
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| ''And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.'' (Revelation 17:12)
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| Unlike the ten horns in Revelation 13 which have crowns, these ten horns only have power as kings (i.e. they are dictators with the power of kings, but are not kings). According to Revelation 17:16, these dictators will ultimately ''"hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire."''
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| ''And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird...Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong [is] the Lord God who judgeth her.'' (Revelation 18:2, 8)
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| The whore, which is the Roman Catholic Church situated in the Vatican City, will be demolished in one day. William Branham prophecied that this would take place as part of an atomic attack on the city.<ref name="Vatican"> [[Destruction of the Vatican]]</ref> With the demolition of the Vatican City and its inhabitants will come and end to the myth of Apostolic Succession.
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| '''William Branham, The Second Seal, Jeffersonville, IN, March 19, 1963'''<br><font size='-1'>''Tell me one... Russia don't reign over all; we don't reign over all. There's only one king that reigns over every... like that Nebuchadnezzar's iron running out to every one of them toes, that it's Rome. Rome don't do it as a nation; it does it as a church.''</font>
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| '''Revelation 18:4'''<br><font size='-1'>''And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.'' </font>
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