In this post, I will seek to explain, by allowing the Bible to be its own interpreter, what I personally believe to be one of the most precisely foretold and already fulfilled prophecies in scripture in relation to the Vatican/the Papacy being the literal kingdom of antichrist.
As I trust you already know, in Bible prophecy, a “beast” is representative of a “king” and its “kingdom”.
For example, we read:
“These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.” (Dan. 7:17)
Again:
“Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.” (Dan. 7:23)
“The first beast” or first kingdom of Revelation chapter 13 and the "beast” or kingdom of Revelation chapter 17 are one and the same.
For example, we read:
“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, HAVING SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS, and upon his horns ten crowns, AND UPON HIS HEADS THE NAME OF BLASPHEMY.” (Rev. 13:1)
“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.” (Rev. 17:3)
Both “beasts” or kingdoms have “seven heads and ten horns”, and both “beasts” or kingdoms are “full of names of blasphemy” because they are one and the same.
With such in mind, I’d like for you to please consider the following prophecy concerning this “beast” and its “deadly wound” which “was healed”.
We read of the same three times in Revelation chapter 13 in the following passages of scripture:
“And I SAW ONE OF HIS HEADS AS IT WERE WOUNDED TO DEATH; AND HIS DEADLY WOUND WAS HEALED: and all the world wondered after the beast.” (Rev. 13:3)
“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of THE FIRST BEAST BEFORE HIM, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship THE FIRST BEAST, WHOSE DEADLY WOUND WAS HEALED. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to THE BEAST, WHICH HAD THE WOUND BY A SWORD, AND DID LIVE.” (Rev. 13:11-14)
The reason that I began by showing that “the first beast” or first kingdom of Revelation chapter 13 and “the beast” or kingdom of Revelation chapter 17 are one and the same is because the prophecy actually states that “one of his heads” (Rev. 13:3) or one of his “seven heads” (Rev. 13:1, 17:3) would be “wounded to death” (Rev. 13:3) at some point in history only to be “healed” (Rev. 13:3, 12) or to "live" (Rev. 13:14) again at a later point in history.
I don’t know about your background, but I was always wrongly taught that this “head” would be some sort of head of state or world ruler who would apparently be killed and then raised from the dead in a manner that would mimic the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
In reality, that teaching, as popular as it is in many churches or in what one might rightly call "mainstream Christianity", simply isn’t true as these “seven heads” in no way, shape or form are representative of heads of state or anything even remotely related to the same.
Well, what do these “seven heads” actually represent?
We read:
“And 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, which hath THE SEVEN HEADS and ten horns. 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. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. THE SEVEN HEADS ARE SEVEN MOUNTAINS, on which the woman sitteth.” (Rev. 17:7-9)
According to the angel with whom John spoke, “the seven heads are seven mountains” or “seven hills”.
The underlying Greek word "oros",
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G3735&t=KJV
which is here translated as “mountains”, is translated as “hill” in Matthew 5:14, Luke 4:29, and Luke 9:37 in the King James Version of the Bible,
"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an HILL cannot be hid." (Matt. 5:14)
"And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the HILL whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong." (Luke 4:29)
"And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the HILL, much people met him." (Luke 9:37)
so my suggested translation of “seven hills” is perfectly justifiable.
In fact, there are Bible versions (NIV, NLT, CEV, GNT, WNT) which actually translate this portion of scripture as “seven hills”, and you can verify that for yourself here:
http://biblehub.com/revelation/17-9.htm
With such being the case, when John “saw ONE OF HIS HEADS AS IT WERE WOUNDED TO DEATH; AND HIS DEADLY WOUND WAS HEALED” (Rev. 13:3), he actually foresaw one of Rome’s "seven hills” (Rev. 17:9) receive a “deadly wound”, only to eventually be “healed” of the same.
How in the world can a “hill” receive a “deadly wound” and then be “healed” of the same?
Such is not only possible, but it is already recorded history and one of the most precise prophecies in scripture which properly identifies the Vatican/the Papacy as the Biblical kingdom of antichrist.
Please allow me to explain…
One of Rome’s “seven hills” is the Caelian Hill,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_hills_of_Rome
and here is a little information about the same:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateran_Palace
“THE LATERAN PALACE (Latin: Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran (Latin: Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and LATER THE MAIN PAPAL RESIDENCE IN SOUTHEAST ROME.
LOCATED ON ST. JOHN’S SQUARE IN LATERAN ON THE CAELIAN HILL, the palace is adjacent to the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral church of Rome. FROM THE FOURTH CENTURY, THE PALACE WAS THE PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE OF THE POPES, AND CONTINUED SO FOR ABOUT A THOUSAND YEARS UNTIL THE APOSTOLIC RESIDENCE ULTIMATELY MOVED TO THE VATICAN. The palace is now used by the Vatican Historical Museum, which illustrates the history of the Papal States. The palace also houses the offices of the Vicariate of Rome, as well as the residential apartments of the Cardinal vicar, the pope's delegate for the daily administration of the diocese. Until 1970, the palace was also home to the important collections of the Lateran Museum, now dispersed among other parts of the Vatican Museums.
FOLLOWING THE LATERAN TREATY OF 1929, THE PALACE AND THE ADJOINING BASILICA ARE EXTRATERRITORIAL PROPERTIES OF THE HOLY SEE. [Notes 1]”
The Lateran Palace is located on the Caelian Hill.
It was “the principal residence of the popes and continued on for about a thousand years until the Apostolic Residence ultimately moved to the Vatican”.
Although the Papacy originally resided in the Lateran Palace upon Caelian Hill, their residence eventually moved to its current location for the following reason:
http://www.papalartifacts.com/portf...d-photo-of-the-signing-of-the-lateran-treaty/
“A very significant event for the papacy that occurred in the 20th century was the signing of the Lateran Treaty in 1929.
Up until 1870, the Vatican owned territory that was referred to as the Papal States, which in essence, included the whole central portion of Italy. The Papal States’ territory was first assembled in the 6th century as a means of protection for the Church. These states ceased to exist in 1870 when the empire of Italy, in order to unify it, confiscated the land referred to as the Papal States.
And so, from 1870 all the way to 1929, the popes were referred to as ‘the prisoner of the Vatican,’ because they each, in turn, refused to agree to the terms the new nation of Italy made. They did not recognize any authority by Italy over them. In turn, the Vatican was not recognized as a nation. Therefore, once elected pope, he lived and died in literally that small 108-acre enclave that surrounds Saint Peter’s Basilica, because he refused to leave. He claimed to be the head of state, but the state that was surrounding him didn’t recognize him as such.
So, between 1870 and 1929, there was no coinage minted and no stamps made. There was nothing official that represented the Vatican City-State as an actual nation. But in 1929, because of growing political pressure, which had been mounting for decades, the nation of Italy and the Vatican together agreed upon terms that constituted what came to be known as the Lateran Treaty. It would have been, in essence, July 4, 1776 for us. It was signed on February 11, 1929 and ratified by Italy on June 7, 1929. It’s the day that the modern-day Vatican City-State got its independence and was recognized as a nation.”
In other words, as was recorded in newspapers of the day, the Papacy, which originally resided at the Lateran Palace upon Caelian Hill, received a “deadly wound” in 1870 when the Papal States were temporarily stripped of their power and the popes were referred to as “prisoners of the Vatican”.
This “deadly wound” was then “healed” in 1929 with the signing of “The Lateran Treaty” upon Caelian Hill.
This is by no means my forced interpretation of a Biblical prophecy.
Instead, this is precisely what the newspapers of that day reported themselves.
(Continued in my next post)
1
1
