Christian History | The Rise of the Antichrist [ 31 AD - 538 AD ]
What is the Antichrist? Who is the Antichrist? In the whole Bible, it was John the Apostle alone, in his epistles, that made mention of the actual word, Antichrist. What does God mean by this? The word Antichrist or Antikristos (Greek) speaks for itself, it means - enemy or opponent of Christ, and if anyone is the enemy of Christ, he is the enemy of God. Is it an animal, or angel, or a person? Let's find out!
Jesus came to Earth for one reason alone - to preach and demonstrate the truth of the saving gospel. In His own words, He read the prophecy concerning His mission, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19) The whole Bible is centered around the plan of salvation.
Let us not be oblivious regarding the other side of the coin, while Jesus Christ is doing His work, Satan, the arch nemesis of Christ, has his own counterplans. Does the Bible speak these plans? Certainly yes! Besides the warnings provided by Paul, Peter, and other apostles, Daniel and John wrote extensively about a power that exalts itself against the God of heaven.
In his first epistle, John wrote, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John 4:1-3)
Even in his time, John saw the signs that the spirit of the antichrist was already brewing. The manifestation of this spirit, he states, was a sign of the end of time, "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." (1 John 2:18-19)
The antichrist shall rise from within the church itself as John has identified. It is the result of harboring a spirit that opposes everything about Jesus Christ. John said there are many antichrists, but he says that there was a main player by saying, "...ye have heard that antichrist shall come..." Where did they hear this teaching?
It was Paul who wrote about the antichrist. As a sign of Christ's second coming, Paul wrote, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2) The apostles have been advised and counseled by Jesus Himself about the signs of his second coming and the end of the world (read Matthew chapter 24).
Paul continues, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) The antichrist will be revealed when a great rebellion occurs. "Falling away" means apostatizing or rebellion against the truth of Christ. Paul identifies the antichrist as a man, the son of perdition, assuming the position and worship of God.
Where can we find more information about this character? In the writings of John of course! Before he wrote his epistles, John was on Patmos writing the visions shown to Him in the book of Revelation.
He saw the beast rise out of the sea, having sevens heads, 10 horns which 10 crowns upon them, its mouth was like that of a lion, feet like a bear, body of a leopard, and the Dragon gave him his power, his seat and great authority.
The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given the power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
Where in the Bible do we find a lion, bear, leopard, and dragon in one place? In the book of Daniel (chapter 7) of course! In his vision, Daniel was told that the four beasts were four kingdoms that will arise on the earth, one after the other. A clearer explanation was one concerning the fourth beast which had 10 horns, but a little horn grew up after, plucking out three of the previous ones.
Said the interpreter, "The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time. But the judgment will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him." (NIV Daniel 7:23-27)
Let us list the similarities between the little horn of Daniel 7 and the Beast of Revelation 13:
- They are both political powers. (a beast in prophetic terms represents an empire)
- They both persecuted the people of God.
- Time, times, and half a time which is the Hebrew equivalent of three and a half years. Forty-two months is equal to three and a half years. Their tyrannical rule lasted for three and a half years. (We will decypher this these symbols later)
- They both speak great words and blasphemy against God.
We, therefore, conclude that the little horn and the leopard-like beast are the same power described by different writers. To identify exactly who the Antichrist is, we look at the kingdom upon which it seats, which was the dragon, which gave it power.
Revelation chapter 12 gives us a clue about the dragon kingdom. The vision of John speaks of a radiant woman who was about to give birth to a son who was to rule the nations with an iron rod. The dragon stood before her to eat her child as soon as it was born, but the child was snatched up to God and to his throne. No one will deny that this was the story of Jesus' birth and His ascension to heaven.
What kingdom ruled the world during His time? "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. {taxed: or, enrolled} (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. {taxed: or, enrolled} And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem..." (Luke 2:1-4) It was Imperial Rome. Through King Herod, the dragon kingdom wanted to kill Jesus at Bethlehem but failed.
What were the four kingdoms that came before Rome?
- It was Cyrus the Great of Persia, who had defeated Lydia and Egypt, that took over the Babylonian empire during Daniel's time in 539 BC.
- It was the Greeks, through Alexander the Great, who took over the Persian empire in 331 BC.
- It was the Romans who took over the four Greek divisions during the 2nd century BC.
According to the accumulated symbols from the writings of Paul, John, Daniel, and the very words of Christ, let us establish a few parameters for identifying the Antichrist:
- He will rise from within the Christian church through apostasy and rebellion against the truth.
- He is a false prophet, masking himself under name of Christ. (see Matthew 24:4-5, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15) He seems to be a Christian, but he is not.
- The seeds of his rebellion were already being sown during the days of the apostles.
- The Roman Empire gave the Beast its seat, power, and great authority.
- He will be worshipped.
Does history prove that such a character really arose from within the early Christian church? Let's find out!
Christ gave a clear strategy of how the apostles were going to carry out the gospel work, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
The apostles started with the Jews, teaching in the Jewish synagogues along the Mediterranean sea, going as far as Rome and Alexandria in Egypt. God did not intend for them to stop there, the non-Jews (Gentiles) were also subjects for the Kingdom and the Gospel was for them also. The Gentiles believed the Gospel and wanted to join the Christian movement, however, there were certain Jews who disputed that "Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved..." (Acts 15:1) This matter caused a controversy which was resolved in the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem in 49 AD. After firm discourse from the apostle Peter, the council decided not to trouble the Gentiles concerning matters of circumcision, but they must be let into the church on the condition that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. Over time, the Gentiles will learn the ways of God by going into the synagogues on the Sabbath day, listening to the scriptures being read.
According to the account in the book of Acts, the early apostolic Christian church upheld the writings of Moses, which were read in their weekly gatherings every Sabbath day. This was what the Jews called: The Torah (The Law), which included Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Numbers, and Leviticus. However, these were not the only books they believed in. Paul himself said, "I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets." (Acts 24:14) The prophets included the books written by the prophets like Daniel, Malachi, Psalms, etc. This means that the apostolic church, like Paul, believed in the writings of Moses and the prophets of the old testament.
The Antichrist will oppose the very foundation of the early Christian church - The Scriptures.
Although they were under serious persecution from Emperors Nero (54 AD - 68 AD), Domitian (83 AD - 93 AD), for the most part, the Roman Empire left Christianity alone during the 2nd century. Emperor Diocletian (284 AD - 305 AD) conducted the last of the Christian persecutions by Roman emperors. Under his rule, the empire was divided into Eastern and Western Rome, with his son in law as Emperor of the West from the city of Rome, and himself as Emperor of the East in the Greek city of Nicomedia in the province of Asia Minor. Diocletian wanted stability in the kingdom which was determined by pax deorum "peace of the gods", but Christianity was a thorn in his side. Persecution of the Christians was to bend their will to adhere to Mithraism, which was the worship of Emperors as gods.
Years later, Constantine the Great rose to power, reunited the whole empire, renamed Byzantium to Constantinople, and made it the capital of the empire and was a Christian until his death in 337 AD. Because his success was greatly attributed to a dream he received of the symbol of the cross, Constantine ended centuries of Christian persecution through the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christianity in 313 AD, which later became the state religion in 380 AD. Christianity displaced the polytheistic Roman religion, which viewed the emperor as having a divine status, and also shifted focus away from the glory of the state and onto a sole deity. Meanwhile, popes and other church leaders took an increased role in political affairs, further complicating governance. The name: Universal or Catholic [Latin] was the result of the union of state and church, giving birth to the Roman Universal (Catholic) Church.
During Constantine's reign, there were at least four main administrative Christian centers in the church: Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, and Rome; all with their respective head bishops. “Pope” or “father” was the title given to all the Patriarchs in the Early Church, such as the Bishops of Alexandria, and Antioch, but in the end of course came to refer especially to the Bishop of Rome.
When churches in different regions had a disagreement, he, like some bishop-of-bishops constituted by God, called his ministers to a conference. He was not above sitting with them in their meeting, and even took part in their discussions, taking charge of everything that concerned the peace of God. He took his seat in the midst of them as one individual amongst many, dismissing his bodyguards and soldiers because he was protected by the fear of God and surrounded by the guardianship of his faithful friends. Those whom he knew to be calm, conciliatory and sound in judgment received his highest approval, because he delighted in harmony and agreement, and did not look kindly on the unyielding and dogmatic.
The first ecumenical council of this new Christian movement was called by the emperor in 325 AD. The main agenda of the council was to resolve the controversial doctrine of Arianism, which asserts that the Son was not eternal as the Father, taught and advocated by the deacon Arius of Alexandria. Emperor Constantine was deeply upset by this division, not least because it threatened the stability of the Empire. Constantine’s chief concern was that a divided church would offend God and so bring divine vengeance upon the Roman Empire and Constantine himself. Schism, in Constantine’s view, was inspired by Satan. Its partisans were acting in defiance of the clemency of Christ, for which they might expect eternal damnation at the Last Judgment. Approximately 300 bishops were present and the vote was to reject the doctrine, however, more than 40 years after the death of Constantine, Arianism was actually the official orthodoxy of the Eastern Empire.
Although this may seem to be a victorious era for Christians, little did they know that prophecy was being fulfilled, the foundations of the Antichrist power were slowly being set up within the Roman-Christian arena. The Dragon kingdom was slowly breathing life into the Beast Power.
The Council of Nicea also recognized Sylvester, Bishop of Rome as the first Bishop of the Empire. Under Sylvester, the organization of the churqch was formed upon the model of the organization of the state. Years later, Emperor Valentinian I enacted a law making the bishop of Rome judge of other bishops.
One of the most controversial councils in Christian history took place at Laodicea from 363 AD - 364 AD. The result of this council was the publishing of 60 new canonical laws which was to govern the church from then on. Let's look at a few of these canons:
- Canon 29: Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day (Sunday: first day of the Week); and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.
- Canon 60: These are all the books of Old Testament appointed to be read: 1, Genesis of the world; 2, The Exodus from Egypt; 3, Leviticus; 4, Numbers; 5, Deuteronomy; 6, Joshua, the son of Nun; 7, Judges, Ruth; 8, Esther; 9, Of the Kings, First and Second; 10, Of the Kings, Third and Fourth; 11, Chronicles, First and Second; 12, Esdras, First and Second; 13, The Book of Psalms; 14, The Proverbs of Solomon; 15, Ecclesiastes; 16, The Song of Songs; 17, Job; 18, The Twelve Prophets; 19, Isaiah; 20, Jeremiah, and Baruch, the Lamentations, and the Epistle; 21, Ezekiel; 22, Daniel. And these are the books of the New Testament: Four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; The Acts of the Apostles; Seven Catholic Epistles, to wit, one of James, two of Peter, three of John, one of Jude; Fourteen Epistles of Paul, one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Galatians, one to the Ephesians, one to the Philippians, one to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, one to the Hebrews, two to Timothy, one to Titus, and one to Philemon.
I noticed two problems present within these two canons:
- The outlawing of keeping holy of the weekly seventh-day Sabbath was a direct contradiction to the customs of the early apostles who, by the custom of Jesus, rested on the Sabbath and went to their synagogues where the Scriptures were read. We see clear evidence through the words of Peter during the council of Jerusalem in 49 AD, where he recommends that the newly converted gentiles were recommended to enter synagogues nearest to them on the Sabbath to listen to the books of scripture that were read. (see Acts chapter 15) Our Lord Jesus, as His custom was, went to synagogues on the Sabbath. (Luke 4:16) Paul, as his manner was, went to people during the Sabbath day, reasoning with them from the scriptures. (Acts 17:2)
- The Apocalypse (Revelation) was not present in their list of canonical church books which were to be read and studied by the people.
A council in Rome, A. D. 378, enlarged the Bishop of Rome to the powers of judging, and petitioned the emperor Gratian to exempt the bishop of Rome from all civil jurisdiction except that of the emperor alone; to order that he be judged by none except a council, or the emperor direct; and that the imperial power should be exerted to compel obedience to the judgment of the bishop of Rome concerning other bishops. The current emperor, Gratian, granted part of their request and it was made to count for all.
There was also opposition to the Christianizing policy of the Emperors in the western part of the Empire. In 379 AD, Valentinian I's son and successor Gratian declined to wear the mantle of Pontifex Maximus, and in 382 AD he rescinded the rights of pagan priests and removed the Altar of Victory from the Roman Curia, a decision which caused dissatisfaction among the traditionally pagan aristocracy of Rome. Theodosius I later decreed the Edict of Thessalonica, which banned all religions except Christianity.
The political situation was unstable. In 383 AD, a powerful and popular general named Magnus Maximus seized power in the West and forced Gratian's half-brother Valentinian II to flee to the East for aid; in a destructive civil war the Eastern Emperor Theodosius I restored him to power. In 392 AD, the Frankish and pagan magister militum Arbogast assassinated Valentinian II and proclaimed an obscure senator named Eugenius as Emperor. In 394 AD the forces of the two halves of the Empire again clashed with great loss of life. Again Theodosius I won, and he briefly ruled a united Empire until his death in 395 AD. He was the last Emperor to rule both parts of the Roman Empire before the West fragmented and collapsed.
Innocent I, Bishop of Rome from 402 AD - 417 AD, asserted that the superior dignity of the bishopric of Rome was derived from Peter, whom he designated the Prince of the Apostles; and that in this respect it took precedence 158 of that of Antioch because that in Rome Peter had accomplished what he had only begun in Antioch. He demanded the absolute obedience of all churches in the West, because, as he declared, Peter was the only apostle that ever preached in the West; and that all the churches in the West had been founded by Peter, or by some successor of his.
In 408 AD, the Visigoth leader, Alaric raised a rebellion that both halves of the Empire could not handle. In the efforts to contain the Goths in the West, Vandals, Alans, and Suevi, in large numbers, took the opportunity to invade Rome's Gaulish territory in 406 AD. While the East began a slow recovery and consolidation, the West began to collapse entirely. Alaric's men sacked Rome in 410 AD.
Bishop Celestine of Rome (422 AD - 432 AD) plainly declared in a letter: "As I am appointed by God to watch over His Church, it is incumbent upon me everywhere to root out evil practices, and introduce good ones in their room, for my pastoral vigilance is restrained by no bounds, but extends to all places where Christ is known and adored."
Christianity continued its descent into darkness as Leo, the Bishop of Rome (440 AD - 461 AD) ascended to power. At the
very moment of his election he was absent in Gaul on a mission as mediator to reconcile a dispute between two
of the principal men of the empire. He succeeded in his mission, and was hailed as "the Angel of Peace," and the
"Deliverer of the Empire." In a sermon, he showed what his ambition embraced. He portrayed the powers and
glories of the former Rome as they were reproduced in Catholic Rome. The conquests and universal sway of
heathen Rome were but the promise of the conquests and universal sway of Catholic Rome. Romulus and Remus
were but the precursors of Peter and Paul. Rome of former days had by her armies conquered the earth and sea:
now again, by the see of the holy blessed Peter as head of the world, Rome through her divine religion would
dominate the earth.
During Leo's time, Christianity was divided into two by what many scholars today call The Great Schism. Greek-speaking Eastern Christianity, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, upheld beliefs about the nature of Christ and God and other doctrines that were contrary to that of the Roman Western Christians, headed by the Bishop of Rome (Pope St. Leo).
Leo was in dispute with the Patriarch of Constantinople upon who should have supremacy over the Christian church, "...thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19) This verse was used to enforce Leo's belief in his authority, not just over Rome, not just over Italy, but over Christianity and the world.
One of the greatest achievements of Leo was his successful negotiation with Atilla the Hun, saving Rome from being conquered by the barbarian. Attila retired beyond the Danube, where he immediately
died; and Italy was delivered. He was not so successful with Genseric two years afterward, yet even then he
succeeded in mitigating the ravages of the Vandals, which were usually so dreadful.
While the West fell to the rule of the Germanic kingdoms, the Eastern Empire remained intact. This was the fulfillment of the vision of 10 horns which sat on the fourth beast in Daniel chapter 7. In Bible Symbolism, the number 10 signifies a complete set that stands together at the same period of time, while the number 7 signifies a complete set that comes one after another in chronological order (learn more). These 10 kingdoms were none other than the Germanic tribes who coexisted in the West - Ostrogoths, Lombards, Suevi, Anglo-Saxons, Heruli, Vandals, Franks, Visigoths, Burgundians, and Alemanni.
In 476 AD Romulus, the last of the Roman emperors in the west was overthrown by the Germanic leader Odoacer, who became the first Barbarian to rule in Rome. Nevertheless, he proved to be no match for the Ostrogothic king Theodoric, who was appointed king of Italy by Eastern Emperor Zeno in 488 AD in order to prevent the Ostrogoths from raiding in the Eastern Empire. Theodoric invaded Italy in 489 AD and by August 490 AD had captured almost the entire peninsula, forcing Odoacer to take refuge in Ravenna. The city surrendered on March 5, 493 AD; Theodoric invited Odoacer to a banquet and there killed him.
Theoderic's efforts to build a system of alliances in Western Europe were made difficult both by counter diplomacy, for example between Merovingian Franks, and also the arrival of a new Germanic people into the Danubian region, the Lombards who were initially under Heruli hegemony. The Herulian kingdom on the middle Danube, founded in the late 5th century, fell to the Lombards early in the 6th century. Some survivors are reported to have returned to Scandinavia, while others entered Roman service.
Theoderic preserved the Roman customs, aristocracy, bureaucracy, and religion because of his appreciation of the benefits that the Empire has developed, winning over the Senate who reinforced and legitimized his rule. In order to secure the obedience of the Romans, the Germanic rulers assimilated themselves into the Roman customs, presenting themselves as defenders of Rome. Theodoric ruled Italy from his capital city, Ravena for thirty-eight years, A. D. 493-526, during which time Italy enjoyed such peace and quietness and absolute security as had never been known there before. But not alone did civil peace reign. Above all, there was perfect freedom in the exercise of religion.
In a letter to the emperor Justin, A. D. 524, Theodoric announced the genuine principle of the rights of
conscience, and the relationship that should exist between religion and the State: "To pretend to a dominion over the conscience, is to usurp the prerogative of God. By the nature of things, the power of sovereigns is confined to political government. They have no right of punishment but over those who disturb the public peace. The most dangerous heresy is that of a sovereign who separates himself from part of his subjects, because they believe not according to his belief."
There was conflict among the aspiring candidates for the Bishopry of Rome during Theoderic's rule resulting in civil war and assassination attempts. When the king managed to resolve the conflict, Pope Symmachus wrote to the emperor of the East that "a bishop is as much above an emperor as heavenly things, which the bishop administers and dispenses, are above all the trash of the earth, which alone the greatest among the emperors have the power to dispose of."
Years later, Justin, a firm adherent of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, ascended to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire. Together with his nephew Justinian, they sought to make the Catholic religion prevalent everywhere, and this meant getting rid of all heretical practices like Arianism, Judaism, etc. Theoderic, who was an Arian Christian, tried with all his efforts to resolve this rising problem by peaceful negotiations with Emperor Justin. He sent an embassy to the east, choosing Pope John I as its leader. On his arrival at Constantinople, the Pope was received with the most flattering honors. The whole city, with the emperor at its head, came forth to meet him with tapers and torches, as far as ten miles beyond the gates. Emperor Justin knelt at his feet, and implored his benediction. On Easter day, March 30, 525, Justin performed the service in the great church, Epiphanius, the bishop, ceding the first place to the Pope." Theoderic learned of this conspiracy and upon his return, Pope John I was received as a traitor and was put to prison where he died.
Theodric, who was now seventy-four years old, witnessed the conflict caused by the vacant seat of the Pope. The Clergy, Senate, and the people were divided into factions aspiring for the Papal seat. The king feared there would be bloodshed and murder. Using his monarchical authority, he presumably named and appointed the Bishop of Rome, but was met with serious oppositions from all factions. But a compromise was effected, by which it was agreed that in future the election of the pope should be by the clergy and people, but must be confirmed by the sovereign. Upon this understanding, the people accepted Theodoric's nominee; and July 12, 526 AD, Felix III was installed in the papal office. The noble Theodoric died Aug. 30, 526 AD, and was succeeded by his grandson Athalaric, about ten years old, under the regency of his mother Amalasontha.
The Ecclesiastical Empire has been established, endorsed by the Emperor of the East! Justinian I rose to the throne and began his work. Pope Boniface secured the Papal throne by the death of his predessesor. In the year 532, Justinian issued an edict declaring his intention "to unite all men in one faith." Whether they were Jews, Gentiles, or Christians, all who did not within three months profess and embrace the Catholic faith, were by the edict "declared infamous, and as such excluded from all employments both civil and military; rendered incapable of leaving anything by will; and all their estates confiscated, whether real or personal."
The Arian Goths of the west were a thorn in the side of the Papacy. Justinian was his hand in getting rid of it. The crusade began with the invasion of the Arian kingdom of the Vandals in Africa, of whom Gelimer was the king. in June, 533 AD, uncder the command of Belisarius, a fleet of six hundred ships was ranged in martial pomp before the gardens of the palace," laden and equipped with thirty-five thousand troops and sailors, and five thousand horses. He landed on the coast of Africa in September; Carthage was captured on the 18th of the same month; Gelimer was disastrously defeated in November; and the conquest of Africa, and the destruction of the Vandal kingdom, were completed by the capture of Gelimer in the spring of 534 AD. During the rest of the year, Belisarius "reduced the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Majorica, Minorica, and whatever else belonged to the Vandals, either on the continent or in the islands.
As soon as this pious work of uprooting the Vandal kingdom had been fully accomplished, the arms
of Justinian were turned against Italy and the Arian Ostrogoths. After long sieges and casualties on either side, Rome was delivered from the hands of the vanquished Ostrogoths, March 12, 538. The district immediately surrounding Rome was called the Roman duchy, and it was so largely occupied by the estates of the Church that the bishop of Rome claimed exclusive authority over it. Emperor Justinian I, indeed, continued to control the elections and to enforce the payment of tribute for the territory protected by the imperial arms; but, on the other hand, the Christian pontiff exercised a definite authority within the Roman government, and claimed to have a voice in the appointment of the civil officers who administered the local government.
In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote, "Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness."
The Papacy had to overcome a lot of obstacles on its rise to power. It climbed on the back of kingdoms to achieve its goal. The plucking out of three horns marked the establishment of the Little Horn Power of Daniel chapter 7. The three kingdoms were, as outlined in the historical accounts above, the Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths. Therefore, the year A. D. 538, which marks the conquest of Italy, the deliverance of Rome, and the destruction of the kingdom of the Ostrogoths, is the true date that marks the establishment of the temporal authority of the papacy, and the exercise of that authority as a world power. The Roman Pontiff and Emperor Justinian I have fulfilled this prophecy, creating a union of state and church that would wreak havoc upon the known world in years to come.
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