Last time in Part 5, we saw how the World Mission Society Church of God set the beginning year for the prophecy of the 1260 days (years) at A.D. 538, it being the year the Ostrogoths were "destroyed by the Papacy." And we saw that statement was not based on historical fact.
There is another claim about the year 538 that should be addressed. The Pope-is-Antichrist teaching says this is also the year Emperor Justinian decreed the Bishop of Rome to be head over all the churches (government merging with the church) and "Vigilius ascended the papal chair in 538 AD under the military protection of Brasilius [Belisarius]." (source)
Is this a true fact? Did Justinian install Viligius as Pope in 538, thereby changing "Pagan Rome" into "Papal Rome"?
No. While Vigilius may have been appointed by Justinian, he became Pope in 537, not 538. Also, the Pragmatic Sanction of Justinian giving the Pope official sanction to run civil affairs in Rome on behalf of the Byzantine Empire was not issued until August 554. So you see, there is still no historical basis to use the year 538.
That was enough to convince me that the prophecy of 1260 days was NOT fulfilled by the Catholic Church from the years 538-1798.
But just in case you are still not sure, look at what else is to happen during these 1260 days:
Daniel 7:21
I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them
Daniel 7:25
... the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time.
For a time and times and half a time.
Revelation 13:5,7
5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue [make war] for forty-two months.... 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.
The beast makes war against the saints (the people of God) during this time.
This is a big problem for the World Mission Society Church of God in particular, because according to their other doctrine there were NO saints during the time period of 538-1798!
The WMSCOG teaches that salvation was unattainable from approximately 325 to 1948. Why? Because according to the WMSCOG, the Passover (the key to salvation...or at least one of the requirements) "was abolished at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 ... [and] completely disappeared from the world," and was not restored until Ahnsahnghong came in 1948. (source) I checked this with a WMSCOG deaconess, and she confirmed that, according to their doctrine, NO ONE was saved during this approximate time frame.
How is it possible for the beast to make war on the saints, when there are no saints?
Here's something else that is to happen during these days:
Revelation 11:2
But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure
it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy
city underfoot for forty-two months.
The Holy City is Jerusalem. For the WMSCOG, Jerusalem may refer to "Heavenly Mother Jerusalem" or "Mother God" (Zahng Gil-Jah). They might also consider the Holy City to refer to Zion, which to them means the place where the feasts of God are kept, which to them means the World Mission Society Church of God.
In other words, to the WMSCOG, this prophecy could be fulfilled by the "trampling underfoot" of the literal Jerusalem, "Mother God," or themselves.
Were any of those trampled underfoot for the years 538 to 1798? No. Jerusalem has had its share of problems, but they are not limited to 538-1798, and the WMSCOG Zions and Zahng Gil-Jah did not exist yet.
In that case, could it be a literal 3 1/2 years? Only if it is in the future.
One more thing we should see about the 1260 days (years):
Revelation 11:3
And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.
(for the full context of the two witnesses, read Rev. 11:3-13)If these 1260 days were the years 538 to 1798, who were the two witnesses of God? Recall that according to the WMSCOG there were NO people of God on the earth during that time period.
In summary:
The Catholic Church does NOT fit the prophecy of ruling for 1260 days (years). The historical record shows no reason to select the years 538 to 1798, and neither does it support the characteristics of the rule of the beast, considering WMSCOG doctrine.
Click here to go on to Part 7.
Arian Ostrogoths under Theodoric had controlled Italy since 493, and had even imprisoned Pope John I, who died in Ostrogoth custody in Ravenna in 526. Catholic Emperor Justinian, who began waging open war with the Arians in the 530s, declared the Bishop of Rome the head of all Christian churches in 533, and commissioned his General Belisarius to destroy the Arian Vandals and Ostrogoths. The Vandals were defeated in 534 in the battle of Tricamarum. Turning his attention to the Ostrogoths, General Belisarius took Rome in December of 536, and under the direction of Emperor Justinian, deposed and exiled Pope Silverius who had been installed by the last Ostrogoth King of Italy, Theodahad, who had terrorized the clergy into electing his pro-Gothic candidate. Silverius died a prisoner. Belisarius installed Vigilius, a confidant of Empress Theodora, as the Bishop of Rome in March of 537. In quick reply, the Ostrogoths rallied and laid siege to Rome. When the siege was finally broken by General Belisarius in March of 538, the Ostrogoths withdrew from Rome in defeat, leaving it in the Emperor's control, and Vigilius as the Bishop of Rome (who reigned until 555 A.D.). So it was in 538 A.D. that Emperor Justinian's Decree of the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome over the Church could actually be implemented, beginning the prophetic 1260 years of temporal rule by the papacy
ReplyDeleteWhy this prophesy of Daniel is also awesome is that it happened exactly as prophesized. In 476 AD, the Roman Empire fell and the Caesar "restrainer" was removed (see 2 Thessalonians 2:7). The 1260 year period when the antichrist (Roman Papacy) would preside over the dark ages, inquisition, etc began a little later in 538 AD after the Roman Empire had already collapsed and an eastern empire ruler named Emperor Justinian issued his famous decree that made the Pope the legal "Head of all the Holy Churches". This began the prophesized reign of that antichrist (Papacy system).
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the WMSCOG. But have you looked at the arguments laid out by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church? They hold the same 1260 years fulfilled by Catholic Church, but they also believe that "saints" are true believers and that there were plenty of them through out history, even during the "1260" years. The Catholic Church did kill a lot of Christians that just didn't believe what the Church believed.
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