Sunday: Deadly Wound Healed
Read Revelation 13:1-10 and go over the reasons why this is referring to the papacy, both its role in the past and in the future. Notice specifically just how prominent a role it is given. What does this mean in terms of last-day events?
Image © Steve Creitz from GoodSalt.com
Though God has faithful people in all churches, Scripture does point to a specific role that this institution has played in history and will play in last-day events.
Read Revelation 13:3. What is happening here, and what does this teach about Rome’s prominence?
For centuries the Roman church had been the central religion and, in many ways, the political center of the Western world. A telling example of her power is seen in the story of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, who, angering Pope Gregory VII, came to the pope’s castle to make peace. There, the Roman emperor was made to wait in an outer court for three days in the winter cold before the pope granted him entrance. Gregory VII, elated with his triumph, boasted that it was his duty to pull down the pride of kings.
Nevertheless, through the influence of the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution, Rome’s political and religious hegemony had been shattered by the late eighteenth century. One of the popes, Pius VI, had actually been taken captive by the French army in 1798 and died in exile in 1799.
Revelation chapter 13, however, speaks of a resurgence, the healing of its “deadly wound”. And though Rome today doesn’t have the kind of political power it wielded in the day of Gregory VII, yet thanks to the popularity of recent popes, it is an influential force, both religiously and politically (for instance, Pope Francis’s speaking to both houses of the American Congress in 2015 was a historical first). According to prophecy, this influence will only grow.
| How can we be faithful to the message that we have been called to preach but do so in a way that causes as little offense as possible? Why, though, must we not bow down to “political correctness” as we proclaim present truth? |
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When Pope was captured and put in exile, it seemed the dark era was to end for Christianity.
However, the prophecy was this deadly wound will be healed. This was reenacted in 1929 when the Italian government re-established the political and diplomatic standing of the Catholic Church.
I can be comforted in knowing all of God's prophecy will come to pass.
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
The infliction of the deadly wound was not just the capture of pope Pius vi but it happened over a period of time the first by the protestant reformation which later culminated into the french revolution which disposed the papcy.
If we share the truth in love and guide by the Holy Spirit of God we should not offend anyone.
Esther Moran
Hi Esther, Looking at the example of Jesus it clearly shows many would be offended, that is why we will be place in prison and put to death. Think about it, today it is politically incorrect to call sin by what it is, even if you do it in love. Look at the scribes and the pharisees who Jesus loved dearly and wanted to save, but they were always offended by his messages. Expect the hate, expect that everyone will not want to hear the word of God. Matthew 24:10 states And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. Just dont be surprised when you are fired, Thrown in prison and labeled hateful because of the word of Christ.
The bible is clear John 16:2
Jesus says some will throw you in prison thinking they are doing that for Christ. In the history of these world all those who preached the gospel faithfully ended up into the hands of the enemy and persecuted. We should expect that to happen. So let's keep on preaching the message without fear.
To those who are aware of this prophecy(Rev 13) and it's true meaning, the verse to highlight is verse 8, where it tells how everyone who dwells(lives) on earth at this time will worship this hybrid sea beast, "whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
This makes being sure of one's name being written in the Lamb's book of Life of greatest importance. Only good and faithful servants are written in this book. Doesn't this place our understanding of the gospel as our highest priority?
Who are we choosing to serve, and thus worship each day?
It is by uplifting "The Lamb Slain From The Foundation Of The World," in our lives and how we deal with others that our names will be found written in his book and will escape the worshipping of the Beast that rises up out of the sea and that the whole world will wonder after.
We are to proclaim the truth without fear in love as God is with us to enable us
"Proclaiming the truth" is not just shouting religion in a language the hearers do not understand, but about living the gospel in a way that points the "listeners" to Jesus.
To understand the metaphors of all the symbols and their applications, is often not easy for even the most learned. Those that attempt to apply a verse such as the memory text, I might ask what "time" will Michael stand up, and Is Michael the angel referred to in other places like Jude 9. You see, taking verses out of context in an attempt to formulate an idea, is a mistake that leads to confusion.
Michael is one of Jesus' pre-incarnate names - it means "He who is like God" it is used when He is the Leader of the Angels. It does not mean Jesus is a created angel but in those instances that He is the Head of the angel army, just like when Paul calls Him the Head of the Church it does not make Him any less Divine.
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
Archangel - Arch has the same meaning as in Monarch i.e. Ruler of the Angels.
See 1 Thess 4 tells us the LORD has the voice of the Archangel and raises the dead.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first.
See Joshua bowing down to the Commander of the Lord's Army - who accepts his worship and tells Joshua to take off his shoes because the place is holy. The created angels never accept worship (see Rev 22:8,9) so thus the Commander must be the Son of God (the pre-incarnate Jesus)
The Commander of the Lord's Army
Jos 5:13 And it happened, when Joshua was beside Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked. And, behold, there stood a Man in front of him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are You for us, or for our foes?
Jos 5:14 And He said, No, but I have come as the Commander of the army of Jehovah. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth. And he worshiped and said to Him, What does my Lord say to His servant?
Jos 5:15 And the Commander of Jehovah's army said to Joshua, Take your shoe off your foot, for the place on which you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.
Yes, when exactly does this MICHEAL stand up? Because if we also look at Revelation 17:14 who is THE LAMB that THE TEN HORNS make war with for ONE HOUR? And when does this ONE HOUR WAR take place? The whole SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER seems to be referring to Spiritual Babylon and making the TEN HORNS AND KINGDOMS as being before JESUS comes the second time etc. and this WAR seems to take place also and possibly sometime during THE SEVENTH PLAGUE I would say because then in the next chapter comes also THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN for God's People to COME OUT OF BABYLON TOO.
Go check out this website:
I learnt a lot from Dr Jon Paulien's set of CD's on the book of Revelation
Revelation-Armageddon.com Jon Paulien’s blog
On May 23, 2015 the John 17 Movement religious leaders from various denominations gathered in Phoenix and received a personal message from the Pope encouraging Christian Unity.
Within the Pope's message he state that,"division is a wound in the body of the church of Christ and we do not want this wound to remain open. I believe this state applies to Revelation 13:3, Revelation 13:12,14.
While the Pope is calling for unity to heal this wound, the Bible says the wound was caused by the sword. In Ephesians 6 it tells us the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. In Hebrews 4 the Word of God is quick and powerful and is sharper then any two edge sword and that sword divides. Jesus said "Think not that I come to send peace, but I come to send a sword." The message of Christ will bring division in a family and this is what happened to Christianity.
In the last days, who is going to be the central focus or central leader to urge and lead for Christian unity.
Am I understanding or view this wrong? Is the wound almost healed? Can anyone get me on the right track please? Thank you.
I have seen various ecumenical movements come and go over the last half a century, all of which have had much the same sort of things said about them. When I look at the current state of the papacy I see a church wounded by infighting, financial mismanagement, and misappropriation, issues relating to the sexual predation by priests and subsequent cover-up by the church hierarchy. In Australia Roman Catholic seminaries and convents have, to a large extent, closed and most ordained priests are being imported from places like India. To a large extent the church has been wounded more in the last 10 years than in the last couple of centuries.
Does all this mean that the papacy cannot rise again? No. We have seen some interesting global shifts towards popularism recently and if that can happen, who knows what can happen in the area of religion. However, in the meantime, we should fix our eyes on Jesus. We are not told to watch the papacy in order to be saved.
As a corollary to the recent loss of trust by members of Catholic congregations towards their church and leadership, are we taking advantage of this by making friends with Catholics? There are many fine Christians among Catholics who are hurting deeply from what has been happening in their church. They need someone to remind them that they are loved by Jesus. Is this an opportune time to extend the hand of friendship and share the Gospel of hope.
Nelson, I have personally held this view as you describe it for some time now, and I believe that once the wound is fully healed, the same power will be exercised as before, which Revelation 13 & 14 clearly reveal as something that "must shortly come to pass"(Rev 1:1). This has not happened yet, but the ground work for this is taking place and has been for some time. I believe that when it does, we will know the meaning of the 4 winds being loosed to blow upon the earth. What has caused the delay? The winds have been held from blowing until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads(Rev 7:3). Until God has a people able to stand, the winds will be held in check, and the deadly wound will remain not fully healed.
The Papacy will only be fully revived and restored to her former glory and possession of authority,and persecution Of those she deems as heretics because they don't subscribe to her false teachings,and likewise as she did during the Dark ages,when persecuted the saints of God.History Will repeat itself again but this time under the umbrella of apostate protestantism who shall exercise power and authority on behalf of the PAPACY. when the hand of apostate protestantism shall stretch forth her hand across over the gulf to embrace the Mother Roman catholicism.then the image of the beast will have been formed.
Rev 13:18 (EMTV) Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of man--his number is 666.
I believe that this translation hits the nail on the head - the number of the beast is the number of human beings. 7 represents God, while 6 represents human beings who were created on the 6th day. Triple 7 represents the 3-in-One God while triple 6 represents the dragon, beast & lamb like beast. It means that when we worship God according to man made rules we are rejecting God and thus do not have his seal (Rev 7:3) but have the mark of the beast.
Someone please address the final two questions in the blue box. Please comment with your answers. I need help with them.
The questions are:
How can we be faithful to the message that we have been called to preach but do so in a way that causes as little offense as possible? Why, though, must we not bow down to “political correctness” as we proclaim present truth?
The message that we have always been called to preach is the Gospel of love. I believe that at the current time, there is a real need to show a spirit of support and comfort, particularly to those who feel that they have been disenfranchised by the actions of their church. As I mentioned earlier, recent events in the Catholic church have discouraged many in that church. They do not need to be told that they are wrong, but that Christians are loving towards one another. It is not a case of telling people they are wrong, but of showing them a better way.
Some people see the Gospel as standing up and calling sin by its right name. However to be truly effective we must show compassion and understanding first, then in the fullness of time if we have to talk about sin we can do it with understanding. There is no need to deliberately get up the noses of others by being belligerently filled with righteous indignation.
I have only the message to the Ephesian church. They were commended for testing those which say they are apostles and are not, and for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans. Yet they were threatened with having their candle stick removed because they had lost their first love. They we're called to repent, to turn 180 degrees. They had become the sounding symbol and the clanging gong of 1 Corinthians 13. We must not neglect the first, but to do so without the later is disastrous.
The three angels message is to be taught with love our friends and not with hatred for our brothers and sisters who are in the fallen churches. Of protestantism. Revelation chapter 18v1 the fourth angel who descends from heaven with great light and the earth is enlightened with his glory cries out to those in Spiritual Babylon to come out of her last they receive of her plagues for the cup of her iniquity is filled up and God has remembered her sins. Thus there are faithful christians who serve God according to the light they have received as the third angels message swells into the loudcry they will come out of Babylon. The Mother of Harlots who is the PAPACY
If we are really true to our message, it will be with the same manners that Jesus' displayed at all times, being "meek and lowly of heart". Truth proclaimed with humility has a power that cannot be equaled by being forceful and unsympathetic towards those in error.
Those who persist in opposing truth will always find offense when truth is not watered down to please all people. As Paul states, we cannot please men and God at the same time. Still, there is no need to be offensive when holding forth the word of truth in a world where many are hostile against it.
Thank you. Well said, particularly the difference between people being offended by the truth and being offensive. Some Christians seem to relish displaying their hatred of "lesser forms of humanity". We are called to love people. While hating sin, to love the sinner.