By this point if you
don't seriously comprehend the necessity of believing and studying prophecy
there is nothing that will convince you of its importance.
We are going to
continue our study and pray constantly for understanding, for enlightenment,
for God's will to be done in us through the grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
******* Continuing
our prophecy study-- Please GO back
several and read the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of
where we are, if you haven't been following this study daily. *******
You know we have to
ask ourselves some important things here. Do we try to incorporate common sense
into the things we read or do we try to ignore common sense and go for
cunningly devised fables that sound pleasing to our ears?
2Pe 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised
fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Cunningly devised
fables. These exist and in such a great
number it's made it very hard for people to tell truth from lies. We need to
pray first and foremost and then let the Lord guide us as we delve into His
prophecies for us.
Yesterday we talked
more about the 1260 days- the time, times, and dividing of time. We touched on a few things and now we need to
touch on a few more. Such as we know from the first vision given in Daniel that
there would come a time when things would become mingled when there would no
longer be one ruling kingdom over the former Roman Empire that the one ruling
kingdoms would break up and never again be ruled by one man, one government- no
matter how many tried and we know some have tried.
We know from our
Bible that as we are thrust into that mingling time moving from the dominating
Roman power that ten main smaller powers would come up and then three powers
would be removed by yet another smaller, different sort of power. And we know that our Savior will return again
while some of those powers and that strange little power were still in
existence.
SO that means we
know that little power, different from the others would still exist today, and
it does. The Papacy still exists today, in fact it's larger than life but in a
different way than it once was. Looking at the history of the Papacy we can find
out a few amazing facts. Let's go
through it a bit so we can catch the picture of things more clearly. Remember
reading this is reading history, it's reading of the past and we can connect
prophecy fulfilled with history.
• October 28, 312:
Emperor Constantine leads the forces of the Roman Empire to victory at the
Battle of Milvian Bridge. Tradition has it that, the night before the battle, Constantine had a vision that he
would achieve victory if he fought under the Symbol of Christ; accordingly, his
soldiers bore on their shields the Chi-Rho sign composed of the first two
letters of the Greek word for "Christ".
• 325: The First
Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, convened as a response to the Arian controversy,
establishes the Nicene Creed, declaring
the belief of orthodox Trinitarian Christians in the Holy Trinity.
• February 380:
Emperor Theodosius I issues an edict, De Fide Catolica, in Thessalonica,
published in Constantinople, declaring
Catholic Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire.
• 391: The
Theodosian decrees outlaw most pagan rituals still practiced in Rome, thereby
encouraging much of the population to
convert to Christianity.
• 400: Jerome's
Vulgate Latin Bible translation is published. This remained the standard text
in the Catholic world until the Renaissance, was used in Catholic services until the late 20th century, and
remains an influence on modern vernacular translations.
• 452: Pope Leo I (the Great) meets Attila the Hun
and dissuades him from sacking Rome.
• 455: Sack of Rome
by the Vandals. The spoils of the Temple of Jerusalem previously taken by Titus
are allegedly among the treasures taken to Carthage.
• September 4, 476:
Emperor Romulus Augustus is deposed in Rome, marked by many as the fall of the
Western Roman Empire. The focus of the
early Church switches to expanding in the Eastern Roman Empire, also
known as the Byzantine Empire, with its capital at Constantinople.
• 502: Pope
Symmachus ruled that laymen should no longer vote for the popes and that only higher clergy should be considered
eligible.
• January 2, 533:
Mercurius becomes Pope John II. He becomes the first pope to take a regnal
name. John II obtains valuable gifts as
well as a profession of orthodox faith from the Byzantine emperor Justinian.
• 536: Belisarius
recaptures Rome.
• 590: Pope Gregory
the Great. Reforms ecclesiastical structure and administration. Establishes
Gregorian Chant. Was also elected. (To be Pope)
• 596: Saint
Augustine of Canterbury sent by Pope Gregory to
evangelize the pagan English.
• 664: The Synod of
Whitby unites the Celtic Church in England with the Catholic Church.
• 718: Saint
Boniface, an Englishman, given commission by Pope Gregory II to evangelise the Germans.
• 756: Popes granted independent rule of Rome
by King Pepin the Short of the Franks, in the Donation of Pepin. Birth of the Papal States.
• December 25, 800: King Charlemagne of the Franks is crowned
Holy Roman Emperor of the West by Pope Leo III in St. Peter's Basilica.
• 966: Mieszko I of
Poland converts to Catholicism,
beginning the Baptism of Poland.
• July 16, 1054:
Liturgical, linguistic, and political divisions cause a permanent split between
the Eastern and Western Churches, known as the East-West Schism or the Great
Schism. The three legates, Humbert of Mourmoutiers, Frederick of Lorraine, and
Peter, archbishop of Amalfi, entered the Cathedral of the Hagia Sophia during
mass on a Saturday afternoon and placed a papal Bull of Excommunication on the
altar against the Patriarch Michael I Cerularius. The legates left for Rome two
days later, leaving behind a city near riots.
• November 27, 1095:
Pope Urban II preaches a sacrum bellum
(holy war), a Crusade, to defend the eastern Christians, and pilgrims to
the Holy Land, at the Council of Clermont.
• 1099: Retaking of Jerusalem by the 1st Crusade,
followed by a massacre of the remaining non-Christian inhabitants, and the
establishment of the Crusader kingdoms, in Latin bishops are appointed to
dioceses still largely populated by the Orthodox.
• October 2, 1187:
The Siege of Jerusalem. Ayyubid forces led by Saladin capture Jerusalem,
prompting the Third Crusade.
• April 13, 1204:
Sack of Constantinople by the Fourth
Crusade. Beginning of Latin Empire of Constantinople.
• November 30, 1215:
Fourth Ecumenical Lateran Council is closed by Pope Innocent III. Seventy
decrees were approved, the definition of transubstantiation being among them.
• 1229: Inquisition founded in response to the
Cathar Heresy, at the Council of Toulouse.
• 1245: First
Ecumenical Council of Lyons. Excommunicated
and deposed Emperor Frederick II.
• 1305: French influence causes the Pope to move from
Rome to Avignon.
• August 17–20,
1308: The leaders of the Knights Templar are secretly absolved by Pope Clement
V after their interrogation was carried out by papal agents to verify claims
against the accused in the castle of Chinon in the diocese of Tours.
• 1370: Saint
Catherine of Siena calls on the Pope to
return to Rome.
• 1387: Lithuanians
were the last in Europe to
accept the Catholic faith.
• c. 1412–1431: St.
Joan of Arc, a peasant girl from France, has visions from God telling her to
lead her countrymen to reclaim their land from the English. After success in
battle she is captured by the English in 1431 and is condemned as a heretic and
was executed by burning at the age of 19. Later investigation authorized by
Pope Callixtus III would conclude she was innocent and a martyr.
• 1440: Johannes
Gutenberg completes his wooden printing press using moveable metal type
revolutionizing the spread of knowledge by cheaper and faster means of
reproduction. Soon results in the large scale production of religious books
including Bibles.
• May 29, 1453: Fall
of Constantinople.
• 1492: Christopher
Columbus discovers the New World.
• 1493: With the
Inter caetera, Pope Alexander VI awards
sole colonial rights over most of the New World to Spain.
• October 31, 1517:
Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses, protesting the sale of indulgences.
• January 3, 1521:
Martin Luther finally excommunicated by Pope Leo X in the bull Decet Romanum
Pontificem.
• 1521: Baptism of
the first Catholics in the Philippines, the first Christian nation in Southeast
Asia. This event is commemorated with the feast of the Sto. Niño.
• October 17, 1521:
Pope Leo X confers the title Fidei Defensor to Tudor King Henry VIII of England
for his defense of the seven sacraments and the supremacy of the pope in
Assertio Septem Sacramentorum against Protestantism.
• October 30, 1534:
English Parliament passes Act of Supremacy making the King of England Supreme
Head of the Church of England. Anglican schism with Rome.
• December 17, 1538:
Pope Paul III excommunicates King Henry VIII of England
• December 13, 1545:
Ecumenical Council of Trent convened during the pontificate of Paul III, to
prepare the Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation. Its rulings set
the tone of Catholic society for at least three centuries.
• February 24, 1582:
Pope Gregory XIII issues the Bull Inter gravissimas reforming the Julian
Calendar.
• October 4, 1582:
The Gregorian Calendar is first adopted by Italy, Spain, and Portugal. October
4 is followed by October 15 – ten days are removed.
• September 28,
1586: Domenico Fontana successfully finished re-erecting the Vatican Obelisk at
its present site in St. Peter's Square. Hailed as a great technical achievement
of its time.
• April 19, 1622:
Pope Gregory XV makes Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu a cardinal upon the
nomination of King Louis XIII – becoming Cardinal Richelieu. His influence and
policies greatly impact the course of European politics.
• 1685: Louis XIV
revokes the Edict of Nantes, and large numbers of Huguenot refugees leave
France.
• 1691: Pope
Innocent XII declares against nepotism and simony.
• April 28, 1738:
Pope Clement XII publishes the Bull In Eminenti forbidding Catholics from
joining, aiding, socializing or otherwise helping in any way shape or form the
organizations of Freemasonry and Freemasons under pain of excommunication.
Membership to any secret society would also incur the penalty of
excommunication.
• 1789: John Carroll
becomes the Bishop of Baltimore, the first bishop in the United States.
• 1798: Pope Pius VI
taken prisoner by the armies of
Napoleon I, dies in captivity in France.
• 1800–1823: Pope
Pius VII
• July 16, 1802:
French Concordat of 1801. The Catholic
Church re-established in France.
• December 2, 1804:
Napoleon crowns himself Emperor
of the French in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris, in the presence of Pope
Pius VII.
• 1850: The
Archdiocese of Westminster and twelve other dioceses are set up, re-establishing a Catholic hierarchy in the
United Kingdom against intense political opposition.
• 1852: The First
Plenary Council of Baltimore is held in the United States.
• 1854: Dogma of the
Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX
• December 8, 1869:
Pope Pius IX opens the First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican
Okay I'm going to
stop here for a moment so we can talk about all this for a bit. This is just a touch of Papal history. First let's note that the history continues
right up until today and anyone who disagrees with that just has to check the
news- the Papacy is in the news quite often and not just for the recent bad
press, but for much more. So we do have
a power - different from the other strictly governmental powers- that came up
and continued on and on and on. However the Bible tells us this…
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the
most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change
times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times
and the dividing of time.
Rev 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a
great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she
is nourished for a time, and times, and
half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Rev. 12:6 And the
woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that
they should feed her there a thousand
two hundred and threescore days
This power would
prevail over God's TRUE people 1260 days.
That's only 3 1/2 years and if you read back through all this history
you know for a fact this power has endure much longer AND… persecuted God's
people, God's truth for many, many more years than 3 1/2. So…seriously we have to think about this
carefully. Let's look at prophecy, let's
look at the Bible...
….tomorrow because
it's late here and this is already a lot to take in. By the grace and mercy of God we will study
more and understand as HE would have us understand.
In His LOVE!
Amen.
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