Tuesday 6 March 2012

The Synagogue of Satan



Ceiling fresco in the Freemason's Hall - Headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England



“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." (Rev 2:9)


I am currently working on a new project, and thought that I would give a brief overview of one of the topics I will be covering on this blog. It concerns the legacy of Gnosticism and its influences in modern culture - a threat which has been snapping at the heels of Christianity since the earliest days of the burgeoning movement. This subject has been brought back into focus in recent years, with the popularity of novels such as Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, and the pseudo-historical non-fiction works on which they are based - such as The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Baignent, Leigh, and Lincoln, and The Hiram Key by Lomas and Knight.
The mystery-initiation religion of Gnosticism (derived from the Greek word gnosis - meaning "knowledge") crept into Christian thought at a very early stage in its development, prompting a vehement and utter condemnation by the apostles. While the development of Gnosticism within the Christian milieu was decidedly complex, with many widely differing variants, it can be broadly categorised as being dualistic in outlook. Many Gnostic Christians adopted the belief that the God of the Old Testament was an evil creator being known as the Demiurge, whilst the good god of light attempted to lead humankind to salvation by imparting knowledge and enlightenment.
The Marconites of the 2nd century, for example, rejected the entire Old Testament and the majority of the Christian canon, in the belief that such works stemmed from the influence of the Demiurge, who sought to keep humanity steeped in ignorance. Other Gnostic groups, such as the Naassenes and Ophites, revered the Serpent of Genesis as the good god of light, who desired to bestow the gift of wisdom upon humankind.
The Church father Hippolytus linked the Ophites to the Nicolaitans condemned by St. John in the Book of Revelation:

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans." (Rev 2:12-15)

The identification of Pergamum as "Satan's throne" here, is thought to make reference to the Pergamon Altar (which is now housed in Berlin museum), and may also allude to the fact that this location was a major centre for the serpent cult of Asclepius.



The Rod of Asclepius, which is closely associated with the Staff of Hermes


The Church fathers regarded Simon Magus, the Samaritan magician described in the Book of Acts, to be responsible for incorporating Gnostic beliefs into Christianity, which then spread out into the peripheries of the various newly-founded Christian communities.

But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
(Acts 8:9-24)

Gnosticism would prove to be an attractive alternative to Orthodox Christianity, and gained many adherents in the first few centuries of the growth of the Christian movement. It was enough of a problem at the time of the composition of the New Testament to warrant mention in the canonical writings. It is thought that the words of St. Paul at the close of his First Epistle to Timothy referred to the "knowledge" that was such a central part of Gnostic belief: 

O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.(1Tim 6:20-21)

And the Epistle of St. Jude for example, is thought to be chiefly concerned with the influence of Gnosticism on the growing Christian movement:

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.
(Jude 1:3-16)


While Gnosticism rapidly declined in Western Europe after Rome adopted Christianity as its official state religion, popular forms of it - such as Manichaeism and Mandaeism, survived for many centuries in the East, and it eventually found its way back into the Languedoc region of Southern France from 11th to 13th centuries, in the religion of the Cathars. From here, it seems to have filtered through to the heterodox spiritual practices of the Knights Templar, who were forcibly disbanded in the early 14th century due to charges of heresy. The counts of Toulouse were known to have had a friendly disposition to the Cathars, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse was a central figure in the events that led to the formation of the Knights Templar, having spearheaded the capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade.
It is thought that several members of the Knights Templar, forced underground into the sanctuary provided by Scotland, were instrumental in the later development of Freemasonry - a theory which appears to find some substance in the occult imagery that was incorporated into the architecture of Rosslyn Chapel. The architecture of this chapel, which was constructed in the 14th century by the Sinclair family (who are today noted for their rather illustrustious patronage of Freemasonry), contains many elements that are present in the modern symbology of Freemasonry. This is thought to be of some significance, since it was constructed almost three centuries before Freemasonry was finally free to emerge from its cloak of obscurity due to the favourable political conditions provided by the Reformation.
Gnostic thought also survived in esoteric intellectual circles operating on the fringes of the newly formed universities in the early Middle Ages, and suffused in such groups with Hermeticism and the occult. From these sources it would later coalesce into the development of secret societies, picking up various elements along the way, such as emulating the structure of the guilds of medieval craftsman (hence the rise of "speculative" or "free" Masonry,  as opposed to its "operative" form).
The common perception of the Gnostic/dualistic influences on Freemasonry were exploited by the anti-Catholic journalist Leo Taxil in his now infamous "Taxil Hoax". As part of his false exposé of Freemasonry intended to mock the gullibility of Catholics, Taxil issued the following statement -which he attributed to prominent American Freemason Albert Pike:

That which we must say to the world is that we worship a god, but it is the god that one adores without superstition. To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the brethren of the 32nd, 31st and 30th degrees: The masonic Religion should be, by all of us initiates of the higher degrees, maintained in the Purity of the Luciferian doctrine. If Lucifer were not God, would Adonay and his priests calumniate him?
Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also god. For the eternal law is that there is no light without shade, no beauty without ugliness, no white without black, for the absolute can only exist as two gods; darkness being necessary for light to serve as its foil as the pedestal is necessary to the statue, and the brake to the locomotive....
Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a heresy, and the true and pure philosophical religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil.

However the sole reason the above fictional quote appeared plausible to so many Catholics was simply because that it was rooted in already long-held suspicions. There are many symbols used by Freemasonry which contain Luciferian overtones. One of the most important symbols of Freemasonry is the pentagram - long understood by Christians to represent Lucifer as the Morning Star. And the Masonic word for god is given in the Royal Arch Degree as Jahbulon - which can be translated from Hebrew as "I am Baal, Father of all". And of course Baal is the Canaanite god which become synonymous with the Devil by the time of Christ, who referred to Satan as Beelzebub ("Lord of the flies") - which appears to be a play on the name Baalzebul ("Lord of the high place").



Jahbulon - The Grand Omnific Word of Royal Arch Masonry

Given the many links between Freemasonry and the various Gnostic beliefs which revere Lucifer as the good god of light, it would not be unreasonable to presume the involvement of such a group in deliberately manipulating the symbols used in modern commerce to conform in some way to the prophecy of the number of the Beast. Indeed there are a large number of people who believe that Faustian secret societies such as this (in the Illuminati/New World Order conspiracy theories) are deliberately intent on bringing this prophecy into fulfilment - either in honour of their diabolical master, or at his express request.
So could secret societies be responsible for the rather glaring equation between the three letters that have become so inextricably intertwined in modern commerce and the process of globalisation - www, and their numerical equivalence in the Hebrew numeral system as six-six-six? (See the earlier post Hebrew 666?, or for more in depth details see the link to the sample chapter at the top right hand column on this page). More specifically, are there any symbols amongst the various occult secret societies that reference the number of the beast?
To begin with, it is perhaps worth noting that the entire ethos of Freemasonry is structured around the building of the Temple of Solomon - which according to the Bible, used 666 talents of gold in its construction (1Kings 10:14). And if we turn to examine the most important symbol of Royal Arch Masonry - the Triple Tau, we find that this too seems to hide a coded reference to the number of the Beast.

The Triple Tau - the Grand Eleblem of Royal Arch Masonry, which is worn on the aprons of members


Freemasons are known for incorporating coded messages into their symbols, and one of the most rudimentary codes available is that of the Atbash Cipher, which is used in the Hebrew alphabet. The Atbash Cipher uses a reversed alphabet to encode messages by substituting the first letter aleph, for the last letter taw, and so on.




The use of the Atbash Cipher is thought to lie behind the name Baphomet, which was revered by the Knights Templar. Using the Atbash, the obscure name Baphomet is converted into Sophia - the Greek word for wisdom. If we apply the Atbash Cipher to the Greek alphabet, we find that the letter tau becomes the sixth-placed letter - which means that three taus can represent three sixes - six six six.



In regular Craft Masonry, the symbol of the set square and compass, bearing the letter G inside is substituted for the Triple Tau worn on the Masonic apron. According to Masonic lore, the letter G stands for the name of their god, and also at the same time it represents geometry. The use of Sacred Geometry is a fundamental part of the mythos of Freemasonry.




It is interesting to note then, that the use of geometry forms a crucial part of the hidden symbols purposefully intergrated into one of the most renowned illustrations of the Rosicrucians (an esoteric secret society of the early 17th century, which formed an important part in the development of Freemasonry).




In the Speculum Sophicum Rhodo-Stauroticum, the Rosicrucians claim that a secret "figure" representing the central philosophy of their order is hidden within the illustration The Temple of the Rose Cross (shown above). And it just so happens that this illustration is laden with elaborate geometrical lines. The most prominent of these lines emanates from the eyes of the figure at the bottom right hand of the illustration holding an anchor, and travels upwards to a winged sun-disc bearing the Hebrew letters of the divine tetragrammaton YHWH. If we measure this line with a protractor, we find that it is precisely at a 66 degree angle. And if we look closer at the tetragrammaton, we can see that this line is specifically pointing to an exact letter - the letter waw, which we have previously noted has the numerical value of 6.




So the number of the Beast is concealed within the confines of this illustration, which the Rosicrucians themselves claimed contains a hidden "figure" which encapsulates their philosophy. Here, we thus have a direct link between the use of Hebrew to form the number 666 by a secret society that was instrumental in the early development of Freemasonry.

See also the related posts:

NFC Technology and the Mark of the Beast
Gematria and the Number of the Beast
The Mark of the Beast?
Mobile Banking and the Mark of the Beast
The Seal of God




21 comments:

Will said...

Unsettling stuff.

MSchaut said...

There are some of us tackling this issue. It has profoundly affected the church at all levels, not to mention society at large and the pew catholics. It is one of the huge deceptions that drives war, accumulation of power away from the people, and the global theft of wealth. What it means for the near future is dreadful and many of God's people, being incredulous, are being financially ruined and their spiritual lives destroyed by it.

Emmett O'Regan said...

Absolutely...
As I argue in the book, the root cause of the current apostasy that the Church is enduring (the "Great Apostasy" foretold in Scripture) can be attributed directly to the influences of Freemasonry etc. on modern society. And it is rather worrying that Freemasonry and its ilk were so intimately involved in the founding of the US government - which is plagued by elite secret societies such as the Bohemian Club, Skulls and Bones etc. These groups have been intent on transforming the USA from a Christian nation into the "whore of Babylon" - "the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth." (Rev 17:18).
The Book of Revelation warns us that the end-time empire known as "Babylon" is doomed to destruction: "Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more..."(Revelation 18:21) As I argue in the post "Mega-tsunami", I believe this is related to the mega-tsunami threat posed by the collapse of the volcano Cumbre Vieja in the Canary Islands - and the prophecy of the "great mountain, burning with fire" being thrown into the sea (Rev 8:8). This event also seems to have been prophesied in many private revelations, such as during the Marian apparitions in Turzovka, Czechoslavkia in 1958. You can find varioius posts on this subject on the blog here.

Anonymous said...

I appreciate this author's explanation of gnosticism and it's beginnings with Simon Magus. There is no doubt that gnosticism has been the real enemy of Christianity and that many of the secret societies are covers for gnosticism.

I would also contend that the 'love of money' or 'mammon' is rooted in many of these secret societies and is perpetuated by them.

Anonymous said...

WHO WILL CRY FOR YOU, AMERICA ?

I, will cry you a river
And much much more
My dear dear America,
Once so beautiful !
You sold your soul
To a bunch of mercenaries
Which entered your sheep-fold
As wolves and goats
You sold your skin
To the highest bidder
You resemble a harlot
The new BABYLON
Eating and drinking
With the rich of this world
Prostituting yourself
For money and power
And became a den
Of thieves and murderers
You forgot all about
The One Who blessed
You so abundantly
Biting the Hand of the Blesser
Embarrassed to mention His Name !
Did He not teach you
To be wise as a serpent
And harmless as a dove
Why then do you behave
As a silly goose ??
He invited you to His dinner Table
He so diligently prepared
But, you made light of it
And went your worldly, haughty ways
One to his farm,
Another to his business.
But as the Father of Fathers
He waits for your return
The return of His prodigal daughter
WAKE UP, AMERICA !!!
Humble your pride
And follow the Way, the Life and the Truth !!!
Or, I SHALL cry you a river
A river of bloody tears
And much much more !!!

Rita Biesemans 02/17/2003

Anonymous said...

THE CHURCH IN GETHSEMANE
-----------------------------------------------
The Ship of Peter is torn apart
Martyred in its Holy Teaching
It sinks and sinks, no work of art
The bottom though never reaching

Dissidents are screaming loud
Leaving behind an awful niff
Pretending to be proudly stout
Gearing the Ship into a cliff

Jesus shows His wounded Heart
Smitten with a deadly dart
Peter the Rock in desolation
Deploring severe desecration

Wake up, you Christian Brother
Show now your truthful face
With Mary our Heavenly Mother
We'll reach that Peaceful Place

In allegiance to the Holy Father
United in prayer and fasting
No victory will claim, but rather
Satan's defeat be everlasting.

Rita Biesemans, 01-02-2011

Anonymous said...

in the 1980's a Church in Brussels opened her doors to the socialist party to hold their spaghetti feast. They used the church to cook and the altars to eat on a A colleague (in those days) nurse-midwife of mine who was a fervent freemason and socialist told me : " I put my child on the altar and told her dance on it, trample on it as hard as you can and she enjoyed seeing her do this"!!!!. "Shame on the Judas in our Church who opened the doors for such an event." But yes as they so proudly said after Vatican II : the Pyramid is turned upside down, before the people=the basis all pointed to the point of the Pyramid, to God. Now we have the basis (the people) up and the point (God) at the bottom.
The purification of the Church and the World has become inevitable. Rivka B.
Rita Biesemans Wednesday, March 7 2012

Emmett O'Regan said...

Thanks for those reflections Rivka.

Anon - You are absolutely right, money (as well as power) is the major driving force behind the modern secret societies. They are an inversion of Christianity and its "Golden Rule". The primary incentive for joining such groups is purely for personal gain - gaining favours such as career advancement, high level business ties, etc. And they are intentionally secularising society purely for commericial purposes. There favourite axiom is "sex sells" - but this principle is a direct contradiction of traditional Christian values. They have therefore resolved to take Christianity out of the equation, and replace what Jean-Paul Satre termed the "God-shaped hole in human consciousness" with either deistic New-Age beliefs which allows the adherent to define their own moral code, or a strident and rather blusteringly ignorant form of atheism. Atheism simply falls flat against the cosmological arguement and anthropic principles, and deism is a contradiction in terms - why would the Supreme Being create the universe without revealing Himself to His Creation? God did indeed fully reveal himself to us - to the point that the Eternal Logos became flesh, and died for our sins so that we could participate in His Resurrection. And he ensured that this Revelation would be "a light to the Gentiles" by leading to the development of the world's biggest religion.
We can only pray that society at large will awaken to this realisation before this tottering atheistic/agnostic/deistic structure comes crashing down on its head.

Jamey said...

Anabale Bugnini the man in charge of the liturgical "reform" that took place in the late 60s that saw the near abolition of the Tridentine Mass was a suspected Freemason and the suspicions were very strong.

Pope Paul vi eventually fired Bugnini in the mid 70s from his liturgical post believing Bugnini to be a Freemason. Whatever evidence Paul vi had it must have been strong for such a drastic measure.

Dietrich Von Hildebrandt a deep thinker considered to be the 20th century Doctor of the church by Pope Pius xii, believed Bugnini to be a Freemason and he wouldn't throw around such an accusation lightly.

Given the likelihood of Bugnini being a Freemason the question is then what are the motives behind his liturgical reforms - the destruction of the faith.

Indeed if this is true then the Freemasons have inflitrated the church and destroyed our central prayer, a prayer which has been the foundation of the faith for 1500 years (this number is from the book, Reform of the Roman Liturgy by the renowned liturgical expert Monsignor Klaus Gamber).

In the mid 60s prior to the liturgical experiment, 75% of US Catholics attended Mass weekly now the figure is closer to 15%. I dont believe most of this drop is accounted for by pressures from secular society.

For those dear Catholics who haven't been to a sung Tridentine Mass, try to find one it is the most beautiful thing this side of heaven. You will truly understand why the church has had so many people willing to peacefully give up their lives for the faith.

Jamey said...

The following link contains some relevant quotes from Freemasons who planned to unravel the church via fashion. The first quote shows how they have boiled the frog slowly without the frog realising the temperatue was going up, one of Satan's cunning tactics.

http://www.michaeljournal.org/corruptionfashions.asp

Anonymous said...

One night while waiting to deliver a baby, the head of our department Prof.Dr Schoysman, a high ranked freemason, professor at the Freemason University in Brussels,(one of the first in the world to perform IVF and human cloning), was irritated by the screaming of a sick elderly woman on the 3-rd floor. He said : if I become like that when I'm old I would request euthanasia, but of course that catholic church would fight against it (in those days euthanasia was still illegal in Belgium). He said : "How long are we atheists, freemasons, fighting against the catholic church now? It's almost gonna be a 100 years and I guarantee you before the end of the 20th century they won't talk about the catholic church anymore, it will be over and done with." All of the sudden I heard the words spoken by Our Lady in La Salette : satan will be given a 100 years to attack the Church....! Well this was more than proof of who is working at the downfall of the Church. Please Lord, my Jesus, hasten the coming of Your Kingdom on this earthIII Rita B.

Emmett O'Regan said...

Thanks for the information Jamey and Rita. It sounds very familar to the Carbonari's plans outlined in the Permanent Instruction of the Alta Vendita. Although it is impossible to gauge the true extent of ecclesiastical Masonry. But I suppose even one or two high ranking Masons placed within the Church hierarchy could wreak havoc. I remember reading about Bugnini in Fr Paul Kramer's The Devil's Final Battle. Michael Davies goes into some depth on him in his book Pope Paul's New Mass.

Jamey said...

Cardinal John Newman said he was fortunate to be living in a time when the enemies of the church were outside it. He said the time will come when its enemies would be within.

http://romancatholicheroes.blogspot.com.au/2009/03/bella-dodd.html

Yes it seems unfortunately we are unable to gauge the actual infiltration, we seem to only have a few testimonies, such as the above of Bella Dodd who said the American Communist Party put 1100 men into the priesthood. With the Bugnini case the evidence was never made public and Paul vi died soon after as well as Bugnini.

Michael Davies had a genuine passion for the church and the liturgy. He was a good friend of then Cardinal Ratzinger. In one of his books "The Barbarians have Taken Over" he recalled the story of Kansas City post Vatican II.

The parishes in the area were dying by the early 80's however one was flourishing and had to cope with a massive increase in attendance, that of Christ the King whose priest was Msgr Vincent Kearney. Kearney adopted the novus ordo mass but kept the old hymns, communions rails and the tabernacle on the altar.

The bishop didn't like what was going on here and without notice one day Kearney was told to leave and he had to stay at his sisters place. His replacement eventually had the tabernacle removed from its central high altar position despite mass protests from the congregation and police were brought in to silence them.

I think this story highlights how evil has been operating at higher levels in the church and how man has enthroned himself in the place of God.

Jamey said...

Emmett,

Given it seems from various prophecy that Satan has been unbound on earth since 1998 I assume this also means his demons are also roaming free and perhaps in greater number than ever before? To me it seems the current prevalence of mental disease and insomnia in our society is a result of his and his minions operations.

I saw recently that the psychiatric pharmaceuticals industry is worth $330 billion. Also I have come across people who seem quite normal and well adjusted and they have confided they have spent time in psychiatric institutions. There are so many people who seem to suffer depression and insomnia more so than when I was younger, perhaps I wasnt aware of these things then.

Some may say that mental disturbance was also very prevalent prior to 1998 however Hell may have been slowly unleashed over time leading up to that year precipitated by evils such as the secularisation of society, the world wars and the legalisation of abortion.

Emmett O'Regan said...

I often think about the implications of Satan being thrown down from heaven to earth. It seems to involve a weakening of his power, as he is no longer able to accuse humanity before the throne of God. A weakening of his power after this event was also suggested by Bl John Paul II in January 2005, which I quote in the book:
"After the dramatic scene of the woman with child “clothed with the sun” and the terrible red dragon (cf. 12: 1-9), a mysterious voice intones a hymn of thanksgiving and joy. The joy derives from the fact that Satan, the ancient enemy whose role at the heavenly court was that of the “accuser of our brethren” (12: 10), as we see in the Book of Job (cf. 1: 6-11; 2: 4-5), was “thrown down” from heaven. Henceforth, therefore, he no longer possesses such great power. He knows “that his time is short” (Rv 12: 12), for history is nearing the radical turning point of liberation from evil and he consequently reacts with “great wrath.”
It is this event that will allow for the Second Pentecost, which is symbolised in Rev 12 by the Woman (who symbolises the Church, as well as Our Lady) being given the "two wings" (which I argue is the Two Witnesses) to allow her to escape into the sanctuary in the wilderness. The Second Pentecost is also referred to here as the earth swallowing up the flood issuing from the mouth of the Dragon. The flood which threatens to take her away represents the Great Apostasy we are currently enduring.
I don't think that Satan being thrown down includes an increase of his power on earth, but rather that he may have been forced to attach himself to a particular individual who will become the Antichrist. If this is correct then the Antichrist may already be among us, although hidden until the appointed hour mentioned by St. Paul - which he states will take place after the rebellion of the Great Apostasy:
"For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
(2Thes 2:3-4)
It is possible that the third of the angelic host cast down with him has attached themselves to other individuals - but I don't know whether this includes full demonic possession, or whether it involves a greater influence over them - sort of like an inverted guardian angel. Perhaps their purpose will be to assist the Antichrist on his rise to power.

Jamey said...

Thank-you Emmett. Inverted guardian angel is a good description some people don't seem possessed but heavily under the influence of dark forces. I often wonder what demons look like and exactly how they operate.

There was an account of Padre Pio where he was looking outside the church one day and said there were so many evil spirits that if they were physical creatures they would block the light of the sun.

A guy from my parish assists Catholic exorcisms and said that if people saw what went on behind closed doors they would have no doubt about the existence of dark forces. He saw the body of the exorcised person levitate on one occasion.

Anonymous said...

Interesting article and comments.
When I read various comments regarding the evil of our times at different sites, I often see words expressing a longing for the world to change for the better, I too, want the world to return to its former peace and faith in God,but, that is not what Our Lord tells us in His apparitions to St. Faustina in the mid 1930's-so close to our own times-when He clearly warned that now is the time of Mercy and it will be followed by His Divine Justice, when there will no longer be time for Mercy. This is the most striking warning of our times! Is it any wonder that evil is so entrenched as love for God has grown cold? The devil doesn't have much time left to gain more souls. Christ said, "
"I remind you, My daughter, that as often as you hear the clock strike the third hour, immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners; for at that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul. In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world - mercy triumphed over justice." (Diary,St. Faustina 1572)

Anonymous said...

Somewhere on the Internet there was a statement from John paul 11 that the antichrist is already here,.that it was the hale-bopp comet signifying his birth for the new millennium and that we should pray hard for this world with the coming of the apocalypse..pray against abortion, against atheism and all evils in this world. pray the rosary often..John Paul accomplished a lot by putting an end to communism, we should pray that it does not come back.With some of the phrofecies I read it could come back.Also pray against Freemasons infiltrating the church..It is phrofeciesd that the church will become corrupt. Pray pray the rosary that God will lessen those days. Mary.

Annie said...

Dear Friends,

I am asking you to consider that the foundation of freemasonry was a pure beginning and meant to build a brotherhood of man under the Fatherhood of God which would help culture and society grow to be less barbaric and cruel and more as Jesus would have it. An evil stream entered in around the time of Adam Weishaupt in the 1770's and it is called illuminism. This stream is anti church, anti freedom, anti mankind. It is also not the same as the freemasonry brought forth by Francis Bacon in the 1500's. His brand of freemasonry brought literacy, science, religious tolerance, and a love of Christ.
Thank you for your site,
a sister

Rogério Maciel said...

That phrase of Revelation speaks about those , who are not Jews , they pretend they are Jews...Israel today is the "home" of the Khazars , the Zionists that are not jews , since the artifitial state of "Israel" "created" by monsters like Churchill and others , with the Expense of Palestinian Lives , territory and richess .
Tht Zionists are the church of the Devil today , and they are trying to destroy all nations and rule in the world .They already rule in the EU parliament ...for the moment , in disguise ...

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