The Two Towers and the Sixth Seal

"Opening of the Sixth Seal", by Francis Danby

The opening of the sixth seal of the Book of Revelation is one of the most symbolically laden sections of the entire book. It combines, concentrates and expands upon a number of themes which recur throughout the Apocalypse, and acts as the central hub for the eschatological astronomical phenomena that form such an  important part of the book.  As we shall see, this passage may also be of paramount importance in recent history. In Unveiling the Apocalypse, I note a curious statement from the current Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisco Bertone, which seems to connect the Third Secret of Fatima with the "signs in the sky" spoken of at the opening of the sixth seal of the Book of Revelation - I'll take a quote from the relevant part of the book below:


Upon returning from celebrating the funeral mass of Sr. Lucia in February 2005, Cardinal Bertone was asked about the interpretation of the Third Secret in the journal La Republica. As part of his response, he gave the following statement: "prophecy must always be interpreted: It is enough to think of the Apocalypse, of the signs in heaven. Have these perhaps not already been seen with the airplanes that toppled the Twin Towers?" [La Republica, 17th Feb, 2005: cited in Socci, A. The Fourth Secret of Fatima p119] 
It is highly unlikely that Cardinal Bertone would think that the "signs in heaven" spoken of in the Apocalypse would symbolise the plane attacks on 9/11 alone. As we have already seen, the "signs in heaven" described in the Book of Revelation are unmistakably astronomical in character, and would undoubtedly be recognised as such by an expert in theology. There is simply nothing in the Apocalypse that would even remotely describe the attacks on 9/11. Yet the timing of the events of 9/11 in the year 2001 are remarkably close to the "signs in heaven" we have already suggested occurred between the years 1999-2000. Could these musings of the Cardinal Secretary of State contain an insight into the content of the hidden part of the Third Secret?

If the Third Secret did openly explicate that the fall of Satan or struggle between the Dragon and the Woman adorned with the Sun would occur at the turn of the millennium, it would be extremely difficult to maintain that such an event had occurred without some form of physical evidence. And unless someone knew what kind of evidence they were looking for, it would be easy to overlook the astronomical and geophysical events which occurred around this time. It would therefore be natural to connect such phenomena with 9/11, which was undoubtedly the most significant event of that general time period. (Unveiling the Apocalypse pp190-191)


So why would the Vatican Secretary of State, effectively the second-in-command of the Roman Catholic Church, connect the Third Secret of Fatima with the sixth seal of the Book of Revelation and the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre?
As I noted in my previous post Signs in the Sky, each of the signs of the eschatological astronomical phenomena described at the opening of the sixth seal in Rev 6 all occurred at the turn of the millennium. An earthquake centred on the site of ancient Asia Minor - the location of the seven churches to which the Book of Revelation is addressed, a total eclipse of the Sun, a total lunar eclipse causing the moon to turn blood red, a meteor storm which occurs once every 33 years, as well as a rare alignment of planets, all took place between the years 1999-2000.

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes". (Joel 2:30-31)

Since the Apocalypse tells us that the sealing of the saints takes place after the opening of the sixth seal, this implicitly suggests that the fulfillment of the prophecy of the mark of the Beast is also timed to occur in this same time period - which was specifically foretold by Fr Stefano Gobbi to be the era in which the mark of the Beast would be implemented (see the earlier posts The Mark of the Beast, and Fr Gobbi on the Mark of the Beast). The mark of the Beast is an antithetical parallelism of the sealing of the saints, and reflects on earth in microcosm the marcosmic events of the heavenly sphere.
Numerous prophecies, such as those of La Salette, and Pope Leo XIII, have also pointed to this date as either the moment of the coming of "a monster to disturb the peace", the coming of the Antichrist, or the time period of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary - when the Woman adorned with the Sun would crush the head of the Serpent (see the earlier post Our Lady of Assuit). And when we look at the imagery of Rev 12 in more detail (the portion of the Apocalypse which describes Satan being cast to earth - see The Fall of Satan), we can see that it is in fact a dramatisation of the eschatological astronomical phenomena which occurs at the opening of the sixth seal.


It perhaps then not mere coincidence then that the most important and world-changing event of recent history also occurred in this same general time period - that of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre. The reprecussions of the 9/11 attacks, and the divide they have created between the Western and Arab worlds, are deeply significant in the shaping of world politics today, and may yet have future implications which we cannot yet foresee.


For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again. On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.
(Isa 24:18-23)


If we compare the above passage in Isa 24 with the opening of the sixth seal in the Book of Revelation, we can see that they both refer to the same events. Isaiah mentions here an earthquake, and relates it to the punishment of the "host of heaven" - which is to be equated with the stars falling to earth in Rev 6, as well as the dragon sweeping a third of the stars from the sky in Rev 12. Importantly the Book of Isaiah also includes reference to phenomena which sounds similar to a solar and lunar eclipse: "the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed". Compare this with the opening of the sixth seal described in the Book of Revelation below:


When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Rev 6:12-17)


There also appears to be some connections here to Isa 51, which refers to the stirring up of the sea - which could be another reference to the mega-tsunami threat:


I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar - the LORD of hosts is his name.
And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’
Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.
(Isa 51:15-17)


And another mention of the earth "reeling from its place" is based on an oracle declaring judgment on Babylon given in Isa 13, which also contains reference to the eschatological battle:


The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle. They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt. They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.
(Isa 13:4-13)


It is interesting to note that there is another portion of the Book of Isaiah related to this material which mentions "sealed books" and the collapse of "towers":


And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”
(Isa 29:11-12)


Compare this with the opening of the seven seals in the Book of Revelation:


And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Rev 5:2-5)


Shortly after the passage in Isaiah mentioning the "sealed book", we are then given a passage which describes the collapse of towers together with other allusions to the events at the opening of the sixth seal:


And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the LORD binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.
Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke;
his lips are full of fury, and his tongue is like a devouring fire; his breath is like an overflowing stream
that reaches up to the neck; to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction, and to place on the jaws of the peoples a bridle that leads astray.
You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel. And the LORD will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and storm and hailstones.
(Isa 30:25-30)


The Hebrew word for "towers" here is migdalim - the same word used for the description of the building of the tower of Babel in Gen 11.  Another passage in the Book of Isaiah connected with the sixth seal of Revelation (compare for example the shared themes of hiding in caves and holes) also mentions the bringing down of mountains and high towers on the Day of the Lord:


For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up - and it shall be brought low; against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan; against all the lofty mountains, and against all the uplifted hills; against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. And the idols shall utterly pass away. And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. (Isa 2:12-19)



In Unveiling the Apocalypse, I argue that the opening of the sixth seal occurred during the turn of the millennium, and was heralded by each of the astronomical signs described in Rev 6. Could the above material help to explain Cardinal Bertone's otherwise bizarre words concerning the "signs of heaven" described in the Apocalypse and his connection of them to the Twin Towers attacks when asked about the Third Secret?
As I note in the book, the fact that Sr. Lucia specifically linked the Third Secret to chapters 8-13 of the Book of Revelation suggests that there is more to the message of Fatima than has been revealed so far. Chapter 8 of the Book of Revelation is where we find reference to the "huge mountain, burning with fire" being thrown into the sea, which I have linked to the threat of a future mega-tsunami posed by the collapse of Cumbre Vieja (see the earlier post Mega-tsunami). Could this explain the words attributed to Pope John Paul II at the Fulda conference that the Third Secret describes the oceans rapidly covering vast sections of the earth, resulting in the deaths of millions? (See John Paul II - The Third Secret and a Prophecy of a Mega-tsunami?) And we should also take note that chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation solely concerns the mark of the Beast.
If the Third Secret does contain a reference to the "signs in heaven" spoken of in the Apocalypse, then it is possible that it also contains a specific date relating to the turn of the millennium, explaining why it has been suppressed since the 1960's (See The Fourth Secret of Fatima).
If the events of 9/11 are indeed related to the opening of the sixth seal of the Book of Revelation, did they act as a harbinger of future events to befall the USA? It seems that each of the astronomical phenomena that took place at the opening of the sixth seal are inextricably connected to the Second Coming of Christ, and will possibly reoccur around this particular moment - which will this time cause "mountains and islands to be removed from their places", setting in motion a chain of events which will see the downfall of the eschatological world empire known as "Babylon".

In the post The Third Secret of Fatima and the Angel with the Flaming Sword, I attempt to show some further connections between the secrets of Fatima and the events of 9/11.