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In Matthew 24, Jesus refers to pagan Rome’s persecution of God’s people and destruction of literal Jerusalem. He was speaking of a type of which papal Rome is the antitype. Papal Rome, like pagan Rome, is an abominable system, a false religion that persecutes spiritual Jerusalem, God’s worldwide people. Like the emperors of old, the Pope possesses religious and secular powers. Pagan Rome’s pantheon of gods is replaced by Mary and the saints.
When the power of pagan Rome declined (351-476 AD), the power of papal Rome increased as the Church accumulated more power and influence. When the emperor Constantine (306-337 AD) blended paganism and Christianity into one around 321 AD, Rome became the religious capital of the world.
The transfer of the emperor’s residence to Constantinople was a sad blow to the prestige of Rome, and at the time one might have predicted her speedy decline. But the development of the Church, and the growing authority of the Bishop of Rome, or the Pope, gave her a new lease on life, and made her again the capital—this time the religious capital—of the world.i
When Constantine moved his capital to Constantinople (330 AD), the Pope inherited the power, prestige, and even titles of the Roman emperors. The most significant of such titles is Pontifex Maximus, a pagan title that means “Bridge builder between heaven and Earth.”
After Constantine, his son Constantius came into power. In an effort to unite the various factions of the Church, he forced anti-Nicene doctrines on the Church, saying "Whatever I will shall be regarded as canon."ii Constantius also tried to eliminate some pagan practices from his empire. In 356 AD, he decreed the closure of all pagan temples; however, the decree did not stop the rituals from continuing in Rome.
Constantius' cousin Julian became the next emperor. A pagan, he tried to revert the empire to its pre-Christian pagan practices and the worship of Helios and Mithra. Following the reign of Julian was an era of emperors who practiced some form of Christianity—but remained mostly tolerant to the heresies and twisted doctrine that prevailed in their empire.
In 538 AD, the emperor Justinian issued a decree, proclaiming the Pope to be supreme in religious matters. Since then, the Pope has assumed the garb of representative of Jesus Christ on Earth.
Throughout the mid-first millennium, elements of Pagan Rome were further incorporated into Papal Rome through symbols, rituals, and ceremonies. For example, the Roman clergy wear the same vestments of the priests of Dagon, the fish-god. The fish-head mitre, worn by bishops and popes is also the same as the ancient mitre used by the priesthood of Babylon.
The keys of the pagan god figures have also become a symbol of the Papacy, Christianized into “the keys of Peter.” The Pope’s staff is the symbol of the snake, and was carried by ancient emperors since Babylonian times. However, this pagan artifact was also Christianized, and became a shepherd’s staff.
The papacy is but the ghost of the Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof. ii
Ahead to Forty-Two Months
Back to The Two Beasts of Revelation 13
i. Abbot's Roman History: 236, as quoted in Charlene R. Fortsch, Daniel: Understanding the Dreams and Visions (British Columbia: Prophecy Song, 2006): 105.
ii. J. Gaskin (ed.), Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (Oxford University Press, 1998):463.
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This article is adapted from Truth Matters by Professor Walter J. Veith, an international speaker who has studied Biblical issues in-depth in his quest for truth. His popular series Genesis Conflict brings the debate between Creation and evolution to a new climax as he dissects the arguments with a scientific eye. His highly-acclaimed series Total Onslaught sheds light on the state of the world today as we move to a one-world government and an anticipated apocalypse.
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