Watchman's Teaching Letter #12 April 1999

This is the twelfth in a series of teaching letters. This will complete the first full year for me in researching, compiling and writing these letters. Since I have completed a whole year of publishing these letters, I plan to bind them up in plastic comb binders and offer them as my first yearbook and include them on my list of teaching aids. My plan is to offer these teaching letter year books as Yahweh gives me time to do it. I have designed my writings in a fashion so they will not go out of date.

In my last (eleventh) teaching letter, I told you the object of these teaching letters was to remind you we still have an enemy — that we are in a war — and the enemy has not gone away. I reminded you we have had this enemy now for over 7,000 years, and there exists over this period an enmity (hatred) between us and them since Genesis 3:15, which continues today. The enmity is actually a religion of “hate”, as the enemy correctly designates it. I brought to your attention this ongoing hatred is a two-way phenomenon between we the White race and the satanic descendants of Cain. I reiterated this hate was not going to be reconciled until one or the other parties are completely destroyed (Malachi 4:1)  — that it is a war to the death — that it was, and still is, a war between the descendants of Eve by Adam and the descendants of Satan and Eve through Cain.

I also brought up the fact that there were many false teachers in this movement. It seems to be my sad duty to point out these spurious (not genuine) teachings. With this lesson, I will be throwing light on a passage that has been interpreted incorrectly by almost every Bible teacher. The reason these Bible teachers come up with these erroneous conclusions is because they refuse to study anything except the Bible. To really understand Scripture you need the Scripture on one side of your lap and a history book on the other. To study the Scripture without the study of history only leads to confusion. You simply cannot understand the Bible without an understanding of history, and if you don’t like to study history, you have a problem.

Now Continuing the Topic:

JUST WHO IS THIS PATRIARCH, JUDAH? (Part 12)

With this lesson, we are going to continue the study of Judah. In this study, we will consider a passage that was prophesied by Daniel during the Judean captivity in Babylon, and see how it affected Judah when it was fulfilled about 1,100 years later. This passage is Daniel 7:24-25 which we will read at this time:

“24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 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.”

BEFORE WE GET DONE WITH THIS LESSON, WE WILL

FIND WHAT THIS PASSAGE IS, AND WHAT IT IS NOT!

First of all, we are going to skip the subject of, “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise”, as it is a subject all in itself. It would take an entire lesson just to cover it. The part we are going to concentrate on is: “… and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 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.”

To start this discussion on this passage, I am  going to quote from William V. Fowler’s book, End Time Revelation, page 127:

“To identify the ten horns of the fourth beast which was the Roman Empire, one has but to examine history which records that ten kingdoms arose after A.D. 476 in the western half of the Roman Empire, while the eastern half continued to flourish. History also reveals that Justinian, at the head of the Eastern (Roman) Empire at Constantinople subdued three of the ten kingdoms which were established in the western half of the Roman Empire after the fall of Imperial Rome. These were the Vandals whose kingdom had been established in north Africa, the Ostrogoths who had established a kingdom in Italy, and the Alemanian kingdom north of Italy. ‘And he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings’  (verse 24). Justinian, as head of the civil government, united the interest of the church and established the temporal power of the Papacy which clearly fulfilled the prophetic little horn by dominating Europe for 1,260 years until curtailed by Napoleon, (538 A.D. to 1,789 A.D.).

“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” (verse 25). Justinian’s best known work was as a codifier and legislator. He greatly stimulated legal studies, and set up a commission under Tribonian which issued the codex, the digest, and the institutes. (Originally introduced in Dec. 534 A.D., and completed in 538 A.D.). The second edition of the codex contained Justinian’s own laws known as the Novels (Novellae Constitutions). One need only read the utterances of Pope Innocent III in the thirteenth century and his immediate successors to recognize the fulfillment of speaking “great words against the Most High.” Study the history of the Inquisition with its massacres, martyrdom’s and every kind of persecution to substantiate this interpretation. (See Halley’s Bible Handbook, chapter on Church History.)

This is one of the key passages “futurists” use to prove a future so-called Antichrist and a three and one half year period of tribulation, along with the so-called mark of the beast. If our people understood history, they wouldn’t be falling for such nonsense. All that futurist bunk was dreamed up by a Spanish Jesuit by the name of Ribera about 1580 A.D., and no one before that time ever heard of such a doctrine.

The important thing to notice, with this passage, is we are looking for a king of a kingdom who subdued three other kingdoms of our people during his reign. You will also notice we are looking for a king, during his reign, who had a very strong impact upon writing and managing laws. You will notice Justinian fits both of these qualifications. As we go along, the picture of the fulfillment of this passage will start to come into focus. I will now quote from The World Book Encyclopedia, volume 11, page 168 to get further insight on this subject:

“JUSTINIAN I. jus TIN ih un (A.D. 482-565), was the Byzantine (East Roman) emperor from A.D. 527 until his death. He collected Roman laws under one code, the Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law). This code, also known as the Justinian Code, is the basis of the legal systems in many nations today. ... Justinian was called The Greek. He recaptured many parts of what had been the West Roman Empire from barbarians. He built fortresses, harbors, monasteries, and the famous church of Saint Sophia in what is now Istanbul, Turkey.

“Justinian was born in a part of Macedonia that is now in Yugoslavia. His uncle, Emperor Justin I, made him co-ruler in 527. Justin died a few months later, and Justinian became sole emperor. During Justinian’s reign, his wife, Theodora, tried to influence his politics. Justinian was an orthodox Christian. and tried to unify his empire under one Christian faith. He persecuted Christian heretics (those who opposed church teachings), Jews, and pagans (non-Christians). In 529, he closed the schools of philosophy in Athens, Greece, because he felt they taught paganism.

“In the early 530’s, Justinian began a series of wars against the Vandals, Ostrogoths, and Visigoths, who had conquered most of the West Roman Empire in the 400’s. By the mid-550’s his armies had taken northern Africa, Italy, and parts of Spain.

“JUSTINIAN CODE. Justinian I, ruler of the eastern Roman Empire from 527 to 565, commanded 10 of the wisest men in his realm to draw up a collection of the Roman laws. This collection in known as the Corpus Juris Civilis, which means Body of Civil Law. Also called the Justinian Code, this body of law is recognized as one of the greatest Roman contributions to civilization. It was a compilation of early Roman laws and legal principles, illustrated by cases, and combined with an explanation of new laws, and future legislation. The code clarified the laws of those times, and has since been a basis for law codes of many countries.

“The scholars who compiled the Justinian Code divided it into four parts. The Institutes served as a textbook in law for students and lawyers. The Digest was a casebook covering many trials and decisions. The Codex was a collection of statutes and principles. The Novels contained proposed new laws.”

You will notice in both of these quotes, three kingdoms were taken by Justinian. William V. Fowler records them the same as The World Book Encyclopedia except for the Alemanian which The World Book Encyclopedia calls the Visigoths. The Alemanian and Visigoths are the same people, so there is no problem here. Justinian was corrupting the church and the state with his law code, so we will not completely understand this passage unless we look further. To see how all of this happened, I will quote from the book, Study in Daniel, by Howard B. Rand, pages 182 and 183:

“Having discovered the identity of the four beasts; let us now note the meaning of the little horn which Daniel saw arise from among the ten horns on the fourth beast. The ten horns represent subdivisions in the Roman Empire:

“’The little horn that arose among the ten, which was diversified from them, pulling up three, is none other than Justinian at the head of the Eastern [Roman] Empire at Constantinople. History reveals that he subdued three of the ten kingdoms which were established in the Roman Empire after the fall of Imperial Rome. These were the Vandals whose kingdom had been established in north Africa, The Ostrogoths who had established a kingdom in Italy and the Alemannian Kingdom north of Italy. In the eyes and the mouth that appear in this little horn we have a new power associated with the rule of the little horn. In fact, this power became the eyes and mouth of the civil and economic activities of the government represented in the little horn. Justinian, as head of the civil government, and the Pope, as the head of the Church, united their interest and Church and State became one. Finally the Pope became the director of both Church and State and ruled as a great politico-ecclesiastical potentate. One needs but read the utterances of past Popes to recognize the fulfillment of speaking ‘great words against the most High’ as prophesied by Daniel’.”

I will be quoting from different books on this subject. It may seem that I am repeating the same story over again and again, but with each new quote there will be additional information which will begin to round out the picture of this critical period of time. If we don’t take time to understand this period, we will not, in the end, understand the prophecy of Daniel 7:24-25. Next, I am going to quote from Barnes’ General History, A Brief History of Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Peoples, by Joel Dorman Steele and Esther Baker Steele, pages 319-320:

“The Eastern Greek, or Byzantine Empire, as it is variously called, was governed by effeminate princes until the time of Justinian (527), who won back a large part of the lost empire. His famous general, Belisarius, captured Carthage, and overwhelmed the Vandal power in Africa. He next invaded Italy and took Rome, but being recalled by Justinian, who was envious of the popularity of his great general, the eunuch Narses was sent thither, and under his skillful management, the race and name of the Ostrogoths perished. Italy, her cities pillaged and her fields laid waste, was now united to the Eastern Empire, and governed by rulers called the Exarchs of Ravenna. So Justinian reigned over both new and old Rome. [Note: I have other information that the Ostrogoths simply moved to another area and didn’t “perish.”]

“The Roman Laws at this time consisted of the decrees, and often the chance expressions, of the threescore emperors from Hadrian to Justinian. They filled thousands of volumes, and were frequently contradictory. Tribonian, a celebrated lawyer, was employed to bring order out of this chaos. He condensed the laws into a code that is still the basis of the civil law of Europe.

“During this reign, two Persian monks, who had gone to China as Christian missionaries, brought back to Justinian the eggs of the silkworm concealed in a hollow cane. Silk manufacture was thus introduced into Europe.”

You will notice, with this last paragraph, that the Jewish doctrine of universalism, at this period of time, was well imbedded into the so-called Universal Church. Yahshua said for his disciples to go only to the Lost Tribes of Israel. It is recorded in the Old Testament: You (Israel) only have I known of all the families of the earth (Amos 3:2). Our Kinsman Redeemer never instructed us to go to China or to any other race.

In this next quote, it will be established what happened to the Ostrogoths. Remember what was just insinuated in the last quotation by Barnes’ General History, that: “He next invaded Italy and took Rome, but being recalled by Justinian, who was envious of the popularity of his great general, the eunuch Narses was sent thither, and under his skillful management, the race and name of the Ostrogoths perished”? You have to understand that Daniel saw all of this in revelation 1,100 years before it happened, so this should really be exciting to you. I am now going to quote from the book, Rome: Its Rise And Fall, by Philip Van Ness Myers, L.H.D., pages 560-563, which will clear up this question:

“The Era of Justinian (A.D. 527-565). — During the fifty years immediately following the fall of Rome, the Eastern emperors struggled hard and sometimes doubtfully to withstand the waves of the barbarian inundation which constantly threatened to overwhelm Constantinople with the same awful calamities that had befallen the imperial city of the West. Had the New Rome  — the destined refuge for a thousand years of Græco-Roman learning and culture — also gone down at this time before the storm, the loss to the cause of civilization would have been incalculable.

“Fortunately, in the year 527, there ascended the Eastern throne a prince of unusual ability, to whom fortune gave a general of such rare genius that his name has been allotted a place in the short list of the great commanders of the world. Justinian was the name of the prince, and Belisarius that of the soldier. The sovereign has given name to the period, which is called after him the ‘Era of Justinian.’

“Before coming to the throne Justinian had married Theodora, an actress of the comic stage of the capital. She was a beautiful woman, of great ambition, and of unusual ability. Her relation to Justinian, so long as she lived, was both nominally and actually that of co-ruler of the empire.

“The Recovery of Africa (A.D. 533). — One of the most important matters in the reign of Justinian is what is termed the ‘Imperial Restoration’, by which is meant the recovery from the barbarians of several of the provinces of the West — Italy, Africa, and a part of Spain — upon which they had seized.

“The state of affairs in Africa invited the intervention of Justinian first in that quarter. Gelimer, a zealous and bigoted Arian, [probably Aryan] had just usurped the Vandal throne. Justinian sent an embassy to expostulate with the usurper and demanded the restoration of the throne to the rightful prince. Gelimer replied to the imperial commission with that haughty insolence characteristic of his race. ‘King Gelimer’, thus his answer ran, ‘wishes to point out to King Justinian that it is a good thing for rulers to mind their own business.’ Upon receiving this reply, Justinian resolved on war.

“The expedition was intrusted (sic. entrusted) to the command of Belisarius, a man worthy of the confidence that his master reposed in his fidelity and genius. Already in four years’ warfare upon the Persian frontier (A.D. 528-531) he had illustrated his rare qualities as a commander, although yet but a young man of twenty-six years.

“... Belisarius returned to Constantinople with many Vandal prisoners and with a large booty, a part of which is said to have consisted of the sacred vessels, including the seven-branched candlestick, originally taken from the Temple at Jerusalem. Fearing lest this sacred relic should bring upon his own capital the misfortunes which it was believed to have brought upon both Rome and Carthage, Justinian caused it to be taken back to Jerusalem and deposited in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

“The Recovery of Italy (A.D. 535-553). — The recovery of Africa from the Vandals was followed by the recovery of Italy from the Goths. The Goths, however, relinquished their hold on the peninsula only after a long and bitter struggle, the most noteworthy episodes of which are connected with the sieges of Rome. Five times during the war the unfortunate capital changed hands. In the year 537 it was invested by the barbarians under the command of their king Witiges. During this siege, which proved unsuccessful, the city suffered irreparable damage. All of the eleven aqueducts constructed under the Consuls and Cæsars were destroyed by the barbarians, and, with the exception of three, have remained in a ruined state ever since. The stately Mausoleum of Hadrian was converted by the Roman garrison into a fortress, and the masterpieces of Greek and Roman art which embellished it were used as missiles and flung down upon the heads of the assailants.”

I think that is just great, if that was our German people breaking up all of that pagan statuary and hurling it at the enemy. In my mind, I can just imagine heads, hands, feet, legs and what have you, flying through the air. I am proud of our people for doing such a thing, and if that is why the word “Vandal” got a bad name, so be it. Of course, these were Goths, not Vandals. But the Goths and Vandals were both German people of the Tribe of Judah, so what’s the difference. You may ask, “What does this have to do with Judah”? It has everything to do with Judah! Now continuing with this same quote:

“Ten years later we find the Goths in possession of the capital. They drove every soul out of the city and then evacuated it themselves, having first dismantled its walls, ‘For forty days or more’, affirms a chronicler, ‘Rome was so desolate that no one, either man or beast, remained there.’

“The war dragged on after this for six years. During the latter part of this time the command of the imperial forces was intrusted to the famous general Narses, who possessed military capacity second only to that of Belisarius. All Italy was at length wrested from that of the barbarian, and became once more a part of the Roman empire (A.D. 553). It was governed from Ravenna by an imperial officer who bore the title of Exarch.

(Here is the answer to where the Goths went.) “The remnants of the Gothic nation, upon their promising never to return, were allowed to leave Italy. They crossed the Alps and disappeared into the northern darkness.”

“The Code of Justinian. — But that which gives Justinian’s reign a greater distinction than any conferred upon it by the achievements of his great generals, was the collection and publication by him of the Corpus Juris Civilis, the ‘Body of the Roman Law.’ This work embodied all the law knowledge of the ancient Romans, and was the most precious legacy of Rome to the world. Upon it are founded, as we have already learned , the law systems of most of the leading states of modern Europe, while the jurisprudence of all the others has been more or less influenced by it. In causing its publication, Justinian earned the title of ‘The Lawgiver of Civilization’.”

What do you think of the “haughty, insolent, bigoted Aryan, King Gelimer of the Vandals”? If he were living today, he would be called a neo-Nazi. We should get back to the Scripture we started with here for a moment, Daniel 7:24-25 (I will only quote part of it, as it is pertinent at this time): “… and shall wear out the saints of the most High.”

If you can understand that the “saints of the most High” are the German Teutonic tribes of Judah and Justinian is the one who is doing the “wearing out”, then you can comprehend what this passage is talking about. Not only are the Teutonic tribes of Judah the saints of the most High, but all the tribes of Judah and Israel are saints of the most High. And this “haughty, insolent, bigoted Aryan King Gelimer”, of the Teutonic Vandals, was a saint of the most High, being he was a son of Jacob! After all, this Gelimer was a great grandson of Judah and Tamar. You, too, if your heritage is of Israel or Judah, then you are a saint of the most High. And no Cain-satanic-Canaanite-Edomite “Jew” was ever a saint of the most High, ever!!!

Justinian just didn’t dream up this new law code for which he is given credit. It had been in the works for some time, but he was the one to finally organize the project. We will now investigate some or the prehistory leading up to Justinian. I will now quote from Will Durant’s, The Story Of Civilization: Part IV, The Age Of Faith, page 103:

“In 408 Arcadius died, and his son Theodosius II, aged seven, became Emperor of the East. Theodosiusmargin: 0.1pt 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;span style=;’ sister Pulcheria, having the advantage of him by two years, undertook his education, with such persistent solicitude that he was never fit to govern. He left the task to the praetorian prefect and the Senate, while he copied and illuminated manuscripts; he seems never to have read the Code that preserves his name. In 414 Pulcheria assumed the regency at the age of sixteen, and presided over the Empire for thirty-three years. She and her two sisters vowed themselves to virginity, and appear to have kept their vows. They dressed with ascetic simplicity, fasted, sang hymns and prayed, established hospitals, churches, and monasteries, and loaded them with gifts. The palace was turned into a convent, into which only women and a few priests might enter. Amid all this sanctity Pulcheria, her sister-in-law Eudocia, and their ministers governed so well that in all the forty-two years of Theodosius’ vicarious reign the Eastern Empire enjoyed exceptional tranquillity, while the Western was crumbling into chaos. The least forgotten event of this period was the publication of the Theodosian Code (438). In 429 a corps of jurists was commissioned to codify all laws enacted in the Empire since the accession of Constantine. The new code was accepted in both East and West, and remained the law of the Empire until the greater codification under Justinian.”

You can see from this, the law codes were already partly revised by the time Justinian got them. This tells us why Justinian was able, in so short a time, to edit, revise and publish them with the help of the great lawyer, Tribonian, and his two associates. Justinian needed money to support all of his enterprises so let’s take a look and see where he got it. Quoting again from this same book and the same page plus page 104, we read this:

Anastasius (491-518) was a man of ability, courage, and good will; he restored the finances of the state by wise and economical administration, reduced taxes, abolished the contests of men with wild beasts at the games, made Constantinople almost impregnable by building the ‘Long Walls’ for forty miles from the Sea of Marmora to the Black Sea, expended state funds on many other useful public works, and left in the treasury 320,000 pounds of gold ($134,400,000), which made possible the conquest of Justinian. The populace resented his economies and his Monophysite tendencies; a mob besieged his palace, and killed three of his aides; he appeared to them in all the dignity of his eighty years, and offered to resign if the people could agree on a successor. It was an impossible condition, and the crowd ended by begging him to retain the crown. When presently he died, the throne was usurped by Justin, an illiterate senator (518-527), who so loved his septuagenarian ease that he left the management of the Empire to his brilliant regent and nephew Justinian. ... Justinian so distinguished himself as an officer in the army, and as for nine years aide and apprentice to Justin, that when the uncle died (527), the nephew succeeded him as emperor. [Note: In 1999, with gold at $275 per troy oz., this would be currently valued at 1 billion, 56 million dollars.]

Now we will go a little more into detail concerning The Code of Justinian and the process by which it was accomplished. We have to remember that these were the laws that Daniel was prophesying about 1,100 years earlier. It is awesome how Daniel described the taking of three kingdoms by Justinian and his codifying of the laws. This is nothing new, as there are other passages of Scripture which prophesied events which happened in the very manner and on the very day as prophesied. It’s just a matter of connecting the prophecy with the historical event. Again, I am going to quote from Will Durant’s, The Story Of Civilization: Part IV, The Age Of Faith, page 111-112:

“History rightly forgets Justinian’s wars, and remembers him for his laws. A century had elapsed since the publication of Theodosius’ Code; many of its regulations had been made obsolete by changing conditions; many new laws had been passed which lay in confusion on the statute books; and many contradictions in the laws hampered executives and courts. The influence of Christianity had modified legislation and interpretation. The civil laws of Rome often conflicted with the laws of the nations composing the Empire; many of the old enactments were ill adapted to the Hellenistic traditions of the East. The whole vast body of Roman law had become an empirical accumulation rather than a logical code.

“Justinian’s unifying passion resented this chaos, as it chafed at the dismemberment of the Empire. In 528 he appointed ten jurists to systematize, clarify, and reform the laws. The most active and influential member of this commission was the quaestor Tribonian, who, despite venality and suspected atheism, remained to his death the chief inspirer, adviser, and executant of Justinian’s legislative plans. The first part of the task was accomplished with undue haste, and was issued in 539 as the Codex Constitutionum; it was declared to be the law of the Empire, and all preceding legislation was nullified except as re-enacted herein. The proemium (proem, prelude) struck a pretty note:

“‘To the youth desirous of studying the law: The Imperial Majesty should be armed with law as well as glorified with arms, that there may be good government in times both of war and of peace; and that the ruler may ... show himself as scrupulously regardful of justice as triumphant over his foes.’

“The commissioners then proceeded to the second part of their assignment: to gather into a system those responsa or opinions of the great Roman jurists which still seemed worthy to have the force of law. The result was published as the Digesta or Pandectae (533); the opinions quoted, and the interpretations now given, were henceforth to be binding upon all judges; and all other opinions lost legal authority. Other collections of responsa ceased to be copied, and for the most part disappeared. What remains of them suggest that Justinian’s redactors omitted opinions favorable to freedom, and by impious fraud transformed some judgments of ancient jurists to better consonance  (harmony) with absolute rule.

“While this major work was in process, Tribonian and two associates, finding the Codex  too laborious a volume for students, issued an official handbook of civil law under the title of Institutiones (533). Essentially this reproduced, amended, and brought up to date the Commentaries of Gaius, who in the second century had with admirable skill and clarity summarized the civil law of his time. Meanwhile Justinian had been issuing new laws. In 534 Tribonian and four aides embodied these in a revised edition of the Codex; the earlier issue was deprived of authority, and was lost to history. After Justinian’s death his additional legislation was published in Novellae (sc. constitutiones) - i.e., new enactments. Whereas the previous publications had been in Latin, this was in Greek, and marked the end of Latin as the language of the law in the Byzantine Empire. All these publications came to be known as the Corpus iuris civilis, or Body of Civil Law, and were loosely referred to as the Code of Justinian.

“This Code, like the Theodosian, enacted orthodox Christianity into law. It began by declaring for the Trinity, and anathematized (solemn curse) Nestorius, Eutyches, and Apollinaris. It acknowledged the ecclesiastical leadship of the Roman Church, and ordered all Christian groups to submit to her authority. But ensuing chapters proclaimed the dominion of the emperor over the Church: all ecclesiastical, like all civil law, was to emanate from the throne. The Code proceeded to make laws for metropolitans, bishops, abbots, and monks, and specified penalties for clerics who gambled, or attended the theater or the games. Manicheans or relapsed heretics were to be put to death; Donatists, Montanists, Monophysites, and other dissenters were to suffer confiscation of their goods, and were declared incompetent to buy or sell, to inherit or bequeath; they were excluded from public office, forbidden to meet, and disqualified from suing orthodox Christians for debt. A gentler enactment empowered bishops to visit prisons, and to protect prisoners from abuse of the law.”

This last quotation should hit you like a bombshell, for it reveals that Justinian did just what was prophesied of him by Daniel. Justinian did, in fact, think to change laws. Justinian had the greatest opportunity to do this as the law was being translated from the Latin to Greek. It was an opportunity for him to change the law to his own religious convictions. How would you like to live in a country, where, if you didn’t agree with the state religion, all of your earthly possessions would be taken from you? (2- You wouldn’t be allowed to buy or sell to meet your physical needs? (3- You wouldn’t be allowed to leave your few earthly possessions to your children on your death? (4- You wouldn’t be allowed to receive any of your parent’s possessions upon their death? (5- You would be excluded from holding any public position where you might voice your religious convictions? (6- You would not be allowed to meet with friends who had similar convictions as you, if they didn’t agree with the state religion? (7- You wouldn’t be allowed to collect your rightful debts if you didn’t agree with that state religion? (8- Where if you wanted to go to church, you went to the state approved Universal Church? You talk about the number 666 and the mark of the beast!!! Did you know that numerically, “Vicar of Christ” (the Pope) is equivalent to 666 in three languages, Latin, Greek and Hebrew? The mark of the beast, as the number 666 (not being able to buy or sell without it) is in the past, not in the future. It was the number of a man, and that man was the Pope. While we are still under the beast system, we are not under that phase of it, at this time.  Justinian was making a religious mold with his civil laws, and if you didn’t fit that religious mold, cursed be you! And if you didn’t line up with his three god system, then, cursed be you three times. There is a short quote I would like to make from page 113 of this same book:

“Certain passages of the Code legalized serfdom, and prepared for feudalism.” [Feudalism was the total legal right of the lord over the serf! In other words, if you were poor, you had no rights and no chance of ever getting ahead!]

JUSTINIAN’S MARITIME LAW

Justinian’s law lasted pretty much until the eleventh and twelfth centuries without a lot of modification. We are now gong to leave Justinian for a moment and go to the eleventh and twelfth centuries and see what happened. For this, I will again quote from Will Durant’s The Story Of Civilization: Part IV, The Age Of Faith, page 434:

“While Islam confused law with theology, and Western Europe floundered through the chaos of a dozen barbarian codes, the Byzantine world cherished and extended the legacy of Justinian. The ‘novels’ or new laws of Justin II and Heraclius, the Ecloga, or selected laws, issued by Leo III, the Basilica, or royal edicts, promulgated by Leo VI, and the ‘novels’ of the same Leo, adjusted the Pandects of Justinian to the changing needs of five centuries; codes of military, ecclesiastical, maritime, mercantile, and rural law gave order and dependability to legal judgments in army and clergy, in markets and ports, on the farm and the sea; and in the eleventh century the school of law at Constantinople was the intellectual center of secular Christendom. So the Byzantines preserved Rome’s greatest gift — Roman law — through a millennium of peril and change, until its revival at Bologna in the twelfth century revolutionized the civil law of Latin Europe and the canon law of the Roman Church. The Byzantine Maritime Code of Leo III, developed from the nautical regulations of ancient Rhodes, was the first body of commercial law in medieval Christendom; it became in the eleventh century the source of similar codes for the Italian republics of Trani and Amalfi; and by that lineage entered into the legal heritage of the modern world.”

Those of you who are interested in Maritime Law; this last paragraph should perk up your interest. What we are talking about here is an ecclesiastical-political power with the combination of Justinian and the Pope. That is why this new ecclesiastic-political beast is diverse from all the beasts that were before it, Daniel 7:7. I will now quote from Howard B. Rand’s book, Study In Revelation, page 44:

“Upon the ruins of the ancient Roman Empire there arose, gradually, a new and different type of empire, which became all the more powerful because it claimed control over the souls of men as well as their bodies, and extended its dominion beyond this life into the grave. History has amply verified these facts and that the Popes claimed the right to temporal power, taking the place of the Caesars, while the Eternal City under pagan Rome became the Eternal City under Papal control. How apt is the description of her supporter as named by John, Hell. This is Hades or the abode of the dead, for through the doctrine of Purgatory, the church was able to hold supremacy and exercise tremendous power over her followers not only in this life, but beyond through the fear of future suffering in Purgatory.”

Then quoting on page 49 from this same book:

“CHURCH OVER STATE: Pope Agapetus, in a dispute with Justinian the Emperor of the East, won his point and the Emperor yielded to the Pope. The head of the Church had triumphed over the head of the government. This was 536 A.D. A Church council assembled at Constantinople this same year informed the government, as a servant of the Church, that an edict be issued ordering a decision of the council executed. This was done and thus Church and State became united. Persecutions followed, which the Church dictated and the State supported. One thousand two hundred and sixty years of cruel torture and destruction now followed, resulting in nearly a hundred million dying violent deaths.”

538 A.D. TO 1798 A.D. = 1,260 YEARS, NOT 3½ YEARS

Let’s go back to our original Scripture of Daniel 7:24-25 and pick up the sentence concerning this period of time: “… and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

This sentence is used by futurists as a basis for their postulation of a future three and one half year tribulation period, when a so-called Antichrist will set up his kingdom after a so-called rapture. Some futurists call for a seven year tribulation period. As I told you before, the futurist theory was dreamed up by a Spanish Jesuit priest by the name of Ribera about 1580 A.D., and the teaching had never been heard of before that time. It has a long and sordid history, and I don’t have space here to go much into detail on the subject. But this portion of Scripture quoted immediately above is one of the basic passages they use, out of context, to support their theory. By showing you the true historical meaning of this passage, I hope to drive a nail into the coffin of this doctrine so it will stay dead for a long time. What could be more of a tribulation than 1,260 years and 100,000,000 violent deaths, mostly of our people? Some say as low as 60 million, but it is still a lot of people. This is the legacy of Justinian and his law code, along with the Universal Church.

There are many books written today on this futurist theory by many well-meaning people, and then by some that are not so well-meaning. I would like to cite one in particular. The title is, Guide To Survival, by Salem Kirban. On page 4 is a list of acknowledgments, one of them being a Dr. Gary G. Cohen, Professor of New Testament at Faith Theological Seminary, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, who carefully checked the final manuscript to assure its accuracy to the Scriptures. (I’ll bet he did!) On the back cover there is a small picture of Kirban, and it looks like he may be related to Cohen. Kirban might be one of those Ashkenazi names changed just a little bit. On the last 18 pages are lists of books that can be purchased through his publishing house in relation to futurism. I notice several books which were written by M. R. DeHaan, M.D., whatever that stands for, (Master of Divinity, no doubt). I notice one of his books is titled, Israel and the Nations In Prophecy, with this description, “Presents the growing importance of Israel, the identification of the Jews as Israelites. Scriptural promises ... giving a clear picture of events in the end-time.” Maybe the reason DeHaan wants to identify the “Jews” as Israelites is because he is one. Maybe he is some relation to Jack Van Impe (imp). On page 151 of Salem Kirban’s book, Guide To Survival, he uses Daniel 7:23-26 as a reference and he never once says anything about Justinian!!! By the way, the subtitle just a half a page above it is “The Reign of The Antichrist.” On page 152, under the subtitle, “The Sequence of Events”, he speaks of, “the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation.” I notice one of Kirban’s books is titled “666”! I wonder what he knows about that? He is an expert, no doubt! This is what we were warned about in Matthew 16:6: “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” (leaven means teachings)

(Revised 2-14-2001)