Mystery of Iniquity

Mystery Babylon

Chapter 3

The Beasts of Daniel

Come with me and I will show you the punishment of the great harlot who sits upon many waters. With her the kings of the earth have committed fornication and the peoples of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her fornications. So the angel carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness where I saw a woman sitting upon a seven headed, ten horned scarlet colored beast which was full of blasphemous names. She was dressed in purple and scarlet red color, gilded with gold, precious stones and pearls. In her hand she held a golden cup which was filled with the filthiness of her fornications. Upon her forehead was written a name: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH

I wondered greatly as I watched this woman who was drunken with blood of saints and the martyrs of Jesus. Then the angel said to me: "Why were you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast which you saw, was, is not, but shall come up out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition.

This calls for a mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five kings have fallen, one king is, and another king has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and is not, even he is the eighth. He belongs to the seven and goes into perdition.

The angel said to me,"The waters upon which you saw the prostitute sit are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. The woman you saw is the great city which rules over the kings of the earth." (Paraphrased excerpts from Revelation 17)

SEVEN MOUNTAINS ~ SEVEN KINGS

The angel said that the mind which has wisdom should understand that, ..."the seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth" (Rev.17:9) and may have some fulfillment in "the seven hills of Rome" and Jerusalem. The seven mountains on which the woman sits are seven kings and their kingdoms, (Rev.17:10) ...not one city. Seven great kingdoms or civilizations have dominated the earth during the times of God's dealing with his elect and chosen people; ....from Abraham to the present.

The angel said in 17:10: ….."There are seven kings: five are fallen", ….He was saying that 5 kingdoms had fallen or ceased to exist at the time of John's visitation in A.D. ?95.. The fallen five were : 1st?Egypt, 2nd?Assyria, 3rd?Babylon, 4th?Media?Persia, and 5th?Greece. Each of these kingdoms had up to that time, in the course of history, been a world power and ruled the earth, …but each had been conquered and replaced by the another kingdom.

"And one is"…. Was the present 6th kingdom to ruling the earth at that time controling and exercising dominion upon the nations. It was the pagan Roman Empire of the Caesars.

"And the other is not yet come",….The 7th kingdom to rule the earth would not come upon the world scene until years after AD. ?95. This 7th kingdom has become known as The Holy Roman Empire or the The Roman Papacy. The Roman Catholic church represents the fullness of manifestation of the 7th head or 7th kingdom. (We can not take the time or space to explain this more fully, but a little reading in any thorough history text which surveys the Civilizations of Man will make this evident.) Alexander Hislop's "Two Babylons" is a great place to start.

"And the beast that was , and is not, even he is the eighth and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." (v.11) The power of this beast would know a time called, "is not", when its influence and ability to dominate and exert authority would be taken from it. Yet, its ability to exert power and authority in the earth would return, "and yet is", ...."shall ascend out of the bottomless pit." It would fade away for a while into the shadows, but it would return.

All of this speaks of forces operating upon the affairs of humanity, beyond the scope and limitations of one historical figure, city, or one historical religious or church system, or historical government. Yet, most assuredly, this Mystery Harlot expressed her nature and purposes through specific individuals, cities, religions, and governments in each kingdom.

The Great Whore, the mystery Babylon spirit has existed and ridden through every age and civilization since the tower of Babel age. She represents the influence of religious confusion among Pagans, Jews, and Christians for false worship, deceit, corruption, rebellion, fraud and unfaithfulness in each of the the seven great civilizations within which God's covenanted people lived. One system of idolatry, rebellion and adultery against God and his will. These 7 kingdoms, civilizations, or mountains of this 7?headed devilish power have served Mystery Harlot faithfully from culture to culture. Natural and carnal minded men and women of this 20th & 21st centuries are unknowingly yielding themselves to shape this spiritual power called the EIGHTH BEAST.

Let's take a look at God's descriptions of these kingdoms and how they appear in Bible history.

In calling the mystery whore by the name of Babylon, God directs our attention to the root of Babylon, ...Babel. Nimrod was ruler of ancient Babylon. "He was a mighty hunter before the LORD" (Gen. 10:9,10). It was in the land of Shinar that men first attempted to get to heaven on their own by building the tower of Babel. Here men said, "let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.. (Gen.11:4)

Jehovah God stopped their venture because their motives and attitudes were obviously evil and rebellious toward God. They were not intending to approach God for worship and adoration. Consequently, God confused their languages and thus the place was called Babel, ...meaning confusion.

The seeds of the "Mystery of Iniquity" Babylon religion were sown in the earth at Babel (Babylon) through Nimrod and his wife Semiramis. Astrology, demons, sorcery, and witchcraft were fundamental elements of Babylonion religion and are traceable to Babel.

After the Egyptian and Assyrian (1st & 2nd) kingdoms passed from power, Nebuchadnezzar's (3rd) kingdom of Babylon conquered the known world. Babylon brought credit to it's name, ....confusion. It was known for it's numerous temples and worship of as many as 50 different deities. The Pagan Religious Mysteries seed from Babel had flourished through the centuries until a pantheon of gods of religious confusion were at the helm of the strongest political power of that day, ....Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon. An living religious & political example of confusion.

In time, Babylon would be called upon to recognize another God, ...Jehovah of the Hebrews, ...as the "God of gods, ...because there is no other God that can deliver" as he does. (Dan. 2:47, 3:29) Even Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, would "praise and extol the King of heaven, ...and none can stay his hand, or say unto him What doest thou?" (Dan. 4:37,35) However, Jehovah God became just another God within their Babylonian Confused Pantheon of Religions.

Students of religious history are aware that from Babel the seeds of religious confusion spread the Mystery Babylon religion to all cultures and civilizations. Hislops', The Two Babylons, makes it all too clear, that all the idolatry and false worship of the whole earth is all of one system, with one unifying source, .....Babylonian. The deliberate schemes of Satan modified the names of false deities and their origins from culture to culture. But, when they are looked upon through a wide?view lense looking across centuries and cultures, ...it is evident that the same paganistic religious elements of ritual, tradition, doctrine, and practice repeatedly and continually kept resurfacing over and over from culture to culture. A mystery of religion.

This repeated emergence explains why that over time, the Mother?Son worship of Semiramis, the "Queen of Heaven" and her son, Tammuz, which originated within Nimrod's kingdom of Babel, spread across the ages among varying world cultures. In Assyria, her name was Ishtar, and her son was Bacchus; ...in Egypt, she was known as Issis, and her son as Osiris; ...in India, she was Isi, and her son was Iswara; ...in Asia, Cybele and her son Deoius; ...in Greece, Aphrodite and her son Eros; ...in Rome, Venus and her son Cupid, and later in Roman Catholicism, ...she became known as Mary and Baby Jesus. A Continuity in the mystery of iniquity.

However, the Babylonian Mystery of Iniquity religion gave rise to more than just Mother?Child worship. Pagan religions throughout the earth which did not worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, carried many of the same familiar strains and characteristics. Such as : prayers for the dead, ..worship of images, ...a non?marrying priesthood, ...a separation of the priestly caste from the general worshiper, ...monkery, ...holidays to commemorate Pagan Deity births, ...purgatory, ...initiation rites of baptism, ...prayers to the dead, ...relic worship, ...rosary beads, ...and even a Pontifus Maximus, …where the political leader is considered to be a god with leadership in both the civil and religious affairs of the state.

The system of religious lawlessness and iniquity conceived at Babel bore continual fruit in the earth as The Mystery of Iniquity made in?roads into the cultures & religions of all nations. Religious confusion thrived and held sway upon the souls of all men except for those faithful Israelites who stayed close to the precepts of Jehovah.

Truly a world?wide system of false worship was transmitted across political boundaries and across ages until it found its most fruitful expression of poly?theism and corrupting pagan religious practices in the ....Pagan Roman Empire of the Caesars. All religious confusion and harlotry conceived at Babel eventually found it's way into the Roman culture of the Caesar's.

There had never been a kingdom like Rome, it was different from all the previous kingdoms which had ruled the earth, it was …"diverse from all those which came before it". Satan had finally funneled all of the social, religious, and political evil of man into "a single creation". Thus, when God revealed the nature of this kingdom, He could not type it with any creature God had ever created ?? It was different! It was un?natural! It was without precedent! It was a beast unlike any the prophet had ever seen or heard of before. Let's take a look at how God described Satan's political?religious creation of Rome.

The scriptures of the Bible have somewhat to say of those seven kingdom mountains which would rule the earth. God does give various descriptions of the natures of these kingdoms which would dominate the earth for many centuries. All would be Gentile nations and kingdoms. Daniel got a glimpse of 4 of these kingdoms while dealing with Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The King's dream begins with His Babylon, omitting Egypt and Assyria, since their dynasty's were already ended.

Daniel 2:31?45 relates Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a great image. The image had a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, two legs of iron, and feet of part iron and clay. It tells us of four kingdoms, from that time on, which would dominate the earth. (If not familiar, now would be a good time to read it again.)

Daniel said to the King, Nebuchadnezzar, "Thou, O king, ...art this head of gold (v.38), …"after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee (v.39 ...Media?Persia, Dan.5:28), …"and another third kingdom of brass(v.39 ...Greece, Dan.8:20?21),…"and the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that breaketh all these, shall break in pieces and bruise."

(v.40) ...non?biblical history reveals plainly that the next world?wide kingdom after Greece was the Roman Empire.) The fourth kingdom was to be divided, (v.41) and be partly strong and partly broken because of the iron mixed with the potter's miry clay (v.42) in the feet and toes. The Roman Emperor Constantine performed that very division when he move the capitol of the Empire to Constantinople. This formed an eastern and western division of that empire.

Daniel revealed to the King that in the future another kingdom, represented as a stone, would be cut out of a mountain and fly through the air and strike the image upon it's iron?clay feet and toes. The image of gold, silver, brass, and iron would then be broken by the stone into fine pieces and blown away by the wind. (v.34,35) The stone kingdom (v44) would be set up by God, and not man, and would break these Gentile kingdoms into pieces, ...thereby bringing them to an end.

God said that four great kingdoms would rule over the earth from Daniel's day until the endtime : Babylon, Media?Persia, Greece, and The Roman Empire. Secular history verifies these very events. However, ...since God said that 4 Gentile Kingdoms would rule the earth until the kingdom of God appeared (the stone kingdom) AND since we know that the fourth Roman Empire kingdom, came to a political end about 476 AD.; ....there is a question which needs answering. Where is the 4th kingdom now?

We know the Kingdom of God has not physically appeared; (even though "it has come without observation, ...in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."), ....so Where is the 4th Gentile Roman Kingdom? God said in the dream that the 4th kingdom would exist as iron and later as iron mixed with clay, until the stone kingdom came and broke the image's kingdoms to pieces and blew them away. Where is the Roman Empire kingdom? Politically it no longer exists. But, religiously and spiritual it is still here! Politically it has ceased to exist; but, religiously and spiritually the 4th Roman Gentile kingdom still exists exerting influence in the earth.

We will explain in more detail during Daniel's vision of the 7th chapter; ...but, here is what happened.

The Roman empire fell in the 5th century. When Pagan Rome ceased to exist as a political force in the earth, the spirit of Pagan Rome continued on in a religious form. It continued! The pagan?political spirit of the Roman Empire shifted into a spiritual and religious system called… The Roman Papacy. The political system of the Caesar's was toppled, ...but the religious system and spirit of Rome remained intact, ....it went into the Roman Church, which had already begun at that time to exercise itself with political powers, ... thus the Christian? church simply filled in the vacuum. And before too long the church was exercising both religious and political powers.

Spiritual Rome lives. The Roman Empire exists now in a spiritual medium and affecting your and my spiritual life more than most comprehend. In later centuries it evolved into what became known as the Roman Papacy or the Catholic Church. (But, would later metamorphose again) The 4th Kingdom does exist today. It did a shift, from Pagan Rome to Papal Rome. You might call it a form of spiritual possession.

The spirit of Pagan Rome lives on today within the christian church?world. Many are expecting a revival of the old Roman Empire. Once you see her spiritually, you will know there is no need of waiting. She exists today! We will show a little more fully how this happened. Remember, the Roman Empire of the Caesars was the 6th mountain head kingdom and the Roman Christian Papacy is the 7th mountain head kingdom. The first six kingdoms were all clearly pagan while the 7th kingdom called itself christian. They are all of the same religious spirit of unfaithfulness to God our creator. But, do not forget,….There was an 8th Kingdom to come, ….. of the previous seven.

Daniel the 7th chapter gives a little more insight into Mystery Babylon's disguise as she rode upon the civilizations of history.

This time Daniel has a vision and watched as four beasts came up out of the sea as the winds blew upon the waters. (v.3) The angel said "These great beasts which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth." (v.17) He saw:

1st ….. a lion with eagles wings …(kingdom of Babylon)
2nd ….a bear with 3 bones in his teeth …(kingdom of Medes & Persians)
3rd ….4 headed leopard with 4 wings …(kingdom of Greece)
4th…. ten horned dreadful & terrible beast…(the Pagan Roman Empire, v.4?7)

The 4th beast is the focus of the 7th chapter. Daniel had never seen anything like it or else he would have been able to identify it by name…. -"a dreadful and terrible" beast with "great iron teeth", (iron was the metal of the image's legs, the 4th kingdom in Daniel 2). -"It devoured and brake in pieces and stamped the residue with the feet of it." ...a description of the conquering Roman Empire. -"It was diverse from all the beasts that were before it." No animal God had created could portray its nature and character ?? as did the lion, bear, and the leopard. This kingdom was Satan's creation. -"and it had ten horns. (v.24 ....they represent 10 kings or the 10 divisions of the Pagan Roman Empire at its fall: (the Anglo?Saxons, Burgundians, Huns, Heruli, Lombards, Franks, Ostrogoths, Suevi, Visigoths, and Vandals).

"There came up among them another little horn". As he watched, an 11th horn (v.25 ..another king arose among them, an 11th rose up among the ten (v.8), ...the 11th horn represents the Roman Papacy) This verse of the ten horns and the 11th little horn which came up and plucked?up three horns represents the political events which came about within a century of Rome's fall in 476 AD.

The ten horns represent the ten divisions which the Empire became when it fell. The little horn represents the Roman Papacy which allowed the religious and political life of the spirit of Pagan Rome to continue. This is where the Roman Empire shifted into being both a political and spiritual force. Here is a simple explanation of how the shift occurred and why the 4th Kingdom of Rome presently continues to dominate and conquer the earth, even in the 20th and 21st century. However, now it conquers in a religious and spiritual manner.

The transition of the spirit of Pagan Rome into the christian church was given extra energy when Constantine proclaimed the Edict of Toleration in 313 AD. This decree stopped all persecution of the christians throughout the empire. It brought to an end persecutions which had battered the christian community for more than two hundred years.

Persecution ended, ...churches were re?opened, ...new buildings erected, ...state sacrifices to pagan gods were stopped, ...many heathen temples were consecrated as church buildings, ...churches began to receive state financial support, ...clergymen became a privileged class, ...the church could even use the state military to enforce religious decrees, ...crucifixion was abolished, ...Sunday was proclaimed a day of rest, ....in fact, membership in the church was sought as a way to gain social and political influence. Christianity had moved from the outcast religion of the empire to …Christianity - the New State Religion of Rome.

It was all due principally to one man, ....Constantine. While he was attempting to militarily solidify his position as emperor, he said he saw a cross in the sky and was told to conquer by this cross. So he changed his military insignias to a cross, won the battle and became a convert of the christian faith.

With the concern of persecution over, it was not long until Constantine had to deal with the bishops who now had time to focus upon doctrinal debates which had been dividing the christian community. With the great influx of Gentile converts over the past 250 years, the church was no longer Jewish in its thinking and doctrines. The church now contained some of the best Greek educated minds, who began to teach doctrines and concepts contrary to those taught by the New Testament apostles. Thus, factions formed and began to debate.

In a few years, Constantine realized that his new state religion, Christianity, had factions and strife in it which were not promoting unity in the empire. Thus, he began to convene religious councils to work out these issues and to bring unity to the state religion. Some of the bishops knew Constantine was going to use political and civil muscle to stop the bickering and bring a united faith to his Empire. Those bishops and leaders knew that whoever persuaded Constantine of their religious correctness would have the backing of the political and the military machine of Rome. And so it happened.

Constantine was going to be the turning point for the Christian faith in more ways than one. Not only did he stop the imperial persecutions of christians by making Christianity the state religion; But, He opened the door for a new type of persecution for christians. One believer persecuting another believer. This came about from councils which Constantine called and required the bishops to attend. These councils resulted in many believers and churches losing their property and civil rights. The winning Bishops and leaders labeled the losers as heretics, and even required re?baptism and re?ordination of all those who did not agree with the "trinity" concept of God and the trinity mode of baptism. The 325 AD. Council of Nicea was the principal turning point in the debates. It was the beginning of christians with more political muscle out?lawing all other christians who disagreed with what the leaders deemed religiously correct.

It was not long until the Empire's new state religion began to take on a more Pagan Roman attitude. Why? The Roman Church contained the old Harlot Spirit of Pagan Rome, in a way it became demon possessed. It all came so natural. The masses were joining the church by merely confessing a creed, rather than by true repentance and being born again of the water and the Spirit. (John 3:3?5)

So Constantine did Christianity a service by ending the persecutions; …but a dis?service by wedding it to the political-religious machine of the Empire. Worship services became less spiritual, as pomp and ritual were more accented. Gradually, old Roman pagan forms, images and rituals which Romans were already familiar with were given change?of?name face?lifts as they were brought into the church. This allowed popular heathen festivals to become religious christian church social events.

Later Constantine moved the capitol of the Empire to Constantinople. This left the Bishop of the church in Rome as the most influential and powerful figure in that area. In time, Rome fell to the barbarians. Rome politically existed no more. Rome was divided into 10 territories or smaller kingdoms. That is when the Beast had ten horns. But, remember; ....the spirit of the Pagan Roman Empire shifted into the new power that was exerting more and more control over the old capitol of Rome. Rome's Bishop or Papa would get stronger and stronger. "and it had ten horns. (v.24 ...they represented 10 kings or the 10 divisions of the Pagan Roman Empire at its fall: the Anglo?Saxons, Burgundians, Huns, Heruli, Lombards, Franks, Ostrogoths, Suevi, Visigoths, and Vandals).

But, this did not last long. Three of the ten rulers would not submit to the bishop of Rome. They resisted the bishop of Rome who was accustomed to having authority and things his way since Constantine divided the empire. So he used the military strength at his disposal and had the three rebellious territories conquered. These three refused to submit to his brand of christianity, thus they were plucked up by the Bishop's political, and military might.

"before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots" ("..whose look was more stout than his fellows" v.20) This 11th horn king tore 3 of the 10 horns out by the roots. (v.7?8) {v.24 The Roman Bishop Papacy toppled 3 kingdoms : ….the Vandals, the Heruli, and the Ostrogoths.}

The beast became truly diverse as a religious?civil, and church?state power. It began to persecute and torture all who would not submit. Thus, the false church vine, got control of the name, ....christian. The Roman Catholic Papacy became the receptacle of all the Paganism which was Rome and fostered if off on the world as Christian. Pagan Rome became Papal Rome. The Spirit of Pagan Rome simply shifted into the christian arena as Papal Rome. Thus the 4th Iron Kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar's dream continued to dominate the earth. The 4th kingdom was still alive. And Daniel was told even more.

"behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things, ...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:" (v.8,25)

The 11th horn (v.25), the Roman Papacy, spoke great words and became more stout than the other kingdoms. In time he spoke against God, wore out the saints, and changed times and laws. He became full of him-self.

Daniel saw a power emerge which would get a reputation as a destroyer of saints. The blood of God's people would flow as never before. Pagan Rome had tried to exterminate New Covenant Christianity by it's many purging persecutions of the Christians. They began with Nero in 67 A.D. and continued through Diocletian's persecutions which began in 302 A.D.

However, history reveals that the Roman Papacy Catholic church exceeded Nero's & Diocletian's persecutions in churches? systematic, barbaric torture and murder of those who confessed Jesus Christ in opposition to the Papacy's perversions of worship and scripture. This continued for well over 1200 years.

The Mother Harlot Spirit became intoxicated on the blood of martyrs as she declared an "open season" on all people she labeled as ..."heretics". (The true Christians attempted to abide in the Apostles doctrine of the New Testament). All of this transpired with the sanction of the Roman Catholic Church. History records how Catholic clergy?men and church men empowered civil?servants who then burned, massacred, hacked, hunted, butchered, shot, stabbed, drowned, beheaded, quartered, impaled, buried alive, baked, threw from cliffs, starved, suspended, stuffed, blew up, ripped, dragged, bored with hot irons, choked, trampled, and performed other unmentionable barbarities upon men, women and children who opposed Rome's Catholicism and brand of Christianity.

Roman Catholic Inquisition efforts were made to extinguish the Waldenses, the Lollards, the Bohemians, the Hussittes, the Huguenots, and other innumerable Protestants. It has been estimated that close to 50 million souls were killed under the direction of the Roman Pontiffs. The executioners of this torment and torture were given absolution of all their sins and a promise of immediate entrance into heaven if they should die in the pursuit and murder of "heretics". Sounds similar to other religious tenets doesn't it. Remember It's all of the same religious mystery iniquity Babylon spirit, regardless of the name or culture or generation.

For over 1200 years this spirit "wore out the saints" and was"drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." (Rev.17:6)

She changed numerous doctrines to suit her fancy and labeled them God's laws. All religions and religious systems do that. The doctrines which surfaced from the clergy of the Roman Catholic Papacy had very little in common with the good news preached by the apostles and disciples of Christ in the book of Acts and the New Testament Epistles. In fact the new doctrines of "that church" resembled MORE those of the Mystery Babylon Religion which had expressed itself in the polytheism of Pagan Rome. A simple glance at history reveals a christian church so unlike the "Acts Church" and so Like Roman Paganism!

The following are some of the rituals which were brought into "that Roman church" and given the label of Christian: Mary worship, Mother?child worship, prayers to dead saints?, prayers for the dead, purgatory, the christianizing of Pagan holidays as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas, worship of statues, signing of a cross, tri?theism, trinity, celibate priesthood, mandatory worship on Sunday, laymen forbidden to read the Bible, traditions were declared above Scripture in authority, the immaculate conception of Mary, the confessional, professed power to forgive sins, church membership by baptism, and on it goes.

All of these were of pagan origin, ....yet they were clothed with Christian labels and declared inspired of God. Nothing could have been further from the truth. It was the Mystery Harlot's work to bring God's people into judgment for "eating things sacrificed to idols" and to "committing fornication", ....spiritual unfaithfulness to God's word. (Rev.2:20)

The saints were "given into his hand until a time, times and a dividing of time" (v.25) or 3 and 1/2 times. (representing 3 1/2 years of 360 days each, ....which equals 1260 days, ....3 1/2 X 360 =1260) And if each day represents 1 year ....then it equals 1260 years of prime domination and torture. (Remember, 40 days spying out the land translated into 40 years of wandering in Num. 14. See Rev.12:6,14, ...to equate 3 1/2 times with 1260 days)

History shows all too clearly that for well over 1200 years, the Babylonian Religious spirit of confusion manifested itself through the Roman Papacy Catholic christian church system of rebellion against God, his name, and his saints.

This continued until the Mother Harlot's Roman Catholic church system was dealt a staggering blow by the preaching of men during the Reformation in the sixteenth century. The good news gospel of Jesus Christ was preached in the earth by men un-afraid to challenge with their Sword of the Spirit, the word of God. Their sword wounded that dreadful beast in it's 7th head. Apostle John was given an even deeper insight into the Mystery Babylon Spirit while he was upon the isle of Patmos near the close of the 1st century. A portion of it is recorded in Revelation chapter 13.