The Bottemless Pit

The Two-Horned Beast

Bottomless Pit

Mark! The two-horned beast is not confined to Catholicism alone, but works its way upward even among the Protestants; its mission always is to unite the human family with those things that are temporal and visible, and to combine man with the works of his hands for the purpose of worshipping Mauzzim and embracing the works of Baal.

The governments are strengthened by the support of the church, and in return they give more room for ecclesiastical influences. As they all (the governments and the churches) have one common enemy to oppose, they become united in that one thing: viz., to raise their might as one man against the terrible destroyer they see in the approaching revolution. We have shown before that the pope is seated on the centre-seat of Babylon; as soon as the labor movement shakes its foundations, he, in universal defense, becomes the main head. From him a strong influence will go forth to sustain the kingly powers.

"He causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast." This two-horned beastly organization appeals to the inhabitants of the earth to heal the wound inflicted by Protestantism on the papal head of the ten-horned beast. The Spirit of Truth which actuated the leaders of the Protestant movement, is finally depressed by the different Protestant churches, and then they naturally flow together and by the Catholic spirit, the spirit of the world, they are led so that they become united in their work of opposing the movement brought about by the Messiah. Because of the worldly position of the Protestants, the kings and presidents representing the Protestant nations unite again with the Catholic powers in order to sustain the power of the world. Therefore the beast, of which the angel says to John that it "was and is not," shall ascend out of the bottomless pit (the bosom of militarism), and the dwellers of the earth shall wonder at it. (Rev. 17: 8.)

With lying signs and wonders this beast will oppose the servants of God and carry on a deceptive work, in order to hinder the Messianic movement. Christ says he saw devils fall from heaven, and at the time the kingdom of heaven reveals itself in power with wondrous signs, the kingdom of darkness will display its lying wonders, in order to draw the people's attention away from the movement of Christ and from his kingdom.

The Image of the Beast

The image which is to be created, will be made for the benefit and advantage of the ten-horned beast. Thus, the two-horned beast is the image-builder for the ten-horned beast. By noticing the relation the image, when complete, holds to the ten-horned beast, it will help us to understand how it is constructed, also the formations it consists of. Both Daniel and John have described the ten-horned beast, and John has introduced the subject twice.

When John saw that wonderful object he was brought down to the day of judgment by the Spirit—thus down to our present time. The angel placed him in the desert, outside of Babylon, the brick-creation. There he could see the whole formation put together, in activity to destroy the saints.. John was astonished at the sight of that terrible formation and the work carried on by it. Although he had seen the ten-horned beast before, there was something connected with it now that mystified him; the angel explained to him the mystery.

"The beast," he said, "was, and is not, and is about to ascend out of the abyss" or "bottomless pit." In other words, the beast you see now is the same one you saw once before, but during the time the fifth head has been wounded, it seems as though it has not existed. But now, the wound is healed up and the beast is rising again; this time it comes directly from the "bottomless pit."

This pit or abyss represents the factories that manufacture fire-arms, which factories now exist everywhere within Christendom. It is a bottomless deep which constantly pours forth a mighty stream of implements of war in preparation for the great day of slaughter. In connection with this creation, the old beast that conquered Christ, his apostles, his host and his sanctuary, rises anew to meet him at his second coming in order to withstand his kingly movement..

The wound is healed up. Protestantism inflicted a terrible wound on the fifth or the Catholic head so that it lost its temporal power; this head was subdued under the rule of Protestantism. But now, in the united military move of the nations, when the Protestant and Catholic powers unite to subdue what they call the "Reds," the old beast is again rising on its feet and comes up to carry on a great slaughter. In creating the image it regains that power.

The Two Witnesses of Jesus

3. Their final fate. "And when they shall have completed their testimony, that wild beast ascending out of the bottomless pit will make war with them, and will conquer and kill them." Those who try to hurt them will fall dead before them in the same manner as Ananias and Sapphira did before the feet of Peter. The Spirit of God will kill them. But at the closing up of their testimony, the nations will unite in bringing their dragonic forces against them and will capture and execute them. Satan will possess the wicked masses so thoroughly that they will even hate the dead bodies of those two beings, who, in love of humanity, have warned the world concerning the judgment of God. They will not suffer them to be buried, but will let them lie on the streets of a wicked city, where all the passers-by can spit on them and give them a kick.

By the influence of the false teachers, the world will be led to believe that these two witnesses are the Antichrist who was to come. Enveloped by the cover of Antichrist, it will be impossible for all that cling to the works of man to see these two beings who cause a general disturbance in the world in any other light. Like the Jews at the time of Christ's first advent, the churches, holding fast to their dogmas during- such dangerous times, seek the special protection of the worldly power and, consequently, they cause the people to remove from the earth such beings who are opposed to them and who destroy the fat pastures of the shepherds.

XXV. THE SEVEN TRUMPETS

5. "The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth, and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. He opened the bottomless pit, and there arose a smoke out of the pit as the smoke of a great furnace." An exploding meteor falls from heaven with a crushing blow on Babylon. Mohammed, by a seemingly supernatural power, developed a powerful and fearless army. He opened his batteries on Rome which already was shaken way down to its foundation. By the invention of what they called "Greek fire" (a composition similar to powder that a Greek by the name of Callinicus invented), the long-haired Arabs astonished and overpowered the Romans. That invention was the very key to the "bottomless pit," from which the nations ever since have gathered their firearms. To illustrate that pit, we will quote a passage from a paper that describes Krupp's gun-factories, from which the nations have received a great amount of their war-implements:

"In the Essen works there are 1,556 big ovens, 493 steam boilers. 450 steam engines (representing 18,500 horse power), 1,622 machine-tools, 92 steam hammers, 21 rolling trains, 1,648 furnaces, and the daily consumption of coal and coke is 3,100 tons. The work goes on night and day, except Sundays. In a month they can produce 250 field pieces; 30 35 7 inch cannon, 15 19 33 inch cannon, 8 11 inch cannon, 1 14 inch gun of 47 tons weight. About 1,500 bombshells daily, in connection with other great quantities of iron works. About 21,000 men are employed at the establishment."

This woe-trumpet, as well as the following, has its time limited. They are allowed to carry on the battle for a certain length of time; but they come to a sudden halt like an army when the trumpet signals retreat. New orders are required for its onward march. The time for the fifth trumpet's continued torment was limited to 150 years. (Rev. 9: 5.) Five moons make 150 prophetic days. The eleventh verse shows when these years should commence: namely, when the king Abaddon (the destroyer) should rise to lead the battles of the demolishing Arabs. He is also called "the angel of the bottomless pit;" thus, the very being that sets in motion the flowing stream of firearms.

XXXII. THE MILLENNIUM

Earthquakes and subterranean explosions, in connection with the terrible wars, will leave the earth a confused mass. Where are its inhabitants who live at that time? The contexts show that. Jeremiah saw them flee into thickets; he saw them climb the rocks as they fled from the cities (Jer. 4: 29). Isaiah saw them enter into the rocks and hide in the dust "for the fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty." (Is. 2: 10, 21.) But at the same time, he speaks of a remnant that appears as "the gleaning grapes, when the vintage is done." Of those he says:

"They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall cry aloud from the sea." (Is. 24: 13, 14.)

The righteous remnant is still on the earth, but is then entirely separated from the ungodly. Then comes the binding of the red dragon. John says:

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which Is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him," etc. (Rev. 20: 1-3.)

That binding is explained in Rev. 19: 20. The angel (or messenger) represents the movement that will finally make way for the "Prince of Peace" and his kingdom. By the "burning and fuel of fire," every implement of war will be destroyed (Is. 9: 4-6) ; thus, they will return the same way they have come: namely, by fire.

"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Is. 2: 4.)

Armageddon or The Two Champions

Armageddon as the Battlefield

The New covenant as well as the Old, has its time of the Elijah. It was at the close of the prefiguring time of Elijah the people turn ed from the altars of Baal to that of Elohim, the God of the cove nant. The two individuals Christ calls "my two witnesses" will prophesy, i e. carry on theit prophetic mission 31/2 years, but at the end thereof, at the closing up of the period in which no rain has fallen, the Beast arising from the "bottomless pit" (the source from which the armies of the nations and the implements of war are called forth) "shall make war against them, and shall overcome them and kill them."

That battle we understand will be carried out at Armageddon. There is a chosen class which stands with those witnesses. The drought, as the fulfillment of the prophecy of God, has brought them to the understanding that God has a great purpose in bring ing about the condition in which they all will be placed at that particular time.

The dual plan of God reveals that the means He uses to separ ate the people from Baalism also serve His purpose to bring forth the class of His servants which finally shall fill the positions as priests and kings in the kingdom of Christ. The great drought will bring such results that the yet unfulfilled prophecies will be come realities.

The Four Winds of the Earth

While the sealing process is going on, i. e., while the develop ment of the ruling class of the kingdom to come continues, the four winds of the earth are checked. The wind symbolizes war, the blow ing of the four winds signifies world war. Just what now goes on and stirs all quarters of the earth. This leads us to consider the cause that brought it on.

Constantinople was undoubtedly the real object that started the nations to send their armies against each other. Germany had in several ways given evidence of friendliness to Turkey. It had sent officers there to instruct the turkish army, and it built a rail road within its domain. That looked in the eyes of the other na tions, that for many years have desired to take Constantinople, as a block in the way and something must be done to hinder further complications. Hence the nations, mentioned in the proclamation of the Sultan, ordered their armies to invade Turkey. The follow ing clip from the "Associated Press" of Nov. 16th 1914 gives the Sultan's view of the military movement:

"The sultan of Turkey has issued a proclamation to the army and navy, in which he accuses Great Britain, France and Russia of having instigated the war on Turkey. He adds in this connection that the outcome will put an end to the attempts directed against the glory of the Turkish empire. Exhorting his soldiers and sailors to bravery, the sultan says:

"Not only the fate of our own country, but the future existence of 300,000,000 Moslems depends on your victory."

We may here raise the question: Was it the finger of God that led the nations to that act ? We believe it was and will give our reason for that belief.

Constantinople is the "key to the bottomless pit" from which the nations gathers their implements of war and send forth their armies. It will also be the cause of their final fall.

When the Door is Shut

When the 31/2 years finally end, there is an event to occur that will cause the door to the bride-chamber to be shut. The christian nations, led by the church authority carry out an incidence, an act corresponding with what the authorities of the Jews and the Romans did when they crucified Christ. It is the second part of the crucifixion. The dual plan of God develops even that event into two parts. We find the prophetic description of the occurrence in Rev. 11: 7-12. Those prophetic words will be ful filled just as sure as the prophecy concerning Christ became history. The prediction given by Christ says:

"And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them."

The plan of God is from its first to its very last development dual in its character, hence the great pascha-act must also develop into two parts. The crucifixion of Christ ended the old covenant, and the corresponding act, which closes the new covenant, is the killing of the two witnesses of Jesus. By that wicked act the christian nations shut the door, leading to the everlasting kingdom, against themselves. They crucify their Lord and Savior by mur­dering His kingly representatives. The religious leaders, by their unbelief and ignorance concerning the prophetic word, do like the Jewish priests, they influence the people that the doctrine and mis sion of the two witnesses are of satan, and they inspire the political leaders to kill them.

The beast makes war with them. That means that the whole multitude of the downtrodden people is with them, else a war would be out of place.

The mission of the two witnesses corresponds with the mission of Elijah, and, as he at the end of the 31/2 years' drought had brought the 'people from Baalism to Jehovah, so likewise the mission of the two witnesses will have the very same result. That makes the nations angry and they mean to make an end of the movement.

The beast overcomes the leaders of the people and kills the two witnesses. By the words that seven thousand were slain in the earthquake that follows the murdering act, we understand that those seven thousand are the very ones who have petitioned the authorities to kill the witnesses. In the Greek text it reads: "Onoinata anthropon", which means names of men. Seven thousand names of men which up to that time have the fame of wisdom and authority about them, are killed when God raises His witnesses and calls them up to heaven in the sight of both friends and enemies.

It was not Antichrist, as the leaders of the christian church pointed them out to be! No, it was Antichrist that killed them. That will then and there be for ever settled.

The joy is great when the enemies of God have succeeded to kill His faithful servants, but it does not last long. Then follows the sorrow and a fear that can not be described.- The christians have looked upon the leaders of the Jews at Jerusalem as godless and evil, because they delivered Christ, the Innocent One, to be crucified, but here, in their own time, when God calls upon them to discrim inate His word and work and to separate from the heathen dogmas and the work of Baal, then they themselves do a worse deed than the Jews did, worse because they have more of the word of God to lead them, and, besides, the example of the crucifixion to warn them that they may not be guilty of a similar sin.

By that terrible act, when they kill the ministers of Christ, the door to the Most Holy or the bride-chamber is shut. The prophecy is fulfilled. Now comes another great act.

The Temple and the City

Then in the following verses it says:

"Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst therof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south."

"The Lord will then go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle." That will be the final battle of Armageddon. We are again reminded that the angel told Gideon that the people were too many, and that _ he should separate all the fearful and unfit to battle, the battle of the Lord, and send them away. That separation we understand prefigured the event described in the testimony given by the prophet. When that portion of the people is removed from the true followers of Christ, then again comes a test. He shall then split the moun tain of Olives, which is before Jerusalem. The mountain of Olives that can be split in two, is the living mountain, consisting of the wise and the foolish virgins together in the wilderness. And how are they divided?

The beast ascending out of "the bottomless pit" overcomes and kills the two witnesses of Jesus, the Olive branches, and then the oil stops to flow, and at the same time the door to the Most Holy is shut. That ends the progressive process, and those that stand in the prophetic light are separated from the foolish class. Those still hold on to the doctrine of Mithras and expect that the Lord shall immediately take them to heaven. That will be the natural conse­quence of the preaching they have adhered to.

From Rev. 19. 6-9 we learn that the bride is yet on the earth at the time the Almighty takes the kingdom and the ruling power. Then He has subdued the nations. And then will be fulfilled the prophecy that says: "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." The God of all power gives then His Son all His

possessions that the nations have had control of. That will be the wedding-gift to the Lamb and its bride.

Then, under those circumstances, it is granted the bride to array herself in fine and clean linen, and "the linen is the righteousness of the saints" — their work of faith.