2nd trumpet

The fall of Western Imperial Roman Empire

The message from this trumpet is very relevant for today. We see the movement of religion seeking to unite with government power, thinking to enforce law (God's law) as the answer to establish truth?

The second trumpet is about a great mountain -- a great nation

Jeremiah 51:24 And I will render unto Babylon...against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

Babylon is a symbolic term of powerful church/state control in Revelation. (Revelation 17 and 18)
During the early Christian centuries the cryptic word "Babylon" appears commonly in both Jewish and Christian writings when referring to the city and empire of Rome.(1 Peter 5:13)

In Daniel, Rome is quite a central subject. It's that terrible beast out of which the horn emerges. The horn was "groomed" by the Roman Empire, but didn't come into full power until the western Roman Empire, --like a great burning mountain -- fell.

This union between Imperial Rome and the Church was first established back in 313 AD.

Daniel 11:23 And after (that is sometime after Jerusalem was destroyed in vs 22) the league was made with him he shall work deceitfully: (the Roman Empire made a league with Christianity) for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. (Constantine saw it as a link to unite people into a more unified empire).

Christianity, in years following, grew to be the state religion in the Roman Empire, the sword had entered the church which now claimed to have "two swords" one ecclesiastic, the other civil power.
The Roman Empire was now supposedly "Christian".

But religion is not a matter of government enforcement. It always leads to persecution, trying to corral everyone into one mindset to unite the empire. It does not lead to true heart unity with our Savior and Redeemer.
The supposed Christian empire was very corrupt. Basically just as pagan as always, just with imposed rules that had a Christian flavor.

Rev. 8:8-9 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

Sea = people (Rev. 17:15)
Rome was over run by hordes (a sea) of Barbarians, The Vandals, the Goths, the Huns, all left ruin and desolation, blood, and destruction.
And yes, control of the Mediterranean Sea was a huge part of the battles. A lot of ships went down, a lot of sailors died.
439 CE, The Vandal Fleet conquered Sicily, Malta, Sardinia and Corsica.
455 CE, the Vandal Fleet arrived off the Italian coast, and embarked on the Second Sack of Rome
461 CE, Battle of Cartagena. The Vandal fleet destroys a West Roman Fleet.
468 CE, Battle of Cape Bon. The Vandal fleet defeats a combine East and West Roman Fleet
476 CE, The Western Roman Empire falls.
The Vandals have control of the Mediterranean sea routes.

Ships symbolize a nation's power and self-sufficiency, the Western Roman downfall was hugely devastating to its economic and social order.

True, the eastern Empire was still there and they were able to push back against the Vandals and Goths later, and help the papacy get seated in power in Rome in 538. But they too were too weak to support the west for any length of time and retired to the east .
By 476 the Western Roman Empire was gone.

So what is the message in all this?

In our day, Christian Nationalism is on the rise in the most powerful nation on earth:
Christian Nationalism in America is the belief that the United States is, or should be, a "Christian" nation. They aren't content with people in America who, on their own initiative attend Christian churches if they so choose, Christian Nationalists believe the government should actively support, prioritize, and, where the need supposedly arises, enforce Christian beliefs and practices.

Revelation 13 predicts this rise -- a beast with two horns like a lamb, will start to enforce religion. Just like in Constantine's day, many Christians will think joining religion with government power, is a wonderful thing. A return to godly living they conclude. How could that be bad? Why not join? But it's outward, not inward reform. It's agenda is controlled by man, not in reference to God.
And what about obeying God?
With Constantine, Sunday as the day of rest took wings. Supported, too, by the bishop of Rome, who was well on his way to be a Bishop higher than all the other Bishops. Yet there was no "thus says the Lord", as it's foundation.

Again Sunday as the day of rest is on the agenda.

People won't see the danger, till it gets oppressive -- no buying or selling unless one yields to whatever the government thinks is important for this nation. And just like back in 300-450 AD years, the papacy will be increasing and reaching for full control, joining and orchestrating the movement.


But remember the fall of that powerful, seemingly unconquerable Roman empire;
Even so, this mountain of a beast, too, will fall, no matter how powerful with world wide authority and power it may seem to have at any given time, it too will fall.

Worship God, our Creator and Savior.
Acts 5:29 We ought to obey God rather than men.

The first two trumpets-
1. Rejection of the covenant which Christ had come to confirm (and did confirm with His own blood on Calvary). It was largely rejected by the nation that had the promises, that was supposedly waiting for the Messiah to appear. They did not reject their formal religion,but by rejecting Jesus, it was the rejection of that gift of Divine love and key to life and deliverance from sin. That rejection brings very bad results. Because there is only one way of salvation and that is through Christ, all other paths lead to destruction, because sin is destructive.

2. Using the state's civil power to enforce the covenant. The emperor makes a league with the Christians, and then we find an emperor "chairing" religious councils and decision making gatherings of church officials and using his power to enforce whatever decisions were made (and some of his own). The emperor was grooming the Roman bishop into his likeness, to take over his seat. The bishops and people think this is a blessing when in reality it was a huge step into apostacy.
The wall between church and state was cast down. The state had placed himself as the guardian of the church. But the mountain with it's massive military power over the then known world was also cast down. Like a burning Mountain cast into the sea of humanity.
This is a very important warning for today.

3. The bitter waters --
THIRD TRUMPET

Rev. 8:10-11 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.


Jesus came to give people the water of life, the living water. (John 4:10,13,14) He sent His Holy Spirit to guide people into truth. But now, what looked like water, and was professing to be dispensing God's Word, was bitter, the covenant of God was being covered by poisoned water.


Remember, stars in Revelation symbolize leaders of the church.
Rev. 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, ... The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches:
2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write;
2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write;
2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write;


The one who was now sitting in the seat of Rome, was being regarded as the greatest leader of the church, he was declared to be head over all the churches by the law of Justinian. He wasn't dispensing the pure water of life anymore, but bitter water.

Christianity had spread as far as China to the east, and Britain to the west. At this point in time the papal authority was mainly west.

There are also two sources -- The True Witness writing to the "stars" (the leaders of the churches), calling for repentance and overcoming in His name, giving them the water of life. There is also another spirit coming from the original fallen star who wages constant war against Christ and truth, sending wrong influences to cause the church to stumble off the path of truth, dispensing bitter water.

The message?
Are we drinking the living water coming to us, from Christ and His covenant and gift of grace and cleansing. Or are we drinking the bitter water, that is available all around us?

The Dark Ages.
Fourth Trumpet
Sometime after 538 and lasting several centuries we find the light of truth being eclipsed. This is the result of what happens when a human pretends to be God, sitting in the temple of God, using the sword to divert spiritual worship to themselves.
Rev. 8:12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

The dark ages is a term used more by Protestants than Catholics. It's a term now being contested, because the system that created the dark ages, now, once again, seeks to be thought of as the "light of the world".

But we need to remember that it was a time of darkness for the common people. A false Christian power eclipsed the sun of righteousness, withheld the Bible from the people, and had their priests teaching falsehoods, the wine of Babylon. These placed themselves, mere sinful humans, above the God of heaven, claiming power to change God's law (deleting the second commandment and changing the fourth), claiming power to forgive sins, sending people to a sinful human to confess their sins and obtain forgiveness, claiming the keys to heaven and using them to control kings and princes, using the sword and force to keep the people in darkness. Making merchandize of God's grace.

It was indeed like an eclipse, where a whole region of earth only got a few glimpses of the glorious truths of the gospel still shining behind the darkness that obscured it.

Remember, Rome has not changed.
All the pleasant sounding speeches, and many are being given, if they speak not according to the law and the prophets, there is no light in them. (Isa 8:20) It is no more "light" now, than it was in the darkness of the Dark Ages.

The Historicist Interpretation.
Supported by Ellen White?

1st Trumpet
8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Interpretation: Christ came to His own, and His own received Him not.
The nation that was especially blessed, having the promises, the scriptures, and then, the LORD himself, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to live among them, to teach, to heal, to Redeem and save, but as a nation, the Jewish nation rejected Him, and had Him killed. By rejecting Christ, the Messiah, they sealed their doom. They rejected salvation and life!

Yet, every Jew is still precious in God's sight!!! Christ died for them as well as for everyone. All who come to Him and accept Him, believe and trust in Him, and His gift of salvation, will not perish but have everlasting life! (see John 3:16)

It was by rejecting the Prince of peace, the Savior, the One to Whom all their symbolism pointed, that their nation was given over to destruction.
A tremendous warning for us today!!!

Knowing something about the enemies strategies is often crucial to the outcomes.
While I don't recommend spending a lot of time reading messages from the apparition "Mary", yet there are things to consider that come forth in those messages repeatedly.
Remember this is fallen angels pretending to be Mary. The enemies agenda to turn worship from God to himself.
The messages predict supernatural "warning" "sign" and "Great Chastisement".
All of which can be easily fitted into a futuristic trumpet explanation -- all focused on "cleansing" people, cleansing the church, cleansing nations, bringing people to change their whole paradigm of thought, uplifting the sacraments of the Catholic Church, and calling all into worship to the "immaculate hearts" of Jesus and Mary. They call people to love, unity and stop sinning. It all sounds right, a clever counterfeit, but it is in defiance to our Creator God and His law.

The devil has his own trumpet signs ready for the final great battle. What happens to those who have abandoned the warnings of the historicist trumpets? What reason will they have to resist the fiery, awesome and frightening events and signs that will be displayed in the heavens and on earth. A time when even the Catholic church will be severely shaken and supposedly "cleansed" to come forth leading people to the Christ and to listening to "Mary".

That there will be a time of trouble like never before, with supernatural signs and wonders in the near future is Biblical. But are the trumpets being reframed and reconstructed to drive people into accepting the false as the will of God? The historicist trumpets (and seals) warn us of the trap that has been in the processes of being set up from the date of Satan's defeat at the cross. Yes it will be sprung in the end, but to ignore and claim historicism is the wrong interpretation, is erasing the true warnings the trumpets were sent to give.

Now the pioneers were right in setting the trumpets in the historicist framework -- Historicism covers the whole Christian era, but I believe they were too narrow in placing the first four into one brief period of history (the fall of imperial western Rome) and fifth and sixth all (the fall of Eastern Roman Empire). Further study has broadened the trumpets into covering the whole Christian era from Christ's first coming to, and including, His final victory. Deeper study into the historicism approach has built on the frame work established, not abandoned it, following the pattern set forth for historicism interpretation given by Revelation itself. The same pattern established in the churches and the seals. It also agrees much more to what the last day prophet EGW writes.

We find Revelation repeatedly first gives the final effect (Christ's victory) and then moves to the cause, a series of events leading up to the effect.
Western thought likes to move from cause to effect, but Revelation likes to give the effect FIRST,( in this case, the censor is cast down), and then the cause, (what led up to this). It is misunderstanding this, that has led to confusion, thinking the trumpets must sound after it's all over, after Christ's work is done. Then the trumpets are no longer warnings, they are represented to be God's anger, and can be used by the enemy to compel people into submission or else.

The Historicist Interpretation.
Supported by Ellen White?

2nd Trumpet


Rev. 8:8-9 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

In Daniel 11: 21 The KON (Imperial Rome) destroys Jerusalem and the prince of the covenant.
In Daniel 11:22 The KON (Imperial Rome) makes an agreement or league with a small people (Christians)

Why would an Emperor make such a league, and more importantly why would the Christian church enter such a league?

By 300 AD Christianity had spread all over the Roman Empire! They were held together by their belief in one Supreme God, Who had loved them so much He sent His only Son to die for them. Some of the Emperors envisioned Christianity as ?an empire within the Empire? that threatened the latter?s control. The years before 313 AD were marked as years of persecution against Christianity by imperial Rome.

Constantine I, on the other hand, saw the prospect of uniting the Empire with Christianity as a means to strengthen and unite the empire, which was facing considerable fragmentation. Directly after the capture of Rome (Constantine had to defeat three other ?emperors? before he became sole emperor of the whole empire) he proceeded to favor the Roman Catholic Church. In 313 AD signing the Edict of Milan, which basically gave religious freedom to everyone, but by 324 he adopted a harsher attitude toward paganism and against ?divergent? Christians, and supported ever more the Roman Catholic church. He gift the Lateran Palace to the bishop of Rome, and began construction on the first St. Peter?s Basilica church in Rome among other things. This gave the bishop of Rome an unprecedented level of temporal power, elevating him above other bishops.

Christians (most of them) celebrated the ?conversion? of Constantine and the beneficent era of peace he inaugurated. They felt it was the triumph of Christianity. Not only was Christianity placed in honorary position throughout the Empire, Constantine showered the church (especially the church in Rome) with favors. Persecution did not end for Christians who were not in line with the Roman Catholic/Emperor approved church. The emperor?s mindset was that he was God?s elect to protect the church and that bishops and priests, were subject to him. His main objective being unity and calling councils in hopes of achieving unity.

How does Ellen White's depiction of the time compare with the enthusiasm this "agreement" or "league" received?


Almost immediately after this union with Imperial Rome took place, Sunday legislation began to develop.



The union brought ruin to western Roman Empire
The mighty mountain of western Roman Empire, crashed into the sea of humanity.
Why? Shouldn't it have been the solution, not hastening Imperial Rome's demise?

Emperor Constantine I (ruled 306?337 AD) had reunited the empire after defeating his rivals. But then he laid the foundation for its division, He founded Constantinople (modern Istanbul) in 330 AD as a new imperial capital, but Rome was also still a capital.
The final division occurred in 395 AD when Emperor Theodosius I died. The Empire became two - East and West, each with their own emperor (but still technically one empire).
Things in Rome, the original base of the Empire, were getting very unstable. Weak emperors, corruption, barbarian invasions, rivalries, civil wars, and economic troubles, all culminated in Western Rome's downfall (476) The West fell into fragmentation, the East continued as Byzantium Empire.

With the demise of the Roman Empire, it didn?t take long for the infrastructure to collapse. As the roads fell into disuse, trade virtually came to a halt. Sea trade fared no better, as the Vandals now commanded the shipping routes. Cities were no longer a safe place to live, one didn?t know when raiders might descend. Thus the cities fell into disrepair or were looted. Education faltered, illiteracy became the norm for the common folk. Indeed, the fall of Rome was devastating to the whole society, economy, and security of the people.

Is there a warning in all this for us today?

Third trumpet sees a bright falling star turn one third of the fresh water into wormwood.
A bright leading church leader turns the water of life into bitter, poisonous water.

Why does it say one third of the water


One thing that's interesting is that most people think of Christianity as basically a European or western religion. Rome is often seen as the center hub of Christianity?
But was it?

Scripture and prophecy does place a strong focus on Roman Christianity, because it was lifted up as the "head" and yes, it sought to control Christianity, (and still does) but there is a whole history of Christianity that we do not hear much about.

Back in the time when Imperial Rome fell in the mid 5th century, the west contained only a fraction of the Christian world. The middle east was dotted with many strong and influential Christian churches. On into Persian domains, Asia and India we find possibly even more than a third of all Christians, continuing for centuries apart from Rome. Africa also had many strong and influential Christian centers. The apostles of Christ had taken the gospel to the known world. Many Christian communities and churches existed in those early AD centuries, that operated quite apart from Roman control for centuries.

It's western Christianity under Rome in which Christianity is noted for it's strong alliance with state power with it's stringent doctrinal codes (often departing from true Christianity) which were enforced by law, while any that held different views within their jurisdiction ( like Jews and Christians that held divergent views) were heavily persecuted.

It's western Christianity, based in Rome, with it's background based on the methods and philosophies of political kingdoms that went before it, that is the amalgamated "beast" of Revelation 13. Daniel 7 makes this plain as the "horn" with mouth speaking blasphemy and thinking to change God's times and laws, arising from the Roman beast, is none other than the papal order that claims supremacy over all churches.

It was the bishop of Rome (a prominent bishop amongst many bishops of the churches scatter across the Europe/Asia/African map) that was elevated to prominence by imperial Roman, and which claimed supremacy over all the others, that is the subject of prophecy.
Yet Christianity is not synominous to Rome. Rome gave Christianity a very bad name, and many have turned away from Christianity because of what they see done in the name of Christianity by this power.

Rev. 8:10-11 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.


A third.
This makes perfect sense when we understand western Christianity probably didn't even contain 1/3 of all Christians at the time. But this was "the falling star". A church leader rising in importance and power, gaining "brilliance" in it's rise of church power, supported by state power, yet falling away from truth, falling down from heavenly truths, and from the simple gospel Christianity.

Wormwood --- polluting the water of life, polluting the gospel.
The gospel is life! Wormwood is not life, it's poison in the water.

Looking at EGW quotes





In Revelation 17 the false church is portrayed as a woman bearing a cup she is offering to the nations full of abominations (wormwood doctrines and teachings)

Below are Biblical warnings of the "woman" or "church" whose message contains wormwood


The third trumpet warns of wormwood doctrines polluting the living water of the gospel in the rising star (who is actually falling) who takes the authority of being the head of all churches

Wormwood doctrines like --
immortality of the soul
Sunday pushing out God's 7th day Sabbath
Interference with Christ's heavenly ministry of forgiveness and salvation.

"Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of Spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome." --The Great Controversy, p. 588.
Understanding these doctrines within the framework of the living gospel, and discarding the wormwood versions is a very important part of end time warnings.

The Dark Ages.
Fourth Trumpet

527 AD Justinian becomes sole emperor of the eastern (Byzantine)empire. A very ambitious emperor who had great plans to reform everything, government, army and church!

-- He attempted to reconquer the lost areas of the former Roman Empire and recreate the former grander of the Empire. (He did conquer the Vandals in Northern Africa, and drove the Goths out of Italy) But over extended, enemies attacking him from east and north, economic problems and more drove him back to Constantinople, unable to maintain what he had won.
-- He organizes a "code of laws" 533 AD, which by 538 AD basically became the standard law not only in the east, but also in Europe for the next 1260 years.
-- He put into his codified law, that the pope was the "head of all churches". Justinian code of laws, was the great compilation of a legal system that not only brought civil laws together but also brought together ecclesiastical related matters into the civil law that had taken place from the time of Constantine to his own time. The code mixed Christian religion and state matters and became a tool in the hands of the successors in ecclesiastical circles in Middle-Age legal systems giving the papacy a lot of power.
--In 537 Justinian had the pope in Rome exiled on grounds he was too favorable to the Goths, and placed a pope of his own choosing in place.
--After 538, Justinian publicly resigned as chief in Staff of the army, and turned his attention to theological issues.


Literal darkness descended over the whole northern hemisphere of area of known land.
Was this darkness that happened in nature an omen of the spiritual darkness of the centuries ahead?

The Dark Ages.

Rev. 8:12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

It seems even nature was giving a warning. It began 536 AD, when a mysterious event (mysterious because the people didn't know what caused it) plunged the world into semi darkness for a year and a half. Constantinople writers of the time described the sun as dimmed, not sending out light, temperatures dropped, causing crop failures, famine, and social upheaval. Researches have traced a massive volcanic eruption in Iceland in that year and suggest this caused the unnatural, prolonged semi darkness, and cool weather. There was another massive eruption about five years later, prolonging recovery.
Then in 542 AD there was an outbreak of Bubonic plague that wiped out half of the population in the Mediterranean area. Some called it Justinian's plague.

The message of the fourth trumpet literally happened at the beginning of the 1260 year period!
A literal sign of what was happening to Christianity spiritually?
Spiritual darkness was descending, the dark ages were beginning.

Bible and Ellen White comments:



Warning for today --
That power may have received a "deadly wound" in 1798 when new laws (Napolean's Creed) replaced Justinian's Code, but the wound is almost totally healed. Revelation 13 tells of it re-emerging, coupled with US military and civil power. Can we discern between the darkness of false beliefs of man-made theories, and the truth of Jesus saving righteousness?

The first four warnings --

1. Choose Jesus! He is the One and only Savior Who came to this world to bring hope and life to a doomed people here on this sin laden earth heading to destruction. To refuse Jesus is to choose to be under the leadership of the rebel who is the enemy of God.


2. The Church is not to "fornicate with the kings of the earth". The league made between Rome and the Church back in 313 AD, supposedly to unite the empire, did not bring peace and true worship, but ruin and destruction as western Rome like a great burning mountain fell into the sea of humanity cause complete upset of society, economy and civilization.


3. Jesus gives living water of life (His Word). Beware of the wormwood water that takes the truth and mixes it with poisonous error and presents it as the Word of God.

4. The leading church was given legal power and sat in the seat of Rome. Nature itself gave a a warning. 536-542 AD literal darkness with limited sunlight coming through, covered the whole Mediterrean area, temperatures dropped, crops failed, then in 542 AD the bubonic plague wiped out half the population. This marked the beginning of the 1260 years.

THE FIFTH TRUMPET

The first symbols introducing the fifth trumpet are KEYS and a BOTTOMLESS PIT.

The bottomless pit symbolizes chaos, death, evil. It's bottomless quality is it's ability of trapping individuals and causing them to slip ever deeper into the utter darkness and destruction. It is like a black hole with an intense gravitational pull, so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from it.


There is only ONE escape route. It is not in any human power, it is only in Jesus. "He too shared in our humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." Hebrews 2:14-15

Jesus declares: "I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." (Revelation 1:18)

The devil and his legions are frantically busy pushing people into this pit, but there is ONE Who has the key to lift us out!

Revelation 9
The fifth angel sounded and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
A fallen star that had already fallen in the 3rd trumpet where it was announced he was turning Christ's living water into wormwood. *Remember Revelation 1:20 depicts stars as "the angels" or leaders (see Rev. 2-3) of the churches. This star church leader in Rome was a very prominent church leader, having been elevated above all the other bishops, is sitting in the seat of Rome.

The falling "star" has "the key". The key to the bottomless pit.
But we just read it is Jesus Who has the key?
In what sense does a falling star have that key?

Remember the Bishop in Rome has some lofty claims:


Those keys are a highly visible symbol claimed by the papacy.
The Keys of Heaven, with authority to forgive sin, or not to forgive and banish people , a metaphor to the office of Saint Peter closely related to the Papacy and the Vatican. The Keys: Displayed anywhere in the world in Catholic media and churches.

Which keys are the true keys?

Fifth Trumpet continued

Which keys are the true keys? This is a question the Eastern Byzantine church was dealing with. Even though Justinian's code had confirmed Papal Rome's leadership, Rome's claim to be head of all churches had never been accepted in the East.

For centuries the Eastern church disputed Rome's practice to display and revere images. The veneration of saints was not readily accepted. Even the 7th day Sabbath was still respected along with Sunday in many areas in the east. They was disagreement with their views of the nature of Christ. The eastern church disagreed with enforcing celibacy on the priests. They resented the pope's claim to be "the head". They disagreed on how services were to be conducted . Even though these practices were gaining increasing acceptance and support in the eastern church, there had been considerable resistance against them.

The Eastern church claimed it was the councils and their emperor that held final authority, and each church had its own way of governing. While the west was supporting a strong pope - led system.

Popes like Leo IX said the pope had authority in both East and West because the pope's unique authority came from the apostle Peter and their assumed interpretation that the KEYS were given to Peter, who had taught and died in the city of Rome in the 1st century


By the 11th century the west with the pope and the "Holy Roman Empire" and the Byzantine Empire, were direct rivals. Both sides believed they were the real inheritors of the ancient Roman Empire, and the true holders of the Christian faith.

1054 AD the "great schism" took place. The Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church separated.

The years 1054 -1299 were years when the papal church rose to it's highest point of power in the west and it's deadly intent to subjugate all under her religious control. The papacy rallying the kings to form armies and engage in crusades:
There were crusades against Moslems, there were crusades against Northern pagan countries, there were crusades against the Albigenses and other Christians not in line with the papacy. The Jews were often targets during these crusades. There were demands that the eastern church come back under papal control.

It was also the time when the papal church tightened her grip on THE KEYS.
At the 4th Lateran Council in 1215 a canon that everyone must confess to a human priest at least once every year or be denied certain sacramental privileges, came into force. Confessionals were already set up long before this, but now it was mandatory!
That same council formally set forth the transubstantiation Eucharist as the official teaching of the church. It too had been practiced earlier, but now it was formally accepted.
Kings did what the pope ordered, if they didn't, the pope used his supposed power of the keys, to deny them salvation privileges.

The fourth crusade ordered by Pope Innocent III, which supposedly was to subdue the Moslems, ended up conquering and pillaging Constantinople, in 1204 AD. That crusade left the Byzantine Empire in confusion and ruins. A Latin man was placed on the throne in Constantinople, the land was divided amongst the conquerors. It could have spelled the end of the Byzantine Empire. But it didn't. Michael VIII of Nicaea took back the better part of the land that had been Byzantine before the Fourth Crusade shattered the empire, and began rebuilding the empire in 1261 AD.

It appears God was giving the Eastern Church another chance -- giving the Byzantine Empire another chance! Even though the Mongols were sweeping down from China across Russia and the Middle east clear to the Ukraine at this time, they never bothered the struggling, reemerging Byzantine Empire, though they subdued their surrounding rivals. The Byzantine Empire was given a chance to revive and rebuild.

What would they do with this second chance?
Would they repent and go back to the faith they once believed? Or would they continue with the "wormwood" doctrines that had entered their church.

1299 AD begins the 150 years. The "second chance" for Byzantine.
1299 AD the Ottomans were rising in power.
The locusts were coming. But God is far more powerful than those locusts -- if only His people repent and turn to Him.