Is the World about to End? - Part 9 Tuesday 4 May, 2010 Feast of St. Monica, W

Is the World about to End? - Part 9 - Mark of the Beast

Are we living through the Apocalypse? by Brother Peter Dimond of the Most Holy Family Monastery

( www.vaticancatholic.com )

A continuing series of transcriptions from the video on the Apocalypse by Bro. Peter Dimond:

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Bro. Peter Dimond,

"And, since St. John wrote the Apocalypse in Greek, it is most logical that the name of the person would equate to 666 in Greek - and so we see Benedict XVI's name, the name "Benediktos" in Greek = 666 exactly. And, since the head or king belongs to the beast, if the number of the final king is 666, that can also truly said to be the number of the beast.

Now, what is the evidence that this mark in the hand or on the forehead, the second beast gives is a spiritual mark?

The evidence is overwhelming that it is spiritual.

It says, he shall make people to have a mark in their hand or on their foreheads.

While, what's so interesting about this, is that in Greek it means emblem or sign, and in the Latin Vulgate we have the word for "mark" - "Characterem" - and I believe this is clearly a spiritual mark, because in the Book of Exodus and the Book of Deuteronomy, God commands people to keep His words as a sign "in thy hand and as a thing hung between thy eyes ... And it shall be as a SIGN in thy HAND, and a thing HUNG BETWEEN THY EYES, for a remembrance" - Exodus13:16

Between thy eyes - in other words - your forehead; he is saying His words or commands must be that.

Here again in Deuteronomy 11:18, "...hang them for a sign on your hands,and place them between your eyes."

Does that mean literally? Obviously not. This is a spiritual message here, although some people did have some of God's commandments on their foreheads, and they were called "Phylacteries" - and Jesus rebuked some of the Pharisees for having their phylacteries too big!

We read this in Matthew 23:5, where he rebukes the Pharisees or condemns them, saying, "All their works they do for to be seen by men...for they make their phylacteries broad and enlarge their fringes."

He is referring here to the fact that they would write some of the commandments on their foreheads - obviously not everyone did that - it wasn't a literal command that everyone had to do that - so it's a spiritual message.

So the forehead and the hand are symbolic for having God's truth and His commandments before your eyes, and your heart observing them.

And there's much more evidence that the mark of the beast has a spiritual fulfillment at least on some level.

In Apocalypse 9:4, we see that it was commanded them that "they should not hurt the grass of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the SIGN of God ON THEIR FOREHEADS."

So, in Apoc 9:4. we know the Just have the sign of God on their foreheads - Is that an actual literal thing people can see? - No, not necessarily, it's a spiritual mark.

In Apocalypse 7: 2-3, we read that, "I saw another angel ascending having the sign of the Living God, and he cried out, " Hurt not the sea nor the earth nor the trees, until we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads." - Again, a spiritual sign.

In Apocalypse 14:1, we see it again - referring to the 144,000 Just - it says, that they "have his name, and the name of his Father written on their foreheads."

Is that a physical mark? No, it's a spiritual mark.

In Apocalypse 17:5, we read of the Great Harlot - it says, "And on HER FOREHEAD a name was written: Its mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of fornications, and the abomination of the earth."

So the Whore of Babylon has her name on her forehead, as well as a spiritual mark.

In Apocalypse 22:4, we read of the Just - "They shall see his face: and his name shall be on their foreheads,"

And so, this is just overwhelming scriptural evidence that the Mark of the beast has a spiritual fulfillment, at least on some level, and when it talks about how the second beast causes people to have a mark on their right hand or in their forehead - I believe this is a spiritual mark given by Benedict XVI - and what is interesting about this mark is that in the Latin Vulgate, the word for "mark" is "characterem."

That's the exact same word used in the Council of Trent, in Latin, for the mark, the spiritual mark, the spiritual character - that's why it's "characterem." - and it's even translated character in the Douay - Rheims.

It's a spiritual character given in the Sacrament of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders.

Quoting from the Council of Trent, Session 7, Canon 9, on the Sacraments in general, it says, " If anyone shall say that in the three Sacraments, namely Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders, there is not imprinted on the soul a character [ characterem ] , that is, a certain spiritual and indelible mark...on account of which they are not able to be repeated ... Let him be anathema."

And so, for the spiritual mark given in Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders, the Council of Trent used the word "characterem" - it's a character, and indelible character.

In the Apocalypse in St. Jerome's Vulgate translation, he gives the exact same word for the mark in the right hand and the forehead that the second beast gives.

Now, what's important, additionally, is that in the Catholic Sacraments, the Christians are signed in their heads, in their foreheads as in Baptism, Confirmation, or in Ordination where the priests hands are annointed - so you have a reference to hand and head, hand and forehead .

What I believe that is referring to, is that the people are submitting to the beast, submitting to the antipope, who is also the beast - either by lay - people submitting to his new sacramental system, or as clergy, by receiving Orders under him, being marked in the hand..

And, I want to quote from Fr. Hermann Kramer's Book of Destiny - on the point of the forehead and hand, he says, " this alludes to the signing of the Faithful in Chapter VII. - The foreheads of Christians are signed in the Sacraments, while the hands of the priest are annointed. The False prophet may institute secret rites, through which the followers of Antichrist will be advanced by degrees into the deeper mysticism of his cult."

And so, he mentions that the hand and head, the signing in the hand and the head, seem to be quite similar to the signing in the Sacraments.

He didn't mention the issue of "characterem" or the similarity to the Council of Trent - and he refers to the second beast as the False Prophet, and he thinks that he's going to initiate secret rites.

I don't think he's going to - but it's referring to a new Church and a new sacramental system as one of the ways people are submitting to the beast, having their hands annointed in these false rites, and in submission to the antipope, who is also the beast.

Now, this is not to suggest that anyone who has ever received a sacrament from a clergyman of the Vatican II Church, is perpetually branded by the mark of the beast - No, I believe it's a general indication of how people are submitting to him, and that the beast, the antipope assumes an hierarchical position, in what people think is the Catholic Church, and that he is involved with new liturgical rites.

And so, we can see the evidence that the mark of the beast is spiritual, is overwhelming.

We see it in the Book of Exodus and Deuteronomy and throughout the Apocalypse, how the Just are spiritually marked on their foreheads - we also see how it parallels the signing in the Sacraments - we see how the word parallels the spiritual mark, which the Church says comes in the Sacraments.

It's almost a counter mark which is given to those who have abandoned the Faith and submitted to the counter Church.

Additionally, certain other verses, about the mark of the beast, shed even more light on this point.

For instance, Apocalypse 14:9. "And a third angel followed them with a loud voice saying, "If anyone shall worship the beast and his image, and receive the character on his forehead, or in his hand, he shall have no rest day or night. "

And so, it connects the mark or the character, in the forehead and hand, which is the spiritual mark, I believe, with worshipping the beast and his image, and it fits, because if Benedict XVI is the second beast getting people to worship the Antichrist, it would make sense that the spiritual mark, which comes with submitting to him, is also linked up with worshipping his image - and we see that clearly in this verse, and in the verses that those who submit to the beast are damned.

So, there is a connecton to submitting to the beast, submitting to the counter Church, and worshipping the image.

We see the same thing in Apocalypse 24:4 - it speaks of those who had overcome, "not worshipped the beast, nor his image, nor received his character on their foreheads, or in their hands, and they reigned with Christ."

So we see the link between the mark in the head and the mark in the hand, which I believe is spiritual, with not worshipping the beast or his image.