 The center of the Muslim religion is Mecca. Mecca is also known as Makkah al-Mukarramah ... as well as Macoraba ... and even Bakkah. Mecca was said to have been a major trading center during the 6th and 7th Centuries. This "Mecca trading center" narrative is a pivotal assertion for the Muslim religion. This is because the Muslim religion professes that its founder predominately lived in Mecca, from 570 to 622 C.E. The Muslim religion furthermore professes that this man was a very rich merchant in a very rich Mecca and who married a very wealthy widow in 595 C.E., when he was only 25 or 26 years old. Now, as far as goes MAJOR trading hubs in the history of the Eastern Hemisphere, the Operative Phrase is =====> THE SILK ROUTE ... The Silk Road ... and more specifically, the Maritime Silk Road. In as much, whatever be the 6th Century city in Eurasia & eastern Asia ... if it were not located along the Maritime Silk Road, it was NOT a major trading hub. It turns out that the Story of Mecca was just a story Mecca was nowhere near the Silk Route which began in Xi'an China and which ended in Antakya, TΓΌrkiye. In fact, Antakya is approximately 1,000 miles north of Mecca. Moreover, Alexandria Egypt was also a major trading hub along the Maritime Silk Road, and it's located 911 miles northwest of Mecca.  NOTE: The ABSENCE of EVIDENCE includes the names, 1} Makkah al-Mukarramah, 2} Macoraba, and 3} Bakkah, as well as 4} Mecca. No evidence of any kind exists under any of the four names for Mecca. There was no major mercantile center there in the 5th, 6th, and 7th Centuries. Period.     JEDDAH For those unaware, 41 to 45 miles west of Mecca is a port town which bears the name "Grandmother" or "Ancestress," in Arabic. This is because an Islamic writer of the early 10th Century claimed that Eve was buried there, in a tomb. His name is/was AbΕ« Muhammad al-Hasan al-HamdΔnΔ«, and there was some kind of a tomb there which was destroyed by the Saudi government, in 1928, under the claim that it incited idolatry. None the less, after a wave of Muslim conquests ... in 647 C.E. ... Jeddah's name became "the City of Consulates," as in Balad al-Qanasil. So, it was the city with two interchangeable names. As far as goes Jeddah, in the 6th Century and until 647 C.E., it was only a FISHING PORT which provided no accommodations for merchant caravans. This reinforces the findings that Mecca was not a major trading center in the 6th and 7th Centuries. Until 647 C.E., the Port of Jeddah was Persona Non Grata. It then became designated to be the port for those making pilgrimages to the Great Mosque of Mecca. The Great Mosque of Mecca was known as Masjid al-Haram. The person designating Jeddah as the pilgrim's port was Caliph Uthman ibn Affan. In as much, the Arabian word, Masjid, means place to prostrate oneself, as in prostrating oneself before God's presence. Something similar to that. The bottom line here is that neither Mecca nor Jeddah were major merchant centers in the 6th & 7th Centuries. Being that neither Mecca nor Jeddah were major trading centers at the time, the story of the rich 7th Century Mecca merchant suddenly receiving visions & revelations from the same one archangel completely falls apart.  There was also historic Baghdad. One of its suburbs 21 miles away was the major 7th Century trading hub located along the Maritime Silk Road. It's located 850 to 900 miles north of Mecca. None the less, during the 8th Century, Baghdad was the major trading center of the region. Baghdad is 869 miles away from Mecca. In addition, Hormuz Island and the city of Hormuz itself is situated 1,200 miles northeast of Mecca. Hormuz, too, was one of the major trading hubs of the Maritime Silk Road. Meanwhile, Mecca was not.   In addition, Mecca is about 41 to 45 miles east of the Red Sea. HOWEVER, the main 7th Century Red Sea port was Berenice Troglodytica. It was a Greco-Roman port on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea ... and NOT on the Arabian side. And, as the name suggests, Troglodytica means "cave dwellers," as opposed to desert nomads.  Below: As far as goes the history of Alexandria Egypt, it was the major Middle Eastern & Mediterranean trading hub of the 6th Century. Well, Muslim tradition states that a man named Mohammad started his rise to wealth at the end of the 6th Century, due to Mecca Commerce. He would then become fully wealthy at the start of the 7th Century ... due to Mecca commerce when the reality is that Alexandria was the place to get rich. Alexandria remained a major trading hub into the first four decades of the 7th Century. Then, in 641 C.E., nineteen years after the man named Muhammad was said to have died, Alexandria was conquered by Arabian forces. It's economic dominance in the region was no more. However, throughout the alleged lifetime of the man named Muhammad, Alexandria was a major trading hub. This meant that Mecca was not.  Concerning the claim that Mecca was the ultimate trading hub of the 6th and/or 7th Century, the logistics do NOT work, and the evidence is just NOT there ... or anywhere else. Even Baghdad, the major Silk Route hub nearest to Mecca, is 869 miles north north north of Mecca. And of course, Baghdad is a legend of a city. Let's get this well understood and review it 1] Wealthy Eastern Hemispheric merchants of the 6th & 7th Centuries operated in either Hormuz or Alexandria or Baghdad or Antakya or Calicut India or a few other places, all of which were either on the Maritime Silk Road or were port towns. 2] The wealthy merchants did NOT operate in Mecca, be it under the name of Mecca or under the name of Bakkah ... or under the name of Makkah al-Kamarramah ... or under the name Macoraba. Plus, Jeddah was not a major trading port, either. It was a modest fisherman's port. 3] Therefore, all four names for Mecca were absent from the records and from chronicle accounts, as well as archeological inscriptions of any kind, for centuries. Meanwhile, in the years before the Muslim conquest of the Arabian regions, Jeddah was part of the Kingdom of Hejaz, ruled by the Hashemite Dynasty. Part 2 can be found through the link below: π π π π π π π π π π π π π π π π π π π |
Friday
Part 1: Archeology says Mecca was no major mercantile center in 7th Century
Thursday
Part 2: Archeology says Mecca was no major mercantile center of 7th Century
 The Year 536 C.E. changed Planet Earth & humanity. It would not be business as usual for the following 124 years. It became easy to infringe upon existing empires and start new ones. The first impediment to the credibility of the "major trading hub" narration about 6th Century Mecca ... or even 7th Century Mecca ... is that a major environmental disaster occurred on a Global Scale, in the 6th Century. The year was 536 C.E. It resulted in the Late Antique Little Ice Age which lasted until 660 C.E. It involved three major volcanic outbursts which provided a massive amount of atmospheric Sulfur Dioxide. Sulfur Dioxide molecules, per se, serve the function of many mirrors reflecting sunlight back into outer space, not enabling enough sunlight to reach the surface of the Earth. The environmental disaster of the 6th Century also included the Justinian Plague which started in 541 C.E. It then recurred throughout a 225 year time span. In fact, exactly one hundred years later, Alexandria Egypt would fall at the hands of Arabian swordsmen imposing a new religion with their swords. In addition, it was exactly one year after the Late Antique Little Ice Age ended, when the first Muslim empire began. It was called the Amayyad Caliphate. It lasted until 750 C.E., and it ended up being the fifth largest empire in human history, in having covered 4.29 million square miles of land. In the Sixth and Seventh Centuries, humanity weakened. Civilization was wanting, and thusly, civilization was wanning. The time was ripe for nomads to literally come out of the desert and start thrashing at existing empires. As a result, the Sasanian Empire of Persia was toppled in the 630s. In fact, the Byzantine Empire lost Syria also ... to a desert horde which originally called its members "believers." By the Year 641 C.E., Alexandria was no longer a Christian city. Yet, a significant remnant of the Byzantine Empire would remain until 1453 C.E.      All in all, the establishment of any new religion during this era would have been the result of Environmental & Economic Opportunism more than the providence of an Eternal God. Mankind was hurting. Civilization was wanning. Conquest during this time span was basically "easy pickings." The 6th and 7th Centuries was a time span when the literal survival of humanity was in jeopardy. The archeologically proven or disproven existence of Mecca as a major trading hub is the Tale of the Tape If there had been no major trading center in Mecca during the 6th and 7th Centuries ... and if there are no archeological signs of any civilization ... then mass geographic regions of humanity were told one big lie, for 1,400 years. Such a thing is not fair to those people, be they in Indonesia or Afghanistan or Persia or Iraq or Pakistan or Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan or Azerbaijan or TΓΌrkiye or Syria or Egypt or Jordan or Arabia or Yemen or even the city of Minneapolis Minnesota, otherwise known as New Somalia. Furthermore, such a thing is certainly not fair to the Jews who have had a target painted on them, by the Mullahs and other religious fanatics who have proven themselves to have no conscience or compassion. Mass populations of mankind deserve better than the tyranny of the mullahs.  |
| Directly above: United States' NASA satellite technology showing Mecca as a dry, parched, desert land not capable of hosting a large society or a major trading center during an era of 1] primitive technology, 2] an era of a mini ice age, and 3] an era of a massive plague. |
Concerning the Hatred of the Jews, this Arabian man who was alleged to have existed in the 7th Century was alleged to have had a JEWISH WIFE, named Safiyya bint Huyayy. She was said to have been his tenth wife, and thusly, a "Mother of Believers." Yet, the mullahs claim that you have to kill all Jews in the name of the man who had a Jewish wife.
Mohammad was said to have had 11 wives, in all. One was said to have been nine years old, upon marriage. And yes, this is one of the reasons why Americans use the phrase, "You've got to be kidding," as well as the phrase, "Okay. Joke's over."
Quick Mecca Geography Note
Now, there is a cemetery near the famous Muslim mosque of Mecca. It's called, the Jannat al-Mu'alla Cemetery. In fact, it's alleged inhabitants include Kadijah bint Khuwaylid, a woman said to have been the first wife of Mohammad. In fact, she is regarded as the first convert to Islam and a "Mother of Believers."
A grandfather and an uncle of Mohammad are said to be there also, assuming that Mohammad actually did exist, at least as a warlord whose story was later embellished for political influence and cultural gain. In fact, Mohammad's first son and a companion of Mohammad are both alleged to be there.
The huge problem with these claims is that there are no artifacts or any other kind of archeological evidence to prove who is and who is not there. Any remaining pieces of evidence were removed from the Jannat cemetery in 1925. From that point onward, humanity was unable to prove or disprove the hearsay assertions of that cemetery.
No Major 6th or 7th Century Trading Center in Mecca
The much larger problem is that of proving Mecca (or Makkah or Bekkah or Macoraba) to have been a massively frequented & influential trading center of the 6th & 7th Centuries. The physical evidence for this assertion does NOT exist.
Macoraba is another name for Mecca.
Its mention is absent from records of 6th & 7th Centuries.
Another name for Mecca was Bakkah. No recorded mention of it either.
Medina
Medina is also a part of the Muslim narrative, concerning the claim that a man born and raised in Mecca was given numerous revelations from the Archangel Gabriel, starting at the age of 40 and ending in the year of his alleged death, at the age of 62.
This same man was said to have eventually moved to Medina, where he eventually made a move on Medina, itself. It was said to have resulted in the Medina Constitution of 622 or 624 C.E.
That constitution allowed Jews to live alongside Muslims, and to even have a defense pact with the Medina Muslims, in the event of a foreign invasion.
Then came 628 C.E., when it was alleged that a Battle in Kaybar ..., located 109 north of Medina ... occurred. This was a political and religious shape shifter, in that the enemies of the man named Mohammad, in this alleged battle, were Jews. The Year 628 C.E. was the year of the start of severe Muslim hatred of the Jews, allegedly.
HOWEVER, Moorish Muslims mostly tolerated Jews and Christians in Spain for centuries, during the centuries when Spain was called Al-Andalusa ... or Andalusia. Seething anti-Jewish hatred was NOT there.
Of course, Jews and Christians were classified as dhimmis, aka second class citizens. There were pockets of time when degrees of prejudice and even persecution transpired against the very human dhimmis, by the Moors. But, the entire annihilation of the Jews was not sought by the Moorish Muslims.
Kaybar
Concerning the claim of there having been a battle in Kaybar Arabia in 628 C.E., there is no physical, archeological, and/or artifact-related evidence for any such battle ... and there is no archeological evidence that Jews settled there.
Now, the place was an oasis and there were fortlike structures near and around the area. Thus, one such structure is referred to as the "abandoned" Jewish Fortress of QAMOS, allegedly manned by the Banu Nadir Jews. But, no Jewish artifacts from the area are known to be in any museum or university warehouse.
And remember, concerning any written account about any subject, such a thing can possibly be a script of lies ... hoaxes ... falsehoods ... misinterpretations, propaganda, honest mistakes, and even dishonest writings motivated by Conflict of Interest.
The prejudicial factor to this Kaybar story is that it was alleged that Mohammad ... the military leader who attacked the Jews ... was claimed to have been poisoned shortly after the battle, by a Jewish lady, via dinner. Such a story is a great way to create hatred toward the Jews.
HOWEVER, it was alleged throughout 1,400 years that this Mohammad didn't die until three and a half years after having eaten one and only one poisoned dinner, prepared by a Jewish woman.
Now, who would be foolish enough to eat anything provided by a subdued enemy member, shortly after any victorious battle over that enemy? Hello?
The Iranian Mullahs are the Adolph Hitlers of Today
None the less, those particular Muslim sects which claim that you have to kill all the Jews for Allah are nothing more than a bunch of Adolph Hitlers walking around in bishts and tunics. And you know how Adolph's story ended.
The asininity in the claim that "Allah" commands Muslims to unite and Kill all the Jews in Israel or elsewhere consists in the common observation that the Eternal God doesn't need men to kill any nation God has cursed.
If God wanted Israel to be annihilated, then all that this "Allah" needs to do is 1} send a massive flood, 2} trigger numerous earthquakes, 3} send from outer space a destructive meteor upon Israel, 4} send forth a deadly toxin upon Israel, including a plague, 5} trigger a tsunami from the Mediterranean Sea, 6} trigger drought, crop failure, and famine, etc.
You don't need to manipulate the followers of a religious to spend 1,400 years of insane obsession over the idea of killing every Jew on the face of the Earth.
The Attila Similarity
In 453 C.E., it was suspected that Attila the Hun was poisoned to death by his fifth wife, Ildico. This is because he died a graphic death on his & his fifth wife's wedding night.
The Attila Similarity
In 453 C.E., it was suspected that the brutal Attila the Hun was poisoned to death by his fifth wife, Ildico. This is because he died a graphic death on his & his fifth wife's wedding night.
Well, Attila the Hun's newest wife happened to have been a member of a conquered community. Thus, Attila should have expected the existence of something known as hostility, along with resentment, as well as vengeance.
Attila was a fool for taking that woman as his wife. On his wedding night, Attila underwent hemorrhaging. He literally had a non-stoppable nose bleed. He died that night. Thus, it was a super suspicious death.
If a Mohammad really did exist ... or if there existed at least a common warlord whose life was later embellished ... and if there were a Battle of Kaybar in 628 ... then it was beyond idiotic for this Mohammad to have eaten anything prepared by a recently conquered enemy, whether she were Jewish or not.
Not knowing that he would be poisoned by such a person would show that this military leader of 628 C.E. was no prophet. If he were a prophet, he would have known that a Jewish lady was putting poison into his food.
In comparison, there was St. Benedict of Nursia
In contrast, Roman Catholic monk & validly ordained priest, Saint Benedict, was handed a chalice filled with a poisoned drink. This occurred in the presence of a number of fellow monks who became instant witnesses to what would instantly follow. St. Benedict allegedly made the sign of the Cross in front of the chalice, and the chalice allegedly shattered, saving Benedict from being poisoned to death.
Oh, Saint Benedict did have nay-saying enemies, not alike the Donald Trump who was physically grazed by an attempted assassin's bullet.
Medina in the 7th Century
Now, Medina certainly did exist. HOWEVER, Medina is actually 211 straight-line miles from Mecca, and it takes 273 road miles to go from Mecca to Medina. Therefore, simply because Medina existed in the 7th Century, it doesn't guarantee that Mecca existed as a major trading hub.
For comparison purposes, the distance between Mecca and Medina is similar to the distance between Pittsburgh and Detroit, as well as Pittsburgh and Baltimore. In fact, 211 miles is close to the distance between Newark, New Jersey and Washington D.C. In the days without motor cars and airplanes, 211 miles was a significant distance, consuming 5 to 10 days of travel time.
Now, the year when the Muslim religion really took flight was in 633 C.E., beginning with Persia, as well as Iraq's Kufa, and the other Middle Eastern strongholds of the Byzantine Empire. This included the Damascus Syria which was going to become the first Muslim empire capital in world history, come 661 C.E.
Numerous MUSLIM invasions of numerous non-muslim lands ensued throughout the centuries, in the name of Allah, where the conquered People were to submit or to die. Sometimes the attacked people fought back and won.
In as much, below is a sample of battles won by Catholic forces ... or Orthodox forces ... over Muslims forces, after the Muslims attacked first. None of the battles posted below were "Crusade Battles."
Even at that, the Crusades did NOT consist in the Christians forces going to the Middle East, to shove Christianity down Muslim throats. It consisted in Christian forces going to what they believed was the Holy Land, to liberate Christians from the oppression that the Muslims were causing them. Very simply, the Christians wanted their land back. The Christians didn't want to be regarded as second class citizens in Jerusalem, if they were allowed to live in Jerusalem, at all.
The crusades were also meant to save Constantinople from being captured by Muslim forces, being that Constantinople was the capital of a Christian Empire which existed long before the start of the Muslim religion.
The battles where Christians successfully defended themselves from marauding Muslims included the 732 Battle of Tours, when the Muslim forces were attempting to conquer all of Continental Europe.
In fact, there were battles where the Spanish Catholics wanted their land back. This included the 801 Siege of Barcelona Spain, the 1063 Battle of Graus Spain, the 1085 Siege of Toledo Spain, the 1094 Capture of Valencia Spain.
There additionally were sieges where the Ottoman Muslims attacked, hoping to conquer various Catholic or Orthodox lands ... and islands ... but were pushed back by Catholic or Orthodox forces. This included the 1456 Siege of Belgrade, the 1529 First Siege of Vienna, and the 1565 Great Siege of Malta, as well as the 1683 Second Siege of Vienna.
Then there was the 1686 Siege of Buda, where Catholics wanted their land back, from unfriendly Ottoman forces.
There were a number of attempts to conquer all of Christendom. Direct attacks by the Muslims resulted in Catholics ... and the Russian Orthodox people in the outskirts of Moscow ... successfully repulsing the attacks. This included the 1571 Battle of Lepanto, the 1621 Battle of Khotyn, and the 1572 Battle of Molodi.
There's more to the history of the Muslim/Catholic wars, as well as Muslim/Orthodox battles. The aforementioned is a sample, in order to familiarize yourself with the fact that Catholics and Orthodox Christians did not intend to sit back and let the Muslims ride into every town, rape the women there, and stay in power until the end of the world.
Now, when it comes to detailing 1,400 years of Muslim History, there is a lot of writing and illustrating to be done. But, you at least have a starting gate text here and an introductory text there, along with some politely-done YouTube videos, etc, etc, etc.
Such videos and texts are not meant to mock or condemn. They are meant to guide ... to enlighten ... to warn ... and to inform those who have been deprived of needed news and needed history books throughout their oppressed lives.
Your Ultimate Reality Check, America.
Concerning the up-to-date findings on the subject-at-hand, be polite. Don't be obnoxious about it, and don't go burning a Quran. You need a Quran for evidence purposes and for mature debate. Instead of being feisty, enjoy feeling liberated at learning the actual truth on the matter at hand, and then share that sense of liberation, along with the information that made you experience a sense of freedom.
Simply do NOT be anyone's fool, and don't let political operatives bully you or anyone else into submission, on any subject, including religion.
You need to first be allowed to make an assessment of a religion, of a political party, of a philosophy, of a job, of a movie script, of a way of life, of a motor vehicle to be purchased, etc, etc, etc. You need to be allowed to shop-around, to browse, to evaluate.
You need to be first allowed to think things out ... to be given time to read on the matter ... to look at photos ... to hear of the accounts of the forerunners of a religion or a political party or a form of art or form of thought involved. You need to read proverbial "customer reviews."
You also need to understand the purpose of this religion here and that religion there ... this philosophy here and that philosophy there ... etc, etc, etc. This is the opposite of having a religion shoved down your throat at the barrel of a rifle, in the name of Allah.
Even your preference of music is your choice alone, no matter what the so-called-cool-guys tell you is the music you must purchase. Those guys have to prove themselves to you. You do not have to prove yourself to them. After all, they are basically power-hungry narcissists.
Consider yourself in the Narcissist-free zone. So, look, comprehend, and perceive ... and be excellent to others. Always be excellent to others:
⛛ ⛛ ⛛ ⛛ ⛛ ⛛ ⛛ ⛛ ⛛ ⛛ ⛛ ⛛ ⛛ ⛛
Note for the text below: Dhows were sail boats with triangular sails.
The link to Part 1 can be found through the link below
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Herodian Dynasty = Whore of Babylon. Ancient Rome = Beast.
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| But of course, the guys who keep saying this couldn't care any less than they do now. |
Throughout the centuries, one of the greatest acts of defamation announced by the artificially contrived "Church of England" and the Baptist Heresy was that of endlessly accusing the only Church ever founded by Christ of being "the Whore of Babylon." And of course, the actual whore was the Herodian Dynasty that only remained in political power, because it leeched off of Rome's military power.
In brief review, Antipater the Udumaean (an Edomite convert)
started the Herodian Dynasty in 47 BCE, by being appointed Procurator
of Judea, by Julius Caesar. Eventually came Herod the Great and his killing of infants the age of the newly born King of the Jews. This was followed by yet another Herod; the one who killed John the Baptist and who
later mocked the Christ whom his dad tried to kill decades prior.
St. John the Apostle wrote the Book of Revelation, where within is the mention of the Whore of Babylon. Before becoming a writer of Sacred Script, John was a close apostle of Christ, present at the Last Supper, at the Crucifixion, and in the Cenacle, the night after Christ's Resurrection. Even before this, John was a devoted disciple of his first rabbi, Saint John the Baptist.
Now, it was Herod
the Great's son, Herod Antipas, who had John the Baptist imprisoned and
later put to death. John the Baptist was the one who spoke-out against
Herod's adulterous relationship with Herodias. So, Herodias manipulated
her daughter into requesting John the Baptist's head on a platter,
being that the young lady was offered any gift she wanted by Herod,
during a drunken interlude, after the young lady danced for him.
Needless to say, John the Apostle took the death of John the Baptist personally. Then a vision coming from outside of his deposition and thoughts was shown to him. He would state the scene which included a whore riding a beast in a drunken state.
Now, what caused him to know that she was a whore? None the less, the drunken state is what caused John the Baptist to die, and John perceived the drunken state in the woman he knew to be a whore. John saw the blasphemous writing on the scarlet beast. He also saw the cup the whore was holding in the vision. He saw blood in the cup. But, he felt the drunken state, as if feeling the martyrdom of his first rabbi at point blank range. To follow would be the death of numerous martyrs, at the hands of pagan Rome.
The Holy Innocents were perceived as the first martyrs of Christ, and the next martyr would be John the Baptist. Both sets of martyrs were killed by a Herod. Then Rome took over the task of killing Christians, but only from time to time.
Incidentally, in Roman signification, scarlet referred to high ranked military. Thus, the Herods were riding on the back of a military that could effectively destroy them, their reign, and their territory's infrastructure. They were was riding the very beast who was going kill them off as effectively as it put them in power.
The Herodian Tetrarchy rode on the back
of Rome, being that Herod Antipas conquered Jerusalem in 37 CE, with the
help of Rome's military. Now, historians mark the end of the Herodian Tetrarchy as 44 CE. Yet, Rome still needed a puppet dictator (a client king), for the sake of commerce & tax revenue. At that time, most of the commerce profits were now going to the Jewish elites. So, Emperor Claudius assigned Agrippa II as the king of Israel in 48 CE. The Herodian Tetrarchy was only suspended for four years, Rome got itself another "client king" soon enough. Rome continued to be the Herods' pimp.
Pro-Roman Agrippa II would then flee from Israel at the start of the Jewish Revolt of 66 CE. At the start of that revolt, 6,000 Syrian soldiers of a Roman legion were massacred by Jewish zealots. Agrippa II simply detached himself from the Herodian legacy. Rome would do the destroying of Israel as a duty to Rome, being that the zealots constituted the army during the revolt, and they indiscriminately killed Romans, thereby showing themselves to have no rules of war and no convention of civility.
In 66 CE, Gessius Flores was procurator and crazy Nero was an absentee emperor in Greece, shortly after a failed coup d'etat attempt was made upon him. Herod Agrippa II had a new job, in present-day Syria. Yet, the Jews did not have the concept of taking Roman prisoners of war. They only had the concept of massacre. So, Vespasian was sent to Israel with his son, Titus, by Nero's temporary substitute. The following year, Rome regained control of Israel. Then, in 69 CE, Vespasian became emperor. He then had his son finish the job on Israel.
Rome, like the beast it was, ended up devouring the Herodian legacy. This began with the Siege of Jerusalem, in 70 CE. The result was the destruction of the second temple, the destruction of the rest of Jerusalem, and the killing of numerous Jews. Meanwhile, Herod Agrippa II was a "client king" in a landmass that would be given to Syria upon his death. So, even that part of the Herodian Dynasty was going to be eaten by Rome. All in all, by the Year 100 the Herodians would all be history. A sovereign Israel was also history and would remain as such until 1948 CE.
In 1948, killing more immoral than that of the zealots occurred. Young Jewish men would dress-up as elderly women and plant bombs in British places of business, indiscriminately killing unarmed civilians. That which Hitler's brown shirts did to the Jews the Jews started to do to the British. And it was the BRITISH who ended up freeing the Jews from Hitler, with the help of the Yankees, French underground, Dutch underground, and Norwegian attack teams, along with a South American spy or two. (Canadians were regarded as British, at the time.) One of those Jewish terrorists became prime minister of Israel, in the 1970s.
Take note that the Book of Revelation was
written a couple decades AFTER the destruction of the Temple and all of
Jerusalem. From the 17th Chapter of the Book of Revelation comes the following:
16 "The beast and the ten horns that you saw (ROME) will hate the prostitute (The Herodian Tetrarchy). They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. (The Romans, under future emperor Titus, in 70 CE). 17 For God has put it into their hearts (the Herodian elitists) to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast (to Rome) their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. (The prophetic words of the destruction of Jerusalem in Luke 19:42.) 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” (Jerusalem, of course, ruling in the spiritual sense, as opposed to the political one. Jerusalem was much older than was Rome and therefore had much more influence on the outcome of human history.)
In summary, the Book of Revelation
is a teaching that God is changeless, and because of this, history will
repeat itself. That which happened to Jerusalem in 70 CE will happen
in the future to whoever holds the mission from God that Jerusalem once
held, but which was stolen from Jerusalem by the Herod kings who were set on ignoring & dismissing that mission. It will happen at the hands of whoever holds
the power that Ancient pagan Rome used to hold --- the power of the
beast. And remember, that power originally came from Babylon.
In the 20th Century, the new beast was assumed to have been the Soviet Union, after a brief stint of Nazi German tyranny. In the 19th Century, it was assumed to have been the Napoleonic Dynasty. Before this were horrifying menaces, including the Mongols, Tatars, pagan Lithuanians, and Huns. But, they weren't considered the armies of Antichrist, because you first have to know of the existence of Christ, into order to be a undoer of Christ. Nero, for example, knew of the existence of Christians. He was an undoer of Christ's work.
The Roman Mail Route
Concerning another part of the Apocalypse, there is no reasonable doubt to its meaning: That one is the 7 letters to the seven churches. Those churches coincided with the Roman mail route. Thus, the Roman mail route was used to symbolize the route of time. In as much, those seven churches were the seven eras of Christianity. Six were yet to come.
The first era was yet to be finished. It would be followed by the Inclusive Era, where Christianity was the going trend. Then would come the Rural Era which started during the Justinian Mini Ice Age and which was saved by Ireland. Next would come the Scholastic Era of Aquinas and the such, followed by the Trenton Era (as in Council of Trent). That era still hasn't ended. It will be followed by the Philadelphia Era, meaning the Era of Brotherly Charity. This will be the Era of the Reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Then will come the era which will be met with the End of the World and the Second coming of Christ. That end is a few centuries away ... not a millennia away.
Now, Sacred Script only mentions that the exact date of the world's end is in God the Father's mind, exclusively. Yet, the same Sacred Script mentions to "watch for the signs of the times." Well, a well-informed person can deduce a general time span. In as much . . .
. . . the next thing to come, after massive upheaval, is the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Sodano, Bertone, and the child molester protector Ratzinger lied to the world in June of 2000, by stating that this triumph already came when we were all asleep. The Triumph of the Immaculate Heart has not yet occurred. When it does, no news agency is going to need to tell it to anyone. Everyone will know of a true new era of worldwide peace, accompanied by really heart-touching people --- an era free of people as vengeful as was Adolph Hitler, Robespierre, Genghis Khan, and the Hannibal Barca who was filled with the hatred of ten men in his soul.
Also remember that Paul expressly wrote to "not despise prophecy, my brethren." Well, one of those incorruptible Catholic saints prophesied the Conversion of the Muslims in such a way that their devotion will put the devotion of the Church of the past to shame. Yes, a Dominican saint whose body turned out to be incorruptible prophesied that the Muslims will convert to Catholicism and make the church of the past look like the minor leagues --- like the junior varsity.
If you detest this prophecy, then take it up with the saint who made it; Louis of Montfort. He is very much capable of hearing your thoughts and even your emotions from Heaven. None the less, that widespread conversion is something else yet to come, before the Second Coming of Christ.
However, concerning prophecy & this particular generation, the one certainty is that the Great Apostasy prophesied by Paul (to the Thessalonians) will begin at the very top of the true church of Christ --- not in the fake churches that were formed in 1521 & 1534 --- and definitely not in the knock-off churches of business suit clad preachers that were seen on TV in the 20th Century. It will occur in the only church every founded by Christ 2,000 or so years ago --- the one that was established while Peter & Paul were still alive.
The Beast Coming out of the Sea was actually a fleet landing ashore, in Israel
When you read of a "beast coming out of the sea," it doesn't mean a beast is rising out of the ocean. It refers to an enemy fleet coming ashore, onto Israelite territory, after a long sea voyage. Needless to say, Rome had ships, and Rome was "the beast." Do the math here.
The Two-horned Beast Rising from the Earth
It was the devout Christians who were literally under the earth, in the catacombs. And then, when the church rose from the catacombs, on to the city streets, the hierarchy, in places, started to become corrupted. Thus came John's image of the two-horned beast rising out of the Earth (Rev. 13:1). It referred to the corruption that would occur after the permanent (not temporary) legalization of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire - - - after an era of non-corrupt clergyman conducting liturgical rites in the catacombs.
Incidentally, a Jewish priest wore a headband comprised of two horns, in his rituals. Thus came John's vision of a two-horned beast. Concerning this, the ancient Jewish religion WAS an animal sacrifice religion. This was of the Order of Aaron. Christ was said to be a priest according to the Order of Melchizedek, a priest who offered sacrifices of produce from the grain fields; not the sacrifices of animals. None the less, it was a high priest who, like a beast, sentenced Christ to death.
Even at that, Christ's priesthood came from his own divinity. He was already a priest. He didn't have to be ordained by anybody. Anyone after Christ needed to be ordained in a lineage of ordination which traces back to the original apostles. Where there is no apostolic succession, there is no priesthood. Even Paul was ordained in the apostolic line.
All
in all, the Apocalypse is NOT all that mysterious. It was heavily coded, to
spare the text from being burnt in a pagan Roman incinerator. It was heavily impacted, in that it spoke of the end. Any end can be traumatic. In as much, it is quite assured that the end of your personal world will come much sooner than the end of THE world. So, don't waste your time on Bible Belters who are endlessly telling you that the end is near. There will be no such thing as the Great Rapture. Much has yet to occur, for that the end of THE world to happen.
Oh, and concerning the annoying claim that the Roman Catholic pope is the Antichrist:
Sacred Script states that only one more Antichrist is yet to come. Now, there have thus far been 266 popes. This means that at least 265 popes were NOT the Antichrist.
In addition, amongst the first Christian churches on Planet Earth are the previously mentioned Roman Catacomb chapels. This means that Christianity was long-since in the making in Rome, for centuries. Thus, the church was NOT a creation of pagan Rome, especially in light of the number of Christians of the Church of Rome who died at the hands of pagan Romans.
Even at that, there were times during the reign of the Caesars when Christianity was publicly legal. It's just that suddenly, from time to time, Christianity was outlawed. But of course, you are dealing with unstable dictators when you are dealing with the Caesars of ancient Rome. They weren't as stubbornly consistent as were the deadly dictators of the 20th Century.
Even at that, the 20th Century dictators appeared to be inconsistently unstable, only because they kept breaking promises & violating treaties that they never intended to observe, in the first place. And remember, a treaty is law. When you sign one, you are bound by law. Dictators are lawless. A dictator's signature is worthless.
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