Joined: May 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 48 Location: U.S.A. Karma: 0
The True Mark, Image, Name and Number of The Beast « Thread Started on May 5, 2005, 5:15pm »
PART 1
For many people the quest to find the Mark of the Beast has been as important as finding the Ark of the Covenant. There are tons of websites and ministries with opinions on the Mark of the Beast. The most popular opinion is what is known as the bar code system, in which the numbers 666 are imbedded. This code has been in use for commercial purposes for around 25 years. The entire commerce system is built upon the bar code system, and if your going to have a business of buying, selling and trading in today's society, you have to adopt, submit and receive this system. Even third world countries are affected by this system. All of this sounds like it is right out of the book of revelations! Well, if this was the Mark of the Beast, then just about the whole world has been doomed for the past 25 years, because we all have received this mark every time we have bought a loaf of bread. We all have submitted to this forced system in order to survive in every day life. We say "doomed", because if this is the Mark of the Beast, then we do not have victory over the Mark of the Beast, but we all have submitted to its buying and selling system.
According The Scriptures, those who are saved during the time of the Mark of the Beast, had victory over all parts of the Beast system. Revelation 15:2, "And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of The Mightiest One". If one does not have victory over all parts of Mark of the Beast, which is its system, then the people are doomed. This means us too, because we all live in a day when a 666 system was forced on the world, through a buying and selling system. The following Scripture proves that a person still can be deceived even though they do not take a literal mark. Please note that the Apostle Yahchanan (John) made a point that there was an option by using the word "OR". Revelation 13:17, "And that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark, OR the name of the beast, OR the number of his name". This would mean that all people for the past 25 years have been a part of the Beast System, even though they did not take a literal 666 mark and are doomed if it was the beast system. Either we all are deceived or all of this is just an intentional fabrication to keep our eyes off the TRUE Mark of the Beast. Satan is a master deceiver (Revelation 12:9). There is one issue that by far adds up to 666 than any other issue and it is shocking, but so simple that it amazes us. Many will not believe that it is the Mark of the Beast, because it is a great system the people flock too, love and embrace. This Beast System has an image and a name that is recognized by the whole world, of which a great number of people also embrace in unity.
Before to continue we would like to point out a few facts of The Scriptures. According to The Scriptures, the System of the Beast has four key elements, and they are as follows. An Image, Mark, Number and a Name: Revelation 15:2, "And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of The Mightiest One". Therefore, there are four key elements that are a part of the Beast System that need to be considered when identifying the Mark of the Beast. Everyone always speaks about identifying the Mark and Name of the Beast, but not much is said about identifying the Image of the Beast. If one can identifying the Image, then it might help to identify the whole Beast System.
Some may say that the only way one could identify the Mark of the Beast is through the Hebrew language and its numerical system. However the Beast System is of the world and not of YAHWEH, so it would have to be identified through a worldly system. At the time when the Prophecies were first written, the dominant world influence and culture was Roman Greek.
Much of this Roman Greek culture so to speak, still has a great influence on the people today and has a greater influence among Christianity.
The influence this old Beast System has among Christianity is the name Jesus, the title Christ, (also used as a name) and the image of a Cross, and the rejection of YAHWEH's Laws and Perpetual Covenants. The name Jesus is from the Greek name "Iesous", the title Christ is a transliteration of the Greek word "Christos", the Cross was introduced into this Christian religion by the Roman Emperor Constantine. The influence of the Roman Greek culture is so great that believers in this Christian religion would rather use its Greek influence for names and titles for the Mashiach instead of names and titles from the culture of the Yisraelie Jewish Mashiach, YAHSHUA (YAHWSHUA).
They even want to use an image to represent their Christ, yet The Scriptures strictly forbid making an image to represent any Mighty One, including YAHSHUA (YAHWSHUA) Who is in heaven. Exodus 20:4-5, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, YAHWEH (YHWH) your Mightiest One, am a jealous Mighty One, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me".
The Cross is the pillar of the community of Christianity no matter what belief they may fall under. "Come to the Cross, Come to the Cross of Christ, Come and kneel before the Cross," they say! Because of this common teaching, the people find themselves kneeling under a forbidden image, display them in their Churches, homes and hang them around their necks. Some of these images still have their Christ hanging on the Cross. The world is full of them, yet again, it is forbidden to make an image of things in heaven. Exodus 20:4, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth". Leviticus 26:1, 'You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am YAHWEH (YHWH) your Mightiest One". Because the Roman Greek influence is so great, Christian leaders justify the use of the idol known as the "Cross," just as the Roman Catholics justify their idols. They both say we do not worship them, but why have they been kneeling before them and pray under them for the past 1700 years, Cross or Statue? Do you think it might be that they are taught to do this by their leaders? The Scriptures do not teach for it, but against it! The Cross is centuries older than the Christian period and is a sign and symbol of paganism.
Cross forms were used as symbols, religious or otherwise, long before the Christian era in almost every part of the world. This symbol had a wide diffusion before the Christian era in Europe, Asia and America, and is commonly thought to have been an emblem of the Sun or Fire, and hence of life (World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 7).
The cross in varying forms has been used almost universally as a symbol and ornament. It has represented variously the Sun or the god of the sky, the four parts of the world, the four main winds that bring rain, the four elements. The simple cross (+) widely and continuously depicted in both the old world and the new world, dates from paleolithic times (The Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 8). In The Egyptian churches the cross was a pagan symbol of life borrowed by the Christians and interpreted in the pagan manner (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 14).
The fact of the matter is YAHSHUA (YAHWSHUA) MASHIACH was not put on a pagan image. This would defile the Sacrifice YAHWEH (YHWH) gave to the world, nor would YAHWEH (YHWH) allow such a thing to occur. YAHSHUA (YAHWSHUA) MASHIACH was impaled on a upright pole with His wrists nailed together above his head. This type of punishment causes the lungs to collapse and the persons suffocates under his own weight. The following reference proves that the instrument used for the death of YAHSHUA (YAHWSHUA) MASHIACH was an up right pole or stake. "Pole and Stake" are primary, and the word "Cross" is inserted because of the common traditions. "NT: 4716 stauros (stow-ros'); from the base of NT: 2476; a stake or post (as set upright), i.e. (specifically) a pole or cross (as an instrument of capital punishment); figuratively, exposure to death, i.e. self-denial; by implication, the atonement of Christ". Another reference is the following: Galatians 3:13, "Mashiach has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree')", "NT: 3586 "Tree" xulon (xoo'-lon); from another form of the base of NT: 3582; timber (as fuel or material); by implication a stick, club or tree or other wooden article or substance". Therefore, we have a forbidden pagan "image" that is used to represent and portray a heaven sent savio(u)r, which came about for Christianity through the Greek Roman Emperor Constantine. Because of the Roman Greek influence upon Christianity, this image also represents the Greek word "Christos", transliterated as "Christ".
Joined: May 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 48 Location: U.S.A. Karma: 0
The True Mark, Image, Name and Number of The Beast « Reply #1 on May 5, 2005, 5:22pm »
PART 2
The image of the Cross has been so widely used throughout the centuries that most all people identify it with the name "Christ". When one thinks of the image of the Cross, they think of the name Christ, and vice versa, so the name Christ and the image of the Cross go hand in hand. As we said, if one can identifying the Image, then it might help to identify the whole Beast System. So since the image of the Cross is forbidden and was not a part of the early True Community, but was introduced by Constantine, is associated with the name Christ, and the people embrace its image and name, we have no choice but to look into these issues.
It was October, 312 AD Constantine and his troops marched toward Rome to do battle with his opponent, another would-be emperor, the tyrannical Maxentius.
As Constantine stopped to consider his battle plans, he realized that he needed a greater power than just his military force. Maxentius relied on his magical pagan enchantments. So he sought his father's god in prayer, pleading for him to tell him who he was and to stretch forth his hand to help him. As he prayed (it was a little after noon), Constantine had an absorbing vision. He saw the sign of a cross emblazoned across the sky and the words "In hoc signo vinces", that is "In this sign you will win". Constantine was struck with amazement, along with his whole army (which also witnessed the miracle). He adopted the sign and had the cross inscribed on his soldiers' armor.
Constantine went into battle and even though his forces were outnumbered and wounded, Constantine still prevailed. "NT: 5480 "Mark" charagma (khar'-ag-mah); from the same as NT: 5482; a scratch or etching, i.e. stamp (as a badge of servitude), or sculptured figure (statue)". "NT: 1504 "Image" eikon (i-kone'); from NT: 1503; a likeness, i.e. (literally) statue, profile, or (figuratively) representation, resemblance".
The image "+", superimposed over a blazing yellow sun, became the banner for this Holy Roman Empire. Again, this pagan symbol was never used by the early True Community, but it was adopted by Christianity through Constantine and the Holy Roman Empire as they defeated their enemies. During this same time Constantine thought that he was hearing a blessing from the True Mightiest One, and because of this, new beliefs were created with a belief in a resurrected savio(u)r. The image of the Cross became a very popular "Image," under which these new beliefs were forced upon the world and became the message of Christianity and most all early doctrines of the Apostles were ignored and considered to be heretic. Revelation 13:14, "And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived". In the day and time of Constantine, the Cross represented the blood and doctrines of the Holy Roman Empire who forced a false religion on the world under the Greek title "Christos and Christianity" under the image of a Cross.
Now that we see how the Cross came about for the message of Christianity, we need to take a close look at the Cross. As we said, the Beast System is of the world and not of YAHWEH (YHWH), so it would have to be identified through a worldly system. So since the Cross is from a worldly system, adopted through a Roman Greek Emperor and is identified with the Greek word "Chistos", we need to look at this image and name along with the number of the Beast from the Greek. What does the "Cross" and the name "Christ" used together really mean?
The fact of the matter is the Cross and the title Christos have much in common and the use of them together is quite shocking! A cross "+" is a simple hex, which has the numerical value of six. "NT: 1803 hex (hex); a primary numeral; six". Three Crosses are used and diplayed among Christianity and to the average person three crosses (hexes) identifies Christianity and the name or title "Christ". But the shocking fact is that three images of the Cross are three hexes "+", which have the numerical value of three sixes! Many will get offended as they read this, but the fact is a cross "+" has the numerical value of six.
What else is interesting is that the name Christ in Greek begins with a hex "X", which is the Greek symbol for the letters "Ch". This first Greek letter in the name or title Christos "X" has the numerical value of "Six Hundred".
The Greek letters for "Christos" are "Chi-Rho-Iota-Sigma-Tau-Omicron-"final Sigma". This spelling can be found in Mattithyah / Matthew Chapter 16 in the Greek Interlinear text. "NT: 5547 Christos (khris-tos'); from NT: 5548; anointed, i.e. the Messiah".
Another point is, the Number of the Beast, which represents the Mark, Image and Name of the Beast also begins with Six hundred. Revelation 13:18, "Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six". Six hundred=Hexakosioi Sixty=Hexeekonta Six=Hex
Another interesting thing about the name "Christos" is that the last Greek letter in "Christos" which is the "s" (sigma final), has the Greek numerical value of 6, which is the same as hex=+. Here is a chart that proves the "X" has a number value of 600 and the "s" (sigma final) at the end of Christos in Greek: http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Greek_ numbers.html As we look into the key elements that are a part of the Beast System from the view point and influence of a Roman Greek worldly system, we see that the name "Christos" contains two images of a Cross "+risto+" and the name Christos represents the image of a Cross. Then we have the "X" (hex=Cross) beginning with the name "Christos," which has the numerical value of 600, being "600ristos". Let's not forget that the last letter in "Christos" has the numerical value of 6, being "600risto6".
So you see that there are six main points about the image of the Cross and the name Christ used together, for they go hand in hand: 1- The name "Christ" represents an Image; 2- The Cross represents the name "Christ"; 3- The image of the name Christ represents the number 6; 4- The name "Christ" contains two images, one with the meaning of 600, the other 6; 5- The Cross and the name Christ used together contain the meaning of three Images of the Cross; 6- The Cross and the name Christ used together (hand in hand) contain three sixes. Not only that, but the number of the Beast and name Christos, both begin with the numerical value of six hundred, and this was the name Constantine forced upon the world and made a false religion compulsory under the forbidden image of a cross. Therefore, the Image, Mark, Number and a Name of the Beast and its doctrines is under the title "Christ" and the Cross combined, which has the numerical value of 666. Imagine that! Revelation 13:18, "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six". The Beast was the force, power and the leaders of the Holy Roman Empire. Remember, Constantine adopted the sign and had the cross inscribed on his soldiers' armor, and the people embraced it as they embraced the new doctrines under it! Even the hex "X" it was a common symbol used by the believers of this apostate religion and it was frequently used as a holy symbol. This is much like the fish symbol that represents the religion of Christianity today, and its tail is also a X. Now you know where the abbreviation "Xmas," "Xians," came from, what it means and why people sign themselves with the Cross! Christian leaders have been Hexing the people with a godspell long enough, don't you think?
The Beast System that began to be formed by Constantine had an Image, Mark, and Name that contained three like symbols and together have the numerical value of 666. This was the beginning of a new religion separate from The Scriptures, but with the twist of a dieing and rising savio(u)r with a title called "Christianity", all under the idol and symbols of a Cross. So in the day and time of Constantine and the Holy Roman Empire, the call to the false religion was really, "Come to the Image (Cross) of the Beast", and it's doctrines, "Reject the Apostles doctrines, and the Sabbaths for they were Judaizers". Yet, the Apostles and the early True Community observed the Sabbath and Feast Days and were immersed into the Saving Name of YAHSHUA (YAHWSHUA) MASHIACH! But this Beast System did not want anything to do with that religion, what YAHWEH (YHWH)'s People do through YAHSHUA (YAHWSHUA) MASHIACH. So the anti-Mashiach began his work through the Greek Emperors to force a his mark and false religion on the world and made this religion compulsory.
Joined: May 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 48 Location: U.S.A. Karma: 0
The True Mark, Image, Name and Number of The Beast « Reply #2 on May 5, 2005, 5:24pm »
PART 3
The following excerpt is from Halley's Bible Handbook, published by Zondervan Publishing House, in 1924, and currently in its 37th printing of the 24th edition. There are over 4,000,000 copies in print of this often used Handbook. Quote: Paganization of the Church (pages 760-761): "Emperor Constantine (A.D. 306-337), when he became a Christian, issued an Edict granting Everybody the right to choose his own Religion. Emperor Theodosius (A.D. 378-398), made Christianity the State Religion of the Roman Empire, and made Church Membership Compulsory. This was the Worst Calamity that has ever befallen the Church. This Forced Conversion, filled the Churches with "Unregenerate" People. Not only so, Theodosius undertook the Forcible Suppression of all other Religions, and Prohibited Idol Worship. Under his decrees, Heathen Temples were torn down by mobs of Christians, and there was much bloodshed. Christ had designed to conquer by purely Spiritual and Moral Means. Up to this time Conversion was Voluntary, a Genuine Change in Heart and Life. But now the Military Spirit of Imperial Rome had entered the Church. The Church had Conquered the Roman Empire. But in reality the Roman Empire had Conquered the Church, by making the Church over into the image of the Roman Empire. The Church had Changed its Nature, had entered it?s great apostasy, had become a Political Organization in the Spirit and Pattern of Imperial Rome, and took its NoseDive into the millennium of Papal abominations. The Imperial Church of the 4th and 5th centuries had become an entirely different institution from the persecuted church of the first three centuries. In its ambition to Rule it lost and forgot the spirit of Christ. Worship, at first very simple, was developed into elaborate, stately, imposing ceremonies having all the outward splendor that had belonged to heathen temples. Ministers become Priests. The term "priest" was not applied to Christian ministers before A.D. 200. It was borrowed from the Jewish system, and from the example of heathen priesthood . Leo I (440-61) prohibited priests from marrying, and Celibacy of priests became a law of the Roman Church. Conversion of the Barbarians. The Goth, Vandals and Huns who overthrew the Roman Empire accepted Christianity; but to a large extent their conversion was nominal and this further filled the Church with pagan practices" (End of Quote).
Now, if you going to be anti-Mashiach, you will be anti-Mashiach like Constantine and other Beast leaders were and reject Torah, the Sabbath, Feast Days, and the True Names and reject anything of the culture of YAHSHUA. (YAHWSHUA) MASHIACH You will be anti-Mashiach by following the rules set up by this Beast System. Constantine's Christian Creed: "I renounce all customs, rites, legalisms, unleavened breads and sacrifices of lambs of the Hebrews, and all the other feasts of the Hebrews, sacrifices, prayers, aspirations, purifications, sanctifications and propitiations, and fasts and new moons, and Sabbaths, and superstitions, and hymns and chants and observances and synagogues, and the food and drink of the Hebrews; in one word I renounce absolutely everything Jewish, every Law, rite and custom; and if afterwards I shall wish to deny and return to Jewish superstition, or shall be found eating with Jews, or feasting with them, or secretly conversing and condemning the Christian religion instead of openly confuting them and condemning their vain faith, then let the trembling go Cain and the leprosy of Gehazi cleave to me, as well as the legal punishments to which I acknowledge myself liable. And may I be an anathema in the world to come, and may my soul be set down with Satan and the devils". (Stefano Assemani, Acat Sanctorium Martyrum Orientalium at Occidentalium, Vol. 1, Rome 1748, page 105). CIVIL AUTHORITY
On the seventh of March 321 A. D., the Roman Emperor Constantine issued an unusual edict. This edict effectively legislated the seventh-day Sabbath out of existence as a day of worship for most of the Christian world.
The edict read as follows: "On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not suitable for grain sowing or for vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost" (Codex Justinianus, lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; translated in History of the Christian Church, by Schaff, Vol. III, p. 380). This edict was a purely civil statute. According to historian Hutton Webster, "This legislation by Constantine probably bore no relation to Christianity; it appears, on the contrary, that the emperor, in his capacity of Pontifex Maximus (all Roman emperors had this title), was only adding the day of the Sun, to the other ferial days of the sacred calendar" (Rest Days, pp. 122, 123). RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY
In about 365 A.D., a religiousc onvention for ecclesiastical authorities was held in what is today the nation of Turkey. It was called the Council of Laodicea and it was convened to settle, among other matters, the Sabbath question. One of its most famous canons was the twenty-ninth: "Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather, honoring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ" (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. XIV,p. 148).
These same Creeds are still observed today and if you teach against them then you are considered to be in a cult, but it is really the other way around! The Beast System left its Image, Mark, Number, Name, Symbols, SUNday worship and Doctrines behind, so that future generations would be snared by its false teachings and traditions, but the call now is to come out of her! Revelation 18:4, "And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, My People, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues".
Come out of her as so many of us have, and you will be bless with Truth and Life!
We really cannot find in history (during that time) where a mark was required for trade. However, understanding what Constantine and other Emperies did, how True Believers were treated, how the Yahwdim (Jews) have been treated throughout the centuries and understanding racism, we can see the possibilities. Segregation kept the whites and blacks on opposite side of the tracks so to speak. A black could not be a part of the white system, because he was marked so to speak. If one would try to move into a white neighborhood and be a part of the system, they would not be allowed to do so or for very long. The white folks would not accommodate the blacks needs, because if they did, then they could remain and be a part of the system, but as you know they did not want them to be a part of their society. An example of this is the Yahwdim (Jews). They have been shoved aside, not wanted so to speak and lived among themselves throughout history. But if they did not confess to be a Jew, and no one knew they were a Jew, then all was ok and they could be a part of the system without any persecution. If you don't like a certain group to be around, then you simple just don't accommodate their needs. Point being, we think we have been looking at the wrong side of the mark of the beast. We believe it to be -- that during that day and time, people did not want True Believers to be around them, nor be a part of their world. This is why the True Believers lived in the catacombs and the ghettoes. So they just did not accommodate the True Believers needs, unless they identified themselves with the title / name Christ or sign themselves with the Cross, the new religion that the Roman Emperors forced upon the world during that time. This new religion and its beliefs, which was forced upon the world was titled "Christos-anity". Its beliefs were much different than what the Apostles taught, except for a simple message of a dying and risen Savio(u)r. It became a Holy Roman Empire (religious beast system) and if you did not identify with this religious Empire (God on earth) you were persecuted, because you were considered to be an infidel, heathen and enemy to the Cross (Image of the Beast).
We have to understand the mentality of that day and age. The Holy Roman Empire's soldiers killed True Believers for not giving allegiances to the Holy Empire and what it embraced, which was "God on Earth" the title "Christ and the image of the Cross" and its doctrines. For the RCC, it was war on what they considered to be unbelievers and if you just simply confessed Christ, or embraced the image or banner (Cross), identify who you gave your allegiances to (God on Earth) by signing the Cross with your right hand from you forehead down and across your chest, or a simply hex on your forehead like ash Wednesday, then you were not persecuted by this religious beast system. Then we have the "Judgments of YAHWEH (YHWH)" as spoken by the book of Revelation, which came upon the seat of this Beast, its system, kingdom and those who followed its system as they persecuted and killed the True Believers! Remember: 2/3 of the world died during the chain of events that came upon the world during that time!
Joined: May 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 48 Location: U.S.A. Karma: 0
The True Mark, Image, Name and Number of The Beast « Reply #3 on May 5, 2005, 5:25pm »
PART 4
"535 A.D. Catastrophe: With some people it began in the head, made the eyes bloody and the face swollen, descended to the throat and then removed them from Mankind. With others there was a flowing of the bowels. Some came out in pus-filled swellings that gave rise to great fevers, and they would die two or three days later with their minds in the same state as those who had suffered nothing, and with their bodies still robust. Others lost their senses before dying. Malignant pustules erupted and did away with them. Sometimes people were afflicted once or twice, and then recovered, only to fall victim a third time and then succumb". Thus wrote the 6th-century church historian Evagrius, describing the gruesome symptoms of the bubonic plague that devastated the Roman Empire and much of the wider world in the 6th- and 7th-centuries. The first area of the empire to be hit by plague was Egypt. The town where it first appeared was the Mediterranean port of Pelusium -- traditionally the point of entry for Egypt?s enemies for over 1,000 years. But this time, the enemy was not clad in armour. It was invisible, carried ashore on the backs of scuttling rats. After devastating Pelusium, the disease quickly spread to Alexandria, then on to Constantinople and the wider Empire. Up to a third of the population died in the first serious outbreak. However, unknown to the inhabitants of the Roman Empire, their society was not the only part of the world being devastated at that time. For the mid- to late-6th-century also saw southern China tormented by famines and a terrible civil war; a bloodthirsty ethnic revolution on the Mongolian Steppes; freezing temperatures and disease in Japan; the fall of ancient Mexico's greatest city; and the demise of key civilizations in South America. What lay behind this inventory of disaster and human misery? Was this all one huge, planet-wide coincidence -- or was there a common cause generating mayhem all over the globe? Scientific and historical evidence gathered over recent years suggests that the Truth may be the latter option. We believe that the culprit was a massive volcanic eruption in south-east Asia, probably the volcanic island of Krakatoa in the Sunda Straits between Java and Sumatra. Historical and scientific evidence strongly suggests that a huge volcanic explosion took place in the Krakatoa area in February 535AD. Certainly, historical evidence from Byzantium, Western Europe, China, Japan and Korea -- supported by data from the growth rings of trees -- reveals that the world's climate became very disturbed at this time. John of Ephesus, a 6th-century historian and church leader, chronicled the event. "There was a sign from the Sun", he wrote, "the like of which had never been seen or reported before. The Sun became dark and its darkness lasted for 18 months. Each day it shone for about four hours, and still this light was only a feeble shadow". Another 6th-century chronicler -- a top Roman military official called Procopius -- wrote that, "it came about during this year that a most dread portent took place. For the Sun gave forth its light without brightness like the Moon during this whole year". And a third observer, Zacharias of Mytilene, said that. "the Sun began to be darkened by day and the Moon by night". In Ireland, drought conditions produced an appalling famine. In China, climatic conditions were so bad that the Emperor issued an edict which ordered that, "in the capital, in all provinces, commanderies and districts, one should bury the corpses". Chinese sources also refer to a thunderous bang coming from the south-west, in the direction of Krakatoa -- and evidence from an Indonesian chronicle suggests that Krakatoa did in fact erupt with unprecedented force in the middle of the first millennium A.D. Reconstructing the immediate sequence of events associated with a volcanic eruption which occurred one and a half millennia ago is a daunting task but not an impossible one. Between A.D. 530 and A.D. 535, there would almost certainly have been a long series of earthquakes in what is now western Java, southern Sumatra, and beneath the neighbouring seas. Earthquakes and accompanying seismically triggered tidal waves may well have seriously disrupted life in the region. Throughout the second-half of A.D. 534, earthquakes would have struck at the rate of one or two per day. In the weeks immediately before the eruption, the rate would have accelerated to a peak of 50 per hour in the final 24 hours, mainly in the moderately powerful range of 1 to 3 on the Richter scale. The A.D. 535 eruption would have burst forth from a volcanic mountain located on what was almost certainly fairly low-lying ground. For several years, a 250-500 cubic mile mass of molten magma would have been moving closer and closer to the surface -- probably at the rate of up to 30ft per month. This would have caused the land surface above to bulge upwards into a low dome increasing in height at up to 3ft per year over perhaps a five-year period. Then suddenly the pressure of the magma, between two to three miles below ground, would have proved too great: a crack would have opened up causing the eruption to start. A vast cloud of ash would have bil- lowed out, followed by a column of red-hot magma. Ultimately, dozens of cubic miles of magma, thousands of cubic miles of vapourised sea water, and vast quantities of ultrafine hydro-volcanic ash - generated by the interaction between magma and seawater -- was hurled into the sky and a substantial percentage of it would have entered the upper part of the Earth's atmosphere. Like a natural equivalent of a nuclear winter, the eruption changed world climate. In Mongolia, a severe drought killed off the horse-based economy -- and with it the nomadic empire -- of the ruling Avars, allowing their
vassals, the Turks, to take over. This was the beginning of Turkic imperial civilization -- the start of the process that eventually produced the Ottoman Empire. The displaced Avars fled west to Europe, where they invaded the Roman Empire -- and caused huge economic and social damage. The Romans lost vast amounts of territory (and tax base) to the Avars and their Slav vassals and associates. The climatic disaster also caused ecological mayhem in East Africa - especially amongst the rodent population -- and this triggered a massive outbreak of bubonic plague that swept northwards on board ships up the Red Sea, and into the Mediterranean. The Empire was devastated by repeated epidemics, and so was western Europe. The plague, the Avar invasions, and the rapid decline of the Roman Empire led Christians and Jews alike to believe that the end of the world was nigh. Indeed, in a sense it was. In Arabia, the climatic problems had led to the destruction of one of the greatest engineering feats of the ancient world, the Marib Dam and its huge irrigation system. And the migratory, economic and geopolitical problems and changes caused by the demise of the dam, together with the general apocalyptic atmosphere in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern world, led to the emergence of a new religion: Islam. In England, the plague destabilised the political and territorial status quo by hitting the Celtic west and centre more than the Anglo-Saxon east. It led, therefore, directly to Anglo-Saxon expansion and the foundation of England. Related processes took place in Gaul and the Iberian peninsula, and led to the establishment of a proto-France and a proto-Spain. In the Far East, the climatically-triggered famines and political chaos resulted ultimately in the emergence of a united China. Thus, all over the world the eruption acted as midwife to the political structures that now dominate our planet. We may like to believe that the politicians and generals make history, but ultimately it is, we believe, natural forces and the weather that probably exert the lion's share of influence. And that is a fact worth remembering, given that global warming in the 21st century is likely to present the planet with its biggest dose of climatic chaos since world history was resynchronised by the weather (courtesy of Krakatoa) 1,500 years ago. (David Keys, "Catastrophe, an Investigation Into the Origins of the Modern World" #16.99 Photo :«The sun became dark and its darkness lasted for 18 months», John of Ephesus wrote (Douglas peebles/SIPA) Vocable/The Independent /Realisation Grolier Interactive Europe http://www.club-internet.fr/vocable/Num19991104/text4_uk_1 9991104.html
![[Home]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/menu/home.gif)
![[Help]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/menu/help.gif)
![[Search]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/menu/search.gif)
![[Calendar]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/menu/calendar.gif)
![[Login]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/menu/login.gif)
![[Register]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/menu/register.gif)
![[Search This Thread]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/search2.gif)
![[Send Topic To Friend]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/buttons/sendtopic.gif)
![[Print]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/buttons/print.gif)
Author
![[homepage]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/buttons/www_sm.gif)
Logged