The True Mark, Image, Name and Number of The Beast

[BYT YHWH]

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".

[BYT YHWH]

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:
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.

[BYT YHWH]

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!

[BYT YHWH]

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
www.club-internet.fr/vocable/Num19991104/text4_uk_1
9991104.html