Image, Mark, Number, and Name of The Beat

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".

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.

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!

"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_19991104.html

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