Especialidades JA/Profetas y profecía - Avanzado/Respuestas
Nivel de destreza
3
Año
2017
Version
30.04.2024
Autoridad de aprobación
División Norteamericana
Prólogo
A diferencia de algunas especialidades con respuestas definitivas, la especialidad de Profetas y profecía, nivel avanzado, no tendrá una hoja de respuestas. Más bien, incluirá un conjunto de notas para el instructor que tienen sugerencias para enseñar esta especialidad y posibles métodos para responder a las preguntas. La profecía a menudo puede tener más de una interpretación. Muchas profecías bíblicas son conocidas por tener significados duales; otros pueden ganar la dualidad a medida que la historia continúa desarrollándose. Sería presuntuoso asumir respuestas singulares para un tema tan complejo. A medida que la luz continúa fluyendo e iluminando el tema de la profecía, se puede esperar que el cumplimiento de estas preguntas continúe creciendo.
El hecho de que Dios revele miles de años de historia a su pueblo y les permita comprender lo que iba a suceder revela otra faceta de su amor indescriptible por nosotros. La profecía también puede ser un capataz difícil y exigente; la verdad profética continúa creciendo, y entender el significado profético a menudo se desarrolla lentamente a lo largo del tiempo. Como estudiantes de profecía, estamos obligados a examinar las interpretaciones asociadas con la profecía en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y juzgar estas interpretaciones contra la información recién revelada de la arqueología y la investigación histórica. Se recomienda precaución para los instructores de esta especialidad, a fin de estar al tanto de que ciertas fechas, como 538 dC, que una vez fueron consideradas como evangelio, ahora son ampliamente cuestionadas y probablemente inexactas. Esto no significa que la profecía de los 1260 días sea menos relevante o que la interpretación adventista tradicional sea inexacta; simplemente significa que las fechas de inicio y finalización pueden no tener la certeza absoluta que se creía. ES IMPORTANTE permitir que sus estudiantes comprendan que la historia y el desarrollo de los acontecimientos actuales continúan arrojando luz sobre la interpretación profética. Si se considera la luz nueva, la profecía puede convertirse en un obstáculo en lugar de un pilar de apoyo en el desarrollo de las creencias religiosas. Por favor sea honesto con sus estudiantes y hágales saber que no tenemos certeza en todos nuestros entendimientos. Sin embargo, Dios ha prometido que si emprendemos la consideración devota de estas profecías, enviará su Espíritu para iluminarnos y guiarnos en nuestro camino.
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Para consejos e instrucciones, véase Profetas y profecía.
Notas para el instructor: Esta especialidad sólo debe ser intentado por aquellos que desean ser estudiantes serios de la Biblia. La especialidad de Profetas y profecía contiene mucha información y es una buena introducción a los profetas bíblicos y extra bíblicos y la profecía. Esta especialidad de nivel avanzado es mucho más profundo, la comisión de creación de especialidades consideraría esta especialidad como un nivel de habilidad de 3 profundo, si existiera tal cosa. Por lo tanto, no haga que sus estudiantes comiencen con esta especialidad de nivel avanzado hasta que estén seguros de que entienden los hechos básicos cubiertos en la especialidad de nivel básico de Profetas y profecía, y hasta que crean que puedan estudiar y pensar por sí mismos con respecto a la verdad bíblica y denominacional.
Además, como instructor, asegúrese de estar bien familiarizado con el material profético en esta especialidad. Esta especialidad requiere dedicación, pensamiento profundo y oración intencional para dirigir. La profecía tiene un poder increíble en la vida de una persona, y como instructor, su objetivo es presentar la profecía bíblica de una manera honesta, abierta, justa, esclarecedora, profunda y positiva. 1 Pedro 3:15 es un gran recordatorio de cómo Dios puede guiar sus esfuerzos mientras se prepara para este momento con sus Conquistadores/grupo.
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Notas para el instructor: Hay muchísimos más profetas que aquellos cuyos nombres llevan el título de libros de la Biblia, y muchos de los profetas tenían papeles asociados con su estrecha relación con Dios más allá de su llamado profético. Es importante que el estudiante de profecía entienda que el papel de un profeta fue a menudo uno activo que iba mucho más allá que simplemente compartir la profecía transmitida por Dios.
Una lista de ejemplos de los profetas del Antiguo Testamento:
- Adán, Set, Enós, Cainán, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoc, Matusalén, Lamec, Noé, Sem, Melquisedec, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, José, Efraín, Gad, Eliú, Moisés, Josué, Balaam, Débora, Samuel, Natán, Ahías el silonita, Jahaziel, Elías, Eliseo, Job, Isaías, Jeremías, Daniel, Ezequiel, Oseas, Joel, Amós, Abdías, Jonás, Miqueas, Nahum, Obed, Habacuc, Sofonías, Hageo, Zacarías y Malaquías.
Una lista de ejemplos de los profetas del Nuevo Testamento:
- Juan el bautista, Jesús, Juan el revelador, Simón Pedro, Pablo (antes Saulo de Tarso), Agabo, Silas y Bernabé.
Cada uno de estos profetas tenía mensajes de Dios para advertir o fortalecer a aquellos que escucharan las palabras de Dios. Algunas veces tomaron una acción aún más directa.
Ejemplos:
- Noé no sólo predicó la Palabra, sino que también construyó el Arca que finalmente proporcionaría refugio de la ira de Dios sobre los malvados.
- Samuel no sólo compartió las advertencias de Dios, sino que fue el último juez de Israel y, como tal, era un líder político, un juez supremo, un líder militar y el líder espiritual del pueblo.
- Eliseo fue un profeta, un maestro, un ejecutante de milagros (incluyendo resucitar a los muertos), un predicador y un sacerdote.
- Jesús fue un profeta, maestro, ejecutante de milagros, y lo más importante, el Salvador.
- El apóstol Juan fue un líder de la iglesia, el escritor de múltiples libros de la Biblia (sólo uno de los cuales es un libro profético) y cuidador de María, la madre de Jesús.
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Notas para el instructor: Algunas personas cuestionan si Moisés fue un profeta. Piense en las varias ofrendas proféticas interesantes más allá de los mensajes al faraón durante el tiempo de la liberación. En Deuteronomio 18:15-18, Moisés escribe que Dios prometió a otro profeta como Moisés. En Deuteronomio 28:49-52, Moisés presenta una profecía escalofriante que parece cumplirse con el saqueo de Jerusalén en el año 70 d.C. por el general romano Tito. En Deuteronomio 29:23, Moisés profetiza acerca de que Israel se convertirá en un páramo y presagia un período de casi dos milenios donde Israel no tiene patria.
Un examen de Moisés muestra que los profetas tenían una plétora de trabajos para cumplir por Dios. Algunos de los papeles que Moisés cumplió incluyen:
- La manifestación física indiscutible del liderazgo teocrático de Dios de su pueblo
- Un juez
- Un autor y poeta
- Un estratega militar
- Un arquetipo del Salvador: Moisés ofreció su propia vida y posterior salvación a Dios como sacrificio para proteger a los hijos caídos de Israel (Éxodo 32). Si bien la sugerencia de Moisés no hubiera sido suficiente para salvar a Israel de sus pecados, vemos el amor sacrificial de Jesús por la humanidad personificado en Moisés. Moisés fue resucitado de los muertos, antes de la muerte de Jesús en la cruz, como el primer fruto de la venidera glorificación del pueblo de Dios.
- Un gran sacerdote: antes de Aarón, Moisés fue la persona que puso súplica delante de Dios en nombre de los hijos de Israel.
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4a
- Juez
- Consejero de reyes
- Líder militar
- Sacerdote
4b
- Sacerdote
4c
- Líder religioso antes del mensaje profético
- Marido y padre a los infieles y no amados
4d
- Evangelista
- Exhortador del rey
- Mentor para Eliseo
4e
- Juez
- Maestro
- Ejecutante de milagros
4f
- Discípulo
- Apóstol
- Autor
- Líder de la iglesia
- Ejecutante de milagros
4g
- Maestra
- Jueza
- Consejera militar
4h
- Autora
- Líder de la iglesia
- Evangelista
- Exhortadora de los primeros líderes
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Notas para el instructor: Si bien todas las profecías verdaderas provienen de Dios, no todas las declaraciones del profeta son inspiradas. Los profetas son mensajeros humanos de Dios y, como tales, hay casos en los que los profetas que hablan desde su propia sabiduría predican o escriben mensajes no proféticos. Esta es una distinción importante, porque pensar que cada palabra de la boca o la mano de un profeta es de Dios ha llevado a muchos a desviarse de la iglesia o a denunciar la influencia profética de una persona. Hay muchos casos en los que los profetas comparten escritos que pueden no ser proféticos.
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Teacher's Notes: In every Biblical Age, there were prophets. Therefore, it is a conundrum for some to believe that from the end of the New Testament until very late in the modern age, no prophets were sent by God to enlighten His people or to provide them prophetic comfort or rebuke. If you couple the fact that Ellen G. White referred to herself as a messenger, and examine the close relationship of the words messenger, prophet, and angel in the Greek, then the depiction of the seven angels to the seven churches may take on significance. The question is, "Do these seven angels represent prophets, with specific messages, sent to each time period depicted by the seven churches?" Adventists regularly hold the periods to be as follows:
- Ephesus – up to AD 100
- Smyrna – AD 100-313
- Pergamos – AD 313-538
- Thyatira – AD 538-1560s
- Sardis – AD 1560s-1790s
- Philadelphia – AD 1790s-1840s
- Laodicea – AD 1840s-End of Time
This delineation certainly made sense to the early Advent writers who believed the second coming was imminent. Thus for many years, Ellen White was the messenger to the Church of Laodicea, and the last prophet. One might wonder if that is correct, given the unfolding of the last 100+ years of history. It is known the book of Joel mentions that there will be prophets in the end times. All teachers are encouraged to prepare their students to be open to messages from God, should a new prophetic voice arise for the end-time church. Remember, there are tests of a prophet, and God is in control. Be watchful for both true and false prophets among the people of God.
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Teacher's notes: The day-for-year belief is not widely held by many Christian religions. Wikipedia claims that this belief is most notably held by Seventh-day Adventists (or more rightly all Adventists seeing it was a founding principal of William Miller), Jehovah’s Witnesses, and some Pentecostals. While Wikipedia is not a definitive source, it is included in this note to highlight the fact that when dealing with young people that have grown up with Christian traditions associated with Catholicism or one of the major Protestant religions, the student may be unfamiliar with this traditional SDA belief. There is biblical precedent for the day-to-year prophetic coupling. In Numbers 14, it describes Israel wandering in the wilderness for forty years, one year spent for every day of the spies’ mission in Canaan. In Genesis 29, Laban requires an additional seven years work for the hand of Rachel in marriage, calling it a week.
William Miller, upon the realization that his life was spared during the war of 1812, comes to study the Bible exhaustively. He went verse by verse and attempted to reconcile every truth from beginning to end. Upon arriving in Daniel, he understood the significance of the 1260 and 2300-day prophecies and began searching for their meaning. Upon his understanding of the verses mentioned in the paragraph above, he started looking at what these long term prophecies could mean to the church during his time period. This study ultimately led him to find the start of the 2300-day prophecy. A first look at the starting point was the 536 BC date, the year associated with Cyrus's decree to allow the Jews captive in Persian lands to return to Judea, rebuild Jerusalem, and re-establish their homeland. However, the decree itself was not the re-establishment of the Jewish nation, Cyrus died in 530 B.C. and it takes the Jewish people almost 80 years to self-organize. In 457 BC, Ezra received the decree from Artaxerxes giving the children of Israel the final authority to become self-governing. Therefore, William Miller selected 457 BC as the restoration of Jerusalem, and from this date, 2300 years mathematically becomes AD 1843. Further examination of the zero year (was there a year that was neither before Christ or in the year of our Lord?), Miller concludes that there was no zero year, and hence 1843 became 1844.
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Teacher's Notes: Here is a non-canonical list of Old Testament prophecies concerning Jesus. There are many others, but this list should get the students started on seeing the text of the prophecy and then tying that text to a fulfillment in one of the four Gospels.
Birth:
- Messiah would be born in Bethlehem - "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting." -Micah 5:2 (NKJV)
- Messiah would be of the line of Abraham - "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." -Genesis 22:18 (NKJV)
- Messiah would be born of a virgin - " Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." -Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV)
- Messiah would come to earth as a baby – "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." -Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)
- Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob - "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.[" -Numbers 24:17 (NKJV)
- Messiah would be a descendant of David - "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth." -Jeremiah 23:5 (NKJV)
Life:
- Messiah would be a prophet like Moses – "The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear." -Deuteronomy 18:15 (NKJV)
- Messiah would enter Jerusalem triumphantly – "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey." -Zechariah 9:9 (NKJV)
- Messiah would be rejected by His own people – "Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him." -Isaiah 53:1, 3 (NKJV)
- Messiah would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver – "Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter." -Zechariah 11:12, 13 (NKJV)
Death:
- Messiah will be tried and condemned – "He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken." -Isaiah 53:8 (NKJV)
- Messiah will be smitten and spat upon – "He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken" -Micah 5:1 (NKJV)
- "I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting" -Isaiah 50:6 (NKJV)
- Messiah’s clothes would be divided up – "They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." -Psalm 22:18 (NKJV)
- Messiah’s bones would remain unbroken – "They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it." -Numbers 9:12 (NKJV)
- Messiah would be buried in a rich man’s grave – "And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth." -Isaiah 53:9 (NKJV)
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El marco de tiempo en que vivió
A quiénes profetizó
El mensaje central de la profecía
El poder o principado que Dios usó para cumplir con la profecía inmediata
El mensaje que es relevante para hoy
Teacher’s Notes: This information is readily available in the Introduction to each Minor Prophet in the SDA Bible Commentary. Hence, a single example will be provided rather than provide sample answers for all twelve Minor Prophets. Remember the "minor" prophets are: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi.
Hosea
- Time frame: Hosea prophesied from some period around 753 BC to 729 BC. His date of birth is not known, nor what happened to him in later life, after his prophetic period ceased.
- To whom did Hosea prophesy: Hosea was a prophet to the northern tribes of Israel (the tribes that abandoned the Davidic line and followed Jeroboam).
- The core message of the prophecy: The dominant theme of this book is the love of God for His people, even after they have turned away from Him time and time again. Hosea's message does not condone the sins of the people; rather it calls on ghastly images of what will happen if the northern tribes do not turn from their wicked ways and return to God.
- The Power or Principality that ultimately fulfilled the immediate prophecy: Assyria, in 722 BC, Sargon II completes the conquest of Israel.
- The message that is relevant for today: "Hosea depicts the yearning love of God for His wayward people. The book is filled with appeals to repentance and messages of hope to those who will turn again to their loving Father." – Page 886, Volume 4 of the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Copyright 1955.
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Teacher's Notes: Here is a nice pictorial depiction of the Daniel 2 and 7 prophecies.
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Teacher’s Notes: The principle difference between Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) interpretation of Daniel 7 and that of most other Christian religions is in the interpretation of the fourth beast, the horns on its head, and the meaning of the little horn.
Seventh-day Adventists interpret the fourth beast to be the Roman Empire. This is born out of consistency with other prophecies in Daniel (the teeth of iron [ch. 7] and the legs of iron [ch. 2]) and the historical evidence that Rome’s primary weapons of choice were made of iron. Thus, Seventh-day Adventists interpret the ten horns to be the ten tribes (the Alemanni, Franks, Suevi, Vandals, Burgundians, Visigoths, Anglo-Saxons, Ostrogoths, Lombards, and Heruli). Common SDA belief on the little horn is that the Bishop of Rome transforms from a religious leader to a political entity, thus explaining why he was a different type of horn. The Bishop of Rome ultimately subdues (with the help of Justinian) the three tribes that rule the Italian peninsula, establishing political domination over the remaining tribes. Finally, the Bishop of Rome changes times and laws, Sabbath to Sunday, and numerous laws concerning man’s direct relationship with God, respectively.
Obviously, the largest Christian church does not share the SDA interpretation and thus neither do many of the Protestant religions. These religions hold Babylon as the Lion, the Medean Empire as the bear, the Persians as the four-headed Leopard, with the Macedonian Empire as the fourth beast defying description. Thus the horns are representative of the Seleucid dynastic lineage with the 11th horn being Antiochus IV, more commonly known as Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus Epiphanes was a 2nd century BC ruler that came to power via three assassinations, ultimately persecuted the Jews, sacrificed a pig on the altar of the temple in Jerusalem, and created the environment that led to the Maccabean revolt.
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Teacher's Notes: The book of Revelation is a Chiasmus, a literary structure where a message is laid out in two or more clauses and presented to the reader or hearer, then presented again in reverse order. In mathematical terms, the first four chapters of Revelation are a reflected image of the last four chapters of Revelation. We find the rejoicing in Heaven over God’s victory (chapter 19), the Millennium of Understanding (chapter 20), the New Heaven and New Earth (chapter 21) and the Restoration of Eden, and the Epilogue (chapter 22) in the last four chapters. These were important messages to the early Christian church, giving assurance that God would prevail. Similarly, we find the Throne in Heaven (chapter 4), the last three churches (chapter 3), the first four churches (chapter 2), and the introduction of the message and John’s cision of Christ the Redeemer (chapter 1) in the first four chapters. These first four chapters gave the early church an understanding that there would be times of trial, however, Christ and Christ alone holds the keys of death and Hades, and that Jesus is ultimately in control and will triumph over evil. What a wonderful message for the early church and the church today!
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Teacher's Notes: Joel 2:28-32 describes the Day of the Lord and is understood to prophetically refer to the end of time. The passage reads:
«And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.»
From Joel, it is evident, that if necessary, God will send more prophets to strengthen His people in the latter days. Is it necessary to believe we need another prophet after Ellen G. White? This question can be answered with a thought she herself discussed. You can find Ellen White’s thoughts in both Volume 5 of her Testimonies and in Selected Messages, book 3, pages 29-33.
- "If you had made God's word your study, with a desire to reach the Bible standard and attain to Christian perfection, you would not have needed the Testimonies."
It is not a matter of does the church have sufficient light to make it through until the end of time, but rather will the church diligently study that truth or will God need to send a prophet(s) to remind us of what He has already told us.
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Teachers Note: Remember the four tests of a prophet:
- “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is not light in them” Isaiah 8:20 – The words of any new prophet have to be consistent with the Word of God and the not contradict the Bible
- “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” Matthew 7:20 – The actions and lifestyle of the prophets have to be consistent with the truth and a reflection of Christ
- “When the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him.” Jeremiah 28:9 – their predictions will come to pass, not just selected predictions but prophecies
- “Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.” 1 John 4:2 – Any new prophet will attest to the fact that Jesus Christ is the savior and that only through his sacrifice can man be saved.
The devil cannot send a counterfeit prophet that meets these four tests and still provide a bogus message. Many counterfeit prophets have arisen, but none meet all four of these tests.
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Teacher-s Notes:
Nostradamus: Nostradamus was a French pharmacist who lived from 1503 until 1566. He wrote 942 quatrains (four line rhymes) of prophecy. To date thousands of supposed correct interpretations are attributed to these 942 prophecies. For example:
- "In the year of the new century and nine months,
- From the sky will come a great King of Terror.
- The sky will burn at forty-five degrees.
- Fire approaches the great new city."
Many would like to say that this predicted the 9/11 tragedy. However, how is 2001 the dawning of the new century for Nostradamus? That would be the year 1600. Who is the king of terror? There has been no singular figure that is the king of terror. Osama bin Laden was certainly a high profile terrorist, but he would not be considered ruler of all terrorists. What does it mean that the sky will burn at 45 degrees? The highest temperature in NYC on September 11, 2001 was 81° F (27° C), it was approximately ten degrees (F) cooler when the second plane struck the tower. If he intended 45° of latitude, it is abundantly clear that New York fails in this regard as well. What is the great new city? New York was hardly a new city as it was founded in 1624.
When considering the four tests of a prophet, Nostradamus fails at least three. Test 1, he fails because he is not consistent with the Bible. Test 3, the majority of his prophecies have not come true. Test 4, he does not claim Jesus as Savior. It is difficult to speak to test 2 because too little about his life is accurately recorded to see if he lived a life in accordance with a reflection of Christ.
Rasputin: Gregori Rasputin was a “monk” who became advisor to the Czar Nicholas II and his Czarina because of an almost hypnotic method he used which seemed to control the hemophilia of their child Alexi. Before his death, Rasputin sent the Czarina a “prophetic” letter describing his own death and the timeline of the royal family’s deaths if the Russian princes killed him. Rasputin did not have to be a prophet to understand that his undue influence on the royal family was causing great concern from members of the Russian court. Furthermore, he understood the tenuous nature that the Czar held over the country as the letter was written after hundreds of thousands of Russian casualties had taken place during the beginning of the World War I.
When considering the four tests of a prophet, Rasputin clearly fails at least three tests. In his case, he was not consistent with previous truth, we know that Rasputin’s life was inconsistent with the reflection of Christ (regular deceit, fornication, alcoholism, drug abuse), and his prophecies did not proclaim Jesus as Savior.
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Teacher's Notes:
Again, a reminder to those who teach this honor that some of the dates held by Uriah Smith and other church leaders have been called into question with further historical and archaeological study.
For some dates, there is exceptional evidence through past events that anchors accuracy to within a year. For example, the 457 date that anchors the 2300-day prophecy. It is possible to have great confidence in this date because of the seventy weeks prophecy that reveals when the Messiah was to live and die. If 457 is taken and 490 years added, the result is AD 34 (remember, no zero year). If you take AD 34 and go back ½ a week (3½ years), it will be AD 31, and it is known from Roman records that this is an accurate date for the crucifixion of Christ. Hence, it is posisble to have significant confidence that the 1843/44 date is correct in the 2300-year prophecy.
Other dates are more challenging; 538 to 1798 for example. Adventist theologians have continued to teach an exact time period for the 1260 day and the 1290 day prophecy (see this link). However, each uses one of two starting points: the fall of the Ostrogoths or the declaration of Justinian, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, declaring the Pope as the head of the Church. The 538 date for the Ostrogoth tribe being uprooted has been shown to be inaccurate. One might cite the fall of Ravenna (540) as the apparent completion of the Byzantine conquest of the Italian peninsula, but if taken into account a modern understanding of that conquest, the war continues into a second phase that is reinvigorated under the leader Totila and the Byzantine armies do not complete the conquest of the Ostrogoth tribe until 554. Others call out 538 because they believe that it represents Justinian’s recognition of the Pope in Rome as the head of the true Church (this can be found in certain modern Catholic documents dated at AD 538). However, it was in AD 533 that Justinian, in his Code of Justinian, addresses the pope as being “the head of all the churches.”
Just as questionable is the assumption that the 1798 capture of the Pope Pius VI by General Berthier of France was the end of the political domination by the Bishop of Rome. Yes, the papacy was temporarily stymied; however, the College of Cardinals elected a new pope the following year and this new pope (Pius VII) revives the Jesuit order, again restricts the freedom of movement by the Jewish people, and reestablishes the Jewish ghettos that Napoleon had abolished. Pope Pius VII also rebuilt the walls of the Vatican and declared that the United States had done more for Christianity than the most powerful nations of Christendom, after the U.S. defeated the Barbary Pirates; hardly apolitical!
Neither of these questionable dates need cause doubt to the 1260-day prophecy. The Bishop of Rome indeed rose far beyond religious leadership and for 1260 years dominated the political landscape of Europe and the New World (look up the Treaty of Tordesillas).
