Prophecy: The Old Serpent
April 20, 2010

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TODAY'S WORD THE OLD SERPENT This will now be the fourth installment I have written since April 4, 2010 in a series that has become part revelation and part historical discussion. The premise, as I laid it out in a previous installment, is that there is no way that we can understand what prophecy portends for the future if we do not make a serious attempt to see how prophecy has been fulfilled in the past. A short read into the New Testament, we are treated to an historical discourse by Stephen in Acts 7. It is obvious that the Jews of Stephen's time were no historical ignoramuses. Stephen was speaking to the Sanhedrin, and he was holding forth concerning topics that were well known in Judaism, for to the Jew, the calendar and the torah are almost equally valuable. Our modern harlot churches have had no time to school us in any church history. We are, by and large, ignorant of church anniversaries, let alone anything of Hebrew history. As a result, very few believers can tell you anything about it. I'll put forth ten names: Huss, Tyndale, Whittingham, Knox, Lattimer, Riddley, Luther, Melanchthon, Calvin and Reina. I wonder how many of them you know the slightest thing about. Each one risked their life for the sake of the word of God. Several were martyred. Each had something important to do with the fact that I can sit here, at my desk, with three bible versions lying open all around me, and two bible programs running on my computer. I will warn you, however, that God expects His remnant to know these things. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15) So, while I know that if I stand up to speak these things in almost any church, most will sleep, I do not expect that of most of you. The Holy Spirit will quicken you to wakefulness. I also said, in a previous installment, that I write for the common man. That does not mean that I write at a third grade level. My writings sometimes deal with complicated things because God gives complicated revelations. God expects us to employ our minds, in conjunction with our spirits, to understand that which He chooses to reveal to His people. God does not appreciate dullness of mind. It exasperates Him! This is born out time and time again, repetitively, in Gospel passages. We are, after all, likened to sheep. THE GREAT SNAKE And so, I too am, hopefully infrequently, guilty of dullness, as I was on April 7, 2010. I had written the first installment of this series, entitled "Let The Slaughter Begin", on April 4, 2010. On April 7, just three days later, I received an email about a great snake that had been killed in St. Augustine, Florida. I'll include the link of the report I read here. My timeline of receipt of these things, and the links to the articles I wrote, are included here: FIRST INSTALLMENT-"Let The Slaughter Begin"-Written April 4: Let The Slaughter Begin Great Snake Pictures here-Received by me on April 7: 15 Foot Snake Pictures SECOND INSTALLMENT-"Why Isn't The Whole World Catholic"-Written April 10: Why Isn't The Whole World Catholic THIRD INSTALLMENT-"The Healing Of The Beast"-Written April 11: The Healing Of The Beast Great Snake Article here, as I found on April 16th, as I researched the topic to find out exactly when the snake had been killed. I did this research later in the morning after the Lord said that He had given me the great St. Augustine snake as a sign: Great Snake Article I looked at the pictures quickly on April 7, and realized it was a very dramatic and frightening specimen: an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake that people were estimating at from 8-15 feet! Despite several conflicting reports, it was killed, I found out later, in Tuscany Village, near a private home. The fangs were about 3 inches apart, and about 2 inches long. But, in my dullness, I obtained nothing spiritual from the discovery. Some days passed, and I wrote two more installments of this series, on April 10-"Why Isn't The Whole World Catholic" and on April 11-"The Healing Of The Beast". Then, on the morning of April 16, the Lord spoke to me as I awakened. He said: "I gave you a sign when I showed you the rattlesnake in St. Augustine" Since April 16, 2010, I have been praying and seeking the Lord for the meaning of the sign. Today, on the fifth day, which is the 62nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel, I obtained the meaning, which I will now, with God's help, attempt to convey to the reader. THE SIGN OF THE DRAGON, THE DEVIL The Holy Spirit first said to me the words: "That old serpent". This phrase is repeated twice in the bible: Revelation 12:7-17 "7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 20:1-3 "1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." THE 430 YEARS The next key the Lord gave me to unlock the meaning of the sign of the Great St. Augustine snake was to give me understanding concerning a scripture that I had previously not correctly understood. Exodus 12:41 "40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt." I had previously understood that to be taken literally. But, that is not the case, as a careful study of the dates and times of the bible indicate that only 215 years passed from Jacob's journey down to Egypt until the Red Sea Exodus. Another 215 years had passed from Abraham's exodus from Ur of the Chaldees unto the time of Jacob's descent to Egypt. This is further proven in Galatians 3:16-17 16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. So, importantly, the 430 year period that is described in Exodus 12:41 as having happened on the exact same day, 430 years earlier, describes not one but two great exoduses of God's people. Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees, according to Exodus 12:41, on Abib 17, in the year we reckon as 1876 BC. 430 years later, on Abib 17, in the year 1446 BC. Abraham left Babylon in 1876, and 430 years later, Israel left Egypt, which was a type of Babylon. God had bared His holy arm, once again, to bring His people out of a religious Babylon, so that they might serve and worship Him. I realize that one may utilize solar years of 365.24 days, or prophetic years of 360 days, or Lunar month/days of 354. I have utilized solar years for this discussion. I have also utilized the year 1446 BC for the date of the Exodus for reasons that will now become clear, as that date is probably not far off the mark according to several historians. I now ask you to leap forward another 430 years, to the year 1016 BC, and take note that Scofield/Ussher list in their columnar notations to 1 chronicles 25 that 1016 BC was very nearly the date that Solomon became King. Not much later, he began work on the temple of the Lord. Now, step forward another 430 years, to the year 586, when almost all biblical historians agree that the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem was burned for the first time. There is definitely a pattern of important events associated with this 430 year period in the bible. It bears noting that three such 430 year periods, strung together, reaches unto 1290 years, which is a time period spoken of in Daniel 12:11. Scripture indicates that the story of the life of Daniel began in the year 605, when he was carried into exile in Babylon. Most agree that he continued to minister until at least 538 BC. The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem occurred well into this time of ministry, and I believe it is proper to consider that date for the start date of the 1290 days of Daniel 12:11. "11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days." 1290 years from 586 BC, plus 1 year, then carries us to year 703. That is set historically in between the date of 666 AD, when all Christian services were ordered to be held in Latin, and 752 AD, when the last three threats to the rise of the little horn of Rome were completely plucked up by the roots. I do not seek to prove conclusively the 1290 day years as having been applicable from the destruction of the temple to the rise of the Papal beast, but I bring it forth to indicate that it is in keeping with the times and seasons of that which was being established near unto the time indicated by the prophecy of Daniel. To do more is beyond my scope at this time, for my focus is in another place now, on another time. "AD 254-AD 1514 Rome is supreme in her doctrinal authority. This period runs rom the "Edict of Stephen" which asserted that the bishop of Rome was the Supreme Pontiff, to the "5th Laterine Council", where the papacy proclaimed doctrinal victory." ("The Present Reign Of Jesus Christ", p 152, Robert Caringola, 1995, Abundant Life Ministries Reformed Press, www.historicist.com) 1260 literal days from this point of 1514 carries us to 1517, the dawn of the Reformation under Luther. And 430 years from that point carries us to 1947, when, in the month of December, it became clear that Israel would once more become a nation. Why should we now return to the 430 year measurement of time that was established of old? Because that is what the Holy Spirit is saying, right now. There are a number of 430 year cycles that have recently run. Some have recently terminated. One is still continuing. SAINT AUGUSTINE PROPHETIC TRIP-1995 AND THE 430 YEAR CYCLE You may recall that on April 4, 2010, I had received the revelation of "Let The Slaughter Begin". In that revelation, I had written the following about my prophetic visit to St. Augustine in 1995: EXCERPT FROM April 4 article…….. "Now, the method used by the Holy Spirit to draw me to this scripture was to tell me to look at what Jeremiah received from God in the 24th year of his ministry. He led me to do that last night. So, I checked out my Scofield Reference bible, and found that in the year 605, Jeremiah received chapters 19 and 20. So, as I read chapter 19, the Lord began giving me the revelation of what has followed. As I read chapter 19, I was immediately quickened in verse 6 by the words "valley of slaughter". As I read that, I remembered a prophetic experience I had back in the summer of 1995, when God sent me to the 24 miles of beaches that surround St. Augustine, FL. I went there with my two young children, John Mark and Joanna. We visited Castillo De San Marcos, and stood overlooking Matanzas Bay, which I later discovered meant "bay of slaughter". I realized at that time that we were visiting during the time of the 430th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine (1565-1995). The visit ended, and I was largely puzzled about why the Lord sent me. What was His purpose?" END APRIL 4 article excerpt………. That 430 year period, indicated by the Holy Spirit, ran from the commission of a great religious slaughter in Florida in 1565, to 1995, which was marked in my life, by the end of a great personal religious slaughter. The church I had been apart of had been blown to the wind by the adulteries of the pastor. That old serpent had certainly bitten us. I mentioned before the following 430 year periods that affect us today: 1517….start of Reformation….to 1947…..birth of Israel 1565….religious slaughter in the USA, Florida, near St. Augustine…..to 1995……personal slaughter and the slaughter of a prophetic church, quite comparable to the Huegenots of 1565, who were slaughtered near St. Augustine, FL. They had left their homeland, like Abraham, in search for another. Now, I will add another few: 1560…..the going forth of the Geneva Bible….to 1990….many prophets were sent forth, including me. 1576-1581……..open warfare between Calvinists and the Spaniards, ending in the establishment of an independent Dutch Netherlands in 1581. This runs until NOW, 2010-2011. The Lord said to me on April 4, 2010, Easter Sunday…."Let The Slaughter Begin" I believe it is instructive to realize that a permanent English, protestant colony that survived all that was thrown at it was not established until 1607 (correction-1620). Might this mean that we will not see any permanent new colony in America, established under the banner of Jesus Christ and His truth, until near unto 2037? (correction-2050?) Time will tell. THE MEANING OF THE SIGN OF THE GREAT SNAKE It has been 15 years since the Lord sent me to St. Augustine. Three days after I wrote His words "Let The Slaughter Begin:", He sent me His sign: The Great Snake, or "THE OLD SERPENT". It was purported to be a 15 foot serpent in the email that informed me about it. The great snake was killed in Tuscany Village, which name originates from the Tuscany region of Italy, of which Florence is the center: a home of the emerging popes. The great snake was killed on the night of Sunday, September 27, 2009, which was the last meeting I attended in the church of Flat Branch, just prior to issuing several words the Lord gave me about the single pastor/bishop apostasy. Please see "Structural Abominations and Shrinking Refuges Structural Abominations And Shrinking Refuges Also, please see "The Single Pastor Apostasy", received on September 30 and issued it on my website on October 19, 2009. The Single Pastor Apostasy The Lord is revealing that the spirit that causes men to establish themselves as a single pastor or bishop is the same spirit that led to the papacy and the great slaughter. The great snake was probably stirred out of its' wilderness area by construction at I95, pointing to 1995, and Route 16, which points to the current age of my son, John Mark, who carries the name that Castillo De San Marcos, in St. Augustine, also carries. The Gospel of Mark also has 16 chapters. This is important because the Lord had told me in 1993 that my son John Mark would be a prophet, even from his mother's womb. The snake was killed in St. John county, named for the author of the Revelation. The sign of the great snake, the old serpent, is a definitive act by God, given in the place of a terrible religious massacre. It is a sign that the beast, the dragon, who inhabited the papacy that gave the orders to those who performed those slaughters in 1565 in Florida is once again very much mature, and very deadly. There is, on the Earth, once again, a MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS. And most assuredly, it is and shall be a great killer of the Saints. CONCLUSION Just as God called Abraham to make an exodus out of his Babylon, and then intervened with a mighty hand to call Israel out of their Egyptian Babylon 430 years later on the very same day, history is about to repeat itself. 430 years ago, great warfare was under way in Europe. Prior to that time, the saints had fled to other shores and had been, for the most part, slaughtered like little lambs. It is estimated that 50 MILLION were killed by the beast of Rome. But beginning with that time, 430 years ago, great warfare ensued. A great slaughter occurred. But, it was the process that God allowed that led to the establishment of free expression. This blood was shed so that I can read my bible today. Pilgrims settled Plymouth in 1607 (correction-Jamestown was settled in 1607, and Plymouth in 1620), and that settlement endured. Prior settlements were tried, but the inhabitants died out or were slaughtered. One of these days, very soon now, a church will come forth. It will not die out as its' predecessors have. It will not be slaughtered by the old serpent like the others have. It will not be headed by a single harlot church pastor, but by a group of spirit filled elder apostles. It will not chase money and mammon, but will chase God. God's power and mantle of authority will rest upon this church. It will display His glory. Some will say that His man-child has once again come forth, just as He did almost 2000 years ago. Some will say that, once again, His iron rod is on the Earth. Once again, God will now intervene 430 years later, with a mighty hand. God's people are trapped in an economic, political and religious Babylon. God will now smash this Mystery Babylon, and will render it as dust in the wind. In doing so, His people, who have been commanded to "come out of her", and "love her not", will be, once again, making a great exodus out of Babylon, to a new spiritual land, where we will worship the Lord our God, away from the abomination of the Egyptians and the Babylonians. POSTLOGUE You may feel, as I do, after reading this revelation that you have more questions than you did before you read it. There is much to be fleshed out. How will all of these parallel events be reenacted in the present day and in the near term future? As usual, I have many questions for my Lord? All of this sends me, more and more, to my knees. Only He can reveal the end from the beginning, as it pleases Him so to do. Stephen L. 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