As the ten kingdoms of Rome were falling apart, there was an emperor Justinian who was worried about his crumbling empire. He has a General Bellsarius under his thumb who he devises a plan with during the wars that resulted in the unrest of Rome's fall. They decided that if they can get into the city of Rome they will banish the bishop of Rome so as to allow for a takeover that would allow the new system of "ROMAN Catholicism" to be set up. They needed this system because they felt they had no more political power to control the people. So they devised a plan that would give them Religious as well as political strength. One fateful day while Bellsarius is fighting, the bishop of Rome proclaims that he will not allow any fighting within his city. This Bishop loves his people and proceeds to close the gates and refuses to have anything to do with the war just outside the city. The fighting on this day is particularly strenuous however. The Goths had pushed back Bellsarius and his fighters all the way to the walls of what was left of the city of Rome. It looked hopeless, it looked as if Bellsarius was going to be wiped out completely. So, Bellsarius scurried off a note to his superior Justinian, saying, "save us!" Justinian's wife is a Christian who happens to be a friend of the bishop of Rome. Justinian pleads with his wife to ask the bishop of Rome to open the gates of the city so that Bellsarius and his men can enter inside so as not to be wiped out by the Goth's. Out of respect for her bishop, Salverius of Rome opens the gates of the city to allow Bellsarius and his army into the city to spare their lives. Justinian and Bellsarius however had already agreed that once inside the city they would banish the bishop of Rome. So once inside they did indeed follow through on their plans. They banished the bishop and put their own man Vigilius who was not a Christian on the seat of bishop and proclaimed him Pope that very day. And there you have it, just as this prophecy of Revelation 13:4 predicted. In the year 538 AD the official beginning of the Roman Catholic church and state conglomeration prophetically began. -(Generalized Information taken from Hope Beyond 2000 Video series "Rise of the little horn of Daniel 7 -Kenneth Cox) (Disclaimer: This is "early" Kenneth Cox material. This ministry does not condone some of the recent material coming from the ministry of Kenneth Cox.
In 538AD, the year when the Ostrogoths collapsed, it was out of the smoking ruins of the western Roman Empire and after the overthrow of the three Arian kingdoms that the pope of Rome emerged as the most important single individual in the West, the head of a closely organized church with a carefully defined creed and with vast potential for political influence. Dozens of writers have pointed out that the real survivor of the ancient Roman Empire was the Church of Rome. -E.G. McKenzie, "Catholic Church" p. 14.
