This book is the result of years of research into the history of the Spear of Destiny and the struggle between good and evil in the Western world. For 2,000 years, the Spear of Destiny, purported to have pierced the side of Christ whilehe was on the cross, has been sought by rulers of the Western world, who have tried to harness the Spear's absolute power. This book explores the odyssey of the Spear and its potential role in the Apocalypse. Illustrated. Trevor Ravenscroft was born in England in 1921. He was educated at Repton School, then Sandhurst Military College, before serving as a commando officer in World War II. He was captured in a failed attempt to assassinate Field Marshal Rommel in North Africa and was a POW in Germany from 1941 to 1945, escaping three times but recaptured each time. After the war he studied medicine at St. Thomas’s Hospital, and later became a journalist. He studied history under Dr. Walter Johannes Stein for twelve years, carrying out extensive research for  The Spear of Destiny . Ravenscroft also lectured on history in London and Edinburgh and wrote  The Mark of the Beast  and  The Cup of Destiny . He died in 1989.   Tim Wallace-Murphy is an author and lecturer with an international reputation. He is the driving force behind the creation of the European Templar Heritage Research Network and author of Rosslyn and The Mark of the Beast . THE MARK OF THE BEAST THE CONTINUING STORY OF THE SPEAR OF DESTINY By Trevor Ravenscroft, TIM WALLACE-MURPHY Red Wheel/Weiser LLC Copyright © 1990 Trevor Ravenscroft and Tim Wallace-Murphy All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-87728-870-1 Contents PROLOGUE, INTRODUCTION, SECTION 1 FROM GOLGOTHA TO HIROSHIMA The Spear as Key to History, 1. The Spear at the Threshold of the New Age, 2. The Spear as Symbol of the Apocalypse, 3. The Spear and the Destiny of Nations, 4. The Spear and the Two Faces of Evil, SECTION 2 THE HEART OF THE MATTER The Pathway to Spiritual Perception and the Meaning of Personal Destiny in Our Time, 5. The Spear as Resonator of Spiritual Faculties, 6. Prophetic Pillars of the Apocalypse, 7. The Changing Face of Initiation, 8. The Key to the Unveiling of Personal Destiny, 9. The Drama and Symbolism of History as the Result of the Interweaving of Reincarnation Patterns, SECTION 3 THE SEEDS OF TERROR They Know Not What They Do! Atomic Physics. 666–1945, 10. The Academy of Hades, 'The Number of the Beast is 666', 11. The Spear and the Karma of the Atom Bomb, SECTION 4 LIFE IN THE SHADOW OF THE PALE HORSE The Outpouring of the Vials of Wrath, 12. There shall be Wars and Rumours of Wars, But the End is Not Yet Nigh, 13. Scenario for World Disaster, SECTION 5 GATHERING AT THE THRESHOLD The Aquarian Age Takes Root, 14. 'The Road Less Travelled' 'Safer than a Known Way', SECTION 6 THE PROPHESIED FUTURE? Nightmare or Reality?, 15. 'The Mark of the Beast' The Great Dictator and the Anti-Christ, EPILOGUE, BIBLIOGRAPHY, INDEX, ABOUT THE AUTHORS, CHAPTER 1 THE SPEAR AT THE THRESHOLD OF THE NEW AGE The solitary iron spearhead black with age still rests on a faded red velvetdais within an open leather case. Its long tapering point is supported by a widebase with metal flanges depicting the wings of a dove. Within a central apertureof the blade a hammer-headed nail is secured by a cuff threaded with gold,silver and copper wire. On the side of the lowest portion of the base goldencrosses are embossed. The Spear of Destiny has an altogether different presence to the crowns,sceptres and other rich and gaudy paraphernalia on display in the Treasure Housein the Hofburg in Vienna. The various items of royal regalia are but mementoesof a bygone age. The Spear of Longinus however is no mere historical artifactbut a resonator of great spiritual power as relevant to the destiny of mankindtoday as it was when the Roman Centurion Gaius Cassius pierced the side ofChrist with it two thousand years ago. The illustrious claimants to the Spear throughout two thousand years were awareof its magical powers to shape the destiny of mankind. Today these powers are nolonger the sole preserve of an élite chain of good and evil initiates, butbelong to each and every human being of any race or creed who seeks tounderstand them. Any sensitive human soul who beholds the Spear today andbecomes aware of its powers finds himself at the threshold between theterrestrial world and the spiritual world. This dramatic change in the role ofthe Spear has been brought about by the Spirit of the Time to enable eachindividual to face and understand the working of good and evil in theapocalyptic age which has already begun. Because mankind now stands at the very threshold of the spiritual world, thepurpose of this volume is to enable the reader to understand the spiritualpowers behind the Spear in order to gain a new and deeper insight into theunfolding pattern of his life. It will also serve to interpret the symbolism