Anchors of Truth

The Prophetic Rise of America

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: James Rafferty

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Series Code: AOT

Program Code: AOT000112


00:12 Welcome to Anchors of Truth live from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:23 Good evening, and allow me please to welcome you to
00:27 Anchors of Truth.
00:28 You know, we have broadcast and taped well over 100
00:32 of these Anchors of Truth.
00:33 And God has been with us.
00:35 Each speaker has been anointed by Him.
00:37 And we've learned so very, very much.
00:40 And we are very, very pleased to welcome our in-house audience,
00:44 and those of you who are watching from around the world,
00:46 to another night, this second in a series of five presentations
00:51 by our friend James Rafferty.
00:53 When we say James Rafferty, we automatically want to
00:55 say Ty Gibson.
00:57 It's almost as though they were separated at birth,
00:59 because you think of them in the same breath all of the time.
01:03 But Light Bearers Ministry is James and Ty,
01:06 and Jeffery Rosario, and of course David Asscherick.
01:09 And together they form a very powerful team for the Lord.
01:13 And so we're happy to have James with us tonight.
01:17 James Rafferty, in particular, has an ability to take
01:21 heavy subjects, profound subjects, and make them
01:24 very, very simple.
01:25 And I think that is a gift that has been given to each of the
01:28 men who are at Light Bearers, to take things that can be
01:31 weighty and of great import, but make them very simple
01:34 and very digestible for those of us who hear.
01:37 And God has given James that gift.
01:39 And we are very, very pleased to have him back again.
01:42 This is not his first time doing an Anchors for us.
01:44 We are so pleased to have him back again.
01:46 Nice guy.
01:48 He was telling us last night how he left 80 degree weather.
01:52 Well I told him a little while ago, it was 40 here today.
01:54 So we got half way home.
01:56 And Sunday when he leaves, it'll be 60.
01:59 So, you know, you do what you can.
02:02 This is not southern California.
02:04 And most of the nation is suffering under
02:07 the weight of snow storms.
02:08 So God has been pretty kind to us.
02:10 I think we have a little something coming tomorrow.
02:12 But God is going to be good.
02:13 And when he gets back to hot, sweltering, southern California,
02:17 he will rue the day that he talked about 3ABN and our
02:20 weather here in southern Illinois.
02:22 But he is a good man of God, a strong preacher of the Word,
02:25 and a Christian, and one who loves the Lord.
02:27 And we're very, very pleased to have him with us this night.
02:31 His sermon tonight is going to deal with,
02:35 The Prophetic Rise of America.
02:37 And of course, when you talk about America in prophecy,
02:40 you think about Revelation chapter 13.
02:43 So I'm sure he's going to touch on that,
02:44 but I don't want to preach his sermon.
02:46 But as Jim said on last evening, you can almost hold your
02:50 newspaper and your Bible side by side and see the
02:52 truths of God being fulfilled.
02:54 And so this is a very timely practical subject,
02:57 and I know that he's going to be used of God
03:00 to bring us a message.
03:02 The song we're going to sing tonight is one that was
03:04 written by Horatius Bonar back in the 1800's.
03:08 And it was his first attempt at writing hymns.
03:12 And he wasn't really too pleased with the song.
03:15 He was heard to say, "It's good gospel, but it's lousy poetry."
03:20 And so for a long time he didn't really like the song,
03:24 because he said, "You've got to be a child to believe
03:27 some of the words in this song."
03:29 But what is interesting about that is when he went to his
03:31 Bible, he found that the Bible said you have to be like a
03:33 little child if you're going to get into heaven.
03:35 And so he changed his mind on this song,
03:38 and he added a couple more verses.
03:39 The song really has eight verses to it.
03:42 I'm not going to sing eight, I'm only going to sing four.
03:45 But it's called, I Lay My Sins On Jesus.
03:49 It's a beautiful song written actually to be sung to children.
03:53 Because it's a visual song; how you give your sin,
03:55 your heart, your life to Jesus.
03:57 And Christ takes them and makes them better.
04:00 We will pray now, then we will sing.
04:02 And then the next voice you will hear will be that of
04:04 our friend, our pastor, our preacher, James Rafferty
04:07 of Light Bearers Ministry.
04:10 Father God, we do praise You and thank You so very, very much
04:14 for the privilege of hearing the Word.
04:19 You have said in Your Word that one day there's going to be
04:21 a famine of the Word.
04:24 So help us now, Lord, to feast on the Word while we still can,
04:28 to fill ourselves with the Word, the truths of the Word,
04:32 with the Word of Jesus, with the powerful Word of God,
04:36 so that in the days of famine, in the days of starvation,
04:40 when there is a want for the truth of the Word, we will
04:44 have that Word hid in our hearts
04:47 that we might not sin against You.
04:49 Bless the speaker, bless those who hear.
04:52 And we thank You in Jesus name, amen.
04:56 This song is my wife's favorite song.
04:58 She introduced it to me when we were dating.
05:01 And I've come to love it.
05:03 I Lay My Sins On Jesus.
05:15 I lay my sins on Jesus,
05:22 the spotless Lamb of God.
05:29 He bears them all and frees us
05:37 from the accursed load,
05:44 from the accursed load.
05:51 I lay my wants on Jesus;
05:58 all fullness dwells in Him.
06:06 He healeth my diseases;
06:13 He doth my soul redeem,
06:21 He doth my soul redeem.
06:34 I rest my sins in Jesus;
06:41 meek, heavenly, holy, mild.
06:49 He wipes away iniquity;
06:56 He is God's holy Child,
07:04 He is God's holy Child.
07:25 I long to be with Jesus
07:32 amid the heavenly throng;
07:39 to sing with them His praises
07:47 and learn the angels' song,
07:55 and learn the angels' song,
08:02 I lay my sins on Jesus.
08:26 Thank you, C.A.
08:29 Amen.
08:31 I lay my sins on Jesus.
08:32 It may be a simple song but it's powerful, isn't it?
08:37 Pure gospel.
08:39 And that's what we need, even though tonight we're going to
08:42 be looking at some pretty intense Bible prophecies
08:47 in the book of Revelation.
08:49 The Rise of American in Bible Prophecy.
08:51 That's quite a title, isn't it?
08:54 Bu yet, we need to remember that this is all centered
08:58 in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
09:00 In fact, let's open our Bibles to Revelation chapter 13
09:05 and let's look here as we begin at a very important verse,
09:10 prophetic verse, that will guide us tonight.
09:12 This verse is found in Revelation chapter 13
09:15 and verse 11.
09:17 Revelation 13 and verse 11.
09:21 John is speaking here of a vision that he is having,
09:25 that God has given to him.
09:27 And he says in verse 11, "And I beheld another beast
09:32 coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb,
09:38 and he spake as a dragon."
09:42 Well that's our Bible verse tonight.
09:44 We could almost close the Bible and say that's the end of it.
09:46 It's right there, it's all very clear, there it is.
09:49 But, of course we recognize that the book of Revelation
09:54 is a distillation of the entire Bible.
09:56 That this verse is filled with symbolic language,
10:00 and that it reveals to us a lot more than just
10:03 these few words indicate.
10:05 And to understand this verse we have to actually
10:08 take a journey through history, prophetic history if you will.
10:11 But also earth's history.
10:13 Because we learned last night in John chapter 13 verse 19,
10:16 and also in John chapter 14 verse 29, that Bible prophecy
10:22 is history foretold.
10:23 God tells us ahead of time what is going to happen
10:27 in our earth's history.
10:28 And that is Bible prophecy.
10:29 And He tells us that so that our confidence, our faith in Him,
10:33 can be strengthened so that we can believe and trust in Him.
10:37 That's what Bible prophecy is virtually all about.
10:42 I mean, that's the basic reason for it.
10:44 There are other reasons, of course.
10:47 He wants us to be prepared and not scared about the future.
10:52 But I think that the most important reason is,
10:54 He wants us to establish faith in Him.
10:56 He wants us to have confidence in Him.
10:57 He wants us to know that He is God and that He is,
11:04 well, He has a plan.
11:06 There are two other verses I want you to look at
11:08 with me tonight that I think will help us in this journey.
11:11 Isaiah chapter 48 is one of them.
11:14 Isaiah 48 and verse 3.
11:17 In the midst of apostasy, in the midst of backsliding,
11:22 in the midst of turning away from the Lord,
11:24 God raised up Isaiah, along with other prophets like
11:27 Jeremiah and Ezekiel, to give a message to His people.
11:30 His people who are obstinate and hard hearted
11:33 and unwilling to listen to and follow the instructions of God.
11:38 And He says here in Isaiah 48 and verse 3,
11:40 "I," God, "have declared the former things
11:43 from the beginning; they went forth out of my mouth,
11:46 I showed them and I did them suddenly,
11:51 and they came to pass."
11:53 God reveals prophecy to us ahead of time.
11:57 And then He allows that prophecy sometimes to be fulfilled
12:01 very quickly, very fast...
12:04 ...so that we can have an awareness that God is
12:09 ultimately in control.
12:12 Now, I want you to look at another Bible verse with me.
12:14 This one is found just a few pages or a few books back
12:16 where this one is in Ecclesiastes chapter 1.
12:20 And that will wrap up our major Bible verses that we're
12:24 going to be working off as we move into this subject.
12:26 Ecclesiastes chapter 1 beginning with verse 9.
12:30 The preacher, the king in Jerusalem, verse 1,
12:37 the son of David, says, "The thing that has been
12:43 is that which shall be; and that which is done
12:48 is that which shall be done.
12:51 And there is no new thing under the sun."
12:52 Verse 10 of chapter 1 of Ecclesiastes,
12:55 "Is there anything whereof it may be said, 'See, this is new.'
13:00 It has already been of old time, which was before us."
13:05 And then he says something very interesting in verse 11.
13:07 He says, "There is no remembrance
13:11 of the former things; neither shall there be any remembrance
13:14 of things that are to come and those that will be here after."
13:18 Now I want to pick up on this as we study prophecy tonight
13:23 and remind us how important it is to remember
13:26 the former things.
13:28 I believe we have nothing to fear for the future
13:31 except as we forget how God has led us in the past.
13:34 And when you look at the Bible, you see God reminding His people
13:37 to remember everything that He did for them in the past.
13:42 And so basically the preacher is saying, the preacher is saying,
13:47 "There's nothing new that's coming in the future
13:50 that hasn't already happened."
13:53 And therefore, verse 11, if there's no remembrance
13:56 of the former things, there's not going to be any remembrance
14:00 of the things that are coming.
14:03 Are you following me there?
14:05 In other words, we can look back, and that will help us
14:09 to look forward.
14:10 And that's what we're going to do tonight.
14:11 We're going to look back, we're going to go back to
14:12 the book of Daniel first before we jump
14:15 into the book of Revelation.
14:16 One of the reasons for this is going to be very obvious
14:19 when we get into Revelation chapter, or get back to
14:21 Revelation chapter 13.
14:23 Daniel, we learned last night, captive in Babylon.
14:29 Because God loves the world and desired to use His people
14:35 who were willing to be used to bring the message of His
14:37 love to the world to people like Nebuchadnezzar
14:40 and the Babylonians.
14:42 But His people were sitting around indifferently.
14:46 Slacking off, if you will.
14:49 I don't know if they were watching there, you know,
14:51 45 inch TV's, but whatever was equivalent in those days.
14:57 And so God, for their good, as well as to reach the
15:01 Babylonians, allowed them to be delivered into captivity.
15:05 Now this was not an easy thing for God to do.
15:08 In fact, He humbled Himself before the heathen
15:11 nations in doing this.
15:13 That's what we learned last night.
15:15 He was willing to humble Himself in order to reach the hearts
15:19 and the minds of those people in Babylon.
15:22 And He did that through a dream.
15:24 And through some faithful young men who were
15:27 at that time teenagers.
15:28 Daniel and his friends were teenagers at the time.
15:30 And they were men of prayer.
15:33 Men who were willing to commit their lives to God,
15:37 their hearts to God, we're told in Daniel chapter 1 and verse 8.
15:41 Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not
15:43 defile himself, that he would follow God.
15:46 And these men God used as channels to give,
15:52 well what we would call today, Daniel seminars.
15:57 Prophecy seminars.
15:59 Daniel gave the first Daniel seminar.
16:02 And the person that attended, the prominent person
16:06 that attended this Daniel seminar in Daniel's day
16:08 was Nebuchadnezzar.
16:10 He sat on the front row.
16:12 He listened to everything Daniel had to say
16:14 in this Daniel seminar.
16:15 When it was all over, he said, "I want to join your church."
16:20 But it didn't take long for Nebuchadnezzar to, well,
16:24 slip out the back door.
16:26 And that's where it becomes interesting.
16:27 Not only for that time, but for our time.
16:30 That's where the history of the past is to be remembered today.
16:33 It's significant that Nebuchadnezzar
16:37 had a knowledge of the prophecies of Daniel.
16:42 He knew, for example, this image represented
16:45 four kingdoms leading down to to the second coming
16:48 of Jesus Christ.
16:49 Daniel had given him that understanding.
16:51 Babylon followed by Medo-Persia, followed by Greece,
16:54 followed by Rome.
16:57 The ten kingdoms divided, and yet uniting.
17:01 The clay and the iron mingled together.
17:03 And then the stone smiting the image at the feet.
17:06 He knew all of this.
17:07 And yet, he slips out the back door.
17:09 Why?
17:11 Well I believe it's because, saying it plainly, frankly,
17:16 intellectual knowledge is not good enough
17:19 to hold us faithful to God.
17:21 The gospel must be an intricate part of any prophetic message
17:27 that we preach.
17:29 It is foundational to prophecy to center it in Christ.
17:33 In fact, last night we looked at Genesis chapter 3
17:36 and we noticed that the first prophecy of the Bible
17:38 was centered around Jesus.
17:41 The One who would come and crush the serpents head.
17:44 And every prophecy since that time has directed us
17:47 to Jesus one way or another.
17:49 We also looked last night at Daniel chapter 9,
17:52 the Messiah that was to come to do away with
17:54 sin, transgression, and iniquity.
17:56 And tonight, we're going to go even further and we're
17:59 going to look at it in the context of a lamb-like beast,
18:04 or power, that rises up out of the earth.
18:07 The lamb-like horns again need to be identify.
18:11 So Daniel is still in earnest for Nebuchadnezzar.
18:16 God is using him and his friends to help Nebuchadnezzar
18:19 to, well, to come back from his backslidden position.
18:22 And as they go through this terrible furnace trial
18:27 where they refuse to worship this image that is
18:30 set up on the plain of Dura, Daniel chapter 3,
18:34 Nebuchadnezzar becomes aware that he is, well,
18:40 he's not just dealing with these three young men;
18:44 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
18:46 But there's a fourth among them.
18:48 And who is that fourth?
18:50 Jesus.
18:52 When people see us, do they see Jesus with us?
18:58 Do they see Jesus in us?
19:00 Do they see Jesus among us?
19:02 And we would say, "Yes, we're kind.
19:06 We're true, we're faithful.
19:09 We're commandment keepers."
19:11 But there's a glitch, there's a hitch here.
19:13 There's a comma that we need to put here,
19:15 a parenthesis if you will.
19:17 When people see us in the fiery furnace,
19:21 when people see us in conditions that are seven times hotter,
19:26 when we're facing the trials of life
19:29 and things are really intense, do they see Jesus?
19:38 I was boarding a plane not long ago.
19:42 I travel a lot. 100,000 this last year.
19:45 So I get some benefits from that.
19:49 Premier status on United.
19:52 Therefore, I get to board first.
19:55 There's a big 1 on all my boarding tickets.
19:57 And other boarding tickets have 2's and 3's and 4's and 5's.
20:01 But I have a 1 on my boarding ticket.
20:03 Which means I can get on and I can pack my stuff away
20:07 while there's still room up there.
20:09 Now I usually check in all my bags except for my backpack,
20:11 so I don't have a lot to pack away.
20:13 But it's nice to just put it up so that I have a
20:15 little bit of leg room.
20:16 And this particular time, I was coming to my seat
20:19 and there was a gentleman there before me.
20:21 Well that happens too.
20:22 I'm not the only one that has a 1 on my boarding pass.
20:25 And this gentleman was packing all his stuff,
20:28 two or three items, a couple of them were kind of big,
20:32 right in the compartment above my seat.
20:34 Well, there were three seats there, and obviously he
20:37 had one of them and I had another one.
20:38 So we shared.
20:39 And I was waiting for him, and he looked at me and I said,
20:43 "Yeah, I'm sitting there too."
20:44 And he said, "Okay, I'll be right back."
20:45 And he went to the back of the plane.
20:47 And I put my bag up and that was it, it was full.
20:52 And I sat down looking back expecting him to come.
20:54 I was in the aisle seat, I like the aisle seat.
20:56 The seatbelt was off, waiting for him to come.
20:58 So I knew I was going to stand up and let him in.
21:00 But before he came back another couple came down the aisle.
21:04 And both of them were sitting in that aisle.
21:09 I thought, maybe I've got the wrong seat.
21:10 But sure enough, I had the right seat.
21:11 They had the right seats.
21:13 And the young man, the gentleman,
21:15 the man that had packed all his stuff up there
21:18 obviously was not sitting in this seat.
21:20 And I thought, "Hmmm, what's going on here?"
21:25 I kept looking back to see where he was and I couldn't really
21:27 see him back there with all the people getting on.
21:29 But these people had nowhere to put there stuff.
21:34 There was a little room above my bag.
21:36 And so they did take one bag and stuffed it up there.
21:41 Right on top of my bag that had those fresh cookies in it.
21:49 Those fresh cookies that my wife made me for the trip.
21:51 Those fresh cookies that were now crumbs.
21:55 What happens when the cookies crumble?
22:00 What happens to your faith?
22:02 And so I was thinking about this.
22:05 And I decided that there are times when people
22:08 get on and they put their stuff wherever.
22:10 And then they go to the back of the plane.
22:11 And that's what this guy had done.
22:14 I was thinking about it in several different ways and
22:18 persuading myself that, you know, I'm a nice guy and
22:22 cookies crumble and you can still eat them.
22:23 It's no big deal.
22:26 But then I thought, "You know, I'm going to go back there
22:27 and just find out where that guys is and...
22:29 I don't know, maybe I shouldn't."
22:31 And then I realized, as I went back to the bathroom,
22:33 that this man that put all his stuff up there
22:35 was actually one of the stewards.
22:42 And they do have the freedom to put their stuff up
22:44 here and there, and go back and work, and etcetera.
22:46 And I was so glad I didn't say anything
22:47 to him after I realized that.
22:48 But the point is, there are times, maybe just little times,
22:56 or maybe bigger times, when we are in that furnace.
23:02 And it's those times when we have the opportunity
23:06 to make real what Jesus Christ means to us
23:12 and the difference that He makes.
23:14 And it's when that testimony is combined with
23:18 the prophecies, the truth, the reality of prophecy,
23:22 that I think people's hearts are solidified in the truth.
23:27 Well this is what happened to Nebuchadnezzar.
23:28 He was looking, you see, he was looking.
23:30 And he saw Jesus with these three young men.
23:36 And when he saw that, his heart was reached.
23:41 And then, of course, chapter 4 tells us all about his
23:44 radical conversion experience.
23:46 Chapter 5 indicates that his grandson was not inclined to
23:51 follow his example.
23:52 But chapter 5 verse 30 is the verse I want
23:55 us to look at real quick.
23:56 "In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
24:00 And Darius the Median took the kingdom,
24:02 being about threescore and two years old."
24:04 Darius the Median, Medo-Persian kingdom,
24:07 follows the kingdom of Babylon.
24:10 That's the point.
24:11 We've seen an image of different metals,
24:13 and we've suggested that image represents different kingdoms.
24:17 And I'm moving through the book of Daniel now
24:19 to just establish that from a biblical perspective.
24:21 It's established historically, but it's also
24:24 established biblically.
24:25 Babylon is followed by Medo-Persia.
24:28 Medo-Persia rules for a few chapters.
24:31 And we get into chapter 7 and we have another vision
24:33 of four animals, four beasts if you will.
24:37 One following the other.
24:39 This vision took place in the first year of Belshazzar,
24:42 king of Babylon.
24:43 Daniel dreams this dream, not Nebuchadnezzar.
24:46 And he sees these four beasts rising up from the great sea.
24:51 And the first was like a lion with eagle's wings.
24:54 That is the exact description that is used in Jeremiah's
24:58 prophecies to describe Babylon.
25:00 So really what we have here is a principle that is used
25:05 throughout the Scriptures that I like to call,
25:07 repeat and enlarge.
25:09 Repeat and enlarge.
25:11 God is eager that we would arrive at home,
25:14 that we would get to heaven, that we would be with Him.
25:17 And so He gives us in His Word directions to heaven.
25:22 Ever given directions to anyone?
25:25 Complicated directions?
25:28 It's easier now because we have all this computer stuff
25:31 and these GPS, right?
25:32 It's easy to give directions nowadays.
25:34 But at times it has been challenging.
25:37 And I remember when I would give general directions
25:39 to someone, I'd say, "You got that?"
25:41 And they would say, "Yeah, I think so.
25:42 And then you kind of repeat it, you know.
25:44 And you give some more detail.
25:45 "When you get to the big windmill, you take a right.
25:48 You go over the bridge on the river, it's a green bridge,
25:51 and then you take a left right there at the barber shop."
25:54 You know, you get real detailed.
25:56 "You go 2.6 miles, and there will be a green mailbox.
26:02 Our road is a gravel road.
26:05 And you'll see two sheep and three donkeys
26:08 in the pasture."
26:10 This is what God does in the Bible.
26:13 He starts out with a general picture, a general course,
26:18 a general trail if you will, of the journey that we're taking
26:22 from planet earth to heaven, to the second coming of Jesus,
26:26 and a little bit beyond that.
26:27 And then He repeats those directions and gives
26:29 more details, He fills in the picture.
26:31 That's what He's doing in Daniel chapter 7.
26:33 He's filling in the picture.
26:35 He's repeating the same basic history of Babylon and
26:39 Medo-Persia and Greece and Rome,
26:41 But He spends a little bit more time on Rome in Daniel 7.
26:44 And then He highlights a little power that is identified
26:48 as the little horn power.
26:50 He gives a lot of characteristics of this power.
26:53 What it's going to do and what it's going to try to accomplish.
26:55 And then we move on.
26:57 In Daniel chapter 8, the same thing happens.
27:00 Repeat and enlarge.
27:01 In fact, the Bible is full of this principle of
27:03 repeat and enlarge.
27:04 In Genesis chapter 1 God creates the earth.
27:06 In Genesis chapter 2, repeat and enlarge.
27:08 You see a more detailed explanation of creation.
27:11 In Genesis 1 God made Adam and Eve in His image.
27:14 In Genesis 2 God describes how He made Adam and Eve.
27:19 Adam came from the dust.
27:21 Eve came from his rib.
27:23 Then you have Exodus and Leviticus and
27:26 Deuteronomy and Numbers.
27:28 Each one of those expands and builds upon the
27:31 other and gives more detail.
27:32 Then you have 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings, and
27:35 1 and 2 Chronicles.
27:36 Each one repeating and enlarging upon the other.
27:38 And then of course we get into the gospels.
27:41 You have Matthew and you have Mark
27:42 and you have Luke and you have John.
27:44 Each one adding detail, each one adding emphasis.
27:47 Repeating that same story.
27:50 Paul does a lot of this in his epistles,
27:53 dealing with some of the same principles.
27:54 But then we get into Revelation.
27:55 Revelation does the same thing.
27:57 You have the seven churches, one layer.
27:59 And then on top of that you have the seven seals.
28:01 On top of that you have the seven trumpets.
28:03 Each one beginning in the apostolic age,
28:05 and taking us down through the stream of time
28:08 to the very end when Jesus returns, and beyond.
28:12 Now as we look at prophecy in this way, it really helps us
28:16 to line up these events.
28:18 For example, in Daniel chapter 8 we have again
28:23 these same historical events.
28:26 But this time Babylon is not mentioned.
28:28 It begins with Medo-Persia. How do we know that?
28:30 Because these animals which are different than
28:32 the ones in chapter 7.
28:33 And of course, the animals are different than the
28:35 history in chapter 2.
28:36 The history in chapter 2 is an image.
28:38 In chapter 7 these animals represent, well, these
28:41 different kingdoms, but they're different animals
28:43 than the ones here.
28:44 The ones here, Daniel 8, are a he goat and a ram.
28:48 But notice what it says in verse 20.
28:50 "The ram which you saw having two horns are the
28:52 kings of Media and Persia.
28:54 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia."
28:57 There it is.
28:58 We've got Babylon followed by Medo-Persia.
29:00 And now we've got Medo-Persia followed by Grecia.
29:02 In fact, in Daniel 11 we see the same thing again.
29:06 Notice here as Daniel picks up with this vision.
29:11 The angel Gabriel has come to help him understand it.
29:15 And he says, verse 2, "And now will I show you the truth.
29:20 Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia;
29:23 and the fourth shall be far richer than they all.
29:28 And by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all
29:31 against the realm of Grecia.
29:32 And a mighty king shall stand up and shall rule with great
29:35 dominion, and do according to his will.
29:37 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken
29:40 and divided toward the four winds..."
29:42 That king was Alexander the Great,
29:45 the king of Grecia, who followed Medo-Persia,
29:49 who followed Babylon.
29:50 And what power followed Greece?
29:54 Well, in the days of Christ, when all the nations were
30:00 speaking Greek, and the New Testament of course
30:02 is written in Greek, the power that was on this earth
30:06 was the power of Rome.
30:09 So history simply confirms what Bible prophecy reveals.
30:12 And it's interesting though to note specifically
30:16 Daniel chapter 7.
30:19 Sometimes I've been asked, and I have sometimes,
30:22 or use to at one time, wonder why did God describe
30:28 history by using beasts?
30:33 "I saw a lion with eagle's wings.
30:36 And after that another beast, a bear,
30:38 which was risen up on one side.
30:40 And then a leopard," verse 6, "with four wings on the back.
30:43 And then I saw this terrible beast, this dreadful and
30:48 terrible, strong exceeding with great iron teeth."
30:52 Why does God use beasts in Bible prophecy?
30:58 Well we know that they represent kingdoms,
30:59 because we're told in verses 17 and 23.
31:02 The angel comes to Daniel and Daniel says,
31:06 "I really, I don't get this," verse 15.
31:08 "I don't understand what these mean, what they represent."
31:11 And the angel says, "These great beasts," verse 17,
31:14 "which are four, are four kings,
31:16 that shall arise out of the earth."
31:18 And then in verse 23, he says, "And the fourth beast
31:22 shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth..."
31:25 So right here in the context of the prophecy, we have an
31:29 interpretation of these beasts representing kingdoms.
31:32 And of course we do that today, don't we, to some degree.
31:34 I mean, when you think about animals, like an eagle,
31:39 what country do you think of?
31:42 United States of America.
31:43 What about a bear?
31:45 Russia.
31:46 What about a dragon?
31:49 China.
31:50 You guys are good.
31:51 Okay, here's a tougher one.
31:52 What about a lion?
31:57 It's the country I was raised in.
31:59 England, yes. So even today.
32:03 God is, in the Bible, He's using symbolism that we use
32:07 that's familiar to us as human beings.
32:10 And He knows that we'll get it.
32:13 And just in case we don't, He actually tells us
32:15 what these symbols mean.
32:16 He tells us what these beasts mean.
32:18 They represent kingdoms.
32:19 Now this is important, because tonight we're talking about
32:22 the rise of America in Bible prophecy.
32:26 Let's go to our Bible verse in Revelation chapter 13.
32:30 Because in Revelation chapter 13,
32:33 what we have is a connection with Daniel
32:35 and the prophecies of Daniel.
32:37 Daniel was looking forward in time.
32:39 And as he looked forward in time, God showed him
32:42 Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.
32:46 Then the ten divisions of Europe continuing on
32:50 until the second coming of Jesus Christ.
32:51 That was the basic outline that he saw.
32:53 He saw a little horn rising up among the nations of Europe.
32:58 The characteristics of which would be fulfilled in the
33:01 context of Bible prophecy.
33:04 Specifically in the context of Revelation chapter 13.
33:09 Now notice that with me.
33:11 John is, in Revelation chapter 13, he says,
33:13 "I stood upon the sand of the sea and I saw a..." What?
33:18 What does a beast represent in Bible prophecy?
33:21 A kingdom or a power.
33:23 "I saw a kingdom or a power rising up out of the..."
33:28 Now what does the sea represent in Bible prophecy?
33:32 Okay, Revelation chapter 17. You are right on.
33:35 You guys know your Bibles here tonight.
33:37 Revelation 17 and verse 15.
33:39 "And he said unto me," that is, the angel is talking to John,
33:43 "The waters which you saw, where the whore sits,
33:49 are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues."
33:54 Peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.
33:56 Populated areas of the earth.
33:58 In other words, when we look in Revelation chapter 13
34:01 and verse 1, what we see here is a power or a kingdom
34:05 rising up in the earth among the nations,
34:11 multitudes, peoples, and tongues.
34:13 In a populated area of planet earth.
34:17 Now notice this.
34:20 "...having seven heads and..." How many horns?
34:23 Ten horns.
34:24 "...and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads
34:28 the name of blasphemy.
34:30 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard,
34:36 and his feet were like the feet of a bear,
34:40 and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion.
34:44 And the dragon gave him his seat, and power,
34:47 and great authority."
34:49 Now there's something really interesting about this.
34:52 Did you notice the connection?
34:54 John here is seeing a kingdom that has the very same
35:00 characteristics as the kingdoms that Daniel saw in Revelation.
35:06 Did you notice that?
35:08 You have the bear, you have the lion, you have the leopard,
35:13 and you have the ten horns.
35:15 Same as what was revealed to him, or to John.
35:19 Excuse me, revealed to Daniel in Daniel chapter 7 specifically.
35:23 Now, what's interesting is this.
35:26 Daniel looks forward and he sees the lion, followed by the bear,
35:33 followed by the leopard, followed by the terrible beast,
35:37 the dragon-like beast.
35:38 He sees the ten horns rise up, and then he sees
35:41 the little horn rise up.
35:42 John is looking back.
35:45 He's looking back in history.
35:46 What does he see first?
35:49 Does he see the lion first?
35:51 Read the verse.
35:52 What does he see first?
35:57 He sees the horns.
36:00 Then what does he see?
36:03 Then he sees the leopard.
36:04 Then what does he see?
36:06 Then he sees the bear.
36:09 Then what does he see last?
36:11 Well next. The lion.
36:13 Of course the dragon comes last, but.
36:14 In other words, Daniel looking forward from Babylon
36:18 sees Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, ten kingdoms.
36:21 John looking back sees ten kingdoms, then he sees what?
36:25 Greece, Medo-Persia, and Babylon.
36:28 It's like he's looking back and Daniel is looking forward.
36:31 John's looking back, Daniel's looking forward.
36:33 They're both coming together in their prophetic books.
36:37 That's why we call the books of Daniel and Revelation
36:39 prophetic twins.
36:41 They're both coming together in this vision.
36:43 Connecting together in this vision of Revelation chapter 13.
36:48 Now, John continues on in verse 3.
36:54 "And I saw one of his heads," one of the heads,
36:57 powers of this kingdom, "one of his heads as it were
37:02 wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed.
37:04 And all the world wondered after this power."
37:08 This kingdom, this earthly kingdom.
37:11 "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast.
37:15 And they worshipped the beast, saying,
37:17 'Who is like unto the beast?'"
37:19 This earthy kingdom, "Who's like this earthly king?
37:21 Who can make war with him?"
37:23 "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things
37:25 and blasphemies; and power was given unto him
37:27 to continue forty and two months.
37:28 And he opened his mouth to speak blasphemy against God,
37:31 to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle,
37:33 and them that dwell in heaven.
37:34 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,
37:37 and to overcome them.
37:38 And power was given him over all kindreds,
37:41 and tongues, and nations.
37:42 And they that dwell on the earth shall worship him,
37:45 whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb
37:48 slain from the foundation of the world."
37:52 Now, John here is still looking back in history
37:59 at things that have happened.
38:01 The deadly wound, the 42 months, the persecution; all of that
38:06 has already taken place in the context...
38:09 I should say it this way.
38:10 ...in the process not of John's time.
38:13 Because John, of course, at his time this hadn't taken place.
38:17 But in the process of our time.
38:19 So John is looking at this.
38:21 But remember what we read in Ecclesiastes chapter 1?
38:24 There's nothing that has not already been
38:27 that will not be again.
38:28 And this is what God is telling us here.
38:30 All of this history is going to be repeated again.
38:35 How so?
38:37 Well here's where it gets interesting.
38:39 In Revelation chapter 13 and verse 9,
38:44 the Bible says, "If any man has an ear, let him hear.
38:47 He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity,
38:50 he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword.
38:52 Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
38:55 And I beheld..."
38:56 Now what's interesting is when you look at this history,
38:58 you realize that throughout the centuries that follow
39:04 the demise of Rome, and I'm taking about pagan Rome,
39:07 we saw the rise of the papacy, or papal Rome.
39:11 We call it, the Dark Ages.
39:12 For good reason.
39:14 And during this time, during these centuries,
39:17 all of the characteristics that we see revealed here
39:21 were fulfilled by what we understand to be the
39:24 Medieval Church taking control of the earth,
39:27 having authority with the kings of the earth
39:29 to persecute those who disagreed with her.
39:31 This is all historic.
39:33 And as this continued, the year came...
39:39 I would say it was 1793 when another power rose up.
39:42 ...but 1798 when the very words of this prophecy were fulfilled
39:47 and the papacy was led into captivity.
39:51 Napoleon marched into Paris, took over.
39:55 And then down to Rome, and basically took the Pope captive.
40:00 Led him into captivity.
40:01 "He that leads into captivity will go into captivity,
40:03 he that kills with the sword will be killed with the sword."
40:06 And a deadly wound was inflicted.
40:08 Now all of this history that has happened in the past
40:12 is significant, because it leads us...
40:15 We have nothing to fear for the future except we
40:17 forget how God has led us in the past.
40:19 ...it leads us to understand what takes place
40:22 from verse 11 onward.
40:24 Let's look at it.
40:26 "I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;
40:30 he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon."
40:34 Now, there are some characteristics here
40:36 that I want to go over with you in the time we have left,
40:38 the time we have remaining, that I think are significant
40:41 to help us identify the rise of the United States
40:46 in Bible prophecy.
40:47 Number one, this power, this beast, which is
40:52 an earthly power, arises at the right time.
40:55 Now notice, it is coming in a time when this former power
41:00 is being led into captivity.
41:02 We know that took place in 1798.
41:04 So we're looking at a power that is rising up in the earth,
41:08 rising up in strength, in the 1700's.
41:15 Now there is a nation that was rising to power in that time.
41:17 In fact, the United States of America signed the
41:20 Declaration of Independence in 1776.
41:24 Just a few years before this deadly wound was inflicted.
41:26 And I think the last war that we fought for our independence,
41:30 and I would say we were still independent by then,
41:32 was the war of 1812 with the British.
41:33 That was about it, right?
41:35 So the timing is perfect.
41:38 Point number two...
41:40 And we're going to look at several points here that
41:41 help us to indentify who this power is.
41:45 I believe this is the rise of the United States.
41:47 But we'll look at a number of points here, prophetic points.
41:50 It came up in the right place.
41:52 Now, you notice that it says in the Bible verse
41:55 that this power would rise up out of the earth.
41:58 We already identified what the sea represents.
42:01 What does the sea represent in Bible prophecy?
42:03 Peoples, nations, multitudes, and tongues.
42:05 So the earth would be the opposite of the sea
42:08 in symbolic language.
42:10 The earth would be a place that is less populated.
42:14 And that's exactly what we see when we look at the
42:16 history of the United States.
42:17 It didn't rise up among the nations and multitudes and
42:20 tongues of the world, but it rose up in a more,
42:24 well, a less populated area of the earth.
42:28 A place that was discovered.
42:29 And a place that was growing in population in the 1700's.
42:35 So it came up at the right time.
42:37 It came up at the right place prophetically,
42:39 a less populated area of the world.
42:40 Notice the next thing it says here in Revelation 13:11.
42:44 It says, "I beheld another beast."
42:47 This is a new power.
42:49 It's a new nation.
42:51 It's not the same one, it's not a former one.
42:54 It's not a bear or a leopard.
42:57 It is a new nation that is rising up.
43:01 And then it goes on to say, and I think this is
43:04 really significant, that it had two horns like a lamb.
43:08 But if you do a close comparison with the first beast,
43:12 you're going to find that the horns have no crowns on them.
43:17 You see, the first beast, it says in Revelation chapter 13
43:20 and verse 1, the first beast, it says has ten horns,
43:25 "and upon his horns ten crowns."
43:27 That represents monarchy.
43:29 It represents the kings and the queens and the monarchs
43:32 of Europe that ruled with this religious power.
43:36 But in Revelation 13 and verse 11, this power
43:41 has lamb-like horns with no crowns.
43:44 That symbolizes or represents a change.
43:47 This nation, this power, would not be a monarchy.
43:50 It would be a republic. It would be different.
43:54 It would be without king and queen.
43:56 That characteristic fits.
43:57 That's number four.
43:59 Then it goes on to describe this power as a lamb-like power.
44:05 Now, we could spend the rest of the time we have this evening,
44:08 which isn't very much time, just talking about this.
44:10 And I think we will.
44:12 Only because it's so important.
44:14 There are probably four or five more characteristics
44:18 that we need to discuss, and we will discuss them
44:22 before we're done with our series.
44:23 Because tomorrow night we're going to be moving into
44:26 the change that is going to be taking place
44:29 as we identify this power.
44:31 But tonight we want to look primarily at these
44:33 characteristics, these, well lamb-like characteristics.
44:39 Because the lamb is a symbol that is used...
44:41 I don't know if you're familiar with this.
44:43 ...it's used, it's referenced, more than any other symbol
44:46 in the book of Revelation.
44:49 It is the most repeated symbol in Revelation.
44:51 And according to Revelation chapter 5, the lamb symbolizes
44:56 or represents Jesus and the cross.
45:03 Paul, excuse me, John, John the Baptist,
45:06 pointed to Jesus Christ and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God
45:09 that takes away the sins of the world."
45:11 John identifies the lamb in Revelation 5
45:14 as slain in the midst of the throne.
45:16 So when we look at that symbol we're identifying that symbol
45:20 as pointing to Jesus who was slain on Calvary for the sins
45:24 of the entire world.
45:26 What we're looking at here is a symbol that represents
45:30 the pure principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
45:33 The principles of liberty and freedom,
45:37 that God has given Himself as a sacrifice to preserve
45:44 in the hearts and minds of human beings.
45:47 Calvary is here symbolized.
45:50 And therefore this power is, well, to some degree or another
45:54 is finding itself embodying those principles of
46:00 religious freedom and civil freedom.
46:03 That's what I believe these two horns represent;
46:06 religious freedom and civil freedom.
46:10 So far every characteristic that we've looked at tonight
46:14 matches up with the rise of the United States of America.
46:19 We see it so clearly.
46:20 And yet, we're told there's going to be a change.
46:23 How is this change going to take place?
46:25 What is going to happen in our nation, in this country,
46:30 to actually see a change from the religious freedom
46:35 and the civil freedoms upon which this nation was founded
46:39 to have it speak, as the Bible says, like a dragon.
46:43 What does it mean, "to speak like a dragon?"
46:45 Well let's emphasize first and foremost what it means
46:49 to have these lamb-like principles.
46:50 Because it's only as we recognize the principles
46:52 of the Lamb that we could really understand
46:55 and recognize the changes that are going to
46:57 take place in this country.
46:58 In fact, changes that are taking place already,
47:03 right now as we speak.
47:06 Revelation fills our hearts and minds with an understanding
47:10 of what it means to be lamb-like.
47:13 Let's just go back to Revelation chapter 1
47:15 where we have the unfolding or the uncovering of Jesus Christ.
47:18 It really is a revelation of Jesus, to show us
47:21 the heart of God.
47:22 And of course, we know what's
47:23 happened from the very beginning.
47:24 We talked about it last night.
47:26 God was misrepresented.
47:28 A lie was told in the garden of Eden about God.
47:32 And Adam and Eve, well Eve specifically
47:35 and then Adam went along with it, believed the lie.
47:37 "God is withholding something from you.
47:39 God is a withholder, He's lying to you.
47:41 You're not really going to die if you eat the fruit of that
47:43 tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
47:45 And so Jesus came to unmask the lie.
47:49 And lies, well they're...
47:52 ...they're hard to distinguish at times.
47:54 I got a call from Dee yesterday.
47:56 I was supposed to be at the main building at 2 o'clock.
48:00 And she called me at ten minutes after two.
48:05 I was in my apartment, and she said,
48:07 "Uh, James, are you on your way?"
48:10 And I said, "Well, I'm running about ten minutes late."
48:15 And Dee picked up on that and she said,
48:16 "Well that means that you're pulling up right now."
48:20 Because it was ten after two.
48:22 And I'm running about ten minutes late.
48:23 And so I had to do a recorrect there and I said,
48:25 "Actually, I'm running exactly 20 minutes late.
48:30 I'm putting on my suit and I'll be over there in 10 minutes."
48:34 It's just natural for us to stretch the truth
48:36 just a little bit.
48:38 Not to be as accurate.
48:39 And really we don't, well, we don't hold each other to those
48:45 boundaries of being perfectly honestly truthful.
48:50 But God is different.
48:53 God says, "Let your yea be yea and your nay be nay."
49:00 He says you don't even need to swear.
49:02 If your yea is yea and our nay is nay,
49:03 you don't have to say, "Hey, I'm telling you the truth.
49:05 Honestly, you've got to believe me, you've got to believe me,
49:06 you've got to believe me."
49:07 You don't have to do that, because when you say something,
49:10 that something can be trusted.
49:13 When you say it's this way, people know that it's this way.
49:16 But we don't naturally tend to do that.
49:18 We have to try to convince
49:20 people that we're telling the truth.
49:21 We have to swear by everything in heaven and earth,
49:23 because we've gone so far away from just being strictly honest
49:27 in our words, in the way that we communicate.
49:30 But God isn't that way.
49:32 God has come to unveil the truth about who He is,
49:38 and the truth about our situation.
49:41 So Revelation does that.
49:42 And what's really powerful is that while God reveals the
49:45 truth about us, and He does this in Revelation's seven churches,
49:48 for example, He still stand with us.
49:51 Revelation's seven churches reveals this manifestation
49:55 of God's unconditional love for us.
49:58 I mean, you read through these seven churches and
50:00 you find out that we are in a really pitiful situation.
50:04 In fact, if you look at the repeat and enlarge scenario
50:07 and you recognize that the seven churches represents the history
50:11 of God's people from the early apostolic age all the way down
50:14 to the end of time, you can't but come to the conclusion that
50:16 we're living in the Laodicean age.
50:18 And the Laodicean church of all the churches
50:20 is the most pitiful.
50:22 God says, "You actually make Me want to throw up."
50:26 But in the same breath, He says, "As many as I love,
50:30 I rebuke and chasen."
50:31 God loves us.
50:33 And sometimes we wonder why.
50:35 "Why do You love us? We're so despicable.
50:37 We make You want to vomit."
50:38 "Well, I love you because I'm love.
50:42 That's what I do. I love.
50:44 That's who I am.
50:46 It's not based upon who you are, it's based upon who I am.
50:49 I am a God of love. And I am with you.
50:52 I'm not just with Philadelphia, I'm not just with Smyrna.
50:54 I'm with all of the churches."
50:55 God positions Himself among the seven churches.
50:59 Then we move to Revelation chapters 4 and 5 and we see
51:02 Jesus Christ positioned in the midst of the throne.
51:06 The throne is established in heaven and Jesus is there.
51:09 He's the lamb that's been slain in the midst of the throne.
51:13 And the reason why He was slain was because
51:15 He was purposing to take possession of a book
51:19 that John was shown no man in heaven, no man in earth,
51:21 and no man under the earth could take possession of.
51:26 And when He takes possession of this book,
51:28 John is told that the Lamb has prevailed.
51:32 Now that word is an interesting word.
51:34 It means, to overcome.
51:36 It's the same word that is use to the message
51:38 of all the churches, "To him that overcomes...,"
51:39 "To him that overcomes...," "To him that overcomes..."
51:41 "Nikao," it means, to get the victory.
51:46 Jesus has gotten the victory.
51:49 Our take home tonight would be this short phrase,
51:53 Jesus has prevailed where we have failed.
51:56 Jesus has prevailed where we have failed.
51:58 That's it.
52:00 And that's what we see as we move through
52:03 the book of Revelation.
52:04 We see an urgent need to overcome; seven churches.
52:08 We recognize the fallenness of our human nature;
52:11 our inabilities and failures.
52:13 But the standard remains, the ideal is there.
52:15 And so Jesus says, "I'm with you.
52:18 And I," Revelation 4 and 5, "am going to prevail
52:21 where you have failed."
52:24 And then Revelation chapter 6 pictures a white horse
52:28 and a rider.
52:29 That white horse represents those who unite
52:32 their lives with Jesus.
52:34 He's the Rider.
52:35 Revelation chapter 19 tells us that.
52:37 And when that white horse and that Rider are united,
52:40 it says they go forth...
52:43 What's the phrase?
52:44 Conquering and to conquer.
52:48 Powerful.
52:49 Because that word is the same word, "nikao."
52:50 It's the same word that is used, "to prevail."
52:52 It's the same word that's used, "to overcome."
52:53 In other words, God is laying out here
52:56 a road map, if you will.
52:57 A road map not just of history, like we've seen in the
53:01 book of Daniel, but also a road map of Christian experience.
53:04 The book of Revelation and the book of Daniel
53:06 parallel each other in this way.
53:09 In Daniel, we have prophetic visions and then we have...
53:16 ...I'll call them Christian stories.
53:19 Christ was still to come back in Daniel's day.
53:22 But practical Christian experience.
53:25 Daniel in the lions' den.
53:26 His three friends in the furnace.
53:28 How were they going to stand?
53:30 What were they going to do? Were they going to trust God?
53:32 In the context of prophecy, you have
53:34 practical Christian experience.
53:35 Same in Revelation.
53:36 In the context of these prophecies, you have
53:38 this picture of Christ.
53:40 He's with us, just like He was with those in the furnace.
53:43 He's with us in the churches.
53:45 When we're confronted with trials and we're confronted with
53:47 a revelation of ourselves, Jesus is there.
53:49 He's not giving up on us.
53:50 He's prevailing where we're failing.
53:52 Connect with Him and you'll go forth conquering and to conquer.
53:55 And as we move through the book of Revelation,
53:57 we have this layer of Christianity, of practical
54:00 Christian experience, that God reveals to us
54:02 in order for us to understand how important the Lamb is
54:07 to each one of us.
54:08 So important are these principles that a
54:11 certain time in history, specifically 1776,
54:14 a whole nation rose up founded upon the principles
54:19 of the Lamb.
54:20 The Lamb-like principles of religious liberty
54:23 and civil liberty.
54:24 The Lamb-like principles that are preserved for us
54:29 by the event of Calvary, that are revealed to us
54:32 all through the Bible.
54:33 The truth has been disclosed and an entire nation
54:36 has taken hold of it.
54:39 And it's going to take some time, it has taken some time,
54:45 for the enemy of souls to subtly and slowly,
54:51 step by step, day by day, month by month, year by year,
54:56 undermine those principles, working against those principles
55:02 until finally that entire nation that was grounded upon,
55:07 founded upon, the principles of religious liberty
55:09 and civil liberty begins to speak like a dragon.
55:15 We are living in that time.
55:19 We are there right now.
55:21 And God not only wants us to recognize our history,
55:24 our prophetic history, history that is true to the records...
55:29 It's not just in the Bible, we can read about it.
55:32 We know, we know, we know just looking back
55:35 in the history books that this is fact, this is truth.
55:38 Now all the details aren't there.
55:40 But He wants us to recognize that this history is leading us
55:43 to a final crisis, a final trial if you will.
55:46 And the only thing that's going to keep us in that trial
55:48 is that we hold to the principles.
55:53 It doesn't matter who compromises,
55:55 doesn't matter who changes, doesn't matter who gives up.
55:57 In Daniel's day he was prepared by Isaiah and Jeremiah.
56:01 He listened to the prophecies and this young man was ready.
56:05 And God wants us to be ready too.
56:07 And we can point at the churches and we can point at other people
56:09 and we can make excuses for what is taking place
56:13 in this country and in this world, but when it comes down
56:17 to the very end we will have not excuse to give to God
56:22 for our actions and our behavior.
56:25 God is calling us to be like Jesus no matter what.
56:27 To stand true to God no matter what.
56:30 And that is going to be the final test for each one of us.
56:32 And I believe Bible prophecy is going to prepare us for that.
56:36 Now what it means is that we will love others
56:39 in spite of the way they treat us.
56:42 The failure that I experienced on that plane
56:47 when my cookies were crumbled was that I didn't open the bag,
56:52 find one that was still whole,
56:53 and offer it to the flight attendant.
56:57 We're not always ready to deny ourselves
57:01 the way Jesus Christ did when He, on the cross said,
57:04 "Father, forgiven them for they know not what they do."
57:07 That is the test we face.
57:09 That is the test before us.
57:10 And the little annoyances that we face today
57:13 are preparing us for that test.
57:15 May each one of us stand faithful in that time
57:18 is my prayer tonight.
57:20 Let's pray together.
57:21 Father, thank You this evening for Your Word,
57:24 for Your prophetic Word, for the picture
57:26 in Daniel and Revelation.
57:27 A picture that guides us in the path to heaven.


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Revised 2014-12-17