Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001943S
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00:02 I'm John Carter in Moscow.
00:04 In Havana, Cuba. 00:07 Now in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. 00:10 I'm John Carter in Petra. 00:13 Right here in Communist China. 00:16 Reporting from India. 00:18 Hi, I'm John Carter in the Solomon Islands. 00:21 I'm John Carter in Soweto. 00:24 From El Salvador. 00:26 I'm John Carter in Sydney, Australia. 00:29 Today, an in-depth study of Constantine 00:33 and The Mark of the Beast. 00:36 What a week we've had 00:38 with all these fires in Southern California, 00:41 just up the road from us, 00:42 the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library 00:45 snatched from the fire. 00:47 Amazing, tremendous pilots. 00:49 Tremendous firefighters. 00:51 I think they're very, very best you find anywhere in the world. 00:55 So we've been delivered from the fire and today, 00:59 I wanted to talk to you about another fire 01:02 that is coming very, very soon. 01:05 This program today 01:07 is dedicated to the truth. 01:12 We're not talking about politicians 01:14 or politics here today. 01:17 We leave out politics at the door 01:19 when we come to the studio, 01:22 but we are talking about the truth 01:25 because Jesus said, 01:27 "You will know the truth, 01:28 and the truth will make you free." 01:31 And the greatest need in the world. 01:34 The greatest need in America today 01:37 is for truth 01:39 because most people don't have the truth. 01:42 The topic is Constantine and The Mark of the Beast. 01:46 What on earth this is about Constantine 01:49 and the Mark of the Beast or when Constantine rides again 01:53 because mark my word, 01:55 Constantine is going to rise again. 01:59 He's going to ride again. 02:03 I think I told you this story a little while ago 02:05 because it's such a great story. 02:07 I'm going to tell it again. 02:08 I was watching Pawn Stars. 02:11 P-A-W-N Pawn Stars. 02:14 And an old guy came in and he said to Rick, 02:17 he said, "You know, 02:19 I've got Abraham Lincoln's chair." 02:22 Wow! I've got to... 02:24 So they checked out the chair. 02:26 They did all sorts of tests on the chair. 02:28 And it wasn't Abraham Lincoln's chair. 02:33 You know, the old guy said. 02:36 He said, "Well, here, 02:37 we all believe what we want to believe. 02:39 And I happen to believe 02:41 that this is Abraham Lincoln's chair." 02:46 You say, "It's crazy." 02:49 If that's crazy, then there's got to be 02:52 a lot of crazy people 02:56 because I want to say this to you 02:58 and let this sink down into your mind. 03:01 It doesn't matter what you 03:02 and I think about what is truth, 03:05 that doesn't matter because you and I can be wrong. 03:10 Truth is truth is truth. 03:12 And what we must discover today 03:15 through struggle 03:19 and conflict in our minds, 03:21 and a dedication to God, 03:23 we must discover 03:25 what is truth because truth is mighty, 03:28 and will prevail with us or without us. 03:33 So we're gonna talk today about Constantine 03:36 and the Mark of the Beast. 03:39 There's a fire coming. 03:40 Wants you to take your Bibles 03:42 and come over here to John 18:33-36. 03:46 If you're living here 03:47 in the United States of America as I am, 03:49 this is one of the most important talks 03:51 you're ever going to hear 03:54 because most of the preachers it seems to me 03:58 and most of the politicians, 04:00 it seems to me haven't got a clue 04:03 concerning what's going to happen. 04:07 What did I say? 04:08 John 18:33 and onwards, 04:14 "Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, 04:19 called Jesus, and said to Him, 04:21 'Are you the King of the Jews?'" 04:22 Look at this in your Bibles, please, 04:24 because I'm sure most of you never read it. 04:28 "'Are you the King of the Jews?' 04:29 Jesus answered, 04:30 'Are you speaking this for yourself about this, 04:34 or did others tell you this concerning Me?' 04:38 Pilate answered and said, 'Am I a Jew? 04:42 Your own nation and the chief priests 04:43 have delivered You to me. 04:45 What have You done?' 04:46 Jesus answered and said, 04:47 'My kingdom is not of this world.'" 04:50 Then I asked the question, 04:52 why is it that so many preachers think that 04:55 the Kingdom of God is of this world. 04:58 "My kingdom is not of this world. 04:59 If my kingdom were of this world, 05:03 My servants would fight, 05:05 so that I should not be delivered to the Jews, 05:08 but now My kingdom is not from here.'" 05:11 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." 05:16 If there are millions of my fellow Americans 05:21 who believe that the Kingdom of God is of this world, 05:26 and they're going to bring about the mark of the beast. 05:30 Now what is a theocracy? 05:32 The word for God is the... 05:35 And we're talking about 05:37 the Greek word is theism for God. 05:42 Theocracy, a government that is led by God. 05:48 A government where God is the official head 05:51 and enforces God's laws. 05:53 Millions of people now and huge numbers of preachers 05:58 say we want the Government of the United States 06:02 of America to be in charge of the laws 06:05 and to make this a Christian country. 06:08 They come to me, I've heard it on television. 06:13 A theocracy. 06:15 Example, The Old Testament was Moses. 06:19 The religious laws 06:21 were the laws of the state of Israel. 06:24 If you broke the Sabbath, 06:25 you were put to death by stoning. 06:29 If we had a theocracy, 06:30 we'd be stoning lots and lots of people. 06:34 Even though lots and lots of people 06:36 are already stoned. 06:39 Now you've all heard about ISIS. 06:42 When you talk about ISIS, your blood almost runs cold. 06:46 You know what ISIS is? 06:48 It's a theocracy, 06:49 where the Quran is the state law. 06:52 It's an extreme theocracy, 06:56 but it is a theocracy. 06:59 Talk about Saudi Arabia. 07:02 Saudi Arabia, one of the great, 07:04 great allies of the United States of America 07:07 because they've got the good oil I imagine. 07:12 It's an Islamic state, 07:14 most Americans are not aware of this. 07:16 Maybe you're not. 07:18 It's an Islamic state where Christians 07:20 and Jews are not allowed. 07:25 Oh, no, you say no, no, no, no, that's... 07:27 Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. 07:29 Christians and Jews 07:31 are not allowed in Saudi Arabia. 07:35 There are no churches. No, no. 07:39 There are no churches, no synagogues, 07:42 but plenty of mosques. 07:44 And no Bibles, no Bibles 07:48 allowed in Saudi Arabia. 07:51 Their main religion is the religion of Wahhabi. 07:54 Wahhabi was a person 07:56 who believed in the concept of a theocracy. 08:02 Osama Bin Laden was a fervent disciple of Wahhabi. 08:07 Never heard of him? Better go Google it. 08:11 The Saudis have spent in the last few years... 08:14 Don't get mad with me 08:16 because I'm telling you the truth. 08:19 The Saudis in the last few years 08:21 have spent $100 million, 08:23 no $100 billion exporting Wahhabism to the world. 08:28 And this is the basis of terrorism, a theocracy. 08:34 Iran is a more moderate Islamic state, 08:39 where Christians and Jews are tolerated. 08:43 I have been there. 08:46 But it is a theocracy, 08:49 where the Quran is the law of the state. 08:54 A theocracy is a nation where church, mosque, 08:57 or synagogue are joined together. 08:59 Many today in America think 09:02 it would be good if we were a theocracy, 09:07 a Christian theocracy because they've told me so. 09:11 I've heard it on television. 09:16 But more about this later, 09:18 and let's talk about Constantine. 09:19 Who was Constantine? 09:22 Well, he was a Roman emperor who became a "Christian," 09:27 and who set up a Christian theocracy, 09:29 he could not have been such a wonderful Christian 09:32 because he delayed his baptism 09:34 until almost the day of his death. 09:37 So he could do all sorts of bad things, 09:39 and thought that baptism would wash away your sins. 09:42 Baptism doesn't wash away your sins, 09:45 the blood of Jesus does. 09:47 Okay. Baptism is the sign of it. 09:50 Constantine lived around 300 AD 09:52 and made Christianity 09:53 the official religion of the Roman Empire. 09:56 It became a Christian theocracy. 10:00 Like a lot of people in America want to have today. 10:03 He was preceded by Diocletian and Galerius, 10:08 who fiercely persecuted Christians. 10:11 Christians were compelled to sacrifice to the pagan gods. 10:16 Christians were crucified, burned alive, 10:20 thrown to wild beasts. 10:22 You ought to watch the movie on Netflix, 10:25 I think it's Netflix on Saint Paul. 10:28 In one of the scenes from the movie on Paul, 10:31 you see a little group of Christians, 10:34 little boys and girls, holding hands, 10:37 old men and old women, young couples marching, 10:41 marching bravely out into the arena, 10:44 where they are met by the lions. 10:51 When we meet these people, by the grace of God, 10:53 we might be ashamed to go up and greet them 10:56 because we live in a time 10:58 of superficial weak Christianity. 11:03 People don't go to church 11:05 because they can't get out of bed. 11:07 Goodness me. 11:10 Now the Roman Empire in Daniel 7:7 11:13 which we're not going to go into was predicted. 11:15 We who understand the prophecies know that 11:17 Rome was predicted. 11:19 It is the Roman beast of the Caesars. 11:22 Constantine, now here's the point 11:25 believed that he had a vision of Christ 11:27 and His cross or words to that effect. 11:31 There is some dispute over the actual event. 11:35 But he believed he had a vision. 11:39 And the words were spoken 11:41 the cross by this sign conquer 11:45 and he became a great supporter of the persecuted church. 11:52 He became their champion. 11:54 He made Christianity 11:55 the official religion of the empire. 12:00 And what do you think the Christians did? 12:02 Praise God, hallelujah. 12:05 We have been delivered and whatever Constantine does, 12:10 we will support him. 12:14 But he was the type of Antichrist. 12:18 And as one great historian said, 12:20 "The church not only conquered Rome, 12:23 but Rome conquered the church." 12:28 As you will see, turn with me to 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. 12:32 Read it in the Bible, turn to the text, 12:36 you just may discover 12:37 something you didn't know before. 12:40 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. 12:46 "Let no one deceive you by any means, 12:52 for that Day of the Lord return will not come unless 12:55 the falling away comes first." 12:57 A falling away from the truth. 13:00 "And the man of sin is revealed, 13:01 the son of perdition, 13:03 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God 13:07 or that is worshiped, 13:08 so that he sits as God in the temple of God." 13:11 He sits in the church, 13:13 "Showing himself that he is God." 13:15 Therefore the Bible prophecies teach, 13:17 prophecies taught that the Antichrist would be 13:22 a person inside the church. 13:27 Wow! 13:28 You say, "Where did you get that from? 13:30 From the reading of scripture and from this text. 13:37 Now some interesting things happened. 13:39 The title of Caesar was Pontifex Maximus. 13:45 Kindly notice it on the screen. 13:50 Caesar divinity Augustus Pontifex Maximus, 13:56 can you please put that down into your mind 14:00 the title of the Antichrist, the Caesar of pagan Rome 14:05 was Pontifex Maximus. 14:07 Ever heard of it before? 14:11 Pontifex Maximus means the chief priest. 14:16 Remember what Jesus said, 14:17 "My kingdom is not of this world." 14:21 But later on when a Christian theocracy was set up, 14:27 they had a new spiritual emperor, 14:32 and his name was Pontifex Maximus. 14:36 And there you can see in St. Peter's Cathedral the words 14:40 Gregory Pontifex Maximus. 14:44 Over here Pope Sixtus 14:49 Pontifex Maximus. 14:53 The chief priest, the Great Bridge 14:56 to the Kingdom of God, 14:57 the Savior of the world, past from being the Caesar, 15:03 to the Pope of Rome. 15:06 You say, "No, I can't believe." 15:08 My friend, this is not religion we're talking about today. 15:12 We're not talking religion. I'm not talking politics. 15:16 This is truth. This is history. 15:20 The Pope became the new Caesar of the New Roman Empire. 15:25 And that is why we call him today 15:27 many affectionately, the pontiff, 15:31 the holy Pontifex Maximus. 15:35 Now, a flood of pagan teachings entered the church. 15:41 In AD 321 Constantine passed 15:45 the first Sunday law 15:48 forbidding work on the venerable day 15:51 of the sun. 15:52 You see, all the pagans kept Sunday 15:56 because they were sun worshippers. 16:00 Did you know this? 16:02 That is why it is called Sunday. 16:07 And Constantine passed the first Sunday law, 16:11 he said, "On the venerable day of the sun, 16:16 let the magistrates 16:18 and people residing in cities rest, 16:20 and let all the workshops be closed 16:23 on the venerable day of the sun." 16:27 Now the Bible says, my dear friend, 16:30 "There would come a falling away 16:32 from the truth before Jesus came." 16:35 There would be a falling away from the truth, 16:38 and the church would be invaded with pagan teachings 16:43 in the name of Jesus. 16:48 Let me mention some of them to you. 16:51 Pontifex Maximus. 16:53 That, of course, is just the supreme example. 16:58 Pontifex Maximus. 17:01 And then images came into the church. 17:04 The pagan Romans had a marvelous building 17:07 that I've been in many times that I love, 17:09 the Pantheon, the temple to all the gods, 17:13 and the Christians simply took the Roman gods, 17:17 and they christened them as Christians, as saints. 17:23 Don't say this, someone say, say, this is St. Peter. 17:28 Images invaded the church. 17:32 And then an amazing teaching was invented, 17:36 which we call today The Mass. 17:39 The power of the priest 17:40 was so great that he could say the words, this is my body. 17:45 And through the power 17:46 of the doctrine of transubstantiation, 17:49 the bread and the wine 17:51 were turned into the actual body 17:54 and the blood of Christ, 17:58 when the Bible is a book of symbols, 18:00 "I am the door," said Jesus, "I am the sheep." 18:03 Nobody ever thought He was a sheep, 18:06 but people took this text and they took it literally. 18:10 And it gave tremendous authority 18:12 to the priest Pontifex Maximus. 18:17 And then there came relics into the church. 18:20 The church was flooded with relics. 18:23 The bone of this saint, the toenail of that saint, 18:27 the head of this saint, 18:29 I do not say this to get a laugh, 18:32 but on one occasion one man was going through 18:35 one of the buildings in old Europe, 18:38 owned by the church, 18:39 and they had there in a display case two heads. 18:45 The heads of St. Peter. 18:48 The heads, why are you looking at me 18:51 like that for the heads and the tourists said, 18:54 "How come you got two heads for St. Peter?" 18:57 The guide said, "Well, the small head 18:59 was when he was a boy, 19:00 and the big head was when he grew up." 19:05 And so the church became filled with relics. 19:08 And if you venerated those relics, 19:12 you will be saved or relieved from the fires of purgatory. 19:16 And there is no such place, of course. 19:19 Infant baptism came into the church 19:22 because the priest had the capacity 19:25 to confer divine grace upon the baby. 19:31 The worship of the Mother of God. 19:34 Can you think of it? The mother of God. 19:37 How can God have a mother when God has got no beginning? 19:45 But Mary was called the Mother of God. 19:47 Do people not realize that Jesus had two natures? 19:51 He was fully God, but He was fully man. 19:56 And Mary was the mother of that part of Him 20:00 that was fully man, 20:03 but Mary is not the Mother of God 20:06 because God is eternal 20:08 and doesn't have a mother, 20:12 then into the church in this great falling away 20:14 from the truth, 20:16 came the doctrine of eternal torment 20:18 and purgatory because the church 20:20 did not understand the gospel of salvation 20:24 through Christ alone. 20:26 They recognize the truth that nobody is good enough 20:29 to go to heaven. 20:31 At the point of His death, 20:32 nobody is good enough to go to heaven. 20:34 And therefore, because people 20:36 are not good enough to go to heaven, 20:37 they must be placed in a fire of torment, 20:42 to remove all of the sin. 20:44 And after they had burned for a billion or two years, 20:47 then the soul is good enough 20:49 to stand in the presence of God. 20:54 And, of course, it was good for fundraising. 20:59 Who would stop going to church? 21:01 Who would start confessing his sins 21:03 if he thought he was going to go to purgatory, 21:05 which was temporary, or in reality, 21:10 he would go to hell and he burn for trillions 21:13 and trillions and trillions of years. 21:16 No wonder people hated God 21:19 and became atheists and communists. 21:24 Salvation by good works of grace 21:28 with the Holy Spirit in you, you could become good enough. 21:32 Sunday keeping, Sabbath was shoved aside, 21:36 and in the days of Constantine they put in the day of the sun. 21:40 What I am battling against today, 21:43 and what truth is battling against today 21:46 is an almost overwhelming sea of ignorance. 21:52 My friend, do not be afraid of the truth, 21:56 be afraid of prejudice. 21:59 Then there was the confessional. 22:02 Does the church need a priest today, 22:04 I asked that question. 22:05 Does the church need a priest today? 22:07 My answer is absolutely. 22:09 The church needs a priest, and the church has a priest. 22:12 Jesus Christ, our High Priest, 22:15 but the people were taught to go to a man, 22:18 certainly not to a woman, 22:20 but to go to a man 22:22 and open up the secrets of the heart. 22:25 No wonder the village priest 22:28 had tremendous power over his congregation 22:31 because he knew 22:33 every thought they were thinking. 22:35 It was about power, control, 22:39 and money falling away from the truth. 22:45 And then, of course, the idea that Peter was the first pope. 22:49 Now that's not taught in the Bible. 22:50 That is simply a fantasy. 22:52 My friends will come and say, no our church teaches it, 22:56 therefore, we believe it, my friend, please, please. 23:01 People have said to me, 23:02 "We have been warned against people 23:04 like you who would come and take away our faith." 23:07 I'm not here to take away your faith. 23:09 I'm here to give you faith in God. 23:12 Faith in the Bible, faith in Jesus, you see. 23:18 Let me read you a statement from the scholar, 23:21 JC Woodhouse in his book, The Apocalypse, page 146. 23:27 "As the stream of Christianity flowed farther 23:31 from its fountain, 23:34 it became more and more corrupt, 23:39 and as the centuries advanced, 23:41 superstition advanced with them, 23:44 and tales of purgatory, and pious frauds, 23:50 and the worship of saints, relics, 23:55 and images, took the place of pure 23:58 and simple Christianity, till at length, 24:03 the Book of God 24:05 being laid aside for legendary tales, 24:09 and the 'traditions of men,' 24:13 all these corruptions were collected 24:16 into our regular system 24:19 of superstition and oppression." 24:25 Now, this started 24:28 in the days of Constantine. 24:32 The Christians had been terribly persecuted, 24:35 and then it appeared to the Christians 24:38 that God had raised up almost a new Messiah. 24:42 No, he was not a good man, but that didn't matter. 24:47 How he acted, that didn't matter. 24:49 What mattered? 24:51 He was on the side of the Christians 24:55 and the Christians turning their backs 24:58 on the Word of God. 25:01 We're swept up in the flood of deception, 25:06 swept down the river. 25:12 And they said, "Praise God, hallelujah." 25:17 We have a theocracy. 25:20 At last, we have a theocracy, 25:23 and this theocracy is the very Kingdom of God, 25:29 but the Bible prophet called it something else. 25:33 The Bible prophet called it the heart, 25:37 and the essence, and the soul of Antichrist. 25:47 And the truth is, 25:49 Constantine will ride again 25:54 in your day and in my day. 25:58 Soon we're going to talk about 26:00 the woman riding on the beast 26:02 that's in the next part of this talk. 26:05 Stay with us. 26:06 We'll be back. 26:08 The second part of that program, 26:10 Constantine and the Mark of the Beast. 26:29 Hello, friend. I'm John Carter. 26:31 Behind me is the great city of Manila, 26:35 the capital of the Philippines. 26:38 Did you know, this is quite amazing. 26:39 There are more people living in this area 26:42 than in New York City. 26:44 And Christ died for these people. 26:46 We came here, oh, long time ago back in 1984. 26:52 What's that, 34, 35 years ago, 26:55 and we came here with a team of young people 26:58 and we came to the PICC. 27:01 It is our intent to come here, 27:03 hire the biggest hall that's available, 27:05 the greatest outdoor stadium, whatever it takes. 27:10 You've got more than 20 million souls out here. 27:15 And I say it again. 27:16 These are people for whom Christ died. 27:19 I'm asking you to pray 27:20 for the people of the Philippines. 27:22 Please pray for the people here in Metro Manila. 27:26 And please write to me, John Carter, 27:29 P.O. Box 1900, Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 27:34 In Australia, write to me at Terrigal, 27:37 at the address that is now showing on the screen. 27:42 We're back in Manila, 27:44 and we're back with a message from God, 27:47 that message is, Christ died for you. 27:52 And Christ is coming again soon. 27:58 Please support us. 27:59 Write to me today, 28:00 P.O. Box 1900, Thousand Oaks, California. 28:04 And also write to me at Terrigal in Australia. 28:08 Thank you for your support. And God bless you. 28:27 For a copy of today's program, please contact us at 28:30 P.O. Box 1900, Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 28:37 Or in Australia, 28:38 contact us at P.O. Box 861, 28:42 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:46 This program is made possible 28:48 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:51 We thank you for your continued support. 28:54 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2020-03-06