Participants: Pr. David Klinedinst
Series Code: DPR
Program Code: DPR000015A
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00:07 I want to begin by asking you a question.
00:11 How many of you have ever been to Wal-mart can I see your hands. 00:15 Of course almost everybody, then you know that Wal-Mart 00:19 is one of those stores that is open 24 hours a 00:23 day 7 days a week. 00:27 And you can go in and out of that store as much as you want, there are no 00:31 restrictions there are not limitations. If you wanna shop 00:36 at 3 o'clock in the afternoon you can, if wanna 00:39 If you wanna shop at 3 o'clock in the morring you can do it 00:43 Nobody will stop you. But how many of you have 00:47 ever been to a Sam's Club can I see your hands? Then you know 00:52 Sam's Club operates a little differently doesn't it? 00:56 Are not permitted free access to their warehouse 01:00 you cannot go in and out as you please. Because in order to 01:04 to get into that store, what must you have? 01:08 A membership card! And that card 01:12 identifies you as a member of that organization. 01:16 Without that card you cannot make any 01:20 financial transactions in that store. 01:24 Did you know the book of 01:28 Revelation says something similar will happen in the last days 01:32 Now Wal-mart and Sam's club, there's no sinister scheme 01:36 behind that. That's pretty innocent. But the book of Revelation tells us 01:40 that there will be one great final crisis that comes 01:44 upon this earth in the last days. And in that great 01:48 crisis, it will divide this world into two groups. 01:52 Of people. There will be those who worship the beast. 01:56 And there will be those who worship God. 02:00 On one hand there will be those who keep the commandments of men 02:04 And there will be those who follow the commandments of God 02:08 those who worship the beast and 02:12 receive his mark will be permitted to buy and 02:16 sell, live a normal life, and they will not be 02:20 persecuted. Those who resist the beast 02:24 and choose to follow God, will not be able to 02:28 buy and sell, they will not be able to live a normal life 02:32 and the Bible says they will face persecution. 02:36 That is a serious subject. 02:40 Because at that time, the issue will be 02:44 front and center. Every living person will have to choose 02:48 if they're going to follow God or not. At that 02:52 time, there will be no straddling the fence. 02:56 There will be no indecision. 03:00 There will be no middle ground. Each person will 03:04 have to choose. And the book of Revelation tells us 03:08 the subject centers around the idea 03:12 of worship. So with that background 03:16 in mind. When it comes to the mark of the beast, people seem to have a lot 03:20 of different ideas and theories. Some of them are rather wild and 03:24 crazy. Some people think, "Is the mark of the beast a 03:28 government identification number?" Like your social security card. 03:32 Others wonder, "Well, is it the bar code that I would 03:36 find on the products at the grocery store?" Others 03:40 think, "Well, maybe it's the number on a credit card." 03:44 And then some people have the idea that the number 666 03:48 will be visibly and literally stamped upon the 03:52 forehead. Now that is highly unlikely because Revelation 03:57 as we have learned is very much a symbolic book. 04:01 When it talks about 666 being on forehead 04:05 the forehead is the seat of our minds. It is where 04:09 we make decisions. That is where you and I are going to 04:13 decide whether we worship the beast or whether we worship God. Whether we 04:17 choose to follow man's law or whether we choose to follow 04:21 God's law. The decision happens here and then 04:25 it's carried out in a sense in our hands in our life 04:29 So, with that background from the scriptures 04:33 and from the word of God, let's go into the most 04:37 popular chapter in Revelation that talks about 04:41 the mark of the beast. Take your Bibles and lets go to 04:45 Revelation chapter 14. Now what book 04:49 are we going to? -Revelation. Well that shouldn't surprise us. What chapter? -14 04:53 Chapter 14. The Bible says then 04:57 I saw another angel flying in the midst 05:01 of Heaven. Having the everlasting gospel to 05:05 preach to those who dwell on the earth. To every nation 05:09 tribe, tongue, and people. 05:13 And with a loud voice fear God and give glory to him. 05:17 For the hour of his judgement-" Has what? "Has come." 05:21 "And worship him who made the Heaven and 05:25 the earth, the sea, and the springs of 05:29 water." Now let's stop there. This message 05:33 of the first angel which we already studied, is telling the 05:37 world that the hour of his judgement has come. Jesus is coming 05:41 soon! But at the end of that message 05:45 the first angel is directing the people to worship 05:49 God as the creator. To give our elegance to 05:53 the one who created the Heavens' the earth, the sea, and the springs 05:57 of water. So the first angel's message is, "Worship. God." 06:01 But then, comes a 06:05 second and a third angel. Now, we'll study the second 06:09 angel's message a little bit later, I want you to notice what the third 06:13 angel says in this progression of 06:17 messengers. Revelation 14:9. The Bible says, 06:21 "Then a third angel followed them 06:25 saying with a loud voice, if anyone worships 06:29 the beast and his image, and receives his 06:33 mark on his forehead or on his hand. 06:37 He himself shall also drink of the wine of the 06:41 wrath of God." Now how many of us would agree? That's a pretty serious 06:45 warning, what do you think? That's about as strong of a language as 06:49 God gives. He says, if we worship the beast 06:53 or his image, we will drink the full wrath 06:57 of God. Now I want you to notice the first angel's 07:01 says worship God, but the third angel says 07:05 there is going to be another group of people who do what? They worship 07:09 the beast. So already you see that the mark 07:13 of the beast issue is centering around worship. 07:17 One group worships the beast, one group chooses to worship 07:21 God as the creator. That's not my interpretation 07:25 that's not yours, that comes straight from the Bible 07:29 and from Revelation alone. Two groups who are deciding who 07:33 they worship. It's either the beast or its the 07:37 creator. Now I want you to notice. Right after 07:41 God warns us about the beast, he then 07:45 describes what his people will be doing 07:49 during that time, Revelation 14:12, the Bibles says, 07:53 "Here is the patience of the saints. 07:57 Here are those who-" Do what? "Keep the commandments 08:01 of God and have the faith of Jesus." 08:05 So you see Revelation is contrasting these two groups 08:09 while ne is worshiping the beast and following man's 08:13 laws and man's commandments, there's another group who is worshipping 08:17 Godand keeping His commandments. 08:21 So just these three verses from Revelation is showing us 08:25 something very important. Whatever the mark of the beast 08:29 is, it is something that revolves around worship 08:33 and something that revolves around keeping 08:37 the commandments of God. If that makes sense, can you say Amen? 08:41 -Amen. Did I make that up? -No. Did you make that up? -No. 08:45 Did that come straight from Revelation and Revelation alone? 08:49 see those are two big clues. Whatever the mark of the beast is 08:53 it's something to do with who you're going to worship. 08:57 Something to do with the commandments of God. 09:01 So, with that background then we need to 09:05 answer the question. ...Who is the beast? 09:09 Because before who I know who's what the mark of the beast 09:13 is, logic tells me I have to know who the beast 09:17 is. Now we took Friday night over an hour 09:21 to study that subject. So if you were not here Friday night 09:25 it may be that what I say may startle you. So make sure that you get the 09:29 handout. But when we took an hour to study Daniel 7 09:33 and Revelation 13, we saw very 09:37 clearly from the Bible that it identifies 09:41 Papule, Rome and Nevadican City as the beast 09:45 of Revelation 13. The little horn of Daniel 09:49 chapter 7. Now having said that, just in case 09:53 you weren't here on Friday night, please understand 09:57 God doesn't say that to hurt or offend anybody. And neither 10:01 do I. God was warning his people about a 10:05 power that would rise in the middle ages. A power where 10:09 church and state would come together and become a persecuting 10:13 power. A kingdom that would take the Bible away 10:17 from the people and seek to distort truth. 10:21 A power that taught man to look to human authority and to 10:25 look to religious leaders and the cross of Christ and 10:29 Jesus sacrifice was completely lost sight of. 10:33 God is not condemning individual Catholic people today. 10:37 Can you say Amen? Because they had nothing to do with what 10:41 happened all the way back in the middle ages. 10:45 But God is telling us that the beast rose in those middle ages and 10:49 he wanted his people to know what was going to happen. 10:53 Because during that time, God's saints had to choose 10:57 between following the commandments of men and between following 11:01 the commandments of God. And see 11:05 Revelation is telling us, at some point in the great 11:09 final crisis, history will 11:13 repeat itself. And we'll get to that very shortly 11:17 So if Papule, Rome is the beast 11:21 then what in the world is the mark of the beast? 11:25 Because remember, whatever it is, it has something to do 11:29 with worship and something to do with the 11:33 commandments of God. 11:38 I'm going to show you some Papule quotes that have the potential to 11:42 absolutely change our life and open our 11:46 eyes. These are some very sensitive quotes. 11:50 But I have to bring them out so we can gain a clear 11:54 understanding of what Revelation is referring to. 11:58 From the St. Cathrine Catholic Church Centinel 12:02 Rome speaks these words, quoting, 12:06 "Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary 12:10 change the church ever did happened in the 1st century. 12:14 The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed 12:18 from Saturday to Sunday...not from any 12:22 directions noted in the scriptures. But from the church's 12:26 sense of it's own power." Now we have to stop there for 12:30 a minute. Notice what Rome is telling us 12:34 The boldest thing that was ever done by the church 12:38 ...at least the middle age church. The most revolutionary thing 12:42 was the changing of God's Sabbath day. 12:46 And notice they say, "It was not from any 12:50 direction of scripture, but from the 12:54 church's sense of it's own power." 12:58 And then the quote goes onto say-You're not going to believe the rest of this 13:02 quote, you're going to think that I made this up, but really I am simply quoting what was 13:06 written. The rest of the quote says, "People who think that 13:10 the scriptures should be the soul authority, 13:14 should logically become Seventh Day Adventist and keep 13:18 Saturday holy." Now again i didn't write that, I'm only quoting what they 13:22 themselves said. So you notice the issue that is brought up here. 13:26 Am I willing to accept that 13:30 man's law can be placed above God's law. 13:34 Am I willing to accept a change 13:38 where the church uses it's own sense of power, 13:42 to over ride what God says. 13:46 Am I willing to accept that man's authority 13:50 can be placed above God's authority. 13:54 Ad you notice what's in the center of this issue 13:58 it's the Sabbath. The true Sabbath of the Bible! 14:02 Remember what Revelation said? The mark of the beast 14:06 issue has to do with worship and it has to do 14:10 with what? The commandments of God. 14:14 The Sabbath touches both of them. 14:18 It has to do with worshipping God as the creator and it's found 14:22 in the very heart of God's law. 14:26 And the power which Revelation identifies 14:30 as the beast is the very power that claims 14:34 to have changed the Sabbath and changed God law. 14:38 Now brothers and sisters, that may be a hard pill 14:42 to swallow I understand, but its all to wake us up. 14:46 And help us to see the Sabbath in a very 14:50 different light. In the Catholic 14:54 records September 1 of 1923, this 14:58 was written and the phrase just shocked me. 15:02 Rome writes, "Sunday is 15:06 our-" What? "Mark of authority." 15:10 That's not my choice of words, that's Rome's 15:14 words. Its' interesting the phrase that is used. 15:18 Sunday is our mark of authority. 15:22 "The church is above the Bible, and this transference 15:26 of Sabbath observance is proof of this fact." 15:30 Now let's stop and pause here for a second. 15:34 What Rome is saying is this, 15:38 "Sunday worship shows that we have power and authority 15:42 over the Christian world. You see the church is above 15:46 the Bible and this is proven because almost 15:50 every other protestant church ignores what the Bible 15:54 says about the Sabbath and goes right along with Rome 15:58 and with the beast's authority." And as a result 16:02 that's why they are saying, "See, Sunday is our mark. Sunday 16:06 is proof that we have religious authority around the world 16:10 because even though Sunday is found no where in the Bible 16:14 even though it comes from trying to change God's law, 16:18 almost all the religious 16:22 Christian world follows it. 16:26 Almost all the religious world ignores what the Bible says. 16:30 Ignores God law and goes along with 16:34 the authority of the beast. 16:39 See Revelation wasn't joking when John 16:43 wrote, "All the world wonders 16:47 after and follows the beast." 16:51 If we were to paraphrase what Rome 16:55 is saying here, we could say this, 16:59 "The Papacy claims that the change of the Sabbath was her act. 17:03 This act of her power and authority 17:07 in religious matters because much of the Christian world 17:11 honors Rome's Sunday and ignores the Bible 17:15 Sabbath." Do you start to see the issue? 17:19 The Sabbath is God's mark of authority. 17:23 It's God seal. 17:27 It pints to him as the creator of the world the 17:31 highest authority in the Universe. But Rome said, 17:35 "Sunday is our mark of authority." 17:39 "It's our mark that has been put above the Bible. 17:43 That has been put above God's law and because the rest of the Christian 17:47 world goes right along with it, it is our 17:51 mark of authority." 17:55 Folks that ought to really get our attention. 17:59 If Rome is the beast, what is the one 18:03 issue that has to do with worship 18:07 that had to do with the commandments of God? 18:11 Religious world ignores what the Bible says 18:15 and does what the beast says. 18:19 See, the idea that anti-Christ is one man who 18:23 rises at the end of time, that was invented 18:27 by Rome in the middle ages so that the real issue 18:31 could be covered up. See, this is why some people 18:35 don't want to study the book of Revelation. And if I may dare to be so honest 18:39 this is why sometimes we prefer popular theories 18:43 that we find written in novels or movies, or series of books. 18:47 Because it covers up what the real issue is. Worship 18:51 and the commandments of God. I mean 18:55 Revelation clearly said, two groups. You're gonna worship the beast 18:59 or you're gonna worship the creator. It's either man's law or it's God's 19:03 law. The Sabbath touches both of those 19:07 issues. 19:11 Remember we read in Daniel 7:25... 19:15 That the little horn would think to change God's 19:19 times and God's laws. And even Daniel 19:23 8:12 said that he would cast the truth 19:27 down to the ground and he did all this and he 19:31 prospered. Now realize this 19:35 It's shocking, it's eye opening. When you first put the 19:39 prophecies together with Papal quotes 19:43 and what's happened in history. 19:47 Now it's true that we could ask the quiestion 19:51 "Pastor Dave, does it really matter? I mean the 19:55 Sabbath and Sunday! I mean it's just two different days on 19:59 the surface, who really cares?" 20:03 I wanna do an illustration for you that I hope will bring this 20:07 into a different light, because this is a heavy subject 20:11 so we're going to have some fun doing the illustration, is that okay? 20:15 I want you to pretend something. Over here I have something in 20:19 the palpate. What do you know? Oh dear! I have 20:23 three, different wash cloths. What am I going to do with that? 20:27 Well, as I get them out, I noticed...what color is this? 20:31 -Red. You know what, I'm a CRAZY sort of person.. 20:35 I just do not like the color red! It's just.. 20:39 too bold, too vivid! I don't know whoever invented this color 20:43 but I do not like it. And to show my disgust for the color red, I'm just 20:47 going to throw it down on the ground, i'm gonna step on it and trample upon it. 20:51 And I'm gonna kick it off the stage. Does that bother anybody? 20:55 I mean, you think I'm a little weird, but it doesn't bother you? 20:59 That's good, but you know what? Red is not the only color I don't 21:03 like. Over here is another one I don't like. 21:07 What color is this? (Audience: White) You know what? 21:11 I don't like white. This is like the most boring color 21:15 ever invented. There is nothing about it that strikes the imagination. 21:19 And to show my disgust for the color white, I am throwing it on the ground 21:23 I'm gonna step on it and trample on it in front of you and I'm gonna kick it off the stage. 21:27 Does that bother anybody? (Audience: No) 21:31 You still think I'm wierd, but it doesn't bother you. But you know what there's another color 21:35 I don't like. What color is this? (Audience: Blue) 21:39 Blue. I don't like this one either. I don't know 21:43 why man invents such ugly colors. And to show you 21:47 how much I detest blue, I'm gonna throw it on the ground, 21:51 I'm gonna tramp on it, step on it in front of you, kick it off the ground. 21:55 Do you still love me? (Audience: Yes.) You may not 21:59 understand, well if he wants to step on cloths that's fine with me, but that doesn't outrage anybody. 22:03 I can't help it that I do not 22:07 like red or white 22:11 or blue. They're just not colors 22:15 that make me feel 22:20 very good. Red 22:24 white 22:28 and blue. 22:32 Would that bother you? (Audience: Yes!) Now notice I didn't let it touch the ground 22:36 can you say amen? I didn't step on it, this was just an illustration. 22:40 I'm thankful to be an American! We may have problems, but there's still 22:44 no other country in the world that I would rather live. 22:48 But here's the point. I just spent the last few minutes stepping 22:52 all over red white and blue on those cloths, and you 22:56 said nothing. But when I turned to the American flag, 23:00 the very same colors, I got a reaction out of 23:04 the audience. Now you tell me, what's the difference? 23:08 It's what they 23:12 represent. Wash clothes 23:16 represent nothing. The American flag 23:20 does. This represents life, liberty, 23:24 freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Can you say amen? 23:28 This represents men and women who have layed down their lives for 23:32 religious and political freedom. What's the 23:36 difference? It's what's behind each of these things. Not what's on the surface. 23:40 Their colors were exactly the same, but you did not like it 23:44 when I acted like I would step on this one. 23:48 The same thing is true with the Sabbath and Sunday issue. 23:52 On the surface, it might just seem 23:56 like it's about two days. But the deeper 24:00 issue is, Sabbath 24:04 is God's mark of authority. 24:08 Sunday is the Beast's mark of authority. 24:12 Sabbath is about upholding the commandments of God. 24:16 Sunday is about honoring the commandments of 24:20 men. The Sabbath is about acknowledging 24:24 God as the highest authority in this world. 24:28 Sunday is about acknowledging 24:32 man's authority. When you 24:36 understand the issues, it makes 24:40 a difference. And that's why Revelation brings it out. 24:44 It's about worship. It's about the commandments of God. 24:48 And it's about who's authority that we 24:52 are going to follow. 24:56 Now you may say pastor Dave, this really bothers me. 25:00 And I can understand that. You may say much of my life 25:04 I've been honoring Sunday. I didn't know about the 25:08 bible Sabbath. Am I lost? is God angry with me? 25:12 No my friends. God expects us to 25:16 live up to the light that we know. 25:20 In the past you may not have known that light. 25:24 But that's why God brings us to a study of His word. 25:28 He brings us to seminars like these, so that we can open the scriptures 25:32 and we see truth, we see light that we didn't know before. 25:36 God doesn't blame you if you didn't have that light in the past. 25:40 But, now that you have the light, Jesus says when you see the light, 25:44 walk in the light. When you know the truth, live the truth. 25:48 Can you say amen? Remember what James 4:17 says? 25:52 "To him who knows the good he should do and doesn't do it, to him 25:56 it is sin." If he knows the good he should do. 26:00 You didn't know in the past, but we know now. God 26:04 wants to give us a blessing. You know 26:08 sometimes people ask me, and it's a very sincere question. 26:12 They say "pastor Dave 26:16 what about all those people in the past? 26:20 That didn't know about Sabbath? From centuries ago?" 26:24 And sometimes it even comes close to home. 26:28 What about my parents? 26:32 My grandparents? Are you saying they're lost? 26:36 Certainly not! It goes back 26:40 to the issue, God wants us to live up to what we do know. 26:44 Back in the middle ages people like John Huss and Martin Luther they may 26:48 not have know about the Sabbath. See in the dark ages 26:52 you notice something about God. He never reaveals 26:56 truth all at once. Did you know that? He always reveals it one 27:00 step at at time. John Huss people like Martin LUther 27:04 they weren't ready for the Sabbath yet. They were still having to teach that 27:08 bible is the highest authority and not the church. Until that 27:12 was settled they couldn't go to anything else! See if God 27:16 would give us all the truth all at the same time, 27:20 we would not be able to handle it. Like last night when I got up in the middle 27:24 of the night, probably 3:00 o'clock in the morning, you go to the bathroom 27:28 and you try to walk across your pitch black bedroom 27:32 and you go into the bathroom and all of a sudden you turn on those bright lights, what happens? 27:36 You're blinded! You recoil back from it, you know you're like 27:40 "Oh man, I cant stand that!" It takes a while. 27:44 That's the way it is sometimes with truth. 27:48 Jesus said to his disciples, "There are many things I have yet to 27:52 tell you. But you are not yet able to bare them all." 27:56 He reveals truth one step at a time. We're gonna see 28:00 that a little bit later in the seminar. And so people in the past they 28:04 may not have known! My parents, my grandparents! They 28:08 may have been doing the best they could living up to the truth that they were 28:12 aware of. And God honors and understands 28:16 that. But when we know the truth, God 28:20 wants us to follow that truth and be able to receive 28:24 its blessings. Now the next question we sometimes 28:28 have is..."Pastor! 28:32 There are so few people that know about the Sabbath. 28:36 I mean the majority know nothing about it! 28:40 I mean they love God but Sunday is in their life, they don't 28:44 realize the deep issues behind it! How are they going to know about it?" 28:48 Two ways! You know what the first 28:52 way is? You. 28:56 The first way is you and I, because we have an 29:00 opportunity to witness and to share these beautiful 29:04 truths with other people, can you say Amen? The second 29:08 way is through Bible prophecy. 29:12 You say, "What do you mean?" Remember, 29:16 Revelation told us that in the 29:20 last great crisis 29:24 the mark of the beast is about worship and the 29:28 commandments of God. If Rome is the beast 29:32 And the mark of the beast is Sunday worship and authority 29:36 that means that in that final 29:40 crisis the Sabbath Sunday issue is going 29:44 to take center stage. That the issue between 29:48 man's law and God's law will no longer be 29:52 something that is obscure and in a dark alley somewhere it will 29:56 be right there in the fore front. Because Revelation says at 30:00 that time everyone is going to have to make a 30:04 decision. I want to to transition now 30:08 and take you to one of the most powerful 30:12 prophecies in the book of Revelation. 30:16 I want us to go back to Revelation 13. 30:20 Turn there in your Bible's, Revelation 13 30:24 and verse 11. Now we've been in Revelation 30:28 13. The first part of this chapter vs 30:32 1-10, tells us about the first beast. 30:36 Which we know to be Rome. But in the 30:40 second half of that chapter, Revelation 30:44 says a second beast rises. 30:48 And partners with the first beast. 30:52 And so the question it brings to our mind is.. 30:56 Does the Bible mention the Untied States 31:00 anywhere in prophecy? See God 31:04 doesn't mention every nation that has ever existed. 31:08 He only mentions those nations that those nations that have played a significant role in his 31:12 plan or have dramatically affected his people throughout 31:16 history. That's why he mentions, you know, Babylon. He symbolizes Meeto Persia 31:20 and Greece and Rome and Seria and things like that. 31:24 But if the United States is one of the dominate players in the end time 31:28 is it mentioned or symbolized anywhere 31:32 in Bible prophecy? Wouldn't it be strange 31:36 for God to raise up a powerful nation that 31:40 has freedom and democracy and never mention it? 31:44 In end time prophecy. 31:48 Let's start reading in Revelation 13 31:51 Let's start reading in Revelation 13 and try to figure out who 31:52 or what si this second beast? 31:56 The Bible says, "Then I 32:00 saw another beast coming up out of 32:04 the earth. And he had two horns like-" a what? 32:08 "A lamb, but spoke like a dragon." 32:12 And he exercises all the authority of the first 32:16 beast in his presents and causes the earth and those 32:20 who dwell in it to worship the first beast. Who's 32:24 deadly wound was healed. He preforms great signs 32:28 so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the 32:32 earth in the sight of men and he deceives those who dwell on the earth. 32:37 By those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of 32:41 the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make-" a what? 32:45 "An image to the beast who was wounded by the 32:49 sword and lived." Verse 15. "He was 32:53 granted power to give breath to the image of the beast. 32:57 That the image of the beast both speak and 33:01 cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast 33:05 to be-" What? "Killed. And he causes all-" 33:09 No notice that word, "He causes all 33:13 both small and great, rich and poor, free and 33:17 slave, to receive a mark on their right hand 33:21 or on their foreheads and that no one may buy or 33:25 sell, except one who has the mark or 33:29 the name of the beast or the number of 33:33 his name." That's quite a description isn't 33:37 it? Its almost a little scary 33:41 lets put a little summary on the screen as to what the activities 33:45 of this second beast is. First; a second beast 33:49 rises to power and Revelation says will be like a lamb. 33:53 This beast will eventually speak like a dragon 33:57 and will do something that causes people to follow the first 34:01 beast. Which we know to be Rome. The second beast will 34:05 set up an image for to the first beast and make that image speak 34:09 and it will force people to worship the image and those 34:13 who do receive a mark. You say, "Wow." 34:17 So, what does all that mean? 34:21 Lets go back now and lets look at it 34:25 verse by verse and point by point 34:29 Verse 11 said and John describes 34:33 "Then I saw a beast coming up out of the earth. 34:37 So the first question we need to answer is 34:41 What does a beast represent in Bible 34:45 prophecy? And see we have already studied that, we already know 34:49 a beast represent a kingdom not a person 34:53 We saw that in Daniel, we saw that in Revelation. So whatever the second 34:57 beast is it is a nation or kingdom that is 35:01 rising to power. If that akes sense can you say amen? We know that much. 35:05 But then the question comes, well, "Where does this power 35:09 arise?" Well there's a few clues. 35:13 If you go back to verse 1 when it 35:17 talks about the first beast, could you tell me 35:21 where does the first beast rise up out of? 35:25 The sea or the waters. That's the first beast symbolizing 35:29 Rome. What did we learnt hat seas or waters 35:33 represent in Biblical prophecy? Multitudes of 35:37 people. Remember we got that from Revelation 7:15 where the 35:41 Bible says, "The waters which you saw are peoples multitudes. 35:45 Nations, and tongues." By the way that's Revelation 35:49 17:15, not 7:15. The waters is multitudes of people. 35:53 So that first beast, Rome, rises up 35:57 in a populated area of the world, but 36:01 it says the second beast rises out of where in 36:05 verse 11. Will you tell me? Out of the earth! 36:09 That it is the very opposite of waters. So if waters 36:13 represent populated areas, what do you think earth 36:17 would represent. Sparsely 36:21 populated area. In other words this new beast 36:25 that comes up out of the earth, represent a nation that 36:29 will rise to power in a sparsely populated area. 36:33 An area where there's not many people. 36:37 Thats a big clue, thus 36:41 far. What its telling us 36:45 this is not the rise of an already established nation. 36:49 This is the rise to power 36:53 of a new nation in a new part of the world 36:57 where there is not many people. 37:01 Are you putting the concepts together? 37:05 Lets keep going 37:12 When does this power or nation rise? 37:16 That the second beast rises after the beast 37:20 loses its power. If you read Revelation 13 37:24 and you go to verse 9 or verse 10 37:28 it talks about how the first beast would go into captivity. 37:32 At that point the second beast begins 37:37 to rise. We've already learned that if the first beast 37:41 is Rome, Revelation said they would rule for 42 37:45 months or 1260 years. History tells us 37:49 The papule government was abolished in what year? Can you 37:53 tell me from the screen. 1798. From 538 37:57 to 1798, church and state were united 38:01 in a persecuting power. And in the French Revolution. 38:05 Nepolian abolished the papule government, took the pope 38:09 of that time off the throne where he died in exile. 38:13 1798, the first beast goes into captivity. 38:17 If the second beast is rising around that time, 38:21 that means this new nation 38:25 in an unpopulated part of the world, will 38:29 be rising to power and dominance somewhere around 38:33 1798 when the frist beast 38:37 goes into captivity. If you're with 38:41 me so far can you say amen? Heh, lets keep going 38:45 How does this power arise? How does this second beast 38:49 come to power? Well notice 38:53 Revelation 13:11 said that this beast has 38:57 two horns like a lamb. 39:01 Now how many of you have lived or been on a farm, can I see your hands. Then you tell me 39:05 what is the nature or character of a lamb? 39:09 Yeah, they are docile, they are gentle creatures. 39:13 They are not like a goat who if you turn your back on them 39:17 they are able to butt you be aggressive. A lamb is 39:21 gentle. This new nation 39:25 in the begginning, is described as being 39:29 gentle as a lamb. 39:33 I want you to keep that in mind. Revelation 13, 39:37 also tells us there were no crowns on the horns of this second 39:41 beast. Well why is that significant? 39:45 When we studied about the first beast in Revelation 13, Rome. 39:49 It had ten horns and there were crowns on each of 39:53 those horns. Crowns indicate 39:57 kingly authority. Kingly monarchy. 40:01 Power centered in either one or just a few people. 40:05 The second best, this 40:09 new nation doesn't have any crowns. 40:13 That tells us the absence of crowns 40:17 Indicates freedom, that it's going to be a 40:21 different form of government, its not going to be kingly authority 40:25 but there will be a sense of freedom and democracy not 40:29 centered in just a few people! There is something different. 40:33 About this new nation. So this is what we've learned so far. 40:37 This second lamb like best rises 40:41 around 1798, arises in a 40:45 relatively unpopulated area of the world. It has no 40:49 crowns on its horns indicating freedom, no kingly 40:53 monarchy. It would be a young or a new nation 40:57 and it would rise to a position of world wide power. 41:01 And influence. Now let me ask you, all five of those 41:05 points, did they come from the Bible and the Bible alone, yes or no? 41:09 They did! And the truth is, there is only one 41:13 nation that fits every one of those 41:17 points. It is the United States... 41:21 of America. See this nation 41:25 was part of God's great plan. I want you to think 41:29 about this. In 1798 41:33 as the period of persecution was ending, 41:37 as Rome and domination came to a close 41:41 God used this nation to be formed in 41:45 the new world that would offer religious and political 41:49 freedom to all! It would have a constitution 41:53 that guarantee the separation of church and state. 41:57 It guaranteed religious liberty that people could worship 42:01 according to the dictates of their own conscience. 42:05 To you and I that's old news, but back around 42:09 1798 as this nation was gaining power, they had just 42:13 come out of 1260 years of papule persecution! 42:17 And as a result, people 42:21 flocked to America. See, God 42:25 used this nation to offer freedom because 42:29 you see, part of God's plan is he wanted to restore 42:33 Bible truth again. And it's really hard to 42:37 do that when church and state are united. 42:41 And there is a persecuting power dominating 42:45 the world. So God used the Untied States 42:49 to offer freedom, to be an example to the world 42:53 of what religious liberty should be like. I want to show 42:57 you the palm that is written at the base of the statue of liberty 43:01 How many people have ever been to the statue of liberty? Can i see your hands? 43:05 Okay if I have never had the privilege to go there, but this palm is on 43:09 its base and i'm quoting, 43:13 "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she with silent lips. 43:17 "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses 43:21 yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming 43:25 shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me 43:29 I lift my lamp beside the golden 43:33 door!" America was part 43:37 of God's plan. People could worship in freedom. 43:41 And they could follow the Bible and the 43:45 Bible alone, if they chose to. No legislation 43:49 of religion. One could follow their conviction. 43:53 In freedom and without persecution. 43:57 You see, God definitely blessed America. 44:01 But you know... 44:05 there is a part of this prophecy that bothers me 44:09 Because the prophecy says it will 44:13 not always be this way. Remember what it said 44:17 in verse 11? "Then I saw a beast 44:21 coming up out of the earth, and he 44:25 had two horns like a lamb and spoke 44:29 like a-" What? "Dragon." 44:33 The prophecy is telling us that something is going to 44:37 change in the character of the second beast. 44:41 That something is going to change in the character of America! 44:45 Becausw the beast goes from being 44:49 lamb like, to being dragon like. 44:53 That somewhere along the ray... 44:57 Revelation is giving us the hint that 45:01 there may not always be religious liberty. 45:05 That there may not always be the freedom that we have now. 45:09 And if we're honest we can 45:13 already see some of those things starting to take place in this country. 45:17 In the last few years as 45:21 certain personal freedoms are slowly being taken 45:25 away. The second beast will speak like a 45:29 dragon, it says. The prophecy goes on to say.. 45:34 "And he exercises all the authority 45:37 of the first beast in his presence, and he causes the earth 45:41 and those who dwell in it, to worship the first beast, whose 45:46 deadly wound was healed." Now, wow! Wait a minute! 45:50 Little time out here! It says the second beast 45:54 becomes like the first beast! Causes people 45:58 to worship the first beast. See Revelation 46:02 is telling us that this second beast will begin to exercise 46:06 the authority of Papule, Rome. 46:10 How did Papule, Rome get their authority? Through a 46:14 combination of church and state. 46:18 There was no religious 46:22 liberty. And the Bible was hinting 46:26 that's going to happen again. 46:30 Because when church and state unite, 46:34 freedom of conscious is gone. Religious liberty is 46:38 gone and the minority are always 46:42 always persecuted. 46:46 Thats what happened in Papule, Rome. The Bible says 46:50 that's what will eventually happen with the second beast. 46:54 Who begins to speak like a dragon and 46:58 act like the first beast. I have to 47:02 admit, its a little unsettling to think about. 47:06 Isnt it? Prophecy goes on.. 47:10 See we may wonder and say to ourselves, 47:14 "No, way. This could never happen in America!" 47:18 A hundred years ago people would laugh at this prophecy and say, "There is no way 47:22 that's what it can mean, its impossible!" 47:26 But if we're honest, in the last 20-30 47:30 years, its become a lot more 47:34 possible. I want you to notice what Wiliam 47:38 Reihnquist, the chief justice or one of the chief justices of the supreme court said, 47:42 Quote, he said, "The wall of separation between church 47:46 and state is a metaphor based on-" What? "Bad history." 47:50 Bad history! One of the supreme court 47:54 justices is saying that the separation of church and state should not 47:58 be, its a bad thing based on bad history! 48:02 In the St. Louise Dispatch, 48:06 27 years ago when they were talking about the bill of rights 48:10 this article was written, quote, "As the second century 48:14 of the bill of rights draws to a close, 48:18 the supreme court is defining what religious 48:22 liberty will mean in the third century. 48:26 Broadly, the courts new approach helps conventional 48:30 religions while hurting unconventional ones." 48:34 Did you catch that? The supreme court is 48:38 redefining what religious liberty will be 48:42 See this isnt as far fetched as we somtimes 48:46 may think, do you know that right now in this counrty 48:50 there are people calling for the constitution to be changed. 48:54 There are religious groups strongly 48:58 advocating that the separation of church and state should be broken down 49:02 and that religion should be legislated so that 49:06 this country can come back to God. Organization 49:10 like the Christian coalition , religious right 49:14 and famous preachers like Patt Roberts and all want 49:18 to see that happen. The prophecy goes on to say 49:22 in Revelation 13:14. "Telling those 49:26 who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast 49:30 who was wounded by the sword and lived." Thats talking about the first beast, Rome. 49:34 It goes on and says, "He was granted power to 49:38 give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast 49:42 that the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not 49:46 worship the image of the beast to be killed." 49:50 Lets pause here a second. The second beast 49:54 will make an image to the first beast. 49:58 America will make 50:02 an image to Rome... 50:06 Symbolically speaking, well what does that mean. 50:10 An image is a likeness of something. You know the Bible says 50:14 that in the beginning we were created in the image of God, we were to have some 50:18 characteristics of God before sin entered. 50:22 The second beast will become or even make an 50:27 image of the first beast a likeness of Rome. 50:31 In other words America will begin to 50:35 look like Rome. The church and 50:39 state will unite and begin to enforce 50:43 religious practices. Let me show 50:47 you a quote from Patt Robertson who wrote a book after 50:51 advocating the new world order. In his book he writes 50:55 "The next obligation that a citizen 50:59 of God's world order owes is to himself. 51:03 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy' is a command 51:07 for the personal benefit of each citizen. Higher 51:11 civilizations rise when people can rest and draw inspiration from God. 51:15 Laws in America that mandated a day of rest. 51:19 That mandated a day of rest, he's speaking about Sunday law. 51:23 Have been nullified as a violation 51:27 of the separation of church and state. 51:31 As an outright insult to 51:35 God and his plan. 51:39 Did you catch that? He is saying the fact that 51:43 Sunday laws have been nullified in some places 51:47 because it violates the separation of church and state, he says 51:51 that's an outright insult to God. 51:55 Because what many religious leaders are advocating today, 51:59 is to do away with separation of church and 52:03 state and have Sunday laws that bring people back to 52:07 God. See why would religious leaders want to 52:11 do that? Because they're scared. 52:15 They see what's happening in this world and this country 52:19 So do you and I! The social problems, the drugs 52:23 ,the immortality, the uncertainty, rising crimes, 52:27 natural disasters, society falling apart! 52:31 Things like 9/11! They see how religion 52:35 has been taken away from this country, God has been taken out of the school 52:39 and many are saying all the horrors that are happening 52:43 in this country, all those problems, God's curse is upon 52:47 Amercia because they have turned away from God's law! 52:51 They've turned away from his principles! There 52:55 no longer the Christian nation they once were when formed 52:59 in the beginning. Thats what many religious leaders are saying! 53:03 And so in order to bring revival to America! 53:07 And in order to bring America back to God 53:11 they are suggesting Sunday laws! 53:15 And the only way that can happen, is if the separation of church 53:19 and state is broken down. 53:23 Now I think we can all agree..does this country 53:27 need rival, yes or no? -Yes. Indeed it does! 53:31 These problems exist! Indeed we have turned away 53:35 from our Christian principals, but folks we have to 53:39 understand. You can not legislate 53:43 revival. Revival doesnt 53:47 start in the halls of the sennit! 53:51 Revival doesn't start in the house of representatives! 53:55 Spiritual revival doesnt come from the white house or the supreme court! 53:59 Or even the United Nations! God 54:03 tells us where true revival comes from. 54:07 2 Chronicles 7:14 the Bible says, "If my 54:11 people who are called by my name, will 54:15 humble themselves and pray and seek my face, 54:19 and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear 54:23 from heaven and will forgive their sin 54:27 and heal their land." Where does true revival 54:31 start? It starts right here. 54:35 In your heart and in mine. It cant be forced, 54:39 it cant be coursed, it can be legislated. 54:43 God never works that way. 54:47 We should never reach for the revival at the cost of freedom 54:51 and religious liberty, 'cause God has never done so. 54:55 True revival is when I get on my knees 54:59 true revival is when I surrender my heart to God! 55:03 And I read his word and I pray and I choose to follow 55:07 him above everything else! And whatever separates 55:11 me from God, I say Lord Jesus take it away! God says when we 55:15 do that, he will forgive our sin and he will 55:19 heal our land. 55:23 See, doing it through Sunday laws... 55:27 Is actually playing right into the hand of the beast. Bringing 55:31 church and state together. Trying to legislate 55:35 morality. And when that happens a man will have to choose 55:39 between the Sunday of the beast... 55:43 or the Sabbath of the Lord. 55:47 See thats what happened with Rome. 55:51 Constintine created one of the first Sunday laws 55:55 in those early centuries. On the venerable day of the 55:59 sun, let the magistrates and people residing in the 56:03 cities reast, let all the shops be closed." 56:07 And even all the way back then, people had to choose! Whose authority are they going to follow? 56:11 Man's authority? 56:15 Or God's authority? 56:19 Revelation says when it happens here, in 56:23 the future, the final issue will 56:27 center around worship. It will center around the 56:31 commandments of God and the Sabbath touches both. 56:35 Its about worship, its about God's law, 56:39 its about whose authority? 56:43 Am I going to follow? 56:47 Thats why in Revelation 14:12 after God talks about the 3 angels 56:51 God says, 56:55 "Here are the patients of the saints. Here are 56:59 they who keep the commandments of God, 57:03 and have the faith of Jesus. 57:07 Cause they're worshipping the creator of heaven and earth, the have chosen not to 57:12 follow the authority of the beast. 57:16 I know its a tough message. But 57:20 thats the underline issue. God's mark of authority 57:24 is the Sabbath. Rome's mark 57:28 is the Sunday. 57:32 So where does that leave me and you? 57:36 So brothers and sisters, in the last days, God will again invite his people 57:40 to take a stand. And that 57:44 might mean standing in the minority 57:48 it might mean even standing 57:52 alone. The prospect of 57:56 standing along is a scary thing, but 58:00 you know when you follow Jesus, your never alone. 58:04 Because Jesus says, "Lo, I am with you 58:08 always. Even to the end of 58:12 the age." See when you stand with Jesus you have peace 58:16 in your heart. When you stand with Jesus you have the assurance 58:20 that you're on the right side! 58:24 With Jesus. You can have the confidence that his presence is always 58:28 with you. |
Revised 2015-11-10