House Calls

Top Ten Counterfeits, Pt. 1

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Lomacang (Host), John Stanton

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Series Code: HCL

Program Code: HCL100016


00:01 Hello friends. Grab your Bible and a friend
00:03 and sit back as we explore God's Word together
00:05 on this edition of House Calls.
00:22 Hello friends and welcome to an exciting program.
00:24 This is the House Calls set here at 3ABN
00:27 and I'm glad that you have chosen to tune in.
00:29 We always look forward to having you come and join us
00:31 for an excursion through the Word of God.
00:33 And today is going to be an exciting one, so sit down
00:36 right now, hit the record button so you can share this program
00:39 with your friends and family members.
00:41 And guess what? I'm sure you see two people...
00:43 I'm not by myself. It's my good friend John.
00:46 Good to have you here, John. Hey, it's great to be here John.
00:47 Starting a new series today. That's right.
00:50 What's it called? Top Ten Counterfeits -
00:53 Wow - Of The Last Days.
00:55 That's really good. I mean, something that you've actually
00:58 been working on and we've kind of put it together.
01:01 I'm excited about it because it's a really good concept.
01:03 Yeah, I did a series on it a couple of years ago.
01:05 Titled it a little bit differently but
01:07 I've been thinking about, you know, how the popularity
01:09 Top Ten lists is really... you know,
01:11 everyone's got a Top Ten list for something.
01:13 That's right. So hey, the Top Ten List
01:15 for the counterfeits of today:
01:16 What is Satan doing in these last days to deceive humankind?
01:20 You ought to put it in a book.
01:21 Well, who knows? OK.
01:23 But before we do anything else we're going to have you
01:26 bow your heads with us because John's going to lead us
01:28 before the throne of grace through prayer.
01:30 Let's do that. Gracious Father,
01:32 we thank you so much for Your guidance through Your Word.
01:36 And we know that it is a lamp unto our feet,
01:39 a light to our path. And we just pray that it will be
01:41 that light here today as we open it and as You speak
01:44 to our hearts about all these things that
01:47 we are facing here in the last days.
01:50 We're almost here.
01:52 We're in the time when Jesus will appear
01:54 and descend in the clouds to take us home.
01:56 And so we just pray that You would reveal some very
01:59 important things about that here today
02:01 especially to help guide us until that time
02:04 when we can go home with You. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen.
02:08 Thank you, John, for that prayer.
02:10 Now friends, as you know we have Bible questions
02:13 and you have done your part.
02:15 You have sent us Bible questions here
02:17 to House Calls, and we receive those questions.
02:19 Sometimes we just download them.
02:21 Sometimes we take the envelopes and open them up.
02:23 But whatever the case may be, we always like to begin
02:26 our program with Bible questions.
02:27 So if you have any questions that come to your mind
02:29 during the program, you can send those questions to:
02:36 And we'll get our questions downloaded as I mentioned
02:39 and try out best to answer them.
02:41 If you still don't agree with the answer,
02:43 send another question and we'll try to clarify
02:45 it as best we can. So John, what do you have for us today?
02:48 I've got a question from Shannon.
02:50 OK. And she says here: "In the book of Genesis
02:55 Jacob is described as deceiving Esau
02:59 although it was his mother's plan to do it.
03:02 Yet why did God give him favor? "
03:05 And I think that's a great question because,
03:08 you know, Jacob obviously was one
03:12 who deceived his brother
03:13 and went along with his mother's plan.
03:15 And knew that it was wrong yet still did it
03:18 and God still bestowed favor upon him.
03:21 You know, I think one of the things that,
03:23 we misunderstand about God at times is that none of us
03:26 really deserve God's favor.
03:29 Um-hmm. And also we tend to
03:32 go day to day feeling or thinking
03:37 or even wondering whether or not we have
03:41 the favor of God. Whether we are in His good graces
03:44 at that time. Have we done things recently
03:46 that are pleasing to Him?
03:48 Have we been doing what God has given us to do
03:50 that somehow deserves that favor?
03:53 And the mentality of doing good to receive favor
03:57 is what? Legalism.
03:59 We often think that, yes.
04:01 But we deserve... we don't deserve God's favor.
04:04 We receive God's favor because we are...
04:06 not because we are faithful to Him
04:08 but because He is faithful to us.
04:10 And in this case... You know, I did some thinking about
04:13 this question a bit.
04:15 And really the thing that jumped out at me here, John,
04:18 is that, you know, a lot of times in my own life
04:21 I think of the things I've done right,
04:22 the things I've done wrong
04:24 and how maybe my life spiritually has followed
04:28 those things. And it does to a degree.
04:30 But what I also find is that um, you know, when it comes to...
04:36 to trying to earn God's favor I can't do enough.
04:40 Right. But I can order my life in harmony with His ways
04:43 that would allow Him to bestow certain blessings.
04:46 And I believe very much that it's the trend of one's life
04:50 not the mistakes that one makes occasionally
04:54 along the way but their commitment to God
04:57 and allowing Him to reveal in their lives the things
05:00 that aren't good that He would like to root out.
05:02 The changes, the transformations He wants to make
05:05 going along with that plan that actually brings God's favor.
05:08 And I find that,
05:11 in Hebrews... it talks a little bit about that in Hebrews
05:14 chapter 12 about the "chastening of the Lord. "
05:17 And giving yourself to that chastening,
05:20 going with God's plan to allow Him to chasten you,
05:23 to correct,
05:25 to work through circumstances that may be trying:
05:29 difficulties, trials, struggles that you go through,
05:33 as God's tool to bring you back onto the right course
05:38 and to follow His plan.
05:40 And so what I would say about Jacob is that
05:42 he clearly set his path early on to follow God and His plan
05:47 for his life whereas Esau really was wanting to
05:51 kind of do his thing.
05:52 It was almost a Cain and Abel thing again, although we don't
05:54 see Esau committing murder against Jacob.
05:57 I think he certainly thought about it and wanted to.
06:00 But I think we see the same kind of thing where Esau's
06:03 life was centered around his hunting skills
06:07 and what he could do around, you know, for the land
06:09 and around the tent and helping out the house
06:11 where Jacob tended to just devote more time
06:14 to his relationship with God, his relationship with his mother
06:17 and other things. And God rewarded that.
06:21 And even though Jacob did make the mistake of deceiving Esau
06:25 and stealing the birthright, God still, with the trend of
06:29 his life, did bestow favor upon him.
06:32 But listen... not without trials.
06:35 And, you know, we should not have this rosy picture of
06:39 Jacob's life 'cause think about it. After that deception
06:42 he was forced to flee from his home.
06:45 Never saw his mother again.
06:46 Went through some horrible troubles with Esau
06:50 chasing him thinking that Esau could catch up with him
06:52 at any time. Went to his father-in-law's
06:56 and was deceived by his father-in-law
06:59 in much the same way.
07:01 And so we find that some of the things that we do wrong
07:05 can often come back to us. There are consequences for
07:08 our sins, and Jacob did experience those consequences...
07:11 although ultimately his path was set right.
07:15 It was set for God. He desired God's will
07:18 and God bestowed favor upon him.
07:21 And so, you know, we need to be careful I think, John.
07:24 I think this is kind of my last comment.
07:25 We need to be careful thinking that one thing we do
07:28 right or wrong will determine forever God's favor or lack of
07:32 favor on us. I believe it's better to have...
07:35 to make sure we have set the course to follow the Lord.
07:37 Let Him determine who should and who should not have
07:41 His favor and the blessings that He bestows upon us
07:44 and, and not be judging as to whether or not
07:48 someone else should have favor. 'Cause sometimes we do that
07:50 in the church. Church members like: "Well why does he get this
07:53 and I don't? " and this and that. That can be a problem
07:57 within the church at times.
07:59 Well sometimes also we forget the sovereignty of God.
08:02 God is sovereign and He, He sees things before we see it.
08:08 He sees the heart of the human before we see the actions
08:12 of the human. He sees...
08:14 The Bible, as it says in Hebrews 4:12,
08:17 the Bible is a "discerner of the thoughts and intents
08:22 of the heart. " So when the Word of God reveals what
08:26 a person intends to do before they even do it
08:29 surely God knows what a person intends to do
08:32 before they even do it.
08:33 So He saw from birth that the propensities
08:37 of one son were more in favor
08:39 than the propensities of the other.
08:41 And then so what God has is not only,
08:44 insight but He has foresight. He has foreknowledge.
08:49 And Isaiah 46:10 kind of I think puts it in the context
08:52 where we can see that the things that happened
08:54 in the Bible or the things that happen in society...
08:56 Sometimes people say: "Well why did God say to Israel
08:58 'Wipe out that entire nation including the children
09:02 and the women and the old men and the old women? '
09:05 Why completely obliterate them? "
09:07 And you find that talked about in the Bible.
09:09 We often say: "Well isn't there somebody in that generation
09:12 that would come out to be righteous? "
09:14 The Lord sees the seeds of men and what those seeds
09:17 will produce. And so Isaiah 46:10 says
09:20 the reason why He showed favor over Esau -
09:24 why He showed favor on Jacob instead of Esau...
09:28 Says: "Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient
09:31 times things that are not yet done saying:
09:34 'My counsel shall stand and I will do all My pleasure. ' "
09:37 And so, God chooses.
09:39 So you look at the family line, though, but I want to also
09:42 point this out: if you look at the family line of Jesus
09:48 you don't find all good characters in that family line.
09:52 I looked at it and I thought "Man, there's some
09:55 colorful characters in the family line of Jesus. "
09:57 For example, you know, the Bible says Jesus is of the house
10:02 and the lineage of David.
10:04 Well now, David was an immoral man.
10:07 David was a murderer. But David confessed,
10:09 David was forgiven.
10:11 You also find that Rahab was a harlot
10:13 but Rahab is in the family line of Jesus.
10:16 So when you look at the people that are in the family line
10:19 of Jesus, the Lord looks at the redemptive qualities
10:22 and what He can do in a person's life.
10:24 And so there is even hope for people like Esau.
10:28 But the bottom line is: God had a plan
10:31 for Jacob's life, and that plan was unfolding.
10:34 And so when the angel appeared to, um...
10:41 Rebekah
10:43 and... and showed the plan
10:48 the angel told Rebekah that Jacob will be the youngest one
10:53 and he will rule over the oldest one.
10:55 And so... but you saw Isaac had a determination
10:58 and Isaac and Esau had a lot of similarities.
11:00 They were both hunters; they were outdoorsmen.
11:03 So that's where the similarities were between the father, Isaac,
11:06 and the son, Esau.
11:07 But Jacob and his mother... Jacob was more the indoor type.
11:11 Was the kind that would stay close to home.
11:14 He was the more serious minded, the more spiritual minded.
11:16 And the Lord saw and said: "Well this is the kind of person
11:19 that I would want to lead, that I would want to be
11:22 an example to the children to come.
11:25 So all those factors fit into that.
11:27 And what amazes me, John, is when you look at Matthew
11:30 it talks about there are 42 generations
11:34 from Adam all the way to Christ.
11:38 And, you begin to see... Sorry, from Abraham to Christ...
11:42 you begin to see there are 42 generations.
11:44 Out of all the wicked people that were in that family line
11:48 they came down to Joseph - the husband of Mary -
11:52 and it says: "Joseph was a just man. "
11:56 So, no matter how bad the seedling will be
11:58 God can come up with somebody 42 generations later
12:02 than can be just and fit to be an example to the child Jesus.
12:07 Amazing. God sees all that and we don't see it.
12:09 And we sometimes say: "Well why did He have to cut
12:11 that tree down? " And some people say:
12:12 "Well, if I didn't cut that tree down
12:15 then it'll put at risk all the other...
12:19 all the other, trees in the garden. "
12:22 Well we travel quite a bit... Angie and I do.
12:24 And when we come back we fill out those customs forms.
12:26 They ask questions: have you been to a sheep farm?
12:30 Have you been in touch with livestock in the last 3 days?
12:32 The last week? do you have any plant products with you?
12:38 And I didn't think it was that serious until I was
12:40 on my way to Australia and they asked the question.
12:43 Well what I had was... I didn't have plants
12:45 but I had trail mix which had seeds in it
12:51 like sunflower seeds and almonds and all.
12:55 And when I went through customs the lady looked in my bag
12:57 and she found the sunflower seeds
12:59 which they gave us on the airplane as a part of our
13:02 package to eat. And she said:
13:04 "You know, I could have fined you. I could have
13:06 really charged you a huge fine for not reporting this. "
13:09 And I said: "Well the thing asked for whether or not I had
13:12 seeds or plant life. " And I said:
13:14 "This is what they gave us on the plane to eat. "
13:17 She said: "But these are sunflower SEEDS. "
13:20 And I thought: "Man! "
13:22 And so, here's the point again:
13:24 they knew what the impact could be on the society
13:28 if I brought something in
13:29 that somehow would germinate in their soil
13:32 and create havoc. So, we didn't do all the research
13:35 to see what the end result would be.
13:37 The crazy thing is the sunflower seeds you eat
13:38 aren't able to germinate. They're roasted and they are not
13:42 capable of germinating. And so she really made a big
13:45 deal out of it and said she could fine me.
13:47 And you know what? I probably would have called
13:49 on you in a court of law if I had to challenge that.
13:51 These roasted sunflower seeds are incapable of reproducing
13:55 anything after its own kind. That's right.
13:57 But anyway, the point of the matter is
13:59 so much research has gone into it that
14:01 the environmental administration of that country knew
14:04 that if seeds came in this is what could happen.
14:07 In the same way, Exodus says
14:10 "showing mercy" but it says also "visiting the iniquity
14:15 of the father unto the third and the fourth generation. "
14:18 God sees way down what could happen.
14:20 Anything else to that? No, that's good.
14:23 Well, we have a number of questions here.
14:25 This one... let me just go ahead and read it
14:26 and see if there's anything that needs to be answered in it.
14:30 The ever-burning hell still prevails. Pastor Ryan
14:35 It's such a wonder it does
14:37 when there is no scriptural evidence that supports it.
14:40 As a matter of fact, the Bible supports that the righteous
14:43 are the ones that... " Wait.
14:50 He says: "As a matter of fact, the Bible supports
14:55 that the righteous are the ones that burn forever. "
15:02 Interesting thought.
15:04 OK, I'm just reading the question.
15:06 Isaiah 14:13: Lucifer wanted to be on... "in the mount
15:10 of the congregation. "
15:13 This is the first church. Angels were the worshipers.
15:17 I'm not making this up, believe me.
15:20 Here we have the first church split: Lucifer left with 1/3.
15:26 Isaiah 28:14 says: "Lucifer in the holy mountain
15:30 had his church, walked in the midst of the stones of fire. "
15:33 The Bible tells us God is a consuming fire.
15:38 Deuteronomy 4:25.
15:39 Then he puts "Wow! "
15:41 In order to live with God who is burning with a love for us
15:44 we have to - as one pastor puts it -
15:48 "we have to be fireproof to live with Him. "
15:51 Moses saw the burning bush and wanted to know why
15:55 it was not consumed. The wicked will be outside the city
15:58 looking and wondering why they are not consumed by the fire
16:01 of love. Malachi tells us the wicked are burned up
16:04 and turned into ashes. The righteous will be able
16:07 to live in the presence of God.
16:09 The righteous who will be able to live in the presence of God
16:14 burns forever with God.
16:17 He's saying 'cause they're on the fiery mountain
16:20 in God's presence. Yeah.
16:22 Yeah. Righteous people burn forever... not wicked people.
16:27 That is really a theological hoot!
16:31 Now what he's saying... I understand what he's saying.
16:32 He's not saying "burned up. "
16:34 They just burn because they're on the fiery mountain with God
16:37 experiencing God's presence.
16:39 Or more specifically, they are able to exist in the
16:41 presence of a burning fire without being consumed.
16:44 Nowhere in the Bible does the Bible talk about
16:47 the righteous burning.
16:48 It just says "reflecting the glory of God. "
16:50 You'll notice in the very same way the moon has no light
16:53 of its own. The sun does.
16:56 The sun is... the moon is not burning
16:58 but it's reflecting the glory of the sun.
17:00 In the same way, we are not burning.
17:02 We are immortal when we are in heaven.
17:05 When we are in the New Earth we are immortal.
17:07 We are not consumed by the burning flames.
17:11 The angels weren't burning.
17:13 Lucifer wasn't burning.
17:15 He was able to walk back and forth in the midst of the fiery
17:18 stones but he wasn't burning.
17:21 He was able to do that because at that time
17:23 he was not able to be consumed.
17:26 But when he sinned... Anyway, that's a really...
17:29 And burning is on fire.
17:31 He meant on... the body catching on fire.
17:34 There's no evidence of that. Yeah, but he said
17:36 "the righteous burn forever. " Right. I thought, OK.
17:40 All right. Let's go on to another question.
17:42 I believe it's from Kevin it looks like.
17:45 in Malachi 4:1
17:49 is it talking about the second coming?
17:52 Because in II Thessalonians 2:8 it talks about the people being
17:56 destroyed by the brightness of His coming.
17:58 Or is it talking about Revelation 20 verse 9
18:02 where fire fell down from heaven and devoured them?
18:04 Just kind of to give some background, some foundation
18:08 to this, there are actually three times...
18:11 three appearances that Christ makes to this earth
18:14 in a powerful, majestic, all-consuming form.
18:21 the first time isn't necessarily in that form.
18:25 The other two are in that form, actually.
18:27 The first time was in His first advent when He came as a baby -
18:29 OK - and then lived on this earth.
18:32 Died a death in our place
18:35 and then ascended to heaven to live with God.
18:37 Right. And then the second coming...
18:39 It's called the second coming because Christ returns in glory
18:42 um-hmm - and is an all-consuming fire and that He...
18:47 people are destroyed by the brightness of His coming.
18:50 Those who retained their sin, who have not
18:53 by faith transitioned or transferred their sins
18:56 to Christ and that sin has been dealt with.
18:58 There is a third coming
19:01 where after the thousand years Jesus returns
19:04 with the New Jerusalem and all of the righteous in it
19:07 and sits down here on this earth
19:11 where then the wicked are raised unto judgment
19:13 and then a fire comes down out of heaven and consumes
19:16 the wicked and sin to never exist ever again.
19:19 Right. And Malachi is speaking of that third event.
19:24 That's right. Because clearly it says here
19:26 "For behold the day is coming... burning like an oven...
19:29 and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will
19:31 be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up
19:35 says the Lord of Hosts that will leave them neither
19:38 root nor branch. "
19:40 It says in verse 3: "Ye shall trample the wicked;
19:42 they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet. "
19:44 There is clearly an intention here of consuming...
19:46 an all-consuming fire... a fire of judgment. OK.
19:49 And not only... It says: "they will be ashes under the
19:51 soles of your feet. " Not that literally you will walk
19:53 on their ashes but that they will be so consumed.
19:57 And then when God re-creates this earth
19:59 they will become elements of the earth.
20:02 Right. And they will be under the soles of your feet
20:04 as you then begin to walk the New Earth
20:06 in holiness, righteousness... where that exists forever only.
20:09 So that's what Malachi 4 is talking about.
20:12 If you want the two... I think the references that
20:15 Kevin makes here: II Thessalonians 2,
20:18 I think II Peter 3 is another good one.
20:25 Revelation 20:9 gives you some differences
20:28 between each of these events.
20:29 Yeah. As a matter of fact, that's a good way you put that.
20:32 'Cause I was looking at John chapter 15
20:35 where when the Bible talks about in Malachi 4
20:38 "root nor branch"
20:40 it's talking about "root" - Satan, the source of evil,
20:43 "branch" - those who are connected with him.
20:46 Like Jesus looked at some of those who had rejected Him
20:48 and said: "You are of your father the devil
20:51 and you do the will or the deeds of your father the devil. "
20:54 But then you find the contrast to that.
20:56 Jesus says: "I am the vine; you are the branches. "
20:59 He's the vine... we are the branches.
21:01 Satan in the wicked sense is the root.
21:04 The evil ones who follow him are the branches.
21:06 So you find both had branches,
21:09 which means they branch off of one: either the source
21:11 of evil or the source of good.
21:13 And those of us who are off of the source of good
21:15 the Bible says here in John 15 verse 5:
21:19 "I am the vine; you are the branches.
21:22 He who abides in Me and I in him
21:23 bears much fruit. For without Me you can do nothing. "
21:27 And then verse 6 talks about the other side of that.
21:30 "If anyone does not abide in Me
21:32 he is cast out as a branch and is withered.
21:36 And they gather them and throw them into the fire
21:40 and they are burned. "
21:42 That's also another text that will link us to Malachi:
21:44 the branch talked about there.
21:46 They are cast... they are gathered together.
21:49 They are branches that wither,
21:51 and that means they have no growth in them at all.
21:54 And that's the end result.
21:55 There are a couple key words that help distinguish
21:57 between the second and the third coming, too.
21:59 In the second coming, typically the words used
22:01 are more along the lines of destruction.
22:04 "Sudden destruction comes upon them. "
22:06 that they will, you know, be surprised
22:10 by His return and - um-hmm - they will look up.
22:13 I think Revelation chapter 6 describes they will call out
22:16 for the rocks to fall on them, hide them from the wrath of God,
22:19 of Jesus who has appeared.
22:21 And then when you get to the third coming it speaks more of
22:23 fire, consuming, burning.
22:25 You know, a complete transition to the New Earth.
22:29 It's part of the... the getting rid of the old earth.
22:32 That's right. "The day that shall come... " Peter says
22:34 "shall burn them up. "
22:36 the present heavens are kept in store.
22:39 And he says: "Seeing that all these things will be dissolved
22:42 what manner of person should you be? "
22:44 And so yes, that's a very good point. Thank you, John.
22:46 I think we have one more that we're going to deal with
22:49 just briefly here.
22:50 the question is: I'm going to read it and just
22:52 go ahead and give a quick answer to it.
22:54 OK, where is it? Here it is... OK.
22:58 OK, here we are.
23:00 Since this one doesn't want to cooperate
23:01 it gets relegated to the bottom of the screen.
23:03 To all pastors, evangelists, ministers of the gospel
23:09 and fellow Christians.
23:10 This starts with a declaration.
23:12 I recently joined the Seventh-day Adventist church
23:16 because it teaches truth and now I am at a loss
23:19 to understand why the church is found to be promoting
23:22 an anti-scriptural teaching.
23:24 Well praise the Lord he joined!
23:26 Right. We can start with that.
23:27 maybe at the point of his joining...
23:31 Let me encourage you first before I answer the question.
23:34 Sometimes we join and our knowledge is not deep enough
23:37 yet to sort all of these things out.
23:38 And so we come into it like a vacuum
23:43 and we pull everything in right away
23:47 but we're not able to line everything up.
23:48 And prophecy is not a tool for the novice.
23:52 Prophecy is not something that the person without deep
23:56 deep understand dives into and says: "Oh, I understand
23:59 that because I'm a member of the church that teaches that. "
24:02 It has a far greater reach.
24:04 Let me go ahead and give you some examples here
24:06 of what the question further goes on to say.
24:09 "Briefly... " He said briefly and he wrote
24:13 a huge volume. I'm not going to read the whole thing.
24:15 "Briefly I need an answer to the following question:
24:18 why is the teaching of the SDA church
24:22 about the seven heads in Revelation 17
24:24 contrary to God's Word in Daniel chapter 2
24:28 and Daniel chapter 7?
24:30 In Daniel chapter 2 there are four world-wide empires
24:35 or four world-wide kingdoms outlined for earth's history
24:38 commencing with Babylon
24:39 through to Rome where the rock strikes the image,
24:42 sets up the kingdom. This is repeated in Daniel chapter 7
24:45 where four animals represent four kings. "
24:47 OK, great. Showing his understanding.
24:49 "Any interpretation... " This is his statement.
24:52 "Any interpretation of Revelation 17 where the
24:54 seven heads are taken to be world-wide powers
24:57 is in contradiction to Daniel because they nearly all
25:00 want to make Rome into two of these heads.
25:03 But the scripture clearly states that the terrible beast -
25:07 Rome - is only one kingdom.
25:09 My concern is that many of us are being taught
25:11 a contradiction to what God has outlined
25:14 through His angel to Daniel
25:16 that there are not four kingdoms but more than four.
25:20 Many in our church blindly accept this erroneous teaching
25:25 as truth. " That's his statement, OK?
25:28 Let me give you a couple of reasons why
25:30 there are differences between Daniel 7 and Daniel 2.
25:33 I'm going to go ahead and plug this up here real quickly.
25:36 You want to say something, John, while I look this up?
25:38 Well, OK, I think it's important to note that there are...
25:43 I believe in Daniel 2 we're talking about a dream.
25:46 And, you know, represented the various
25:50 kingdoms. Daniel 7 is repeating that but in different symbols.
25:53 So clearly there can be different symbols that
25:57 apply to the same thing.
25:59 so that's something I don't know if he's getting confused
26:04 with or not. But if you take Daniel 7
26:08 and then you apply, you know,
26:11 some conclusions based upon those symbols,
26:14 you know, some people would say then Daniel 2
26:16 cannot be the same thing... but in fact it is.
26:20 And it's just a different approach... a different way
26:21 of arriving at those things. Daniel 8 also
26:24 talks about two beasts in a different way as well.
26:27 They are described differently.
26:28 So, you know, you really have to get into this
26:30 pretty deep to understand and to look at the relationship
26:34 of each of these kingdoms
26:37 and each of these even individuals or kings
26:41 described in different places throughout the Bible
26:43 because they can be described in different ways.
26:45 Right. The point very well made.
26:48 Let me go ahead and give you some scriptures on that.
26:51 Daniel 7 verse 24.
26:54 "The ten horns are ten kingdoms
26:58 who shall arise from this kingdom. "
27:02 That was the key right away. So Daniel 7 verse 24
27:06 It's talking about that fourth beast,
27:09 and it's ten kingdoms that will arise from that kingdom.
27:13 That fourth beast of Daniel was the great and dreadful
27:17 and terrible beast. That was the Roman Empire.
27:19 You've got to get that. That's a big part.
27:22 "And another shall arise after them. He shall be different
27:25 from the first one and he shall subdue three kings. "
27:30 Right away you see clearly there
27:32 these ten horns - those ten kingdoms there -
27:34 that beast with seven heads and ten horns
27:37 describes specifically the Roman Empire right there. Right.
27:42 That is unequivocally what the definition of it is right there.
27:45 But then you find in Revelation...
27:47 and what you have to get here, and this is something
27:49 a lot of people miss, John. We fail to connect the fact that
27:52 Satan is working through powers all throughout history.
27:55 We often say: "Well, you know, that means Rome
27:57 and then this means a different power here.
27:59 That means a different power there. That means
28:00 Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece.
28:01 But we have to keep in mind: there's somebody behind.
28:03 There's a puppeteer that's working through all of these
28:06 earthly powers. And we often times leave the dragon out
28:09 of this all together. We often leave Satan out of it
28:12 like he's this non-entity that shows up at the very end.
28:14 And somehow at the very end then oh, yeah, now he's involved.
28:17 But he's involved all along the way.
28:19 So let's go ahead and look at this very quickly.
28:21 Now we go to Revelation chapter 12 and verse 3
28:23 and we're going to see something here.
28:24 Because I just pointed out that in Daniel 7
28:28 there were 7 heads and 10 horns.
28:30 But now in Daniel 7:24 it describes: These are 10 horns.
28:33 These 10 kings will arise from this kingdom... "
28:36 from the kingdom of Rome. Right.
28:38 In other words, during the Romans' reign
28:40 these kingdoms are going to come.
28:41 And but then another one will come up
28:43 and subdue three of those kings.
28:44 We know the history of that.
28:46 But Revelation 12:3 now brings this beast again
28:49 to the picture. And read Revelation 12 verse 3
28:52 and then Revelation 12 verse 9 for us.
28:54 "Another sign appeared in heaven.
28:56 Behold a great fiery red dragon having 7 heads and 10 horns
29:00 and seven diadems on his heads. "
29:02 OK. And notice that a red dragon is a beast.
29:05 Exactly. This is describing a beast.
29:08 That's right. But not the same beast.
29:11 Keep going. That's right.
29:12 And if you read that a little bit further it talks about him.
29:15 His tail drawing a third of the stars from heaven.
29:18 Threw them to the earth. "And the dragon stood before
29:21 the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child
29:24 as soon as it was born. " OK, now make this point
29:27 because you just made a point that's very important
29:29 and I want that person to catch this:
29:31 The point that John just made that was very important
29:34 is this beast talked about here with 7 heads and 10 horns:
29:37 he drew 1/3 of the stars from heaven and cast them...
29:42 When he fell they came with him.
29:44 That's not Rome. It's pre-existence to Rome.
29:46 Exactly. That's the pre- existence to Rome.
29:48 That power existed long before Rome.
29:50 That's Satan right there in verity.
29:52 Well verse 9: "So the great red dragon was cast out:
29:55 that serpent of old called the devil and Satan. "
29:58 OK, there it is. So the Bible right away identifies
30:00 who that beast with 7 heads and 10 horns is right there.
30:04 And then now you go down to Revelation chapter 17
30:07 and this is where he was having a problem.
30:09 He was saying: "Why is it our view of Revelation chapter 17
30:12 doesn't jive exactly with Daniel chapter 7? "
30:16 Because these 10 horns and these are different than the ones
30:19 in Daniel chapter 7.
30:20 But what you're seeing that's the same is Satan is working
30:23 through both powers. That's where there is no difference.
30:27 All right. Go ahead and read Revelation chapter 17
30:30 and verse 12.
30:33 "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have
30:36 received no kingdom as yet
30:38 but they receive authority for one hour
30:41 as kings with the beast. "
30:42 OK. This is the ten horns on this other beast
30:45 that is ascending out of the bottomless pit.
30:47 Exactly. With 7 heads and 10 horns.
30:49 There you go. So we find this one -
30:51 this beast here - is ascending out of the bottomless pit.
30:55 And if you want to find out where that comes up
30:57 in the context, Revelation 9 is the very first place
31:00 that the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit
31:01 is talked about. It describes him as
31:04 a star that had fallen.
31:05 He's an angel. He's an angel.
31:08 He is a king also. His name is Avadon
31:11 and Appoleon in the Greek and Hebrew.
31:12 That's Satan being described right there.
31:15 And only seven times does Revelation talk about the beast
31:19 from the bottomless pit.
31:21 Only seven times. Every time it talks about
31:23 Satanic activity. The very last time
31:26 he talked about the bottomless pit is in Revelation chapter 20
31:28 when Satan is bound for 1,000 years.
31:30 It's the last time it's talked about.
31:32 But Revelation 17 here makes it clear
31:34 that this beast that's being referred to here is not
31:38 Rome - right - but the beast that ascends out of
31:41 the bottomless pit. And the reason there's a
31:43 transition here, too, is because I think you said
31:45 very appropriately that Satan is kind of behind
31:47 all of this stuff. He is! And in Revelation 17
31:50 it shifts from Rome being described
31:53 as a beast with seven heads and ten horns
31:56 to being described as a woman - exactly -
31:59 in her papal form. And a woman that rides this beast
32:03 which is now referenced to Satan from Revelation 12.
32:08 So Satan is carrying the woman - um-hmm -
32:11 just as, if you look at Revelation 13,
32:14 it says that those that follow that beast and worship
32:18 that beast worship the dragon.
32:20 Exactly. So there's a pairing together.
32:23 You have to see that. You have to read everything,
32:26 and a lot of detail... but also with a lot of study
32:30 and application to other scripture... to find
32:33 what these things are talking about.
32:34 That's right. And so don't lose track of that.
32:36 I think you are very enthusiastic but keep in mind
32:40 it's hard to just come into the Adventist church
32:42 and know it all right away.
32:43 You could be the best vacuum. You can vacuum anything up
32:47 in one year that people have been vacuuming up...
32:50 vacuuming up for 25 years.
32:52 I would also say that those that are outside the Adventist church
32:56 that are critical of its teachings on prophecy
32:58 have never even studied it with any depth either.
33:01 So they have no authority. They have no basis for which
33:04 to even criticize - Right -
33:05 'cause they have not gotten into it to the degree
33:08 that gives them that ability,
33:12 that knowledge, to be able to criticize.
33:14 And... Another point that came out of my mind
33:17 in Revelation 17 this beast is talked about as the beast
33:19 that was, and is not, and yet is.
33:24 OK. Was and is not and yet is. That's Satan.
33:28 Jesus is talked about as who was and is and is to come.
33:32 Look at the comparison right there. So understand that those
33:35 are some symbols in Revelation that need to be understood
33:38 in the context of the eternal properties of the Godhead
33:41 but the temporary properties of Satan and his false trinity
33:45 that's talked about there in Revelation chapter 16.
33:49 "Three unclean spirits... " That's the false trinity.
33:52 That's the false head. That's the false system of worship.
33:55 Anyway... A lot of questions we've covered here today.
33:57 But we have to transition into our Top Ten Counterfeits.
34:01 And... But if you have any questions about what we've
34:03 talked about here today you can send those questions
34:05 and comments to:
34:11 And we thank you for your questions and also for
34:15 your comments.
34:17 John, I'm going to give you a chance to dive into this
34:19 since you have been doing homework on this.
34:22 I'm familiar with the topics but the way you put it together
34:24 is really well. Yeah, Top Ten Counterfeits that we find today.
34:28 And I think not only is the world facing today but
34:31 but the church is at large - the church at large,
34:35 Christendom - is facing today.
34:37 If you read, it doesn't take you too long to read through
34:40 the writings of Paul especially
34:42 and John and Peter
34:46 to find the attack that Satan levies upon the human race -
34:51 - is not so much an attack against the heathen.
34:55 He already has them where he wants them.
34:58 You know, as long as he keeps them away from Christ
35:00 they're deceived in their own life. That's right.
35:03 His attack comes upon the church.
35:06 It's upon those who have professed Christ's name...
35:09 who have taken on the name of Jesus.
35:11 And so he brings these deceptions, he brings these
35:14 errors into the church to get the church to get off track
35:18 and also to take the people within that church
35:21 off track in their relationship with Christ
35:23 to be deceived when Satan finally has his grand appearing
35:28 at the end of time. So these counterfeits are
35:30 all leading up to something. They're all put in line,
35:34 put in place, with special detail, with special attention
35:38 that Satan can then use at the end of time
35:41 to deceive especially the church.
35:44 And that's why I think it's so important to unmask these
35:48 Top Ten Deceptions or Counterfeits
35:51 that Satan has or is using in the last days.
35:56 You know, we mentioned this in a program before
35:58 and I'll mention this here again because it's so applicable,
36:00 John. The truth... The truth CAN save you.
36:07 It's important to know the truth.
36:09 First of all, the truth about Christ saves you because it
36:13 establishes your relationship with Jesus, your faith in Jesus
36:16 and His salvation that He offers to everyone.
36:19 It makes that salvation that He offers effectual in your life.
36:22 That's right. But then the truth - learning the truth,
36:25 growing in the truth, advancing by the Word of God
36:29 and His knowledge - helps you to prepare for these things
36:33 that are coming upon the world.
36:34 And if the Bible simply endorsed "just believe, only believe
36:39 and then it doesn't matter what you do"
36:41 it wouldn't be full of 66 books
36:44 with stories of individuals and with doctrine
36:46 and with other things that help keep us on the right path.
36:49 And so what we're going to do here is we're going to spend
36:52 four programs going through these Top Ten Counterfeits
36:56 seeing kind of how they blend together 'cause some of them
36:59 are connected. But take a look at them
37:01 and really determine and be able to see by God's Word,
37:04 not only the error but the truth about these subjects
37:08 so we can be prepared for the last days
37:11 deceptions that are coming, and to be able to stand
37:15 when Jesus finally appears to take us home.
37:19 And we ought to begin with the topic of...
37:21 we're going to begin with the topic of the Word of God.
37:23 The Word of God. The Word of God and then,
37:25 of course, I put here the counterfeit would be
37:28 "sacred writings"
37:30 or diminishing of the importance of the Word of God.
37:35 OK. So that would be the counterfeit.
37:37 And there are several things that are involved with this.
37:39 If the Word of God is there to save us,
37:42 if it's there to help us... to guide us through this life,
37:45 to keep us on track... And as a side note, John,
37:49 the Bible says Jesus is The Word. OK.
37:52 So if you reject the Word, who are you rejecting?
37:56 Jesus. You're rejecting Christ. So Jesus is The Word.
38:00 So this Word is living. It really has... is essential,
38:04 it's critical in the Christian life
38:06 for making sure that we stay on track.
38:07 So the devil knows that, so he's going to attack the Word.
38:10 And so that's why this is the first counterfeit.
38:12 He uses several things to go about attacking His Word.
38:16 You know, John, if you went to look into the world today,
38:18 if you went to look at a light source,
38:20 and that's what I'll use to catapult into this question.
38:23 If you were to look at a light source in a very, very dark room
38:26 you would say: "I need a flashlight"
38:28 or "I need something... a penlight or a candle -
38:32 the brighter the better because the surroundings are dark. "
38:35 So the darker the surroundings the better the source of light.
38:38 Sometimes I go to my front yard and you know I have a little
38:41 surefire little flashlight with a little button on the top
38:44 and it's really, really bright. It's the kind...
38:46 it's a tactical light and you could shine it around.
38:49 It's very, very bright.
38:51 And I kind of... I enjoy doing that.
38:53 I mean, I'm a flashlight guy.
38:55 And I realize that because it's dark
38:58 you need that source of light. It really wouldn't have any
39:01 effect in the daytime because the sun is a lot brighter.
39:03 Now here's my point.
39:04 When Jesus comes back we won't need a Bible
39:06 because He is the Word of God.
39:08 We'll be in His very presence.
39:09 Until then, He abides with us through His Word.
39:14 This is our source of light: the Word of God.
39:17 And so when you ask the question whether or not
39:20 people have faith, I was in a hospital the other day
39:24 visiting, and there was a person across
39:29 the bed from the person I was visiting.
39:31 And when I was leaving the hospital I said: "Well,
39:34 do you study your Bible? " And they said: "No. "
39:37 I said um... well I gave them a series of lessons...
39:41 Bible lessons - 14 of them... and I said:
39:43 "Well maybe this is a good time to start. "
39:46 And the person said: "OK. "
39:51 And they just accepted the Bible lessons.
39:52 And I don't ask if you have a Bible
39:54 because a lot of people say "yes. " But I ask specifically
39:57 "Do you study your Bible? "
39:58 And they said "No. " She said: "But my mother-in-law...
40:01 my mother-in law does. "
40:02 And I gave her the set of lessons and I said:
40:04 "Well maybe this is a good time to start. "
40:06 And so right there you find that this source of light
40:10 will do something for her: it will increase her faith.
40:13 And so the first scripture I would like to bring out is
40:18 Romans 10 and verse 17.
40:20 Why is it that there is so little faith in the world today?
40:23 The Bible says: "So then faith comes by hearing
40:28 and hearing by the Word of God. "
40:32 So the reason why there's a lack of faith in the world today
40:34 the reason why people have such disparity and...
40:39 what's the word there when they just really can't
40:41 get themselves going? Depression
40:44 and anxiety and intrepidation and fear.
40:48 It's because they have no faith.
40:50 And they can't have faith if they do not have a source light.
40:55 Right. Or a light source: the Word of God.
40:57 Which is why the devil is trying to keep them from going
40:59 to the Word. That's right. And there are so many Christians
41:02 today that don't - like you said - study the Word of God.
41:05 But if you think about it, Jesus said this was essential.
41:09 You know, imagine if I woke up one morning and I said
41:14 "I'm tired of eating. " I don't think you'd do that.
41:16 "I'm tired of eating. I have to always plan my meals.
41:21 I'm constantly having to pay for food.
41:22 I'm just... you know what? I'm just... I'm tired of eating.
41:25 I'm not going to eat anymore. "
41:27 How long would I last?
41:28 You won't last very long. Not very long.
41:30 And so this is why when the tempter... when the enemy
41:33 came to Jesus when he was tempted in the wilderness
41:35 to expose Him or try to deceive Him
41:39 by his temptations, to get Him off track in His relationship
41:42 with His Father, His dependence on His Father,
41:44 Jesus said these words in Matthew 4:4:
41:47 "He answered him saying: 'It is written'
41:51 - 'man shall not live by bread alone
41:55 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. ' "
42:00 As a Christian, if you are not feeding upon the Word
42:04 your faith will die. Just like if you are not eating physically
42:09 you will die. And so for a Christian to say
42:12 "Well you know, I just... I just believe. "
42:15 Or "I just think that... " without going to the Word
42:18 and studying it, they're not nourished within spiritually
42:23 to give them the ability to keep their faith
42:26 and to keep away from or at least to resist the deceptions
42:31 of the enemy. You know, our world, John, is
42:34 predatorial by nature.
42:35 Got this stuffy throat here.
42:37 We live in a predator's environment.
42:40 And what that means is... If you want to understand that,
42:43 look at Animal Plant or Animal Channel or look at those
42:45 discovery places where you find the lion looking for
42:48 his daily food and the jackal looking for its daily food
42:51 and the hyena looking for its daily food,
42:53 and the gazelle... who doesn't want to become his daily food.
42:57 And the mouse who doesn't want to become daily food.
43:00 And the rabbit who just wants to go home.
43:01 You know, we live in a predatorial environment.
43:04 And some of us are like rabbits with lions on our tails.
43:07 And the Bible says it very clearly: "The devil is as a
43:10 roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. "
43:12 And so for those of us who are not surrounded with the
43:15 armor of God, part of that armor is the Word of God...
43:19 the sword of the Spirit.
43:20 So now if you go out to the wilds, if you go out to a
43:22 safari or a jungle or gaming region of the world
43:26 and you have no weapon, you are just an open...
43:30 you are open game for the enemy, for the predators.
43:35 The Word of God, therefore, becomes our sword
43:39 and our shield. The shield of faith.
43:42 Faith by the Word of God.
43:44 The sword of the Spirit = the Word of God.
43:47 So much the helmet of salvation which is from the teaching
43:51 in the Word of God. And so when you don't have that armor
43:54 which is the Word of God, your mind is not a safe place
43:59 to just come up with ideas and theories and teachings.
44:05 You've got to really lock in to the Word of God
44:07 to really have a strong foundation.
44:09 When Jesus returns Revelation 19 says
44:13 that He returns as a conqueror, as a victor, in all His glory.
44:19 Um-hmm. And His name, it says in verse 13 of Revelation 19,
44:23 "His name is called The Word of God. "
44:27 That's His name.
44:29 And it says: "The armies of heaven clothed in fine linen
44:32 white and clean followed Him on white horses. "
44:34 Now, "out of His mouth goes a sharp sword
44:37 that with it He should strike the nations" - um-hmm -
44:41 "and He will rule over them. " He brings judgment
44:43 as the Word of God through the sharp sword -
44:46 the cutting of the Word of God -
44:48 and that's why frequently you will hear us say on this program
44:52 that the Word of God is what ultimately will judge us.
44:56 Right. Right.
44:58 In fact, oh, if I had the verse here, I'll look for it, but...
45:02 Which one are you thinking of?
45:04 he that does not believe
45:07 has that which judges him.
45:10 The Word will judge him in the last days.
45:13 See I can paraphrase it... I can quote it.
45:15 I don't know if it's... Um...
45:19 OK. Here is John 12:48. "He who rejects Me
45:22 and does not receive My words has that which judges him. "
45:26 Yeah. "The word which I have spoken will judge him
45:29 in the last days. " Can you imagine
45:32 coming up for judgment and you don't even read
45:34 the very thing, the very code book, the very words
45:38 that are going to be judging you?
45:40 Yeah. It's just ridiculous.
45:43 I have said sometimes that... You know, someone will say:
45:47 "Well, I disagree with how you've read that.
45:49 I just think that if I... " and you could dot, dot, dot.
45:52 You know, whatever their answer would be.
45:53 My response sometimes has just simply been
45:58 "When I stand before God at the end of time
46:02 and I'm found to maybe not have...
46:05 to have missed something or not have applied the Word
46:08 maybe in an area as well as I should have,
46:10 that I was wrong in certain areas... which we'll all be
46:13 wrong in certain areas.
46:14 It's like we can't figure out God entirely. It's not possible.
46:18 But I'd rather be able to say to Him
46:21 "I studied Your Word and I did everything that You told me
46:25 to do. " Um-hmm. Rather than have Him say to me:
46:29 "You didn't even look at My Word
46:31 to see if this was true or not. "
46:33 I'd rather be able to say: "I did, and I studied
46:36 and I followed it to the best of my abilities. "
46:39 And I think Satan wants us...
46:43 The biggest part of his deception is first he wants us
46:46 to not have an interest in the Word of God.
46:49 To think that it's not important.
46:51 To just kind of keep his hands over it,
46:54 keep it away, keep it obscure from the minds of the people
46:56 so they can't get into it to study what they believe.
46:59 As a matter of fact, another...
47:02 we're talking about counterfeits here.
47:03 There are lots of substitutes. Another word I like to use
47:07 for counterfeits is substitutes.
47:09 One of the other substitutes for the Word of God
47:12 is tradition. Yeah. Mark 7 verse 13.
47:15 It says: "Making the Word of God of no effect
47:21 through your tradition which you have handed down
47:24 and many such things you do. "
47:28 And so there are many who do not follow the Word of God
47:33 because their traditions are a lot more important to them.
47:37 Yeah.
47:39 I just... I had a funeral service I did
47:43 before I made my trip down here.
47:44 And the whole family really isn't Christian at all
47:49 although a couple of them are -
47:51 not Adventist but Christian in their understanding of
47:53 what happens you know when you die was unclear.
47:57 They were a little bit confused about that, so I...
47:59 I took that opportunity with my captive audience -
48:02 OK - to share some truths from the Word of God
48:05 as to what happens when you die.
48:06 How man's nature is. How it was formed and everything else.
48:10 There was a man that came up to me afterward
48:13 and he said: "I don't really... I'm not impressed easily. "
48:19 I said: "OK. "
48:22 He said: "But I appreciated what you said. "
48:26 And then he kind of framed the whole rest of our conversation
48:29 with these words. He said:
48:31 "Now I'm a devout... " and then he named his religion...
48:35 "I'm a devout such and such denomination
48:38 so I mean that's what I'm always going to be.
48:40 But, hey, if you want to stop by sometime
48:42 and talk a little bit, you know, we can chat a little bit
48:45 about some of these things 'cause I found it
48:47 very interesting. " Right. That's OK. You know, tradition
48:51 to him was everything. He's always been this.
48:54 He's not going to change and that's just the way it is.
48:57 You know, what's amazing about that, John, is
48:58 people have so many different views. For example,
49:01 my mother... my step-mother that is married to my dad
49:05 You know, her name is Leslie Gourse.
49:07 She was a prolific writer for jazz magazines
49:10 and he was... my dad Johnny Parker
49:13 was a jazz musician for many years.
49:15 And her tradition was everything to her.
49:17 I mean everything.
49:19 And when we would go out to dinner I would pray.
49:21 You know, I'd say: "Well... " and I'd try to share with her
49:23 the Bible. She says: "Look, I was born a Jew.
49:26 I'm going to die a Jew. " And you know, she did.
49:29 She did not deviate at all from her belief in
49:32 the fact that Jesus is not the Christ.
49:34 She just didn't have any... she didn't want to have any of that
49:37 at all. And so one of the ways that Satan seeks to make
49:41 the Word of God of no effect is truly
49:43 truth through traditions.
49:46 So much tradition exists in our world today
49:49 and the Word of God is almost squeezed out.
49:52 But there's a reason for that.
49:55 Yeah, absolutely. And then when you move beyond tradition
49:59 and you begin to study the Word of God
50:00 we find that he shifts his tactics... He...
50:03 Satan is highly adaptable.
50:05 And so the counterfeit is, well, tradition...
50:08 You know, depend upon tradition.
50:12 Assert your tradition over the Word.
50:13 But when you finally get to the Word, then he shifts gears
50:15 here and he starts to attack the Word itself
50:18 as being not trustworthy.
50:20 Or... you know, it's been changed so many times
50:23 that it's no longer infallible.
50:26 or maybe he spiritualizes everything
50:30 so there's no literal, real literal application of the Word.
50:33 It's more of a spiritual thing.
50:35 You know, well Jesus comes in your heart spiritually.
50:38 Yeah, you've seen that too.
50:40 And so he attacks the Word in this way
50:42 so finally when you get to the Word
50:44 then he tries to make it so it's not so easy
50:47 and you don't have any credibility for the Word.
50:50 That's right. But that's not what the Word says about itself.
50:53 Um-hmm. The Word says that it is very reliable.
50:56 It was handed down through the power of the Holy Spirit
51:00 by holy men who wrote things down.
51:02 And if God can do that,
51:04 can't He safeguard His Word? Can't He protect it?
51:07 Absolutely. And one of the reasons why we are listing this
51:09 as a counterfeit is because Satan did what is happening
51:13 today, he laid the foundation in the very beginning.
51:16 But we're going to talk about another lie that he told
51:18 but this... one of the first lies he told,
51:20 one of the first suggestions he made was in fact
51:24 "You know, could you really believe what God has said? "
51:28 And nowadays when you hear all these preachers,
51:30 they say: "God has said... God has said...
51:33 God has said... God has said. "
51:34 And you know, in many of those instances God has not said.
51:37 God did not say you die and go to heaven.
51:40 We're going to talk about that one.
51:41 God did not say it doesn't matter what day you worship on.
51:44 We're going to talk about that one. You see,
51:47 God did not say He's going to come back secretly.
51:49 We're going to talk about that one... another counterfeit.
51:50 All these counterfeits. And you find in
51:52 Genesis chapter 3 verse 1 here is where that original
51:55 thought came from. "Now the serpent... "
51:58 Revelation 12:9 makes that clear that's the devil.
52:00 "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast
52:04 of the field. " There it is: the serpent called a beast.
52:07 "More cunning than any beast of the field
52:09 which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman:
52:13 'Has God indeed said
52:15 you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? ' "
52:19 So right away... So the whole issue here -
52:22 the whole fall of man - was based on what God said.
52:28 Yeah. "I know what you think God said but this is what
52:31 God said... Well, this is what God said. "
52:32 And Eve even said: "Well God didn't say.
52:34 God never said to her: 'If you touch it you're going to die. '
52:37 He says: 'If you eat of it you're going to die. ' "
52:39 Now there are some people that say: "Well,
52:41 you know, God said you can't even touch a pig.
52:44 He didn't say that. But you can't eat the pig.
52:46 You see... the difference all together.
52:48 And the same thing with Jesus you know: "Didn't the Lord...
52:50 Didn't God say He would protect? "
52:52 That's right. "Go ahead and jump off" you know?
52:55 And he even left some of the verse out when he quoted Psalms.
52:57 He always... he always skews. He manipulates the word
53:00 to his own favor.
53:01 One... Let's go to one more here.
53:04 Number two in the Top Ten Counterfeits:
53:07 he tries to also obscure or not allow people to see
53:12 his own true nature.
53:14 Umm... that's a good one. The Great Controversy.
53:16 You know, good versus evil.
53:18 Christ versus Satan.
53:20 And he tries to mask himself.
53:23 not only... There's two ways of doing this.
53:27 Not only does he try to show that he's not so evil -
53:29 that evil doesn't exist - but when people find out
53:32 that evil exists he tries to make it so heinous looking
53:34 that when something looks good
53:37 it couldn't possibly be of Satan. See, there's two...
53:40 There's a balance here. He uses the extreme on either side.
53:43 In fact, when you look at programs today
53:45 you see evil or Satan - if it's about, you know,
53:49 if there's a movie about Satanic things -
53:51 depicted as this ugly looking beast with a pitchfork
53:56 or he's red and he's slimy or whatever it is.
53:59 And he loves that because that's not really who Satan is
54:05 at all.
54:06 so this is his other part, you know. He masks not only evil
54:12 but when people determine or have found that evil
54:15 does exist he tries to make it in a way that's it's
54:19 not really what it is.
54:21 Right. Almost alluring
54:24 yet the results or the ramifications often
54:27 are covered up. Yeah.
54:30 Like Robin... Little Red Riding Hood...
54:32 Robin Hood? Riding Hood?
54:34 Little Red Riding Hood? Riding Hood, yeah. OK.
54:36 You know, the issue here also I think
54:40 there's a connection. If you look at the New Age today
54:43 especially we know that Wicca and the occult
54:47 is really growing, you know, by leaps and bounds.
54:50 You find that if you get into their teachings
54:53 they don't believe necessarily in Satan being evil.
54:58 Right. You know, it's more of a thing of opposites.
55:02 Where there's good there has to be evil.
55:04 The ying and the yang. And even they see,
55:07 you know, Satan as not being exactly, you know,
55:10 who Christians say he is but, you know, witchcraft
55:15 and other things... well it's good. You know, there's some
55:17 good application of that in things.
55:18 So he makes it very tasteful so people can get into that
55:21 kind of stuff. So that's something that also is very
55:23 prevalent today. And... And you know the reason why
55:26 it's that way is because Satan has transformed himself.
55:29 You know, you've seen these little transformers
55:32 where a kid has a car and all of a sudden it
55:34 turns into a robot.
55:35 Well things are as we say nowadays "not the way
55:38 they appear to be. " And the reason is:
55:40 Satan is the master of making things look safe
55:44 when in fact they are deadly.
55:46 Uh, II Corinthians 11 verses 13 to 15
55:51 brings this out. "For such are false apostles
55:54 deceitful workers transforming themselves
55:57 into the apostles of Christ. "
55:59 Verse 14... and no wonder: "For Satan himself
56:02 transforms himself into an angel of light. "
56:06 So I'm not going to read the rest of it
56:08 because this part that comes out clearly points out that
56:11 Satan transforms himself into an angel of light.
56:15 There's a literal application in that, too. Right!
56:17 But I think the spiritual application is very, very clear
56:20 that even within the church he can make things look
56:22 like they're coming from the light -
56:24 But they're really coming from the dark side.
56:27 "And he has ministers who transform themselves
56:30 into ministers of righteousness.
56:32 whose end will be according to their works. "
56:34 So there are a lot of people nowadays who say: "Well,
56:35 how could the pastor be lying? "
56:37 Well I mean, come on, friends.
56:39 You know, there's a... You know, there's a line that
56:41 people can sell to you in Brooklyn.
56:43 Like we say in Brooklyn: "I'll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge"
56:45 you know. There's so many people that could fool you
56:48 just based on what they look like.
56:50 The devil has mastered that art today.
56:52 So don't be... don't be caught off guard
56:54 thinking that because it sounds good it necessarily has to be
56:57 good. Yeah. So we've covered a couple of them
56:59 just to get us started here.
57:01 The Word of God. The importance of truth.
57:03 And he kind of diminishes that... it's value.
57:06 And then of course he also hides himself a little bit
57:08 behind things that look like they're good,
57:11 look like they are of the light but they are really of the dark.
57:14 That's right. And friends, so you see
57:15 it's important not to be pulled in by the counterfeit.
57:17 There are so many counterfeits today.
57:19 But here at House Calls one of the reasons why we are not
57:22 going to be deceived is because we believe the Word of God
57:24 is not a counterfeit. It is the true source
57:26 of the light that we all are in need of.
57:28 So study the Word of God.
57:30 Apply yourself to it, and when the time comes
57:33 for the Lord to call you you will be ready.
57:34 God bless you.


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Revised 2014-12-17