Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP201024S
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00:26 How firm a foundation
00:29 Ye saints of the Lord 00:32 Is laid for your faith 00:35 In His excellent Word 00:38 What more can He say 00:41 Than to you He hath said 00:44 To you who for refuge to Jesus hath fled? 00:53 Fear not I am with thee 00:56 O be not dismayed For I am thy God 01:02 And will still give thee aid 01:05 I'll strengthen thee, help thee 01:09 And cause thee to stand 01:12 Upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand 01:21 When thro' the deep waters 01:25 I call thee to go the rivers of sorrow 01:31 Shall not overflow 01:34 For I will be thee thy troubles to bless 01:40 And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress 01:50 When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie 01:56 My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply 02:02 The flames shall not hurt thee 02:06 I only design thy dross to consume 02:12 And thy gold to refine 02:18 The soul that on Jesus 02:21 Hath leaned for repose 02:24 I will not, I will not desert to His foes 02:30 That soul, though all hell 02:33 Should endeavor to shake 02:36 I'll never, no never, No never forsake 03:08 Standing on the promises of Christ my King 03:13 Thru eternal ages let His praises ring 03:19 Glory in the highest I will shout and sing 03:24 Standing on the promises of God 03:29 Standing 03:33 Standing 03:35 Standing on the promises of God my Savior 03:41 Standing 03:43 Standing 03:47 I'm standing on the promises of God 03:55 Standing on the promises that cannot fail 04:00 When the howling storms of doubt And fear assail 04:06 By the living word of God I shall prevail 04:11 Standing on the promises of God 04:17 Standing 04:20 Standing 04:23 Standing on the promises of God my Savior 04:29 Standing 04:31 Standing 04:35 I'm standing on the promises of God 04:44 Amen. You may be seated. 04:46 During this final hymn, 04:48 Julie and I are gonna hum together 04:51 so we can hear the chimes lead us in this verse. 05:45 My hope is built 05:49 On nothing less 05:52 Than Jesus' blood 05:55 And righteousness 05:59 I dare not trust 06:02 The sweetest frame 06:06 But wholly lean on Jesus' name 06:13 On Christ, the solid Rock 06:19 I stand all other ground 06:24 Is sinking sand 07:29 His oath, His covenant 07:34 And blood Support me 07:38 In the whelming flood 07:42 When all around my soul gives way 07:49 He then is all my hope and stay 07:56 On Christ 07:58 The solid Rock 08:01 I stand all other ground 08:06 Is sinking sand 08:18 Good morning. 08:20 Our scripture reading from today 08:22 is found in Revelation 14:12-13. 08:29 "Here is the patience of the saints, 08:32 here are those 08:34 who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. 08:39 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, 08:42 "Write, 08:44 'Blessed are the dead 08:45 who die in the Lord from now on.'" 08:47 "Yes," says the Spirit, 08:50 "that they may rest from their labors, 08:52 and their works follow them." 08:58 Oh God, that is the question on our minds and hearts. 09:00 When shall we see Jesus? 09:04 You know the answer. 09:07 We want to be ready. 09:09 Let this teaching be clear. 09:11 We pray in His name. 09:13 Amen. 09:16 You've been tracking the news this last week. 09:18 Did you hear about that spacecraft? 09:20 They landed on an asteroid. 09:21 Did you hear about that? 09:23 Amazing feat of technology. 09:26 There's an asteroid 200 million miles away 09:29 and it's called Bennu. 09:32 They say it's about as tall as the Empire State Building. 09:35 And NASA landed a spacecraft on the spinning asteroid, 09:39 robotic arm grabs a handful a rock 09:42 and it's coming back to earth. 09:43 It will arrive September 24, 2023, 09:48 somewhere in a Utah Desert. 09:51 Can you believe that? 09:53 But let's just say for the sake of illustration, 09:56 that there's another asteroid out there. 09:58 Well actually, there's a whole bunch 09:59 of other asteroids unidentified. 10:01 NASA thinks they're probably 10:03 about 2 million asteroids out there, 10:06 30 meters or larger. 10:08 Okay, so those are fairly big 10:11 of which only 18, 000 had been identified and tracked. 10:15 So let's say one slams into earth, 10:17 nobody knew it was coming. 10:20 I got an email from a geologist friend of mine 10:22 living out on the West Coast. 10:26 I'm gonna read it to you. 10:29 "Hey, Dwight, we haven't talked in a while 10:30 but your sermon this morning, all caps, WOKE ME UP." 10:34 Few weeks ago, some of you remember 10:35 we had a presentation on asteroids. 10:37 Remember that? 10:39 And we're looking at Luke 21. 10:41 Jesus says, 10:42 "Hey, the powers of heaven are going to be shaken 10:43 just before I come back." 10:45 And asteroids are hugely in the news right now. 10:47 So she's thinking out loud, 10:49 "So hugely woke me up," 10:51 she says, "so an asteroid" 10:53 she suggests, 10:55 "hit San Francisco or LA. 10:57 Millions die. 10:59 But why would other countries tremble in fear?" 11:01 Now Jesus said, 11:02 "The whole planet will be seized with terror 11:04 because of the heavens being shaken." 11:06 But if it's in San Francisco, who cares around the world? 11:11 But the geologist answers her own question, 11:14 "Because if the asteroid triggers a Richter Scale 10 11:18 on the San Andreas Fault, 11:20 I have been told 11:22 the earth will ring like a bell. 11:25 I think the chains of fault systems 11:26 around the world would be activated. 11:28 The destruction of all the major cities 11:30 and some nuclear plants sitting on the faults 11:33 will get everyone's attention 11:35 the ground will tremble worldwide. 11:36 The tsunamis," 11:38 Jesus talks about that as well in Luke 21, 11:40 "will make our oceans roar, 11:41 add to all of this 11:43 the activation of the volcanic chaos 11:46 and yes, globally, 11:47 people will tremble in fear 11:49 with one asteroid." 11:54 Wow. Could it happen? 11:58 And if it did, 11:59 what would happen on this planet? 12:01 Fascinating. 12:02 A social scientist named Michael Barkun 12:06 from the University of New York 12:07 in Buffalo research the effect of disasters 12:10 on people's attitudes 12:12 published his research 12:13 under the title Disasters and the Millennium. 12:15 Marvin Moore my friend reports 12:17 on the findings in his own book, 12:18 could it really happen? 12:19 So let me put Michael Barkun on the screen for us right now. 12:25 One of his most significant conclusions was that quote, 12:28 quoting Barkun, 12:29 "Disaster creates conditions peculiarly fitted 12:33 to the rapid alteration of belief systems." 12:39 Given what we're about to discover in the apocalypse, 12:43 it is really important 12:44 that you pay attention to this research right now. 12:46 I'll read two more lines from him. 12:48 Michael Barkun on the screen, line number two. 12:51 "Disaster produces the questioning, 12:53 the anxiety and the suggestibility 12:56 that are required for a belief system change." 12:59 Keep reading. 13:01 "Only in its wake in disasters wake, 13:03 are people moved to abandon old values of the past." 13:08 Guess what? 13:10 When we're faced with a disaster, individually, 13:14 collectively or nationally, 13:18 the deep shaking that 13:20 that disaster brings to our psyches 13:23 cuts loose values 13:24 that we thought were deeply rooted. 13:28 Let me put one more up, Michael Barkun. 13:32 "A disaster population suffers 13:34 a temporary sense of incapacity 13:36 vulnerability and confusion. 13:39 The collapse social structure 13:41 renders traditional authority relationships 13:44 less effective 13:46 and traditional statuses less meaningful." 13:49 Now here comes the big line. 13:50 "Belief systems which under nondisaster conditions 13:54 might be dismissed," 13:56 I don't believe that, 13:57 "now receive sympathetic consideration." 14:02 Now listen, this doesn't even have to be an asteroid. 14:05 We're talking disaster. 14:07 It could be a killer quake. 14:09 It could be an economic collapse. 14:11 It could be a government coup. 14:14 It could be a civil war. 14:15 It doesn't matter what you want to call it, 14:17 if it's a disaster, 14:19 something happens to the human psyche 14:21 and trying to cope with survival. 14:24 We're gonna look at a scenario right now 14:27 that with a disaster could happen overnight. 14:34 Open your Bible with me to Revelation Chapter 13. 14:36 Let's go. 14:37 We had been to this chapter before, 14:39 but not in this detail. 14:40 Come on. 14:41 Revelation Chapter 13. 14:43 The Bible's last book. 14:44 American apocalypse, is the religious right wrong? 14:51 Let's go. 14:52 Revelation Chapter 13. 14:54 Let's pick it up in verse 11. 14:56 "Then I saw a second beast coming up out of the earth." 15:01 Hit the pause button right there. 15:02 The moment we read second beast, 15:04 we know something about this chapter. 15:07 And that is there's a first beast 15:08 to Revelation 13. 15:10 Yep, there is. 15:11 It comes out of the sea dripping brine, 15:15 seven heads, with blasphemy all over their heads. 15:20 Yeah, the beast has already been introduced. 15:22 And John the Revelator says that. 15:24 By the way, I need to tell you about beast number two. 15:26 But let's go back to beast number one. 15:28 I want you to go up in the 2:3, speaking of the sea beast, 15:33 with the seven heads. 15:34 "One of the heads of the beast 15:36 seemed to have had a fatal wound, 15:39 but the fatal wound had been healed. 15:42 The whole world was filled with wonder 15:43 and followed the beast." 15:45 Verse 14, 15:46 "People worshiped the dragon 15:47 because he had given authority to the beast, 15:50 and they also worshiped the beast and asked, 15:53 'Who is like the beast? 15:54 Who can wage war against it?" 15:57 Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop, stop. 15:58 So this first beast, seven heads, 16:02 obviously it's a religious power, 16:04 because the heads all have blasphemy. 16:06 And what is blasphemy? 16:07 By usurping God's power for diabolical reasons 16:11 and it receives worship. 16:13 An atheistic institution will never receive worship. 16:16 It says, "What? Are you crazy?" 16:19 It's a religious power, it has to be. 16:25 And clearly, 16:26 this beast rules with global cloud. 16:31 It is a global superpower. 16:37 Daniel 7, Revelation 13, 16:40 the great Protestant reformers. 16:43 As they studied those two apocalyptic chapters, 16:46 were led to the conclusion 16:48 that they must identify this sea beast 16:50 as the Antichrist power 16:52 that ruthlessly ruled 16:54 during the dark and bloody Middle Ages from Rome. 16:59 The sea beast, but it was wounded. 17:04 In fact, in 1798 17:08 speaking of the French Revolution. 17:10 Napoleon sends in his general Berthier. 17:13 And he takes the pope captive, Pope Pius VI, 17:17 the Vatican is shut down, wounded. 17:22 Now that's just transpired. 17:24 Verse 10 describes it being taken into captivity. 17:27 Then, on the heels of that, we read these words. 17:28 What do we just read? 17:30 A second beast coming up out of the earth? 17:32 Whoa, what's the second beast coming up out of the earth? 17:34 Well, the first beast came out of the water. 17:36 Water, Revelation 17:15, 17:38 the water is a symbol of people, 17:40 nations, kindreds, languages. 17:43 The first beast comes up out of the people 17:46 thoroughfares of Europe, 17:48 but the second beast comes not out of water, 17:52 it comes out of earth, dry earth, barren wilderness, 17:56 a place called the New World. 18:01 That beast was wounded in 1798. 18:03 Coincidentally, 18:05 this beast arises to power in the late 1700s, 18:09 same time. 18:11 And the Greek word for springing up 18:13 describes a weed, it grows fast. 18:19 And it becomes a global superpower 18:20 as we're immediately gonna notice. 18:22 Global superpower, late 1700s, 18:26 barren wilderness of the New World, 18:27 guess what? 18:28 There's only one nation on this planet 18:30 that could fit this description. 18:32 And you know who it is? 18:33 It's the United States of America. 18:36 Read the verse again. 18:38 "And then I saw a second beast coming up out of the earth. 18:42 And it had two horns." 18:44 Oh, I love this. It had two horns like a lamb. 18:46 Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, 18:48 little fuzzy curly hair 18:49 and lambs had these little tiny horns, 18:51 you know, just little protrusions here, 18:53 two horns. 18:55 It's youthful. 18:57 It's a symbol of youthfulness. 18:58 It's a symbol of innocence, 19:01 perhaps it's a symbol of the two great liberties 19:03 that this land has always championed civil liberty 19:06 and religious liberty. 19:07 Maybe that's what this is all about. 19:09 It has two horns, what a fitting description. 19:14 In the latest edition issue of Liberty magazine, 19:17 there's a piece by Ron Capshaw all about Roger Williams. 19:21 Do you remember Roger Williams, 19:22 the Baptist minister who founded a colony 19:24 Rhode Island in the early 1600s. 19:26 You remember him? 19:28 This is an article about him. 19:29 And I want to put Capshaw's words on the screen here. 19:31 Roger Williams established the first area, 19:34 or we call it colony 19:35 to practice the separation of church 19:38 and state in the New World. 19:40 He codified the idea 19:42 that the government could rule only in civil matters. 19:46 As such, the Providence," 19:47 that's Providence, Rhode Island, 19:49 "the Providence government 19:50 could not punish those who violated, " 19:52 and these are Roger Williams' words, 19:55 "the religious principles 19:57 contained in the Ten Commandments, 19:59 such as idolatry, Sabbath-breaking, 20:01 false worship and blasphemy." 20:03 Williams goes on. 20:04 "The laws of the First Table of the Ten Commandments 20:07 are not regulations for civil society 20:10 or a political order. 20:11 They belong to the realm of religion, not politics. 20:15 Not politics. 20:22 And so for two and a half centuries, 20:24 in this great nation, 20:26 America has championed 20:27 the separation of church and state and rightfully so. 20:30 Roger Williams was the one who taught us 20:33 to favor neither religion over government, 20:35 nor government over religion. 20:37 You got to keep them separate. 20:39 Keep them separate, don't pull them together. 20:41 That's been the genius of this land. 20:44 But something dreadful happens. 20:47 This global superpower begins to speak like a dragon. 20:52 Enter earth beast, phase two. 20:57 Revelation 13:11 again, 20:59 "Then I saw a second beast coming out of the earth. 21:02 It had two horns like a lamb, 21:04 but it spoke like a dragon Satan." 21:08 Verse 12, 21:09 "It exercised, the Greek present, 21:12 historical present is used, actually. 21:14 So these are all in the present tense in the Greek. 21:16 "It exercises all the authority of the first beast, 21:19 that would be Rome, 21:20 on its behalf and makes the earth 21:23 and its inhabitants worship the first beast, 21:27 whose fatal wound has been healed." 21:31 Wow. 21:33 How could that humanly? 21:34 How could that conceivably even be possible 21:38 in a freedom loving church 21:39 and state separating land like America? 21:42 Indeed, it is incomprehensible 21:44 unless or until you introduce 21:50 an unexpected, 21:51 debilitating cataclysm 21:56 that strikes this nation and suddenly all bets are off. 22:05 Something obviously has gone terribly wrong. 22:07 We don't know what it is. 22:10 But it's gone terribly wrong to the place 22:12 that not only the citizens, did you notice that? 22:14 Not only the citizens of the United States, 22:16 but the inhabitants of the entire planet 22:18 are so shaken and threatened, 22:20 that in a state of cognitive confusion, 22:22 they allow the abrogation 22:23 or the tearing down of the very freedoms 22:26 and liberties they once so ardently championed. 22:28 Something has happened. 22:30 It is a crisis on this planet, 22:31 and new voices speak up 22:33 and entire playing field has been changed. 22:38 Could it happen? 22:40 Are you kidding? 22:42 Will it happen? 22:44 Listen, Daniel's already told us, 22:45 it's gonna happen. 22:46 Watch this. 22:48 This is Daniel 12:1, 22:49 "There will be at the end of time 22:51 such a time of distress 22:52 such as has not happened 22:54 from the beginning of nations until then." 22:58 There's something yet ahead, 22:59 Jesus picks up on Daniel. 23:01 And in the little apocalypse of Matthew 24, 23:04 notice the word, the prediction of Jesus 23:06 just before I return, 23:08 watch what's going to be on this planet. 23:09 "For then there will be great distress 23:13 unequaled from the beginning of the world until now 23:16 and never to be equaled again." 23:19 If those, in fact, 23:21 "If those days had not been cut short, 23:23 no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect, 23:27 the friends of God on earth, those days will be shortened." 23:32 If it had been allowed 23:33 for the crisis to continue to mount 23:35 and the entire human race would be gone. 23:39 But for the sake of his friends, enough, enough. 23:47 And then what does Michael Barkun remind us? 23:53 What does he remind us? 23:54 Put it on the screen again, 23:56 please one more time Michael Barkun, 23:59 social scientist. 24:00 "Disaster produces the questioning, 24:03 the anxiety, 24:04 and the suggestibility 24:06 that are required for belief system change. 24:11 Only in its wake 24:13 are people move to abandon old values of the past." 24:19 And what old values of the past will America abandon." 24:23 What have we already read? 24:25 Political power will enforce religious worship. 24:29 You've never heard of such a thing 24:32 in the history of this nation. 24:35 But there's a dusty old book that says, 24:37 "You watch, 24:38 this will happen 24:40 to the United States of America." 24:44 Wow. Read it again. 24:46 Verse 11. 24:47 "And then I saw a second beast coming up out of the earth. 24:52 It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 24:56 It exercised all the authority of the first beast 24:59 on its behalf, 25:00 and made the earth and its inhabitants 25:03 worship the first beast, 25:04 whose fatal wound had been healed. 25:06 And it performed great signs 25:08 even causing fire to come down 25:10 from heaven to the earth in full view of the people." 25:14 Sounds to me a whole lot like Mount Carmel, 25:18 Elijah and the prophets of Baal redo. 25:24 Only know what's different this time? 25:26 The dragon who watched Mount Carmel, 25:29 which was a spectacular revelation 25:31 of supernatural power 25:32 to turn the hearts of the people from the devil 25:35 back to the Creator God. 25:37 The devil says, I'll take that same miracle 25:39 and I'll reverse it, 25:40 I will turn to the bringing down 25:42 of whatever it is, 25:43 fire from heaven, 25:45 I will turn the world away 25:47 from the Creator God to me. 25:50 I'll put it off. 25:52 Mercy. 25:54 And by the way, 25:55 that's been the ambition of the dragon 25:57 from the very beginning. 25:59 The dragon who, of course, 26:00 is the greatest Antichrist of all. 26:07 Verse 14, 26:09 "Because of the signs..." 26:10 By the way, 26:12 these signs apparently are so persuasive. 26:14 Listen, listen, listen, this is a university community. 26:18 They are so persuasive that atheist scientists, 26:23 says the whole world. 26:24 Atheist scientists 26:26 who will not be able to explain this, 26:29 and can only determine 26:31 it must be the finger of the Almighty Himself 26:35 because it's the whole world. 26:41 Verse 14, 26:42 "Because of the signs, 26:44 it was given power to perform 26:46 on behalf of the first beast, 26:48 it, this country, 26:50 deceives the inhabitants of the earth." 26:52 We have now a confederacy of two global superpowers 26:56 who have confederated together to rule the planet. 26:59 That's what's going on. 27:00 It, this second beast power, 27:02 deceives the inhabitants of the entire earth. 27:05 It's global. 27:06 "It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast 27:10 who was wounded by the sword and yet lived." 27:13 Verse 15, 27:14 "And the second beast, this country, 27:15 was given power to give breath 27:17 to the image of the first beast, 27:19 that global superpower out of Rome, 27:21 so that the image could speak and cause 27:23 all who refused to worship the image to be," 27:26 what? 27:28 We're going to kill you. 27:30 Do you understand that? 27:31 Hey, folks, guess what? 27:33 This is a story of Shadrach, 27:34 Meshach and Abednego all over again in spades. 27:38 You remember that story, 27:39 don't you of the three young Hebrew worthies? 27:42 King Nebuchadnezzar said, 27:43 I got an image right here, you see that baby? 27:45 I want you to bow down. 27:46 You're gonna bow down 27:48 and if you don't bow down we will. 27:49 It's over. 27:51 Do you understand that? 27:54 This is the story replayed. 27:57 The whole world, 27:59 we command that you worship that? 28:02 Will there be an Abednego? 28:05 Will there be a Meshach? 28:07 Will there be a Shadrach on this planet at that moment 28:10 that will stand up and say, 28:11 I don't care what this power declares, 28:13 I refuse to bow down to that image. 28:16 You may kill me if you wish. 28:19 God if He wants can deliver me but even if He doesn't, 28:22 I will not bow down to you. 28:26 Here I stand. 28:28 So help me God. 28:31 Yeah, apparently, there will be a few who resist. 28:42 Well, there are only two verses left. 28:44 Here it comes. 28:46 That mysterious mark of the beast. 28:48 Verse 16. 28:49 "And it," 28:51 the second global power, America, 28:53 "forces all people great and small, 28:56 rich and poor, 28:58 free and slave 28:59 to receive a mark on their right hands 29:02 or on their foreheads 29:04 so that they could not buy or sell 29:07 unless they had the mark." 29:08 Apparently this power, 29:10 this global power has control of the finances 29:14 of the human race. 29:16 And it can say, 29:18 if I say you spend you spend, 29:21 if I say you have no access to spending, 29:24 you have zero access. 29:26 I have a little switch here. 29:27 Everything's electronic. It's over. 29:31 Apparently, 29:33 the second beast has the wherewithal 29:36 to economically throttle this planet. 29:41 Man, oh, man. 29:44 Let's read verse 17 again, 29:45 "So that they could not buy or sell 29:48 unless they had the mark 29:50 which is the name of the first beast, 29:53 the Antichrist, 29:54 or the number of its name." 30:02 There you have it, 30:04 the dreaded and mysterious mark of the beast, 30:07 but in a freedom loving church and state 30:10 separating America, 30:11 how can that be? 30:14 Look at this. 30:15 Let me quote Richard Evans in his book, 30:17 The Coming of the Third Reich. 30:20 On the screen, he asks only four questions. 30:23 Four questions he asks, here they are. 30:25 How was it 30:27 that an advanced and highly cultured nation 30:29 such as Germany in the 1930s, 30:33 could give in to the brutal force 30:35 of National Socialism so quickly and so easily? 30:40 Good question. 30:41 Question number two, 30:43 Why was there such little serious resistance 30:45 to the Nazi takeover? 30:47 Question number three. 30:49 How could a party of the radical right 30:51 rise to power with dramatic suddenness? 30:57 And now question number four. 30:59 Why did so many Germans fail to perceive 31:03 the potentially disastrous consequences 31:06 of ignoring the violent, 31:08 racist and murderous nature of the Nazi movement? 31:14 I add three questions to these four. 31:16 Question number five. 31:18 How could a man like Adolf Hitler 31:20 walk away with the churches of Germany 31:23 in his hip pocket? 31:30 How does that happen? 31:32 Question number six. 31:34 Where was the Christian resistance 31:36 to a ruler and party 31:38 so Antichrist in their governance? 31:42 And question number seven. 31:44 And when Hitler declared 31:45 that has blamed the Sabbatarians for our ills, 31:48 why did so preciously 31:50 few religious leaders 31:51 challenged his corrupted logic regarding the Jews? 31:55 Instead what do you have? 31:57 You have the clergy of the day 31:59 careening up to the Fuhrer's table. 32:02 They want to sit at that table. 32:05 Power is contagious. 32:10 I worry today. 32:12 I worry today. 32:15 Could it happen in America? 32:18 I'm deeply concerned 32:20 for clergy 32:22 seeking to sit at the table of power. 32:27 I am concerned. 32:31 That I got an email from one of our viewers who said, 32:33 I see you're going to talk about the religious right. 32:36 Don't forget the irreligious left. 32:40 So that's a good point. 32:42 I agree. 32:45 But the history of Germany, we just saw it. 32:49 The history of Germany is a stunning reminder 32:51 that even good hearted Christian 32:53 men and women and leaders can be duped 32:56 into embracing an Antichrist set of values. 33:00 How serious is this mark of the beast business? 33:04 Oh, mercy. 33:06 You want to read how serious this is just across the page. 33:09 Go to Revelation Chapter 14. 33:11 This is how serious it is. 33:12 There are three angels here in Revelation 14. 33:14 They are uttering and issuing God's final strategic, 33:18 passionate appeal to the human race. 33:21 Two angels have already sounded their warnings 33:23 and their cries. 33:24 Here comes angel number three now. 33:26 Verse 9, Revelation 14, 33:29 "And a third angel followed the two 33:31 and said in a loud voice." 33:32 There's that megaphone voice again. 33:34 "If anyone worships the beast and its image 33:39 and receives its mark on their forehead 33:41 or on their hand, 33:43 they too will drink the wine of God's fury, 33:46 which has been poured out 33:48 full strength into the cup of his wrath. 33:50 They will be tormented with burning sulfur 33:52 in the presence of the holy angels 33:54 and of the Lamb 33:55 and the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever. 33:58 There will be no rest day 34:00 nor night for those who worship the beast 34:02 and its image 34:04 or anyone who receives the mark of its name." 34:06 Have mercy. 34:11 That little apocalyptic classic, 34:12 The Great Controversy, 34:13 you know how it calls, 34:15 you know how it describes this message right here? 34:17 The most fearful threatening 34:18 ever addressed to mortals 34:20 in the history of the human race. 34:22 You just read it. 34:25 Man! 34:27 Something is obviously hugely at stake for God 34:32 to be so dire in His warning. 34:35 Because you see, 34:38 the apocalypse dramatically describes the contrast 34:43 between the mark of the beast and the seal of God. 34:53 And the critical ID factor. 34:56 Both are about worship. 34:59 Let me show you. 35:03 Let's go to the seal of God. 35:05 We already know the mark of the beast. 35:06 We just read the description. 35:07 Just go back a few pages, this is Revelation 7. 35:10 Revelation 7:1, 35:12 "After this, I saw four angels 35:14 standing at the four corners of the earth, 35:16 holding back the four winds, 35:17 north, south, east west. 35:19 Something is just busting out 35:23 of the seams to destroy this planet. 35:24 But these angels have been assigned to hold it back, 35:26 hold it but not yet, not yet. 35:29 Holding back the four winds of the earth 35:31 to prevent any wind from blowing on the land, 35:34 or on the sea, or on any tree." 35:36 Verse 2, 35:37 "Then I saw another angel coming up from the east 35:41 having the seal of the living God, there it is, 35:43 and He called out in a loud voice, 35:45 another megaphone voice to the four angels 35:47 who had been given power to harm the land and the sea." 35:50 Verse 3, 35:51 "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees 35:54 until we put a seal on the foreheads 35:58 of the servants of our God." 36:03 What do we already know about the mark of the beast? 36:05 Let's just review this. 36:08 It'll help us with the seal of God. 36:10 Now the mark of the beast, where did it go? 36:11 Do you remember where the mark of the beast went? 36:12 Come on, help me out. 36:14 It went first where? 36:15 Right hand. 36:17 Tap your right hand right now, tap your right hand. 36:19 That's the hand, it'll go there. 36:21 What is this some embedded QR code? 36:24 No. 36:25 Supermarket barcode? No. 36:27 That's the stuff you read from the National Enquirer. 36:30 We'll find out what it is. 36:31 So need to go here or to go where? 36:34 The seal of God, where does it go? 36:37 It does not go here. You know why? 36:39 Because the hand represents compliance. 36:41 The hand represents the crowd just is dragging me along. 36:44 Wherever the guys are going, I'm going. 36:45 Wherever the girls are going, I'm going. 36:47 Some people follow the crowd. 36:48 They'll follow the crowd by gaming, 36:50 lemmings over a cliff. 36:52 There will be nobody going into the kingdom of God 36:54 being dragged along. 36:56 God does not have a crowd being dragged into heaven. 36:57 God only has people who do this 37:00 who think, who think, who think. 37:02 Great news for a university that's paid to think, 37:05 they think critically, prayerfully cautiously, 37:09 they choose here. 37:14 So you got two competing seals or marks, two of them. 37:19 Wow. 37:21 You choose. 37:23 Whom shall I obey? 37:24 You choose. 37:26 Whom shall I worship? 37:27 Come on, you choose, because you see, 37:30 the seal of God and the mark of the beast 37:33 represent two sources of authority, watch this. 37:36 The mark of the beast 37:38 symbolizes the authority of the Antichrist, 37:39 that would be human authority. 37:41 The seal of God 37:43 represents the authority of the Creator, 37:45 that would be divine authority. 37:48 Plain and simple. 37:49 In fact, my friend Jiri Moskala, 37:51 who is the dean of the theological seminary 37:53 here on campus. 37:54 He wrote a piece 37:56 in this month's Adventist Review. 37:58 And it's spot on, 38:00 I wanna put this on the screen for you. 38:01 The three angels' message, 38:02 he is dealing with all three of them 38:04 as one message. 38:05 The three angels' message is God's response 38:08 to the demands of the satanic trinity. 38:10 Good night. 38:11 What is this? 38:13 Well, let's see what he says. He says it's a dragon. 38:14 Okay, we got that one, 38:16 that Satan, the sea and land beast. 38:18 Okay, Rome, America. 38:19 Oh, the satanic trinity. 38:21 Go back please to that satanic trinity. 38:23 Yeah, so what's he saying here? 38:26 The three angels' message is God's response 38:28 to the demands of the satanic trinity. 38:31 What are they demanding? Keep going now. 38:32 They're demanding universal obedience. 38:35 Guess what? 38:36 People who hate obedience, it won't matter, 38:38 in that day you have to obey. 38:40 And both forces, 38:42 the forces of Christ 38:43 and the forces of the fallen dragon, 38:46 Lucifer, both forces will demand obedience. 38:52 There is no middle ground, 38:54 but I don't wanna, I'm not gonna obey either. 38:55 No, I'm sorry. 38:57 It's either one or the other, and they will demand it. 38:59 Keep reading. 39:00 But the three angels' message shows the Holy Trinity. 39:04 Now in contradistinction, 39:06 exposing these end time deceptions 39:09 and fake news 39:10 helping people to make right choices 39:13 and worship the Lord in truth. 39:16 In fact, get this, 39:18 Jiri Moskala in this article describes 39:19 how between Revelation 13 and 14, 39:22 these two chapters between the two trinities. 39:26 Worship, 39:27 the word worship occurs eight times, eight times. 39:32 Let's put the sentence on the screen 39:34 so that we will never forget it. 39:35 Worship is a huge deal 39:38 in the end game for the human race. 39:41 Worship, worship, worship. 39:43 You cannot define that end game any other way. 39:46 But pointing out that it is the issue of worship 39:50 at the very end of time. 39:57 Either it will be the Creator and His authority 40:01 or the Antichrist and his authority. 40:02 Can you prove that, Dwight? 40:04 Of course, I can, put it right here. 40:05 Let's put the two verses on the screen here. 40:08 These are the verses that talk about worship. 40:09 The first angel's message, 40:11 worship Him the Creator 40:12 who made heaven and earth and the springs of waters. 40:15 That worship is the big deal with the Creator. 40:16 Of course, it is. 40:18 And we just read it, Revelation 13:15. 40:20 And the second beast, America, 40:21 was given power to give breath 40:23 to the image of the first beast, 40:24 Antichrist and Rome, 40:26 so that the image could speak 40:28 and cause all who refused to worship 40:31 the image to be killed. 40:33 Worship, worship, 40:34 it's the end game's last appeal. 40:38 Whom shall I worship? 40:43 Whose authority takes precedence in my life? 40:46 God's or man's? 40:49 Christ, my Creator? 40:52 Or the dragon and his antichrist? 40:54 I have to choose. 40:57 Wow. 40:58 I must remind you 41:00 that the Creator could hardly be clearer 41:02 about His authority. 41:03 Let's put it on the screen once again. 41:05 The fourth commandment from the Decalogue, 41:06 the Ten Commandments. 41:07 By the way, the Creator and in the New Testament 41:09 it's clear that Jesus is the Creator 41:11 that appears in Genesis 1, 2 and 3. 41:13 The Creator with His own finger wrote these words in granite, 41:17 so that they could not be erased. 41:20 All right, what did He write in the fourth commandment? 41:21 Well, let's read it. 41:23 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 41:24 For in six days, 41:26 the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 41:28 the sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day." 41:31 Keep going. 41:33 "Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day 41:36 and hallowed it. 41:37 He has put His divine imprimatur 41:40 on that seventh day Sabbath 41:42 from the beginning of human time, 41:44 and He's never taken it off. 41:46 He has hallowed it. 41:47 He sealed it. 41:50 Oh, boy! 41:51 Have you ever seen one of these? 41:52 Come on. Come on. 41:54 Again, bugging me this whole time 41:55 sitting in my pocket. 41:56 But have you ever seen one of these? 42:00 You've seen these little seals, you can buy the seals. 42:03 And you can emboss a piece of paper, 42:05 a letter that you're signing. 42:06 And when you put this seal on it. 42:08 Oh, boy, that's official, 42:09 because that came with your seal on it. 42:11 This is a seal. Everybody knows a seal. 42:13 Now look it. 42:15 If I were president of the United States, 42:17 you can be thankful that I'm not. 42:19 If I were president of the United States, 42:21 I would have a seal for myself. 42:23 Yes, I would. 42:25 And this is how my seal would read. 42:28 True, this is really how my seal would read. 42:30 Let's put it on the screen. 42:32 Dwight's seal. 42:33 That's not an animal. 42:37 This is not sea world. 42:39 You understand that, do you? 42:41 This is a seal. 42:42 All right, Dwight's seal. 42:44 So my seal would have my name, Dwight Nelson. 42:46 It would have my office, President. 42:48 And by the way, that is a capital P President. 42:50 All right? 42:52 And it would have my jurisdiction, 42:53 United States of America. 42:55 Just lock this screen in your mind. 42:57 And I wanna ask you the question, 42:59 is it too late to get on the ballot 43:00 for this election? 43:01 I'm just wondering, look. 43:05 Of course not. 43:06 So that's what goes into a seal. 43:11 When the President takes his personal seal, 43:14 so he's going to sign an executive order. 43:15 But when he signs the executive order, 43:17 and then he seals it 43:18 with the seal of the President of the United States, 43:21 he has locked in his authority to what is now sealed. 43:26 His authority is all over it. 43:27 Of course, it is. 43:30 Does God have a seal? 43:32 Oh, yes, He does. 43:33 Oh, what's in God's seal? 43:34 His name, His office, and His jurisdiction. 43:38 Come on. Are you serious? Yes. 43:39 We just read God seal. 43:41 Let's go back to the fourth commandment. 43:42 Let's do it. Come on. Fourth Commandment. 43:45 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, 43:47 the seventh day of the week. 43:48 For in six days the Lord," 43:50 stop, stop, stop that's His name Yahweh, 43:53 seal the place where He's named here. 43:54 Look at, this is the law giver, He has the authority. 43:58 So we see His name. 44:00 For in six days the Lord made, 44:04 oh, stop, stop, stop because made He's a maker. 44:06 That's His office. He's the Creator. 44:08 He's the maker. 44:09 He made, now keep reading, the heavens and the earth, 44:13 the sea and all that is in them. 44:15 We'll stop again. 44:16 That's His jurisdiction. 44:17 Ladies and gentlemen, just look at that screen. 44:19 He has a seal with His name, 44:21 His office and His jurisdiction 44:22 plainly shown and it was carved in granite 44:26 so that nobody could stand up and say, 44:29 "No, no, the seal should be in my name. 44:32 I am the one that decides." 44:33 No, you are not. 44:36 Every seventh day of the week brings the seal. 44:38 Come on, read the last line please. 44:40 And what did God do this, the one who seals the law, 44:43 He rested on the seventh day. 44:45 Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day 44:49 and hallowed it. 44:52 There it is, ladies and gentlemen. 44:56 The seventh day Sabbath is God's seal of authority. 45:00 As the creator of the universe, 45:01 and when I worship Him on His day, 45:04 I am declaring to the universe and to everybody on earth, 45:07 I have one source of authority, and that is my Creator. 45:11 I owe my allegiance to Him forever and ever. 45:14 Amen. 45:15 That's what I say, when I worship on His day. 45:20 Now in opposition to the seal of God, 45:24 the mark of the beast is a counter authority seal, 45:27 and I want you to see it right here. 45:30 The Roman Catholic Church, this is a direct quote, 45:34 Sunday is our mark of authority. 45:41 I didn't write this. 45:42 They did. 45:44 Sunday is our mark of authority that church is above the Bible. 45:50 And this transference of Sabbath observance 45:52 is proof of that fact. 45:57 There are two seals. 45:59 One's called a mark, the other is seal. 46:03 One's the mark of the beast, the other is the seal of God. 46:07 And it will come down 46:10 to a very plain and simple choice, 46:12 put it on the screen here. 46:14 You will choose either the seal of God 46:16 in His seventh day Sabbath. 46:18 There's not a third, there's nothing here. 46:20 There's no third choice. 46:22 Well, I'm going to take this one, you can't, you can't. 46:25 You choose the seal of God in His seventh day Sabbath 46:27 or the mark of the beast in its substitute Sunday. 46:32 That's the only choice. 46:34 The only choice. 46:38 And the majority of this planet, 46:40 as we just read in Revelation 13, 46:41 the majority will say, Okay, I'll go along with it. 46:44 I don't believe in it, but I'll go along with it. 46:46 Or I believe in it. 46:48 You can count me in. 46:50 Will there be anybody to say, excuse me, excuse me. 46:53 Timeout, timeout, excuse me. 46:56 Is there room for a second opinion? 46:59 Yes, there will be, 47:01 there will be and there will be a minority. 47:03 It will be small. 47:06 But the Apocalypse is clear, God does not lose in the end. 47:10 Watch this. 47:12 Revelation 14:12. 47:13 We just read it in our scripture 47:15 reading a moment ago. 47:16 Here is the patience of the saints, 47:19 here are those who keep the commandments of God 47:23 and the faith of Jesus. 47:25 There will be a minority sabbatarians to the end. 47:31 There will be. 47:32 Oh, and there's one more verse Revelation, 12:17, 47:35 And a dragon, Satan was enraged with a woman, 47:38 the pure woman, God's true church, 47:40 he was enraged with a woman 47:42 and he went to make war with the rest, 47:45 the remnant of her seed or offspring 47:48 who keep the commandments of God. 47:50 I guess that includes the fourth commandment, 47:52 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 47:55 Ladies and gentlemen, 47:56 the good news is 47:58 God the Creator will have a people 47:59 who are Sabbath keeping, 48:01 Creator obeying and Jesus loving worshipers 48:03 at the end of time, 48:05 no matter how hot 48:06 that furnace is stoked up to be, 48:08 they will say I cannot and I will not change my mind. 48:15 I'll stand for Him. 48:16 Do whatever you want. 48:23 Question: Does anybody have the mark of the beast today? 48:28 Answer: No. 48:31 The sea beast has yet to collaborate 48:34 with the earth beast in this global confederacy 48:37 for the end game. 48:40 The truth is there are tens of thousands of Christians 48:44 today who worship Jesus on Sunday 48:46 believing it's the Lord's Day. 48:49 They love Him with all their hearts. 48:51 Nobody has told them otherwise. 48:53 Their pastors haven't corrected them 48:55 because their pastors don't know. 48:58 And so with sincerity 48:59 and devotion to their Lord, 49:01 they are living up to all the light 49:02 that is shining on their pathway. 49:04 Nevertheless, 49:05 to observe the seventh day Sabbath 49:07 still remains God's will for all Christians, 49:11 whether the mark of the beast has been formed yet or not, 49:14 it does not matter. 49:16 So what should you do? 49:20 I grew up in Japan. 49:23 And I used to go to school every day 49:25 on the trains of Japan, 49:26 back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. 49:28 A few years ago, Karen and I went to visit Japan, 49:31 my homeland. 49:32 Had a wonderful time, got on a train, 49:33 sat back, man, this is gonna be... 49:35 Oh, look at the beautiful countryside. 49:37 The city of Tokyo. Wow! 49:39 And then I saw there was this map, 49:42 a railway system map 49:44 on the side of the train car and I'm looking at it 49:47 and reading it and I'm saying wait a minute, 49:49 wait a minute. 49:51 We are going in the wrong direction. 49:55 These Japanese trains are something. 49:57 Let me tell you about Japanese trains. 50:00 Once you discover, you've got the right ticket, 50:03 but you're on the wrong train. 50:06 You have two choices. 50:08 You can stay on that train and keep going 50:09 to where you never wanted to go. 50:12 Or you can find a train 50:17 that's going the way you wanted to go 50:20 and you change trains. 50:22 It's that simple. 50:24 God is crying out to the human race 50:26 to change trains, 50:28 and come to Him 50:31 as the creator of the human race. 50:34 You've never, you may never have believed 50:36 in a Creator at all. 50:37 You've grown up atheist. 50:39 You have never even entertained the thought even for you. 50:43 The creator of the universe 50:45 stretches out His nail scarred hands. 50:48 Says, come on, change trains, 50:50 change trains, come to me. 50:56 Antichrist says, no, no, no, no. 50:58 Come this way. 51:00 But he can only take you where you never wanted to go. 51:04 The Creator says, no, no, no, no, no, no, come this way. 51:07 And I'll take you 51:09 to where you've always wanted to go. 51:10 Because when it comes to the Sabbath, 51:14 it has always been all about Jesus. 51:19 And that's the good news. 51:21 And it's that simple. 51:22 Come to Me. 51:24 Come to Me, and I'll give you rest. 51:27 A Sabbath rest like you have never had before. 51:33 Come to me. 51:36 Let's pray. 51:38 Oh, Jesus, Creator, Redeemer, Lord and Savior. 51:43 Wow. 51:48 There are people right now whose minds are scrambling. 51:51 They're saying, I'd never heard this before. 51:54 What am I supposed to do now? 51:57 Oh, Father, draw especially close to those, 52:01 close to those whose minds are racing. 52:04 Whisper in his ear, 52:06 whisper in her heart that it's okay, 52:10 that you make a way. 52:13 You open the door. 52:17 And you will guide that life. 52:21 We have nothing to fear for the future. 52:25 Our creator God still reigns, He's coming soon. 52:30 And the choice is a simple one, human authority, 52:35 God's authority. 52:36 Read every one of our hearts, Father. 52:39 Let the record show 52:40 that we choose the authority of God our creator, 52:46 no matter what the cost will be. 52:50 In the name of Jesus, 52:52 who died for us that all the people say 52:57 amen. 52:59 Amen. 53:01 There's a connect card at the end of this teaching. 53:04 Put it on the screen for you. 53:05 If you go to pmchurch.org/connect. 53:08 You'll see connect and you just click on there. 53:10 Let's put it on the screen please. 53:11 My next step today is box number one, 53:14 I want the seal of God upon my life. 53:16 I accept the seventh day Sabbath 53:17 as Jesus gift to me. 53:20 I hope you put a checkmark there. 53:22 Look it, there's nobody gonna see you but you. 53:24 Put that checkmark there, 53:25 make a decision 53:26 that you will begin to follow after today. 53:29 Box number one. 53:30 Okay, box number two, 53:31 I would like to study more about the Sabbath. 53:33 Please send me study material. 53:34 If you put your email address 53:36 on that little digital connect card, 53:39 we'll send electronically, 53:41 we will send you some study material. 53:43 Put a checkmark there, 53:45 we'd be happy to send it to you. 53:46 Finally box number three. 53:47 I want to follow Jesus in baptism. 53:49 Never been baptized before, you've been putting it off. 53:52 Never thought about it before. 53:53 All you have to do is just begin to think 53:57 about His invitation. 53:59 Put a checkmark there. 54:00 If you put your email address as well, 54:02 we'll be in touch with you and say, 54:03 hey, is there anything we can do to help? 54:06 I'm glad Chuck is standing right here. 54:07 There's this great old gospel hymn 54:11 and I need to just sit down for a moment. 54:12 We just got to catch our breath here. 54:14 He's only gonna sing two stanzas of it. 54:16 I will follow thee my savior, wheresoever Thy cross may lead. 54:22 Chuck, please. 54:38 I will follow Thee 54:43 My Savior 54:46 Wheresoever my lot may be 54:52 Where Thou goest I will follow 54:58 Yes, my Lord 55:02 I'll follow Thee I will follow Thee 55:10 My Savior 55:13 Thou didst shed Thy blood for me 55:20 And though all men should forsake Thee 55:28 By Thy grace 55:31 I'll follow Thee 55:38 Though to Jordan's rolling billows 55:45 Cold and deep 55:47 Thou leadest me 55:51 Thou hast crossed the waves before me 55:58 And I still will follow Thee 56:06 I will follow Thee 56:10 My Savior 56:13 Thou didst shed Thy blood for me 56:22 And though all men should forsake Thee 56:31 By Thy grace 56:34 I'll follow Thee 56:45 Before you go, 56:46 let me take an extra moment to share with you 56:47 an opportunity to get into the Bible 56:49 in a fresh new way. 56:51 All across the world more and more 56:52 people are hearing the call 56:54 to examine scriptures for themselves. 56:56 If you felt drawn to learn more about God's Word, 56:58 but you don't know where to start, 56:59 or you're just looking for a more in-depth examination 57:02 of Bible truths, 57:03 then I have something right here 57:05 that I believe you're going to enjoy. 57:06 I want to send a series of guides 57:08 to get you started. 57:09 This one's entitled, Why does God allow suffering? 57:12 Each guide begins with a story 57:14 and introduction of the subject, 57:15 then to a series of focus questions. 57:17 You'll be learning portions of the Bible 57:19 you may never have known before. 57:20 And when you're through, 57:21 you'll be able to share with others 57:23 some of these inspiring Bible truths. 57:25 So just call our toll free number, 57:26 it's on the screen 877-HIS-WILL. 57:30 Our friendly operators are standing by 57:31 to send the study guides to you. 57:33 Once again, that's 877-HIS-WILL. 57:36 Call that number and then again, 57:38 join me next week right here at the same time, 57:42 New Perceptions. |
Revised 2020-11-23