Salvation in Symbols and Signs

Prophetic Review #2

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Ivor Myers (Host), James Rafferty (Host), Jason Bradley, Yvonne Lewis

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Series Code: SISS

Program Code: SISS000035A


00:29 Okay, we are ready to move into
00:32 Revelation chapter 8 and verse 9.
00:34 That's actually where we left off
00:36 and we've reviewed just a little bit...
00:40 we've summarized just a little bit... some of the principles,
00:42 some of the interpretations, I think it's been good for us
00:44 because this helps us to get on track
00:47 and ready to move into verse 9,
00:48 Jason, can you read Revelation 8 verse 9 for us
00:51 and Yvonne, would you have a word of prayer for us
00:53 and then we'll get right over. Yvonne: Sure.
00:55 Jason: "And the third part of the creatures
00:57 which were in the sea, and had life, died;
01:00 and the third part of the ships were destroyed"
01:03 and you said verse 10 too just verse 9?
01:06 James: No, that's it... just 9 for now,
01:08 we're going to pray over it and then we're going to go.
01:11 Yvonne: "Father God, we just thank you so very much
01:13 that you're in our midst Lord,
01:15 we thank you for your Holy Spirit
01:17 who is going to guide us Lord God
01:19 according to your promise so we just claim that
01:22 in the name of Jesus and I thank you so much again
01:25 for the blessings that you have bestowed upon us
01:28 through your Word,
01:29 please now guide us into all truth,
01:32 we pray in Jesus' name, amen. "
01:33 All: "Amen... "
01:34 All right, verse 9 is a segue into the next trumpet
01:38 which is the third trumpet or the third angel in verse 10.
01:40 The segue that's taking place here
01:43 if we're looking at the history from verse 8...
01:45 I see, Ivor is ready to explode here... he's ready to jump in...
01:48 verse 8 is this burning mountain Isaiah 51
01:52 and I think it was verse 25, somewhere in there,
01:55 let me just look at my notes here,
01:57 is the judgment that came upon verse 25...
02:01 that came upon Pagan Rome.
02:03 It... this burning mountain is cast into the sea
02:06 swallowed up by the nations, kindreds,
02:08 tongues and peoples of Europe,
02:10 as Pagan Rome goes down,
02:11 another power has been steadily coming up
02:13 but that power comes up
02:16 by compromising the faith of Christianity,
02:19 the truth of Christianity
02:20 and so, the segue is taking place here
02:23 in verse 9... "the third part of the creatures
02:25 which were in the sea and had life... "
02:28 why does God say, "the creatures that had life?"
02:30 If there are creatures in the sea,
02:31 they automatically have life, so, there's an insight here
02:34 that we need to grab ahold of in relation to the symbolism
02:37 of these creatures...
02:39 "and the third part of the ships were destroyed,"
02:40 now, I want to start us out by just looking at
02:42 the way the word "creatures" is used in the New Testament.
02:48 Ivor: Can I jump in... I don't want to do that yet.
02:51 James: Jump in, Ivor, jump in... boom...
02:52 Ivor: Okay, let's start with the "third" first.
02:54 James: Okay. Ivor: Okay, so...
02:55 what do we see that a third represents in the Scripture?
02:59 Every time we look at the Book of Revelation,
03:00 and we see that number... one-third...
03:03 James: Revelation 12...
03:04 Ivor: Revelation 12... you have the fall of these angels,
03:08 at one time... right... on the side of God...
03:12 but then they rebelled...
03:15 James: I got it... I got it... Ivor: Right... you got it?
03:17 James: Yeah, go ahead...
03:19 Ivor: Right, so, we see this number "one-third"
03:23 it's a number that is used to symbolize apostasy.
03:26 James: Falling away... Yvonne: Ah...
03:28 Ivor: The falling away... yeah. James: That's it...
03:29 Ivor: So now, when we go to creatures...
03:32 I think you're going to Mark...
03:33 James: Yes, yes, well, there are a number of verses...
03:36 the one I'm looking at here is in Colossians 1:23...
03:38 where it says, "If you continue in the faith
03:41 grounded and settled, and be not moved away
03:43 from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard,
03:45 which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;
03:47 whereof I Paul am made a minister"
03:50 that's Colossians 1:23 Ivor: Right.
03:52 James: Creatures would represent
03:54 especially creatures that had life would represent...
03:57 because the Word of Life, the Bread of Life...
03:59 the gospel of eternal life...
04:01 creatures would represent those who had received the gospel...
04:04 who had heard the gospel... and had life
04:06 but now they're dying...
04:08 Ivor: Because Jesus had said in His gospel commission...
04:10 "go and preach the gospel to every creature... "
04:13 so "creature" is not... again we are ...
04:15 talking about this is not literal... so...
04:18 we're not talking about one- third of fish in the sea dying,
04:21 we're talking about one-third of the creatures
04:23 so we have one-third...
04:25 James: Among the nations and peoples and tongues of these...
04:26 Ivor: Right... right... so here's the interesting thing
04:28 is that God... Jesus, in His commission,
04:31 had sent His people really... into the sea...
04:35 and what I mean by that is into the peoples, nations,
04:38 multitudes and tongues,
04:39 they were then to take the gospel
04:41 and take it into the world and spread that gospel,
04:44 they were to preach to every...
04:45 every creature in the sea, as it were,
04:49 they were to win the...
04:50 win people to the gospel of Christ,
04:52 so, I think what we're seeing here
04:54 is that... there is a reference to a group of people
04:58 right, who were Christians that something begins...
05:01 Believers... that something begins to happen to them
05:05 within this context, within what's happening in Rome
05:09 that is ultimately going to lead us
05:10 to the third trumpet... once we get there.
05:12 James: Yeah, because Satan was once a follower of God,
05:14 he was created by God, he was a believer in God
05:17 and the angels there that were created in heaven
05:19 all believed and followed God and then they fell away
05:22 and they became the third part that he deceived
05:25 so that symbolism right here just fits perfectly
05:28 so the third part of the creatures
05:30 would not necessarily represent one-third, literally
05:33 but simply those who once believed and accepted the gospel
05:36 falling away... and we see this...
05:37 Ivor: They had life.
05:39 James: Yes, they had life... do we see this in the churches?
05:42 Do we see this history taking place in the churches? Yes.
05:45 Do we see it in the seals? Yes.
05:47 So now we're seeing it again in the trumpets,
05:50 it's going to be confirmed
05:51 when we look at the third and the fourth trumpet,
05:53 but it's beginning... the transition beginning right here
05:56 in verse 9 of the 2nd trumpet
05:58 because Rome was fallen... it leaves a vacancy...
06:01 that vacancy is going to be filled historically
06:04 by a compromise that takes place with Pagan...
06:07 Paganism and Christianity...
06:09 in order for that compromise to take place,
06:12 Christianity has to give up the faith...
06:14 which is what really is cool because it says,
06:16 ships were destroyed, now notice this,
06:17 I'm going to read these verses to you
06:19 and see if you can relate it to the ships being destroyed
06:21 these are two verses that I'm going to read to you,
06:23 here they go, first verse, 1st Timothy 1:19,
06:26 "Holding faith, and a good conscience;
06:30 which some having put away faith...
06:33 concerning faith have made shipwreck... "
06:35 and this next one, Hebrews 6:19,
06:39 "This hope in God we have as an anchor of the soul,
06:42 both sure and steadfast,
06:44 which enters the presence behind the veil... "
06:47 an anchor to the soul... anchors are related to ships
06:50 shipwreck of faith... turning away from the faith,
06:53 making shipwreck of faith, both of these verses
06:55 are implying what we see here in the symbolism
06:58 of the fact that when these creatures that had life
07:01 compromised after the fall of Pagan Rome,
07:04 they start compromising their faith with Paganism,
07:06 and Paganism starts coming in the church,
07:08 their ships... their faith is destroyed...
07:10 that's what we see taking place here.
07:12 Let me add two verses here, Revelation 18 and verse 17,
07:15 the Bible says here, "For in one hour... "
07:18 talking about Babylon... okay...
07:20 "For in one hour so great riches is come to naught.
07:23 And every shipmaster, and all the company
07:25 in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea... "
07:30 so I want to focus on that term, "trade by sea"
07:33 because the purpose of ships... they carry...
07:37 they carry goods... merchandise,
07:39 okay, so, ships represent trading, you know,
07:42 trading of goods, carrying of merchandise
07:44 from one place to another, upon the seas... right,
07:48 peoples, nations, multitudes and tongues,
07:50 let's go to Proverbs 31 and hold that thought
07:52 and we're going to look at Proverbs 31...
07:54 and in Proverbs 31... which is a beautiful chapter
07:59 because Proverbs 31 actually
08:04 is the Proverb of the virtuous woman
08:07 and it's interesting how verse 1 begins of Proverbs 31...
08:12 it says, "The words that king Lemuel...
08:14 The words of king Lemuel,
08:16 the prophecy that his mother taught him. "
08:19 Proverbs 31 is a prophecy...
08:21 James: Hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm...
08:23 Ivor: It actually says it right there in the first verse,
08:25 it's very interesting because what Proverbs 31 talks about...
08:28 is corrupt women and then a virtuous woman
08:33 in verses 1 through 9, it's talking about strange women
08:37 that give wine to kings and cause them to forget
08:41 what God said to remember
08:43 and then the rest of the chapter goes into,
08:46 "Who can know a virtuous woman?"
08:48 The virtuous woman is symbolic of the Church, the true church
08:53 so when you read Proverbs 31, this is a good side study
08:55 all these things it's saying about the virtuous woman
08:58 is actually describing the work of the church,
09:01 so now, notice with me verse 14,
09:03 verse 14... speaking of the church
09:06 it says, "She is like the merchants' ships;
09:09 she bringeth her food from afar. "
09:12 What is she bringing on this ship? Food... right...
09:15 Ivor: Nourishment... look down on verse 18...
09:19 James: Bread... Yvonne: Bread...
09:20 Ivor: Exactly... verse 18...
09:22 "She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:
09:24 her candle goeth not out by night. "
09:25 It's talking about merchandise here,
09:27 what's on the ship? Merchandise... food...
09:30 goods... so what happens under this...
09:34 what happens is, compromise...
09:38 a compromise of the gospel, a compromise of the living bread
09:41 those who once carried or once believed in Christ,
09:46 somehow or another... begin to fall into apostasy
09:50 and this again is a transition that we see
09:54 more fully fleshed out under the third trumpet
09:57 and the fourth trumpet.
09:58 James: Yes, but we know it begins here
09:59 because the third trumpet is going to take us right into...
10:02 the rise of this power and strength...
10:04 Ivor: As one enemy is falling... as Rome is falling...
10:08 in which were the second enemies of God's people,
10:11 remember Jerusalem... first enemies...
10:13 they fall... then the new enemy becomes Rome,
10:16 as Rome is falling...
10:17 Satan is already working on a new enemy.
10:19 He's like, "Oh man! I'm losing Rome... what are you guys doing"
10:23 okay, he's got to transition to a new enemy
10:25 and what we're going to see and I think it's important
10:27 for us to point out James is that...
10:29 remember from our paralleling of the churches and the seals,
10:34 we know that church number 3, church number 4, church number 5
10:40 and church number 6,
10:41 all cover about the span of the Dark Ages,
10:44 and a little bit beyond...
10:46 there's one dominant force in the Dark Ages,
10:49 it's the Papal System...
10:51 so what can we know just what can we know
10:53 before even going into the other trumpets?
10:55 Is that trumpet number 3, number 4, number 5 and number 6
11:03 must all deal with the same enemy
11:06 because the same enemy is present
11:08 throughout the entire Dark Ages, you see what I'm saying?
11:12 So, all these entities that are going to arise,
11:14 are going to be somehow connected
11:17 with the main adversary who...
11:19 from the third church on downward... is the Papal System,
11:24 so we know who we're looking for
11:26 but we need to know what we're looking for.
11:28 James: Now I want us to go back to another verse...
11:31 another series of verses
11:32 that also parallel the Book of Revelation
11:35 and the prophecies of Daniel as well as Matthew, Mark and Luke
11:39 and that is 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2
11:42 and we're going to look at a few verses here because
11:44 this is going to be a summary of what we just talked about
11:46 so now we're summarizing everything we talked about
11:48 but we're going to do it in the words of Paul
11:50 so, so, Jason read for us if you get to 2nd Thessalonians
11:55 chapter 2... I'm going to pick on you here,
11:57 I want you to read for us 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2
12:01 and I want you to read verses 1 through 7...
12:06 yeah, 1 through 7...
12:09 Jason: Okay, "Now we beseech you, brethren,
12:12 by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
12:14 and by our gathering together unto him,
12:16 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled,
12:20 neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter
12:23 as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
12:26 Let no man deceive you by any means:
12:28 for that day shall not come,
12:30 except there come falling away first,
12:33 and that man of sin be revealed,
12:35 the son of perdition;
12:37 Who opposeth and exalteth himself
12:40 above all that is called God, or that is worshipped;
12:43 so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
12:46 shewing himself that he is God.
12:48 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you,
12:52 I told you these things?
12:53 And now ye know what withholdeth
12:56 that he might be revealed in his time.
12:59 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work:
13:04 only he who now letteth will let,
13:07 until he be taken out of the way. "
13:10 James: Okay, this is the prophecy
13:13 that fits in these verses and let me just explain it for you,
13:17 Paul here is reassuring the church in Thessalonica
13:22 that the second coming of Christ
13:24 is not going to happen right in their day
13:26 because he had written the first letter
13:27 and some people had fallen asleep
13:29 and he said, "Don't be troubled about this,
13:31 we which are alive and remain
13:33 will be caught up together with them,
13:34 they won't proceed us...
13:36 oh, we're going to be alive when Jesus comes... "
13:38 so then he writes in the 2nd letter and he says,
13:39 "Don't be troubled or deceived, even as a letter from us
13:44 as though Christ is coming immediately...
13:46 first of all... there has got to be a falling away...
13:49 there's going to be a big apostasy
13:50 that's going to take place within the church... "
13:52 this is what he's saying and the reason why
13:55 this apostasy is going to take place...
13:57 he's basing it actually on the Book of Daniel...
13:59 the prophecies of Daniel... we're not going to look at that,
14:01 but here is the point he's making,
14:03 this is going to take place
14:05 and this apostasy is going to lead to a person
14:08 who exalts himself in the place of God
14:10 but this person is not going to be revealed yet,
14:14 here's the key verse... verse 6...
14:17 "You know what withholdeth... what withholds him
14:22 from being revealed in his time.
14:24 For the mystery of iniquity is already working...
14:27 the mystery of iniquity is this apostasy,
14:29 it's already working but he who now lets will let
14:32 until he be taken out of the way. "
14:34 In other words Pagan Rome was standing in the way
14:37 of the emergence of this power...
14:40 this mystery of iniquity and Paul was saying
14:43 because Paul lived in that time
14:44 when Pagan Rome was a prominent power,
14:46 he was saying, "Now this Pagan Roman power
14:48 is going to continue to hold that back
14:50 not until it's taken out of the way,
14:52 will this other power be revealed. "
14:54 That's basically what he's saying.
14:55 Ivor: When that mountain falls, that falling away
14:59 not only referenced as an apostasy
15:02 but also the power... that power
15:05 being moved out of the way... cast into the sea...
15:07 that would create or prepare the way
15:10 for the rise of the papacy...
15:12 so we're talking about a fall of a kingdom
15:15 but also a falling away... an apostasy of the church.
15:20 Yvonne: Hmmm...
15:21 James: That's what Paul is talking about here.
15:23 and that's why he calls him the "son of perdition"
15:25 you know that phrase...
15:26 who that phrase refers to... "the son of perdition?"
15:28 It refers to Judas...
15:30 Yvonne: Oh...
15:32 James: Judas was called the son of perdition
15:33 so again, the same thing that Ivor brought up
15:35 in relation to Satan and these stars...
15:38 the third part of the stars...
15:40 third part representing those
15:41 who were once faithful are deceived,
15:43 Judas... son of perdition... represents those who are
15:46 faithful "professed follower of Christ"
15:49 "professed disciple of Christ"
15:50 Judas was following Jesus... following Jesus... but...
15:52 but then he betrays Him... "the son of perdition"
15:55 so you've got this phrase describing this power,
15:58 this ministry of iniquity that's going to rise up
16:00 in the place of Pagan Rome, it's going to rise up
16:03 it's "the son of perdition... " that professes to follow Christ
16:06 but actually deceives Christ, actually betrays Christ...
16:10 it actually compromises the truth of the gospel.
16:13 So this is a summary of basically
16:14 what's happening here in verse 9...
16:16 Ivor: I think it's important for us to point out as well
16:19 that this compromise... in part...
16:23 is due to Constantine's invitation to Christianity
16:28 right, while the Roman Empire was still standing
16:32 Constantine basically makes Christianity the...
16:35 James: Popular... Ivor: The State Religion
16:39 and there's something dangerous that happens
16:43 when you begin to unite Church with State.
16:47 The Church that had just been persecuted...
16:51 under persecution... they were totally...
16:54 yeah, they were totally different... characteristic...
16:57 they were pure... and the moment that it seems like,
17:01 "Oh, we're about to be exalted... "
17:03 so remember under the third church,
17:06 the church Pergamos... it means "exaltation"
17:10 and it is when Rome basically
17:14 extends its hand to... to Christianity
17:17 and says, "Will you marry me?" that's what's going on there.
17:22 The husband of the church is Christ,
17:24 the protector of the church is Christ
17:27 but when the church saw Rome extend its hand,
17:30 it said, "Oh, man, we can have a king over us...
17:32 we can have someone protecting us... "
17:35 they... it's... it's... in a sense...
17:37 they stopped depending upon Christ for protection
17:43 and said, "We think Constantine
17:45 might be able to protect us better... "
17:46 and in any marriage you've got to give and take...
17:49 so, that's what begins to happen...
17:51 you begin to have this give and take...
17:53 this compromise of principles that basically
17:58 brings about a compromise of the gospel.
18:02 James: Which by-the-way I want to emphasize that
18:04 that's really good in marriage,
18:06 it's really good to have give-and-take in marriage.
18:07 Ivor: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
18:09 James: As long as you don't marry an unbeliever...
18:10 marrying an unbeliever and see that's what's happening here,
18:13 the church is marrying an unbeliever
18:15 so the give and take isn't... is not appropriate.
18:17 All right, so we move to verse 10?
18:18 Ivor: Yeah.
18:20 James; Okay, now we're going to move into the third trumpet
18:22 we've seen this marrying taking place
18:25 between paganism and the church,
18:27 we've seen the compromise beginning
18:29 as we move into the third trumpet
18:30 we can expect that to continue and to get even stronger
18:33 in its revelation, so,
18:35 Yvonne, would you read for us Revelation chapter 8
18:37 and let's read verses 10 and 11.
18:40 Yvonne: Sure... "And the third angel sounded,
18:43 and there fell a great star from heaven,
18:45 burning as it were a lamp,
18:46 and it fell upon the third of the rivers
18:49 and upon the fountains of waters;
18:51 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:
18:54 and the third part of the waters became wormwood:
18:57 and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. "
19:01 James: Okay... so... so... moving into this,
19:04 we have basically seen a compromise take place,
19:07 we've seen deception take place...
19:09 it's coming into the church
19:10 and now we're going to see that thing growing.
19:13 The third angel sounds and we have this star from heaven.
19:16 Who is this "star from heaven burning as it were a lamp"
19:18 what does it mean that he's burning as it were a lamp?
19:22 I think the first thing that we need to look at here
19:25 is some of the symbolism...
19:26 one of the things that I've noticed about the Bible is...
19:29 it's pretty consistent in its symbols...
19:32 the star falling from heaven,
19:35 we look in Revelation chapter 12 and we note that
19:38 Satan and his followers are all likened to stars.
19:41 They're all symbolized as stars
19:43 and even Jesus said, "I saw Satan as lightening
19:47 falling from heaven... " so we've got this bright light,
19:50 we've got stars... all of them symbolizing Satan
19:53 and then it says, "he's burning, as it were, a lamp. "
19:57 What does that mean "as it were a lamp?"
19:59 There's a verse in Psalms that says, Psalm 119, I think,
20:03 it's verse 105 it says... "Thy word... "
20:05 Yvonne: "is a lamp unto my feet"
20:07 James: Yes... "a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path"
20:09 could this verse be describing the work of Satan
20:12 coming into the church... burning as it were a lamp
20:16 Ivor: False light...
20:17 James: False light... Yvonne: Hmmm...
20:19 James: False light... pretending like Judas,
20:23 to follow Christ... to be a follower of Christ...
20:26 to hold forth the word of truth
20:27 but in a sense... compromising that truth,
20:29 see we saw a lot of compromising taking place
20:31 usually if you're honest with yourself,
20:33 if you don't want to accept the word of God
20:35 or if you want to compromise the word of God,
20:37 you're just going to walk away from faith,
20:39 but to try to hold on to both, to try to actually
20:43 hold on the Word of God and at the same time
20:45 to follow the principles of the world... that's compromise
20:49 and Satan is a master at doing this.
20:51 What does he do with Christ when he's in the wilderness?
20:53 All: Tempts him...
20:55 James: Tempts him... how does he tempt in the 2nd time,
20:56 what does he say to Him?
20:57 "It is written... " "The Bible says... "
21:01 and what does Christ do when He responds to that temptation?
21:05 Christ says, "It is written... " again...
21:08 "It is written... " again... so God's people continue
21:12 to rely upon the Word, even though sometimes
21:14 that Word comes to them in the form of compromise
21:16 and I think that's what we see taking place here
21:18 we've got this angel,
21:20 this star from heaven... I should say...
21:21 angel... bringing it as it were a lamp
21:23 and it fell upon the third part of the rivers
21:25 and upon the fountains of waters
21:27 what do we have taking place in those verses?
21:29 Ivor: So the rivers and the fountains of waters
21:32 obviously from the context of...
21:35 represent that's where you get, that's where you drink from,
21:38 the Bible says men died from the waters
21:40 because they were made bitter, they drank these waters.
21:45 It's a symbol of the gospel, okay, it's a symbol of waters
21:49 often used in the Bible to symbolize the water of life,
21:53 the refreshing of the gospel
21:57 and so, when you put this together,
21:59 fallen angel... like a burning lamp...
22:01 that poisons the waters causing men to die.
22:07 What you have here is a poisoning of the gospel,
22:11 a perverting of the gospel.
22:13 There's a verse I want to look at,
22:16 it's in Exodus 15 verse 22,
22:18 it actually parallels this in an amazing way.
22:23 In Exodus 15 verses 22 to 26 and...
22:29 could you read that for us Yvonne?
22:33 Yvonne: Sure.
22:35 Ivor: Chapter 15, verses 22 to 26.
22:39 Yvonne: 22... ooops... 22 to 26...
22:44 "So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea,
22:47 and they went out into the wilderness of Shur;
22:49 and they went three days in the wilderness,
22:52 and found no water.
22:53 And when they came to Marah,
22:55 they could not drink of the waters of Marah,
22:56 for they were bitter
22:58 therefore the name of it was called Marah.
23:00 And the people murmured against Moses saying,
23:03 What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord;
23:06 and the Lord shewed him a tree,
23:08 which when he had cast into the waters,
23:10 the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute
23:14 and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
23:17 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken
23:20 to the voice of the LORD thy God,
23:21 and will do that which is right in his sight,
23:24 and will give ear to his commandments,
23:26 and keep all his statutes,
23:28 I will put none of these diseases upon thee
23:30 which I have brought upon the Egyptians:
23:33 for I am the LORD, that heareth thee. "
23:35 Ivor: All right... so this is where you got the verse.
23:36 Yvonne: Yeah.
23:38 Ivor: Because here you have these waters that are...
23:39 that were bitter and then God says,
23:43 "I want you to take a tree... " a tree...
23:47 a tree... a tree... and when the tree
23:51 is cast into the water, it's made sweet again.
23:54 The gospel of Christ is made sweet
23:56 by the sacrifice of Christ, right?
23:58 Yvonne: Oh... a tree...
23:59 Ivor: it's a sacrifice of Christ a tree...
24:01 the tree is what makes the water alive again, right,
24:05 so, what you have here
24:06 is a "Cross-less religion," a Christless religion...
24:10 something that's been compromised,
24:11 the water is bitter and men who come to drink,
24:14 they die from the water instead of gaining life.
24:18 And then he says, "Look, if you will diligently
24:21 hearken to the voice of the LORD your God
24:22 and do that which is right
24:24 and will keep his commandments... "
24:25 you're not going to suffer...
24:27 you're not going to have these diseases
24:29 come upon you that make you die.
24:30 Yvonne: Right... Ivor: Bitter waters...
24:32 He's relating it to not keeping His commandments.
24:36 Sweet waters... the testimony of Jesus Christ
24:41 and the commandments of God.
24:43 So what you have here is that...
24:45 this... under this trumpet,
24:47 you have this poisoning of the gospel,
24:50 this removing of Christ from the religion of Christianity
24:53 and this compromising of the commandments of God
24:56 which is exactly what happened in the time of Constantine.
24:59 James: Okay, I want to give us a few Bible verses
25:03 just to back up everything we've said
25:05 because we've opened up the verse, powerfully,
25:09 it's very clear to me that... that this is the...
25:12 the consequence of the fall of Pagan Rome,
25:14 compromise taking place, moving in now...
25:16 Satan's moving into the church,
25:18 we've identified the symbols,
25:19 let's just look at a few Bible verses,
25:21 in the few minutes we have remaining,
25:24 first of all, Luke 10:18 says,
25:25 "I beheld Satan as lightning falling from heaven"
25:30 so the lamp... from heaven... the star from heaven
25:33 burning as it were a lamp... the star from heaven
25:36 so this is backing up the fact
25:38 that Satan is the star coming from heaven,
25:40 in Revelation 12:4 his tail drew the part of the stars of heaven,
25:44 there's the angel... symbolizes the stars
25:47 and then Lucifer is described in Isaiah 14:12
25:49 "How have you fallen from heaven, O star of the morning!
25:52 son of the dawn... you have been cut down to the earth,
25:56 you have weakened the nations. "
25:57 So these are three Bible verses
25:59 that are really going to nail it for us
26:01 as far as identifying the star that has fallen from heaven,
26:03 the next one I want us to look at
26:06 is Psalm 119:105... gave the reference,
26:09 "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path"
26:11 and we know from Christ's experience in the wilderness,
26:14 Satan uses the Bible to try to compromise faith,
26:17 he's not just against the Bible,
26:19 he's actually taking the Bible up
26:21 he's trying to use it to compromise the faith.
26:22 And notice this, this is in Isaiah 62 verse 1,
26:26 it's talking about how salvation goes forth as a lamp that burns.
26:29 So, counterfeit salvation...
26:32 Isaiah 62:1, "Thy righteousness
26:35 and thy salvation goes forth as a lamp that burns. "
26:38 So he is trying to bring another salvation...
26:40 a different salvation... compromise the salvation...
26:43 and then it says,
26:44 "He falls upon and takes hold of the rivers
26:47 and the fountains of waters"
26:49 now, look at this verse, this is Proverbs 21:1...
26:52 "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD,
26:54 as the rivers of water... "
26:56 so rivers of water represent kings' hearts,
26:59 He comes upon the hearts of kings,
27:01 of course, the woman sits on many waters
27:03 and then there is another verse in Proverbs 25:26,
27:07 "A righteous man falling down before the wicked
27:09 is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring. "
27:12 The compromise... falling down before the wicked,
27:15 a troubled fountain... a corrupt spring...
27:17 so, all the symbolism is here and there's... there's...
27:19 Ivor: Let's add there, Amos 8,
27:21 where Christ talks about a famine,
27:23 not of bread nor of water but of hearing the Word of the Lord,
27:27 water... again symbolizing the hearing of the Word of the Lord
27:31 we could take that back to the third church or the third seal
27:35 where you have a famine in the land...
27:39 you see this connection again that this is talking about
27:42 the taking away of that which was truth.
27:45 James: Okay, we're out of time and we haven't...
27:47 there's more... there's still more
27:49 so we're not going to do the next one yet,
27:50 we'll transition into it as we finish up right here
27:54 because I want to talk a bit more about this wormwood...
27:55 and understand what that means.
27:56 Ivor: Yes... yes... Yvonne: Great...
27:58 James: We'll do that when we come back.
27:59 Yvonne: Yeah.


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Revised 2016-11-21