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Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL222662S
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00:01 (Breath of Life Theme Music)
00:06 Sermon #B662 - 2 Beasts, 2 nations, 1 Disease 00:20 Thank you for joining us for the conclusion of 00:23 2 Beasts, 2 Nations, 1 Disease. 00:28 Lets listen as Dr. Byrd shares the only cure for a global disease 00:35 But we discover through the Word of God that it's through this the Roman Catholic church, 00:39 it sees itself as the mother church, the church universal, 00:43 an extension of the New Testament church. 00:45 Now, you need to understand when we talk about changing the sacredness of God's 00:49 Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week, you need to understand, 00:54 friends of mine, that the church alone cannot enforce and make you do anything. 01:00 The church couldn't do it. The mother church, the Roman Catholic church, couldn't do it. 01:05 What took place was in the year 321 AD, look it up, 01:09 a Roman emperor by the name of Constantine says that on the venerable Day of the Sun, 01:15 let all the city workers, let all the magistrates cease their labors 01:19 and cease their work in the cities in honor and in celebration of the sun. 01:25 On the first day of the week, Sunday, in celebration of the Sun God, Constantine, 01:31 the governor, the general, the emperor, says, 01:34 "Let's stop working and treat the first day of the week as a holy day in honor of the 01:38 Sun God." It's initially just for people who worked in the cities. 01:44 Later in 336 AD, it's extended not just for the people in the cities, 01:49 but people in agriculture and in the fields. Well, why, 01:51 Pastor Byrd, was it extended to the agricultural people 01:54 and people in the fields 15 years later? Well, it's very true. 01:57 It wasn't done in 321 AD because they didn't want to stop making their money 02:01 and their money was made in the fields. 02:03 But in 336 AD, it's now not just people in the cities, 02:07 but it's people everywhere, that on the venerable Day of the Sun, 02:10 the first day of the week, 02:11 in honor of the Sun God, that you treat it as a holy day. 02:15 Slowly, we see the sacredness and solemnity of God's Sabbath day, 02:20 God's day of worship, slowly move and go from the seventh day to the first day of the week. 02:25 That should not come as a surprise to anybody 02:27 because Satan never comes out in your face and tells you anything. 02:31 He's sly. He's subtle. He's cunning. Remember, that's how he came to Adam and Eve. 02:36 He didn't come saying, "Here I am. I'm Satan. 02:38 I'm the devil." No, he didn't come like that. 02:40 Let me remind you the devil does not have horns coming out of his head. 02:44 The devil is not in a red suit. The devil does not have a tail coming out of his caboose. 02:49 The devil is not carrying a pitchfork. 02:52 But some of you, you need to know the devil will transform himself into an angel of light. 02:58 Some of you live with the devil. Some of you work with the devil. 03:02 The devil is no respecter of persons. 03:07 But we see the sacredness of God's sabbath moving from the seventh day to the first day. 03:11 Again, it's all about worship. But then in the year 1517, 03:15 there comes this great reformer by the name of Martin Luther, and Martin Luther says, 03:20 "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. There are things that the church is saying, 03:25 the mother church, Roman Catholic church, is saying that we ought to be doing, 03:29 but they're not rooted in this Word of God. 03:31 They're not rooted in scripture," and so Martin Luther came up with the term entitled 03:34 "Sola Scriptura", which means the scriptures and the scriptures alone, 03:40 because if it ain't in the word, it doesn't deserve to be heard to the law 03:43 and to the testimony. I don't care who it is. 03:45 If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 03:50 Martin Luther says, "You're making people do things, mother church, 03:53 that are not in the Word of God." One thing, the treasure of the church, 03:57 a German by the name of Johann Tetzel, T-E-T-Z-E-L, he was the treasurer, 04:02 and because they wanted to build a new sanctuary, build a new temple, understand, 04:07 that they began to tell people that in orde to receive forgiveness of sin, 04:12 you had to pay indulgences. You had to pay money to receive forgiveness of sin. 04:18 Martin Luther says, "Wait a minute, that's not in the Word of God." 04:20 We don't have to pay money to ask for forgiveness of sin or be granted forgiveness of sin." 04:25 Martin Luther said, "Jesus already paid it all. All to Him 04:28 I owe sin had left the crimson stain, but he washed it white as snow. 04:32 Why am I paying to receive forgiveness of sin?" What about purgatory? 04:37 Some, in the mother church, said there's an intermediate state between heaven and hell. 04:41 The Bible doesn't talk about any purgatory. 04:44 Revelation 22 teaches your holy, holy still. Unholy, unholy still. 04:48 What about praying to another man in a window to receive confession? 04:53 I don't have to do that. I can boldly go to Jesus Christ. State of the dead. 04:57 Well, when a person dies, they go straight to heaven. 04:59 Well, the Bible teaches in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 17, 05:02 "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, 05:05 with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, 05:07 and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 05:09 then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, 05:12 to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 05:15 If individuals went straight to heaven at their earthly death, 05:19 who would Jesus be coming back to get at His second coming? 05:25 Mother church, universal church, Roman Catholic church, 05:31 was teaching and making people do things that had nothing to do with the Word of God. 05:35 Martin Luther says, "We're going to protest against this." 05:38 In 1517, at the Church in Wittenberg, W-I-T-T-E-N-B-E-R-G, in Germany, 05:44 Martin Luther nails 95 Theses to the door, 05:47 95 statements of protest to the door of that church in Wittenberg, 05:51 protesting against the abuses of the Roman Catholic church. As a result of that, 05:55 we have what we call the Protestant Reformation. 05:57 That makes sense because we have Protestant Reformation, 06:01 and with that Protestant Reformation, 06:03 the Protestant people are protesting against the abuses of the mother church. 06:11 My only wish was I wish that I would have been living in 1517 06:15 because I want to say it to Brother Luther. "Brother Luther, I'm with you. 06:18 I agree with you. But what about the Sabbath? 06:22 What about God's day of worship that he told us to remember?" 06:25 Now, someone is watching and someone is saying, "Well, pastor, it's just a day. 06:30 What difference does a day make?" Well, let me ask you. 06:34 Let's ask Adam and Eve what difference does fruit make? 06:38 God said, "Don't eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 06:40 If you eat it, you will die." The fruit looked good. The fruit, I'm sure, tasted good. 06:44 But God said, "Don't touch it. Don't eat it lest you die." God says what he means, 06:51 and he means what he says, and this is all about who we're going to give our worship to. 06:58 Today, I've come not to [inaudible] at the pope. 07:01 I am not trying to attack the Roman Catholic church or Roman Catholic Christians. 07:06 Many Catholics are kind and loving people, 07:08 but I'm talking about a religious system that will oppose God's law and change his law. 07:14 I'm talking about prophecy that must come to pass. 07:17 This sermon is not an attack on the pope, 07:20 but this sermon is an attack on Satan for the liar that he is. 07:24 Don't let Satan deceive you. If he can deceive a third of the angels, he will deceive you. 07:29 If he would deceive Adam and Eve, he will deceive you. 07:33 But I'm not going to let Satan deceive me 07:35 because true worshipers must worship God in spirit and in truth. 07:42 You see, everything God has is true. Satan has a counterfeit. 07:47 God has his mark and Satan has his mark, too. But we're so asleep, 07:51 we don't even see the parallels between the beast and Christ, 07:53 and the fact that this enemy power, this beast, the antithesis, it is the antithesis, 07:59 the opposite of Jesus Christ and Jesus' activity. What am I talking about? 08:03 Just as Jesus began his ministry coming out of the water at baptism, 08:08 the beast began its ministry coming out of the sea. 08:11 Jesus is described in John 14:9 as one with the Father, 08:15 the beast is described as one with the dragon. 08:18 Just as Jesus received authority from the Father, 08:21 the beast received authority from the dragon. 08:23 Both Christ and the beast wear crowns on their heads. 08:26 Both Christ and the beast have swords. Both Christ and the beast have horns. 08:31 The 42 months where the beast would have power, the time, times, dividing of time, 08:37 it is the beast's activities that equate to 3 1/2 years of Jesus' ministry. 08:43 Both Jesus and the beast would receive a death blow. 08:47 Jesus would have to go to Calvary, the pope would die in exile, 08:52 and then both of them later would come back to life and rise to even greater authority. 08:56 Both Christ and the beast are worshiped after their wound is healed. 09:00 Both have followers with inscriptions upon their foreheads, 09:03 the exclamation who is like the beast brings to mind the name of Michael the Archangel 09:08 which means "who is like God". 09:11 Both Christ and the beast exercise global authority over every tribe, tongue, and nation, 09:17 and they both want our worship. Who are you going to give your worship to? God or Satan? 09:27 Choose this day whom you're going to serve. But as for me and my house, 09:36 we're going to serve the Lord. Now, remember, the church can't force you to do anything, 09:41 but the government can. 09:43 The Roman Catholic church could not force and enforce worship on the first day of the week 09:51 back in the day, but the government, under Constantine, the emperor, did. 09:56 Just like there was a union of church and state in 321 and 336 AD, 10:00 there is soon coming a union of church and state in the last days. 10:05 What am I talking about? Revelation 13 speaks of two beasts. 10:09 The first beast is Revelation 13:1 through 10, 10:12 and the second beast is Revelation 13:11 through 17. 10:14 The Bible says that this second beast comes out of the earth with two horns like a lamb 10:19 but speaks like a dragon. Remember now, a beast represents a kingdom. 10:24 The earth is not water. Water represents people. 10:27 The second beast, the Bible says, does not come out of the water, 10:31 the second beast does not come out of people, but the second beast comes out of the earth. 10:36 The earth represents a sparsely populated area with a small number of people. 10:41 Now, let me ask you this. 10:43 What nation with superpower rolls up out of the earth from a sparsely 10:48 populated area after the division of Western Europe and the papacy had to go into exile, 10:54 remember, in 1798? What kingdom was rising at that time? 11:00 What nation was rising at that time? Think about it. It was the United States. 11:05 The United States declared its independence in 1776. 11:09 The United States voted its constitution in 1787. 11:13 The United States adopted the Bill of Rights in 1791, 11:16 and the United States was clearly recognized as a world power in 1798, 11:22 the same time the first beast the pope was going into exile. 11:27 All of this timing fits America. 11:29 No other power or nation could possibly qualify as this lamb-like beast, 11:34 but there's some more. 11:36 The Bible says that this second beast, this kingdom, has two horns. Horns, 11:41 according to Daniel 7:24, it means kings, but according to Revelation 13:11, 11:46 these horns have no crowns. No crown means no king. Notice, the United States has no king, 11:56 but rather a democratic form of government. 11:58 The two horns mean this government is rooted in two things: 12:02 republicanism and Protestantism. A republic is a kingdom without a king. 12:10 Protestantism is a church without a pope. The United States has no king and no pope. 12:18 The beast is lamb-like because it appears docile. 12:22 It promotes peace, it appears peaceful, but yet speaks like a dragon. 12:29 Who is the most powerful country in the world that promotes peace, 12:32 and when it speaks, everybody listens? The United States. 12:36 Who is the most influential country in the world? The United States. 12:41 When the United States speaks, like it or not, everybody listens. 12:47 But look at what the second beast does, verse number 12 of Revelation 13, 12:51 "And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, 12:54 and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, 12:58 whose deadly wounds heal." 13:00 Now, remember, the church can't enforce the day of worship, but government can. 13:04 The first beast can't enforce anything but the second beast can. 13:08 Now, this whole thing, remember, is about worship. 13:11 The second beast forces people to worship the first beast. 13:18 If the first beast promotes worship on the first day of the week, 13:22 the Bible is telling us that there is coming a day very soon that the second beast, 13:27 the United States, will force us into worship on the first day of the week paying 13:31 homage to the first beast. 13:33 Now, presently, you need to understand that first-day observance is not being enforced 13:38 by law. It's only going to happen when the issues are clearly drawn 13:42 between the commandments of God and the declarations of men. 13:45 America will become a persecuting power that will force people 13:49 by law to obey God's commands just like papal Rome. Again, 13:53 the church cannot force you to do anything but the government can. 13:57 The church of old couldn't do it, but the government of Constantine could. 14:01 Today, who are the most influential powers on the Earth? 14:06 The president of the United States and the papacy. 14:10 When there is a union of the two, look out. 14:14 As the moral fiber of our country continues to fall, as wars 14:20 and rumors of wars grow stronger, as civil unrest continues with crime on every hand, 14:27 as pestilences like hurricanes and tornadoes, earthquakes, coronavirus, 14:32 and other viruses steadily increase, as our economic system is decimated right 14:36 before our eyes, the state of the government will believe that there is a need for 14:42 greater spirituality. This may not necessarily come from the politicians themselves, 14:47 but the catalyst for this outcry may very well be the people, the voters, 14:51 because at the end of the day, 14:52 politicians just want to be elected so they would do whatever they have to do to 14:57 please the people, the voters. 14:59 That's why, friends of mine, I'm going to say this, 15:01 you better be careful of the religious right. 15:04 many of these politicians today have all skeletons in their closets. 15:08 But today, I'm speaking to the inconsistencies of people in general who will 15:12 push their own self-serving agenda to get what they want. 15:17 Because of the moral decline in our country, 15:19 the United States will make an image to the beast by legislating religious practices. 15:22 It will pass laws regarding worship and it will force people to obey them or face death. 15:28 Not now, but in the future. 15:30 Although the motives of these actions like you can't buy certain things on Sunday mornings 15:35 before a certain time or pray in public school, although these things may seem positive, 15:40 anything forced with regard to worship is always bad. 15:46 Now, don't misunderstand me because somebody will run out of here and say, 15:48 "Well, we are forced shelter-in-place restrictions right now." But don't get it twisted. 15:55 Shelter in place is about your health, that's one thing. 15:59 Your worship to God is another thing. In our worship, God never forces us to do anything. 16:08 He always gives us the power of choice, but the chapter closes with verses 16 and 17. 16:15 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, 16:17 to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 16:22 and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, verse 18, 16:25 or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." 16:29 Individuals will not be able to buy or sell unless they have the mark of the beast. 16:34 But, Pastor Byrd, how can that be? You had me till you got there. Notice, my friends, 16:39 how we're moving to a cashless society. 16:43 Today, people rarely carry cash. Everybody has a debit card. Everybody has a credit card. 16:49 You purchase your gas, your food, your clothes, you even go to McDonald's 16:52 and you purchase your Big Mac, your fries with a card. But not only that, 16:58 we now have GPS, Global Positioning Systems everywhere. 17:03 We have GPS monitoring in our cars, our phones, everywhere. 17:06 I even have it on my phone now with my family. I know where my wife is, 17:09 where my daughters are, every minute of the day. 17:12 You can track down anyone, anywhere, at any time. 17:16 The ability of the government to identify individuals through the use of cards 17:19 and numbers give them immediate access to your personal records, bank accounts, 17:24 and location which means they can stop any desire you have for purchases. 17:30 When the religious issues become clear, 17:32 people are forced and will be forced to choose whom they're going to worship. 17:37 Either the image of the mark of the beast or God's law in his seventh-day sabbath, 17:43 then those who choose men's way over God's way will not be worshiping God, 17:47 but worshiping the beast. 17:50 America looks like a lamb, but it will soon speak like a dragon. 17:59 It will soon make people worship the first beast. We have two beasts. 18:06 The first beast is papal Rome, and Rome is in Italy. 18:14 The second beast is the United States. 2 beasts, 2 nations, 18:22 and I don't know today if it's coincidence or not, 18:25 I don't know if it's happenstance or not, 18:27 but isn't it interesting that although COVID-19, although the coronavirus began in China, 18:39 the country with the greatest number of cases two weeks ago 18:42 and still the highest number of deaths today is Italy? 18:47 Then, the country with the greatest number of cases 18:50 and on pace to have the highest number of deaths is the United States? 18:57 Isn't it interesting, friends of mine, 18:59 that the first beast of Revelation 13 is papal Rome, Rome is in Italy, 19:02 and the second beast of Revelation 13 is the United States. 19:07 2 Beasts, 2 Nations, 1 Disease. 19:14 But today, the disease I'm talking about is not COVID-19. 19:21 This disease is not coronavirus. The disease is not Ebola. It's not SARS. 19:29 The disease is not the swine flu. The disease is not the Spanish flu. 19:34 But the disease, my friends, is sin. Satan is the author and the starter of sin. 19:42 Sin separates us from God. Sin is the disease that all of us have, 19:47 but I'm so glad today that Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death; 19:54 but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." We have two beasts. 20:00 We have two nations. We have one disease, the disease of sin. 20:05 But unlike coronavirus, there is a cure. There is a vaccine. There is an antibody. 20:18 But this cure is different. Scientists didn't create it. Labs didn't design it. 20:28 Inventors couldn't patent it. Billionaires couldn't buy it. 20:33 Politicians couldn't legislate it. 2,000 years ago, Jesus went to Calvary, 20:43 he bled in his mouth for my evil talk. He bled in his feet for my evil walk. 20:50 He bled in his head for my evil thoughts. He bled in his hands for my evil touch, 20:56 but his blood is our cure today. What can wash away my sins? 21:02 Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? 21:06 Nothing but the blood of Jesus. I know our title is "2 Beasts, 2 Nations, 1 Disease", 21:13 but don't so much focus on the beast that you forget about the lamb. 21:18 Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. Jesus, the Lamb of God. 21:27 Jesus, the bearer of my sins. Jesus, the sustainer of my soul. 21:36 Through his shed blood, we have a cure for the disease. 21:42 Through his shed blood, we have a cure for sin, we have the cure for lying, 21:49 we have the cure for stealing, we have the cure for cheating, 21:53 we have the cure for gossiping, we have a cure for bad habits, 21:58 we have a cure for addictions. His blood is the cure 22:02 and his blood will never lose its power. It will never lose its potency. 22:07 It will never lose its effectiveness. 22:08 [piano playing in background] 22:09 Dr. Byrd: It will never lose its strength. Let me tell you something as I close. 22:14 The Romans made one critical mistake when they crucified Jesus. They shed his blood. 22:25 They should have hung him. They should have made him drink poison. 22:30 They should have stoned him. They should have knocked him 22:33 out, But they made a mistake, that they shed his blood. 22:40 His blood flowed down and had a revival over death, hell, and the grave. 22:50 When you think about the mistakes that you have made, 22:54 when you think about the sins that you have committed, and the fact that you're still here, 23:01 it ought to make you shout that there's still power in the blood. 23:08 Would you be free from the burden of sin? There's power in the blood. 23:14 Without the blood, there is no cure from sin. Without the blood, 23:18 there is no forgiveness from sin. It wasn't Jesus' 23:22 broken body that brought about my salvation. 23:25 It wasn't the strifes that he received in Pilate's Judgement Hall. 23:29 It wasn't even the cross itself. If a cross could save me, anybody could've died on it. 23:37 If stripes could save me, any prisoner could've ignored them. 23:41 If a broken body could save me, I could claim any accident victim as my savior. 23:50 If any of these things could save me, I could save myself, 23:57 and take glory in my own sacrifice. But friends of mine, it wasn't any of these things. 24:05 It was the blood. The blood of the perfect sacrifice. 24:11 The blood of the Lamb of God. It was the blood of Jesus that saves me, and nothing else. 24:21 We've got two beasts. We've got two nations. We've got one disease. 24:27 We're living in perilous times. Things aren't going to get better. 24:32 They're going to get worse. 24:34 But I'm so glad today that we have a cure, and the cure is the blood of Jesus Christ. 24:42 I plead the blood on every man, every woman, every boy, 24:47 every girl that's watching right now. Playtime is over. 24:52 Playing church is over. Playing spirituality is over. 24:57 Playing religion is over. Jesus Christ is soon to come. 25:02 I don't fight for victory. I fight from victory. 25:06 I fight from the cross, and his blood is the cure for you. 25:14 The blood is the cure for me today. His blood would never, ever lose its power. 25:28 Join me as we sing this chorus, the blood that Jesus shed for me. The... 25:34 Choir: The blood... 25:36 Dr. Byrd: That Jesus shed for me... 25:41 Choir: ...that Jesus shed for me... 25:47 Dr. Byrd: ...way back on Calvary. 25:49 Choir: ...way back on Calvary. 26:03 [MUSIC] 26:07 Thank you very much for tuning into the ministry of Breath of Life Television. 26:11 We are grateful to you for your prayers, and your support. 26:15 Without you our television broadcast on a weekly basis, 26:19 our public evangelist campaigns, our mission initiative they just would not be possible, 26:25 so we say thank you. 26:27 With that in mind, we want to encourage and invite you 26:31 to join us with your charitable donation to Breath of Life. 26:35 Make your gift payable to Breath of Life by mail, 26:38 at Breath of Life PO BOX 5960, Huntsville, AL 35814. 26:44 Also, we now have a Cash App. So from your smartphone you can give at $BreathofLifeTV. 26:52 Give us all call the number is 256.929.6460 26:58 Or you can visit us online at www.breathoflife.tv 27:11 Dr. Byrd: Pain, loss, trama, in life we experience these things. 27:24 My wife and I have a story, we have a testimony of how we lost 27:31 our first born daughter in a horrific car accident. 27:38 We have this new sharing book, its en-titled “Gone.” 27:43 And, in it I want to share with you how God has helped me, 27:49 how God has helped my wife, how God has helped us, 27:54 as we had to endure the fact that our first born daughter is gone. 28:00 www.breathoflife.tv 28:07 [END] |
Revised 2020-04-17