Welcome to Anchors of Truth live
from the 3ABN Worship Center.
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Good evening, and allow
me please to welcome you to
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Anchors of Truth.
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You know, we have broadcast
and taped well over 100
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of these Anchors of Truth.
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And God has been with us.
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Each speaker has
been anointed by Him.
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And we've learned
so very, very much.
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And we are very, very pleased to
welcome our in-house audience,
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and those of you who are
watching from around the world,
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to another night, this second in
a series of five presentations
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by our friend James Rafferty.
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When we say James Rafferty,
we automatically want to
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say Ty Gibson.
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It's almost as though
they were separated at birth,
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because you think of them in
the same breath all of the time.
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But Light Bearers
Ministry is James and Ty,
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and Jeffery Rosario, and
of course David Asscherick.
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And together they form a
very powerful team for the Lord.
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And so we're happy to
have James with us tonight.
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James Rafferty, in particular,
has an ability to take
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heavy subjects,
profound subjects, and make them
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very, very simple.
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And I think that is a gift that
has been given to each of the
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men who are at Light Bearers,
to take things that can be
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weighty and of great import,
but make them very simple
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and very digestible
for those of us who hear.
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And God has
given James that gift.
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And we are very, very
pleased to have him back again.
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This is not his first
time doing an Anchors for us.
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We are so pleased
to have him back again.
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Nice guy.
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He was telling us last night
how he left 80 degree weather.
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Well I told him a little
while ago, it was 40 here today.
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So we got half way home.
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And Sunday when he
leaves, it'll be 60.
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So, you know,
you do what you can.
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This is not southern California.
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And most of the
nation is suffering under
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the weight of snow storms.
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So God has been
pretty kind to us.
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I think we have a little
something coming tomorrow.
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But God is going to be good.
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And when he gets back to hot,
sweltering, southern California,
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he will rue the day that
he talked about 3ABN and our
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weather here in
southern Illinois.
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But he is a good man of God,
a strong preacher of the Word,
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and a Christian, and
one who loves the Lord.
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And we're very, very pleased
to have him with us this night.
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His sermon tonight
is going to deal with,
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The Prophetic Rise of America.
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And of course, when you
talk about America in prophecy,
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you think about
Revelation chapter 13.
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So I'm sure he's
going to touch on that,
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but I don't want
to preach his sermon.
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But as Jim said on last evening,
you can almost hold your
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newspaper and your
Bible side by side and see the
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truths of God being fulfilled.
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And so this is a very
timely practical subject,
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and I know that he's
going to be used of God
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to bring us a message.
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The song we're going to
sing tonight is one that was
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written by Horatius
Bonar back in the 1800's.
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And it was his first
attempt at writing hymns.
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And he wasn't really
too pleased with the song.
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He was heard to say, "It's good
gospel, but it's lousy poetry."
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And so for a long time he
didn't really like the song,
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because he said, "You've
got to be a child to believe
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some of the words in this song."
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But what is interesting about
that is when he went to his
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Bible, he found that the
Bible said you have to be like a
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little child if you're
going to get into heaven.
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And so he changed
his mind on this song,
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and he added a
couple more verses.
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The song really
has eight verses to it.
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I'm not going to sing eight,
I'm only going to sing four.
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But it's called, I
Lay My Sins On Jesus.
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It's a beautiful song written
actually to be sung to children.
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Because it's a visual
song; how you give your sin,
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your heart, your life to Jesus.
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And Christ takes them
and makes them better.
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We will pray now,
then we will sing.
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And then the next voice
you will hear will be that of
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our friend, our pastor,
our preacher, James Rafferty
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of Light Bearers Ministry.
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Father God, we do praise You
and thank You so very, very much
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for the privilege
of hearing the Word.
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You have said in Your Word
that one day there's going to be
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a famine of the Word.
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So help us now, Lord, to feast
on the Word while we still can,
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to fill ourselves with the
Word, the truths of the Word,
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with the Word of Jesus,
with the powerful Word of God,
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so that in the days of famine,
in the days of starvation,
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when there is a want for
the truth of the Word, we will
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have that Word hid in our hearts
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that we might
not sin against You.
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Bless the speaker,
bless those who hear.
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And we thank You
in Jesus name, amen.
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This song is my
wife's favorite song.
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She introduced it to
me when we were dating.
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And I've come to love it.
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I Lay My Sins On Jesus.
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I lay my sins on Jesus,
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the spotless Lamb of God.
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He bears them all and frees us
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from the accursed load,
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from the accursed load.
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I lay my wants on Jesus;
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all fullness dwells in Him.
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He healeth my diseases;
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He doth my soul redeem,
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He doth my soul redeem.
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I rest my sins in Jesus;
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meek, heavenly, holy, mild.
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He wipes away iniquity;
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He is God's holy Child,
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He is God's holy Child.
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I long to be with Jesus
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amid the heavenly throng;
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to sing with them His praises
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and learn the angels' song,
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and learn the angels' song,
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I lay my sins on Jesus.
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Thank you, C.A.
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Amen.
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I lay my sins on Jesus.
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It may be a simple song
but it's powerful, isn't it?
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Pure gospel.
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And that's what we need, even
though tonight we're going to
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be looking at some
pretty intense Bible prophecies
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in the book of Revelation.
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The Rise of
American in Bible Prophecy.
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That's quite a title, isn't it?
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Bu yet, we need to remember
that this is all centered
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in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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In fact, let's open our
Bibles to Revelation chapter 13
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and let's look here as we
begin at a very important verse,
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prophetic verse, that
will guide us tonight.
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This verse is found
in Revelation chapter 13
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and verse 11.
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Revelation 13 and verse 11.
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John is speaking here of
a vision that he is having,
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that God has given to him.
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And he says in verse 11,
"And I beheld another beast
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coming up out of the earth; and
he had two horns like a lamb,
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and he spake as a dragon."
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Well that's our
Bible verse tonight.
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We could almost close the Bible
and say that's the end of it.
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It's right there, it's
all very clear, there it is.
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But, of course we recognize
that the book of Revelation
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is a distillation
of the entire Bible.
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That this verse is
filled with symbolic language,
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and that it reveals to
us a lot more than just
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these few words indicate.
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And to understand this
verse we have to actually
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take a journey through history,
prophetic history if you will.
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But also earth's history.
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Because we learned last night
in John chapter 13 verse 19,
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and also in John chapter 14
verse 29, that Bible prophecy
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is history foretold.
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God tells us ahead of
time what is going to happen
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in our earth's history.
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And that is Bible prophecy.
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And He tells us that so that our
confidence, our faith in Him,
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can be strengthened so that
we can believe and trust in Him.
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That's what Bible
prophecy is virtually all about.
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I mean, that's the
basic reason for it.
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There are other
reasons, of course.
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He wants us to be prepared
and not scared about the future.
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But I think that the
most important reason is,
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He wants us to
establish faith in Him.
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He wants us to
have confidence in Him.
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He wants us to know that
He is God and that He is,
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well, He has a plan.
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There are two other
verses I want you to look at
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with me tonight that I think
will help us in this journey.
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Isaiah chapter
48 is one of them.
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Isaiah 48 and verse 3.
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In the midst of apostasy,
in the midst of backsliding,
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in the midst of
turning away from the Lord,
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God raised up Isaiah,
along with other prophets like
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Jeremiah and Ezekiel, to
give a message to His people.
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His people who are
obstinate and hard hearted
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and unwilling to listen to and
follow the instructions of God.
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And He says here in
Isaiah 48 and verse 3,
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"I," God, "have
declared the former things
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from the beginning; they
went forth out of my mouth,
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I showed them and
I did them suddenly,
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and they came to pass."
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God reveals
prophecy to us ahead of time.
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And then He allows that prophecy
sometimes to be fulfilled
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very quickly, very fast...
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...so that we can have
an awareness that God is
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ultimately in control.
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Now, I want you to look at
another Bible verse with me.
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This one is found just a
few pages or a few books back
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where this one is in
Ecclesiastes chapter 1.
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And that will wrap up our
major Bible verses that we're
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going to be working off
as we move into this subject.
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Ecclesiastes chapter 1
beginning with verse 9.
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The preacher, the
king in Jerusalem, verse 1,
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the son of David, says,
"The thing that has been
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is that which shall
be; and that which is done
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is that which shall be done.
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And there is no new
thing under the sun."
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Verse 10 of
chapter 1 of Ecclesiastes,
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"Is there anything whereof it
may be said, 'See, this is new.'
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It has already been of old
time, which was before us."
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And then he says something
very interesting in verse 11.
00:13:05.38\00:13:07.60
He says, "There
is no remembrance
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of the former things; neither
shall there be any remembrance
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of things that are to come and
those that will be here after."
00:13:14.16\00:13:17.86
Now I want to pick up on this
as we study prophecy tonight
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and remind us how
important it is to remember
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the former things.
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I believe we have
nothing to fear for the future
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except as we forget how
God has led us in the past.
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And when you look at the Bible,
you see God reminding His people
00:13:34.83\00:13:37.83
to remember everything that
He did for them in the past.
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And so basically the preacher is
saying, the preacher is saying,
00:13:42.91\00:13:47.82
"There's nothing new
that's coming in the future
00:13:47.92\00:13:50.89
that hasn't already happened."
00:13:50.92\00:13:52.31
And therefore, verse 11,
if there's no remembrance
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of the former things, there's
not going to be any remembrance
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of the things that are coming.
00:14:00.96\00:14:02.55
Are you following me there?
00:14:03.01\00:14:04.32
In other words, we can
look back, and that will help us
00:14:05.06\00:14:09.24
to look forward.
00:14:09.27\00:14:10.44
And that's what
we're going to do tonight.
00:14:10.61\00:14:11.66
We're going to look
back, we're going to go back to
00:14:11.69\00:14:12.96
the book of Daniel
first before we jump
00:14:12.99\00:14:15.65
into the book of Revelation.
00:14:15.68\00:14:16.71
One of the reasons for
this is going to be very obvious
00:14:16.74\00:14:19.08
when we get into Revelation
chapter, or get back to
00:14:19.11\00:14:21.42
Revelation chapter 13.
00:14:21.45\00:14:23.01
Daniel, we learned last
night, captive in Babylon.
00:14:23.36\00:14:28.39
Because God loves the world
and desired to use His people
00:14:29.13\00:14:34.87
who were willing to be
used to bring the message of His
00:14:35.22\00:14:37.88
love to the world to
people like Nebuchadnezzar
00:14:37.91\00:14:40.69
and the Babylonians.
00:14:40.72\00:14:42.08
But His people were
sitting around indifferently.
00:14:42.27\00:14:44.83
Slacking off, if you will.
00:14:46.49\00:14:48.42
I don't know if they
were watching there, you know,
00:14:49.43\00:14:51.50
45 inch TV's, but whatever
was equivalent in those days.
00:14:51.53\00:14:56.49
And so God, for their
good, as well as to reach the
00:14:57.21\00:15:01.38
Babylonians, allowed them
to be delivered into captivity.
00:15:01.41\00:15:05.43
Now this was not an
easy thing for God to do.
00:15:05.73\00:15:08.82
In fact, He humbled
Himself before the heathen
00:15:08.85\00:15:11.95
nations in doing this.
00:15:11.98\00:15:13.03
That's what we
learned last night.
00:15:13.06\00:15:14.54
He was willing to humble Himself
in order to reach the hearts
00:15:15.24\00:15:19.94
and the minds of
those people in Babylon.
00:15:19.97\00:15:22.26
And He did that through a dream.
00:15:22.60\00:15:23.95
And through some
faithful young men who were
00:15:24.54\00:15:27.24
at that time teenagers.
00:15:27.27\00:15:28.37
Daniel and his friends
were teenagers at the time.
00:15:28.40\00:15:30.66
And they were men of prayer.
00:15:30.93\00:15:33.91
Men who were willing to
commit their lives to God,
00:15:33.94\00:15:37.33
their hearts to God, we're told
in Daniel chapter 1 and verse 8.
00:15:37.36\00:15:41.19
Daniel purposed in his
heart that he would not
00:15:41.22\00:15:43.65
defile himself,
that he would follow God.
00:15:43.68\00:15:46.44
And these men God
used as channels to give,
00:15:46.67\00:15:52.22
well what we would
call today, Daniel seminars.
00:15:52.25\00:15:57.11
Prophecy seminars.
00:15:57.71\00:15:59.21
Daniel gave the
first Daniel seminar.
00:15:59.44\00:16:02.14
And the person that
attended, the prominent person
00:16:02.32\00:16:06.13
that attended this
Daniel seminar in Daniel's day
00:16:06.16\00:16:08.92
was Nebuchadnezzar.
00:16:08.95\00:16:10.67
He sat on the front row.
00:16:10.92\00:16:12.21
He listened to
everything Daniel had to say
00:16:12.48\00:16:14.60
in this Daniel seminar.
00:16:14.63\00:16:15.88
When it was all over, he said,
"I want to join your church."
00:16:15.91\00:16:18.28
But it didn't take long
for Nebuchadnezzar to, well,
00:16:20.74\00:16:24.14
slip out the back door.
00:16:24.72\00:16:26.21
And that's where it
becomes interesting.
00:16:26.40\00:16:27.87
Not only for that
time, but for our time.
00:16:27.90\00:16:30.42
That's where the history of the
past is to be remembered today.
00:16:30.45\00:16:33.64
It's significant
that Nebuchadnezzar
00:16:33.78\00:16:37.06
had a knowledge of
the prophecies of Daniel.
00:16:37.09\00:16:41.73
He knew, for example,
this image represented
00:16:42.34\00:16:45.63
four kingdoms leading
down to to the second coming
00:16:45.66\00:16:48.10
of Jesus Christ.
00:16:48.13\00:16:49.56
Daniel had given
him that understanding.
00:16:49.59\00:16:51.55
Babylon followed by
Medo-Persia, followed by Greece,
00:16:51.69\00:16:54.63
followed by Rome.
00:16:54.66\00:16:56.85
The ten kingdoms
divided, and yet uniting.
00:16:57.05\00:17:01.06
The clay and the
iron mingled together.
00:17:01.09\00:17:03.49
And then the stone
smiting the image at the feet.
00:17:03.52\00:17:05.62
He knew all of this.
00:17:06.09\00:17:07.34
And yet, he slips
out the back door.
00:17:07.50\00:17:09.54
Why?
00:17:09.81\00:17:11.07
Well I believe it's because,
saying it plainly, frankly,
00:17:11.27\00:17:16.20
intellectual
knowledge is not good enough
00:17:16.23\00:17:18.97
to hold us faithful to God.
00:17:19.00\00:17:21.18
The gospel must be an intricate
part of any prophetic message
00:17:21.63\00:17:27.70
that we preach.
00:17:27.73\00:17:28.80
It is foundational to
prophecy to center it in Christ.
00:17:29.10\00:17:33.14
In fact, last night we
looked at Genesis chapter 3
00:17:33.31\00:17:36.42
and we noticed that the
first prophecy of the Bible
00:17:36.45\00:17:38.75
was centered around Jesus.
00:17:38.88\00:17:41.30
The One who would come
and crush the serpents head.
00:17:41.56\00:17:44.59
And every prophecy since
that time has directed us
00:17:44.76\00:17:47.58
to Jesus one way or another.
00:17:47.61\00:17:49.15
We also looked last
night at Daniel chapter 9,
00:17:49.54\00:17:52.25
the Messiah that was
to come to do away with
00:17:52.28\00:17:54.09
sin,
transgression, and iniquity.
00:17:54.12\00:17:55.95
And tonight, we're going
to go even further and we're
00:17:56.23\00:17:59.61
going to look at it in the
context of a lamb-like beast,
00:17:59.64\00:18:04.26
or power, that
rises up out of the earth.
00:18:04.41\00:18:07.42
The lamb-like horns
again need to be identify.
00:18:07.77\00:18:10.93
So Daniel is still in
earnest for Nebuchadnezzar.
00:18:11.22\00:18:16.40
God is using him and his
friends to help Nebuchadnezzar
00:18:16.58\00:18:19.45
to, well, to come back
from his backslidden position.
00:18:19.48\00:18:22.68
And as they go through
this terrible furnace trial
00:18:22.95\00:18:27.20
where they refuse to
worship this image that is
00:18:27.63\00:18:30.61
set up on the plain of
Dura, Daniel chapter 3,
00:18:30.64\00:18:33.47
Nebuchadnezzar becomes
aware that he is, well,
00:18:34.10\00:18:39.43
he's not just dealing
with these three young men;
00:18:40.07\00:18:43.04
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
00:18:44.43\00:18:46.27
But there's a fourth among them.
00:18:46.37\00:18:48.30
And who is that fourth?
00:18:48.33\00:18:49.66
Jesus.
00:18:50.01\00:18:51.41
When people see us, do
they see Jesus with us?
00:18:52.36\00:18:58.76
Do they see Jesus in us?
00:18:58.79\00:19:00.62
Do they see Jesus among us?
00:19:00.65\00:19:02.45
And we would
say, "Yes, we're kind.
00:19:02.48\00:19:06.03
We're true, we're faithful.
00:19:06.50\00:19:09.11
We're commandment keepers."
00:19:09.21\00:19:10.99
But there's a
glitch, there's a hitch here.
00:19:11.03\00:19:13.60
There's a comma
that we need to put here,
00:19:13.63\00:19:15.44
a parenthesis if you will.
00:19:15.47\00:19:16.79
When people see us
in the fiery furnace,
00:19:17.01\00:19:20.91
when people see us in conditions
that are seven times hotter,
00:19:21.63\00:19:25.77
when we're facing
the trials of life
00:19:26.97\00:19:29.90
and things are really
intense, do they see Jesus?
00:19:29.93\00:19:36.47
I was boarding a
plane not long ago.
00:19:38.55\00:19:41.54
I travel a lot.
100,000 this last year.
00:19:42.05\00:19:45.57
So I get some
benefits from that.
00:19:45.60\00:19:48.73
Premier status on United.
00:19:49.42\00:19:51.15
Therefore, I get to board first.
00:19:52.66\00:19:55.66
There's a big 1 on
all my boarding tickets.
00:19:55.86\00:19:57.66
And other boarding tickets have
2's and 3's and 4's and 5's.
00:19:57.69\00:20:01.72
But I have a 1 on
my boarding ticket.
00:20:01.75\00:20:03.63
Which means I can get on
and I can pack my stuff away
00:20:03.66\00:20:07.18
while there's
still room up there.
00:20:07.21\00:20:08.82
Now I usually check in all
my bags except for my backpack,
00:20:09.08\00:20:11.75
so I don't have
a lot to pack away.
00:20:11.78\00:20:13.47
But it's nice to just
put it up so that I have a
00:20:13.50\00:20:15.21
little bit of leg room.
00:20:15.24\00:20:16.42
And this particular
time, I was coming to my seat
00:20:16.67\00:20:19.68
and there was a
gentleman there before me.
00:20:19.71\00:20:21.26
Well that happens too.
00:20:21.29\00:20:22.39
I'm not the only one that
has a 1 on my boarding pass.
00:20:22.42\00:20:25.37
And this gentleman
was packing all his stuff,
00:20:25.53\00:20:28.59
two or three items, a
couple of them were kind of big,
00:20:28.79\00:20:32.00
right in the
compartment above my seat.
00:20:32.21\00:20:34.61
Well, there were three
seats there, and obviously he
00:20:34.64\00:20:37.04
had one of them
and I had another one.
00:20:37.07\00:20:38.50
So we shared.
00:20:38.53\00:20:39.58
And I was waiting for him,
and he looked at me and I said,
00:20:39.77\00:20:43.50
"Yeah, I'm sitting there too."
00:20:43.53\00:20:44.56
And he said, "Okay,
I'll be right back."
00:20:44.59\00:20:45.87
And he went to
the back of the plane.
00:20:45.90\00:20:47.48
And I put my bag up and
that was it, it was full.
00:20:47.98\00:20:51.92
And I sat down looking
back expecting him to come.
00:20:52.12\00:20:54.72
I was in the aisle
seat, I like the aisle seat.
00:20:54.75\00:20:56.48
The seatbelt was off,
waiting for him to come.
00:20:56.51\00:20:58.05
So I knew I was going
to stand up and let him in.
00:20:58.08\00:21:00.12
But before he came back another
couple came down the aisle.
00:21:00.15\00:21:04.44
And both of them were
sitting in that aisle.
00:21:04.47\00:21:09.42
I thought, maybe
I've got the wrong seat.
00:21:09.45\00:21:10.66
But sure enough, I
had the right seat.
00:21:10.69\00:21:11.93
They had the right seats.
00:21:11.96\00:21:13.22
And the young
man, the gentleman,
00:21:13.25\00:21:15.10
the man that had
packed all his stuff up there
00:21:15.13\00:21:18.43
obviously was not
sitting in this seat.
00:21:18.64\00:21:20.54
And I thought, "Hmmm,
what's going on here?"
00:21:20.57\00:21:23.45
I kept looking back to see where
he was and I couldn't really
00:21:25.02\00:21:27.47
see him back there with
all the people getting on.
00:21:27.50\00:21:29.85
But these people had
nowhere to put there stuff.
00:21:29.88\00:21:32.10
There was a
little room above my bag.
00:21:34.59\00:21:36.47
And so they did take one
bag and stuffed it up there.
00:21:36.92\00:21:40.60
Right on top of my bag that
had those fresh cookies in it.
00:21:41.80\00:21:47.41
Those fresh cookies that
my wife made me for the trip.
00:21:49.06\00:21:51.58
Those fresh cookies
that were now crumbs.
00:21:51.61\00:21:54.80
What happens when
the cookies crumble?
00:21:55.73\00:21:59.67
What happens to your faith?
00:22:00.72\00:22:02.37
And so I was
thinking about this.
00:22:02.91\00:22:05.11
And I decided that
there are times when people
00:22:05.14\00:22:08.81
get on and they put
their stuff wherever.
00:22:08.84\00:22:10.45
And then they go to
the back of the plane.
00:22:10.48\00:22:11.63
And that's what
this guy had done.
00:22:11.66\00:22:12.94
I was thinking about it
in several different ways and
00:22:14.01\00:22:17.54
persuading myself that,
you know, I'm a nice guy and
00:22:18.22\00:22:21.62
cookies crumble and
you can still eat them.
00:22:22.14\00:22:23.86
It's no big deal.
00:22:23.89\00:22:24.98
But then I thought, "You
know, I'm going to go back there
00:22:26.11\00:22:27.70
and just find out
where that guys is and...
00:22:27.73\00:22:29.29
I don't know,
maybe I shouldn't."
00:22:29.68\00:22:30.88
And then I realized, as I
went back to the bathroom,
00:22:31.08\00:22:33.58
that this man that
put all his stuff up there
00:22:33.61\00:22:35.71
was actually
one of the stewards.
00:22:35.74\00:22:39.47
And they do have the
freedom to put their stuff up
00:22:42.02\00:22:44.16
here and there, and go
back and work, and etcetera.
00:22:44.19\00:22:46.69
And I was so glad
I didn't say anything
00:22:46.72\00:22:47.77
to him after I realized that.
00:22:47.80\00:22:48.90
But the point is, there are
times, maybe just little times,
00:22:48.93\00:22:55.92
or maybe bigger times,
when we are in that furnace.
00:22:56.15\00:23:01.88
And it's those times
when we have the opportunity
00:23:02.33\00:23:06.18
to make real what
Jesus Christ means to us
00:23:06.21\00:23:12.04
and the
difference that He makes.
00:23:12.42\00:23:14.18
And it's when that
testimony is combined with
00:23:14.81\00:23:18.17
the prophecies, the
truth, the reality of prophecy,
00:23:18.20\00:23:22.17
that I think people's hearts
are solidified in the truth.
00:23:22.20\00:23:26.67
Well this is what
happened to Nebuchadnezzar.
00:23:27.20\00:23:28.63
He was looking, you
see, he was looking.
00:23:28.66\00:23:30.81
And he saw Jesus with
these three young men.
00:23:30.84\00:23:35.30
And when he saw that,
his heart was reached.
00:23:36.04\00:23:41.88
And then, of course,
chapter 4 tells us all about his
00:23:41.91\00:23:44.47
radical conversion experience.
00:23:44.50\00:23:46.38
Chapter 5 indicates that
his grandson was not inclined to
00:23:46.41\00:23:51.36
follow his example.
00:23:51.39\00:23:52.46
But chapter 5 verse
30 is the verse I want
00:23:52.56\00:23:55.29
us to look at real quick.
00:23:55.32\00:23:56.35
"In that night was Belshazzar
the king of the Chaldeans slain.
00:23:56.38\00:23:59.99
And Darius the
Median took the kingdom,
00:24:00.32\00:24:02.68
being about
threescore and two years old."
00:24:02.71\00:24:04.96
Darius the Median,
Medo-Persian kingdom,
00:24:04.99\00:24:07.00
follows the kingdom of Babylon.
00:24:07.03\00:24:10.22
That's the point.
00:24:10.25\00:24:11.28
We've seen an image
of different metals,
00:24:11.31\00:24:13.90
and we've suggested that image
represents different kingdoms.
00:24:13.93\00:24:17.00
And I'm moving
through the book of Daniel now
00:24:17.03\00:24:19.25
to just establish that
from a biblical perspective.
00:24:19.28\00:24:21.85
It's established
historically, but it's also
00:24:21.88\00:24:24.07
established biblically.
00:24:24.10\00:24:25.36
Babylon is
followed by Medo-Persia.
00:24:25.67\00:24:28.00
Medo-Persia rules
for a few chapters.
00:24:28.03\00:24:31.11
And we get into chapter 7
and we have another vision
00:24:31.32\00:24:33.78
of four animals,
four beasts if you will.
00:24:33.81\00:24:36.89
One following the other.
00:24:37.41\00:24:38.92
This vision took place in
the first year of Belshazzar,
00:24:39.27\00:24:42.30
king of Babylon.
00:24:42.33\00:24:43.50
Daniel dreams this
dream, not Nebuchadnezzar.
00:24:43.53\00:24:45.94
And he sees these four beasts
rising up from the great sea.
00:24:46.03\00:24:51.04
And the first was like
a lion with eagle's wings.
00:24:51.52\00:24:54.54
That is the exact description
that is used in Jeremiah's
00:24:54.57\00:24:58.01
prophecies to describe Babylon.
00:24:58.04\00:25:00.29
So really what we have
here is a principle that is used
00:25:00.96\00:25:05.25
throughout the
Scriptures that I like to call,
00:25:05.28\00:25:07.56
repeat and enlarge.
00:25:07.59\00:25:09.15
Repeat and enlarge.
00:25:09.28\00:25:10.88
God is eager that we
would arrive at home,
00:25:11.20\00:25:14.56
that we would get to heaven,
that we would be with Him.
00:25:14.59\00:25:17.37
And so He gives us in His
Word directions to heaven.
00:25:17.58\00:25:22.18
Ever given directions to anyone?
00:25:22.92\00:25:24.64
Complicated directions?
00:25:25.98\00:25:27.55
It's easier now because we
have all this computer stuff
00:25:28.72\00:25:31.51
and these GPS, right?
00:25:31.54\00:25:32.80
It's easy to give
directions nowadays.
00:25:32.83\00:25:34.58
But at times it
has been challenging.
00:25:34.61\00:25:37.44
And I remember when I
would give general directions
00:25:37.47\00:25:39.85
to someone, I'd
say, "You got that?"
00:25:39.88\00:25:41.03
And they would
say, "Yeah, I think so.
00:25:41.06\00:25:42.70
And then you kind
of repeat it, you know.
00:25:42.73\00:25:44.51
And you give some more detail.
00:25:44.54\00:25:45.74
"When you get to the big
windmill, you take a right.
00:25:45.84\00:25:48.66
You go over the bridge on
the river, it's a green bridge,
00:25:48.81\00:25:51.52
and then you take a left
right there at the barber shop."
00:25:51.72\00:25:54.24
You know, you get real detailed.
00:25:54.27\00:25:56.44
"You go 2.6 miles, and
there will be a green mailbox.
00:25:56.47\00:26:00.89
Our road is a gravel road.
00:26:02.01\00:26:03.81
And you'll see two
sheep and three donkeys
00:26:05.18\00:26:08.02
in the pasture."
00:26:08.05\00:26:09.18
This is what God
does in the Bible.
00:26:10.04\00:26:12.84
He starts out with a general
picture, a general course,
00:26:13.11\00:26:18.19
a general trail if you will,
of the journey that we're taking
00:26:18.22\00:26:22.58
from planet earth to heaven,
to the second coming of Jesus,
00:26:22.61\00:26:25.98
and a little bit beyond that.
00:26:26.01\00:26:27.37
And then He repeats
those directions and gives
00:26:27.49\00:26:29.75
more details, He
fills in the picture.
00:26:29.78\00:26:31.88
That's what He's
doing in Daniel chapter 7.
00:26:31.91\00:26:33.94
He's filling in the picture.
00:26:33.97\00:26:35.25
He's repeating the same
basic history of Babylon and
00:26:35.51\00:26:39.69
Medo-Persia and Greece and Rome,
00:26:39.72\00:26:41.28
But He spends a little bit
more time on Rome in Daniel 7.
00:26:41.31\00:26:44.38
And then He highlights a
little power that is identified
00:26:44.41\00:26:48.34
as the little horn power.
00:26:48.37\00:26:49.81
He gives a lot of
characteristics of this power.
00:26:50.46\00:26:52.68
What it's going to do and what
it's going to try to accomplish.
00:26:53.03\00:26:55.45
And then we move on.
00:26:55.64\00:26:57.05
In Daniel chapter 8,
the same thing happens.
00:26:57.08\00:27:00.12
Repeat and enlarge.
00:27:00.15\00:27:01.18
In fact, the Bible is
full of this principle of
00:27:01.21\00:27:03.39
repeat and enlarge.
00:27:03.42\00:27:04.45
In Genesis chapter 1
God creates the earth.
00:27:04.48\00:27:06.32
In Genesis chapter
2, repeat and enlarge.
00:27:06.35\00:27:08.39
You see a more detailed
explanation of creation.
00:27:08.92\00:27:11.54
In Genesis 1 God made
Adam and Eve in His image.
00:27:11.57\00:27:14.20
In Genesis 2 God describes
how He made Adam and Eve.
00:27:14.23\00:27:19.15
Adam came from the dust.
00:27:19.59\00:27:21.07
Eve came from his rib.
00:27:21.10\00:27:22.45
Then you have
Exodus and Leviticus and
00:27:23.39\00:27:26.86
Deuteronomy and Numbers.
00:27:26.89\00:27:28.12
Each one of those
expands and builds upon the
00:27:28.15\00:27:31.32
other and gives more detail.
00:27:31.35\00:27:32.38
Then you have 1 and 2
Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings, and
00:27:32.41\00:27:35.09
1 and 2 Chronicles.
00:27:35.12\00:27:36.29
Each one repeating and
enlarging upon the other.
00:27:36.32\00:27:38.69
And then of course
we get into the gospels.
00:27:38.72\00:27:41.01
You have Matthew
and you have Mark
00:27:41.04\00:27:42.36
and you have Luke
and you have John.
00:27:42.39\00:27:43.71
Each one adding detail,
each one adding emphasis.
00:27:44.27\00:27:47.22
Repeating that same story.
00:27:47.25\00:27:49.02
Paul does a lot of
this in his epistles,
00:27:50.05\00:27:53.11
dealing with some
of the same principles.
00:27:53.14\00:27:54.47
But then we get into Revelation.
00:27:54.50\00:27:55.65
Revelation does the same thing.
00:27:55.68\00:27:57.01
You have the seven
churches, one layer.
00:27:57.19\00:27:59.45
And then on top of that
you have the seven seals.
00:27:59.48\00:28:01.62
On top of that you
have the seven trumpets.
00:28:01.65\00:28:03.40
Each one beginning
in the apostolic age,
00:28:03.43\00:28:05.44
and taking us down
through the stream of time
00:28:05.47\00:28:08.21
to the very end when
Jesus returns, and beyond.
00:28:08.24\00:28:11.74
Now as we look at prophecy
in this way, it really helps us
00:28:12.48\00:28:16.58
to line up these events.
00:28:16.61\00:28:18.52
For example, in Daniel
chapter 8 we have again
00:28:18.82\00:28:23.07
these same historical events.
00:28:23.10\00:28:26.32
But this time
Babylon is not mentioned.
00:28:26.35\00:28:28.22
It begins with Medo-Persia.
How do we know that?
00:28:28.25\00:28:29.98
Because these animals
which are different than
00:28:30.01\00:28:32.30
the ones in chapter 7.
00:28:32.33\00:28:33.37
And of course, the
animals are different than the
00:28:33.40\00:28:35.22
history in chapter 2.
00:28:35.25\00:28:36.54
The history in
chapter 2 is an image.
00:28:36.57\00:28:38.17
In chapter 7 these
animals represent, well, these
00:28:38.27\00:28:41.36
different kingdoms, but
they're different animals
00:28:41.39\00:28:43.25
than the ones here.
00:28:43.28\00:28:44.31
The ones here, Daniel
8, are a he goat and a ram.
00:28:44.34\00:28:47.98
But notice what
it says in verse 20.
00:28:48.30\00:28:50.64
"The ram which you saw
having two horns are the
00:28:50.67\00:28:52.88
kings of Media and Persia.
00:28:52.91\00:28:54.16
And the rough goat
is the king of Grecia."
00:28:54.69\00:28:56.39
There it is.
00:28:57.20\00:28:58.39
We've got Babylon
followed by Medo-Persia.
00:28:58.59\00:29:00.83
And now we've got
Medo-Persia followed by Grecia.
00:29:00.86\00:29:02.59
In fact, in Daniel 11 we
see the same thing again.
00:29:02.62\00:29:06.51
Notice here as Daniel
picks up with this vision.
00:29:06.85\00:29:10.62
The angel Gabriel has
come to help him understand it.
00:29:11.57\00:29:15.41
And he says, verse 2, "And
now will I show you the truth.
00:29:15.56\00:29:19.93
Behold, there shall stand
up yet three kings in Persia;
00:29:20.09\00:29:23.30
and the fourth shall be
far richer than they all.
00:29:23.33\00:29:27.40
And by his strength through
his riches he shall stir up all
00:29:28.07\00:29:31.10
against the realm of Grecia.
00:29:31.13\00:29:32.52
And a mighty king shall stand
up and shall rule with great
00:29:32.55\00:29:35.49
dominion, and do
according to his will.
00:29:35.52\00:29:37.45
And when he shall stand
up, his kingdom shall be broken
00:29:37.89\00:29:40.57
and divided
toward the four winds..."
00:29:40.60\00:29:42.70
That king was
Alexander the Great,
00:29:42.73\00:29:45.77
the king of Grecia,
who followed Medo-Persia,
00:29:45.87\00:29:49.04
who followed Babylon.
00:29:49.07\00:29:50.95
And what power followed Greece?
00:29:50.98\00:29:53.97
Well, in the days of Christ,
when all the nations were
00:29:54.59\00:30:00.04
speaking Greek, and
the New Testament of course
00:30:00.07\00:30:02.83
is written in Greek, the
power that was on this earth
00:30:02.86\00:30:06.47
was the power of Rome.
00:30:06.50\00:30:08.77
So history simply confirms
what Bible prophecy reveals.
00:30:09.14\00:30:12.75
And it's interesting
though to note specifically
00:30:12.78\00:30:16.29
Daniel chapter 7.
00:30:16.32\00:30:17.93
Sometimes I've been
asked, and I have sometimes,
00:30:19.12\00:30:22.73
or use to at one time,
wonder why did God describe
00:30:22.76\00:30:26.96
history by using beasts?
00:30:28.61\00:30:32.35
"I saw a lion
with eagle's wings.
00:30:33.92\00:30:36.25
And after that
another beast, a bear,
00:30:36.28\00:30:38.00
which was risen up on one side.
00:30:38.30\00:30:40.00
And then a leopard," verse
6, "with four wings on the back.
00:30:40.03\00:30:43.89
And then I saw this terrible
beast, this dreadful and
00:30:43.99\00:30:48.76
terrible, strong exceeding
with great iron teeth."
00:30:48.79\00:30:51.45
Why does God use
beasts in Bible prophecy?
00:30:52.46\00:30:57.77
Well we know that
they represent kingdoms,
00:30:58.23\00:30:59.95
because we're told
in verses 17 and 23.
00:30:59.98\00:31:02.73
The angel comes to
Daniel and Daniel says,
00:31:02.93\00:31:06.71
"I really, I don't
get this," verse 15.
00:31:06.74\00:31:08.93
"I don't understand what these
mean, what they represent."
00:31:08.96\00:31:11.47
And the angel says,
"These great beasts," verse 17,
00:31:11.57\00:31:14.23
"which are four, are four kings,
00:31:14.68\00:31:16.82
that shall arise
out of the earth."
00:31:16.85\00:31:18.22
And then in verse 23, he
says, "And the fourth beast
00:31:18.48\00:31:22.85
shall be the fourth
kingdom upon the earth..."
00:31:22.88\00:31:24.98
So right here in the context
of the prophecy, we have an
00:31:25.52\00:31:29.32
interpretation of these
beasts representing kingdoms.
00:31:29.35\00:31:32.59
And of course we do that
today, don't we, to some degree.
00:31:32.62\00:31:34.96
I mean, when you think
about animals, like an eagle,
00:31:34.99\00:31:39.44
what country do you think of?
00:31:39.47\00:31:40.93
United States of America.
00:31:42.05\00:31:43.08
What about a bear?
00:31:43.11\00:31:44.92
Russia.
00:31:45.23\00:31:46.26
What about a dragon?
00:31:46.29\00:31:48.34
China.
00:31:49.37\00:31:50.42
You guys are good.
00:31:50.45\00:31:51.50
Okay, here's a tougher one.
00:31:51.53\00:31:52.89
What about a lion?
00:31:52.92\00:31:54.11
It's the
country I was raised in.
00:31:57.53\00:31:59.07
England, yes. So even today.
00:31:59.77\00:32:03.10
God is, in the Bible, He's
using symbolism that we use
00:32:03.13\00:32:07.73
that's familiar to
us as human beings.
00:32:07.76\00:32:10.24
And He knows that we'll get it.
00:32:10.65\00:32:13.00
And just in case we
don't, He actually tells us
00:32:13.03\00:32:15.14
what these symbols mean.
00:32:15.17\00:32:16.63
He tells us what
these beasts mean.
00:32:16.66\00:32:18.02
They represent kingdoms.
00:32:18.05\00:32:19.31
Now this is important, because
tonight we're talking about
00:32:19.69\00:32:22.16
the rise of
America in Bible prophecy.
00:32:22.19\00:32:26.21
Let's go to our Bible
verse in Revelation chapter 13.
00:32:26.24\00:32:29.31
Because in
Revelation chapter 13,
00:32:30.79\00:32:32.99
what we have is a
connection with Daniel
00:32:33.30\00:32:35.30
and the prophecies of Daniel.
00:32:35.33\00:32:36.90
Daniel was
looking forward in time.
00:32:37.37\00:32:39.80
And as he looked
forward in time, God showed him
00:32:39.83\00:32:42.61
Babylon,
Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.
00:32:42.64\00:32:46.02
Then the ten divisions
of Europe continuing on
00:32:46.21\00:32:49.96
until the second
coming of Jesus Christ.
00:32:50.14\00:32:51.82
That was the basic
outline that he saw.
00:32:51.85\00:32:53.62
He saw a little horn rising
up among the nations of Europe.
00:32:53.81\00:32:58.08
The characteristics of
which would be fulfilled in the
00:32:58.11\00:33:01.25
context of Bible prophecy.
00:33:01.28\00:33:04.06
Specifically in the context
of Revelation chapter 13.
00:33:04.91\00:33:09.00
Now notice that with me.
00:33:09.03\00:33:10.28
John is, in
Revelation chapter 13, he says,
00:33:11.02\00:33:13.23
"I stood upon the sand of
the sea and I saw a..." What?
00:33:13.26\00:33:17.54
What does a beast
represent in Bible prophecy?
00:33:18.25\00:33:20.32
A kingdom or a power.
00:33:21.50\00:33:23.20
"I saw a kingdom or a
power rising up out of the..."
00:33:23.23\00:33:27.38
Now what does the sea
represent in Bible prophecy?
00:33:28.35\00:33:31.66
Okay, Revelation
chapter 17. You are right on.
00:33:32.37\00:33:35.53
You guys know your
Bibles here tonight.
00:33:35.56\00:33:37.34
Revelation 17 and verse 15.
00:33:37.37\00:33:39.71
"And he said unto me," that is,
the angel is talking to John,
00:33:39.74\00:33:43.29
"The waters which you
saw, where the whore sits,
00:33:43.56\00:33:49.24
are peoples, multitudes,
nations, and tongues."
00:33:49.59\00:33:54.16
Peoples, multitudes,
nations, and tongues.
00:33:54.57\00:33:56.45
Populated areas of the earth.
00:33:56.65\00:33:58.36
In other words, when we
look in Revelation chapter 13
00:33:58.39\00:34:01.42
and verse 1, what we see
here is a power or a kingdom
00:34:01.45\00:34:05.75
rising up in the
earth among the nations,
00:34:05.78\00:34:11.28
multitudes,
peoples, and tongues.
00:34:11.58\00:34:13.53
In a populated
area of planet earth.
00:34:13.56\00:34:16.33
Now notice this.
00:34:17.94\00:34:19.13
"...having seven heads
and..." How many horns?
00:34:20.42\00:34:23.15
Ten horns.
00:34:23.18\00:34:24.35
"...and upon his horns
ten crowns, and upon his heads
00:34:24.84\00:34:28.86
the name of blasphemy.
00:34:28.89\00:34:30.29
And the beast which I
saw was like unto a leopard,
00:34:30.56\00:34:36.25
and his feet were
like the feet of a bear,
00:34:36.54\00:34:40.25
and his mouth was
like the mouth of a lion.
00:34:40.28\00:34:44.12
And the dragon gave
him his seat, and power,
00:34:44.15\00:34:47.34
and great authority."
00:34:47.37\00:34:49.00
Now there's something
really interesting about this.
00:34:49.89\00:34:52.18
Did you notice the connection?
00:34:52.71\00:34:54.33
John here is seeing a
kingdom that has the very same
00:34:54.91\00:35:00.16
characteristics as the kingdoms
that Daniel saw in Revelation.
00:35:00.19\00:35:06.23
Did you notice that?
00:35:06.43\00:35:07.48
You have the bear, you have
the lion, you have the leopard,
00:35:08.16\00:35:13.49
and you have the ten horns.
00:35:13.52\00:35:15.20
Same as what was
revealed to him, or to John.
00:35:15.41\00:35:19.30
Excuse me, revealed to Daniel in
Daniel chapter 7 specifically.
00:35:19.33\00:35:23.47
Now, what's interesting is this.
00:35:23.50\00:35:26.22
Daniel looks forward and he sees
the lion, followed by the bear,
00:35:26.82\00:35:33.54
followed by the leopard,
followed by the terrible beast,
00:35:33.79\00:35:37.13
the dragon-like beast.
00:35:37.16\00:35:38.36
He sees the ten horns
rise up, and then he sees
00:35:38.64\00:35:41.30
the little horn rise up.
00:35:41.33\00:35:42.55
John is looking back.
00:35:42.92\00:35:44.63
He's looking back in history.
00:35:45.07\00:35:46.51
What does he see first?
00:35:46.54\00:35:49.10
Does he see the lion first?
00:35:49.45\00:35:50.76
Read the verse.
00:35:51.75\00:35:52.96
What does he see first?
00:35:52.99\00:35:54.25
He sees the horns.
00:35:57.38\00:35:59.82
Then what does he see?
00:36:00.51\00:36:01.59
Then he sees the leopard.
00:36:03.31\00:36:04.91
Then what does he see?
00:36:04.94\00:36:06.06
Then he sees the bear.
00:36:06.71\00:36:09.26
Then what does he see last?
00:36:09.53\00:36:11.81
Well next. The lion.
00:36:11.84\00:36:13.44
Of course the
dragon comes last, but.
00:36:13.47\00:36:14.84
In other words, Daniel
looking forward from Babylon
00:36:14.87\00:36:18.58
sees Babylon, Medo-Persia,
Greece, Rome, ten kingdoms.
00:36:18.61\00:36:20.88
John looking back sees ten
kingdoms, then he sees what?
00:36:21.08\00:36:25.09
Greece,
Medo-Persia, and Babylon.
00:36:25.58\00:36:28.89
It's like he's looking back
and Daniel is looking forward.
00:36:28.92\00:36:31.57
John's looking back,
Daniel's looking forward.
00:36:31.60\00:36:33.16
They're both coming together
in their prophetic books.
00:36:33.19\00:36:37.69
That's why we call the
books of Daniel and Revelation
00:36:37.72\00:36:39.55
prophetic twins.
00:36:39.58\00:36:41.01
They're both coming
together in this vision.
00:36:41.04\00:36:43.42
Connecting together in this
vision of Revelation chapter 13.
00:36:43.99\00:36:48.03
Now, John
continues on in verse 3.
00:36:48.46\00:36:53.41
"And I saw one of his
heads," one of the heads,
00:36:54.48\00:36:57.53
powers of this kingdom,
"one of his heads as it were
00:36:57.56\00:37:02.11
wounded to death; and
his deadly wound was healed.
00:37:02.14\00:37:04.58
And all the world
wondered after this power."
00:37:04.61\00:37:07.88
This kingdom,
this earthly kingdom.
00:37:08.55\00:37:10.46
"And they worshipped the dragon
which gave power unto the beast.
00:37:11.00\00:37:15.90
And they
worshipped the beast, saying,
00:37:15.93\00:37:17.21
'Who is like unto the beast?'"
00:37:17.74\00:37:19.63
This earthy kingdom,
"Who's like this earthly king?
00:37:19.66\00:37:21.58
Who can make war with him?"
00:37:21.61\00:37:23.20
"And there was given unto him
a mouth speaking great things
00:37:23.47\00:37:25.56
and blasphemies; and
power was given unto him
00:37:25.59\00:37:27.21
to continue
forty and two months.
00:37:27.24\00:37:28.90
And he opened his mouth to
speak blasphemy against God,
00:37:28.93\00:37:31.49
to blaspheme his
name, and his tabernacle,
00:37:31.69\00:37:33.45
and them that dwell in heaven.
00:37:33.48\00:37:34.51
And it was given unto him
to make war with the saints,
00:37:34.67\00:37:37.18
and to overcome them.
00:37:37.21\00:37:38.79
And power was given
him over all kindreds,
00:37:38.82\00:37:40.97
and tongues, and nations.
00:37:41.00\00:37:42.56
And they that dwell on
the earth shall worship him,
00:37:42.59\00:37:45.18
whose names are not written
in the book of life of the Lamb
00:37:45.21\00:37:48.75
slain from the
foundation of the world."
00:37:48.78\00:37:51.88
Now, John here is
still looking back in history
00:37:52.33\00:37:58.99
at things that have happened.
00:37:59.02\00:38:00.51
The deadly wound, the 42 months,
the persecution; all of that
00:38:01.19\00:38:06.21
has already taken
place in the context...
00:38:06.24\00:38:09.11
I should say it this way.
00:38:09.14\00:38:10.21
...in the process
not of John's time.
00:38:10.24\00:38:13.52
Because John, of course, at his
time this hadn't taken place.
00:38:13.55\00:38:17.19
But in the process of our time.
00:38:17.22\00:38:19.27
So John is looking at this.
00:38:19.83\00:38:21.89
But remember what we read
in Ecclesiastes chapter 1?
00:38:21.99\00:38:24.79
There's nothing
that has not already been
00:38:24.82\00:38:27.13
that will not be again.
00:38:27.16\00:38:28.53
And this is what
God is telling us here.
00:38:28.56\00:38:30.60
All of this history is
going to be repeated again.
00:38:30.92\00:38:35.86
How so?
00:38:35.89\00:38:36.92
Well here's where
it gets interesting.
00:38:37.10\00:38:39.48
In Revelation
chapter 13 and verse 9,
00:38:39.99\00:38:43.71
the Bible says, "If any
man has an ear, let him hear.
00:38:44.21\00:38:47.40
He that leads into captivity
shall go into captivity,
00:38:47.77\00:38:50.47
he that kills with the sword
must be killed with the sword.
00:38:50.50\00:38:52.56
Here is the patience
and the faith of the saints.
00:38:52.59\00:38:55.10
And I beheld..."
00:38:55.13\00:38:56.16
Now what's interesting is
when you look at this history,
00:38:56.19\00:38:58.77
you realize that throughout
the centuries that follow
00:38:58.80\00:39:04.01
the demise of Rome, and
I'm taking about pagan Rome,
00:39:04.04\00:39:07.16
we saw the rise of
the papacy, or papal Rome.
00:39:07.47\00:39:10.91
We call it, the Dark Ages.
00:39:11.29\00:39:12.68
For good reason.
00:39:12.88\00:39:13.95
And during this time,
during these centuries,
00:39:14.33\00:39:17.71
all of the characteristics
that we see revealed here
00:39:17.95\00:39:21.32
were fulfilled by what
we understand to be the
00:39:21.35\00:39:24.26
Medieval Church
taking control of the earth,
00:39:24.29\00:39:27.20
having authority with
the kings of the earth
00:39:27.49\00:39:29.61
to persecute those
who disagreed with her.
00:39:29.64\00:39:31.41
This is all historic.
00:39:31.44\00:39:32.78
And as this
continued, the year came...
00:39:33.57\00:39:39.23
I would say it was 1793
when another power rose up.
00:39:39.26\00:39:42.85
...but 1798 when the very words
of this prophecy were fulfilled
00:39:42.88\00:39:47.42
and the papacy was
led into captivity.
00:39:47.45\00:39:51.43
Napoleon marched
into Paris, took over.
00:39:51.46\00:39:55.77
And then down to Rome, and
basically took the Pope captive.
00:39:55.80\00:40:00.13
Led him into captivity.
00:40:00.31\00:40:01.73
"He that leads into captivity
will go into captivity,
00:40:01.76\00:40:03.72
he that kills with the sword
will be killed with the sword."
00:40:03.75\00:40:06.01
And a deadly
wound was inflicted.
00:40:06.33\00:40:08.47
Now all of this history
that has happened in the past
00:40:08.73\00:40:12.54
is significant,
because it leads us...
00:40:12.89\00:40:15.81
We have nothing to fear
for the future except we
00:40:15.91\00:40:17.62
forget how God has
led us in the past.
00:40:17.65\00:40:19.55
...it leads us to
understand what takes place
00:40:19.58\00:40:22.86
from verse 11 onward.
00:40:22.89\00:40:24.35
Let's look at it.
00:40:24.95\00:40:25.98
"I beheld another beast
coming up out of the earth;
00:40:26.64\00:40:29.23
he had two horns like a
lamb, and he spake as a dragon."
00:40:30.16\00:40:34.44
Now, there are some
characteristics here
00:40:34.47\00:40:36.23
that I want to go over with
you in the time we have left,
00:40:36.26\00:40:38.57
the time we have remaining,
that I think are significant
00:40:38.60\00:40:41.13
to help us identify the
rise of the United States
00:40:41.42\00:40:46.30
in Bible prophecy.
00:40:46.33\00:40:47.49
Number one, this
power, this beast, which is
00:40:47.52\00:40:52.41
an earthly power,
arises at the right time.
00:40:52.44\00:40:55.78
Now notice, it is coming in
a time when this former power
00:40:55.81\00:41:00.66
is being led into captivity.
00:41:00.69\00:41:02.55
We know that took place in 1798.
00:41:02.87\00:41:04.66
So we're looking at a power
that is rising up in the earth,
00:41:04.95\00:41:08.94
rising up in
strength, in the 1700's.
00:41:08.97\00:41:14.76
Now there is a nation that was
rising to power in that time.
00:41:15.33\00:41:17.94
In fact, the United
States of America signed the
00:41:17.97\00:41:20.05
Declaration of
Independence in 1776.
00:41:20.08\00:41:24.02
Just a few years before
this deadly wound was inflicted.
00:41:24.05\00:41:26.82
And I think the last war that
we fought for our independence,
00:41:26.92\00:41:30.13
and I would say we were
still independent by then,
00:41:30.16\00:41:31.98
was the war of
1812 with the British.
00:41:32.01\00:41:33.79
That was about it, right?
00:41:33.82\00:41:35.04
So the timing is perfect.
00:41:35.47\00:41:38.11
Point number two...
00:41:38.67\00:41:39.72
And we're going to look
at several points here that
00:41:40.34\00:41:41.87
help us to
indentify who this power is.
00:41:41.90\00:41:45.13
I believe this is the
rise of the United States.
00:41:45.16\00:41:47.28
But we'll look at a number of
points here, prophetic points.
00:41:47.47\00:41:49.84
It came up in the right place.
00:41:50.07\00:41:52.12
Now, you notice that
it says in the Bible verse
00:41:52.15\00:41:55.94
that this power would
rise up out of the earth.
00:41:55.97\00:41:58.88
We already identified
what the sea represents.
00:41:58.91\00:42:01.09
What does the sea
represent in Bible prophecy?
00:42:01.12\00:42:03.03
Peoples, nations,
multitudes, and tongues.
00:42:03.56\00:42:05.45
So the earth would be
the opposite of the sea
00:42:05.66\00:42:08.46
in symbolic language.
00:42:08.49\00:42:10.41
The earth would be a
place that is less populated.
00:42:10.44\00:42:13.21
And that's exactly what
we see when we look at the
00:42:14.04\00:42:16.32
history of the United States.
00:42:16.35\00:42:17.80
It didn't rise up among
the nations and multitudes and
00:42:17.83\00:42:20.80
tongues of the world,
but it rose up in a more,
00:42:20.83\00:42:24.73
well, a less
populated area of the earth.
00:42:24.76\00:42:27.64
A place that was discovered.
00:42:28.09\00:42:29.85
And a place that was growing
in population in the 1700's.
00:42:29.88\00:42:34.99
So it came up at the right time.
00:42:35.55\00:42:37.17
It came up at the
right place prophetically,
00:42:37.40\00:42:38.98
a less populated
area of the world.
00:42:39.01\00:42:40.73
Notice the next thing it
says here in Revelation 13:11.
00:42:40.76\00:42:44.32
It says, "I
beheld another beast."
00:42:44.35\00:42:47.33
This is a new power.
00:42:47.36\00:42:49.96
It's a new nation.
00:42:49.99\00:42:51.39
It's not the same
one, it's not a former one.
00:42:51.59\00:42:54.77
It's not a bear or a leopard.
00:42:54.80\00:42:57.34
It is a new
nation that is rising up.
00:42:57.37\00:43:00.81
And then it goes on to
say, and I think this is
00:43:01.00\00:43:04.47
really significant, that
it had two horns like a lamb.
00:43:04.50\00:43:08.45
But if you do a close
comparison with the first beast,
00:43:08.48\00:43:12.63
you're going to find that the
horns have no crowns on them.
00:43:12.66\00:43:16.76
You see, the first beast, it
says in Revelation chapter 13
00:43:17.22\00:43:20.23
and verse 1, the first
beast, it says has ten horns,
00:43:20.26\00:43:25.13
"and upon his horns ten crowns."
00:43:25.16\00:43:27.34
That represents monarchy.
00:43:27.37\00:43:29.14
It represents the kings
and the queens and the monarchs
00:43:29.17\00:43:32.42
of Europe that ruled
with this religious power.
00:43:32.45\00:43:36.95
But in Revelation 13
and verse 11, this power
00:43:36.98\00:43:41.54
has lamb-like
horns with no crowns.
00:43:41.57\00:43:44.39
That symbolizes or
represents a change.
00:43:44.64\00:43:47.64
This nation, this
power, would not be a monarchy.
00:43:47.67\00:43:50.54
It would be a
republic. It would be different.
00:43:50.74\00:43:54.02
It would be
without king and queen.
00:43:54.05\00:43:56.14
That characteristic fits.
00:43:56.45\00:43:57.72
That's number four.
00:43:57.75\00:43:58.85
Then it goes on to describe
this power as a lamb-like power.
00:43:59.44\00:44:04.98
Now, we could spend the rest of
the time we have this evening,
00:44:05.01\00:44:08.83
which isn't very much
time, just talking about this.
00:44:08.86\00:44:10.85
And I think we will.
00:44:10.88\00:44:12.12
Only because it's so important.
00:44:12.46\00:44:14.47
There are probably four
or five more characteristics
00:44:14.50\00:44:18.08
that we need to discuss,
and we will discuss them
00:44:18.11\00:44:21.78
before we're
done with our series.
00:44:22.10\00:44:23.56
Because tomorrow night
we're going to be moving into
00:44:23.59\00:44:26.68
the change that is
going to be taking place
00:44:26.71\00:44:29.49
as we identify this power.
00:44:29.74\00:44:31.18
But tonight we want to
look primarily at these
00:44:31.21\00:44:33.93
characteristics, these,
well lamb-like characteristics.
00:44:33.96\00:44:38.72
Because the lamb is a
symbol that is used...
00:44:39.24\00:44:41.82
I don't know if
you're familiar with this.
00:44:41.85\00:44:43.06
...it's used, it's referenced,
more than any other symbol
00:44:43.09\00:44:46.87
in the book of Revelation.
00:44:46.90\00:44:48.14
It is the most
repeated symbol in Revelation.
00:44:49.06\00:44:51.66
And according to Revelation
chapter 5, the lamb symbolizes
00:44:51.93\00:44:56.16
or represents
Jesus and the cross.
00:44:56.19\00:45:01.81
Paul, excuse me,
John, John the Baptist,
00:45:03.03\00:45:06.79
pointed to Jesus Christ and
said, "Behold, the Lamb of God
00:45:06.82\00:45:09.64
that takes away
the sins of the world."
00:45:09.67\00:45:11.21
John identifies the
lamb in Revelation 5
00:45:11.36\00:45:14.47
as slain in the
midst of the throne.
00:45:14.50\00:45:16.59
So when we look at that symbol
we're identifying that symbol
00:45:16.85\00:45:20.79
as pointing to Jesus who was
slain on Calvary for the sins
00:45:20.82\00:45:24.21
of the entire world.
00:45:24.24\00:45:25.39
What we're looking at here
is a symbol that represents
00:45:26.23\00:45:30.68
the pure principles of
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
00:45:30.74\00:45:33.90
The principles of
liberty and freedom,
00:45:33.93\00:45:36.98
that God has given Himself
as a sacrifice to preserve
00:45:37.01\00:45:44.83
in the hearts and
minds of human beings.
00:45:44.86\00:45:46.89
Calvary is here symbolized.
00:45:47.23\00:45:50.09
And therefore this power is,
well, to some degree or another
00:45:50.12\00:45:53.91
is finding itself
embodying those principles of
00:45:54.27\00:46:00.26
religious freedom
and civil freedom.
00:46:00.36\00:46:02.74
That's what I believe
these two horns represent;
00:46:03.14\00:46:05.50
religious freedom
and civil freedom.
00:46:06.35\00:46:09.39
So far every characteristic
that we've looked at tonight
00:46:10.12\00:46:14.34
matches up with the rise of
the United States of America.
00:46:14.90\00:46:18.54
We see it so clearly.
00:46:19.05\00:46:20.39
And yet, we're told
there's going to be a change.
00:46:20.65\00:46:23.04
How is this change
going to take place?
00:46:23.27\00:46:25.95
What is going to happen in
our nation, in this country,
00:46:25.98\00:46:30.30
to actually see a change
from the religious freedom
00:46:30.83\00:46:35.27
and the civil freedoms upon
which this nation was founded
00:46:35.30\00:46:39.60
to have it speak, as the
Bible says, like a dragon.
00:46:39.63\00:46:43.45
What does it mean,
"to speak like a dragon?"
00:46:43.48\00:46:44.97
Well let's emphasize
first and foremost what it means
00:46:45.67\00:46:49.04
to have these
lamb-like principles.
00:46:49.07\00:46:50.25
Because it's only as we
recognize the principles
00:46:50.28\00:46:52.24
of the Lamb that we
could really understand
00:46:52.27\00:46:55.37
and recognize the
changes that are going to
00:46:55.47\00:46:57.44
take place in this country.
00:46:57.47\00:46:58.58
In fact, changes that
are taking place already,
00:46:58.61\00:47:02.62
right now as we speak.
00:47:03.18\00:47:05.65
Revelation fills our hearts
and minds with an understanding
00:47:06.20\00:47:10.76
of what it
means to be lamb-like.
00:47:10.79\00:47:13.01
Let's just go back
to Revelation chapter 1
00:47:13.04\00:47:15.05
where we have the unfolding or
the uncovering of Jesus Christ.
00:47:15.08\00:47:18.86
It really is a
revelation of Jesus, to show us
00:47:18.89\00:47:21.49
the heart of God.
00:47:21.52\00:47:22.68
And of course, we know what's
00:47:22.71\00:47:23.74
happened from
the very beginning.
00:47:23.77\00:47:24.82
We talked about it last night.
00:47:24.85\00:47:25.99
God was misrepresented.
00:47:26.39\00:47:28.81
A lie was told in the
garden of Eden about God.
00:47:28.84\00:47:31.80
And Adam and Eve,
well Eve specifically
00:47:32.05\00:47:35.08
and then Adam went along
with it, believed the lie.
00:47:35.11\00:47:37.09
"God is
withholding something from you.
00:47:37.32\00:47:39.02
God is a
withholder, He's lying to you.
00:47:39.05\00:47:41.25
You're not really going to
die if you eat the fruit of that
00:47:41.28\00:47:43.77
tree of the
knowledge of good and evil."
00:47:43.80\00:47:45.72
And so Jesus came
to unmask the lie.
00:47:45.75\00:47:49.56
And lies, well they're...
00:47:49.71\00:47:51.69
...they're hard to
distinguish at times.
00:47:52.93\00:47:54.73
I got a call from Dee yesterday.
00:47:54.76\00:47:56.44
I was supposed to be at
the main building at 2 o'clock.
00:47:56.47\00:47:59.85
And she called me at
ten minutes after two.
00:48:00.21\00:48:04.84
I was in my
apartment, and she said,
00:48:05.56\00:48:07.48
"Uh, James, are
you on your way?"
00:48:07.51\00:48:10.59
And I said, "Well, I'm
running about ten minutes late."
00:48:10.93\00:48:14.30
And Dee picked up
on that and she said,
00:48:15.20\00:48:16.93
"Well that means that
you're pulling up right now."
00:48:16.96\00:48:19.31
Because it was ten after two.
00:48:20.09\00:48:21.66
And I'm running
about ten minutes late.
00:48:22.00\00:48:23.71
And so I had to do a
recorrect there and I said,
00:48:23.95\00:48:25.73
"Actually, I'm running
exactly 20 minutes late.
00:48:25.76\00:48:29.15
I'm putting on my suit and I'll
be over there in 10 minutes."
00:48:30.21\00:48:33.28
It's just natural for
us to stretch the truth
00:48:34.02\00:48:36.77
just a little bit.
00:48:36.80\00:48:38.08
Not to be as accurate.
00:48:38.22\00:48:39.61
And really we don't, well, we
don't hold each other to those
00:48:39.64\00:48:45.88
boundaries of being
perfectly honestly truthful.
00:48:45.91\00:48:50.02
But God is different.
00:48:50.62\00:48:53.15
God says, "Let your yea
be yea and your nay be nay."
00:48:53.45\00:48:59.47
He says you don't
even need to swear.
00:49:00.60\00:49:02.02
If your yea is yea
and our nay is nay,
00:49:02.05\00:49:03.62
you don't have to say,
"Hey, I'm telling you the truth.
00:49:03.65\00:49:05.35
Honestly, you've got to believe
me, you've got to believe me,
00:49:05.38\00:49:06.57
you've got to believe me."
00:49:06.60\00:49:07.69
You don't have to do that,
because when you say something,
00:49:07.99\00:49:10.50
that something can be trusted.
00:49:10.95\00:49:12.58
When you say it's this way,
people know that it's this way.
00:49:13.04\00:49:15.83
But we don't
naturally tend to do that.
00:49:16.61\00:49:18.90
We have to try to convince
00:49:18.93\00:49:20.01
people that we're
telling the truth.
00:49:20.04\00:49:21.07
We have to swear by
everything in heaven and earth,
00:49:21.10\00:49:23.23
because we've gone so far away
from just being strictly honest
00:49:23.43\00:49:27.83
in our words, in the
way that we communicate.
00:49:27.99\00:49:30.86
But God isn't that way.
00:49:30.92\00:49:32.27
God has come to unveil
the truth about who He is,
00:49:32.49\00:49:38.07
and the truth
about our situation.
00:49:38.35\00:49:40.88
So Revelation does that.
00:49:41.02\00:49:42.20
And what's really powerful
is that while God reveals the
00:49:42.23\00:49:45.27
truth about us, and He does this
in Revelation's seven churches,
00:49:45.30\00:49:48.91
for example, He
still stand with us.
00:49:48.94\00:49:51.09
Revelation's seven churches
reveals this manifestation
00:49:51.12\00:49:55.37
of God's
unconditional love for us.
00:49:55.40\00:49:58.40
I mean, you read
through these seven churches and
00:49:58.55\00:50:00.21
you find out that we are
in a really pitiful situation.
00:50:00.24\00:50:04.17
In fact, if you look at
the repeat and enlarge scenario
00:50:04.40\00:50:07.45
and you recognize that the seven
churches represents the history
00:50:07.48\00:50:10.68
of God's people from the early
apostolic age all the way down
00:50:11.06\00:50:14.31
to the end of time, you can't
but come to the conclusion that
00:50:14.34\00:50:16.79
we're living in
the Laodicean age.
00:50:16.82\00:50:18.61
And the Laodicean
church of all the churches
00:50:18.71\00:50:20.71
is the most pitiful.
00:50:20.74\00:50:22.54
God says, "You actually
make Me want to throw up."
00:50:22.81\00:50:25.70
But in the same breath,
He says, "As many as I love,
00:50:26.87\00:50:30.33
I rebuke and chasen."
00:50:30.36\00:50:31.70
God loves us.
00:50:31.73\00:50:33.23
And sometimes we wonder why.
00:50:33.90\00:50:35.44
"Why do You love
us? We're so despicable.
00:50:35.47\00:50:37.68
We make You want to vomit."
00:50:37.71\00:50:38.83
"Well, I love
you because I'm love.
00:50:38.86\00:50:42.04
That's what I do. I love.
00:50:42.24\00:50:44.63
That's who I am.
00:50:44.92\00:50:46.11
It's not based upon who you
are, it's based upon who I am.
00:50:46.36\00:50:49.44
I am a God of
love. And I am with you.
00:50:49.47\00:50:52.04
I'm not just with Philadelphia,
I'm not just with Smyrna.
00:50:52.07\00:50:54.23
I'm with all of the churches."
00:50:54.33\00:50:55.57
God positions Himself
among the seven churches.
00:50:55.60\00:50:59.55
Then we move to Revelation
chapters 4 and 5 and we see
00:50:59.58\00:51:02.30
Jesus Christ positioned
in the midst of the throne.
00:51:02.40\00:51:06.44
The throne is established
in heaven and Jesus is there.
00:51:06.98\00:51:09.89
He's the lamb that's been slain
in the midst of the throne.
00:51:09.92\00:51:12.94
And the reason why
He was slain was because
00:51:13.14\00:51:15.86
He was purposing to
take possession of a book
00:51:15.89\00:51:19.48
that John was shown no man
in heaven, no man in earth,
00:51:19.51\00:51:21.90
and no man under the
earth could take possession of.
00:51:21.93\00:51:23.74
And when He takes
possession of this book,
00:51:26.35\00:51:28.04
John is told that
the Lamb has prevailed.
00:51:28.24\00:51:32.54
Now that word is
an interesting word.
00:51:32.82\00:51:34.20
It means, to overcome.
00:51:34.23\00:51:36.01
It's the same word
that is use to the message
00:51:36.04\00:51:38.37
of all the churches,
"To him that overcomes...,"
00:51:38.40\00:51:39.91
"To him that overcomes...,"
"To him that overcomes..."
00:51:39.94\00:51:41.32
"Nikao," it means,
to get the victory.
00:51:41.35\00:51:46.01
Jesus has gotten the victory.
00:51:46.59\00:51:48.49
Our take home tonight
would be this short phrase,
00:51:49.42\00:51:52.51
Jesus has prevailed
where we have failed.
00:51:53.33\00:51:56.00
Jesus has prevailed
where we have failed.
00:51:56.37\00:51:58.55
That's it.
00:51:58.58\00:51:59.63
And that's what we
see as we move through
00:52:00.50\00:52:03.52
the book of Revelation.
00:52:03.55\00:52:04.58
We see an urgent need to
overcome; seven churches.
00:52:04.61\00:52:07.75
We recognize the
fallenness of our human nature;
00:52:08.11\00:52:10.98
our inabilities and failures.
00:52:11.01\00:52:13.16
But the standard
remains, the ideal is there.
00:52:13.19\00:52:15.51
And so Jesus
says, "I'm with you.
00:52:15.54\00:52:17.89
And I," Revelation 4
and 5, "am going to prevail
00:52:18.17\00:52:21.81
where you have failed."
00:52:21.84\00:52:23.20
And then Revelation
chapter 6 pictures a white horse
00:52:24.52\00:52:27.73
and a rider.
00:52:28.21\00:52:29.35
That white horse
represents those who unite
00:52:29.90\00:52:32.93
their lives with Jesus.
00:52:32.96\00:52:34.32
He's the Rider.
00:52:34.35\00:52:35.38
Revelation
chapter 19 tells us that.
00:52:35.41\00:52:37.39
And when that white horse
and that Rider are united,
00:52:37.42\00:52:40.95
it says they go forth...
00:52:40.98\00:52:42.63
What's the phrase?
00:52:43.03\00:52:44.50
Conquering and to conquer.
00:52:44.53\00:52:47.76
Powerful.
00:52:48.06\00:52:49.09
Because that word is
the same word, "nikao."
00:52:49.12\00:52:50.73
It's the same word
that is used, "to prevail."
00:52:50.76\00:52:52.27
It's the same word
that's used, "to overcome."
00:52:52.30\00:52:53.78
In other words,
God is laying out here
00:52:53.81\00:52:56.02
a road map, if you will.
00:52:56.05\00:52:57.40
A road map not just of
history, like we've seen in the
00:52:57.50\00:53:01.26
book of Daniel, but also a road
map of Christian experience.
00:53:01.29\00:53:04.39
The book of Revelation
and the book of Daniel
00:53:04.49\00:53:06.09
parallel each other in this way.
00:53:06.19\00:53:08.16
In Daniel, we have prophetic
visions and then we have...
00:53:09.57\00:53:13.69
...I'll call them
Christian stories.
00:53:16.59\00:53:18.45
Christ was still to
come back in Daniel's day.
00:53:19.18\00:53:22.12
But practical
Christian experience.
00:53:22.64\00:53:24.91
Daniel in the lions' den.
00:53:25.20\00:53:26.84
His three
friends in the furnace.
00:53:26.87\00:53:28.38
How were they going to stand?
00:53:28.41\00:53:30.18
What were they going to do?
Were they going to trust God?
00:53:30.21\00:53:32.47
In the context of
prophecy, you have
00:53:32.50\00:53:34.13
practical Christian experience.
00:53:34.16\00:53:35.30
Same in Revelation.
00:53:35.33\00:53:36.59
In the context of
these prophecies, you have
00:53:36.62\00:53:38.54
this picture of Christ.
00:53:38.57\00:53:40.13
He's with us, just like He
was with those in the furnace.
00:53:40.42\00:53:43.16
He's with us in the churches.
00:53:43.19\00:53:45.06
When we're confronted with
trials and we're confronted with
00:53:45.09\00:53:47.42
a revelation of
ourselves, Jesus is there.
00:53:47.45\00:53:49.66
He's not giving up on us.
00:53:49.69\00:53:50.94
He's prevailing
where we're failing.
00:53:50.97\00:53:52.11
Connect with Him and you'll go
forth conquering and to conquer.
00:53:52.14\00:53:54.99
And as we move through
the book of Revelation,
00:53:55.20\00:53:57.08
we have this layer of
Christianity, of practical
00:53:57.19\00:54:00.46
Christian experience,
that God reveals to us
00:54:00.49\00:54:02.62
in order for us to understand
how important the Lamb is
00:54:02.65\00:54:07.14
to each one of us.
00:54:07.17\00:54:08.39
So important are
these principles that a
00:54:08.59\00:54:11.37
certain time in
history, specifically 1776,
00:54:11.40\00:54:14.56
a whole nation rose up
founded upon the principles
00:54:14.59\00:54:19.21
of the Lamb.
00:54:19.24\00:54:20.29
The Lamb-like
principles of religious liberty
00:54:20.32\00:54:23.02
and civil liberty.
00:54:23.05\00:54:24.08
The Lamb-like principles
that are preserved for us
00:54:24.11\00:54:29.10
by the event of
Calvary, that are revealed to us
00:54:29.13\00:54:32.29
all through the Bible.
00:54:32.32\00:54:33.54
The truth has been
disclosed and an entire nation
00:54:33.79\00:54:36.93
has taken hold of it.
00:54:36.96\00:54:38.21
And it's going to take some
time, it has taken some time,
00:54:39.25\00:54:43.24
for the enemy of
souls to subtly and slowly,
00:54:45.35\00:54:51.18
step by step, day by day,
month by month, year by year,
00:54:51.58\00:54:56.40
undermine those principles,
working against those principles
00:54:56.43\00:55:02.48
until finally that entire
nation that was grounded upon,
00:55:02.51\00:55:07.12
founded upon, the
principles of religious liberty
00:55:07.15\00:55:09.25
and civil liberty
begins to speak like a dragon.
00:55:09.28\00:55:13.85
We are living in that time.
00:55:15.18\00:55:18.82
We are there right now.
00:55:19.25\00:55:20.89
And God not only wants
us to recognize our history,
00:55:21.69\00:55:24.90
our prophetic history, history
that is true to the records...
00:55:24.93\00:55:29.70
It's not just in the
Bible, we can read about it.
00:55:29.73\00:55:32.12
We know, we know, we
know just looking back
00:55:32.15\00:55:35.55
in the history books that
this is fact, this is truth.
00:55:35.58\00:55:38.30
Now all the
details aren't there.
00:55:38.33\00:55:39.98
But He wants us to recognize
that this history is leading us
00:55:40.61\00:55:43.61
to a final crisis, a
final trial if you will.
00:55:43.64\00:55:46.39
And the only thing that's
going to keep us in that trial
00:55:46.70\00:55:48.88
is that we hold
to the principles.
00:55:48.91\00:55:52.75
It doesn't
matter who compromises,
00:55:53.17\00:55:55.29
doesn't matter who changes,
doesn't matter who gives up.
00:55:55.32\00:55:57.89
In Daniel's day he was
prepared by Isaiah and Jeremiah.
00:55:57.92\00:56:01.86
He listened to the prophecies
and this young man was ready.
00:56:01.89\00:56:05.07
And God wants
us to be ready too.
00:56:05.10\00:56:06.66
And we can point at the churches
and we can point at other people
00:56:07.18\00:56:09.78
and we can make excuses
for what is taking place
00:56:09.81\00:56:13.79
in this country and in this
world, but when it comes down
00:56:13.82\00:56:17.74
to the very end we will
have not excuse to give to God
00:56:17.77\00:56:22.68
for our actions
and our behavior.
00:56:22.71\00:56:24.57
God is calling us to be
like Jesus no matter what.
00:56:25.07\00:56:27.56
To stand true to
God no matter what.
00:56:27.74\00:56:29.87
And that is going to be the
final test for each one of us.
00:56:30.00\00:56:32.92
And I believe Bible prophecy
is going to prepare us for that.
00:56:32.95\00:56:36.02
Now what it means is
that we will love others
00:56:36.05\00:56:39.22
in spite of the
way they treat us.
00:56:39.32\00:56:41.38
The failure that I
experienced on that plane
00:56:42.99\00:56:46.60
when my cookies were crumbled
was that I didn't open the bag,
00:56:47.22\00:56:52.13
find one that was still whole,
00:56:52.16\00:56:53.25
and offer it to
the flight attendant.
00:56:53.28\00:56:55.23
We're not always
ready to deny ourselves
00:56:57.39\00:57:01.22
the way Jesus Christ did
when He, on the cross said,
00:57:01.25\00:57:04.00
"Father, forgiven them for
they know not what they do."
00:57:04.03\00:57:07.45
That is the test we face.
00:57:07.78\00:57:09.48
That is the test before us.
00:57:09.51\00:57:10.88
And the little
annoyances that we face today
00:57:10.98\00:57:13.06
are preparing us for that test.
00:57:13.26\00:57:15.20
May each one of us
stand faithful in that time
00:57:15.53\00:57:18.37
is my prayer tonight.
00:57:18.57\00:57:19.91
Let's pray together.
00:57:20.21\00:57:21.32
Father, thank You
this evening for Your Word,
00:57:21.81\00:57:24.05
for Your prophetic
Word, for the picture
00:57:24.08\00:57:25.95
in Daniel and Revelation.
00:57:26.27\00:57:27.48
A picture that guides
us in the path to heaven.
00:57:27.51\00:57:31.09