Participants: Pastor Stephen Bohr
Series Code: CGC
Program Code: CGC000022
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01:12 Shall we bow our heads for prayer?
01:14 Our Father in heaven, we thank you so much once again 01:17 for the privilege of being here. 01:19 We're hungering and thirsting for Your Word. 01:23 We want to know what Your will is. 01:26 And as we study this awesome subject - 01:28 The Antichrist and the Number 666- 01:31 we especially ask for the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. 01:36 We ask for divine guidance and wisdom. 01:39 And give us tender hearts to receive what You have for us. 01:44 We thank you for hearing our prayer. 01:46 For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. 01:50 I'd like to begin by reviewing 01:54 Revelation chapter 12 01:56 which was our subject of study in our last lecture. 02:00 And basically this chapter is 02:02 foundational for the lecture 02:05 tonight and the lecture for tomorrow night. 02:09 Because Revelation chapter 12 shows the different stages 02:14 of the controversy between Christ and Satan 02:17 and it shows that the culprit behind the scenes 02:22 is the devil. 02:24 In other words, Revelation 12 connects with Genesis 3:15. 02:29 Now in the subject that we're going to study tonight 02:33 which is Daniel chapter 7 and Revelation 13 02:36 the connection is not as obvious because Genesis 3:15 02:41 is not mentioned in connection with these prophecies. 02:45 But with the background of Revelation chapter 12 02:48 you see that Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 02:52 are to be understood within the context of Revelation 12 02:56 because they follow the same order of events, 02:58 the same sequence. 03:00 Now I'm going to go quickly through Revelation chapter 12 03:03 and review what we studied in our last lecture. 03:06 We find there a woman 03:11 who is with Child. 03:13 She's pregnant. 03:15 When John sees her, the Child has not been born yet. 03:19 Right? Which means that this represents the church 03:23 in which period? In the Old Testament period 03:27 before Jesus is born. 03:29 But then we notice that the Child is born, 03:32 and what power is ruling at that time? 03:35 The... Rome, yes... but what is it called? The dragon. 03:41 The dragon stood next to the woman to devour her Child 03:45 as soon as the Child was born. 03:47 And so you go from the Old Testament - 03:50 the woman being pregnant, the Child not born yet - 03:53 and you move on to the dragon 03:55 who wants to devour the Child as soon as the Child is born. 03:59 The Child is born, but He is protected by God. 04:04 And of course, this Child is none less than Jesus. 04:08 Now how many horns did that dragon beast have? 04:11 The dragon beast had 10 horns. 04:14 And we're going to notice in our study today that those 10 horns 04:17 were not always on the head of the dragon. 04:20 We're going to find that the dragon ruled for a while 04:22 by himself and later on in the period of dominion 04:27 of the dragon the 10 horns sprouted out 04:30 after the kingdom had governed for a while. 04:33 And then you remember that you have a period 04:36 of 1,260 days... 04:39 also called time, times, and the dividing of time 04:43 in which the woman has to flee to the wilderness. 04:46 And who wants to devour the woman? 04:48 Once again... who? The dragon. 04:52 Who's behind all of these events? 04:54 The dragon. In fact, he's called 04:56 "that ancient serpent, the dragon, and Satan. " 04:59 That's the connection with Genesis 3 verse 15. 05:02 In other words, behind all of these earthly kingdoms 05:04 and powers is who? The ancient serpent 05:08 of the Garden of Eden: the devil and Satan. 05:10 And so you have 1,260 years where the dragon or the serpent 05:14 is persecuting the woman. 05:17 But the woman flees to the wilderness and she's preserved 05:19 by God in the midst of the persecution. 05:22 And then, something comes to the rescue of the woman. 05:26 What came to the rescue of the woman? 05:28 The earth helped the woman who was being persecuted. 05:33 And how did the earth help the woman? 05:35 By swallowing up the waters of persecution 05:39 that the serpent spewed out of his mouth. 05:41 And the waters represent multitudes, nations, tongues 05:44 and people. In other words, the earth stops persecution. 05:49 Is the dragon happy about this? 05:52 No! Because in the very last verse of chapter 12 05:56 it said: "Then the dragon was wroth or was angry with 06:00 the woman. " After the earth helps the woman 06:04 the dragon is angry with the woman 06:07 and goes to make war with the remnant of her seed 06:10 who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony 06:14 of Jesus Christ. 06:16 Who is behind these three principal stages 06:20 of Revelation 12? 06:22 It is the dragon or the ancient serpent. 06:25 First he wants to kill the Child. 06:27 Secondly he persecutes the woman 06:29 in the wilderness for 1,260 years 06:32 and lastly he persecutes the last remnant of God 06:36 who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony 06:39 of Jesus Christ. So we've moved from the Old Testament 06:43 to Rome to the 10 kingdoms which are the divisions of Rome 06:47 to the 1,260 years of persecution 06:51 to a period when persecution comes to an end - 06:56 at least for a while - and then to the final persecution 07:00 of God's people at the very end of time. 07:03 Now, we need to compare with this Daniel chapter 2. 07:07 Let's follow the sequence of Daniel chapter 2. 07:11 And you don't even have to look up the chapter because 07:12 this is just review. In Daniel chapter 2 you have 07:16 a great image. The head of the image is made of what? 07:19 Gold. The breast and arms of silver are composed of? 07:23 Silver. The belly is made of bronze. 07:27 By the way, are all of these Old Testament kingdoms? 07:32 Are Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece Old Testament kingdoms? 07:37 Yes they are. 07:38 And then you have a fourth beast or a fourth power 07:43 represented by the legs of the image. 07:46 What were the legs composed of? They were composed of iron. 07:50 What kingdom is represented by the legs of iron? 07:53 It is Rome... because you have Babylon, Medo-Persia, 07:57 Greece, and Rome. 07:59 So does Daniel 2 also begin in the Old Testament 08:02 like Revelation 12? Yes it does. 08:04 Revelation 12, after speaking about the woman 08:08 being in travail, she has the Child. 08:10 The dragon wants to kill the Child. 08:12 Let me ask you: in Daniel chapter 2 08:15 which is the kingdom that actually was governing the world 08:19 when Jesus was born? It was the legs of what? 08:24 Of iron. In other words, the legs of iron 08:26 are the same as what? Are the same as the dragon 08:30 wanting to slay the male Child. 08:33 Raise your hand if you're understanding what I'm saying. 08:35 See, we need to follow the sequence. This is very simple. 08:37 I mean you don't have to guess about when the antichrist 08:40 is going to appear and what he's going to do. 08:42 Because when you study the sequence - the historical flow - 08:46 you know exactly where to look for the antichrist. 08:49 And so then you have in Daniel chapter 2 08:52 the legs of iron. That's the same as the period 08:55 when the dragon wants to kill the Child. 08:57 And let me ask you: how many toes did the image have? 09:01 It had ten toes, right? 09:04 Now let me ask you: how many horns did the dragon have? 09:06 It had ten horns. 09:08 Are we running parallel here? 09:11 We most certainly are. 09:12 Now you remember that in Daniel chapter 2 09:15 there were ten toes. And they had iron, 09:18 which means that Rome continues. 09:20 But then there's an added element which was not there 09:23 before. And what is it? 09:24 Clay. What does the clay represent? 09:27 We studied it. It represents the church. 09:30 A different kind of what? A different kind of Rome. 09:34 Are you following me? 09:35 Now would that be parallel to the 1,260 years? 09:39 Is that a continuation of Rome? Yes it is. 09:43 Is it a period of amalgamation between church and state? 09:47 Those 1,260 years? 09:49 Yes! So what we have during the 1,260 years 09:53 is parallel to the mixture of the iron and the clay. 09:58 Now there's something that is not mentioned directly 10:00 in Daniel chapter 2. 10:02 You'll notice that the mixture of iron and clay 10:05 lasts from the time that Rome is divided 10:08 all the way till Jesus sets up His everlasting kingdom. 10:12 Are you following me? 10:13 But what Daniel chapter 2 doesn't tell you 10:16 is what Revelation 12 does. 10:19 And that is that this power that persecutes God's people 10:23 is going to have two stages of existence. 10:25 And we're going to study that in our lecture this evening. 10:28 The first stage lasts how long? 10:31 1,260 years. 10:35 But is that the end of this power? 10:38 That is not the end of this power 10:40 because the Bible tells us that this power is going to last 10:44 until when? Until Jesus comes. 10:47 Which means that if it has a period of dominion 10:49 of 1,260 years at some point after that 10:52 its power must be what? Suspended. 10:56 But in order to rule until Jesus comes 10:59 its power must be what? 11:02 Its power must be restored 11:04 and it must have a second period of dominion. 11:07 Now are you understanding my point? 11:09 This is a very important point. 11:11 The feet of iron and clay in Daniel chapter 2 11:14 simply tell you that there's going to be a mixture of iron 11:16 and clay until Jesus comes to set up His everlasting kingdom. 11:19 It doesn't give you any impression that the feet 11:22 of iron and clay is going to have two stages. 11:25 But Revelation chapter 12 does give you that information 11:29 because it says that this power that persecutes God's church 11:32 is going to last for 1,260 years 11:35 and then it says that the earth helps the woman. 11:38 And after the earth helps the woman by stopping 11:40 the persecution we're told that the dragon is enraged 11:43 with the woman and goes to make war against her again. 11:48 Raise your hand if you're understanding what I'm saying. 11:50 This is of critical importance. 11:52 Now we need to go to 11:54 Daniel chapter 7... 11:56 which is one of the two chapters 11:57 of study. We're also going to 11:59 study Revelation 13 and verses 1 through 10. 12:02 Daniel chapter 7. 12:05 Now allow me to mention here 12:07 the sequence that we find in Daniel chapter 7. 12:12 First thing that I want us to notice is that in this chapter 12:15 we have four beasts. 12:19 And according to Daniel 7 and verse 17 12:22 these four beasts represent four kings or kingdoms. 12:26 It says there: 12:31 And we've already studied that kings and kingdoms are what? 12:35 Are interchangeable 12:38 because there is no such thing as a king without a kingdom. 12:41 In other words, these four beasts 12:43 represent four kingdoms. 12:46 Now let me ask you: just perhaps do you think 12:49 that maybe these four beasts represent the same thing 12:52 as the four metals in Daniel chapter 2? 12:55 What do you think? 12:57 How many metals were there in Daniel chapter 2? 12:59 Four. There was gold, silver, bronze, and iron. 13:04 In Daniel chapter 7 we have four beasts. 13:08 The four beasts represent four kingdoms. 13:10 Do the four metals in Daniel chapter 2 13:13 represent four kingdoms? Absolutely. 13:16 And so Daniel 7 is actually running parallel 13:20 to the prophecy of Daniel chapter 2. 13:23 Now, we need to interpret some of the symbols here. 13:28 It says there in Daniel chapter 7 13:31 that these beasts come forth from waters. 13:36 From raging waters. 13:39 Now what do waters represent in scripture? 13:42 Isaiah 17 and verses 12 and 13 tells us what waters represent. 13:47 Let's go there for a moment: 13:48 Isaiah chapter 17 and verses 12 and 13. 13:55 Here we find the following words. It says: 14:10 What do waters represent? 14:12 They represent the tumult among what? Among nations. 14:17 By the way, it also says in Daniel chapter 7:2-3 14:21 that the beasts arise in the midst of the combating of the 14:25 four winds of heaven. 14:27 Now what do winds represent in scripture? 14:30 Well, let's turn in our Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 4 14:34 and verse 13. Jeremiah chapter 4 and verse 13. 14:40 There we find what the winds represent. 14:43 Actually they represent strife or war. 14:46 It says there: 15:03 In other words, the winds represent invading armies. 15:07 They represent wars. 15:09 The waters represent the tumult of nations. 15:12 In other words, these four kingdoms arise 15:14 in the midst of what? In the midst of war. 15:19 Now you need to remember that because in our next lecture 15:22 we're going to notice that there's another beast 15:23 in Revelation 13. 15:26 It does not arise from waters. 15:28 There are no winds. 15:30 It arises silently from the earth. 15:34 That's the reason why I am mentioning this this evening 15:37 because we need to understand that these four beasts 15:40 actually arise in the midst of warfare. In fact, 15:43 if you read Daniel chapter 7 you'll discover that one beast 15:48 devours the previous beast and rules. 15:50 Then the next beast devours that one 15:52 and the following beast devours that one. 15:55 Just like in Daniel chapter 2 you have a sequence of nations. 15:59 Now I'm just going to mention very quickly 16:02 the sequence of beasts in Daniel 7 16:06 so you have it clear in your mind. 16:08 First of all you have a lion. 16:12 What would the lion be equivalent to in Daniel 2? 16:16 The head of what? Gold... Babylon. 16:20 Secondly, you have a bear. 16:23 What would the bear be equivalent to? 16:26 The breast and arms of silver; the Medes and Persians. 16:29 Then you have a leopard beast. 16:33 What would the leopard beast be equivalent to? 16:35 It would be equivalent to the belly of what? Of bronze. 16:39 Then you have a terrible dragon beast that has iron teeth. 16:45 Now I want you to notice that. 16:46 A dragon beast that has iron teeth. 16:49 Which kingdom in Daniel 2 would that be equivalent to? 16:52 It would be equivalent to the legs of what? Of iron. 16:57 Now you'll notice in Daniel 7 that it speaks about this 17:01 dragon beast having ten what? Having ten horns. 17:05 Is this running parallel to Daniel chapter 2? 17:08 Is it running parallel to Revelation chapter 12? 17:10 It most certainly is. And we're going to notice 17:12 that Revelation 13 further amplifies this point. 17:16 So I want you to notice that you have this 4th dragon beast 17:19 who sprouts ten horns 17:23 and then among the ten horns rises what? 17:27 A little horn. 17:29 Now let's go to Daniel chapter 7 17:31 and read verses 23 and 24. 17:35 Daniel chapter 7 and verses 23 and 24. 17:41 I want you to notice that this fourth beast 17:43 has three stages of existence. 17:47 Three stages of existence. 17:49 Daniel chapter 7 and verse 23: 18:08 Now notice this: 18:16 Let me ask you: does the kingdom exist before the ten horns arise 18:19 from it? Does the kingdom rule for a period of time 18:23 before it sprouts the horns? 18:25 Yes. So Daniel 7 is explaining 18:28 that in Revelation chapter 12 where it speaks about the dragon 18:32 with ten horns, the ten horns were not there from the 18:35 beginning. The ten horns came out after 18:38 the dragon ruled for a period. Are you with me or not? 18:41 Now let's notice what it continues saying in verse 24. 18:58 So do you notice the sequence? 19:00 How many stages does this dragon beast have? 19:03 It has three stages of existence. 19:06 One is as a simple dragon. 19:09 Two: 10 horns coming from the head of that simple dragon. 19:13 And three: coming from among the ten the little horn. 19:18 Is this clear in your mind? 19:20 Now if the fourth kingdom represents Rome 19:23 and the ten horns come from the head 19:26 of the dragon beast, and the little horn 19:28 comes from the head of the dragon beast 19:30 that must mean that all three of these stages 19:33 are Roman stages. 19:37 Are you understanding? 19:39 Now, let's go to examine then 19:44 who this little horn represents. 19:48 I want to review once again. 19:49 It's important that we understand the sequence. 19:51 We have a lion... Babylon. 19:54 A bear... Medo-Persia. 19:56 A leopard... Greece. 19:58 A dragon... Rome. 20:00 The dragon sprouts ten horns. 20:02 The ten divisions of Rome which is Western Europe today. 20:06 Then among the ten horns the little horn. 20:09 By the way, the little horn would be equivalent to the clay 20:14 in Daniel chapter 2... 20:16 the added element that was not there before. 20:18 Because Rome continues in the feet because there's iron 20:21 in the feet, but now there's something that's different. 20:24 We're going to notice that the little horn is different 20:26 than that fourth beast and different than the other horns. 20:30 In other words, the clay 20:33 is the same thing as 20:35 the little horn. 20:37 And by the way, in Daniel chapter 7 20:41 you have the little horn. In Revelation chapter 12 20:44 you have what? The 1,260 years of persecution 20:49 of the woman. That would be equivalent to the clay 20:52 and to the period of the little horn. 20:54 Now, the question always comes up 20:57 who is this little horn. 20:59 Who is the antichrist? 21:01 Well, there have been different ideas throughout the course 21:06 of the last couple of hundred years. 21:08 I remember people saying that Benito Mussolini 21:12 would be the antichrist. Not so. 21:16 Others said that Adolph Hitler. 21:19 Others said perhaps Henry Kissinger. 21:22 I don't know whether you heard that but I did hear that. 21:26 Others said that the Ayatollah Khomeini... 21:29 that nasty guy from Iran - you remember? - that held our men 21:33 hostage. Others more recently said that the antichrist 21:36 perhaps was Saddam Hussein. 21:39 It seems like every time a nasty guy appears on the scene 21:42 of history he's a candidate in the minds of Christians 21:46 for the antichrist. Now my question is: 21:48 do we need to determine the identity of antichrist 21:52 by guesswork? 21:54 I don't think so, because the Bible gives us 21:57 clearly the characteristics of the antichrist. 22:00 Now, let's notice... I'm going to share with you 22:03 ten characteristics from Daniel chapter 7 22:07 and then I'm going to share with you two characteristics 22:10 from Revelation chapter 13 22:11 and you're going to know who the antichrist is. 22:14 First characteristics: Daniel 7 and verse 24. 22:18 Go with me to Daniel chapter 7 and verse 24. 22:22 We just read that verse but let's read it again. 22:25 It says: 22:31 That is from which kingdom? 22:33 From the fourth kingdom... from Rome. 22:39 Where does the little horn rise from? 22:42 From the head of what? From the head of the dragon beast. 22:45 Everybody agreed? What does the dragon beast represent? 22:48 Rome. So is this horn Roman? 22:54 Or is it perhaps Syria? 22:57 Can't be, because the fourth beast is not Syria. 23:00 The fourth beast is Rome. 23:02 So if the little horn comes from the fourth beast 23:05 and the fourth beast is Rome, 23:06 this little horn must be Roman. 23:09 It must be one of the stages of Rome. 23:12 Not the united Empire of Rome. 23:14 Not the Rome that was divided into ten kingdoms 23:18 but a Rome that came up after the ten kingdoms came up. 23:22 Now, first characteristic then. 23:25 It must be a Roman power. 23:29 Second characteristic: it must arise after the ten horns 23:33 are in place. Did you notice that in verse 24? 23:37 It says that after the ten horns will arise this horn. 23:42 So let me ask you: are the ten horns in place 23:45 when the little horn rises? 23:47 Of course. Now when were the ten horns in place? 23:51 You could read the document that I refer you to 23:54 that you can download at SecretsUnsealed. org 23:58 And I have an abundance of information there on how 24:01 the ten kingdoms were all established 24:04 in the year 476 AD when the last Roman emperor 24:09 Romulus Augustulus was deposed from his throne. 24:12 There were no emperors after him. The kingdom had been 24:15 divided by the Barbarian tribes that invaded from the north. 24:19 So we must expect that the antichrist 24:22 will rise from Rome. It will be Roman. 24:26 And it will arise after what date? 24:29 It will rise after the year what? 24:32 After the year 476 AD which is when the ten horns 24:36 are complete. 24:38 Now let's go to our third characteristic. 24:41 Daniel chapter 7 and verse 8. 24:44 Daniel chapter 7 and verse 8. 24:49 Here we find another interesting and important characteristic 24:54 of this little horn. It says: 25:05 Where does the little horn come up? 25:08 Among what? When it says "them" what is it referring to? 25:12 Among the ten. 25:14 Now where were the ten located geographically? 25:18 It was in Western Europe. 25:20 Was Rome divided into ten kingdoms? 25:23 Absolutely. Was that the territory of what had been Rome? 25:27 Obviously yes. 25:28 And so the little horn was going to arise among 25:32 the divisions of Western Europe. 25:34 Of course you're saying: "If it's a Roman power, 25:37 it must be in Western Europe. " 25:39 But this is an added emphasis 25:43 to - exclamation point - to the idea that this power 25:47 is Roman. Because first of all it comes from the head of the 25:50 fourth beast which represents Rome 25:52 and secondly it comes among the ten 25:55 which are the divisions of the Roman Empire. 25:58 So we have three characteristics so far. 26:00 Number one: it must be Roman. 26:02 Number two: it must rise after the year 476 AD. 26:05 Number three: it must arise in Western Europe 26:08 because it rises after the ten horns are there. 26:11 Characteristic number four: 26:13 notice Daniel chapter 7 and verse 8 once again. 26:17 Daniel chapter 7 and verse 8. 26:19 Here we find another interesting characteristic. 26:22 It says there in verse 8: 26:24 "I was considering the horns and there was another horn, 26:27 a little one, coming up among them. " 26:39 What did this horn do when it rose to power? 26:43 It uprooted three of the ten horns. 26:47 So you must find in history of Western Europe 26:51 some power which uprooted three of the ten Barbarian 26:56 kingdoms which established their nations there in 27:00 Western Europe. You must have a power that uprooted three 27:03 of the ten horns in Western Europe. 27:05 Characteristic number five: Daniel chapter 7 and verse 25. 27:11 Daniel chapter 7 and verse 25 27:14 has our fifth characteristic. 27:17 And it says there in Daniel 7 and verse 25... 27:22 And there's several character- istics actually in this verse 27:25 that we're going to come to. But it says there: 27:36 Now Revelation 13 that we're coming to a little bit later on 27:40 says that the pompous words are what? 27:42 Blasphemies. 27:45 In other words, this power would speak blasphemies 27:48 against the Most High. The pompous words 27:51 or the great words are blasphemies. 27:53 Now what is blasphemy? 27:56 Well, there are two key texts in the New Testament 28:00 which describe blasphemy. There are others, but two 28:02 key ones in relationship to what we're studying. 28:04 The first is in Mark chapter 2 and verse 7 28:07 where... remember Jesus said to the paralytic 28:10 "Your sins are forgiven. " 28:12 Did Jesus have the right to forgive sins? 28:15 Why? Because He was God! Right? 28:19 But what did those who were present there say about Him? 28:29 So let me ask you: if a man claims to have power to forgive 28:32 sins and he's not God, what is that? 28:35 That is blasphemy. 28:36 The other important text is in John chapter 10 verses 30-33 28:42 where Jesus says "I and the Father are One. " 29:03 So blasphemy is when a mere man claims to have the power 29:08 to forgive sins and claims to be God on earth. 29:13 Those are the pompous words of the little horn. 29:16 Are you starting to catch an interesting picture here? 29:19 We're letting the Bible 29:20 interpret who this power is. 29:22 It's not some nasty individual 29:23 who's going to rise in the Middle East 29:25 some time in the future. 29:26 The devil wants people to think that 29:28 because meanwhile the antichrist grows in Rome 29:30 and nobody notices it because they're looking 29:32 in the wrong place. Hello? Do you think the devil 29:36 would want Christians to look for the antichrist 29:37 in the wrong place at the wrong time... the wrong person? 29:41 Obviously yes, because the devil can do whatever he pleases. 29:44 Now the sixth characteristic. 29:46 Daniel chapter 7 and verse 24. 29:49 Daniel chapter 7 and verse 24 29:52 says something very interesting about this little horn. 29:55 Daniel 7 and verse 24. It says here: 30:12 Is this little horn different than the other ten? 30:15 Yes or no? Absolutely! 30:18 Was the clay in the feet different than all of the metals 30:22 that came before it? Absolutely! 30:24 So this kingdom's going to be different 30:27 because it's not only going to be a kingdom like iron 30:31 of Rome but it's going to be an amalgamated kingdom. 30:35 It's going to be a blended or mixed kingdom. 30:38 A kingdom that blends or mixes what? 30:41 Church and state. 30:44 So we're supposed to look for a power that is different. 30:47 It's not a mere political power like all of the rest 30:49 of the kingdoms. It is a different type of kingdom 30:53 just like the mixture of iron and clay is a different type 30:55 of kingdom because all of the others were metals 30:58 whereas the feet are a combination of metal and clay. 31:04 And so #6 is that this power has to be different. 31:08 Characteristic number seven. 31:10 Notice Daniel chapter 7 and verse 21. 31:14 Daniel chapter 7 and verse 21. 31:18 Here we find in this verse as well as in verse 25 31:22 the same idea. It says: 31:32 What did this horn do? 31:34 He persecuted who? He persecuted the saints. 31:38 Notice verse 25. It says in verse 25: 31:48 Was this little horn going to be a persecuting power 31:51 against the saints? Absolutely. 31:53 By the way, do you know what it means by saints there? 31:56 It's the same as the woman who fled to the wilderness. 32:01 What does a woman represent in prophecy? 32:03 It represents the church. 32:04 So when it says that he persecuted the saints 32:06 what's it talking about? It says that he persecuted what? 32:10 The church. So let me ask you: 32:11 was the established church in the Middle Ages the true church? 32:16 You want to know what the true church was in the Middle Ages? 32:20 All you have to do is see which church persecuTED 32:23 and which church was the persecuTOR. 32:28 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 32:30 There were two churches during this period. 32:33 There was the established church 32:35 who persecuted the saints or the woman 32:38 and there was the true church 32:39 which is represented by the woman. 32:42 You say: "How is this possible? " 32:44 Do you know that all throughout human history 32:47 the greatest enemies of God's people have been others 32:49 who claimed to be God's people? 32:52 It began with Cain and Abel. 32:54 Cain claimed to serve the true God. 32:55 He killed his brother. 32:57 In the Old Testament those who hated the prophets 32:59 were the very nation that they were sent to... 33:01 people who claimed to serve God. 33:03 Jesus Christ was crucified by those who claimed to serve God. 33:08 And during the Middle Ages God's people, God's true people, 33:11 were persecuted by a church that claimed to be on God's side. 33:15 And Jesus says in the end time in John chapter 16 33:18 He says: "The time is coming when those who persecute you 33:21 will think that they're doing God a favor. " 33:24 So that's nothing new under the sun. 33:27 In other words, this power would be a church that would 33:30 persecute God's true people. 33:32 And we're going to notice that it was during a specific period 33:35 of time. Now let's go back to Daniel 7 verse 25 33:38 for characteristic number eight. 33:40 Daniel 7 and verse 25: characteristic number eight. 33:45 It says here: 34:00 Let's stop there. 34:02 "And shall intend to change... " What? 34:04 Times. Now you say: "What does that mean to change times? " 34:08 I'm going to explain it very quickly. 34:10 We don't have time to read the verses. 34:12 You have them in your list. 34:14 Acts 1:7 Jesus says: "It's not for you to know the times 34:18 or the seasons that God has placed under His own power. " 34:22 By the way, He's talking about prophetic events, isn't He? 34:24 Not for you to know the sequence of prophetic events. 34:27 God has those in secret. 34:29 The apostle Paul say in I Thessalonians 5 and verse 1 34:32 he says: "Regarding the times and the seasons I don't need to 34:35 talk to you about that. " And then he begins talking 34:36 about the prophecies concerning the second coming of Jesus. 34:40 And so the word "times" in scripture 34:43 when it's in a prophetic context is referring to events 34:48 that are in God's prophetic calendar. 34:50 God's prophetic calendar of events. 34:53 In other words, how history is going to develop. 34:57 By the way, do you know that after Daniel chapter 2 35:00 Nebuchadnezzar did not like what he saw. 35:03 Do you know he tried to change God's times? 35:07 'Cause God said there's going to be Babylon, Medo-Persia, 35:10 Greece, Rome, Rome is going to be divided in ten, 35:13 and then among those ten is going to rise a little horn. 35:15 Then God's going to set up His everlasting kingdom. 35:16 And Nebuchadnezzar - by the way, that's Daniel 7 35:19 but Daniel 2 is the same idea - 35:21 Nebuchadnezzar said: "That's not the way it's going to be. " 35:25 And so what he did in Daniel 3 35:27 was raise up an image all of gold. 35:29 He's saying: "History's not going to flow that way! 35:32 It's going to flow the way I say. " 35:34 He was trying to change the order of prophetic events 35:38 that God had established. 35:39 So what would this little horn try to do? 35:42 He would try to change God's prophetic calendar of events. 35:48 In other words, he would point people to the wrong place, 35:51 the wrong time, and the wrong powers as fulfillment of Bible 35:56 prophecy. By the way, I did a series here a while back 35:59 specifically on the changing of the times. 36:03 A whole one-hour lecture on everything that the Bible says 36:06 about changing the times. 36:08 This little horn, in other words, thought that it could 36:11 change God's sequence of events, the fulfillment of prophecy, 36:16 as God had indicated that it was going to be fulfilled. 36:19 Now what else would this little horn think about changing? 36:23 It says there in Daniel 7 verse 25 36:26 "he shall think to change times and... " What? 36:30 "and the law. " 36:33 He was even going to intend or to attempt 36:38 to change what? God's holy law. 36:42 Not only God's prophetic calendar but he was going to 36:46 stick his hand in God's law and attempt in some way 36:48 to change the law. Notice it doesn't say 36:50 that he was going to abolish the law. 36:52 It says that he was going to try to change it. 36:57 And then I want you to notice the tenth characteristic. 36:59 And we're going to review them in a minute 37:01 in case you lost track of the number. 37:03 Notice once again Daniel chapter 7 and verse 25. 37:07 How long was this power going to rule? 37:10 Daniel chapter 7 and verse 25. 37:14 It says here... Daniel 7 and verse 25... the following: 37:18 "He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, 37:21 shall persecute the saints of the Most High, 37:23 he shall intend to change times and law... " 37:38 Is this the same time period that the woman fled to the 37:40 wilderness in Revelation 12? 37:42 Or, is this the same sequence? 37:43 You're not with me tonight, are you? 37:45 Is this an orderly way of studying Bible prophecy? 37:49 I mean, this is not guesswork. 37:51 When you follow the historical flow method 37:53 you know exactly where you are 37:54 at each moment in the flow of history. 37:57 It's that simple. 37:59 You don't have to guess because it jumps out at you 38:02 when you know that you're going to have Babylon, 38:04 Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, 38:07 Rome was going to be divided 38:08 into ten kingdoms 476 AD 38:10 and then shortly thereafter 38:12 a little horn was going to arise 38:14 which fulfills all of these specifications. 38:16 Now what are the ten characteristics? 38:18 Quickly. Number one: it must be Roman. 38:20 Number two: it must rise after the ten horns. 38:23 Number three: it must arise among the ten horns... 38:25 that is, in Western Europe. 38:27 Number four: it must pluck out three of the ten horns. 38:30 Number five: it must speak blasphemy against God. 38:33 It must claim to be God on earth 38:35 and it must claim to have the power to forgive sins 38:37 in other words. Number six: it must be different 38:40 than the other kingdoms. 38:41 Number seven: it must be a persecutor of God's people. 38:44 Number eight: it must have sought to change 38:47 God's order of prophetic events. 38:50 Number nine: it thought that it could change the law of God. 38:54 And number ten: it ruled for time, times, 38:58 and the dividing of time. 39:00 How many of you think that you know what power this is? 39:06 Do you really have to guess if you know history? 39:09 Now, we need to take a look at Revelation 13 39:14 because this completes the picture. 39:17 We have two more characteristics that I want to underline 39:20 in Revelation 13. 39:22 Let's go to Revelation 13 verses 1 and 2. 39:25 Revelation 13 and verses 1 and 2. 39:31 And you're going to tell me if this has any connection with 39:33 Daniel or whether I'm guessing. 39:35 By the way, who is the power behind all of these kingdoms 39:39 in Daniel chapter 7? 39:41 Who's really behind the little horn? 39:44 I mean, do you have to be a rocket scientist to figure out 39:47 that in Revelation chapter 12 it's the dragon, 39:50 the ancient serpent, that goes after the woman? 39:52 And in Daniel 7 it says that the little horn is the one 39:55 that goes after the saints. Do you have to really be 39:57 that intelligent to know that the little horn is really 40:00 the emissary of Satan? 40:03 You're not following me. 40:05 See? Revelation 12 gives you the background - 40:08 who's behind the scenes - 40:11 whereas Daniel chapter 7 talks about the up-front guy... 40:15 the power that the devil uses to persecute the saints 40:18 of the Most High. Revelation 13 verse 1: 40:35 Now notice verse 2... critical verse: 40:44 What does that scream at you? 40:46 Go back to Daniel 7. 40:50 By the way, do you notice the order of the powers here? 40:53 In Daniel 7 it is lion, bear, leopard, dragon. 41:00 In Revelation 13 it's dragon, leopard, bear, lion. 41:05 Do you know why? Because Daniel is living in the 41:07 period of the lion and he's looking forward 41:09 whereas John is living in the period of the dragon 41:12 and he's looking backwards. 41:15 Are you understanding my point? 41:17 Now notice it says there's four beasts here. 41:20 It says in verse 2: "Now the beast which I saw 41:22 was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, 41:25 his mouth like the mouth of a lion and the dragon... " 41:28 There you have the fourth beast. 41:29 "The dragon... " By the way, how many horns does that dragon 41:31 have? It's the same one of Revelation 12. It has 10 horns. 41:36 "The dragon gave him his power, his throne, 41:39 and... " What? "and great authority. " 41:44 So you have lion, bear, leopard, dragon, and beast. 41:51 In the prophecy of Daniel 7 you have lion, bear, 41:56 leopard, dragon, ten horns, and what? 42:02 And what? And little horn. 42:05 Are these prophecies running parallel? 42:08 Yes they are. 42:09 So is the little horn the same as the beast? 42:14 Lest any of you don't still believe that 42:18 allow me to read you some characteristics of this beast. 42:20 Notice Revelation 13 and verse 7. 42:23 Revelation chapter 13 and verse 7. 42:26 Speaking about the beast it says: 42:32 Is that the same thing as the little horn did? 42:34 Yes. Now let's notice Revelation chapter 13 42:38 and verse 6. Revelation chapter 13 and verse 6. 42:42 It says: 42:55 And I wish I had time to speak about each one of those 42:57 phrases... each one of those phrases deserves 15 minutes 43:00 at least. And now notice how long does this power rule. 43:04 Notice verse 5. It says: 43:16 Now isn't this interesting. 43:19 How long is 42 months? 43:21 Well, the Biblical month has 30 days. 43:23 Let's do the operation. 43:25 42 months times 30 days each... 43:27 how much is that? 43:30 1,260. Does that sound familiar? 43:34 Is this the same period as the times, times, and dividing 43:37 of time of the little horn? 43:39 Is it the same period of the 1,260 days 43:42 that the woman flees into the wilderness? 43:44 Yes. These prophecies are all parallel. 43:47 And Revelation 12 shows that the devil is the power 43:52 behind all of these. 43:55 Now we need to take a look at the last two characteristics. 43:59 Revelation chapter 13 and verse 3. 44:01 Do you remember that the clay continues 44:03 until the second coming of Jesus? 44:05 The iron and clay mixture is the last power 44:09 until Jesus comes. 44:12 In Daniel chapter 7 I want you to notice this. 44:14 In Daniel chapter 7 it says that the little horn 44:17 rules for time, times, and the dividing of time. 44:19 But then Daniel 7 explains that the little horn, 44:22 it's dominion will be taken away when Jesus comes. 44:25 So implicitly in Daniel chapter 7 44:28 what it's saying is that this little horn is going to govern 44:32 for 1,260 years - time, times, and the dividing of time - 44:36 and then somehow after this period of dominion 44:40 it is going to rule what? Again. 44:43 Because if its dominion is taken away when Jesus comes 44:47 it must rise to power again. 44:50 Raise your hand if you're understanding what I'm saying. 44:53 So how many stages is this little horn or this beast power 44:55 going to have? It's going to actually have three stages. 44:58 We already noticed... Actually it has two. 45:01 The first is the 1,260 years 45:04 and the second is what? When it recovers its power. 45:08 Now let's notice Revelation chapter 13 and verse 3. 45:11 Revelation chapter 13 and verse 3. 45:15 Here we find a very interesting characteristic 45:19 of this beast. It says there: 45:28 Would you say that that took place when the 1,260 years 45:32 came to an end? Of course. 45:35 That's what cuts its career short of the second coming 45:39 at the end of 1,260 years. 45:41 And so it says: 45:43 "And his deadly wound was... " What? 45:46 Is he going to have another power of dominion? 45:49 Is he going to rule until Jesus comes? 45:51 Absolutely. It says his deadly wound was healed. 46:01 How many stages is this power going to have? 46:03 It's going to have two stages. 46:05 One of the stages is already what? Past. 46:09 The other stage is still future. 46:13 Now I want you to notice Revelation chapter 13 46:18 and verses 9 and 10. 46:19 What was it that wounded this power? 46:21 Because he received a deadly wound. 46:23 How was he wounded? 46:24 Revelation 13 and verse 9. 46:27 "If anyone has an ear let him hear: 46:30 he who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; 46:38 he who kills with the sword 46:41 must be killed with the sword. 46:44 Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. " 46:48 How was this power killed? 46:50 How did it receive its deadly wound? 46:53 With the sword. 46:55 Is that clear? Now, what does the sword represent? 47:01 Yes, the sword represents the Word of God, but not 47:04 in this particular verse. 47:06 Who bears the sword according to the apostle Paul? 47:09 We don't have time to look up the text. 47:11 But in Romans chapter 13 it says 47:14 the government has the what? 47:17 The government has the power 47:19 of the sword. 47:20 And God said it's for your good. 47:24 And if you misbehave and you don't obey the civil magistrates 47:28 he will use the what? He will use the sword. 47:31 So the sword represents the civil power. 47:36 I don't know whether you're following me or not. 47:38 Which must mean that at the end of the 1,260 years 47:41 the civil power was going to rise to give this religious 47:46 power a deadly wound. 47:50 Are you with me or not? 47:52 And so that's another characteristic. 47:54 It has to be a power that after the 1,260 years 47:57 was wounded by the civil power 47:58 but this power is going to recuperate its world-wide clout. 48:04 Final characteristic. 48:06 And then we'll quickly identify this power. 48:09 I think that you already know who it is. 48:10 What is the number of this power? 48:13 Go with me to Revelation chapter 13 and verse 18. 48:17 Revelation chapter 13 and verse 18. It says here: 48:30 What is the number of the beast? 48:31 666. 48:34 Now how do you determine the number of a man? 48:37 That's kind of hard. 48:38 Well, let's go to verse 17. 48:40 It explains how you do it. 48:41 It says: 48:55 How do you determine the number of the beast? 48:57 It's the number of his what? Of his name. 49:01 In other words, his name must give the total what? 49:05 666. 49:08 Are you understanding? He has a name 49:10 whose numeric value is 666. 49:14 Because in antiquity they wrote numbers with letters. 49:16 Each letter of the alphabet stood for a number. 49:20 Now let me ask you: what language do you suppose 49:23 we should use to try and find his name? 49:28 What language do you think we should use? 49:30 English, right? 49:33 How about German? 49:35 Will anybody give me Japanese? 49:38 What language must we use 49:40 to determine the name and get the number from the name? 49:44 It has to be Latin 49:48 because this is a Roman power. 49:51 It has to be a Latin name 49:53 whose numerical value is 666. 49:56 And by the way, Revelation 13 verse 1 49:59 says that it must be a blasphemous name. 50:05 Now let's put it all together. What would be the name 50:07 of this power and that name when you calculate the value 50:12 of the letters in Latin gives the number 666? 50:18 Well, we're going to take a look at that. 50:20 We have about 7 minutes now to go through all of these 50:22 characteristics and see who this power is. 50:27 Anybody care to tell me who this power is? 50:32 You're all shy. 50:33 Camera shy. 50:36 There's no doubt whatsoever, folks, that this power is the 50:40 Roman Catholic papacy. 50:43 Let me tell you why. 50:44 Is the Roman Catholic papacy Roman? 50:47 It's called the Roman Catholic church. 50:49 What is its language? Latin. 50:51 Where is the seat of its power? Rome. 50:56 The name of its leader is Pontifex Maximus. 50:59 In Latin... the supreme pontiff. 51:02 It's religion is from ancient Rome. 51:05 Its organizational style is from Rome. 51:09 I could take time to prove all of these points. 51:12 In other words, it is Roman. 51:14 Let me ask you: did the Roman Catholic papacy 51:17 arise after the ten horns were in place? 51:20 If you read that document, you'll find that it rose to 51:23 power in 538 AD when Justinian the emperor 51:25 said: "The pope is now lord in east and in west 51:29 of the entire church. " The emperor Justinian 51:32 proclaimed that. 51:34 Did the Roman Catholic papacy arise in Western Europe? 51:39 'Cause if it arises in Rome 51:40 obviously that is Western Europe. 51:43 Did the Roman Catholic papacy uproot three of those kingdoms? 51:46 It's a long story. 51:47 There were three rebellious kingdoms that were Arians. 51:50 They taught that Jesus Christ was a created being. 51:53 And the pope said: "We need to get rid of these. " 51:55 493 AD through the help of the empire 51:59 they got rid of the Heruli. 52:02 In the year 534 AD they got rid of the Vandals. 52:04 And in the year 538 AD they got rid of the Ostrogoths. 52:07 Three of these ten kingdoms were uprooted 52:11 and today there is no nation in Europe 52:13 that descends from these three powers. 52:16 They were taken out by the roots. 52:18 This can be proven historically 52:21 that the church used the empire to do this. 52:25 Does the Roman Catholic papacy claim that the pope 52:28 is God's representative on earth? 52:30 I could read you statement after statement, 52:32 page after page from this document 52:34 that I wrote from Roman Catholic sources. 52:37 Does the Roman Catholic papacy claim to have the power 52:40 to forgive sins? 52:42 Yes, they have the confessional in their churches. 52:45 The very characteristics of blasphemy. 52:49 Is the Roman Catholic papacy different than any of these 52:52 other kingdoms? Yes it is. 52:53 Because the Roman Catholic church... you don't know 52:55 whether it's a church or whether it's a state. 52:58 It is a state but it's a church. 53:00 And when the United States was going to establish 53:02 diplomatic relations, there was all sorts of confusion 53:06 in Congress. How can you have diplomatic relations 53:08 with a church? And the argument was: 53:10 "Well you're not having it with the church part. 53:12 You're having it with the state part. " 53:14 As if you could separate the two. 53:16 You see, you have a mixture of iron and clay. 53:19 You have a mixture of church and state. 53:22 The papacy was certainly different. 53:23 Did the Roman Catholic papacy persecute God's people? 53:28 It's calculated that at least 50 million of God's people 53:31 were killed during the 1,260 years of apostasy. 53:35 Did the Roman Catholic church 53:37 seek to change God's prophetic interpretation 53:41 of events? Of prophetic events? 53:43 It would take me far longer than we have 53:46 to talk about this. They actually invented 53:49 two rival systems of prophetic interpretations: 53:51 one known as Preterism - the idea that all of the 53:54 prophecies of antichrist were fulfilled in the past 53:57 with the Roman Empire and with a nasty individual 53:59 called Antiochus IV Epiphanes way in the past. 54:01 And the other Futurist scenario 54:04 established by a Jesuit priest called Ribera. 54:07 His idea was the antichrist prophecies 54:10 are going to be fulfilled at the very end of time 54:12 with a nasty individual who's going to arise 54:14 and persecute the Jews after the church has been 54:17 raptured to heaven. 54:19 And that's what Protestants believe today. 54:22 It was created in the Roman Catholic church. 54:24 Two rival systems of interpreting Bible prophecy. 54:27 Did the Roman Catholic church claim to have the power to 54:30 change God's law. If I had the time, I would read 54:32 you. I have 16 pages of statements from Roman 54:35 Catholic writers saying "We, by the authority that 54:38 God gave the church, changed the day of worship 54:41 from Saturday to Sunday. " 54:43 They unabashedly say it. 54:44 Time after time after time in their publications 54:48 they claim to change God's law. 54:49 And if you go to a Roman Catholic catechism 54:51 you'll discover that the Roman Catholic catechism 54:54 eliminates the 2nd commandment that forbids the worship 54:56 of images. And they have to end up with 10, so they 54:59 divide the 10th commandment in two. 55:03 Did the Roman Catholic papacy govern for 1,260 years? 55:07 Yes. When Justinian's decree was implemented 55:12 in the year 538 AD that was the beginning. 55:14 And lo and behold, in February, February 10th of 1798 AD 55:19 Napoleon Bonaparte 55:21 entered Vatican City 55:22 and through his general Berthier 55:24 the pope was arrested 55:26 and he was taken captive like it says. 55:28 "He who leads into captivity will be taken into captivity. " 55:31 And the civil power of France arose against the papacy 55:35 and withdrew its power. 55:37 And the Roman Catholic church has not been the same 55:40 since, but it is slowly recovering its power 55:44 if you're able to see what's happening in the world today. 55:48 Is the Roman Catholic papacy... 55:52 Does it have a lot more prestige now than it used to? 55:55 It most certainly does. 55:57 I mean the pope sneezes and the media dedicates 56:02 all of their news shows just to that. 56:05 Because this power has tremendous prestige. 56:07 But the Bible calls it the antichrist. 56:09 Now understand me, I'm not saying that everybody in the 56:11 Roman Catholic system is bad. 56:13 Most of God's true people are there. 56:17 Believe it or not. 56:19 That's why God says: "Come out of her My people. " 56:22 God must have people there in Babylon 56:24 in order for Him to call them out. 56:26 And finally, folks, not only was the papacy 56:31 wounded and its deadly wound is in the process of healing 56:34 see, it's going to dominate the world again. 56:36 The whole world is going to follow this system... 56:38 even Protestants. 56:40 But also, the pope has a name. 56:43 By the way, it will be in the DVD presentation. 56:46 The name is Vicarius Filii Dei 56:50 which means vicar or substitute for the Son of God. 56:55 That name was on the papal crown until the 17th century 56:59 but it was removed for obvious reasons. 57:03 The name if you count the number of the letters 57:05 in the Latin numeral system is 666. 57:09 There's no doubt who this power is. 57:12 It's the Roman Catholic papacy. 57:14 And we must flee from this power. 57:17 We must never fall into its hands. |
Revised 2014-12-17