Participants: Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: EG
Program Code: EG002816
|
00:09 It's been 2,000 years since the glorious light
00:11 of the cross illuminated the world 00:13 veiled in darkness and confusion 00:15 about the character of God. 00:17 And still today the greatest need of mankind 00:19 is a revelation of God's love 00:21 as revealed in the life of Christ. 00:23 Amazing Facts presents the Everlasting Gospel 00:27 with Pastor Doug Batchelor, coming to you each week 00:29 from Sacramento Central Church in sunny California. 00:33 Discover hidden treasures in God's Word today. 00:38 The message today that I feel impressed to share 00:42 I have titled "The Last Little Big Horn." 00:46 Now some of you know little bit about history 00:51 and you heard of the, the battle of little big horn. 00:55 And that's of course sometimes referred 00:57 to as Custer's Last Stand. 00:59 It was probably the most, 01:01 complete victory of the Native American's 01:04 over the American military. 01:06 When they managed to lure Custer and his Seventh Cavalry 01:12 far away from many post got them far away 01:14 from geographical protection 01:17 and then it confederacy of Indians 01:20 under Sitting Bull came together 01:23 and caught them completely by surprise, 01:25 overwhelmed them with superior numbers 01:29 and I don't believe there is a survivor. 01:30 One horse survived. 01:34 Now you might wonder, 01:35 what in the world does Pastor Doug have in his mind, 01:38 he is gonna preach about Custer's Last Stand? 01:41 Not, really it's a play on words, the little big horn. 01:45 I was thinking about what's been happening 01:47 in the news today and I kept thinking about 01:49 the little big horn. 01:52 And it really comes from a verse in the Bible 01:53 you didn't know that Custer's Last Stand 01:56 is in the Bible. 01:58 Turn in your Bible's to Daniel 7:8... 02:06 in this prophecy of The Ram and the Goat it tells us that, 02:13 the goat ends up sprouting four horns 02:17 and from among one of those horns, something happens here. 02:22 "I considered the horns, and, behold, 02:24 there came up among them another little horn, 02:28 before whom there were three of the first horns 02:30 plucked up by the roots, and, behold, 02:33 in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, 02:36 and a mouth speaking great things." 02:40 Little horn speaking great things, a little big horn. 02:45 Well, like that was my stab at it. 02:49 Matter of fact this is an important subject 02:51 because this little horn does big things 02:55 and you find that this little horn 02:57 that you read about here on Daniel Chapter 7 02:59 that ends up being the last day 03:01 prosecuting power is the same as the beast, 03:06 the first beast in Revelation Chapter 13. 03:11 Now, it says in the Book of Galatians 4:16 03:15 "Am I therefore become your enemy, 03:17 because I tell you the truth?" 03:20 Do you want me to tell you the truth friends? 03:24 I just feel I have an obligation to talk to you 03:27 about what's been happening recently 03:30 more specifically with the people who visit. 03:33 I think we are seeing a segment or segments today, 03:38 a brick today in the wall of fulfilled 03:41 prophecy has been added. 03:44 And I probably wouldn't be very faithful as a pastor 03:47 if I did not address these things 03:50 because I want to make sure you understand history 03:52 and what's going on and you can view these things 03:55 through what I believe is a clear perspective. 04:00 Daniel 7:25 tells us, "This little horn power 04:03 will speak great words against the most High," 04:07 and where out will prosecute 04:09 the saints of the most high 04:11 and think to change times and loss. 04:15 I have got an amazing fact for you, did you know, 04:19 the biggest country in the world today is what? 04:22 You have any doubts, shop at Wal-Mart 04:25 and look at where it's made. 04:28 China is the biggest country. 04:29 About 1.3 to 1.4 million Olympics 04:34 will begin this year in China. 04:36 You know there are more people in China 04:38 now than they in the entire world 150 years ago. 04:42 So that's the biggest country. 04:44 You know what the smallest country in the world is? 04:47 Smallest country is the Vatican. 04:50 Did you know the Vatican is an independent country, 04:52 that's right? 04:54 1929 under the terms of the Lateran treaty, 04:57 Vatican city or The Holy See 05:00 was established as an independent state 05:03 with 109 acres with in Rome. 05:06 Less than 1,000 people live in this little country 05:09 that is governed by the Pope, 05:11 who has absolute executive, 05:13 legislative and judicial powers. 05:14 Furthermore, Vatican City has its own currency 05:18 and postal system, they publish a daily newspaper, 05:21 a monthly journal they manage 05:23 their own telephone and telegraph services. 05:25 It even has a small railroad station and a radio station. 05:29 The famous Swiss guards serve as the police, 05:31 maintaining internal security 05:33 and protection for the Pope. 05:34 Yet, in spite of their tiny territory, 05:37 even China fears this little country. 05:41 It is a little big horn. 05:44 Now, this little horn that is spoken of by Daniel 05:47 and in Revelation and by Paul and many others, 05:52 the many of the prophets identified 05:56 as the Roman Catholic Church. 05:58 Now, stay with me, I don't want to say 06:00 anything to be offensive. 06:01 I want to be faithful and to be true, I want to be kind. 06:05 And I know that many people are hearing this and going, 06:07 where is he going and what is he saying. 06:10 It's interesting that when you consider Catholicism 06:13 is really supposed to be 06:14 a branch of the Christian religion. 06:17 Why is it treated as a political power? 06:21 Why is the Pope treated as the head of state? 06:26 Well, it's because they knew, 06:28 when they appealed in 1929 to be treated 06:32 as an independent country 06:33 they would get the benefits of a country 06:38 and be recognized that way. 06:40 And so basically they're saying 06:42 that they are the leaders of a country 06:44 that is diffused all over the planet. 06:46 And so if you go to the United Nations, 06:48 you'll see the Pope there. 06:50 Pope was met by President Bush at Andrews Air Force base, 06:54 typically somewhere that only heads of state go. 06:58 And this is the first time that President Bush 07:00 went to the airport to meet the arriving dignitary 07:03 that was a first. 07:06 All the fanfare and the attention was unprecedented. 07:11 Matter of fact, it was the largest gathering 07:12 that Bush has had in his entire presidency 07:14 at the White House, even surpassing 07:16 the visit of Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year, 07:20 when the Pope showed up. 07:22 A very interesting timing. 07:25 It's also interesting that they had a private audience 07:30 with no advisors around them. 07:32 Typically there are advisors 07:33 and others around recording this, 07:34 but he wanted a private audience. 07:36 The Pope does, he understands English 07:39 even better than he speaks it, a very educated man, 07:43 and I would love to have heard 07:45 what was said in that private conversation. 07:48 Now, you might be wondering Pastor Dough, 07:50 why are you taking our Sabbath morning service 07:51 to talk about what we can read in the headlines. 07:53 I want to give you little 07:54 different perspective on something. 07:56 The way I read my Bible, the last two powers 08:00 that are going to consolidate 08:02 to implement final prophecy are Catholicism 08:07 with its base in Europe and Rome, and Protestantism 08:12 with its headquarters in North America. 08:14 There will be a joining of these two powers 08:17 then under the influence of spiritualism through this 08:21 three fold union religious laws will be made 08:24 that will compel people to worship a certain way. 08:27 Now, I don't expect things to change radically this week. 08:30 Pope flies from tomorrow, you probably will go shopping 08:33 just like you always do 08:35 and events will transpire very much like they do. 08:38 But I want you to know history was made this week 08:42 and that little by little 08:44 people are being transformed in their thinking 08:47 and prepared for this final move 08:51 that the Bible foretells is going to happen. 08:54 It's interesting that when the Pope 08:55 went to the national stadium brand new stadium 08:58 46,000 people came to receive mass. 09:04 In Washington D.C our nation's capital 09:07 a lot of things have been happening 09:09 that are very calculated carefully orchestrated 09:13 to have significance and to change 09:17 impressions and gain influence. 09:20 This was all about gaining influence matter of fact, 09:22 as the Pope was preparing for his trip from Italy, 09:25 he said, I'm going on a mission to America. 09:29 What do missionaries do when they go to another country? 09:33 If I'm a missionary and I go to another country 09:35 I want to get converts. 09:39 I want to change their thinking 09:41 to what I believe is the truth. 09:45 And so there is no question 09:46 about what his purpose was, 09:47 he said that very openly I respect him for that. 09:52 Have this mass, mass-- its interesting that someone 09:56 who is interviewing President Bush, 09:58 you know one time Bush 09:59 when he had his first interview with Vladimir Putin, 10:03 Bush said you know I looked into his eye's 10:05 and I saw the man's soul. 10:07 And someone asked President Bush now, 10:09 that you have looked into Pope Benedict's eyes, 10:11 what do you see? 10:12 And immediately with out hesitation he said God. 10:16 That's what he said. 10:18 And you will find that in the newspaper. 10:22 Then what Pastor has so much cloud 10:26 about United Nations will gather to be addressed. 10:30 Not only did Pope Benedict, 10:33 speak to address the United Nation's 10:35 general assembly then he met on in another meeting 10:39 following that to address the United Nation's staff 10:42 with a separate address. 10:45 Would they do that for, me? 10:48 No weight, Karen said she would come 10:52 or may be she said they do it for her. 10:55 But, no I think that I don't 10:59 that they ever gotten together to hear Billy Graham. 11:03 But the Pope the Holy See 11:06 if you ever look I have been to the Untied Nations a group, 11:08 right near at the United Nations, 11:09 there is a section on the floor 11:11 with the different countries have their little labels 11:13 and you will see, you know, they have got Russia 11:15 and they have got all the different countries 11:16 they are tagged there. 11:17 There is one section its tagged "The Holy See" 11:21 and there are ambassadors from the United States 11:24 that go to the Vatican and there are ambassadors 11:25 from Vatican to the United States. 11:29 Is this a church or what? 11:32 Well, the Bible says it's or what? 11:33 And people are forgetting that, 11:35 or what means it is not just a church. 11:39 It is a very powerful political dynamic in the world today. 11:44 If you have ever read the book written by-- 11:47 I believe its Malachi Martin called Keys of This Blood. 11:50 Where he talks about that there were very clear 11:54 meetings between Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II 11:57 and they recognized that in order 11:59 to create some security in the world 12:03 they were gonna need to work together 12:05 for the over through of communism 12:06 which they successfully did and that all came out later. 12:10 But the plans there are clear 12:14 and they are long in their action. 12:19 It says this little horn 12:20 that you find in spoken of in Daniel speak great words. 12:26 I saw a number of pictures in the news of course 12:28 and in the, the internet and he is not a big man. 12:33 But what he says is very important 12:36 because before he was the Pope 12:40 better known as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger 12:43 he served as the Head of the Catholic Churches Congregation 12:46 for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1981 to 2005, 12:51 over 20 years defining the Doctrine of the Faith 12:54 and he is very conservative in his theology, 12:57 believing in the former statements 12:59 and the former positions of the church, 13:01 even before Vatican too. 13:04 Newsweek magazine said when Pope John Paul II 13:06 traveled people came to see Pope John Paul II 13:09 he said that they come to hear Pope Benedict. 13:12 Because he is speaking very concisely 13:14 and very deliberately as a theologian 13:18 and you should know some of the things that are said. 13:21 Now it tells us, as you read there, 13:25 in Daniel and in Revelation 13, 13:27 this little horn power will be guilty of blasphemy. 13:31 There are a couple of biblical definitions for blasphemy. 13:36 One of them you find in Luke 5:21, it says, 13:39 "Claiming to forgive sins." 13:41 Claiming to have the power to forgive sins 13:43 is one of the definitions of blasphemy. 13:45 You remember when Jesus said 13:47 that He could forgive the sins of the paralytic? 13:49 That the Jewish scholars that were there said, 13:52 "Who is this that speak of blasphemy? 13:54 Only God can forgive sins." 13:56 They were right, they just didn't believe 13:57 that Jesus was God. 13:58 Only God can forgive sin. 14:00 Secondly, another definition biblically 14:02 for blasphemy is claiming the position of God. 14:06 And you find in John 10:33 and other places, 14:09 where Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am," 14:11 they took up stones to stone him for blasphemy, 14:14 because, "Thou being a man make it thy self God." 14:16 So when a man puts himself 14:18 in the place of God that is called blasphemy. 14:23 Now, listen to what the official teachings are 14:26 that Pope Benedict agrees with 14:29 of what the position of the Pope represents. 14:31 Some of you have heard this quote before 14:33 from Pope Leo XIII, 14:35 "We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty." 14:39 That would fulfill that definition of blasphemy, 14:42 but there's more. 14:43 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Paul says here 14:46 one of the definitions of this little horn power 14:49 in the last days, it says, "Who opposes and exalts himself 14:53 above all that is called God, 14:55 or that is worshipped, so that he as God 14:59 sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 15:04 Now, the temple of God today is not a building, 15:06 the temple of God today is the people, 15:08 "What, know ye not ye are the temple of God" 15:10 Jesus said that his body is the temple, 15:12 destroy this temple and three days I will raise it up. 15:15 He spoke of His body, you are the body of Christ. 15:18 So when someone sits over the temple of God, 15:20 it means over the church of God, you got that? 15:23 Showing themself that he is God. 15:25 Well, I believe that the position of the Pope, 15:28 by their description, meets that definition, 15:30 and that ought to cause us a little edginess. 15:34 For instance, you read here on April 30th, 1922, 15:38 Pope Pius XI said, "You know that 15:42 I am the Holy Father and the representative of God 15:45 on earth, the Vicar of Christ, 15:47 which means that I am God on the earth." 15:50 These are the official declarations of the Pope. 15:54 Got another here from Dignities of the Priest. 15:58 It says, "God himself is to abide by the judgment 16:01 of His priests" God has to go along 16:03 with what his priests say. 16:04 "And either not to pardon or to pardon, 16:08 according as they refuse or give absolution" 16:11 Absolution means forgiveness. 16:12 The priests decide who's gonna be forgiven, 16:14 who's not, and God must subscribe to that. 16:17 "The sins of the priest proceeds and God subscribes to it." 16:21 Priest gets to decide who is forgiven and who is not, 16:23 God goes along with what the priest says. 16:25 That gives an awful lot of power, 16:27 regarding people's eternal destinies, to men. 16:31 And that power, that supposed power, 16:34 has been used to exploit 16:36 and manipulate nations in the past. 16:41 Again, from the Book by Pope John Paul II, 16:43 this is a lot more recent. 16:46 This is page 3, it's under the chapter, 16:49 The Pope, A Scandal and a Mystery. 16:51 "Confronted with the pope, one must make a choice. 16:54 The leader of the Catholic Church 16:55 is defined by the faith as the Vicar of Jesus Christ 16:59 and is accepted as such by believers. 17:02 The Pope is considered the man on earth 17:05 who represents the Son of God, 17:07 who takes the place of the second person 17:10 of the omnipotent God of the trinity." 17:15 And, you know, Pope John Paul II 17:16 seemed like such a lovely man. 17:18 I think I've told you many times my father met him, 17:20 he was just very impressed. 17:22 And Pope Ratzinger oh, I'm sorry, 17:25 Benedict, that's his old name. 17:27 May be a lovely man. 17:28 And keep in mind this is no attack on the individual. 17:30 Here's something for you to think about. 17:32 Do the Bible prophecies foretell 17:34 that Babylon would persecute God's people? 17:37 The Bible power, the prophecies tell 17:39 that the king of Babylon would destroy the temple 17:42 and would kill the people and burn the city? 17:46 Prophecies told that? 17:47 Nebuchadnezzar was the instrument in that, correct? 17:50 How many of you think we might see Nebuchadnezzar in heaven? 17:54 Think about it for a second. 17:56 The last thing Nebuchadnezzar says in the Bible, 17:59 he is extolling the God of heaven. 18:02 And the Spirit of God came back to him 18:03 and he repented of his pride. 18:05 He might be in the kingdom, you don't know that. 18:08 So you understand what I'm saying? 18:09 I'm not speaking against these individuals. 18:11 What we're talking about is systems of government 18:15 that the Lord has foretold in His word, 18:18 would be instrumental in bringing 18:20 about the final events of compelling everybody 18:24 to either receive the Mark of the Beast 18:26 or not be able to buy or sell, or be killed. 18:29 And the other group of course 18:30 is going to have the Seal of God, 18:31 and I hope you know what that is. 18:34 And it tells us that there's gonna be this confederacy. 18:39 The first beast in Revelation 13, 18:41 I believe, is speaking about the Roman Catholic Church. 18:44 The orthodox churches would maybe be included in that, 18:49 with its principal center in Rome. 18:53 It says, the dragon gave him his seat, 18:54 his power and great authority. 18:56 The dragon at first was the Roman power 18:58 ruled by the Caesars, pagan Rome. 19:01 As pagan Rome began to crumble, 19:03 in its place came up papal Rome. 19:06 And in case you didn't know it, 19:07 the reason that the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church 19:11 seemed so strange for Bible Christians 19:13 is because the Roman Catholic Church 19:15 is in reality the commingling of many pagan religions 19:19 going all the way back to Babylon in Christianity. 19:24 So when you mix some truth with error, 19:27 what do you have, truth or error? 19:28 You still have error. 19:30 When you mix a little bit of truth with deception, 19:34 what do you have? 19:35 You still have deception. 19:38 So what happened is, as the-- 19:40 Constantine was instrumental in this, Constantine the great. 19:44 He's the one who first legalized Christianity 19:46 with the edicts of Milan, establishing Sunday 19:49 as a day of worship among other things. 19:51 And being a shrewd politician, 19:52 he said, "Look, our kingdom is split, 19:54 Christianity has become the vogue religion." 19:57 They're not hurting anybody, 19:58 they're pretty passive people 20:00 why don't we legalize it? 20:03 We need he had just fought a battle 20:04 in order to get the throne of Rome, 20:06 and he said, I need support in the kingdom. 20:09 And so he legalized Christianity and to show 20:11 how sincere he was, he ordered his army to march 20:14 through the Tiber River and to be baptized. 20:16 Well, can you order someone to be baptized? 20:20 So a lot of these pagan soldiers that went down 20:22 into the Tiber River dry pagans, 20:24 they simply came up wet pagans. 20:25 And they said, what do we now? 20:27 He said, you are Christians now or the Christians believe. 20:29 And so they were running to the priests, 20:32 and the priests had a real conundrum. 20:34 The more conservative priests that were biblical said 20:36 look, you've got to get rid of your idols, 20:38 and you've got to stop 20:39 all of these pagan ceremonies and festivals. 20:41 And some of the others said, look, you know, 20:44 we're gonna get a lot more pagans to join the church 20:46 if we make a few compromises and meet them part away. 20:50 This is what happened. 20:52 So they took all of their statues that were called, 20:54 "Jupiter and Apollo's, and Zeus and Diana," 20:57 and they renamed them, "Peter, James, John and Mary" 21:01 and they started to develop a theology 21:03 that embraced these statues. 21:06 And the Christian leaders used the dress 21:09 very humbly like a common people. 21:11 Jesus, they didn't say Jesus went around 21:13 in any royal regale, yeah, did He? 21:16 Festooned with gold? No. 21:19 They didn't even know where He was in the crowd 21:20 because He dressed like everybody else. 21:22 Peter and Paul, they didn't wear 21:24 all of these sacramental robes. 21:27 But the pagan priests did. 21:30 And gradually so many things 21:32 that were in the pagan Roman and Greek cultures, 21:37 the Christians began to adopt them 21:38 and commingle them, until pretty soon, 21:40 about 500 years after Christ, the Christian religion in Rome 21:44 had become a milkshake of paganism and Christianity. 21:49 And it's very much like what you see today. 21:54 Matter of fact I hope its still in my Bible, 21:55 let me give you a quick example of what 21:59 some of those things are that are not just not biblical 22:02 that found their way into the church. 22:04 And again I don't mean to be unkind, 22:05 I just I want to be truthful 22:08 about what the Bible really says. 22:09 You can believe anything you want. 22:10 In America, you can be a Buddhist, you can be Islamic, 22:13 you could be Krishna or you are free. 22:18 But if you gonna say you're a Bible Christian 22:20 then we gonna can talk about it. 22:22 Now, I tell you what the Bible says, 22:24 all right for instance, The Bible teaches 22:26 we are not to bow down to statues, Exodus 20:4, 5. 22:31 The Roman Catholic Church says, you should bow down to statues. 22:35 It's not an ancient tradition, but mediaeval tradition. 22:40 The Bible teaches that-- how many of you been 22:43 to catholic churches? 22:44 I used to go to catholic school where there are statues. 22:46 Do you see people praying in front of the statues? 22:48 They kneel in front of them, 22:49 they cross themselves they leave flowers 22:50 they burn candles, Bible calls it idolatry. 22:54 And you know I have catholic friends 22:56 and they will say well, we know 22:57 that statue is not really Jesus but it helps us think about Him. 23:00 We know it's not really Mary. 23:02 Well, Buddhists are in the same boat. 23:05 You ask a Buddhists when they are praying for Buddha 23:07 or some little Buddha in your Chinese restaurant 23:09 you go to you think they really think that's Buddha? 23:11 Yes, of course not. 23:12 It just helps us think about him and to reverence to him. 23:15 It's called idolatry, because it lowers 23:17 your conception of who God really is 23:19 when you fabricate Him like some plastic figurine 23:22 and put them on your dashboard 23:24 with double stick tape, that's not God. 23:27 It lowers your concept and He says you shall not even 23:29 lift up your tool upon My alter 23:32 because you will be tempted 23:33 to try make something look like Me. 23:35 I'm too great for you to conceive off, 23:37 its called idolatry. 23:40 The Bible teaches that all have sinned except Jesus. 23:43 Romans 3:10, Hebrews 4 and many other scriptures. 23:46 The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Mary was sinless. 23:51 That's the miracle of conception. 23:54 The Bible says, that Jesus 23:55 is the only mediator between man and God. 23:58 1 Timothy 2:5, the Roman Catholic Church says 24:03 Mary is co-mediator with Christ. 24:07 I'm just wondering if you don't mind showing 24:09 your hands, how many of you either in your family, 24:11 your personal background 24:12 have a catholic or Roman Catholic heritage? 24:14 Let me see your hands. 24:16 See a number of people are there. 24:17 So, you folks I'm not hearing any one disagree, 24:19 you understand these things 24:21 and we love these people don't we? 24:22 I think you gonna see a whole lot 24:24 of Roman Catholic people in the kingdom. 24:26 Amen. No, question about that. 24:29 But biblically there are lot things happening 24:31 that are not true. 24:33 In their teachings, what we are talking about 24:34 is the teachings of these institutions. 24:39 The Bible teaches that Christ offered 24:40 His sacrifice for us on the cross once and for all. 24:43 Hebrew 7:27, 28, Hebrews 10:10 and others. 24:48 The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the priest 24:50 sacrifices Christ on the altar every time he conducts a mass. 24:53 The Bible teaches that all Christians 24:55 are saints and priests. 24:57 All Christians, you are really at priesthood. 24:59 Ephesians 1, 1 Peter 2:9, the Roman Catholic Church says 25:03 that saints and priests are special casts 25:06 within the Christian community. 25:08 The priesthood. 25:09 The Bible teaches that all Christians should know 25:11 they have eternal life. 25:13 You can know, that you have eternal life 25:15 because you accept Christ and that gives you faith 25:17 and that gives you happy. 25:19 The Roman Catholic Church teaches that all Christians 25:21 cannot and should not know that they have eternal life. 25:26 The Bible, you can just read these things 25:27 in your catholic catechism. 25:29 Well, I'm not assuming 25:30 you all have a catholic catechism, 25:32 but you can buy one or borrow 25:34 you can get it at the library if you want to know. 25:37 The Bible teaches that we should call 25:38 no religious leader father. 25:41 Did you know that Jesus said that Matthew 23:9 25:43 of course, Roman Catholic Church teaches that we may 25:45 call the priests and Pope and Father. 25:47 Oh, boy, Pope is been called all kinds of things. 25:49 You are holiness, glorious father, Holy Father. 25:54 I don't even like when they call me Reverend Batchelor. 25:56 The Bible says, Holy and Reverend is His name. 25:59 That's why we call our pastors, pastor, 26:02 and if I met the Pope I wouldn't call him 26:04 your holiness, I would call him pastor. 26:07 But you shouldn't deify a man. 26:10 God is God, no man is God. 26:14 The Bible teaches not to pray in vain repetition. 26:18 And yet the Roman Catholic Church, 26:19 and that's Matthew 6:7 and others, 26:21 the Roman Catholic Church, says to pray the Lords prayer 26:24 or Hail Mary's or others in repetition counting beads. 26:29 The Bible teaches to confess our sins to God. 26:31 I understand they had people wind up 20 deep 26:35 in the Washington Stadium, doing confession. 26:37 They had kind of this-- this say you know 26:39 like big cafeteria of confessions 26:41 going on to the priests 26:43 that were all appointed for that purpose. 26:46 The Roman Catholic Church says, 26:47 "You must confess your sins to the priest for forgiveness." 26:51 And I could go on and on "But the teachings of purgatory, 26:54 limbo and prayers for the dead are nowhere in Scripture 26:57 but clearly relics of paganism. 27:00 The words of Jesus to the Pharisees apply today 27:02 when we nullify the Word of God 27:04 with manmade tradition," Matthew 15:6. 27:09 Tradition sometimes contradicts tradition. 27:14 For example, the Roman church teaches 27:16 the Pope is the head of the church, 27:18 the bishop over all but Pope Gregory the Great, 27:22 from 540 A.D to 604 AD, 27:26 he was the last of the four original Doctors of the Church 27:29 and became known as Saint Gregory, this is the pope. 27:32 At the end of the ancient church period he said, 27:35 listen, Pope Gregory said, that such a church, 27:39 he said, "I confidently affirm 27:40 that whoever calls himself universal bishop 27:43 or desires to be so called is 27:45 in his pride is a fore runner of antichrist." 27:48 He rejected that they were calling the pope's 27:50 the universal bishop of the church. 27:51 He said that is antichrist in its nature. 27:54 A pope said that. That's written in their history. 27:59 Index of Forbidden Books of Pope Pius the 4th in 1559 28:03 he said, experience has taught us 28:06 that the reading of the Bible in the vernacular permitted 28:09 generally without discrimination 28:11 will cause more damage than advantage 28:14 because of the boldness of man. 28:16 In other words, if you read the Bible in your own language 28:18 it's dangerous, the priests need to read it 28:20 and interpret what it says to you. 28:23 It will harm or damage they say. 28:27 The judgments of bishops and inquisitors 28:30 are to serve as guides in this matter. 28:32 If someone is found in possession of one of these 28:34 Bibles written without permission 28:36 from priest or inquisitor their sins shall not be forgiven 28:39 unless they turn in the manuscript and confess. 28:43 Now, we forget what the history is 28:47 and what is taught. 28:49 You know, by now China is in the news a lot 28:52 because with their human rights abuses 28:55 with forbidden certain freedom, forbidden freedom of religion. 29:00 Folks are saying how can we go 29:02 and endorse the country and support the country? 29:04 So some are protesting and boycotting 29:06 because they say they get problems here 29:08 we need to recognize. 29:09 But when the pope comes we get amnesia 29:13 about what history is and I think 29:15 that American's forget that this country 29:18 was to a great degree founded by people 29:21 who were fleeing from the religious prosecution in Europe. 29:26 And so when the prime representative 29:30 of that prosecution shows up and is treated 29:32 with all of the fanfare of a beloved head of state, 29:36 people have amnesia about what the history is. 29:41 Any way, there is much more I could share here. 29:46 Part of the last day scenario is 29:48 Protestants that came out of Catholicism 29:52 are being wooed back in. 29:54 While the pope was here as recently as yesterday 29:57 he met with religious leaders at an ecumenical prayer meeting. 30:01 Two hundred and fifty religious leaders 30:03 from orthodox, Protestant and evangelical churches 30:08 in addition to that history was made yesterday 30:11 when Pope Benedict went for the first time 30:13 to an America synagogue 30:15 and met with the leader of the synagogue Rabbi. 30:19 And they talked about the things are hold in common 30:20 and how they should build bridges and a lot of you know, 30:24 some of that political mambo-jumbo 30:25 that they like to say that how much they love each other. 30:28 I also that it was interesting that the Rabbi 30:31 was a survivor of the Holocaust 30:34 and he is meeting with a German pope. 30:38 It's interesting, I mean that's they do, 30:40 that's what they said I thought that was interesting. 30:44 In connection with this on April 16th 30:48 on the pope's birthday and I understand 30:51 it was also the 200th anniversary 30:53 of Catholicism in North America. 30:55 Now, they said that, I don't know why they said that 30:57 because I know there been 30:58 catholic jugglers since the 1500's. 31:00 But may be that some form of recognition of the church 31:03 and they were fully established I'm not sure, 31:05 but they claim that this weekend represent the 200th anniversary 31:09 another significant day. 31:11 On April 16th Pope Benedict on his birthday, 31:13 he met with American Catholic Bishops and leaders. 31:16 So these are leaders of the Catholic Church from America 31:18 listen very carefully, friends. 31:21 They met in Washington D.C, 31:24 at the National Shrine 31:25 of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. 31:28 They met in a church a cathedral dedicated to Mary 31:32 and her worship and her sinlessness 31:35 in our nation's capital. 31:37 Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George 31:40 address the pope on behalf of the American Catholic leaders. 31:43 He listed five priorities for the common attention. 31:46 These are the priorities for their attention 31:48 over the next several years. 31:49 So the pope is sitting there on a special chair 31:51 and catholic leaders are saying, here is what our mission is 31:54 for the next few years for the church in North America. 31:57 This is all public, this is in the news papers. 32:00 I don't know if you caught this. 32:03 Among them was, strengthening of marriage and the family, 32:07 we all are in favor of that? Yeah. 32:09 Protecting life and the dignity 32:11 of the human person at every stage. 32:13 The every stage means, even the unborn and the aged. 32:22 Fostering vocations to ordain priesthood in consecrated life 32:27 and profiting from cultural diversity in the church here 32:30 and there is a principally among Hispanic Catholics. 32:34 And here is the one that I really thought 32:36 was interesting, listen carefully. 32:38 Handing on the faith in the context and our whole faith, 32:42 these things we just mentioned, 32:44 should be handed on in the context of 32:46 the sacramental practice 32:48 and the observance of Sunday worship. 32:52 Now, what they are saying is the way to arrive 32:56 at these other things to save our society, 32:59 to save our families, to save our culture 33:02 it must be done in the context of the sacrament 33:05 of the sacredness of Sunday worship. 33:10 That sounds to me like a fulfillment of prophecy. 33:14 And that's 2008 Catholic News Service, US. 33:17 You can document all these things. 33:18 I'm--I did my best to research everything. 33:21 I hope on being as fair and accurate as I can be. 33:24 So that was all done in the context of meeting 33:26 with Protestant leaders and evangelical leaders 33:30 and I think I told you a moment ago 33:32 among them was Pat Robertson. 33:33 Here's a book that Pat Robertson wrote a couple of years ago 33:35 if you want to know where he stands on Sunday. 33:37 And this is a book called "The New World Order." 33:40 Here's is one quote in there from page 236, 33:42 I like to share with you. 33:44 "The next obligation that a citizen of God's world order 33:47 owes to himself. 33:49 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy' is a command 33:52 for the personal benefit of each citizen. 33:55 Higher civilizations rise when people 33:58 can rest and draw inspiration from God. 34:01 Laws in America that mandated a day of rest" 34:05 he is referring earlier to Sunday laws 34:07 "have been nullified as a violation of church and state. 34:12 An outright insult to God and His plan, 34:14 only those policies that can be shown 34:17 to have a clearly secular purpose are recognized. 34:22 It is not the duty of any particular group of people, 34:25 it is the duty of the government of its people 34:29 to proclaim a day as a Sabbath to be universally observed 34:33 through the length and breadth of our land, 34:35 Sunday as the lord's day." 34:37 I think I have miss read that one, 34:39 it is the duty they are saying of the government. 34:42 "If we as a nation would escape 34:43 the doldrums of increased trouble 34:45 as God's hand rest heavily upon us 34:47 His people opposition to Sunday nationally declared must cease." 34:54 You know, Protestants right now have the amnesia. 34:57 Protestants in North America 34:58 are suffering from an identity crisis. 35:01 If you know your history, you will remember that 35:04 when they where building the Washington monument 35:05 that took them a long time 35:07 because they had several set backs 35:08 including the civil war but in the 1850's, 35:11 early 1850's the pope sent a marble stone for them 35:15 to incorporate in the building as a good will gesture. 35:19 Protestants in North America were so out raged by this. 35:22 That they took it and through it, 35:23 might be stole it away from where it was store 35:26 and threw it in the Potomac River 35:27 saying, we don't want anything from the beast. 35:30 I'm attitudes have changed. 35:32 But they had their memory was a little fresher back then. 35:36 Let me read a few quotes to you from-- 35:39 if you're a Protestant, a Lutheran, 35:43 you know, Methodist, Baptist, 35:45 Presbyterian, those are all Protestant churches. 35:48 Seventh-day Adventist, Protestant church. 35:50 Let me read what Protestant reformers believed. 35:53 Now, here are some statements, and stay with me, 35:55 I'm gonna read several statements 35:56 that may seem strong. 35:57 I am quoting from Protestant reformers 36:00 from the great reformation 36:01 what their beliefs were about the little big horn. 36:04 Here's Martin Luther, 1483 to 1546, 36:08 "Luther proved by the Revelations 36:10 of Daniel and Saint John," speaking of Revelation, 36:13 "by the epistles of Saint Paul, Saint Peter and Saint Jude 36:17 that the reign of antichrist predicted 36:19 and described in the bible was the papacy," 36:22 or what we call the Roman Catholic Church. 36:25 John Calvin, one of the great leaders of the Presbyterian 36:28 and very influential in the Baptist church, 36:30 "Some persons think us too severe and censorious 36:33 when we called the Roman pontiff Antichrist." 36:35 By the way, he once was a part 36:37 of the Roman Catholic Church, as was Luther. 36:41 "But those who are of this opinion do not consider 36:43 that they bring the same charge 36:45 of presumption against Paul himself, 36:47 after whom we speak and whose language we adopt. 36:50 I shall briefly show that Paul's words 36:52 in 2 Thessalonians 2, what I just quoted you, 36:54 are not capable of any other interpretation 36:57 than that which applies them to the papacy, 37:00 who sits in the temple of god, showing himself that he is God, 37:02 that's what Calvin is talking about here. 37:05 John Knox, Scottish Presbyterian, 37:08 Knox sought to counteract that tyranny 37:12 which the pope himself has for so many ages 37:14 exercised over the church. 37:16 As with the Luther, he firmly concluded 37:20 that the papacy was the very antichrist 37:22 and son of perdition of whom Paul speaks. 37:26 Now, again, I'm not trying to attack anyone 37:27 I'm just telling you this is what the history is. 37:30 Thomas Cranmer, who ended up being martyred for his faith. 37:34 "Whereof it followed Rome to be the seat of Antichrist 37:40 and the pope to be the very Antichrist himself." 37:43 I could prove the same by many other scriptures, 37:45 old writers and strong reason. 37:48 I'm just going through a list of them. 37:50 And if you're an American, you know who Roger Williams is, 37:53 one of the great founders of our country. 37:55 Matter of fact, he founded 37:56 the principal of religious freedom 37:57 that we have, that's why he named providence, 38:00 Rhode Island, the way he did. 38:01 Roger Williams said, 38:03 he was a first Baptist pastor in America. 38:07 "Pastor Williams spoke of the pope 38:09 as the pretended Vicar of Christ on earth 38:11 who sits as god over the temple of god." 38:14 They all interpreted these scriptures that way, 38:16 "Exalting themselves not only above all that is called God, 38:20 but over the souls and consciences of all his vassals, 38:24 yea, over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy Spirit, 38:26 yea, and God himself" 38:28 spoke very strongly about what's going on here. 38:32 Cotton Mather, who was a great reformer in North America, 38:35 someone told me he had the whole New Testament memorized. 38:39 The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist 38:42 in the Christian church, and in the Pope of Rome, 38:46 all the characteristics of that Antichrist 38:48 are so marvelously answered 38:50 that if any who would read the Scriptures do not see it, 38:53 there is a marvelous blindness upon them." 38:56 Especially if you read not only Daniel Chapter 7, 38:59 and if you read the Revelations 17, 39:01 and if we have time, I may even go there with you today. 39:05 All right, let's go to the next one is John Wesley, 39:08 founder of the Methodist Church. 39:10 We sang a song during Sabbath school 39:11 written by his brother, Charles. 39:14 Speaking of the papacy, John Wesley wrote, 39:16 "He is in an emphatically sense the man of sin, 39:19 as he increases all manner of sin above measure. 39:23 Probably and he is too properly styled for the sons of perdition 39:27 as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, 39:30 both of his oppressors and followers. 39:34 He is it that exalted himself above all that is called God 39:39 or that is worshipped, claiming the highest power 39:42 and the highest honor, claiming to be the prerogatives, 39:45 which, claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone." 39:49 I've got more I think from Wesley here. 39:52 This is from John Wesley's commentary on the Bible, 39:55 you can just read this online. 39:58 "That is Europe, this beast is the Roman papacy 40:02 as it came to a point 600 years since, 40:06 stands now and will for some time longer. 40:09 To this, and no other power of earth agrees the whole text 40:12 and every part of it in every point. 40:15 This beast is a spiritually secular power 40:18 opposite to the kingdom of Christ. 40:21 A power not merely spiritual or ecclesiastical, 40:24 not merely secular or political but a mixture of both." 40:31 I may have been at 40, it slipped. 40:37 In the book, "Great Cloud of Witnesses" 40:39 here's another quote. 40:42 "Wycliffe--" first English Bible "Tyndale--" another translator, 40:47 "Luther, Calvin, Cranmer; in the 17th century, 40:51 Bunyan--" John Bunyan wrote pilgrim's progress 40:53 "the translators of the King James Bible 40:55 and the men who published the Westminster 40:57 and Baptist confessions of faith, 40:59 Sir Isaac Newton, Wesley, Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, 41:03 and more recently Charles Spurgeon, 41:06 Bishop J.C.Ryle and Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, 41:11 these men among countless others, 41:13 all saw the office of the Papacy as the antichrist." 41:18 So I'm not teaching you something new today. 41:21 I just sometimes feel like I'm one of the only ones 41:22 who is teaching something very old. 41:24 You just don't hear people say it anymore, 41:26 because there's a blindness 41:28 that's come upon Israel, as Paul said 41:31 that these things are happening under our nose 41:33 and there's just hardly a ripple 41:35 going through the Protestant church. 41:38 You know, I thought it was interesting. 41:40 Let me read something to you. 41:42 In 2007, July 16th, not that long ago, not even a year ago. 41:47 There is a 16 page document that it was released 41:51 for the Orthodox Churches coming from the pen of the pope. 41:59 You remember he was the overseer of their doctrine of the faith. 42:04 It says, the Orthodox Churches meaning, 42:06 they are Greek orthodox, Russian orthodox, 42:08 the Orthodox Church in middle-eastern, 42:09 Orthodox Churches are suffering from a wound, 42:13 they use the word wound 42:14 because they do not worship the pope. 42:18 Now, you know, what the big argument is 42:21 that they have been trying to reconcile with the Lutherans 42:24 and they have just about done that 42:25 with the Church of England, with the Orthodox Churches 42:30 is will they acknowledge the supremacy of the pope. 42:33 When the pope comes in his jet with his regalia 42:36 and all of the attention of head of state, 42:39 he is trying to impress these other churches 42:41 that he deserves that presage. 42:44 Notice, I'm gonna read on here. 42:45 What really caught people's attention is what was further-- 42:48 the further description of Protestants, 42:50 not just the other Orthodox Churches, 42:52 saying, their wound, the wound of the Protestants 42:55 is even more profound. 42:57 The document went on to say that it is difficult to see 43:00 how the title of a church 43:02 could possibly be attributed to Protestants. 43:05 Because there can't even be a titled church. 43:08 It also affirms that the Roman Catholic Church 43:10 is the "only true Church" on earth. 43:13 It further said off a firestorm of criticism 43:15 among Protestants and other Christian denominations 43:18 because the document said, they were not true churches 43:21 but merely ecclesial communities 43:23 and therefore they had no means of salvation. 43:26 A lose translation of that, they cannot be saved outside of us. 43:33 At least, we got the courtesy to say, 43:34 yeah, there will be Catholics in Heaven. 43:36 There will be Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox 43:38 and Baptists and all, people who are not part of my church 43:41 are gonna be in heaven. 43:43 But the Catholic Church says, 43:44 their means of salvation is lost. 43:48 So, all of the smiles in the nice cities that you see 43:52 nothing is changed as recently as last year 43:55 in what their believes are. 43:57 I want to read something, oh, boy, my clock is going fast. 43:59 Let me read something to you 44:01 from a book written by little old lady 44:04 with just about three grades of education. 44:06 This is in a book called "Great Controversy." 44:08 You ever heard that? I recommended. 44:11 There is a chapter in here called, "Liberty of Conscience" 44:14 different versions of the book use different chapter titles. 44:18 And I think you are gonna find this in about page 562 to 563. 44:24 "Romanism is now regarded by Protestants 44:27 with far greater favor than in former years. 44:30 There is an increasing indifference 44:32 concerning the doctrines that separate the reformed churches 44:34 from the papal hierarchy. 44:36 The opinion is gaining ground 44:37 but after all, we do not differ so widely upon vital points 44:40 as it been supposed, 44:42 and that a little concession on our part 44:43 will bring us into a better understanding with Rome." 44:45 Let's make little concessions, but what they don't know 44:48 was happening is over the last 100 years, 44:51 we have been making all the concessions. 44:53 So, if you got two people 44:54 that are separated by doctrinal differences 44:56 and you say let's make some concessions and come together 44:58 and you got one group that keeps making all the concessions 45:02 protestants will be full most in stretching their hand 45:04 across abyss, the class behind the Romanism. 45:08 The one who is making the concessions is far most. 45:14 "We don't differ so widely, few concessions will bring us 45:16 into a better understanding with Rome." 45:18 Listen to this, "The time was when Protestants placed 45:21 such a high value upon the liberty of conscience 45:24 which has been so dearly purchased. 45:26 They taught their children to abhor to shun popery, 45:31 they held that to remain at peace with Rome 45:33 is to be disloyalty to God." 45:36 Making peace with Rome is disloyalty to God. 45:39 When someone claims the purgatives of Christ 45:41 that's blasphemy. 45:43 Christian's should not be indifferent 45:44 or uncomfortable with that. 45:46 If you love Jesus and someone 45:48 is claiming to be His representative 45:49 and the Bible calls him a son of perdition and antichrist 45:52 you shouldn't be comfortable. 45:54 Ah, you know, when first I heard the pope was coming 45:56 you know, I got friends they get so wound up 45:59 over everything that I like to stay balanced. 46:02 And everything the pope sneezes they send me a letter. 46:05 And I'm not like that, I don't want you to understand 46:07 and so you know I just thought of take this all and stride 46:10 and the more I watch things happening 46:11 over the course of the weekend I felt very disturbed 46:13 and the Holy Spirit was saying that you heard of Satan. 46:15 You are watching prophecy get fulfilled 46:17 and you are being mesmerized like everybody else 46:20 to just shrug it off 46:22 and then I picked up this book and started reading. 46:24 And remember pastors, I read this to you when we met Friday. 46:27 I said, I'm getting stirred that things were happening. 46:34 "The defenders of popery declare she has been maligned 46:36 and the Protestant world is inclined to accept this." 46:39 She is just been misunderstood. 46:41 "Many urge that it is unjust to judge the Roman Church of today 46:44 by the abominations and absurdities 46:45 that marked her reign 46:46 during the centuries of ignorance and darkness." 46:49 I hear these same arguments. 46:50 Oh that was back then, everybody was mixed up back then 46:53 but they haven't changed their doctrines. 46:56 "Have these persons forgotten the claim of infallibility, 47:00 for eight hundred years put forth by this haughty power? 47:04 The people church will never relinquish 47:06 a claim of infallibility. 47:09 All that she has done in her persecution 47:10 of those who reject her dogmas she holds to be right 47:14 and would she not repeat the same acts, 47:16 should she have the opportunity? 47:18 Let the restraints now imposed 47:22 by secular governments be removed 47:24 and Rome will be reinstated to her former power, 47:28 there would be a speedy revival of her tyranny and persecution." 47:33 I don't have time to read all this. 47:35 "But Romanism as a system is no more in harmony 47:38 with the gospel of Christ now 47:39 than at any former period of history. 47:42 The Protestant churches are in great darkness, 47:45 or they would discern the signs of the times." 47:47 Listen, listen, "The Roman Church is far-reaching 47:51 in her plans and modes." Very patient. 47:54 "She is employing every device to extend her influence 47:57 and increase her power in preparation," 47:59 all of this is in preparation 48:01 "for a fierce and determined final conflict 48:04 to regain control of the world." 48:07 That's what Malacia Martin, former Judge 48:10 said in his book "This Blood." 48:12 He said there is a battle for control of the world. 48:15 Now, tell you not only is that pope working right now, 48:17 aggressively to try to win Protestant and Jews, 48:22 they understand that Islam 48:24 is something that he needs to deal with 48:26 and he knows that unless he consolidate the Christian world 48:30 they are not going to be able to stand against 48:32 the explosion of the Islamic religion 48:35 and the pope says they are looking for a spiritual leader 48:37 in the Christian world right now, 48:39 to deal with the fanatical Islamic extremism 48:43 and he is coming here to say 48:45 I'm going to be your hope for leadership. 48:47 We need to pull together. 48:50 I just made a prediction 48:51 did you hear me, did you catch that? 48:54 I think that's what happening here, 48:55 because he realizes the Islamic 48:57 and Muslim religion is exploding in Europe. 48:59 And the old strong holds of Catholicism 49:02 are greatly threatened now 49:04 in France and Spain and other places. 49:08 And if you know your history 49:09 you will know that lots of battles happened 49:11 during the crusades with that same power. 49:13 They need to support a Protestants to win that battle 49:16 and Protestants are beginning to think we need help too 49:20 in our war against terror. 49:22 I just kind of see a trend here. 49:29 "Protestants have tampered with and patronized popery, 49:32 they have made compromises and concessions 49:34 which papists themselves are surprised to see, 49:36 and they fail to understand. 49:38 Men are closing their eyes to the real character of Romanism, 49:41 and the dangers to be apprehended from her supremacy. 49:45 The people our land need to be arouse 49:47 to resist the advances of this most dangerous foe 49:51 to civil and religious liberty." 49:54 That's what I'm talking about, dear friends. 49:55 I'm talking about somebody who comes to our shores 49:58 that claims to be both the leader of the church 50:00 and the leader of a government. 50:03 The reason America was founded is we were a beast that came up 50:07 up with two horns like a lamb. 50:08 You know what those two lamb-like horns were? 50:11 Freedom of Religion we have a government without a king. 50:14 We get to choose our king, and he better behave well 50:16 or we're gonna choose another one. 50:18 So it gives us a freedom, there's accountability. 50:21 And we have freedom of religion, 50:24 freedom of government, freedom of religion. 50:26 When someone comes to our shores and they deny that, 50:29 and they say, "I'm a sovereign over my own country," 50:31 I am the king, I am the religious leader, 50:33 I am the government leader," 50:35 and we start to ally with that, 50:37 we're moving backwards from our liberties, 50:41 where they're gonna start-- and don't you remember, 50:42 what the Catholic Church did during the inquisition? 50:44 They said, "This is what you believe. 50:45 And if you don't believe what we tell you to believe, 50:47 we're sending armies and we have the right to take your property, 50:50 we have the right to take your life. 50:53 They haven't renounced that. 50:56 They make very veiled apologies 50:58 but you read them carefully they don't really apologize. 51:02 Well, friends, I need-- 51:05 I think we need to be aware of what's happening. 51:09 You know, things aren't gonna change radically next week 51:14 but something happened. 51:16 This week was very interesting historically. 51:19 Passover, 200 year anniversary, 51:22 an election year in America, no accident 51:24 this was a very carefully calculated trip 51:27 to impress any future power in America. 51:29 Who is in-charge? 51:32 Now, we live in a day where not too many people 51:34 cut down trees with axes anymore. 51:35 Any of you ever remember 51:36 when we used an axe to cut down a tree? 51:40 I can do it, you will be impressed. 51:43 Pastor Doug, can hit a fly on a block of wood with an axe. 51:48 I can, I might have to swing 50 times 51:50 but eventually I will get him. 51:52 And the fly has to be dead. 51:55 No, I'm pretty good and I have cut down trees with an axe. 52:00 And if you ever fell a big tree with an axe 52:03 you know that you got to watch it 52:07 because you get your back cut 52:09 and then you start your under cut 52:10 and you chip away one and the chip fly 52:13 if you got a sharp axe they fly out one at a time 52:15 and every swing as you start to get a big bite in that undercut 52:18 you got to be listening because you don't know 52:21 which chip it's gonna be where all of a sudden 52:23 you can hear a creak and a crack and you better run 52:26 because those widowmaker will come of the tree 52:27 and they will take your life. 52:29 Those branches fall down and so those last few swings, 52:31 the little chip here little chip there 52:34 eventually, the tree goes down. 52:36 Well, in case you didn't know, we lost that big chip this week. 52:41 And it's happening chip by chip, swing by swing. 52:45 Things are changing and we are at risk 52:47 of loosing our freedom, friends. 52:50 You know I thought it would be appropriate for us to-- 52:53 I challenge you read the book Great Controversy, 52:55 especially that chapter if you have, 52:57 and I just read a few small excerpts. 53:00 We are forgetting our heritage and how we started. 53:02 You know one more thing, 53:04 It's also interesting that at one point 53:07 there were only Protestants on the Supreme Court. 53:10 Now, the Catholics on the Supreme Court 53:12 outnumber the Protestants. 53:14 Chip, chip, chip happening little by little 53:18 things are going to change. 53:19 Some national or international disaster, 53:24 economic, natural disaster, something's gonna trigger it. 53:27 We're all gonna be looking for a daddy to run to, 53:31 someone to help save us, a spiritual leader. 53:33 You watch how quickly, who do you think 53:36 people are gonna turn to like a compass needle? 53:38 Especially when now and the flood of immigration, 53:43 the denominational makeup of our country is changing. 53:48 It's happening before your very eyes, friends, 53:49 we need to wake up. 53:51 And I hope that your personal relationship with Jesus, 53:54 'cause no matter what you know about prophecy, 53:55 if you don't know Jesus, it won't save you. 53:58 You've got to have a personal relationship with Christ 54:00 and appreciate salvation by grace that He offers. 54:04 Why don't we turn in our hymns to our closing hymns, 54:06 by Martin Luther of all things, A Mighty Fortress, 506. 54:24 A mighty Fortress is our God 54:30 A Bulwark never failing 54:35 Our Helper He amid the flood 54:41 Of mortal ills prevailing 54:47 For still our ancient foe 54:52 Doth seek to work us woe 54:56 His craft and power are great 55:00 And, armed with cruel hate 55:05 On earth is not his equal 55:12 Did we in our own strength confide 55:18 Our striving would be losing 55:24 Were not the right Man on our side 55:29 The Man of God's own choosing 55:35 Dost ask who that may be? 55:40 Christ Jesus, it is He 55:44 Lord Sabaoth His Name 55:49 From age to age the same 55:53 And He must win the battle 56:00 And though this world, with devils filled 56:06 Should threaten to undo us 56:12 We will not fear, for God hath willed 56:18 His truth to triumph through us 56:24 The Prince of Darkness grim 56:28 We tremble not for him 56:33 His rage we can endure 56:37 For lo! His doom is sure 56:42 One little word shall fell him 56:50 Let's pray that God will really fill our hearts with His Spirit 56:53 we can be totally surrendered and take a stand for the truth. 56:55 Do it lovingly, do it with tacking wisdom 56:58 but we got to speak up. 57:00 Father in heaven, Lord, we do believe 57:03 that today we are living in ominous time, 57:06 when prophecy is being fulfilled. 57:08 We see our beloved country rolling out the red carpet 57:12 for one who at one time was recognized 57:15 as the very antichrist. 57:17 And this is unsettling war and we realize what we believe 57:21 and preach which was once the foundation 57:24 of all protestant churches is now becoming unpopular. 57:28 Even in our own church, it's sometimes unpopular. 57:32 I pray Lord, that we will not be intimidated 57:34 but we will speak up for the truth 57:36 realizing the power of Your word. 57:38 I pray that You will be with each person 57:40 help us to realize the times in which we live 57:42 that Jesus is coming soon. 57:45 And that we will be resolved both with our minds 57:47 because it's true in with our heart 57:49 because we love You to be fully surrendered. 57:51 Bless us Lord, we pray You'll prolong 57:54 the freedom and tranquility we have in our country 57:57 to preach the truth while people are willing to listen 58:01 while we have this freedom. 58:02 Be with us as we go from this place to live the truth. 58:05 We thank You, and we ask this in Jesus name. Amen |
Revised 2014-12-17