Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: GMTB
Program Code: GMTB000024
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00:19 Hello and welcome to Give Me The Bible.
00:21 And welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:24 And we just thank you for 00:26 joining us tonight. This is a live program 00:28 so as I always like to encourage you to call your friends, 00:30 your enemies, your neighbors, everybody. 00:32 Tell them to tune in to 3ABN. 00:35 Elder Kenneth Cox is going to be here 00:37 bringing us a message tonight, 00:38 and the topic is on pagan Rome. 00:41 And it's... he's talking about, of course, end-time events. 00:44 And I believe that we are living... 00:45 don't you all believe we are living in the end times 00:47 of earth's history? 00:49 And I'm thankful for people... men of God like Elder Cox 00:52 who have been traveling for many, many years 00:54 literally to many countries around the world. 00:57 God has given him a gift. 00:58 He's given him a burden for souls. 01:00 And He's given him, I think, a great gift for communication. 01:04 And I'm thankful and 3ABN is very thankful 01:08 to be able to work with the Cox Evangelistic Team. 01:11 And of course Dona is here, and she's going to be playing 01:14 and quite a few other folk. And tonight Emily Felts-Jones 01:18 is going to be singing for us in just a moment. 01:20 And I appreciate it, and Dona, I told Emily tonight... 01:23 I said: "I think you're getting better with age. " 01:25 And every time I hear this lady sing she so blesses me. 01:28 And aren't you glad for people that know... 01:30 It's not about singing, it's about communicating, isn't it? 01:34 And that's what Elder Cox does with the gospel. 01:36 That's what Dona does here on the keyboard. 01:38 But Emily does that because I told her... I said: 01:40 "It goes from here from you to right here when I listen. " 01:44 And tonight she's going to be doing a beautiful song 01:46 It's entitled: What a Friend. 01:48 Jesus - What a Friend for Sinners. 02:08 Oh Jesus, what a friend 02:13 for sinners. 02:16 Jesus, lover of my soul. 02:22 Friends may fail me, 02:25 foes assail me, 02:29 but He - my Savior - makes me whole. 02:35 Hallelujah, 02:38 what a Savior. 02:42 Hallelujah, what a friend. 02:48 Saving, helping, 02:51 keeping, loving... 02:55 He is with me to the end. 03:06 Oh Jesus, I do now 03:11 receive Him. 03:17 More than all in Him I find. 03:23 He has granted me 03:26 forgiveness. 03:29 And I am His, 03:32 and He is mine. 03:37 Jesus, what a help 03:42 in sorrow 03:44 while the billows o'er me roll. 03:50 Even when my heart 03:55 is breaking, 03:57 He - my comfort - helps my soul. 04:03 Hallelujah, 04:07 what a Savior. 04:11 Hallelujah, 04:14 what a friend. 04:17 Saving, helping, 04:20 keeping, loving... 04:24 He is with me to the end. 04:31 Hallelujah, 04:33 oh what a Savior. 04:37 Hallelujah, yes... 04:40 Yes, what a friend. 04:43 Saving, helping, 04:47 keeping, loving... 04:50 He is with me 04:53 to the end. 04:58 Hallelujah, 05:00 oh what a Savior He is! 05:08 Amen. 05:11 Thank you, Emily. Appreciate that. 05:13 And good evening to each one of you. 05:15 Good evening. Very happy to welcome you back again tonight. 05:19 We hope that you are following 05:22 as we are going through this series on Bible prophecy. 05:26 We hope it's helpful. 05:27 Those of you who are watching 05:29 by television, we'd like to welcome you. 05:32 Hope that you're finding 05:34 the scriptures that we're going through 05:37 to help you understand how God is taking us just step by step 05:41 down through time. And we're looking at the subject 05:46 entitled Five Have Fallen. 05:49 In Revelation the 17th chapter 05:53 it speaks about five that have fallen. 05:57 And that's what we're looking at. 05:58 And we've studied on Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece. 06:04 And tonight we're taking a look at pagan Rome. 06:08 We have one more of those to fall, 06:11 and we'll take a look at that in our next presentation 06:14 which is entitled Papal Rome. 06:17 Take a look and see just exactly how these all fit together 06:22 step by step by step. 06:24 So we hope that you'll be able to be with us 06:27 as we finish up this series on Five Have Fallen. 06:32 To look at God's Word... see what it has to say. 06:35 Little poem that we try to quote that helps you, we hope, 06:41 see things: What says the Bible, 06:44 the blessed Bible? 06:46 This my only question be. 06:49 Search the scriptures for the waymarks... 06:52 the great prophetic waymarks. 06:55 What says the Word of God to me? 06:58 That's what we want to know. 07:00 So we hope that you'll follow as we continue 07:03 to study God's Word in each one of our sessions here. 07:07 We thank you for being with us. 07:09 And we've been delighted to have Emily Felts-Jones 07:13 with us. Enjoyed her music. 07:15 She's going to sing for us tonight This Is The Way. 07:27 Jesus says "I am the Way. " 07:29 And to the one who's still wandering He says: 07:33 "I know you must be weary, 07:37 so tired and turned around. 07:41 Down every dark and sinful street your heart 07:46 has cried out loud. 07:49 So I have come to show you 07:53 the way, the truth, the life. 07:57 Don't wander in the darkness 08:01 when you can walk in light. 08:06 This is the way, My child. 08:10 This is the way. 08:14 This narrow road leads home... 08:17 it's not far away. 08:22 And that voice inside of you 08:26 is saying 'I died for you. ' 08:29 Don't turn away. 08:32 I promise today... 08:34 this is the way. " 08:43 So many destinations 08:46 and different roads to choose. 08:50 The world will leave your searching soul 08:55 so empty and confused. 08:58 But there is one direction 09:02 and the signs are very clear. 09:06 It is the path of perfect peace, 09:11 and it begins right here. Yes it does. 09:16 "This is the way, My child. 09:19 This is the way. 09:23 This narrow road leads home... 09:27 it's not far away. 09:31 And that voice inside of you 09:35 is saying 'I died for you. ' 09:39 Don't turn away. 09:41 I promise today... 09:43 this is the way. " 09:48 "Lost and lonely traveler 09:52 you've traveled far too long. 09:56 Just reach out and take My hand 10:00 and I will lead you home. " 10:03 "This is the way, My child. 10:07 this is the way. 10:10 This narrow road leads home... 10:14 but it's not far away. 10:18 And that voice inside of you 10:23 is saying 'I died for you. ' 10:27 Don't turn away. 10:29 I promise today... 10:31 this is the way. 10:35 Oh, I promise today 10:41 I am the Way. " 11:08 Our Heavenly Father, tonight 11:12 we come to You thankful 11:15 that indeed You are the Way. 11:19 Help us to see and to understand 11:22 the way that You lead. 11:24 May we walk in the light of Your Word. 11:29 May our hearts be open. 11:32 May they be soft; may they be receptive 11:34 to the Spirit of God. 11:36 Give us understanding tonight 11:39 we pray in Christ's name, Amen. 11:47 Well, we've been looking at this text 11:50 in Revelation because 11:52 this kind of takes everything 11:54 and wraps it up 11:56 right down at the end. 11:57 And so we read here in Revelation the 17th chapter 12:01 and verse 10... It says: 12:13 And we're going to be looking at that. 12:15 We're going to establish the one that is... 12:17 the one that's yet to come. 12:24 So you have here these seven kings. 12:27 Five of them have fallen. 12:30 And we'll look at those five during this series 12:35 and then in the next series we're going to continue on 12:38 and we're going to bring you step by step right down 12:42 to our present day and what is happening. 12:46 So we hope that the subject on prophecy 12:49 will give you an insight 12:51 to what is taking place in the world today 12:54 and that you and I may prepare our hearts 12:58 for the coming of the Lord. 12:59 So we hope that all of you will be able to continue to follow 13:02 as we go through this series. 13:05 So we have looked at those five that have fallen. 13:09 We've looked at Babylon. 13:11 And remember how that God gave directions 13:15 to Nebuchadnezzar. And through prophets such as Isaiah 13:19 and Jeremiah and Ezekiel He told exactly what we going to happen. 13:24 And it took place just exactly as God said it would. 13:29 Right on time. 13:31 And then Babylon fell to Medo-Persia... 13:36 which was the bear. 13:38 Remember it said that this beast had seven heads. 13:41 One of those heads is the bear. 13:43 And again, God in His Word 13:46 prophesied hundreds and hundreds of years before it happened 13:50 exactly what was going to happen. 13:52 And we looked at those prophecies concerning 13:55 Medo-Persia... what took place with that. 13:57 And then we found that Medo-Persia fell to Greece. 14:02 And again, God outlined clearly in His Word... 14:07 said what would happen... what would take place. 14:09 It said that this power would be a world power. 14:12 All the others had been tremendous powers, but 14:14 they didn't control like Greece did. 14:17 And Greece just took everything before it. 14:21 We found that took place just like that. 14:24 And then it said that after Greece there would be another 14:29 kingdom. And that's what we're looking at tonight 14:31 in that of pagan Rome. 14:34 Pagan Rome, folks... totally different. 14:39 When we went to Babylon, we had Nebuchadnezzar. 14:44 I mean, he was the figure. 14:46 He's the one that promoted the kingdom. 14:50 He's the one that fought the battles. 14:52 He's the main figure. 14:54 When you come to Medo-Persia, 14:56 Cyrus. 14:58 He's the main figure. 14:59 He's the one that united the kingdom, brought it together. 15:02 Fought. Did all those things. 15:04 When you come to Greece, 15:07 Alexander the Great. 15:09 One that did it and led all the people. 15:11 Brought about all the kingdoms. 15:13 But when you come to Rome, 15:16 it's not that way. 15:18 There's not any person like those that stood up. 15:22 Rome is a political machine 15:27 like they had never experienced before. 15:30 It was a political machine that just came in 15:35 and I mean took everything that it came to. 15:39 It is referred to as the iron monarchy of Rome. 15:44 Strong power. 15:46 This was Rome. 15:48 In fact, it was controlled by a senate. 15:53 They had a senate. 15:55 They had people in lesser positions, 15:58 and they were the ones that went in and they organized 16:01 town and city one right after another. 16:04 And they put all that together, 16:06 and that machine just moved across the country 16:09 and took everything within its way. 16:12 It even speaks of it in those terms. 16:15 In fact, you had to belong 16:19 to the army... you had to work in the army for 10 years 16:25 before you could hold any political office in Rome. 16:30 That was required. You had to be in there for 10 years 16:34 before you could hold a political office in Rome. 16:38 That way they kept control of it. 16:41 The army was tremendously strong, 16:43 and those people in office were military people. 16:47 And they moved across the country and took 16:50 everything that they came in contact with. 16:54 Now as you look at this map, 16:56 you remember as we look at it there that we have studied 17:00 for three nights here, and all of our attention 17:04 has been down here in Asia. 17:07 And it's been there with all these countries 17:12 in which Asia was there... Asia Minor, and those. 17:15 And with the coming of Greece 17:19 we found there was a major shift. 17:22 Whereas before it was all controlled by Asia 17:26 now it has moved to Europe... 17:29 and so we're in Europe. 17:31 And now for the next 2,000 years and better 17:35 Europe is going to control the world. 17:38 The Italian people moved down into Italy, 17:43 and they began to set up these cities 17:46 and they began to set up this government 17:49 like the... never had been experienced before. 17:52 And they welded that all together, and Rome became 17:56 a tremendous power: 17:58 a powerhouse that took everything 18:01 that was there before them. 18:03 And so with that, we come to the Word of God 18:07 and it has this to say. 18:09 Daniel 2. We've looked at Daniel 2 18:12 and we're going back to Daniel because Daniel lines this up. 18:15 Says: 18:25 "This image's head was of fine gold" 18:30 which represented who? 18:33 Babylon. 18:34 "Its chest and its arms of silver" which represented 18:39 Medo-Persia. 18:41 "Its belly and its thighs of bronze" 18:43 which represented Greece, 18:46 and "its legs of iron" which represent Rome. 18:52 Pagan Rome: the legs of iron. 18:54 Goes on and tells us here: 19:15 And that's what I was telling you about. 19:17 It moved that way across the country and took everything 19:22 that was before it. It was strong! 19:24 Great iron power of Rome. 19:27 Interesting because Rome was made up of two parts. 19:33 There was western Rome and eastern Rome. 19:38 Those were the two parts. 19:40 Interesting that this image in Daniel 2 has two legs. 19:45 See? God is so accurate in what He does. 19:48 When He got to Medo-Persia, two powers came together. 19:52 Image had two arms. 19:54 When we get to Rome, made up of eastern and western Rome, 19:57 two legs of Rome. 19:59 So here Rome is going to rule and operate and... take 20:06 kingdom after kingdom. 20:08 So with that, let's go to Daniel the 7th chapter. 20:11 Because I told you that one of the principles in understanding 20:15 Bible prophecy is the fact that it repeats and enlarges. 20:20 Repeats and enlarges. 20:23 And that's the way you understand it. 20:25 That's the way God helps us understand it. 20:27 So as we take a look at the 7th chapter, it says: 20:42 See, this is not... this is not talking about 20:45 a horn like that - you know? - 20:48 which was represented maybe as Alexander the Great was. 20:53 This is talking about a beast that is terrible. 20:56 This is a government, a power, that is moving across the earth. 21:09 So Rome, moving across the country... taking 21:13 everything before it. 21:24 This beast is a non-descript beast. 21:28 The others... we had a lion. We know what that looks like. 21:33 When you come to Medo-Persia it was a bear. 21:36 Come to Greece it's a leopard. 21:39 But when you come to Rome, it's a dragon. 21:43 It's a non-descript beast like nothing before. 21:48 It was different than all those before it. 21:51 One of the famous historians by the name of Gibbon 21:55 had this to say: 22:07 And so you find that it took everything before it. 22:13 Now as we take a look at this we go to Daniel 8. 22:16 We've looked at Daniel 2; now we've looked at Daniel 7. 22:20 Now we're moving into the 8th chapter. 22:23 In the 8th chapter it begins describing... 22:27 in a little more detail we begin to see what happens here. 22:31 And it says: 22:32 "Therefore the male goat"... that was who? 22:36 Who was the male goat? 22:38 Greece, OK? 22:56 The four notable ones that came up were what? 22:59 Well, those were Alexander the Great's generals. 23:04 They are the ones that took over the kingdom of Greece 23:06 after that and it says they "came up towards the four 23:10 winds of heaven. " 23:11 Now watch carefully as we move into verse 9 23:15 because it gives us an insight. Verse 9 says: 23:18 "And out of one of them" - out of one of those winds - 23:22 out of one of the four winds... 23:36 This is exactly the way Rome went. 23:39 She moved out, and she moved towards the east, 23:42 and to the south, and into Palestine - the Glorious Land - 23:48 is what it's talking about. 24:01 Now this is saying that he exercised tremendous power 24:06 in a religious way. Watch: 24:17 Now when it refers to the "Prince of the host, " 24:20 it's talking about Jesus Christ. 24:22 So it says that this power was going to exercise itself 24:27 even to the "Prince of the host, " - to Christ - 24:37 So it says this power was going to do something 24:40 that would affect the daily sacrifice that was offered. 24:43 It was going to do something that would involve the temple. 24:47 The sanctuary would be cast down. 24:49 This power would do things 24:51 that none of the other powers had done. 25:05 And that's exactly what Rome did. 25:07 You remember, Rome was the one that was ruling 25:12 at the time Jesus was born. 25:15 Remember? 25:17 They were the one that was ruling. 25:19 And you remember that they exercised themselves 25:25 against it. Even tried to do away with Christ, 25:29 and we'll talk about that more in detail. 25:31 Rome not only did that... she's the one that came down 25:36 and defiled - if you please - the sanctuary. 25:40 Moved and set up a pagan image 25:44 right in the courtyard. 25:46 She's the one that did away 25:47 with the daily sacrifice 25:49 or the sacrifices. 25:50 She's the one that destroyed the temple. 25:53 She did all those things just as it had been prophesied 25:57 that she would do. 26:01 OK, we're going to go to the 11th chapter of Daniel. 26:05 And folks, let me say this. That the 11th chapter 26:09 for many people is hard to understand. 26:13 And many people read it 26:14 and don't know what it's talking about. 26:16 I have done something here that I hope will give you 26:20 a little bit of a clue what it's talking about. 26:22 Because in the 11th chapter it uses pronouns. 26:26 It uses he and she and so forth. 26:29 I have taken and put in red the name of the people 26:34 that's involved here, so I hope it will help you 26:38 as we read through it 26:39 to see what this 11th chapter is talking about. 26:42 And it says here in Daniel 11:15 27:16 And so this king came in and moved even into 27:22 Jerusalem and controlled everything. 27:24 Now this is the beginning of pagan Rome 27:28 moving in and taking over territory. 27:31 But as it progresses here in Daniel 11 it begins to talk 27:35 about some people that you are very familiar with. 27:39 Watch: 27:57 This was Mark Anthony. Mark Anthony, as you know, 28:01 took his forces - the Roman forces... 28:03 went down even into Egypt and controlled all these things. 28:08 This was Mark Anthony. 28:09 Probably the favorite son was Mark Anthony. 28:14 Very, very important person in scripture. 28:19 Then it says: 28:33 Now Mark Anthony went down to Egypt 28:36 and he fell in love with Cleopatra. 28:40 And he did... he even did - how should I put it? - 28:44 gave up things, gave up ruling and all because of her. 28:49 Very much in love with Cleopatra. 28:51 But did you notice what the scripture said about her? 28:54 Said that she would not stand with him. 28:59 What it says. Interesting. 29:01 Because he was very much in love with her. 29:04 Tried to go down and live in Egypt and forget about Rome 29:10 and all. But it says she didn't. 29:12 What she did is... she decided that, I guess, 29:18 that things looked more favorable for her with Caesar. 29:23 Julius Caesar. 29:25 And Julius Caesar had given warning to her 29:29 and to Mark Anthony to present themselves to him. 29:33 And she had her servant take her and wrap her up 29:38 and tie it and make a package - literally a package - 29:43 and carry her and laid her at the feet of Julius Caesar. 29:48 And of course, when they opened it up there was Cleopatra. 29:51 And... and Julius Caesar fell in love with her. 29:56 That's what happened. 29:58 What took place. So this is what that's talking about. 30:18 Now that word says ruler there. 30:21 In the King James Version I think it says prince. 30:25 And if you remember the story, 30:27 this is talking about one of Julius Caesar's officers - 30:33 a prince, a ruler there - 30:36 by the name of Brutus. 30:38 And you remember Brutus was the one who came to 30:42 Julius Caesar's favor 30:46 and came in his support. 30:49 Turned things around and all for him. 30:52 You have to understand what's happening here, folks. 30:55 Rome is a republic. 31:00 It... it's governed by a senate. 31:04 It's governed by representatives. 31:06 It's not governed by one man. 31:10 Julius Caesar wants to be a dictator. 31:15 That's what he's out to do. 31:17 He wants to rule it himself. 31:20 He wants to take over. 31:21 And this is what that's all about. 31:23 And this is why they killed him 31:27 is because he was wanting to be a dictator 31:31 and was not willing to let the republic run it 31:35 as he... as THEY felt that it should be. 31:47 That was Julius Caesar 31:49 as his companions and his friend Brutus 31:54 killed him. That's what took place. 31:57 Watch as the scripture continues: 32:19 Well, you remember this person 32:21 because this is the one who is ruling at the time 32:25 Jesus is born. Remember what it says there in Luke? 32:28 Luke 2? 32:38 He's the one that imposed tax 32:41 upon the Glorious Land. 32:43 So this was Caesar Augustus. 32:47 And by the way, he didn't die in any battle... he just 32:51 kind of, as it said, just... 32:55 died... and there wasn't much to do over him. 32:58 Now folks, we've looked at Daniel. 33:01 And we've gone through Daniel step by step, 33:03 and we've seen how God has talked about 33:05 each one of these powers. 33:08 We're now going to move into the book of Revelation. 33:11 Because Revelation now picks it up 33:15 where Daniel leaves off. 33:17 And so we've got to look at what the book of Revelation says 33:21 about this power. 33:22 You see, the books of Daniel and Revelation... 33:25 they go together. 33:26 If you're going to understand the book of Revelation, 33:29 you've got to understand the book of Daniel. 33:32 Daniel kind of sets the basis 33:35 to understand it. 33:36 So we're going to take a look 33:38 at what the book of Revelation 33:40 has to say. Revelation 12 verse 1: 33:54 So here we have a woman. 33:56 She's standing on the moon. 33:59 She's clothed with the sun. 34:01 On her head is a garland of twelve stars. 34:06 In Bible prophecy, a woman 34:10 represents a church. 34:13 What it stands for. 34:15 This woman represents the early church 34:18 because it says she's standing on the moon. 34:22 That represents the Old Testament period 34:25 that she's coming out of. 34:26 She's clothed with the sun... which represents the gospel 34:29 in all of its glory as it came out in the early church. 34:33 The crown or a garland of twelve stars represented 34:37 the 12 apostles that Christ had given the commission to. 34:40 So it tells us that this woman represents the church. 34:44 Listen to what the scripture says about this: 34:46 Says: 34:52 So... she's standing there. She's pregnant. 34:56 She's about to give birth to a child. 34:59 All right? 35:02 Ephesians. Let's go to Ephesians. 35:04 Watch what it tells us: 35:11 And by the way husbands, that's good advice. 35:14 Love your wives, OK? 35:17 But it says: "Just the same as Christ loved the church 35:20 and gave Himself for her" 35:30 Still talking about the church as the wife. 35:48 Now, if you didn't catch that, fellows, 35:51 that just told you how to love your wife. 35:55 Did you catch that? 35:57 It said "love your wives. " It just now told you how 36:00 because it says that He presents His church without having 36:04 spot or wrinkle or any such thing. 36:06 Without a blemish. If you can convince your wife 36:08 that she doesn't have a spot or a wrinkle or a blemish 36:11 she'll love you the rest of your life. 36:13 See? So this is how you're supposed to love your wife. 36:16 Care for her, see? That's the church. 36:19 And that's what Christ pictures His church as. 36:28 So in Bible prophecy a woman represents a church. 36:34 That's what it stands for. 36:36 OK. Here's this church in Revelation the 12th chapter 36:39 and it continues and says: 36:53 So here in Revelation 12 36:56 is this woman that represents the church. 36:58 But here you have a dragon 37:02 that has seven heads, ten horns. 37:05 Now it says that he's about to do something. 37:23 So this dragon... this woman is about to give birth to 37:28 a child, and this dragon is standing there 37:31 ready to devour that child as soon as it is born. 37:47 Now there's only been one child that's ever been born 37:51 that fulfills that prophecy. 37:54 Only one that's ever been born who fulfills that 37:57 that was to rule all nations with a rod of iron 37:59 was caught up to God and to His throne 38:02 was Jesus Christ. 38:04 He's the One that fulfilled that prophecy. 38:07 So it says this dragon is standing there before the woman 38:12 ready to devour this child 38:15 as soon as it is born. 38:19 Now I think all of you here remember the Christmas story 38:24 well enough to make the application. 38:26 Because you remember, these wise men 38:31 had been following the star. 38:34 They followed that star until it brought them to Jerusalem. 38:39 And when they got to Jerusalem, they began to inquire 38:42 about this child that was to be born a king. 38:46 In fact, it says it upset the whole city. 38:49 So much so that Herod called them in and asked them 38:55 about this... what they were looking for. 38:58 And they told him they were looking for this child 39:00 that's to be born a king. 39:02 And Herod went to the scribes. 39:05 Asked them where the child was to be born, 39:08 and they said: "Well, He's to be born down in Bethlehem. " 39:11 And he told the wise men to go on down to Bethlehem 39:15 and when they had found the child to come back and tell him. 39:19 You know, it's rather interesting to me 39:22 that Herod called in these scribes 39:25 and asked them where the child was to be born 39:30 and they said: "in Bethlehem, " 39:32 and they didn't even bother to go look. 39:36 Scribes didn't even bother to go see. 39:41 Be born there... but they didn't go look. 39:46 But those wise men... they followed the star 39:50 on down to Bethlehem, and there they found the child. 39:54 And they offered their gold, and their myrrh, 39:59 and their frankincense. 40:01 You know why they offered that, don't you? 40:03 See gold is a gift you give to a king. 40:09 Frankincense is what a priest uses, 40:14 and myrrh is what is used in burial. 40:19 You see, they were honoring Christ as King, 40:22 as Priest and as Sacrifice. 40:25 That's the reason they gave Him those three gifts. 40:28 But they offered them there to Christ. 40:31 And then it says a angel told those wise men 40:36 to go back a different way than they had come 40:39 because Herod sought the life of that child. 40:46 I don't know how much time passed, 40:48 but when Herod found out that the wise men had gone back 40:52 and had not told him, 40:54 he sent his soldiers down to Bethlehem 40:57 and had every male child 2 years of age and under 41:02 slain. 41:03 You see the dragon stood there before the woman 41:07 ready to devour that child as soon as it was born. 41:11 Now if you read the 12th chapter of Revelation, 41:14 it makes it very clear that that dragon represents 41:18 the devil... and that is true. That's who it stands for. 41:23 But the devil never, never comes out and does anything 41:27 in the open. He always uses a power or a system 41:32 to accomplish his ends. And in this case, 41:34 he used pagan Rome 41:37 to try to take the life of that child. 41:40 Try to take the life of Christ. 41:42 He would magnify himself 41:44 even to the Prince of the host. 41:49 And that pagan Rome did. 42:02 It says that the church - the woman - 42:05 would literally have to flee into the wilderness 42:09 where she hath a place prepared by God 42:13 and she would be there for 1,260 days. 42:26 He turned his power and all against the church 42:31 to try to destroy the church. To wipe it out. 42:34 And, dear friends, pagan Rome 42:37 turned all of her fury against the church. 42:42 Let me explain. 42:44 Rome didn't care 42:47 who you worshiped. 42:49 The Romans were pagans. 42:51 They were polytheistic. 42:54 They had many, many gods. 42:57 So... so they didn't care who you worshiped. 43:00 What Rome was concerned about 43:03 was your allegiance. 43:06 They wanted to know that you were loyal to Rome. 43:11 That's what they wanted to know. 43:13 And so to accomplish that 43:16 they set up their own... one of their own gods. 43:21 That's the one they set up: Roma. 43:24 The goddess Roma. 43:26 And they set it up, and all that was required of you 43:30 was that once a year you would have to come in 43:35 before this statue... this goddess... 43:38 and you would have to pick up a little bit of incense 43:42 and sprinkle it in the fire before this goddess 43:47 as an act of allegiance. 43:50 And then they gave you a certificate 43:53 and you could go out and worship whoever you pleased. 43:59 But the Christians wouldn't do that. 44:01 They said: "We will worship only the Lord 44:05 and nobody else. " 44:09 They refused. 44:11 And because they refused that, folks, 44:14 Rome turned her wrath against the church 44:17 like you can't believe. 44:19 I mean, they gathered them up and they took them to arenas. 44:25 And they stood them there in arenas, and the crowd... 44:30 great crowd. And you've got to understand... these people 44:33 were pagans. They are used to watching gladiators 44:37 fight and kill each other. 44:40 And so they gathered there in the arena 44:43 and they stood there and they turned thumbs down 44:49 on the Christians. 44:52 And lions that hadn't eaten 44:56 in days was turned into those arenas. 45:01 And those people became the food for lions. 45:07 Now, dear friend, when you're talking about this 45:09 let me just tell you something. 45:12 That is your heritage. Do you understand that? 45:17 When you say "I'm a Christian, " 45:20 that's your heritage. 45:23 Those are what those people believed and stood for. 45:27 That's why you're here tonight. 45:29 Without them, you wouldn't be here. 45:31 So when you and I say "I'm a Christian, " 45:36 you'd better believe that means something. 45:39 That stands for something. 45:41 You and I should be as faithful today 45:44 as they were back then. 45:46 That I stand and say: "This is what I believe. 45:49 I build my faith on this Book 45:51 and I worship the Lord and Him only will I worship. 45:55 Nobody else. " Amen. 45:58 And they turned their fury against the church. 46:01 Not for a little while, 46:03 but for years. 46:07 The church was persecuted. 46:09 You are looking at a picture of the Catacombs. 46:15 Those Christians went underground. 46:20 They dug tunnels under Rome 46:26 and they lived in these catacombs. 46:30 Folks, there were people that were born, 46:33 lived, and died without ever seeing daylight. 46:36 They spent their life in these catacombs. 46:40 I've been there; I've walked down through them. 46:44 I've walked there and looked at rooms 46:47 where the whole room was full of skulls 46:51 of the people that died living in those catacombs. 46:56 If they came out, they were caught, they were killed. 47:01 This is where they lived for years and years: 47:05 in the catacombs... 47:07 because pagan Rome sought them like animals to kill them. 47:13 Turned his wrath against them. 47:15 Those that didn't live in Rome... 47:18 they had to flee. 47:21 And they went up into northern Italy and southern France 47:27 into what we call the Alps. 47:29 And these became such people as the Waldensian people 47:33 or became the Albigenses or some of these 47:39 different people that lived up in these mountains. 47:44 They lived there because they believed 47:49 it gave them the freedom to worship as they believed. 47:54 You go up there and you walk through the beautiful places, 47:58 folks. I can't describe to you how beautiful some of those 48:02 valleys are. Torre Pellice and all through those places 48:06 is absolutely gorgeous 48:08 as you walk through them. 48:10 But they lived in those mountains, and 48:14 pagan Rome and Rome would send up people hunting them. 48:19 I mean, send up soldiers hunting them to take their lives. 48:24 It was interesting because as you go back and you read 48:28 the history of them... 48:29 Those soliders would come into those mountains to find them, 48:33 to hunt them. 48:34 And if they took out after one of those men, 48:40 they'd just run up the mountain 48:41 and the soliders couldn't keep up. 48:44 They were just not physically fit enough to catch them. 48:49 And they'd run up the mountain and just leave them. 48:51 They decided that since they'd do that, 48:54 they'd take the women. 48:56 They found out they couldn't outrun the women either. 48:59 They ran up the mountains too! 49:02 But they sought them and did everything... 49:04 I've stood... I've stood in the mouth of caves 49:10 where they worshiped in those caves. 49:13 Went there and worshiped. 49:15 And the soldiers would come and build fires 49:19 in the mouth of those caves 49:22 and suffocate them all to death. 49:24 They paid for what they believed with their lives. 49:30 This is where they were. 49:32 And so Rome persecuted them greatly. 49:37 As we come on down in time, 49:42 Rome has become more corrupt. 49:46 And I don't need to go into the story with you about 49:49 Nero and all these things, but it's become more corrupt. 49:53 But Rome has done some things, folks, 49:56 that is very, very helpful. 49:58 She has persecuted Christianity 50:01 but she has done some things that helped. 50:05 And what she did is she made the pathways - roadways, 50:10 the waterways - she made them safe for travel. 50:14 Roman soldiers marched down the road 50:17 carried a sign that said Pax Romana. 50:19 And thus people could travel from one place to another 50:24 without the fear of bandits and pirates and so forth 50:27 because Rome made it safe for travel. 50:31 I don't know if you understand what that happens... 50:34 what that did. 50:35 With Rome making the roads safe for travel, 50:39 it gave the opportunity for Christianity 50:43 to move across all the Roman Empire. 50:46 Without that, wouldn't have been able. 50:49 So she made those things possible. 50:51 But as she grew corrupt, 50:55 then down across the country moved a group of people 51:01 called the Goths. 51:04 They were barbarians, 51:06 and they came in and they began 51:09 to overrun the Roman Empire. 51:13 They were such people as the Anglo-Saxons, 51:17 the Franks, the Herulii, the Bergundians. 51:22 And these came down and they just ran over the Roman Empire 51:27 and broke it to pieces. 51:30 Broke it up. 51:32 And Rome... Rome fell. 51:38 Came to its end... 476 AD. 51:44 Rome has ruled longer than any other nation. 51:50 She's ruled from 168 BC 51:53 to 476 AD. 51:56 She's ruled. 51:58 But these Germanic tribes 52:00 have come in and they've broken up the Roman Empire... 52:04 bringing it to its end. 52:07 But then the scripture says: 52:15 That are the 10 Germanic tribes. 52:19 They came out of the Roman Empire. 52:22 That's what it's saying: will rise out of this kingdom - 52:24 out of Rome. Those 10 Germanic tribes... 52:28 the Anglo-Saxons, the Franks, the Herulii, the... excuse me... 52:33 the Herulii, the Vandals, Ostrogoths... 52:36 all those became the nations of western Europe. 52:43 See, they became the nations like the Anglo-Saxons 52:47 became the English. 52:48 Franks became the French. 52:51 Allemani became the Germans. 52:54 And so you have... they became the nations 52:56 of western Europe today. 52:58 Now watch carefully... 53:13 It says there's going to be another little one, 53:16 and that's what our next presentation's about. 53:19 The next power that comes on the scene of action. 53:22 So we've looked at Babylon. 53:24 Babylon fell to Medo-Persia. 53:30 Medo-Persia fell to Greece. 53:35 Greece fell to pagan Rome. 53:39 And now we find that pagan Rome 53:42 is going to fall to the fifth one 53:46 just exactly as the scripture said. 53:49 So we're down almost to the fifth one. 54:04 So we'll take a look at that fifth one 54:06 in our next presentation, 54:08 and we'll see how God is taking us just step by step by step 54:12 down through time as we come down to the very end 54:16 of this series. And then we're going to move into the next one 54:20 and bring us right on down to the time in which you and I 54:23 are living. 54:25 So I hope you'll continue to get into your Bibles. 54:28 Study Bible prophecy: you'll find it's interesting 54:31 and God will bless you in a very special way. 54:33 So we hope all of you have a good night. 54:36 Stay close to the Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you. 54:41 The Bible says in Matthew 13:44 54:58 Every day we pass by ordinary places 55:01 that may be hiding something of incredible value. 55:04 Whether buried in a field or squirreled away in an attic, 55:08 or even an old, fallen-down house. 55:11 But imagine for a moment the thrill of stumbling 55:15 upon a treasure beyond your wildest dreams. 55:18 Will you eagerly sell everything you have 55:21 to gain something of much greater value? 55:24 Will you be willing to endure criticism of friends, 55:27 even family members, in order to obtain it? 55:30 This parable speaks of the most incredible treasure of all, 55:34 and it's hidden in God's Word. 55:37 That treasure is Jesus Christ himself. 55:42 But sadly, even those who claim Him 55:45 often don't recognize this infinite treasure. 55:48 Just watch how quickly they toss aside what the Bible says 55:53 when it becomes inconvenient. 55:57 Friends, the treasure of the gospel are hidden in God's Word. 56:01 Many of its readers have eyes, but they do not see. 56:06 They have ears, but they don't hear. 56:09 They never find its hidden treasure. 56:12 In fact, they may read it over and over 56:15 and never see it. 56:16 Even worse, many times they do see it 56:19 but think the price is too high. 56:22 Like the Jews of old 56:24 who rejected the Messiah because He was not in harmony 56:27 with their ambitious desires, 56:29 many won't seek heavenly treasure 56:32 because earthly treasure is more alluring. 56:35 They reason that if they could just obtain the things 56:38 which they desire they would have peace. 56:41 Sadly, they don't realize that they carry the disturber 56:45 of their own peace inside their hearts. 56:47 They pass by the One who declared: 56:50 "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. 56:54 Not as the world gives do I give to you. 56:57 Let not your heart be troubled, 56:59 neither let it be afraid. " 57:03 The treasure of the Bible are revealed only to those 57:06 who carefully study its pages 57:09 with a humble and searching heart. 57:11 Our whole ministry is dedicated to helping men and women 57:14 find the priceless treasure hidden in the Bible. 57:17 We pray that you will not be satisfied 57:20 with surface truths 57:22 but instead you'll want to unearth the precious gems 57:26 that others pass by. 57:28 Dig into the Bible as a miner digs into the earth 57:32 to find veins of gold. Don't give up 57:34 until you have found a relationship with God, 57:37 and then join us in spreading the good news to the world. 57:42 Please consider what you can do 57:44 for those who still don't know about Jesus. 57:46 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:48 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 58:04 Your gifts help bring the Blessed Hope of salvation 58:06 to millions all around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17