Participants:
Series Code: GPC
Program Code: GPC000001A
|
00:30 Greetings everyone.
00:31 Thank you for coming to this first presentation 00:34 of God's Great Prophetic Chain. 00:37 During the next 10 sessions, 00:39 we are going to study primarily two great prophecies, 00:43 one from Daniel and the other from Revelation. 00:47 We will be studying Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 in detail. 00:53 Now I want to encourage you to attend all of the sessions. 00:56 It's important that you be here for all 10, 00:59 that includes not only those who are here, 01:01 but also those who are watching the live streaming 01:04 and will watch this on YouTube 01:06 because this is a chain of lectures. 01:09 If you miss one of them, 01:10 you're gonna miss a link in the chain 01:11 and the chain is broken. 01:13 So I would encourage everyone to please be here 01:16 for all 10 presentations 01:19 and that way you'll be able to get the complete picture. 01:22 Before we get in our study tonight 01:24 which is titled "God's Great Prophetic Chain." 01:27 We want to ask for the Lord's blessing 01:29 as we open His word 01:31 and so I invite you along with me 01:33 to bow your heads reverently 01:34 as we ask for the Lord's presence. 01:37 Father in heaven, 01:38 we come before Your throne 01:39 to thank You for the many blessings 01:41 that You pour out upon us each day. 01:44 Especially we thank You that You have given us a brain, 01:47 a brain that can reasoned, 01:48 a brain that can think and understand. 01:51 We ask Lord that You will speak to our minds 01:54 that You will give us understanding 01:55 not only in this lecture tonight 01:56 but also in all of the other lectures 01:59 that we are going to study in this series. 02:01 We ask for the presence of Your Spirit 02:04 and we claim that promise in the precious name of Jesus, 02:08 our Lord and savior, amen. 02:12 The Bible tells us four things about God's foreknowledge. 02:19 First of all, 02:20 the Bible tells us that God knows 02:22 the end from the beginning. 02:25 In other words, God knows all events 02:27 that are gonna take place in the future 02:29 before they happen. 02:30 Secondly, the Bible teaches us 02:33 that because God knows the future, 02:36 God knows everything that is going to take place. 02:41 He is able to predict how history will unfold. 02:47 Of course, if God knows what is gonna happen, 02:50 God can predict exactly how things are going to happen. 02:55 In the third place, 02:57 God is not a passive observer of history. 03:02 God is actively engaged in the process of history 03:08 to make sure that historical events are fulfilled 03:11 in harmony with His plan. 03:14 Finally, God does not keep the future secret. 03:19 God has revealed the future to the prophets. 03:23 And then the prophets reveal it to us 03:26 so that we could know 03:27 what is gonna happen in the future 03:29 and we can prepare for what is gonna take place. 03:32 So the four points that I want to repeat again 03:35 before we read verses from the Bible 03:37 to prove this points is number one, 03:39 God knows the end from the beginning. 03:41 Number two, because God knows the end from the beginning, 03:45 He is able to predict how history will develop. 03:48 Number three, 03:49 God is not a passive observer of history, 03:52 but God is actively engaged, 03:54 making sure that everything is fulfilled 03:56 according to His plan. 03:58 And finally, 03:59 God does not keep the future secret. 04:02 God is able to reveal His secrets to His prophets 04:07 and then the prophets relay the information to us, 04:09 so that we know what is gonna happen in the future 04:12 and we can prepare. 04:14 Now let's read two verses from the Bible 04:17 that tells us exactly this. 04:19 The first is found in Isaiah 46:9-11. 04:24 Isaiah 46:9-11, 04:27 "Remember the former things of old for I am God, 04:32 and there is no other. 04:35 I am God, and there is none like me, 04:38 declaring the end from the beginning, 04:42 and from ancient times things that are not yet done, 04:47 saying, 'My counsel shall stand, 04:51 and I will do all my pleasure.' 04:53 Calling a bird or prey from the east..." 04:55 It's speaking here about Cyrus, 04:57 who came against Babylon and led to the fall of Babylon. 05:00 So it says, "Calling a bird or prey from the east, 05:04 the man who executes My counsel, 05:07 from a far country. 05:09 Indeed I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass, 05:15 I have purposed it, I will also do it." 05:19 Do you see all of the key points 05:20 in these verses? 05:22 Very clearly. 05:23 Now does God reveal these secrets to us? 05:27 Or is that only God who knows them 05:29 and God who molds history? 05:31 The fact is that God not only knows history, 05:34 God not only molds history 05:36 but God also tells us the secrets 05:39 that are gonna take place in the future. 05:42 We find such a thing in Amos 3:7 where it says, 05:47 "Surely the Lord God does nothing, 05:51 unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets." 05:56 So God knows the future, yes. 05:58 And God reveals the future to us in His holy word 06:01 because He wants us to know 06:02 what's gonna happen and how we can prepare 06:05 for the stupendous events 06:07 that are gonna take place soon in this world. 06:10 Now in the next few days, 06:12 we are going to study some stunning prophecies 06:16 that have been fulfilled already in the past. 06:19 We are also gonna look at some prophecies 06:22 from the Bible that have not yet been fulfilled. 06:26 But we can know 06:27 because of the prophecies being fulfilled in the past, 06:30 we can be sure 06:31 that prophecy is going to be fulfilled in the future 06:34 because God has a track record. 06:38 In other words, if prophecy was fulfilled in the past, 06:41 we can be sure 06:42 that prophecy will be fulfilled in the future. 06:47 Now I must warn you that 06:48 what we're gonna study is not for the faint of heart. 06:53 We are not going to be politically correct. 06:56 We will tell it like it is, 06:59 just as the Bible portrays it. 07:02 Our study is going to appeal to our intellect 07:05 and not so much to our emotions. 07:08 In other words what we're going to study 07:10 is going to make absolute sense. 07:13 It's gonna be reasonable, 07:15 it's gonna be understandable 07:17 and we're gonna say, I did it. 07:20 Now our primary focus in this study 07:24 will be on the identity of the antichrist 07:28 that is mentioned in scripture. 07:30 However, the central focus is not only on the antichrist, 07:35 the focus is how Jesus Christ will gain the victory 07:38 eventually over the antichrist. 07:42 We are going to try and answer three main questions. 07:48 Number one, 07:49 who is the end time antichrist? 07:53 Number two, 07:54 at what stage in history does that antichrist appear? 07:59 And number three, 08:01 what will the antichrist be like? 08:03 In other words, how will the antichrist act? 08:07 Those are the central questions 08:09 that we're going to try to answer in this series 08:12 and our only source of authority 08:14 will be the Bible, 08:16 God's holy word. 08:19 Now in the course of history, 08:20 many candidates have been proposed 08:23 as the fulfillment of what the Bible calls 08:26 the little horn and the beast. 08:28 Another name for the little horn 08:30 or the beast is the antichrist. 08:32 Many candidates have been proposed 08:35 throughout the course of Christian history, 08:37 particularly in the last two centuries. 08:40 I remember that some Christians 08:43 believe that the antichrist might be Benito Mussolini 08:47 who was the premier of Italy 08:49 from 1922 until 1943 but of course, 08:54 he was hung in the plaza 08:55 and so it didn't quite work out. 08:58 Others individuals thought 08:59 that it might be Adolf Hitler 09:01 who was Fuhrer of Germany from 1934 to 1945. 09:07 We all know what happened to Adolf Hitler, 09:09 he certainly did not fulfill the antichrist 09:12 or the little horn or the beast prophecies. 09:15 Some though that it might be Ayatollah Khomeini, 09:18 the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran 09:22 who in 1979 established a revolution in Iran 09:26 that overthrew the Shah. 09:29 Others thought that it might perhaps be Yasser Arafat, 09:33 the chairman of the PLO 09:36 and the president of Palestinian authority. 09:39 Still others 09:41 and I'm talking about Christians 09:43 and beliefs that they've had throughout the course 09:45 of the last two centuries, 09:47 some individuals saw that it might be 09:49 Henry Kissinger, 09:50 who was a secretary of state 09:52 during the presidency of Richard Nixon. 09:55 Still others believed and I have a whole book 09:57 written by a Christian, 09:59 who said the antichrist is Saddam Hussein. 10:03 But Saddam Hussein of course was hung in the gallows. 10:05 So he certainly did not fulfill that prophecy. 10:09 I even noticed, 10:10 I actually watched a video 10:14 that lasted for over an hour 10:16 where the individual said that 10:17 the antichrist or a little horn is President Barrack Obama. 10:23 Now most Christians believe that 10:26 the antichrist will be a nasty individual 10:30 that rebuild the Jewish temple. 10:33 Build a great big image of himself 10:36 and command everyone to worship this image of himself. 10:41 He will impose a mark or a tattoo on the forehead 10:45 or on the right hand of his followers. 10:48 He will persecute the Jews 10:51 for three and half literal years. 10:54 If you go to conservative Christian churches 10:56 you'll find that this is the perspective 10:59 that is held today 11:00 in conservative Protestant churches 11:03 about the antichrist. 11:05 Now we'd like to say that of course, 11:07 none of these were the fulfillment of the prophecy 11:10 of the little horn or the prophecy 11:12 about the beast, 11:14 because simply that is not the perspective 11:16 that the Bible presents of the antichrist 11:20 or what we might call the little horn 11:23 or the beast of Revelation 13. 11:27 Obviously, all of these choices 11:29 that have been made throughout the course 11:30 of the last couple of centuries are simply guesses, 11:34 but we don't have to guess. 11:37 The Bible tells us 11:39 when the antichrist 11:41 or the little horn or the beast would arise, 11:44 the Bible tells us where this antichrist, 11:47 or this little horn or beast would arise, 11:49 and the Bible tells us what this antichrist, 11:53 little horn or beast was going to be like, 11:55 what the characteristics of this power would be? 11:59 So the Bible simply taking the testimony of the Bible 12:02 even a part from history, 12:04 we find clearly when the antichrist would arise? 12:08 Secondly, where he would arise? 12:10 And number three, 12:11 what would characterize this power? 12:15 Now we are going to follow 12:18 in this series of studies a careful, 12:22 disciplined, systematic 12:26 and logical approach to this subject. 12:29 There will be no guess work. 12:32 There will be no unfounded assumptions. 12:35 There will be no conjecturing. 12:38 We will use a method that comes forth 12:41 from the Bible text itself. 12:44 And that method is what we call, 12:46 well I call anyway the historical flow method. 12:50 It's also called historicism. 12:52 Let me explain 12:54 what the historical flow method is? 12:57 The historical flow method teaches 13:00 that the great chain prophecies of the Bible begin 13:04 to be fulfilled in the day in which the prophet wrote. 13:09 So we have a starting point 13:11 for the chain of Bible prophecy. 13:14 Also we find in this method, 13:16 there is a clear ending point to the chain of prophecy 13:20 and that ending point is the setting up of Christ's 13:24 everlasting kingdom at His second coming. 13:27 And then prophecy presents 13:29 all of the events that take place 13:31 between the starting point and the ending point. 13:34 In other words the chain has several links. 13:37 Each link connects with the previous link 13:41 leading us to the final climax or to the final consummation. 13:46 So we know where the chain begins, 13:48 it begins in the days 13:50 when the prophet wrote 13:51 and we see all of the events 13:53 that transpire step after step 13:55 throughout the course of Christian history 13:58 ending with the climax 14:00 at the second coming of Jesus Christ. 14:03 Now I want to read a statement 14:05 from my favorite book on Christian education. 14:09 This is from the book Education page 178, 14:12 where this method is explained in detail. 14:15 And we're gonna use this method, 14:17 we are not imposing this method on scripture, 14:20 it is the method that scripture itself presents 14:23 as to how to interpret prophecy. 14:27 This is how this statement reads, 14:29 Education page 178, 14:32 " The history which the great 14:34 I AM has marked out in His word, 14:37 uniting link after link in the..." 14:40 What? 14:42 "In the prophetic chain, 14:44 from eternity in the past to eternity in the future, 14:48 tells us where we are today in the procession of the ages, 14:53 and what may be expected in the time to come..." 14:57 See the chain tells us what has happened 14:59 and what is going to happen. 15:01 The statement continue saying, 15:03 "All that prophecy has foretold as coming to pass, 15:07 until the present time, 15:09 has been traced on the pages of history, 15:13 and we may be assured that 15:15 all which is yet to come will be fulfilled..." 15:19 How? 15:20 "In its order." 15:23 So there is order in Bible prophecy, 15:25 we can't simply guess and say, "Well, who is the antichrist? 15:28 Well, there is a nasty guy over there in the Middle East, 15:30 that must be the antichrist." 15:32 No, we must study prophecy in a disciplined way. 15:37 The Bible has presented the way in which we study it. 15:39 It begins in the days of the prophets, 15:42 link after link you can see the fulfillment 15:45 in the sequence that we find in the Bible, 15:47 climax scene with the setting up of Christ's 15:51 everlasting kingdom. 15:53 Now I need to mention 15:54 before we get into our chapter of study 15:56 for this evening which is Daniel 7. 15:59 I need to mention that in Bible prophecy 16:01 we are dealing with symbols, 16:04 we are not dealing with literal language. 16:07 In other words, we can't take the language 16:09 of Bible prophecy at face value. 16:12 We're gonna find in Daniel 7 16:14 for example if there is a lion with eagle wings. 16:17 Have you ever seen such a beast in real life? 16:19 Of course not. 16:21 We find a leopard that has four wings 16:24 and it has four heads. 16:25 I've never seen an animal like that 16:28 in the real world. 16:29 We find a dragon that has great iron teeth 16:32 and tramples everything 16:34 and it has 10 horns on its head. 16:36 Obviously, we are dealing not with literal animals, 16:39 the animals symbolize 16:41 or represents something beyond the literal. 16:46 In Bible prophecy then a symbol represents 16:49 something far greater than the mere symbol. 16:53 Now you say how do we understand 16:55 the meaning of symbols? 16:57 Of course, they have to be decoded 16:58 in order to understand what the symbol means. 17:01 How do you decode a symbol? 17:03 In two ways, 17:04 first of all many times the symbol is explained 17:08 in the very chapter that we're studying. 17:11 And you're gonna find a couple of examples 17:13 in our study tonight. 17:15 But when the context that you are studying 17:18 does not explain the symbol, 17:20 then you go to other parts of the Bible 17:23 that use the same symbol, 17:25 where the explanation is given 17:27 and those other parts of the Bible 17:30 will explain the meaning of the symbol 17:32 in the passage that you are studying, 17:34 is that point clear? 17:35 So the symbols are interpreted 17:37 in the light of the way they are using the context, 17:40 if you don't have an explanation 17:42 in the chapter that you are studying, 17:43 you look in other parts of the Bible 17:45 that use the same symbol 17:47 to determine what the symbol means. 17:51 Now we are going to study this evening, 17:52 the prophecy of Daniel 7. 17:56 And so if you would like, 17:58 those of you who are watching the live streaming 18:01 and who will watch on YouTube 18:02 and those that are here in the studio, 18:05 I invite you to turn to Daniel 7. 18:09 Now let me tell you something about the date of Daniel 7. 18:13 This chapter was written in 550 B.C. 18:18 In other words, 18:20 550 years before the birth of Christ. 18:22 Now Babylon which is the first kingdom 18:26 that we're gonna take a look at in Daniel 7 18:28 fell 11 years later. 18:31 So in other words Daniel 7 was written before 18:34 any of the events of the chapter were fulfilled. 18:38 And yet we're gonna find that Daniel 7 describes 18:41 history to a T even though 18:44 the prophecy was given 11 years before Babylon fell. 18:48 You have the sequence of powers. 18:50 You have the links of the chain predicted 18:53 even from that time. 18:55 That's why it's important for us to know 18:57 the date of Daniel 7, 18:59 because if Daniel 7 was written in 550 B.C, 19:04 and it describes perfectly the sequence of events 19:07 in the future without missing a beat, 19:10 we can trust that God knows the future 19:12 and that God is able to reveal the future as well. 19:16 So let's go to Daniel 7:1-2. 19:21 And we'll work our way through the chapter. 19:24 It says, "In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, 19:28 Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. 19:32 Then he wrote the dream, telling the main facts. 19:36 Daniel spoke saying, 19:38 "I saw in my vision by night..." 19:41 ' This is a prophetic dream that he had. 19:43 "And behold, the four winds of the heaven 19:46 were stirring up the Great Sea." 19:49 Now you have two symbols in verse 2. 19:52 The first symbol that you have is the four winds 19:55 and the second symbol that you have is the sea. 19:58 See you're not gonna look for some sea in the world 20:02 where the winds are blowing 20:03 because this is symbolic language. 20:05 We need to understand what winds represent. 20:08 We need to understand 20:09 what the waters of the sea represent, 20:12 we don't have to guess. 20:14 Go with me to Isaiah 17:12. 20:17 Isaiah 17:12, 20:19 tells us what the waters represent 20:22 when they are churned up by the winds. 20:24 It says there in Isaiah 17:12, 20:29 "Woe to the multitude of many people 20:34 who make a noise like the roar of the seas..." 20:38 What does the roar of the seas represent? 20:40 What does it represent? 20:42 Many people. 20:44 And then the second half of the verse says, 20:46 "And to the rushing of nations 20:49 that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!" 20:53 So the rushing of mighty waters represents what? 20:57 It represents the rushing of nations. 21:00 In other words, the waters, 21:02 the raging waters of the sea represent nations 21:05 that are at war to ascend to power. 21:10 I want to read a statement 21:12 that we find in that classic book 21:13 Great Controversy page 440, 21:15 where the winds and the waters are explained. 21:19 "Winds are a symbol of strife. 21:21 The four winds of heaven striving upon the great sea 21:25 represent the terrible scenes of conquest 21:29 and revolution by which kingdoms 21:31 have attained to power." 21:34 In other words the nations are fighting 21:36 one with the other, 21:37 that's what's represented by the winds 21:39 churning up and blowing upon the waters. 21:42 So we're gonna notice that kingdoms that arise, 21:46 that we're gonna study in a few moments, 21:48 they arise in the midst of war 21:50 and conflict to ascend to power. 21:53 Now let's go to Daniel 7:3. 21:57 Daniel continues seeing in his dream and it says, 22:01 "And four great beasts came up from the sea, 22:06 each different from the other." 22:09 So I want you to imagine four beasts 22:10 one rising after the other. 22:14 Now what could these four beast represent? 22:16 We don't have to guess 22:18 because it's explained in the same chapter. 22:21 Notice what we find in verse 17. 22:23 This is the explanation part of the chapter, Daniel 7:17, 22:28 "Those great beasts, which are four..." 22:31 Are what? 22:32 "Are four kings which shall arise out of the earth." 22:37 Now you might say, 22:39 "Well, then the four beasts represent four kings, 22:42 but I need to explain 22:44 that in reality the kings are kingdoms 22:49 because kings rule over kingdoms. 22:52 In other words the word kings 22:53 and the word kingdoms 22:55 in prophecy are interchangeable. 22:57 And you'll say, "Well, how do we know that?" 23:00 Let's pursue it. 23:02 Daniel 2 presents a prophecy that is parallel to this one. 23:08 In this prophecy of Daniel 2, we have an image, 23:14 and the image is composed of four specific metals, 23:18 gold, silver, bronze, 23:21 legs of iron and feet of iron and clay. 23:23 And then a stone hits the image on the feet 23:26 and breaks it into smithereens. 23:28 Now those four metals represent four kingdoms. 23:33 You'll say how do you know that? 23:35 Well, in Daniel 2:38, 23:38 God tells Nebuchadnezzar, 23:40 "You are the head of gold." 23:44 But in the next verse, 23:45 he says, "And after you shall arise another kingdom." 23:50 So do you see that king and kingdom are what? 23:54 Interchangeable because God tells Nebuchadnezzar, 23:58 "You are the head of gold 24:00 and after you another kingdom will arise." 24:03 So Nebuchadnezzar ruled over a what? 24:06 Ruled over a kingdom. 24:07 King and kingdom are interchangeable. 24:10 Also, we're gonna notice in Daniel 7 24:14 that these four beasts, 24:15 it clearly says that these four beasts 24:17 represent four kingdom. 24:19 Because if you go to Daniel 7:23, 24:22 it says the fourth beast is a fourth kingdom 24:27 that shall arise on the earth." 24:29 So we know that the four kings are really four what? 24:34 They are really four kingdoms. 24:37 Also in Daniel 8:20, 24:40 this might not be in your syllabus, 24:41 but in Daniel 8:20, 24:43 there is a ram that has two horns 24:46 and it says there, 24:47 "The ram which you saw having two horns, 24:51 they are the kings of Media and Persia." 24:56 Now it doesn't mean just one king of Media 24:58 and one king of Persia, 25:00 it means simply that 25:02 they represent the dynasty of the Medes 25:05 and the dynasty of the Persians. 25:08 In other words, it's not one king, 25:09 it represents all of the kings that ruled 25:12 in succession in a kingdom. 25:14 So what I'm saying is that these four beasts 25:18 don't merely represent four individual kings, 25:21 they represent what? 25:22 They represent four kingdoms 25:25 that arise in sequence upon the earth. 25:29 Now it shouldn't surprise us 25:32 that beasts are used to represent kingdoms 25:36 because even today beasts are used 25:39 to represent kingdoms. 25:41 You have a list here in your syllabus, 25:44 what is the mascot so to speak of the United States? 25:47 Eagle. The eagle. 25:49 What is the mascot of Russia? Bear. 25:52 The Bear. 25:53 What is the mascot of England? Lion. 25:55 The lion. 25:57 What is the mascot of China? Dragon. 25:58 The dragon. 26:00 What is the mascot of Australia? 26:02 Kangaroo. 26:03 The red kangaroo, that's right. 26:05 What is the mascot of Bangladesh? 26:09 The Bengal tiger. 26:11 What is the mascot of Canada? 26:13 It is a North American beaver. 26:15 What is the mascot of Columbia? 26:18 It is the Andean Condor. 26:20 What is the mascot of France? 26:23 It is the Gallic rooster. 26:26 And so don't be surprised 26:27 that the Bible uses beasts to represent kingdoms 26:30 because we do that even today, 26:32 are you following me or not? 26:34 So these four beasts don't represent 26:37 four individual kings, 26:38 even though the word kings is used, 26:40 it represents four what? 26:43 Four kingdoms that will arise in succession. 26:48 Now there is a very important point 26:50 that I want us to notice as we study Daniel 7 26:53 and this is a nuance that unless you read carefully, 26:55 you wouldn't catch this point. 26:57 You see history is not transpiring 26:59 by the actions of kings and rulers. 27:03 There is a power behind the scenes 27:06 that is moving history. 27:08 You say how do we know that? 27:10 Simply because in Daniel 7, 27:13 you find many times verbs 27:16 that are used in the passive voice. 27:19 In other words, 27:20 somebody else and we're gonna see some examples, 27:22 somebody else is allowing these powers to rise. 27:25 Somebody else is orchestrating the events in Daniel 7. 27:30 It's not the kings that are doing it, 27:32 it's not the enemies of these nations 27:34 that are really acting out history, 27:36 there is a hand beside and behind history 27:41 that is actually performing these events. 27:44 Now let's notice this characteristic in Daniel 7:4. 27:49 This is the first beast of Daniel 7. 27:52 This is a first link of the chain. 27:54 It says there speaking of the first beast, 27:57 "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings..." 28:03 So I want you to imagine this, 28:05 a lion with eagle's wings 28:08 and then something happens to the lion 28:10 with the eagle's wings. 28:11 It says," I watched till its wings were plucked off, 28:14 and it was lifted up from the earth, 28:17 and made to stand on two feet like a man, 28:20 and a man's heart was given to it." 28:23 Now I want you to notice the passive expressions 28:25 that are used in this verse. 28:27 It says that its wings were plucked off. 28:32 Interesting, were plucked off, 28:34 somebody else is plucking them off. 28:36 It says, "It was lifted us." 28:38 It was lifted up from the earth. 28:41 "It was made to stand, a man's heart was given to it." 28:46 Are you understanding 28:48 the importance of the passive verbs? 28:49 It means that somebody else is orchestrating 28:53 this behind the visible scenes of history. 28:57 So where does the prophetic chain began? 29:00 The prophetic chain begins 29:02 with the kingdom that ruled in the days when Daniel wrote. 29:05 That is the first link of the chain 29:08 because the lion represents the kingdom of Babylon. 29:12 You say, "Pastor, 29:13 how do we know that the lion with eagle's wings 29:16 represents the kingdom of Babylon?" 29:18 There are several reasons. 29:20 Number one, 29:22 when Nebuchadnezzar built the ancient city of Babylon, 29:25 he put lion sphinxes at the entrances, 29:30 the main entrances to the city of Babylon. 29:32 Archeologists have excavated the ancient city of Babylon. 29:35 They found that there were lion heads 29:37 at the main entrances of ancient Babylon. 29:40 So the lion was an important beast 29:43 in ancient Babylon but not only that, 29:46 scripture tells us that Babylon was the lion. 29:49 These texts that I'm gonna mention 29:51 now are not in your syllabus, 29:52 you might want to write them in. 29:53 Jeremiah 4:7, 29:55 you have others that are in the syllabus 29:56 but I decided to add these, 29:58 Jeremiah 4:7 is speaking about 30:01 the invasion of Israel by Nebuchadnezzar. 30:06 And, you know, Jeremiah lived right before 30:08 Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem 30:11 and conquered Jerusalem. 30:12 So Jeremiah is living in this period, 30:14 notice what it says there in Jeremiah 4:7, 30:17 "The lion has come up from his thicket, 30:20 and the destroyer of the nations is on his way. 30:23 He has gone forth from his place 30:25 to make your land desolate. 30:27 Your cities will be laid waste..." 30:28 Talking about Judah, 30:30 "And without an inhabitant." 30:32 So Nebuchadnezzar is spoken of as a conquering what? 30:37 As a conquering lion against Israel. 30:41 Notice Jeremiah 50:17. 30:44 Jeremiah 50:17, it says, 30:47 "Israel is like scattered sheep, 30:50 the lions have driven him away..." 30:54 Now notice this, 30:56 "First the king of Assyria devoured him. 31:00 Now at the last this Nebuchadnezzar 31:03 king of Babylon has broken his bones." 31:07 So once again, 31:08 the lions that conquered Israel are what? 31:12 Nebuchadnezzar and the kingdom of Babylon. 31:15 So Jeremiah who lived right before 31:18 the conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar 31:20 says that the lion represents Babylon. 31:26 Now what about the eagle's wings? 31:28 Babylon is also spoken of as having eagle's wings. 31:32 You say, "Really?" 31:33 Well, let's notice Ezekiel 17:2-3 31:38 and then we'll read verse 12. 31:40 Ezekiel 17:2-3 and then verse 12. 31:44 It says there, "Son of man, pose a riddle, 31:48 and speak a parable to the house of Israel, 31:52 and say, 'Thus says the Lord God..." 31:55 ' Now notice this, "A great eagle with..." 31:59 Large what? 32:00 "Wings and long pinions, 32:03 full of feathers of various colors, 32:05 came to Lebanon, 32:07 and took from the cedar the highest branch." 32:10 Now you say, what does this mean? 32:12 Well, in verse 12 we find what it means. 32:15 It's speaking about Nebuchadnezzar 32:17 coming against Lebanon and then coming against Israel. 32:20 It says in verse 12, 32:22 "Say now to the rebellious house. 32:25 'Do you not know what these things mean?' 32:28 Tell them..." 32:30 Now he's gonna interpret the meaning of the eagle 32:32 with the tree and so on. 32:34 "Indeed..." 32:36 What? 32:37 "The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem, 32:40 and took its king and princess and led them with him..." 32:44 To where? "To Babylon." 32:45 So is Babylon spoken of as having eagle's wings 32:49 in the prophecy of Ezekiel. 32:51 By the way Ezekiel was also a contemporary. 32:54 He lived right after Jeremiah 32:55 before the destruction of Jerusalem 32:57 so he knew what he was talking about. 32:59 Notice also Lamentations 4:19, 33:02 there's an interesting verse 33:03 'cause Lamentations was written by Jeremiah 33:06 for Israel to sing as they were 33:08 led into captivity at the Babylon. 33:10 In other words, it is a funeral dirge, 33:14 it's written in kina meter 33:16 which in Hebrew is a funeral dirge 33:18 because they are being taken captive to Babylon, 33:20 and Jeremiah composed the Book of Lamentations 33:24 for Israel to sing 33:26 as they were going captive to Babylon. 33:28 It says there in Lamentations 4:19, 33:30 'cause wings represent speed also. 33:33 It says, "Our pursuers were swifter than..." 33:37 What? 33:38 "Than the eagles of the heavens. 33:40 They pursued us on the mountains 33:42 and lay wait for us in the wilderness." 33:45 So once again we find in Jeremiah and Ezekiel 33:48 who lived right before this period of time 33:51 that the lion represents Nebuchadnezzar 33:53 and the Babylonians coming against Israel 33:55 and the eagle's wings represent the swiftness 33:58 with which Nebuchadnezzar 34:00 and the Babylonians would come against Israel. 34:03 You see scripture interprets scripture. 34:06 In other words, 34:07 if in Daniel you don't have an explanation 34:09 of what the eagle's wings is, 34:11 then you go to other text 34:13 in the came context that describe 34:16 what is represented by the eagle's wings. 34:18 Incidentally and this is very, very interesting. 34:22 There was actually a prophecy 34:23 that was given in Deuteronomy 28. 34:26 This is a prophecy that was given 34:27 almost a thousand years before 34:29 Babylon was taken by Nebuchadnezzar. 34:32 And in this chapter, 34:33 you have the blessings and cursings of the covenant. 34:36 Moses basically inspired by God was saying Israel, 34:39 if you're faithful, 34:40 these are the blessings that will come upon you. 34:42 If you are unfaithful, 34:43 these are the curses that will come upon you. 34:46 And I want you to notice one of the curses 34:48 that Moses predicted 34:49 and we find this in Deuteronomy 28:49. 34:54 He was actually predicting that 34:56 Babylon would come with eagle's wings 34:59 to punish God's people. 35:02 It says there in Deuteronomy 28:49, 35:04 "The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar..." 35:08 He's saying if you are unfaithful, 35:10 "From the end of the earth..." 35:11 And now notice this as what? 35:14 "As swift as an eagle flies, 35:17 a nation whose language you will not understand." 35:19 He is talking about Babylon, 35:21 coming against Israel for their unfaithfulness 35:23 and he's speaking of Babylon as been very swift like a what? 35:27 Like an eagle. 35:28 So what is represented by the first beast of Daniel 7? 35:32 Very clearly, the first beast of Daniel 7 35:35 represents the kingdom of Babylon, 35:37 the kingdom in which Daniel lived, 35:41 beginning in the year 605 BC. 35:44 So do we have a starting point for the prophetic chain? 35:47 We more certainly have a starting point. 35:49 You know, if you don't have a starting point, 35:50 how do you know where it's gonna end. 35:53 So we have a starting point 35:54 which means that the prophetic chain 35:56 begins in the days 35:57 when Daniel lived with the kingdom of Babylon 36:00 which ruled from 605 to 539 BC. 36:05 But there's a second beast. 36:07 Notice Daniel 7:5. 36:12 "And suddenly another beast, a second like a bear. 36:16 It was raised up on one side..." 36:19 So you can imagine this lopsided bear, 36:22 it's higher on one side than on the other. 36:24 "And had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. 36:29 And they said thus to it 'Arise, devour much flesh!' 36:33 " Incidentally in the previous beast 36:36 that we notice the lion, 36:38 it says that its wings were plucked. 36:41 So if the wings represents swiftness to conquer, 36:44 what would the plucking of the wings represent? 36:46 That it's not gonna conquer anymore. 36:49 And a lion's heart is taken out of it. 36:51 You know what the lion's heart represents? 36:54 There was a king of England 36:56 that was called Richard the Lionheart 36:58 because he was a courageous warrior. 37:01 So if this lion, 37:02 his courageous heart is taken out 37:04 and he's given the heart of a man, 37:06 it means that Babylon will lose its what? 37:09 Babylon will lose its swiftness and its power to conquer, 37:14 so the bear rises. 37:16 Now I want you to notice also, 37:18 once again the passive language, 37:20 it says, "They said thus to it." 37:23 Somebody is saying this to the bear. 37:27 "They said thus to it 'Arise, devour much flesh!' 37:31 " So somebody is speaking to the bear 37:34 and telling the bear to arise and devour much flesh. 37:38 Is somebody orchestrating this event 37:40 from behind the scenes? 37:42 Absolutely. 37:43 Now you say, 37:44 "What does this bear represent?" 37:47 Well, in Daniel 7, 37:49 you don't have a full explanation 37:51 because in Daniel 7 it doesn't tell you 37:54 why the bear was higher on one side than on the other. 37:58 You don't have any explanation in Daniel 7. 38:01 That's why God gave Daniel 8, 38:03 which is the key to unlock many details 38:06 in the prophecy of Daniel 7. 38:08 You see in Daniel 8 we have a ram, 38:13 and we don't have time to read the verses 38:15 but we have a ram 38:16 and the ram has two horns 38:20 and one horn is higher than the other 38:24 and the highest horn came up last. 38:26 Are you catching the picture? 38:29 So you have in Daniel 7 38:31 you have a bear who's higher on one side than on the other. 38:34 In Daniel 8 you have a ram 38:36 that has one horn that is higher than the other 38:40 and the highest horn comes up last. 38:44 Now you say, 38:45 "What in the world could this mean?" 38:48 If you look at the dynasty of the Medes and Persians 38:51 which is the next kingdom that arises to power 38:53 because in Daniel 8 it clearly says 38:55 what the ram represents. 38:57 In verse 20 it says that the ram 38:58 with the two horns represents 39:00 the kingdom of Medes and Persians. 39:03 So we know that the second kingdom is what? 39:05 The Medes and Persians. 39:07 Now why was one horn taller than the other 39:10 and the large horn came out last? 39:12 Here's the reason. 39:13 If you look at history, 39:14 you'll find that the first three kings 39:17 of the Medo-Persian Empire were Medes, 39:20 and every single king after that, 39:23 more than a dozen kings after that were all Persians. 39:26 So in other words, 39:28 one of the kingdoms was more powerful than the other 39:30 and the more powerful of the two came up what? 39:33 Came up last. 39:35 Exactly the way the prophecy says. 39:37 We know that the second king is Medo-Persia, 39:40 we don't have to guess 39:41 because Daniel 8:20 tells us the ram 39:43 which has one horn higher than the other 39:46 represents the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians. 39:51 Now what does the three ribs 39:52 in the mouth of the bear represent? 39:54 If you go to history, 39:55 you find out that Medo-Persia had to conquer 39:59 three of the provinces of Babylon 40:01 in order to ascend to power. 40:03 It conquered Lydia 40:05 which is ancient turkey in 541BC. 40:10 It conquered Babylon in the year 539 BC. 40:15 And finally forced Egypt into submission 40:19 in the year 525 BC. 40:22 Those are the three ribs in the mouth of the bear. 40:24 Of course, if the bear is fighting with the lion, 40:26 we would expect the ribs to be ribs of the lion, 40:29 are you with me or not? 40:30 And so the second power is 40:32 the power of the Medes and Persians. 40:35 By the way you don't even have to go to history 40:36 to know that the second power is the Medes and Persians. 40:39 You say, "How is that?" 40:40 Very simple, 40:41 the book of Daniel itself tells us 40:43 that the second kingdom is the Medes and Persians. 40:45 Not only Daniel 8, but if you read Daniel 5, 40:48 you remember when Belshazzar was having his banquet, 40:52 he was celebrating a banquet, you know, the enemy was, 40:55 had the city surrounded but he was celebrating 40:57 because he felt that the city of Babylon 40:58 could not be conquered, 41:00 and that night a finger appeared on the wall, 41:02 mene mene tekel upharsin. 41:04 In other words, 41:05 the kingdom of Babylon is gonna fall 41:07 and it's given to the Medes and Persians. 41:08 Daniel 5 itself tells us 41:10 what is the next kingdom that conquered Babylon, 41:12 it was the Medes and Persians. 41:14 So the second link in the chain is what? 41:17 Medo-Persia and it ruled from 539-331BC 41:23 but that's not the end of the story. 41:26 We have the third beast. 41:27 Notice Daniel 7:6. 41:30 Daniel 7:6, 41:33 "After this I looked, and there was another, 41:36 like a leopard, 41:37 which had on its back four wings of a bird. 41:40 The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it." 41:44 Notice once again the passive verbs. 41:47 It says there dominion was given to it. 41:52 Now I don't think that the bear gave it the dominion. 41:56 And I don't think that it took dominion. 41:59 It says dominion was given to it, 42:01 somebody else is giving the dominion. 42:03 Are you with me or not? 42:04 In other words, 42:06 somebody else is allowing this to happen, 42:08 is orchestrating it in harmony with his inventive plan 42:12 and by the way it's God operating through 42:15 what the Book of Daniel calls the Watcher through the Angels. 42:19 In other words who are guiding the events of history. 42:23 So the leopard is the third kingdom 42:26 and you'll say, "Well, pastor, 42:27 but what does the third kingdom, 42:29 what does the third beast represent?" 42:31 Well, let me ask you this. 42:33 If a lion with eagle's wings is swift, 42:37 with the leopard be even swifter with four winds? 42:41 Absolutely, but in Daniel 7 42:43 you don't have any explanation about the wings. 42:46 You read Daniel 7, it just says it has four wings, 42:48 it doesn't say it because it's swift. 42:51 That's why we need to go to the key 42:53 in the next chapter, 42:54 the context. 42:55 Because after the ram with the two horns 42:58 which represents the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, 43:00 a he goat comes 43:03 across the surface of the earth flying, 43:07 it's not even touching the earth. 43:10 Are you catching the parallel with Daniel 7? 43:12 It's flying over the earth and it says 43:14 it has one a notable horn on its head. 43:18 And then the notable horn is broken 43:20 and four horns come out 43:23 in place of the one that was broken. 43:26 Is there any connection between the he goat in Daniel 8 43:29 and the leopard beast in Daniel 7? 43:32 Very clearly, you have four and four, 43:35 you have the swiftness of the wings 43:37 and by the way the leopard 43:39 is a very swift animal in itself 43:40 and then you have the he goat that is going so fast 43:43 that he's flying through air, 43:44 he is not touching the earth. 43:46 Now you'll say, 43:48 "Pastor, what does this represent? 43:49 What is the third kingdom? 43:51 We don't have to guess 43:52 because Daniel 8 tells us that 43:55 this he goat that flies through the air 43:57 and then sprouts four horns like the leopard is very swift 44:02 'cause it has wings and it has four heads. 44:05 We're told in Daniel 8:20 44:08 that the third kingdom represents Greece. 44:12 And in Daniel 8 it says 44:14 that the notable horn 44:16 that the he goat had was its first king. 44:19 Let me ask you who was the first king 44:21 of the kingdom of Greece? 44:24 Alexander the Great. 44:25 Was he swift in conquering the world? 44:28 He conquered the world in nine years 44:30 from the Indus Valley, 44:31 all the way down to Egypt. 44:33 And when he was 31 years old, 44:35 he had nothing more to do 44:36 and he died in a drunk and stupor. 44:40 And what's even more amazing is 44:42 when he died he left no successor. 44:44 He had no son to succeed him 44:47 and so historians will tell you 44:49 that his kingdom was divided into four divisions. 44:53 The Antigonids which would be Macedonia, 44:55 the Ptolemies which would be Egypt, 44:57 the Seleucids which would be today Greece 45:00 and the Attalids 45:01 which would be the kingdom of Pergamon in Asia Minor. 45:05 Exactly the way the Bible says the third kingdom arose. 45:09 First the notable king, 45:11 then the notable king is broken 45:13 and four kingdoms comes out from it. 45:17 By the way you don't even have to go to history 45:18 to deal with the last, 45:19 that the third kingdom is Greece. 45:21 Because Daniel 8 tells us it's Greece. 45:24 Are you following me or not? 45:26 In other words, 45:27 you don't even have to go to history to understand 45:29 what is represented by this beast? 45:31 So the third link in the chain is Greece. 45:34 Now we've moved from Babylon 605-539 BC 45:38 to Medo-Persia 539-331 BC, 45:42 we've moved then to Greece from 331-168 BC. 45:47 Those are the first three links in the chain. 45:50 Are you with me or not? 45:51 Now let's go to Daniel 7:7 45:54 because here we have the fourth beast 45:56 in the sequence, the fourth kingdom. 45:58 And now you're gonna see that 46:00 the four beasts are not four individual kings, 46:02 they are actually four kingdoms 46:03 because the fourth beast it says is a kingdom. 46:05 Notice Daniel 7:7, 46:08 "After this I saw in the night visions, 46:11 and behold, 46:12 a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, 46:15 exceedingly strong. 46:17 It had huge..." 46:18 What? "Iron teeth, 46:20 it was devouring, breaking in pieces, 46:23 and trampling the residue with its feet. 46:26 It was different from all the beasts 46:27 that were before it, 46:29 and it had..." What? 46:30 "And it had ten horns." 46:35 Now this is an interesting beast. 46:37 Because we're gonna notice that 46:39 this beast has three stages in Daniel 7. 46:42 The first stage is the fourth beast 46:45 ruling by itself, no horns on its head yet, 46:48 then at some point later on in its history, 46:51 it sprouts ten horns 46:53 and then after the ten horns are there, 46:56 among the ten and after them rises a little horn. 47:00 Are you following me or not? 47:02 So this fourth beast has three stages, 47:05 three consecutive stages of existence. 47:09 Now what can this fourth kingdom represent? 47:14 We don't have to guess. 47:16 We don't even have to go to history to find out. 47:18 You say, "We don't? 47:19 No, you don't. 47:20 Where else in the Bible do we have a dragon beast 47:23 that has ten horns? 47:25 In Revelation 12, 47:28 have you ever read Revelation 12? 47:30 It says there that a woman is with child, 47:34 she's gonna have a baby 47:36 and the dragon with ten horns stands next to the woman 47:39 to devour her child as soon as her child is born. 47:43 Let me ask you who is that child 47:44 that's gonna be born in Revelation 12? 47:46 Christ. Christ. 47:48 What was the kingdom 47:49 that attempted to slay Christ when he was born? 47:53 Herod, who was a ruler of what empire? 47:56 The Roman Empire. 47:57 You don't even have to go to history to know 47:59 what the fourth kingdom is. 48:01 The fourth link in the chain is what? 48:04 Is the kingdom of Rome or the Roman Empire. 48:09 Are you following me or not? 48:10 So how long does Rome rule? 48:13 Well, Rome rules from the year 168 BC 48:19 all the way to the year 476 AD. 48:24 Now let's go to Daniel 7:23-24 48:28 for the interpretation 48:29 of the meaning of the fourth beast 48:32 and I want you to see there is a sequence here. 48:34 The fourth beast for a while rules by itself, 48:37 no horns. 48:38 Then after a period of existence, 48:41 it sprouts ten 48:42 and then after the ten are complete, 48:45 the little one comes up. 48:47 I want you to notice the sequence here 48:49 in Daniel 7:23-24, 48:52 "Thus he said, 48:54 'The fourth beast shall be a fourth..." 48:56 What? 48:57 Kingdom, also the beast don't represent kings, 49:00 they represent what? 49:02 Kingdoms, it says, 49:03 "The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, 49:06 which shall be different from all other kingdoms, 49:08 and shall devour the whole earth, 49:10 trample it and break it in pieces..." 49:12 Now listen carefully to this. 49:14 "The ten horns are ten kings 49:16 who shall arise from this kingdom...' 49:20 ' So must the kingdom exist 49:21 in order for the ten to arise from it? 49:23 Absolutely, so we have a sequence. 49:25 Fourth kingdom and then it says the ten are ten what? 49:31 Horns or kings or kingdoms 49:34 that will arise from this kingdom 49:36 but that's not the end, 49:37 it continues saying, 49:39 "And another shall rise..." 49:40 When? 49:42 "After them, 49:43 he shall be different from the first ones, 49:46 and shall subdue..." What? 49:48 "And shall subdue three kings." 49:50 Or three of the ten kingdoms. 49:54 Are you following me or not? 49:56 So what does the fourth kingdom represent? 49:59 It represents the Roman Empire. 50:01 But the Roman Empire at least in Daniel 7 50:03 represents three successive periods 50:06 of the Roman Empire. 50:08 I'm gonna synthesize, 50:09 I'm gonna study this more in our next lecture, 50:12 but from the year 168 BC, 50:16 all the way down to around the year 330, 340 50:21 the Roman Empire was a united Roman Empire. 50:24 But then the barbarians 50:26 began invading the empire from the north 50:29 and they started dividing up 50:31 what had been the Roman Empire. 50:33 They carved it up, 50:35 the nations of Europe today 50:37 cover the territory where the Roman Empire was 50:40 but the Roman Empire was divided 50:42 among all of these nations that are in Europe today, 50:44 each with their own culture, each with their own language. 50:47 We're gonna study this 50:48 and then once the Empire had been carved up, 50:53 another power arose among them, 50:58 the little horn which is the antichrist. 51:01 And the antichrist ruled for it says time, times 51:05 and the dividing of time. 51:07 We're gonna interpret that, what that means tomorrow. 51:09 But what I want you to understand for now is 51:12 that the fourth beast has three stages. 51:15 The united Roman Empire, 51:17 the divided Roman Empire and then a little horn, 51:20 which must be Roman 51:22 because it rises from the head of the fourth beast 51:24 which is Rome. 51:26 Are you following me or not? 51:28 Now I need to make a clarification 51:30 before we bring our study today to an end. 51:34 In our next lecture 51:36 we are going to identify the little horn. 51:40 We're gonna find that most Palestine's believe 51:43 that the little horn is an individual, 51:46 but we are going to discover 51:48 that the little horn is not an individual, 51:50 the little horn is a kingdom. 51:53 The little horn is a system or an organization 51:56 that has a succession of rulers 51:59 just like all of the other powers 52:00 that we've studied about. 52:03 There's one thing that I want to make absolutely clear 52:05 in preparation for our study tomorrow 52:08 and that is 52:09 that there are scores of sincere loving Christians 52:12 within the system. 52:15 They love the Lord 52:17 and they serve the Lord the best they can 52:19 according to the knowledge that they have. 52:22 So when we speak about this little horn power tomorrow, 52:25 it's no reflection on individuals. 52:29 It's a reflection on a system, 52:32 an apostate religious system. 52:35 We're speaking about the organization, 52:38 we're not speaking about all of the individuals 52:41 that are within this organization. 52:44 Now this power is referred to with different names. 52:47 It's called the king of the north in Daniel 11. 52:50 It's called the harlot in Revelation 17. 52:53 It's called the man of sin in 2 Thessalonians 2. 52:56 It's called the little horn in Daniel 7-8. 52:59 It's called the abomination of desolation in Mathew 24. 53:03 It's called the beast in Revelation 13 53:05 which we're gonna study 53:06 and it's referred to as the antichrist in 1 John 2. 53:10 In other words, this power has many names 53:12 and many nuances in the scriptures, 53:15 we're gonna take a look primarily 53:17 at Daniel 7 and Revelation 13. 53:21 Now somebody might say, "But, Pastor Bohr, 53:23 how can you distinguish individuals from the system 53:27 when the individuals are within the system?" 53:30 Perhaps, the best illustration that I've been able to provide 53:33 is the apostate Jewish church are the days of Christ. 53:39 You look at the apostate Jewish church 53:40 in the days of Christ, the corporate church, 53:42 the organization or the system of Judaism 53:46 and you'll discover that the scribes, 53:48 the Pharisees and the Sadducees 53:49 which were the leaders of the nation 53:51 were incorrigibly corrupt. 53:55 The Sanhedrin, 53:56 the governing body pronounced the death sentence 53:58 against Jesus several times during his life, 54:01 this apostate religious organization. 54:04 Jesus gave a scathing rebuke of this system. 54:09 He called the leaders blind guides, 54:13 whited sepulchers, 54:14 hypocrites, murderers, 54:17 generation of vipers and serpents. 54:19 Those are names that politically incorrect names 54:22 that Jesus used to describe the leadership 54:25 of this apostate religious system. 54:28 And then Jesus said, 54:30 "How will you escape the condemnation of hell?" 54:34 And he promised to take away the kingdom from them 54:37 and give the kingdom to a nation that produced 54:40 the fruits thereof. 54:41 Quite a scathing rebuke if you read Mathew 23, 54:44 but listen carefully. 54:46 Not every one in the system 54:49 really had the heart in the system, 54:52 not every individual 54:53 within the apostate system was apostate. 54:56 There were many sincere loving people 54:58 within the system. 55:00 They really did not have the philosophy of the system. 55:03 They serve God to the best of their knowledge. 55:05 For example, 55:07 we could mention the 12 apostles, 55:08 the apostles were within the system. 55:11 Nicodemus, the man who met Jesus by night, 55:15 who later became a champion of Christianity, 55:17 he was a member of the ruling body 55:20 of the Sanhedrin. 55:21 We have Joseph of Arimathea, 55:23 the individual who provide Jesus his tomb. 55:26 He later became 55:28 a strong supporter of Christianity. 55:29 We have the wise Gamaliel, 55:32 you remember the story 55:33 when Peter and John were being persecuted 55:35 they wanted to lynch them, 55:36 the leadership wanted to lynch them 55:38 and Gamaliel said don't do it, 55:39 if this is of God, 55:41 nobody is gonna able to stop it. 55:42 And if it's not of God, 55:43 then it will disappear on its own. 55:46 He gave wise counsel 55:47 and he saved the two servants of God 55:49 and he became a follower of Jesus. 55:52 And then we have Saul of Tarsus, 55:54 oh, people he became the great Apostle Paul 55:57 a persecutor of the church. 55:59 He was also in the system, believe it or not, 56:01 but he was not, 56:03 his heart was really not part of the system 56:05 even though he was in the system. 56:07 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 56:08 An organization can be apostate 56:11 without all of the individuals 56:12 within the system being apostate. 56:16 In fact we're told in Acts 6:7 56:19 that shortly after the day of Pentecost, 56:22 scores of priests and members of the apostate church 56:25 left the apostate church 56:27 and joined the Christian church. 56:30 It says there in Acts 6:7, 56:33 "Then the word of God spread, 56:35 and the number of the disciples 56:36 multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, 56:39 and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith." 56:43 Even ministers came out of the system 56:45 and they joined the Christian church. 56:48 So in the following lecture 56:49 we'll be talking about the little horn system 56:53 or what the Bible calls the beast system, 56:56 not the individuals in the system. 56:59 There are many individuals within the system 57:01 that truly love the Lord. 57:04 In fact, some of them love the Lord 57:06 probably more than some of us. 57:10 And yet they don't realize that 57:12 they're within apostate system 57:14 and the call need to be given to them to come out 57:17 and to join God's true system 57:20 that teaches a truth as its found in the Bible. 57:24 So what have we seen in the prophetic chain? 57:27 Babylon, Medo-Persia, 57:29 Greece, the Roman Empire, 57:32 the divided Roman Empire 57:34 and then the little horn governing. 57:37 Are you seeing the links? 57:38 We've moved from the kingdom of Babylon 57:41 all the way to the time of the little horn 57:43 which is a different kind of Rome, 57:48 and we will study that in our next exciting episode, 57:51 so don't miss our study tomorrow, 57:54 "Who is The Little Horn?" |
Revised 2016-10-24