Participants:
Series Code: GPC
Program Code: GPC000002A
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00:30 We want to review
00:32 what we studied in our last session, 00:34 and then we'll get into some new material. 00:36 Let us pray. 00:37 Father in heaven as we open your word, 00:39 we ask for the guidance of your Holy Spirit. 00:42 We ask for understanding, 00:44 we ask for the willingness to open our hearts and minds 00:47 to receive what you have for us. 00:50 Give us your wisdom, 00:51 we pray in the precious name of Jesus, amen. 00:55 Let's just review 00:57 what we studied in our first session. 00:58 We're studying the great prophetic chain. 01:00 Now where does the chain begin, with which kingdom? 01:04 It begins with Babylon, very well. 01:06 Then it continuous with which kingdom? 01:09 Medo-Persia, then the third kingdom is what? 01:11 Greece. 01:12 The fourth kingdom is the Roman Empire. 01:15 But then what happens, the Roman Empire is what? 01:18 Is divided into 10 kingdoms, 01:21 because that fourth beast sprouts 10 horns. 01:24 And then in the midst of the 10 horns rises what? 01:28 A little horn, and it becomes big. 01:31 It's little at first, but then it grows 01:33 and it becomes larger than its fellows. 01:36 So in our study today, 01:38 we are going to attempt to define 01:41 what is meant by the little horn. 01:43 We already know that the lion is Babylon, 01:46 the bear is Medo-Persia, the leopard is Greece, 01:49 the dragon beast is Rome, 01:50 the 10 horns represent the 10 divisions of Rome, 01:54 but the question is 01:55 "What is represented by the little horn?" 01:59 I'm gonna share with you, as we begin 02:01 seven characteristics of the little horn, 02:05 and I'm going to list them first of all, 02:07 and then we are going to look at each of them more carefully. 02:11 So let's just go through 02:13 the seven characteristics first of all, 02:15 and then we'll amplify each one of them. 02:18 Number one, 02:20 the little horn rises after the 10 horns are there, 02:26 so we know when the little horn is going to arise. 02:29 It has to arise after the 10 horns are complete, 02:33 after the Roman Empire is divided in other words. 02:38 Characteristic number two, 02:40 we know that the little horn must be a power 02:44 that rises in Western Europe, more specifically in Rome. 02:49 You say why in Rome, 02:50 because the fourth beast represents Rome, 02:53 and the little horn 02:54 rises from the head of the fourth beast. 02:56 So the little horn in some sense 02:59 must be Roman, it rises in Western Europe, 03:03 more specifically in Rome. 03:05 The third characteristic is that the little horn 03:09 uproots three of the ten horns. 03:12 So we must look to a historical occurrence, 03:15 where the little horn uprooted 03:17 three of the divisions of the Roman Empire. 03:21 The last four characteristics are found in Daniel 7:25. 03:26 We find there in that verse the following words. 03:30 "He shall speak pompous words against the Most High," 03:35 that's characteristic number four. 03:37 The pompous words are defined in Revelation 13, 03:40 which we will study tomorrow Lord willing, 03:44 is defined as blasphemies. 03:46 The great words or the pompous words 03:48 are blasphemies. 03:49 So the fourth characteristic 03:51 is that the little horn speaks blasphemies. 03:54 The fifth characteristic is expressed 03:57 in verse 25 once again, 03:59 "He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, 04:02 shall persecute the saints of the Most High," 04:05 that's characteristic number five. 04:07 It would be a power that would persecute 04:10 God's faithful people. 04:11 And then we have characteristic number six, 04:14 it says about the little horn, 04:16 "And he shall intend to change times and law." 04:20 In other words, this would be a power 04:22 that would think that it could have the capacity 04:24 and the power to change God's very law. 04:29 And the final characteristic is that this little horn 04:31 was going to rule for a certain period of time. 04:35 It says at the end of verse 25, 04:38 "Then the saints shall be given into his hand 04:41 for a time and times and half a time." 04:46 And so we have these 04:47 seven characteristics of the little horn 04:50 and now we want to take a look 04:52 at which power fulfils these seven characteristics. 04:57 However, before we do, 04:59 I want to emphasize something very important once again 05:02 and that is that when we identify the little horn, 05:07 we are not talking about the individuals 05:11 represented by the little horn. 05:13 The little horn represents 05:14 an apostate religious organization. 05:17 In other words, 05:18 it represents an apostate system of religion. 05:21 It doesn't mean that everybody 05:23 who belongs to that religion is apostate. 05:27 What it means is that the system itself 05:30 is an apostate system 05:31 and its condition is irreversible. 05:34 In other words, it's not going to change 05:36 according to Bible prophecy. 05:38 But in that system are many sincere people 05:41 who love the Lord Jesus well with all their hearts. 05:44 They serve Jesus to the best of their ability 05:47 according to the knowledge that they have. 05:49 I want to make that very, very clear. 05:51 So you say, 05:53 what is represented by the little horn, 05:55 which apostate religious organization 05:57 is represented by this little horn. 06:00 I'm going to tell you, which power it is, 06:02 and then we are going to look at the evidence. 06:06 There is no doubt whatsoever 06:07 as we look at the characteristics 06:09 of the little horn, that there is only one power, 06:13 one system in the world 06:15 that fits with every single characteristic 06:18 and that is the Roman Catholic papacy. 06:22 The little horn represents 06:23 the Roman Catholic papacy as a system. 06:27 It does not represent individuals within the system. 06:30 It represents the organization, 06:32 the apostate organization of the Roman Catholic papacy. 06:37 So let's look at the seven characteristics 06:40 to see if they square or they fit 06:43 with the Roman Catholic papacy. 06:45 The first characteristic is that the little horn 06:49 would rise after the 10 horns or the 10 divisions 06:54 of the Roman Empire were complete. 06:58 Yesterday I briefly mentioned about the barbarian tribes 07:02 that came from the northern sector of the empire. 07:05 And they started carving up what had been the Roman Empire. 07:10 Some of these are kingdoms, I'll give you the names 07:13 and you'll immediately be able to identify 07:16 the nations in Europe 07:17 that descend from these kingdoms. 07:20 There was the Anglo-Saxons. Where would they from? 07:24 They would be from England. 07:25 You have the Alemanni, you know, 07:28 in Spanish German is Alemannis, 07:31 so the Alemanni are the Germans. 07:34 You have the Lombards. 07:35 Where would the Lombards be from? 07:37 They would be from Italy. 07:39 You know you have the famous football coach 07:42 Vince Lombardi, which is an Italian name. 07:46 You also have the Franks. 07:48 Which nation came from the Franks? 07:50 France of course. 07:52 And then you have the Visigoths, 07:54 which arose in Spain. 07:56 Those are only five of the ten. 07:57 In other words, the nations of Europe 08:00 were the result of the divisions 08:02 of the Roman Empire. 08:04 Now in the fourth century, 08:06 Constantine the emperor in Rome 08:09 decided that he would move the seat of the empire 08:14 to Constantinople in the east. 08:16 And so the throne of Caesar in the west was left vacant 08:20 because in the year 476 the last western Roman emperor 08:25 was deposed from his throne, 08:27 his name was Romulus Augustulus. 08:29 And so basically, Constantine moving the empire, 08:33 the seat of the empire to the east 08:36 and the last Roman emperor being deposed in the west, 08:39 allowed now for the bishop of Rome, 08:42 whom we know to be the pope 08:44 to occupy the throne 08:46 that had been left vacant by Romulus Augustulus. 08:51 In other words, the throne of Caesar 08:53 became the throne of the pope of Rome 08:57 in the year 476, 08:59 when the last Roman emperor 09:01 was deposed from his throne in the west. 09:04 Are you with me or not. 09:05 And the result of the divisions of the Roman empire 09:08 are the nations of Europe today, 09:11 each nation with their own language, 09:14 each nation with their own culture, 09:16 very different than when the Roman empire 09:19 was one empire and was united. 09:21 The empire was fragmented and the nations of Europe 09:25 are the result of the fragmentation 09:27 of the empire. 09:29 So characteristic number one 09:30 fits the Roman Catholic papacy very well. 09:33 Rome was the united empire, 09:36 then it was divided into 10 kingdoms 09:40 and then the emperor moved to Constantinople, 09:44 the last emperor was deposed, 09:46 and this allowed the Roman Catholic pope 09:48 to come and occupy the throne 09:51 that had been occupied by Caesar. 09:53 The little horn definitely arose 09:56 after the 10 horns were complete and in place. 10:01 In terms of geography, 10:03 this is the second characteristic, 10:05 where would the little horn arise? 10:09 Obviously it rises in Western Europe 10:11 because the 10 horns represent the nations of Western Europe. 10:15 But more specifically, it would be a Roman power, 10:19 because the little horn 10:20 rises from the head of the fourth beast 10:22 and the fourth beast is Rome. 10:25 The question is "Is the papacy a Roman power?" 10:28 Let's look at the characteristics. 10:30 First of all what is the name of the church? 10:34 The Roman Catholic Church. 10:36 What is its geographical location? 10:39 Its geographical location is Vatican City in Rome. 10:44 What is its official language? 10:47 Latin, the official language of the Roman Empire. 10:50 What kind of number system does the papacy use? 10:54 It uses Roman numerals. 10:56 What is the architecture in the Vatican like? 10:59 It is Roman architecture. 11:02 Furthermore the papacy inherited 11:05 and transformed the organizational system 11:10 of the Roman Empire into an ecclesiastical empire. 11:14 Let me read you a statement here 11:16 from a Jesuit scholar 11:17 by the name of Malachi Martin in his book 11:21 "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church." 11:24 How the papacy transformed the organization 11:28 that it inherited from the Roman Empire. 11:31 This is how it reads, "Within three centuries, 11:34 the Roman Church had transformed 11:37 the administrative organization of the Roma Empire 11:41 into an ecclesiastical system of bishoprics, envoys, 11:46 representatives, courts of justice, 11:48 and a criminal system of intricate laws 11:51 all under the direct control of the pope. 11:54 His Roman Palace, the Lateran, became the new Senate. 11:58 The new senators were whom? 12:00 The cardinals. 12:02 The bishops who lived in Rome and the priests and deacons 12:05 helped the pope to administer this new imperium." 12:10 In other words, this new empire. 12:12 So did the papacy inherit the empire from ancient Rome? 12:16 It most certainly did. It is a Roman power. 12:20 Furthermore, 12:22 many of the beliefs and practices 12:24 of the Roman Catholic Church 12:26 were inherited from the pagan Roman Empire. 12:29 Among those pagan practices for example 12:31 was the day of the sun. 12:35 In other words, Sunday as a day of worship 12:38 came into the church from the ancient Roman Empire. 12:43 In fact the first Sunday Law 12:44 was proposed by Constantine in the year 321. 12:47 He was a pagan at that time. 12:49 Of course, later on in the year 336 12:52 in the Council of Laodicea, 12:54 this particular Sunday Law became a religious Sunday Law, 13:00 because at first there was a secular Sunday Law, 13:02 and then it became a religious Sunday Law. 13:06 Perhaps you didn't know that the name Supreme Pontiff, 13:09 Sumo PontÃfice 13:11 as the pope is called in Spanish 13:14 is a direct importation from the name 13:17 that was given to the Roman Emperor. 13:19 The Roman Emperor was called Pontifex Maximus, 13:22 the Supreme Pontiff and this is exactly the name 13:26 that is given to the pope today. 13:29 He inherited the very name of the Caesar's in other words. 13:33 Now I want you to notice 13:35 a couple of statements from historians, 13:37 where the historians clearly tell us 13:39 that the Roman Catholic papacy rose from Rome, 13:43 takes the place of Rome, geographically speaking. 13:47 I'm gonna pass up the first statement 13:49 that we find, you can read that at your leisure. 13:52 I'm going to read the next two, 13:54 the one that comes from W.F. Barry, 13:56 and the one that is from Adolf Harnack. 13:59 Notice what is said by W.F. Barry. 14:03 "If we extend our view 14:04 over the ruins of the Western Empire, 14:07 such is the spectacle that meets us on every side, 14:11 the Pax Romana has ceased, the Roman peace has ceased, 14:16 it is universal confusion. 14:19 But wherever a bishop holds his court, 14:22 religion protects all that is left of the ancient order." 14:26 And now notice this, 14:27 "A new Rome ascends slowly above the horizon. 14:32 It is the heir of the religion which it has overthrown, 14:36 which is paganism, it assumes 14:39 the outward splendors of the Caesars. 14:42 The emperor is no more... 14:44 But the e Pontifex Maximus abides, 14:48 he is now the Vicar of Christ, 14:50 offering the old civilization to the tribes of the north. 14:54 He converts them to his creed, 14:56 and they serve him as their Father and Judge supreme. 14:59 This is the Papal Monarchy, 15:02 which in its power and its decline 15:05 overshadows the history of Europe for how long, 15:09 for a thousand years." 15:10 Actually it was more than a thousand years. 15:13 So is the papacy a Roman power according to this historian? 15:17 Absolutely. 15:19 Notice what Adolph Harnack wrote in his book, 15:22 "What is Christianity, " pages 269 and 270. 15:26 "The Roman Church in this way 15:28 privily pushed itself into the place 15:31 of the Roman World-Empire, 15:33 of which it is the actual continuation, 15:37 the empire has not perished, 15:39 but has only undergone a what, a transformation. 15:44 It is a political creation, 15:46 and as imposing as a World-Empire, 15:50 because it is what, 15:52 the continuation of the Roman Empire. 15:55 The pope, who calls himself 'King' and 'Pontifex Maximus, 16:00 is Caesar's successor." 16:03 So let me ask you, 16:05 is the little horn a Roman power? 16:07 It most certainly is. 16:09 It comes from the head of the fourth beast 16:11 which is Rome. 16:12 Once the 10 kingdoms are there, 16:15 the little horn comes up, this Roman horn. 16:19 Now the third characteristic that we noticed 16:21 is that this little horn 16:24 would uproot three of those 10 horns, 16:27 or three of those 10 kingdoms. 16:30 Now the 10 kingdoms were complete by the year 476. 16:33 In other words, 16:35 by the year 476 when the last western emperor 16:38 was deposed, 16:39 the empire had been divided into 10 kingdoms, 16:42 but there was a problem 16:44 that the papacy had after the year 476 16:48 and that is that there were three of the 10 kingdoms 16:51 that did not agree with the theology 16:54 of the Roman Catholic Church, 16:56 particularly they believed 16:58 that Jesus Christ was a created being. 17:01 They did not believe that Jesus was eternal God. 17:05 These three kingdoms were the Heruli, the Vandals, 17:09 and the Ostrogoths. 17:11 And so the papacy was desirous of uprooting 17:15 these three rebellious kingdoms, 17:17 three of the 10 rebellious kingdoms. 17:20 And so what happened is that the pope encouraged 17:24 Theodoric of the Ostrogoths to go against Odoacer, 17:29 the king of the Heruli, 17:30 because the Heruli were one of the kingdoms 17:32 that were rebellious to the papacy. 17:34 And thus it was, that in the year 493, 17:38 Odoacer of the Heruli was killed 17:42 by Theodoric of the Ostrogoths. 17:45 And Theodoric was sent by the papacy 17:47 to uproot the Heruli 17:50 and they were uprooted in the year 493 17:52 and there was no kingdom in Europe today 17:55 that descends from the Heruli. 17:58 Then you have a second kingdom which was rebellious, 18:00 the Vandals. 18:01 And in the year 534 18:04 the papacy influenced the Emperor Justinian 18:07 who was now the emperor in the east, 18:08 but he had a lot to say about the west, 18:10 the pope encouraged the emperor 18:13 to send armies to fight against the Vandals. 18:16 And in the year 534, 18:18 the Vandals were uprooted from history. 18:21 There is no nation in Europe that descends from the Vandals. 18:25 There was one rebellious kingdom 18:27 that was left, the Ostrogoths. 18:29 And in the year 533, the Army General Belisarius 18:36 was sent to do war against the Ostrogoths. 18:40 To make a long story short, 18:43 in the year 538 the Ostrogoths suffered 18:46 a devastating defeat, they were expelled from Rome, 18:50 even though they existed until the year 550, 18:54 they no longer had any power, 18:56 and they disappeared from history 18:58 after the year 538. 19:01 And so exactly the way history points it out, 19:04 the papacy influenced the emperor 19:07 to go against these three rebellious kingdoms, 19:10 the Heruli were uprooted in the year 493, 19:13 the Vandals were uprooted in the year 534, 19:17 and the Ostrogoths were uprooted in the year 538. 19:23 I want you to notice the statement that was made 19:26 by the Emperor Justinian about the pope. 19:32 It says, therefore he's writing a letter actually to Pope John. 19:36 "Therefore, we have exerted ourselves, 19:39 that is the emperors, 19:41 to unite all the priests of the East 19:44 and subject them to Your Holiness... 19:48 because you are the head of all the Churches, 19:51 for We shall exert Ourselves in every way 19:54 as has already been stated, 19:56 to increase the honor and authority of your See." 19:59 What significant about this statement? 20:02 What significant is that the emperor is saying, 20:04 you are the head of all the churches 20:07 and the state is going to put forth all of his effort 20:11 to make sure that everybody obeys you 20:14 as the head of all of the churches. 20:16 Since when is the state suppose to guarantee 20:20 the unity of the church and the obedience of people 20:24 members to the church. 20:27 It's interesting to notice characteristic number four. 20:30 Are you clear with the first three characteristics now? 20:33 Is the papacy a Roman power? Yes. 20:36 Did it rise to power 20:37 after the divisions of the Roman Empire? 20:39 Yes. 20:40 Did it uproot three of the 10 kingdoms? 20:43 It most certainly did. 20:44 Now the fourth characteristic is that the little horn 20:47 would speak blasphemies against the Most High. 20:52 Now we must allow the Bible to interpret what blasphemy is. 20:56 You know most people today when you say blasphemy, 20:58 they think of somebody who raises their hand 21:00 in defiance against God, maybe some atheist 21:03 who claims that God doesn't exist. 21:05 It maybe even uses bad language to curse God. 21:08 That's the idea that people have about blasphemy today. 21:11 But we should allow the Bible to define blasphemy, 21:14 not the dictionary in the 21st century. 21:17 How does the Bible define blasphemy? 21:21 Well, it defines it in two ways. 21:24 The first way is blasphemy means 21:28 "When a mere man claims to have the power to forgive sins." 21:34 Let's notice Mark 2:7, 21:37 Mark 2:7 Jesus had just said to a paralytic, 21:42 your sins are forgiven, 21:44 and of course the Jewish leaders 21:45 were furious with him, 21:47 because they consider that he was a mere man. 21:48 And so they said, 21:50 this man is speaking blasphemies, 21:52 who can forgive sins except God. 21:55 Notice what we find in Mark 2:7. 21:58 "Why does this man speak blasphemies like this? 22:01 Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 22:06 But let me ask you, does the Roman Catholic Church 22:08 claim to have the power to forgive sins. 22:11 You go to Roman Catholic cathedrals and churches 22:14 and you find confessionals everywhere. 22:17 Priests receive confession from the subject of the church. 22:22 And they actually say that they have power 22:24 to forgive the sins of the penitents. 22:27 Let me read you a statement from Saint Alphonsus Liguori, 22:30 one of the 33 doctors of the Roman Catholic Church. 22:33 This is in his famous book, 22:35 "Dignity and Duties of the Priest, 22:37 or, Selva" page 28. 22:39 "Were the Redeemer to descend into a church, 22:42 and sit in a confessional 22:43 to administer the sacrament of penance, 22:46 and a priest to sit in another confessional, 22:50 Jesus would say over each penitent, 22:52 "Ego te absolvo," which means I forgive you, 22:55 the priest would likewise say over each of his penitents, 22:59 "Ego te absolvo," 23:00 and the penitents of each would be equally absolved." 23:05 Now are you understanding what that statement is saying. 23:07 It's saying that the priest has the same power 23:10 as Jesus Christ to forgive sins. 23:13 Notice what the Baltimore Catechism has to say, 23:16 these are Roman Catholic publications. 23:18 "The priest does not have to ask God 23:21 to forgive your sins. 23:23 The priest himself 23:24 has the power to do so in Christ's name. 23:28 Your sins are forgiven by the priest, 23:31 the same as if you knelt before Jesus Christ 23:35 and told them to Christ Himself." 23:39 You are aware of the fact 23:41 that Pope Francis I has proclaimed, 23:43 "This year, the year of mercy, 23:46 actually it's from December 8, 2015 through November 20, 2016. 23:51 And he's even said that women who I have aborted babies, 23:55 if they're truly sorry for what they've done, 23:57 and they confess their sin to the priest, 24:00 the priest can forgive their sin. 24:03 The papacy certainly claims 24:05 to have the power to forgive sin, 24:06 that's one of the characteristics 24:08 of the little horn, 24:09 it speaks blasphemies against the Most High. 24:12 But there is a second characteristic 24:14 of blasphemy. 24:15 Blasphemy is also when a mere human being 24:19 claims to occupy the place of God on earth. 24:24 Notice John 10:30-33, 24:27 John 10:30-33. 24:31 Here Jesus makes a revolutionary statement, 24:34 "I and my Father are one." 24:36 Wow, that really made the religious leaders angry. 24:39 It says in verse 31, 24:41 "Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 24:44 Jesus answered them, 24:45 "Many good works have I shown you from my Father, 24:48 for which of those works do you stone me? 24:51 The Jews answered him, saying, 24:52 "For a good work we do not stone you, 24:54 but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, 24:58 make Yourself what, make Yourself God." 25:01 So when a mere man makes himself God, 25:04 or proclaims himself the representative 25:07 of God on earth, that is blasphemy. 25:11 Incidentally the popes called themselves Vicarius Christi. 25:16 That means the word vicar means, 25:18 one who takes the place of. 25:20 So Vicarius Christi means 25:22 one who takes the place of Christ. 25:25 Last I know Jesus said that the Holy Spirit 25:27 was going to take his place. 25:29 Another name that the popes have claimed 25:31 is Vicarius Filii Dei, 25:33 which means the vicar of the Son of God. 25:35 Basically it means 25:37 he who takes the place of the Son of God, 25:39 or the substitute for the Son of God. 25:42 That is blasphemy, folks. 25:44 Let me read you some statements from church history. 25:48 In a narration offered to the pope, 25:51 in the fourth session 25:53 of the Fifth Lateran Church Council, 25:55 Christopher Marcellous stated the following about the Pope. 25:59 And he is speaking to the Pope, 26:00 "For thou art the shepherd, thou art the physician, 26:04 thou art the director, thou art the husbandman, 26:08 finally thou art another God on earth." 26:14 This is a Roman Catholic 26:16 who was speaking about the pope. 26:17 Now there's an interesting encyclopedia, 26:19 it's called Prompta Bibliotheca, 26:21 it was published in the middle of the 1800s, 26:23 I have all eight volumes, they're very, very old. 26:28 If you look up the article, papa, which is pope, 26:32 you're gonna find something very interesting 26:34 that is written in this Roman Catholic encyclopedia, 26:37 which has the church imprimatur, 26:39 which means it's an authorized publication 26:42 of the Roman Catholic Church. 26:43 Let me read you this statement, 26:44 and you tell me if this is blasphemy. 26:47 "Moreover the superiority 26:49 and the power of the Roman Pontiff 26:52 by no means pertains only to the heavenly things, 26:55 to the earthly things, 26:57 and to the things under the earth, 26:59 but are even over the angels, than whom he is greater. 27:04 So that if it were possible 27:05 that the angels might err in the faith, 27:08 or might think contrary to the faith, 27:11 they could be judged 27:12 and excommunicated by the pope... 27:15 For he is of so great dignity and power 27:18 that he forms one 27:19 and the same tribunal with Christ. 27:22 So that whatever the pope does, 27:24 seems to proceed from the mouth of God, 27:27 as according to most doctors, etcetera. 27:29 The pope is as it were God on earth, 27:33 sole sovereign of the faithful of Christ, 27:36 chief king of kings, having plenitude of power, 27:39 to whom has been entrusted by the omnipotent God direction 27:43 not only of the earthly, that's the state by the way, 27:47 but also of the heavenly kingdom, 27:49 that's the church. 27:50 The pope is of so great authority and power 27:53 that he can modify, explain, or interpret even divine laws. 27:59 The pope can modify divine law, 28:01 since his power is not of man but of God, 28:05 and he acts as viceregent of God upon the earth 28:08 with the most ample power of binding and loosing his sheep. 28:12 Whatever the Lord God himself, and the Redeemer, 28:15 is said to do, that his vicar does, 28:18 provided that he does nothing contrary to what, 28:22 contrary to the faith." 28:24 That's blasphemy, folks. 28:26 That's a claim of being the representative 28:29 of God on earth, 28:30 and in some cases even God on earth. 28:32 So does the papacy fulfill the fourth characteristic, 28:36 does it claim to occupy the place of God on earth 28:39 and in some statements, even claim to be God on earth. 28:42 It most certainly does. 28:43 That characteristic fits just like the first three. 28:47 Now what about the next characteristic, 28:49 "Did the papacy persecute the saints of the Most High?" 28:53 This is where you'll find a lot of added material 28:55 to what we have in the syllabus. 28:57 Let me read you first of all, 28:59 what was said by Thomas Aquinas, 29:01 one of the greatest theologians, 29:02 if not the greatest theologian in the history 29:05 of the Roman Catholic Church. 29:07 He wrote this, 29:08 "But on the part of the church is mercy 29:12 in view of the conversion of them that err, 29:15 and therefore she does not condemn at once, 29:18 but after the first and second admonition," 29:20 as the apostle teaches. 29:22 After that, however, 29:24 after the person is worn the first and second time, 29:26 if the man is still found pertinacious, 29:30 that is obstinate, the church, 29:32 having no hope of his conversion, 29:34 provides for the safety of others, 29:37 cutting him off from the church 29:39 by the sentence of excommunication, 29:41 and further she leaves him to the secular tribunal 29:45 to be exterminated from the world by death." 29:49 Incidentally the other great pillar 29:51 of the Roman Catholic theology, 29:53 Saint Augustine is the one that originated the idea 29:56 that the church should use the state 29:59 to destroy those that don't agree 30:01 with the teachings and practices of the church. 30:03 And I could have read you statements 30:05 also from Saint Augustine. 30:08 The papacy was guilty of persecuting the Hussites. 30:11 Have you ever heard of the story of John Huss, 30:13 how he was burned at the stake. 30:14 Well, his followers were persecuted mercilessly. 30:18 Pope Martin V 30:21 who ruled from 1417 to 1431. 30:25 In 1429 he wrote a letter to the King of Poland, 30:30 and he told him, "You need to exterminate the Hussites." 30:33 And now I'm reading from what this pope wrote. 30:36 Know, he's writing to this king. 30:38 "Know that the interests of the Holy See, 30:41 and those of your crown, 30:43 make it a duty to exterminate the Hussites. 30:47 Remember that these impious persons dare proclaim, 30:51 notice what they proclaim, 30:52 they proclaim principles of equality, 30:55 they maintain that all Christians are brethren, 30:57 like that's a big crime, right, 30:59 and that God has not given to privileged men 31:02 the right of ruling the nations, 31:04 they hold that Christ came on earth to abolish slavery, 31:08 they call the people to liberty, 31:10 that is to the annihilation of kings and priests. 31:15 While there is still time then, 31:17 turn your forces against Bohemia. 31:19 That's where the Hussites were. 31:20 Burn, massacre, make deserts everywhere, 31:24 for nothing could be more agreeable to God 31:27 or more useful to the cause of kings, 31:29 than the extermination of the Hussites." 31:32 That is a Roman Catholic pope writing to the King of Poland. 31:38 What about the persecution against the Waldensians, 31:40 also known as Waldenses. 31:43 In the 15th century, in 1487 Pope Innocent VIII, 31:48 by the way he was not real innocent, 31:51 proclaimed a bull that is a personal letter 31:53 against the Waldensians or against the Waldenses. 31:58 In the bull, the pope referred to the Waldensians as 32:02 "that malicious and abominable sect of malignants," 32:06 and stated that "if they refuse to abjure, 32:09 that is to recant, they should be crushed 32:13 like venomous snakes." 32:16 Who could forget the so called Piedmont Massacre. 32:19 By the way I've been there in this very place 32:22 of what I'm going to tell you now. 32:24 1655, actually January 25, 1655. 32:28 The Duke of Savoy gave an edict 32:30 against the Waldensians, he said, 32:32 "They must either convert or leave the valleys 32:36 and have their properties confiscated. 32:40 And if they didn't, they would be subject 32:42 to the death decree." 32:44 I want to read you now a statement 32:46 from a very valuable book, 32:47 which we have here at Secrets Unsealed, 32:49 we carry Heresy, Columbus and the Inquisition, 32:53 written by Salim Japas, an old friend. 32:55 He died a few years ago, but a very committed Christian. 32:59 He wrote this, 33:00 "On April seventeenth, 15,000 soldiers 33:04 invaded the valleys of the Piedmont. 33:06 Thousands of Waldenses were murdered, 33:09 tortured and enslaved. 33:12 Hundreds who were able to escape 33:14 to the most rugged areas of the mountains 33:16 were caught and thrown off the jagged cliff 33:19 of Mount Catelluzo near Torre Pellice." 33:22 I've been there, I've been at that very ledge 33:25 where they threw off dozens of Waldensians, 33:28 because they did not agree with the teachings 33:30 and the practices of the church. 33:32 What could we say about the Saint Bartholomew massacre, 33:36 which took place August 24, 1572, 33:41 orchestrated by Pope Gregory XIII. 33:45 At the tolling of a bail, the Huguenots in France 33:49 were murdered without mercy, 70,000 men, 33:54 women and children perished. 33:57 The Huguenots were the professionals of the day, 34:00 they were what the French would say 34:02 "la creme de la creme" of France. 34:05 At the news of the massacre, 34:08 Pope Gregory XIII attended 34:11 with his cardinals 34:12 and other ecclesiastical dignitaries, 34:15 a long procession to the church of Saint Louis 34:19 where the Cardinal of Lorraine chanted a Te Deum, 34:22 that means an anthem of praise to God. 34:25 Incidentally, a metal was struck 34:27 to commemorate the massacre. 34:29 On one side of the metal 34:30 is the face of Pope Gregory XIII 34:33 and on the other side is the image 34:36 of the destroying angel. 34:39 If you want to know, how the inquisition functioned, 34:42 you need to read this book. 34:43 It's unbelievable how this mechanism 34:46 persecuted people mercilessly, 34:48 tortured people simply because they did not agree 34:52 with the practices and the theology of the church. 34:56 The inquisition was established in the 12th century, 34:59 and during the pontificate of Innocent XIV, 35:03 which he ruled from 1241 to 1253, 35:06 the inquisition was refined. 35:09 And I'm gonna talk now about a papal bull 35:12 called Ad extirpanda, 35:14 it was proposed in the year 1252 35:18 by Pope Innocent XIV. 35:20 And these are some of the provisions 35:22 that you find in that 35:24 particular personal letter of the pope. 35:26 Number one, torture must be applied to heretics, 35:30 so has to secure confessions. 35:32 Number two, those found guilty must be burned at the stake. 35:38 Number three, this is the pope is saying this by the way. 35:41 Number three, a police force 35:43 must be established to serve the needs of the inquisition. 35:47 Number four, a proclamation of a crusade 35:51 against all heretics in Italy, 35:54 and those who participated in this crusade 35:57 were given the same privileges and indulgences, 35:59 as those who went on crusades to the holy land. 36:03 Finally the errs of heretics 36:06 were to have their goods confiscated, 36:09 as well as the goods that belong 36:12 to the heretic himself. 36:14 It's interesting to read what Peter De Rosa, 36:16 a Roman Catholic wrote in his book 36:19 "Vicars of Christ" 36:20 pages 175 and 176. 36:23 Listen to this. 36:24 "Of eighty popes in a line 36:27 from the thirteenth century on, 36:29 not one of them disapproved of the theology 36:33 and apparatus of the Inquisition. 36:35 On the contrary, one after another 36:39 added his own cruel touches 36:41 to the workings of this deadly machine." 36:45 Let me read you this statement 36:47 from a 14th century inquisitor, Bernard Gui. 36:50 This is what he wrote, 36:52 "The objective of the Inquisition 36:54 is to destroy heresy, 36:56 it is not possible to destroy heresy 36:58 unless you eradicate the heretics, 37:01 and it is impossible to eradicate 37:03 the heretics unless you also eradicate 37:06 those who hide them, 37:08 sympathize with them and protect them." 37:11 So you not only persecute the heretic, 37:13 you also torture the heretic to find out 37:16 who sympathizes with the heretic 37:19 is what he's saying. 37:20 Now Jean Antoine Llorente, a Spaniard, 37:23 who was actually the secretary 37:25 of the Inquisition in Madrid 37:28 had some interesting things to say about the Inquisition. 37:31 He kind of had a conversion experience. 37:33 Let me read you these two statements. 37:35 "I was the secretary of the Inquisition 37:38 in the court of Madrid 37:39 in the years 1789, 1790 and 1791. 37:45 I knew the establishment well enough to refute it. 37:50 It was vicious in its origin, constitution 37:54 and laws in spite of the apologies 37:57 which have been written in its favor." 38:00 He also wrote, 38:01 "The horrid conduct of this Holy Office, 38:04 which is the name of the Inquisition, 38:05 weakened the power 38:07 and diminished the population of Spain 38:09 by arresting the progress of the arts, 38:12 sciences, industry and commerce, 38:15 and by compelling multitudes of families 38:17 to abandon the kingdom, 38:19 by instigating the expulsion of the Jews and Moors, 38:22 and by immolating on its flaming shambles 38:26 more than three hundred thousand victims." 38:32 This is written by Roman Catholic, 38:34 who was an inquisitor, 38:35 he was a secretary of the inquisitor in Spain. 38:38 He wrote several volumes, documenting 38:40 what the Roman Catholic Church did in the Inquisition. 38:44 I wish I had time 38:45 to go through the next material in the syllabus. 38:48 You know for many years, 38:49 I had desire to visit one specific spot in Peru. 38:54 And a few years ago, 38:55 I was invited to speak 38:57 at the Seventh-day Adventist University in Lima, 38:59 near Lima. 39:01 And I wanted to visit the Palace of the Inquisition, 39:04 because I'd heard that 39:06 there was an interesting exhibition there. 39:08 And so one afternoon they took me 39:10 to visit this Palace of the Inquisition 39:13 in the city of Lima. 39:15 Incidentally the Inquisition function 39:17 in three Latin American countries, 39:19 it functioned in Colombia, 39:20 it functioned in Mexico, 39:22 and of course it in functioned in Peru. 39:25 As we entered the Palace of the inquisition, 39:28 as you look on the right hand side, 39:29 you find this large mural, 39:31 or this large depiction of what is called an auto-da-fe. 39:35 In other words, they're actually doing 39:37 an examination of the heretic, they're in the plaza, 39:40 they are must, and if they just found guilty, 39:42 they're gonna burn him there at the stake. 39:45 It's interesting how this young man 39:47 who was our tour guy simply described that, 39:50 whoever didn't agree with the teachings 39:51 and practices of the church, 39:53 you know they were tied to the stake 39:56 and then they were burned alive. 40:00 You can read in the material, 40:02 the different torture instruments 40:05 that were used by the Inquisition there in Peru. 40:09 In fact after looking at this large mural 40:12 on the right hand side, you take a left, 40:14 and you go into the tortured chamber. 40:16 There you have, and you can read this at your leisure. 40:19 There you have the strappado, you have the whipping post, 40:23 you have the rack, the garrote, waterboarding was used, 40:28 also you've heard of waterboarding, right. 40:30 And then they took us beyond the tortured chamber, 40:33 by the way, they have all of the implements, 40:35 samples of all the implements, and how they were used 40:37 to torture people to get them to recant and also 40:41 to tell who sympathized with their ideas. 40:46 Next, you found these little cubicles 40:50 that were hewn in the rock, 40:52 where individuals suspected of heresy were 40:54 enclosed in these little cubicles hewn in the rock. 40:57 I mean they were barely large enough for the individual 41:00 to fit in there, all curled up, 41:03 and they were kept in the dark and in the cold, 41:06 their family knew not where they were for days 41:09 and sometimes for months 41:11 they were kept in there just barely alive. 41:14 That is the history of the Roman Catholic system. 41:17 Let me read you some other statements 41:19 from other Roman Catholic thinkers. 41:22 Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, 41:24 one of the enemies of the Protestant Reformation. 41:27 He was a champion of the Counter Reformation. 41:29 Notice what he wrote, 41:31 by the way he lived from 1540 to 1621. 41:34 He wrote, "The only effective means against heretics 41:38 is to convey them to that place provided for them 41:41 as quickly as possible. 41:43 In this way one is only doing them a favor 41:47 as the longer they are allowed to live, 41:49 the more heresies they will devise, 41:52 and thus the more believers they will seduce, 41:55 aggravating their own damnation." 41:59 Pius IX wrote in an encyclical letter in December 8, 1864. 42:05 And this is what he wrote, "Cursed be they who assert 42:09 liberty of conscience and of worship, 42:12 and such as maintain the church should not employ force. 42:16 The State has not the right to leave every man free 42:20 to embrace whatever religion he may deem true." 42:25 Interesting that a pope would say such things against 42:29 religious liberty saying that state cannot allow people 42:32 to choose the religion that they want to follow. 42:35 Pope Leo XIII added his testimony 42:38 in his encyclical Libertas humana. 42:42 This is what he wrote. 42:44 "From what has been said, it follows that it is quite 42:47 unlawful to demand, to defend, or to grant unconditional 42:52 freedom of thought, of speech, of writing, or of worship, 42:56 as if these were so many rights given by nature to man." 43:02 Here's another statement by Marianus de Luca, 43:05 a Jesuit, and formally a Professor of Canon Law 43:09 at the Gregorian University in Rome. 43:11 That's where priests are educated. 43:14 Notice what he wrote, 43:15 "The Catholic Church has the right 43:17 and duty to kill heretics because it is by fire 43:21 and sword that heresy can be extirpated. 43:24 Mass excommunication is derided by heretics. 43:27 If they are imprisoned or exiled, they corrupt others. 43:31 The only recourse is to put them to death. 43:34 Repentance cannot be allowed to save civil criminals 43:37 for the highest good of the church 43:39 is the duty of the faith, 43:41 and this cannot be preserved unless heretics are what, 43:45 are put to death." 43:46 And this is a theology teacher teaching priests 43:49 in the Pontifical University. 43:52 He further remarked the following, 43:55 "Heretics despise excommunication 43:58 and say that that bolt is powerless, 44:02 if you threaten them with a pecuniary fine, 44:05 they neither fear God nor respect men, 44:07 knowing that they will find fools enough to believe them 44:10 and support them. 44:12 If you imprison them or send them into exile, 44:15 they corrupt those near them with their words 44:18 and those at a distance with their books. 44:20 So the only remedy is to send them soon to their won place." 44:26 And of course the question is what is their own place? 44:30 Well, he explains by quoting Tanner in the next statement. 44:34 "The civil magistrate, by the command and commission 44:38 of the Church, ought to punish the heretic with what, 44:43 with the penalty of death." 44:47 Notice this statement from Alfred Baudrillart, 44:51 he was a French cardinal. 44:53 These are no slouches of the Roman Catholic Church, 44:56 these are popes and cardinals of the church 44:58 and teachers at the Gregorian University 45:01 that are writing these things. 45:02 Notice what he said. 45:04 "The church has, and she loudly proclaims that she has, 45:08 a 'horror of blood.' 45:11 Nevertheless when confronted by heresy 45:14 she does not content herself with persuasion, 45:17 arguments of an intellectual and moral order 45:20 appear to her insufficient, 45:23 and she has recourse to force, 45:25 to corporal punishment, to torture. 45:29 She creates tribunals like those of the Inquisition, 45:33 she calls the laws of the State to her aid, 45:36 if necessary she encourages a crusade, 45:39 or a religious war and all her 'horror of blood' 45:43 practically culminates into urging 45:47 the secular power to shed it, 45:49 which proceeding is almost more odious, 45:51 for it is less frank than shedding it herself." 45:55 In other words, it's much easier 45:56 to get the state to shut it 45:58 and then blame the state and say, we didn't do it. 46:01 He continues writing. 46:03 "Especially did the church act thus in the sixteenth century 46:07 with regard to Protestants. 46:09 Not content to reform morally, to preach by example, 46:13 to convert people by eloquent and holy missionaries, 46:16 she lit in Italy, in the Low Countries, 46:20 and above all in Spain, 46:22 the funeral piles of the Inquisition. 46:25 In France under Francis I and Henry II, 46:28 in England under Mary Tudor, she tortured heretics, 46:33 while both in France and Germany 46:35 during the second half of the sixteenth 46:37 and the first half of the seventeenth century 46:40 if she did not actually begin, at any rate she encouraged 46:44 and actively aided in the religious wars." 46:49 Notice what Alexis M. Lepicier had to say. 46:53 Once again a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. 46:56 He wrote, "He who publicly avows a heresy 47:00 and tries to pervert others by word 47:02 or example, speaking absolutely, 47:05 can not only be excommunicated but even justly put to death, 47:10 lest he ruin others by pestilential contagion, 47:13 for a bad man is worse than a wild beast, 47:16 and does more harm, as Aristotle says. 47:19 Hence, as it is not wrong to kill a wild beast which does 47:23 great harm, so it must be right to deprive of his harmful life 47:29 a heretic who withdraws from divine truth and plots against 47:33 the salvation of others." 47:36 Are you following this? 47:37 This is not one or two statements from nobody's, 47:41 this is popes and cardinals. 47:44 And the history shows that the papacy persecuted 47:47 without mercy those who did not agree with her. 47:51 The Catholic Encyclopedia therefore says 47:54 and admits that this is a dark period 47:57 of the history of the Roman Catholic Church. 47:59 "Judged by contemporary standards, 48:01 the Inquisition, especially as it developed 48:04 in Spain toward the close of the Middle Ages, 48:07 can be classified only 48:09 as one of the darker chapters in the history of the Church." 48:15 There have been papal apologies 48:18 at Saint Peter's Basilica on the first Sunday 48:21 of Lent March 12, 2000 Pope John Paul II 48:26 in a carefully choreographed mass, 48:29 leaning against the crucifix with an agonizing voice seemed 48:34 to apologize for the sins 48:36 of the church against Protestants, 48:39 Jews, non-Christians, immigrants, ethnic minorities, 48:43 women, abused children, and the unborn. 48:46 He actually mentions all these groups. 48:48 And he's apologizing for the way in which 48:50 the Roman Catholic Church treated them. 48:52 And now I read 48:54 one of the points that he mentioned, 48:57 it's a long letter that he wrote actually. 49:00 "We forgive and we ask your forgiveness! 49:04 We cannot recognize the betrayals of the Gospel 49:10 committed by some of our brothers, 49:12 especially during the second millennium. 49:15 We ask forgiveness for the divisions 49:17 between Christians, for the use of violence that some have 49:21 resorted to in the service of truth." 49:23 Notice he doesn't say that it was in the service of err, 49:26 he says in the service of truth. 49:28 "And for the acts of dissidence and of hostility sometimes 49:32 taken towards followers of other religions." 49:36 But in this long letter he never admits 49:39 that it was the church that persecuted. 49:41 He says some of our brothers persecuted. 49:44 That lead the editor 49:46 of the New York Times to write this about 49:48 this document that the pope wrote. 49:50 "The document should have put it in bold print 49:54 that 'children of the church' 49:57 includes popes, cardinals and clergy, 50:01 and not just people in the pews. 50:04 The pope had a great idea that some in the Vatican are 50:08 obscuring with a fog machine.' 50:12 'There was also an apology by Pope Francis I 50:15 and this is amazing. 50:17 He actually traveled to Torre Pellice, 50:20 the place where the Waldensians actually lived. 50:23 And on June 22, 2015 just last year, 50:28 he spoke at this oldest evangelical church 50:31 of the Waldensians. 50:33 And now I read what he said to them. 50:36 "On the part of the Catholic Church, 50:39 I ask your forgiveness, 50:41 I ask it for the non-Christian and even inhuman attitudes 50:46 and behavior that we have showed you." 50:49 In other words, he's apologizing 50:51 to the Waldensians 50:52 in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ forgive us. 50:56 And so some people say, 50:57 see the papacy is repented and sorry for what it has done. 51:01 We're gonna study a little bit later on in our series 51:04 that the papacy is gonna act in the future in the same way 51:08 that it acted in the past. 51:10 Bible prophecy tells us that is going to happen. 51:13 So the facade that the papacy is presenting today of being 51:18 a forgiving church, begging for forgiveness and saying, 51:21 we're sorry for what we've done is only way to gain 51:25 the confidence of people 51:26 and tell the papacy can once regain power. 51:31 Now we're gonna study characteristic number six, 51:33 and we're gonna leave number seven for our next lecture, 51:36 because our next lecture 51:37 is going to deal with the time period, 51:39 time, times, and the dividing of time. 51:42 So let's cover point number six. 51:45 Does the papacy claim to have change God's holy law? 51:50 Yes, in two ways. 51:52 One way indirectly, and another way directly. 51:56 If you read the Roman Catholic Bibles, 51:58 you're gonna find the second commandment just like it is in 52:01 Protestant Bibles. 52:02 It says don't make images, 52:04 and don't bow before the images, 52:06 that's in Roman Catholic Bibles. 52:08 But when you go to Roman Catholic catechisms 52:11 that commandment is gone. 52:12 It's not in the catechisms. 52:14 And you say why would it be in the Roman Catholic Bibles 52:17 and not be in the catechisms, very simple. 52:20 If it was in the catechisms 52:21 which are used to teach children, 52:24 so they can receive first communion, 52:27 if they saw that commandment in the catechism, they say, 52:30 now, wait a minute, there is a contradiction here. 52:32 It says don't make images 52:34 and don't bow before the images, 52:35 why then do we have so many images in the church, 52:38 and why do we bow before the images. 52:40 So the Roman Catholic Church excludes the second commandment 52:43 from the catechisms, even though 52:45 it's following the Roman Catholic Bible, 52:47 and most Roman Catholics don't actually read the Bible. 52:51 So many of them are definitely surprised, 52:53 when they discover that the second commandment 52:55 says don't make images and don't bow before them. 52:59 But the biggest change 53:00 that the Roman Catholic system has made 53:03 in God's Law is that it openly says we have changed 53:08 by the authority of Jesus Christ, 53:10 the day of worship from Sabbath to Sunday. 53:14 The Roman Catholic Church claims and we're gonna 53:16 look at this more carefully later on in the future lecture. 53:19 The Roman Catholic Church without apology 53:23 says openly popes, cardinals, theologians, 53:28 and teachers of theology clearly say, 53:32 we changed the day of worship 53:36 from Sabbath to Sunday. 53:39 Allow me to read you a statement 53:41 from Saint Thomas Aquinas. 53:44 Saint Thomas Aquinas is the greatest theologian 53:47 in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. 53:49 Saint Augustine would probably 53:51 be a close rival of Thomas Aquinas. 53:54 But Aquinas, no doubt is the greatest theologian 53:57 in Roman Catholicism. 53:58 Notice what he said about the day of worship. 54:01 "In the New Law the keeping of the Sunday 54:06 supplants that of the Sabbath, 54:10 not in virtue of the precept of the law, 54:13 in other words, it's not found in the Bible, 54:16 but through determination by the church 54:19 and the custom of the Christian people." 54:23 So he's saying Sunday is a day of worship, 54:26 not because the Bible says it's Sunday but because the church 54:29 and the people decided 54:31 that Sunday would be the new day of worship. 54:35 My Bible begs to differ. 54:37 My Bible tells me that the Sabbath 54:39 was created by God 54:40 at the very beginning before sin. 54:43 It's part of God's original plan. 54:46 It's in the fourth commandment of God's holy law. 54:48 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 54:51 Jesus Christ kept the Sabbath. 54:53 He went to the synagogue as was his custom on the Sabbath day. 54:58 The apostles according to the Book of Acts 55:00 kept the seventh day Sabbath as the day of rest. 55:03 There is no vestige in the Bible 55:05 that the day of worship was ever changed, 55:07 or they were supposed to honor Sunday 55:09 because Jesus resurrected that day, 55:11 or that Sunday is particularly holy 55:13 because of Christ's resurrection. 55:15 And yet the Roman Catholic Church, 55:17 time and again and later on in this series, 55:19 I'm gonna read you a series of statements, 55:21 they say we by the authority of the Jesus Christ conceded 55:25 to the Roman Catholic Church, 55:27 we have changed the day of worship 55:30 from Sabbath to Sunday. 55:31 The Bible says that the little horn would think that it could 55:35 change God's what, it could change God's law. 55:38 So let me ask you, do all of the characteristic fit 55:41 the Roman Catholic Church? 55:43 Absolutely, number one, what was number one, 55:47 do you remember, number one it was going to arise after 55:50 the 10 kingdoms were complete. 55:52 Is that true? Yes. 55:54 It was going to arise in Western Europe, 55:56 more specifically from Rome, is that true? 55:59 It was going to uproot three of the 10 kingdoms, 56:02 the three rebellious kingdoms. 56:03 That's true. 56:05 Does the papacy speak blasphemies by claiming 56:07 to forgive sins, 56:08 and by the pope claiming to be the representative 56:10 of Christ on earth? 56:11 Absolutely. 56:13 Does the papacy have a long history of persecution? 56:17 Yes, it does. 56:18 Does the papacy claim to have changed God's day of worship 56:21 from Sabbath to Sunday? 56:23 Absolutely. 56:24 Now there is one characteristic 56:26 that we did not cover from this lesson. 56:28 We're gonna look at it in our next lecture 56:30 and that is the period that the Roman Catholic 56:34 papacy ruled during the time 56:37 that it did all of these things that we're talking about. 56:41 The Bible says that the papacy would rule for time, 56:45 times and the dividing of time. 56:48 You say, "What in the world could that ever mean." 56:51 Time, times and the dividing of time. 56:54 In Revelation, it's described as 42 months. 56:58 In Revelation 12, it's called 1,260 days, 57:04 three parallel expressions, 1,260 days, 42 months, 57:09 and time, times and the dividing of time. 57:12 And in our next together, I'm going to show you 57:14 that the papacy ruled exactly 57:17 the time that this prophecy says. 57:19 It ruled for 1,260 years from the time it rose to power till 57:26 the time that it received a deadly wound 57:28 according to Revelation 13. 57:30 So the last characteristic also fits the papacy 57:34 like glove in hand. 57:37 So are you clear on what we've studied so far. 57:40 The prophetic chain, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, 57:44 the Roman Empire, the divided Roman Empire 57:46 and then from the divided Roman Empire 57:48 or in its midst rises he little horn 57:52 with all of these characteristics 57:53 and rules for 1,260 years. |
Revised 2016-10-24