[upbeat music]
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>>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to
"Sabbath School," brought to you
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by It Is Written.
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We're glad that
you could join us again
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as we are taking a look
at one of the greatest themes
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in the Bible, that
is, the great controversy,
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the struggle
between good and evil,
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light and darkness.
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And this week we are taking
a look at lesson number 11,
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"The Impending Conflict."
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What is the impending conflict,
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and how can we
be prepared for it?
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We're going to find
out in just a moment.
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But let's begin with prayer.
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Father, we want to thank You for
being with us as we have been
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studying this incredible
subject, this incredible theme
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that runs from
Genesis to Revelation.
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Today, we're looking
at the impending conflict,
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something that is very
shortly to come upon this world,
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and we ask that You would
help us to be ready for it.
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And we thank You
for doing so in advance,
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in Jesus' name, [both] amen.
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Well, we're grateful to
have with us again, this week,
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Pastor Mark
Finley, who is the author
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of this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson.
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He has been leading us
through this incredible subject.
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Pastor Mark, welcome back again.
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>>Mark Finley: I've been
enjoying these times together,
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Pastor Eric. We have
been opening the Word of God,
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and any time you open the Word
of God, it's an exciting time.
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>>Eric: Amen to that.
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Now, today, "The
Impending Conflict,"
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that is an interesting title
that you have given this lesson.
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Why "The Impending Conflict"?
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>>Mark: You know, it's kind
of based on 1 Thessalonians,
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chapter 5, where
the apostle Paul talks
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about the fact that we
are not children of the night,
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we are children of the day,
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and he urges us
to walk in the light.
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1 Thessalonians,
chapter 5, and you look there,
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for example,
where he says, verse 1,
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"But concerning the
times and the seasons,
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"brethren, you have no
need that I...write to you.
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"For you yourselves know
perfectly...the day of the Lord
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"so comes as a
thief in the night.
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"...When they say,
'Peace and safety!'
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...sudden
destruction comes upon them."
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Now, verse 4 and 5: "But you,
brethren, are not in darkness,
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"so that this Day
should overtake you as a thief.
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"You are all sons of
[the] light and sons of the day.
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"We are not of the
night nor of darkness.
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"Therefore let us
not sleep, as others...,
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but let us watch and be sober."
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The impending conflict
is coming upon this world.
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The apostle Paul says,
let's watch; let's be sober.
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Let's be clear
minded on what's coming.
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When you look at the
book "Great Controversy"--
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that this week's
lesson is based upon--
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you'll find the
chapters 35 and 36 talk about
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the impending conflict.
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Why did Ellen White write that?
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Because she
wanted us to be prepared
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for what's
coming upon the world.
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She was guided
by the Holy Spirit,
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given visions and dreams by God,
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given a vision of
the great controversy.
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And the whole
purpose of that is,
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when you know the general
outline of what's coming--
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now, obviously, we don't
know every specific detail--
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but when you know
those general outlines,
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you can prepare
for what's coming.
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And that's what
the apostle Paul says;
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you're not in
darkness like the world.
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We have inside information
as Seventh-day Adventists.
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I do not apologize for it;
I'm not embarrassed about it.
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I believe that God
gave to Ellen White
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divine prophetic
insight to lead a people
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to be prepared for
the coming of Jesus.
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And her writings are
in harmony with Scripture,
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with both Daniel and Revelation,
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and so this whole chapter
on the impending conflict
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is based on the Bible,
but it has the corollary
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of the book "Great Controversy"
to give divine insight
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and expand on
those biblical passages.
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>>Eric: So we've been
kind of tracing that book,
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"The Great Controversy,"
throughout this quarter,
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chapter by chapter
and seeing the correlation
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between what we're studying.
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You mention there is an
impending conflict coming,
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which she writes about.
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But you also mention something
in here about the VeriChip.
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It's an interesting way that you
start this particular lesson.
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I don't remember
seeing that in the book,
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but how does
that fit into things?
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How do we, how does that help us
to grasp the impending conflict?
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>>Mark: People have
strange ideas about the union
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of church and state
and the mark of the beast.
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So there--I'll
give you some ideas.
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Some people think, well,
it's the barcodes on the cans
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that they scan when you
go to the grocery store,
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you know. It's,
"They may come up to 666."
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Other people say,
no, it's something about
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the identification
numbers on bills, you know, 666.
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Well, the VeriChip,
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the VeriChip is a medical
device that can be implanted.
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It's about the size of
a grain of rice, actually.
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It can be implanted in the body,
and you can scan this VeriChip,
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and you can tell a
person's blood pressure,
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their vital signs,
their heart rate, et cetera.
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So it makes it very easy if
something is being worked on.
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So some people think,
"Well, the VeriChip, you know,
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they're gonna scan that. It's
gonna be the mark of the beast."
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Let me tell you
what I don't know.
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I don't know how
the mark of the beast
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is often gonna be enforced.
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I know we won't be
able to buy or sell.
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I know there'll
be a death decree,
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but how are they going to
enforce the mark of the beast?
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I mean, you can
have all kind of ideas--
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credit cards and
the cashless society--
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we don't know what
those, all those details--
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inspiration has
not revealed them.
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But this is what we do know;
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we know what the
issues are going to be,
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and that's what we're talking
about in our lesson today.
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These are the central
issues in the final conflict
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of the mark of the
beast. Let's not get all tied up
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in every little specific detail
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that God may not
have yet revealed,
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but we can know the central
issues, so we can be prepared.
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>>Eric: So we'll
see in time exactly
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how all that's
going to shake out.
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But we've got a general
idea, a general direction
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that we know
things are going to go.
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>>Mark: Right. If you want
to ask me to guess about it,
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I can do that for
the rest of the program,
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but please don't
ask me. [both laugh]
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>>Eric: So, let me
ask you this, then,
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instead. >>Mark: All right.
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>>Eric: In what specific area
is Satan going to challenge God
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in, in the final scenes
of this great controversy?
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What's that going to look like?
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>>Mark: That's a
question we can answer.
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Revelation, chapter
14, we're gonna compare
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two passages in
the book of Revelation.
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Revelation 14, verse 7.
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You remember, in
verse 6, it says that
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he "saw another angel flying
in the [middle] of heaven,
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having the everlasting gospel."
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Then in verse 7:
"Saying with a loud voice,
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"'Fear God...give glory to Him,
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"'for the hour of His judgment
has come, and worship Him
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"'[that] made
heaven... [the] earth, the sea
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and the [fountains] of waters.'"
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So here you have
a call to worship.
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What is the very
basis, what is the very basis
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of worshiping God?
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Go back to Revelation
4, verse 11 and just--
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if you'll be so
kind to read that for us,
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Revelation 4, verse 11.
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>>Eric: "You are worthy, O
Lord, to receive glory and honor
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"and power; for
You created all things,
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and by Your will they
exist and were created."
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>>Mark: So why is it that
God is worthy of our worship?
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And why is Christ
worthy of our worship?
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Because, if you remember, in
Ephesians 3, verse 9, it says
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that God created all
things through Jesus Christ.
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So Christ is worthy of our
worship because He is eternal,
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He is everlasting, He's our
Creator, and He's our Redeemer.
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One of the reasons we worship
is because we have not evolved.
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We're not a genetic accident.
We're not skin covering bone.
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We're not simply an anomaly.
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But God created us
through Jesus Christ.
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Why is it that Satan
attacks Jesus so viciously?
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Why does Satan
hate Jesus so viciously?
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Because Satan could not
create. He saw something.
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Satan was this beautiful
being of dazzling brightness.
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He had a role in heaven.
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But Jesus, the divine
Son of God, the eternal one,
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is our Creator.
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Satan could not create;
he became jealous of God.
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And as the result of
that, he rebelled in heaven.
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Why is it that Satan
attacks Jesus on earth?
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Because he wanted to be Creator.
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What does he attack?
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The symbol of His
creation, the Sabbath.
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So the Sabbath becomes the
central issue in Satan's attack
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because, if he undermines that,
he knows he can undermine Christ
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as Creator, and he undermines
the very basis for worship.
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>>Eric: So we know what
he's going to be going after
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and why he's going
to be going after it.
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If we look back at how he has,
how his strategies have worked
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in the past, how he
has worked in the past,
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what does that tell us
about how Satan is going to work
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to accomplish his
goals in the future?
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>>Mark: Satan has
worked predominantly
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in two ways in the past.
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You know, Revelation 12 says
the great dragon was cast out,
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that serpent called the devil.
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So he's called the dragon
because he wants to destroy
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in persecution.
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He's called the
serpent because he deceives.
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He deceives those
he's going to destroy,
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destroy those
he's going to deceive.
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So his methods are deception,
and if he cannot deceive you,
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then he's gonna
try to destroy you.
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So one of those two
things he wants to do.
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>>Eric: So either deceive
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or destroy? >>Mark: Right.
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>>Eric: In the book of
Revelation, we are introduced
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to two beasts, a sea
beast and a land beast.
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Help us to understand this first
beast of Revelation, chapter 13.
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Who or what is this first beast?
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And how is the devil going to
be working through that beast?
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>>Mark: Well, in the book
of Revelation, chapter 13,
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we start with these words:
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"And I saw another
beast rise up out of the sea,"
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having seven
horns and ten crowns,
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and the crowns upon his horns.
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Let's just look at it,
Revelation, chapter 13,
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and go ahead and
read verse 1 and 2,
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just the sea beast coming up.
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>>Eric: "Then I stood
on the sand of the sea.
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"And I saw a beast rising up out
of the sea, having seven heads
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"and ten horns, and
on his horns ten crowns,
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"and on his heads
a blasphemous name.
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"Now the beast which I
saw was like a leopard,
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"his feet were
like the feet of a bear,
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"and his mouth like
the mouth of a lion.
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"The dragon gave him
his power, his throne,
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and great authority."
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>>Mark: So let's look at some
of the aspects of that beast.
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The beast comes
up out of the sea.
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Now, in Bible
prophecy, we don't have to guess
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what the sea represents.
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We can go over to
Revelation 17, verse 15,
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and pick that one up for us.
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>>Eric: "Then he said to
me, 'The waters which you saw,
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"'where the harlot
sits, are peoples, multitudes,
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nations, and tongues.'"
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>>Mark: So the sea
represents populated areas:
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peoples, nations, and tongues.
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So this power rising up,
in Revelation 13, a beast--
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now, in Bible prophecy, a beast
represents a king or kingdom,
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according to Daniel 7,
verse 17 and Daniel 7, verse 23.
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So you have here a power rising
up out of a populated area,
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seven heads representing
the seven great empires
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that come before this beast,
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10 horns representing the 10
divisions of this beast power.
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Ten crowns, it is,
that's kingly authority.
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He's like a
leopard, a bear, and a lion.
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So you see the
leopard, the bear, and the lion.
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We saw those before, didn't we?
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>>Eric: Back in
Daniel, back in Daniel.
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>>Mark: Daniel, chapter 7.
00:11:40.36\00:11:41.63
So, you remember, the
lion represented Babylon,
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the bear, Medo-Persia;
the leopard, Greece;
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But a dragon, this fourth
power, Rome gives this new power
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its great authority.
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So this beast power
of Revelation, chapter 13
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rises in a populated area.
00:11:56.71\00:11:58.85
He rises after
Babylon, after Medo-Persia,
00:11:58.88\00:12:01.35
after Greece, after Rome.
00:12:01.38\00:12:03.18
He rises sometime within the 10
divisions of the Roman Empire.
00:12:03.22\00:12:06.62
He gets his
authority from pagan Rome.
00:12:06.65\00:12:09.96
So pagan Rome gives its
authority to somebody else.
00:12:09.99\00:12:13.23
And this power,
according to verse 3,
00:12:13.26\00:12:17.10
has a deadly wound, ultimately.
00:12:17.13\00:12:20.54
All the world would
"marvel after the beast";
00:12:20.57\00:12:23.04
it becomes a universal power.
00:12:23.07\00:12:25.87
And it says, "So they worshiped
the dragon that gave power
00:12:25.91\00:12:30.38
to the beast"--or authority--
"and they worshiped the beast,
00:12:30.41\00:12:33.01
saying, 'Who is like unto him?'"
00:12:33.05\00:12:35.08
So here he has worship.
00:12:35.12\00:12:36.75
So here is a religious
power that rises after the fall
00:12:36.79\00:12:40.56
of Rome, that rises in a
populated area of Europe,
00:12:40.59\00:12:45.73
someplace among those 10 horns.
00:12:45.76\00:12:48.26
And it's a power that receives
its authority from pagan Rome.
00:12:48.30\00:12:53.50
There's only
one power like that.
00:12:53.54\00:12:55.04
>>Eric: There really is.
00:12:55.07\00:12:56.50
And you take a
look at that power.
00:12:56.54\00:12:58.04
The Bible describes
it, and it's historically
00:12:58.07\00:13:00.21
been identified as
the Vatican or the papacy.
00:13:00.24\00:13:02.21
>>Mark: Sure,
the medieval church.
00:13:02.24\00:13:03.55
>>Eric: The medieval
church. So you've got
00:13:03.58\00:13:05.15
a pretty well-defined
power here that the adversary
00:13:05.18\00:13:08.92
is going to be working
through in the very last days
00:13:08.95\00:13:12.69
to do some
pretty difficult things,
00:13:12.72\00:13:15.96
to make life
difficult for God's saints.
00:13:15.99\00:13:19.09
Share with us how we
can learn more about this.
00:13:19.13\00:13:22.26
>>Mark: We can learn
more about it in our book,
00:13:22.30\00:13:23.80
"The War Between Good and Evil."
00:13:23.83\00:13:25.63
In chapter 11 of
this book, that correlates
00:13:25.67\00:13:27.64
with the
"Sabbath School" lesson,
00:13:27.67\00:13:30.41
we delineate the
signs of the beast's power,
00:13:30.44\00:13:35.41
the identifying
features of the beast's power,
00:13:35.44\00:13:38.05
clearly
identifying it as the papacy.
00:13:38.08\00:13:40.58
We bring the corollary
statements out from the writings
00:13:40.62\00:13:43.75
of Ellen White, the gift
of prophecy that confirm that,
00:13:43.79\00:13:47.36
and there's some
amazing historical information
00:13:47.39\00:13:49.79
we'll pick up in
our next session.
00:13:49.82\00:13:51.29
>>Eric: Fantastic.
00:13:51.33\00:13:52.56
Now, if you want to pick that
book up, it's very easy to do.
00:13:52.59\00:13:55.10
Just go to itiswritten.shop.
00:13:55.13\00:13:57.43
Again, that's itiswritten.shop.
00:13:57.47\00:14:00.30
You'll find the
companion book to this quarter's
00:14:00.34\00:14:02.07
"Sabbath School" lesson there,
00:14:02.10\00:14:03.51
and it will be
a blessing to you.
00:14:03.54\00:14:05.14
We're going to take a look
at the second beast here in just
00:14:05.17\00:14:07.98
a moment when we come back here
once again to "Sabbath School,"
00:14:08.01\00:14:11.11
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:11.15\00:14:12.75
¤¤¤
00:14:12.78\00:14:15.28
>>Announcer: If you'd like
to deepen your understanding
00:14:17.49\00:14:19.22
of the powerful themes
brought out in this program,
00:14:19.25\00:14:21.82
we invite you to explore the
book "The Great Controversy."
00:14:21.86\00:14:25.06
For more information, simply
text the code "GC24" to 71392.
00:14:25.09\00:14:30.40
This book delves into
critical end-time themes,
00:14:30.43\00:14:33.03
offering profound
insights into historical events,
00:14:33.07\00:14:35.87
Bible prophecy, and
spiritual preparation
00:14:35.90\00:14:38.44
essential for
today's unique challenges.
00:14:38.47\00:14:41.38
Discover how "The
Great Controversy"
00:14:41.41\00:14:42.91
can illuminate your path
in these uncertain times.
00:14:42.94\00:14:45.95
>>John Bradshaw:
Welcome to "Line Upon Line,"
00:14:47.28\00:14:48.75
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:48.78\00:14:50.89
¤¤¤
00:14:50.92\00:14:53.52
"If the atonement was
complete at the cross,
00:14:53.56\00:14:57.03
"then what is Christ doing
00:14:57.06\00:14:59.19
in the most holy place
of the heavenly sanctuary?"
00:14:59.23\00:15:02.66
¤¤¤
00:15:02.70\00:15:04.80
"Does the soul leave the body
once the heart stops beating
00:15:04.83\00:15:10.91
or before?"
00:15:10.94\00:15:12.57
¤¤¤
00:15:12.61\00:15:13.98
>>Wes Peppers: Yeah, it's a,
it's very simply the combination
00:15:14.01\00:15:16.91
of the body and
the breath of life.
00:15:16.95\00:15:18.95
>>John: How do
you know it does not?
00:15:18.98\00:15:20.28
Because it sounds like it
does. >>Wes: It sounds like it.
00:15:20.32\00:15:22.35
Sometimes the Bible
will say certain things,
00:15:22.38\00:15:24.79
and it sounds like
it's saying something,
00:15:24.82\00:15:26.49
but when you compare
that to the rest of the Bible,
00:15:26.52\00:15:29.09
you find it's
really not doing that.
00:15:29.12\00:15:31.19
>>John: And, you know, it's good
to have curious questions about
00:15:31.23\00:15:33.83
some of these things, but,
at times, we're just not told.
00:15:33.86\00:15:36.30
More "Line Upon
Line" in a moment,
00:15:36.33\00:15:38.30
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:15:38.33\00:15:40.64
¤¤¤
00:15:40.67\00:15:45.07
¤¤¤
00:15:47.98\00:15:52.11
>>Eric: Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:15:52.15\00:15:53.68
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:15:53.72\00:15:55.48
We're taking a look at a
very interesting subject today,
00:15:55.52\00:15:57.75
"The Impending Conflict."
00:15:57.79\00:15:59.55
Pastor Mark, you
mentioned before we took a break
00:15:59.59\00:16:01.69
about some historical documents,
some historical references
00:16:01.72\00:16:05.43
that help us to see the accuracy
00:16:05.46\00:16:07.30
of some of the identifications
we're making here.
00:16:07.30\00:16:09.96
>>Mark: You know, Pastor Eric,
one of the things that really
00:16:10.00\00:16:12.23
impresses me, that is, you
take the Bible and the corollary
00:16:12.27\00:16:16.34
material by Ellen White, and you
compare that to the historical
00:16:16.37\00:16:20.58
material on the
papacy, the beast power.
00:16:20.61\00:16:23.98
They all fit in; they correlate.
00:16:24.01\00:16:26.15
Let me give you a
couple of examples.
00:16:26.18\00:16:28.32
Isaac Backus is
quite a renowned writer,
00:16:28.35\00:16:32.62
and this is what he said.
00:16:32.65\00:16:35.16
I put it in the "Sabbath School"
lesson, Tuesday's lesson,
00:16:35.19\00:16:37.39
third paragraph
down: "By removing the seat
00:16:37.43\00:16:40.40
"of the empire to
Constantinople,...
00:16:40.43\00:16:42.46
"Constantine made way
for the bishop of Rome
00:16:42.50\00:16:45.27
"to exalt himself
above all men upon earth,
00:16:45.30\00:16:48.47
and above the God of Heaven."
00:16:48.50\00:16:51.17
This is a
statement by one historian,
00:16:51.21\00:16:55.28
and we quote this
from Leroy Froom's book,
00:16:55.31\00:16:59.38
"The Prophetic
Faith of our Fathers."
00:16:59.41\00:17:01.58
Remember, in prophecy,
00:17:01.62\00:17:04.05
it said that the dragon--Rome--
00:17:04.09\00:17:06.89
would give this new power
the seat of his government.
00:17:06.92\00:17:10.76
These very words are used
here by the historian Backus.
00:17:10.79\00:17:15.46
Then, Thomas
Hobbes, another historian,
00:17:15.50\00:17:21.37
his book called "Leviathan"
00:17:21.40\00:17:23.41
by New York Oxford
University Press, 1996.
00:17:23.44\00:17:26.94
>>Mark: So this is---
>>Eric: It's a recent book.
00:17:26.98\00:17:28.28
>>Mark: ...not
some ancient book.
00:17:28.31\00:17:29.94
Hobbes puts it this
way: "The Papacy is no other
00:17:29.98\00:17:33.78
"than the ghost of
the deceased Roman empire,
00:17:33.82\00:17:36.35
sitting crowned
upon the grave thereof."
00:17:36.38\00:17:39.79
Now, we need to be careful here.
00:17:39.82\00:17:42.99
There are thousands,
millions of individual Catholics
00:17:43.02\00:17:47.40
who know Christ.
00:17:47.40\00:17:49.13
You have held
evangelistic meetings
00:17:49.16\00:17:50.70
all over the United
States, around the world;
00:17:50.73\00:17:52.90
I have as well.
00:17:52.93\00:17:54.34
I have many Catholics--
and you have, too, Pastor--
00:17:54.37\00:17:56.17
coming to our meetings.
00:17:56.20\00:17:57.51
They love Jesus;
they're seeking God.
00:17:57.54\00:17:59.81
So this is not a
condemnation of an individual.
00:17:59.84\00:18:03.55
This is talking about a system
that would rise out of Rome,
00:18:03.58\00:18:07.85
that would substitute
tradition for the Word of God.
00:18:07.88\00:18:11.59
There's some pretty
strong language used
00:18:11.62\00:18:13.46
in Revelation as well.
00:18:13.49\00:18:15.99
>>Eric: Yeah, it's powerful
language, and it tells us
00:18:16.02\00:18:19.56
a little bit about,
tells us a lot about the way
00:18:19.59\00:18:21.50
things are going to go.
00:18:21.53\00:18:23.23
So, as you mentioned, God's
not identifying people here,
00:18:23.26\00:18:26.57
but He is talking
about a system that is
00:18:26.60\00:18:28.94
going to persecute God's people.
00:18:28.97\00:18:32.24
There's certainly been
a history of persecution
00:18:32.27\00:18:34.11
in the past by this entity.
00:18:34.14\00:18:36.28
And we can expect
that to happen again
00:18:36.31\00:18:38.65
in an even more
significant way. >>Mark: We can.
00:18:38.68\00:18:41.95
You know, one of the strong
identifying marks is found
00:18:41.98\00:18:45.75
here in Revelation 13--
00:18:45.79\00:18:47.82
and if you could read
Revelation 13, verse 6.
00:18:47.86\00:18:51.59
>>Eric: "Then he
opened his mouth in blasphemy
00:18:51.63\00:18:53.43
"against God, to
blaspheme His name,
00:18:53.46\00:18:55.73
His tabernacle, and
those who dwell in heaven."
00:18:55.76\00:18:58.27
>>Mark: If you didn't
know anything about the Bible,
00:18:58.30\00:19:00.14
what would you
think about blasphemy?
00:19:00.17\00:19:01.50
You'd think of kind of
atheism or something, right?
00:19:01.54\00:19:03.51
But the Bible defines blasphemy
in some interesting ways.
00:19:03.54\00:19:07.14
You remember twice Jesus
was claimed to be a blasphemer.
00:19:07.18\00:19:10.01
He wasn't-- because
their claims were false.
00:19:10.05\00:19:12.68
But you look at John
10, verse 33, for example,
00:19:12.71\00:19:16.72
and we get a pretty
good feel of how the Bible
00:19:16.75\00:19:20.26
defines blasphemy.
00:19:20.29\00:19:21.92
John 10, and we're
looking there at verse 33,
00:19:21.96\00:19:26.49
and go ahead and
read that one for us.
00:19:26.53\00:19:30.23
>>Eric: "The Jews answered
Him, saying, 'For a good work
00:19:30.27\00:19:32.60
"we do not stone You, but
for blasphemy, and because You,
00:19:32.63\00:19:35.90
being a Man,
make Yourself God.'"
00:19:35.94\00:19:38.21
>>Mark: So any human
being that exalts themself
00:19:38.24\00:19:41.31
and claims to be God on
earth becomes a blasphemer.
00:19:41.34\00:19:45.35
Jesus wasn't because He was God.
00:19:45.38\00:19:47.02
>>Eric: Right.
>>Mark: The other passage
00:19:47.05\00:19:48.95
is Luke 5, verse 21,
00:19:48.98\00:19:51.55
where, again, Jesus is
claimed to be a blasphemer.
00:19:51.59\00:19:55.16
>>Eric: In the previous verse,
Jesus forgives a man's sins.
00:19:55.19\00:19:58.29
He says, "'Man, your
sins are forgiven you.'
00:19:58.33\00:20:00.13
And the scribes--"verse
21-- "and the Pharisees
00:20:00.16\00:20:02.16
"began to reason, saying,
00:20:02.20\00:20:03.26
"'Who is this who
speaks blasphemies?
00:20:03.30\00:20:05.43
Who can forgive
sins but God alone?'"
00:20:05.47\00:20:07.87
>>Mark: Yeah, so here blasphemy
indicates that when one claims
00:20:07.90\00:20:13.51
the ability to forgive
sins or to represent God
00:20:13.54\00:20:17.15
in forgiving sin, that
that becomes blasphemy.
00:20:17.18\00:20:19.48
Jesus can do that because
He is the divine Son of God.
00:20:19.51\00:20:22.68
You know, I was
brought up in a lovely home.
00:20:22.72\00:20:26.25
My father was a Protestant;
my mother was a Catholic.
00:20:26.29\00:20:29.19
And my father later became a
Seventh-day Adventist and began
00:20:29.22\00:20:33.60
sharing these divine truths with
me, and it just changed my life.
00:20:33.63\00:20:37.10
I will never forget the
many times, as a young man,
00:20:37.13\00:20:40.64
being brought up in a Catholic
school for the first eight years
00:20:40.67\00:20:42.84
of my life,
would go to confession
00:20:42.87\00:20:44.87
and confess to the priest,
00:20:44.91\00:20:46.64
and then I would leave there
still feeling a sense of guilt,
00:20:46.68\00:20:50.38
still feeling a
sense of emptiness.
00:20:50.41\00:20:52.38
But, you know, when you come to
Jesus, there's only one Mediator
00:20:52.41\00:20:55.15
between God and man,
and that's the Man Jesus.
00:20:55.18\00:20:57.55
And I remember one
day my mom was sitting
00:20:57.59\00:21:01.29
out in her
chaise lounge, you know,
00:21:01.32\00:21:03.79
out in the backyard in the
sunshine, still a Catholic.
00:21:03.83\00:21:07.13
And I went to her, and I
said, "You know, Mom, catechism
00:21:07.13\00:21:09.56
"teaches that we need a
priest because he's the mediator
00:21:09.60\00:21:12.57
"between God and man,
so we can come to him.
00:21:12.60\00:21:15.70
"But the Bible teaches
that there's one mediator,
00:21:15.74\00:21:19.17
and that's Jesus."
00:21:19.21\00:21:20.68
And I remember the
tears in her eyes, you know,
00:21:20.71\00:21:22.91
and to sense that
Christ could forgive her sins.
00:21:22.94\00:21:25.35
And later, of course, she became
an Adventist, was baptized.
00:21:25.38\00:21:27.98
But I think about
those early years.
00:21:28.02\00:21:31.12
Blasphemy, not
condemning people,
00:21:31.15\00:21:34.79
but describing
broad strokes of a system
00:21:34.82\00:21:37.73
that has
introduced a human priesthood
00:21:37.76\00:21:39.59
rather than Christ's priesthood,
00:21:39.63\00:21:40.83
the sacrifice of the mass rather
than the sacrifice of Christ.
00:21:40.86\00:21:43.73
>>Eric: And so we see that
that system is going to play
00:21:43.77\00:21:45.67
a significant role in the
last days of earth's history.
00:21:45.70\00:21:48.80
There's another system,
another beast, as it were,
00:21:48.84\00:21:52.04
in Revelation, chapter 13.
00:21:52.07\00:21:53.61
This is the one that
doesn't come up out of the sea
00:21:53.64\00:21:55.24
but comes up out of the land.
00:21:55.28\00:21:56.48
>>Mark: Yeah, yeah. It--and we
look at the timing it comes up.
00:21:56.51\00:22:01.52
You know, when you look
at Revelation, chapter 13,
00:22:01.55\00:22:04.55
Revelation 13 gives
you the identifying marks
00:22:04.59\00:22:08.19
of the beast's
power. One of them is that
00:22:08.22\00:22:10.09
this beast power
would reign for 1,260 years.
00:22:10.13\00:22:12.63
Church and
state would be united.
00:22:12.66\00:22:13.96
We call those the Dark Ages,
the Middle Ages, from 538 AD,
00:22:14.00\00:22:18.00
when Justinian, the pagan Roman
emperor, gave to Vigilius II,
00:22:18.03\00:22:21.34
the pope of Rome, civil
authority 1,260 years later--
00:22:21.37\00:22:27.01
because both in
Revelation 12 and Revelation 13,
00:22:27.04\00:22:31.38
we read about this
time, times, and half a time,
00:22:31.41\00:22:34.05
42 months--1,260
prophetic days or literal years.
00:22:34.08\00:22:38.72
And runs out from
538 to 1798 when Napoleon
00:22:38.75\00:22:43.99
sent the general Berthier
down and took the pope captive,
00:22:44.03\00:22:47.10
and the pope died in captivity.
00:22:47.13\00:22:48.86
Well, right at that same
time, Revelation, chapter 13,
00:22:48.90\00:22:54.20
and go ahead and begin there
00:22:54.24\00:22:56.54
with Revelation,
chapter 13 and verse 11.
00:22:56.57\00:23:00.61
>>Eric: "Then I saw
another beast coming up
00:23:00.64\00:23:02.24
"out of the earth, and
he had two horns like a lamb
00:23:02.28\00:23:05.01
"and spoke like a dragon.
00:23:05.05\00:23:06.65
"And he exercises all the
authority of the first beast
00:23:06.68\00:23:09.35
"in his presence,
and causes the earth
00:23:09.38\00:23:11.45
"and those who dwell in it
to worship the first beast,
00:23:11.49\00:23:14.16
whose deadly wound was healed."
00:23:14.19\00:23:16.12
>>Mark: Sure, so, when
does this first beast end?
00:23:16.16\00:23:20.86
1798, the sea beast, the papacy.
00:23:20.90\00:23:24.33
The second beast
comes up out of the land--
00:23:24.37\00:23:27.50
at this same time.
00:23:27.54\00:23:28.74
So you have to ask, if the
sea represents a populated area,
00:23:28.77\00:23:32.04
and the land
represents an unpopulated
00:23:32.07\00:23:34.34
or sparsely populated area, and
if the sea beast ends in 1798,
00:23:34.38\00:23:40.52
and there's another power
that's rising at that time--
00:23:40.55\00:23:43.92
so this power, there's a
power that's rising about 1798
00:23:43.95\00:23:47.66
in that area that is
rising in an unpopulated
00:23:47.69\00:23:51.29
or sparsely populated area.
00:23:51.33\00:23:53.50
It says that it's like a
lamb. Now, the other beasts--
00:23:53.53\00:23:57.03
the lion, the bear,
the leopard, the dragon--
00:23:57.07\00:24:00.20
were all old beasts;
they were older nations.
00:24:00.24\00:24:04.87
But this lamb beast is
young; it's a new nation.
00:24:04.91\00:24:09.21
We sometimes have the
expression "free as a lamb."
00:24:09.24\00:24:12.01
And so it's a nation that
emphasized freedom, two horns.
00:24:12.05\00:24:15.75
In the Bible, horns
are symbols of power.
00:24:15.78\00:24:18.62
So this lamb-like beast has
civil and religious authority,
00:24:18.65\00:24:24.26
a democratic
republic form of government,
00:24:24.29\00:24:26.16
we would say; that's its power.
00:24:26.19\00:24:28.36
Notice, on these
horns there were no crowns.
00:24:28.40\00:24:31.00
On the first beast that
comes up out of the sea,
00:24:31.03\00:24:33.50
that has the 10
horns or 10 crowns,
00:24:33.54\00:24:35.67
representing kingly authority.
00:24:35.70\00:24:37.61
So here is a power that rises up
in an unsparsely populated area
00:24:37.64\00:24:45.61
at the time that the first
beast goes into captivity, 1798.
00:24:45.65\00:24:49.65
It's a young nation that rises;
a beast is a nation or a power.
00:24:49.68\00:24:54.59
It's young; it's not governed by
a king, but it rather has civil,
00:24:54.62\00:24:59.96
religious,
democratic republican--
00:25:00.06\00:25:02.43
there's only one
nation like this.
00:25:02.46\00:25:04.20
I mean, it's
pretty obvious, isn't it?
00:25:04.23\00:25:05.53
It's the United
States of America.
00:25:05.57\00:25:07.70
Does that then mean that
the United States one day
00:25:07.74\00:25:11.84
will renounce its
religious freedom principles?
00:25:11.87\00:25:14.84
Read there again what
that says in Revelation 13,
00:25:14.88\00:25:19.41
about verse 12.
00:25:19.45\00:25:21.68
>>Eric: It says, "He
exercises all the authority
00:25:21.72\00:25:23.65
"of the first beast in his
presence, and causes the earth
00:25:23.69\00:25:26.79
"and those who dwell in it
to worship the first beast,
00:25:26.82\00:25:30.19
whose deadly wound was healed."
00:25:30.23\00:25:31.63
So that sounds a lot
like legislated worship,
00:25:31.66\00:25:34.46
like forced worship.
>>Mark: Yeah, exactly, exactly.
00:25:34.46\00:25:37.77
If you look, for
example, at Thursday's lesson,
00:25:37.80\00:25:45.04
I've read it here.
00:25:45.07\00:25:48.21
I wanna pick up the
Wednesday and Thursday's lesson.
00:25:48.24\00:25:50.88
I wanna take a look at
Wednesday's lesson, a statement
00:25:50.91\00:25:54.92
from "Great Controversy,"
592, that I don't wanna miss,
00:25:54.95\00:25:57.59
and then I wanna come
over to Thursday's lesson.
00:25:57.62\00:26:00.06
The last paragraph,
00:26:00.09\00:26:02.56
there's a statement from "Great
Controversy" that says this:
00:26:02.59\00:26:06.39
"Those who honor
the Bible Sabbath
00:26:06.43\00:26:08.33
"will be denounced as
enemies of law and order,
00:26:08.36\00:26:10.70
"as breaking down the
moral restraints of society,
00:26:10.73\00:26:13.20
"causing anarchy and corruption,
00:26:13.23\00:26:14.94
"and calling down the
judgments of God upon the earth.
00:26:14.97\00:26:17.51
"They will be
accused of disaffection
00:26:17.54\00:26:19.21
"toward the government.
00:26:19.24\00:26:20.68
"Ministers who deny
00:26:20.71\00:26:22.01
"the obligation
of the divine law
00:26:22.04\00:26:24.01
"will present from the pulpit
00:26:24.05\00:26:25.48
"the duty of yielding obedience
00:26:25.51\00:26:27.38
"to...civil authorities
00:26:27.42\00:26:28.78
"as ordained of God.
00:26:28.82\00:26:30.25
"In legislative halls
and courts of justice,
00:26:30.29\00:26:32.55
"commandment keepers
00:26:32.59\00:26:33.66
"will be
misrepresented and condemned."
00:26:33.69\00:26:36.12
"Great Controversy," 592.
00:26:36.16\00:26:38.19
So...
00:26:38.23\00:26:39.33
what we're gonna see is
exactly what the Bible says.
00:26:39.36\00:26:42.03
The Bible says the
papal power would arise.
00:26:42.06\00:26:45.50
Protestant churches would join
with the papal power, not that
00:26:45.53\00:26:49.90
they give up their individual
denominational identity,
00:26:49.94\00:26:56.28
but rather what they do
is unite with the papal power
00:26:56.31\00:27:01.72
because we're at
a time of crisis.
00:27:01.75\00:27:04.49
There's famine,
earthquake, fire, flood.
00:27:04.52\00:27:07.09
And what does God do?
00:27:07.12\00:27:09.39
God moves at that
time of crisis powerfully.
00:27:09.42\00:27:13.26
Church and state unite.
00:27:13.29\00:27:14.56
But God's people share
His love in legislative halls,
00:27:14.60\00:27:18.83
and Christ
triumphs in those last days.
00:27:18.87\00:27:22.34
Certainly, there's difficulty,
hardship, persecution,
00:27:22.37\00:27:25.57
but the light of truth shines,
and Jesus wins, and Satan loses.
00:27:25.61\00:27:30.15
>>Eric: And that's
incredible hope for all of us.
00:27:30.18\00:27:32.68
And we hope that
that's incredible hope for you
00:27:32.71\00:27:35.45
because what we're talking about
is how we can make it through
00:27:35.48\00:27:38.72
the last days of
earth's history with God's help.
00:27:38.75\00:27:41.86
We trust that this will
be an encouragement to you,
00:27:41.89\00:27:44.06
has been an encouragement
to you, and will continue to be
00:27:44.09\00:27:46.36
an encouragement to you
as you face the days ahead.
00:27:46.39\00:27:49.23
There is an
impending conflict coming,
00:27:49.26\00:27:51.60
but Christ will be with you
00:27:51.63\00:27:53.20
and give you the
strength that you need.
00:27:53.23\00:27:55.20
God bless you, and we will
look forward to seeing you again
00:27:55.24\00:27:57.47
next time here
on "Sabbath School,"
00:27:57.51\00:27:59.07
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:59.11\00:28:01.38
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