What does the future hold?
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Where can we find certainty
in a world of uncertainty?
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The Book of Revelation provides
hopeful answers for today,
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tomorrow and forever.
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Join Mark Finley, author
and world-renowned speaker
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on a journey
into the future with
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"Revelation's
Ancient Discoveries."
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The Book of Revelation
is a book of contrasts.
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It talks about two leaders,
the Lamb and the Dragon.
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Two harvests,
harvest of golden grain,
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the saved, and the harvest
of gory grapes, the lost.
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It talks about two
cities, Jerusalem, from above,
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and Babylon, from beneath.
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It talks about two spirits,
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the Holy Spirit
that possesses men
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and women at
the time of the end,
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and the unholy sprit of demons.
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The Book of Revelation
talks also about two women,
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and it's those two women,
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it's the topic of our discussion
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for this presentation.
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Let's pray together.
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Father in Heaven, as we study
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the two great
women of Revelation,
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notice the
difference between the two,
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help us constantly
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to distinguish
between truth and error,
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help us distinguish
between error, falsehood,
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deception that is so
gripping the minds of people
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and the clarity, the certainty,
the definiteness of your truth.
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Come Jesus, speak to our hearts
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and reveal yourself
in this presentation
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in Christ's name, amen.
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The topic for this telecast
is "Revelation's Last Appeal."
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As we go to the
Book of Revelation,
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it's the Revelation of Jesus,
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and Jesus loves us so much
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that He desires us
to know the road ahead.
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If there were a
bridge out on a rainy night
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because of the
swelling of some river
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that knocked it out,
and you knew your son,
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your daughter was
traveling that road,
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and they had a cell phone,
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wouldn't you call
them and warn them
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that the bridge was out?
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Would you think,
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"Well, I don't
want to offend them,
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that's the shortest way home.
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I don't want to upset them.
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I don't want to
trade any trouble,
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I'm just gonna let them drive."
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You wouldn't
think that way at all.
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If there were an emergency,
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you would want to warn your son,
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your daughter
about that emergency.
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In the Book of Revelation,
God warns us of what's coming.
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He does it in
Revelation in a variety of ways,
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but particularly by
contrasting two women.
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Let's look at them both.
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In Revelation
12, a woman arises.
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She is beautiful.
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Dressed in white,
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she has a crown and
12 stars upon her head.
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She is pure, righteous,
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iridescent with
the glory of God.
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What does a woman
represent in Bible prophecy?
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Jeremiah 6:2 says this,
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"I have likened
the daughter of Zion,"
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now Zion is of
course the church,
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"to a lovely
and delicate woman."
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God likens His
church to a woman.
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You find that
throughout scripture.
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In the Book of Isaiah, He says,
"I have adorned you, to myself.
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I've embraced you
as a precious bride."
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This bride imagery
is used in Jeremiah,
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it's used in Isaiah,
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certainly used throughout
the New Testament as well.
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Ephesians 5 talks about
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the church as
the bride of Christ.
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Christ is the husband,
the church is the bride.
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So a pure woman, a chaste woman,
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in scripture
represents the church
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or the bride of Christ.
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When the church
goes out after the world,
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according to James
4:4, the prophet says,
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"You adulterers and adulteresses
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who have gone
out after the world,
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so if the bride of
Christ, the church,
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leaves her true lover Jesus,
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and goes out after the world
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that is called
Spiritual adultery."
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So in the Book of
Revelation you have this woman,
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"The Faithful Bride of Christ."
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She is faithful to Jesus.
He is the passion of her life.
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She is faithful to His Word.
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His Word becomes
her guiding principle.
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She is faithful to His law,
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and just like a
loving wife desires
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to make her husband happy,
so the bride of Christ desires
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to make Him
happy by pleasing Him.
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But the scene quickly changes,
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and we go from
Revelation 12 to Revelation 17.
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There is another
woman presented here
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in Revelation 17,
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and this is not the
true bride of Christ,
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not the faithful
church of Christ,
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but this describes an
Apostate Religious System.
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The New Testament
church is radiant with Christ,
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the Son of Righteousness.
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The apostate church has
drifted away from Christ
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and she is not
clothed in the garments
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of Christ's righteousness
like the bride of Christ is.
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The bride of
Christ stands on the moon.
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You know, the moon
reflects the light of the sun,
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and so that would reflect
in New Testament language,
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the Old Testament.
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So the New Testament
church emerges standing
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on the foundation
of the Old Testament.
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This woman has 12
stars upon her head.
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The church guided
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by its
leadership are 12 disciples
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or 12 apostles.
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She is clothed
with white raiment,
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she has the
righteousness of Christ
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and according to
Revelation 19:9 and onward,
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that the righteous Christ
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is the righteous
deeds of the saints.
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So what do I see,
and what do we see
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from the biblical
symbolism of Revelation 12?
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We see the bride of
Christ, faithful to Christ,
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basing her teachings
on the Word of Christ,
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guided by divine administrators,
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the apostles, and clothed
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with the righteousness of Christ
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that leads her to do good works.
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Here, in Revelation 17,
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we see quite a
different picture.
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Revelation 17:1, 2,
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"Then one of the seven angels
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who had the seven bowls
came and talked with me,
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saying to me,
'Come, and I will show you
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the judgment of the great harlot
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who sits on many waters."
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Now notice this
woman is called a harlot.
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She has left her
true lover, Jesus.
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She has drifted
away from the one
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that woos her and
desires her to come back.
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"Come, I will show
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the judgment of
the great harlot."
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This fallen church system,
this apostate church system,
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who sits on many waters,
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"with whom the
kings of the earth
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have committed fornication,
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and the inhabitants of
the earth were made drunk
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with the wine of
her fornication."
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Now let's look at
every phrase in that passage.
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This woman sits upon
a scarlet colored beast.
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She is decked out in
her scarlet in purple.
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She is ornamented.
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She has a wine cup in her hands,
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and she passes it around,
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and the world
gets drunk with it.
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What does the beast represent?
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What does the
wine cup represent?
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What about this woman,
who does she represent?
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Revelation 17:15,
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what about these
waters that she sits on.
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"Then he said to me,
'The waters which you saw,
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where the harlot sits,
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are peoples,
multitudes, nations,
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and tongues.'"
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What then does the
water or the sea represent?
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Multitudes, nations, or tongues.
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So this woman
dominates multitudes of peoples,
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this must be an
international power,
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a power that has
deceived peoples,
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multitudes, nations and tongues.
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Now what is fornication?
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Fornication is an illicit union.
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So this woman, the
fallen church power unites
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with the state
in an illicit union,
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rather than
uniting with her husband,
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Jesus Christ, in
a legitimate union.
00:08:25.47\00:08:28.17
So what we are seeing here
00:08:28.20\00:08:29.94
is a picture of a
compromised church,
00:08:29.97\00:08:33.44
a church in apostasy,
00:08:33.48\00:08:35.64
that has united
with the state powers.
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In the fallen church system,
00:08:39.35\00:08:41.38
the church is
united with the state.
00:08:41.42\00:08:44.35
In the true church system,
00:08:44.39\00:08:46.39
the church is
united with Jesus Christ.
00:08:46.42\00:08:50.96
In the true church system,
00:08:50.99\00:08:52.56
you have one thing and
that is union with Jesus,
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oneness with Jesus,
fellowship with Jesus.
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In fallen church
system, betrayal of Christ,
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union with fellowship,
cozying up to the state powers.
00:09:03.74\00:09:08.81
The fallen church
looks to the kings
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and political leaders
of the earth for power,
00:09:11.75\00:09:14.95
and anytime the
church does that,
00:09:14.98\00:09:17.55
it indicates apostasy,
00:09:17.59\00:09:19.72
and certainly the
spiritual weakness
00:09:19.75\00:09:22.12
of the church.
00:09:22.16\00:09:23.49
When the church turns
to the state for its power,
00:09:23.53\00:09:26.29
it indicates that it
has lost the power of God.
00:09:26.33\00:09:31.03
So Revelation 17:3,
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"So he carried me
away in the Spirit
00:09:34.30\00:09:36.50
in the wilderness.
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And I saw a woman sitting
on a scarlet colored beast."
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Beast representing the state.
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Fallen woman, the church.
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The church then
governs or drives the state
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which is full of
names of blasphemy,
00:09:50.65\00:09:52.99
having seven
heads and ten horns.
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The harlot woman
of Revelation 17,
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of course, represents
that false system of religion.
00:09:58.39\00:10:03.26
The beast on which she
rides, represents what?
00:10:03.30\00:10:06.47
The state. So
church, state, union.
00:10:06.50\00:10:10.17
In the Bible Commentary,
00:10:10.21\00:10:11.54
page 593, by Fausset,
and Jamieson, and Brown.
00:10:11.57\00:10:16.28
The comment is
made very insightful.
00:10:16.31\00:10:19.51
"State and Church are
precious gifts of God.
00:10:19.55\00:10:23.92
But the State being
desecrated becomes beastlike,
00:10:23.95\00:10:28.12
the Church apostatizing
becomes the harlot."
00:10:28.16\00:10:31.96
So Bible commentators down
00:10:31.99\00:10:34.36
through the ages have recognized
00:10:34.40\00:10:37.40
this symbolism of
church, state, union.
00:10:37.43\00:10:41.20
Now "The woman is
arrayed in purple and scarlet,"
00:10:41.24\00:10:44.14
so here we have a
fallen church system
00:10:44.17\00:10:47.54
that unites with the state
in the period of the dark ages,
00:10:47.58\00:10:51.68
whose colors are
purple and scarlet.
00:10:51.71\00:10:54.78
"And she is adorned with gold
and precious stones and pearls,
00:10:54.82\00:10:59.25
having in her hand a
golden cup full of abominations
00:10:59.29\00:11:01.86
and the filthiness
of her fornication."
00:11:01.89\00:11:04.09
So here is a church state union,
00:11:04.13\00:11:06.70
the church becomes wealthy,
00:11:06.73\00:11:08.63
its churches become
lavish and it grows up
00:11:08.66\00:11:12.60
in the dark ages out of Rome.
00:11:12.63\00:11:15.04
Now notice it says,
00:11:15.07\00:11:16.40
there is a golden
cup full of abominations.
00:11:16.44\00:11:20.74
The golden wine cup in her hand,
00:11:20.78\00:11:22.54
of course,
represents the intoxication
00:11:22.58\00:11:25.81
of false doctrine.
00:11:25.85\00:11:27.58
When you drink wine or
alcohol, it impacts the brain.
00:11:27.62\00:11:31.89
It impacts
conscience, reason and judgment,
00:11:31.92\00:11:34.72
so you can't think well.
00:11:34.76\00:11:36.42
One night I was
outside of Chicago,
00:11:36.46\00:11:38.83
preaching in
LaGrange, Illinois...
00:11:38.86\00:11:40.96
Actually it was in a
YMCA, and I was preaching away,
00:11:41.00\00:11:43.80
I was young
00:11:43.83\00:11:45.17
and I was
preaching enthusiastically
00:11:45.20\00:11:47.14
on the wine of Babylon,
00:11:47.17\00:11:48.70
and a drunk man
walked in to the meeting,
00:11:48.74\00:11:51.47
fell asleep in the
back, and I'm preaching along,
00:11:51.51\00:11:54.18
and I'm saying, "Wine
defiles your conscience,
00:11:54.21\00:11:58.45
you can't think straight,
you can't reason straight,
00:11:58.48\00:12:01.85
you become irrational,"
and the old drunk woke up.
00:12:01.88\00:12:05.45
And as he woke
up, he stood up again
00:12:05.49\00:12:07.56
shaking his finger at me saying,
00:12:07.59\00:12:09.32
"That's enough young
man, that's enough young man."
00:12:09.36\00:12:13.06
He didn't care about
the rest of the sermon
00:12:13.09\00:12:14.70
but when I said something
00:12:14.73\00:12:16.06
about wine affecting your brain,
00:12:16.10\00:12:17.63
that old guy stood up,
"That's enough young man."
00:12:17.67\00:12:20.20
It's one of those memories
00:12:20.24\00:12:21.57
I have in my preaching
down through the years.
00:12:21.60\00:12:24.81
You see, wine
does affect the brain.
00:12:24.84\00:12:27.74
So it's a good representation
of false doctrine.
00:12:27.78\00:12:31.61
People get so confused,
00:12:31.65\00:12:33.52
so befuddled with the
false doctrine of the world
00:12:33.55\00:12:36.72
that they need to be
sobered up by the Word of God.
00:12:36.75\00:12:39.35
They become so
confused and inebriated,
00:12:39.39\00:12:42.96
intoxicated
00:12:42.99\00:12:44.33
with the false
teachings of Babylon.
00:12:44.36\00:12:46.66
So what's the prediction?
Church and state would unite.
00:12:46.70\00:12:49.46
The wine cup of Babylon,
00:12:49.50\00:12:50.90
false doctrines
would be passed around,
00:12:50.93\00:12:53.30
millions of people would
take those false doctrines
00:12:53.34\00:12:56.47
and they would be
religiously confused.
00:12:56.50\00:12:59.61
Notice Revelation 17:5,
00:12:59.64\00:13:01.98
"And on her
forehead a name was written:
00:13:02.01\00:13:05.28
Mystery, Babylon The
Great, The Mother of Harlots
00:13:05.31\00:13:09.58
and of The
Abominations of the Earth."
00:13:09.62\00:13:12.12
Now notice the expression,
The Mother of Harlots.
00:13:12.15\00:13:15.46
So here you have
the great mother church,
00:13:15.49\00:13:18.43
that would grow out of Rome,
church and state would unite,
00:13:18.46\00:13:22.13
she would pass around her
wine cup of false doctrines,
00:13:22.16\00:13:26.23
people would be
confused, and this mother church
00:13:26.27\00:13:29.67
would also have
many daughter churches,
00:13:29.70\00:13:32.47
Protestant daughter churches
00:13:32.51\00:13:34.64
who hadn't always
broken for mother,
00:13:34.68\00:13:37.41
they haven't come all
the way out of mother.
00:13:37.45\00:13:39.71
So the Protestant
Reformation raised up by God,
00:13:39.75\00:13:44.12
anointed by God, truth restored.
00:13:44.15\00:13:47.96
But here is the challenge.
00:13:47.99\00:13:49.72
Most of those
Protestant churches
00:13:49.76\00:13:52.43
did not go far enough.
00:13:52.46\00:13:54.16
They still imbibed
some of that wine cup,
00:13:54.20\00:13:57.73
still accepted
00:13:57.77\00:13:59.10
some of the false
doctrines, some of them,
00:13:59.13\00:14:00.97
baptism of infants
00:14:01.00\00:14:02.34
that has no foundation
in the Bible, some of them,
00:14:02.37\00:14:04.87
the idea the
immortality of the soul,
00:14:04.91\00:14:07.51
the soul going
on, pagan philosophy,
00:14:07.54\00:14:10.08
no foundation in the
Bible, Greek philosophy.
00:14:10.11\00:14:13.48
Some of them retain
idols in their worship,
00:14:13.52\00:14:16.38
again no
foundation in the Bible.
00:14:16.42\00:14:18.35
And most of them
retain Sunday worship
00:14:18.39\00:14:20.86
which again not
founded in scripture.
00:14:20.89\00:14:23.73
So here in Revelation 17,
00:14:23.76\00:14:26.90
Babylon is a term used by God
00:14:26.93\00:14:30.50
to describe apostasy, falsehood,
00:14:30.53\00:14:34.07
the teachings of men
coming into the church,
00:14:34.10\00:14:36.67
or more accurately
religious confusion,
00:14:36.71\00:14:40.21
where human beings
00:14:40.24\00:14:41.58
and their
teachings become the center.
00:14:41.61\00:14:43.65
Now did you notice
the expression, Babylon,
00:14:43.68\00:14:46.61
The Mother of Harlots.
00:14:46.65\00:14:48.68
If you are going to
understand this prophecy,
00:14:48.72\00:14:53.12
it's necessary to
understand Babylon.
00:14:53.15\00:14:56.46
Why does the Bible say Babylon
00:14:56.49\00:14:58.83
when Babylon had
long been destroyed?
00:14:58.86\00:15:01.70
Babylon ruled from 605 B.C
00:15:01.73\00:15:07.24
to 539 B.C.
00:15:07.27\00:15:09.97
In 539, the Medes and
Persians overthrew Babylon.
00:15:10.01\00:15:13.48
So what does the
New Testament mean
00:15:13.51\00:15:15.74
when it talks about Babylon?
00:15:15.78\00:15:18.11
You have in the
Bible, Literal Babylon
00:15:18.15\00:15:21.68
that was the Old
Testament phenomenon.
00:15:21.72\00:15:25.15
Literal Babylon was this
power in the days of Daniel
00:15:25.19\00:15:29.26
that was a world
ruling, world dominant power.
00:15:29.29\00:15:32.83
In the Book of Revelation,
you have Spiritual Babylon.
00:15:32.86\00:15:36.30
Spiritual Babylon is to
revive many of the teachings
00:15:36.33\00:15:41.37
of Old Testament Pagan Babylon.
00:15:41.40\00:15:44.54
Spiritual Babylon is
a false religious system
00:15:44.57\00:15:48.58
just as Literal Babylon
was a false religious system
00:15:48.61\00:15:51.88
that stood
against the Israelites.
00:15:51.91\00:15:53.88
But if you are really gonna
understand Spiritual Babylon
00:15:53.92\00:15:57.22
and understand the
Book of Revelation,
00:15:57.25\00:15:58.79
you have to go back
00:15:58.82\00:16:00.16
and look at
Literal Babylon and say,
00:16:00.19\00:16:02.62
"What was the very foundation
of Literal Babylon's beliefs?"
00:16:02.66\00:16:06.63
If I can understand
Literal Babylon's beliefs,
00:16:06.66\00:16:09.96
then I can understand something
about Spiritual Babylon
00:16:10.00\00:16:14.24
and
particularly I can understand
00:16:14.27\00:16:16.54
God's call out of
Spiritual Babylon.
00:16:16.57\00:16:20.01
"False doctrines
would come into the church
00:16:20.04\00:16:21.98
through this
false religious system
00:16:22.01\00:16:24.45
called Babylon."
00:16:24.48\00:16:26.11
So Jesus said in John 17:17,
00:16:26.15\00:16:30.39
"Sanctify them
through Your truth.
00:16:30.42\00:16:32.59
Your word is truth."
00:16:32.62\00:16:34.62
Babylon always, Old Testament,
New Testament has turned
00:16:34.66\00:16:38.59
from the truth of
God's Word to falsehood,
00:16:38.63\00:16:41.86
turned from the
certainty of God's Word
00:16:41.90\00:16:44.63
to the teachings of man.
00:16:44.67\00:16:46.94
Christ is leading
us back to His Word.
00:16:46.97\00:16:50.11
He is leading us back
to the truth of His Word.
00:16:50.14\00:16:52.67
So let's go back to
Old Testament Babylon.
00:16:52.71\00:16:55.41
What's its origin?
00:16:55.44\00:16:57.08
Its origin was at
the Tower of Babel.
00:16:57.11\00:16:59.28
You remember God said
00:16:59.31\00:17:00.65
that He would never destroy
the world with a flood again.
00:17:00.68\00:17:05.95
After the Noah's flood,
00:17:05.99\00:17:08.16
the Babel builders
came to build that tower,
00:17:08.19\00:17:11.89
they built it
in defiance of God.
00:17:11.93\00:17:14.96
They said, "If God
ever destroys the world
00:17:15.00\00:17:16.56
with flood again,
00:17:16.60\00:17:18.00
we will build a
tower up into heaven
00:17:18.03\00:17:20.67
and we will be able
to survive that flood."
00:17:20.70\00:17:24.81
Of course that was
contrary to God's Word
00:17:24.84\00:17:26.51
because He promised
with the rainbow in the sky
00:17:26.54\00:17:28.81
that He'd never
set a flood again.
00:17:28.84\00:17:30.48
So the Tower of Babel
was built by human beings
00:17:30.51\00:17:33.35
in defiance of God.
00:17:33.38\00:17:36.25
What happened at
the Tower of Babel?
00:17:36.28\00:17:38.09
Genesis 11:9,
00:17:38.12\00:17:39.59
"Therefore its
name is called Babel,
00:17:39.62\00:17:42.02
because there the Lord confused
the language of all the earth."
00:17:42.06\00:17:46.33
So the builders were
building in defiance of God
00:17:46.36\00:17:50.23
with human pride, and
arrogance, and authority
00:17:50.27\00:17:52.60
that they're gonna
build this tower to heaven.
00:17:52.63\00:17:54.57
God confuses the languages.
00:17:54.60\00:17:56.91
It was on this
site that Babylon,
00:17:56.94\00:17:59.71
the city of Babylon was built.
00:17:59.74\00:18:02.54
So what does Babylon represent?
00:18:02.58\00:18:04.78
It represents confusion.
00:18:04.81\00:18:06.51
Confused religion
00:18:06.55\00:18:08.02
rather than the
clarity of God's truth,
00:18:08.05\00:18:10.62
the light of God's
truth, the Word of God.
00:18:10.65\00:18:13.86
It represents confusion,
represents distorted religion,
00:18:13.89\00:18:17.86
it represents
the religion of man
00:18:17.89\00:18:20.46
rather than the
religion of Christ.
00:18:20.50\00:18:23.83
We at the church
used to proclaim truth,
00:18:23.87\00:18:26.50
not babble in confusion.
00:18:26.53\00:18:29.34
Now there are at least
five major characteristics
00:18:29.37\00:18:34.11
of this Old Testament Babylon,
00:18:34.14\00:18:36.31
and to understand
the foundation of Babylon
00:18:36.34\00:18:40.12
is to understand Revelation 17
00:18:40.15\00:18:42.98
and what's happening
in the Christian church.
00:18:43.02\00:18:44.95
The first characteristic
00:18:44.99\00:18:46.96
of Old Testament
Babylon is this, Daniel 4:30.
00:18:46.99\00:18:50.36
So in Old Testament Babylon,
00:18:50.39\00:18:51.73
Nebuchadnezzar
speaks and it says,
00:18:51.76\00:18:53.29
"The king spoke, saying,
'Is not this great Babylon,
00:18:53.33\00:18:58.93
that I have built
for a royal dwelling
00:18:58.97\00:19:02.40
by my mighty power for
the honor of my majesty?'"
00:19:02.44\00:19:06.47
Here's point one,
00:19:06.51\00:19:07.94
Babylon
represents a humanist system.
00:19:07.98\00:19:12.05
Nebuchadnezzar says,
00:19:12.08\00:19:13.65
"Is not this great Babylon
00:19:13.68\00:19:18.39
that I have built?"
00:19:18.42\00:19:19.79
So the false religious
system of Revelation 17
00:19:19.82\00:19:24.96
is built on the
teachings of man.
00:19:24.99\00:19:27.93
It is built on the word of man.
00:19:27.96\00:19:30.77
It's built on
the traditions of man
00:19:30.80\00:19:33.74
rather than the
living Word of God.
00:19:33.77\00:19:37.07
So Babylon is a
man-made system of religion.
00:19:37.11\00:19:40.98
It's a human system of religion.
00:19:41.01\00:19:43.21
It's kind of interesting
00:19:43.24\00:19:44.98
when the
archaeologists Robert Koldewey
00:19:45.01\00:19:48.12
and his team
excavated Old Testament Babylon.
00:19:48.15\00:19:52.45
They excavated
the procession way
00:19:52.49\00:19:55.72
which leads into the Ishtar Gate
00:19:55.76\00:19:57.99
that lead into the
city and as they did,
00:19:58.03\00:20:00.83
every brick had
Nebuchadnezzar's name
00:20:00.86\00:20:03.10
written on it.
00:20:03.13\00:20:04.47
So Nebuchadnezzar
was filled with pride,
00:20:04.50\00:20:07.14
filled with egotism,
00:20:07.17\00:20:08.74
and Nebuchadnezzar
dominated Babylon.
00:20:08.77\00:20:12.64
So New Testament
spiritual Babylon
00:20:12.67\00:20:16.01
would represent
the teachings of man
00:20:16.04\00:20:18.41
rather than the
teachings of Christ.
00:20:18.45\00:20:20.38
Matthew 16:18, Jesus
says, "I will build My church,
00:20:20.42\00:20:25.22
and the gates of Hell
shall not prevail against it."
00:20:25.25\00:20:29.56
Jesus said, "I am
gonna build my church."
00:20:29.59\00:20:32.56
So Babylon is a
system built by man and here,
00:20:32.59\00:20:36.20
the New Testament
church is built by Christ.
00:20:36.23\00:20:38.63
I've had some people say to me,
00:20:38.67\00:20:40.24
"I don't want
anything to do with the church,
00:20:40.27\00:20:42.60
the church is a
bureaucratic institution,
00:20:42.64\00:20:45.24
I want to worship at home.
00:20:45.27\00:20:47.11
I don't trust organizations."
00:20:47.14\00:20:49.24
But Jesus says, "I
will build My church."
00:20:49.28\00:20:53.82
The true church of Christ
00:20:53.85\00:20:55.88
is not
man-made, it's Jesus-made.
00:20:55.92\00:20:58.72
What did Jesus
say about the church?
00:20:58.75\00:21:00.66
He said, "I
will build My church,
00:21:00.69\00:21:02.29
the gates of Hell shall
not prevail against it."
00:21:02.32\00:21:05.53
Down through the ages,
00:21:05.56\00:21:06.90
Satan has persecuted the church.
00:21:06.93\00:21:08.63
Satan's brought
falsehood into the church,
00:21:08.66\00:21:10.83
but Jesus, as already he
has had a faithful remnant,
00:21:10.87\00:21:15.20
a faithful body of believers
00:21:15.24\00:21:18.11
that would not
compromise their integrity.
00:21:18.14\00:21:21.04
Jesus said, I'll
build my church in what?
00:21:21.08\00:21:23.51
The gates of hell will
not prevail against it.
00:21:23.55\00:21:28.15
So two systems of religion,
two streams of religion.
00:21:28.18\00:21:32.12
One man-made, one God-made.
00:21:32.15\00:21:34.66
One built on
confession to a man,
00:21:34.69\00:21:37.39
the other built on
confession to Jesus.
00:21:37.43\00:21:40.10
One built on the
pre-earthly priesthood,
00:21:40.13\00:21:42.76
the other built on
Christ death, resurrection,
00:21:42.80\00:21:45.17
and His heavenly priesthood.
00:21:45.20\00:21:46.80
One that directs our attention
to lavish, earthly temples,
00:21:46.84\00:21:50.57
the other that
directs our attention
00:21:50.61\00:21:52.77
to the heavenly temple
where Christ reigns for us.
00:21:52.81\00:21:57.11
Jesus says,
through the Apostle Paul,
00:21:57.15\00:22:00.52
that we have a high priest
00:22:00.55\00:22:02.78
that we can come
boldly too to find grace
00:22:02.82\00:22:05.55
and help in the time of need.
00:22:05.59\00:22:07.69
Hebrews 4:15,"We can come."
00:22:07.72\00:22:10.73
It opened our hearts to Christ,
00:22:10.76\00:22:12.69
we can come and
find in Him salvation,
00:22:12.73\00:22:16.67
in Him forgiveness, in
Him freedom from guilt,
00:22:16.70\00:22:20.54
in Him a high priest
who meet our every need.
00:22:20.57\00:22:24.71
We've sinned.
00:22:24.74\00:22:26.27
We cannot approach God,
00:22:26.31\00:22:28.34
we are not
worthy to approach God.
00:22:28.38\00:22:30.58
But in Jesus,
00:22:30.61\00:22:31.95
and through Jesus is our priest,
00:22:31.98\00:22:34.25
we can come before the
heavenly courts knowing
00:22:34.28\00:22:37.75
that Jesus is there for us.
00:22:37.79\00:22:39.82
Jesus is calling us
00:22:39.85\00:22:41.22
from all human
systems of religion.
00:22:41.26\00:22:44.69
He is calling us to
put Him first in our lives.
00:22:44.73\00:22:50.40
He is calling us to the
church that He has built.
00:22:50.43\00:22:52.57
Scripture is plain on
the authority of Christ.
00:22:52.60\00:22:56.84
Colossians 1:18,
00:22:56.87\00:22:58.67
"And He is the head
of the body, the church,
00:22:58.71\00:23:02.54
who is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
00:23:02.58\00:23:05.31
that in all the things
He may have preeminence."
00:23:05.35\00:23:09.05
Christ is the
head of the church.
00:23:09.08\00:23:10.75
You see, in true Christianity,
00:23:10.79\00:23:14.02
the church does not
have an earthly head.
00:23:14.06\00:23:17.29
In true Christianity,
there may be spiritual leaders
00:23:17.33\00:23:20.66
that guide the church
and we praise God for them.
00:23:20.70\00:23:23.26
They may be spiritual leaders
00:23:23.30\00:23:25.40
that give
governance to the church,
00:23:25.43\00:23:26.90
we are thankful to them.
00:23:26.94\00:23:28.47
But in true Christianity,
00:23:28.50\00:23:31.27
the only true
head of the church,
00:23:31.31\00:23:34.31
the one who has preeminence
over all, is Jesus Christ.
00:23:34.34\00:23:38.68
"The true church of God
is the only organization
00:23:38.71\00:23:42.05
so big that its
body is upon earth,
00:23:42.08\00:23:46.05
but its Head is in heaven."
00:23:46.09\00:23:48.62
The church of God looks
to Jesus for its salvation.
00:23:48.66\00:23:54.80
The church on
earth, the earthly Babylon,
00:23:54.83\00:23:58.63
a man-made system
looks to a human being
00:23:58.67\00:24:02.80
who has decreased our
declaim to be infallible.
00:24:02.84\00:24:06.04
So there is a major shift
of emphasis from the total,
00:24:06.07\00:24:11.11
absolute, 100%
dependence on Christ
00:24:11.15\00:24:15.58
and a looking to
an earthly leader.
00:24:15.62\00:24:19.32
"In the last days
a church state system
00:24:19.35\00:24:21.16
would arise
called Spiritual Babylon
00:24:21.19\00:24:23.66
that would have
a spiritual leader,
00:24:23.69\00:24:25.49
that would claim
to speak" ex cathedra,
00:24:25.53\00:24:28.20
that is out of the
chair infallibly for God.
00:24:28.23\00:24:32.33
But yet God calls
us from the lavishness,
00:24:32.37\00:24:35.80
God calls us from
the authority of man,
00:24:35.84\00:24:38.61
God calls us
00:24:38.64\00:24:39.97
from the
preeminence of human leaders,
00:24:40.01\00:24:42.41
God calls us from the
authority of human leaders
00:24:42.44\00:24:46.75
to the preeminence of Christ,
to the authority of Christ,
00:24:46.78\00:24:50.19
to believing that
there is only one leader
00:24:50.22\00:24:54.16
and that's Jesus Christ.
00:24:54.19\00:24:55.52
Now the second
thing about Babylon,
00:24:55.56\00:24:56.93
second great principle is this,
00:24:56.96\00:24:58.79
Babylon was the
center of image worship.
00:24:58.83\00:25:03.37
When you look at
Babylon in the Old Testament,
00:25:03.40\00:25:06.03
it is filled
with idols and images.
00:25:06.07\00:25:09.10
"Christ invites us
to come directly to Him.
00:25:09.14\00:25:13.61
He is our intercessor.
00:25:13.64\00:25:16.85
He is our priest."
00:25:16.88\00:25:19.75
We need not come to
Jesus through idols.
00:25:19.78\00:25:23.28
We need not come to
Jesus through images.
00:25:23.32\00:25:26.35
The Bible says
this in Exodus 20:4, 5,
00:25:26.39\00:25:29.86
"You shall not make for
yourself any carved image,
00:25:29.89\00:25:33.83
any likeness of
anything in heaven above,
00:25:33.86\00:25:36.33
or that's in the earth beneath,
or that's under the earth,
00:25:36.36\00:25:39.43
you shall not bow
down to them or serve them.
00:25:39.47\00:25:42.00
For I, the Lord your
God, am a jealous God."
00:25:42.04\00:25:45.41
What is one of the major dangers
00:25:45.44\00:25:47.71
of making images?
00:25:47.74\00:25:49.48
One of the major
dangers of making images
00:25:49.51\00:25:52.31
is people consider
those images sacred.
00:25:52.35\00:25:55.72
They consider those images
00:25:55.75\00:25:57.55
as having some
intrinsic internal holiness.
00:25:57.59\00:26:01.82
So they come, they light candles
00:26:01.86\00:26:04.39
before the images, burn
incense before the images.
00:26:04.43\00:26:08.56
Some of them,
00:26:08.60\00:26:09.93
in these great churches in Rome,
00:26:09.96\00:26:11.30
come and kiss the
feet of the images,
00:26:11.33\00:26:14.07
and the images take on a
certain sense of holiness,
00:26:14.10\00:26:18.27
they take on a
certain sense of worthiness.
00:26:18.31\00:26:23.24
Christ is the only one
00:26:23.28\00:26:24.78
who had nails
through His hands for us.
00:26:24.81\00:26:27.32
Christ is the only one
who hung on a cross for us.
00:26:27.35\00:26:30.42
Christ is the only
one who died for us.
00:26:30.45\00:26:33.32
We can come to
God through Christ,
00:26:33.36\00:26:36.62
not with the intercessors
of images as intercessors
00:26:36.66\00:26:41.96
between us and God.
00:26:42.00\00:26:44.13
Jesus stands before
00:26:44.17\00:26:46.74
the throne of God in our behalf.
00:26:46.77\00:26:49.94
Jesus stands before
the throne of God for us.
00:26:49.97\00:26:54.21
We approach God directly,
not through images or icons,
00:26:54.24\00:27:00.22
we approach God
through Jesus Christ.
00:27:00.25\00:27:03.05
One of the key
characteristics of Babylon
00:27:03.08\00:27:06.55
is that Babylon
00:27:06.59\00:27:07.92
would have false
teachings about death.
00:27:07.96\00:27:11.39
The immortality of the
soul from ancient Pagan Babylon
00:27:11.43\00:27:17.23
would come directly
into the Christian church.
00:27:17.27\00:27:21.27
Now we find that as
well in the Old Testament,
00:27:21.30\00:27:25.54
that the idea of immortality,
00:27:25.57\00:27:28.24
the worshipping of the dead
did impact Israel at one time.
00:27:28.28\00:27:33.45
You go to Ezekiel
8:13, 14 and it says this,
00:27:33.48\00:27:38.22
"And He said to me, 'Turn again,
00:27:38.25\00:27:41.09
and you will see
greater abominations
00:27:41.12\00:27:43.76
that they are doing.'"
00:27:43.79\00:27:45.13
So the Ezekiel, the prophet,
00:27:45.16\00:27:47.20
comes to the Old
Testament sanctuary
00:27:47.23\00:27:50.33
and there the prophet says,
00:27:50.37\00:27:53.23
"Look at what
you are going to see.
00:27:53.27\00:27:55.70
Look at the abominations."
What abominations?
00:27:55.74\00:27:59.51
What was taking place at
the Old Testament sanctuary?
00:27:59.54\00:28:03.01
Pagan influences
actually had impacted Israel.
00:28:03.04\00:28:07.92
False teachings had
actually impacted Israel.
00:28:07.95\00:28:12.09
The pagan ideas of
immortality and the pagan gods
00:28:12.12\00:28:17.29
had actually
impacted the people of God.
00:28:17.33\00:28:20.73
"So He brought me to
the door of the north gate
00:28:20.76\00:28:24.07
of the Lord's house."
00:28:24.10\00:28:25.43
What's the Lord's
house? Of course, the temple.
00:28:25.47\00:28:28.30
And it says,
here, "And to my dismay,
00:28:28.34\00:28:32.41
women were sitting
there weeping for Tammuz."
00:28:32.44\00:28:37.11
Now why would you
have, in ancient Israel,
00:28:37.15\00:28:41.22
women weeping for Tammuz?
00:28:41.25\00:28:43.45
First you have to ask yourself
the question, "Who was Tammuz?"
00:28:43.49\00:28:48.22
Tammuz was the God
00:28:48.26\00:28:49.89
of the
resurrection they believed.
00:28:49.92\00:28:52.09
So the idea was,
00:28:52.13\00:28:53.96
when the sun was
up, and the crops died,
00:28:54.00\00:28:58.47
that's because
Tammuz had left or died.
00:28:58.50\00:29:01.40
Gone.
00:29:01.44\00:29:02.77
Then, when the crops
revived, then Tammuz returns,
00:29:02.80\00:29:06.81
so the God of the resurrection.
00:29:06.84\00:29:08.88
So they are weeping for Tammuz.
00:29:08.91\00:29:11.15
They are weeping, and
they believe in this idea,
00:29:11.18\00:29:13.15
the immortal nature of
Tammuz, that it live on.
00:29:13.18\00:29:17.75
So you have the idea of
the immortality of the soul,
00:29:17.79\00:29:20.46
you have it all
through ancient paganism.
00:29:20.49\00:29:24.43
The Egyptians believed
00:29:24.46\00:29:25.96
in the idea of the
immortality of soul.
00:29:25.99\00:29:27.50
They believed in the
idea of the Ba and the Ka,
00:29:27.53\00:29:30.07
and Ba stays by, the Ka
leaves the body at death
00:29:30.10\00:29:34.70
and then the Ka comes
back looking for the Ba,
00:29:34.74\00:29:37.57
idea of immortality of the soul.
00:29:37.61\00:29:39.47
You find that as well
in the Greek philosophy.
00:29:39.51\00:29:43.24
They believe that the body
was a prison house of the soul
00:29:43.28\00:29:46.65
and that when
the individual died
00:29:46.68\00:29:49.15
that the soul
could live on immortally.
00:29:49.18\00:29:51.65
That's why some of the
Greeks accepted suicide
00:29:51.69\00:29:54.72
because they
believed you couldn't impact
00:29:54.76\00:29:56.73
the soul which was
immortal within that body.
00:29:56.76\00:30:00.60
You find this
very, very prevalent,
00:30:00.63\00:30:03.26
of course, in
Babylonian culture.
00:30:03.30\00:30:06.43
The idea of spirits,
the idea of immortality,
00:30:06.47\00:30:09.64
the idea that people
live on in this immortal soul.
00:30:09.67\00:30:13.44
Now when you look at the Bible,
00:30:13.48\00:30:15.61
you have
something quite different.
00:30:15.64\00:30:17.38
Ecclesiastes 9:5,
00:30:17.41\00:30:19.75
"The living know
that they will die,
00:30:19.78\00:30:22.08
but the dead know nothing,
00:30:22.12\00:30:24.75
neither have
they any more reward,
00:30:24.79\00:30:27.89
for the memory of
them is forgotten."
00:30:27.92\00:30:30.53
Notice the living
know that they will die,
00:30:30.56\00:30:32.36
but the dead
don't know anything.
00:30:32.39\00:30:34.30
So here the Bible is very plain,
00:30:34.33\00:30:36.97
that dead is but asleep.
00:30:37.00\00:30:39.03
Fifty three times
00:30:39.07\00:30:40.97
the Bible
mentions death as a sleep.
00:30:41.00\00:30:43.61
You look at the Old Testament
and here's the phrase repeated
00:30:43.64\00:30:46.04
again and again, "They
slept like their fathers,
00:30:46.07\00:30:48.48
they slept like their fathers."
00:30:48.51\00:30:50.25
You look at Psalm
17:15 where David speaks.
00:30:50.28\00:30:53.38
He says, "One day I sleep
00:30:53.42\00:30:55.68
but then I'll
wake in His likeness."
00:30:55.72\00:30:57.22
In other words,
00:30:57.25\00:30:58.59
David understood
the idea of sleep.
00:30:58.62\00:31:00.62
You look at Acts
2:30 and onwards,
00:31:00.66\00:31:05.96
it says that,
00:31:05.99\00:31:08.16
"David is not yet
ascended up into heaven."
00:31:08.20\00:31:11.70
So why not? David was sleeping.
00:31:11.73\00:31:13.54
You look at the Book of Job
and it says there, Job says,
00:31:13.57\00:31:17.97
"Shall mortal man," Job 4,
"be more just than his maker?"
00:31:18.01\00:31:22.34
Job says, "I'm mortal."
00:31:22.38\00:31:23.71
Then Job 19:25, he says,
00:31:23.75\00:31:26.18
"For I know at the latter day
00:31:26.21\00:31:28.55
my redeemer will
live on the earth
00:31:28.58\00:31:30.09
and no worms destroy this body
and my flesh, I'll see God."
00:31:30.12\00:31:33.09
What was Job looking forward to?
00:31:33.12\00:31:35.06
The glorious day
of the resurrection
00:31:35.09\00:31:37.79
when Christ would come.
00:31:37.83\00:31:39.43
You find this all
00:31:39.46\00:31:40.80
through the Old
and New Testament.
00:31:40.83\00:31:44.20
1 Corinthians 15, for example,
00:31:44.23\00:31:46.60
"We are not all asleep,
00:31:46.63\00:31:47.97
but we will wake in a moment
in the twinkling of an eye."
00:31:48.00\00:31:51.71
This corruptible
must put on incorruption.
00:31:51.74\00:31:53.68
This mortal must
put on immortality.
00:31:53.71\00:31:55.88
1 Corinthians 15:51-55.
00:31:55.91\00:31:58.65
You find 1 Thessalonians
00:31:58.68\00:32:00.18
4:16-17, it says,
00:32:00.22\00:32:05.35
"The Lord himself shall descend
from heaven, with a shout,
00:32:05.39\00:32:08.16
with the voice of the archangel,
00:32:08.19\00:32:09.52
the trumpet of God,
00:32:09.56\00:32:10.89
the dead in
Christ," shall do what?
00:32:10.93\00:32:12.49
"Rise first.
00:32:12.53\00:32:13.86
We which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together
00:32:13.90\00:32:16.40
with them to meet
the Lord in the air."
00:32:16.43\00:32:18.43
Comfort one
another with these words.
00:32:18.47\00:32:20.24
So the Bible always is
talking about this idea.
00:32:20.27\00:32:23.57
There is a glorious resurrection
00:32:23.61\00:32:25.04
when Christ comes,
00:32:25.07\00:32:26.41
and when He comes He's
gonna resurrect the dead.
00:32:26.44\00:32:28.94
This is contrary
to the Babylonian idea
00:32:28.98\00:32:32.91
that there is this immortal soul
00:32:32.95\00:32:34.68
that leaves the body,
00:32:34.72\00:32:36.12
that actually prepares
the way for spiritualism
00:32:36.15\00:32:39.75
because if there is a soul
that leaves the body at death,
00:32:39.79\00:32:42.79
then under unusual circumstances
00:32:42.82\00:32:44.79
might that soul
not communicate back
00:32:44.83\00:32:47.63
with the living.
00:32:47.66\00:32:49.00
So the Bible is very
clear, it's very plain.
00:32:49.03\00:32:51.87
Satan came to the Garden of Eden
00:32:51.90\00:32:56.07
and he said to Eve,
00:32:56.10\00:32:58.14
"If you partake of this tree,
of knowledge of good and evil,
00:32:58.17\00:33:03.48
you will not surely die."
00:33:03.51\00:33:05.75
She said, "But God said
if I take it, will die."
00:33:05.78\00:33:09.82
The devil's first
lie was over death.
00:33:09.85\00:33:12.85
He said you are
naturally immortal.
00:33:12.89\00:33:15.16
John 8:44,"He is a liar."
00:33:15.19\00:33:19.46
The devil is a liar and
he is the father of lies.
00:33:19.49\00:33:22.20
First lie was over
this subject of death.
00:33:22.23\00:33:26.67
The Bible teaches
that when Christ comes,
00:33:26.70\00:33:29.20
the dead will be resurrected.
00:33:29.24\00:33:31.07
Fifteen hundred
times in the Bible,
00:33:31.11\00:33:34.54
it mentions the
second coming of Christ.
00:33:34.58\00:33:37.31
The second coming of
Christ is lightning shines
00:33:37.35\00:33:40.02
from the east even to
the west, Matthew 16:27,
00:33:40.05\00:33:43.35
"So shall the coming
of the Son of man be."
00:33:43.39\00:33:46.82
Here, in scripture,
all of history is moving,
00:33:46.86\00:33:51.59
all of the events of
this earth are moving
00:33:51.63\00:33:55.06
to one glorious climax,
00:33:55.10\00:33:57.80
the return of our
Lord, Jesus Christ.
00:33:57.83\00:34:01.10
Contrary to the
Bible, the Babylonian system,
00:34:01.14\00:34:05.81
church and state unite.
00:34:05.84\00:34:08.01
The Babylonian
false system passes
00:34:08.04\00:34:10.45
around its wine cup,
people are drunk with that.
00:34:10.48\00:34:13.38
They look to popes,
and priests, and prelates.
00:34:13.42\00:34:17.52
The traditions of man take
the place of the Word of God.
00:34:17.55\00:34:21.79
They look to human tradition
00:34:21.82\00:34:24.49
and works for
salvation rather than the sole,
00:34:24.53\00:34:28.66
total, only, all,
sufficient grace of Christ.
00:34:28.70\00:34:33.40
They use idols in their
images, in their worship system.
00:34:33.44\00:34:38.77
They misunderstand
the whole concept of death
00:34:38.81\00:34:42.44
and have the idea,
00:34:42.48\00:34:43.81
the immortal soul and
worship through those images,
00:34:43.85\00:34:47.88
where the Bible teaches
00:34:47.92\00:34:49.35
the glorious truth
of the resurrection,
00:34:49.38\00:34:52.05
that husbands and
wives, fathers and mothers,
00:34:52.09\00:34:56.19
sons and daughters,
00:34:56.22\00:34:58.29
families will be reunited again.
00:34:58.33\00:35:01.03
Think about that glorious day.
00:35:01.06\00:35:03.67
Have you lost some
husband or wife by death?
00:35:03.70\00:35:06.00
Some father, mother by death?
00:35:06.03\00:35:07.97
Some sister, brother by
death? Some baby by death?
00:35:08.00\00:35:10.64
One day there will be
00:35:10.67\00:35:13.31
a glorious resurrection morning.
00:35:13.34\00:35:16.34
Now Babylon was also
the center of sun worship.
00:35:16.38\00:35:21.35
Babylon worshipped
the sun gods, for example,
00:35:21.38\00:35:26.82
the God Bel Marduk
was a sun God of Babylon.
00:35:26.86\00:35:31.06
If you look at Ezekiel
8:16, this is quite surprising.
00:35:31.09\00:35:36.53
In fact, in my view,
00:35:36.56\00:35:37.90
this is one the
most surprising texts
00:35:37.93\00:35:39.43
in all the Bible
00:35:39.47\00:35:40.80
because Israel at
this period of time
00:35:40.84\00:35:44.87
were turning their backs
toward the temple of God,
00:35:44.91\00:35:48.01
turning their backs toward
00:35:48.04\00:35:49.38
the law of God in
worshipping the sun.
00:35:49.41\00:35:50.98
The scripture actually
says that, Ezekiel 8:16,
00:35:51.01\00:35:54.58
"So He brought me
into the inner court
00:35:54.62\00:35:56.85
of the Lord's house,
00:35:56.89\00:35:58.35
and there, at the door
of the temple of the Lord,
00:35:58.39\00:36:02.12
between the porch and the altar,
00:36:02.16\00:36:04.53
were about twenty-five men
00:36:04.56\00:36:06.63
with their backs
toward the temple of the Lord
00:36:06.66\00:36:10.17
and their faces toward the east,
00:36:10.20\00:36:12.90
and they were worshipping
the sun toward the east."
00:36:12.93\00:36:17.17
Did you catch that?
00:36:17.21\00:36:19.04
What were these
worshippers doing?
00:36:19.07\00:36:22.31
Where did they have
their backs turn toward?
00:36:22.34\00:36:24.71
Notice it says, their backs
00:36:24.75\00:36:26.65
were toward the
temple of the Lord.
00:36:26.68\00:36:29.98
Here, in the temple of the Lord,
00:36:30.02\00:36:33.15
in the inner
sanctum of that temple,
00:36:33.19\00:36:35.59
you have the most holy
place of the sanctuary,
00:36:35.62\00:36:38.39
and there in
that most holy place
00:36:38.43\00:36:40.50
you have the
Ark of the Covenant.
00:36:40.53\00:36:42.03
Above the Ark of the Covenant,
you have two angelic cherubim.
00:36:42.06\00:36:46.60
Between the cherubim,
00:36:46.63\00:36:48.40
you have the
Shekinah glory of God.
00:36:48.44\00:36:51.14
At the base of
that Ark of the Covenant
00:36:51.17\00:36:54.08
or within the
Ark of the Covenant,
00:36:54.11\00:36:56.61
you have the
Ten Commandment law.
00:36:56.64\00:36:59.85
The Ten Commandment
law, that law written
00:36:59.88\00:37:02.92
with God's own
finger on tables of stone,
00:37:02.95\00:37:05.72
that law that is the
foundation of His government,
00:37:05.75\00:37:09.29
that law that
is the eternal code
00:37:09.32\00:37:12.09
of heaven's conduct.
00:37:12.13\00:37:13.70
And here, it says
about twenty-five men
00:37:13.73\00:37:17.03
with their backs
toward the temple of the Lord,
00:37:17.07\00:37:19.03
so their backs are turned away,
00:37:19.07\00:37:22.70
their faces are turned
away from the sanctuary,
00:37:22.74\00:37:24.51
their backs are
turned toward the sanctuary,
00:37:24.54\00:37:27.41
toward the law,
symbolizing the disregard of,
00:37:27.44\00:37:31.51
the rebellion against God's law.
00:37:31.55\00:37:33.95
Their faces
were toward the east,
00:37:33.98\00:37:36.02
and what were they doing?
00:37:36.05\00:37:37.39
Worshipping the
sun toward the east.
00:37:37.42\00:37:39.82
You see that's Ezekiel 8:16
00:37:39.85\00:37:42.32
but you
remember Ezekiel 20 says,
00:37:42.36\00:37:44.69
"My Sabbaths as I given them
as a sign between me and them."
00:37:44.73\00:37:49.10
So you have two
forms of worship,
00:37:49.13\00:37:51.73
the sun worship in Ezekiel 8,
Sabbath worship in Ezekiel 20,
00:37:51.77\00:37:56.67
as a sign between
God and His people.
00:37:56.71\00:37:59.17
So Babylonian worship
was actually sun worship.
00:37:59.21\00:38:03.48
The worship of the sun, the sun
was the largest luminous body
00:38:03.51\00:38:08.38
in the heavens,
and so naturally,
00:38:08.42\00:38:10.85
they thought the
sun brings light,
00:38:10.89\00:38:12.75
the sun brings life
00:38:12.79\00:38:14.19
and they turned from the Creator
00:38:14.22\00:38:16.46
to the object of His creation.
00:38:16.49\00:38:18.29
They turned from the one
00:38:18.33\00:38:20.33
who had made and
fashioned to the things
00:38:20.36\00:38:23.43
that were made and fashioned.
00:38:23.47\00:38:25.20
They turned from
the truth of God,
00:38:25.23\00:38:28.74
in worshipping
Him on the Sabbath
00:38:28.77\00:38:31.14
as a symbol of His
creative authority,
00:38:31.17\00:38:33.71
in harmony with
the commandments of God
00:38:33.74\00:38:36.14
to worshipping
00:38:36.18\00:38:37.51
the object of creation, the sun.
00:38:37.55\00:38:39.88
Sun worship crept
into the Old Testament
00:38:39.91\00:38:45.02
Israelite believers
00:38:45.05\00:38:46.79
during this time of
apostasy and paganism.
00:38:46.82\00:38:49.59
What does the Bible predict?
00:38:49.62\00:38:51.23
That in the last
days of earth's history,
00:38:51.26\00:38:53.43
church and state
would fully unite,
00:38:53.46\00:38:56.43
sun worship would be
enforced by law again.
00:38:56.46\00:38:59.63
We'll study more about
that in another presentation.
00:38:59.67\00:39:02.70
It was in those early
centuries of compromise,
00:39:02.74\00:39:05.17
down in the fourth century,
that Constantine united,
00:39:05.21\00:39:10.15
church state
united to win the pagans,
00:39:10.18\00:39:14.32
sun worship
came into the church.
00:39:14.35\00:39:16.35
In The Worship of
Nature, volume 1, page 529
00:39:16.38\00:39:19.25
by James G. Frazer, we read,
00:39:19.29\00:39:21.52
"In ancient Babylonia
the sun was worshipped
00:39:21.56\00:39:25.36
from immemorial antiquity."
00:39:25.39\00:39:28.63
Here, sun worship was
part of Babylonian culture.
00:39:28.66\00:39:33.20
Sun worship would
then again, unwittingly,
00:39:33.23\00:39:37.04
unknowingly by many.
00:39:37.07\00:39:39.24
Let me make it plain.
00:39:39.27\00:39:41.18
There are many people
today, wonderful, lovely,
00:39:41.21\00:39:45.31
committed Christians,
00:39:45.35\00:39:47.22
and many of you are
watching this telecast,
00:39:47.25\00:39:51.32
and you may have
no idea of the history
00:39:51.35\00:39:53.86
or the background of sun worship
00:39:53.89\00:39:56.12
that was part of
Babylonian culture,
00:39:56.16\00:39:58.83
part of pagan culture,
00:39:58.86\00:40:00.46
that it came into
the Christian church
00:40:00.50\00:40:03.03
uncompromised, and you say,
00:40:03.06\00:40:05.60
"Is the Sabbath a
matter of salvation?"
00:40:05.63\00:40:09.07
Does this mean if
I am keeping Sunday,
00:40:09.10\00:40:11.34
I'm not saved?
00:40:11.37\00:40:12.71
It doesn't mean that at
all. Only Christ is our savior.
00:40:12.74\00:40:16.88
Jesus is the one that
redeems us by His grace,
00:40:16.91\00:40:20.18
but when we are redeemed
00:40:20.22\00:40:21.55
by His grace, we
long to obey Him.
00:40:21.58\00:40:24.22
And when God sends
a message calling us
00:40:24.25\00:40:27.86
from the Babylonian
teachings of this world,
00:40:27.89\00:40:31.56
our hearts long to respond
00:40:31.59\00:40:33.93
as genuine authentic Christians.
00:40:33.96\00:40:37.10
We long to respond
00:40:37.13\00:40:39.03
and do exactly what Christ said.
00:40:39.07\00:40:41.44
We long to be
free from deception.
00:40:41.47\00:40:44.11
We long to be
free from falsehood.
00:40:44.14\00:40:47.01
In the two Babylons,
00:40:47.04\00:40:48.44
that is the Babylon
in the Old Testament
00:40:48.48\00:40:50.11
and Babylon in Revelation,
00:40:50.15\00:40:51.98
author Alexander
Hislop, page 105, says this,"
00:40:52.01\00:40:55.92
To conciliate the Pagans,"
that's to make them feel good,
00:40:55.95\00:40:59.49
"to nominal Christianity,
Rome, pursuing its usual policy,
00:40:59.52\00:41:05.06
took measures to
get the Christian
00:41:05.09\00:41:07.06
and Pagan
festivals amalgamated,"
00:41:07.10\00:41:10.07
that is to unify
the Christian Sunday
00:41:10.10\00:41:13.80
with the Pagan Sunday.
00:41:13.84\00:41:15.84
Christians have
been keeping the Sabbath,
00:41:15.87\00:41:17.94
some had begun keeping
the first day of the week
00:41:17.97\00:41:20.01
and honor the
resurrection, and therefore now,
00:41:20.04\00:41:23.45
the attempt was to
unite those two days
00:41:23.48\00:41:26.58
"to get Paganism
and Christianity,
00:41:26.61\00:41:29.25
now far sunk in idolatry."
00:41:29.28\00:41:31.95
So Christianity
was drifting away
00:41:31.99\00:41:34.82
from its Lord.
00:41:34.86\00:41:36.19
Christianity was
sunk in idolatry,
00:41:36.22\00:41:38.83
sunk in deception,
sunk in false teachings.
00:41:38.86\00:41:42.76
This why it's
called the dark ages.
00:41:42.80\00:41:44.53
In this, as in
so many other things
00:41:44.57\00:41:47.20
to shake hands.
00:41:47.24\00:41:49.00
So here you see Christianity
and paganism are shaking hands,
00:41:49.04\00:41:54.48
and what are they
shaking hands over?
00:41:54.51\00:41:56.24
The Babylonian
teaching of sun worship,
00:41:56.28\00:41:59.01
that indeed was happening.
00:41:59.05\00:42:01.05
Christianity and paganism
00:42:01.08\00:42:02.42
shook hands in
those early centuries,
00:42:02.45\00:42:06.59
and Dr. Edward
Hiscox, in The Baptist Manual,
00:42:06.62\00:42:12.79
the author of The
Baptist Manual made
00:42:12.83\00:42:14.20
this amazing
statement, he was lecturing
00:42:14.23\00:42:16.80
to a large number of
Baptists up in Canada,
00:42:16.83\00:42:21.57
and he made this statement
and it just shocked them,
00:42:21.60\00:42:24.31
its in shock waves
00:42:24.34\00:42:25.81
through that
assembly of Baptist preachers,
00:42:25.84\00:42:28.84
he said, "What a
pity that it, Sunday,"
00:42:28.88\00:42:31.85
now this is Dr. Edward
Hiscox, November 13,1893,
00:42:31.88\00:42:35.18
he is speaking
00:42:35.22\00:42:36.55
at this great
ministry convention,
00:42:36.58\00:42:38.35
he is reading from
the Baptist Manual,
00:42:38.39\00:42:40.36
"What a pity, that it, Sunday,
00:42:40.39\00:42:42.36
comes branded with
the mark of paganism,
00:42:42.39\00:42:46.46
christened with
the name of the sun god
00:42:46.49\00:42:49.86
and then adopted and sanctioned
by the papal apostasy,
00:42:49.90\00:42:54.70
and bequeathed
as a sacred legacy
00:42:54.74\00:42:58.44
to Protestantism."
00:42:58.47\00:42:59.84
So Hiscox, author
of Baptist Manual,
00:42:59.87\00:43:02.21
traces where Sunday came from.
00:43:02.24\00:43:04.61
It came from pagan apostasy,
00:43:04.65\00:43:07.68
it came from the
days of paganism,
00:43:07.72\00:43:09.75
then it came into the
early Christian church,
00:43:09.78\00:43:12.35
the papacy, then
it came from there
00:43:12.39\00:43:15.79
into nominal Protestantism.
00:43:15.82\00:43:18.26
Do you see the call of God?
00:43:18.29\00:43:21.46
In Revelation 17, the woman,
00:43:21.50\00:43:24.77
the church who has
betrayed her true lover Jesus
00:43:24.80\00:43:27.64
and committed
spiritual adultery,
00:43:27.67\00:43:29.60
fills her wine
cup with falsehoods,
00:43:29.64\00:43:32.57
she unites with the
state in those early centuries,
00:43:32.61\00:43:35.54
particularly during
00:43:35.58\00:43:36.91
that wilderness
period of 1260 years,
00:43:36.95\00:43:39.51
passes her wine cup around,
00:43:39.55\00:43:41.92
and the world
wanders after the beast
00:43:41.95\00:43:44.85
and is drunk with
those false teachings.
00:43:44.89\00:43:47.46
She has many
Protestant daughters
00:43:47.49\00:43:49.19
who have not
come all the way out,
00:43:49.22\00:43:51.46
and notice what the
Bible says, Ezekiel 20:12,
00:43:51.49\00:43:56.80
"Moreover I also
gave them My Sabbaths,
00:43:56.83\00:43:58.97
to be a sign
between Me and them,
00:43:59.00\00:44:01.17
that they might know
00:44:01.20\00:44:02.54
that I am the Lord
who sanctifies them."
00:44:02.57\00:44:04.94
God has given His Sabbath,
His Sabbath is a sacred sign,
00:44:04.97\00:44:10.35
His Sabbath that is
just distinguishes people,
00:44:10.38\00:44:14.02
His Sabbath is
this flag of identity,
00:44:14.05\00:44:17.12
that in age of evolution
00:44:17.15\00:44:18.85
we worship the
Creator and not the creatures.
00:44:18.89\00:44:22.26
Here, down
through the centuries,
00:44:22.29\00:44:24.39
God has had godly men
and women, the Waldensians,
00:44:24.43\00:44:28.16
godly people
00:44:28.20\00:44:29.53
who were
persecuted for their faith,
00:44:29.56\00:44:31.23
John Hus, a godly man
persecuted for his faith.
00:44:31.27\00:44:35.17
Martin Luther,
godly man persecuted,
00:44:35.20\00:44:38.77
the Wesley, all these
men had some light of truth.
00:44:38.81\00:44:44.05
But yet, they
retained unfortunately
00:44:44.08\00:44:48.48
some Babylonian teachings.
00:44:48.52\00:44:50.62
And God at end
time is leading us back,
00:44:50.65\00:44:54.56
leading us back just
before the coming of Christ
00:44:54.59\00:44:57.36
to the fullness of truth,
00:44:57.39\00:44:58.86
leading us back
00:44:58.89\00:45:00.23
just before the
return of our Lord
00:45:00.26\00:45:02.16
to the totality of scripture,
leading us back just before
00:45:02.20\00:45:05.93
the final hours
of earth's history,
00:45:05.97\00:45:08.10
back to the urgency
00:45:08.14\00:45:10.51
of total absolute
commitment to Christ,
00:45:10.54\00:45:14.08
understanding
00:45:14.11\00:45:15.44
that grace
leads us to obedience,
00:45:15.48\00:45:17.78
leading us back in
an age of evolution,
00:45:17.81\00:45:20.75
to worshipping the Creator
00:45:20.78\00:45:22.72
by worshipping on
the Bible Sabbath.
00:45:22.75\00:45:25.19
The Bible says in Ezekiel 22:26,
00:45:25.22\00:45:28.92
"Her priests
have violated My law
00:45:28.96\00:45:32.36
and have
profaned My holy things,
00:45:32.39\00:45:35.36
they have not distinguished
00:45:35.40\00:45:36.87
between the
holy and the unholy,"
00:45:36.90\00:45:39.30
that happened in ancient Israel,
00:45:39.33\00:45:41.90
when they turned their
backs to the eastern worship,
00:45:41.94\00:45:44.77
the sun in Ezekiel 8,
00:45:44.81\00:45:47.14
that happened in
ancient Israel in Ezekiel 20,
00:45:47.18\00:45:50.48
when they turned back to
the true Sabbath as a sign.
00:45:50.51\00:45:55.35
You see, God was calling
00:45:55.38\00:45:56.72
the priest back to the
true Sabbath as a sign,
00:45:56.75\00:45:59.15
so you see in
Ezekiel 8, the sun worship,
00:45:59.19\00:46:01.49
Ezekiel 20, the Sabbath worship,
00:46:01.52\00:46:04.06
and you see
00:46:04.09\00:46:05.43
that conflict
between good and evil,
00:46:05.46\00:46:07.00
that conflict
between Christ and Satan,
00:46:07.03\00:46:09.26
but the priests, many of
them, still violated God's law,
00:46:09.30\00:46:12.33
they profaned God's holy things,
00:46:12.37\00:46:13.87
they didn't distinguish
between the holy and the unholy,
00:46:13.90\00:46:17.01
they didn't make a
distinguish between the clean
00:46:17.04\00:46:18.71
and the unclean.
00:46:18.74\00:46:20.08
Now notice,
"And they have hidden
00:46:20.11\00:46:21.78
their eyes from My Sabbaths,
00:46:21.81\00:46:23.58
so that I may be
profaned among them."
00:46:23.61\00:46:25.45
Many in the days
of ancient Israel,
00:46:25.48\00:46:27.52
when they went eeping
after worshipping the sun,
00:46:27.55\00:46:30.65
hid their eyes
from the true Sabbath.
00:46:30.69\00:46:33.46
Today, there are those hiding
their eyes from the Sabbath,
00:46:33.49\00:46:38.13
and God reveals the truth.
00:46:38.16\00:46:40.23
He gave His
Sabbath back at creation,
00:46:40.26\00:46:42.46
when He created the
world, not simply to the Jews,
00:46:42.50\00:46:44.93
but to all humanity.
00:46:44.97\00:46:46.30
In fact, even Jesus said,
00:46:46.33\00:46:47.67
the Sabbath was made
for man for all humanity.
00:46:47.70\00:46:52.14
Jesus says in the
Book of Revelation,
00:46:52.17\00:46:53.61
that He's gonna have
a final end time people.
00:46:53.64\00:46:56.11
That final end time people
00:46:56.14\00:46:57.55
gonna restore all
the truths of the Bible.
00:46:57.58\00:46:59.71
They will come back
to the Bible as the Word,
00:46:59.75\00:47:02.02
back to Christ as
their preeminent Savior,
00:47:02.05\00:47:04.92
back to the call
to live in harmony
00:47:04.95\00:47:07.46
with Christ and
glorify their bodies
00:47:07.49\00:47:10.39
with only that which
Jesus invites them to eat
00:47:10.43\00:47:13.60
or drink, just like, really,
New Testament Christianity.
00:47:13.63\00:47:18.70
You see the Babylonian system
of religion, Babylon was party,
00:47:18.73\00:47:21.77
wine, drink, eat,
you know, unclean foods,
00:47:21.80\00:47:24.37
God's calling us back to
treat our bodies as a temple
00:47:24.41\00:47:27.28
and not a play thing.
00:47:27.31\00:47:28.64
He is calling us back to
deny those earthly cravings
00:47:28.68\00:47:32.08
that destroy these bodies
of ours with unclean food.
00:47:32.11\00:47:34.78
Jesus is calling us back
to the truth, about death.
00:47:34.82\00:47:37.99
The truth about the fact
00:47:38.02\00:47:39.35
that death is about
asleep till He is coming.
00:47:39.39\00:47:41.19
He is calling us
away from the whole idea,
00:47:41.22\00:47:42.76
the immortality of the soul,
00:47:42.79\00:47:44.39
that opens our
minds for spiritualism,
00:47:44.43\00:47:46.33
Jesus is calling us
back, back my friend to believe
00:47:46.36\00:47:49.96
that we are on the
knife edge of eternity,
00:47:50.00\00:47:51.73
back to the fact to believe,
00:47:51.77\00:47:53.50
like the New
Testament disciples did,
00:47:53.54\00:47:55.14
that Jesus
Christ is coming again,
00:47:55.17\00:47:57.87
and Jesus is calling us
back, back to His Sabbath,
00:47:57.91\00:48:01.84
back to rest in Him,
00:48:01.88\00:48:04.01
back to understand
that in Christ worshipping
00:48:04.05\00:48:06.95
on the Sabbath
00:48:06.98\00:48:08.32
we can understand
our true identity,
00:48:08.35\00:48:10.29
that we are His children,
00:48:10.32\00:48:11.65
that we did not
evolve, that He created us,
00:48:11.69\00:48:14.09
He is calling us
back, back to understanding
00:48:14.12\00:48:17.56
that He has a people, a
people that are Bible believing,
00:48:17.59\00:48:22.00
Christ centered Sabbath
keeping Adventist people.
00:48:22.03\00:48:24.87
And He is calling
us to that people,
00:48:24.90\00:48:27.04
calling us to stand
courageously for Him,
00:48:27.07\00:48:30.41
calling us back to His Word,
calling us back to scripture,
00:48:30.44\00:48:34.44
calling us away
from the apostate power.
00:48:34.48\00:48:37.21
Daniel 7:25, "The
thought it could change
00:48:37.25\00:48:41.08
the very law of God."
00:48:41.12\00:48:44.45
You know, in the book,
the Abiding Sabbath, page 123,
00:48:44.49\00:48:47.36
by George Elliott, he says this,
00:48:47.39\00:48:49.99
"What is proposed,"
that is in Daniel 7:25,
00:48:50.03\00:48:53.13
when it says you think to change
00:48:53.16\00:48:54.50
the time and the law,
00:48:54.53\00:48:55.86
"What is proposed
is to make an erasure
00:48:55.90\00:48:57.93
in the heaven-born code?
00:48:57.97\00:48:59.67
Is the eternal
tablet of the law of God
00:48:59.70\00:49:02.64
to be effaced by
the creature's hand?
00:49:02.67\00:49:05.84
He who proposes
00:49:05.87\00:49:07.21
such an act
should fortify himself
00:49:07.24\00:49:10.48
by reasons as holy as God,
and as mighty as His power."
00:49:10.51\00:49:14.58
Another words,
what he is saying is,
00:49:14.62\00:49:16.69
that no earthly
power has the authority
00:49:16.72\00:49:20.92
to change the very law of God.
00:49:20.96\00:49:24.56
There is a call,
a call going out,
00:49:24.59\00:49:28.60
to the world,
tonight, today, this very day
00:49:28.63\00:49:34.00
that you are
watching this telecast.
00:49:34.04\00:49:36.34
There is a call going out
00:49:36.37\00:49:38.67
for honest
hearted men and women,
00:49:38.71\00:49:40.81
for men and women that
love Christ everywhere,
00:49:40.84\00:49:43.65
to respond to His grace,
to keep His commandments,
00:49:43.68\00:49:48.58
to come out fully
00:49:48.62\00:49:50.32
of the false
teachings of Babylon.
00:49:50.35\00:49:52.55
Jesus is reaching out
and tens and thousands
00:49:52.59\00:49:55.96
around the world
are hearing that call.
00:49:55.99\00:49:58.23
They are making their decisions
to follow the bride of Christ,
00:49:58.26\00:50:01.23
and not the Babylonian forces
00:50:01.26\00:50:04.17
in the confused
religious system,
00:50:04.20\00:50:06.33
of that fallen
church pictured in the woman
00:50:06.37\00:50:09.80
which sits on the
scarlet colored beast,
00:50:09.84\00:50:12.57
dressed in purple and scarlet.
00:50:12.61\00:50:14.91
Here is God's final
call, Revelation 18:2,
00:50:14.94\00:50:18.55
"And he cried mightily
with a loud voice, saying,
00:50:18.58\00:50:20.62
'Babylon the great is fallen,
is fallen, come out of her,
00:50:20.65\00:50:24.29
My people.'"
00:50:24.32\00:50:25.65
"And I heard another
voice from heaven saying,
00:50:25.69\00:50:27.42
'Come out of her, My people.'"
00:50:27.46\00:50:28.99
Where are most of
God's people today?
00:50:29.02\00:50:31.63
They are in
churches called Babylon.
00:50:31.66\00:50:34.76
They are in false
religious systems,
00:50:34.80\00:50:37.43
churches that unknowingly
have accepted error than truth.
00:50:37.47\00:50:41.97
God says, "Come
out of her, My people."
00:50:42.00\00:50:43.74
Are you one of God's people?
00:50:43.77\00:50:45.54
One of God's people
that never knew these truths,
00:50:45.57\00:50:48.04
one of God's people
00:50:48.08\00:50:49.41
that never
understood these truths.
00:50:49.44\00:50:51.41
One of God's people, do
you hear the call of God?
00:50:51.45\00:50:56.15
God says, "Come out,
lest you share in her sins."
00:50:56.18\00:50:58.72
What is sin?
00:50:58.75\00:51:00.09
It's the violation of God's law,
00:51:00.12\00:51:01.72
"Lest you
receive of her plagues."
00:51:01.76\00:51:03.09
The plagues are soon to full.
00:51:03.12\00:51:05.19
The plagues are
coming, and Jesus has come.
00:51:05.23\00:51:08.00
Jesus says, "I love you.
00:51:08.03\00:51:10.13
I desire for you to live
with me forever and ever,
00:51:10.17\00:51:13.47
I desire for you to
be saved in my kingdom."
00:51:13.50\00:51:17.44
Then a commentary ,
00:51:17.47\00:51:18.81
by Jamieson, Fausset,
and Brown it says this,
00:51:18.84\00:51:20.88
"In every apostate or
world-conforming church
00:51:20.91\00:51:23.41
there are some of God's
invisible and true church,
00:51:23.45\00:51:25.45
who, if they would
be safe, must come out."
00:51:25.48\00:51:27.85
Jesus says, "Come
out of her, My people."
00:51:27.88\00:51:30.09
His grace is sufficient for you,
00:51:30.12\00:51:32.55
His grace is
greater than all your sin.
00:51:32.59\00:51:35.32
Listen, as
Celestine comes to sing
00:51:35.36\00:51:38.46
about that
marvelous grace of God,
00:51:38.49\00:51:41.40
"Were it not for
grace, we would be lost."
00:51:41.43\00:51:44.87
God's grace is calling you.
00:51:44.90\00:51:48.07
God's grace is speaking to you.
00:51:48.10\00:51:50.87
God's grace is appealing
to you, to follow truth.
00:51:50.91\00:51:54.71
Time measured out my days
00:52:14.40\00:52:21.14
Life carried me along
00:52:21.17\00:52:28.14
In my soul
00:52:28.18\00:52:29.88
I yearned to follow God
00:52:29.91\00:52:35.38
But knew I'd never be so strong
00:52:35.42\00:52:41.49
I looked hard at this world
00:52:41.52\00:52:45.56
To learn how heaven
00:52:45.59\00:52:48.96
Could be gained
00:52:49.00\00:52:54.37
Just to end where I began
00:52:54.40\00:52:59.07
Where human effort
00:52:59.11\00:53:02.68
is all in vain
00:53:02.71\00:53:09.48
Were it not
00:53:09.52\00:53:11.15
For grace
00:53:11.19\00:53:17.06
I can tell you where
00:53:17.09\00:53:21.46
I'd be
00:53:21.50\00:53:24.17
Wandering down
some pointless road
00:53:24.20\00:53:28.74
To nowhere
00:53:28.77\00:53:30.97
With my salvation up to me
00:53:31.01\00:53:37.28
I know how that would go
00:53:37.31\00:53:43.69
The battles
00:53:43.72\00:53:45.05
I would face
00:53:45.09\00:53:51.06
Forever running
00:53:51.09\00:53:54.63
But losing the race
00:53:54.66\00:53:58.40
Were it not for grace
00:53:58.43\00:54:03.57
So here is
00:54:09.04\00:54:10.81
All my praise
00:54:10.85\00:54:16.45
Expressed with all
00:54:16.48\00:54:19.59
My heart
00:54:19.62\00:54:23.69
Offered to a Friend
00:54:23.73\00:54:26.73
Who took my place
00:54:26.76\00:54:30.90
And ran a course I
could not even start
00:54:30.93\00:54:37.07
And when He saw in full
00:54:37.11\00:54:41.24
Just how much His Lord
00:54:41.28\00:54:45.31
Would cost
00:54:45.35\00:54:49.68
He still went the final mile
00:54:49.72\00:54:54.49
Between me and heaven
00:54:54.52\00:54:57.29
So I would not be
00:54:57.33\00:54:59.93
Lost
00:54:59.96\00:55:04.90
Were it not
00:55:04.93\00:55:06.74
For grace
00:55:06.77\00:55:13.17
I can tell you where I'd be
00:55:13.21\00:55:19.88
Wandering down
some pointless road
00:55:19.91\00:55:24.25
To nowhere
00:55:24.29\00:55:26.62
With my salvation up to me
00:55:26.65\00:55:32.99
I know how that would go
00:55:33.03\00:55:39.50
The battles I would
00:55:39.53\00:55:42.00
Face
00:55:42.04\00:55:46.98
Forever running
00:55:47.01\00:55:50.15
But losing the race
00:55:50.18\00:55:54.15
Were it not for grace
00:55:54.18\00:56:00.96
Forever running
00:56:00.99\00:56:05.09
But losing the race
00:56:05.13\00:56:09.86
Were it not for grace
00:56:09.90\00:56:16.71
God's grace speaks to
you right where you are.
00:56:21.24\00:56:26.61
God's grace reaches
you right where you are.
00:56:26.65\00:56:31.59
It's no accident
00:56:31.62\00:56:33.09
that you turned in to
this telecast tonight.
00:56:33.12\00:56:36.26
It is grace that brought here,
to make an eternal decision,
00:56:36.29\00:56:42.23
to be done with falsehood,
not to drink off the wine cup
00:56:42.26\00:56:46.70
of Babylon's
traditions any longer,
00:56:46.74\00:56:49.97
but to accept God's truth
00:56:50.01\00:56:52.57
and walk in it
through the grace of Christ.
00:56:52.61\00:56:55.34
Let's pray together.
00:56:55.38\00:56:56.75
Father in heaven,
00:56:56.78\00:56:58.45
we thank You that
grace is sufficient,
00:56:58.48\00:57:02.52
grace is all strengthening,
and that we can follow You
00:57:02.55\00:57:07.39
in Your grace and
by Your grace forever,
00:57:07.42\00:57:09.89
we decide to do that
right now in Jesus' name, amen.
00:57:09.92\00:57:13.56
My friend, you
are a child of grace,
00:57:13.60\00:57:18.27
walk in grace today and forever.
00:57:18.30\00:57:23.00