Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP180025A
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00:01 The Bible tells us,
00:02 "In the beginning was the Word, 00:04 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:07 It says to, 00:09 "Receive with meekness the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls 00:14 and to be diligent 00:15 to present yourself approved to God, 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is Preparation for the End Time. 00:30 Happy Sabbath. 00:32 Welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:34 It sure is a treat and a delight 00:35 to have you to join us today. 00:37 We have an awesome lesson, another awesome lesson. 00:41 And it's so good that we have our panel here, 00:42 we'll introduce in just a moment. 00:44 But we're glad you're spending your time with us today. 00:47 I'm Kenny Shelton and glad to have you with us. 00:49 Our lesson is Babylon and Armageddon. 00:53 Just two words but, boy, 00:54 are they powerful and they take a long time to go 00:56 into a lot of detail. 00:57 So we encourage you get your pencil and paper 00:59 and get your Bible out, 01:00 start writing some things down 01:02 because it's very, very interesting. 01:03 These are subjects that we need to know 01:05 about here in these last days. 01:07 Get your lesson study guides. 01:08 If you do not have them, it's very simple, 01:10 what you can do, you can download these. 01:12 You can go to ABSG.Adventist.org 01:16 and you can make sure you get these lessons 01:18 because it's very imperative. 01:20 They not just study at this time, 01:21 but you'll be studying it over and over 01:22 'cause people's going to be asking questions. 01:25 Now you can do this too also, and we've done it ourselves. 01:28 Sometimes we just couldn't join in live 01:30 with the program 01:31 but we just set our DVR and we recorded it 01:34 and we can look at it anytime we want to, 01:36 and over, and over. 01:37 I've had people who said, "I've stopped it 01:39 and then I've written down a word, 01:40 and then I play it, 01:42 and then I write down some more, and I play and..." 01:43 So that's a good way in which to do it, 01:45 that's just an awesome way to do it. 01:46 You can watch, you can go on the Internet, 01:48 you can watch it on YouTube 01:49 and just kind of do that at the device of your choice. 01:53 But there's many ways in which to get this lesson 01:54 and get it over, and over, and over. 01:56 So, anyway, we're glad you're here. 01:57 Praise the Lord. 01:59 I want to introduce our panel with us today, and on my left, 02:01 praise the Lord, Sister Mollie Steenson, 02:03 always a pleasure and a joy to study 02:05 the Word of God together. 02:07 Isn't it nice? It certainly is. 02:08 You know, I mean we can smile and we can be happy 02:10 and I think I heard someone before this saying, 02:11 "Ooh, this is going to be a good lesson." 02:13 Yes, it is. Who do you have to your left? 02:15 I have Pastor CA Murray. 02:17 Good to be here, Mollie and Pastor Kenny. 02:20 It is. 02:21 And to my left, Miss Jill Morikone. 02:23 Thank you, pastor. 02:24 It's a blessing to open up and study the Word of God, 02:26 and to my left is Shelley Quinn. 02:28 And just can't wait to get started. 02:30 Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:32 Well, we always start as we always do in Bible study, 02:34 we must have prayer. 02:35 It's very, very important. 02:36 And, Sister Mollie, 02:38 since you're sitting very close, 02:39 would you just have 02:41 our opening prayer for us, please? 02:42 I would be delighted, let's pray. 02:43 Holy Father, we do come before You 02:45 and we are so grateful, Father, for this opportunity 02:48 that You've given us to share Your Word. 02:50 Thank You, Father. 02:51 Now, Lord, what we want to do 02:53 before You is just surrender to You, 02:56 yield ourselves to You, 02:57 O God, that the words that we speak will be the words 03:00 that You choose for us to speak today. 03:03 We pray, Lord, 03:04 that You will anoint the ears of those that hear, 03:07 open up hearts, Father. 03:09 Let us be vessels of honor in Your kingdom, 03:12 instruments for You to flow 03:14 through to touch the needs of others 03:16 is our prayer today in Jesus' name. 03:18 Amen. Amen. 03:19 Praise the Lord. Well, we're prayed up, right? 03:21 And we're ready to study the Word of God together. 03:23 And again, we'll be looking at Babylon and Armageddon. 03:25 So you have that already down, 03:26 and let's just do our memory text, shall we? 03:28 We'll go to the Saturday's part here 03:30 and quickly go over it. 03:31 I have Revelation 17:5, those of you at home, remember, 03:35 Revelation 17:5 is our memory text, 03:37 and we'll be bouncing back and forth 03:38 on this in our lesson study. 03:40 Are we ready? 03:41 Can we just read it out loud together, 03:43 Revelation 17:5? 03:44 And those at home 03:45 just read right out with us too. 03:47 "On her forehead a name was written, 03:50 mystery, Babylon the Great, 03:52 the mother of harlots, 03:54 and of the abominations of the earth." 03:58 That sounds interesting. 04:00 If I just look at it quickly, 04:01 it talks about mystery, Babylon. 04:02 You know mystery back then was a little different... 04:04 nowadays is different than was back then. 04:07 Mystery, when we think about it, 04:08 as soon as people read this, they say real quick, 04:10 "Oh, well, we can't understand this mystery, 04:11 we will never understand." 04:13 No, no, the Book of Revelation is an open book, 04:14 we can understand it by the grace of God. 04:16 But here, mystery is simply... 04:19 Excuse me, it means something that's secret. 04:22 But it's also something that will be open to those 04:25 who are willing to study. 04:28 God's going to reveal it to us... 04:30 If you want to know what truth is, 04:32 be revealed to us. 04:34 And Saturday's lesson, we go over it, we can see 04:36 the Bible mentions here this passage, 04:38 it's talking about... 04:40 it reveals a power that hides sins 04:43 under a religious garb even. 04:46 So as we look at this, 04:47 they have gold, and pearls, and silver, 04:49 have all kinds of things here, a gorgeous display. 04:52 So we need to make sure we understand 04:53 what we're talking about here in this power. 04:55 We know that Babylon is mentioned six times 04:57 in the Book of Revelation, we understand that. 04:59 Now we can go back to Nimrod 05:01 who was we call the founder of the ancient Babylon. 05:04 But what did he want to do? 05:06 He wanted to set up a government 05:08 that was independent of who? 05:10 God. Independent of God. 05:12 That's right. 05:13 And that sounds just like Lucifer in heaven, 05:15 he wanted his own... 05:17 who's behind this but certainly is Lucifer. 05:19 John's exposing then quickly 05:20 a massive religious political power 05:23 and it's going to end up persecuting 05:26 and oppressing God's people here 05:27 in these last days. 05:28 So it's imperative that we understand, 05:30 it's imperative that we study it. 05:31 Armageddon, just quickly mention 05:33 one little thing on that Armageddon. 05:35 A lot of people have... 05:36 you know, they've got misinformation 05:38 on the Battle of Armageddon, 05:39 and they're thinking about this big battle 05:41 and all kind of things that's going together in this. 05:44 Is it possible, as we study this lesson, 05:46 I think it'll brought out clearly 05:47 that this is really a battle between good and evil, 05:49 between God, right, and the enemy, 05:52 and it's going to close up this way. 05:54 So is it possible? 05:56 Let's just see as we study our lesson together. 05:57 Let's go quickly, shall we? Sunday's lesson. 06:00 In Sunday's lesson, the wine of her wrath. 06:03 Oh, we wish we just had a lot more time on this. 06:06 I'd want to study this again, it just began to ring 06:08 all kind of bells for me, the wine. 06:10 Verse is found in Revelation 14:8. 06:13 Notice what the Bible said, 06:14 and that's the second angel's message, isn't it? 06:16 It simply says, 06:17 "And there followed another angel saying," what? 06:19 Babylon. 06:20 "Babylon is fallen, that great city 06:24 because she made all nations drink," what, 06:26 "of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." 06:30 We studied, and it's going over and over. 06:32 We realized that wine is false doctrine, 06:34 false teachings and so on. 06:36 And it's really translated, 06:38 you can translate that as passionate in morality. 06:42 So we have this power here that we need to look out for. 06:45 We realize the fall of Babylon is progressive, 06:48 that's found in Revelation 18:1-5. 06:51 So what the second angel's message, 06:53 Revelation 14, 06:54 we have to say come out of her, my people. 06:57 But the folly, again, we looked at is, what, 06:58 is progressive and will continue on down. 07:01 It really gets bad, we know that. 07:02 Do we say today... 07:04 Could we say, panel, today that the world 07:05 is really staggering around today 07:07 like a drunk person 07:08 when it comes to religious things even? 07:11 Even in our political field, we can't walk straight, 07:15 we can't talk straight, 07:16 we can't act right, we can't do... 07:18 Because the wine has us unbalanced, 07:20 we're just not balanced anymore. 07:22 And we need to be balanced in the Word of God. 07:25 God condemns over and over Babylon 07:27 because she's evil, 07:29 because she ends up making all nations drink 07:32 of this evilness, 07:33 of this false doctrine and teaching. 07:35 That's why I think so important, 07:38 the 3ABN, to be on here and give what we call 07:40 the truth of God's last-day message, 07:42 the warning of the Three Angels' message 07:44 because we have this power that's against the enemy, 07:46 the host of darkness, and out there the world 07:49 has become darkened by this wine. 07:51 She's going to push it. 07:52 I'm going to read something from letter 98, 1,900, 07:56 Spirit of Prophecy says this, 07:57 "The people in the world," notice this, 07:59 "giving their sanctions to a false Sabbath 08:02 and in trampling under their feet 08:04 the Sabbath of the Lord," notice this, 08:06 "have drunk of the wine 08:08 of the wrath of her fornication." 08:11 So the previous lessons is dealing with Sabbath issue 08:13 for sure the commandments of God. 08:16 Review and Herald, 12, 13, 1892 says this, 08:20 "As God called," this is what it's all about, 08:21 "as God called the children of Israel out of Egypt 08:25 so that they might do," what, 08:27 "so that they might keep the Sabbath," notice this, 08:30 "so He calls His people out of Babylon 08:33 so that they may not worship the beast and the image." 08:37 Same thing going on here, 08:39 the same great battle that going on, 08:41 Babylon great... 08:43 You know, prophetic symbol here of organized, of universal, 08:48 of an apostate religious organization. 08:50 And this is very important for us to realize this 08:53 which the world just doesn't see it this way 08:55 but praise God we have the Word 08:57 and we need to stay in it. 08:59 Babylon then is what? 09:00 It's a force of evil, 09:02 we realize it had false doctrines, 09:03 false teachings, dozens and dozens, 09:06 maybe even hundreds, 09:08 I did remember years ago doing a study on this 09:10 and, you know, you could quickly look 09:11 at this organization, you can look at this power, 09:14 you can see 35 to 40 different, 09:16 you know, just teachings and doctrines 09:18 that are not true according to Scripture. 09:20 Wow. 09:22 But the world has hook, line, and sinker, 09:24 grabbed these out either part or in full 09:27 and they've embraced them 09:28 into the many churches of the world today 09:30 and they count them as truth when they came from paganism 09:33 and certainly from Rome. 09:35 We know that for sure. 09:36 Babylon used in Revelation is symbolic 09:38 of all the apostate religious organizations. 09:42 And we know we have to go back in the Old Testament, 09:46 and we compare the ancient Babylon 09:48 as it were back then, 09:50 and we look at it from that point, 09:51 and we see her sins, we see what happened there, 09:54 we can look in the New Testament, 09:55 and we see the same thing transpiring. 09:57 It's kind of scary almost, 10:00 but it tells us how important it is 10:01 that we understand Babylon prophecy, 10:03 fall of Babylon finds its fulfillment 10:05 that we mentioned in the departure 10:08 from Protestantism, 10:09 from the pure and simple message 10:12 that God gave to us. 10:14 So interesting, 10:16 Protestantism plays a part in this, 10:18 the last day 10:20 because they're either going to drink of this wine, 10:22 false doctrines, or they're or not 10:24 and we have to give a call to come out. 10:25 So constantly, we're saying that God have mercy, call... 10:28 You can't come out if you don't get the truth. 10:31 You don't have the truth, you don't hear the truth, 10:32 you don't understand it, 10:34 where are you going to come out from? 10:35 It's coming out 10:36 from false doctrine and teachings 10:38 that's going on in the world today 10:39 that God has commissioned each one of you here 10:42 in a very specific way, and I feel this going 10:45 through my system time and time again. 10:47 "Kenny, if you do not do it, you will be held accountable." 10:51 Not because we know so much and we're so smart 10:53 but God has called us out of darkness into what? 10:55 Marvelous light with this message 10:57 we need to give to the world. 10:59 You know, for this great city Babylon 11:01 the Great is fallen, 11:04 and we find these laws will come 11:07 and they'll be enforced. 11:08 We know that for sure. 11:09 The wine of the wrath... 11:11 quickly as we wind down, the wine of the wrath, 11:12 Jeremiah used these same words 11:14 talking about a cup of the wine, 11:15 but interesting, the wine that Babylon offers today 11:20 is different, it's deceitful. 11:22 What they say we're offering is something good, 11:24 these are truths, 11:26 these are things that we need in our church, 11:27 these are doctrines and teachings 11:29 that we have but the end results, 11:31 we drink of the wine of the wrath of God 11:33 if we do not follow what scripture tells us. 11:35 Her fornication, what is fornication here? 11:37 Spiritual we're talking about. 11:40 It just simply, to me, 11:41 it's just a figure of an illicit relationship here 11:44 between the church 11:46 and the world or church and state. 11:48 So it's a relationship that should not be 11:50 because our relationship should be who? 11:52 With Christ, Jesus Christ. 11:53 That's what we should be doing today, 11:55 certainly studying the Word and staying in the Word 11:57 and studying these beautiful truths 11:59 that we have. 12:01 Jesus Christ should be our leader. 12:04 Now, you know, what has she done? 12:05 Babylon has left Jesus Christ. They've left the truth. 12:11 And so now we need to give a call 12:12 to come back, and James 4:4 says this, 12:16 notice with me, it says here, it says, 12:17 "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, 12:20 know ye not that the friendship 12:21 of the world is enmity with God? 12:24 Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world," 12:27 We know this is what? 12:28 The enemy of God. Is simply, "An enemy of God." 12:31 So we can have the world if you want to, 12:33 but it says that's an enmity with God. 12:34 We want the world, 12:36 we need to come out of the world, 12:37 we have to present these truths, 12:39 and then we give a call to come out. 12:41 That's why we hold meetings, that's why you do Bible studies 12:44 and you give these beautiful truths. 12:46 And what do you do? 12:47 You don't just turn around and walk off, you say, 12:49 "Don't you want to follow Jesus? 12:50 Don't you want to follow the truth in His Word?" 12:53 And so we need to bring that, 12:54 Ezekiel 16:15, notice this, it says, 12:58 "But they didn't trust in their own beauty 13:00 and placed the harlot 13:02 because of thy renown and pourest out 13:05 by fornication everyone that passed by 13:08 and noticed it was his, his it was." 13:12 Interesting here, the enemy is pouring out 13:14 these false doctrines and false teaching 13:16 and everybody that comes by is reaching out 13:18 and just grabbing them and saying, "Oh, this is good." 13:21 The pastor said, the evangelist said, 13:22 somebody told me, 13:24 "Why don't you get in the Word and study for yourself, 13:25 study to show yourself approved unto God." 13:27 These are life and death subjects 13:29 and issues that we're talking about here, 13:31 we talk about these last day messages. 13:33 Now what's our job? 13:35 I think we have a job to do, don't you? 13:36 Absolutely. 13:38 And so I think our job, we've recognized, 13:39 I think, that the world is drunk 13:41 with false doctrine and teaching, 13:43 and we're not trying to just hold ourselves up there 13:45 that we know everything. 13:46 Truth is progressive and honored, 13:48 but as we learn it, 13:49 it just fills your heart and your mind up 13:51 and you just can't wait to give it to somebody. 13:54 We all feel that. 13:55 You just can't wait because it's made you happy. 13:57 So we find that the world is drunk, 13:59 our job is to sober up the world that's drunk. 14:02 And how do we sober them up? 14:04 We sober them up by giving them the truth 14:07 as it is in Jesus Christ. 14:09 Our goal, our objective is to live for Jesus, right, 14:12 it's to read the Word, 14:13 let the Word come deep in our heart, 14:15 and our mind, and our soul, transform us into His image 14:18 that we might be ready when He comes 14:20 because I'm a truthful believer. 14:22 I'm a believer that He's coming soon. 14:23 And these truths are very important. 14:25 I'm thankful to be just a little small part of it. 14:27 And God bless each one of you, and we love you. 14:30 And, Sister Mollie, take it from here. 14:32 Oh, Kenny, that was beautiful. 14:34 You painted the picture of Babylon 14:38 just as clear as it could be painted. 14:40 Thank you so much. 14:42 What I'm looking at, 14:43 you looked at the wine of her wrath, 14:45 I'm looking at the fact... 14:47 Now, to me, this is good news, 14:49 we've got the second angel 14:51 that's flying in the midst of heaven 14:53 and he's telling us something. 14:54 You know what he's telling us? 14:56 Babylon is fallen. 14:58 Hey, that gives us encouragement. 15:00 However corrupt and far-reaching 15:02 the influence of the Babylon has been in the world, 15:06 the Book of Revelation teaches us 15:08 that one day it will all come to an end. 15:12 Now the same scriptures that Kenny covered, 15:15 I'm going to cover as well. 15:17 I want you in Revelation, first of all, chapter 14. 15:19 Then we're going to jump down to chapter 18. 15:24 So starting with Revelation 14:8. 15:28 Now the foundation that Kenny laid so well, 15:33 Babylon is 15:37 an apostate system. 15:41 It is a system that promotes, 15:46 proclaims false worship, 15:50 is a force of evil, false doctrine, 15:53 false teaching, it's a false religious system. 15:58 That's what it is. 16:01 And in Revelation 14:8, 16:05 it's the second angel's message, 16:07 and I'm thinking... 16:09 Kenny, you alluded to this, 16:10 what's the name of this network that you're watching right now? 16:14 It's Three Angels' broadcasting network. 16:17 It's the Three Angels' messages of Revelation 14 16:21 and something you made clear, 16:23 I believe, in last week's lesson 16:26 was that the it's three separate messages 16:30 but they're really one, they build on each other. 16:33 So it's the Three Angels' messages 16:35 of Revelation chapter 14. 16:38 And what 3ABN has been called to do 16:42 is to counteract the counterfeit. 16:45 Now this counterfeit is the message of Babylon. 16:50 What does Babylon mean, just that word? 16:53 Well, it's confusion, 16:56 it's false apostasy. 16:59 So 3ABN, this television network 17:02 was called initially to start 17:04 with to counteract this counterfeit system, 17:07 to proclaim an end-time message for an end time people, 17:12 and we are in these end times, 17:14 and that's the purpose of this television network, 17:18 and that's the purpose of these teachings here 17:21 in Revelation. 17:22 So I want us to read Revelation 14:8 again, 17:26 "And another angel followed saying Babylon 17:30 is fallen, is fallen, that great city 17:33 because she has made all nations drink of the wine 17:37 of the wrath of her fornication." 17:39 Kenny, you handled that beautifully. 17:42 Now the message is repeated in Revelation 18. 17:46 But, you know, there was a natural Babylon, 17:51 that's not what we're looking at. 17:52 The Babylon that we're looking at that is fallen 17:55 is a false religious system. 17:58 It is an apostate system, 18:00 but there was a natural Babylon, 18:03 and it was once a great Kingdom 18:07 where the Tower of Babel wasn't remembered, 18:10 what is that? 18:11 That is confused or confusion, 18:14 and let me give you a little account 18:16 of King Nebuchadnezzar. 18:17 Remember him? 18:18 What did he do to the nation of Israel? 18:21 Did he not lead them captive 18:23 and take them away to Babylon? 18:27 And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were part of those 18:30 that were taken into Babylon 18:32 and something that we had said so often. 18:35 And, Kenny, you mentioned it too, 18:37 it's a fault system of worship. 18:39 Though the contention has always been over, 18:44 the issue has always been who are you going to worship. 18:47 Remember what King Nebuchadnezzar did? 18:49 He built an idol of gold and he told those children, 18:54 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 18:55 that everybody in that nation 18:57 that they were going to have to bow down and worship 19:00 that false system, that false idol. 19:03 Well, that was not something that Shadrach, Meshach, 19:07 and Abednego were willing to do, 19:08 but going back 19:10 to the very roots of Babylon, initially, 19:14 it was ungodly, the persecution... 19:18 they persecuted and they killed God's chosen people. 19:22 Today, Babylon depicts a spiritual Kingdom 19:25 whose purpose hasn't changed one bit. 19:29 The purpose is still to persecute 19:31 and to kill God's chosen people. 19:34 So now I have you in Revelation 18, 19:38 we're going to start in verse 1. 19:41 And the scripture says, "All these things I saw, 19:45 after these things I saw another angel coming down 19:48 from heaven having great authority." 19:52 Now where is this angel coming from? 19:54 He's coming from heaven. So this is a good angel. 19:58 This is the second angel and he has great authority. 20:02 Do you know what that means? 20:04 God has given him power, 20:06 and He's giving him power to do something, 20:09 and the earth was illuminated, 20:13 made light with his glory. 20:15 Now what did... 20:17 Jill, this is something you taught us the other day. 20:20 You taught us that the glory is the character of God. 20:24 Kenny, you asked what is our mission, 20:27 what is it that we are required to do. 20:30 We are required to... 20:32 What is the only thing you can take 20:34 into the presence of God? 20:36 It's His character. 20:37 You can't take any of your wealth. 20:39 The only thing you can take into the portals of heaven 20:42 is your character. 20:43 And your time for character building 20:47 is here on this side. 20:49 Once the Lord returns, whatever condition 20:53 He finds you in is the condition you're in. 20:56 Today is the day, 20:57 and it's when the character of God 20:59 is revealed in the earth that the Lord can return. 21:02 Am I right on that, Pastor Kenny? 21:04 Absolutely. 21:05 Okay, and here's what this angel does, 21:07 and he cries with them... 21:10 He cried mighty with a loud voice. 21:13 And I think, Jill, you said 21:15 that meant that he did something, 21:16 that he screamed, 21:18 he wants everyone to hear this message. 21:21 "He cried mightily with a loud voice saying, 21:24 'Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen 21:27 and has become a dwelling place of demons, 21:30 a prison for every foul spirit, 21:33 and a cage for every unclean and hated bird.'" 21:36 That just sounds disgusting. 21:39 Look at this, verse 3, "For all the nations." 21:43 How many of the nations? All. 21:44 Is this global? 21:46 It's not just one place, 21:48 it's not just one area of this world 21:51 that is in bad shape. 21:52 This is global, 21:54 "for all nations have drunk of the wine 21:56 of the wrath of her fornication, 21:58 the kings of this earth." 22:00 Who are the kings of this earth? 22:01 That would be the governmental powers. 22:04 "Have committed fornication with her." 22:06 And I want to look at that word "fornication" 22:08 for just a minute. 22:09 Do you know to commit fornication 22:10 with someone you have to have an intimate relationship? 22:14 The kings, the governmental powers 22:16 of this earth 22:18 have an intimate relationship with who? 22:23 With these foul spirits of Babylon. 22:30 "And the merchants of the earth have become rich 22:34 through the abundance of her luxury 22:38 and I heard another voice from heaven saying..." 22:41 Boy, here is the grace and mercy of God, 22:43 in these apostate systems, 22:47 in these false systems of worship, 22:52 in these churches, in these religious systems 22:57 where they're teaching false doctrine. 23:01 Listen at what the angel says, "Come out of her, my people, 23:05 lest you share in her sins 23:07 and lest you receive of her plagues." 23:09 Do you know what that is telling us? 23:11 That even in these false systems, 23:12 Pastor Kenny, there are people of God, 23:15 "Come out of her, my people." 23:16 He refers to them as his people. 23:19 So we're not saying 23:21 that if you're in a false system 23:24 that there is no hope for you. 23:27 What we are saying is, boy, when you know the truth, 23:30 the truth shall set you free, 23:31 and you are required to walk in the light as God 23:34 is shining it on you. 23:35 "For her sins have reached the heaven 23:37 and God has remembered her iniquities." 23:40 Now this is saying that 23:45 there is a point 23:46 where God is going to say enough is enough. 23:49 There is that point. 23:51 And when He does, Babylon will fall. 23:55 When God says enough is enough, 23:56 that's because her sins have reached 24:00 all the way into heaven. 24:01 Now I want to jump over to Jeremiah 24:04 because history is only repeating itself. 24:06 Jeremiah 51:8-9, 24:10 this is in the natural, "Babylon has suddenly fallen 24:15 and been destroyed well for her, 24:17 take balm for her pain, perhaps she may be healed. 24:21 We would have healed Babylon 24:23 but," listen to this, "but she is not healed, 24:26 forsake her and let us go everyone 24:28 to our own country for her judgment reaches 24:33 to heaven and is lifted up to the skies." 24:36 So, for us, how do we protect ourselves 24:39 from these false systems of religion? 24:42 We protect ourselves by knowing the truth, 24:45 getting to God's Word, allowing this Word to teach us, 24:49 and when you know the truth, the truth shall set you free. 24:53 Amen. Pastor CA. 24:54 That's good. Well done, Mollie. 24:56 I feel your passion. 24:59 We now begin three days of study 25:02 of what Armageddon is. 25:05 And Armageddon is an integral part 25:08 of this message. 25:12 There's so many ways to look at this, 25:14 and I'm going to try to stay as narrow focused 25:17 as I can so I don't step on Jill 25:19 and Shelley coming up after me. 25:21 You can step all you want. I appreciate that. 25:25 But I wanted to say this, when we deal with Babylon, 25:31 the idea that is being promoted here 25:33 is the fact that Babylon is fallen. 25:37 Now you may say, "How can you sit there and say 25:41 that there are religious practices, 25:45 religious churches, 25:47 religious groups that are fallen, 25:49 that are unacceptable to God?" 25:52 And I would say we're not saying that, 25:56 the Bible is. 25:57 Amen. 25:59 The second angel is saying it's fallen, 26:03 it's not acceptable. 26:06 Then the fourth angel comes with one message. 26:11 It is a repetition of that message, 26:14 it's fallen. 26:15 And not only does it say it is fallen 26:18 but that it's filled with demons, it's foul, 26:24 and it's unacceptable. 26:26 Yes, that's right. 26:27 Now pluralism says, "Everybody's truth is truth." 26:32 You got your truth, I got my truth, 26:36 and everybody's truth is truth. 26:39 The problem is that ain't true. 26:43 It's not true. Everybody can't be right. 26:47 Now in our modern day society, 26:50 that kind of doesn't resonate with some folks 26:53 because everybody's right, 26:54 what's right for you is right for you, 26:55 what's right for you is right for you, 26:57 what's right for you... 26:58 You know, I've got my truth, you got your truth. 27:00 Well, try telling that to the officer 27:03 who catches you doing a 75 in a 50 and tell them, 27:06 "Well, you got your truth, I got mine," 27:08 and see if that flies. 27:09 You know, everything can't be true. 27:12 There's got to be ultimate truth. 27:15 And God is saying that, 27:16 "There is a way to worship Me that is acceptable 27:21 and there are ways to worship Me 27:24 that are unacceptable." 27:25 Yes. 27:26 Everything out there doesn't come from the Lord. 27:30 Some is manmade and some, frankly, is demonic. 27:36 I'm not saying that, Bible is, the Bible is. 27:39 And that's what the messages 27:41 or the message of the Three Angels 27:44 but tressed by this fourth angel 27:46 is trying to say. 27:48 So now we look at Armageddon. 27:52 There are few doctrines 27:54 or things in the Bible 27:58 that have been more Hollywood-ized, 28:02 mythologized than Armageddon. 28:08 Movie-ized, you know. 28:10 So there are people even in churches 28:13 who don't really know 28:14 and understand what Armageddon is. 28:18 Now I have stopped, 28:19 and I know that Jill and Shelley 28:20 are going to touch on this also, 28:22 and I've overlooked the valley of Jezreel 28:23 also called the plains of as Esdraelon, 28:25 the valley of Megiddo. 28:27 There are people who say every army 28:28 in the world is going to meet in that little area. 28:30 Well, that cannot happen physically, 28:32 it cannot happen. 28:34 So we are dealing in a book that is full of symbols. 28:39 So it would be a mistake to try to literalize 28:44 that which is intended to be symbolic. 28:48 The term "Armageddon" meaning Mount of the congregation 28:52 or the Mount of Megiddo, 28:56 I believe, is a symbolic one. 29:00 The battle is not between Russia 29:03 and the United States or communism and republicanism, 29:09 the battle is good versus evil. 29:12 Yes. 29:13 The battle is Christ versus Satan. 29:16 The battle is a prelude 29:19 to an ultimate adjudication for one of a better word 29:24 as to who's getting in 29:27 and who is not and what is God going to do 29:30 about the sin problem. 29:31 Yes. 29:33 So I'm going to leave 29:35 the Mount Carmel experience to Jill 29:39 and will try to stay in my lane here 29:42 and resist the temptation to do out. 29:45 Revelation is, for many Christians, 29:48 a mysterious book and God does not want it to be. 29:51 He just says to get the gold, 29:53 you got to dig and you got to work, 29:54 it's not lying on the surface. 29:56 And the truth about Armageddon 29:59 is that also there is a battle motif. 30:02 We see that in Revelation 14. 30:07 In verse 16, they are gathered together, 30:10 the antecedent of the frogs 30:14 is where there's a little bit of a problem. 30:16 Let's go to Revelation 14, 30:19 and I've got to keep my eye on my time. 30:20 Are we in Revelation 16? 30:22 I'm in Revelation chapter... 30:26 Yes, I am. Sixteen. 30:27 Yes. I got my 14s and my 16s. 30:31 I got my 14s and my 16s. 30:35 No, I want... 30:36 Let me just go... 30:39 Unclean spirits? 30:41 Yes. Yeah. 16:13. 30:42 I'm in 16:13. I surely am. 30:45 Okay. Let's see. 30:48 Here we go, 30:50 "And I saw three unclean spirits 30:51 like frogs coming out of the mouth 30:53 of the dragon, the mouth of the beast, 30:55 the mouth of the false prophet 30:57 for they are spirits of demons performing signs 31:00 which go out to the kings of the earth 31:02 and the whole world to gather them 31:04 to the battle of the great God a great day of God Almighty." 31:08 So there is a battle motif. 31:12 And the antecedent of them is the problem. 31:16 So you've got three unclean spirits 31:18 like frogs gathering the kings of the earth 31:23 to a final apocalyptic battle 31:26 which deals with the sin question 31:28 not army against army. 31:30 The question in that scenario that is never answered 31:35 if you believe that this is a physical battle 31:38 is why the battle, what for, and what will it accomplish. 31:42 Well, the only way to answer that is the realization 31:47 that we're dealing with a spiritual battle. 31:49 Yes. 31:53 So we've got to get fact and not fiction. 31:55 I'm looking at my time, 31:57 so I've got to do a little jumping. 31:59 "Armageddon has become a pop-culture euphemism 32:03 for the destruction of the world, 32:06 but it is dealing with the destruction of sin 32:10 and the destruction of the sin problem." 32:13 I like that. 32:16 I've got this thing about the key player being a dragon 32:18 in my time... 32:20 It's funny, you write all this stuff down 32:21 and you don't have time to go through it. 32:24 If you have any doubt, 32:26 let's look at what Christ inserts here 32:29 in verse 15. 32:31 And I love this idea, I really do. 32:34 Christ says, "Behold, I'm coming as a thief. 32:37 Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments, 32:39 lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." 32:42 So in the middle of this battle scenario, 32:45 Christ gives us an almost peace be still insertion there. 32:50 It's like He's calming the waters. 32:52 He's saying, "Don't you get worried, 32:54 don't you be upset, just hold on to your faith, 32:58 hold on to your garments, and you will be all right." 33:03 So He's giving us a little assurance 33:06 that even though there is mayhem, 33:11 dare I say, even though there is carnage 33:16 and all of this all around you, God's people can be calm, 33:23 they can be at peace because you are clothed 33:27 in the garments of righteousness, 33:29 you will walk with Jesus, 33:31 and you can stand during these times. 33:35 Now the next event after this 33:37 of course is the coming of the Lord. 33:42 But this upheaval must precede the coming of the Lord. 33:46 But God's people need not fear, they need not worry, 33:50 they need not have... 33:55 What's the word I want, they need not be afraid simply 33:58 because they will make it 34:01 through as they keep their hand held 34:03 in the hand of Jesus 34:05 and as they hold on to Christ and stand with Him, 34:08 you will make it through to that seventh vial 34:12 and to the time when the Lord comes 34:15 and takes His children home. 34:18 That's right. I think I'll pass it on to you. 34:20 Amen. Thank you so much, Pastor CA. 34:23 Armageddon being the symbolic battle, 34:26 what a great description, what a great analogy. 34:29 And the end of the sin problem, 34:31 I wrote that down here as you were talking. 34:33 I loved that, the end of the sin problem. 34:36 Praise the Lord, that's what we all want. 34:38 We live in this world of sin 34:39 and know it will be the end of that problem. 34:42 You referenced verse 13, the dragon, the beast, 34:46 and the false prophet back in I think it was lesson 9. 34:49 We talked about that with the counterfeit trinity 34:52 and these three powers gathering together, 34:55 gathering symbolic, 34:57 this symbolic battle taking place. 34:59 But Shelley and I both have Armageddon 35:02 and Mount Carmel, and we know that Mount Carmel 35:05 isn't too far from the actual valley 35:07 that you had talked about. 35:09 And I want to go back to 1 Kings 18. 35:13 So if you want to turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings 18. 35:18 We will see this confrontation 35:20 that took place at Mount Carmel, 35:23 this confrontation, the great battle, 35:25 as it were, between Elijah and the worship of God versus 35:30 Ahab and Jezebel, and the worship of Baal, 35:34 and the prophets who worshipped Baal. 35:37 So my passage is 1 Kings 18, the first 18 verses 35:40 and then Shelley will pick up the actual showdown. 35:42 This is just leading into that. 35:45 So verse 1 says, 35:46 "It came to pass after many days 35:48 that the word of the Lord came to Elijah 35:49 in the third year saying, 'Go present yourself to Ahab 35:54 and I will send rain on the earth."' 35:56 So we have to think what is taking place here. 35:58 We're picking up the story, kind of, in the middle 36:00 because it says the third year. 36:02 This is the third year of the famine, 36:04 the third year 36:06 since Elijah made the proclamation. 36:07 Remember he went and appeared before King Ahab, and said, 36:11 "There will be no more dew nor rain 36:14 until you acknowledge that God is God alone, 36:18 God is supreme." 36:20 Let's look back one chapter. 36:24 Let's look at 1 Kings, two chapters actually, 36:27 1 Kings 16 36:29 because why would God withhold rain? 36:31 Why would there not even be rain 36:33 upon the land of Israel? 36:35 So let's look at 1 Kings 16:33. 36:38 It says, "And Ahab made a wooden image, 36:41 Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger 36:46 than all the kings of Israel who were before him." 36:50 Mercy. 36:51 So other kings of Israel had done some false worship, 36:55 other kings of Israel had worshiped 36:56 other gods but Ahab specifically did 37:00 more than any of the kings before him. 37:02 He was more wicked, he was more evil, 37:04 and we know he was spurred on by his wicked wife Jezebel. 37:09 And that is a whole another story 37:10 for a whole another time 37:12 about the influence she had over him, 37:15 and in the kingdom, and the evil influence. 37:17 But let's look at who causes and brings rain. 37:21 Deuteronomy 11. 37:23 If you want to turn back with me 37:25 to Deuteronomy 11, 37:27 we'll look at verse 13, it says, 37:29 "It shall be that if you earnestly obey 37:32 my Commandments which I command you today 37:34 to love the Lord your God and serve him 37:36 with all your heart, 37:38 with all your soul, then I will give you rain 37:42 for your land in its season, 37:45 the early rain and the latter rain." 37:47 But then you jump down to verse 18... 37:50 I'm sorry not 18, 16 and 17. 37:53 It says, "Take heed to yourselves 37:54 lest your heart be deceived and you turn aside 37:57 and serve other gods and worship them, 38:00 lest the Lord's anger be aroused against you 38:02 and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain 38:07 and the land yield no produce." 38:08 So there was a biblical precedent 38:11 for what was taking place here 38:12 at the time of Ahab and Jezebel. 38:17 The people who worship Baal, 38:18 the people who followed Baal believed 38:20 that Baal was the god of fresh water 38:22 who sent the dew and the rain, 38:24 and God was coming into the story and saying, 38:26 "Uh-huh, I am the God, the God of heaven and earth. 38:30 I am Creator God, 38:31 and I am the one who gives the rain 38:34 and the dew or who with holds that." 38:36 So now that we have that story, 38:39 it has been three years now into the famine 38:42 and there's been no rain, there's been no dew, 38:44 and the stage is being set for this great showdown 38:48 that Shelley's going to talk about. 38:50 In verse 2, now before we mention that, 38:53 you know, the Word of the Lord came to Elijah and said, 38:55 "Present yourself to Ahab." 38:56 Now we'll discover later in this passage 38:59 that Ahab had been looking for Elijah 39:03 and Elijah had gone away a bit. 39:06 So if the Word of the Lord came to you and said, 39:08 "Okay, go to someone who's looking for you, 39:10 someone who's mad at you." 39:11 What would you say? 39:13 You know, Shelley, I'd be like, "Oh, are you sure, God? 39:16 Are you sure You want me to be doing this?" 39:19 But I might be killed, that's right. 39:21 But Elijah walks in obedience. 39:23 Amen. It says in verse 2. 39:25 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. 39:29 So immediately he goes, 39:31 "And there was a severe famine in Samaria. 39:34 And Ahab had called Obadiah 39:35 who was in charge of his house." 39:37 Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, 39:39 we don't have time to read all of this. 39:41 But Obadiah's name means the Lord's servant. 39:44 And he was Ahab's chief of household as it were. 39:47 And he had protected the prophets of God. 39:52 Jezebel blamed God and the Lord's prophets 39:55 for the drought and she had had many killed. 39:58 And so Obadiah protected, what does the Bible say, 40:01 100 of these prophets in a cave, 40:03 he had protected them. 40:05 So Ahab and Obadiah go out looking for water 40:10 and for grass for their animals trying to find this, 40:15 Obadiah meets Elijah. 40:18 And he's afraid, Elijah says, "Go to your master. 40:21 Go tell Ahab that I'm coming to talk to him." 40:24 And Obadiah's afraid. 40:25 He's afraid to tell Ahab that Elijah is here 40:29 because he says, "We've been searching for you, 40:31 Elijah, through many different countries 40:33 and what if I go to Ahab and I tell Ahab, 40:37 Elijah is here and then Elijah just all of a sudden vanishes? 40:41 What's going to happen to me?" 40:42 Because Obadiah had protected these 100 prophets of the Lord. 40:46 So the lesson I see from Obadiah 40:49 is that it's not enough to live for Christ, 40:52 we must also speak for Him. 40:55 Now Obadiah had hid the prophets. 40:59 So he had done some action for the Lord, 41:01 he had hid the prophets of the Lord 41:03 but he's a little afraid to speak to King Ahab. 41:06 So it wasn't just enough to do the action, 41:09 he also had to speak. 41:10 So he did. 41:12 He went to Ahab and we pick it up in verse 16. 41:16 Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him, 41:19 and then Ahab went to meet Elijah. 41:22 "Then it happened when Ahab saw Elijah 41:24 that Ahab said to him, 41:27 'Is that you, O troubler of Israel?"' 41:30 That word troubler means to stir up, 41:33 disturb, to cause trouble. 41:36 The famine, interestingly enough, 41:38 had not led Ahab to repentance, 41:40 instead he blames Elijah for the famine 41:44 and he accuses Elijah of being the troubler, 41:47 the instigator of all this. 41:49 You know, I believe God uses the gentlest means possible, 41:53 the gentlest means necessary to get our attention. 41:57 Now in Ahab's case, a famine of three years 42:00 is a pretty serious measure 42:01 and He still didn't have his attention. 42:03 So we'll see in a moment, 42:04 God had to use even stronger measures. 42:07 So verse 18, "And he answered and said, 42:10 'This is Elijah. 42:11 I have not troubled Ezra 42:12 but you and your father's house have, 42:15 and that you have forsaken 42:17 the commandments of the Lord, and have followed Baal."' 42:19 Elijah clearly placed the blame on Ahab 42:23 because he forsook the commandments of God 42:25 because he followed after Baal. 42:28 There is no middle ground as we've been talking lesson 42:32 after lesson after lesson. 42:34 Always the issue is that we need 42:35 to make a choice either to serve God, or in this case, 42:39 they were serving Baal but us in the end time 42:41 we need to make a choice for Christ or for Satan. 42:45 So the four takeaways that I take from this, 42:47 number one, God always has a remnant, 42:49 those who honor and serve Him. 42:53 We might not see them, 42:54 we might not know them, but they are there. 42:58 Number two, severe trials don't always bring us 43:02 to repentance. 43:04 Ahab had had the severe trial of the famine for three years 43:08 and he still was not brought to repentance. 43:11 He cared for his animals enough to go out 43:13 and search for food and water for them, 43:15 but yet he didn't care for his soul 43:17 and he didn't care for the soul of his people. 43:21 He still shifted the blame. He tried to shift it to Elijah. 43:25 He attempted to justify himself. 43:26 And, Miss Mollie, 43:28 you always call that blame shift unjustified. 43:31 Number three, God never forces our decision. 43:35 He leads, He pleads, He works on our heart, 43:39 but He never forces, 43:41 He gives each one of us freedom of choice. 43:43 Romans 2:4, "It's the goodness of God, 43:46 the love of God that draws us to repentance." 43:50 And finally, and Shelley will do 43:52 more with this, 43:53 I see that Elijah stood for the right regardless 43:56 of the consequences. 43:58 He didn't give in, he didn't give way, 44:01 he didn't back down, he stood for truth. 44:04 He spoke the truth, and he lived the truth. 44:09 And, Shelley, you have the great showdown 44:11 taking place there. 44:13 Well, before we actually get in, we do... 44:17 This lesson is Armageddon in Mount Carmel part two. 44:21 And it will cover 1 Kings 18:18-40. 44:26 But before we go there, 44:27 I would like to start in Revelation 16 44:30 because what we're going to look at, 44:33 since we're comparing Armageddon 44:36 and Mount Carmel, 44:37 let's define Armageddon just a little more clearly. 44:40 The word "Armageddon" 44:41 is only used once in all of scripture. 44:46 It's only found in Revelation 16:16, 44:48 and it's not used in any Hebrew literature. 44:53 So it's interesting 44:54 that this word, as you said, CA, 44:57 the world has grabbed hold of this word 45:00 and made something big out of it. 45:02 So let's look at Armageddon, 45:08 Revelation 16:14-16. 45:11 I'm going to read 45:12 from the American Standard Version 45:14 because this is a more direct translation 45:17 of the original Greek. 45:19 Verse 14, "They are spirits of demons working signs 45:23 which go forth under the kings 45:25 of the whole world to gather them together 45:27 unto the war 45:29 of the great day of God the Almighty." 45:33 Now he adds a parenthetical comment here, 45:37 Jesus does, in verse 15 saying, 45:39 "Behold, I come as a thief blessed is he 45:43 that watches and keepeth his garments, 45:46 lest he walk naked and they see his shame." 45:51 That's close of the parenthesis there. 45:53 And then it says, 45:55 "And they gathered them together 45:57 into the place 45:58 which in Hebrew is called Harmagedon." 46:04 Yeah. So that's the ASV. 46:09 Armageddon is a metaphorical name. 46:13 It comes from the Hebrew language "har" 46:17 means mountain and "magedon" 46:19 most likely comes from the Hebrew for Megiddo. 46:23 Megiddo was a very strategic city 46:26 in Canaan. 46:27 It guarded the main pass 46:30 through the Carmel mountain range. 46:34 So Harmagedon is a symbolic name, 46:40 and I want to read to you. 46:42 There is a very well-known Bible scholar, 46:45 he has a Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. 46:49 Listen to what Thayer has to say on page 73 and 74 46:55 of his lexicon. 46:56 "Armageddon is an imaginary place, 47:00 the mountain of Megiddo 47:02 which could be none other than Carmel." 47:07 So Armageddon and Mount Carmel 47:11 are perfectly tied together. 47:14 And what happened on Mount Carmel is going 47:17 to happen in a grander scale, 47:19 if you will, at the Battle of Armageddon. 47:23 So there's this imaginary place 47:26 which tells us the whole thing is symbolic, 47:28 it can't be a real war. 47:30 Mount Carmel is a powerful symbolism 47:34 that's related to this prophecy. 47:35 So let's look... 47:37 I want to read this again 47:38 without the parenthetical statement. 47:40 I'm just going to read verses 14 and 16. 47:43 "They are spirits of demons working signs 47:45 which go forth into the kings of the whole world 47:48 to gather them together 47:49 into the war of the great day of God the Almighty. 47:52 And they gathered them together into the place 47:55 which is called in Hebrew Harmagedon." 47:58 Into the place in Greek 48:00 literally means into the situation. 48:04 So they gathered them toward this situation 48:08 which is called in the Hebrew tongue, 48:10 the mountain of Megiddo, symbolic for Mount Carmel. 48:14 So what happened on Mount Carmel, 48:20 all the people came together and Elijah says, 48:24 "How long will you halt between two opinions? 48:27 If God be god, worship Him, 48:29 but if Baal be god, let's see if you can prove it." 48:33 And they had this big showdown over who is the real God. 48:38 Is it the God of heaven or is it Baal, 48:41 the god of water, of dew, and god of rain? 48:46 And we'll get into that just a little bit more 48:49 but what happened on Mount Carmel 48:52 is going to happen 48:55 in a great significant expanded way 48:58 because there's going to be this great battle 49:02 and it's a battle for the hearts 49:04 and minds of people 49:06 to be committed to the God of heaven, 49:09 to the lamb of heaven. 49:12 And this Great War at the end, 49:15 the war of good and evil will engage God's army, 49:19 our primary purpose isn't going to be 49:21 to destroy each other with weapons, 49:25 but we are going to... 49:28 The purpose of the battle is are we going to be true 49:30 to our calling and election. 49:33 So the false religion of Baal 49:36 was a violent and corrupting influence 49:41 that it promoted outright rebellion against God 49:46 and the people had forsaken God's commandments. 49:49 So on this battle of Mount Carmel, 49:52 this was between Elijah 49:54 the prophet of God and 450 prophets of Baal. 50:00 So you could see 50:01 that the evil outweighed the good 450 to 1, right? 50:06 And as I said, it was a test to see 50:08 who is the true god, the Creator God or Baal 50:12 who's really just another manifestation 50:14 of the dragon. 50:15 Would you agree? Agree. 50:16 I mean, he's just trying to deceive the whole world. 50:20 So on Mount Carmel, the priests, these 450 priests, 50:27 they're praying to Baal that he would send fire 50:30 to burn up their bull's sacrifice. 50:32 They're shouting to him 50:34 from night to noon or noon to night. 50:37 And Elijah said... 50:39 I mean, he actually kind of taunts them and says, 50:41 "Oh, cry aloud, perhaps Baal is sleeping." 50:45 And it gets to the point 50:46 that they are getting so frantic 50:49 that they begin cutting themselves, 50:51 these 450 prophets of Baal, 50:54 they're just worked up into frenzy, 50:56 and they're cutting themselves, 50:57 and the blood is flowing freely, 51:01 and finally, towards the time of the evening sacrifice, 51:04 they are worn out and they give up. 51:07 They just give up. Baal never answered them. 51:10 So Elijah takes his sacrifice, 51:13 he has them soak it three different times in water 51:17 and the water is overflowing in the trenches. 51:21 All Elijah does is make 51:22 a simple prayer to the God of heaven 51:25 and God instantly set down fire, 51:29 He burned up all that water, not only the sacrifice 51:32 but it included the stone altar and the soil elements. 51:37 So the power of God, 51:40 the true God in contrast to Baal was seen 51:43 and it was unmistakable. 51:45 So let me give you some comparisons 51:48 between Carmel and Armageddon. 51:50 Oh, good. 51:51 Carmel, at the time, 51:53 there was almost universal apostasy, 51:56 but God vindicated His holy name 51:59 and His faithful people. 52:01 There were 7,000 who still had not bowed 52:04 their knee to Baal. 52:06 On the other hand, Armageddon, 52:08 he's going to again vindicate His name 52:11 and His faithful commandment 52:13 keeping people at the end of time. 52:16 Carmel proved that God proved 52:20 that His religion was the true religion. 52:23 Armageddon, God is going to vindicate 52:26 His Ten Commandments 52:28 including His sacred Sabbath commandment. 52:32 Carmel in 1 Kings 18:39, 52:35 when all the people saw the fire come down 52:38 and God answered this simple prayer, 52:40 they all bowed down and they said, 52:42 "Oh, the Lord, He is God the Lord, 52:45 He is God." 52:47 Armageddon, every knee shall bow, 52:50 every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 52:54 Carmel destroyed the leaders of the false worship 52:58 and all of their followers. 53:00 Armageddon, the unrepentant are going 53:03 to experience God's wrath. 53:05 That's good. 53:07 So when you think of Carmel and Armageddon, 53:09 remember that Armageddon 53:11 is a symbolic battle 53:17 between good and evil for loyalty to the true God. 53:21 Let me read Revelation 53:23 19:20-21. 53:28 It says, Revelation 19:20-21, 53:32 "Then the beast was captured, with him the false prophet 53:34 who worked signs in his presence 53:36 by which he deceived those 53:38 who deceived the mark of the beast 53:39 and those who worshiped his image. 53:42 These two were cast alive 53:43 into a fire burning with brimstone 53:47 and the rest were killed with a sword 53:50 which proceeded from the mouth of him 53:52 who sat on the horse," this is Jesus Christ, 53:55 "and all the birds were filled with their flesh." 53:58 Mercy. 53:59 Whatever remains unknown about Armageddon, 54:03 this we know at least for now, 54:06 the outcome is the destruction of the enemies of God 54:11 and the vindication of God and His saints. 54:14 Amen. Praise the Lord. 54:15 Oh, well covered. 54:17 You know, we've been studying the Book of Revelation here 54:19 and we see, you know, the symbolism. 54:22 We see that there's literal things 54:24 that take place. 54:25 We see there's figurative, there's, 54:27 you know, we talked imagery, there's the mystical. 54:29 So all these demand that we study deep 54:32 into the Word of God so that we can understand 54:34 what is literal and what is symbolic. 54:36 But I noticed when we talk about the Battle of Armageddon, 54:40 verse 14, 16:14 just tells us real quickly, 54:44 it's the Battle of God Almighty. 54:46 That just kind of settled whose battle it is. 54:48 It's the battle of God Almighty, 54:49 and I think we have to remember the preparation, 54:52 talk about this, 54:53 the preparation for the battle takes place 54:55 under the sixth plague, 54:57 and it's fought under the seventh plague. 55:01 So that's simply when the plagues poured out, 55:02 it means that probation is already closed. 55:05 It's an interesting thought. 55:07 I want you to, if you haven't studied that, 55:08 look into that. 55:09 It's very, very interesting. 55:11 And that all the world will be, 55:12 as it's been brought out here by the panel, 55:14 it's going to be involved in this. 55:16 So I think what we need to do is just maybe wrap it up, 55:19 we have two minutes left. 55:20 Quick thought any of you have, 55:21 we'll just start with Sister Mollie 55:23 and go right down. 55:24 We're reading the end of the book. 55:26 Now I'm going to quote your brother. 55:28 What do we find 55:29 when we look at the end of the book? 55:31 We win. 55:32 So the end of the book is clearly showing us 55:35 that this apostate system will fall 55:39 and everything that is Antichrist 55:41 will be purged from this earth 55:43 and everything that worships the true and the living God, 55:47 they are the overcomers. 55:48 They're the ones that are victorious. 55:50 Amen. Amen. I agree so very much. 55:53 Here is the patience, the endurance of the saints. 55:56 The saints will endure and overcome. 55:59 Amen. 56:00 Revelation 22, 56:02 I love the picture in Revelation 22 56:04 about win this battle, 56:06 win everything that has taken place, 56:08 when sin, and suffering, and sickness, 56:10 and destruction will be over 56:12 and we'll be forever with Jesus. 56:14 And praise the Lord for that. 56:15 I'll just repeat what Elijah said 56:18 in 1 Kings 18:21, 56:21 "How long will you falter between two opinions? 56:26 If the Lord be God, follow Him. 56:29 You're learning truths 56:31 and God wants you to follow His truth." 56:34 Amen. Amen. 56:35 Well, that's just as clear as it can be, isn't it? 56:37 Revelation 17:14, 56:38 we'll be closing with this passage of scripture. 56:41 It says, "These shall make war with the Lamb." 56:43 So we know we're careful we make war with the Lamb. 56:46 "But the Lamb will overcome them, 56:48 for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. 56:51 And they that are with Him 56:53 are called chosen and faithful." 56:56 I think that's wonderful. 56:58 That's what it all boils down to, 56:59 are we faithful to God, 57:01 are we going to be faithful to the enemy, 57:03 who are we going to choose. 57:05 We know, as we've studied this lesson, 57:07 it is a battle for the heart and the battle 57:11 for the mind is what I keep hearing 57:13 going over and over in this lesson. 57:15 So who has your heart? Who has your mind? 57:18 You know, make sure, 57:19 if you've not given your life to Christ, 57:21 how about doing it today? 57:23 This is a Sabbath day and we're thankful for that. 57:25 Give your heart and your life to Him 57:26 and you know what? 57:27 We're going to look forward to seeing you again next time. |
Revised 2018-06-28