Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190009A
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00:31 Hello and welcome once again to, 3ABN Sabbath School Panel,
00:35 where we are studying the book of Revelation this quarter. 00:39 And we're so glad that you've joined us today. 00:41 We hope you have your Bible. 00:43 We hope you have a study guide. 00:45 And if you haven't yet gotten one, you can go to this website. 00:54 And download your very own copy. 00:56 And it will be most helpful as we continue this study. 01:00 We want to also suggest that you go by your nearest 01:06 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:07 They'll be happy to give you a copy and to study with you. 01:11 And tell them 3ABN sent you. 01:13 Well we have a wonderful panel today; my brothers and sisters. 01:17 Let me introduce them very briefly. 01:19 Jill Morikone, lovely always, sis, to have you on. 01:23 My pastor, John Lomacang. Thank you. 01:26 And my dear friend, Danny Shelton. 01:28 Thank you, Danny, for being here. 01:30 And a wonderful addition to our 3ABN staff is Pastor Ryan Day. 01:38 And we just really appreciate your studies. 01:40 Danny, would you like to have our opening prayer? 01:44 Lord, we thank You for Your blessings and Your love. 01:47 And we just thank You for this opportunity to study Your Word. 01:51 And Lord, we have truth that the world needs to hear. 01:54 You've called us as a people and as a church 01:57 to proclaim an undiluted three angels' messages. 02:00 Revelation is such a revealing of You 02:02 and of Your love for fellow man. 02:04 We pray now that every word that we speak, 02:08 everything that's said and done, will be done 02:10 to Your honor, to Your glory. 02:12 In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 02:14 Amen, amen. 02:15 Already, let's look at our memory text. 02:18 And actually I noticed that I've got it in New King James, 02:23 but our quarterly has it from the MEV, so I'll read that. 02:28 It says, "Then the dragon was angry with the woman..." 02:33 And who did we determine the dragon was? 02:35 ~ Satan. 02:37 And that clearly is told us in Scripture. 02:39 "...and he went to wage war with the remnant of her offspring, 02:44 who keep the commandments of God 02:47 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." 02:50 Which we talked about last time. 02:52 Revelation 12 concludes with this enraged dragon 02:57 who is attacking the church. 03:00 And he is warring against the offspring of Jesus Christ. 03:05 And we know that, we just read, how do we know 03:09 if we're the offspring of Jesus Christ? 03:11 When you're born again, you're going to keep the commandments 03:14 of Jesus and have His testimony. 03:17 Our focus today is going to be chapter 13. 03:21 And this is an extension of the end time war 03:25 of Revelation 12:17. 03:28 It portrays Satan preparing for the final battle. 03:32 And to win this battle, he enlists the support 03:37 of two unholy allies. 03:40 And both of these are portrayed as savage beasts. 03:45 The first beast rises up out of the sea, 03:48 and the second beast rises up out of the earth. 03:52 And these three form an unholy trio. 03:55 This is the counterfeit trinity, if you will. 04:00 Because it's the direct opposite, or the antithesis, 04:04 to the Trinity of the Godhead. 04:06 So what they are doing is opposing all of God's activities 04:11 to try to save humanity. 04:13 The second beast, we're going to find in Revelation 13 and 14 04:18 that the central issue of the final days 04:22 is the issue of worship. 04:24 Who do you worship? 04:27 And the second beast uses force and coercion 04:32 to get people to worship the first beast. 04:37 And when they do, they receive the mark of the beast. 04:43 Which is something none of us want to receive. 04:47 So what we're going to do, once again, remember 04:50 in Revelation, all of these symbols and signs 04:54 can be found, their definition, in other parts of the Bible. 05:00 And doing that today, we're going to unravel 05:03 the mysteries of Revelation 13 and 14. 05:08 So far we have been dealing with prophecies 05:11 that have been mostly fulfilled in the past. 05:15 But from this point forward we're going to be dealing 05:18 mostly, not exclusively, but with prophecies that are 05:22 yet to be fulfilled. 05:24 And I love it that God shows us in advance 05:28 so that we are not caught by surprise. 05:32 But there is a word of caution that is necessary. 05:35 While these prophecies tell us what will happen at the 05:39 time of the end, they don't tell us when they will happen 05:43 or exactly how they will happen. 05:45 So we have to be careful not to go beyond 05:49 what the prophecy tells us. 05:52 You know, all of these prophecies 05:54 have a practical application. 05:56 It is all to tell us how we can live today 06:00 and how we can be prepared for the future. 06:02 So as we focus on Revelation 13, this is the final battle 06:07 of earth's history, and it's a tale of deception 06:11 as they set up the image to the beast. 06:14 And in the historical Adventist reading of Revelation, 06:19 these two beasts are the main characters in the battle. 06:23 They're introduced with a visual summary and then they've 06:26 got some historical data that their previous history 06:31 is introduced in past tense so we can identify them. 06:35 We believe that the first beast is the beast, 06:40 the little horn power of the Middle Ages, 06:42 which is the papal power. 06:44 Now I want to make certain to say this: 06:47 We are not saying that anyone who belongs 06:52 to the Roman Catholic Church is lost. 06:57 We believe God has people in every church. 07:00 But we do know that this is really pretty clear 07:06 with all of the symbols and all of the history 07:09 that this first beast is the papacy. 07:11 And then beyond the rise of the second beast 07:16 is the rise of the United States. 07:18 Let's look at Sunday, The Beast From the Sea. 07:20 Revelation 13:1-4 07:23 "Then I stood on the sand of the sea. 07:25 And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, 07:28 having seven heads and ten horns, 07:31 and on his horns ten crowns, 07:35 and on his heads a blasphemous name." 07:39 Now when John wrote Revelation, he knew the contemporary 07:43 readers would understand this language, these symbols, 07:49 because they were familiar with the book of Daniel. 07:51 And this is coming straight from the book of Daniel. 07:55 The same God who gave visions to Daniel 07:57 and visions to John is the one who inspired their writing. 08:02 But let's look at Daniel 7, and we'll look at verses 2 and 3. 08:07 Because the beasts of Daniel are key to understanding 08:11 the beasts of Revelation. 08:13 And we see in the Old Testament in Daniel that beasts represent 08:19 kingdoms or nations or powers. 08:24 "Daniel spoke, saying, 'I saw in my vision by night, and behold, 08:28 the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 08:32 And four great beasts came up from the sea, 08:36 each different from the other.'" 08:37 Now flip over to chapter 7 and verse 17. 08:42 He explains what this symbol of a beast means. 08:47 "Those great beasts, which are four, 08:50 are four kings which arise out of the earth." 08:55 And then also in chapter 7 we'll look at Daniel 7:23-24. 09:01 He says, "The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth..." 09:05 Which indicates that the three beasts prior 09:09 were kingdoms on the earth. 09:11 "...which shall be different from all other kingdoms, 09:15 and shall devour the whole earth, 09:17 trample it and break it in pieces." 09:20 Now here we go with that symbolism that we just read 09:23 in Revelation 13. 09:24 "The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. 09:30 And another shall rise after them; 09:33 he shall be different from the first ones, 09:36 and he shall subdue three kings. 09:41 So we know that Daniel shows us four great world empires. 09:47 the first beast of Daniel was the lion. 09:50 Which was who? The Babylonian empire. 09:53 The second beast of Daniel is the bear. 09:58 And this is Medo-Persia. 10:00 The third beast is the leopard, which is Greece. 10:04 The fourth beast is this dreadful beast with iron teeth 10:09 and the ten horns. 10:10 This is the Roman Empire. 10:14 So we have this monstrous beast that's rising up 10:19 out of the waters. 10:21 And waters in Scripture, we'll see that that symbol 10:23 represents multitudes of people. 10:27 Listen to Revelation 17:15. 10:30 That's where we find this interpretation. 10:32 Revelation 17:15. 10:35 "He said to me, 'The waters which you saw, 10:38 where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, 10:43 nations, and tongues.'" 10:44 You know what I love about this? 10:46 We don't have to guess. 10:48 I grew up guessing and being taught everybody 10:52 had different ideas what these symbols mean. 10:55 The Bible tells us what these symbols are. 11:00 And the blasphemous names point to the divine titles 11:05 that this beast claims. 11:06 This is the little horn power that is coming up. 11:10 It's the papal phase of the Roman Empire. 11:14 And what made it different is that it wasn't just a political 11:17 power, but it is a religio-political power. 11:22 So in Revelation 13:2 it says, "The beast which I saw 11:26 was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, 11:29 and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. 11:31 The dragon gave him his power, his throne, 11:33 and great authority." 11:35 So this beast combines the characteristics 11:38 of Daniel's four beasts. 11:40 And John lists them in reverse order. 11:43 Daniel was looking forward in history, 11:47 John is looking back in history. 11:50 So we see that the dragon gives this beast his power. 11:53 He invests this beast as his co-regent on earth. 12:00 And this affirms that the sea beast is the second member 12:03 of the satanic trinity. 12:06 So from Rome arose this little power. 12:10 And Revelation 13:3 says, "I saw one of his heads 12:14 as if it had been mortally wounded, 12:16 and his deadly wound was healed. 12:19 And all the world marveled and followed the beast." 12:24 Now are you going to be covering the healing of the deadly wound? 12:27 No, go ahead. 12:29 Well, I'll just very quickly say this. 12:31 There was a period during the reformation, the enlightenment, 12:37 during the French Revolution when General Berthier, 12:41 who was a French army general, captured Pope Pious VI in 1798. 12:51 The pope died in exile in 1799. 12:55 This was the close of that 1260 day prophetic period. 13:01 1260 years from 538 to 1798. 13:05 And remember last time, that's 42 months, 1260 days, 13:10 time, times, and half a time. 13:11 They're all the same thing. 13:13 So the deadly wound begins to be healed 13:18 when the papal government is restored. 13:22 And it says in Revelation 13:4, "They worshiped the dragon 13:26 who gave authority to the beast; 13:28 and they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast? 13:33 Who is able to make war with him?'" 13:35 The sea beast is the counterfeit of Jesus Christ. 13:38 He is the second member of the trinity. 13:42 And he looks like the dragon with the seven heads 13:45 and ten horns, just as Christ represented the Father. 13:49 He said, "If you've seen the Father, you've seen Me." 13:51 The sea beast receives its authority from the dragon, 13:55 just like Christ receives His authority from the Father. 13:59 The sea beast experiences a death and resurrection 14:02 as Christ does. 14:04 And the sea beast is in action 14:08 for three and a half prophetic years, 42 months, 14:11 just as Christ was for three and a half years. 14:15 Amen. What a wonderful study, Shelley. 14:17 I love that comparison with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; 14:21 we know that is the God head. 14:22 And then we see the unholy trinity take place here in 14:26 Revelation with the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. 14:29 So great comparison there. 14:31 I continue with Revelation chapter 13, 14:33 and I know a bit of this will cross over, 14:35 but we're going to talk about, my day is, 14:37 The Activities of the Sea Beast. 14:40 I'm going to talk about six characteristics 14:44 and activities of the sea beast. 14:46 And we'll compare that with the little horn power 14:48 that you referenced in Daniel chapter 7. 14:51 So characteristic number one. 14:53 He, meaning the sea beast, receives his power 14:56 from the dragon. 14:57 Now I know Shelley read this verse, 14:59 I just want to look at this briefly. 15:01 Revelation 13:2 in the middle of the verse, 15:04 it says, "The dragon gave him..." 15:06 So the dragon, we know, it Satan. 15:08 Satan gave the sea beast his power. 15:11 The word is, dunamis. Miracle working power. 15:14 "...his throne, and great authority." 15:17 The word there is, exousia. 15:19 Meaning, the power to act. Authority. 15:22 So, I think of another time in history where the dragon 15:27 tried to give someone his power and his authority. 15:31 But this particular person refused. 15:33 Remember the temptations of Jesus. 15:36 Luke 4, this is the second temptation in the wilderness. 15:40 Satan took Jesus up on a high mountain 15:42 and showed Him the kingdoms of the world. 15:45 In Luke 4:6 the devil said to Jesus, "All this authority..." 15:50 The word, exousia, is used again there. 15:52 "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; 15:55 for this has been delivered to me, 15:56 and I give it to whomever I wish." 15:59 Jesus refused power and authority from Satan? 16:04 We know the power He had from God the Father 16:06 was way more than anything Satan things he possesses. 16:09 But Jesus refused that power. 16:11 But the sea beast readily accepts power from Satan. 16:16 Number two, he thinks to change times and laws. 16:20 Now notice I didn't say he changed times and laws. 16:23 Because we know God's law is eternal. 16:25 And it does not change. 16:27 But he thinks to change times and laws. 16:31 Daniel 7:25, the little horn power, which is synonymous 16:35 with this sea beast power here in Revelation 13, 16:38 both representing the Roman Catholic Church. 16:41 The little horn "shall speak pompous words 16:43 against the Most High, shall persecute the saints 16:46 of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law." 16:50 He thinks to change that. 16:52 Now here on this earth, earthly laws can be changed. 16:56 Would you say that's right? 16:58 All it takes in the United States is a brand new president 17:01 and a brand new Congress that steps in, 17:03 and they might look to change some of the laws 17:06 that were put in place previously. 17:08 The conflict described here is not an earthly conflict. 17:12 The little horn seeks to do this against the Most High. 17:15 This is a heavenly conflict. 17:17 Attempting to change God's time and law. 17:20 And you think about what in the Word of God, 17:24 if you think the Ten Commandments, 17:26 what commandment has this power sought to change? 17:31 That would be the fourth commandment. 17:34 He sought to change that authority from Sabbath 17:37 to worship on Sunday. 17:39 I know the rest of the panel will discuss that further. 17:41 Number three, the sea beast speaks blasphemies. 17:46 Look at Revelation 13:5. 17:48 "And he was given a mouth speaking great things 17:51 and blasphemies, and he was given authority 17:54 to continue for forty-two months." 17:56 What is blasphemy? 17:58 Blasphemy is claiming to have power to forgive sins. 18:03 Remember the paralytic. 18:04 He was let down through the roof to Jesus 18:07 because he needed healing. 18:08 But Jesus knew more than the physical healing, 18:11 he needed spiritual healing. 18:13 And so Jesus said, "Your sins are forgiven you." 18:16 Well that threw the scribes and Pharisees into a little tizzy. 18:19 Luke 5:21, "The scribes and Pharisees began to reason, 18:23 saying, 'Who is this who speaks blasphemies? 18:26 Who can forgive sins but God alone?'" 18:30 Blasphemy is claiming to have power to forgive sins. 18:34 We know the priests within the Roman Catholic Church 18:36 system claim to have that power, that authority, 18:40 to exonerate or forgive sin. 18:44 Another thing that blasphemy is, 18:45 is claiming to be equal with God. 18:49 John 10:33, "The Jews answered Him," meaning Jesus, "saying, 18:54 'For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, 18:58 because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.'" 19:02 We know the pope has claimed to be God on earth. 19:05 And I want to echo what Shelley said, 19:06 We are not speaking here today about people, 19:11 we're speaking about a system. 19:13 We're speaking about a system that has chosen 19:16 to set its mind, its way, its tradition about the Word of God. 19:21 We know that God has people in all churches 19:25 and that God wants to call people out of all churches 19:28 to join His remnant church. 19:30 Number four, he demands worship and he persecutes those people 19:35 who do not worship him. 19:38 Revelation 13:4, "They worshiped the dragon," 19:41 that's Satan, "who gave authority to the beast; 19:45 and they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast? 19:48 Who is able to make war with him?'" 19:50 And then you jump down to verse 7, "It was granted to him 19:53 to make war with the saints and to overcome them. 19:57 And authority was given him over every tribe, 19:59 tongue, and nation." 20:00 So this power demands worship. 20:03 And if people don't worship, then persecution. 20:07 We think about the Dark Ages from 538 to 1798 20:11 as replete with stories of persecution. 20:15 People who chose to stand for the Word of God 20:18 and who gave their life as a result. 20:21 Number five, the sea beast had unprecedented or unparalleled 20:26 authority for 42 months. 20:28 Now Shelley did a great job with this on the last lesson. 20:31 The 42 months, the time, times, and half a time 20:34 in Daniel 7, or the 1260 days is all the same time period. 20:39 This is that 1260 years, we just mentioned, from 538 to 1798. 20:48 The power of the papacy, of course in 538 it rose, 20:53 but the power, it took years till it really solidified, 20:57 you could say. 20:59 I think of a well known story; Pope Gregory VII. 21:03 This is a well known dispute he had with Henry IV, 21:07 who was the holy Roman Emperor of that time. 21:10 This dispute affirmed the primacy of papal supremacy. 21:15 Pope Gregory excommunicated Henry. 21:17 He was the emperor, he was the king. 21:19 And Henry lacked the support of his people and princes, 21:22 and the situation became very critical. 21:24 And the princes said, "You know what, honey? 21:26 You need to go to the pope and apologize for what you did." 21:28 So Henry went to see the pope. 21:31 But this was January 25, 1077 with a blizzard raging. 21:39 Henry stood barefoot in the snow outside the popes residence 21:43 for three days, begging forgiveness from the pope. 21:48 And at that point, the papal supremacy really solidified. 21:53 And the kings and the emperors even bowed to 21:57 the rule, as it were, of the church. 21:59 And number six, principle number six, 22:02 The sea beast power lost his authority, 22:05 and he gained it back. 22:06 And Shelley talked about that with the deadly wound 22:10 that was healed. 22:11 The wound is healed by loss of faith in the Bible 22:14 as God's Word through the rise of evolution, materialism, 22:17 and the passing of the protest, as it were, 22:19 in Protestantism. 22:21 It's healed by the renewal of political friendships 22:24 with the Roman church. 22:25 It's healed by the demise of democracy. 22:27 It's healed by the restoration of that kingship of the pope. 22:31 What lessons can we learn from the sea beast 22:33 and the characteristics? 22:35 I would submit there's many lessons, 22:36 but today we're going to talk about four. 22:38 Number one, history repeats itself. 22:43 The persecution of the Dark Ages will come again. 22:47 And what we saw take place with that papal supremacy 22:50 will come again. 22:52 We know that history repeats itself. 22:54 Number two, never say you were forced. 22:57 We all make a choice. 22:58 We're never forced to worship anyone 23:00 contrary to the Word of God. 23:02 We can be harassed, we can be tormented, 23:05 we can be persecuted, we can be threatened, 23:07 we can even be killed, but we are never forced. 23:11 Many factors lead to the worship of the sea beast or the dragon. 23:15 It could be fear, it could be a desire to fit in, 23:18 it could be pride wanting other people to like me 23:20 and the theological viewpoints I have, 23:22 it could be ignorance, or even deception, 23:25 but we are never forced. 23:26 We all have a choice to make. 23:28 Number three, choose today to serve Jesus. 23:32 Make a decision for Christ. Make a decision for His Word. 23:36 Make a decision to walk in obedience to the truth 23:40 that you learn in His Word. 23:42 And finally, number four, walk in that obedience 23:45 regardless of the consequences. 23:48 We might be spared the fiery furnace, 23:50 or we might walk into the hottest part of the fire. 23:53 Regardless of the future, regardless of the consequences, 23:58 regardless of the immediate result, walk in obedience. 24:02 If you have just discovered the truth of the Sabbath, 24:06 you are now held accountable to the truth that you know. 24:09 It's all about worship, about who we give our allegiance to. 24:13 Whoever we love, that is truly who we serve. 24:17 Whatever we love, that's where we invest our time. 24:20 So choose today to worship the Creator God. 24:23 Amen. Thank you, Jill. 24:24 God has really given you a gift of teaching. 24:27 And I appreciate it so much. 24:29 We're going to take a short break and we'll be right back. 24:32 Stay tuned. 24:39 Ever wish you could watch a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 24:42 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 24:46 Well you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 24:51 A clean design makes it easy to find the 24:54 program you're looking for. 24:55 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:59 so you can follow along. 25:00 Sharing is easy. 25:02 Just click "share" and choose your favorite social media. 25:11 Well if you think the sea beast is frightening, 25:14 let's get a look at the beast that rises up from the earth. 25:18 Pastor John, you want to continue? 25:20 Yes, yes. It's a joy to continue. 25:22 Who could ask for more than the foundation 25:24 that Jill just laid for me, really? 25:27 And thank you, Shelley. 25:29 This topic, and we'll discover this... 25:30 Danny is going to talk about some of the things I mention. 25:33 Ryan is going to talk about some of the things Danny mentions. 25:35 Because there's so much in this lesson to talk about 25:38 that it's inevitable that we cross over each other. 25:42 When we look at Revelation 13:11, 25:45 Shelley made this point, and Jill reiterated that, 25:48 Revelation is a dance between two beasts. 25:52 They are not in opposition to each other. 25:54 Initially they are. 25:56 But something happens in the course of time. 25:59 And when we introduce Revelation, we talk about, 26:02 we bring that beast back that is inevitably connected to 26:05 the past, introduced in Daniel 7 in the context of beasts, 26:08 Daniel 2 in the context of metals. 26:11 And he has a reign where he dominates all 26:14 of western Europe, eastern Europe. 26:16 His power is unchecked, as you pointed out with 26:19 Henry VIII and a number of others; Charlemagne. 26:22 There was intermarriage between nations in the course of time 26:25 trying to somehow create a unity, a cohesion. 26:28 But the Lord says, "As iron and clay doesn't mix, 26:31 they will never be able to cohere together." 26:33 But today when you go to Europe, 26:35 they have a common monetary system. 26:38 It's called a, euro. 26:39 But they're not able to unite politically still. 26:43 Although they've made many attempts. 26:45 But right now we could say unequivocally there's 26:47 an interest in the first beast of Revelation 26:51 in the second beast of Revelation. 26:54 The first beast has an interest in the 26:56 second beast of Revelation 13. 26:59 The first beast is introduced, 27:00 and Shelley made the point very clear. 27:02 And I don't want to take time on that because there's 27:03 so much about the second beast. 27:05 The first beast of Revelation 13 is the resurrected power 27:09 of the Roman Empire. 27:11 Known best as the Pontiff, the Pope. 27:14 Today, Pope Francis reigns over that monolith 27:18 of more than 1.5 billion people. 27:20 And once again, my family is 90% Catholic. 27:23 So I'm not talking about my family. 27:24 They know that. They watch 3ABN. 27:27 But I'm talking about a system that received its power, 27:30 unequivocally the Bible says the dragon gave him 27:33 his power, his seat, and his great authority. 27:35 So the dragon who is Satan, Revelation 12:9, 27:38 chose a system by which he could, as I mentioned 27:41 I think in a prior program, he has an earthly strategy. 27:46 He cannot keep Christ out of the world. 27:48 He failed there. 27:50 Couldn't keep Him from getting on the cross; failed there. 27:52 Couldn't keep Him in the tomb; failed there. 27:55 Couldn't stop Him from resurrecting; failed there. 27:57 And Jesus left unscathed by the devil. 28:01 He left the world and said, 28:02 "Couldn't do anything to Me, could you?" 28:05 And He left His church. 28:06 He says, "While You're gone, I going to do 28:07 everything I can to get against Your church." 28:09 So he creates a counterfeit. 28:12 He finds himself a woman. 28:13 But there's an amazing connection. 28:15 I don't know, I don't think anybody mentioned this. 28:17 Go to Revelation12, I want you to see something. 28:19 This is crazy. 28:21 I mean, crazy. 28:23 You're going to see this. Now watch this. 28:25 The Lord hides His woman in the, where? 28:28 ~ Wilderness. - Say it again. 28:30 Wilderness. Let's look at that. 28:32 Revelation 12:14. 28:33 "But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, 28:37 that she might fly into the wilderness 28:39 to her place where she is nourished..." 28:40 And that's the 1260 years. 28:42 Shelley made that clear. No time to spend there. 28:44 Now go quickly with me to Revelation 17. 28:47 Now the woman went into the wilderness pure. 28:50 - Am I right? ~ That's right. 28:51 Okay, now preface this. 28:55 Look at Revelation 17 now. 28:57 And we're going to look at verse 3. 29:01 "So he carried me away in the Spirit into the..." What? 29:05 ~ Wilderness. - Wilderness. 29:07 "And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast 29:11 which was full of names of blasphemy, 29:14 having seven heads and ten horns." 29:17 And the reason why this is so vitally important, 29:20 and when you continue reading, I want to just pause here, 29:23 the woman was sent into the wilderness. 29:27 The Lord hid her there for 1260 days. 29:30 But if you understand what happened during the Dark Ages, 29:33 the woman that went in pure came out unpure. 29:37 Impure. 29:38 She was so corrupt 29:41 through the dragon going after her. 29:44 The Lord hid her there, but the doctrines of 29:49 eternal hell came out, 29:51 the immortality of the soul came out, 29:55 purgatory, limbo came out, 29:57 the authority of man over God came out. 30:00 Matter of fact, Jill, you eluded to this, 30:02 but I want to make this point. 30:03 Listen to this. 30:05 Because we talked about who changed times and laws. 30:07 Here's one statement from the Vatican, 30:09 this is their own writings. 30:11 "The pope is of so great authority and power 30:14 that he can modify, explain, or interpret even divine laws. 30:19 The pope can modify divine laws since his power 30:22 is not of man but of God, and he acts as vice regent 30:25 of God upon earth." 30:27 And I have it, "translated from Lucius Ferraris." 30:29 If you ever want the reference, 30:32 we can make that available to you. 30:33 That's just one of the references. 30:35 And during the Dark Ages he took unequivocal power 30:37 in his own hands. 30:39 But the Lord, as He sought to preserve His church, 30:43 He opened the mouth of the earth and says, 30:47 "We've got to find a place on earth to hide My woman." 30:49 So He opened the mouth of the earth. 30:51 And as the devil was coming after the church 30:53 through all these counter reformatory movements; 30:56 art, science, math, music, 30:58 the Lord says, "Hide her in America." 31:01 Where? It's not even called America. 31:04 It's just a sparsely populated land. 31:08 So the pilgrims show up in 1620, November 1620. 31:13 They show up looking for freedom. 31:16 The Bible calls them, they're called, "pilgrims," 31:18 because the term, "pilgrim," is a religious term. 31:21 These are religious people. 31:22 All they want to do is worship freely. 31:25 And they broke away, thinking that the world was flat 31:28 and they could sail off of the world in the wrong direction. 31:31 I mean, think of the mentality. 31:32 They were not sailing on a spherical planet. 31:35 They thought it was flat. 31:36 To the point that they never thought the world was round. 31:39 So they put their lives at risk and they come to America. 31:42 And America, now let's go to Revelation 13, 31:45 the Bible says this beast, Revelation 13, 31:49 has two horns like a lamb, verse 11, Revelation 13:11, 31:55 comes up out of the earth, having two horns like a lamb, 31:57 and speaks as a dragon. 31:58 The two horns that this nation offers eventually are the powers 32:03 of Protestantism and a republican form of government. 32:06 A republic. 32:07 "...to the republic for which it stands..." 32:09 A republic that is based on, "By the people, for the people." 32:12 Quite different than the Roman government which is top down; 32:15 "We say it, you do it. Or you die." 32:17 America... 32:19 But what happens now, the dragon, remember, 32:21 that gave Rome its authority finds a way into America. 32:26 And this nation that offers freedom of religion, 32:30 not freedom from religion, freedom of religion, 32:33 starts all of a sudden metamorphosing 32:36 and starts speaking in an odd way. 32:38 It's a lamb, why is it speaking...? 32:41 You're a lamb, why do you sound like a dragon? 32:44 Because you're creating an alliance. 32:46 And America, in the present position that it's in... 32:50 And the Bible predicted that. 32:52 America, this lamb like nations, would eventually 32:54 begin to speak like a dragon. 32:56 How does any nation speak? 32:58 Legislatively. 32:59 A nation speaks when it starts to pass laws. 33:02 Now let's see how that happens. 33:04 America came into being as a Protestant nation, 33:07 denying everything that popery stood for. 33:09 And their claim or their creed was sola scriptura; 33:13 the Bible, and the Bible only. 33:16 But somewhere along the way, when you get away from the Bible 33:19 you fall into the pit that Rome established: its tradition. 33:23 1565, Pope Reggio claimed that tradition 33:26 is equal and above the Bible. 33:29 In America, Protestantism has become a traditional 33:33 religion, not a biblical religion. 33:36 Therefore, getting rid of or forfeiting the title 33:40 of Protestant, because they're no longer protesting. 33:43 When Christians in America start embracing and practicing 33:48 what Rome established, they are no longer protesting Rome. 33:52 And American has established itself as a nation 33:54 that has embraced the day that Rome has established. 33:57 Can I be clear today? 33:59 It's clear in America that Sunday worship, 34:02 Rome says it, 34:04 Rome says that Sunday worship came from their position. 34:08 They helped cause Sunday to rise to the prominence 34:11 it has now in America. 34:13 And if you look at America, every state in America 34:15 has blue laws where something is prohibited on Sunday. 34:18 And America will eventually create an alliance with Rome. 34:23 And I'll just give you a quote very quickly here. 34:26 And this is an amazing quote. 34:27 Great Controversy, page 588. 34:30 "The Protestants of the United States will be foremost 34:33 in stretching their hand across the gulf 34:36 to clasp the hands of spiritualism. 34:39 They will reach over the abyss and clasp the hands 34:41 with the Roman power. 34:43 And under the influence of this three-fold union 34:45 this country will follow in the steps of Rome 34:48 in trampling on the rights of conscious." 34:50 If you don't think that your conscious is being threatened, 34:53 can you speak freely in America now? 34:56 No. Everything we say is examined. 34:59 Everything we say. 35:00 No matter who you are, people are apologizing 35:02 more now about things they say in a country where you have 35:06 freedom of speech than any other time. 35:08 Is there something going on? 35:10 America is already speaking like a dragon. 35:12 And liberty of conscious that was afforded by America 35:16 is no longer a liberty that we'll enjoy 35:18 for any length of time to come in the future. 35:21 Danny, are you ready? 35:23 I'm giving it to you red hot. 35:25 I don't even know where to go from there. 35:27 Oh absolute, that's some great stuff, isn't it? 35:29 And as we look at it, you took us up to Revelation 13, 35:33 I think 11 or so. 35:34 Let's just read Revelation 13:13-14. 35:37 "And he doeth..." 35:38 Now we're talking about this lamb-like beast, right? 35:41 "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire 35:43 come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 35:46 and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth 35:49 by the means of those miracles which he had power to do 35:52 in the sight of the beast; saying to them that 35:55 dwell on the earth, that they should make an image 35:58 to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live." 36:03 So my day today is the image of the beast. 36:06 When I look at this scripture, the description of America, 36:10 it would take, you notice it wasn't a small country 36:13 that by this time, we're talking about when this 36:17 deadly wound was healed in the 19, I think you already said 36:20 1929 was the beginning of that. 36:22 Mussolini giving back to the papacy the Vatican City. 36:27 So this happened at that point. 36:30 But America was already becoming a great nation. 36:33 And as we went through our wars: 36:35 when we talk about fire, we're not talking about Elijah 36:37 and a little fire down here. 36:39 We're talking about nuclear bombs that destroyed Hiroshima, 36:42 and hundreds of thousands of people dying. 36:44 So you're looking at a power, this lamb-like beast 36:48 becomes a great power on earth. 36:50 A political power. 36:52 But then all of a sudden you've got, it starts saying, 36:55 "Let's make an image to the beast, the sea beast. 37:00 Let's make an image to that." 37:01 And you're starting to see, as you said, John, 37:03 the joining hands together of the two. 37:06 But you say, "Okay, how did the beast receive a deadly wound, 37:10 and yet, it lives again?" 37:13 Well, I think I can answer that. 37:15 That's one question I can answer. 37:17 Several months ago I, for all practical purposes, died. 37:22 My chest was cut open, I had open heart surgery. 37:25 Opened it up, I was on a ventilator. 37:28 And the ventilator kept me breathing while they 37:30 lifted my heart and even worked underneath, 37:32 bypassing these arteries. 37:34 When I got out of the surgery for several hours, 37:37 for the next six hours I was dead to the world, 37:40 as far as I knew. 37:41 And the family looking at me, Yvonne and everyone else. 37:44 But I had this ventilator that was breathing for me. 37:47 So what happened is, I thank God for the medical team. 37:52 For God first, but the medical team that I had 37:55 around me, and for the ventilator. 37:59 Well in the same way, what happens, this deadly wound, 38:02 Satan has a team. 38:04 And he has a team of what I called, heavy hitters. 38:07 So some of you talked in different terms. 38:10 We talk sports. John, we have heavy hitters. 38:12 Of course, Satan is in charge of the team. 38:14 The sea beast, papal Rome that took over the world, 38:17 as we talked about, for 1260; this is all part of the team. 38:21 The lamb-like beast coming out of the earth, 38:24 forming the image to the beast. 38:26 And last but not least, I want to talk a little bit about 38:29 apostate Protestantism. 38:31 So Satan has a team. 38:32 And you already mentioned it earlier, 38:34 even a counterfeit trinity. 38:37 And so Satan has this counterfeit. 38:39 So what happens is, coming out of this beast, 38:42 this beast power mixing with this religious 38:46 apostate Protestantism. 38:48 We'll talk about it for a second. 38:49 Some of you explained it on other programs. 38:52 But a lot of our people don't understand. 38:54 Back in, we're going back to Martin Luther again, 38:56 back in the Reformation when it was about 39:00 righteousness by faith. 39:02 It's no longer, "Do we serve, you know, 39:05 what this power, the Catholic church says," 39:08 but, "We're going to serve the Bible and the Bible only." 39:11 Right? Sola scriptura. 39:12 That was the theme of the early reformers. 39:16 We're going to do the Bible and the Bible only. 39:18 But John, as you just explained, through the course of time 39:22 the church was no longer pure. 39:25 So now out of this you have this religious reformation. 39:28 And what happens, the deadly wound happens. 39:31 You already said 1798. 39:33 1929 it begins to heal again. 39:36 And as power comes to it, what gives it its breath? 39:41 What gives it its breath? 39:43 What gives the image of the beast? 39:46 We've got the sea beast we talked about. 39:48 We have the earth beast is coming out of the earth. 39:52 Right? So here's this whole team working together. 39:55 Satan at the top. 39:57 So now we have this earth beast. 39:58 But then we have the lamb-like, which is the lamb-like beast. 40:02 But then the image of the beast. 40:04 But what feeds all of it? 40:06 The counterfeit. 40:07 The counterfeit is this: the religious, religion, 40:11 denominations, Protestants, as you mentioned, 40:15 claim to protest, what a Protestant means is 40:18 protest Catholicism. 40:20 Right? The papacy. 40:22 You protest. 40:23 But Protestants now have so compromised 40:27 that they follow after the papal power. 40:30 You all said it, but I'm going to say it once again. 40:33 God has people in all churches. 40:35 And so we don't look at anybody and say, 40:38 "Oh he's this." 40:39 Now I will say, that's more than they give us. 40:43 Because they believe, the Catholic church, 40:44 they're really the only one church. 40:47 So they don't really recognize other people. 40:49 So instead of when people say, "Well you all are 40:52 hard on the church," no we're not really. 40:54 We're less hard than they are on us, if I can say that point. 40:58 But God has people in all churches. 41:01 And I'm so thankful about that. 41:02 But what's happened is, apostate Protestantism, 41:05 the papacy says, "Our mark of authority, 41:10 our mark of authority is Sunday worship." 41:13 Shelley and I wrote a book about that, 41:15 The Ten Commandments Twice Removed. 41:17 So our mark of authority is what? 41:20 ~ Sunday worship. - It's Sunday worship. 41:21 Because God gave us the fourth commandment, 41:25 the Ten Commandments. 41:27 The fourth one says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 41:30 Six days thou shalt labor and do all thy work." 41:32 You know that scripture. 41:34 So you are talking about, Jill, this is all about worship. 41:37 And who are we going to serve? 41:39 So now what you have, this image of the beast comes along. 41:43 So you have this first beast, you know, your sea beast, 41:46 your earth beast. 41:47 I keep going over this again. 41:49 But then your image to the beast is fueled by Christians. 41:54 Now, fueled by Christians. 41:57 That shouldn't be happening, right? 41:59 Protestants who claim to be Protestants. 42:02 But they're not Protestants. 42:03 So that's why it says, deceived. 42:05 And the whole world was deceived or wondered, 42:08 the whole world wondered after the beast. 42:10 So this not a single thing. 42:12 This is a counterfeit from the devil, 42:16 saying that, "You know what?" 42:18 It started in heaven. 42:19 "I want to be like the Most High God." 42:21 And he couldn't be. 42:22 So because he had the pride, and because of all the sin 42:25 in his life, he was cast out. 42:28 And a third of the angels were cast down to this earth. 42:32 So Satan is still not happy. 42:33 He says, "Well I still want to be like the Most High. 42:37 So how can I do it? 42:38 I'll set up my own earthly kingdom. 42:40 Everyone will follow me. 42:42 So I have to show that I'm God. 42:45 And so how can I do that? 42:47 I will use religion. 42:49 I will have my own religion. 42:50 I will have a counterfeit religion. 42:52 But everybody who follows that really follows me." 42:56 So today it's about who you're going to serve. 42:59 Are we going to serve God or are we going to serve man? 43:02 So the image of the beast, an image is a likeness. 43:06 Like when I have MRI's, and they show it to me, 43:10 I'm not really looking at my insides. 43:12 Right? I have an x-ray. 43:14 I'm not really looking at my bones. 43:15 I'm looking at an image, right, to the bones. 43:19 So the image to the beast, it starts out lamb-like, 43:23 then it begins to speak. 43:25 When everything comes to a head, we'll put it like that, 43:28 is when church and state join back together. 43:32 And so that's exactly what we're seeing now. 43:35 For the mark of the beast to really take effect 43:38 is when we join together. 43:40 I'm going to let Ryan go ahead and take, 43:42 he has a lot of information. 43:43 I hope I didn't confuse you too much. 43:45 But this is such an amazing topic. 43:48 And hardly anyone teaches this. 43:50 I don't know of any other church really teaches the prophecy. 43:53 Do they? You all tell me. 43:55 The way that we teach it. 43:57 And the Bible explains itself. 43:59 As she said, this is not man's opinion. 44:01 Everybody says, "Well, I think this." 44:04 And, "I think that." 44:05 It doesn't make any difference honestly what you or me think. 44:07 It's, what does the Bible say? 44:09 And the Bible interprets itself in prophecy 44:12 between Daniel and Revelation. 44:14 And that's what makes this all so beautiful. 44:17 So when it really comes down to it, 44:18 when you hear everything that's said and done, 44:21 don't be discouraged about beasts and monsters, 44:23 and all of these things going out. 44:25 It's a matter of who am I going to serve. 44:27 And when we find out that keeping God's commandments 44:31 is a matter of worshiping the true God, 44:34 that's all we have to do is say, "Who am I going to serve today?" 44:36 Whichever we're born with, the human nature... 44:39 We're born with a spiritual nature and a physical nature. 44:43 Whichever one we feed the most is the one that's going to grow. 44:45 Right? So we can within us, in a sense, have a beastly power 44:49 that if we feed the secularism, then that's what will grow. 44:54 So today the choice is yours. And it's mine. 44:57 And I'm going to ask you to do that. 44:58 Say, "Lord, come into my heart. 45:00 Lord Jesus, come in today. Come in to stay. 45:02 Come into my heart, Lord Jesus." 45:03 So make the decision today. 45:05 Who am I going to serve? 45:06 Do I want to serve God and keep His commandments, 45:09 or do I want to be a part of false worship and be lost, 45:13 and receive that mark of the beast 45:15 that Ryan is going to tell us about. 45:17 Absolutely. 45:19 So yeah, there may be someone watching right now 45:21 that has never heard the truth of the mark of the beast. 45:23 So I would like to actually consider what is the 45:26 mark of the beast, what is it's identification, 45:29 what is it about? 45:30 And so we're going to talk about that right now. 45:32 And I want to first start with just simply 45:34 identifying what it is that we're actually talking about 45:37 when we talk about the mark of the beast. 45:38 Because many people take that phrase, the mark of the beast, 45:41 and kind of run it together in one big giant concept; 45:44 the mark of the beast. 45:45 And they don't really consider what it is that they're saying. 45:48 We're talking about the mark of 45:51 the first beast of Revelation 13. 45:53 Okay, and the reason why I say, the first beast, 45:55 obviously there's two beasts mentioned in Revelation 13. 45:58 But the first beast does not enforce the mark. 46:01 It is his mark. 46:03 It's actually the second beast of Revelation 13 46:06 that does the enforcing in the last days. 46:08 And that's where I want to take this now. 46:09 Right now in the book of Revelation 13, 46:12 we're going to start with verse 16. 46:14 And this is what the Bible says. 46:15 "He..." 46:17 And when it says, "He," it's talking about the second beast 46:19 of Revelation 13. 46:20 So this would be the American government 46:23 with the influence of Protestant America behind it. 46:26 Notice what it says here. 46:27 "He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, 46:30 free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand, 46:34 or on their foreheads, and that no one 46:37 may buy or sell except one who has the mark, 46:39 or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." 46:43 And then it says right here, verse 18, 46:45 "Here is wisdom. 46:46 "Let him who has understanding calculate 46:48 the number of the beast, for it is the number 46:50 of a man: His number is 666." 46:53 Or six-hundred and sixty-six. 46:54 So I just want to say right out front, 46:57 I'll tell you want the mark of the beast is not. 47:00 And it's not the number 666. 47:02 I remember growing up, well when I was working 47:05 as a young man in a grocery store. 47:07 Many times I had to check someone out. 47:10 Whether I was behind someone in line 47:12 or I was the one checking them out, 47:14 I would hear people say all the time, they were coming through, 47:16 if I was checking them out and their price came to $6.66, 47:19 they would say, "Oh," and they would grab a piece of gum 47:21 and say, "Put a piece of gum on there. 47:23 That's the devil's number. I can't have that." 47:26 Or if their change was $6.66, they would say, 47:30 "Oh, keep a penny." 47:31 People are very superstitious about this number 666. 47:34 And really, the Bible tells us that it's simply the 47:36 identifying number of a man within this beastly system. 47:41 So in other words, it's actually identifying, 47:43 and I'm not going to give you the proof of this, 47:44 because I simply don't have the time, 47:46 but you do the research and you will find 47:48 that the number 666 actually points to the 47:50 identifying name or title of the Pontiff of Rome, 47:53 Vicarious Filii Dei. 47:55 It points to the power, the leadership 47:57 of this Roman papal church-state which represents the first beast 48:01 of Revelation 13. 48:03 Now someone might say, why should we study this? 48:06 Why is it important to know what the mark of the beast is. 48:08 I want to take us to Revelation 14:9-12. 48:11 Now we're going to talk about the first, second, 48:13 and third angels' messages in the weeks to come. 48:16 But I want to just simply establish the importance of 48:19 understanding the mark of the beast. 48:20 I'm going to start with verse 9 in Revelation 14. 48:23 Notice what the Bible says. 48:25 "Then a third angel followed them, 48:27 saying with a loud voice..." 48:28 And the Greek word there, it's interesting, megalófonos. 48:32 - What does that sound like? ~ Megaphone. 48:34 What does a megaphone do? 48:35 It amplifies sound, it projects sound. 48:38 And so this is a, he's saying it with a loud voice. 48:40 God wants us to know this truth about the mark of the beast 48:43 and this beast that we're studying. 48:45 And it says here, "...saying with a loud voice, 48:47 'If anyone worships the beast and his image, 48:49 and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 48:53 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, 48:57 which is poured out full strength into the 48:59 cup of His indignation. 49:01 He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone 49:03 in the presence of the holy angels 49:05 and in the presence of the Lamb.'" 49:07 And so we see there that the result of one ultimately 49:12 rejecting God's mark. 49:14 To receive the mark of the beast is obviously the consequence of 49:19 receiving the full wrath of God. 49:21 This is perhaps one of the strongest, if not the strongest, 49:24 warning given to us in all the Bible, 49:26 in association with worshiping this beast 49:29 and receiving the mark of the beast. 49:31 Now when it talks about receiving it in the hand 49:34 or the forehead, we get questions about that. 49:36 And I just want to talk about this very briefly. 49:38 I want to go to Exodus 13:9. 49:42 We're talking about what the mark of the beast is. 49:44 What is it about? What is it associated with? 49:47 I actually want to point us to Exodus 13:9. 49:51 I'm going to read something here, and then we're going to 49:54 further solidify our point. 49:56 Exodus 13:9 says, "It shall be a sign to you 50:00 upon your," notice, "hand and as a memorial between your eyes..." 50:07 So this is the region of the forehead. 50:09 "...that the Lord's..." What's that word there? 50:11 "...the Lord's law may be in your mouth." 50:15 Notice how the subject of this particular sentence 50:18 or this particular text is the Lord's law. 50:21 Now go back to Revelation 14 where we just came from. 50:24 I want you to notice, the very ending portion 50:26 of the third angel's message says, 50:28 "Here is the patience of the saints; 50:30 here are those that keep the commandments of God 50:33 and the faith of Jesus." 50:35 What Christ is actually giving us here in this particular 50:37 text of the third angel's message, which I know 50:39 we're going to expound on more thoroughly, 50:41 is you actually see a differentiation between a 50:43 group of people who will receive the mark of the beast, 50:47 and then the saints who will inherit the kingdom of God 50:50 who keep the commandments of God. 50:51 And I'm going to tell you, my friends, 50:53 there's truth to this, and the fact that 50:56 I think we're given the clear clue here 50:58 that the mark of the beast is directly associated 51:01 with the Ten Commandments, the law of God, 51:04 in some way, form, or fashion. 51:05 We saw that right here in Revelation 14:12. 51:07 Exodus 13:9 talking about upon the hand 51:11 a memorial between the eyes. 51:12 What's the root word of, memorial? 51:14 ~ Memory. - Memory. 51:15 Okay, so I want you to notice, a lot of symbolism. 51:18 Okay, and I'm rambling fast here. 51:20 But these words, hand and forehead. 51:22 The mark of the beast to be received upon the forehead 51:24 and on the hand, or in the forehead or in the hand. 51:26 We know that this is a symbol of something. 51:29 Exodus 13:9 kind of gives us an understanding 51:32 of the forehead region or the forehead portion, 51:35 because we know that the root word of, memorial, is, memory. 51:39 God doesn't want us etching the Ten Commandments 51:41 or His law into our skull or to the skin of our forehead. 51:44 That's not going to do us any good. 51:46 But what if we have it in our minds and in our hearts? 51:48 In fact, the new covenant is mentioned in Hebrews 8:10. 51:52 It says, "I will put My laws in their mind 51:54 and write them in their hearts." 51:55 So it does us no good to have it on, 51:57 necessarily literally, on the forehead or on the hand, 52:01 but rather it's symbolic of something. 52:03 The forehead represents the mind. 52:05 God want us to remember, to have His law in our heart and mind, 52:09 because that reflects His character. 52:11 Notice the hand, Ecclesiastes 9:10. 52:14 "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." 52:18 The hand is a symbol of action or duty, 52:21 or some type of a will of a man. 52:25 And putting forth action, your faith into action. 52:28 And so there's two ways you can receive that mark. 52:31 Now I want to go into, in the last few minutes I have here, 52:34 to identify directly what the mark of the beast is. 52:37 Because we know it's associated directly with the law of God. 52:40 But I'm going to go a little deeper. 52:42 Because inside the Ten Commandments, 52:44 obviously, there is a commandment where God 52:47 specifically identifies His mark. 52:51 Okay, mark, sign, seal; you're going to find 52:54 all these words in Scripture. 52:56 Mark, sign, seal. 52:57 They are all synonyms and they mean, for the most part, 53:00 the same thing across the board. 53:01 If you're talking about the mark of the beast, 53:03 you're talking about the sign of the beast, 53:04 or the seal of the beast. 53:07 In fact, right there in Exodus, we just read it earlier, 53:09 right there in Exodus 13:9, where it says, 53:12 "It shall be a sign unto to you upon your hand 53:14 and a memorial between your eyes." 53:15 That word, sign, there in the original Hebrew 53:18 is the Hebrew word, "oth." 53:20 And guess what it also can mean. 53:21 Mark. 53:23 You can literally take the word, mark, and put it right there. 53:24 "It shall be a mark unto you..." 53:26 So God has a mark, and we know that Satan is a counterfeiter. 53:31 He's going to take... 53:32 First of all, the devil doesn't have an original idea. 53:35 In case you guys want to know that. 53:36 I just need to communicate that. 53:38 The devil is not an original thinker. 53:40 He gets all of his ideas from God. 53:42 He takes what God has and he counterfeits it. 53:46 And so he takes God's mark and he says, 53:48 "If God has a mark, I'm going to have a mark." 53:50 And we know that if God's sign is within the law of God, 53:53 what specifically is that? 53:55 And really quickly, the sign of God, the seal of God, 53:58 of His authority is none other than His Sabbath commandment 54:01 which is found, we can find proof of this in Exodus 31:13. 54:05 It says, "Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, 54:08 for it is a sign," or mark, that's the word, oth, 54:11 "between Me and you throughout your generations..." 54:13 Also Ezekiel 20:12 and Ezekiel 20:20 tells us, 54:18 "Hallow My Sabbaths, that they may be a sign 54:21 between me and you, that you may know 54:22 that I'm your God and that I may know you're My people." 54:25 So God's sign, His seal, His mark 54:27 is His Sabbath commandment. 54:30 Then what's the opposite of that? 54:32 The devil says, "Well, if You've got Your day, 54:34 well I've got my day." 54:35 So now we see the issue, the final issue, 54:38 revolved around this whole mark of the beast concept, 54:41 my friends, is the fact that in the last days we are told 54:44 that the devil is going to counterfeit. 54:46 He's already counterfeited God's mark 54:48 through this beastly power. 54:49 What is the mark of the beast? It's the mark of the papacy. 54:53 What does the papacy claim as their mark? 54:55 Pastor John mentioned it earlier. 54:57 I'm going to read it to you. 54:59 Catholic Record, September 1, 1923. 55:01 "Sunday is our mark of authority. 55:04 The church is above the Bible; 55:06 this transference of Sabbath observance... 55:08 is proof of that fact." 55:10 So very quickly in closing. 55:12 For you to reject, my friends... 55:15 And I want to be clear about this. 55:16 What truly is the mark of the beast? 55:18 The mark of the beast is the rejection of God's 55:21 true biblical Sabbath to accept a counterfeit sabbath. 55:24 We can worship on Sunday. 55:26 God wants us to worship Him every day of the week. 55:28 But there's only one Sabbath. 55:30 To reject God's biblical Sabbath 55:32 and to accept a counterfeit sabbath, 55:35 that you will set yourself up to receive 55:38 the mark of the beast in the last days. 55:39 Thank you so much. 55:41 This has been such an excellent study. 55:43 I want to give everyone just a few seconds 55:45 to have a final thought. 55:47 I think God calls us to be accountable. 55:50 We're only accountable to the truth that we know 55:52 and that we understand. 55:54 So today, if you Hear His voice, do not harden your heart. 55:58 The devil doesn't have anything original. 56:01 He takes what is God's and tries to destroy it. 56:03 Revelation 12, God's woman was pure before 56:06 she went into the wilderness. 56:08 In the wilderness, he corrupted her. 56:11 That's why God had to raise up another people. 56:14 The remnant. 56:15 So let's be faithful to God and allow Him to raise up 56:19 in our hearts an allegiance to decide to serve Him 56:22 and not remain among those who are being corrupted. 56:26 And that God is love. 56:28 And that's the most important thing. 56:29 We read about all these things, and sometimes 56:32 that's why so many denominations and churches 56:34 won't even, you know, they don't even want to study it. 56:37 But we just have to understand that God is love. 56:41 I would just like to remind everyone, and myself, that 56:44 there's two camps of people in the last days. 56:46 The Bible makes it very clear. 56:47 Those who worship Him truly in spirit and in truth, 56:50 and those who do not. 56:52 And so Revelation 14:12 describes those saints. 56:55 "Here is the patience of the saints; 56:56 here are they that keep the commandments of God 56:59 and the faith of Jesus Christ." 57:01 Ah, thank you each and every one of you. 57:03 You know, once again I just want to remind you 57:06 that Revelation 1 tells us we are blessed if we read 57:11 and study this book. 57:12 So there is a special blessing in it because it is 57:15 the revelation of Jesus Christ. 57:18 And it is all about love. 57:20 Thank you for reminding us of that, Danny. 57:22 And as a matter of fact, I think next week 57:26 we certainly hope you'll be joining us for lesson number 10 57:29 about, God's Everlasting Gospel. 57:32 That is the foundation of the three angels' messages. 57:35 And how interesting, at the end of time 57:38 what we're going to be hearing is, if you don't receive the 57:41 mark of the beast, you can't buy and sell, 57:43 you're going to be killed. 57:44 But that counter proclamation comes around to say, 57:48 "No, no, no. Don't receive the mark. 57:50 Because if you do, you're going to lose out on eternal life." 57:54 So you will want to make sure and join us next week. 57:57 Thank you, and bye bye. |
Revised 2024-08-22