Participants: Pastor Kenneth Cox
Series Code: TOTE
Program Code: TOTE000009
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00:02 Can you believe it?
00:05 Can you build your faith on it? 00:08 The promises of God's Word are sure. 00:12 They do not fail. 00:17 This book has stood the test of time. 00:30 Heavenly Father, 00:32 Tonight as we take a look at this country that is 00:36 dear to each of us 00:40 we pray that You will give us the understanding that we need. 00:44 That we might see Your hand... 00:48 how You have guided and led. 00:53 That we might understand the blessings 00:57 that You have poured out. 01:00 We pray, Lord, that each one of us here tonight 01:04 may simply open our hearts to You... 01:10 follow the leading of Your Spirit. 01:12 That all of us may rejoice 01:16 in the salvation we find in Christ. 01:19 For this we pray in Your name, Amen. 01:29 There has never been a nation 01:32 in the history of mankind 01:35 that's been as blessed 01:38 as the United States of America. 01:40 Actually, this country has received 01:44 the blessing of God. Even Israel 01:50 in the height of the reign of David and Solomon 01:53 never saw the blessings 01:55 that you have had the privilege of seeing. 01:58 God has abundantly, marvelously 02:03 blessed this country. 02:04 God mentions nations primarily for two reasons. 02:10 He mentions them because of the influence they have 02:13 upon the world and secondly because of their effect upon 02:18 the people of God. 02:19 The United States is no different. 02:22 As we have looked at the scripture night after night, 02:25 it speaks of these different nations 02:28 in Revelation 17 verse 10, and it says: 02:46 And so as we have looked in God's Word 02:50 and we've looked at these beasts one after another, 02:53 we have found out that they represent different nations. 02:56 Remember we found out that Babylon of old 03:00 represented as the image... the head of the image... 03:04 Also as the lion in the scripture represented Babylon. 03:08 That's one head of the lion. 03:11 You remember then we came to Medo-Persia. 03:14 Medo-Persia was the arms and breasts of silver 03:17 on the image. And you remember as we studied 03:19 Daniel the 7th chapter 03:21 it was presented as a bear. 03:23 That is the second head. 03:24 And put it together, folks. 03:27 Babylon fell to Medo-Persia. 03:31 Babylon fell to Medo-Persia. 03:33 All right. Then came the country of Greece 03:36 represented on the image 03:38 as the belly and thighs of bronze. 03:41 And you remember 03:42 in Daniel the 7th chapter 03:44 it was presented as a leopard 03:46 that has 4 wings and 4 heads. 03:49 Represented the swiftness 03:51 with which Alexander the Great 03:52 took everything that was before him. 03:55 And then you remember we 03:56 came to the fourth kingdom: 03:58 the legs of iron, 04:01 represented in Daniel 7 04:03 as a dragon. 04:05 Pagan Rome 04:07 ruled that period of time. 04:09 And then you remember we came 04:11 to a fifth beast in Revelation the 13th chapter 04:15 as a non-descript beast that I am going to be saying 04:18 a little more about tonight. 04:20 We'll talk about it in reference to our subject tonight. 04:24 And then you remember if you were with me the other night 04:26 we talked about the sixth beast. 04:29 And that sixth beast was that of atheism 04:32 or communism that rose - you remember - 04:36 and came in when Napoleon came in and overthrew... 04:39 overthrew the papal power. 04:44 And then you remember after that we came to 04:47 our subject for tonight. 04:51 That's what we're looking at tonight. 04:53 Now, as we take a look at that 04:55 it tells us this very clearly in Revelation 17 and verse 10: 05:06 So it says that this seventh beast that you and I 05:09 are going to look at tonight 05:11 that when he comes he must "continue a short time. " 05:16 OK. So we want to put that together and see exactly 05:20 what the scripture is saying about it. 05:21 Now you remember when we studied this beast in 05:24 Revelation the 13th chapter - this non-descript beast 05:27 that had seven heads, ten horns - 05:30 we identified that as the papal power. 05:34 Because it makes it very clear in scripture and in history 05:38 that the papal power fell to pagan Rome... 05:41 or pagan Rome fell to the papal power. 05:44 OK. I want to put things in a time sequence 05:50 for us tonight so that you can see exactly 05:52 how this fits together. 05:54 So we're going to go to Revelation 13 05:56 and let's read a few texts here. 05:58 It says here in Revelation 13:1: 06:16 So this is this non-descript beast that rose up 06:20 out of the sea that we identified 06:22 and we gave you eight points of identification 06:25 that the scripture identifies without any question of a doubt 06:28 as that of papal Rome. 06:44 And you remember as we studied that 06:46 we found that papal Rome got its power, its seat, 06:49 and its authority from that of pagan Rome. 06:52 OK. That all took place step by step. 06:56 Now as we continue, watch what happens here 07:02 because it says in verse 10: 07:20 So the scripture is saying clearly 07:22 that this beast in Revelation 13 07:25 which was that of the papal power 07:28 it said that it took people into captivity, 07:30 it would go into captivity. 07:32 It said that it killed with the sword 07:34 therefore it would be killed with the sword. 07:36 And we find out that Napoleon... 07:40 Napoleon is wanting to control Europe. 07:43 But Napoleon knows that he cannot control Europe 07:47 unless he can break the back of the papal power. 07:50 So Napoleon on February the 15th 07:55 1798 sent his general, Berthier, 07:58 into Rome 08:00 in which he overthrew 08:01 the papal power 08:03 and as history says 08:04 he established a secular one. 08:07 OK, you with me? 08:09 Now, I want you to watch very, very carefully 08:14 because this is the 1st beast of Revelation 13. 08:18 But in that 13th chapter is a second beast 08:22 that it says this about it. 08:24 Revelation 13 verse what? 11. 08:28 I just read to you verse 10 that says: 08:31 "He that goeth into captivity 08:33 or leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity. 08:36 He that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. " 08:39 That is verse 10. Verse 11 reads this way: 08:51 So what it is saying here 08:54 is just as this one beast in Revelation 13 08:59 is going down... going into captivity... 09:02 he said: "I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. 09:08 He had two horns like a lamb, spake as a dragon. " 09:11 What I am trying to tell you tonight, dear friend, 09:14 is there is only one power on the face of the whole earth 09:18 that fits that time sequence. No other power does. 09:22 I don't care how much you want to talk about it, 09:25 you can take God's Word and there is only one nation, 09:29 one power, that will fit that time sequence... 09:32 and none other. 09:33 You watch very carefully. 09:36 Napoleon sent his general, Berthier, into Rome 09:39 on February 15, 1798 09:42 and that power, the non-descript beast, 09:46 the first beast of Revelation 13 09:48 went into captivity. 09:50 Watch what happens now. 09:52 As this beast here... as this beast in Revelation 13 09:57 is going into captivity 09:59 the scripture says this beast is coming up. 10:03 "I saw another beast rising out of the earth. " 10:08 Are you acquainted with a man by the name of John Wesley? 10:12 Do you know who I'm talking about? 10:14 You know who I'm talking about 10:16 if I'm talking about John Wesley? 10:17 John Wesley is basically the one 10:19 that started the Methodist Church. 10:21 A great preacher. 10:23 A great preacher of righteousness. 10:25 John Wesley, as he studied the scripture... 10:28 and he studied particularly the books of Daniel 10:30 and Revelation... John Wesley would make notes about it. 10:34 I don't know... just wrote it on pieces of paper... notes. 10:38 And when John Wesley died 10:40 they gathered all those notes up and published them. 10:44 And so you can buy a book called Notes on Revelation 10:48 by John Wesley. 10:50 When you read what John Wesley has to say about these 2 beasts 10:54 that we're looking at tonight 10:55 I want you to notice something very interesting 10:58 because this is what John Wesley says. 11:03 Now John Wesley is saying that second beast of Revelation 13, 11:08 the two horned beast, is not yet come... 11:22 He said it can't be very far off 11:25 because he's to appear at the end of the forty-two months 11:29 of the first beast. The 42 months of the 1st beast 11:32 came to an end when, friends? 11:34 1798 AD. 11:36 Did you notice when John Wesley wrote this? 11:40 1754 AD. 11:44 1754 AD John Wesley wrote: "Can't be very far off 11:48 because he's got to come at the end of the forty-two months 11:52 of the first beast. " In other words, John Wesley 11:55 understood what God's Word was saying. He was right there. 11:59 He knew what was taking place. 12:01 So just exactly as one was going down 12:06 the other one, scripture says, was going to come up. 12:09 Watch... 12:11 for you remember trouble has developed 12:17 between the colonies and England. 12:19 England has not given to our forefathers 12:25 the right to govern as they would like to govern. 12:30 And you remember they decided they wanted to be 12:33 an independent nation. Do you remember that? 12:37 Huh? And so they wrote up something called 12:40 the Declaration of Independence. 12:46 Remember that? You remember our forefathers 12:48 our forefathers came over to this country looking for 12:53 a place where they could worship as they pleased... 12:56 where they could build a new life. 12:59 And those people were called pilgrims. 13:04 And they came over here and they landed at a place called 13:07 Plymouth Rock. 13:09 You remember they moved there on Plymouth Rock. 13:13 Now if you don't think that God had a hand in this 13:16 let me share something with you. 13:18 If you ever get the opportunity you should go 13:22 up to Plymouth and go there and take a look. 13:25 They've rebuilt the village there where the people lived. 13:29 And when you go in and talk to them 13:30 you can only talk to them about things back then 13:33 which is most interesting. 13:35 But by the way, you remember there was another town 13:39 that was established here in this country. 13:41 You know what the name of it was? 13:43 Jamestown. 13:46 Jamestown completely was wiped out 13:52 three times. 13:53 So how was it that Plymouth Rock was able to make it 13:57 is because when those people got off of the ship, 13:59 folks, they found buildings there with food in them 14:05 and nobody living there. 14:08 Talking about the hand of God and what He did. 14:12 The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock when? 14:16 1620 AD. 14:19 1620 they landed at Plymouth Rock 14:22 and they began to set up their livelihood; they began to build. 14:26 And then as it developed, 14:29 as I mentioned, England was not giving them the right to rule 14:33 like they thought they ought to be able to. 14:35 And so we decided that we wanted to be an independent nation 14:39 and we drew up the Declaration of Independence. 14:42 When? 14:50 Are you putting things together? 14:52 1776 you have the Declaration of Independence. 14:56 1789 you have the Bill of Rights. 15:02 1791 you have the Bill of Rights adopted. 15:07 1798 that first beast goes into captivity 15:13 and you have another nation rising. 15:16 Dear friend, there's not another power, 15:19 not another nation on earth that fits that time sequence. 15:23 Only the United States. 15:25 So as this one is coming up out of the earth... 15:30 Now this text that we've read in Revelation the 13th chapter 15:34 and verse 11 is a very important one 15:36 and it has a lot of information in it. 15:38 And it says this: 15:50 Had two horns like a lamb, right? 15:55 Now you see, all the beasts that we've been studying about 16:00 they came up out of the what? 16:02 Huh? Out of water! 16:05 But this beast is coming up out of the earth. 16:08 And we read here... in Revelation the 17th chapter 16:12 and verse 15 it says: 16:23 These... one beast after another rose up out of 16:28 a revolution or war. That's the way they came into being. 16:33 Now all of a sudden we have a beast that is coming up 16:36 out of the earth. 16:39 You see this country... this country came into existence 16:44 just exactly like it says on the Statue of Liberty. 16:48 The Statue of Liberty has this to say about it: 17:11 That's exactly how this country was settled. 17:14 Your forefathers, my forefathers... 17:18 they came over to this country and they settled it. 17:21 That's why it says that it "rose up out of the earth. " 17:25 It wasn't the result of a revolution among the people. 17:29 It was because they came over here 17:30 and they settled this country. Moved here 17:33 because they wanted to be able to worship 17:35 and they wanted to be able to rule 17:37 as they thought they ought to be able to. 17:39 That's why the scripture says 17:41 that it "rose up out of the earth. " 17:43 Then again in Revelation 13 verse 11 it says: 17:59 You see, in the Bible 18:01 horns on a beast represent the source of power. 18:07 Sometimes those horns have crowns on them 18:12 meaning that that particular power would be ruled by 18:15 a monarch. Sometimes they don't have crowns on them 18:18 and so those horns just represent the type of power 18:23 that it's based on. 18:24 This country was established on two principles. 18:28 Two principles. 18:31 Our forefathers came over here 18:34 and they said "we want government by the people, 18:38 for the people, and through the people. " 18:42 They said this is the kind of government that we want. 18:45 That was one principle 18:46 upon which our country was established. 18:49 The other principle that our country was established upon 18:52 was that that they would give to every man and every woman 18:56 the right to worship 18:57 according to the dictates of their conscience. 19:00 And those were the 2 principles that this country was built on 19:04 was that was that we would have a country... 19:07 They said: "We want a country without a king. 19:10 We want government by the people. " 19:13 I don't know what you learned when you went to school, 19:17 but when I was going to school 19:20 they told me that the reason our forefathers rebelled 19:25 against England was over taxation. 19:30 Is that what you were told? 19:32 Didn't you read about the Boston Tea Party? 19:35 Yeah, they said that you know... the taxation was heavy. 19:39 Have you ever gone back and read the taxation 19:42 back then? Huh? 19:44 Have you ever done that? 19:45 You ought to. It's very interesting. 19:47 Man, I would accept it today with open arms 19:50 I can tell you for sure. 19:52 Gladly. But I want you to listen. 19:54 This is what our forefathers tell us was the problem. 19:57 I don't know if you've ever read about a man by the name 20:00 of Josiah Quincy. 20:01 But Josiah Quincy is also one of those that signed 20:04 the Declaration of Independence. 20:06 And this is what he had to say: 20:15 Are you seeing the two principles 20:17 that our country was established upon? 20:35 Those were the two principles upon which our country 20:38 was established, and England was not giving the right 20:42 to govern as they should 20:43 and it was not giving the right to worship as they wanted to. 20:47 And thus they said: "We will have our own country. " 20:49 You remember another man by the name of Patrick Henry? 20:54 You remember him? 20:56 Do you remember what he said? 20:59 "Give me liberty or give me death. " 21:03 What else did he say? 21:06 Nobody ever knows. 21:08 They know that and that's it. 21:10 I want to read to you what Patrick Henry had to say. 21:40 You see this is the problem: 21:41 England was not giving them the right 21:44 to govern as the felt they wanted to govern 21:46 and England was not giving them the right to 21:48 worship like they felt they should be able to worship. 21:50 And they said: "No, we won't do this. 21:53 We'll have our own nation. " 22:04 Those were the two principles 22:06 upon which this nation was established. 22:10 Those two principles, dear friends, 22:12 have held us in good stead down through the years, 22:15 and God help us if we give them up. 22:19 Stand on those two principles. 22:22 But it goes on, speaking of this two-horned beast, 22:25 and it says: 22:40 Now, when you pick up God's Word 22:45 and you begin to study it, 22:47 what does a lamb represent? Hmmm? 22:53 In the Bible, what does the lamb represent? 22:57 Well let's look. 22:58 This is kind of what it tells us it represents. 23:01 I Peter the 1st chapter verse 19: 23:15 You see, it represents Jesus Christ. 23:18 Revelation 5 verse 12: 23:29 In the Bible, a lamb represents Jesus. 23:32 And when it says that this beast that rose up out of the earth 23:35 had two horns like a lamb 23:37 it meant that it would be young, 23:39 it meant that it would be gentle, 23:41 but it also meant that it would be Christ-like. 23:44 You see, our forefathers that came over here 23:47 were God-fearing men and women. 23:50 They believed in the Word of God, 23:53 and they built this nation and established it 23:55 upon Biblical principles. 23:57 And dear friend, tonight if you go to Washington, DC 24:01 and you walk through the halls of Congress, 24:03 and you visit the Senate, and walk through the Capitol, 24:06 you'll find God written everywhere. 24:09 You can walk through the park and everywhere 24:11 because our forefathers were God-fearing men and women 24:15 and they believed in God 24:17 and they took their stand there. 24:21 When the war took place between the United States and England, 24:29 that revolution was so hard on the colonies 24:35 that it separated all of them. 24:38 I mean, it separated the communication 24:41 between the colonies. 24:43 And you may not have realized it, friends, 24:45 but that war bankrupted every one of the colonies. 24:49 I mean just totally bankrupted them. 24:51 And each one of the colonies felt like that they had 24:55 lost everything and they had put everything into the war 24:59 and they couldn't communicate with the other colonies. 25:02 And so they felt like that they had borne 25:06 the weight of the war themselves. 25:09 So when the war was over 25:12 and they called a Constitutional Congress 25:16 and delegates came from the 13 colonies, 25:20 when they arrived they were not in any 25:27 frame of mind to get along. 25:29 They got in argument after argument after argument 25:33 until finally the delegation from New York went home. 25:36 And it looked like that whole Constitutional Congress 25:40 was going to fall apart 25:42 when a little man wearing glasses 25:47 stood up. And he had this to say: 26:19 I'm talking about these were God-fearing men and women 26:22 and when they were in the midst of that conflict 26:25 they had daily prayer... 26:52 And with that speech, Benjamin Franklin 26:55 was able to congeal that whole congregational... 26:59 that whole Constitutional Congress. 27:01 And those men sat down and they wrote 27:04 one of the greatest documents that has ever been written 27:08 by man. 27:10 Why? Because they were God- fearing men and women. 27:16 They believed in the Lord. 27:18 That's why the beast is lamb-like. 27:22 Even when they came to electing the first president 27:27 of this country and George Washington stood 27:31 and gave his inaugural address 27:34 I want you to listen to a few paragraphs from it. 28:24 So he said if there's any people on earth 28:27 that ought to be aware of God and what God has done 28:32 it's the people of the United States. 28:49 He said: "Every step that we made 28:52 there was evidence there always of what God was doing. " 29:12 You see, they were men and women that believed 29:18 in God. They were men and women 29:20 who believed in the Word of God. 29:22 And they built this nation on principles - Christian 29:25 principles. That's why it says that it was lamb-like. 29:31 Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. 29:37 I wish tonight that it did. 29:39 I wish that it just stopped right there 29:42 and I didn't have to say any more. 29:44 But that text in Revelation the 13th chapter 29:47 and verse 11 ends up by saying this: 30:02 Now folks, if the lamb... If the lamb represents Jesus, 30:08 who does the dragon represent? 30:11 Yeah, just the opposite. 30:14 Just the opposite. 30:16 Now if you... If you don't understand 30:19 what's been happening for the last 20-25 years, 30:24 then I would tell you tonight that we're in the process 30:29 of it changing character. 30:32 That's what's going on. 30:34 That it is moving from that of a lamb 30:38 to the place that it will "speak as a dragon. " 30:43 Now, nations are very much like men. 30:48 You see, nations are built on the wisdom and the might 30:52 of man. That's how they're built. 30:55 And because nations are built on the wisdom and the might 30:58 of men, nations rise and they go down. 31:01 That's the way all of them do. 31:04 Almost every nation that has ever come into existence 31:08 has come into existence out of bondage. 31:13 We were in bondage to England. 31:15 That's where we were. 31:18 You can find that Russia right tonight is just coming out 31:23 of bondage that she was in bondage to Communism 31:26 for 70 years. 31:28 But always out of bondage comes spiritual faith. 31:34 That always comes. 31:36 Our forefathers felt they were in bondage 31:39 and they began to pray and they began to seek God. 31:43 That God would hear their prayer and would open up the way. 31:48 And always, always out of spiritual faith 31:52 comes, my friends, courage. 31:55 Like Patrick Henry said: 31:58 "Listen, if I can't worship as I want to worship, 32:02 if I can't follow God, 32:04 if we cannot govern like we think we ought to govern, 32:08 then give me liberty or give me death. " 32:11 Great courage, and they stand up and they say: 32:15 "This is what we are going to do. " 32:19 You find much of that happening in Russia today. 32:23 Spiritual faith. There has been a tremendous revival 32:28 across Russia to God. 32:31 And out of that has come spiritual faith 32:34 and out of that has grown courage. 32:37 And out of courage always comes liberty. 32:43 Dear friend, let me tell you something. 32:45 There's no place on earth 32:47 where this Word has been preached... 32:51 where people have gone in 32:54 and they have taught the people the Word of God 32:56 and people have accepted the Word of God, 32:59 that there hasn't developed courage. 33:01 And out of that has come liberty. 33:04 No place on earth where that hasn't happened. 33:06 God's Word always, always brings liberty. 33:13 And out of liberty... out of liberty always 33:18 comes abundance. 33:20 You have had the privilege 33:25 of living in a society where there has been an abundance. 33:30 You go down to the store... 33:32 there is an infinite amount of choices. 33:36 I mean, not just in different items 33:40 but tremendous amount of choices concerning one particular item. 33:45 Because there is an abundance... and you've lived 33:49 in a time of abundance. God has marvelously blessed you. 33:55 I mean beyond what you and I can even imagine. 34:00 And if you don't think He hasn't, 34:02 then you need to travel a little bit. 34:06 Just need to go in some other places of the world 34:09 and you'll understand very clearly 34:11 that God has blessed you abundantly. 34:14 Unfortunately... you would think 34:19 that when people are blessed 34:21 and people are given so much that God has given 34:24 you would think that their heart would overflow with generosity 34:28 and they would give. 34:30 But unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. 34:34 Out of abundance comes selfishness. 34:39 Instead of giving... they keep. 34:45 Instead of sharing, they hoard. 34:49 Completely different thing. 34:51 Now dear friends, what I'm trying to tell you tonight - 34:53 and you be the judge - 34:55 I want to ask you: do you think 34:57 that the United States is going up this side 35:03 or do you think she's coming down on the other side? 35:08 You see, out of selfishness... 35:12 because we're selfish and we don't share and we don't give, 35:16 out of that grows compliance. 35:19 Just... just going to go along. 35:22 Do you ever hear somebody say: 35:24 "Ahh, you can't beat city hall. " 35:29 "Just go along with it. You're not going to change anything. " 35:35 Compliance. 35:37 And out of compliance - just being willing to go along, 35:41 not willing to stand up and be counted, 35:44 not willing to make any kind of waves - 35:46 out of that always comes apathy. 35:51 Always. 35:53 Just saying, you know: "Don't disturb me. " 35:59 "Don't get me out of my comfort zone. " 36:02 "I want to be right here. 36:04 Leave me alone. Things are real good; 36:07 I don't want to be bothered. " 36:09 And thus we have apathy. 36:12 And out of apathy always comes dependence. 36:19 Always comes dependence. 36:23 See, 96% 36:29 of all of you here in this room 36:32 will retire dependent upon the United States government. 36:39 Dependent. 36:42 And out of dependency 36:46 always comes bondage. 36:49 And so we make a great circle: 36:54 we go from bondage into bondage. 36:58 And when it says that this beast would speak as a dragon, 37:03 then dear friend, this is what brings about 37:07 the beast speaking as a dragon. 37:12 There's another man that signed your 37:17 Declaration of Independence... 37:19 you may not be acquainted with him. 37:20 His name was Alexander Tyler. 37:23 He made a statement that's tremendously important. 37:27 I want you to listen to the statement that he made: 37:47 Why not? Let's see why it can't. 38:00 The moment the people understand 38:03 that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury 38:09 democracy is headed downhill. 38:11 Listen to this statement because we're right 38:13 in the middle of an election. 38:16 Right? You want to see something? 38:18 Watch this carefully: 38:31 So you want to take a look at the candidates 38:33 and you want to see which one's going to promise you 38:35 the most and that's the one you're going to vote for. 38:37 Say: "Oh, he'll give me more. I'll vote for him. " 38:44 And simply by doing that 38:47 you're sending your nation downhill. 39:05 The nation, you see, wrecks itself financially. 39:09 And the only way it can be brought out of that 39:12 is by dictatorship. 39:22 You and I have had the blessing of going a little longer 39:26 than 200 years. 39:28 OK? So we find ourselves with this nation 39:32 that rose... that was lamb-like 39:35 we find it now speaking as a dragon. 39:52 Watch... watch very carefully 39:55 because God is now going to show you what's going to happen, 39:59 friends. He's going to show you exactly what's going to happen. 40:04 And let me tell you something. 40:05 This book hasn't failed 40:08 and it's not going to fail in the future. 40:11 And when God says: "This is going to happen, " 40:14 you'd better rest assured it's going to take place 40:17 just as God said it would. 40:21 You remember a president called Richard Nixon? 40:23 Huh? You know who he is, don't you? 40:26 You remember him? 40:27 He wrote a book called Seize the Moment. 40:31 Not too concerned about the title... 40:35 it's the subtitle that I want you to look at. 40:37 The subtitle says this: 40:39 America's Challenge in a One-Superpower World. 40:47 You see, when Communism fell 40:50 all of a sudden the United States found itself 40:53 as a superpower unchallenged. 40:58 How are we as a nation relating to that? 41:05 South Bend Tribune - newspaper - this is what it reported: 41:37 In other words, the United States says: 41:40 "We are a superpower 41:43 and we're not going to let any other nation rise 41:47 to rival us. " 41:49 In other words, the scripture says 41:52 that she will speak "as a dragon. " 41:58 She will "speak as a dragon. " 42:03 And that's where we are... now watch 42:06 because the scripture's going to help you 42:09 put some things together. 42:10 Revelation... we're still in the 13th chapter... 42:13 we're looking at verse 14. 42:15 Watch very carefully what it says: 42:29 Now this is talking about the two-horned beast, 42:32 and it says that it was able to do certain things 42:35 in sight of this first beast. 42:38 OK? Which was the non-descript beast that had seven heads 42:42 and two horns... I mean seven heads and ten horns. 42:45 Watch: 42:56 Now it says that this first beast - the one that went down, 43:00 led into captivity - it was wounded by the sword 43:05 and it what? It lived... 43:07 And therefore it says this two-horned beast 43:10 is going to make an image to it. 43:12 Well, that first beast we found out to be 43:16 papal Rome. 43:19 That first beast - that two-horned beast - 43:21 was papal Rome. Not the two-horned beast... 43:24 Excuse me... the beast with seven heads, ten horns. 43:27 The first beast of Revelation 13 43:29 that was papal Rome. 43:31 And it says that this two-horned beast that we're studying 43:33 tonight is going to make an image to that beast. 43:37 Now I want to ask you something. 43:39 If it's going to make an image... 43:42 If you're going to make an image of a dog, 43:46 you make it look like a cat, right? 43:50 Huh? If you're going to make an image of a dog, 43:53 you make it look like what? A dog! 43:56 OK. So it says that this beast is going to make an image 44:00 to this other beast. The papal power stood for what? 44:05 What made it the papal power? 44:07 It made it the papal power because it was a union 44:11 of church and state. 44:12 It was a religio-political power. 44:15 So therefore it says that if this country is going to make 44:18 an image to it, you've got to have church 44:20 and state coming together. 44:23 Watch... 44:25 because it says that this beast here 44:28 is going to make an image to this beast. 44:32 OK? 44:38 Watch what's beginning to develop. 44:40 This is a statement taken from the Moral Majority. 44:44 This is what they have to say: 44:54 Separation of church and state they say is a dangerous concept. 45:13 Well, true enough. 45:16 The words separation of church and state 45:18 are not in our Constitution. 45:20 But that doesn't mean that separation of church and state 45:23 is a dangerous concept. 45:25 At least our forefathers didn't think it was. 45:28 It goes on and says: 45:39 So it says that we, as a nation, 45:43 need to bring church and state together. 45:46 Let me read you another one. It says: 45:56 I'm trying to tell you that there are moves today 46:00 to bring church and state together. 46:03 Another statement, W. A. Chriswell. He said: 46:15 And today there are many things happening 46:20 trying to bring church and state together. 46:23 I don't know if you've read this book called 46:25 After the Revolution by Ralph Reed - 46:27 Ralph Reed was the head of Christian Coalition - 46:31 in which he said we need to bring church and state together. 46:37 In fact, this is a statement that he made: 46:57 In other words, church today 47:01 is becoming more involved. Now let me explain something. 47:05 This was a problem with our forefathers. 47:08 Our forefathers came over here. 47:11 They were looking for a place 47:12 where they could worship as they wanted to. 47:14 They were God-fearing men and women 47:16 and they came over and they settled this country. 47:19 And when they settled it, they built it 47:21 on Christian principles. 47:22 And so when they got to putting together the Constitution 47:26 there was some of them that said: 47:28 "If you're not Christian, you can't vote. " 47:31 And there was a real movement 47:34 in our country to try to exclude 47:37 anybody who was not a Christian from voting. 47:42 And our president, James Madison, fought that. 47:46 And I mean he fought it hard. 47:49 And this is what he said. I want you to listen to what he said: 48:01 Said that was religious persecution... 48:09 You see, there was a bill introduced into Congress 48:12 to try to say that only Christians could vote. 48:33 He said: "We can't do this. " 48:35 And our forefathers put together a Constitution 48:39 that, folks, had balances and checks in it. 48:42 They put together a Constitution 48:44 so that you and I could have religious freedom 48:47 and at the same time to keep our country 48:50 based on Christian principles. 48:52 This is how they put together our country. 48:55 And I think they did a pretty good job of it. 48:58 I think you and I need to be very careful. 49:02 But listen. 49:03 This is still speaking of the two-horned beast. 49:06 Listen to what it says about him: 49:26 I've told you, any time... 49:29 Any time in history that a church 49:33 has taken over civil power 49:36 it has always persecuted. 49:39 Don't care what church that is. Always. 49:41 It says that this two-horned beast 49:44 had power to give what? 49:47 Breath to the image. 49:49 All right? Had breath... 49:52 If you give breath to something, what does that mean? 49:55 Huh? 49:58 Well, it means it came to life. 50:01 You've read the story of Pinocchio. 50:04 OK. Came to life! 50:06 Here he made an image of a boy 50:09 and breath was given and he came to life. 50:12 That's what it's saying here: that they made an image 50:14 to the beast and he had power to give breath to it 50:17 and it came to life. 50:20 And it says that he would cause it to speak - 50:26 all right - speak and cause... 50:31 Any time in God's Word, friend, 50:34 that you come across a beast 50:36 and it says concerning that particular beast 50:40 that it would speak... that means legislation. 50:45 That's what it's talking about. 50:47 Beasts represent powers, nations. 50:49 So when it says it speaks 50:51 that means it's going to legislate. 50:54 And any time it says cause 50:57 that means enforcement. 50:59 So the Bible is saying very clearly 51:02 in this dear country in which you and I live tonight 51:06 the day will come in which you will find 51:10 church will rule and there will be religious persecution. 51:16 That's what it's saying. 51:18 It says that we are approaching that... 51:21 that that day will come. 51:25 It will "speak as a dragon. " 51:29 You will have unification of church and state. 51:33 It would give life to the image to the beast. 51:36 That it would do things for that beast. 51:39 Is there anything happening that way today? 51:42 I hope dear friend that you're not just home 51:46 and you're letting some of these things pass by 51:49 and you're not understanding what's going on. 52:09 As a church? 52:12 No, as a state. 52:18 If you recognize them as a state, 52:21 you have unification of what? Church and state. 52:27 See? Definitely movements that way. 52:31 The United States... 52:35 probably blessed by God 52:39 like no other country has ever been blessed by God... 52:42 but it says that it will "speak as a dragon. " 53:04 In other words, when it speaks 53:07 as a dragon 53:11 it's only going to last a short time. 53:16 You and I are living right at the time 53:20 when the scripture says it's going to speak as a dragon. 53:24 You and I have had the privilege 53:28 of living in a great nation. 53:32 Fortunately, the wonderful thing about it is 53:36 is it's the seventh one. 53:40 We're going to look at the eighth one, 53:43 but it's all right down here at the end. 53:44 And at the end, it says that Jesus is going to come back. 53:49 It can't be far off. 53:51 Let me tell you, dear friend, 53:53 it won't be long. 53:57 It won't be long, 54:03 and we'll be leaving here. 54:10 It won't be long, 54:16 we'll be going home. 54:23 Count the years 54:26 as months. 54:30 Count the months as weeks. 54:37 Count the weeks as days. 54:44 We'll be going 54:48 home. 55:01 Let us pray. 55:03 Heavenly Father, tonight 55:06 as we've looked at this great nation... 55:09 one in which You have blessed in a very special way. 55:15 Lord, tonight we would pray 55:19 for the president of our country. 55:21 Lord, when he's sitting there in the Oval Office 55:28 and he has to make a decision 55:31 and he's listened to all of the counsel 55:34 and doesn't know what he should do, 55:38 we pray, Lord, that he might turn to You. 55:42 That he might seek You 55:46 and what You would have him to do. 55:47 That you'll remember the Senators, 55:53 legislators, the governors of our country. 55:56 Give them wisdom; give them understanding. 56:00 But Lord, we pray that as people 56:03 that each one of us here might humble ourselves before You. 56:09 That we might seek You. 56:14 That You might heal our land. 56:17 That our lives may be committed to following You 56:23 in all that we do. 56:30 To obtain a copy of this program or for more information, 56:33 please write to: |
Revised 2014-12-17