Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: TOTE
Program Code: TOTE000023
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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 We ask that You will touch Your people once again. 00:33 Give us the Holy Spirit, Lord. 00:37 May we see Your love. 00:40 May we understand Your care for the church. 00:45 May we purpose in our hearts to follow You. 00:51 May the Holy Spirit be present tonight. 00:56 Take this stammering tongue 00:59 and may it be made clear 01:03 that each of us may have a place in Your kingdom 01:06 because we have given our hearts to You. 01:08 We pray in Christ's name, Amen. 01:18 The most beautiful creature 01:21 that God ever made on this world 01:25 was a woman. 01:28 When God created Eve she was perfect. 01:33 She was perfect in beauty. 01:36 She was perfect in figure. 01:38 She was perfect in temperament. 01:41 She was perfect in every way without question. 01:45 The crowning act of God's creation was the creation 01:50 of a woman. And it says this about her: 02:41 Without question when He made Eve - 02:44 made her to be a companion to Adam - 02:47 God, in His love and His mercy and His kindness, 02:52 created a very, very beautiful creature. 02:58 And then the scripture simply tells us that sin came in. 03:01 But when sin came in 03:04 and death... death passed upon the human race 03:08 even then women 03:12 retained their beauty for years. 03:16 I mean not just a little time but for a long, long time. 03:21 Listen to me: I'm coming now 2,000 years 03:27 from Eve... 2,000 years from Eve... 03:31 and I want you to listen to what it has to say 03:34 because it says this: 03:37 that Abraham and Sarah 03:42 are on their way to the land of Canaan. 03:45 Abraham is greatly concerned 03:49 and he's talking to his wife Sarah. 03:53 This is what he says to her: 04:05 Now Abraham's talking to his wife. 04:08 They're getting close to coming to Egypt. 04:10 He's worried. You know what he's worried about? 04:13 Huh? Do you know what he's worried about? 04:15 He's worried about his wife because she is beautiful. 04:21 "Indeed I know that you are a woman 04:24 of beautiful countenance. " And so he told her 04:27 "tell them that you're my sister. " 04:30 Do you know how old she is? 04:35 Do you have any idea how old she is when he's concerned? 04:39 Sixty-five years old. 04:44 Sixty-five years old and he's concerned. 04:47 Not like this woman in this picture, folks. 04:51 Sixty-five years old. Probably no wrinkles. 04:57 Absolutely gorgeous. 04:59 Said: "tell them you're my sister. " 05:01 Without question Esther was gorgeous; 05:05 Rebekah was beautiful. 05:09 God created women very, very beautiful. 05:14 And so when God got ready 05:18 to give us the scripture - 05:21 when He got ready to give us the Bible - 05:24 and He said: "I need something... I need something 05:29 in scripture to represent My church" 05:33 God reached out and took the crowning act of His creation 05:38 and said: "I'll us a woman to represent My church. " 05:43 "I'll use her to represent My church. " 05:46 And thus you find the scripture saying: 05:49 "I have likened the daughter of Zion... " That's the church. 05:59 And so you find that God speaks of His church 06:02 as His bride... talks about her as His bride. 06:37 Oh, that's how He presents His church. 06:41 And men, if you didn't catch on tonight 06:45 you should have just caught on 06:47 'cause God just told you how to love your wife. 06:51 If you didn't catch it, then you need to look carefully 06:55 because it says He presents His church how? 06:58 Without spot or without wrinkle or any such thing. 07:02 I'll guarantee you, if you can convince your wife 07:05 that she doesn't have a wrinkle or a spot or any such thing 07:08 she'll love you the rest of her life. 07:11 So that's how He presents the church: 07:14 beautiful... glorious. 07:22 So God just simply said "I'm going to take a woman 07:25 and this woman is going to represent My church. 07:28 And I'm going to come back after My bride. " 07:31 "And at midnight a cry was heard 07:33 'Behold the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet Him. ' " 07:37 So as you pick up God's Word 07:39 and you're studying prophecy 07:42 you're going to find that God uses a woman 07:45 to represent a church. 07:46 That will be all the way through the scripture in prophecy. 07:50 So, as God does that it says: 08:01 Now I want you to remember that 'cause were going to come back 08:03 to that. "Escape... " Isn't that what it says? 08:11 Watch as he goes on: 08:26 So the church is the apple of God's eye. 08:30 And He said to her: "Escape, you who dwell with the 08:34 daughters of Babylon. " We're going to be looking at 08:36 that comparison in scripture tonight because that is 08:39 extremely important that you and I understand 08:42 what it's talking about when it says: 08:43 "Escape, you who dwell with the daughters of Babylon. " 08:48 Unfortunately, as we went down through time 08:52 Israel wasn't altogether faithful to the Lord. 08:56 Many many times they went running off after other gods 09:00 and they went worshipping other gods. 09:02 And so you get to books in the Bible where God makes 09:05 this comparison. If you never understood the Song of Solomon, 09:09 well read it and understand it's talking about His love 09:12 for the church. But when you get to the book of Hosea 09:16 all of a sudden you get a strange combination there 09:21 because God tells the prophet Hosea 09:24 "I want you to go out and marry a prostitute. " 09:28 That's what He's telling him: "Go marry a prostitute. " 09:32 And Hosea went and married a woman by the name of Gomer. 09:36 Listen. This is what it says about it: 09:54 He said: "Go out and marry this harlot... 09:57 this prostitute. " 09:58 And so he went out and married Gomer... 10:00 but Gomer wouldn't be faithful. 10:03 She went running off and God would tell Hosea 10:07 "Go get her and bring her back home. " And Hosea would 10:09 go get her and bring her back home. 10:10 But she wouldn't stay home. She'd go running off again. 10:21 So it's making a comparison. He's using Hosea 10:24 saying: "This is the way the children of Israel were: 10:26 they went running off after other lovers. " 10:29 Hosea 3 verse 1: "Then the Lord said to me 10:33 'Go again. Love a woman who is loved by a lover 10:36 and is committing adultery. ' " 10:38 He said: "She's run off, Hosea. 10:40 Go get her. Bring her back home. 10:42 Care for her... love her. " 10:51 Said: "This is the love of the Lord for the 10:54 children of Israel. " 10:55 Over and over Israel was running off. 10:58 When you get to the New Testament 11:01 and into the books of like Revelation 11:04 God pictures a woman - a very beautiful woman - 11:08 standing on the earth. 11:14 This is what it has to say about this woman in Revelation 12. 11:26 So here she is. She's clothed with the sun, 11:29 the moon under her feet. 11:41 So it says that this woman is pregnant. 11:44 She's about ready to deliver... 11:47 about ready to give birth to the baby. 12:11 So it says that this great red dragon 12:13 standing before that woman ready to devour that Child 12:17 just as soon as it was born. 12:19 Let's see what this Child is 12:21 that she's going to give birth to. 12:32 So it says she gives birth to a boy. 12:35 Says He was to rule all nations with a rod of iron 12:38 and was caught up to God and to His throne. 12:40 Speaking of this woman, it says: 12:43 "Then the woman fled into the wilderness 12:48 where she hath a place prepared of God 12:51 that they should feed her there 1,260 days. " 12:56 So tonight we want to take a look. 12:59 We want to identify who is this woman. 13:01 We want to identify who the Child is. 13:03 We want to identify who the dragon is. 13:05 We want to put all that together. 13:07 This woman is clothed with the sun. 13:12 She has the moon under her feet. 13:15 On her head she has a crown or a garland of twelve stars. 13:20 This represents the church. 13:23 It's what it stands for. It represents the church. 13:26 The sun that she's clothed with represents the gospel 13:30 in all of its purity. 13:32 The moon that is under her feet represents the Old Testament 13:36 period that she's coming out of 13:38 and the garland or crown of twelve stars 13:42 represents the 12 apostles 13:44 that Christ has given the commission to take the gospel 13:47 to all the world. 13:48 There's a dragon... great red dragon. 13:53 That dragon is standing before that woman 13:56 ready to devour the Child as soon as it's born. 14:00 Let's see what it says about it: 14:12 So that dragon represents who? 14:14 The devil... what it represents here. 14:17 It says: "The old serpent, the devil... " 14:20 Standing before this woman ready to devour the Child 14:22 as soon as it was born. 14:51 Now folks, there has only been one Child that has ever been 14:55 born that was to rule all nations with a rod of iron 14:59 and that Child was Jesus Christ. 15:02 Only One that's ever been born that was caught up to God 15:06 and to His throne - OK? - was Jesus Christ. 15:10 So this prophecy is concerning Jesus Christ. 15:14 Now, I'm sure all of you here 15:20 have read or someone has told you 15:24 the Christmas story. 15:26 You've heard it enough to make the application 15:28 because you remember those wise men. 15:32 They followed a star and they followed that star 15:36 all the way to Jerusalem. 15:39 They have inquired all over the city for the Child. 15:43 It has upset the whole city so much so that Herod 15:47 has called them in and asked them who they're looking for. 15:50 And they said: "Well we're looking for this Child 15:52 that's to be born a King. " 15:54 And Herod called in the scribes and asked them 15:57 where the Child was to be born. And they said: 15:58 "Oh, He's to be born down in Bethlehem. " 16:01 Herod told those wise men to go on to Bethlehem 16:05 and when they had found the Child to come and tell him 16:08 that he might go and worship Him also. 16:11 Those wise men followed that star on down to Bethlehem 16:15 and there they found the Child. 16:17 And they worshiped Him. 16:19 They gave Him their gold, myrrh, frankincense. 16:25 Why? Why did they give Him those three gifts? 16:31 Do you know? 16:33 Why did they give Him gold 16:35 and frankincense and myrrh? 16:41 Well, they gave Him gold 16:43 because gold is a gift you give to a king. 16:47 They gave Him frankincense because that's an incense 16:50 that the priest uses and Jesus Christ was Priest. 16:55 And they gave Him myrrh because that's what's used in burial 17:00 and they gave Him that for His death. 17:04 They gave Him gold, myrrh, and frankincense. 17:07 But an angel told those wise men to go back 17:11 another way because Herod sought the life of the Child. 17:15 That same angel told Joseph and Mary 17:17 "Take the Child and flee to Egypt. " 17:20 And you remember when Herod found out 17:22 that he had not been told 17:24 you remember it says he sent his army 17:27 and had all the male children two years of age and under 17:30 slain. That's what it's talking about when it talks about 17:33 that great red dragon. Understand something: 17:36 in the first sense... in the first sense this great red 17:40 dragon will always represent the devil. 17:43 But the devil never comes out and does anything in the open. 17:47 He always uses a power or a system. 17:50 So in the second sense it represents the power 17:54 that the devil used... and that was pagan Rome. 17:57 Pagan Rome is the one that tried to take the life 18:01 of the Child. Watch as the scripture continues on: 18:14 So he's turned his wrath upon the church. 18:37 So it says this woman fled into the wilderness... 18:42 fleeing away from the persecution. 18:55 He poured out such a flood of persecution 18:58 that it looked like the church was going to be carried away. 19:02 OK? 19:06 If you've ever gone over to Rome 19:09 I would advise you to go take time 19:14 to go down and walk in the catacombs. 19:18 You can get a little bit of a sense of the tremendous 19:23 persecution that went on. 19:25 Let me tell you how it went. 19:28 Rome... pagan Rome... didn't care who you worshiped. 19:32 Pagan Rome was polytheistic. 19:36 They had many, many gods so they didn't care who you worshiped. 19:39 You could worship any god you wanted to. 19:42 What Rome was concerned about was your allegiance. 19:47 They wanted to know that you were loyal to Rome. 19:52 So what did they do? 19:54 They took and made a goddess. 19:58 They called her Roma Dia. 20:02 And all that they asked of you to do 20:05 was once a year you had to come in before this Roman goddess, 20:10 pick up some incense, 20:13 and sprinkle it in the fire before the goddess 20:17 and say "Roma Dia. " 20:19 That was a sign of your allegiance. 20:21 The magistrate gave you a certificate of it 20:24 and you were free to go worship any god you wanted to. 20:30 But the Christians wouldn't do that. 20:33 They said: "No! We won't worship any other god. " 20:38 And because they refused to do that 20:42 they were taken to arenas. 20:46 Women, children, men... 20:50 they were put in those arenas 20:54 and lions that hadn't eaten in days... 20:59 The crowd stood there and turned thumbs down on them 21:05 and they became food for lions. 21:09 The next time you say "I'm a Christian" 21:15 then I would just ask you to remember your heritage. 21:18 That's where it came from. 21:21 They said: "No! We will have no other god before You. " 21:25 Because of that tremendous persecution 21:28 they had to flee. And they went into the catacombs and hid 21:31 under the city. And some of those people were born in those 21:35 caves... lived and died. And I've walked into rooms 21:38 in those caves - huge rooms - that were full of skulls 21:44 where those people lived and died. 21:46 But because of that, she had to flee to the wilderness. 22:03 These Christians fled... and they fled up into 22:07 southern Italy and northern France 22:12 into a place that you and I know that we call the Alps. 22:16 And they moved into that area and they settled there 22:20 and they began to worship... worship as they believed 22:24 that they could as they read the Word of God and studied it. 22:40 Says she was given two wings and she flew into the wilderness. 22:45 There was a country music singer years ago 22:49 by the name of Roy Acuff. 22:53 Remember him? Huh? You know who I'm talking about? 22:56 He used to sing a song. 22:59 Sang it and people liked it 23:02 but they didn't know anything about it. 23:04 You may have heard him sing it. 23:07 It was called "The Great Speckled Bird. " 23:11 That's what it's dealing with, folks. 23:13 That's what that song was about. 23:15 She fled into the wilderness where she was cared for by God. 23:21 She fled there... up into these mountains. 23:24 These people became known as Albigenses. 23:28 The Waldensian people. 23:31 Huguenots. 23:33 They were people that took their stand on the Word of God 23:36 and they said: "We will worship the Lord and we will follow Him 23:39 and Him only and we will follow the dictates of our conscience 23:43 and we will follow the Word of God. " 23:47 And they stood on that. 23:49 And because they stood on that they received great persecution 23:54 because down in the city of Rome 23:58 certain things were happening. 24:01 The church was receiving favor. 24:06 You remember certain things happened at this time. 24:19 All of a sudden the bishop of Rome has stepped to the seat 24:24 of Caesar and he has seized the scepter. 24:28 And all of a sudden, anybody who didn't agree with him 24:31 was a heretic and was persecuted. 24:35 This is what is happening there. 24:38 That happened in 538 AD. 24:41 You remember it says she's going to flee into the 24:43 wilderness for how long? Huh? 24:47 1260 years - 24:50 you've seen that over and over - 24:52 to 1798 AD. 24:55 This is what is happening to the church at Rome, folks. Listen: 25:04 Now folks, I'm talking about what is happening 25:07 in cities like Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople. 25:11 All of a sudden the church received favor, 25:13 was accepted by the government. 25:15 Actually they became the head... they were in favor. 25:18 I'm not talking about these people up in the mountains. 25:22 They're receiving persecution. 25:25 "It became the established religion in the Roman Empire. 25:29 Took the place of paganism... " Listen carefully: 25:44 Because the Christian church took in all the pagan customs. 25:49 They just took them all in. 25:50 The things that the pagans did they took in. 25:52 Not these people up in the mountains. 25:55 They said: "No way. We will follow the Word of God; 25:58 we will worship the Lord; we will not accept that. " 26:01 But the church had received the favor of state. 26:05 Up here in the mountains these people are worshiping God. 26:13 They're hunted... greatly persecuted. 26:19 They had great burden on their hearts to spread the gospel. 26:24 So back then the only way you got scripture was to write it 26:28 by hand. And they would write scripture 26:31 and they would take and they would slit their clothes 26:34 and slide the scripture inside their clothes and sew it 26:38 back and then they would go into the towns as traders 26:41 or people that sold things. 26:43 And if they found somebody that was interested 26:46 in the Word of God they would open up their clothes 26:48 and take it out and share it with them. 26:50 If they were caught they were killed. 26:54 If you go up there and walk into those mountains 26:57 and visit their places, you'll see places they worshiped. 27:00 This is a room where they hand copied the scripture. 27:05 If you go to their little churches, 27:07 go in and the pulpit... 27:09 If you go around and look at the front of the pulpit, 27:12 it said this on the front of it: 27:14 "If you be no missionary you be nothing at all. " 27:18 That's what it says. 27:20 "If you be no missionary you be nothing at all. " 27:23 They went out and they preached the Word of God. 27:27 But the church had to go into the wilderness, 27:29 it had to go into hiding. 27:31 Had to be there just to exist. 27:33 But it says: "The earth helped the woman. " 27:36 Hmmm. "The earth helped the woman... " 27:45 This dragon cast out such a flood of persecution 27:48 looked like it was going to wipe the church off the earth. 27:59 Well, how did the earth help the woman? 28:04 Great persecution during this time, folks. 28:07 You can go back and read it in history. 28:09 But all of a sudden you have developing what was called 28:13 the Reformation 28:15 and men like Hus, Jerome - 28:20 Bohemians - who stood up and they preached the Word of God. 28:25 They said: "This is what we believe. 28:28 This what we'll preach. " 28:30 And they stood on the Word of God 28:31 and for that they were burned at the stake. 28:35 Wycliffe took the Word of God and translated it 28:40 so the people could read it. 28:42 And because of his preaching of the Word of God 28:45 they sent a delegation down and arrested him, 28:47 was going to burn him at the stake, 28:49 but he died before they got him to the stake. 28:53 And then along came men like Luther, Knox, Zwingli, 28:59 Calvin... all these great reformers... 29:03 and they stood up and they preached the Word of God. 29:05 And they said: "This is what we need to follow and our 29:08 conscience will not be dictated to. " 29:10 And as a result of their preaching 29:13 some of the princes of Europe began to stand up and they said: 29:16 "We will be free. We will believe what we understand 29:20 God's Word to be teaching and we will stand on that 29:23 and this is what we will believe. " 29:25 And they stood up, and the persecution began to let up. 29:29 Began to... became easier and easier. 29:35 But it says "the earth opened its mouth 29:41 and swallowed up the flood. " Something else happened... 29:44 and that was the discovery of the New World 29:47 that you and I live in. 29:50 For you remember, our forefathers that came over here 29:53 they were fleeing persecution. They were called what? 29:58 Pilgrims. 30:00 They were coming over to a land where they could worship 30:03 as they believed they should. 30:05 And so the earth opened up its mouth 30:07 and they could get away from the persecution. 30:09 They could come to this country and they could worship God 30:12 without persecution. 30:15 Swallowed up the flood of persecution 30:19 that was taking place. 30:20 But it goes on in the book of Revelation. 30:24 Now you need to follow me carefully. 30:27 Follow me carefully... 30:30 Revelation 2 verse 20: 30:51 Said: "I have a little bit against you 30:53 because you allow this woman Jezebel to teach and seduce 30:57 my servants... " 31:05 Now folks, this can't be talking about Jezebel 31:09 in flesh and blood. 31:11 Do you know when the book of Revelation was written? 31:14 Written in 90 AD. 31:18 Do you know when Jezebel lived? 31:21 Oh, back around 500 BC. 31:27 Jezebel would be 600 years old. 31:29 No, this is not talking about Jezebel in flesh and blood. 31:33 I told you that in Bible prophecy a woman represented 31:37 what... What? 31:39 A church. A good woman represents a good church. 31:44 A bad woman represents a bad church. 31:49 OK... He said: "I have something against you, 31:51 this woman Jezebel... " 32:02 Do you remember the story? 32:05 God sent Elijah and he told Ahab and Jezebel 32:09 "If you don't change your ways, if you don't repent, 32:13 it won't rain for 3-1/2 years. " 32:17 Well they didn't repent. 32:19 And God told Ahab: "You're going to be shot in battle. " 32:24 And that's exactly what happened to him. 32:26 And He told Jezebel... He said: "You'll be eaten by the dogs. " 32:30 Do you remember what happened to her? 32:33 Jehu came riding up in his chariot and she was sitting 32:36 in the window - palace window - putting on her make-up. 32:40 Jehu drove up, told the servants "Throw her out. " 32:44 And they threw her out the window 32:46 and he ran over her with his chariot and killed her. 32:49 I've never understood the next part because it said 32:52 he went in and ate. I don't understood that. 32:56 And after he had eaten, he turned to the servants and said: 33:00 "Go out and bury her. " And they went out 33:02 and the dogs had eaten all of her but a little bit of the palm 33:05 of her hand and a little bit of the scalp of her head. 33:07 It's not talking about Jezebel in flesh and blood. 33:11 It's talking about at the end of time and it's using Jezebel 33:14 to represent a church. 33:17 OK... let's see what... How long did God give Jezebel 33:22 and Ahab to repent? 33:24 Come on. Three and a half years 33:27 He gave them to repent. 33:28 I told you that in Bible prophecy a day represents 33:31 how much? One year. 33:34 In Bible reckoning of time there are 360 days 33:38 in a Biblical year. So if I multiply 33:41 360 by 3-1/2 it gives me? 33:47 1260. 33:51 1260 years talking about from 538 AD to 1798 AD. 34:10 OK, so there you have it: 360 days times 3-1/2 34:14 gives you 1260. That's the time that God gave the church 34:20 to repent. 34:23 Are you with me? 34:25 He gave them 1260 years to repent 34:28 and it says: "she repented not. " 34:32 Now if I could take you with me tonight - 34:36 take you over to Geneva, Switzerland, 34:38 which you're looking at - 34:40 there in Geneva, Switzerland, they have what is called 34:42 The Reformation Wall. 34:45 Picture of it. I don't know, it's probably 2 blocks long. 34:50 On that wall, as you can see along here, 34:53 they have all the different reformers. 34:56 Now you can't see that one very well right there. 34:58 That's the only American that's on there on the wall. 35:02 Do you know who that was? 35:04 Roger Williams... that's who's there. 35:07 But this is... It's a big wall and here are the statues 35:10 and all on it: Luther, Knox, and Zwingli 35:13 and all these great men. 35:14 Now let me make something clear, folks. 35:17 These reformers were great men of God's Word. 35:21 You go back and read their lives. 35:24 I mean, they didn't always agree with one another 35:28 but they always agreed on one thing: 35:30 they agreed on the Word of God. 35:33 They agreed and they said 35:36 "Everybody should have the right to read the scripture 35:39 for themselves and to stand on the Word of God. " 35:43 They were God-fearing men that stood up and preached 35:47 the Word of God for all they were worth 35:49 and they said: "Here we stand and this is what we believe. " 35:52 And they were great, great students of God's Word. 35:56 And they tried to the best of them as they understood 36:00 God's Word to walk in it. 36:06 Unfortunately, something happened. 36:12 When Luther died they built a fence 36:17 and they said: "All that Luther believed 36:22 that's what we'll believe and nothing more. " 36:27 They built a fence and they drew up a creed 36:31 and they said: "This is what we believe... nothing more. " 36:35 And when Knox died they built a fence 36:40 and they said: "What Knox believed, that's what we 36:43 believe... nothing more" and they drew up a creed. 36:46 And when Calvin died they built a fence 36:50 and they said: "Oh, what Calvin believed, that's what we'll 36:53 believe and nothing more. " 36:54 Dear friend, those men would have never accepted that. 36:58 They would have never in this world accepted that 37:02 because they were men that believed in God's Word 37:05 and they believed that as an individual understood the Word 37:09 of God they need to walk in the light of God's Word. 37:12 Every one of them believed that. 37:13 They would have never accepted the fence. 37:15 They would have never accepted a creed. 37:19 And as time went on, they lost... 37:25 they lost what those reformers had 37:29 and what they believed. 37:31 Now watch carefully 37:33 'cause it talks about this woman on the scarlet-colored beast. 38:09 How many were made drunk? The inhabitants of the earth. 38:15 "Made drunk with the wine of her fornication. " 39:08 Sees this woman riding on a scarlet-colored beast. 39:13 Now folks, are you understanding me tonight? 39:16 This is Revelation 17. 39:19 Do you understand where the book of Revelation ends? 39:23 With what chapter? 39:25 Huh? Do you understand? 39:26 It ends with what chapter? Twenty-two. 39:30 Twenty-one and twenty-two talk about heaven. 39:34 Do you understand that? 39:37 Twentieth chapter talks about the millennium. 39:42 Seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen talk about this woman. 39:47 I hope you're understanding this is down at the end. 39:52 This is at the close of time 39:56 it's talking about this woman. 39:57 You and I need to identify this woman. 40:00 Not hard to identify who she is. 40:09 You've got to look for a power, a church. 40:12 A woman represents a church 40:14 that has committed fornication with the kings of the earth. 40:17 It had to be a world power. 40:20 OK, you can't go looking for some little church 40:23 over in the corner... that won't work. 40:26 Has to be a church that's had world power. 40:32 When it speaks of "drunk with the wine of her fornication" 40:36 that is false teachings. 40:39 That's what it's drunk with: the teachings of the church, 40:43 the wine of her fornication. Listen: 40:45 Talks about the wine cup. 40:47 Let me share with you what's involved here. 40:57 These are some great, great issues. 41:00 I mean these are issues, folks, tonight 41:03 that you need to be crystal clear on. 41:05 Let me share some of them with you. 41:13 OK? You've got to make a decision. 41:15 What is the authority? 41:17 Is the Word of God the authority? 41:23 Satan's counterfeit: he says church councils are. 41:27 Church councils are authority. 41:31 I talk to people and they say: 41:33 "Oh, my preacher says... " Is the preacher the authority? 41:37 No. The Word of God's the authority. 41:41 God's truth, God's Word... that's the authority. 41:46 That's where you must build your faith. 41:48 Let me share another great issue with you: prayer. 41:52 Satan's counterfeit? Images. 41:56 Tells you you can pray to an image. 41:58 Image is not going to do you any good. 42:03 Has nothing to offer in any way. 42:06 That's Satan's counterfeit. 42:09 Scripture tells you it's the Holy Spirit 42:12 that takes your prayers and makes it viable before God. 42:18 Another great issue: salvation. 42:22 Satan's counterfeit? Human works. 42:25 That's Satan's counterfeit... human works. 42:28 You can get there by your good deeds and what you do. 42:32 You know, as people tell me... They say: "Well, 42:36 it really doesn't matter. 42:38 You know, God's not particular. " 42:40 "I can do it may way whatever day I want to. " 42:44 No... that's not God's way. 42:47 God's truth is Christ's grace. 42:49 That's the only way you're going to be saved: 42:51 by the grace of Jesus Christ... no other way. 42:54 Another great issue: intercession. 42:59 Do you understand who's your Intercessor? 43:04 Satan's counterfeit tells you the priest 43:07 can intercede for you. 43:09 No, the Word of God says that Jesus is the ONLY Advocate. 43:14 What the scripture says: "There is only one Advocate 43:17 between God and man: the Lord Jesus Christ. " 43:20 That's what scripture says. 43:23 Another great issue is worship. 43:26 Satan's counterfeit says "Ah, you don't have to worry 43:29 about the Sabbath... we can change it. " 43:35 So you have Sunday. 43:37 God's Word is going to teach nothing but the Sabbath. 43:41 It's all it will teach. 43:43 I'm talking about the wine cup. 43:46 The wine that's offered to the whole world 43:49 and it says "the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk 43:52 with the wine of her fornication. " 43:55 Death... counterfeit says that your soul is immortal. 44:00 That you really don't die when you die. 44:04 That's not what the scripture says. 44:07 It says "the dead know not anything. " 44:10 God's truth? The scripture says that when a person dies 44:14 they're asleep and will remain so until Jesus comes. 44:19 These are great issues... issues that you and I 44:23 need to look at and understand. 44:25 That's the wine cup. 44:27 So it's not hard to identify who this woman is. 44:30 Health? Satan's counterfeit says 44:35 all that's been abolished. 44:38 Don't have to worry about what you eat or how you live healthy. 44:42 That's not something that God requires. 44:44 I'm sorry... God's Word says those laws are eternal. 44:48 They'll always be there. 44:54 Also, she's riding on a beast... this woman is. 44:59 As we studied Bible prophecy we found out that a beast 45:02 represents a nation or a power. 45:13 So the scripture says that a beast represents a power 45:16 or nation. So if I have a woman 45:19 riding on a beast, what do I have? 45:24 I have union of church and state. 45:28 That's what I've got. 45:29 So if you're going to identify this woman 45:32 you've got to look for a woman 45:33 that's involved with civil government. 45:37 OK? Not hard to identify. 45:46 Got to find one that has persecuted. 45:49 Necessary. I have mentioned to you many times now 45:53 all you have to do is go back and read history, folks. 45:57 If you read history, you can understand clearly that she has 46:01 persecuted. 46:17 I mean you shouldn't have any trouble identifying that. 46:22 Do you think they have any intentions today? 46:26 This is taken from a book called The Keys of This Blood 46:31 by Malachi Martin who is a priest. 46:34 This is what he says 46:36 speaking of Pope John Paul the second. 47:06 Better believe it. 47:08 They know exactly where they're going and where they're headed. 47:12 Don't think they don't, friends. 47:25 Now I want to ask you a simple question tonight. 47:30 If she is the mother of harlots, then what does that mean? 47:37 If she's the mother of harlots, what does that mean? 47:41 Well it means she has daughters. 47:44 Doesn't it? 47:46 If she's the mother of harlots, she has daughters. 47:49 What are daughters? 47:53 Daughters are people that follow her teachings. 47:58 Churches that follow her teachings. 48:02 That is daughters. 48:06 I mean the scripture is very clear on that 48:08 and you and I need to understand. 48:10 Now just kind of get hold of your chair 48:13 'cause were fixing to move into something that may be 48:16 a little shocking to you. 48:32 Now when John saw this woman 48:35 riding on this scarlet-colored beast 48:38 he said: "I marveled with great amazement! " 48:41 What's so amazing to John? 48:44 I mean, he's seen all these other beasts. 48:47 I mean he's seen a whole bunch of them. 48:50 Why all of a sudden because she's riding on this beast 48:52 is this so amazing to him? 48:57 Let me tell you why it's amazing. 49:00 This woman of Revelation 12: 49:04 white, clothed with the sun, moon under her feet, 49:10 crown of 12 stars on her head, 49:13 where did she go? 49:15 Where did she go? 49:18 Into the wilderness. 49:22 She went into the wilderness. She went into those mountains. 49:25 You go back and read the history. 49:27 She went back there, and when the Reformation took place, 49:31 folks, she was thrilled. 49:34 The Waldensian people, the Albigenses, 49:37 the Huguenots... they opened up their arms and they accepted 49:41 the Reformation and it was marvelous. 49:46 And then all of a sudden they found the Reformation 49:51 they had accepted was not really willing 49:55 to continue to follow God's Word. 49:58 They found those churches built fences 50:03 and drew up a creed. 50:05 You go back and read the story of the Waldensian people, 50:09 the Huguenots, and the Albigenses 50:12 and you find they completely fell apart 50:15 because the Reformation they had accepted with open arms 50:19 and the woman that went into the wilderness - 50:24 white, beautiful - John sees her coming out, 50:30 the same woman, riding on a scarlet-colored beast. 50:37 That's what's amazing to him. 50:40 The woman that was white coming out of the wilderness 50:45 riding on a scarlet-colored beast. 50:49 She's given up. She's given up the Word of God. 50:52 She's given up the beliefs that she stood for. 50:57 John said: "I was amazed and marveled that this could happen. 51:02 That the church that was in white 51:04 coming out riding on a scarlet-colored beast. " 51:22 That's the way the New King James reads. 51:24 I like the old King James much better here. 51:27 It says "He went to make war with the remnant of her seed. " 51:32 Now folks, if you've got it in your mind 51:36 that Christianity as a whole 51:40 is going to embrace the teachings of God's Word 51:43 and go marching gloriously into the second coming 51:47 I'm sorry... that's not what the Bible teaches. 51:51 The Bible teaches that when Jesus comes 51:54 there will just be a remnant. 51:57 The Bible says: "Broad is the way that leads to destruction 52:01 and many there be that go in there at. 52:05 Narrow is the way that leads to salvation 52:08 and few there be that find it. " 52:12 No, Christianity when they built a fence and the put up a creed 52:16 and they said "this is what we'll believe and nothing more" 52:19 they closed the door 52:22 to the work of the Holy Spirit upon their hearts 52:25 and understanding the rest of the scripture. 52:28 And they continue to follow 52:32 the woman that's riding on that scarlet-colored beast. 52:35 Went to make war with the remnant of her seed who what? 52:41 Come on. Who keep the commandments of God 52:46 and have the testimony of Jesus. 52:48 It identifies the remnant. 52:49 It says these are people that keep the commandments of God; 52:53 they have the faith of Jesus. 52:55 That's the remnant. 52:57 That's what God is calling people today 53:00 is to the remnant. 53:18 Listen to what his message is. 53:21 We're going to be talking a little bit about it 53:23 tomorrow night and the loud cry. Did you hear it? 53:26 Listen to what it says: 53:40 God said: "Babylon has fallen! " OK? 53:53 He said: "She has fallen! " 53:55 That means Babylon and her daughters have fallen. 54:24 Now how does that relate to you? 54:28 How does that relate to me? 54:31 John... John's having a real rough time right now, folks. 54:36 He's having a hard time in this vision 54:41 'cause he sees this and he's seeing the call. And it says: 54:52 In all the churches God has His people. 54:57 In ALL churches... did you hear me? 55:00 Not just one but in all the churches 55:04 God has His people that love Him 55:07 and they love the Word of God. 55:08 And they are saying: "I'm going to follow the Word of God. " 55:11 And today God is saying to them: 55:14 "Come out! Come out of her, My people. " 55:22 And that's the way it relates to you tonight. 55:25 God is saying to you: "Come out... follow Me... 55:28 prepare for My coming. " 55:31 That's what God is saying dear friends. 55:34 God is calling them. 55:36 Like I said, John's having a hard time 55:39 'cause this woman in white that he saw go in the wilderness 55:45 comes out riding on this beast. 55:47 And so you find John is saying: 55:50 "Where's the bride? Where's the bride? 55:55 What happened to her? Where's the bride? " 55:58 Watch: 56:12 He said: "Come John. You want to know where the bride is? 56:15 Come with me. I'm going to show you the bride, 56:17 the Lamb's wife. " 56:30 Took him up there. He showed him the New Jerusalem. 56:33 Why would he show him the New Jerusalem? 56:37 Shows it. Says: "Having the glory of God... " 56:40 The city does. 56:49 The reason he's showing him the Holy City 56:52 is because inside the Holy City are all of God's people. 56:57 Here's all the people from down through time. 57:00 Back in the days of Noah coming on down through time. 57:05 All the prophets and all the people that followed the Lord 57:08 all the way down through the Old Testament 57:10 into the New Testament, during the time of the Reformation. 57:13 Here all those people have been gathered from every tribe, 57:16 every tongue, every nation. 57:18 Of every culture across the earth they've been gathered. 57:22 And there they are in God's city... all of God's people. 57:25 And he can say: "John, there's the bride. " 57:28 But to you and to me God is saying 57:33 He's asking you, asking me 57:36 to follow Him, to walk with Him. 57:40 To follow Him by faith. |
Revised 2014-12-17