Welcome, it's
good to see you here.
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I want to invite you
to bow your heads with me
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as we asked the Lord's
presence with us today.
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Father in heaven, we thank You
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for the privilege of being here.
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We ask for divine
wisdom to understand Your Word.
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We're living in
very, very turbulent times.
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We want to know
what Your will is,
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and we want to
abide in that will.
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Thank you, Father,
for hearing our prayer,
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for we ask it in the
precious name of Jesus.
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Amen.
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Well, what we want
to do first is review
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the two topics that we studied
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in our last presentations.
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The first presentation
was on the historical method
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of studying Bible prophecy.
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And you remember
that we noticed that
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the historical
method begins in the days
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when the prophet wrote,
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and ends with a setting up
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of Christ's everlasting kingdom.
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And basically, we
took Daniel 7 as our model
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for the historical method.
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And I want to review
the sequence of events
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in Daniel 7 as well as
in Revelation Chapter 13,
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because it's important
that we remember that sequence
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the links in the
chain, if you please.
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We have, first of all,
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in Daniel
Chapter 7, which kingdom?
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Babylon, very well,
Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon.
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What is the next
kingdom after that?
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Medo-Persia, very well.
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Then afterwards, we
have a third kingdom
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which is Greece.
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And then we
have a fourth kingdom
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which is the Roman Empire.
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And then what
happens to that fourth beast?
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Oh, it sprouts what?
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It sprouts 10
horns. That's right.
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In other words, the
Roman Empire is divided.
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And then among the 10 rises
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a little horn,
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and the little
horn rules for how long?
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1260 days,
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but days in prophecy
are equivalent to what?
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Are equivalent to years.
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And, of course,
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what power is
represented by the little horn?
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It represents the
Roman Catholic papacy,
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not the Roman Catholic Church,
the Roman Catholic papacy,
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which is a system
that unites church
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with the state.
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And then we went to
Revelation Chapter 13.
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And we noticed
that Revelation 13
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provides links in the
chain that Daniel 7 doesn't.
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Do you remember that
the beast in Revelation 13,
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the first beast
that rises from the sea
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represents the same
thing as the little horn,
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because it rules 42 months,
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and 42 months times 30
days, each month is 1260,
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the same number of
years that we found
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that the little horn ruled.
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And so basically
Revelation 13:1-10
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tells us that the beast
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which is the same
as the little horn
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ruled for 1260 years,
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but at the end
of the 1260 years,
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what happened to the beast?
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It received what? It
received the deadly wound.
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What weapon gave the
beast the deadly wound?
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It was the sword,
and who bears the sword?
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The civil power,
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the state is the
power that bears the sword.
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Was the papacy
wounded by the civil power?
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Yes, France withdrew
its support from the papacy.
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In other words
that took away the sword
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from the papacy,
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and with the sword it
gave the papacy a deadly wound,
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where's the sword is symbolic.
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So we're told that the
papacy received the wound
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with a sword, the civil powers
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withdrew their
support from the papacy.
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But then we noticed
in Revelation Chapter 13,
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that something is going to
happen to that deadly wound.
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What's going to
happen to the deadly wound?
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The deadly wound
is going to be healed.
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And all of the
world is going to wonder
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after the beast
or the little horn.
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You see, Daniel 7
doesn't explicitly tell us
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that the little horn is
going to have another period,
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because Daniel
Chapter 7 simply speaks
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of the dominion of 1260 years
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of the little horn.
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But Revelation Chapter 13 adds
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that at the end
of the 1260 years,
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it was going to
receive a deadly wound
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and then its deadly
wound would be healed.
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Now, which is the power
that heals the deadly wound
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according to the
Book of Revelation?
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That's right, the United States.
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Another beast
that rises from where?
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From the earth's, it
has two horns like a lamb.
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These two horns represents
civil and religious liberty,
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the separation
of church and state.
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The fancy terms
are Republicanism
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and Protestantism.
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And so for a while,
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the United States
behaves very well.
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It abides by
these two principles,
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but then eventually it
ends up speaking like what?
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It ends up
speaking like a dragon.
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And we notice in our study,
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in our first
study of this series,
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that this beast that
rises from the earth,
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actually everything it
does is to help the first beast
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recover its power.
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It exercises all the
authority of the first beast.
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It commands everyone to
worship the first beast.
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It does
everything in the presence
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or on behalf of the first beast.
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It builds an image
of the first beast,
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and it imposes on pain of death,
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the mark of the first beast.
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You see, everything
this second beast does
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is to help the first
beast recover its power.
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Has the deadly
wound yet been healed?
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No, when the wound is healed,
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the papacy will
behave in the future
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like it did in the past.
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And that will lead to
the greatest time of trouble
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in the history of the world.
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The Great Tribulation
that Jesus spoke about
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in Matthew Chapter 24,
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and the
tribulation will be cut short
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by the second
coming of Jesus Christ
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to establish His kingdom.
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So you see Daniel
Chapter 7 and Revelation 13
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take us from Babylon,
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which is the kingdom
that existed in Daniel's day.
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It takes us all throughout
the course of history,
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link after link
culminating with the setting up
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of Christ's everlasting kingdom.
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Isn't this a nice method
of interpreting prophecy?
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It's discipline.
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In other words,
it's not guesswork,
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you don't have to guess
who the little horn represents.
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All you have to do is
know where the series starts,
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follow the sequence.
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And then when you
get to the little horn,
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you know what the
little horn represents.
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Now, in our second
study, the last time,
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we also notice
that the little horn
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would do something
during the 1260 years,
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two things.
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First of all, it would
think that it could change what?
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God's law.
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Has the Roman Catholic papacy
claimed to change God's law?
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Absolutely.
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Even though the
second commandment
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that says don't make images
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and don't bow
down to the images.
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The Roman Catholic
Bibles have that commandment,
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the Catechisms don't.
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And the Catechisms are used
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for instructing Roman Catholics
children to prepare them
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for first communion
or for conformation.
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And so, you know,
the Roman Catholic Church
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doesn't encourage people
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to read the Ten
Commandments in the Bible.
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They say, the interpretation
of the church in the Catechism
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is the true
interpretation of the matter.
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Another way in which the papacy
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sought to change God's law
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was establishing a
counterfeit day of worship.
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The Bible says that
we're supposed to keep
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the seventh day
Sabbath, but the papacy says no,
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we are supposed to keep what?
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Sunday.
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And they say the church,
the Roman Catholic Church,
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the papacy changed the
day from Sabbath to Sunday.
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But we also notice
that the little horn
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not only would think
it could change God's law,
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but the little horn also thought
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it could change God's what?
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God's times.
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Do you remember that
we studied the times?
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What does the word times mean?
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What does Daniel 7 mean
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when it says that the
little horn would think
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to change God's times?
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Well, you received
a handout this evening
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with these two words,
one is Hebrew and the other,
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well, actually, some are
Hebrew and some are Aramaic,
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the word iddan
and the word zeman.
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I hope that
you'll take this home
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and look up all of these verses.
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And you will see
that iddan and zeman
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are pretty much synonymous.
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When the Bible says
that God changes the times
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and the seasons, and
the Apostle Paul says
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about the times and the seasons,
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I don't need to tell you
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because we've
already studied prophecy.
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When Jesus said
to the disciples,
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it's not for you to know
the times or the seasons.
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Basically, what it means is
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that God is in control of
the flow of world history.
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He reveals how events
are going to take place.
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Did Nebuchadnezzar tried
to change God's scenario?
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Yes.
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Did King Darius in Chapter 6
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also tried to
change God's scenario?
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Absolutely.
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But who controls the times? God.
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And who
commanded to keep His law?
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God.
00:10:01.66\00:10:03.00
So what the Roman
Catholic papacy did was,
00:10:03.03\00:10:06.33
first of all, say that
you're supposed to keep Sunday
00:10:06.37\00:10:09.67
as a day of rest,
changing God's law.
00:10:09.70\00:10:12.31
But it also,
we're going to notice,
00:10:12.34\00:10:14.28
claimed to change the
sequence of prophetic events.
00:10:14.31\00:10:19.21
And in the next
several presentations,
00:10:19.25\00:10:21.55
we are going to study
00:10:21.58\00:10:23.22
how the papacy
attempted to change
00:10:23.25\00:10:26.45
God's prophetic calendar.
00:10:26.49\00:10:28.62
How the events in
the chain of prophecy
00:10:28.66\00:10:31.73
were going to be fulfilled.
00:10:31.76\00:10:34.36
Now, when we think of
the Protestant Reformation,
00:10:34.40\00:10:37.80
expression such
as Sola Scriptura,
00:10:37.83\00:10:41.40
scripture alone,
00:10:41.44\00:10:43.10
Sola Fide, faith alone,
00:10:43.14\00:10:46.21
Sola Gratia, grace
alone come to mind.
00:10:46.24\00:10:50.78
But really,
00:10:50.81\00:10:52.41
these solas as I call them
00:10:52.45\00:10:56.05
were all
reaction of the reformers
00:10:56.08\00:10:58.82
to the Roman Catholic papacy.
00:10:58.85\00:11:01.62
They had come to believe
00:11:01.66\00:11:02.99
that the Roman Catholic
papacy was the Antichrist.
00:11:03.02\00:11:07.90
And I'm going to
read several statements
00:11:07.93\00:11:09.80
from the reformers this
evening a little bit later on
00:11:09.83\00:11:12.43
to show you what they
believed about the Antichrist.
00:11:12.47\00:11:15.27
They believe that the papacy
00:11:15.30\00:11:16.84
was the Antichrist of Scripture.
00:11:16.87\00:11:19.34
How did they know that?
00:11:19.37\00:11:21.08
Well, the reformers
used the historical method,
00:11:21.11\00:11:24.05
the historical flow method.
00:11:24.08\00:11:25.95
They knew that
Babylon had passed,
00:11:25.98\00:11:28.15
they knew that
Medo-Persia had passed,
00:11:28.18\00:11:30.39
they knew that
Greece had passed,
00:11:30.42\00:11:32.35
they knew that the
Roman Empire had passed.
00:11:32.39\00:11:34.89
They knew that the Roman Empire
00:11:34.92\00:11:36.59
had been divided
into ten kingdoms.
00:11:36.62\00:11:38.79
So they said the Roman Empire
was divided in 10 kingdoms
00:11:38.83\00:11:42.33
in the fourth
and fifth centuries.
00:11:42.36\00:11:44.50
So it must be
that the little horn
00:11:44.53\00:11:46.50
appeared shortly thereafter.
00:11:46.53\00:11:48.34
And so they look, they said,
00:11:48.37\00:11:49.70
"Where would
the little horn be?"
00:11:49.74\00:11:51.07
They say, "That's the
Roman Catholic papacy."
00:11:51.11\00:11:53.68
So in other words, they lived
00:11:53.71\00:11:55.68
during the flow
of Bible prophecy.
00:11:55.71\00:11:57.98
They lived at the time
00:11:58.01\00:11:59.45
when the little horn was ruling.
00:11:59.48\00:12:01.88
And so it wasn't
difficult for them
00:12:01.92\00:12:04.09
to identify the fact
00:12:04.12\00:12:06.19
that the little horn represented
00:12:06.22\00:12:08.32
the Roman Catholic papacy.
00:12:08.36\00:12:10.19
You see, they
could see the chronology.
00:12:10.23\00:12:12.49
And they also
could see the activities
00:12:12.53\00:12:15.13
of the little
horn, of the papacy.
00:12:15.16\00:12:17.03
So they said, "Hey, it
comes right at the time
00:12:17.07\00:12:20.40
in the line of prophecy,
00:12:20.44\00:12:21.77
where it was supposed
to come, and its activities
00:12:21.80\00:12:25.44
of picking blasphemies
against the Most High
00:12:25.47\00:12:28.24
and persecuting the
saints of the Most High
00:12:28.28\00:12:30.75
etcetera is
what's taking place."
00:12:30.78\00:12:33.35
And so all they had to do
was use the historical method,
00:12:33.38\00:12:37.35
the historicist method,
and see where the papacy fit
00:12:37.39\00:12:41.56
within the sequence.
00:12:41.59\00:12:44.46
And this
understanding of Bible prophecy
00:12:44.49\00:12:48.30
gave the reformers a mandate
00:12:48.33\00:12:51.00
to unmask the
Roman Catholic papacy
00:12:51.03\00:12:55.60
as the Antichrist of Scripture.
00:12:55.64\00:12:59.57
Let's examine
some of the writings
00:12:59.61\00:13:02.04
of the prominent
reformers of Protestantism.
00:13:02.08\00:13:07.85
I've taken a lot
of these statements
00:13:07.88\00:13:09.78
from a work that was
written by Le Roy Edwin Froom.
00:13:09.82\00:13:14.06
It's called the
Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers.
00:13:14.09\00:13:16.89
It has four volumes.
00:13:16.93\00:13:18.83
Basically Elder Froom,
00:13:18.86\00:13:20.40
who was the ministerial director
00:13:20.43\00:13:22.00
for the General
Conference for several decades.
00:13:22.03\00:13:25.57
He went to Europe, he
spoke several languages.
00:13:25.60\00:13:28.10
And he traveled
for several years,
00:13:28.14\00:13:31.37
going through the
libraries in Europe,
00:13:31.41\00:13:33.98
accumulating information
00:13:34.01\00:13:36.11
on how prophecy was interpreted
00:13:36.14\00:13:38.68
from apostolic times,
00:13:38.71\00:13:40.52
all the way till the
middle of the 20th century.
00:13:40.55\00:13:43.89
You know, those books,
unfortunately are out of print,
00:13:43.92\00:13:46.96
but they are a masterpiece.
00:13:46.99\00:13:48.82
In fact, not only in
the Adventist Church,
00:13:48.86\00:13:51.59
but in the secular world.
00:13:51.63\00:13:54.20
In the other churches,
00:13:54.23\00:13:56.30
there were several
scholars that said,
00:13:56.33\00:13:59.27
"Wow, this is a
tremendous series
00:13:59.30\00:14:01.90
on Bible prophecy."
00:14:01.94\00:14:03.41
And so, I'm going to take
these statements from here,
00:14:03.44\00:14:06.57
volume 2 of the
Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers.
00:14:06.61\00:14:09.34
But, of course, Froom takes them
00:14:09.38\00:14:11.25
from the original sources.
00:14:11.28\00:14:13.21
Let's begin by noticing it.
00:14:13.25\00:14:16.79
Before we read these statements,
00:14:16.82\00:14:18.35
let's begin by
noticing the summary
00:14:18.39\00:14:21.39
of what the Protestants believed
00:14:21.42\00:14:24.33
about Bible prophecy.
00:14:24.36\00:14:27.36
What method did they use?
00:14:27.40\00:14:29.23
I'm going to give you
a list of non-negotiables
00:14:29.26\00:14:33.17
for the Protestant reformers.
00:14:33.20\00:14:35.27
Number one, they used
the historical flow method
00:14:35.30\00:14:39.14
or historicism.
00:14:39.17\00:14:40.64
That's how they
knew that the papacy
00:14:40.68\00:14:42.54
was the link in the chain
at the time when they lived.
00:14:42.58\00:14:46.48
Secondly, they did not
believe that the Antichrist
00:14:46.51\00:14:50.35
was a single individual.
00:14:50.39\00:14:53.15
They believe that the Antichrist
00:14:53.19\00:14:54.99
was a system composed
00:14:55.02\00:14:56.76
of a succession of popes
00:14:56.79\00:14:59.49
who taken together
00:14:59.53\00:15:02.16
are the Antichrist of Scripture.
00:15:02.20\00:15:05.33
They also believed
that the Antichrist
00:15:05.37\00:15:08.70
actually would
sit in the church,
00:15:08.74\00:15:10.37
he would claim to be the vicar
00:15:10.41\00:15:12.41
or the representative of Christ.
00:15:12.44\00:15:15.01
They didn't
believe that the Antichrist
00:15:15.04\00:15:17.28
was going to be a
blasphemous individual
00:15:17.31\00:15:19.91
that would arise and
blaspheme the true God.
00:15:19.95\00:15:22.25
They believed that
the Antichrist would be
00:15:22.28\00:15:25.19
a series of individuals
00:15:25.22\00:15:26.72
that would arise
within the church
00:15:26.76\00:15:28.56
and corrupt the
church from inside.
00:15:28.59\00:15:31.49
They also believed
00:15:31.53\00:15:33.13
that the fourth
beast of Daniel 7
00:15:33.16\00:15:35.46
was the Roman Empire.
00:15:35.50\00:15:37.47
And they
believed that the 10 horns
00:15:37.50\00:15:40.17
that came forth from
the head of the fourth beast
00:15:40.20\00:15:42.80
represented the
divisions of Western Europe,
00:15:42.84\00:15:45.94
the nations of Western Europe.
00:15:45.97\00:15:48.18
They also believed
that the restrainer
00:15:48.21\00:15:50.81
that is mentioned
in 2 Thessalonians 2,
00:15:50.85\00:15:53.52
it speaks that we're
going to have two presentations
00:15:53.55\00:15:56.79
just on 2 Thessalonians 2,
00:15:56.82\00:15:59.02
but they believe
that the restrainer
00:15:59.05\00:16:00.92
that was restraining
00:16:00.96\00:16:02.62
the man of sin
from manifesting himself
00:16:02.66\00:16:05.33
was the existence
of the Roman Empire.
00:16:05.36\00:16:07.73
As long as the
emperor was ruling,
00:16:07.76\00:16:10.27
they said, the man of sin,
00:16:10.30\00:16:12.93
the Antichrist cannot surface.
00:16:12.97\00:16:15.77
But as soon as the power
that withholds or withstands,
00:16:15.80\00:16:20.44
as soon as the Roman Empire,
the Roman Emperor is removed,
00:16:20.48\00:16:24.91
then the Antichrist will appear.
00:16:24.95\00:16:27.18
So they believed
that the restrainer
00:16:27.22\00:16:28.98
of 2 Thessalonians 2
was the Roman Empire.
00:16:29.02\00:16:33.19
And when the Roman
Empire would be taken away,
00:16:33.22\00:16:35.52
the restraint
would be taken away
00:16:35.56\00:16:37.19
and the man of sin, the
papacy would manifest itself.
00:16:37.23\00:16:40.73
They also
believe that the temple
00:16:40.76\00:16:43.10
in which Antichrist would sit
00:16:43.13\00:16:46.57
because 2 Thessalonians 2
00:16:46.60\00:16:48.00
says that the Antichrist
would sit in the temple of God.
00:16:48.04\00:16:51.67
The reformers
believed that the temple of God
00:16:51.71\00:16:54.31
was not a temple of the
Jews built in the Middle East,
00:16:54.34\00:16:58.11
but the temple was
actually the Christian church.
00:16:58.15\00:17:01.95
And when you read
00:17:01.98\00:17:03.32
in the writings
of the Apostle Paul,
00:17:03.35\00:17:04.69
every time he
uses the word naos,
00:17:04.72\00:17:07.02
the word temple, he's
referring to a spiritual temple.
00:17:07.06\00:17:10.09
He's referring to the church.
00:17:10.13\00:17:11.93
He never uses the
word naos to refer
00:17:11.96\00:17:15.30
to the temple of the Jews.
00:17:15.33\00:17:19.03
They also believed
00:17:19.07\00:17:20.74
that the harlot of Revelation 17
00:17:20.77\00:17:24.44
was a Roman Catholic papacy.
00:17:24.47\00:17:26.68
They also believed that
the abomination of desolation
00:17:26.71\00:17:30.01
of Matthew Chapter 24
represented the papacy.
00:17:30.05\00:17:33.92
And, of course, they
believed that the man of sin
00:17:33.95\00:17:36.02
was the papacy.
00:17:36.05\00:17:37.39
And one of the
reformers at least
00:17:37.42\00:17:39.19
believed that
the king of the north
00:17:39.22\00:17:41.32
in Daniel 11
represents the papacy.
00:17:41.36\00:17:43.99
That's very interesting.
00:17:44.03\00:17:45.93
The reformers also believed
00:17:45.96\00:17:48.30
that the Israel of
their day was the church.
00:17:48.33\00:17:52.00
They did not
believe that literal Israel
00:17:52.03\00:17:54.37
were the people of God.
00:17:54.40\00:17:55.74
They believe
that the people of God
00:17:55.77\00:17:57.31
were those who
accepted Jesus Christ
00:17:57.34\00:17:59.21
as Savior and Lord.
00:17:59.24\00:18:00.78
They believe, in other words,
00:18:00.81\00:18:02.14
that Israel was
spiritual Israel,
00:18:02.18\00:18:04.11
it was the church.
00:18:04.15\00:18:05.51
And finally, they
believe that the time periods
00:18:05.55\00:18:09.88
in which the little
horn and the beast would rule
00:18:09.92\00:18:13.79
were to be
understood symbolically
00:18:13.82\00:18:16.06
and not literally.
00:18:16.09\00:18:17.46
I want you to
remember all these details,
00:18:17.49\00:18:20.16
because we're gonna find
that the Roman Catholic papacy
00:18:20.20\00:18:22.76
changed every
single one of these things
00:18:22.80\00:18:25.53
that the reformers believed.
00:18:25.57\00:18:27.54
If Martin Luther
resurrected today,
00:18:27.57\00:18:30.17
he would die of a
heart attack, when he saw,
00:18:30.21\00:18:33.41
when he would see
what has been done
00:18:33.44\00:18:36.98
to the Reformation
that he spearheaded.
00:18:37.01\00:18:39.55
Now let's take a look,
look at some of the reformers
00:18:39.58\00:18:42.98
and what they wrote
about the Antichrist.
00:18:43.02\00:18:45.52
They were
unanimous that the Antichrist
00:18:45.55\00:18:48.79
was the Roman Catholic papacy.
00:18:48.82\00:18:51.36
Let's begin with John Wycliffe,
00:18:51.39\00:18:54.50
he lived from 1324 to 1384 AD.
00:18:54.53\00:18:59.87
He wrote a book titled De Papa,
which means about the pope.
00:18:59.90\00:19:05.27
In Chapter 2 of
his book, he wrote,
00:19:05.31\00:19:08.94
"The pope is
Antichrist here on earth."
00:19:08.98\00:19:14.52
Now, during the
period that Wycliffe lived,
00:19:14.55\00:19:17.49
there were two
popes that were competing
00:19:17.52\00:19:19.45
for the papal throne.
00:19:19.49\00:19:20.82
They both claimed
to be the true pope.
00:19:20.86\00:19:23.66
And this is what
Wycliffe had to say about them.
00:19:23.69\00:19:27.63
He said, "They are
two halves of Antichrist,
00:19:27.66\00:19:33.00
making up the perfect
Man of Sin between them."
00:19:33.03\00:19:38.07
Now, he also wrote the
following on Daniel 7:25.
00:19:38.11\00:19:41.58
I want you to
notice his interpretation
00:19:41.61\00:19:43.71
of Daniel 7:25.
00:19:43.75\00:19:46.61
He wrote, "Why is it necessary
00:19:46.65\00:19:50.62
in unbelief to look
for another Antichrist?
00:19:50.65\00:19:54.39
He says, "Why
should we be looking
00:19:54.42\00:19:55.76
for another Antichrist."
00:19:55.79\00:19:59.16
"In the seventh
chapter of Daniel,
00:19:59.19\00:20:01.60
Antichrist is
forcefully described by a horn
00:20:01.63\00:20:06.23
arising in the time
of the fourth kingdom."
00:20:06.27\00:20:10.87
Are you with me?
00:20:10.91\00:20:13.01
Whom did Wycliffe
believe the little horn was?
00:20:13.04\00:20:16.31
The papacy. That's right.
00:20:16.34\00:20:18.51
And by the way, he
lived before Luther.
00:20:18.55\00:20:21.35
He lived perhaps 150...
00:20:21.38\00:20:23.08
He was born 150
years before Luther.
00:20:23.12\00:20:27.56
Now, notice what
he continues writing.
00:20:27.59\00:20:30.56
"Therefore the 10 horns
00:20:30.59\00:20:33.40
are the whole of
our temporal rulers."
00:20:33.43\00:20:37.10
What he's saying is the 10 horns
00:20:37.13\00:20:38.93
are the temporal
rulers in Europe now.
00:20:38.97\00:20:42.10
"And the horn has
arisen from the 10 horns,
00:20:42.14\00:20:46.98
having eyes and a mouth
00:20:47.01\00:20:49.34
speaking great things
against the Lofty One,
00:20:49.38\00:20:52.01
and wearing out the
saints of the most high
00:20:52.05\00:20:54.58
and thinking that
he is able to change
00:20:54.62\00:20:57.19
times and laws."
00:20:57.22\00:21:00.36
Then he have the interpretation
of Daniel 7:25 pretty clear.
00:21:00.39\00:21:05.39
He most
certainly, crystal clear.
00:21:05.43\00:21:08.06
He understood
that the fourth kingdom
00:21:08.10\00:21:09.70
is Roman Empire.
00:21:09.73\00:21:11.07
He understood that the 10 horns
00:21:11.10\00:21:12.83
were the nations
of Europe in his time,
00:21:12.87\00:21:14.84
and he understood
00:21:14.87\00:21:16.20
that the little
horn was the Antichrist
00:21:16.24\00:21:18.47
and represented the
Roman Catholic papacy.
00:21:18.51\00:21:22.24
Now, let's talk
about William Tyndale.
00:21:22.28\00:21:24.98
Perhaps you haven't heard
about some of these individuals,
00:21:25.01\00:21:27.68
but they were very influential
in the Protestant Reformation.
00:21:27.72\00:21:31.42
Tyndale studied at
Oxford and Cambridge in Europe.
00:21:31.45\00:21:36.39
He was the first to translate
the New Testament into English.
00:21:36.42\00:21:40.90
And the Roman Catholic Church,
00:21:40.93\00:21:43.40
the Roman Catholic
papacy despised him
00:21:43.43\00:21:46.57
for translating
the Bible into English.
00:21:46.60\00:21:49.70
He was burned at the stake,
00:21:49.74\00:21:51.77
in fact, for
translating the Bible
00:21:51.81\00:21:54.88
into the language that
people could understand.
00:21:54.91\00:21:59.41
He wrote the
following about the Antichrist.
00:21:59.45\00:22:02.45
"The pope's
forbidding matrimony,
00:22:02.48\00:22:06.25
and to eat of meats
created of God for man's use,
00:22:06.29\00:22:11.16
which is devilish
doctrine by Paul's prophecy,
00:22:11.19\00:22:14.86
are tokens good enough
00:22:14.90\00:22:17.57
that he is the right Antichrist,
00:22:17.60\00:22:20.67
and his doctrine
sprung of the devil."
00:22:20.70\00:22:24.51
What do you think?
Was he crystal clear?
00:22:24.54\00:22:28.34
How did he know this?
00:22:28.38\00:22:30.15
Because he was living
00:22:30.18\00:22:31.51
in the period
of the little horn.
00:22:31.55\00:22:33.68
You see the
reformers, they could see
00:22:33.72\00:22:36.55
the historical flow of prophecy.
00:22:36.58\00:22:40.02
They knew that
Babylon had ruled,
00:22:40.06\00:22:42.92
Medo-Persia had ruled,
00:22:42.96\00:22:44.53
they knew that Greece had ruled,
00:22:44.56\00:22:46.33
they knew that Rome had ruled,
00:22:46.36\00:22:48.43
they knew that Rome had
been divided into 10 kingdoms.
00:22:48.46\00:22:51.27
And they said, of course,
00:22:51.30\00:22:53.00
if Rome was
divided in 10 kingdoms
00:22:53.03\00:22:54.90
in the fourth
and fifth centuries,
00:22:54.94\00:22:56.44
then, and the little
horn arises among them,
00:22:56.47\00:22:59.57
then we must be living
00:22:59.61\00:23:01.24
in the period
of the little horn.
00:23:01.28\00:23:03.18
I mean, it's not
rocket science, folks.
00:23:03.21\00:23:05.98
It's very simple when you
study the prophetic chain,
00:23:06.01\00:23:08.78
when you use the
historicist's method
00:23:08.82\00:23:11.59
or the historical method.
00:23:11.62\00:23:13.62
Martin Luther,
00:23:13.66\00:23:16.06
the founder of
the Lutheran Church,
00:23:16.09\00:23:20.36
he's famous because
he nailed the 95 theses
00:23:20.40\00:23:23.80
on the cathedral
door in Wittenberg
00:23:23.83\00:23:26.43
on October 31, 1517.
00:23:26.47\00:23:29.60
And by the way, I
don't know if you're aware,
00:23:29.64\00:23:32.17
but a year before this,
00:23:32.21\00:23:34.94
actually, it was in the year
00:23:34.98\00:23:39.05
2017.
00:23:39.08\00:23:41.02
The pope and the
Lutherans got together
00:23:41.05\00:23:43.85
in Malmo in Sweden,
00:23:43.89\00:23:47.72
to begin a year celebration
00:23:47.76\00:23:50.56
of the Protestant Reformation.
00:23:50.59\00:23:53.16
Do you think Luther
would have ever done that?
00:23:53.19\00:23:55.90
Not in your lifetime
00:23:55.93\00:23:58.10
would Luther have
done something like that.
00:23:58.13\00:24:00.84
Now, notice what
Luther had to say
00:24:00.87\00:24:02.70
about the Antichrist.
00:24:02.74\00:24:04.54
This is once again
found in the resource
00:24:04.57\00:24:08.24
that was prepared
by Le Roy Edwin Froom.
00:24:08.28\00:24:11.55
I quote, "I am
practically cornered,
00:24:11.58\00:24:15.55
and can hardly doubt anymore,
00:24:15.58\00:24:18.72
that the pope is
really the Antichrist,
00:24:18.75\00:24:22.22
whom the world expects
according to a general belief."
00:24:22.26\00:24:26.33
And now notice why he believes,
00:24:26.36\00:24:28.53
believed that the
papacy was the Antichrist.
00:24:28.56\00:24:30.73
He says,
00:24:30.77\00:24:32.10
"Because everything
00:24:32.13\00:24:34.57
so exactly corresponds
00:24:34.60\00:24:38.34
to the way of his life, action,
00:24:38.37\00:24:41.34
words and commandments."
00:24:41.38\00:24:44.21
Was he just guessing?
00:24:44.25\00:24:46.15
He said, "Well, you
know, the pope is a nasty guy,
00:24:46.18\00:24:48.15
so he's the Antichrist."
00:24:48.18\00:24:50.32
That's the way
Protestants these days
00:24:50.35\00:24:51.92
try to interpret Antichrist.
00:24:51.95\00:24:53.29
They say, "Oh, well, let's
see, who could Antichrist be?
00:24:53.32\00:24:56.06
Will, maybe Hitler,
because he's a nasty guy.
00:24:56.09\00:24:59.89
Maybe Saddam Hussein,
00:24:59.93\00:25:02.00
maybe it was the
Ayatollah Khomeini."
00:25:02.03\00:25:04.60
You know, it's guesswork,
because Protestantism,
00:25:04.63\00:25:08.44
as we're going to
see has lost the method,
00:25:08.47\00:25:11.34
the proper method of
studying Bible prophecy.
00:25:11.37\00:25:15.21
Martin Luther also
wrote in the year 1540,
00:25:15.24\00:25:19.85
the following.
00:25:19.88\00:25:21.58
It's actually
kind of like a prayer,
00:25:21.62\00:25:24.02
"Oh Christ, my Lord,
00:25:24.05\00:25:27.26
look down upon us
00:25:27.29\00:25:29.36
and bring upon us
thy day of judgment,
00:25:29.39\00:25:32.96
and destroy the
brood of Satan in Rome."
00:25:32.99\00:25:36.40
You know, this is
pretty strong stuff.
00:25:36.43\00:25:39.50
You say, "Maybe he
should have been nicer."
00:25:39.53\00:25:42.04
Well, maybe Jesus
should have been nicer
00:25:42.07\00:25:44.71
when he called the apostate
Jewish leaders in His day,
00:25:44.74\00:25:48.51
brood of vipers and serpents,
00:25:48.54\00:25:52.78
and said, "How will you escape
the condemnation of hell."
00:25:52.81\00:25:55.55
No political correctness there.
00:25:55.58\00:25:58.69
You know, sometimes we
have to tell the truth.
00:25:58.72\00:26:00.99
And it's understandable
that it might hurt.
00:26:01.02\00:26:04.83
But in the long run,
00:26:04.86\00:26:06.49
a little hurt is
better than being lost
00:26:06.53\00:26:08.96
at the end of the age.
00:26:09.00\00:26:10.93
So he continues
writing the following.
00:26:10.97\00:26:13.94
There he's speaking about Rome,
00:26:13.97\00:26:16.64
"There sits the Man
00:26:16.67\00:26:20.31
in Rome,
00:26:20.34\00:26:22.04
of whom the apostle Paul wrote,"
00:26:22.08\00:26:25.78
and then he puts in parentheses
00:26:25.81\00:26:27.55
2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4,
00:26:27.58\00:26:30.39
where it speaks
about the Man of Sin.
00:26:30.42\00:26:32.52
So he says, "There sits the Man,
00:26:32.55\00:26:34.26
of whom the apostle Paul wrote
00:26:34.29\00:26:36.26
that he will
oppose and exalt himself
00:26:36.29\00:26:38.36
above all that is called God,
00:26:38.39\00:26:40.40
that Man of Sin,
that Son of Perdition.
00:26:40.43\00:26:43.77
What else is the papal power,
00:26:43.80\00:26:46.67
but sin and corruption?"
00:26:46.70\00:26:48.97
Are you catching the picture?
00:26:52.04\00:26:54.58
Now, one of the very close
collaborators of Martin Luther,
00:26:54.61\00:26:59.18
actually his right hand man,
00:26:59.21\00:27:01.52
if you please was
Philip Melanchthon.
00:27:01.55\00:27:04.85
You know, God has a
tendency to unite individuals
00:27:04.89\00:27:07.99
of two different
types of personalities.
00:27:08.02\00:27:11.23
You know, like, for
example, Paul and Barnabas.
00:27:11.26\00:27:13.19
Do you know what
kind of man Paul was?
00:27:13.23\00:27:15.23
He was an explosive person.
00:27:15.26\00:27:17.33
You know, when John Mark,
you know, he got discouraged
00:27:17.37\00:27:20.40
and didn't want to go,
the Apostle Paul got mad.
00:27:20.44\00:27:22.30
He said, "Get rid of him."
00:27:22.34\00:27:23.67
And there was a fight
between him and Barnabas,
00:27:23.71\00:27:25.91
and Paul went his way
and Barnabas went his way.
00:27:25.94\00:27:28.84
Paul could be very abrasive.
00:27:28.88\00:27:32.01
But God called Barnabas
00:27:32.05\00:27:33.95
the kind of tame
him a little bit.
00:27:33.98\00:27:36.08
So Martin Luther
was that kind of person.
00:27:36.12\00:27:38.42
He was kind of like,
like the Apostle Paul,
00:27:38.45\00:27:40.62
you know, very
zealous for the truth.
00:27:40.66\00:27:42.36
And Melanchthon would say,
"Well, let's speak the truth.
00:27:42.39\00:27:44.96
You know, let's be
a little bit softer."
00:27:44.99\00:27:48.43
Now, notice what
Philip Melanchthon
00:27:48.46\00:27:49.96
had to say.
00:27:50.00\00:27:51.33
By the way, he was born in 1497,
00:27:51.37\00:27:53.70
and he died in 1560.
00:27:53.74\00:27:56.40
This is what he
wrote in a document
00:27:56.44\00:27:59.14
called the
Disputation on Marriage.
00:27:59.17\00:28:03.65
It has a series of propositions.
00:28:03.68\00:28:05.41
I'm going to read
number 18 through number 25.
00:28:05.45\00:28:09.18
Actually number 26.
00:28:09.22\00:28:11.12
This is what he wrote,
00:28:11.15\00:28:12.59
"since it is certain
00:28:12.62\00:28:14.96
that the pontiffs and the monks
00:28:14.99\00:28:17.89
have forbidden marriage,
00:28:17.93\00:28:20.13
it is most manifest,
and true without any doubt,
00:28:20.16\00:28:23.83
that the Roman Pontiff," now,
here's a very important point,
00:28:23.87\00:28:27.50
"that the Roman Pontiff,
00:28:27.54\00:28:29.74
with his whole
order and kingdom,
00:28:29.77\00:28:32.91
is very Antichrist."
00:28:32.94\00:28:35.04
Did Luther believe
that an individual pope
00:28:35.08\00:28:37.45
was the Antichrist?
00:28:37.48\00:28:39.68
No. Notice once again.
00:28:39.71\00:28:43.69
He states that
the Roman Pontiff,
00:28:43.72\00:28:47.22
with his whole
order and kingdom.
00:28:47.26\00:28:50.29
The Antichrist is
not an individual,
00:28:50.33\00:28:51.83
it's a kingdom
is very Antichrist.
00:28:51.86\00:28:55.80
That's proposition 18.
00:28:55.83\00:28:57.17
And proposition 19, he states,
00:28:57.20\00:28:59.23
"Likewise in 2 Thessalonians
2, Paul clearly says
00:28:59.27\00:29:03.57
that the man of sin
will rule in the church."
00:29:03.61\00:29:07.68
So the temple is
what? The church.
00:29:07.71\00:29:10.95
See, all the
points that I mentioned,
00:29:10.98\00:29:12.81
all the summary of
Protestant beliefs.
00:29:12.85\00:29:15.25
"Likewise in 2 Thessalonians
2, Paul clearly says
00:29:15.28\00:29:18.02
that the man of sin
will rule in the church,
00:29:18.05\00:29:20.06
exalting himself above
the worship of God, etc."
00:29:20.09\00:29:24.26
Proposition number 20,
00:29:24.29\00:29:25.69
"But it's certain
00:29:25.73\00:29:27.06
that the popes do
rule in the church."
00:29:27.10\00:29:29.23
Notice the popes, plural.
00:29:29.26\00:29:31.97
The Antichrist is
not an individual.
00:29:32.00\00:29:34.20
It is a succession of
popes that lead a kingdom,
00:29:34.24\00:29:37.51
the kingdom of the papacy.
00:29:37.54\00:29:39.21
So therefore, he
says, once again,
00:29:39.24\00:29:42.68
"But it is
certain that the popes
00:29:42.71\00:29:44.18
do rule in the church,
00:29:44.21\00:29:45.61
and under the
title of the church
00:29:45.65\00:29:48.68
in defending idols.
00:29:48.72\00:29:50.49
Therefore, I affirm
that no heresy hath arisen,
00:29:50.52\00:29:54.62
nor indeed shall be,
00:29:54.66\00:29:56.79
with which these
descriptions of Paul
00:29:56.83\00:29:59.66
can more truly and
certainly accord and agree
00:29:59.69\00:30:03.73
than with this
pontifical kingdom."
00:30:03.77\00:30:07.54
Notice, he is not saying
an individual is Antichrist.
00:30:07.57\00:30:11.17
It's the whole
pontifical kingdom.
00:30:11.21\00:30:14.11
It is the papacy
and all of its history.
00:30:14.14\00:30:16.85
In proposition 25, and
this is very interesting.
00:30:16.88\00:30:20.78
He's actually going to
say that the king of the north
00:30:20.82\00:30:23.49
of Daniel 11 is the papacy.
00:30:23.52\00:30:26.89
Now, that's very,
that's very interesting,
00:30:26.92\00:30:29.99
because there's a
lot of debate these days
00:30:30.03\00:30:31.76
about the king of the north.
00:30:31.79\00:30:33.13
Some people say even
in the Adventist church
00:30:33.16\00:30:34.73
that the king of
the north is Turkey.
00:30:34.76\00:30:38.17
But Melanchthon was clear
00:30:38.20\00:30:40.44
on the identity of
the king of the north.
00:30:40.47\00:30:41.97
Let me just read
here, proposition number 25.
00:30:42.00\00:30:45.84
"The prophet
Daniel also attributes
00:30:45.87\00:30:48.51
these two things
to Antichrist, namely,
00:30:48.54\00:30:51.91
that he shall place
an idol in the temple
00:30:51.95\00:30:55.02
and worship it
with gold and silver,
00:30:55.05\00:30:57.65
and that he
shall not honor women."
00:30:57.69\00:31:01.19
That is in Daniel 11, folks.
00:31:01.22\00:31:04.23
And then proposition 26.
00:31:04.26\00:31:06.63
He says, "That both
of them, both of these,
00:31:06.66\00:31:09.90
gold and silver
and not honoring women.
00:31:09.93\00:31:12.17
That both of them
belong to the Roman Pontiff,
00:31:12.20\00:31:15.70
who does not clearly see?
00:31:15.74\00:31:18.54
The idols are
clearly the impious masses,
00:31:18.57\00:31:22.54
the worship of the
saints, and the statues
00:31:22.58\00:31:26.98
which are
exhibited in gold and silver
00:31:27.02\00:31:30.15
that they may be worshiped."
00:31:30.19\00:31:32.92
So the king of the north
00:31:32.95\00:31:34.62
was also
believed to be the papacy.
00:31:34.66\00:31:37.13
By the way, when you read
00:31:37.16\00:31:38.49
all of the
statements of the reformers,
00:31:38.53\00:31:40.33
you discover that
00:31:40.36\00:31:41.90
they understood
that in the Bible,
00:31:41.93\00:31:43.67
the papacy is
referred to in different ways.
00:31:43.70\00:31:47.60
The papacy is the little horn.
00:31:47.64\00:31:50.27
The papacy is the beast.
00:31:50.31\00:31:52.77
The papacy is the Antichrist.
00:31:52.81\00:31:55.24
The papacy is the harlot.
00:31:55.28\00:31:57.58
The papacy is the man of sin.
00:31:57.61\00:32:00.82
All of these
different references
00:32:00.85\00:32:04.09
refer to the same power.
00:32:04.12\00:32:07.82
Now let's talk
about John Calvin,
00:32:07.86\00:32:10.39
the founder of the
Presbyterian Church.
00:32:10.43\00:32:13.90
He lived from 1509 to 1564.
00:32:13.93\00:32:18.97
I read just one
statement from John Calvin.
00:32:19.00\00:32:22.07
"Some persons
think us too severe
00:32:22.10\00:32:26.78
and censorious
00:32:26.81\00:32:28.84
when we call the
Roman pontiff Antichrist."
00:32:28.88\00:32:32.68
Say and some people were saying,
00:32:32.71\00:32:34.05
"Hey, don't do that.
00:32:34.08\00:32:35.98
Don't be politically
incorrect and say the papacy
00:32:36.02\00:32:37.72
is the Antichrist.
00:32:37.75\00:32:39.09
Don't be mean spirited."
00:32:39.12\00:32:40.86
It was happening back then.
00:32:40.89\00:32:43.09
He continues, "However,
those who are of this opinion
00:32:43.12\00:32:48.10
do not consider that they bring
the same charge of presumption
00:32:48.13\00:32:52.60
against Paul himself,
00:32:52.63\00:32:54.87
after whom we speak and
whose language we adopt.
00:32:54.90\00:32:59.14
I shall briefly
show that Paul's words
00:32:59.17\00:33:01.44
in 2 Thessalonians
2 are not capable..."
00:33:01.48\00:33:04.95
Now listen to this,
00:33:04.98\00:33:07.22
Paul's words in
2 Thessalonians 2.
00:33:07.25\00:33:09.92
We're going to
have two presentations
00:33:09.95\00:33:11.79
on 2 Thessalonians 2
later on in this series,
00:33:11.82\00:33:15.12
"Are not capable of
any other interpretation."
00:33:15.16\00:33:18.59
He says, "This
chapter is not open
00:33:18.63\00:33:20.96
to any other interpretation
00:33:21.00\00:33:22.96
than that which
applies them to the papacy."
00:33:23.00\00:33:27.64
You know, what's
interesting is none of these
00:33:31.24\00:33:33.14
Protestant churches
these days believe any of this.
00:33:33.17\00:33:37.11
They totally gone astray.
00:33:37.15\00:33:38.75
We're going to see
from the prophetic roots.
00:33:38.78\00:33:41.08
They've adopted the two systems
that the papacy established.
00:33:41.12\00:33:46.02
In this way they
have changed God's times,
00:33:46.05\00:33:49.19
God's prophetic times.
00:33:49.22\00:33:51.03
It's going to be
an exciting story
00:33:51.06\00:33:53.19
that we're going to study here.
00:33:53.23\00:33:54.86
By the way, I wrote a book
00:33:54.90\00:33:57.93
called Futurism's
Incredible Journey,
00:33:57.97\00:34:01.30
where there're many,
many other statements
00:34:01.34\00:34:03.37
and much more material
than what I'm presenting here.
00:34:03.41\00:34:06.24
You can get this book
from Secrets Unsealed.
00:34:06.27\00:34:09.44
Everything is
documented with footnotes, etc.
00:34:09.48\00:34:12.48
Now, let's talk
about Huldrych Zwingli.
00:34:12.51\00:34:17.12
He is the founder
of the Reformed Church.
00:34:17.15\00:34:20.59
Notice what he wrote.
00:34:20.62\00:34:21.99
He was a little more diplomatic,
00:34:22.02\00:34:23.93
a little nicer,
00:34:23.96\00:34:25.63
but he didn't fail
to identify the papacy
00:34:25.66\00:34:27.80
as the Antichrist.
00:34:27.83\00:34:30.10
This is what he wrote.
00:34:30.13\00:34:31.97
"I know that in the papacy works
00:34:32.00\00:34:36.77
the might and
power of the Devil,
00:34:36.81\00:34:41.04
that is, of the Antichrist."
00:34:41.08\00:34:44.18
Once again, "I know
that in the papacy works
00:34:44.21\00:34:47.35
the might and
power of the Devil,
00:34:47.38\00:34:49.22
that is, of the Antichrist."
00:34:49.25\00:34:51.92
And then he says,
"Yet I cannot approve
00:34:51.95\00:34:54.59
of the Anabaptists
00:34:54.62\00:34:57.99
proclaiming the Word of God
00:34:58.03\00:35:00.30
only because of their
hatred against the pope."
00:35:00.33\00:35:03.06
Because the
Anabaptists hated the pope.
00:35:03.10\00:35:04.63
And so, all of their emphasis
was on pope, hating the pope.
00:35:04.67\00:35:10.04
He says, you know, that
can't be your only copy.
00:35:10.07\00:35:14.71
He continued
writing, "I desire much more
00:35:14.74\00:35:18.08
that the love of God
would be their motive
00:35:18.11\00:35:21.18
in resisting Antichrist,
00:35:21.22\00:35:23.59
and to lessen the
burdens of their neighbors."
00:35:23.62\00:35:27.19
So Zwingli, even though
he's a little more diplomatic,
00:35:27.22\00:35:31.96
very clearly says that
Antichrist is the papacy
00:35:31.99\00:35:36.77
that needs to be resisted.
00:35:36.80\00:35:39.57
Now, let me give you a
quotation from John Knox.
00:35:39.60\00:35:42.90
He lived from 1505 to 1572 AD.
00:35:42.94\00:35:47.68
He was the great champion
of the Reformation in Scotland.
00:35:47.71\00:35:51.75
And I want you to
notice what he wrote.
00:35:51.78\00:35:54.98
Once again,
he's going to tell us
00:35:55.02\00:35:56.35
that the papacy
is not an individual
00:35:56.38\00:35:58.85
that is going to
rise in the Middle East
00:35:58.89\00:36:00.59
after the rapture,
00:36:00.62\00:36:02.26
who's going to sit in
a rebuild Jewish temple
00:36:02.29\00:36:04.93
for three and a
half literal years,
00:36:04.96\00:36:06.96
like conservative
Protestants are teaching today.
00:36:07.00\00:36:09.30
No, no, no,
notice what he wrote,
00:36:09.33\00:36:11.87
"First, then, not only
are all the impious traditions
00:36:11.90\00:36:16.77
and ceremonies of
the papists taken away,"
00:36:16.81\00:36:20.94
and as he's saying
that we're taking them away
00:36:20.98\00:36:22.71
from Scotland,
00:36:22.74\00:36:24.11
"but also that
tyranny which the pope himself
00:36:24.15\00:36:29.05
has for so many ages
exercised over the church."
00:36:29.08\00:36:34.42
Now, let me ask you.
00:36:34.46\00:36:36.26
Did one pope
exercised power in the church
00:36:36.29\00:36:39.83
over all of the ages?
00:36:39.86\00:36:41.73
One individual
pope? Of course, not.
00:36:41.76\00:36:44.80
I read it again.
00:36:44.83\00:36:46.17
He's speaking of a succession
of popes as the Antichrist.
00:36:46.20\00:36:49.54
Let me read it again.
00:36:49.57\00:36:51.44
"First, then, not only
are all the impious traditions
00:36:51.47\00:36:54.01
and ceremonies of
the papists taken away
00:36:54.04\00:36:56.11
in Scotland, but
also that tyranny
00:36:56.14\00:36:58.25
which the pope
himself has for so many ages
00:36:58.28\00:37:01.98
exercised over the church,
and is altogether abolished,
00:37:02.02\00:37:06.59
that is in Scotland.
00:37:06.62\00:37:08.19
And it is
provided that all persons
00:37:08.22\00:37:10.86
shall in the
future acknowledge him
00:37:10.89\00:37:14.33
to be the very Antichrist,
00:37:14.36\00:37:17.23
and son of
perdition, of whom Paul speaks.
00:37:17.27\00:37:21.10
The mass is abolished..."
00:37:21.14\00:37:22.47
He's speaking about what
is happening in Scotland,
00:37:22.50\00:37:24.71
"The mass is abolished,
00:37:24.74\00:37:26.07
as being an accursed abomination
00:37:26.11\00:37:28.18
and a diabolical profanation
of the Lord's Supper,
00:37:28.21\00:37:31.78
and it is
forbidden to all persons
00:37:31.81\00:37:33.88
in the whole kingdom of Scotland
00:37:33.92\00:37:35.95
either to
celebrate it or to hear it."
00:37:35.98\00:37:40.89
What about John Wesley,
the founder of Methodism.
00:37:40.92\00:37:43.32
These are all the founders
00:37:43.36\00:37:44.69
of the great
Protestant churches,
00:37:44.73\00:37:46.09
the mainline churches today.
00:37:46.13\00:37:48.40
What did John
Wesley have to say?
00:37:48.43\00:37:51.33
He wrote,
00:37:51.37\00:37:53.13
"He is in an emphatical sense...
00:37:53.17\00:37:59.24
the Man of Sin,
00:38:00.98\00:38:02.84
as he increases
all manner of sin
00:38:02.88\00:38:06.25
above measure.
00:38:06.28\00:38:07.88
And he is, too properly
styled the Son of Perdition,
00:38:07.92\00:38:13.09
as he has caused the
death of numberless multitudes,
00:38:13.12\00:38:17.76
both of his
opposers, and followers."
00:38:17.79\00:38:22.10
Did John Wesley believe
00:38:22.13\00:38:23.47
that the papacy
was the Antichrist?
00:38:23.50\00:38:25.73
Absolutely.
00:38:25.77\00:38:27.17
All of the great
reformers, without exception,
00:38:27.20\00:38:29.70
believe that the
papacy was the Antichrist,
00:38:29.74\00:38:31.71
not the Catholic
Church, the papacy.
00:38:31.74\00:38:34.84
They could see it
00:38:34.88\00:38:36.58
because they looked at
the sequence of powers.
00:38:36.61\00:38:39.61
And they looked
at the activities
00:38:39.65\00:38:41.38
and the attitude
of the little horn,
00:38:41.42\00:38:43.28
and the harlot,
00:38:43.32\00:38:44.65
and the
abomination of desolation, etc.
00:38:44.69\00:38:47.89
Now, we need to bear in mind,
this is a very important point
00:38:47.92\00:38:51.93
that the Protestant
reformers were no ignoramuses.
00:38:51.96\00:38:58.00
Most of the great reformers,
00:38:58.03\00:38:59.77
in fact, all of
the great reformers
00:38:59.80\00:39:01.64
had actually
probably gotten doctorates
00:39:01.67\00:39:05.01
in Roman Catholic institutions.
00:39:05.04\00:39:07.41
They were very highly educated.
00:39:07.44\00:39:09.84
Many of them were
able to read Hebrew,
00:39:09.88\00:39:13.31
Greek and Latin.
00:39:13.35\00:39:15.88
These were not
individuals that were, you know,
00:39:15.92\00:39:17.82
they just speculated,
they were kind of dummies,
00:39:17.85\00:39:20.22
you know, illiterate,
00:39:20.26\00:39:21.72
so they didn't know
what they were talking about.
00:39:21.76\00:39:23.53
These individuals studied
in Roman Catholic institutions.
00:39:23.56\00:39:26.96
And not only that,
they were highly educated
00:39:27.00\00:39:29.56
in these institutions,
00:39:29.60\00:39:31.40
so they knew what
they were talking about.
00:39:31.43\00:39:33.50
And as I mentioned, for them,
the little horn of Daniel 7,
00:39:33.54\00:39:38.01
the beast of Revelation 13,
the harlot of Revelation 17,
00:39:38.04\00:39:42.44
the Antichrist of 1 John 2,
00:39:42.48\00:39:44.98
the man of sin of
2 Thessalonians 2,
00:39:45.01\00:39:47.92
the abomination of desolation
00:39:47.95\00:39:49.52
of Matthew 24, and the
king of the north in Daniel 11,
00:39:49.55\00:39:53.79
all represented the same system
00:39:53.82\00:39:56.83
under different names.
00:39:56.86\00:40:01.03
Now what about the
great confessions of faith
00:40:01.06\00:40:02.86
of the churches?
00:40:02.90\00:40:04.23
You know, the
churches of the Reformation
00:40:04.27\00:40:06.53
wrote these great
confessions of faith
00:40:06.57\00:40:09.37
of what their churches believed.
00:40:09.40\00:40:11.87
And in these great
confessions of faith,
00:40:11.91\00:40:14.74
they clearly state
00:40:14.78\00:40:16.78
that the papacy
is the Antichrist.
00:40:16.81\00:40:19.05
I'm going to read you now,
00:40:19.08\00:40:20.65
from actually four
confessions of faith
00:40:20.68\00:40:23.99
of the Protestant churches
00:40:24.02\00:40:26.25
that arose as a
result of the Reformation.
00:40:26.29\00:40:29.76
First of all,
00:40:29.79\00:40:31.13
the Presbyterian
Confession of Faith,
00:40:31.16\00:40:34.46
is actually known
00:40:34.50\00:40:35.83
as the Westminster
Confession of Faith.
00:40:35.86\00:40:39.07
This is what
this confession says,
00:40:39.10\00:40:41.97
"There is no other
head of the church,
00:40:42.00\00:40:45.07
but the Lord Jesus Christ,
00:40:45.11\00:40:47.51
nor can the pope of Rome
00:40:47.54\00:40:50.11
in any sense be head thereof,
00:40:50.15\00:40:53.15
but he is that Antichrist,
00:40:53.18\00:40:56.18
that man of sin
and son of perdition
00:40:56.22\00:40:59.65
that exalteth himself in
the church against Christ
00:40:59.69\00:41:03.99
and all that is called God."
00:41:04.03\00:41:07.36
That's the Presbyterian
Confession of Faith.
00:41:07.40\00:41:10.53
But these days,
the Presbyterian Church
00:41:10.57\00:41:13.17
believes in what
we call preterism.
00:41:13.20\00:41:15.97
In our next
presentation, we're going to see
00:41:16.00\00:41:18.24
what preterism is.
00:41:18.27\00:41:20.48
They basically say
that the Antichrist, well,
00:41:20.51\00:41:23.28
you know, the little
horn was Antiochus Epiphanes.
00:41:23.31\00:41:26.31
And that the beast
of Revelation Chapter 13
00:41:26.35\00:41:29.88
was probably Nero
00:41:29.92\00:41:31.25
because there was this tradition
00:41:31.29\00:41:32.62
that Nero was wounded to death,
00:41:32.65\00:41:34.62
and then he
recovered from his wound,
00:41:34.66\00:41:36.62
actually, he died, and
then he reappeared again,
00:41:36.66\00:41:39.76
and his wound was healed.
00:41:39.79\00:41:41.13
So they said,
"Nero is the Antichrist."
00:41:41.16\00:41:44.63
Let me read you from a
homily of the Church of England,
00:41:44.67\00:41:47.00
the Anglican Church.
00:41:47.04\00:41:50.17
This is what it states.
00:41:50.21\00:41:51.94
He, that is the pope,
00:41:51.97\00:41:53.74
therefore rather
be called Antichrist,
00:41:53.78\00:41:58.28
and the successor of
the Scribes and Pharisees,
00:41:58.31\00:42:01.58
then Christ's vicar or
St. Peter's successor."
00:42:01.62\00:42:06.76
So what the Church of
England is saying that the pope,
00:42:06.79\00:42:10.26
the pope is the Antichrist,
00:42:10.29\00:42:12.56
and he's not the
successor of Christ.
00:42:12.59\00:42:15.66
He is actually the
successor of the scribes
00:42:15.70\00:42:18.13
and the Pharisees.
00:42:18.17\00:42:19.97
Now what about the
Lutheran Confession of Faith?
00:42:20.00\00:42:23.17
This is in the Book of Concord,
00:42:23.20\00:42:25.21
which is a large
book that contains
00:42:25.24\00:42:28.14
many of the confessions,
00:42:28.18\00:42:29.54
and many of the teachings
of the Lutheran Church.
00:42:29.58\00:42:33.05
Now, this is what
00:42:33.08\00:42:34.42
the Lutheran
Confession of Faith says,
00:42:34.45\00:42:36.85
"The Pope is
the very Antichrist,
00:42:36.89\00:42:40.19
who exalteth himself above,
00:42:40.22\00:42:42.12
and opposeth
himself against Christ,
00:42:42.16\00:42:45.29
because he will not
permit Christians to be saved
00:42:45.33\00:42:47.96
without his power, which
nevertheless, is nothing,
00:42:48.00\00:42:52.40
and is neither
ordained nor commanded by God."
00:42:52.43\00:42:57.61
Very clear.
00:42:57.64\00:42:59.44
What about the
Irish Articles of Religion
00:42:59.47\00:43:03.08
written in the year 1615?
00:43:03.11\00:43:06.25
This is a rather
lengthy statement.
00:43:06.28\00:43:08.08
But once again,
you're going to find
00:43:08.12\00:43:10.32
that unanimously
the Protestant Reformers
00:43:10.35\00:43:13.46
believe that the
papacy was the Antichrist,
00:43:13.49\00:43:15.62
and the confessions of
faith of the great churches
00:43:15.66\00:43:19.23
agree with the
teachings of the reformers.
00:43:19.26\00:43:22.30
This is what the Irish
Articles of Religion had to say,
00:43:22.33\00:43:26.63
"Since the Bishop of Rome
00:43:26.67\00:43:29.44
has erected a
monarchy in Christendom,
00:43:29.47\00:43:33.98
claiming for himself dominion
over all churches and pastors,
00:43:34.01\00:43:38.88
exalting himself
to be called God,
00:43:38.91\00:43:42.42
wishing to be adored,
00:43:42.45\00:43:44.85
boasting to have all
power in heaven and upon earth,
00:43:44.89\00:43:49.06
to dispose of all
ecclesiastical matters,
00:43:49.09\00:43:52.36
to decide upon
articles of faith,
00:43:52.39\00:43:55.06
to authorize and interpret
00:43:55.10\00:43:58.03
at his pleasure the Scriptures,
00:43:58.07\00:44:00.17
to make a traffic of souls,
to disregard vows and oaths,
00:44:00.20\00:44:04.37
to appoint new divine services,
00:44:04.41\00:44:06.74
and in respect
to civil government,
00:44:06.78\00:44:08.88
to trample underfoot
00:44:08.91\00:44:10.68
the lawful
authority of the magistrates,
00:44:10.71\00:44:14.05
by taking away, giving,
and exchanging kingdoms,
00:44:14.08\00:44:18.19
we believe and maintain
00:44:18.22\00:44:20.42
that it is the very Antichrist,
00:44:20.46\00:44:23.83
and the son of perdition,
predicted in the Word of God
00:44:23.86\00:44:27.56
under the emblem of a
harlot clothed in scarlet,
00:44:27.60\00:44:32.23
seated upon the seven
hills of the great city,
00:44:32.27\00:44:35.54
which has dominion
over the kings of the earth.
00:44:35.57\00:44:38.44
And we expect that
the Lord will consume it
00:44:38.47\00:44:41.14
with the spirit of his mouth,
00:44:41.18\00:44:42.71
and finally destroy it
00:44:42.74\00:44:44.51
with the
brightness of his coming,
00:44:44.55\00:44:46.45
as he has promised,
00:44:46.48\00:44:48.12
and has already begun to do."
00:44:48.15\00:44:52.45
I think that's
pretty clear, isn't it?
00:44:52.49\00:44:54.86
Crystal clear.
00:44:54.89\00:44:57.03
The feeling was unanimous.
00:44:57.06\00:44:59.33
And once, folks,
00:44:59.36\00:45:00.83
the way in which
the Protestant reformers
00:45:00.86\00:45:03.13
identified the
papacy as the Antichrist
00:45:03.16\00:45:05.33
was in two ways.
00:45:05.37\00:45:06.97
Number one, by using
the historical flow method,
00:45:07.00\00:45:11.07
historicism,
00:45:11.11\00:45:12.47
they could follow
the links on the chain.
00:45:12.51\00:45:15.51
They said, you know, the
lion, clearly Babylon, the bear,
00:45:15.54\00:45:19.41
clearly Medo-Persia,
the leopard, clearly Greece,
00:45:19.45\00:45:22.98
the dragon beast, clearly Rome,
00:45:23.02\00:45:25.65
the 10 horns, the
divisions in Europe
00:45:25.69\00:45:29.02
that had come
from the Roman Empire.
00:45:29.06\00:45:31.19
And they say, "Well, you know,
00:45:31.23\00:45:32.63
that happened in the
fourth and fifth centuries.
00:45:32.66\00:45:34.43
And now, you know,
00:45:34.46\00:45:35.80
the little horn
must have risen."
00:45:35.83\00:45:38.00
And so they looked
over to Rome, they said,
00:45:38.03\00:45:41.10
"The behavior of the papacy
00:45:41.14\00:45:44.14
is predicted very clearly
00:45:44.17\00:45:47.18
in the prophecies
of the little horn,
00:45:47.21\00:45:49.41
the beast, the harlot, etc."
00:45:49.44\00:45:52.08
You see, all they had to
do was follow the trajectory
00:45:52.11\00:45:54.92
of Bible prophecy,
00:45:54.95\00:45:56.28
and also look at the
activities of the papacy
00:45:56.32\00:46:00.29
to know that the papacy
00:46:00.32\00:46:01.66
was the Antichrist of Scripture.
00:46:01.69\00:46:03.76
Now, there were some things
that the Protestant reformers
00:46:03.79\00:46:05.96
did not understand.
00:46:05.99\00:46:08.53
They didn't know
about the deadly wound.
00:46:08.56\00:46:10.23
As far as I know,
they don't say much
00:46:10.27\00:46:12.30
about the deadly
wound, if at all.
00:46:12.33\00:46:14.87
They didn't know
that another beast,
00:46:14.90\00:46:17.44
the United States of America
00:46:17.47\00:46:18.91
was going to
rise from the earth.
00:46:18.94\00:46:21.34
And that this nation
was going to be different
00:46:21.38\00:46:22.94
than any other
nation before it was going
00:46:22.98\00:46:25.51
to separate church and state,
00:46:25.55\00:46:27.75
and it was going to guarantee
civil and religious liberty.
00:46:27.78\00:46:31.45
The reformers didn't know
that, that was still future.
00:46:31.49\00:46:34.36
They didn't know
that the United States
00:46:34.39\00:46:36.29
when it first guarantee
civil and religious liberty,
00:46:36.32\00:46:39.39
but then later
would speak like a dragon
00:46:39.43\00:46:41.66
by helping the first
beast recover the sword
00:46:41.70\00:46:44.67
or recover its power,
00:46:44.70\00:46:46.47
because all of this
was still in the future.
00:46:46.50\00:46:49.30
But they understood everything
00:46:49.34\00:46:51.21
up to the point
of the little horn,
00:46:51.24\00:46:53.91
because they were
living during the period
00:46:53.94\00:46:56.54
of the little horn.
00:46:56.58\00:46:58.38
Now, it's interesting to notice
00:46:58.41\00:47:01.25
what Froom has to say in summary
00:47:01.28\00:47:04.79
of all that the
Protestant Reformers
00:47:04.82\00:47:06.76
and the
Confessions of Faith said.
00:47:06.79\00:47:09.79
I'm going to read
now from his book,
00:47:09.82\00:47:11.89
the Prophetic Faith
of Our Fathers, volume 2,
00:47:11.93\00:47:14.96
and pages 484 and 485.
00:47:15.00\00:47:18.07
You see, the
Protestant Reformers made
00:47:18.10\00:47:20.57
the Roman
Catholic papacy tremble,
00:47:20.60\00:47:24.47
because the accusing finger
was pointed at the papacy,
00:47:24.51\00:47:27.64
and their
arguments were irrefutable.
00:47:27.68\00:47:31.45
Because people could see
00:47:31.48\00:47:33.48
that their interpretation
of prophecy was correct.
00:47:33.52\00:47:36.22
And they could see
00:47:36.25\00:47:37.59
that the description
giving of the Antichrist
00:47:37.62\00:47:39.85
was fulfilled in the
papacy, they could see it.
00:47:39.89\00:47:44.16
And so what happened?
00:47:44.19\00:47:45.53
The papacy actually
00:47:45.56\00:47:47.56
not only lost
thousands of members
00:47:47.60\00:47:49.73
through the
Protestant Reformation,
00:47:49.76\00:47:52.13
the papacy also
lost entire nations
00:47:52.17\00:47:55.97
to the Protestant Reformation.
00:47:56.00\00:47:58.34
Let me read you
Froom's description
00:47:58.37\00:48:01.81
of the aftermath of the views
of the Protestant Reformers.
00:48:01.84\00:48:06.55
"In Germany, Switzerland,
00:48:06.58\00:48:09.95
France, Denmark, Sweden,
00:48:09.98\00:48:14.52
England and Scotland,
00:48:14.56\00:48:17.99
there had been simultaneous
00:48:18.03\00:48:20.06
and impressive declarations
00:48:20.10\00:48:22.46
by voice and pen
00:48:22.50\00:48:24.50
that the papacy
was the specified
00:48:24.53\00:48:27.44
Antichrist of prophecy."
00:48:27.47\00:48:29.90
All these nations, Germany,
Switzerland, France, Denmark,
00:48:29.94\00:48:34.08
Sweden, England and Scotland.
00:48:34.11\00:48:37.55
He continues writing,
"The symbols of Daniel,
00:48:37.58\00:48:41.18
Paul and John
00:48:41.22\00:48:43.59
were applied with
tremendous effect.
00:48:43.62\00:48:46.96
Hundreds of books and tracks
00:48:46.99\00:48:50.13
impressed their contention
00:48:50.16\00:48:52.19
upon the
consciousness of Europe.
00:48:52.23\00:48:55.00
Indeed, it
gained so great a hold
00:48:55.03\00:48:58.67
upon the minds of
men that Rome, in alarm,
00:48:58.70\00:49:03.37
saw that she must
successfully counteract
00:49:03.41\00:49:06.71
this
identification of the Antichrist
00:49:06.74\00:49:10.25
with the papacy
00:49:10.28\00:49:11.65
or lose the battle."
00:49:11.68\00:49:16.65
And so the papacy said,
"We have to do something
00:49:16.69\00:49:19.25
about the
accusing finger of prophecy
00:49:19.29\00:49:21.39
that's being pointed at us.
00:49:21.42\00:49:24.93
We need to have
that finger pointed
00:49:24.96\00:49:27.63
in a different direction."
00:49:27.66\00:49:30.07
And so, we're going to
notice in our next study,
00:49:30.10\00:49:33.27
that the Roman Catholic Church
00:49:33.30\00:49:36.50
called a church council,
00:49:36.54\00:49:38.74
the church Council of Trent,
00:49:38.77\00:49:41.14
the longest
church council in history
00:49:41.18\00:49:43.04
of the Roman Catholic Church.
00:49:43.08\00:49:45.25
And we're going
to see in our study
00:49:45.28\00:49:47.58
that the Roman
Catholic Church and that Council
00:49:47.62\00:49:50.39
which lasted from 1545 to 1563,
00:49:50.42\00:49:54.36
18 years,
00:49:54.39\00:49:56.16
you know, Vatican II Council
lasted from 1962 to 1965,
00:49:56.19\00:50:01.10
that was three years.
00:50:01.13\00:50:02.83
But this one lasted 18 years
00:50:02.86\00:50:04.57
because the
purpose of the council
00:50:04.60\00:50:06.53
was to counteract the
doctrines of Protestantism.
00:50:06.57\00:50:10.04
Now the Council of
Trent did not actually deal
00:50:10.07\00:50:13.01
with how to deflect the finger
of prophecy from the papacy.
00:50:13.04\00:50:18.58
It just reaffirmed its doctrines
00:50:18.61\00:50:20.82
and nugget its
heels in doctrinally.
00:50:20.85\00:50:25.15
But we're going to find
that after the Council of Trent,
00:50:25.19\00:50:29.56
two Roman
Catholic scholars arose
00:50:29.59\00:50:34.53
and they said, we know
how to deflect the finger
00:50:34.56\00:50:39.27
of Bible
prophecy from the papacy
00:50:39.30\00:50:41.04
to point it elsewhere.
00:50:41.07\00:50:43.81
The first of these individuals,
00:50:43.84\00:50:46.68
I'm going to
pronounce the name as it,
00:50:46.71\00:50:48.04
you know,
usually we say Alcazar,
00:50:48.08\00:50:51.01
but we need to
pronounce it properly,
00:50:51.05\00:50:53.21
Luis de Alcazar.
00:50:53.25\00:50:55.48
Actually in Spain it
will be Luis de Alcazar.
00:50:55.52\00:51:00.29
He admitted it,
00:51:00.32\00:51:01.66
or actually He resurrected
from the early church fathers
00:51:01.69\00:51:06.36
what is known as preterism,
00:51:06.39\00:51:09.33
the idea that the
Antichrist prophecies
00:51:09.36\00:51:11.83
were fulfilled
in the distant past.
00:51:11.87\00:51:15.67
And then another scholar arose.
00:51:15.70\00:51:17.31
This is shortly after
the Protestant Reformation
00:51:17.34\00:51:19.57
and the Council of Trent
00:51:19.61\00:51:21.51
that disagreed with Alcazar.
00:51:21.54\00:51:25.75
And he said, "Well, you know,
00:51:25.78\00:51:27.12
Bible prophecy of the Antichrist
00:51:27.15\00:51:29.98
has not yet been fulfilled.
00:51:30.02\00:51:32.52
It is going to be
fulfilled in the future."
00:51:32.55\00:51:36.02
So basically, one scholar,
00:51:36.06\00:51:39.49
Alcazar says,
00:51:39.53\00:51:41.16
the Antichrist prophecies
were fulfilled in the past.
00:51:41.20\00:51:44.27
And Ribera says, "No,
00:51:44.30\00:51:46.23
the prophecies are going to
be fulfilled in the future,"
00:51:46.27\00:51:48.84
the prophecies
about the Antichrist.
00:51:48.87\00:51:51.27
Now, if the
Antichrist prophecies
00:51:51.31\00:51:53.21
were fulfilled in the past,
00:51:53.24\00:51:55.64
then they're not
fulfilled in the papacy.
00:51:55.68\00:51:58.58
And if they were going to
be fulfilled in the future,
00:51:58.61\00:52:01.98
they were not
fulfilled in the papacy either.
00:52:02.02\00:52:05.05
And so the
purpose of these scholars
00:52:05.09\00:52:06.96
was to deflect
the accusing finger
00:52:06.99\00:52:10.06
that identified the
papacy as the Antichrist.
00:52:10.09\00:52:12.39
These two
individuals attempted to change
00:52:12.43\00:52:17.07
God's prophetic calendar.
00:52:17.10\00:52:20.54
They attempted to change
00:52:20.57\00:52:21.90
God's prophetic
times, if you please.
00:52:21.94\00:52:24.54
Not only that the papacy think
that it could change God's law,
00:52:24.57\00:52:28.11
but it also tampered
with God's prophetic calendar.
00:52:28.14\00:52:33.35
It actually taught a
different chain of events.
00:52:33.38\00:52:36.25
Let me ask you, was the papacy
00:52:36.28\00:52:38.12
doing something very similar
00:52:38.15\00:52:39.79
to what King
Nebuchadnezzar wanted to do?
00:52:39.82\00:52:42.36
We studied this, right?
00:52:42.39\00:52:43.73
We studied this in
our second presentation.
00:52:43.76\00:52:47.00
What did King Nebuchadnezzar do?
00:52:47.03\00:52:51.10
Well, God said,
listen, prophetic history
00:52:51.13\00:52:53.44
is going to develop in this way.
00:52:53.47\00:52:55.67
There's gonna be a
lion, a bear a leopard
00:52:55.70\00:52:59.64
and dragon beast,
there's going to be
00:52:59.67\00:53:01.24
a head of gold,
breast and hands of silver,
00:53:01.28\00:53:03.51
belly of bronze, legs
of iron, and then 10 toes.
00:53:03.55\00:53:06.78
That's the way prophetic history
00:53:06.82\00:53:08.45
is going to develop.
00:53:08.48\00:53:10.59
And Nebuchadnezzar says,
I don't like that scenario.
00:53:10.62\00:53:14.32
So in Chapter 3, what
does Nebuchadnezzar do?
00:53:14.36\00:53:17.43
He builds an image like the
one that he saw in his dream,
00:53:17.46\00:53:20.56
but it's totally of gold.
00:53:20.60\00:53:22.80
What is he saying
when he builds this image
00:53:22.83\00:53:25.20
totally of gold?
00:53:25.23\00:53:26.57
What is his objective?
00:53:26.60\00:53:28.37
He's saying,
prophecy is not going to be
00:53:28.40\00:53:31.91
fulfilled as God said.
00:53:31.94\00:53:34.24
In other words,
there's not going to be
00:53:34.28\00:53:36.38
several kingdoms,
00:53:36.41\00:53:37.85
Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece,
Rome and the divisions of Rome.
00:53:37.88\00:53:42.02
No, no, no, that's not the way
00:53:42.05\00:53:44.19
that history is
going to develop.
00:53:44.22\00:53:47.62
Babylon is going to
be an eternal kingdom,
00:53:47.66\00:53:50.49
which shall never be destroyed.
00:53:50.53\00:53:53.09
Babylon is not
only the head of gold,
00:53:53.13\00:53:55.86
Babylon is the
entire image of gold.
00:53:55.90\00:54:01.47
And he said, "Woe to whoever
00:54:01.50\00:54:03.37
has a different
prophetic scenario in mind."
00:54:03.41\00:54:07.74
And there was a
small remnant of three
00:54:07.78\00:54:10.25
that said, Nebuchadnezzar,
00:54:10.28\00:54:11.61
we do not accept your
perspective of prophecy.
00:54:11.65\00:54:15.68
They're not, the
issue is not only worship.
00:54:15.72\00:54:18.59
The issue is also
that Nebuchadnezzar
00:54:18.62\00:54:21.36
is trying to counteract
God's explanation of prophecy.
00:54:21.39\00:54:25.43
So they say, "We
will not worship the image
00:54:25.46\00:54:29.06
that represents the
eternity of Babylon."
00:54:29.10\00:54:31.00
We read from
Ellen White last night,
00:54:31.03\00:54:33.67
the
indestructibility of Babylon.
00:54:33.70\00:54:35.87
They said, "We don't
accept that scenario."
00:54:35.90\00:54:38.74
So Nebuchadnezzar
says, "I will show you
00:54:38.77\00:54:42.54
that my scenario
is going to be true.
00:54:42.58\00:54:45.18
I'm going to
throw you in a furnace
00:54:45.21\00:54:46.82
and then there
will be no opposition."
00:54:46.85\00:54:50.09
So he throws the three young men
00:54:50.12\00:54:52.12
into the fiery furnace.
00:54:52.15\00:54:54.92
He says problem
resolved, but what happened?
00:54:54.96\00:54:59.83
Oh, we know the story.
00:54:59.86\00:55:01.83
Jesus Himself, the Son of God,
00:55:01.86\00:55:05.17
by the way is called an angel,
00:55:05.20\00:55:08.47
in Daniel 3:25.
00:55:08.50\00:55:12.27
The person in the
furnace was the angel,
00:55:12.31\00:55:16.61
Michael, the
archangel, if you please,
00:55:16.64\00:55:20.25
which is a name that
is given to Jesus Christ.
00:55:20.28\00:55:22.68
The name means who is like God.
00:55:22.72\00:55:27.09
And at the end,
Michael is going to stand up
00:55:27.12\00:55:30.03
to defend his people.
00:55:30.06\00:55:31.76
Because the world
00:55:31.79\00:55:33.13
according to
Revelation Chapter 13,
00:55:33.16\00:55:35.16
is going to say,
who is like the beast?
00:55:35.20\00:55:39.03
And Michael is going
to say, "Who is like God?"
00:55:39.07\00:55:42.00
It's going to be a battle
between the beast and Christ.
00:55:42.04\00:55:46.37
And, of course,
00:55:46.41\00:55:47.74
Christ always wins that battle.
00:55:47.78\00:55:52.28
So did you
understand what we studied?
00:55:52.31\00:55:54.88
Is this important?
00:55:54.92\00:55:57.25
Ellen White has told us
00:55:57.29\00:55:59.52
that if people don't
know who the beast is,
00:55:59.55\00:56:03.19
they will end up
worshiping the beast.
00:56:03.22\00:56:06.53
And so we need not only
to understand this ourselves,
00:56:06.56\00:56:09.83
we need to become
loyal followers of Jesus,
00:56:09.86\00:56:12.50
like those three young
men in the fiery furnace.
00:56:12.53\00:56:16.40
We should love Jesus so much
00:56:16.44\00:56:18.37
that it's more
important than our own life.
00:56:18.41\00:56:21.34
Only those who
consider their link with Jesus
00:56:21.38\00:56:25.28
more important than life itself
00:56:25.31\00:56:27.72
will be able to remain
firm in the final crisis.
00:56:27.75\00:56:31.92
That's the kind of
person that God wants us to be.
00:56:31.95\00:56:34.86
He wants us to be like Daniel.
00:56:34.89\00:56:36.22
You know, there's this,
00:56:36.26\00:56:37.59
there's this song
dare to be a Daniel, right?
00:56:37.63\00:56:39.73
You know that you've
heard that song before?
00:56:39.76\00:56:41.56
You know, we need
to be like Daniel,
00:56:41.60\00:56:43.70
who said, you know,
00:56:43.73\00:56:46.10
my God, whom I serve,
00:56:46.13\00:56:48.40
you know, he can
deliver me from the lions,
00:56:48.44\00:56:51.47
but if he doesn't, I'll
still serve the true God.
00:56:51.51\00:56:55.34
Didn't Jesus come
into the lions' den?
00:56:55.38\00:56:59.21
It says, "The angel
came into the lions' den."
00:56:59.25\00:57:02.38
I believe that
angel is the same angel
00:57:02.42\00:57:04.59
that delivered
the three young men
00:57:04.62\00:57:06.15
from the fiery furnace.
00:57:06.19\00:57:08.09
So, folks, in our
next presentation,
00:57:08.12\00:57:10.76
we are going to take a look
00:57:10.79\00:57:13.66
at the Roman Catholic
papacy's counter reformation,
00:57:13.70\00:57:20.17
their attempt to change
God's prophetic calendar.
00:57:20.20\00:57:23.71
And we're going to introduce
how Protestantism imbibed
00:57:23.74\00:57:29.04
the Roman Catholic methods
of interpreting prophecy.
00:57:29.08\00:57:31.91
And we can see the result today.
00:57:31.95\00:57:34.38
Protestants have totally
gone astray from their roots,
00:57:34.42\00:57:38.25
and therefore they
see no danger in Rome.
00:57:38.29\00:57:40.82
They see danger by the
Muslims or the Middle East.
00:57:40.86\00:57:44.46
They say that's where
the battle is going to be.
00:57:44.49\00:57:46.33
They can't see
00:57:46.36\00:57:47.70
where the battle is
going to take place,
00:57:47.73\00:57:49.06
because they are
looking in the wrong place.
00:57:49.10\00:57:51.47
They have imbibed
the prophetic methods
00:57:51.50\00:57:54.34
of the Roman Catholic papacy.
00:57:54.37\00:57:56.74
That's our next exciting study.
00:57:56.77\00:57:59.54