I mentioned earlier 00:00:32.23\00:00:34.10 that this message is not for the faint of heart 00:00:34.13\00:00:40.77 I have been preaching... 00:00:40.80\00:00:43.14 I remember getting an e-mail one day, 00:00:43.17\00:00:44.67 somebody said, "Well, Pastor John, 00:00:44.71\00:00:47.81 don't preach about Jesus." 00:00:47.84\00:00:50.65 Well, you can be here or not, 00:00:50.68\00:00:52.05 you couldn't be here and say that, 00:00:52.08\00:00:54.22 because somebody said, 00:00:54.25\00:00:55.58 "Man, you preach so much about Jesus, 00:00:55.62\00:00:58.19 can you give us some prophecy every now and then?" 00:00:58.22\00:01:01.72 Okay, today is your day. 00:01:01.76\00:01:04.13 You asked for it, as we say in New York, 00:01:04.16\00:01:08.06 you're gonna get it. 00:01:08.10\00:01:10.27 But I'm praying that it will be done in a way 00:01:10.30\00:01:12.20 that will honor God 00:01:12.23\00:01:14.87 because sometimes the message can be so bright, 00:01:14.90\00:01:18.57 I don't want it to burn anybody, 00:01:18.61\00:01:20.34 I want it to shine. 00:01:20.38\00:01:22.38 So I'm gonna ask you this morning... 00:01:22.41\00:01:25.01 Just before I read the scripture, 00:01:25.05\00:01:26.88 just before you read it with me, 00:01:26.92\00:01:28.25 I'm gonna ask for the Lord to guide our minds and hearts, 00:01:28.28\00:01:31.25 so that we could receive it the right way 00:01:31.29\00:01:33.86 and that I could communicate it the right way. 00:01:33.89\00:01:37.03 The message is entitled, "Distractions." 00:01:37.06\00:01:38.83 Let us read the scripture together 00:01:38.86\00:01:40.56 on the screen and I'd like you to read that 00:01:40.60\00:01:42.10 with some oomph 00:01:42.13\00:01:43.57 as we begin our message this morning. 00:01:43.60\00:01:47.47 Together, "Now learn the parable from the fig tree 00:01:47.50\00:01:52.54 when its branch has already become tender 00:01:52.57\00:01:56.38 and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 00:01:56.41\00:02:01.48 So you also, when you see all these things, 00:02:01.52\00:02:07.46 know that it is near at the doors!" 00:02:07.49\00:02:12.49 Let us pray. 00:02:12.53\00:02:14.60 Loving Father in heaven, 00:02:14.63\00:02:17.03 I just want to be Your servant today. 00:02:17.07\00:02:19.70 Use my mind and my heart to speak in a way 00:02:19.73\00:02:24.71 that will glorify Jesus, 00:02:24.74\00:02:28.78 will awaken the slumbering, 00:02:28.81\00:02:32.05 will grab the unaware, 00:02:32.08\00:02:35.85 and will refocus the distracted. 00:02:35.88\00:02:40.19 In Jesus name I pray, amen. 00:02:40.22\00:02:45.76 When I read that scripture, the words of Jesus 00:02:45.79\00:02:47.93 ring with urgency 00:02:47.96\00:02:51.10 to a world that is distracted. 00:02:51.13\00:02:55.50 If you have just taken the pulse of this generation, 00:02:55.54\00:02:58.44 this generation has lost the ability to stay focused. 00:02:58.47\00:03:03.81 Everything around us is grabbing and pulling 00:03:03.85\00:03:06.48 for our attention. 00:03:06.51\00:03:09.52 Social pressures, family ties, and worldly pursuits 00:03:09.55\00:03:16.02 have absorbed the senses of our society to the point 00:03:16.06\00:03:22.10 that the eternal things have almost become unimportant. 00:03:22.13\00:03:28.47 But I think the Lord, 00:03:28.50\00:03:30.97 that even though the unimportant 00:03:31.01\00:03:32.34 and the fascinating heaven 00:03:32.37\00:03:33.71 gross the minds of the mindless. 00:03:33.74\00:03:35.68 I thank the Lord, that the words of prophecy 00:03:35.71\00:03:40.85 still have a voice. 00:03:40.88\00:03:44.32 That the words that Jesus have spoken Himself, 00:03:44.35\00:03:48.56 that the words, that the Holy Spirit 00:03:48.59\00:03:52.16 have inspired the prophets to pen, 00:03:52.19\00:03:55.66 are being fulfilled in our day, letting us know 00:03:55.70\00:03:58.27 that He that shall come, will come and will not tarry. 00:03:58.30\00:04:04.97 But there's someone else that knows 00:04:05.01\00:04:06.64 that the coming of the Lord is even at the door, 00:04:06.68\00:04:09.88 and that is the enemy. 00:04:09.91\00:04:11.65 And the enemy have souls, has devised a strategy 00:04:11.68\00:04:14.65 by which the world has become charmed, 00:04:14.68\00:04:18.02 spellbound, mesmerized, and riveted to the irrelevant. 00:04:18.05\00:04:23.29 Things that really don't matter for eternity 00:04:23.32\00:04:26.53 are getting more of our energies 00:04:26.56\00:04:28.60 than God ever intended for them to receive 00:04:28.63\00:04:33.37 and the simple things are losing their simplicity. 00:04:33.40\00:04:38.71 As I was preparing for the message, 00:04:38.74\00:04:41.88 I said to myself, "I am going to go to bed early. 00:04:41.91\00:04:45.51 I am going to go to bed early. I went to bed at 3:02. 00:04:45.55\00:04:50.05 I went to bed early." 00:04:50.09\00:04:52.65 But I don't feel like I went to bed at 3:00, 00:04:52.69\00:04:54.19 I feel like I had a 12-hour rest, 00:04:54.22\00:04:59.49 because to revisit the words of prophecy 00:04:59.53\00:05:01.46 are exhilarating and awakening and exciting. 00:05:01.50\00:05:07.20 But if you think about the simplicities of life 00:05:07.24\00:05:09.40 and I was looking through in my computer. 00:05:09.44\00:05:11.91 Thank God for the day and age of multitasking. 00:05:11.94\00:05:14.91 You can open as many windows 00:05:14.94\00:05:16.58 as your operating system can allow. 00:05:16.61\00:05:19.21 I was amazed to see that the simple things of life 00:05:19.25\00:05:21.62 are no longer simple and are also no longer safe. 00:05:21.65\00:05:25.19 Take walking, the healthiest exercise. 00:05:25.22\00:05:28.62 Through distractions, walking has become 00:05:28.66\00:05:32.23 the ever increasing means by which 00:05:32.26\00:05:35.60 pedestrians are losing their lives by the thousands. 00:05:35.63\00:05:40.30 Why? Because of distractions. 00:05:40.34\00:05:43.77 Take for example NPR News, March 30th, 2017, 00:05:43.81\00:05:48.31 and they reported: A report released today, 00:05:48.34\00:05:50.88 according to that date, 00:05:50.91\00:05:52.31 by the Governor's Highway Safety Association shows 00:05:52.35\00:05:56.25 that the number of pedestrians killed in traffic 00:05:56.28\00:05:59.62 jumped 11% last year to nearly 6,000. 00:05:59.65\00:06:05.69 That's the biggest single year increase 00:06:05.73\00:06:07.90 in pedestrian fatalities ever and the highest number 00:06:07.93\00:06:12.13 in more than two decades or more than 20 years. 00:06:12.17\00:06:16.54 I began to find out the specifics 00:06:16.57\00:06:18.31 and they point out that more than a million people, 00:06:18.34\00:06:22.34 more than how many? 00:06:22.38\00:06:24.15 More than a million people 00:06:24.18\00:06:27.75 were involved in fatal incidences 00:06:27.78\00:06:31.45 by driving while texting. 00:06:31.49\00:06:34.26 More than a million, this is not in 10 years, 00:06:37.79\00:06:39.83 this is in a year. 00:06:39.86\00:06:42.16 And they've taken the statistics. 00:06:42.20\00:06:43.63 It's an alarming thing. And you almost don't hear it. 00:06:43.67\00:06:45.87 It is almost like the phone companies say, 00:06:45.90\00:06:47.24 "Please do not put that on the news." 00:06:47.27\00:06:52.94 And then 1.6 million 00:06:52.97\00:06:56.58 have been involved in near fatal accidents 00:06:56.61\00:06:59.68 that have admittedly say, said that, 00:06:59.71\00:07:02.35 while they were driving they were trying to text 00:07:02.38\00:07:04.65 or respond to some kind of notification. 00:07:04.69\00:07:07.36 One writer said, "All you've got to do 00:07:07.39\00:07:09.89 to be able to get something accomplished 00:07:09.92\00:07:12.39 is turn the notifications on your phone off." 00:07:12.43\00:07:17.17 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 00:07:17.20\00:07:19.23 You know that ting, ting... 00:07:19.27\00:07:23.00 All these sounds that we connect, 00:07:23.04\00:07:24.41 we have a Facebook sound and an Instagram sound, 00:07:24.44\00:07:27.64 and an e-mail sound, 00:07:27.68\00:07:29.01 you know what I'm talking about? 00:07:29.04\00:07:30.38 And there's some people that... 00:07:30.41\00:07:31.78 "Hold on, hold on, wait." 00:07:31.81\00:07:35.55 And Simon Sinek even points out, 00:07:35.58\00:07:38.25 as he looks at the alluring challenges of the, 00:07:38.29\00:07:42.42 of the multimedia, he says, 00:07:42.46\00:07:44.93 "That when you sit in a meeting, 00:07:44.96\00:07:47.00 when you are waiting in the waiting room, 00:07:47.03\00:07:49.66 do something different for a change. 00:07:49.70\00:07:51.67 Put down your phone and ask the person next to you, 00:07:51.70\00:07:55.20 how are you doing?" 00:07:55.24\00:07:57.31 He said even when he goes to dinner now, 00:08:01.64\00:08:03.38 if they go in a group of four, 00:08:03.41\00:08:04.75 three of them leave their phones at home. 00:08:04.78\00:08:06.72 So they can actually have a civilized meeting. 00:08:06.75\00:08:09.62 He even suggested that when you're having a meeting, 00:08:09.65\00:08:11.52 don't even put your phone on the table, 00:08:11.55\00:08:13.46 because it suggest to some subliminal level 00:08:13.49\00:08:16.36 that you are kind of listening to the person 00:08:16.39\00:08:19.26 that's talking to you, waiting for any interruption 00:08:19.29\00:08:22.43 that could come at any moment now. 00:08:22.46\00:08:26.10 Distracted. Distracted. 00:08:26.13\00:08:30.64 Health Day, October 1, 2017, under the title: 00:08:30.67\00:08:34.84 "Most U.S. Drivers Engage in distracting Behavior," 00:08:34.88\00:08:37.91 the poll was taken. 00:08:37.95\00:08:39.28 It says, "Despite these statistics, 00:08:39.31\00:08:40.92 more than 37% of the drivers have admitted 00:08:40.95\00:08:43.75 to sending or receiving text messages while driving 00:08:43.79\00:08:46.52 and 18% admit doing it regularly." 00:08:46.55\00:08:51.49 That's what we do, that's what we do. 00:08:51.53\00:08:57.13 If you only know how far you go in three seconds 00:08:57.17\00:09:00.17 when you're traveling 60 miles an hour, 00:09:00.20\00:09:02.44 and the question is, 00:09:02.47\00:09:03.81 who drives 60 miles an hour? 00:09:03.84\00:09:07.58 Okay, don't raise your hand. But that's... 00:09:07.61\00:09:11.05 You can go a long way in three seconds. 00:09:11.08\00:09:15.98 A deer can come out, 00:09:16.02\00:09:18.12 a pedestrian can walk in your path. 00:09:18.15\00:09:21.02 And I chose to exercise some discretion this morning 00:09:21.06\00:09:24.09 because there's some really funny videos 00:09:24.13\00:09:26.46 on Youtube about people that... 00:09:26.49\00:09:29.40 There's a lady walking in the mall, 00:09:29.43\00:09:30.77 she works in this mall every day, 00:09:30.80\00:09:32.83 that's the mall she works in. 00:09:32.87\00:09:35.07 And she's walking and she said in the news broadcast, 00:09:35.10\00:09:37.94 she actually was interviewed 00:09:37.97\00:09:39.41 after this accident, went viral. 00:09:39.44\00:09:42.04 She was interviewed and she said, 00:09:42.08\00:09:43.41 "When I got to work the next day, 00:09:43.45\00:09:45.05 all my co-workers were laughing at me 00:09:45.08\00:09:47.62 and I was embarrassed to the point of tears." 00:09:47.65\00:09:50.29 And they said, "What happened?" 00:09:50.32\00:09:51.65 She said, "Well, one of my church members 00:09:51.69\00:09:55.26 texted me while I was on my way to lunch 00:09:55.29\00:09:58.36 and I just decided to respond to the text 00:09:58.39\00:10:00.86 and ended up in the mall's water fountain." 00:10:00.90\00:10:04.73 She said, "The next thing I knew 00:10:04.77\00:10:06.10 I had pennies and quarters all over my face." 00:10:06.13\00:10:10.61 I thought I exercised discretion 00:10:10.64\00:10:12.17 not to show the video. 00:10:12.21\00:10:13.54 I didn't want to embarrass her further. 00:10:13.58\00:10:15.91 But there's another video of a lady, 00:10:15.94\00:10:17.78 just all she did was answer her phone. 00:10:17.81\00:10:19.91 And if you're in New York City, 00:10:19.95\00:10:21.45 you know, many of the stores in New York City, 00:10:21.48\00:10:22.82 the way the city is designed, 00:10:22.85\00:10:24.19 they have these things called chutes 00:10:24.22\00:10:25.82 that are ground level and they open them 00:10:25.85\00:10:28.46 and they are subterranean or they're below the ground, 00:10:28.49\00:10:31.66 if that's the word they use, 00:10:31.69\00:10:33.73 and people often get their store deliveries 00:10:33.76\00:10:36.13 as they take the goods down and below the store, 00:10:36.16\00:10:39.83 but they have to open these gates like this 00:10:39.87\00:10:41.57 and they're open like a, 00:10:41.60\00:10:42.94 you know, a door that's on the ground. 00:10:42.97\00:10:44.81 I show a picture of a lady just on a phone 00:10:44.84\00:10:46.68 and before, you know, she tumbled over 00:10:46.71\00:10:48.58 and ended up in the basement of the store. 00:10:48.61\00:10:51.75 It's funny. 00:10:51.78\00:10:53.95 But it's not funny when you see a person 00:10:53.98\00:10:55.78 fall on the tracks of an oncoming train 00:10:55.82\00:11:00.36 or you hear about a 13-year-old 00:11:00.39\00:11:02.22 that chose to consciously jump down 00:11:02.26\00:11:04.73 and get her phone and after losing her life, 00:11:04.76\00:11:07.73 her peers of equal age said, 00:11:07.76\00:11:10.10 "They would have done the same thing." 00:11:10.13\00:11:13.77 That's why I decided that a distraction occurs 00:11:13.80\00:11:16.44 when our affections and our intellect 00:11:16.47\00:11:19.14 are focused on objects and issues 00:11:19.17\00:11:21.78 of lesser value than our lives. 00:11:21.81\00:11:24.38 That's a distraction. 00:11:24.41\00:11:27.15 But the point of the transition is this. 00:11:27.18\00:11:31.95 If those are the impacts and the statistics of a world 00:11:31.99\00:11:34.36 being distracted by devices, 00:11:34.39\00:11:36.52 imagine the impact on a spiritual level 00:11:36.56\00:11:40.76 of the church being distracted by worldly devices. 00:11:40.80\00:11:46.74 Imagine the Christian that is not aware 00:11:46.77\00:11:49.04 or even tuned in to the urgency of the hour, 00:11:49.07\00:11:52.97 distracted by whatever may become 00:11:53.01\00:11:56.11 the focal fantasy of that very moment. 00:11:56.14\00:11:59.71 Ours is the culture of preoccupation, 00:11:59.75\00:12:02.32 preoccupied with insignificant issues. 00:12:02.35\00:12:05.39 We live in a society that has been sidetracked, 00:12:05.42\00:12:08.16 sidetracked by social disputes. 00:12:08.19\00:12:11.59 All you got to do is listen to the news 00:12:11.63\00:12:12.96 and people talk more about politics sometimes. 00:12:12.99\00:12:16.06 Ours is a civilization that has been diverted, 00:12:16.10\00:12:18.73 diverted by politically bigoted rhetoric. 00:12:18.77\00:12:22.04 We take sides so often, would to God that good news 00:12:22.07\00:12:26.57 traveled as fast as bad news. 00:12:26.61\00:12:31.48 Really, think about it. 00:12:31.51\00:12:33.42 Even the threads we have on our phone are often there 00:12:33.45\00:12:36.25 because we're trying to communicate something urgent 00:12:36.28\00:12:40.82 and we see the conditions of our world. 00:12:40.86\00:12:42.62 And Isaiah, the prophet, outlines with clear accuracy, 00:12:42.66\00:12:46.70 the condition of the world just before Jesus comes. 00:12:46.73\00:12:49.33 He says in Isaiah 60:2. 00:12:49.36\00:12:52.07 The Bible says, "For behold," the what? 00:12:52.10\00:12:55.04 "The darkness shall cover the earth." 00:12:55.07\00:12:57.54 And what else? "Gross darkness the people." 00:12:57.57\00:13:01.41 That's the condition of our world today. 00:13:01.44\00:13:03.58 Not only darkness in the sense of morality, 00:13:03.61\00:13:06.48 and every other avenue that has become 00:13:06.51\00:13:09.65 the pursuit of happiness. 00:13:09.68\00:13:11.82 But darkness is covering the earth, 00:13:11.85\00:13:13.69 and the people, how are they being affected? 00:13:13.72\00:13:15.62 Gross darkness. 00:13:15.66\00:13:18.96 The Bible also talks about the condition of the church. 00:13:18.99\00:13:21.60 Unfortunately Jesus describes it. 00:13:21.63\00:13:24.10 To His society, but it's also true today. 00:13:24.13\00:13:26.67 He speaks about the willingness on the part of the person 00:13:26.70\00:13:29.47 to whom He's speaking directly to ignore His words of urgency. 00:13:29.50\00:13:33.27 For He says, "For the hearts of this people have grown," 00:13:33.31\00:13:35.64 what? 00:13:35.68\00:13:37.01 "Have grown dull. 00:13:37.05\00:13:38.38 Their ears, their ears are hard of hearing 00:13:38.41\00:13:42.88 and their eyes, they have closed, 00:13:42.92\00:13:46.79 lest they should see with their eyes 00:13:46.82\00:13:48.66 and hear with their ears, 00:13:48.69\00:13:51.23 lest they should understand with their hearts 00:13:51.26\00:13:54.86 and turn so that I should heal them." 00:13:54.90\00:13:58.73 Our nation needs healing. Can you say amen? 00:13:58.77\00:14:02.74 But you cannot be healed 00:14:02.77\00:14:04.11 if you ignore the words of Christ. 00:14:04.14\00:14:05.67 It's just not possible to be healed 00:14:05.71\00:14:07.88 by ignoring the only one that can bring healing. 00:14:07.91\00:14:11.68 We're trying to find healing in drugs 00:14:11.71\00:14:13.18 and in pharmaceuticals and in entertainment 00:14:13.21\00:14:15.95 and in some kind of external stimuli 00:14:15.98\00:14:18.15 which really does not ever bring satisfaction, 00:14:18.19\00:14:21.46 when the vacancies of our lives are filled with everything 00:14:21.49\00:14:24.33 but that which is spiritual. 00:14:24.36\00:14:27.56 And he says to the church, "They've closed their eyes." 00:14:27.60\00:14:29.66 And when you look at Christendom today, 00:14:29.70\00:14:31.30 you see in so many circles of Christendom, 00:14:31.33\00:14:33.30 regardless of the denomination and I must say, 00:14:33.34\00:14:36.20 I say this ashamedly, but even amongst us, 00:14:36.24\00:14:39.74 even our own denomination struggling over issues. 00:14:39.77\00:14:43.81 Lord, give me peace this morning 00:14:43.85\00:14:45.65 that don't impact the relevance of reaching out 00:14:45.68\00:14:52.15 to lead a soul to know who Jesus is 00:14:52.19\00:14:55.69 before the end of the world. 00:14:55.72\00:15:00.23 That's why I'm so glad to be a part of a ministry 00:15:00.26\00:15:01.66 that understands that, that there's a soul, 00:15:01.70\00:15:04.60 every waking day, every waking moment 00:15:04.63\00:15:06.50 to get a message out so somebody could find Jesus. 00:15:06.53\00:15:10.51 And even in the day of Christ, 00:15:10.54\00:15:11.87 he said to the religious leaders, 00:15:11.91\00:15:13.24 he said these words. 00:15:13.27\00:15:14.61 Matthew 16:3, he says, 00:15:14.64\00:15:17.01 "You know how to discern the face of the sky, 00:15:17.05\00:15:19.48 but you cannot..." 00:15:19.51\00:15:21.58 What's that word? 00:15:21.62\00:15:22.95 "You cannot discern the signs of the times." 00:15:22.98\00:15:29.59 I want to be a balanced individual, 00:15:31.39\00:15:35.73 a balanced Christian, a balanced preacher. 00:15:35.76\00:15:41.47 And when I was prodded by the events of this week... 00:15:41.50\00:15:44.67 J, I put on my prophesy belt, 00:15:47.88\00:15:52.11 my prophecy parachute 00:15:52.15\00:15:54.88 and I said, "Lord, push me out of the plane, 00:15:54.92\00:15:56.85 let me float to the ground on the, 00:15:56.89\00:15:59.25 on the veracity and the reliance 00:15:59.29\00:16:05.56 of Bible prophecy." 00:16:05.59\00:16:08.26 Bible prophecy, the signs of the times, 00:16:08.30\00:16:13.34 rapidly fulfilling, materializing before our eyes. 00:16:13.37\00:16:16.17 Bible prophecy is God's mile markers along the way 00:16:16.20\00:16:21.24 in our Christian journey. 00:16:21.28\00:16:22.88 And let me tell you based on the mile markers of prophecy, 00:16:22.91\00:16:26.41 the end is nearer than when we first believe. 00:16:26.45\00:16:32.65 Take, for example, the kingdoms, 00:16:32.69\00:16:35.42 the four major kingdoms of the world. 00:16:35.46\00:16:37.36 There are only four. 00:16:37.39\00:16:40.20 The Head of Gold, the kingdom of Babylon, 00:16:40.23\00:16:43.30 represented in Daniel 7 by the lion with eagle's wings 00:16:43.33\00:16:48.34 rapid, powerful, wealthy kingdom of Babylon. 00:16:48.37\00:16:53.38 It fell, as the Bible said, "it would fall, it fell." 00:16:53.41\00:16:57.75 To be followed by the Persian Empire 00:16:57.78\00:17:02.02 and then the Medo-Persian Empire 00:17:02.05\00:17:04.49 identified as the chest and arms of silver, 00:17:04.52\00:17:07.29 also the bear with three ribs in its mouth 00:17:07.32\00:17:10.06 indicating the three nations that were brought down 00:17:10.09\00:17:13.19 to materialize the reign of the Medo-Persian Empire. 00:17:13.23\00:17:16.40 But almost in the cadence of the heartbeat of God, 00:17:16.43\00:17:19.27 the Medo-Persian Empire falls to the ruthless Empire 00:17:19.30\00:17:22.64 of the Grecian army 00:17:22.67\00:17:24.01 under the leadership of Alexander the Great. 00:17:24.04\00:17:27.18 A young man that had a military prowess 00:17:27.21\00:17:30.95 that was unmatched up until his day, 00:17:30.98\00:17:32.91 but he could not control his alcoholism 00:17:32.95\00:17:34.75 which took his life in his thirties. 00:17:34.78\00:17:38.05 But there was no nation 00:17:38.09\00:17:39.49 that would mention the name Alexander 00:17:39.52\00:17:41.62 without being filled with fear. 00:17:41.66\00:17:43.63 He was able to bring down armies of thousands 00:17:43.66\00:17:46.86 with only three hundred men. 00:17:46.90\00:17:49.93 He had that ability. 00:17:49.96\00:17:53.10 But he has the transitioning point. 00:17:53.13\00:17:55.10 He was the kingdom that fell because after he died, 00:17:55.14\00:17:58.81 it was broken into four heads, a leopard with four heads 00:17:58.84\00:18:01.34 and four wings and you know very well, 00:18:01.38\00:18:03.31 you can't have four presidents and make a company successful. 00:18:03.35\00:18:08.18 They eventually imploded on themselves, 00:18:08.22\00:18:11.19 four heads and four wings. 00:18:11.22\00:18:16.83 But now we come to the most significant aspect 00:18:16.86\00:18:19.06 of the cadence of prophecy Rome, 00:18:19.09\00:18:21.66 the legs of iron. 00:18:21.70\00:18:24.27 Rome, the value decrease, but the strength increase. 00:18:24.30\00:18:28.27 The metals are getting stronger but they're losing their value, 00:18:28.30\00:18:31.61 gold, silver, bronze, but then iron legs. 00:18:31.64\00:18:35.98 And not only iron legs, what the Bible in essence 00:18:36.01\00:18:38.38 is saying to us by these images. 00:18:38.41\00:18:40.55 It is also described, 00:18:40.58\00:18:41.92 we called it the nondescript beast, 00:18:41.95\00:18:43.28 the beast with iron teeth. 00:18:43.32\00:18:46.69 Now I know what a lion looks like. 00:18:46.72\00:18:48.06 You know what a bear looks like. 00:18:48.09\00:18:49.42 We know what a leopard looks like, 00:18:49.46\00:18:50.79 but have you seen a beast 00:18:50.83\00:18:52.16 that's nondescript with iron teeth? 00:18:52.19\00:18:53.63 Thank God there are no beasts 00:18:53.66\00:18:55.26 that literally exist with iron teeth. 00:18:55.30\00:18:59.07 But the reason why the prophet uses that description 00:18:59.10\00:19:02.40 is because he's speaking about, 00:19:02.44\00:19:04.04 this beast has no earthly origin, 00:19:04.07\00:19:06.31 its origin is satanic. 00:19:06.34\00:19:09.64 And as you know the entire New Testament was written, 00:19:09.68\00:19:12.21 was written under the reign of the Roman Empire 00:19:12.25\00:19:14.58 from the very birth of Jesus, 00:19:14.62\00:19:17.25 when there was an attempt to take his life, 00:19:17.29\00:19:19.15 up until the faithful carrying out of the penning of prophecy 00:19:19.19\00:19:24.06 from that Island Prison called Patmos 00:19:24.09\00:19:29.43 where John penned the words that still brings courage 00:19:29.46\00:19:33.03 to the faithful today. 00:19:33.07\00:19:35.57 But don't miss the message. 00:19:35.60\00:19:37.97 From the rise of the Roman Empire 00:19:38.01\00:19:39.44 till the coming of Jesus, 00:19:39.47\00:19:40.81 Rome as a political and religious power 00:19:40.84\00:19:45.15 will have its feet in everything pertaining 00:19:45.18\00:19:48.95 to their fears of men until the coming of Jesus. 00:19:48.98\00:19:55.92 Regardless of the continent, Rome as a religious 00:19:55.96\00:19:59.96 and a political power, as, you know, 00:20:00.00\00:20:01.63 the rise began as pagan, 00:20:01.66\00:20:04.00 but later took on a new diversity 00:20:04.03\00:20:06.17 and the Bible tells us exactly what happened 00:20:06.20\00:20:08.40 and how this power would rise 00:20:08.44\00:20:10.17 and what influence it would have. 00:20:10.21\00:20:12.11 Daniel 2:40 the Bible says, "And the fourth kingdom 00:20:12.14\00:20:15.34 shall be as strong as iron, in as much 00:20:15.38\00:20:20.25 as iron breaks in pieces 00:20:20.28\00:20:23.92 and shatters everything... 00:20:23.95\00:20:28.06 and like iron that crushes, 00:20:28.09\00:20:30.43 that kingdom will break in pieces 00:20:30.46\00:20:33.83 and crush all the others." 00:20:33.86\00:20:37.50 And there is no kingdom that has been able to withstand 00:20:37.53\00:20:40.17 the ruthlessness, the prowess, the vindictiveness, 00:20:40.20\00:20:44.47 the laser-like concentration 00:20:44.51\00:20:47.41 of this satanically motivated power 00:20:47.44\00:20:49.94 through the auspices of the Roman Empire. 00:20:49.98\00:20:53.05 And need I say today that there is no place on earth 00:20:56.05\00:21:00.26 where the power of Rome is still not influential 00:21:00.29\00:21:02.62 through the pontiff of Rome, through the Pope of Rome. 00:21:02.66\00:21:05.53 The only religious individual that has influenced 00:21:05.56\00:21:10.63 both in politics and in religion, 00:21:10.67\00:21:13.54 and every earthly monarch, 00:21:13.57\00:21:15.40 king, government, or president, honors 00:21:15.44\00:21:19.27 and pays homage to the "Holy See." 00:21:19.31\00:21:23.55 Mistakable? Coincidental? 00:21:23.58\00:21:25.51 Absolutely not. 00:21:25.55\00:21:26.95 Prophesied by the hand of God. 00:21:26.98\00:21:31.12 But there was one problem. 00:21:31.15\00:21:33.92 There was one problem, God raised up another power. 00:21:33.96\00:21:38.06 That power that God raised up... 00:21:38.09\00:21:40.36 I'm gonna use the word here, 00:21:40.40\00:21:41.73 would postpone Rome's domination of the world. 00:21:41.76\00:21:45.37 Now the Bible said that, 00:21:45.40\00:21:46.74 "Rome will break in pieces and crush everything." 00:21:46.77\00:21:49.44 Amen? 00:21:49.47\00:21:50.81 But the Lord raised up another nation, 00:21:50.84\00:21:54.64 this United States of America that would postpone 00:21:54.68\00:21:59.25 as long as it could, as long as God intended, 00:21:59.28\00:22:03.15 the United States would postpone 00:22:03.18\00:22:05.79 Rome's domination of the world. 00:22:05.82\00:22:08.92 Postponed. 00:22:08.96\00:22:10.53 What I like about Bible prophecy 00:22:10.56\00:22:12.09 is everything moves according to God's timetable. 00:22:12.13\00:22:15.93 You can be smart but you cannot push 00:22:15.96\00:22:17.87 God's timetable other than God allows it to unfold. 00:22:17.90\00:22:22.10 He shows the end from the beginning 00:22:25.11\00:22:26.68 and from ancient times things that are not yet done 00:22:26.71\00:22:29.98 saying, "I will do all my pleasures." 00:22:30.01\00:22:32.01 So while men are scurrying to end the world or to, 00:22:32.05\00:22:35.12 or to annihilate the world through nuclear means, 00:22:35.15\00:22:37.62 God says, "Hold on. Not so fast." 00:22:37.65\00:22:42.32 Because it's happening according to God's timetable. 00:22:42.36\00:22:45.49 God raised up another nation. 00:22:45.53\00:22:48.00 God raised up another nation, 00:22:48.03\00:22:49.83 this little nation that invited, 00:22:49.86\00:22:51.57 that welcomed the pilgrims that sought freedom 00:22:51.60\00:22:54.20 from the tyranny of Rome in Europe. 00:22:54.24\00:22:57.34 On the heels of the 1,260 years 00:22:57.37\00:22:59.31 of religious tyranny and persecution, 00:22:59.34\00:23:01.54 the loss of life, the abandonment of property, 00:23:01.58\00:23:04.41 the division of homes, 00:23:04.45\00:23:06.05 the killing of countless thousands, millions 00:23:06.08\00:23:10.09 that still today echo through the, 00:23:10.12\00:23:12.69 through the halls of, of the unbelievable, 00:23:12.72\00:23:16.52 through books like Foxe's Book of Martyrs. 00:23:16.56\00:23:18.59 When you look at the ruthlessness 00:23:18.63\00:23:20.20 of the Roman Empire during the Dark Ages, 00:23:20.23\00:23:22.50 nothing could withstand her advancement. 00:23:22.53\00:23:24.80 So God said, "To protect my church." 00:23:24.83\00:23:27.14 The Bible says, "The earth opened its mouth 00:23:27.17\00:23:29.07 and helped the woman, and the woman fled 00:23:29.10\00:23:31.14 into the wilderness, a little lamb like nation." 00:23:31.17\00:23:33.84 And the Bible tells in Revelation, 00:23:33.88\00:23:35.64 how God did it. 00:23:35.68\00:23:37.01 He raised up this country to postpone 00:23:37.05\00:23:42.55 Rome's complete domination of the world. 00:23:42.58\00:23:45.35 Revelation 13:11 says, 00:23:45.39\00:23:47.36 "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth." 00:23:47.39\00:23:50.63 Because the first one came up out of the sea, 00:23:50.66\00:23:52.23 meaning a populated area, 00:23:52.26\00:23:53.93 but this one comes up out of the earth 00:23:53.96\00:23:55.60 and had two horns like a, what? 00:23:55.63\00:23:58.43 Like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 00:23:58.47\00:24:00.27 When the United States came into power, 00:24:00.30\00:24:02.57 the two horns represent, 00:24:02.60\00:24:04.71 that represent the United States 00:24:04.74\00:24:06.64 are the two horns on which this nation pivots, 00:24:06.68\00:24:11.61 Protestantism, the foundation of our religious system, 00:24:11.65\00:24:15.92 and Republicanism, 00:24:15.95\00:24:17.65 the foundation of our government. 00:24:17.69\00:24:19.82 We live in a Republic 00:24:19.85\00:24:23.16 that pivots on the foundation of democracy. 00:24:23.19\00:24:26.49 You see, if you look at the pyramid, 00:24:26.53\00:24:29.00 the pyramid is very fitting of how the world works. 00:24:29.03\00:24:33.07 The pyramid represents Europe, the top, 00:24:33.10\00:24:36.20 under the kings of Europe it was top down. 00:24:36.24\00:24:38.84 They made the rules and you followed it. 00:24:38.87\00:24:42.24 America became the bottom of the pyramid, 00:24:42.28\00:24:44.48 it was made by the people 00:24:44.51\00:24:46.51 and then, and then it was urged 00:24:46.55\00:24:49.42 by the leaders to support that 00:24:49.45\00:24:51.39 which the people have voted into power. 00:24:51.42\00:24:55.42 But it's beginning to be reversed 00:24:55.46\00:24:56.93 even here in America because now even though we say, 00:24:56.96\00:25:00.80 "By the people, for the people," 00:25:00.83\00:25:02.26 it's starting to sound like it's not by the people, 00:25:02.30\00:25:04.60 it's by the government. 00:25:04.63\00:25:06.87 And under the last few administrations, 00:25:06.90\00:25:09.30 it seems like the government has been setting the agenda 00:25:09.34\00:25:11.97 rather than the people. 00:25:12.01\00:25:14.58 But the Bible says, "that's how it's gonna happen, 00:25:14.61\00:25:17.35 two horns like a lamb." 00:25:17.38\00:25:18.88 But the Bible says, "Spoke like a dragon." 00:25:18.91\00:25:22.58 How does the nation speak? 00:25:22.62\00:25:25.75 The Lord allowed 00:25:25.79\00:25:27.86 the First Amendment to guarantee 00:25:27.89\00:25:30.09 that these powers Republicanism and Protestantism co-exist 00:25:30.13\00:25:34.33 without either exercising power over the other. 00:25:34.36\00:25:37.73 Let me see that again. 00:25:37.77\00:25:40.00 The government will not exercise 00:25:40.04\00:25:42.04 power over the religion of its land 00:25:42.07\00:25:45.51 and the religion of its land 00:25:45.54\00:25:47.91 will not usurp the power of the government, 00:25:47.94\00:25:51.98 both to peacefully co-exist, 00:25:52.01\00:25:54.68 that's how this nation was established, 00:25:54.72\00:25:56.65 to prevent the tyranny of Europe 00:25:56.69\00:25:58.52 from being recreated here. 00:25:58.55\00:26:00.16 Although our forefathers were kind of nervous 00:26:00.19\00:26:02.89 and they somewhat duplicated what was happening in Rome. 00:26:02.92\00:26:05.26 They established a system whereby you had to be 00:26:05.29\00:26:07.70 a certain religion to even be involved in politics 00:26:07.73\00:26:10.57 until Roger Williams broke away from the colonists 00:26:10.60\00:26:13.70 and established the first religiously 00:26:13.74\00:26:16.37 free colony, Rhode Island. 00:26:16.40\00:26:19.11 And then eventually 00:26:19.14\00:26:20.48 when our Declaration of Independence 00:26:20.51\00:26:21.84 and our amendments were put together, 00:26:21.88\00:26:23.21 it was framed to reflect what Roger Williams 00:26:23.24\00:26:26.88 and those founding fathers later on established 00:26:26.92\00:26:31.12 as the Bill of Rights and our Constitution. 00:26:31.15\00:26:34.16 But look at the First Amendment, for example. 00:26:34.19\00:26:36.09 This was the coexisting. 00:26:36.12\00:26:37.69 Both powers, Republicanism and Protestantism examined 00:26:37.73\00:26:41.70 and included in the statement of the First Amendment. 00:26:41.73\00:26:45.40 We were told Congress shall make no, what? 00:26:45.43\00:26:49.30 No law respecting an establishment of religion 00:26:49.34\00:26:52.87 or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, 00:26:52.91\00:26:55.54 or abridging the freedom of speech, 00:26:55.58\00:26:59.35 or of the press, or the right of the people 00:26:59.38\00:27:03.42 peacefully to assemble and to petition the government 00:27:03.45\00:27:07.06 for a redress of grievances. 00:27:07.09\00:27:09.32 In other words, 00:27:09.36\00:27:10.69 "I don't like what the government's doing," 00:27:10.73\00:27:12.06 so I want you to re-examine that, 00:27:12.09\00:27:14.10 but we are being silenced in our nation, 00:27:14.13\00:27:16.00 these things that are part of our fabric. 00:27:16.03\00:27:18.33 So what is being said here clearly is, 00:27:18.37\00:27:21.00 "Congress cannot promote one religion over the other 00:27:21.04\00:27:25.57 and Congress cannot restrict any individual's right 00:27:25.61\00:27:30.05 to practice their religion." 00:27:30.08\00:27:31.78 Amen, church. 00:27:31.81\00:27:33.42 Because if they had that power, 00:27:33.45\00:27:35.05 they could tell us when to open when to close. 00:27:35.08\00:27:37.69 That's why you have to be very, very careful 00:27:37.72\00:27:39.52 when you start accepting Government funds. 00:27:39.55\00:27:41.99 The moment they get into your pocket, 00:27:42.02\00:27:43.43 they get in your life. 00:27:43.46\00:27:46.23 But slowly but surely the church, 00:27:46.26\00:27:47.70 the church is metamorphosing gradually 00:27:47.73\00:27:51.53 and they're accepting a lot of government funds 00:27:51.57\00:27:53.54 for good reasons, to feed the poor, 00:27:53.57\00:27:55.64 to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, 00:27:55.67\00:27:57.61 to establish housing, but when the government 00:27:57.64\00:28:00.18 starts funding the church, the church has to listen 00:28:00.21\00:28:04.08 to the government. 00:28:04.11\00:28:05.95 But let me ask a question. 00:28:08.22\00:28:10.35 And I want to read it exactly 00:28:10.39\00:28:11.72 as I wrote it down because I believe this question 00:28:11.75\00:28:13.12 had some inspiration behind it. 00:28:13.15\00:28:15.62 "Since Congress is restricted 00:28:15.66\00:28:17.59 from making laws for the church, 00:28:17.63\00:28:19.36 because in so doing they will appear 00:28:19.39\00:28:21.40 to favor one religion over the other." 00:28:21.43\00:28:24.13 Listen to the latter part of the question. 00:28:24.17\00:28:25.87 "Would Congress still be restricted from making laws 00:28:25.90\00:28:30.11 when all religions in America merge as one?" 00:28:30.14\00:28:34.28 Let me answer my own question. "No." 00:28:37.58\00:28:40.35 Because then you can make laws 00:28:40.38\00:28:42.85 that everybody collectively agree on 00:28:42.88\00:28:47.36 and nobody would be seen as favoring one over the other, 00:28:47.39\00:28:51.69 because the coalition has come together. 00:28:51.73\00:28:55.33 And there's been constant pushes 00:28:55.36\00:28:57.30 through the moral majority. 00:28:57.33\00:29:03.44 All these coalitions 00:29:03.47\00:29:07.01 have been pushed through the years 00:29:07.04\00:29:09.14 to take control 00:29:09.18\00:29:10.51 of the United States government, 00:29:10.55\00:29:11.88 until this point God has held back the winds. 00:29:11.91\00:29:17.52 God is still in control. 00:29:17.55\00:29:21.22 But this push for unity is not something 00:29:21.26\00:29:23.99 that's coincidental, 00:29:24.03\00:29:25.36 the Bible prophesied that this would occur. 00:29:25.39\00:29:27.86 Listen to Daniel 7:23. 00:29:27.90\00:29:31.00 "Thus he said: "The fourth beast," 00:29:31.03\00:29:33.00 this is Rome, 00:29:33.03\00:29:34.57 "shall be a fourth kingdom on the earth which shall be..." 00:29:34.60\00:29:37.91 What's the next word? 00:29:37.94\00:29:39.27 "Different from all other kingdoms 00:29:39.31\00:29:41.31 and shall devour..." 00:29:41.34\00:29:42.68 How much of the earth? 00:29:42.71\00:29:44.38 "The whole earth, trample it, and break it in pieces." 00:29:44.41\00:29:51.05 And so if you think that... 00:29:51.09\00:29:53.15 If you think that because Rome right now 00:29:53.19\00:29:55.66 doesn't have a stronghold in America, 00:29:55.69\00:29:57.63 that Rome has changed, you got to take a breath. 00:29:57.66\00:30:02.36 You got to take a breath. 00:30:02.40\00:30:04.07 We've been around the world, 00:30:04.10\00:30:05.43 we've been in quite a few countries. 00:30:05.47\00:30:07.47 And we've gone to places, we say well, 00:30:07.50\00:30:09.17 "Can we go get something to eat?" 00:30:09.20\00:30:10.54 And they say, "Oh, no, it's Sunday, 00:30:10.57\00:30:11.91 everything is closed." 00:30:11.94\00:30:14.08 Even in populated tourist areas where you think 00:30:14.11\00:30:16.51 it would still be open on Sunday, 00:30:16.54\00:30:17.88 "Oh, no, it's closed." 00:30:17.91\00:30:19.61 Illinois, you cannot buy a car on Sunday. 00:30:19.65\00:30:21.58 Every State in the United States 00:30:21.62\00:30:23.79 has blue laws and every blue law 00:30:23.82\00:30:26.92 is in favor of some prohibitive exercise 00:30:26.96\00:30:29.86 on the first day of the week. 00:30:29.89\00:30:31.79 They're already there. 00:30:31.83\00:30:33.16 What if the government decides all of a sudden, 00:30:33.19\00:30:34.56 we're gonna to put these blue laws into action, 00:30:34.60\00:30:37.80 because as a nation we all need a day off, 00:30:37.83\00:30:41.20 we all need to get together. 00:30:41.24\00:30:42.90 In a nation falling apart, it's just a matter of time 00:30:42.94\00:30:46.34 before a nation that is, that is, 00:30:46.37\00:30:50.25 that is agitated by unrest and division. 00:30:50.28\00:30:53.62 It's just a matter of time before religion and politics 00:30:53.65\00:30:58.02 coalesce to bring about a reformation in a nation. 00:30:58.05\00:31:04.79 But listen to the inspired words 00:31:04.83\00:31:06.29 and I thank God for that faithful messenger 00:31:06.33\00:31:09.66 of God, Ellen White. 00:31:09.70\00:31:13.74 You would almost think that these things are written today. 00:31:13.77\00:31:16.64 But in Great Controversy, page 565, she says, 00:31:16.67\00:31:20.44 "the pacific tone of Rome in the United States 00:31:20.48\00:31:23.71 does not imply a change of heart. 00:31:23.75\00:31:27.02 She is tolerant where she is helpless, 00:31:27.05\00:31:32.62 says Bishop O'Connor. 00:31:32.65\00:31:35.06 Religious liberty is merely endured 00:31:35.09\00:31:37.16 until the opposite can be carried into effect 00:31:37.19\00:31:40.63 without peril to the Catholic world." 00:31:40.66\00:31:43.70 So if you think that, if you think that a thief 00:31:43.73\00:31:46.37 has put down his thievery 00:31:46.40\00:31:48.77 just because he's in the police station, 00:31:48.80\00:31:50.64 it's the circumstance that has restricted him, 00:31:50.67\00:31:53.21 not his character. 00:31:53.24\00:31:56.34 Any thief will behave himself in a police station, I hope, 00:31:56.38\00:32:01.68 and everybody in prison is innocent. 00:32:01.72\00:32:03.92 You'll get that on Tuesday. 00:32:07.82\00:32:11.26 But now let me quickly walk you through the cadence 00:32:11.29\00:32:13.23 of where we are, and I'm gonna carry you 00:32:13.26\00:32:14.60 through this quick, 00:32:14.63\00:32:15.96 because this push for unity is not something 00:32:16.00\00:32:17.57 that just began under Pope Francis. 00:32:17.60\00:32:21.44 But Benedict and Pope John Paul... 00:32:21.47\00:32:23.04 These last three popes, Pope John Paul II, Benedict, 00:32:23.07\00:32:27.74 and Pope Francis have taken the... 00:32:27.78\00:32:30.98 Shall I say, they have come with a forklift 00:32:31.01\00:32:34.15 to push in a great degree 00:32:34.18\00:32:36.52 because the millennial end game? 00:32:36.55\00:32:39.39 You may not have heard the term, but look it up, 00:32:39.42\00:32:41.49 the millennial end game was a push, 00:32:41.52\00:32:43.73 that by the third millennium 00:32:43.76\00:32:45.56 there will only be one world leader. 00:32:45.59\00:32:48.90 And the three competitors were Russia or the Soviet Union 00:32:48.93\00:32:52.33 that came down when Ronald Reagan 00:32:52.37\00:32:55.60 and Pope John Paul II united together 00:32:55.64\00:32:58.44 on the heels of their experience 00:32:58.47\00:33:00.11 when they both were almost assassinated 00:33:00.14\00:33:03.55 and they survived. 00:33:03.58\00:33:04.91 Somebody said they received the deadly wound 00:33:04.95\00:33:06.51 and their wounds we healed and they coalesced together, 00:33:06.55\00:33:08.48 that's not a fulfillment of Bible prophecy, 00:33:08.52\00:33:09.98 but that's how some people applied it. 00:33:10.02\00:33:12.05 They got together and decided 00:33:12.09\00:33:13.86 to bring down the walls of Eastern Europe. 00:33:13.89\00:33:17.46 Tear down those walls, and the walls came down 00:33:17.49\00:33:21.36 and nobody flinched because nobody wanted the world 00:33:21.40\00:33:23.67 to become communistic. 00:33:23.70\00:33:25.20 And when communism end we said, 00:33:25.23\00:33:28.80 "communism down, 3ABN could build in Russia." 00:33:28.84\00:33:32.24 Amen, church. 00:33:32.27\00:33:34.41 We've been in there ever since and by God's grace, 00:33:34.44\00:33:37.38 3ABN Russia is the birth child of the walls coming down, 00:33:37.41\00:33:41.55 a good thing. 00:33:41.58\00:33:43.69 But on the heels of that, an ambassador was sent 00:33:43.72\00:33:46.09 to the Vatican, not that that was the first one, 00:33:46.12\00:33:48.52 but this was the first one 00:33:48.56\00:33:49.89 that established political relations 00:33:49.92\00:33:54.10 in spite of the restriction 00:33:54.13\00:33:59.83 to prefer any one religion 00:33:59.87\00:34:01.70 over the other politically, but nobody argued with it, 00:34:01.74\00:34:06.94 because Ronald Reagan was a nice guy. 00:34:06.98\00:34:09.68 But that wasn't the beginning of, 00:34:13.08\00:34:14.42 that was not the beginning of the push. 00:34:14.45\00:34:16.55 Open your eyes, I'm gonna go very quickly. 00:34:16.58\00:34:19.12 1980, New York City, New York Post, 00:34:19.15\00:34:22.39 November 17th 1980: Pope to Jews and Protestants, 00:34:22.42\00:34:25.33 "Time to heal the scars." 00:34:25.36\00:34:26.90 When you have a wound, what's left? 00:34:26.93\00:34:30.17 A scar. 00:34:30.20\00:34:31.53 The wound was healed in 1929 through Mussolini, 00:34:31.57\00:34:36.50 but the scars were left. 00:34:36.54\00:34:37.87 Time to heal the scars, this push, 00:34:37.91\00:34:39.51 this call by Rome to Jews and Protestants. 00:34:39.54\00:34:42.74 The word Protestants was introduced there 00:34:42.78\00:34:45.91 which now seems to be a bad word. 00:34:45.95\00:34:49.42 You'll find that in just a moment. 00:34:49.45\00:34:50.79 That was the call. 00:34:50.82\00:34:52.39 November 18, 1980, New York Post: 00:34:52.42\00:34:55.26 Pope in unity offer to Lutherans. 00:34:55.29\00:34:57.29 Why Lutherans? 00:34:57.33\00:34:58.66 Because in the article 00:34:58.69\00:35:00.03 which I have on a different presentation. 00:35:00.06\00:35:01.40 In this article, Pope John Paul the II 00:35:01.43\00:35:03.83 referred to Martin Luther, 00:35:03.87\00:35:05.53 who all he did was began a move back to a, 00:35:05.57\00:35:08.77 thus saith the Lord. 00:35:08.80\00:35:10.87 He was listed as a rebel German theologian, 00:35:10.91\00:35:16.58 who caused the split? 00:35:16.61\00:35:18.41 Let me tell you something. 00:35:18.45\00:35:19.78 If I got to split to get back to truth, 00:35:19.81\00:35:21.35 I'm gonna calls the split. 00:35:21.38\00:35:22.72 Come on, somebody here. 00:35:22.75\00:35:24.09 He didn't split because he wanted to hurt anybody. 00:35:24.12\00:35:25.95 He said, "it's time to go back to a, 00:35:25.99\00:35:27.69 "Thus saith the Lord" and he began a journey. 00:35:27.72\00:35:30.73 The just shall live by faith. 00:35:30.76\00:35:33.60 The push continued for unity. 00:35:33.63\00:35:36.00 Protestants warmed to the pope's call 00:35:36.03\00:35:39.00 for Christian unity, 1981, January 21, 00:35:39.03\00:35:41.84 The New York Daily News. 00:35:41.87\00:35:43.34 I was still out in the world but I was on my way back, 00:35:43.37\00:35:46.54 but the Lord had touched the shoulders of this young man 00:35:46.57\00:35:49.48 meandering in the streets of New York City 00:35:49.51\00:35:51.38 to keep these articles, I'm so glad I did, 00:35:51.41\00:35:53.62 because you cannot find them anywhere. 00:35:53.65\00:35:57.99 "Catholics, Anglicans edging toward unity," 00:35:58.02\00:36:00.59 March 30, 1982, all in New York, New York Post. 00:36:00.62\00:36:05.03 They don't, they don't play in the York City, 00:36:05.06\00:36:06.73 they put that stuff right in your face. 00:36:06.76\00:36:08.50 Thank the Lord they did. 00:36:08.53\00:36:09.86 That was happening in New York, but around the world 00:36:09.90\00:36:11.60 the changes and the, and the, and the welcoming in 00:36:11.63\00:36:14.90 of Catholicism was happening all over the globe. 00:36:14.94\00:36:18.07 Here's an example, the former Prime Minister of England, 00:36:18.11\00:36:21.61 Tony Blair, converts to Catholicism 00:36:21.64\00:36:23.75 as immigration means Britain is now a Catholic country. 00:36:23.78\00:36:28.12 Quickly, "Catholics and Orthodox 00:36:28.15\00:36:30.45 moving towards unity," October 12, 2007. 00:36:30.49\00:36:34.26 And then another one, 00:36:34.29\00:36:35.62 "Churches back plan to unite under the Pope." 00:36:35.66\00:36:38.19 Christian churches, non-Christian churches, 00:36:38.23\00:36:41.46 churches, churches, they just decided 00:36:41.50\00:36:43.43 he's got a great plan, 00:36:43.47\00:36:44.87 let's go ahead and back a plan to unite under him and in 1999, 00:36:44.90\00:36:50.01 Evangelicals and Catholics, 00:36:50.04\00:36:52.17 toward a common mission together, 00:36:52.21\00:36:54.08 they signed a joint agreement in 1999, 00:36:54.11\00:36:57.61 that we are now officially agreeing 00:36:57.65\00:37:01.62 on the doctrine of Justification by Faith. 00:37:01.65\00:37:04.99 You see the issue was, they say, 00:37:05.02\00:37:06.92 they say that the only issue that Martin Luther had was, 00:37:06.96\00:37:09.99 he was upset that the Catholic Church taught 00:37:10.03\00:37:12.73 salvation by works and that Christianity taught 00:37:12.76\00:37:16.36 salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone, 00:37:16.40\00:37:20.40 without works. 00:37:20.44\00:37:22.10 But as you know, we are not saved by works, 00:37:22.14\00:37:24.97 we are saved for works, amen everybody. 00:37:25.01\00:37:28.04 We're not saved to sit down. 00:37:28.08\00:37:29.41 We're saved to get busy for Christ. 00:37:29.44\00:37:30.78 Am I right, J.D? 00:37:30.81\00:37:32.15 That's what we're saved for, to do works, 00:37:32.18\00:37:33.55 but the works don't save us. 00:37:33.58\00:37:34.98 So what they did is, they... 00:37:35.02\00:37:36.48 And this is the cleverness, this is the cleverness. 00:37:36.52\00:37:39.79 So instead of saying, let's get together on Sunday 00:37:39.82\00:37:42.26 which we already have in common, 00:37:42.29\00:37:44.36 let's get together on the immortality of the soul, 00:37:44.39\00:37:46.59 which you already have in common, 00:37:46.63\00:37:48.06 and all these other doctrines that we already have in common, 00:37:48.10\00:37:50.90 let's do it in such a way that we can bridge the gap 00:37:50.93\00:37:53.50 on a broad level and include everyone else 00:37:53.54\00:37:56.07 that may not necessarily embrace our existing doctrines. 00:37:56.10\00:38:01.61 Let's get together and say, "we are saved by grace 00:38:01.64\00:38:06.38 through faith in Christ alone for good works 00:38:06.41\00:38:09.72 not by good works." 00:38:09.75\00:38:11.62 And they agreed on that in 1999 and signed a common document 00:38:11.65\00:38:16.86 and Evangelicals and Catholics consider themselves 00:38:16.89\00:38:20.70 to have started a merging, 00:38:20.73\00:38:24.37 but there were only certain signers 00:38:24.40\00:38:27.50 in this agreement and others had held out 00:38:27.54\00:38:30.61 because some of them says, "Wait a minute. 00:38:30.64\00:38:32.44 I ain't jumping on board so fast, 00:38:32.47\00:38:34.74 because I don't believe in what Rome stands for." 00:38:34.78\00:38:38.71 Rome was not satisfied 00:38:38.75\00:38:40.98 because according to the prophecy 00:38:41.02\00:38:42.82 they shall devour the whole earth 00:38:42.85\00:38:44.49 and break it in pieces. 00:38:44.52\00:38:46.59 And to the very end, the iron would be in the toes. 00:38:46.62\00:38:49.86 Iron and clay they tried to mix politically 00:38:49.89\00:38:52.86 but they couldn't do it, 00:38:52.89\00:38:54.23 so they decided to mix on social issues. 00:38:54.26\00:38:59.00 They got the attention of the evangelical world, 00:38:59.03\00:39:01.40 but to make the mix complete, they had to bring religion in. 00:39:01.44\00:39:05.84 So why not begin with the most lamb-like suggestion? 00:39:05.87\00:39:09.54 "We're saved by grace through faith, don't you agree? 00:39:09.58\00:39:13.18 Don't you agree?" 00:39:13.21\00:39:14.55 Amen, somebody? 00:39:14.58\00:39:15.98 We're not saved by our works, we're saved for works. 00:39:16.02\00:39:19.59 So they say, since Martin Luther said, 00:39:19.62\00:39:21.59 "We're saved by grace through faith alone" 00:39:21.62\00:39:23.59 and that's the foundation of his protests. 00:39:23.63\00:39:26.19 They said, "Since he only stopped 00:39:26.23\00:39:28.20 by grace through faith alone and did not include works, 00:39:28.23\00:39:31.93 they say, since Martin Luther didn't finish it, 00:39:31.97\00:39:36.50 his protest is over." 00:39:36.54\00:39:40.44 So as of 1999 they said, "We are no longer protesting, 00:39:40.48\00:39:43.81 we are together." 00:39:43.85\00:39:45.75 Follow this. 00:39:45.78\00:39:47.12 Before I read it, let me tell you something. 00:39:51.45\00:39:53.36 I thank God that He's always a step ahead of man. 00:39:53.39\00:39:58.99 The servant of the Lord, Great Controversy, 00:39:59.03\00:40:01.00 page 563, paragraph 1, 00:40:01.03\00:40:03.57 and I'm gonna show in just a moment, 00:40:03.60\00:40:05.00 I'm telling you tighten your seat belts. 00:40:05.03\00:40:07.74 Romanism is now regarded by Protestants 00:40:07.77\00:40:10.37 with far greater favor than in former years. 00:40:10.41\00:40:13.61 Is that true? Yes. 00:40:13.64\00:40:16.95 The time was when Protestants placed 00:40:16.98\00:40:18.98 a high value upon the liberty of what? 00:40:19.01\00:40:22.85 Conscience, which had been so dearly purchased, 00:40:22.88\00:40:26.49 which Rome didn't tolerate. 00:40:26.52\00:40:28.09 Your conscience was not accepted, 00:40:28.12\00:40:30.23 you either gave up your conscience 00:40:30.26\00:40:31.73 or you died by some atrocity 00:40:31.76\00:40:34.93 under the ruthless arm of Roman tyranny. 00:40:34.96\00:40:38.97 They taught their children to a poor popery 00:40:39.00\00:40:42.27 and held that to seek. 00:40:42.30\00:40:43.64 To seek harmony with Rome would be disloyalty to God, 00:40:43.67\00:40:48.24 because they had to make a decision, 00:40:48.28\00:40:49.61 either its God's word or its tradition. 00:40:49.64\00:40:55.28 But how widely different 00:40:55.32\00:40:57.39 are the sentiments now expressed? 00:40:57.42\00:41:00.72 You would think Ellen White just wrote that last week 00:41:00.76\00:41:04.86 if you're awake. 00:41:04.89\00:41:06.23 So the question is, "how can Catholics 00:41:06.26\00:41:08.46 and Evangelicals get together?" 00:41:08.50\00:41:09.83 How can they possibly... 00:41:09.86\00:41:11.20 Let me, let me make the point 00:41:11.23\00:41:12.60 which I made on Wednesday night, 00:41:12.63\00:41:14.07 "God has a timetable." 00:41:14.10\00:41:15.60 What did I just say? 00:41:15.64\00:41:17.04 That God has a timetable. 00:41:17.07\00:41:18.77 The good news is this world, this world is not gonna go 00:41:18.81\00:41:21.68 on endlessly, sin after sin after sin, 00:41:21.71\00:41:24.75 death after death after death, destruction after destruction, 00:41:24.78\00:41:27.92 calamity after calamity, it's going to come to an end, 00:41:27.95\00:41:30.55 amen, church. 00:41:30.59\00:41:31.92 Amen. God knows when. 00:41:31.95\00:41:33.46 No man knows the day nor the hour, 00:41:33.49\00:41:35.36 but the Father knows, because He's in charge. 00:41:35.39\00:41:39.06 Look at what happens. 00:41:39.09\00:41:40.50 The Lord is telling us how it's going to happen. 00:41:40.53\00:41:42.70 How are these powers that are religiously opposed 00:41:42.73\00:41:45.97 going to come together, 00:41:46.00\00:41:47.34 they're gonna find some area of agreement. 00:41:47.37\00:41:50.07 Revelation 17:13, the Bible says, 00:41:50.11\00:41:52.37 speaking of the institution of Babylon, 00:41:52.41\00:41:54.64 "These are of" what kind of mind? 00:41:54.68\00:41:57.45 "One mind, and they will give their power and authority 00:41:57.48\00:42:01.72 to the beast." 00:42:01.75\00:42:03.08 Meaning all the church leaders will give 00:42:03.12\00:42:05.55 and stand behind the Pope of Rome. 00:42:05.59\00:42:07.52 They will give their power and authority to the beast. 00:42:07.56\00:42:13.06 But the question is, why would they do that? 00:42:13.09\00:42:16.33 God is in charge. 00:42:16.36\00:42:18.00 Now let me prophesize by saying, 00:42:18.03\00:42:20.00 when the Bible says in Exodus 00:42:20.04\00:42:21.37 that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. 00:42:21.40\00:42:23.61 God did not say, 00:42:23.64\00:42:24.97 "Pharaoh, I don't want you to listen," 00:42:25.01\00:42:26.88 but Pharaoh made up his mind not to listen. 00:42:26.91\00:42:28.84 So God kept on pouring the, the urging of God and Pharaoh, 00:42:28.88\00:42:32.55 the more God urged him to let his people go, 00:42:32.58\00:42:35.05 the more Pharaoh determined not to, 00:42:35.08\00:42:36.99 the same thing is happening in Christendom 00:42:37.02\00:42:39.02 for thousands of years, for hundreds of years, 00:42:39.05\00:42:41.92 the Lord has been trying to get Protestants 00:42:41.96\00:42:44.83 to stand on the Bible and the Bible only. 00:42:44.86\00:42:47.66 But since they have chosen not to, Thessalonians says, 00:42:47.70\00:42:50.60 "I will send them a strong delusion 00:42:50.63\00:42:52.43 that they will believe the lie." 00:42:52.47\00:42:54.64 So God is in charge. So what has He done? 00:42:54.67\00:42:57.11 tells us what happened. 00:42:57.14\00:43:00.54 "For God has" done what? 00:43:00.58\00:43:03.04 "Put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, 00:43:03.08\00:43:05.88 to be of one mind and to give their kingdom to the beast 00:43:05.91\00:43:09.55 until the words of God are fulfilled." 00:43:09.58\00:43:13.46 God's in charge. 00:43:13.49\00:43:14.82 He says, we've got to move this thing along. 00:43:14.86\00:43:16.19 They gonna come together, let's move it along. 00:43:16.22\00:43:17.99 They have far more in common than we do not have in common. 00:43:18.03\00:43:21.36 The unity of mind, these will have one mind. 00:43:21.40\00:43:25.73 They don't actually worship Mary, 00:43:25.77\00:43:27.47 my family is Catholic. 00:43:27.50\00:43:30.17 Just do your homework. 00:43:30.21\00:43:31.67 She's venerated. 00:43:31.71\00:43:34.98 And the issues go on and on and on and on and on, 00:43:35.01\00:43:37.55 issue after issue, after issue, but the question 00:43:37.58\00:43:40.22 you have to ask yourself, while there is a unity, 00:43:40.25\00:43:42.95 remember the toes are iron and clay. 00:43:42.98\00:43:46.42 Can iron and clay mix together, somebody tell me? 00:43:46.45\00:43:49.26 No. 00:43:49.29\00:43:50.63 The continued attempt to mix politically has failed 00:43:50.66\00:43:53.50 over and over and over and over and over. 00:43:53.53\00:43:57.03 So abandon the attempt to politically merge. 00:43:57.07\00:44:01.14 Let's go ahead and merge on the things 00:44:01.17\00:44:02.70 we hold in common. 00:44:02.74\00:44:06.37 But now we have to ask ourselves. 00:44:06.41\00:44:07.74 The question is, "Is Rome the authority 00:44:07.78\00:44:09.84 that we should follow?" 00:44:09.88\00:44:12.28 What does the Bible say? 00:44:12.31\00:44:14.22 In describing this power in Revelation 13, 00:44:14.25\00:44:16.99 we read these final words: "Now the beast which I saw 00:44:17.02\00:44:21.26 was like a leopard," He devoured that nation. 00:44:21.29\00:44:24.13 "His feet like the feet of a bear," 00:44:24.16\00:44:25.63 devoured that nation. 00:44:25.66\00:44:27.10 "His mouth like the mouth of a lion," 00:44:27.13\00:44:29.13 devoured that nation. 00:44:29.16\00:44:30.50 But where did Rome get its power? 00:44:30.53\00:44:32.40 "The dragon gave him his power, his throne, 00:44:32.43\00:44:36.91 and great authority." 00:44:36.94\00:44:38.27 Revelation 12:9, "The dragon is Satan himself." 00:44:38.31\00:44:41.44 Satan gave Rome its authority and its seat. 00:44:44.45\00:44:50.05 That is not the power that the Christian church 00:44:50.09\00:44:54.09 ought to coalesce with. 00:44:54.12\00:44:55.92 Amen, somebody? Amen. 00:44:55.96\00:44:58.63 But the lingering question, do God... 00:44:58.66\00:45:01.93 Does God have people in the church 00:45:01.96\00:45:04.30 that are Christians, yes or no? 00:45:04.33\00:45:06.10 Yes. Just like many of you. 00:45:06.13\00:45:09.40 Just like many of you watching, 00:45:09.44\00:45:10.77 you understood what God had revealed to you, 00:45:10.81\00:45:13.17 you understood to that particular point. 00:45:13.21\00:45:15.64 And Jesus said in John 10:16, 00:45:15.68\00:45:17.28 "Other sheep I have, that are not of this fold." 00:45:17.31\00:45:18.81 But he didn't stop there. 00:45:18.85\00:45:20.18 He said, "Them also I must bring." 00:45:20.22\00:45:22.62 So this message is a gathering message, 00:45:22.65\00:45:25.19 them also I must bring and they will hear My voice, 00:45:25.22\00:45:27.79 His word, not tradition. 00:45:27.82\00:45:30.49 And there will be one fold and how many shepherds? 00:45:30.53\00:45:32.66 One shepherd. 00:45:32.69\00:45:36.16 But here is the irony. 00:45:36.20\00:45:37.93 Protestants are abandoning their protest for Rome. 00:45:37.97\00:45:41.44 What Martin Luther began as, "Let's get back to the Bible," 00:45:41.47\00:45:44.97 Protestants are saying, "Well, we don't have... 00:45:45.01\00:45:47.38 We have a lot in common, not everything, 00:45:47.41\00:45:49.54 but these are the big issues. 00:45:49.58\00:45:51.88 Let's unify on this, 00:45:51.91\00:45:53.65 forget about all that other stuff." 00:45:53.68\00:45:56.32 Let me tell you something. 00:45:56.35\00:45:57.69 When it is about salvation, you don't choose 00:45:57.72\00:46:01.39 what part of God's Word is important and unimportant. 00:46:01.42\00:46:04.69 Amen. 00:46:04.73\00:46:06.70 Man shall live by every word 00:46:10.60\00:46:12.17 that perceived from the mouth of God. 00:46:12.20\00:46:13.67 We don't decide what's important 00:46:13.70\00:46:15.04 and what's unimportant 00:46:15.07\00:46:16.40 by the grace of Christ in our lives. 00:46:16.44\00:46:18.61 But the first phase of abandonment came 00:46:18.64\00:46:21.71 when Protestants abandoned the truth, 00:46:21.74\00:46:24.25 so it's not unusual for them to abandon their post. 00:46:24.28\00:46:28.68 When Pope Francis was invited to speak to Congress, 00:46:28.72\00:46:31.29 I was there 00:46:31.32\00:46:33.59 under the Obama administration. 00:46:33.62\00:46:37.19 He came to America to speak to Congress 00:46:37.23\00:46:39.33 and the United Nations. 00:46:39.36\00:46:41.20 Why this country? 00:46:41.23\00:46:43.37 Because this country is the last Protestant 00:46:43.40\00:46:46.40 stronghold in the world. 00:46:46.43\00:46:49.07 And the larger... 00:46:49.10\00:46:50.51 In America, Evangelicals are larger in number 00:46:50.54\00:46:53.51 than Catholics. 00:46:53.54\00:46:55.14 So they are outnumbered. 00:46:55.18\00:46:56.64 Rome is tolerant where she is helpless. 00:46:56.68\00:47:00.82 But what's happening? 00:47:00.85\00:47:02.28 Protestants are now pushing the issue, 00:47:02.32\00:47:04.95 "Let's get together with them." 00:47:04.99\00:47:06.65 How amazing God saw this and He gave us this quote. 00:47:06.69\00:47:09.79 Listen to this. 00:47:09.82\00:47:11.16 Faith of Our Fathers, page 310, paragraph 3. 00:47:11.19\00:47:14.33 "When Protestantism shall stretch her hand 00:47:14.36\00:47:16.50 across the Gulf, to grasp the hands 00:47:16.53\00:47:19.33 of the Roman power, 00:47:19.37\00:47:20.70 when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands" 00:47:20.74\00:47:23.84 with what? 00:47:23.87\00:47:25.34 "Spiritualism," that satanic guidance. 00:47:25.37\00:47:29.24 "When under the influence of this three-fold union, 00:47:29.28\00:47:32.88 our country shall repudiate, 00:47:32.91\00:47:37.09 not delete or change our constitution, 00:47:37.12\00:47:39.49 shall repudiate, that means make of no effect, 00:47:39.52\00:47:42.86 every principle of it's constitution 00:47:42.89\00:47:46.19 as a Protestant and Republican Government 00:47:46.23\00:47:49.96 and shall make provision for the propagation 00:47:50.00\00:47:52.43 of papal falsehoods and delusions." 00:47:52.47\00:47:54.80 This is powerful. 00:47:54.84\00:47:56.44 "Then we may know that the time has come 00:47:56.47\00:47:59.01 for the marvelous working of Satan" And then what? 00:47:59.04\00:48:02.28 The end is near. 00:48:02.31\00:48:03.65 The end is near, brethren, feel the pulse. 00:48:03.68\00:48:09.45 If there is no more protest, 00:48:09.48\00:48:10.82 how could there be a Protestant Church. 00:48:10.85\00:48:13.36 It's not our doctrines that unify us, 00:48:13.39\00:48:15.52 it's just our faith in Jesus. 00:48:15.56\00:48:17.53 Give it on what you believe. 00:48:17.56\00:48:19.36 That is not... 00:48:19.39\00:48:20.73 That has been attempted through Promise Keepers, 00:48:20.76\00:48:22.66 all these Women of Faith movements, 00:48:22.70\00:48:24.40 all these unifying push, they've tried every way 00:48:24.43\00:48:27.54 they possibly could, 00:48:27.57\00:48:29.90 but it has not been accomplished. 00:48:29.94\00:48:31.91 Last few quotations. 00:48:31.94\00:48:34.74 "When the leading churches of the United States, 00:48:34.78\00:48:37.31 he hasn't been able to get Protestants to sign it, 00:48:37.35\00:48:40.12 that's why they are reaching out to Protestants. 00:48:40.15\00:48:42.15 When the leading churches of the United States 00:48:42.18\00:48:45.45 uniting upon such points of doctrine 00:48:45.49\00:48:47.86 as are held by them in common, 00:48:47.89\00:48:50.03 shall influence the state to enforce their decrees 00:48:50.06\00:48:53.13 to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America 00:48:53.16\00:48:59.60 will have formed an image to the Roman hierarchy 00:48:59.63\00:49:03.61 and the infliction of civil penalties 00:49:03.64\00:49:07.34 upon dissenters will inevitably results, 00:49:07.38\00:49:11.48 translated, the Dark Ages will be back to life again." 00:49:11.51\00:49:16.38 As I end, I'm just going to say this carefully. 00:49:16.42\00:49:21.22 "The Lord has shown us in His Word, 00:49:21.26\00:49:24.96 He has shown us through the events 00:49:24.99\00:49:28.06 that are unfolding around our world 00:49:28.10\00:49:29.53 and if there was ever a time that the church needs 00:49:29.56\00:49:33.97 no longer be distracted, it is now. 00:49:34.00\00:49:38.87 Amen. Amen. 00:49:38.91\00:49:41.28 The closing scripture, I would like you 00:49:41.31\00:49:42.64 to read with me together. 00:49:42.68\00:49:45.01 "Now learn the parable 00:49:45.05\00:49:48.58 from the fig tree. 00:49:48.62\00:49:52.12 When its branch has already become tender 00:49:52.15\00:49:55.46 and puts forth leaves, 00:49:55.49\00:49:58.26 you know that the summer is near. 00:49:58.29\00:50:03.80 So you also, when you see all these things..." 00:50:03.83\00:50:06.80 What? 00:50:06.84\00:50:08.17 Wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation, 00:50:08.20\00:50:12.11 political unrests, financial unrests, 00:50:12.14\00:50:15.44 calamity after calamity after calamity, 00:50:15.48\00:50:20.25 the fulfillment of the message of revelation 00:50:20.28\00:50:22.58 with blazing accuracy, when you see all these things, 00:50:22.62\00:50:29.36 "know that it is near at the doors!" 00:50:29.39\00:50:34.30 The closing song is one that's fitting. 00:50:38.30\00:50:41.80 I would like us to stand and sing this song out 00:50:41.84\00:50:43.91 of a sense of the realities of where we live. 00:50:43.94\00:50:48.91 In times like these, 00:50:48.94\00:50:52.25 in times like these, we need a Savior. 00:50:52.28\00:50:58.05 In times like these, we need an anchor. 00:50:58.09\00:51:02.02 Be very sure, be very sure, 00:51:02.06\00:51:05.99 your anchor holds 00:51:06.03\00:51:08.16 and grips the solid rock. 00:51:08.20\00:51:10.03 In times like these 00:51:15.54\00:51:19.41 You need a Savior 00:51:19.44\00:51:23.38 In times like these 00:51:23.41\00:51:27.38 You need an anchor 00:51:27.42\00:51:31.52 Be very sure 00:51:31.55\00:51:35.26 Be very sure 00:51:35.29\00:51:38.96 Your anchor holds 00:51:38.99\00:51:42.93 And grips the Solid Rock 00:51:42.96\00:51:48.77 This Rock is Jesus 00:51:48.80\00:51:52.97 Yes, He's the One 00:51:53.01\00:51:55.54 Raise that chorus. 00:51:55.58\00:51:56.91 This Rock is Jesus 00:51:56.95\00:52:00.72 The only One 00:52:00.75\00:52:04.55 Be very sure 00:52:04.59\00:52:08.42 Be very sure 00:52:08.46\00:52:12.06 Your anchor holds 00:52:12.09\00:52:16.10 And grips the Solid Rock 00:52:16.13\00:52:20.67 Before the second verse. 00:52:20.70\00:52:23.00 As Dinia play it softly. 00:52:23.04\00:52:25.44 This is the time to get back to the Bible. 00:52:25.47\00:52:27.31 Can you say amen? 00:52:27.34\00:52:28.98 Get back to the dedication of the call that God has placed 00:52:29.01\00:52:31.65 on our lives as a church. 00:52:31.68\00:52:33.21 No other denomination on this planet 00:52:33.25\00:52:37.25 has been given the directive 00:52:37.29\00:52:38.99 as the Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:52:39.02\00:52:41.66 has been given. 00:52:41.69\00:52:44.76 And in this hour of division and compromise, 00:52:44.79\00:52:49.30 in this hour of distraction, God is calling us 00:52:49.33\00:52:52.83 to proclaim the Three Angles' messages 00:52:52.87\00:52:55.70 and I praise God, 00:52:55.74\00:52:57.07 I want to just go ahead and say this. 00:52:57.11\00:52:58.61 Next year for camp meeting, 00:52:58.64\00:53:01.38 the Lord has placed upon the heart of administration, 00:53:01.41\00:53:03.65 Shelley Quinn, 00:53:03.68\00:53:05.01 the entire spring camp meeting next year is gonna be 00:53:05.05\00:53:09.15 all about the Three Angles' Messages. 00:53:09.18\00:53:12.69 Amen. Amen, church? 00:53:12.72\00:53:14.49 Amen. 00:53:14.52\00:53:15.86 This is not gonna be a tiptoe 00:53:15.89\00:53:17.89 through the Tulip's camp meeting. 00:53:17.93\00:53:20.23 The Mark of the Beast, the Seal of God, 00:53:20.26\00:53:23.33 the Fall of Babylon, 00:53:23.37\00:53:25.63 it's gonna come out concentrated, 00:53:25.67\00:53:27.70 lovingly concentrated because God has called us 00:53:27.74\00:53:31.91 to preach an undiluted Three Angles' Messages, 00:53:31.94\00:53:34.08 one that will counteract the counterfeit. 00:53:34.11\00:53:37.95 In an hour, where everyone is coalescing together, 00:53:37.98\00:53:40.05 God is saying, "These are the times 00:53:40.08\00:53:41.42 to get back to the word of God." 00:53:41.45\00:53:42.78 Come on say, Amen. Amen. 00:53:42.82\00:53:44.85 Be not idle, be very sure your anchor holds. 00:53:44.89\00:53:47.52 In times like these we need a Savior. 00:53:47.56\00:53:49.99 We need His word and we have seen. 00:53:50.03\00:53:52.19 What I've shown you today is not what I'm saying, 00:53:52.23\00:53:55.36 but it's what they are saying what is in their hearts, 00:53:55.40\00:54:00.64 and in their agenda, and in their minds, 00:54:00.67\00:54:03.34 and I've just given you the tip of the iceberg. 00:54:03.37\00:54:06.88 But as you've been awakened, as you've been awakened 00:54:06.91\00:54:10.35 from the slumber of distraction, 00:54:10.38\00:54:12.15 continue studying God's word 00:54:12.18\00:54:13.78 and listen carefully as God calls you 00:54:13.82\00:54:16.89 to be ready at times like these. 00:54:16.92\00:54:19.42 We're gonna sing "In Times Like These" 00:54:19.45\00:54:21.06 you need a Bible" and then the chorus 00:54:21.09\00:54:22.72 and we're gonna close with prayer. 00:54:22.76\00:54:24.09 But let me ask you the question. 00:54:24.13\00:54:25.46 Is it your desire for the Lord to wake you up 00:54:25.49\00:54:27.83 from distractions? 00:54:27.86\00:54:29.20 Come on. 00:54:29.23\00:54:30.80 If ever there was a time when the Christian world 00:54:30.83\00:54:33.17 is saying to us, "We want to come together 00:54:33.20\00:54:35.70 but for not doctrines, not the Bible, 00:54:35.74\00:54:38.24 let's just get together on faith, 00:54:38.27\00:54:40.34 unless the Lord do the works through our lives 00:54:40.38\00:54:42.78 and the way He desires, we've got to stand together." 00:54:42.81\00:54:45.61 Unity without truth is not unity 00:54:45.65\00:54:47.82 and to say that division is divisive, 00:54:47.85\00:54:50.65 is not to understand the mission of Jesus. 00:54:50.69\00:54:52.99 He said, "I came not to bring peace 00:54:53.02\00:54:55.89 but a sword. 00:54:55.92\00:54:57.53 Why? 00:54:57.56\00:54:58.89 To separate darkness from light, truth from error." 00:54:58.93\00:55:03.43 Anytime the unity that you seek is not based 00:55:03.47\00:55:05.70 on the truth of God's Word, it is not unity by any means. 00:55:05.73\00:55:09.60 But Christ, the rock first, and His word, 00:55:09.64\00:55:12.87 and together that unity will take you through eternity. 00:55:12.91\00:55:16.04 Let's sing that second stanza before we close. 00:55:16.08\00:55:18.81 In times like these 00:55:24.49\00:55:28.46 You need the Bible 00:55:28.49\00:55:32.36 In times like these 00:55:32.39\00:55:36.06 O be not idle 00:55:36.10\00:55:39.73 Be very sure 00:55:39.77\00:55:41.90 Raise that chorus together 00:55:41.94\00:55:43.54 Be very sure 00:55:43.57\00:55:47.28 Your anchor holds 00:55:47.31\00:55:51.31 And grips the Solid Rock 00:55:51.35\00:55:57.15 This Rock is Jesus 00:55:57.19\00:56:00.89 Yes, He's the One 00:56:00.92\00:56:04.79 This Rock is Jesus 00:56:04.83\00:56:08.50 The only One 00:56:08.53\00:56:12.33 Be very sure 00:56:12.37\00:56:16.20 Be very sure 00:56:16.24\00:56:19.87 Your anchor holds 00:56:19.91\00:56:23.95 And grips the Solid Rock 00:56:23.98\00:56:30.92 Father in heaven, 00:56:30.95\00:56:32.95 Lord, we thank You for revival, 00:56:32.99\00:56:36.09 for allowing these events to shake our chairs, 00:56:36.12\00:56:42.36 to shake our homes, 00:56:42.40\00:56:45.17 to re-establish an urgency in these hours of distraction. 00:56:45.20\00:56:51.04 We thank You Father, for sustaining your Word 00:56:51.07\00:56:53.24 through every anvil, 00:56:53.27\00:56:55.14 and every attempt to annihilate its content. 00:56:55.18\00:56:58.85 And in this age where doctrine is being deleted 00:56:58.88\00:57:02.48 and feeling and faith alone 00:57:02.52\00:57:05.52 and works alone are being substituted 00:57:05.55\00:57:07.56 for the truth of Your word, 00:57:07.59\00:57:09.36 Lord Jesus, help us not to compromise, 00:57:09.39\00:57:14.06 help us to be a people of a mission, 00:57:14.10\00:57:16.90 a mission not to unify with earthly powers 00:57:16.93\00:57:20.04 but to be in harmony with the only power 00:57:20.07\00:57:22.44 that matters, our Lord and Savior, 00:57:22.47\00:57:27.04 Christ Jesus and His word. 00:57:27.08\00:57:30.78 Father, as You carry Your people 00:57:30.81\00:57:32.35 through the storms that lay ahead of us, 00:57:32.38\00:57:34.52 as You carry Your church through the rock 00:57:34.55\00:57:37.72 strewn waters of persecution that lie ahead of us, 00:57:37.75\00:57:41.99 may we have such a connection to You that we fear 00:57:42.02\00:57:46.03 not the things of earth, 00:57:46.06\00:57:48.56 but that we have an allegiance to the God of Heaven. 00:57:48.60\00:57:52.37 Thank You, Lord, for opening our eyes. 00:57:52.40\00:57:54.74 Now may we go awake to proclaim lovingly 00:57:54.77\00:57:57.94 and kindly to our brothers and sisters, 00:57:57.97\00:58:00.28 those who may be in darkness that love You, 00:58:00.31\00:58:03.38 may we proclaim that when the sea of glass comes, 00:58:03.41\00:58:06.72 they will be standing a redeemed host of those 00:58:06.75\00:58:10.95 who have come out of darkness into this marvelous light. 00:58:10.99\00:58:15.62 In Jesus name, I pray. 00:58:15.66\00:58:19.06 And all of the God's people said, 00:58:19.09\00:58:21.33 amen and amen. 00:58:21.36\00:58:24.40