Thunder in the Holy Land

The US in Bible Prophecy

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Charles Byrd (Host), Andrea Endries, Carl Preval, Levi Longoria

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Series Code: THL

Program Code: THL000024


00:01 Today we're going to be looking at
00:02 one of the most startling and thunderous
00:04 teachings of Jesus found in the entire Bible.
00:07 One that for more than 310 million people
00:10 will hit very close to home.
00:13 Stay with us as we consider the prophecies of Jesus,
00:16 regarding the United States of America.
01:13 "Red at night, sailors delight,
01:16 red in morning, sailors take warning."
01:20 Science has discovered that there may
01:22 just be something to this old English sailing proverb.
01:26 You see, when there is a red sky at night,
01:29 it tells us that the setting sun
01:31 is sending its light through an atmosphere
01:33 with a high concentration and dust particles.
01:36 This usually indicates high pressure
01:38 and stable air coming in from the west.
01:41 Simply said, "Good weather is on its way."
01:45 On the other hand, if the morning sky
01:48 is a deep fiery red, it may indicate
01:51 a high water content in the atmosphere.
01:54 So rain is on its way.
01:56 That's the modern scientific explanation.
01:59 But did you know the premise of this
02:01 old sailing proverb can actually be traced
02:04 all the way back to the teachings of Jesus Himself.
02:08 It's true.
02:09 In Mathew 16:1-3 Jesus said,
02:12 "When it is evening, ye say,
02:14 it will be fair weather, for the sky is red.
02:17 And in the morning, it will be foul weather to day,
02:21 for the sky is red and lowering.
02:24 O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky,
02:29 but can ye not discern the signs of the times?"
02:33 Jesus was using the same illustration
02:36 to point out that certain signs will definitely announce
02:39 that we are nearing the end of time.
02:42 In fact, Jesus said,
02:44 "We can know when His coming is near."
02:47 How? By the signs.
02:52 That's right, Charles.
02:53 So let's go ahead and read what some of those signs
02:55 are that Jesus talks about.
02:58 In Mathew 24:4-8, it says,
03:00 "And Jesus answered and said to them,
03:04 'Take heed that no one deceives you.
03:06 For many will come in my name, saying,
03:08 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
03:11 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.'
03:15 See that you are not troubled, for all these things
03:18 must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
03:22 For nation will rise against nation,
03:24 and kingdom against kingdom.
03:25 And there will be famines, pestilences,
03:27 and earthquakes in various places.
03:30 All these are the beginning of sorrows."
03:34 So are we seeing
03:35 the fulfillments of these signs today?
03:38 The answer is absolutely and indisputably yes.
03:42 We don't have time today to go
03:43 over all the different signs Jesus spoke about,
03:46 but I at least want to take a look
03:48 at a couple of them just so you can get
03:50 an idea of how clearly these things
03:52 are being fulfilled in our time.
03:54 On the official, United States Geological Service website,
03:58 you can find a list of the earthquakes
04:00 which the USGS has selected
04:02 as being of general historical interests
04:05 dating back to the 9th century AD.
04:08 If you take the time to go through
04:10 and count all the earthquakes listed under each century,
04:13 you'll be amazed at what you find.
04:16 Listen to this.
04:17 In the 800s, there are two earthquakes
04:20 listed for the whole century.
04:22 In the 1100s, there is only one earthquake
04:24 listed for the whole century.
04:27 In the 1200s, there are two
04:28 and then also two in the 1500s.
04:31 But notice what happens when we get to the 1600s.
04:34 Instead of being one or two like the centuries previous,
04:38 the number of earthquakes
04:39 noted in the 1600s, skyrockets to 10.
04:43 That's a 500% jump in just one century.
04:48 Then the 1700s get even worse
04:52 with 14 notable earthquakes taking place.
04:55 But, my friends, we haven't seen anything yet.
04:58 In the 1800s, there is a mega lead to 61.
05:03 That's a nearly 3,000% jump from the 800s.
05:07 And if you are still not convince
05:08 that the signs Jesus foretold are coming to pass.
05:12 Well, how about the 1900s?
05:14 Amazingly in the 1900s,
05:16 the number of notable earthquakes jumps to 427.
05:22 That's more than a 21,000% increase.
05:27 I mean, what more do you need
05:28 in order to see that the signs Jesus foretold are here.
05:33 And listen, if that wasn't enough,
05:35 between the years 2000 and 2011,
05:38 there have already been 441 earthquakes listed.
05:42 That's more notable earthquakes
05:44 in the first 11 years of this century
05:46 than there were in the entire 20th century.
05:50 And since we're on the topic of natural disasters,
05:53 let's look at how the number of tornados
05:55 has increased in recent years.
05:57 In the early 1950s, there were somewhere between
06:00 200 and 300 tornados reported each year.
06:04 But by the time we come into the early 21st century
06:07 that number is up to between 1600 and 1800 per year.
06:13 Clearly, something is going on.
06:17 You better believe it, Andrea.
06:19 And we haven't even talked about of the wars,
06:21 rumors of wars, famine, pestilence, and false christs.
06:25 I mean, we could literally spend
06:27 a whole study just talking about
06:29 how the signs are being fulfilled.
06:31 Take wars, for example.
06:34 We've all heard that the 20th century
06:36 was one of the bloodiest centuries of all time,
06:38 but some people say,
06:40 "Of course, there were more conflict related,
06:42 that's because the world population
06:45 was more than double from the century before.
06:48 More people equals to more deaths."
06:51 But is that really the only reason
06:53 it was the bloodiest century?
06:56 Well, let's take a look at it based--
06:58 not on the numbers, but based on the percentages.
07:02 Here are the percentages of the past five centuries
07:05 of conflict related deaths
07:07 as compared to the world population of the time.
07:11 In the 1500s, the percentage was 0.32.
07:15 In the 1600s, it was 1.05.
07:20 The 1700s were at 0.92.
07:24 The 1800s jumped up to 1.65,
07:28 and the 1900s were at, you're ready?
07:32 4.35%.
07:35 That's well over 2 1/2 times
07:38 the bloodiest century prior to it.
07:42 Now we don't have time to cover
07:44 all of the signs that Jesus talked about here,
07:47 but I assure you, if we did,
07:49 we'd find the same upward trend
07:51 in every one of them as we have in the few
07:53 that we've already looked at.
07:55 So the question, are we at the end of world?
08:00 Well, obviously, yes.
08:02 But Jesus said,
08:04 "It would get even worse than all these things.
08:07 All these are the beginning of sorrows."
08:10 He said in Mathew 24:8.
08:12 But look at what He said would happen next.
08:16 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you,
08:21 and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake."
08:26 Really? Hated by all nations?
08:30 A worldwide death decree for God's end time people?
08:35 That's what Jesus prophesied.
08:37 In fact, Jesus actually tells us
08:39 where this persecution,
08:41 this worldwide death decree is going to originate.
08:44 Levi.
08:46 That's why, Carl.
08:47 And I know right now we all want to know
08:49 what Jesus said this persecution will originate.
08:53 Of course, He never mentions
08:55 the actual name of this place or nation,
08:58 but He does give us a list of identifying features
09:02 that will allow us to recognize this persecuting power.
09:05 Now stay with me here because in my own study
09:08 I discovered that, what Jesus taught
09:10 in Matthew 24 about the signs of His return
09:14 parallels what He revealed to John in Revelation 13 and 14
09:18 with remarkable clarity.
09:21 And first of all, both Matthew 24 and Revelation 13
09:26 speak about worldwide death decree
09:28 for God's faithful end time people.
09:31 Then in Matthew 24:11 were told that,
09:34 "Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many."
09:41 Revelation 13:14 tells us that,
09:43 this lamb like beast also described
09:46 as the false prophet in Revelation 16.
09:49 "Deceived all the people living on the earth
09:52 by means of the miracles
09:53 which it was allowed to perform."
09:56 The next verse in Matthew verse 12
09:59 says that lawlessness will abound.
10:03 And following the same order,
10:04 the next thing we come to in Revelation is this beast saying,
10:07 "To all of them that dwell on the earth,
10:10 that they should make an image to the beast."
10:13 Which is very much parallel to the lawlessness in Matthew.
10:17 And this image to the beast is set up
10:19 when laws were enforced that will
10:21 seek to compel people to worship
10:23 contrary to the Ten Commandments law of God.
10:27 And especially, the Fourth Commandment, the Sabbath.
10:31 For more information on this point,
10:33 see lesson 13 entitled "Who Moved the Mark."
10:38 Next, we read in Matthew 24:13,
10:41 "That he who endures to the end shall be saved."
10:46 In Revelation 13:10,
10:47 it speaks of the persecuted saints is having patience
10:51 because of what they need to endure.
10:54 Our final parallel is found in Matthew 24:14.
10:58 "And this gospel of the kingdom
11:01 will be preached in all the world
11:03 as a witness to all nations and then the end will come."
11:10 Did you get that?
11:11 After Jesus describes the persecution,
11:14 the deception, the lawlessness,
11:16 He says that, notice "That gospel will be
11:20 preached to all nations and then the end will come."
11:25 That is to say, Jesus will return.
11:29 And once again, Revelation follows a perfect parallel.
11:33 Just six verses into the very next chapter in Revelation.
11:37 We read this.
11:38 "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven,
11:42 having the everlasting" What?
11:46 "The everlasting gospel to preach
11:49 unto them that dwell on the earth."
11:52 And just like Matthew 24,
11:54 "To every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."
12:01 My friends, this is the gospel that Jesus said
12:04 will go out to the whole world just before His return.
12:08 If you want to know what He expects
12:10 the faithful last day church to be preaching,
12:13 then read this whole message found in Revelation 14:6-12.
12:19 It's known as the Three Angels' Message.
12:22 And by the way, just as in Matthew 14,
12:26 immediately after the preaching of this Three Angels' Message,
12:30 Jesus is to seen coming back to harvest the earth.
12:34 So are the things that Jesus taught in Matthew 24
12:38 and what we read in Revelation 13 and 14
12:41 descriptions of the same events?
12:44 Well, I would have to give a resounding yes.
12:48 Well, Levi, those are some amazing discoveries.
12:53 And with that context now,
12:54 we can actually begin to unpack
12:56 the beast powers of Revelation 13.
13:00 The first beast is found in Revelation 13:1-10,
13:04 and the second in Revelation 13:11-18.
13:08 Let's begin with the first one.
13:10 In Revelation 13:1-3 John writes
13:14 "And I stood upon the sand of the sea,
13:17 and saw a beast rise up out of the sea.
13:20 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard,
13:23 and his feet were as the feet of a bear,
13:25 and his mouth as the mouth of a lion,
13:28 and the dragon gave him his power,
13:31 and his seat, and great authority."
13:34 This is a representation of the same persecuting power
13:37 described in the Book of Daniel as the little horn
13:40 which in two previous lessons
13:42 we identified as the Roman Catholic Church.
13:45 Now we don't have enough time
13:47 to fully cover this point today,
13:50 but let's just make a few comparisons
13:52 between the little horn power of Daniel 7 and 8,
13:54 and the first beast here in Revelation 13.
13:59 Daniel 7:25 says,
14:01 "He shall speak great words against the Most High."
14:05 In Revelation 13:6, "He opened his mouth
14:08 in blasphemy against God."
14:11 Daniel 7:21 says, "He made war with the saints,
14:15 and prevailed against them."
14:17 In Revelation 13:7, "It was given unto him
14:20 to make war with the saints."
14:23 Daniel 8:24 says, "And his power shall be mighty,
14:27 but not by his own power."
14:30 In Revelation 13:2, "The dragon gave him his power,
14:34 and his seat, and great authority."
14:37 Daniel 7:25 says, "The saints shall be
14:40 given into his hand for a time and times and half a time."
14:46 This is the 1260 year period that lasted from 538 to 1798.
14:53 And in Revelation 13:5,
14:55 the same time period is described
14:58 as forty and two months
15:00 that the beast was given power to continue.
15:03 In Daniel 7:1-8, "This Roman power
15:06 is preceded by Babylon, Medo-Persia,
15:08 and Greece symbolized by a lion, a bear, and a leopard.
15:14 In Revelation 13:2, the same kingdoms
15:17 are mentioned only in reverse orders.
15:20 A leopard, a bear, and lion
15:22 because unlike Daniel who was writing
15:24 from the time of Babylon looking forward to the time of Rome.
15:28 John was writing from the time of Rome
15:30 looking backward in history to the time of Babylon.
15:34 So the first beast in Revelation 13
15:37 must be the Roman Catholic Church.
15:40 The same power as the little horn of Daniel 7 and 8.
15:44 But what about that second beast?
15:48 Well, now that we know
15:49 who the first beast of Revelation 13 is.
15:52 It really shouldn't be all that
15:53 difficult to identify the second.
15:56 So let's go about this task kind of like a news reporter
15:58 asking the questions who, what, where, when, and how.
16:04 Let's begin with the what.
16:06 What is this beast?
16:08 Daniel 7:17 says, "These great beasts,
16:12 which are four, are four kings."
16:15 Verse 23 says, "The fourth beast
16:18 shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth."
16:21 So what does a beast represent in Bible prophecy?
16:24 A kingdom or a nation.
16:27 And among other things we're also told
16:29 in Revelation 13:11 that this beast
16:32 or nation has two horns like a lamb.
16:35 What does this represent?
16:38 Well, the other 28 times the word lamb is used
16:41 in the Book of Revelation, it refers to Christ.
16:44 So we would be safe to say that at the very least
16:47 this nation is represented as having
16:49 some Christ-like characteristics.
16:51 Thus, point number one is that this beast
16:54 represents a kingdom or nation
16:56 that possesses Christian characteristics or principles.
17:00 Pretty simple so far.
17:02 And now for the when.
17:04 When does this nation arise?
17:06 According to Revelation 13:10-11,
17:09 this beast arises right around the time
17:11 the first beast receives its deadly wound.
17:15 When was the deadly wound inflicted upon the papacy?
17:18 In 1798, when Pope Pius VI
17:21 was taken captive by the French General,
17:23 Alexander Berthier causing the Roman Catholic Church
17:26 to lose her authority.
17:29 So point number two, is that it would arise
17:31 sometime around the year 1798.
17:34 And how about the where?
17:37 Well, unlike the other beasts
17:38 in Daniel and Revelation which arise from the sea,
17:41 verse 11 tells us that this beast rises out of the earth.
17:46 According to Revelation 17:15,
17:49 the sea represents peoples, multitudes, nations,
17:52 and tongues, or a populated area.
17:55 Thus, the earth would represent the opposite,
17:58 a sparsely populated area.
18:01 So our third point is that these beasts
18:04 or nation rises in a sparsely populated area of earth.
18:09 And now for our last question.
18:11 How does this beast come to power?
18:14 Unlike other beast mentioned
18:15 it's not seeing conquering another nation
18:17 in order to gain its territory or supremacy,
18:20 but rather it's simply comes up out of the earth.
18:24 Thus, our fourth and final point
18:27 is that this nation does not conquer another world kingdom
18:30 in order to gain its position and power.
18:33 So my friends, which nation does this beast represent?
18:37 There can be no question that this beast
18:40 represents the United States of America.
18:43 No other nation fits as Carl will explain.
18:49 Well, Andrea, let's go through
18:51 and look at each of the points that you mentioned.
18:54 First of all, is America a nation
18:57 that was founded upon Christian principles?
19:01 Well, what did its founders have to say?
19:04 In a letter to Thomas Jefferson,
19:06 yes, the same Thomas Jefferson
19:08 who wrote the "Declaration of Independence."
19:11 John Adams, our second President said,
19:15 "The general principles upon
19:16 which the Fathers achieved independence
19:19 were the general principles of Christianity."
19:24 In 1775, John Hancock wrote.
19:27 "We recognize no sovereign but God,
19:31 and no King but Jesus."
19:35 Both these men were actual signers
19:38 of the declaration of independence.
19:40 And they believe that America
19:42 was indeed founded upon Christian principles.
19:46 How about point number two?
19:49 Did America rise as a nation around the year 1798?
19:53 Absolutely.
19:55 The declaration of independence was signed on July 4,, 1776.
20:00 The constitution was voted in 1787.
20:04 In 1791, they adopted the bill of rights.
20:08 And by 1798, the United States of America
20:12 was clearly recognized as the sovereign nation.
20:17 And point number three.
20:19 Did America arise from
20:20 a sparsely populated area of the earth?
20:24 Yes, unlike the other kingdoms of Daniel
20:27 and Revelation which are arose
20:29 from the populated continent of Europe,
20:32 America arose from a sparsely populated
20:35 and little known area of earth.
20:38 It clearly fits the description.
20:41 Finally, did America have to conquer
20:43 another world kingdom in order to gain its supremacy?
20:47 The answer is no.
20:50 Although the continent had native tribes,
20:53 it did not have an established world kingdom
20:56 which would need to be taken out of the way
20:58 in order for the new nation to grow.
21:01 So, who is this second beast?
21:05 My friends, clearly the second beast of Revelation 13
21:10 can be none other than the United States of America.
21:15 That's right, Carl.
21:17 And now that we understand
21:18 who the two beasts of Revelation 13 are,
21:20 the Roman Catholic Church and the United States of America.
21:25 Yeah, I want to take the study a step further.
21:28 In Revelation 13 says that "He" that is the United States
21:33 "Exercises all the power of the first beast before him,
21:37 and causes the earth and them which dwell therein
21:41 to worship the first beast.
21:43 That as many as would not worship
21:46 the image of the beast should be killed."
21:49 But exactly who is involved
21:51 in persecuting God's people here
21:52 and what's the reason for the persecution?
21:56 The shocking answer is found in Revelation 17.
22:00 Here, the same two persecuting powers
22:03 are represented not as beast,
22:05 but as the harlot woman and her daughters.
22:09 Revelation 17:3-6 says,
22:12 "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness.
22:16 And I saw a woman.
22:17 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color,
22:21 and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls.
22:25 And upon her forehead was a name written, mystery,
22:29 Babylon the great, the mother of harlots
22:32 and abominations of the earth.
22:35 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints,
22:38 and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus."
22:42 Now a woman in prophecy is a symbol of a church,
22:45 so it makes sense that the papacy
22:48 or Roman Catholic Church will be symbolized this way.
22:51 And she is called the great harlot in verse 1,
22:54 and she has the name Babylon the great,
22:57 written on her forehead here in verse 5.
22:59 But she also has daughters or other churches
23:03 that follow in her example of harlotry.
23:06 What is this harlotry?
23:08 And how is that the other churches are following her in it
23:11 and becoming a part of spiritual Babylon?
23:15 The answer, believe it or not
23:17 is clearly seen in the color she is wearing.
23:22 Sound strange, but Levi is actually right about this.
23:26 Let's take a look at it.
23:28 Revelation 17:4 says, "She was arrayed in purple
23:32 and scarlet and decked with gold."
23:36 Now compare the colors of these false priests
23:38 with the colors God's true priest were to wear.
23:42 "And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue,
23:46 of purple, and of scarlet."
23:49 So what was this harlot missing?
23:52 The blue.
23:54 And this missing blue color
23:56 is critical when you understand what it means.
24:00 Numbers 15:38-39 says,
24:03 "Put a blue thread in the tassels
24:06 that you may look upon it and remember
24:08 all the commandments of the Lord and do them."
24:12 The blue was there to remind them
24:14 of God's commandments to keep them and do them.
24:18 Disobedience to God's law constitutes spiritual adultery.
24:23 Just listen to how verse 39 continues.
24:27 "That you may not follow the harlotry
24:29 to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined."
24:33 It's clear.
24:35 This woman of Revelation 17 is missing the blue.
24:38 And what does she called? She is called a harlot.
24:42 Why?
24:43 Because she is not keeping God's commandments
24:46 and that is the issue upon what she becomes spiritual Babylon.
24:51 And upon which her daughters
24:52 become part of spiritual Babylon
24:55 and follow in her example of harlotry.
24:58 "Red in the morning, sailors take warning."
25:02 You know, Jesus taught that we are fools
25:04 when we are slow to believe what the prophets have told us.
25:08 Jesus said, "We are hypocrites."
25:10 When we claim to be Christians
25:11 and yet fail to discern the fulfilled signs of prophecy.
25:16 So pay attention to what we've learned today.
25:20 We've learned of a lamb like beast
25:22 that would begin in a Christ-like manner.
25:25 We learned that this nation
25:27 would eventually speak like a dragon or Satan,
25:30 trying to force everyone
25:32 to worship at the seat of the papacy.
25:34 And we learned that this beast power,
25:37 the United States will issue a worldwide death decree
25:41 for those who refused to worship in the Catholic manner.
25:44 In particular, on Sunday.
25:47 Right now it may seem impossible
25:49 for these predictions to come true,
25:52 but considering the Daniel and Revelation
25:54 have perfect track records I'm compelled to believe.
25:58 So listen carefully.
26:00 We learned today that God predicted
26:02 that a lamblike nation would come to power,
26:06 that was fulfilled in the United States of America.
26:09 We also learned that God foretold this nation
26:12 encouraged by the harlot daughters of the papacy
26:15 or apostate Protestantism would abandoned the law of God.
26:21 That prophecy has certainly have been fulfilled,
26:23 especially in regards to the Fourth Commandment,
26:26 the seventh day Sabbath.
26:29 Almost all the Protestant Churches today
26:32 are following the Roman Church
26:34 in breaking the Fourth of the Ten Commandments.
26:37 Apostate Protestantism is keeping
26:39 the first day of the week which the Catholic Church
26:42 claimed to solemnify in place of the true
26:46 seventh-day Sabbath of the Ten Commandments.
26:49 So my friend, is the sky red today?
26:53 We've already seen that the signs Jesus
26:55 talked about are all around,
26:57 so we can be certain that everything He spoke of us
27:00 taking place just before His return
27:03 will indeed come to pass.
27:05 And in fact, is coming to pass.
27:08 So the question we must now ask ourselves is.
27:11 Will we be faithful to God?
27:14 Will we answer the call of Jesus
27:17 to come out of this false system of worship?
27:20 Will we choose to love and obey Jesus?
28:08 Did you know the "Thunder in the Holy Land"
28:10 is a Bible study series that gives you the ability
28:13 to share the hope you have in Christ at a moments notice.
28:17 These interacted and clear Bible studies
28:20 on the teachings of Jesus
28:22 thrive on group discussion and individual thought.
28:25 Learn more at qlp.tv.


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