Participants:
Series Code: UBP
Program Code: UBP000001S
|
00:01 Have you ever had a dream and felt like it meant something?
00:03 Have you ever wondered about where this world is heading? 00:06 Do you have questions about Bible prophecy? Have you ever 00:10 wondered if God really exists? My name is Cami Oetman and 00:14 I'll be answering these questions and more right now on 00:17 Unlocking Bible Prophecy. 00:20 The rise of international pandemic, polarizing global 00:25 politics and increasingly destructive natural disasters 00:29 Bush fires in Australia are a warning of what may be to come 00:33 around the world. 00:34 What does it all mean? What does the future hold? Join 00:40 international speaker Cami Oetman on a journey for answers 00:44 in Unlocking Bible Prophecies. In her travels around the world 00:48 she's come face to face with real-life struggles but in the 00:51 midst of them she's found miracles of hope. Join Cami 00:56 Oetman for Unlocking Bible Prophecies as she shares how 00:59 Bible prophecy is being fulfilled faster than ever 01:03 before. 01:05 Greetings friends. My name is Dr. Duane McKey, president of 01:14 Adventist World Radio. We've been broadcasting for 50 years 01:18 on about a thousand radio stations around the world 01:21 internationally in 130 different languages. It's exciting as we 01:25 see what is happening in today's world and actually we're 01:28 starting to do something different just on You Tube just 01:30 for you. Cami Oetman, our Vice President, who's done about 350 01:35 meetings herself is going to bring to us Unlocking Bible 01:39 Prophecies for these last days. This is such an exciting, 01:43 thrilling series of meetings. You won't want to miss a one 01:47 as she takes the Bible and unlocks the prophecies to bring 01:50 us right to the day we're living in just before Jesus comes back. 01:54 Don't miss a one. 01:55 Welcome to Unlocking Bible Prophecies. My name is Cami 02:00 Oetman. I'm the vice president for Adventist World Radio and a 02:04 vital part of my work is documenting miracles. This 02:07 involves traveling to remote areas in the world to film 02:10 miraculous testimonies of Jesus' saving power, like at the DMZ 02:14 border of North Korea or meeting face to face with rebel 02:18 terrorist groups in the Philippines or visiting death 02:21 row inmates in Zambia. God fore told that he would do amazing 02:25 things in our day and he is. Each night I look forward to 02:30 sharing incredible miracle stories that I have personally 02:32 documented. You won't want to miss one of them. During our 02:36 time together over the next 14 days I am presenting biblical 02:40 material that I personally find exciting and mind blowing. 02:44 This same information profoundly changed my life from the pursuit 02:48 of the world to the pursuit of heaven. God has given me the 02:52 purpose to share his word. I trust in the Holy Bible because 02:57 God's predictions or prophecies are true. Tonight we will begin 03:00 by unlocking the truth on whether the Bible's prediction 03:04 is truth or fable. The key to unlocking Bible prophecies is to 03:09 let the Bible speak for itself. Our theme for this series is 03:14 If it's in the Bible, I believe it. If it disagrees with the 03:19 Bible then it's not for me. Now you may be wondering what are 03:23 the benefits of this seminar? Why does this matter to me? 03:26 Why should I care? This biblical information will give meaning to 03:30 your life and the conditions that we see in the world right 03:34 now. The Bible informs us about the earth's timeline, from how 03:38 it began to how it will end. People need to be warned about 03:42 the final events about to occur on earth. We must become aware 03:46 of Satan's many traps to deceive and distract us away from God's 03:50 truths that are revealed in the Bible. We need to understand the 03:54 battle between God and Satan because both are seeking your 03:59 devoted worship. With all of the uncertainty in our world right 04:03 now where can we go for real answers? God's Son Jesus 04:08 forewarns and reveals to us in his scriptures, the Bible, what 04:12 we need to know. Each of our Bible topics will build and 04:16 expand upon the last. Do not miss one. These topics provide 04:19 us with different snapshot views of who Jesus truly is and what 04:24 he teaches so we can follow in his footsteps. By the end of the 04:28 end of the series you will know from your Bible the answers to 04:32 questions like: Who is the beast of Revelation 13? What is the 04:37 mark of the beast? Is 666 really in the Bible? How does God 04:42 describe the seal of the living God? Did you know the Bible says 04:46 you need to be sealed in order to enter heaven? We will learn 04:50 what Babylon represents and how to make sure you are not a part 04:53 of it. What does the Bible say happens when you die? This might 04:57 surprise you. Did you know that God describes the 05:01 characteristics of his last day remnant people, his church in 05:05 Revelation? What does Revelation say is happening during the 05:08 millennium? Mmm. Did you know you get to choose where you will 05:12 be during these thousand years? If God is loving, would he 05:16 really burn people forever and ever? We will look at what the 05:20 Bible says about hell. It's different than what man has come 05:23 up with. How does the Bible describe Jesus' second coming? 05:27 Jesus is very specific so that we are not fooled by many false 05:33 Christs. The Bible provides incredible insights on the 05:37 invisible war going on around us. Friends pray with me. 05:42 Heavenly Father, King of the Universe, King of our hearts. 05:47 Lord I ask that you empty me of self and fill me with the Holy 05:51 Spirit. Anoint my lips with only your words and surround each one 05:58 of us with holy angels as we study your word tonight. 06:01 In Jesus' precious, most powerful name, Amen. 06:05 So friend, how do you fit into this unseen war, this battle 06:12 over planet earth? How do you fit in tonight's topic, 06:16 The Prediction. We will begin by unlocking the truth on whether 06:20 the Bible's predictions came true and why should you care. 06:24 Because no matter your age, your gender or where you live on this 06:28 planet, you are in the very center of this prediction 06:32 whether you want to be or not. So let's just see how did we get 06:36 into the predicament? Our world, planet Earth, the human race is 06:41 a territory being fought over. The enemy's intent is to claim 06:46 every human heart, yours and mine, as his own territory. 06:50 Scripture calls this enemy Satan who is hell bent on overcoming 06:55 the human race. He will lie, cheat and steal to bring us 06:59 under his dominion, his control. But how did this all happen? 07:04 By understanding the back story we will have a much easier time 07:08 figuring out what is true and what is false. This angel story 07:13 of epic proportions needs to be told and understood. It is about 07:18 a cosmic war and a cosmic rescue It begins within the universe 07:23 in a place called heaven, home to God the Father. You see, God 07:29 is all about love. The theme of love runs through the entire 07:34 Bible. One of our earliest demonstrations of God's love 07:38 is the he created us with the freedom of choice. There must 07:42 have been a time when God explained to his angels about 07:45 their free will. Perhaps God said something like, Angels, I 07:50 want to share with you something very precious. It is called 07:53 liberty. In the beginning before I created a single life I had 07:58 to make a decision, Should I give you the freedom or should I 08:02 control your wills? If I controlled your will I would be 08:06 guaranteed your obedience. But it would have taken away your 08:09 freedom of choice which is the most precious gift I can give 08:13 you and the most precious gift you can give me is spontaneous 08:17 love. And I would have been robbed of that. So I gave you 08:20 liberty, freedom of choice. I knew that somewhere in the 08:24 future this could all go wrong and backfire but I took the risk 08:28 to be loved by you freely. As we all know, friends, something did 08:32 go terribly wrong. A high ranking angel named Lucifer left 08:37 his place beside God the Father to stir up trouble among the 08:40 angels. Lucifer became all puffed up with his high position 08:44 and talents and beauty. Pride grew in his heart and he became 08:48 jealous. He desired to be God not to be a servant of God. 08:52 Let's read the many I, I, I statements Lucifer makes in 08:58 Isaiah 14:12-14:... 09:22 Satan desired to be God, to kick God off his throne and rule 09:28 the universe. He appeared to give God reverence but secretly 09:31 he hid his real intention. He lied telling the angels their 09:36 own wisdom was good enough. They did not need God's law telling 09:41 them what to do. As a result some of the angels began to 09:45 doubt God and Lucifer challenged Jesus, the Son of God, for 09:50 control of the universe. Lucifer desired to be his equal. 09:55 In Revelation 12:7 it says, it sums it up:... 10:01 One third of God's angelic forces joined Lucifer's 10:04 rebellion and fought violently. The battle spilled out across 10:08 the universe itself and finally Lucifer and his fallen angels 10:13 were cast out of heaven. So Lucifer and his deceived angels 10:17 found themselves cast to a tiny planet, a territory named Earth. 10:22 From the beginning of this great war between good and evil 10:26 scripture promises us a warrior. This warrior's name is Jesus, 10:30 the Son of God. He loved us so much that in advance he devised 10:35 a plan to rescue us. There's a theme from Genesis to Revelation 10:40 that shows us that planet Earth is a territory under dispute. 10:44 God wants us and Satan wants us. We humans need to understand 10:50 this fierce battle of unseen forces going on over our planet 10:55 Earth. This is a matter of life or death friends. The very first 10:59 line in the Bible is all about territories. Genesis 1:1 says: 11:08 This sets up two regions. Two territories. One the heavens and 11:14 two the Earth. God says in Genesis 1:26:... 11:24 What does dominion mean? It means the right to rule, the 11:29 power to control, the authority to govern. A territory where a 11:35 ruler is in charge. In Genesis 1:28:... 11:53 God is saying, The whole Earth is your domain, your dwelling 11:59 place. However, within the garden of Eden there was another 12:03 place of dominion allowed, a little enemy territory called 12:07 the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned in 12:11 Genesis 2:17:... 12:20 This tree reminded Adam and Eve of their own free will to choose 12:25 to obey God or not. Satan was allowed a place at the tree of 12:31 the knowledge of good and evil. He could not just wander freely 12:34 wherever he wanted to go. No. This one tree was his turf and 12:39 here he staked out his territory Of course, Satan's goal was to 12:44 expand his territory, right? He's hoping that Adam and Eve 12:48 will approach his space in the garden. He's eager to spread his 12:52 own governmental ideas that oppose God. All he has to do is 12:57 lie about God's true character and sway human 13:01 perspective on who God is just like he did with the angels. 13:05 Immediately in the opening chapters of the Bible in Genesis 13:09 one, two and especially three you sense there is a conflict. 13:14 There is a dispute. Something is amiss. Satan disguised himself 13:19 as a cunning serpent and tantalized Eve with his beauty. 13:23 He lures her with a lie about magical fruit that would make 13:26 her to be like God. By falling for this deception Adam and Eve, 13:32 with their own free will, transfer their authority over 13:35 Earth given to them by God over to the serpent. Satan could not 13:40 actually bypass their free will. He needed to verbally persuade 13:45 them to change their thinking about God to bring their free 13:49 will over to his side. As Satan sways Eve's thinking with lies 13:54 to question the character of God he thinks he has won. From the 13:59 very beginning Satan lies to humans and has them question 14:03 God's character. Satan's most powerful tool is to sell an idea 14:09 Ezekiel 28:16 says: By thy multitude of your merchandising, 14:15 another word for selling, thou has sinned. 14:19 So Lucifer is not selling items or widgets. He was marketing an 14:23 illusion that Eve could become like God. He was selling ideas 14:28 and Eve bought his ideas. Scripture says that Adam was not 14:33 so sure about these ideas but he was really sure about loving Eve 14:37 and unfortunately he followed her instead of God. Additional 14:41 scripture that shows earth as a territory under the control of 14:44 the enemy is found in Luke 4:6 where Satan is tempting Jesus in 14:49 the wilderness:... 15:01 This Bible text uncovers the back story. Satan's talking in 15:06 terms that something has happened in the past, someone 15:10 gave him the authority. Notice Jesus does not dispute that it 15:14 is Satan's to give. At no point does Jesus say, Wait a minute 15:18 Satan. Earth does not belong to you. No Jesus understands that 15:24 Adam and Eve transferred their God-given authority over to 15:28 Satan. Satan now has the right to make this claim. Look at 15:33 these scriptures where Jesus and Paul acknowledge the 15:37 position of the 15:38 evil enemy. In John 12:31 Jesus says:... 15:47 Jesus is referencing that he is in the process of overcoming the 15:51 enemy, Satan. He calls him by a title, the ruler of this world. 15:56 In 2 Corinthians 4 verse 4 the Apostle Paul literally calls 16:01 Satan the God of this age who has blinded the minds of 16:06 unbelievers. Satan is currently the God of this world. 16:12 In Ephesians 2:2 Satan is called:... 16:17 Now that doesn't mean he controls the oxygen supply. 16:21 This means he is prince of the moral atmosphere or culture of 16:25 this world. I John 5:19 says:... 16:33 Are you seeing the picture of the Bible's painting here? Our 16:37 culture is influenced by the popular opinion of the day. 16:41 The social trends are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the 16:45 eyes and the pride of life. Those are Satan's principles, 16:49 not God's, on which our whole world operates. Now here is an 16:55 interesting insight into the unseen war. Job 1 verse 1 reads: 17:10 Then drop down a few verses. Job 1:6 says: 17:21 Hmm. This verse indicates organization. You see there was 17:26 a time and there was a place, and the Lord calls a meeting. 17:30 And the sons of God travel from their territories where they 17:34 reside in the universe. In Ephesians Paul called the sons 17:38 of God principalities and powers meaning rulers and authorities 17:42 in the heavenly universe. So the devil comes sauntering in to 17:46 this heavenly council. Notice in Job 1:7, God asks Satan:... 17:53 God does not say, What are you doing here? He does not even say 17:59 Get out of here. God is asking Satan for his point of origin. 18:04 What right do you have to be here? Who are you representing? 18:09 Where are you coming from? Here the devil proudly boasts:... 18:19 Here you can see that Satan is claiming planet Earth, us, as 18:25 his territory in God's universe. Satan alleges I have a right to 18:30 be here in this meeting if all these other rulers of other 18:33 worlds can attend I can be here to represent the planet that 18:36 belongs to me. Look at how God replies in verse 8. It's like 18:42 whoa, Satan. You think you represent Earth. But have you 18:47 considered my servant Job. He does not follow your way of 18:51 thinking or living. Even there, just briefly, God begins to 18:57 dispute the legitimacy of Satan's claim. Satan escalates 19:01 the dialogue in verse 9, basically saying, Well of course 19:04 Job honors you. You are taking care of all of his needs. 19:07 Of course he's following you because you bought him off with 19:11 all your blessings. Well I love that in verse 8, God points to a 19:17 human and says, Oh, but I have a foothold in the world. I have 19:21 someone who represents me and my principles and my kingdom on 19:26 Earth. Satan we are not giving up on the great controversy. 19:31 We are not giving the world over to you. No. I still have some 19:35 loyal people in the world that choose to follow me fully and 19:39 Job's one of them. Job's my man. So in Job 1:10 Satan accuses:... 19:56 Now what does this hedge about Job mean? Was it a garden or a 20:02 bunch of bushes. No. The answer is in Psalm 34:7, a favorite 20:07 text of mine where it says:... 20:17 This hedge is God's angelic protection, his angels around 20:21 around his loyal followers. Satan petitions God: So remove 20:27 your hedge and I will get to Job and then he won't serve you 20:32 anymore. So why did Job have this protective circle of 20:36 guardian angels? Job knew the secret friends. Man needs to ask 20:41 for God's protection so that God can protect. It is a cooperative 20:46 effort between the Divine and the human. Think of prayer as an 20:50 act of war. You are calling on your troops. Those are the rules 20:55 of engagement that's in the universe that we much abide by. 20:58 We must ask for protection in order to receive it. 21:02 In Job 1 verse 11 Satan taunts God:... 21:10 Now consider the serious fact. If Job did curse God, God would 21:15 not be able to protect him. It would then place Job in Satan's 21:19 territory. But Job continues to say:... 21:24 And remains God's man. Such battles happen frequently. Satan 21:29 plagues people and instead of praising God they curse God. 21:33 If people would only realize this removes God's presence away 21:38 from them. A sinner's only remedy against Satan is prayer. 21:42 Prayer is an act of war, yet surprisingly most people forget 21:47 to pray and this gives Satan the advantage in their lives. But 21:52 listen. We have some exciting news. In Genesis 3 verse 15 we 21:57 are given a forecast, a prediction. God promises us a 22:01 way out. He predicts a Savior. We have a warrior promised to us 22:07 God is speaking to Satan in the hearing of Adam and Eve and he 22:11 says this:... 22:30 In this text, God is redeeming the woman, which later in 22:34 scripture we will see symbolizes the church, but God gives the 22:38 devil the heads up. Listen, you just took Earth from Adam and 22:43 Eve. But I'm going to send someone through a woman to birth 22:47 a baby and when that baby is born he's going to be a warrior. 22:51 He's going to engage you and he's going to crush your head 22:55 Satan and you will only injure him. Of course, Satan is going 23:00 to resist this forecast, this prediction. You can imagine the 23:04 hair is going to start to stand up on the back of his neck and 23:07 he's going to say, Oh really? Game on! Because remember Satan 23:12 already won a third of the angels in heaven. He just won 23:15 over Adam and Eve and had them believe his lies. So when God 23:20 challenges him to this conflict, to a battle, in Genesis 3 Satan 23:25 must be feeling pretty good about his chances. But... Satan 23:30 has no idea about is what's coming his way. 23:34 He anticipates that it 23:36 will be a battle of force but the way that God will win the 23:40 war is totally unexpected. There's no way for Satan to know 23:46 what is about to come. Satan is told that someone is going to 23:50 come and crush his head. What the Lord doesn't say is that it 23:54 will be me. God himself will come as a human being. There is 24:00 a war between good and evil over every single soul. That means 24:04 you and me and whether we want to acknowledge it or not friends 24:08 we must establish in our minds that the Bible is valid and that 24:12 we can trust and believe in it. A vital key story in the Bible 24:16 is found Daniel chapter 2 where King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. 24:21 Here in the book of Daniel God gives us an insider view to show 24:27 humanity the timeline of Earth's territories or kingdoms so that 24:32 there's no question who God is because he declares the end from 24:37 the beginning. Look what God says about himself in 24:40 Isaiah 46 verses 9 and 10:... 24:54 Wow! God promises he will tell you ahead of time what will 24:59 happen from the beginning until the end of time. There's no 25:02 need to guess. So why does Daniel 2 matter? Well although 25:08 the book of Daniel was written thousands of years ago it is 25:11 brimming with vital information for today's world. The prophet 25:16 Daniel received words from God about the kingdoms that shaped 25:20 the world's history. This short prophecy is fundamental in 25:24 helping us unlock more complex prophecies in Daniel and 25:28 Revelation that discuss this great controversy between the 25:32 forces of good and the forces of evil. So let's go back in time 25:37 to about 600 years before Christ to the greatest city that ever 25:42 existed on the planet, Babylon. Let's make our way into an 25:46 ancient king's palace made of shimmering gold. It's nighttime 25:50 and we find King Nebuchadnezzar tossing and turning in his 25:55 royal bed. The great king is having an intense dream. 25:59 Suddenly he wakes. He's very troubled. Even though it was 26:03 just moments before, he cannot seem to remember the dream. 26:06 He knew it had been extraordinary. Indeed! 26:11 It was a prophetic dream given by God outlining history for the 26:15 next two-and-a-half thousand years. Daniel 2 verse 1 says:... 26:28 You see the king was agitated and very distraught. He summoned 26:33 his wise men, magicians and astrologers and sorcerers and 26:37 Chaldeans to his royal palace. Now you might be thinking, how 26:41 primitive. Here's a man, he had a dream, and he summons 26:45 enchanters? That's what kings did in ancient days. They were 26:50 considered wise insiders. Each one of these categories had a 26:53 certain function. The enchanter would throw and read charms. 26:58 The sorcerer was a deep occultist using occult communications to 27:02 find things out. The astrologers would look at the stars to tell 27:07 him what to do. Is this really an ancient custom or is it alive 27:13 and well today? Do presidents and prime ministers use this 27:17 system today? Ho, yes they do. King Nebuchadnezzar instructed 27:23 them: Tell me what I dreamed last night and tell me its 27:25 significance. I know it was vitally important but I can't 27:29 remember it. What's the meaning of my dream? The wise men replied 27:34 Daniel 2 verse 4:... 27:42 Ho ho, the king was upset. He said, I don't know what I 27:46 dreamed. Don't you see? God had mysteriously took it from his 27:52 mind. So in Daniel 2 verse 9, the king insists:... 28:02 In other words, don't pretend you know what you really don't 28:06 know. You're supposed to be able to see into the future. 28:08 Now prove it to me. Tell me what I dreamed. 28:12 So in Daniel 2 verse 10, the Chaldeans who were the highly 28:16 educated ones in this informed group, like the intelligencia of 28:21 the day; well they protested and said:... 28:26 And it was true. There was no one on earth who could do what 28:30 the king asked. God removed this dream from the king's mind so 28:35 that it would expose all of these counterfeit informers. 28:39 Only the God of heaven could reveal what the king dreamed 28:43 in his bedroom and only the God of heaven can accurately, 28:47 precisely reveal the future. News of the kings command to 28:52 kill all the king's wise men reached Daniel. And you see 28:55 Daniel was not a psychic but he was one of the king's wise men. 28:58 When Daniel asked why he was to be killed Arioch the executioner 29:04 told him the story of the dream. Daniel was granted permission to 29:09 go before the king and he said King, give me time. Let me go 29:13 and pray and ask the God of heaven and the God of heaven 29:16 will reveal the dream that you had in your bedroom and I will 29:19 return and explain it to you what you dreamed. So Daniel 29:25 prayed and God revealed the dream and its interpretation to 29:29 his servant Daniel. You see, friends, the mysteries of God 29:33 are explained to men and women who pray so in Daniel 2 verse 23 29:39 he says:... 29:46 And then Daniel went before the king stating that it was true 29:49 that no Wiseman, no astrologer, no magician could reveal the 29:54 dream. And Daniel 2 verse 28 says:... 30:05 Hmm. I love that Daniel doesn't take the credit. He gives all 30:09 the credit to God. This is important. You see there are two 30:13 religious systems on this planet right now. The one system is man 30:17 centered and the other is God centered and this is the battle 30:21 for every soul on this planet. You will be surprised who today 30:26 advocates a man centered religion. As we go on throughout 30:29 the series you will it for yourself, friends. Now back to 30:34 Daniel, chapter 2 verse 21:... 30:41 I love that. So it's going to be a story of how kingdoms rise 30:45 and disappear on the planet. This prophecy takes us down the 30:49 stream of time from Daniel's day through the nations of Babylon, 30:53 Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, even to the current divided 30:57 empires of Europe. So Daniel chapter 2 is for our time, 31:02 friends. As God said, in the latter days. God revealed to 31:07 Daniel in verse 31:... 31:20 Next is says:... 31:43 Then verse 35:... 32:02 Daniel 2 verse 36-38:... 32:16 The head of gold represented Babylon or Nebuchadnezzar's 32:19 kingdom. His kingdom ruled the world from 605 B.C. to 539 B.C. 32:25 Nebuchadnezzar established one of the most fantastic, 32:29 wealthiest empires in the entire world. His kingdom was lavishly 32:33 adorned with gold. In just one temple alone Nebuchadnezzar used 32:39 18 tons of gold. That's 16,000 kilograms. He even built for his 32:46 queen the hanging gardens, a wonder of the ancient world. 32:50 It is a fact that gold is a precious metal whereas silver is 32:55 less precious but it is harder. You see each kingdom carried on 33:01 a philosophy of manmade teachings from the previous 33:05 kingdom thereby becoming more brutal and less refined all the 33:09 way down to the legs of iron. Nebuchadnezzar thought he had 33:14 built up a kingdom that would never be destroyed. The whole 33:17 earth lay prostrate at her feet. Daniel pointed at the king and 33:22 said, Your kingdom will disappear. The proud king said, 33:26 Whoa, never. And he initially humbled himself but then he 33:31 later hardened his heart and thought to himself that Babylon 33:35 will last forever. I will defy the King of kings. My kingdom of 33:39 gold will never be destroyed, it will never go to silver, to 33:43 bronze, to iron and of clay. I will build myself a statue of 33:48 gold from head to foot. Now what was Nebuchadnezzar really saying 33:53 there? He was defying the God of heaven. He was saying, I oppose 33:59 you God. I will set up my kingdom and you will not 34:03 destroy it. Is it possible that there is a power today claiming 34:08 the same thing and is it in opposition to God's kingdom? 34:12 Yes. We will see that is exactly the case. It is an unfortunate 34:19 reality, but it is a reality. Stay tuned but don't worry, God 34:24 has a plan to save you. Daniel's prophecy goes on. 34:29 Daniel 2 verse 32:... 34:32 After Babylon another kingdom would arise you see. The Medes 34:36 and Persians overthrew the Babylonians. You don't have to 34:40 guess at the meaning of prophecy Just look at it in Daniel 2:39: 34:48 Bible prophecy predicted the nation of Babylon would not last 34:53 forever. Another kingdom would arise. History reveals exactly 34:57 how this happened. In Daniel chapter 5 King Belshazzar, 35:01 grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar, hosted a drunken feast for a 35:05 thousand of his lords and as the wine was flowing, the music was 35:10 playing long robed men held closer lavishly dressed women 35:14 in the midst of the drunken debauchery, the enchanting music 35:18 and the seductive immorality God interrupted Belshazzar's feast. 35:22 A bloodless hand wrote upon the wall these words: Mene which 35:29 means:... 35:33 Tekel:... 35:39 Peres:... 35:46 Daniel's interpretation can be verified any good history book 35:51 on Babylon. You see Cyrus, the general of the armies of the 35:55 combined countries of Mede and Persia overthrew the proud 35:59 kingdom of Babylon. Daniel, however, was not the only one 36:03 who predicted this. In fact, God named Cyrus approximately 150 36:07 years before he was born. Wow! Look at this amazing prediction 36:12 written by Isaiah the prophet sometime around 680 B.C. 36:17 In Isaiah 45 verse 1: 36:36 Here is exactly what happened, friends. His soldiers dug canals 36:42 to divert and dry up the River Euphrates and marched under the 36:46 walls of Babylon. They came through the open gates into the 36:50 city. The Bible is not an ordinary book. When you and I 36:55 open the word of God we are opening the word of the living 36:58 God. It's prophecies are indeed true. Next Daniel 2 verse 39:... 37:10 Alexander the Great led his armies with their bronze armor. 37:14 If you were going to go to the Acropolis Museum today located 37:18 in Athens, Greece you would find how fitting it is for this third 37:23 nation to be represented by bronze. There you can see the 37:26 armory that the ancient soldiers wore. With all their military 37:31 advances that Greece had coupled with the wisdom of Alexander the 37:34 Great and his military expertise the nation of Greece was able to 37:39 conquer the then know world in lightning speed. He acquired 37:43 the largest empire up to that time. By the age of 32 Alexander 37:49 achieved what it took many an entire lifetime to do. After 37:53 attaining world dominance at his young age he was soon on his 37:57 deathbed which was thought to be as a result of his intemperate 38:01 behavior. Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece. But would Greece rule 38:05 the world forever? Hmm. Daniel 2 verse 40:... 38:12 The great English historian, Edward Gibbon, though not a 38:16 Christian or Bible believer himself wrote in the 38:19 Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire quote:... 38:33 Indeed that happened. Rome dominated the world from 38:37 168 B.C. to 476 A.D. It was in the days of Rome that Baby Jesus 38:42 was born, that Joseph and Mary fled from the oppressive Roman 38:46 Empire into Egypt. Jesus was tried by a Roman Governor and 38:51 crucified by Roman soldiers. For more than 500 years Rome 38:56 appeared to be invincible as one of the largest empires in the 38:59 world. But what did the Bible predict? Daniel 2 verse 41:... 39:12 The Bible did not predict a fifth ruling empire which would 39:16 rise after Rome. It predicted a divided empire. Another single 39:21 world empire would not follow Rome. The feet of iron and clay 39:26 represented divisions of the Roman empire. Europe was 39:29 divided like the prophecy described it would be. 39:32 Daniel 2 verse 43 declares:... 39:44 Throughout history the kings of Europe attempted through 39:48 intermarriage to unite the empire. One famous example of 39:52 this was Napoleon who divorced his wife Josephine and married 39:55 Louise of Austria in order to secure their countries' 39:59 relations and further his goal to unite all of Europe. 40:02 As prophecy predicted he utterly failed. Besides intermarriage 40:07 there was a second way political leaders 40:09 attempted to unite Europe 40:10 They attempted to accomplish their goals through military 40:13 conflict and war. Charles V wanted to unite Europe. He 40:19 failed. Charlemagne wanted to unite Europe. He failed. 40:24 Napoleon tried to unite all of Europe. He failed too. Napoleon 40:29 wrote in his journal a description of his ambitious 40:33 plans. There will be one Europe. There will be one currency. 40:37 There will be one language. There will be one government 40:40 over all of Europe. But when Napoleon was defeated in the 40:44 Battle of Waterloo in June of 1815, he said, God almighty is 40:50 too much for me. Friends, the Bible is accurate. Europe has 40:55 been divided. Charles V, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Hitler, 41:00 Stalin were would-be world leaders. And they have all 41:05 failed. Consider Hitler and his fiery speeches, how they whipped 41:09 up the masses. His motto was One people, one empire, one 41:13 leader. It appeared he was going to accomplish his ambitious goal 41:18 and unite all of Europe. The Allied forces were trapped. 41:22 Defeat seemed certain. But remarkably Hitler ordered his 41:26 tanks to stop and resupply. What stopped Hitler's tanks? 41:31 An ancient prophecy in Daniel chapter 2 declares that from the 41:36 days of the Roman empire Europe would never be united. The Bible 41:40 predicts in the book of Revelation a final last attempt 41:43 to unite Europe, this time under a religious-political union. 41:48 It's found in Revelation 17 verses 12-14:... 42:07 Here is the significance of this prophecy. For a short period of 42:09 time the nations of Europe and the rest of the world will enter 42:13 into a religious-political confederation just before the 42:17 coming of Jesus. Notice how Revelation describes this 42:21 temporary unity:... 42:27 So here is a prediction that for one hour, a short period of time 42:32 the nations of Europe come together. So are they? Are there 42:36 movements to unite Europe today? To unite the whole world? The 42:40 flag that is the symbol of the common market of Europe is, Many 42:44 Voices, One People. The euro is the result of an effort that 42:49 seeks to establish a common currency for Europe. Revelation 42:52 tells us there will be this final attempt to unite people to 42:56 prepare the beast power that joins them religiously and 42:59 politically under one great system. When worldwide strife, 43:03 conflict and war combine with famines, pestilences and 43:07 economic failures the ideal will be so sweetly presented, a 43:12 united world, a united society. We will all become one. But the 43:17 Bible says, These are of one mind and they will give their 43:21 power and authority to the beast These will make war with the 43:25 lamb who is Jesus and the lamb will overcome them. The reason 43:30 why we are not interested in an earthly kingdom is because Jesus 43:33 has promised us a heavenly one. This prediction in Revelation 17 43:38 says:... 43:46 History has followed the prophecy of Daniel chapter 2 43:49 like a blueprint and will continue to do so. The political 43:53 workings of this planet are not random. Events happening in the 43:57 world this very minute are a sign that Jesus, the King of 44:01 kings will come soon. His return is the only hope for a planet 44:06 standing on feet of iron and clay ready to crumble. Daniel's 44:10 prophecy of the image and Revelation's prophecies point us 44:13 forward to a new time. Daniel 2 verse 34:... 44:28 Verse 44:... 44:32 So what is the rock that smashes the image? The Rock of Ages. 44:37 King Jesus. We can have no confidence in earthly kingdoms 44:42 that rise and fall. They're temporary, illusionary. But we 44:46 can put our trust in God's kingdom that will never fall. 44:50 We are in a cosmic war and our cosmic rescue is on the way. 44:56 Christ's supernatural kingdom will come and smash down all the 44:59 kingdoms of this world. Revelation 11:15 says:... 45:12 The great longing of the human heart is for peace and security. 45:16 We long for a stable society where we can bring up our 45:20 children without the fear of war poverty and devastating diseases 45:24 We want a future filled with hope, not fear. The image of 45:30 Daniel 2 makes me think of a story about Freddie that my AWR 45:35 video crew and I filmed in South Africa. Freddie grew up in a 45:39 very religious home. His father was a priest. But he just didn't 45:43 care about it. Then as an adult he ignored everything to do with 45:46 God until one day he received a phone call that his sister had 45:51 been murdered. Freddie's immediate anger turned into rage 45:56 and hopelessness. He drowned his problems in alcohol. Ultimately 46:01 his self-destructive behavior progressed to suicidal thoughts. 46:04 He would drink all day, then at night intentionally sleep on a 46:10 busy road hoping to be run over. Thankfully the police or his 46:14 friends would always return him home safe. When he would finally 46:18 wake up and out of his drunken stupor he could not remember how 46:22 he had made it home. It was in one of these moments that God 46:25 got Freddie's attention. One night he heard a voice say, Who 46:30 am I? And he answered, I don't know. God said, Think nicely, 46:37 love is an endless forgiveness. What's interesting is that 46:41 Freddie learned about his sister's last Facebook comment 46:44 which just said the exact same thing. The Holy Spirit urged him 46:50 to open his Bible and Freddie wondered if Jesus could fill his 46:53 empty heart. Freddie struggled with how he could know for sure 46:57 or he could trust what his sister said. How could she know 47:00 what the Bible said? And what was true and not just a fairy 47:04 tale someone made up. During his studies he became fascinated in 47:08 the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. He became intrigued 47:11 with how history supported the rise and fall of kingdoms just 47:15 like Daniel 2 predicted and right on time in the predicted 47:19 order. Freddie was convinced he could believe what the Bible 47:23 taught. He is now devoted to teaching others about the Bible 47:27 beginning with Daniel 2 because it proves the Bible is authentic 47:31 and credible lining right up with history because history 47:35 cannot be denied. We are living in a broken world tonight and it 47:40 can't give us any answers, friends. But the Bible does. 47:44 And as we have seen we are living in the time of the toes 47:47 of the great image that we have just studied. We know it won't 47:51 be long before the rock cut without hands will come and 47:55 smite the image destroying all earthly powers forever. Jesus 48:00 will come to set up his kingdom. I really want to be there. 48:03 Don't you? Until then, when everything in this world is 48:08 upside down, thank you Lord that this broken world is cradled by 48:13 you. Nothing on this earth can take Jesus by surprise. He has 48:18 got everything covered and he tells us not to fear. We only 48:23 need to believe in him. Don't you want to believe tonight 48:26 that there is a God in heaven who is our king and Savior? 48:29 A God who loves us so much he has given us a sneak peak in 48:34 Daniel 2 just how earth's history would play out. It has 48:39 happened exactly as he predicted God does not throw curve balls 48:43 or blind side us. He's clear and he never changes. We can count 48:49 on every word. Jesus reaches out to you tonight. He invites you 48:54 to ask him into your heart. Choose today to make the 48:58 commitment to seriously discover what God and his kingdom are all 49:03 about. Friend, can God claim your heart and mind as his 49:08 territory tonight? Before we close tonight let's pray 49:12 together. 49:16 Heavenly Father, you are a mighty God that has the power 49:20 to set up kingdoms and remove kings. Tonight we thank you for 49:26 letting us know in advance how you will protect and provide for 49:30 us. We trust in you. In Jesus' precious, powerful name, Amen. 49:37 Friends, I'd love to meet with you right back here tomorrow 49:43 night as we are going to have a special study on what are the 49:46 signs that are going to happen right before Jesus comes. 49:50 Is COVID-19 in the Bible? Don't miss our next topic, The Signs. 49:55 God loves us so much he warns us in advance, not to scare us but 50:00 to inform us. Choose God's way. Good night, friends. 50:06 As a special bonus for our 3ABN viewers we want to share this 50:09 story featuring one of God's incredible miracles before we 50:12 end this program. Thank you for your prayers and support of 50:16 Adventist World Radio. Every day lives like these are being 50:20 changed for eternity. 50:25 Drumbeats. Isolated in the Indian Ocean 50:30 80 percent of all the animal and plant species on this island are 50:34 found nowhere else in the world. From its towering Baobab trees 50:38 in the desert to the dense rain forest jungles this is a land of 50:43 wonder. Come with me as I discover how AWR is reaching 50:49 into the most dangerous part of this country. I'm in Madagascar 50:53 and this is AWR 360. 50:56 ♪ ♪ 51:09 Is tattoo, there are three things they hate: Cars, military, and 51:18 well-dressed people. They kill when they see these things. 51:23 ♪exciting music♪ 51:29 They are taught from a young age how to steal cows. When they get 51:36 older all they do is drink alcohol and steal and kill. 51:40 They are called dahalo which means bandits in the Malagasy 51:49 language. ♪intense music♪ 51:59 Who are these dahalo and what do cow thieves have to do with 52:02 AWR? I'm on a journey to find out. I'm here in Madagascar with 52:09 Ray Allen, one of our vice presidents. As we travel I have 52:13 learned that nearly one-third of this country is locally referred 52:16 to Red Zones. This amounts to an area of the size of South 52:21 Dakota where the government exerts little or no control and 52:26 where bandits thrive. Stricken by poverty the majority of the 52:30 population of Madagascar live on less than one dollar a day. 52:35 Deprivation drives theft and the stealing of cows. An illegal 52:40 exploitation of natural resources is the pulse of the 52:43 culture in these areas. This makes it extremely dangerous 52:47 and difficult for the outside world to reach. A Seventh-day 52:54 Adventist couple named Angie and Marchur are bravely working to 52:58 share the gospel in these remote and dangerous areas. Both are 53:03 nurses and through their medical treatment of all people 53:06 including dahalo they have influenced the region that many 53:11 others do not. 53:14 Foreign language being translated. 53:16 One Sabbath we traveled to a distant village and were 53:20 surprised to find a group of people worshipping together and 53:25 praising God. We had never seen this before. I started to ask 53:33 questions. Angie and Marchur found that many years ago the 53:38 group leader discovered an AWR broadcast. 53:43 (Sounds of radio voice) 53:50 Fascinated by what he heard, he continued listening and soon 53:54 organized a little group that began meeting every Sabbath. 53:57 That group has grown and though they have never seen another 54:02 Adventist, met a pastor or been to a church before they sing 54:06 together and teach the truth they have heard from the radio. 54:10 And what's more, the leader is a converted dahalo cattle thief. 54:17 We could hardly believe what we are seeing and hearing. Truly 54:24 miracles are happening through the radio. 54:27 ♪ ♪ 54:36 Isn't God amazing? I love what a district pastor here told us. 54:39 He said that he views the radio as the pioneer of pioneers in 54:45 these distant and difficult to reach areas. 54:47 So what do dahalo and cow thieves have to do with AWR? 54:52 They are people whose lives are being touched and transformed 54:56 by Jesus and the truth heard on the radio. 55:00 (Voice over radio) 55:06 We know there are other stories that have not yet been heard, 55:09 other Sabbath-keeping groups meeting unknown to the outside 55:13 world, other cow thieves yearning for truth. Thank you 55:17 for supporting Adventist World Radio and helping the good news 55:20 of salvation penetrate into the dark corners of the globe. 55:24 (Voice over radio) 55:27 I can't wait for heaven to hear more stories like these. 55:31 Together we are making waves. From Broadcast to Baptism 55:35 until next time This is AWR 360! 55:48 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2021-09-21