Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: 14SCM
Program Code: 14SCM000022S
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00:38 I just got off the phone just moments ago
00:40 with our good friend Kenneth Cox. 00:44 Kenneth Cox just called to tell us that he's watching 00:48 from California and that the Lord has been blessing 00:52 every meeting that he's watched... every music 00:56 that he's enjoyed. Bro. Kenneth: we just say to you 01:00 that we love you. We're happy to hear that you're on the mend 01:04 and things are going better for you. 01:06 And we look forward to you being back with us 01:09 next time we have a series like this. 01:13 Because as I was listening to Kenneth 01:16 on the radio between meetings today 01:20 I heard how sharp he is 01:24 at giving the Word of God. 01:27 And I said: "Man, Kenneth's got to be back here preaching 01:30 before long. " Our speaker this evening 01:33 is a man that has opened my eyes 01:39 to more new things than anyone I know of 01:43 and that's Pastor Stephen Bohr. 01:44 Amen! I think that Danny was the one that said that 01:47 his mother had told him that she wanted to hear somebody 01:50 that told her something she didn't already know. 01:52 And I will tell you that Pastor Stephen Bohr 01:57 is a student of God's Word. 02:00 You seen him many times here on television 02:05 on 3ABN. He is the Speaker/Director of 02:08 Secrets Unsealed. And we're going to be with him 02:12 this coming Thursday night for a Live from his new headquarters. 02:17 And then next Sabbath evening 02:20 it'll be six o'clock on Pacific Time - 02:23 8 o'clock here - we will again be at his headquarters 02:28 for the official opening of his new Secrets Unsealed 02:33 headquarters there in Fresno, California. 02:36 So we appreciate Pastor Stephen, 02:39 we appreciate his love for God, his love for God's Word, 02:44 and the in-depth study that he gives to the Word of God. 02:49 Before he comes Yvonne Lewis is going to sing 02:55 for us Story Of My Life. 03:19 If I had the words to tell You 03:25 exactly how I feel, 03:28 then I would write a million pages 03:33 with all You've done for me. 03:37 And if I traced each memory 03:41 and the source of all my dreams, 03:46 cover to cover 03:49 You'd see: 03:55 You are 03:58 the story of my life. 04:02 I need You by my side 04:06 both now and ever. 04:12 You are the lover of my soul. 04:18 No matter where I go 04:22 I know it's true... 04:24 the story of my life is You. 04:29 Oh... 04:35 If I turn the pages of 04:39 the things You've brought me through, 04:43 there'd be a thread of faithfulness 04:47 in every thing You do, 04:51 I see where You washed me 04:55 just as white as the snow 04:59 and how each day 05:02 You're helping me grow. 05:08 Oh... 05:13 You are 05:16 the story of my life, 05:20 I need You by my side 05:24 both now and ever. 05:30 You are 05:33 the lover of my soul. 05:36 No matter where I go 05:40 I know it's true... 05:42 the story of my life is You. 05:47 Oh... 05:50 You are my testimony, 05:54 the reason that I sing. 05:58 I long to bring You glory 06:02 so may You always be 06:05 found on every page in me. 06:11 Oh... 06:29 You are 06:33 the story of my life. 06:37 I need You by my side 06:41 both now and ever. 06:46 And You are 06:49 the lover of my soul. 06:53 No matter where I go 06:57 I know it's true... 06:59 the story of my life 07:05 is 07:09 You. 07:22 Amen. 07:33 Good evening. Good evening! 07:35 Have you had a wonderful day? Amen! 07:39 I've been blessed. No better place to be - 07:43 Amen! - than at 3ABN Camp Meeting. 07:46 Amen. Are you ready to study God's Word? Amen! 07:50 I've packed a lot into 45 minutes... 07:54 so you'd better get your sword out because we're going to 07:56 study God's Word. 07:58 But before we do let's have a word of prayer. 08:01 Father in heaven, we come before Your throne 08:03 with boldness because we come in the name of Jesus. 08:06 We come because we need You here. 08:10 We need Your presence through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 08:14 We need Your wisdom to understand the great things 08:18 from Your Word. We ask that as we study about the remnant - 08:22 the remnant of Revelation 12:17- that 08:25 You will instruct us and You will help us to be among 08:30 that faithful group in these end times. 08:33 We thank you, Father, for hearing our prayer 08:36 for we ask it in the precious name of Jesus, Amen. Amen. 08:42 I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles with me 08:45 to the book of Revelation chapter 12 and verse 17. 08:48 Revelation chapter 12 and verse 17, and I am reading 08:52 from the King James version. 08:55 I love the way the King James version expresses this verse. 09:00 It says there: "And the dragon was wroth 09:04 with the woman and went to make war 09:08 with the remnant of her seed 09:11 which keep the commandments of God 09:14 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. " 09:19 Now I would like to formulate some questions as we begin 09:23 our study this afternoon. 09:25 And the first question is: when does this remnant appear 09:30 in the course of human history? 09:33 The when. The second question is: where would we expect 09:38 this remnant to appear geographically? 09:42 And in the third place: what will characterize 09:47 those who belong to this remnant? 09:50 So we're going to try and answer when the remnant will appear, 09:55 where geographically they will appear, 09:58 and what will characterize 10:00 those who belong to this special group? 10:03 Now the Seventh-day Adventist church 10:06 has a special mission to fulfill, 10:11 and that mission is to go to all of the world: 10:15 to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. 10:17 That is the mission. 10:19 But the Seventh-day Adventist church also has 10:22 a special message that it needs to take to the world. 10:27 And the message of the Seventh-day Adventist church 10:30 of course is found in Revelation chapter 14 10:34 and verses 6 through 12: the three angels' messages. 10:39 So the message is the three angels' messages 10:43 and the mission is to take these messages to the entire world. 10:48 But there's one other thing that is a special characteristic 10:52 of the Seventh-day Adventist church, 10:54 and that is the method that we employ 10:58 to interpret Bible prophecy. 11:01 So there are three things that distinguish the Seventh-day 11:04 Adventist church, I believe, from every church in the world. 11:06 First of all our mission; secondly, our message; 11:10 and in the third place our method of interpreting 11:14 Bible prophecy. Now what do I mean when I speak 11:18 about the method? 11:20 The Seventh-day Adventist church 11:23 has a method which has come to be known as historicism. 11:28 I prefer to call it the historical flow method. 11:33 Basically, this method of interpreting Bible prophecy 11:36 allows us to follow the trajectory or the flow 11:41 of historical events from the days in which the prophet wrote 11:46 until the final consummation. 11:49 There are no gaps or parentheses or interruptions 11:54 in the flow of history... of prophetic history. 11:58 It is a continuous sequence of events 12:01 without any parentheses or interruptions which allows us 12:05 to know exactly where we are in the flow of prophetic history 12:09 at every single moment. 12:12 That is the historical flow method. 12:15 Let me give you an example from scripture: 12:17 Daniel chapter 7. 12:21 When does that prophecy begin? 12:23 It begins with the lion in the days of Daniel. 12:29 Then you have another kingdom: the Medes and Persians. 12:32 That's the next kingdom... no interruption between them. 12:35 Then you have another kingdom which is the leopard 12:38 that represents Greece. 12:40 No interruption between Medo-Persia and Greece. 12:42 Then you have a dragon beast. 12:45 We call it the non-descript beast. 12:48 And this beast has 3 stages... in Daniel 7, at least, 12:52 three stages of existence. 12:54 The first stage is this dragon beast by itself. 12:57 And then after a while it sprouts ten horns. 13:01 And then among the ten horns comes forth a little horn. 13:05 And so this dragon beast has three stages of existence 13:09 consecutive in Daniel chapter 7. 13:12 And when we go to Revelation 13 we're going to notice 13:14 that there is a fourth stage that is not directly mentioned 13:18 in Daniel chapter 7. 13:20 So we have Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, the Roman Empire, 13:24 the division of the Roman Empire into ten kingdoms, 13:28 and then you have the little horn - which is another Rome - 13:31 which represents the Roman Catholic papacy. 13:35 And then after that you have the scene of the judgment 13:39 in heaven - which is a pre- Advent investigative judgment. 13:42 And then after that the time comes for God's saints 13:46 to inherit the kingdom. 13:47 You've moved from the times of Daniel 13:50 all the way till the end of time. 13:53 You've watched the historical flow and there have been no 13:56 parentheses; no gaps; no interruptions. 13:59 Is this point clear? This is the historical flow method. 14:04 But the chapter that I especially want us to study 14:08 this afternoon is Revelation chapter 12 14:12 because that's where our remnant verse is found: 14:15 Revelation 12 and verse 17. 14:18 Now I want to mention that in Revelation chapter 12 14:22 you have 3 main historical stages that are described. 14:27 First of all, the dragon wants to slay the Male Child. 14:33 That's the first enmity. 14:35 Secondly, the dragon wants to destroy the woman 14:39 and he tries to do this for a period of 1,260 years. 14:43 And then after the 1,260 years 14:46 we are told that the dragon is enraged 14:49 with the remnant of the woman's seed. 14:52 So in other words, the dragon has three stages 14:55 in which he tries to destroy Christ and Christ's people. 14:59 He goes after the Child then he goes after the woman 15:03 and finally he goes after the remnant of the woman's seed. 15:08 Now there are three backdrops to Revelation chapter 12. 15:13 Unfortunately we only have time to study one of those backdrops. 15:17 In order to fully understand this chapter 15:19 we have to understand the story of the birth of Moses. 15:23 You remember that when Moses was born 15:26 Pharaoh attempted to kill him. 15:28 That is in the background of this story 15:31 of Revelation chapter 12. 15:33 Another background is the story of Elijah in the wilderness 15:37 because we are told that the woman fled to the wilderness 15:40 where she was fed for 3-1/2 symbolic years... 15:44 exactly what happened to Elijah. 15:47 But the background that is especially behind the scenes 15:51 in Revelation chapter 12 is my favorite verse 15:54 in the whole Bible: Genesis 3:15. 16:00 So let's go to Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15 16:03 and let's notice what we find in this very powerful verse. 16:08 I want you to notice 5 things in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15. 16:12 Here God is speaking to the serpent. 16:16 Of course the serpent has just led Adam and Eve into sin. 16:21 And God tells the serpent: "I will put enmity... " 16:26 That's the first element that I want you to notice here. 16:28 "I will put enmity between you... " 16:31 that is, the dragon or the serpent... 16:33 "and the woman. " Number 3 is the woman. 16:37 "and between your seed... " that is, the seed of the serpent... 16:40 and then we are told: "and her seed. " 16:45 So we have five elements. 16:47 We have enmity; we have a serpent; 16:50 we have a woman; we have the woman's seed; 16:54 and we have the serpent's seed. 16:56 Five elements: enmity, the serpent, the woman, 17:00 the dragon's seed; and the woman's seed. 17:05 Now we find all of these ele- ments in Revelation chapter 12. 17:09 Go with me to Revelation chapter 12 17:11 and let's go to verses 1 and 2 where this woman is introduced. 17:16 Revelation chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. 17:19 It says there: "Now a great sign appeared in heaven: 17:23 a woman, clothed with the sun 17:27 with the moon under her feet and on her head 17:30 a garland of twelve stars. 17:33 Then being with child she cried out in labor 17:36 and in pain to give birth. " 17:38 Now the question is: what does this woman represent? 17:42 You know, we know that literally Mary brought Jesus 17:45 into the world. But the woman here does not represent Mary 17:49 because we're told that later on the woman flees 17:52 to the wilderness for 1,260 years. 17:55 And so the woman represents the Old Testament church: 18:00 the line of faithful individuals 18:02 from which Jesus Christ will come. 18:06 Because when John sees the woman 18:09 the woman has not had the Child yet. 18:11 So in other words, the woman pre-exists the Child. 18:15 That goes without saying, doesn't it? 18:17 And so the woman represents the Old Testament church that 18:20 is crying out for the coming of the Messiah. 18:23 And that's what we find in verses 1 and 2. 18:27 And then... that's the first stage. 18:29 The second stage we find in Revelation 12 and verses 3-5. 18:34 It says there: "And another sign appeared in heaven. 18:37 Behold, a great fiery red dragon. " 18:42 Now what else is the dragon called in Revelation 12:7-9? 18:46 The dragon is called "the ancient serpent" 18:49 so the dragon is a serpent. 18:50 So is there a serpent involved in this story? 18:53 Absolutely. So it says: "Another sign appeared in heaven: 18:56 Behold, a great fiery red dragon having 7 heads and 10 horns 19:00 and 7 diadems on his heads. 19:03 And the dragon... " See, that element - the dragon 19:06 or the serpent was in Genesis 3:15- 19:08 "the dragon stood before the woman... " There you have 19:10 another element... "stood before the woman 19:12 who was ready to give birth. " 19:14 And is there enmity involved here? 19:17 Yes! Because he stands next to the woman who is ready to 19:20 give birth to what? "to devour her Child... " 19:25 Also do we have a seed here, too? A woman's seed? 19:28 Absolutely! "to devour her Child as soon as it was born. " 19:32 Can you see the backdrop of Genesis 3 verse 15? 19:35 You clearly have enmity; you clearly have a woman; 19:40 and you clearly have a dragon and you have a woman's seed. 19:44 But there's something that appears to be missing here. 19:48 Who is the dragon's seed? 19:52 We look and we don't seem to find anything in these verses 19:57 that describes the dragon's seed. 20:00 For this we need to go to Matthew chapter 2 and verse 16 20:05 to find out who the dragon's seed was. 20:09 Matthew chapter 2 and verse 16. 20:13 It says: "Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived 20:17 by the Wise Men, was exceedingly angry. " 20:21 Do we find an exceedingly angry dragon in Revelation 12:17? 20:26 Oh, absolutely! 20:28 So it says he was exceedingly angry and he sent forth 20:32 and put to death all the male children 20:35 who were in Bethlehem and all its districts 20:39 who were two years old and under according to the time 20:42 which he had determined from the Wise Men. " 20:46 And so who is the dragon that attempts to kill the Male Child? 20:52 It is Satan... yes... but it's through his seed 20:57 which is Rome. So the dragon can also represent Rome. 21:02 Allow me to read you a statement that we find in the Spirit of 21:06 Prophecy on this specific point. 21:08 Ellen White has this to say: 21:10 "The line of prophecy... " See, the line of prophecy... 21:13 That's historicism. That is the historical flow method. 21:17 "The line of prophecy in which these symbols are found 21:21 begins with Revelation 12 with the dragon that sought to 21:25 destroy Christ at His birth. 21:27 That dragon is said to be Satan. 21:30 He is was that moved upon Herod 21:34 to put the Savior to death. 21:36 But the chief agent of Satan in making war upon Christ 21:41 and His people during the first centuries of the Christian era 21:44 was the Roman Empire 21:46 in which paganism was the prevailing religion. 21:50 Thus while the dragon primarily represents Satan 21:53 it is in a secondary sense a symbol of pagan Rome. " 22:00 So do we have all of the elements of Genesis 3:15 22:03 in Revelation chapter 12? Yes we do! 22:07 We have enmity, we have a dragon or serpent, 22:11 we have a woman, we have the dragon's seed, 22:14 and we have the woman's seed. 22:17 Now so far we've studied two stages in following the flow 22:20 of Revelation 12. We've seen the stage 22:23 of the church in the Old Testament... the woman 22:27 before the Child is born. Then we've noticed the stage 22:30 where the dragon attempted to slay the Male Child. 22:33 He tried to destroy Jesus through Rome 22:35 when Jesus was born. But we're told in verse 5 22:39 that the Child was caught up to God and to His throne. 22:43 So who prevailed in this battle? 22:45 It was the Child that prevailed because He went to heaven live. 22:48 That's the ascension of Jesus Christ. 22:50 And then of course we have another stage 22:54 which is stage number 3. Notice Revelation chapter 12 22:59 and we will read verse 6 and then we'll read verses 13-15. 23:05 Then the dragon goes after the woman because the Child 23:08 has escaped from his hands. 23:10 It says: "Then the woman fled into the wilderness 23:12 where she has a place prepared by God that they should 23:15 feed her there 1,260 days. " 23:20 So after the Child is caught up to God and to His throne 23:24 we do know that the dragon sprouted ten horns. 23:28 And then we're told that the dragon went after whom? 23:32 After the woman for 1,260 days which we know are years. 23:38 Now let's go to verses 13 through 15 23:40 of Revelation 12 where it ampli- fies what we read in verse 6. 23:44 It says: "Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the 23:49 earth he persecuted the woman who gave birth 23:52 to the Male Child. " So now what is the persecution? 23:55 It's no longer against the Male Child because He went to 23:57 heaven. He was caught up to God and to His throne. 24:00 Now the enmity is directed at the woman 24:02 who brought the Male Child into the world. 24:05 Verse 14: "But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle 24:09 that she might fly into the wilderness to her place 24:12 where she is nourished for a time and times 24:15 and half a time from the presence of the serpent. " 24:18 Verse 15: "So the serpent spewed water... " What does 24:22 water represent? Multitudes, nations, tongues, and peoples, 24:26 that's right... "So the serpent spewed water 24:29 out of his mouth like a flood 24:31 after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away 24:34 by the flood. " So what are we seeing so far? 24:37 I like to review to make sure that everybody has understood. 24:41 We have, first of all, the church in the Old Testament 24:44 when the Child hasn't been born. 24:46 Secondly, we have the stage when the dragon tries to slay 24:50 the Male Child. We're in Rome at that stage. 24:53 And of course, Rome is represented by the dragon 24:56 and also by Herod. And then we know 24:59 from this prophecy that the dragon sprouts ten horns. 25:02 And then after the dragon sprouts ten horns 25:06 we have this period of 1,260 years 25:10 in which the dragon through Rome 25:14 persecutes the woman. 25:18 Are you following me so far? 25:21 Now where did the dragon that persecuted the woman 25:25 get its power and its authority from? 25:28 Let's go to Revelation 13 verse 2 for a moment. 25:32 Revelation chapter 13 and verse 2. 25:34 This is very interesting. 25:36 It says there: "Now the beast which I saw 25:39 was like a leopard. It's feet were like the feet of a bear 25:43 and it's mouth like the mouth of a lion... " 25:47 Have we encountered those beasts before? 25:49 Yes, in Daniel chapter 7. Right? 25:52 Lion, bear, leopard, dragon. 25:54 Now notice what it continues saying: 25:56 It says: "The dragon gave him... " 26:00 that is, gave the beast... 26:02 "his power, his throne, and great authority. " 26:06 So by who's power does the beast rule? 26:10 The beast rules by the power that is given to him by what? 26:13 The dragon. So is the dragon still persecuting 26:17 during the 1,260 years through Rome? 26:19 Yes... because all through Revelation chapter 12 the dragon 26:24 represents Satan working through Rome. 26:26 That's something that most Adventist interpreters have 26:29 missed, particularly the point that we're going to come to now. 26:34 So notice once again Revelation chapter 13 and verse 2. 26:37 "Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard. 26:39 Its feet were like the feet of a bear; 26:41 its mouth like the mouth of a lion. 26:43 The dragon... " with the ten horns by the way... "gave 26:46 this beast it's power, his throne and great authority. " 26:52 And then let me ask you: how long did the beast rule 26:54 after it received its throne and its authority and its power 26:57 from the dragon? It ruled for 42 months. 27:00 Is that the same as 1,260 days or years? 27:05 Absolutely. So is Revelation 13 following the same sequence 27:09 of Revelation chapter 12? Absolutely. 27:12 But now I want you to notice stage number 4. 27:16 Stage number 1: the woman before the Child is born. 27:19 Stage number 2: Satan tries to slay the Child through Rome. 27:25 Stage number 3: the 1,260 years. 27:28 Now I want you to notice stage number 4. 27:31 It's found in Revelation 12 and verse 16. 27:33 Something happens to suspend persecution. 27:38 It says here in Revelation 12 verse 16: 27:41 "But the earth helped the woman. " 27:45 Interesting. The earth helped the woman. 27:48 Now let me ask you: is the earth a territory or a nation? 27:53 Last I knew the word earth would mean a territory. 27:56 Right? So there's some territory somewhere - 28:01 the earth helped the woman who was being persecuted. 28:05 And how did the earth help the woman? 28:07 "The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood... 28:12 That is, the peoples and multitudes and nations 28:15 that were persecuting the woman... 28:17 "swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed 28:21 out of his mouth. " So the earth provides a way 28:26 in which persecution ceases. 28:29 Let me ask you: where did the persecuted ones in Europe 28:32 find refuge from persecution? 28:36 In the territory of the United States because there 28:39 was no United States at that time. 28:43 So Revelation 12:16 is speaking about 28:46 the United States as a territory where 28:50 those who were persecuted in Europe came and found refuge. 28:55 Are you with me or not? 28:57 And by the way, it is the principles upon which the 29:00 United States was built and which have been followed 29:05 by most of the nations in the world that persecution 29:09 still does not exist. 29:13 And then, of course, you have the final stage. 29:16 Do you think the dragon is pretty happy that right now 29:18 we're living in a nation where... 29:22 where we have freedom of speech 29:23 and where we have freedom to move around 29:25 and we have freedom to study the Bible and to gather 29:28 peaceably? Absolutely not. 29:31 Notice Revelation chapter 12 and verse 17. 29:33 This is stage number 5. 29:36 It says there, and this is the text that we 29:38 read at the beginning. And now I want you to notice 29:42 something very important. What does the dragon represent? 29:46 The dragon represents what? 29:49 Satan working through Rome. 29:52 Don't forget that. We've missed this in verse 17. 29:56 Is it the same dragon all the way through? 30:00 Yes. Oh yeah, it's the same dragon. 30:02 So when the earth helps the woman - the territory provides 30:05 refuge for God's people - notice: "And the dragon 30:09 was wroth with the woman... " 30:11 What does the dragon there represent? 30:16 Well, in the first stage you know when the dragon tried to 30:20 slay the Male Child it was Satan working through? 30:23 Rome. During the 1,260 years 30:26 that dragon beast gave his throne, his power and authority 30:28 to the beast. In other words the beast rules by 30:30 the authority of the dragon... so you have a new Rome! 30:35 And here it says that in the final stage 30:37 after the territory provides a refuge 30:40 we are told that the dragon is enraged once again with the 30:44 woman. So it must be Satan working through? Rome! 30:50 Are you following me or not? 30:52 "And the dragon was wroth with the woman 30:55 and went to make war with the remnant of her seed 30:59 which keep the commandments of God 31:02 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. " 31:07 Now we need to go for a few moments to Revelation 13 31:10 'cause Revelation 13 is an amplification of 31:13 Revelation chapter 12. 31:15 Did you notice in Revelation chapter 13 and verse 2 31:18 that we have the same beasts of Daniel 7? 31:21 Is the lion there? Yes. Is the bear there? Yes. 31:26 Is the leopard beast there? Absolutely. 31:29 Is there a dragon beast there? Does the dragon beast 31:33 have ten horns? Absolutely... same as we found 31:36 in Daniel chapter 7. And then the dragon 31:39 that has ten horns... he gives his throne, 31:43 his power, and his authority to whom? 31:46 To the beast. So the beast is ruling by the authority of? 31:49 The dragon. Are you with me? 31:53 And then the beast rules 42 months. 31:56 But at the end of the 42 months 31:58 the beast receives a deadly wound 32:00 and now persecution ceases. 32:05 How many of you are following me? 32:07 If you're all with me say amen. Amen! Amen! That was weak. 32:14 But you... you have a right to be weak because it's been 32:17 a long day. That's all right. 32:20 Now, Revelation 13 amplifies this last stage. 32:24 The beast rules for 42 months. 32:26 By the way, does the beast do the same thing as the 32:28 little horn? Does the beast speak blasphemies? 32:32 Yes. Does the beast persecute the saints of the Most High? 32:35 Does it rule during the same time period? Yeah, 32:38 the description is the same so you know that the little horn 32:40 is the same as the beast. 32:42 And the dragon persecutes during that period also 32:45 so we know that the dragon and we know that the beast 32:49 are the same power. 32:52 And we know that the little horn represents the same power. 32:55 Now this last stage of Revelation 12 verse 17 33:01 is amplified in chapter 13. 33:04 Go with me to verse 11. 33:07 This is immediately - listen carefully - this is immediately 33:10 after the beast rules for 42 months. 33:13 You know that the beast receives a deadly what? 33:16 Receives a deadly wound. 33:18 But what happens with the deadly wound? 33:21 We're told that the deadly wound is healed, and let me ask you: 33:25 does the beast persecute again? 33:27 It persecutes again. 33:30 Now the question is: who gives this beast 33:36 its life back so it can persecute once again? 33:40 Mmmm. Go with me to Revelation chapter 13 33:44 and verse 11 and listen carefully to what it says. 33:46 We've missed this very key point in this verse. 33:50 It says there - Revelation 13 and verse 11: 33:53 "Then I saw another beast 33:56 coming up out of the earth. " 33:59 Did we see the earth somewhere before? 34:02 Where? Revelation 12. 34:05 In Revelation 12 it's the terri- tory but now you have a beast. 34:08 What does a beast represent? A nation! 34:10 Now you have a nation rising in that territory. 34:15 This is the very next chapter. And now I want you to notice 34:19 what it says. Is the dragon involved here? 34:21 Oh yeah! It continues saying: "Then I saw another beast 34:25 coming up out of the earth... " 34:27 That's the geographical area. 34:28 The beast represents a nation so this must be a nation. 34:31 "and he had two horns like a lamb. " 34:35 I wish I had time to get into that. I wrote a book called 34:37 Prophecy's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 34:41 where I study this beast in detail. 34:44 We don't have time to get into two horns of a lamb. 34:46 All I can say is the "two horns like a lamb" 34:49 represent the two principles upon which the United States 34:52 of America was built: 34:54 separation of church and state, a recognition that there are 34:57 two kingdoms in this country. 34:58 There's the kingdom of the church and there's the kingdom 35:00 of the state from which we get two principles of civil 35:03 and religious liberty... 35:06 because the two horns represent two kingdoms... 35:08 church and state. But from the idea of two kingdoms 35:11 you have the idea of separation of the civil power 35:16 from the religious power. 35:17 Separation of church and state. 35:19 That's what this country was built upon. 35:22 But now notice what it continues saying... 35:24 don't miss this point. 35:26 It says: "He had two horns like a lamb... " 35:31 But what? "but spoke like a dragon. " 35:36 What do you suppose the dragon here represents? 35:41 Come on... tell me. Satan 35:45 working through? Rome. Rome! 35:48 So have you noticed here the 3 stages of the dragon? 35:52 The dragon first of all persecutes the Child. 35:55 He's unsuccessful. He persecutes the woman. 35:59 Then the earth helps the woman. You have a deadly wound. 36:02 There's a period of peace where persecution ceases. 36:05 And then Revelation 12:17 says that the dragon is enraged with 36:09 the woman - the dragon is enraged - and goes to make war 36:11 against the remnant of her seed. 36:13 That is amplified in Revelation chapter 13 36:16 where we are told that this beast that rises from the earth, 36:19 the same territory in Revelation chapter 12, 36:21 speaks like a dragon... the dragon that is enraged 36:24 in Revelation 12 verse 17. 36:27 Are you following me? Yes! 36:29 This is historicism. 36:31 This is our method which used to be the Protestant method. 36:36 Do you think that people like Tony Palmer would ever even 36:39 think about coming close to the Roman Catholic papacy 36:42 if they understood these prophecies? 36:45 Are you kidding? Protestants would flee! 36:48 But they don't flee because we're going to notice at the end 36:51 of our study that they have established a different way - 36:55 a different method - of interpreting Bible prophecy. 36:58 Now you say: "Pastor Bohr, how do you know that the dragon 37:01 here represents the same power that persecuted 37:05 during the 1,260 years? How do you know that? 37:08 Listen: because Revelation 13 makes it very, very clear 37:13 that everything that this beast from the earth does 37:16 he does to please the first beast. 37:20 Let me go through that in Revelation chapter 13. 37:23 First of all, and I'm going to go through this... 37:25 I won't be able to read the verses because of the scarcity 37:27 of time... in verse 12 it says that this beast from the earth 37:32 exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence. 37:38 So by whose authority is this beast from the earth ruling? 37:42 The first beast... who ruled during 1,260 years. 37:46 And that beast: where did he get his power from? 37:49 From the Roman Empire. 37:52 So do you have a clear link between pagan Rome, 37:56 papal Rome, and end-time Rome? 37:58 You do in Revelation chapter 12. 38:01 So it says he exercises "all the authority of the first beast 38:03 in his presence. " See, he wants to impress this first beast. 38:08 I like the way that the NIV expresses it. 38:10 The NIV says: "He exercises all the authority of the first 38:14 beast on its behalf. " 38:17 Furthermore we're told in verse 12 that "he causes 38:20 the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast 38:23 whose deadly wound was healed. " 38:25 Everything this beast from the earth does 38:28 he does with reference to the previous beast 38:31 to restore power to the previous beast. 38:34 We're told in verse 14 that this beast "performs 38:39 signs which it was granted to do in the sight of the beast. " 38:44 We're told in verse 14 that he tells those who dwell on the 38:48 earth to make an image in honor of the first beast. 38:52 And we're told in verse 16 38:55 that he imposes the mark of the first beast. 38:58 Is there any link between the 1st beast and the 2nd beast? 39:01 Absolutely! Everything this 2nd beast does 39:06 he does to impress the first beast. 39:10 That's how this 2nd beast that rises from the earth 39:13 speaks like a dragon because it is going to speak like Rome. 39:21 Are we doing all right? 39:24 Now we're ready to identify the remnant. 39:28 We needed all this historical framework, 39:31 this historical background... the historicism 39:33 or the historical flow method. 39:35 Let me ask you: when would you expect the remnant 39:37 to appear? Would it have to be after the 1,260 years - Amen! - 39:44 during a period when persecution ceases? 39:47 Of course. Where would you expect to find this remnant? 39:52 It must be on the earth 39:54 because that's the place where persecution ceased. 39:57 So we know when: after 1798 AD. 40:00 We know where: the territory of the United States. 40:04 And what would characterize the remnant? 40:08 Two things: they keep the commandments of God... 40:13 all nine of them. 40:18 No? How many? Ten! All ten of them! 40:21 All ten of them. And we're not going to go into that 40:24 because we know that characteristic. I want to dwell 40:25 a little bit on the second characteristic: 40:28 they have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 40:32 So they keep something and they have something. 40:35 The word "have" is better translated "they possess 40:38 the testimony of Jesus. " 40:40 What is the testimony of Jesus? 40:42 Let's read two verses very quickly. 40:45 Revelation 19:10 identifies what the testimony of Jesus 40:48 Christ is. Revelation 19 and verse 10. 40:53 And notice the context of this verse. It says: 40:55 "I fell at his feet to worship him... " 40:57 In other words, John falls before the feet of Gabriel 41:00 to worship him... "but he said to me: 41:03 'See that you do not do that. 41:05 I am a fellow servant and... ' Now notice this: 41:08 'and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. ' " 41:11 What do the brethren of John have? 41:13 The brethren of John have the testimony of Jesus. 41:16 And then this explanation comes: 41:19 "for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. " 41:24 So what is the testimony of 41:25 Jesus that the remnant possesses? 41:27 The Spirit of Prophecy 41:31 which is what John's brethren have. 41:33 Now let's go to Revelation 22 verses 8 and 9 41:35 which expresses it a little differently. 41:38 Revelation chapter 22 and verses 8 and 9. 41:41 Same idea of Gabriel appearing to John and John feels like 41:45 worshiping him and Gabriel says "Don't do it. " 41:48 Says there: "Now I John saw and heard these things. 41:52 And when I heard and saw I fell down to worship 41:55 before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 41:58 Then he said to me: 'See that you do not do that 42:01 for I am your fellow servant and of your brethren 42:05 the prophets. ' " Did you notice the connection? 42:11 Revelation 19:10 says that the brethren of John have 42:14 the testimony of Jesus. Here it says that the brethren 42:16 of John are prophets. 42:18 So what is the testimony of Jesus? 42:20 It is the gift of prophecy. 42:24 Let me ask you: which church in the world 42:27 arose after 1798 AD 42:30 after the first beast received its deadly wound 42:34 and is a group of people 42:40 who teach that we're supposed to keep all of the commandments 42:43 of God and profess to have the prophetic gift in their midst? 42:49 The Spirit of Prophecy in their midst? 42:51 And a church that originated in the earth 42:55 in the territory of the United States? 42:57 I don't know of any other church 42:59 except the Seventh-day Adventist church 43:00 and I don't say that arrogantly but I do say it truthfully. 43:05 Amen! 43:07 Now let me share something with you: 43:09 there's a lot of enmity towards Ellen White today. 43:12 That's the dragon, folks. 43:16 The dragon hates the Spirit of Prophecy. 43:18 He hates the commandments. 43:19 Doesn't he? Says so here. 43:21 He hates the commandments of God; 43:22 hates the Spirit of Prophecy. 43:24 Last year I was invited to preach at a church 43:26 in New Jersey where I worked for six years. 43:29 And the lady who invited me asked me to come to her house 43:33 to eat one afternoon. My wife was with me. 43:35 And I noticed that along with the family there was 43:37 another young man there. And so, you know, I said to him: 43:41 "Where are you from? " He says: "Oh, I'm from here, 43:43 from Jersey City. " And I said: "Well, you know, 43:47 how'd you become an Adventist? " He said: "Oh, that's an 43:49 interesting story. Let me tell you. " 43:50 Then he told me this story: 43:52 He was standing on the street on a Sabbath morning. 43:56 He saw a lady coming down the street 43:59 very nicely dressed. It was early on a Sabbath morning 44:03 and she had a Bible in her hand. 44:06 And so it struck him kind of strange because he was a Sunday 44:09 keeper but he had already started studying the Sabbath. 44:12 And so he came to the lady and he said: "Ma'am... 44:15 where are you going? " She says: "I'm going to church. " 44:19 He said: "You're going to church? 44:21 Today's Saturday not Sunday. " 44:23 She says: "I know, but we go to church on Saturday. " 44:26 He said: "You're kidding! 44:28 There's a group of people that go to church on Saturday? " 44:32 Says: "Can I go with you? " 44:34 And she said: "Sure! " 44:36 So the young man and the lady went to church. 44:40 And when he came into the foyer one of the elders was 44:43 there greeting and he says... 44:44 the young man said: "Hey, is this the church 44:47 that keeps the holy Sabbath? " 44:49 And the elder said: "Oh yes, we do! 44:51 Just like the Bible says. " 44:53 The young man said: "Well then this is my church. " 44:56 Amen! And so he went in, sat down, enjoyed Sabbath School 44:59 and church. And afterwards - by the way the pastor during 45:04 the sermon - mentioned the name of Ellen G. White. 45:07 It struck him as kind of strange: Ellen G. White. 45:11 And the pastor identified her as a prophet. 45:14 So he said: "I'm going to go and I'm going to "Google" 45:16 Ellen G. White. " 45:17 So he went home and he "Googled" Ellen G. White. 45:20 And of course you have... 90% of the sites are negative, 45:26 are terribly inimical to the Spirit of Prophecy. 45:29 And he noticed website after website 45:33 just criticizing and trying to destroy Ellen White. 45:37 And he says: "I started thinking... hmmm, 45:40 do I really want to belong to a church that had a prophet 45:43 like this? " He said he had serious reservations. 45:48 Well, he went to church the next Sabbath 45:52 after thinking about it all week 45:55 and he expressed his misgivings to the elder. 45:59 And the elder said: "Hey, I have a copy of a book 46:04 called The Great Controversy. 46:06 And I want to give you a copy of that book 46:08 and you read it and you determine for yourself, 46:10 you know, who Ellen White was and whether God used her. " 46:14 And so he took the book home 46:16 and in one week he read the book from cover to cover. 46:20 And when he came back to the church the next Sabbath 46:23 the elder said: "Did you read the book? " 46:25 He says: "Yes, I read the book. " 46:26 He says: "What do you think? " 46:28 He says: "You know, I read the book 46:30 and there's no doubt whatsoever 46:32 that the person who wrote this book was inspired by the 46:35 Holy Spirit. " And then he said this: 46:38 He said: "You know, for a whole week there 46:40 I was thinking about what people said about Ellen White 46:45 and how she had so many enemies. " 46:47 And he said: "And I started reflecting 46:49 and I said: 'You know, as I examined the Bible 46:52 I couldn't fine one prophet that the people liked. ' " 47:01 So he said: "If this woman is hated so much, 47:05 she must be a true prophet. " 47:10 Praise the Lord! Amen! 47:13 There are so many people that have given their hearts 47:15 to the Lord by reading Great Controversy 47:18 you can't help but see that it's the truth 47:21 as you read that book. It's like reading the newspaper 47:25 more and more. 47:27 Now do you think the devil wants to hide the identity 47:30 of the antichrist? 47:33 Do you think that he would want to hide the identity 47:36 of when the remnant would appear, where they would appear, 47:38 and what their characteristics would be? 47:40 Of course. So what the devil does: 47:43 he doesn't attack so much the message... 47:46 he attacks the method. After the Protestant Reformation 47:52 in the aftermath the Roman Catholic church 47:56 had to counteract the growth of Protestantism. 47:59 And they soon realized that it was not enough to 48:02 attack the message of Protestantism 48:07 because Protestantism was growing like grass fire. 48:11 They realized that they needed to counteract the method 48:15 which was the historical flow method. 48:17 You see, Martin Luther was saying: "Well you can see in the 48:19 course of history that the papacy is the antichrist. 48:22 All you have to do is follow the flow. " 48:24 And so they said: "We have to change the method. " 48:26 And so two Jesuit scholars of the Roman Catholic church... 48:30 The first one is called Luis De Alcazar, 48:35 came up with the theology of prophetic interpretation 48:40 of Preterism. It's the idea that prophecy 48:45 was fulfilled in the distant past. 48:47 The antichrist passages... you know, he stated that the 48:51 little horn was actually Antiochus IV Epiphanes 48:53 who lived 165 years before Christ. 48:56 And he taught that the beast of Revelation 13 49:00 represented Nero and the emperors of Rome. 49:04 So he said: "These prophecies have nothing to do with us 49:08 because they were fulfilled with Antiochus IV Epiphanes 49:11 and they were fulfilled with Nero and with the Roman 49:14 emperors. " By the way, liberal Protestant churches 49:19 today are Preterists 49:21 and the Roman Catholic church is also Preterist 49:25 in its prophetic interpretation. 49:26 They see these prophecies as being irrelevant 49:29 because they were fulfilled in the distant past before 49:33 the Roman Catholic church came into existence. 49:37 But there was another scholar by the name of Francisco Ribera, 49:41 and his views are held today by conservative Protestants. 49:48 Groups... And by the way, this is not to say that there are 49:51 not sincere, loving people in these churches... 49:53 mainly Evangelicals, Charismatic's, and Pentecostals. 49:57 And what they believe is that after the rapture of the church 50:01 all of these prophecies - the antichrist prophecies - 50:04 are going to be fulfilled in the Middle East. 50:07 They believe that the antichrist is a literal person 50:11 who will sit in a literally- built Jerusalem temple. 50:15 He will persecute the literal Jews 50:18 for a literal 3-1/2 years 50:20 and he will place a literal tattoo on people's foreheads 50:24 and on the right hand, and he will build a literal image 50:27 of himself. And so conservative Protestantism today 50:32 is looking to the Middle East for a literal fulfillment 50:36 of these prophecies. And meanwhile 50:40 the real antichrist is in Rome 50:42 and the United States more and more - Protestantism in the 50:46 United States - more and more gets closer and closer to Rome. 50:50 And they can't see what they're doing because they're 50:52 looking for the fulfillment of prophecy 50:55 in the wrong place. 50:59 Let me ask you: does this also blur 51:03 the identity of the remnant? 51:06 Yes! Because if you believe that the 1,260 years are future 51:11 after the supposed rapture of the church 51:14 then this was not fulfilled in 1798 AD 51:18 in the United States with the nation that professes 51:21 to believe in two principles - separation of church and state - 51:25 which will speak according to the authority of Rome. 51:29 So through these systems of prophetic interpretation 51:33 what the devil has done is he has hidden the identity 51:38 of the antichrist and he has hidden the appearance 51:42 of the remnant so that people don't know where the remnant 51:45 is and what their message is for these last days. 51:50 By the way, if you would like to have more information 51:52 on this, I wrote a very important book. 51:55 It's called Futurism's Incredible Journey. 51:59 And this book describes the terrible impact 52:03 that these systems of prophetic interpretation 52:05 have upon Seventh-day Adventist prophetic interpretation. 52:08 The method totally demolishes the reason for the existence 52:12 of the Seventh-day Adventist church. 52:16 Now folks, we have a mission: to reach the world. 52:20 We also have a message and we also have a method. 52:26 What is our message? 52:28 Our message are the three angels' messages. 52:32 Now listen carefully: many people in the Adventist church 52:36 today they say: "Oh, we're supposed to take the gospel 52:38 to the world. " And I agree. 52:41 But what they do... the gospel that they're believing in 52:44 is the same gospel that was being preached by 52:46 the apostle Paul. And I believe that we need to 52:50 preach that gospel but in a new context... 52:53 in the context of the end time. 52:55 Because the first angel's message not only says 52:57 "I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven 53:00 to take the everlasting gospel to every nation, kindred, 53:03 tongue, and people. " You know, we can't stop there 53:05 and say that the gospel needs to go to the whole world. 53:08 We need to continue where it says: " Fear God 53:12 and give glory to Him 53:15 for the hour of His judgment has come. " Amen! 53:19 "And worship the Creator! " 53:22 Ah, both are elements of the first angel's message of the 53:25 gospel. Amen! By the way, it also involves proclaiming 53:30 that Babylon is falling. 53:32 Doesn't it? Yes, that's the second angel's message. 53:36 You can't only preach the first part of the 1st angel's message. 53:39 It's a package deal... it has to be everything. 53:42 The fall of Babylon has to be proclaimed 53:46 and a call for God's people has to be made for people 53:49 to come out. Has God called us also to proclaim 53:53 the third message? Oh yeah, the third message 53:56 says: "Behold... " "Be very careful... " 54:01 about worshiping... " What? "the beast. " 54:06 Do you need to know who the beast is in order to 54:08 follow that counsel? Amen! Yeah! 54:11 Or his what? "or his image... " 54:14 "Beware of receiving his? mark. " 54:17 Do you need to know what the image of the beast is? 54:19 Do you need to know what the mark of the beast is? 54:21 Do you need to know what the beast is? 54:25 Of course! Is this part of the proclamation 54:28 that God's people have for the world? 54:29 Yes. And let me tell you, folks: this message is urgent 54:33 now more than ever before 54:36 because we can see prophecy being fulfill right before our 54:38 very eyes in these United States of America. 54:42 I'm sure that you're aware that John Boehner has invited 54:46 the pope to come and address a joint session of Congress. 54:50 And that you're aware how Protestant leaders 54:53 in the United States are lauding the pope. 55:00 I wish I had more time to speak about this. 55:03 First Jesuit pope in history 55:06 in more than 500 years of the existence of the Jesuit order. 55:10 If you want to read how the Jesuits operate, 55:12 just go and take a look at what Ellen White has to say 55:16 in Great Controversy. She has a very long quote 55:18 about how the Jesuits work. 55:21 People of the United States Ellen White says they need to 55:24 "be awakened to the dangers represented 55:28 by this enemy of civil and religious liberty. " 55:34 She gave the best description that I've ever seen. 55:36 She says: "Behind the variable appearance of a chameleon 55:40 is the invariable venom of the serpent. " 55:45 But I praise the Lord that God is going to have 55:47 a victorious remnant. Amen! 55:49 Let's end on a positive note. 55:51 Revelation chapter 15 and verses 2 through 4. 55:54 Revelation 15:2-4 speaks about a remnant 55:57 that will be on the sea of glass with the Lamb. 55:59 And they will be victorious in the end. 56:02 It says there: "And I saw something like a sea of glass 56:06 mingled with fire, and those who have the victory 56:09 over the beast, over his image, and over his mark, 56:14 and over the number of his name 56:16 standing on the sea of glass having harps of God. 56:19 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, 56:21 and the song of the Lamb saying: 56:23 'Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty. 56:26 Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints. 56:30 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? 56:34 For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come 56:37 and worship before You 56:39 for Your judgments have been manifested. ' " 56:42 May God grant us, brothers and sisters, 56:44 the courage to stand for the truth in very difficult times. 56:50 May the Lord help us to be members of that remnant. 56:54 Unashamed! Speaking out boldly so that the world can know. 56:59 Let us pray. Father in heaven, 57:02 we have a marvelous prophetic message that You have given 57:05 to this church. Unfortunately, many times we've 57:09 been distracted from our message and our mission and our method. 57:13 I ask, Lord, that You will bless each one of us here 57:15 that we will go forth and we will proclaim these things 57:18 to a world that is confused that doesn't know where to turn. 57:22 We have the message that the world needs. 57:25 Please, Lord, embolden us 57:28 and give us Your power that this might be a reality. |
Revised 2022-05-23