Participants: James Rafferty
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000112
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors of Truth live from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:23 Good evening, and allow me please to welcome you to 00:27 Anchors of Truth. 00:28 You know, we have broadcast and taped well over 100 00:32 of these Anchors of Truth. 00:33 And God has been with us. 00:35 Each speaker has been anointed by Him. 00:37 And we've learned so very, very much. 00:40 And we are very, very pleased to welcome our in-house audience, 00:44 and those of you who are watching from around the world, 00:46 to another night, this second in a series of five presentations 00:51 by our friend James Rafferty. 00:53 When we say James Rafferty, we automatically want to 00:55 say Ty Gibson. 00:57 It's almost as though they were separated at birth, 00:59 because you think of them in the same breath all of the time. 01:03 But Light Bearers Ministry is James and Ty, 01:06 and Jeffery Rosario, and of course David Asscherick. 01:09 And together they form a very powerful team for the Lord. 01:13 And so we're happy to have James with us tonight. 01:17 James Rafferty, in particular, has an ability to take 01:21 heavy subjects, profound subjects, and make them 01:24 very, very simple. 01:25 And I think that is a gift that has been given to each of the 01:28 men who are at Light Bearers, to take things that can be 01:31 weighty and of great import, but make them very simple 01:34 and very digestible for those of us who hear. 01:37 And God has given James that gift. 01:39 And we are very, very pleased to have him back again. 01:42 This is not his first time doing an Anchors for us. 01:44 We are so pleased to have him back again. 01:46 Nice guy. 01:48 He was telling us last night how he left 80 degree weather. 01:52 Well I told him a little while ago, it was 40 here today. 01:54 So we got half way home. 01:56 And Sunday when he leaves, it'll be 60. 01:59 So, you know, you do what you can. 02:02 This is not southern California. 02:04 And most of the nation is suffering under 02:07 the weight of snow storms. 02:08 So God has been pretty kind to us. 02:10 I think we have a little something coming tomorrow. 02:12 But God is going to be good. 02:13 And when he gets back to hot, sweltering, southern California, 02:17 he will rue the day that he talked about 3ABN and our 02:20 weather here in southern Illinois. 02:22 But he is a good man of God, a strong preacher of the Word, 02:25 and a Christian, and one who loves the Lord. 02:27 And we're very, very pleased to have him with us this night. 02:31 His sermon tonight is going to deal with, 02:35 The Prophetic Rise of America. 02:37 And of course, when you talk about America in prophecy, 02:40 you think about Revelation chapter 13. 02:43 So I'm sure he's going to touch on that, 02:44 but I don't want to preach his sermon. 02:46 But as Jim said on last evening, you can almost hold your 02:50 newspaper and your Bible side by side and see the 02:52 truths of God being fulfilled. 02:54 And so this is a very timely practical subject, 02:57 and I know that he's going to be used of God 03:00 to bring us a message. 03:02 The song we're going to sing tonight is one that was 03:04 written by Horatius Bonar back in the 1800's. 03:08 And it was his first attempt at writing hymns. 03:12 And he wasn't really too pleased with the song. 03:15 He was heard to say, "It's good gospel, but it's lousy poetry." 03:20 And so for a long time he didn't really like the song, 03:24 because he said, "You've got to be a child to believe 03:27 some of the words in this song." 03:29 But what is interesting about that is when he went to his 03:31 Bible, he found that the Bible said you have to be like a 03:33 little child if you're going to get into heaven. 03:35 And so he changed his mind on this song, 03:38 and he added a couple more verses. 03:39 The song really has eight verses to it. 03:42 I'm not going to sing eight, I'm only going to sing four. 03:45 But it's called, I Lay My Sins On Jesus. 03:49 It's a beautiful song written actually to be sung to children. 03:53 Because it's a visual song; how you give your sin, 03:55 your heart, your life to Jesus. 03:57 And Christ takes them and makes them better. 04:00 We will pray now, then we will sing. 04:02 And then the next voice you will hear will be that of 04:04 our friend, our pastor, our preacher, James Rafferty 04:07 of Light Bearers Ministry. 04:10 Father God, we do praise You and thank You so very, very much 04:14 for the privilege of hearing the Word. 04:19 You have said in Your Word that one day there's going to be 04:21 a famine of the Word. 04:24 So help us now, Lord, to feast on the Word while we still can, 04:28 to fill ourselves with the Word, the truths of the Word, 04:32 with the Word of Jesus, with the powerful Word of God, 04:36 so that in the days of famine, in the days of starvation, 04:40 when there is a want for the truth of the Word, we will 04:44 have that Word hid in our hearts 04:47 that we might not sin against You. 04:49 Bless the speaker, bless those who hear. 04:52 And we thank You in Jesus name, amen. 04:56 This song is my wife's favorite song. 04:58 She introduced it to me when we were dating. 05:01 And I've come to love it. 05:03 I Lay My Sins On Jesus. 05:15 I lay my sins on Jesus, 05:22 the spotless Lamb of God. 05:29 He bears them all and frees us 05:37 from the accursed load, 05:44 from the accursed load. 05:51 I lay my wants on Jesus; 05:58 all fullness dwells in Him. 06:06 He healeth my diseases; 06:13 He doth my soul redeem, 06:21 He doth my soul redeem. 06:34 I rest my sins in Jesus; 06:41 meek, heavenly, holy, mild. 06:49 He wipes away iniquity; 06:56 He is God's holy Child, 07:04 He is God's holy Child. 07:25 I long to be with Jesus 07:32 amid the heavenly throng; 07:39 to sing with them His praises 07:47 and learn the angels' song, 07:55 and learn the angels' song, 08:02 I lay my sins on Jesus. 08:26 Thank you, C.A. 08:29 Amen. 08:31 I lay my sins on Jesus. 08:32 It may be a simple song but it's powerful, isn't it? 08:37 Pure gospel. 08:39 And that's what we need, even though tonight we're going to 08:42 be looking at some pretty intense Bible prophecies 08:47 in the book of Revelation. 08:49 The Rise of American in Bible Prophecy. 08:51 That's quite a title, isn't it? 08:54 Bu yet, we need to remember that this is all centered 08:58 in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 09:00 In fact, let's open our Bibles to Revelation chapter 13 09:05 and let's look here as we begin at a very important verse, 09:10 prophetic verse, that will guide us tonight. 09:12 This verse is found in Revelation chapter 13 09:15 and verse 11. 09:17 Revelation 13 and verse 11. 09:21 John is speaking here of a vision that he is having, 09:25 that God has given to him. 09:27 And he says in verse 11, "And I beheld another beast 09:32 coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, 09:38 and he spake as a dragon." 09:42 Well that's our Bible verse tonight. 09:44 We could almost close the Bible and say that's the end of it. 09:46 It's right there, it's all very clear, there it is. 09:49 But, of course we recognize that the book of Revelation 09:54 is a distillation of the entire Bible. 09:56 That this verse is filled with symbolic language, 10:00 and that it reveals to us a lot more than just 10:03 these few words indicate. 10:05 And to understand this verse we have to actually 10:08 take a journey through history, prophetic history if you will. 10:11 But also earth's history. 10:13 Because we learned last night in John chapter 13 verse 19, 10:16 and also in John chapter 14 verse 29, that Bible prophecy 10:22 is history foretold. 10:23 God tells us ahead of time what is going to happen 10:27 in our earth's history. 10:28 And that is Bible prophecy. 10:29 And He tells us that so that our confidence, our faith in Him, 10:33 can be strengthened so that we can believe and trust in Him. 10:37 That's what Bible prophecy is virtually all about. 10:42 I mean, that's the basic reason for it. 10:44 There are other reasons, of course. 10:47 He wants us to be prepared and not scared about the future. 10:52 But I think that the most important reason is, 10:54 He wants us to establish faith in Him. 10:56 He wants us to have confidence in Him. 10:57 He wants us to know that He is God and that He is, 11:04 well, He has a plan. 11:06 There are two other verses I want you to look at 11:08 with me tonight that I think will help us in this journey. 11:11 Isaiah chapter 48 is one of them. 11:14 Isaiah 48 and verse 3. 11:17 In the midst of apostasy, in the midst of backsliding, 11:22 in the midst of turning away from the Lord, 11:24 God raised up Isaiah, along with other prophets like 11:27 Jeremiah and Ezekiel, to give a message to His people. 11:30 His people who are obstinate and hard hearted 11:33 and unwilling to listen to and follow the instructions of God. 11:38 And He says here in Isaiah 48 and verse 3, 11:40 "I," God, "have declared the former things 11:43 from the beginning; they went forth out of my mouth, 11:46 I showed them and I did them suddenly, 11:51 and they came to pass." 11:53 God reveals prophecy to us ahead of time. 11:57 And then He allows that prophecy sometimes to be fulfilled 12:01 very quickly, very fast... 12:04 ...so that we can have an awareness that God is 12:09 ultimately in control. 12:12 Now, I want you to look at another Bible verse with me. 12:14 This one is found just a few pages or a few books back 12:16 where this one is in Ecclesiastes chapter 1. 12:20 And that will wrap up our major Bible verses that we're 12:24 going to be working off as we move into this subject. 12:26 Ecclesiastes chapter 1 beginning with verse 9. 12:30 The preacher, the king in Jerusalem, verse 1, 12:37 the son of David, says, "The thing that has been 12:43 is that which shall be; and that which is done 12:48 is that which shall be done. 12:51 And there is no new thing under the sun." 12:52 Verse 10 of chapter 1 of Ecclesiastes, 12:55 "Is there anything whereof it may be said, 'See, this is new.' 13:00 It has already been of old time, which was before us." 13:05 And then he says something very interesting in verse 11. 13:07 He says, "There is no remembrance 13:11 of the former things; neither shall there be any remembrance 13:14 of things that are to come and those that will be here after." 13:18 Now I want to pick up on this as we study prophecy tonight 13:23 and remind us how important it is to remember 13:26 the former things. 13:28 I believe we have nothing to fear for the future 13:31 except as we forget how God has led us in the past. 13:34 And when you look at the Bible, you see God reminding His people 13:37 to remember everything that He did for them in the past. 13:42 And so basically the preacher is saying, the preacher is saying, 13:47 "There's nothing new that's coming in the future 13:50 that hasn't already happened." 13:53 And therefore, verse 11, if there's no remembrance 13:56 of the former things, there's not going to be any remembrance 14:00 of the things that are coming. 14:03 Are you following me there? 14:05 In other words, we can look back, and that will help us 14:09 to look forward. 14:10 And that's what we're going to do tonight. 14:11 We're going to look back, we're going to go back to 14:12 the book of Daniel first before we jump 14:15 into the book of Revelation. 14:16 One of the reasons for this is going to be very obvious 14:19 when we get into Revelation chapter, or get back to 14:21 Revelation chapter 13. 14:23 Daniel, we learned last night, captive in Babylon. 14:29 Because God loves the world and desired to use His people 14:35 who were willing to be used to bring the message of His 14:37 love to the world to people like Nebuchadnezzar 14:40 and the Babylonians. 14:42 But His people were sitting around indifferently. 14:46 Slacking off, if you will. 14:49 I don't know if they were watching there, you know, 14:51 45 inch TV's, but whatever was equivalent in those days. 14:57 And so God, for their good, as well as to reach the 15:01 Babylonians, allowed them to be delivered into captivity. 15:05 Now this was not an easy thing for God to do. 15:08 In fact, He humbled Himself before the heathen 15:11 nations in doing this. 15:13 That's what we learned last night. 15:15 He was willing to humble Himself in order to reach the hearts 15:19 and the minds of those people in Babylon. 15:22 And He did that through a dream. 15:24 And through some faithful young men who were 15:27 at that time teenagers. 15:28 Daniel and his friends were teenagers at the time. 15:30 And they were men of prayer. 15:33 Men who were willing to commit their lives to God, 15:37 their hearts to God, we're told in Daniel chapter 1 and verse 8. 15:41 Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not 15:43 defile himself, that he would follow God. 15:46 And these men God used as channels to give, 15:52 well what we would call today, Daniel seminars. 15:57 Prophecy seminars. 15:59 Daniel gave the first Daniel seminar. 16:02 And the person that attended, the prominent person 16:06 that attended this Daniel seminar in Daniel's day 16:08 was Nebuchadnezzar. 16:10 He sat on the front row. 16:12 He listened to everything Daniel had to say 16:14 in this Daniel seminar. 16:15 When it was all over, he said, "I want to join your church." 16:20 But it didn't take long for Nebuchadnezzar to, well, 16:24 slip out the back door. 16:26 And that's where it becomes interesting. 16:27 Not only for that time, but for our time. 16:30 That's where the history of the past is to be remembered today. 16:33 It's significant that Nebuchadnezzar 16:37 had a knowledge of the prophecies of Daniel. 16:42 He knew, for example, this image represented 16:45 four kingdoms leading down to to the second coming 16:48 of Jesus Christ. 16:49 Daniel had given him that understanding. 16:51 Babylon followed by Medo-Persia, followed by Greece, 16:54 followed by Rome. 16:57 The ten kingdoms divided, and yet uniting. 17:01 The clay and the iron mingled together. 17:03 And then the stone smiting the image at the feet. 17:06 He knew all of this. 17:07 And yet, he slips out the back door. 17:09 Why? 17:11 Well I believe it's because, saying it plainly, frankly, 17:16 intellectual knowledge is not good enough 17:19 to hold us faithful to God. 17:21 The gospel must be an intricate part of any prophetic message 17:27 that we preach. 17:29 It is foundational to prophecy to center it in Christ. 17:33 In fact, last night we looked at Genesis chapter 3 17:36 and we noticed that the first prophecy of the Bible 17:38 was centered around Jesus. 17:41 The One who would come and crush the serpents head. 17:44 And every prophecy since that time has directed us 17:47 to Jesus one way or another. 17:49 We also looked last night at Daniel chapter 9, 17:52 the Messiah that was to come to do away with 17:54 sin, transgression, and iniquity. 17:56 And tonight, we're going to go even further and we're 17:59 going to look at it in the context of a lamb-like beast, 18:04 or power, that rises up out of the earth. 18:07 The lamb-like horns again need to be identify. 18:11 So Daniel is still in earnest for Nebuchadnezzar. 18:16 God is using him and his friends to help Nebuchadnezzar 18:19 to, well, to come back from his backslidden position. 18:22 And as they go through this terrible furnace trial 18:27 where they refuse to worship this image that is 18:30 set up on the plain of Dura, Daniel chapter 3, 18:34 Nebuchadnezzar becomes aware that he is, well, 18:40 he's not just dealing with these three young men; 18:44 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 18:46 But there's a fourth among them. 18:48 And who is that fourth? 18:50 Jesus. 18:52 When people see us, do they see Jesus with us? 18:58 Do they see Jesus in us? 19:00 Do they see Jesus among us? 19:02 And we would say, "Yes, we're kind. 19:06 We're true, we're faithful. 19:09 We're commandment keepers." 19:11 But there's a glitch, there's a hitch here. 19:13 There's a comma that we need to put here, 19:15 a parenthesis if you will. 19:17 When people see us in the fiery furnace, 19:21 when people see us in conditions that are seven times hotter, 19:26 when we're facing the trials of life 19:29 and things are really intense, do they see Jesus? 19:38 I was boarding a plane not long ago. 19:42 I travel a lot. 100,000 this last year. 19:45 So I get some benefits from that. 19:49 Premier status on United. 19:52 Therefore, I get to board first. 19:55 There's a big 1 on all my boarding tickets. 19:57 And other boarding tickets have 2's and 3's and 4's and 5's. 20:01 But I have a 1 on my boarding ticket. 20:03 Which means I can get on and I can pack my stuff away 20:07 while there's still room up there. 20:09 Now I usually check in all my bags except for my backpack, 20:11 so I don't have a lot to pack away. 20:13 But it's nice to just put it up so that I have a 20:15 little bit of leg room. 20:16 And this particular time, I was coming to my seat 20:19 and there was a gentleman there before me. 20:21 Well that happens too. 20:22 I'm not the only one that has a 1 on my boarding pass. 20:25 And this gentleman was packing all his stuff, 20:28 two or three items, a couple of them were kind of big, 20:32 right in the compartment above my seat. 20:34 Well, there were three seats there, and obviously he 20:37 had one of them and I had another one. 20:38 So we shared. 20:39 And I was waiting for him, and he looked at me and I said, 20:43 "Yeah, I'm sitting there too." 20:44 And he said, "Okay, I'll be right back." 20:45 And he went to the back of the plane. 20:47 And I put my bag up and that was it, it was full. 20:52 And I sat down looking back expecting him to come. 20:54 I was in the aisle seat, I like the aisle seat. 20:56 The seatbelt was off, waiting for him to come. 20:58 So I knew I was going to stand up and let him in. 21:00 But before he came back another couple came down the aisle. 21:04 And both of them were sitting in that aisle. 21:09 I thought, maybe I've got the wrong seat. 21:10 But sure enough, I had the right seat. 21:11 They had the right seats. 21:13 And the young man, the gentleman, 21:15 the man that had packed all his stuff up there 21:18 obviously was not sitting in this seat. 21:20 And I thought, "Hmmm, what's going on here?" 21:25 I kept looking back to see where he was and I couldn't really 21:27 see him back there with all the people getting on. 21:29 But these people had nowhere to put there stuff. 21:34 There was a little room above my bag. 21:36 And so they did take one bag and stuffed it up there. 21:41 Right on top of my bag that had those fresh cookies in it. 21:49 Those fresh cookies that my wife made me for the trip. 21:51 Those fresh cookies that were now crumbs. 21:55 What happens when the cookies crumble? 22:00 What happens to your faith? 22:02 And so I was thinking about this. 22:05 And I decided that there are times when people 22:08 get on and they put their stuff wherever. 22:10 And then they go to the back of the plane. 22:11 And that's what this guy had done. 22:14 I was thinking about it in several different ways and 22:18 persuading myself that, you know, I'm a nice guy and 22:22 cookies crumble and you can still eat them. 22:23 It's no big deal. 22:26 But then I thought, "You know, I'm going to go back there 22:27 and just find out where that guys is and... 22:29 I don't know, maybe I shouldn't." 22:31 And then I realized, as I went back to the bathroom, 22:33 that this man that put all his stuff up there 22:35 was actually one of the stewards. 22:42 And they do have the freedom to put their stuff up 22:44 here and there, and go back and work, and etcetera. 22:46 And I was so glad I didn't say anything 22:47 to him after I realized that. 22:48 But the point is, there are times, maybe just little times, 22:56 or maybe bigger times, when we are in that furnace. 23:02 And it's those times when we have the opportunity 23:06 to make real what Jesus Christ means to us 23:12 and the difference that He makes. 23:14 And it's when that testimony is combined with 23:18 the prophecies, the truth, the reality of prophecy, 23:22 that I think people's hearts are solidified in the truth. 23:27 Well this is what happened to Nebuchadnezzar. 23:28 He was looking, you see, he was looking. 23:30 And he saw Jesus with these three young men. 23:36 And when he saw that, his heart was reached. 23:41 And then, of course, chapter 4 tells us all about his 23:44 radical conversion experience. 23:46 Chapter 5 indicates that his grandson was not inclined to 23:51 follow his example. 23:52 But chapter 5 verse 30 is the verse I want 23:55 us to look at real quick. 23:56 "In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 24:00 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, 24:02 being about threescore and two years old." 24:04 Darius the Median, Medo-Persian kingdom, 24:07 follows the kingdom of Babylon. 24:10 That's the point. 24:11 We've seen an image of different metals, 24:13 and we've suggested that image represents different kingdoms. 24:17 And I'm moving through the book of Daniel now 24:19 to just establish that from a biblical perspective. 24:21 It's established historically, but it's also 24:24 established biblically. 24:25 Babylon is followed by Medo-Persia. 24:28 Medo-Persia rules for a few chapters. 24:31 And we get into chapter 7 and we have another vision 24:33 of four animals, four beasts if you will. 24:37 One following the other. 24:39 This vision took place in the first year of Belshazzar, 24:42 king of Babylon. 24:43 Daniel dreams this dream, not Nebuchadnezzar. 24:46 And he sees these four beasts rising up from the great sea. 24:51 And the first was like a lion with eagle's wings. 24:54 That is the exact description that is used in Jeremiah's 24:58 prophecies to describe Babylon. 25:00 So really what we have here is a principle that is used 25:05 throughout the Scriptures that I like to call, 25:07 repeat and enlarge. 25:09 Repeat and enlarge. 25:11 God is eager that we would arrive at home, 25:14 that we would get to heaven, that we would be with Him. 25:17 And so He gives us in His Word directions to heaven. 25:22 Ever given directions to anyone? 25:25 Complicated directions? 25:28 It's easier now because we have all this computer stuff 25:31 and these GPS, right? 25:32 It's easy to give directions nowadays. 25:34 But at times it has been challenging. 25:37 And I remember when I would give general directions 25:39 to someone, I'd say, "You got that?" 25:41 And they would say, "Yeah, I think so. 25:42 And then you kind of repeat it, you know. 25:44 And you give some more detail. 25:45 "When you get to the big windmill, you take a right. 25:48 You go over the bridge on the river, it's a green bridge, 25:51 and then you take a left right there at the barber shop." 25:54 You know, you get real detailed. 25:56 "You go 2.6 miles, and there will be a green mailbox. 26:02 Our road is a gravel road. 26:05 And you'll see two sheep and three donkeys 26:08 in the pasture." 26:10 This is what God does in the Bible. 26:13 He starts out with a general picture, a general course, 26:18 a general trail if you will, of the journey that we're taking 26:22 from planet earth to heaven, to the second coming of Jesus, 26:26 and a little bit beyond that. 26:27 And then He repeats those directions and gives 26:29 more details, He fills in the picture. 26:31 That's what He's doing in Daniel chapter 7. 26:33 He's filling in the picture. 26:35 He's repeating the same basic history of Babylon and 26:39 Medo-Persia and Greece and Rome, 26:41 But He spends a little bit more time on Rome in Daniel 7. 26:44 And then He highlights a little power that is identified 26:48 as the little horn power. 26:50 He gives a lot of characteristics of this power. 26:53 What it's going to do and what it's going to try to accomplish. 26:55 And then we move on. 26:57 In Daniel chapter 8, the same thing happens. 27:00 Repeat and enlarge. 27:01 In fact, the Bible is full of this principle of 27:03 repeat and enlarge. 27:04 In Genesis chapter 1 God creates the earth. 27:06 In Genesis chapter 2, repeat and enlarge. 27:08 You see a more detailed explanation of creation. 27:11 In Genesis 1 God made Adam and Eve in His image. 27:14 In Genesis 2 God describes how He made Adam and Eve. 27:19 Adam came from the dust. 27:21 Eve came from his rib. 27:23 Then you have Exodus and Leviticus and 27:26 Deuteronomy and Numbers. 27:28 Each one of those expands and builds upon the 27:31 other and gives more detail. 27:32 Then you have 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings, and 27:35 1 and 2 Chronicles. 27:36 Each one repeating and enlarging upon the other. 27:38 And then of course we get into the gospels. 27:41 You have Matthew and you have Mark 27:42 and you have Luke and you have John. 27:44 Each one adding detail, each one adding emphasis. 27:47 Repeating that same story. 27:50 Paul does a lot of this in his epistles, 27:53 dealing with some of the same principles. 27:54 But then we get into Revelation. 27:55 Revelation does the same thing. 27:57 You have the seven churches, one layer. 27:59 And then on top of that you have the seven seals. 28:01 On top of that you have the seven trumpets. 28:03 Each one beginning in the apostolic age, 28:05 and taking us down through the stream of time 28:08 to the very end when Jesus returns, and beyond. 28:12 Now as we look at prophecy in this way, it really helps us 28:16 to line up these events. 28:18 For example, in Daniel chapter 8 we have again 28:23 these same historical events. 28:26 But this time Babylon is not mentioned. 28:28 It begins with Medo-Persia. How do we know that? 28:30 Because these animals which are different than 28:32 the ones in chapter 7. 28:33 And of course, the animals are different than the 28:35 history in chapter 2. 28:36 The history in chapter 2 is an image. 28:38 In chapter 7 these animals represent, well, these 28:41 different kingdoms, but they're different animals 28:43 than the ones here. 28:44 The ones here, Daniel 8, are a he goat and a ram. 28:48 But notice what it says in verse 20. 28:50 "The ram which you saw having two horns are the 28:52 kings of Media and Persia. 28:54 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia." 28:57 There it is. 28:58 We've got Babylon followed by Medo-Persia. 29:00 And now we've got Medo-Persia followed by Grecia. 29:02 In fact, in Daniel 11 we see the same thing again. 29:06 Notice here as Daniel picks up with this vision. 29:11 The angel Gabriel has come to help him understand it. 29:15 And he says, verse 2, "And now will I show you the truth. 29:20 Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; 29:23 and the fourth shall be far richer than they all. 29:28 And by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all 29:31 against the realm of Grecia. 29:32 And a mighty king shall stand up and shall rule with great 29:35 dominion, and do according to his will. 29:37 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken 29:40 and divided toward the four winds..." 29:42 That king was Alexander the Great, 29:45 the king of Grecia, who followed Medo-Persia, 29:49 who followed Babylon. 29:50 And what power followed Greece? 29:54 Well, in the days of Christ, when all the nations were 30:00 speaking Greek, and the New Testament of course 30:02 is written in Greek, the power that was on this earth 30:06 was the power of Rome. 30:09 So history simply confirms what Bible prophecy reveals. 30:12 And it's interesting though to note specifically 30:16 Daniel chapter 7. 30:19 Sometimes I've been asked, and I have sometimes, 30:22 or use to at one time, wonder why did God describe 30:28 history by using beasts? 30:33 "I saw a lion with eagle's wings. 30:36 And after that another beast, a bear, 30:38 which was risen up on one side. 30:40 And then a leopard," verse 6, "with four wings on the back. 30:43 And then I saw this terrible beast, this dreadful and 30:48 terrible, strong exceeding with great iron teeth." 30:52 Why does God use beasts in Bible prophecy? 30:58 Well we know that they represent kingdoms, 30:59 because we're told in verses 17 and 23. 31:02 The angel comes to Daniel and Daniel says, 31:06 "I really, I don't get this," verse 15. 31:08 "I don't understand what these mean, what they represent." 31:11 And the angel says, "These great beasts," verse 17, 31:14 "which are four, are four kings, 31:16 that shall arise out of the earth." 31:18 And then in verse 23, he says, "And the fourth beast 31:22 shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth..." 31:25 So right here in the context of the prophecy, we have an 31:29 interpretation of these beasts representing kingdoms. 31:32 And of course we do that today, don't we, to some degree. 31:34 I mean, when you think about animals, like an eagle, 31:39 what country do you think of? 31:42 United States of America. 31:43 What about a bear? 31:45 Russia. 31:46 What about a dragon? 31:49 China. 31:50 You guys are good. 31:51 Okay, here's a tougher one. 31:52 What about a lion? 31:57 It's the country I was raised in. 31:59 England, yes. So even today. 32:03 God is, in the Bible, He's using symbolism that we use 32:07 that's familiar to us as human beings. 32:10 And He knows that we'll get it. 32:13 And just in case we don't, He actually tells us 32:15 what these symbols mean. 32:16 He tells us what these beasts mean. 32:18 They represent kingdoms. 32:19 Now this is important, because tonight we're talking about 32:22 the rise of America in Bible prophecy. 32:26 Let's go to our Bible verse in Revelation chapter 13. 32:30 Because in Revelation chapter 13, 32:33 what we have is a connection with Daniel 32:35 and the prophecies of Daniel. 32:37 Daniel was looking forward in time. 32:39 And as he looked forward in time, God showed him 32:42 Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. 32:46 Then the ten divisions of Europe continuing on 32:50 until the second coming of Jesus Christ. 32:51 That was the basic outline that he saw. 32:53 He saw a little horn rising up among the nations of Europe. 32:58 The characteristics of which would be fulfilled in the 33:01 context of Bible prophecy. 33:04 Specifically in the context of Revelation chapter 13. 33:09 Now notice that with me. 33:11 John is, in Revelation chapter 13, he says, 33:13 "I stood upon the sand of the sea and I saw a..." What? 33:18 What does a beast represent in Bible prophecy? 33:21 A kingdom or a power. 33:23 "I saw a kingdom or a power rising up out of the..." 33:28 Now what does the sea represent in Bible prophecy? 33:32 Okay, Revelation chapter 17. You are right on. 33:35 You guys know your Bibles here tonight. 33:37 Revelation 17 and verse 15. 33:39 "And he said unto me," that is, the angel is talking to John, 33:43 "The waters which you saw, where the whore sits, 33:49 are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues." 33:54 Peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. 33:56 Populated areas of the earth. 33:58 In other words, when we look in Revelation chapter 13 34:01 and verse 1, what we see here is a power or a kingdom 34:05 rising up in the earth among the nations, 34:11 multitudes, peoples, and tongues. 34:13 In a populated area of planet earth. 34:17 Now notice this. 34:20 "...having seven heads and..." How many horns? 34:23 Ten horns. 34:24 "...and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads 34:28 the name of blasphemy. 34:30 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, 34:36 and his feet were like the feet of a bear, 34:40 and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion. 34:44 And the dragon gave him his seat, and power, 34:47 and great authority." 34:49 Now there's something really interesting about this. 34:52 Did you notice the connection? 34:54 John here is seeing a kingdom that has the very same 35:00 characteristics as the kingdoms that Daniel saw in Revelation. 35:06 Did you notice that? 35:08 You have the bear, you have the lion, you have the leopard, 35:13 and you have the ten horns. 35:15 Same as what was revealed to him, or to John. 35:19 Excuse me, revealed to Daniel in Daniel chapter 7 specifically. 35:23 Now, what's interesting is this. 35:26 Daniel looks forward and he sees the lion, followed by the bear, 35:33 followed by the leopard, followed by the terrible beast, 35:37 the dragon-like beast. 35:38 He sees the ten horns rise up, and then he sees 35:41 the little horn rise up. 35:42 John is looking back. 35:45 He's looking back in history. 35:46 What does he see first? 35:49 Does he see the lion first? 35:51 Read the verse. 35:52 What does he see first? 35:57 He sees the horns. 36:00 Then what does he see? 36:03 Then he sees the leopard. 36:04 Then what does he see? 36:06 Then he sees the bear. 36:09 Then what does he see last? 36:11 Well next. The lion. 36:13 Of course the dragon comes last, but. 36:14 In other words, Daniel looking forward from Babylon 36:18 sees Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, ten kingdoms. 36:21 John looking back sees ten kingdoms, then he sees what? 36:25 Greece, Medo-Persia, and Babylon. 36:28 It's like he's looking back and Daniel is looking forward. 36:31 John's looking back, Daniel's looking forward. 36:33 They're both coming together in their prophetic books. 36:37 That's why we call the books of Daniel and Revelation 36:39 prophetic twins. 36:41 They're both coming together in this vision. 36:43 Connecting together in this vision of Revelation chapter 13. 36:48 Now, John continues on in verse 3. 36:54 "And I saw one of his heads," one of the heads, 36:57 powers of this kingdom, "one of his heads as it were 37:02 wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed. 37:04 And all the world wondered after this power." 37:08 This kingdom, this earthly kingdom. 37:11 "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast. 37:15 And they worshipped the beast, saying, 37:17 'Who is like unto the beast?'" 37:19 This earthy kingdom, "Who's like this earthly king? 37:21 Who can make war with him?" 37:23 "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things 37:25 and blasphemies; and power was given unto him 37:27 to continue forty and two months. 37:28 And he opened his mouth to speak blasphemy against God, 37:31 to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, 37:33 and them that dwell in heaven. 37:34 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, 37:37 and to overcome them. 37:38 And power was given him over all kindreds, 37:41 and tongues, and nations. 37:42 And they that dwell on the earth shall worship him, 37:45 whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb 37:48 slain from the foundation of the world." 37:52 Now, John here is still looking back in history 37:59 at things that have happened. 38:01 The deadly wound, the 42 months, the persecution; all of that 38:06 has already taken place in the context... 38:09 I should say it this way. 38:10 ...in the process not of John's time. 38:13 Because John, of course, at his time this hadn't taken place. 38:17 But in the process of our time. 38:19 So John is looking at this. 38:21 But remember what we read in Ecclesiastes chapter 1? 38:24 There's nothing that has not already been 38:27 that will not be again. 38:28 And this is what God is telling us here. 38:30 All of this history is going to be repeated again. 38:35 How so? 38:37 Well here's where it gets interesting. 38:39 In Revelation chapter 13 and verse 9, 38:44 the Bible says, "If any man has an ear, let him hear. 38:47 He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity, 38:50 he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. 38:52 Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 38:55 And I beheld..." 38:56 Now what's interesting is when you look at this history, 38:58 you realize that throughout the centuries that follow 39:04 the demise of Rome, and I'm taking about pagan Rome, 39:07 we saw the rise of the papacy, or papal Rome. 39:11 We call it, the Dark Ages. 39:12 For good reason. 39:14 And during this time, during these centuries, 39:17 all of the characteristics that we see revealed here 39:21 were fulfilled by what we understand to be the 39:24 Medieval Church taking control of the earth, 39:27 having authority with the kings of the earth 39:29 to persecute those who disagreed with her. 39:31 This is all historic. 39:33 And as this continued, the year came... 39:39 I would say it was 1793 when another power rose up. 39:42 ...but 1798 when the very words of this prophecy were fulfilled 39:47 and the papacy was led into captivity. 39:51 Napoleon marched into Paris, took over. 39:55 And then down to Rome, and basically took the Pope captive. 40:00 Led him into captivity. 40:01 "He that leads into captivity will go into captivity, 40:03 he that kills with the sword will be killed with the sword." 40:06 And a deadly wound was inflicted. 40:08 Now all of this history that has happened in the past 40:12 is significant, because it leads us... 40:15 We have nothing to fear for the future except we 40:17 forget how God has led us in the past. 40:19 ...it leads us to understand what takes place 40:22 from verse 11 onward. 40:24 Let's look at it. 40:26 "I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; 40:30 he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon." 40:34 Now, there are some characteristics here 40:36 that I want to go over with you in the time we have left, 40:38 the time we have remaining, that I think are significant 40:41 to help us identify the rise of the United States 40:46 in Bible prophecy. 40:47 Number one, this power, this beast, which is 40:52 an earthly power, arises at the right time. 40:55 Now notice, it is coming in a time when this former power 41:00 is being led into captivity. 41:02 We know that took place in 1798. 41:04 So we're looking at a power that is rising up in the earth, 41:08 rising up in strength, in the 1700's. 41:15 Now there is a nation that was rising to power in that time. 41:17 In fact, the United States of America signed the 41:20 Declaration of Independence in 1776. 41:24 Just a few years before this deadly wound was inflicted. 41:26 And I think the last war that we fought for our independence, 41:30 and I would say we were still independent by then, 41:32 was the war of 1812 with the British. 41:33 That was about it, right? 41:35 So the timing is perfect. 41:38 Point number two... 41:40 And we're going to look at several points here that 41:41 help us to indentify who this power is. 41:45 I believe this is the rise of the United States. 41:47 But we'll look at a number of points here, prophetic points. 41:50 It came up in the right place. 41:52 Now, you notice that it says in the Bible verse 41:55 that this power would rise up out of the earth. 41:58 We already identified what the sea represents. 42:01 What does the sea represent in Bible prophecy? 42:03 Peoples, nations, multitudes, and tongues. 42:05 So the earth would be the opposite of the sea 42:08 in symbolic language. 42:10 The earth would be a place that is less populated. 42:14 And that's exactly what we see when we look at the 42:16 history of the United States. 42:17 It didn't rise up among the nations and multitudes and 42:20 tongues of the world, but it rose up in a more, 42:24 well, a less populated area of the earth. 42:28 A place that was discovered. 42:29 And a place that was growing in population in the 1700's. 42:35 So it came up at the right time. 42:37 It came up at the right place prophetically, 42:39 a less populated area of the world. 42:40 Notice the next thing it says here in Revelation 13:11. 42:44 It says, "I beheld another beast." 42:47 This is a new power. 42:49 It's a new nation. 42:51 It's not the same one, it's not a former one. 42:54 It's not a bear or a leopard. 42:57 It is a new nation that is rising up. 43:01 And then it goes on to say, and I think this is 43:04 really significant, that it had two horns like a lamb. 43:08 But if you do a close comparison with the first beast, 43:12 you're going to find that the horns have no crowns on them. 43:17 You see, the first beast, it says in Revelation chapter 13 43:20 and verse 1, the first beast, it says has ten horns, 43:25 "and upon his horns ten crowns." 43:27 That represents monarchy. 43:29 It represents the kings and the queens and the monarchs 43:32 of Europe that ruled with this religious power. 43:36 But in Revelation 13 and verse 11, this power 43:41 has lamb-like horns with no crowns. 43:44 That symbolizes or represents a change. 43:47 This nation, this power, would not be a monarchy. 43:50 It would be a republic. It would be different. 43:54 It would be without king and queen. 43:56 That characteristic fits. 43:57 That's number four. 43:59 Then it goes on to describe this power as a lamb-like power. 44:05 Now, we could spend the rest of the time we have this evening, 44:08 which isn't very much time, just talking about this. 44:10 And I think we will. 44:12 Only because it's so important. 44:14 There are probably four or five more characteristics 44:18 that we need to discuss, and we will discuss them 44:22 before we're done with our series. 44:23 Because tomorrow night we're going to be moving into 44:26 the change that is going to be taking place 44:29 as we identify this power. 44:31 But tonight we want to look primarily at these 44:33 characteristics, these, well lamb-like characteristics. 44:39 Because the lamb is a symbol that is used... 44:41 I don't know if you're familiar with this. 44:43 ...it's used, it's referenced, more than any other symbol 44:46 in the book of Revelation. 44:49 It is the most repeated symbol in Revelation. 44:51 And according to Revelation chapter 5, the lamb symbolizes 44:56 or represents Jesus and the cross. 45:03 Paul, excuse me, John, John the Baptist, 45:06 pointed to Jesus Christ and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God 45:09 that takes away the sins of the world." 45:11 John identifies the lamb in Revelation 5 45:14 as slain in the midst of the throne. 45:16 So when we look at that symbol we're identifying that symbol 45:20 as pointing to Jesus who was slain on Calvary for the sins 45:24 of the entire world. 45:26 What we're looking at here is a symbol that represents 45:30 the pure principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 45:33 The principles of liberty and freedom, 45:37 that God has given Himself as a sacrifice to preserve 45:44 in the hearts and minds of human beings. 45:47 Calvary is here symbolized. 45:50 And therefore this power is, well, to some degree or another 45:54 is finding itself embodying those principles of 46:00 religious freedom and civil freedom. 46:03 That's what I believe these two horns represent; 46:06 religious freedom and civil freedom. 46:10 So far every characteristic that we've looked at tonight 46:14 matches up with the rise of the United States of America. 46:19 We see it so clearly. 46:20 And yet, we're told there's going to be a change. 46:23 How is this change going to take place? 46:25 What is going to happen in our nation, in this country, 46:30 to actually see a change from the religious freedom 46:35 and the civil freedoms upon which this nation was founded 46:39 to have it speak, as the Bible says, like a dragon. 46:43 What does it mean, "to speak like a dragon?" 46:45 Well let's emphasize first and foremost what it means 46:49 to have these lamb-like principles. 46:50 Because it's only as we recognize the principles 46:52 of the Lamb that we could really understand 46:55 and recognize the changes that are going to 46:57 take place in this country. 46:58 In fact, changes that are taking place already, 47:03 right now as we speak. 47:06 Revelation fills our hearts and minds with an understanding 47:10 of what it means to be lamb-like. 47:13 Let's just go back to Revelation chapter 1 47:15 where we have the unfolding or the uncovering of Jesus Christ. 47:18 It really is a revelation of Jesus, to show us 47:21 the heart of God. 47:22 And of course, we know what's 47:23 happened from the very beginning. 47:24 We talked about it last night. 47:26 God was misrepresented. 47:28 A lie was told in the garden of Eden about God. 47:32 And Adam and Eve, well Eve specifically 47:35 and then Adam went along with it, believed the lie. 47:37 "God is withholding something from you. 47:39 God is a withholder, He's lying to you. 47:41 You're not really going to die if you eat the fruit of that 47:43 tree of the knowledge of good and evil." 47:45 And so Jesus came to unmask the lie. 47:49 And lies, well they're... 47:52 ...they're hard to distinguish at times. 47:54 I got a call from Dee yesterday. 47:56 I was supposed to be at the main building at 2 o'clock. 48:00 And she called me at ten minutes after two. 48:05 I was in my apartment, and she said, 48:07 "Uh, James, are you on your way?" 48:10 And I said, "Well, I'm running about ten minutes late." 48:15 And Dee picked up on that and she said, 48:16 "Well that means that you're pulling up right now." 48:20 Because it was ten after two. 48:22 And I'm running about ten minutes late. 48:23 And so I had to do a recorrect there and I said, 48:25 "Actually, I'm running exactly 20 minutes late. 48:30 I'm putting on my suit and I'll be over there in 10 minutes." 48:34 It's just natural for us to stretch the truth 48:36 just a little bit. 48:38 Not to be as accurate. 48:39 And really we don't, well, we don't hold each other to those 48:45 boundaries of being perfectly honestly truthful. 48:50 But God is different. 48:53 God says, "Let your yea be yea and your nay be nay." 49:00 He says you don't even need to swear. 49:02 If your yea is yea and our nay is nay, 49:03 you don't have to say, "Hey, I'm telling you the truth. 49:05 Honestly, you've got to believe me, you've got to believe me, 49:06 you've got to believe me." 49:07 You don't have to do that, because when you say something, 49:10 that something can be trusted. 49:13 When you say it's this way, people know that it's this way. 49:16 But we don't naturally tend to do that. 49:18 We have to try to convince 49:20 people that we're telling the truth. 49:21 We have to swear by everything in heaven and earth, 49:23 because we've gone so far away from just being strictly honest 49:27 in our words, in the way that we communicate. 49:30 But God isn't that way. 49:32 God has come to unveil the truth about who He is, 49:38 and the truth about our situation. 49:41 So Revelation does that. 49:42 And what's really powerful is that while God reveals the 49:45 truth about us, and He does this in Revelation's seven churches, 49:48 for example, He still stand with us. 49:51 Revelation's seven churches reveals this manifestation 49:55 of God's unconditional love for us. 49:58 I mean, you read through these seven churches and 50:00 you find out that we are in a really pitiful situation. 50:04 In fact, if you look at the repeat and enlarge scenario 50:07 and you recognize that the seven churches represents the history 50:11 of God's people from the early apostolic age all the way down 50:14 to the end of time, you can't but come to the conclusion that 50:16 we're living in the Laodicean age. 50:18 And the Laodicean church of all the churches 50:20 is the most pitiful. 50:22 God says, "You actually make Me want to throw up." 50:26 But in the same breath, He says, "As many as I love, 50:30 I rebuke and chasen." 50:31 God loves us. 50:33 And sometimes we wonder why. 50:35 "Why do You love us? We're so despicable. 50:37 We make You want to vomit." 50:38 "Well, I love you because I'm love. 50:42 That's what I do. I love. 50:44 That's who I am. 50:46 It's not based upon who you are, it's based upon who I am. 50:49 I am a God of love. And I am with you. 50:52 I'm not just with Philadelphia, I'm not just with Smyrna. 50:54 I'm with all of the churches." 50:55 God positions Himself among the seven churches. 50:59 Then we move to Revelation chapters 4 and 5 and we see 51:02 Jesus Christ positioned in the midst of the throne. 51:06 The throne is established in heaven and Jesus is there. 51:09 He's the lamb that's been slain in the midst of the throne. 51:13 And the reason why He was slain was because 51:15 He was purposing to take possession of a book 51:19 that John was shown no man in heaven, no man in earth, 51:21 and no man under the earth could take possession of. 51:26 And when He takes possession of this book, 51:28 John is told that the Lamb has prevailed. 51:32 Now that word is an interesting word. 51:34 It means, to overcome. 51:36 It's the same word that is use to the message 51:38 of all the churches, "To him that overcomes...," 51:39 "To him that overcomes...," "To him that overcomes..." 51:41 "Nikao," it means, to get the victory. 51:46 Jesus has gotten the victory. 51:49 Our take home tonight would be this short phrase, 51:53 Jesus has prevailed where we have failed. 51:56 Jesus has prevailed where we have failed. 51:58 That's it. 52:00 And that's what we see as we move through 52:03 the book of Revelation. 52:04 We see an urgent need to overcome; seven churches. 52:08 We recognize the fallenness of our human nature; 52:11 our inabilities and failures. 52:13 But the standard remains, the ideal is there. 52:15 And so Jesus says, "I'm with you. 52:18 And I," Revelation 4 and 5, "am going to prevail 52:21 where you have failed." 52:24 And then Revelation chapter 6 pictures a white horse 52:28 and a rider. 52:29 That white horse represents those who unite 52:32 their lives with Jesus. 52:34 He's the Rider. 52:35 Revelation chapter 19 tells us that. 52:37 And when that white horse and that Rider are united, 52:40 it says they go forth... 52:43 What's the phrase? 52:44 Conquering and to conquer. 52:48 Powerful. 52:49 Because that word is the same word, "nikao." 52:50 It's the same word that is used, "to prevail." 52:52 It's the same word that's used, "to overcome." 52:53 In other words, God is laying out here 52:56 a road map, if you will. 52:57 A road map not just of history, like we've seen in the 53:01 book of Daniel, but also a road map of Christian experience. 53:04 The book of Revelation and the book of Daniel 53:06 parallel each other in this way. 53:09 In Daniel, we have prophetic visions and then we have... 53:16 ...I'll call them Christian stories. 53:19 Christ was still to come back in Daniel's day. 53:22 But practical Christian experience. 53:25 Daniel in the lions' den. 53:26 His three friends in the furnace. 53:28 How were they going to stand? 53:30 What were they going to do? Were they going to trust God? 53:32 In the context of prophecy, you have 53:34 practical Christian experience. 53:35 Same in Revelation. 53:36 In the context of these prophecies, you have 53:38 this picture of Christ. 53:40 He's with us, just like He was with those in the furnace. 53:43 He's with us in the churches. 53:45 When we're confronted with trials and we're confronted with 53:47 a revelation of ourselves, Jesus is there. 53:49 He's not giving up on us. 53:50 He's prevailing where we're failing. 53:52 Connect with Him and you'll go forth conquering and to conquer. 53:55 And as we move through the book of Revelation, 53:57 we have this layer of Christianity, of practical 54:00 Christian experience, that God reveals to us 54:02 in order for us to understand how important the Lamb is 54:07 to each one of us. 54:08 So important are these principles that a 54:11 certain time in history, specifically 1776, 54:14 a whole nation rose up founded upon the principles 54:19 of the Lamb. 54:20 The Lamb-like principles of religious liberty 54:23 and civil liberty. 54:24 The Lamb-like principles that are preserved for us 54:29 by the event of Calvary, that are revealed to us 54:32 all through the Bible. 54:33 The truth has been disclosed and an entire nation 54:36 has taken hold of it. 54:39 And it's going to take some time, it has taken some time, 54:45 for the enemy of souls to subtly and slowly, 54:51 step by step, day by day, month by month, year by year, 54:56 undermine those principles, working against those principles 55:02 until finally that entire nation that was grounded upon, 55:07 founded upon, the principles of religious liberty 55:09 and civil liberty begins to speak like a dragon. 55:15 We are living in that time. 55:19 We are there right now. 55:21 And God not only wants us to recognize our history, 55:24 our prophetic history, history that is true to the records... 55:29 It's not just in the Bible, we can read about it. 55:32 We know, we know, we know just looking back 55:35 in the history books that this is fact, this is truth. 55:38 Now all the details aren't there. 55:40 But He wants us to recognize that this history is leading us 55:43 to a final crisis, a final trial if you will. 55:46 And the only thing that's going to keep us in that trial 55:48 is that we hold to the principles. 55:53 It doesn't matter who compromises, 55:55 doesn't matter who changes, doesn't matter who gives up. 55:57 In Daniel's day he was prepared by Isaiah and Jeremiah. 56:01 He listened to the prophecies and this young man was ready. 56:05 And God wants us to be ready too. 56:07 And we can point at the churches and we can point at other people 56:09 and we can make excuses for what is taking place 56:13 in this country and in this world, but when it comes down 56:17 to the very end we will have not excuse to give to God 56:22 for our actions and our behavior. 56:25 God is calling us to be like Jesus no matter what. 56:27 To stand true to God no matter what. 56:30 And that is going to be the final test for each one of us. 56:32 And I believe Bible prophecy is going to prepare us for that. 56:36 Now what it means is that we will love others 56:39 in spite of the way they treat us. 56:42 The failure that I experienced on that plane 56:47 when my cookies were crumbled was that I didn't open the bag, 56:52 find one that was still whole, 56:53 and offer it to the flight attendant. 56:57 We're not always ready to deny ourselves 57:01 the way Jesus Christ did when He, on the cross said, 57:04 "Father, forgiven them for they know not what they do." 57:07 That is the test we face. 57:09 That is the test before us. 57:10 And the little annoyances that we face today 57:13 are preparing us for that test. 57:15 May each one of us stand faithful in that time 57:18 is my prayer tonight. 57:20 Let's pray together. 57:21 Father, thank You this evening for Your Word, 57:24 for Your prophetic Word, for the picture 57:26 in Daniel and Revelation. 57:27 A picture that guides us in the path to heaven. |
Revised 2014-12-17