Participants: David Shin and Steve Wolhberg
Series Code: BOF
Program Code: BOF000035
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00:15 I'd like to welcome you to "Battles of Faith".
00:16 My name is David Shin and I'm here with Steve Wohlberg, 00:19 who's the Speaker/Director of "White Horse Media", 00:21 based and... in California. 00:23 He's the author of several books and we've been focusing 00:25 through this series of 13 programs on this pointed 00:28 issue of the supernatural from the biblical perspective. 00:32 We've entitled the series "Magic, Ghosts and the Bible". 00:35 Welcome to our program again here, Steve! 00:37 Hello, David! 00:38 It's been a pleasure being with you. 00:39 A privilege. 00:40 Now, to start off here to give a little bit of background 00:41 for the individuals that have not been with us 00:43 up to this point, I've just been fascinated 00:46 in my discussion with you, about the pervasive nature 00:49 of the supernatural entities in society, in the media 00:53 in all sorts of books, in literature, 00:55 and maybe we can start by going to talk a little about 00:58 why we're doing this study here today. 01:00 Right. Well, as you mentioned, we're doing this because 01:03 the influence of the occult and the supernatural, 01:05 has become all pervasive in our society. 01:07 We've talked about in previous programs 01:09 about the explosive growth of witchcraft and Wicca 01:13 among teenagers. High school and college campuses 01:16 across the country are supporting 01:18 pagan student associations, where kids are going to school 01:22 and they're joining these groups and they're learning about 01:24 witchcraft, they're learning about covens, 01:26 they're learning about paganism and magic. 01:28 I remember when I was in high school, 01:30 North Hollywood High School, which was quite a few years ago, 01:33 we talked about drugs, we knew about gangs 01:37 and various things that were going on in our campus, 01:39 but we never talked about witchcraft or witches 01:41 or casting spells or mixing potions or practicing magic. 01:44 That was totally foreign to us, but not today. 01:47 If you go on to just about any high school campus 01:49 and ask, just pick a student and say: "Have you heard of" 01:53 "Wicca? Do you have any friends that are practicing Wicca?" 01:56 You'll be surprised. There are just lots and lots. 02:00 You'll see the pentacle, the five pointed star 02:02 with the circle around it. 02:03 So, it's here, it's not going away and what we've done 02:08 so far in this series dealing with magic, 02:10 as we talked about the Book of Exodus, 02:12 how in the time of Moses, there was a battle 02:14 between God and the magicians, the Pharaoh. 02:16 We've talked about it in the Book of Acts, 02:18 as the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples 02:20 and the gospel was spreading throughout the Roman world 02:24 that Peter ran into Simon, the sorcerer and Paul 02:28 ran into Elymas, the sorcerer and in Ephesus they burned 02:31 their magic books and so it was big in the Book of Acts. 02:34 Now, we're going to go in the Book of Revelation 02:36 and we're going to show how it's not just described 02:40 as happening in our world, but, David, it's part 02:43 of Bible prophecy and that's going to be our focus today. 02:46 So, it's gone to the Book of Exodus, we've seen Moses 02:49 and the magicians, we've seen the first century church, 02:52 how the Holy Spirit was driving all the way through this process 02:54 and we go to the last book of the Bible, 02:56 the Book of the Apocalypse and this deals with the end 02:59 of time, where I believe we're living right now today 03:02 and we're seeing this element of the supernatural 03:05 manifestations as well, in the Book of Revelation. 03:07 That's exactly right. Let's go to Revelation, chapter 17. 03:11 Revelation, chapter 17 describes John being taken 03:16 in a vision through the Holy Spirit and he sees 03:19 a mysterious woman. Revelation, 17:3 says: 03:23 [text on the screen] 03:32 Verse 4 describes the dress of the woman. 03:34 It says that she has a golden cup in her hand, 03:36 full of abominations, which will come to a little bit. 03:39 And verse 5 says: 03:41 [text on the screen] 03:50 Many Christians have read this prophecy, 03:53 many people have read this and they wonder what is 03:56 Babylon, where is Babylon and there is a lot 03:59 to the topic and as we'll show in a minute, 04:03 occultism is definitely in many ways, we can say, 04:07 it's an unseen influence, that is very much apart 04:11 of what the Book of Revelation refers to it's Babylon. 04:14 So this woman is sitting on a beast that 04:18 has seven heads, ten horns, she's decked out, 04:21 she has purple and scarlet in her head, 04:24 now these, just... the historical context 04:27 for our viewing audience here, this is not a literal entity 04:30 because you can't go down to your local zoo and see 04:32 a beast with seven heads and ten horns, obviously. 04:34 No. That's correct. This is obviously a symbol. 04:37 This woman is a symbol and she is referred to 04:40 as a mystery woman and she is called "Babylon". 04:43 Babylon is the name of the woman in Revelation 17. 04:48 She's also mentioned in chapter 18. 04:50 In many different places of the Book of Revelation 04:53 Babylon is mentioned. 04:54 Now it's significant and this is where I want to go with this. 04:57 that when you read the Bible, there was a Babylon 05:00 in the Old Testament, that really forms the rude system 05:04 of Babylon in the Book of Revelation. 05:06 Almost all of Revelation is rooted somewhere else 05:10 in the Bible. 05:11 The apocalyptic Babylon is rooted in ancient Babylon 05:16 and if you go back to ancient Babylon and read about her 05:19 about this city, this nation, this country, this woman, 05:23 you'll find that she was permeated with occultism. 05:28 Go to Daniel, chapter 2 and take a look at this. 05:31 Daniel, chapter 2, which will come back to again 05:34 in another program, when we deal with the dream 05:37 of king Nebuchadnezzar and how the sorcerers, 05:40 and the astrologers and the magicians, 05:43 they were clueless about the interpretation of that dream. 05:47 In Daniel, chapter 2, verse 2, it talks about... 05:52 Verse 1 talks about the king of Babylon dreaming a dream 05:54 and then he wakes up and he can't figure out his dream 05:56 - Nebuchadnezzar. - Right, Nebuchadnezzar. 05:58 And then in verse 2 it says: 06:00 [text on the screen] 06:08 Now this is the king of Babylon and within the king's inner 06:12 circle of advisers are magicians, astrologers 06:15 and sorcerers. And when we read in the Book of Revelation 06:18 that there is another woman called "Babylon", 06:20 it doesn't make sense that if ancient Babylon was full 06:24 of magic and astrology and sorcery that the Babylon 06:27 in the book of Revelation, modern Babylon, 06:29 mystery Babylon, that eventually deceives the whole world 06:32 will also have occultism as part of her deceptive snares. 06:38 It doesn't make that perfect sense. 06:39 Sure. 06:41 That's the root system. 06:42 That's the root of the Revelation's prophecy. 06:44 - In Daniel, chapter 2. - That's right. 06:45 That's a part of it. There's obviously much more than that. 06:48 I see. So, in the mystical Babylon, as people say 06:52 in Revelation, there is ties to literal Babylon, 06:55 and one of those ties in Daniel, chapter 2 06:57 is that within the inner sanctum of these individuals, 07:00 like the king of Babylon, the first person that he went 07:02 to the council was the magicians, the sorcerers. 07:05 That's right. It's just like in Egypt, we read about it 07:06 in the book of Exodus. 07:08 Pharaoh's wise men included magicians who counteracted 07:11 the work of Moses. In the Book of Daniel, 07:13 Nebuchadnezzar's wise men were the magicians. 07:16 And then we go to the Book of Revelation. 07:18 Revelation warns about a global Babylon 07:20 that is going to be deceiving the world. 07:22 Now, here's another passage. Go to Isaiah, 47:9. 07:28 Isaiah, 47:9. 07:31 This is talking about the fall of ancient Babylon. 07:34 and what was going to come upon this ancient city 07:37 because of her sins. Verse 9 says: 07:40 [text on the screen] 07:47 And here's the reason. 07:48 [text on the screen] 07:56 So again, it says that Babylon would be... 07:59 she would fall, she would be eaten away from the inside, 08:02 because of her sorcerers and her sorceries 08:05 and her enchantments. So when we read in Revelation 08:08 about another woman Babylon, it just makes sense. 08:11 - Same characteristics. - That's right. 08:13 And a lot of people just haven't made the connection. 08:17 But as we see the growth of witchcraft, 08:20 the growth of the occult, the growth of paganism, 08:22 the growth of people that are getting into magic 08:24 today, we need to look at what's happening in our society 08:28 through the eyes of Revelation and see that this revival 08:32 of ancient occultism is really part of prophecy 08:36 and it's warned about in the Book of Revelation. 08:39 That's part of what we're seeing. 08:41 I see. It says in Revelation chapter 18, I noticed, 08:44 that it says that she's full of this key word, "abominations". 08:48 Now, how's does the Bible define abominations? 08:52 Good point. Thank you for asking. 08:54 Alright, let's go back again to the Old Testament 08:56 and let's look at Deuteronomy, chapter 18. 08:57 Deuteronomy, 18. Let me also mention that 09:01 if you do some research, some homework 09:04 about modern occultism, you can definitely trace 09:09 a lot of the roots, a lot of the rituals, 09:12 a lot of the practices, a lot of the activities 09:14 that are going on, you can trace them 09:16 back to literal Babylon. 09:17 There is books that have been written about this, 09:19 showing the connection between Babylon and sorcery, 09:23 Babylon and magic and again this is what prophecy 09:26 is predicting. Now, if you go back to Deuteronomy, 18 09:32 we read in Revelation, 17 that this woman has 09:35 a golden cup and inside that cup are abominations. 09:39 We also read in chapter 17, verse 5. It says that 09:42 upon her forehead was the name written 09:44 "Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots" 09:46 "and abominations of the earth". 09:48 That word, "abomination" is used many times. 09:51 Now let's go back to Deuteronomy, 18. 09:53 Let's look at that word and let's define what God 09:56 says are abominations in verse 9. 09:59 Deuteronomy 18:9. 10:01 [text on the screen] 10:02 And this was God's warning to the people of Israel 10:04 right before they got into the land, 10:06 into the promised land. He said: 10:08 [text on the screen] 10:14 That's the key word, "abomination" 10:15 That's right. Here it is and God said when 10:16 you get there don't learn to do what they're doing. 10:20 Now, what were they doing? Verse 10 says 10:22 [text on the screen] 10:27 That was a pagan practice that was a terrible thing. 10:30 They would take their kids and they would put them 10:33 through fire and if they survived, they thought 10:36 this was a sign of the favor of the gods and if they got 10:39 burned up, well, that was an offering to the gods. 10:42 I can't imagine taking my son, putting him in fire. 10:45 I would never do that. But they did it and God said 10:48 "Don't do it!". 10:49 This is a terrible thing, it's an abomination. 10:51 And then He goes on and He lists also "or someone" 10:54 "who uses divination." This is the practice of 10:57 trying to divine the future and see the future. 11:00 A lot of people are doing this today. 11:01 And then it says "or an observer of times", 11:04 that's astrology as you're walking through a Wal-Mart. 11:07 As you're going to the cash register, a lot of times 11:10 you'll have horoscope books right there, yahoo, 11:13 go on the Internet, I mean it's just horoscope astrology, 11:19 people looking at the stars, trying to figure out 11:20 their futures. That was one of the things that God 11:23 said was an abomination in Deuteronomy 18. 11:26 "An observer of time", it says, "or an enchanter or a witch." 11:32 someone who practices witchcraft. 11:34 Verse 11 says 11:36 [text on the screen] 11:39 We'll talk more about that. Familiar spirits are spirits 11:41 that are connected to mediums, spirits that many times look 11:45 familiar, look like someone that's died, talk familiar, 11:48 act familiar, no things that apparently only a dead person 11:52 can know, but they're really not the dead. 11:54 They are familiar spirits which really means 11:57 they are demons in disguise. And then it says "or a wizard", 12:01 like Harry Potter. Harry is a wizard. 12:04 It's a young teenage wizard boy who goes to 12:08 "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry". 12:10 We've got a whole program we're going to be talking 12:11 about that, but here in this passage, the Bible says 12:15 that being a wizard and a witch, these things are things 12:18 that God does not want his people to be involved in. 12:21 As you keep reading, it says "or an necromancer", 12:25 which means someone who talks to the dead, 12:27 Verse 12 says 12:28 [text on the screen] 12:38 Verse 13 says: "You shall be perfect with the Lord your God." 12:42 And so, this is probably the most comprehensive passage 12:46 anywhere in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, 12:49 that lists what we could call "occult practices", 12:52 that God says "Stay away from them! Don't learn them!" 12:56 "When you get into the land", when he told the Israelites 12:58 before they got into the promised land, 12:59 He said "stay away from them, because these things," 13:02 "they're dangerous." Now, God warns us about 13:05 these things, not because He's mean or harsh or cruel 13:10 or just an inherently intolerant being up in the sky, 13:16 it's because He sees behind the scenes and He knows 13:19 that these things are dangerous. 13:21 They're dangerous, there's no way around it, 13:24 they are gateways to the supernatural world 13:27 and in that supernatural world there are evil spirits, 13:30 there are evil angels, there are demons who impersonate 13:33 the dead, who impersonate gods and goddesses, 13:37 and who are out there, trying to dupe and deceive 13:40 and destroy human beings. And because God is 13:43 a heavenly lover, because He cares about us, 13:46 just like I care for my wife and I care for my son, 13:49 and we get married, David, you'll have the same experience. 13:51 We are talking about that at lunch. 13:54 - Sure. - One of these days... 13:55 - Nor willing. - That's right. 13:56 One of these days, your day will come and when you 13:58 have a family, you're going to love your family 14:01 and you're going to want what's best for them. 14:03 And God loves his people, He loves you, He loves me 14:06 and that's why He tells us in this passage 14:08 "Stay away from these things!" They are abominations. 14:12 If you look up the word "abomination" 14:14 in a dictionary, a Bible dictionary or a Webster's 14:17 dictionary, you'll read things like these are 14:19 "things that are detestable, that are abhorrent," 14:22 "that are utterly wicked" and that we should just 14:26 absolutely, 100%, categorically, unquestionably, 14:30 stay away from. I think it's very significant. 14:33 that this list tells us what these abominations are. 14:37 And then, we you go to Revelation, it tells us 14:40 that this woman, Babylon, this mystery woman 14:42 has a cup full of abominations and she's also called 14:46 "the mother of harlots, the abominations of the earth". 14:49 That's also interesting when it says "of the earth". 14:52 A lot of the pagan religions today, they're earth-centered. 14:57 They try to connect with the earth, they try to connect 15:01 with the trees and the rocks and the moon, 15:03 they have a practice called "drawing down the moon", 15:05 in witchcraft, where they try to connect with the energies 15:08 of the moon. They are earth-centered religions. 15:11 and that religion goes all the way back into 15:14 ancient Bible days. And God said "Don't do it," 15:18 "because the rock isn't your maker," 15:21 "the tree didn't make you." There is no inherent power 15:25 in the sun or the moon, the power is in the maker 15:28 of heaven and earth. 15:29 And God is very distinct from his creation in the Bible. 15:32 A lot of these religions, they're earth-centered. 15:35 I was on a radio show once and a woman called in 15:38 and she said "I'm a Wiccan and you don't understand us." 15:41 She said "We don't believe in the Devil, we don't worship 15:43 the Devil". And I told her "I know that." 15:45 I've done enough of my homework to know that witches 15:47 don't even believe in Satan. They think that Satan 15:50 is just a Christian concept. And then she said 15:52 "I'm just a tree-hugger." That was her expression. 15:55 - "I'm just a tree-hugger." - Living on the earth. 15:56 Right. I love the earth and I think it's important for us 16:01 to respect the earth and to take care of it, but we need 16:05 to realize that the earth comes from God, 16:06 the earth is not God. A friend of mine had 16:09 a poster in his house. I saw one time and it had 16:12 a picture, a beautiful picture with sunset. 16:13 And the word said "Here are two fundamental facts" 16:17 "of human enlightenment. Number 1, there is a God" 16:20 "Number 2, you are not Him." You are not that God. 16:23 That's one of the errors of the occult, the errors 16:28 of witchcraft, the errors of paganism, 16:30 the errors of the broadened new age movement 16:33 is that they worship as Romans 1:27 says 16:36 "the creature instead of the creator". 16:40 That's right and when we tie in the prophecy, 16:42 again, Revelation 17 warns about Babylon and she's 16:48 full of abominations and here are the abominations. 16:52 I'm sure there is other abominations, but here are 16:55 a lot of them: "divination", "witchcraft", "familiar spirits" 16:58 practicing, being a wizard, this kind of things. 17:03 And these are the things that are happening all around us. 17:06 I just find it fascinating that in the Book of Revelation 17:09 which is dealing with us right before the second 17:13 coming of Jesus, it seems like this a warning to us, 17:15 telling us "listen, there is going to a world wide" 17:18 "global infatuation with sorcery, with witchcraft." 17:22 And my question is what is the agenda behind this. 17:26 What is driving the spirits to get this into society. 17:31 That's right. We have a whole meeting on that coming up. 17:34 It's part of the series on "Magic and Ghosts and the Bible" 17:37 Revelation 16:14 talks about the spirits of devils, 17:41 that are working behind the scenes, 17:44 that are moving the planet toward the battle of Armageddon. 17:47 Now, let's look up a few more verses. 17:49 Our time is going fast. Revelation 18:23. 17:52 18:23 is also talking about this woman, Babylon. 17:57 and it reveals that she's a magical woman, 18:01 you might say she's a sorceress. 18:03 She's not just a harlot, but she's a sorceress. 18:06 In Revelation 18:23, it says "by your sorceries," 18:11 "were all the nations deceived." Right, through her sorceries, 18:16 through her magic, through her occultism. 18:18 So again Revelation 17, we have a woman named Babylon. 18:22 You go back to ancient Babylon, Daniel 2, Isaiah 47:9, 18:26 it was full of occultism. Revelation 17 talks about 18:30 a woman with a golden cup full of abominations. 18:32 You go back to Deuteronomy 18, it lists these abominations, 18:36 These are occult abominations, witchcraft and sorcery 18:39 and divination and astrology and this kind of things. 18:43 You go back to Revelation, it says that through 18:45 her sorceries, through her magic she deceives all nations. 18:49 So there is an occult connection. That's my point. 18:54 In Bible prophecy warning that this is going to be 18:57 affecting how many people? It says 18:59 "by your sorceries were all the nations deceived". 19:02 Now, this prophecy has many faces. 19:05 There's many deception to Babylon. 19:07 Babylon is multifaceted combination of false religion, 19:11 but occultism is definitely part of that combination. 19:17 I can prove this easily. I think I've already done it. 19:20 But let's take a look at a couple more verses. 19:23 Let's go to Revelation 21 and look at verse 8. 19:26 This is a solemn verse, especially in the light 19:31 of what's happening around us, you know. 19:32 I just think about the parents. I think about the kids. 19:34 I got an email recently from a woman that said that 19:36 she's in northern California, she said that "the area that" 19:40 "I live in, is full of Wicca and paganism." 19:43 And she said the influence of TV programs 19:45 dealing with the occult, she said, children's programming 19:49 it's all around us and it's been guiling our kids 19:51 and she said "someone needs to sound the warning". 19:54 And that's what we're trying to do, 19:56 is sound the warning from the Bible. 19:58 Now, take a look at this. Revelation 21:8. 20:01 This is talking about the kinds of people that eventually 20:04 end up in the lake of fire. The Scripture says 20:07 [text on the screen] 20:10 the sexually immoral and then what's that next group? 20:14 - It is the sorcerers. - And the sorcerers, right. 20:17 [text on the screen] 20:25 - That's pretty solemn. - It is. 20:26 - It is a very solemn text. - Very solemn. 20:27 When I look at this and I read this verse, 20:29 I read what it says about the future and about the lake 20:32 of fire, I certain believe there will be a real lake 20:35 of fire. That's what the Bible says 20:36 and it says that sorcerers, that's one of the categories 20:39 of real people that end up in that fire. 20:42 And what's happening today is sorcery is being made up 20:46 to be fun. It's being made up to be cool, exciting, safe, 20:51 friendly, earth-centered natural, wholesome, 20:55 you can practice white magic, you can cast spells, 20:58 you can improve your life, you can improve 21:00 your love life, your finances, your relationships 21:03 There's a whole long list of spells that are available 21:06 right there and these things, according to my Bible, 21:09 are gateways to the demonic. 21:12 It's not the power of nature that people are taping into. 21:15 That's what they think, but that's an illusion, David, 21:18 it's an illusion, it's really the powers of the enemy. 21:22 Revelation 16:14 again says that these are the spirits 21:26 of devils that work miracles. There is real power 21:29 in the supernatural world, in occultism 21:32 and Revelation warns us that those that practice these things 21:35 are heading toward the lake of fire. 21:37 Because it's definitely not presented this way 21:39 It's presented like you said as something that is just... 21:41 they call it "white magic" and it's something that is not dark 21:45 and it's friendly, it's something that since 21:48 your people get involved with, but the Bible is very clear 21:51 it says these individuals will experience what we call 21:54 "the second death" and that's is a solemn warning 21:56 in the Book of Revelation. 21:57 Here's another statement from an article that 22:00 appeared in "World Magazine" called "Season of the witch". 22:02 It said "Followers of Wicca are working hard to erase" 22:05 "negative stereotypes of witches and are finding" 22:08 "extraordinary success." I'm not saying these people 22:11 are evil people. Many of them are just searching for 22:14 spiritual power, for guidance and it's sad, but sometimes 22:17 they haven't found it in the Christian church, 22:18 so they're going off to alternative religions, 22:21 looking for something that they haven't found 22:23 within Christianity. And that's an indictment against 22:28 the church. The church needs the power of God, 22:29 the church needs the Holy Spirit, the church needs 22:31 something to give to these people who are searching 22:34 for power. And what we have to give them is Jesus, 22:37 and Bible truth and something solid and something safe, 22:40 something that won't hurt them and that won't suck them 22:43 into the darkness. Here's one more passage, David, 22:46 in Revelation 22, verses 14 and 15 talk about those 22:52 that go in the city and those that are left out of the city. 22:55 The city is New Jerusalem. 22:57 The city is New Jerusalem, right. 22:58 Revelation describes a glorious beautiful city, 23:01 the New Jerusalem, which is the home of all God's people. 23:04 who overcome through the blood of the lamb 23:06 and who make it into the kingdom. 23:08 And verse 15 says outside the city are dogs, 23:12 which doesn't refer to your pet, it's talking about the kind 23:15 of people, the kind of person that has no interest 23:17 in Bible truth. Dogs and then it says "sorcerers". 23:21 "and whoremongers and murderers and idolaters and whoever" 23:24 "loves and makes a lie." So again just like in Revelation 23:28 22:8, sorcerers are listed as a category of people 23:32 in the Bible prophecy that end up in the lake of fire. 23:36 And I'm just thoroughly convinced from all of 23:38 my research in God's word and history and in various books 23:41 that we are seeing a revival of Babylonian occultism 23:46 all around us, a Renaissance a revival 23:48 and it is extremely dangerous. It looks friendly, it looks fun, 23:53 it looks cool, magic looks exciting, 23:55 witches have a new face and they're representing 23:59 their religion as something positive and they believe that 24:02 and they're sincere about that. 24:03 The problem isn't their sincerity. The problem is 24:07 the powers of evil working behind the scenes 24:10 to deceive them and to ultimately bring them into 24:14 the lake of fire. That is the solemn reality of Bible 24:18 prophecy and what we're seeing around us. 24:20 So, as a recap, we've seen that mystic Babylon 24:23 has ties to ancient Babylon and one of those ties 24:26 is the sorcery and the Bible explicitly says in the Book 24:29 of Deuteronomy that it is full of abominations, 24:32 which one of it is witchcraft and sorcery and there is 24:35 a solemn warning in the Book of Revelation saying that 24:37 to anyone that practices sorcery, it is not an innocuous 24:41 activity, it is something God takes very seriously. 24:44 Now, I just have a question. What about for those individuals 24:46 that perhaps have dabbled in the occult, in witchcraft, 24:52 what kind of hope does the Bible present for them? 24:55 Are they unequivocally, universally lost because 24:57 they've been engaged in these activities? 24:59 No. Perfect question. Not only does Revelation 22 25:02 list these groups that are going into the lake of fire, 25:05 but it finishes with an appeal in chapter 22, verse 17, 25:09 right after that. The Bible says: 25:11 "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come." 25:13 "And let him who hears these things, let him come" 25:17 "And let him who is at thirst, let him come." 25:19 "And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." 25:24 The water of life is God's water, it's the water of 25:26 the Holy Spirit, it's the water of truth and ultimately 25:29 it's the water of the good news of the grace and the love 25:32 and the mercy and the power of Jesus Christ. 25:34 At the very end of the Bible, the last verse, verse 21 25:38 says "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." 25:43 "Amen." And so God, he points out the dangers of the woman, 25:48 the false woman and her abominations and her sorceries 25:51 and her deceptions and there is a lot of deceptions, 25:54 we're just dealing with a sliver, but it's a big sliver 25:57 and then, as an alternative, God says "Come to me!" 26:00 The Holy Spirits says "Come to me!" 26:02 Jesus says "whoever will", "If you're willing," 26:04 "I want to offer you the water of life freely" 26:08 "I want to offer you the grace of God, the forgiveness" 26:11 "of God, the love of God, the mercy of God." 26:14 And all of that really is centered in one place, 26:17 which is in the cross, the cross of Jesus Christ, 26:20 who stretched down his hands, was lifted up on a cross, 26:23 was nailed to a tree, because of incredible infinite 26:28 incomprehensible love for you and me. 26:31 And all the witchcraft and sorcery and abominations 26:34 of this world, they all went into his head, 26:37 they went into his heart, they went into his soul, 26:39 and it was willing to pay the full price. 26:41 So, if you're into these things, God wants to get you out. 26:44 They're abominations. If you're a parent, 26:46 I want to encourage you and warn you: 26:49 Parents, watch your kids! Don't let them get sucked in 26:52 to these things! Be careful of what's in Hollywood! 26:54 Be careful of these glowing representations 26:57 of a friendly religion that they can have spiritual power 27:02 by practicing magic. It's a delusion, it's a deception. 27:06 It's part of Babylon. It's predicted in Revelation. 27:08 God says "Don't do it!. It's an abomination." 27:11 "Come out of it! Don't go down with it!" 27:13 "Don't end up in the lake of fire!" 27:14 End up in the New Jerusalem, which is a much better place 27:18 than the lake of fire. It's a perfect place 27:20 and God wants you to be there. And He wants me to be there. 27:23 Just as 2+2=4 and I'm not intolerant for saying that 27:28 there is only one answer, 2+2=4. That's it. 27:31 So what we've told you is right from the Bible. 27:34 It's the truth and may God help us to understand it 27:37 and to respond to its message and to the love of Jesus Christ. 27:42 Well, thank you very much for sharing with us, Steve. 27:45 We've looked at the Book of Revelation today, 27:47 how mystic Babylon has ties to ancient Babylon, 27:50 and how in the last days there is going to be 27:52 a deception specifically dealing with the supernatural. 27:56 I'd like to invite you to not want to miss one 27:59 in this series of 13 that will be delving into. 28:02 Steve will be sharing from the Bible and unmasking 28:04 some of these deceptions that we... 28:07 I'd like to thank you for joining us today 28:08 and join us next time for another edition. |
Revised 2014-12-17