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Series Code: FE
Program Code: FE000004S
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00:04 [dramatic music] 00:14 [dramatic music continues] 00:24 [dramatic music continues] 00:35 - The end of the 1700s was a remarkably tumultuous time. 00:40 The ideas that have been fomenting 00:41 for more than a hundred years were starting to take root. 00:46 The French, eager to form a republic 00:48 with a written constitution launched a bloody revolution 00:52 that ended with not just a rejection of monarchy, 00:55 but also the rejection of the Christian faith. 00:59 Members of the clergy were exiled by the tens of thousands 01:02 and many were actually put to death. 01:05 Churches were seized and converted into temples of reason, 01:08 including Notre Dame in Paris. 01:10 Women were dressed as pagan goddesses 01:13 and paraded through the streets as the goddess of reason. 01:18 It was a godless revolution and it ended very badly, 01:28 but across the sea in the New World, 01:30 another revolution had taken place 01:32 and it had a completely different flavor. 01:34 In fact, it was anything but godless. 01:37 The founders of the American Republic felt very strongly 01:40 that the birth of this nation had been guided by God himself 01:44 and looking back at everything that happened, 01:46 it's very easy to see why someone might think that. 01:49 Just look at the long string of historical events 01:52 that all had to fall into place at exactly the right time. 01:59 We began this study with the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin 02:02 and the fall of Constantinople to the Turks. 02:06 That prompted Christopher Columbus 02:08 to examine Bible prophecy 02:10 and that gave him the overwhelming sense 02:13 that God was sending him westward over the ocean 02:16 to hasten the coming of Christ. 02:18 Then at about the same time, 02:20 the printing press was invented, 02:22 which spurred the wide distribution 02:24 of new ideas all across Europe. 02:27 The Bible became available in the common language 02:29 of the people which drove thousands 02:31 to study the scriptures for themselves. 02:35 That in turn drove English dissenters 02:37 to flee to the Netherlands where they came in contact 02:40 with Jews who were fleeing the inquisition 02:43 and that opened up a whole new realm of political thought, 02:48 the notion that God had given the Israelites 02:51 an ideal form of government. 02:54 Then a mysterious wind suddenly drives the Mayflower 02:57 off course to a place 02:58 where the pilgrims would not be impeded 03:01 by the colonial governments of the old world 03:04 or be influenced by other settlers. 03:08 It all seems too convenient 03:11 and when the Continental Army took up arms 03:13 against the British in the 1770s, 03:15 somehow they managed to defeat the most feared, 03:18 most disciplined military force in the world 03:21 against all conceivable odds. 03:24 Consider the words of George Washington at his inauguration 03:26 on April 30th, 1789. 03:29 Looking back on everything that had happened, 03:32 he recognized that none of it was a coincidence. 03:37 - [George] No people can be bound to acknowledge 03:40 and adore the invisible hand 03:42 by which conducts the affairs of men 03:44 more than those of the United States. 03:49 Every step by which they have advanced to the character 03:52 of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished 03:55 by some token of providential agency. 04:00 - [Shawn] At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, 04:03 Benjamin Franklin expressed the same sense of awe. 04:08 - [Benjamin] I have lived, sir, a long time 04:11 and the longer I live, 04:13 the more convincing proofs I see of this truth 04:17 that God governs in the affairs of men 04:22 and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground 04:24 without his notice, 04:26 is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? 04:34 - Every time George Washington's 04:36 Continental Army was cornered, 04:38 doomed to failure in the face 04:39 of much more powerful red coats, 04:42 something would always happen 04:43 to turn the tide in their favor. 04:45 For example, consider what happened in Boston, 04:48 March of 1776. 04:53 [dramatic music] 05:03 [dramatic music continues] 05:14 Both Washington and the British 05:16 knew the strategic importance of Dorchester Heights 05:19 because from this position, you could clearly see 05:22 and possibly control the city and outer harbor. 05:26 Both sides considered 05:27 taking control of this strategic location, 05:30 but neither had done so until Washington hatched a plan. 05:35 On the night of March four, 05:36 Brigadier General John Thomas with 2000 of his men 05:39 quietly marched to the top of Dorchester Heights 05:42 undercover of darkness. 05:44 Without attracting any attention, 05:46 they managed to move prefabricated fortifications 05:50 and cannons into place above the city. 05:53 Unbelievably by four in the morning, 05:56 they had built a defensive position. 05:59 When the British woke up the next morning, 06:00 they were horrified to see Washington's men 06:03 commanding the hills above the city. 06:06 As one soldier told a London newspaper. 06:11 - [Soldier] This morning at daybreak, 06:13 we discovered two red redoubts 06:14 on the hills of Dorchester Point 06:16 and two smaller works on their flanks. 06:20 They were all raised during the night with an expedition 06:22 equal to that of the genie 06:24 belonging to Aladdin's wonderful lamp. 06:27 From these hills, they command the whole town 06:30 so that we must drive them from their post 06:33 or desert the place. 06:37 - They knew they had no choice but to react, 06:40 so General William Howe gathered thousands of his men 06:43 to retake the heights 06:44 and his plan was to do it in darkness 06:47 like Washington had done. 06:49 There was no question they could easily drive the Americans 06:51 from this new position, 06:53 but that night, the night of March five, 06:55 clear weather suddenly gave rise to a horrible storm. 06:59 One of Washington's men 07:00 actually described it as a hurricane. 07:03 In the harbor, the winds became fierce enough 07:05 to pull up the anchors of ships 07:07 and two of them were blown ashore, 07:09 making it impossible to deliver troops by a boat. 07:13 Freezing rain and sleet started to coat the hill with ice, 07:16 making it impossible for General Howe's men 07:19 to reach the fortifications. 07:21 Now the Americans had all the time in the world 07:24 to strengthen their new position and by the next day, 07:27 General Howe was convinced 07:29 that taking the heights was futile. 07:35 Now, if that was the only story we had, 07:38 you might chalk it up to coincidence, 07:40 but time and time again, something would happen. 07:43 The weather would change or something else 07:45 to bring victory to the ragtag patriots, 07:48 who by all rights should have lost. 07:51 A deep fog that settled on Manhattan, 07:53 making it possible for George Washington 07:55 to suddenly evacuate 9,000 men without being detected 07:59 or a servant 08:01 determined to betray the American general suddenly arrested 08:04 by British mercenaries who didn't speak English 08:07 so that his message was never delivered. 08:10 There was no reason for the colonies to win 08:14 and yet they did 08:16 and the people who were there became convinced 08:19 that God had won the republic for them 08:21 and they knew the ideas that gave birth to the nation 08:25 had also come from God. 08:28 Now it's true. 08:29 They had also consulted the great writings of the past 08:32 and had studied a number of other republics, 08:35 but the ideas that worked, 08:37 the ideas that stuck were the ideas they got from the Bible. 08:42 Noah Webster, his history of America wrote this. 08:48 - [Noah] The brief exposition 08:49 of the Constitution of the United States 08:52 will unfold to young persons the principles 08:55 of Republican government, 08:57 and it is the sincere desire of the writer that our citizens 09:02 should early understand that the genuine source 09:05 of correct Republican principles is the Bible. 09:09 [dramatic music] 09:22 - It wasn't just the Revolutionary War 09:24 that seemed miraculous to these folks. 09:26 The constitutional convention here in Philadelphia 09:29 was another miracle, 09:30 pulling together the aspirations of 13 colonies 09:34 into a single vision. 09:36 As hot as the weather was 09:38 when the delegates gathered here in Independence Hall, 09:40 the tempers of the men gathered inside 09:43 was often even hotter. 09:45 Half a year later, in Federalist Paper 37, 09:48 James Madison expressed his shock 09:51 that it had actually all come together. 09:56 - [James] The real wonder is that so many difficulties 09:59 should have been surmounted and surmounted 10:02 with an unanimity almost as unprecedented 10:04 as it must have been unexpected. 10:07 It is impossible for any man of candor 10:10 to reflect on this circumstance 10:12 without partaking of the astonishment. 10:15 It is impossible for the man of pious reflection 10:18 not to receive in it a finger of that almighty hand, 10:21 which has been so frequently and signaling extended 10:25 to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution. 10:33 - So just how hot was the debate? 10:36 Well, hot enough that it almost all fell apart. 10:40 One of the most contentious issues 10:41 had to do with state representation at the federal level. 10:45 They couldn't decide. 10:46 Would each state get an equal number of delegates 10:49 or would it be based on population? 10:52 That debate almost scuttled the whole exercise, 10:55 but then on June 28th, 10:57 Ben Franklin suddenly stood up 10:59 and quoting the Bible by memory 11:00 something like 10 times in a few minutes, 11:03 he made an impassioned plea to the chair, George Washington, 11:07 that they stop and appeal to God to help them. 11:10 [dramatic music] 11:16 - [Ben] In the situation of this assembly 11:19 groping as it were in the dark, 11:21 to find political truth and scarce able to distinguish it 11:25 when presented to us, how has it happened, sir, 11:28 that we have not here the two once thought of 11:30 humbly applying to the father of lights 11:33 to illuminate our understandings. 11:37 In the beginning of the contest with Britain, 11:40 when we were sensible of danger, 11:43 we had daily prayers in this room for the divine protection. 11:49 Our prayers so were heard and they were graciously answered. 11:53 All of us who are engaged in the struggle must have observed 11:57 frequent instances of a super intending providence 12:01 in our favor. 12:03 To that kind providence, 12:05 we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace 12:09 on the means of establishing our future national felicity 12:14 and have we now forgotten a powerful friend 12:18 or do we now imagine that we no longer need its assistance. 12:24 I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, 12:28 the more convincing proofs I see of this truth 12:32 that God governs in the affairs of men. 12:39 - The men who met that summer in Independence Hall 12:41 were students of the Bible and they had a keen sense 12:45 that God had brought them to this point 12:47 to the birth of a new republic 12:49 where people could live free 12:50 and worship God however they saw fit or for that matter, 12:54 not worship God at all. 12:57 There would be no king running the church 12:59 and there would be no state religion 13:00 compelling anyone to worship against conscience. 13:04 Not that all of the founding fathers 13:06 were what you and I might consider born again, 13:08 Bible believing Christians, 13:10 at least in the modern sense. 13:12 Some of them were skeptical 13:14 that all of the Bible was inspired, 13:17 but even those skeptics had to admit something had happened, 13:20 something special in the birth of America. 13:24 There was just no other way to explain it. 13:25 Someone had obviously intervened. 13:28 Even Thomas Payne, the notorious critic of the Bible, 13:31 still recognized its superior moral principles, 13:35 even appealing to the story of Israel's request for a king 13:39 to convince people that they should reject the idea 13:42 of a monarchy. 13:45 - [Thomas] As the exalting one man so greatly above the rest 13:49 cannot be justified on the equal rights of nature, 13:52 so neither can it be defended on the authority of scripture 13:57 for the will of the Almighty as declared by Gideon 14:00 and the prophet Samuel 14:02 expressly disapproves of government by kings. 14:07 - What was the difference between the French Revolution 14:10 and its American counterpart? 14:11 Well, to a large extent it was the Bible. 14:15 The fact is that the American people 14:16 were remarkably literate 14:18 compared to the European counterparts 14:20 and it was a literacy 14:22 that essentially grew out of their love for the scriptures. 14:25 The great French observer and fan of American democracy, 14:28 Alexis de Tocqueville, wrote that-- 14:30 - [Alexis] Even the most humble American wears the dress 14:33 and he speaks a language of cities. 14:37 He's acquainted with the past, curious of the future, 14:40 and ready for argument upon the present. 14:43 He is in short, 14:44 a highly civilized being who consents for a time 14:48 to inhabit the backwoods 14:50 and who penetrates into the wilds of the New World 14:53 with the Bible, an ax, and a file of newspapers. 14:58 - This was the secret of America's greatness. 15:01 She was a free nation built on Christian principles, 15:05 not a theocracy like the old world 15:07 or even some of the failed experiments in New England, 15:10 but a nation that was modeled on the concept 15:12 of the Hebrew Republic 15:14 where men and women would be directly answerable 15:16 to God himself. 15:18 You didn't have to address your prayers 15:19 through a state church 15:21 and you didn't have to worship the way the king demanded 15:24 because you were free to enter into a relationship with God 15:28 the way you believed it should happen. 15:31 [gentle music] 15:41 [gentle music continues] 15:47 That's what we mean when we say 15:49 that America is a Christian nation 15:51 or at least that's what we used to mean. 15:54 Unfortunately, some of us have forgotten our roots 15:56 and we're tempted to think 15:57 that maybe if we just seize the reigns of government, 16:00 we can force people to be good. 16:02 But it's tragically flawed thinking, 16:04 the kind of thinking that made the old world a mess. 16:08 In 1785, James Madison underscored that point. 16:12 [gentle music] 16:22 [gentle music continues] 16:26 - [James] Torrents of blood 16:28 have been spilt in the old world 16:30 by vain attempts of the secular arm 16:32 to extinguish religious discord 16:35 by prescribing all difference in religious opinion. 16:39 Time has at length revealed the true remedy. 16:44 Every relaxation of narrow and rigorous policy 16:47 wherever it has been tried 16:49 has been found to assuage the disease. 16:56 - In other words, 16:57 if the church marries the state 16:59 like it did after Constantine, 17:01 people will die if they don't have the right opinion. 17:04 What solves that said Madison 17:06 is to remove Caesar from the church 17:08 and let people decide for themselves 17:10 how they wanna worship. 17:12 So the question should be asked if Bible prophecy 17:15 saw all those world empires from Babylon to Rome 17:19 and it saw the rise of religious intolerance 17:22 in Western Europe, 17:23 what about the United States of America? 17:26 I mean, if this was God's plan, 17:28 if God had his hand on the rise of this republic, 17:32 shouldn't you be able to find that in prophecy? 17:34 The answer is yes. 17:39 If you remember, Daniel Two and Daniel Seven 17:42 showed us the history of the world in advance. 17:44 In Daniel Two, 17:46 God used a statue to represent four world empires 17:49 and the toes pointed forward 17:51 to the dissolution of the Western Roman empire, 17:54 the nations of Western Europe. 17:56 Then in Daniel Seven, we find the same thing, 17:59 but this time God uses animals rising up out of the sea 18:04 to make the point. 18:06 To the Jewish way of thinking, 18:07 Israel was an island in the middle of a gentile sea, 18:11 so these animals were gentile empires 18:13 rising up among the nations of the earth, 18:15 a winged lion for Babylon, 18:17 a bear for the Meads and Persians and so on. 18:20 So what careful students of Bible prophecy have noticed 18:23 is that you have another animal rising up out of the sea 18:26 in Revelation 13 18:29 and this time it's one beast with all the body parts 18:33 of the beast from Daniel Seven. 18:35 It's almost the same thing. 18:39 "Then I stood on the sand of the sea 18:41 "and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea 18:43 "having seven heads and 10 horns and on his horns, 18:46 "10 crowns and on his heads a blasphemous name. 18:51 "Now the beast, which I saw was like a leopard. 18:54 "His feet were like the feet of a bear 18:56 "and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. 18:58 The dragon gave him his power, his throne, 19:02 "and great authority." 19:05 So if you remember diligent students in the Middle Ages 19:08 figured out that the little horn in Daniel Seven 19:11 was an embarrassing prediction of us 19:13 and our horrible behavior in the Dark Ages. 19:15 There's just no way around it. 19:18 Revelation 13 describes the very same thing, 19:20 except that it was written 600 years later 19:23 when most of those kingdoms had passed, but it's all there, 19:27 including the 10 horns 19:28 which represent the nations of Europe, 19:30 right down to the crowns they wear. 19:32 This is a marriage of church and state 19:35 and if you read the rest of the chapter, 19:36 you get this horrible description of compulsory worship. 19:40 It fits what we did to a T, 19:42 including the persecution we conducted 19:44 against so-called heretics 19:47 and you'll notice it's not Jesus 19:48 that inspired us to do that, it was the dragon. 19:52 Now go back one chapter and you'll find that same dragon 19:55 persecuting God's people described as a woman 19:58 in Revelation Chapter 12. 20:02 "So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood 20:05 "after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away 20:08 "by the flood, 20:10 "but the earth helped the woman 20:12 "and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood, 20:15 which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 20:19 So what just happened? 20:21 The earth opened up to help this woman 20:22 escape the attacks of the dragon, 20:25 which is exactly what happened 20:27 when Columbus felt so compelled to sail west 20:29 and discover a whole new world. 20:31 The earth literally opened up and gave us a place to go, 20:35 and that's the good news. 20:37 Study these chapters carefully. 20:39 Go back and read what our forefathers in the Christian faith 20:41 said about this and it's obvious the birth of America 20:45 really was guided by God himself. 20:48 Forget all those sensationalistic books about Bible prophecy 20:51 on the shelves of most modern stores and go back and read 20:55 what Christians said about these chapters 20:57 for the first 1800 years of the church's existence 21:01 and you'll see it. 21:02 So that's the good news. 21:04 This really was God's idea, 21:07 but unfortunately there is more to the story 21:10 and every Christian needs to see this. 21:12 Have a look at Revelation 13 verse 11. 21:17 "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. 21:20 Now remember, 21:21 that's the very place the woman went to escape persecution. 21:24 So that means the second beast appears in the New World 21:28 "and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon 21:31 "and he exercises all the authority 21:33 "of the first beast in his presence 21:35 "and causes the earth and those who dwell in it 21:38 "to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed." 21:44 This second beast has two horns like a lamb, 21:47 and while the first beast has crowns on his horns, 21:50 this beast has none. 21:51 There are no crowns because there is no king 21:55 and he looks like a lamb, 21:56 which is very important because 27 times 21:59 in the Book of Revelation, Jesus is called the lamb, 22:02 which means that this power is Christ-like, lamb-like. 22:06 Have a careful look at Daniel seven in Revelation 13 22:10 and you'll notice 22:11 that animals are always used to represent nations. 22:14 So what we have is a Christ-like nation 22:17 rising up in the very place 22:19 where the persecuted people of Western Europe 22:21 went to find a brand new life of freedom 22:24 and it has no crowns because it has no king. 22:28 [gentle music] 22:38 [gentle music continues] 22:43 This is a prediction of our nation, the American republic, 22:47 which appeared right on time 22:50 exactly when and where Bible prophecy said it would, 22:55 but the disturbing part comes next. 22:58 At some point, 22:59 this new nation opens its mouth and speaks like a dragon, 23:03 so it starts to drift away from its Christ-like roots. 23:07 In fact, it steers the whole world back to the first beast, 23:11 this unholy alliance we used to have 23:14 when we marry church to state. 23:17 So what does that mean? 23:20 Well, it means that you and I 23:21 need to have our eyes wide open. 23:23 The liberties we enjoy right now, 23:25 we can't afford to take those for granted. 23:28 We can never forget, when America was born, 23:30 These ideas about liberty were revolutionary and new. 23:34 The world had never seen them. 23:36 Other nations since have copied them, 23:38 importing many of the best ideas, 23:40 So we kindA take this way of life for granted 23:43 all over the world and if we're honest, 23:45 we'd have to admit we haven't always gotten liberty, right. 23:49 It's to our shame, for example, 23:50 that it took another 70 years 23:52 to answer the question of slavery, 23:54 even though faithful Christians did appeal to the founders 23:58 to do the right thing right at the beginning. 24:01 But never throw out the baby with the bathwater. 24:03 Never forget that what you and I enjoy 24:06 is an historical anomaly. 24:08 It's only been here for a little more than 200 years 24:12 and if we want it to last, 24:14 we have to pay attention because at some point, 24:17 the world does drift back to what we used to have. 24:22 Now, of course, the Bible also says 24:25 that all human government is destined to fail 24:27 because it all falls way short of the glory of God. 24:31 The prophecies of Daniel in Revelation make it crystal clear 24:35 that our only hope all ultimately is the kingdom of Christ. 24:39 That's the whole point of Bible prophecy. 24:42 The governments we build, the empires we praise, 24:45 they all end up on the trash heap of history 24:48 the day Jesus comes to claim his inheritance 24:51 as the son of man. 24:53 This is the moment the whole universe is waiting for. 24:59 "Then the seventh angels sounded 25:00 "and there were loud voices in heaven saying, 25:03 "the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms 25:05 "of our Lord and of his Christ 25:08 "and he shall reign forever and ever." 25:12 So yes, it's going to fail. 25:15 It's all going to pass away, but right now, in the meantime, 25:20 we've got something so precious 25:22 that we can't afford to lose sight of where it came from 25:26 and what an incredible gift it is. 25:29 This is the closest we'll get 25:31 on this side of the second coming 25:33 to what God has always wanted for us. 25:36 Is it perfect? 25:37 No, not by a long shot, 25:40 but it is a gift from God nonetheless. 25:44 [dramatic music] 25:54 [dramatic music continues] 25:58 There's a story from the notes of Dr. James McHenry, 26:01 one of the youngest delegates present that day. 26:04 As Benjamin Franklin exited the building, 26:06 a lady approached him, 26:07 eager to find out what had just happened. 26:09 "Well, doctor, she demanded, what have we got? 26:12 "A republic or a monarchy?" 26:15 There should have been little doubt, I suppose, 26:17 but Benjamin Franklin answered her, 26:19 "a republic, madam," he said, 26:21 "if you can keep it." 26:24 [dramatic music continues] 26:34 [dramatic music continues] 26:44 [dramatic music continues] 26:49 And that's the challenge more than 200 years later, 26:53 to keep this gift from God, to cherish it and defend it, 26:56 to refuse to ever let go of this. 26:59 In due time, the Bible says we will lose it. 27:02 Our liberties will be sold for the sake of expediency 27:05 or globalism or some other crisis. 27:09 At some point, 27:10 it is going to happen right before Christ returns, 27:13 but in the meantime, 27:14 you and I should refuse to be the generation 27:18 that ever gives this up. 27:20 [dramatic music continues] 27:30 [dramatic music continues] 27:40 [dramatic music continues] 27:50 [dramatic music continues] 28:00 [dramatic music continues] 28:07 - [Narrator] This has been a broadcast 28:08 of the Voice of Prophecy. 28:10 To learn more about how you can get a DVD copy 28:13 of "Final Empire" for yourself, 28:15 please visit finalempiredvd.com 28:19 or call toll free [844] 822-2943. 28:25 [dramatic music continues] |
Revised 2023-11-22