Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: GMTB
Program Code: GMTB000027
00:21 When I was in the 6th grade
00:24 I had one of the best final exams 00:28 I've ever taken in my life. 00:30 I got the best grade that I've ever gotten from that day 00:33 to this... which was good because it was the same year 00:36 that I also had the worst grade on a final exam that 00:39 I ever had in my whole life. 00:40 My history exam I got a 99, 00:45 and I really wanted 100 00:48 but when I took my paper in to my history teacher 00:51 it didn't have any checks, no red marks, nothing red on it... 00:54 And so I said: "It looks like this is a perfect paper. " 00:58 You don't have any checks, no red marks, 00:59 nothing underlined, nothing circled. 01:01 Shouldn't I get 100? 01:02 Well he had me to know 01:04 that there's no such thing as a perfect paper. 01:06 And though it didn't have any checks, he said 01:09 "I've never had perfect paper and I don't give... 01:11 I don't give 100's, so you're going to have to just 01:13 take your 99 and be satisfied. " 01:15 Well I really wanted that 100 01:17 because my math score wasn't quite so good. 01:21 In fact, it was atrocious and I needed that 100 01:23 to sort of balance off that abysmal math score. 01:27 But I went to my math teacher and begged, and she didn't 01:30 put it up either... so it was not a good year for math 01:33 but a great year for history. 01:34 And I say that simply because 01:36 last night as Elder Cox took us to the intersection of history 01:42 and prophecy I sat in rapt attention 01:45 because I love history. 01:46 And we looked at the historical underpinnings of prophecy 01:51 on last night in a very interesting message. 01:53 And I know tonight's message is going to be just as interesting. 01:58 Someone once said that prophecy is simply history 02:04 that hasn't happened yet. 02:06 But it's coming. 02:08 And prophecy just predates 02:10 history, and it's history that hasn't happened yet. 02:11 And we sort of get that idea 02:13 in what's the text? Oh, it's 02:15 II Timothy chapter 1 verse 19 02:17 where Timothy says we have the "more sure word of prophecy. " 02:21 That prophecy is so sure, and we know it is sure 02:24 by looking at the past. 02:25 Because every time God said that something was going to happen 02:30 you know what happened? It happened! 02:33 And so, in looking at God's dealing with us in the past 02:37 we can be certain of God's dealing with us in the future. 02:40 And I am sure that we're going to have a fabulous study 02:42 tonight as we look at The Beast from the Bottomless Pit. 02:46 What an intriguing title for a message, and I know that 02:49 Elder Cox is going to have something wonderful to say 02:51 to us this night. My name is C.A. Murray, 02:53 and it is my privilege and my pleasure 02:55 to welcome you once again to Volume 6 Session 2 of 03:00 Give Me The Bible. 03:01 Was, Is Not, And Yet Is 03:04 with our evangelist, our friend, our preacher, our teacher: 03:07 Elder Kenneth Cox. 03:09 You'll hear from him shortly, but before he comes 03:11 Larry Blackwell will come to us and sing a really great 03:14 old song of Zion: When We All Get To Heaven. 03:29 When we all get to heaven, 03:33 what a day of rejoicing that will be! 03:37 When we all see Jesus, 03:41 we'll sing and shout the victory! 03:46 Sing the wondrous love of Jesus, 03:50 sing His mercy and His grace. 03:54 In the mansions bright and blessed 03:58 He'll prepare for us a place. 04:02 When we all get to heaven, 04:06 what a day of rejoicing that will be! 04:10 When we all see Jesus, 04:15 we'll sing and shout the victory. 04:19 Onward to the prize before us, 04:23 soon His beauty we'll behold. 04:27 Soon the pearly gates will open, 04:32 we shall tread the streets of gold. 04:35 When we all get to heaven, 04:40 what a day of rejoicing that will be! 04:44 When we all see Jesus, 04:48 we'll sing and shout the victory. 04:52 When we all get to heaven, 04:56 what a day of rejoicing that will be! 05:00 When we all see Jesus, 05:05 we'll sing and shout the victory. 05:09 We'll sing and shout 05:12 the victory! 05:18 Amen. 05:22 Good evening to each of you. 05:23 Very happy to welcome all of you back. 05:27 Hope that you have had a great day. 05:30 Been a great day here. 05:32 Enjoyed it very much. 05:33 And to all of you that are joining us 05:35 by television or listening 05:37 over the radio, we welcome you 05:39 tonight. Glad that you're tuning in or listening. 05:42 We hope that as we continue 05:44 our study of these beasts 05:48 that are mentioned in the books of Daniel and Revelation, 05:50 it will help you begin to see how prophecy is fulfilling 05:55 and taking place. 05:56 So we hope that you are able to follow along 05:59 as we study God's Word this evening. 06:02 Our next presentation is entitled... 06:07 We're going to be taking a look at a beast 06:09 in Revelation the 13th chapter. 06:12 Now you remember we're looking at Revelation 17 where it says 06:16 Five Have Fallen. 06:18 We talked about those five. 06:20 Then it says "One is, " and that's what we're finishing up 06:24 with tonight, and then it says "One is yet to come. " 06:29 And that's the one we'll look at tomorrow night. 06:31 That's the seventh one. 06:33 So we have taken them step by step 06:36 and identifying those beasts 06:38 so that you begin to see that we're coming right on down 06:42 to the very time in which we are living. 06:45 And so be sure and follow along as we study God's Word together. 06:50 Tonight: The Beast from the Bottomless Pit. 06:53 This has been a two-part series, because last night we 06:58 talked about the two witnesses 07:01 that are very much involved with this beast. 07:04 And we're looking at Revelation the 11th chapter. 07:07 And tonight we'll put that all together 07:10 so you'll see what happened. 07:12 Tonight is a... as far as I'm concerned... 07:14 is a marvelous study 07:17 because it helps you see so very, very clearly 07:22 the inspiration of God's Word. 07:26 The accuracy of scripture. 07:29 And so we hope that you'll be able to follow 07:31 as we study God's Word together 07:33 and that you'll see how God has led and told exactly 07:38 what's going to happen before it ever takes place. 07:41 Very happy to have Larry Blackwell with us. 07:45 I'm enjoying him being here... I hope you are... his music. 07:49 He's going to sing for us and Dona's going to accompany him... 07:52 a song entitled Until Then. 08:09 My heart can sing 08:12 when I pause to remember 08:19 A heartache here 08:23 is but a stepping stone 08:29 Along the trail 08:33 that's winding always upward - 08:39 This troubled world 08:43 is not my final home. 08:50 But until then 08:54 my heart will go on singing, 09:01 Until then 09:04 with joy I'll carry on - 09:11 Until the day 09:15 my eyes behold that city, 09:21 Until the day 09:25 God calls me home. 09:32 And the things of earth 09:36 that dim and lose their value 09:42 If you recall 09:47 they're borrowed for a while; 09:53 And things of earth 09:57 that cause the heart to tremble, 10:04 Remembered there, 10:08 will only bring a smile. 10:15 But until then 10:19 my heart will go on singing, 10:26 Until then 10:30 with joy I'll carry on - 10:36 Until the day 10:40 my eyes behold that city, 10:46 Until the day 10:51 God calls me home... 10:58 Until that day 11:02 God calls me 11:07 home. 11:30 Our Gracious Heavenly Father, tonight 11:34 we come to You 11:36 asking that as we open Your Word 11:40 that You will give us the understanding that we need. 11:44 May we, Lord, see Your hand. 11:47 May we see how it has led, 11:51 guided, directed in the affairs of men down through time. 11:57 And Lord, may our faith be increased. 12:01 May we realize that as we look back upon what has happened 12:06 in the past that it may increase our faith 12:10 to stand firm with You... prepared for Your coming. 12:16 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 12:28 Last night we took a look at 12:31 two witnesses. 12:32 And it says in Revelation 11:13: 12:45 And we found out that those two witnesses mentioned there 12:49 were the Old and New Testament, or God's Word. 12:53 And we found out that it was God's Word that gives us light. 12:58 Because it says these two witnesses are the two anointed 13:02 ones is what the scripture says. 13:05 And that word anointed means one who produces light. 13:08 That's the word. I gave you the Hebrew word for that. 13:12 And that Hebrew word was hayitshaar... 13:15 which means one who produces light. 13:18 And we found that God's Word produces light. 13:22 "Your Word is a light unto my path. " 13:24 And so we looked at those two witnesses 13:28 and we talked about the part that they played. 13:31 Now it goes on and says 13:33 that they would prophesy in sackcloth. 13:39 And we found that great persecution... 13:43 I want to give you a date, 13:44 and I'd like for you to kind of remember it. 13:46 It's... the date is January the 21st, 1535. 13:52 January the 21st, 1535. 13:57 Very, very important time because that is the date 14:02 in which France rejected the Reformation 14:06 and turned her back on the Reformation. 14:09 That was the date that we talked about last night 14:13 when the king of France took... walked down the streets of 14:17 Paris and had them point out the homes of the reformers. 14:21 And they drug the people out and they crucified them 14:25 and they burned them at the stake. 14:27 And France at that point turned her back 14:30 and made a definite effort to try to do away 14:35 with the Reformation and those that followed them. 14:38 And we talked about some of the great people 14:41 that lived back then such as Lefevre, and Farel, and Calvin 14:47 and Lequin and these different people who were great men 14:52 of God that stood up for the Word of God... 14:55 and lost their lives in defending the Word of God. 15:01 It was under this time of persecution - 15:05 sackcloth, sorrow - that they witnessed to the Word of God. 15:09 And this took place... Now what you've got to understand, folks, 15:13 is they turned on the Reformation, but through the 15:17 preaching of John Calvin 15:20 500,000 Frenchmen had accepted the Reformation. 15:26 I mean, this... this was great numbers of people 15:30 that turned to the Reformation. 15:32 But they turned their persecution against them, 15:36 and things took place such as the Massacre of St. Bartholomew 15:40 and all that happened. What took place 15:44 and what France didn't realize 15:46 is when they began to persecute these people for their belief 15:51 many of them left France 15:55 and they went to Germany and they went to Switzerland 15:59 and they went to other countries. 16:01 And what was happening is when those people were leaving 16:05 France and going to those other countries, 16:07 those were the professors, 16:10 the artisans, the businessmen. 16:14 These were the people that the Reformation had called to 16:18 and had stepped out, and they left France. 16:22 And all of a sudden, France found itself in a terrible 16:26 position without leadership. 16:29 Without people to give the kind of leadership 16:32 and the kind of guidance that the country needed... 16:35 it was gone, and little did they realize it. 16:40 Napoleon also is rising at this particular time. 16:45 Napoleon wants to rule Europe. 16:49 That's his desire is to bring Europe all under one power. 16:54 He said Europe was soon to become one nation. 16:57 That was what Napoleon wanted. 16:59 And so Napoleon understood and knew that he could never 17:03 accomplish this unless he broke the back of the papal power. 17:08 Because the papal power held tremendous control 17:13 over much of Europe. 17:15 And so, as it says here: 17:27 The persecution that the papal power had put out 17:32 against the Reformation began to come to an end. 17:37 Now this took place before... even before 1798 AD. 17:42 The persecution was dropping off 17:44 because of stands that many people were taking. 17:47 But the problem that I mentioned to you is the intelligencie 17:53 of France had fled the country. 17:57 And so France found itself 18:00 in very, very hard circumstances and 18:04 it says in Revelation 11 verse 7: 18:17 Now, this beast that's going to come up out of the 18:19 bottomless pit it says is going to make war 18:22 against those two witnesses 18:24 and will overcome them and kill them. 18:27 This is what was going to take place. 18:30 What happened, folks, is rather a strange thing. 18:34 I shouldn't say it's strange because it happens every time 18:37 if this is done. 18:39 And that is, the persecution against the Reformation 18:44 against those people put out at that time... 18:47 France was left with just - how should I put it? - 18:53 the people that didn't have much education. 18:56 They were left without the common, everyday people 18:59 and they didn't have the intelligencie that was needed 19:02 to run the country. And we found that the 19:06 people turned... 19:09 they turned against the papal power. 19:15 They not only turned against the papal power, 19:18 they turned against God 19:20 because the only God that they knew 19:24 was what the papal power had told them... 19:26 and so they rejected that also. 19:29 And at the same time that all of this is happening 19:32 there is a book that has been written 19:36 called the Age of Reason written by Thomas Paine. 19:42 That has circulated all across Europe 19:46 and particularly in France 19:48 it has been picked up and read. 19:50 And this became the motto... this became the cry 19:55 of the common people that from this time on 19:58 all they would have would be reason. They were not 20:01 going to have theology. 20:03 They were not going to have the Bible. 20:05 They were not going to go by this. 20:07 They were going to go totally and completely by reason. 20:10 And so you have in history what is called 20:14 the Age of Reason 20:17 in which they said from now on all the decisions would be made 20:22 on the basis of reason. 20:24 Now... now let me tell you something. 20:27 Conscience - or reason - 20:33 is a safe guide 20:38 providing the guide of conscience or reason is safe. 20:46 Now did you follow me? 20:48 You see, people get this idea that conscience is 20:52 a safe guide. No! 20:54 Conscience is a safe guide if the guide of conscience is safe. 20:58 See? And they turned to this and they didn't have a guide. 21:03 They had thrown it out. 21:04 They said: "No, we're not going to do this. " 21:06 And when they threw that out, 21:09 they threw out the basis for what they believed, stood by. 21:13 And so January the 21st... 21:17 put it down... 21:19 January the 21st, 1793 21:24 the French assembly 21:28 voted to do away with the Word of God. 21:35 They voted to completely do away with it. 22:04 Here this whole French assembly 22:06 said we're going to have nothing to do with religion. 22:09 From now on we will worship reason. 22:12 This will be our guide. 22:14 This is what we will follow. 22:57 What they did is they took this 23:02 woman who was a dancer 23:05 and they took her and dressed her up. 23:08 Put a crown on her head, robes on her... 23:11 and set her on a cart 23:13 and pulled her through the streets of Paris 23:16 to the cathedral 23:18 where they set her up and they worshiped her 23:21 as the Goddess of Reason. 23:24 Said from that time on that's who they would follow. 23:28 That's who they would worship. 23:33 Folks, I cannot describe to you 23:38 what happens to a country and to a nation 23:43 when they do that kind of thing. 23:45 Because France... I mean, from that point 23:49 went straight downhill. 23:52 And the Bible talks about how this would take place. 23:55 What... what would happen because she did this. 23:58 Listen to what its says here in verse 8 of the 11th chapter: 24:07 and I highlighted that word spiritually because many people 24:10 miss that... 24:16 Now if you're going to read that text 24:19 and you're going to understand it, 24:20 you've got to take that word spiritually into account. 24:23 Because this is not talking about literal Egypt 24:28 and literal Sodom 24:29 and literally where our Lord is crucified. 24:31 It's saying this is a spiritual application of that. 24:35 That's what it's telling you, so you've got to apply it that way. 24:38 So why would he say this city, referring to Paris 24:43 and what was done there, why would he say spiritually 24:46 this was Egypt? 24:48 Well if you go back and you read it, 24:51 you remember the Pharaoh? 24:54 You remember what he said to Moses? 24:57 Listen to his words: 25:11 You see you have the very basis of atheism. 25:15 And that's what France was playing with. 25:18 She'd tossed out God. She didn't believe in God. 25:21 She was strictly atheism... and that's why the scripture said 25:25 spiritually this is compared to Egypt 25:28 that didn't know God or didn't believe in God. 25:31 So France refused to believe in God. 25:34 Said: "No, we're not going to believe in God. " 25:37 But any time you 25:41 throw out the Bible 25:46 you throw out all the standards 25:51 and everything by which people live, 25:54 and all of a sudden there's nothing to base your belief on. 26:00 And so when they threw out the Bible 26:05 morality went straight down. 26:08 I mean, you can't even describe 26:13 the horribleness of what went on there during that time 26:17 in which they just forsook it... didn't believe in any kind of... 26:22 reason was the whole thing that was governing them. 26:26 No standards; nothing by which to go by. 26:29 And thus God compared it to Sodom. 26:33 Spiritually Sodom... was the same difference. 26:37 And you remember as those two angels went there to Sodom 26:40 and Gomorrah and pulled out Lot and his daughters, 26:44 so God said: "This is like Sodom of old. " 26:50 Spiritually... same thing. 26:53 And then it says: "also where our Lord was crucified. " 26:58 Folks, these years that went on during that time 27:03 are described in history as the Age of Terror. 27:09 There was ten years in there which was beyond description. 27:15 For instance, if you believed in God or you had a Bible, 27:20 you could be arrested and taken downtown 27:23 and guillotined 27:26 because you believed in it. 27:28 In fact, for the smallest thing they would haul somebody down 27:33 and guillotine them. And they had people there 27:35 in carts every morning rolling down through the streets of 27:38 Paris headed there to guillotine them to death, 27:42 and they did so much of it 27:44 that blood ran down the gutters of the streets of Paris. 27:48 This was an Age of Terror - horrible! - 27:53 that went on there because they didn't have anything 27:57 on which to base their belief in what they stood for. 28:00 Horrible period of time. 28:03 Remember it says "where our Lord was crucified? " 28:09 It's interesting. Do you know what the Lord says about that? 28:15 Listen to this: 28:27 Now we're talking about spiritually. 28:29 Says if you take one of God's people 28:33 and you do something to them, 28:36 that's the same as doing it to Christ. 28:39 Did you realize that? 28:43 The next time you think of 28:47 saying something against somebody 28:53 might ought to think that through twice. 28:56 Do you remember Paul? 28:58 You remember when there on the road to Damascus 29:01 when he was struck down with that bright light? 29:03 Huh? 29:04 Do you remember what He said to Paul? 29:06 But... you remember what He said to him? 29:09 Said: "Saul, Saul, why persecutist... " Who? 29:15 "thou Me? " What did He mean "thou Me? " 29:17 Was he persecuting Christ? 29:20 No, he was persecuting Christ's people. 29:23 Same difference in it. 29:26 That's what this text means. 29:27 "Where our Lord was crucified, " 29:29 applying it to what they were doing to God's people. 29:33 They were persecuting them. 29:34 This was what was happening to them. 29:36 This was the Age of Terror. 29:56 Interesting. I told you remember a date, didn't I? 30:00 Huh? 30:02 Told you remember January the 21st, 1535. 30:09 Exactly 258 years 30:14 when France rejected the Reformation 30:18 that now they have thrown out the Word of God. 30:37 Now folks, the one she is referring to here 30:40 was when the king and this procession walked through 30:43 the streets of Paris and pointed out the homes of the reformers 30:46 and they arrested them and crucified them 30:48 and burned them at the stake. 30:50 That's what she's talking... She said now 30:51 it's 258 years to the very day. Here is another procession 30:56 that is walking through the streets of Paris. 30:59 OK? Watch: 31:09 258 years before the king walked through the streets of Paris 31:13 and pointed out the homes. 31:15 Now the king is also the chief figure... 31:47 They took the king himself. 31:49 Beheaded him right there. 31:53 You see, all these people could see 31:56 was how they had been treated. 31:58 Let me try to give you a little idea. 32:01 At this time, folks, 32:03 there are 200,000 32:09 people in Paris 32:12 that live by begging. 32:18 That... that's the monks. 32:22 That's the way they lived. 32:24 At this time, there is 150,000 32:30 people in Paris that are the wealthy. 32:36 And they're exempt from all taxes. 32:42 They're exempt from all these things. 32:44 And so all these people can see 32:46 is what's there... and so they have rebelled. 32:49 A revolution has taken place, 32:51 and they've gotten rid of God 32:53 and they're getting rid of the government. 33:08 Interesting. 33:11 The two witnesses are going to lie there 33:16 in the streets of Paris 33:17 for 3-1/2 days. 33:20 They will not be allowed to put in the grave. 33:23 Now to be put in the grave meant they'd be 33:25 totally, completely done away with. 33:38 It is always amazing to me 33:42 how that if somebody makes enough noise 33:48 and shouts and carries on 33:52 that the people will come 33:54 and quite a large number will follow. 33:57 Just... all you've got to do 34:00 is shout loud enough, make enough noise, 34:03 and there's some people that will follow. 34:04 And that's what France did. 34:07 They just shouted out to the whole world 34:09 how wonderful they were. 34:11 How brilliant that they were now that they had 34:14 the Age of Reason. They had tossed off all the shackles. 34:18 They were no longer bound by this. 34:20 And other nations, if you please, sent them gifts 34:24 and told them how wise they were. 34:26 Literally what happened. 34:30 Believed that they could do this and get by with it. 34:48 After 3-1/2 days 34:51 those two witnesses came back to life. 34:56 You see, France 35:01 all of a sudden realized 35:03 that she had crossed the mark. 35:06 That if she continued on the way she was going 35:11 the nation would be forever ruined. 35:15 That there was no hope in the steps they were taking. 35:19 And so they decided to put the Bible back. 35:27 You see, this book has been around a long time 35:35 and it hasn't missed yet, folks. 35:39 It hasn't missed yet. 35:41 What says the Bible, 35:44 the blessed Bible? 35:46 This should my only question be. 35:50 Prophecy is fulfilling; 35:53 the time of the end is nearing. 35:57 What says the Word of God to me? 36:02 That's what we've got to find out. 36:03 And as you get into the Word of God and you see it, 36:06 you can see it fulfilled so accurately. 36:09 Watch what happens here: 36:26 Prophetic word made absolutely sure. 36:32 January the 21st, 1793, 36:37 France voted to do away with the Word of God 36:42 and it was gathered up and burned and thrown out 36:47 and people did away with it. 36:48 That 3-1/2 years that ensued 36:54 was so horrible 36:56 that at the end of three years 36:59 the legislature decided they'd better put it back. 37:05 And so they voted to put the Word of God back. 37:10 Strange... that was voted 37:16 and then for some unexplainable reason 37:20 it was tabled. 37:24 I mean they voted to do it and then tabled it. 37:27 And it lay there on the table, nothing was done with it, 37:32 for six months. 37:35 Don't know if you're catching what's happening here. 37:39 But on June the 10th, 1796, 37:44 the French assembly acted on it and put it back in 37:48 as they had taken it out. Exactly 3-1/2 years. 37:54 Exactly 3-1/2 years... 37:57 just exactly as the Word of God said, it took place. 38:05 I can tell you... you can depend on it. 38:12 You know, prophecy after prophecy 38:19 has fulfilled. 38:22 Without question, they've happened 38:25 just as God said they would. 38:28 Dear friend, I recommend to you 38:31 the Word of God as something you can build your faith on. 38:36 You can believe in it. 38:38 Now it says: 38:49 Now here it says that this loud voice is speaking 38:52 and tells these two witnesses 38:55 "Come up here. " 38:56 And they ascended to heaven in a cloud 39:00 and their enemies saw them. 39:02 Strange. 39:04 This book, folks, all during this time 39:08 that I've been talking to you very, very few people had this. 39:13 I mean if you had a Bible you were a very, very 39:18 fortunate person. 39:20 In fact, until you hit the 1500's, 39:24 the Bible was only written by hand. 39:27 Copies made... hand copies. 39:30 That's the only way you could get it. 39:31 When we hit the 1500's, you have the Gutenberg press. 39:35 And then they began to make copies of it, but 39:39 that was very tedious and a long process. 39:43 So very few people had a Bible. They just didn't have it. 39:49 When? When did they vote to put it back? 39:52 June 10... right? 39:55 OK. 1796? 39:59 Look at this: 40:09 I mean, just a matter, folks, of eight years 40:13 from the time that they voted it back 40:16 you have the British Bible Society come into existence, 40:19 and all of a sudden the Bible is made available to people 40:22 all over Europe. 40:24 I mean, they accepted the Word of God and it was printed 40:27 and put out so people could get it like it had never 40:30 been done before. 40:31 Told those two witnesses, the Word of God, 40:34 "Come up here. " 40:35 They came up and they saw it. 40:38 Look: 40:46 All of a sudden the Word of God had been given impetus 40:51 like it had never had before. 40:53 And men and women could get the Word of God and read it 40:56 and see it. Find out for their own self what the Word of God 41:00 said to them. 41:01 Up until this time, 41:06 nothing was done, folks, about foreign missions. 41:10 I mean, they just didn't send 41:12 missionaries anywhere. 41:15 That just wasn't something 41:16 that happened. 41:17 Watch. This is what happens 41:20 at this same time. I'm talking about exact same time: 41:37 Foreign missions begin to move out, and the gospel is taken 41:41 to people all over the world who never heard of it, 41:44 never had an opportunity to hear the Word of God. 41:47 And so those two witnesses 41:50 were caught up... "Come up here... " 41:53 and they saw them. 41:57 What a change had taken place! 42:11 And with that act, the persecution 42:16 that had been put out by the papal power 42:20 came to an end. 42:23 And it says: 42:34 Now let me tell you something, folks. 42:38 Even with something small 42:42 in the way of doing something wrong... a sin... 42:46 or on a large scale - which this would have been 42:50 on a large scale - any time you have an action 42:54 like that, it sets into motion 42:59 events that will affect things for centuries. 43:08 In other words, certain things that happens... 43:10 So it says when this beast 43:12 rose up out of the bottomless pit 43:14 and killed those two witnesses, 43:16 it set into action certain events that have come down 43:22 through time that affect you and me tonight. 43:25 That affect our lives... 43:28 and probably will until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 43:34 Because with the writings of Thomas Paine, 43:38 Age of Reason, 43:41 you find that people begin to have real doubts 43:46 about the Word of God. 43:48 They begin to wonder if it was right, if it was true. 43:51 And you find that certain things begin to happen. 43:56 His writings for the first time attacked the Word of God 44:02 and said: "Ah, you can't believe it. 44:05 Probably a lot of it is fables. " 44:08 And because he attacked the Word of God 44:13 something began to happen. 44:16 Because he had a student by the name of George Hegel. 44:21 Look at the dates: 44:27 George Hegel, folks, 44:29 is the Father of modern atheism in philosophy and theology. 44:35 He's the one that started all this. 44:38 If you've ever heard of new theology and all that, 44:42 if you can trace it all the way back, 44:44 it goes to George Hegel. 44:46 He's the one that sat down and wrote and put things there 44:51 saying: "You really can't be sure about this. 44:54 It probably isn't true. " 44:58 Or... "All the writings in this book aren't inspired. " 45:04 And you find that these doubts were put there 45:08 and he taught them. 45:11 Now, he just didn't teach them. 45:16 He had a student that studied under George Hegel, 45:22 and this student's name was Charles Darwin. 45:28 I'm trying to get across to you 45:32 when this beast rose up out of the bottomless pit, 45:35 killed those two witnesses, 45:37 it set in motion actions that take place 45:40 that are coming clear on down. And Charles Darwin 45:44 said: "Oh, there's no God. " 45:46 Said: "Strictly the origin of the species. " 45:51 Evolution. 45:53 This is how man came about. 45:55 He's the result of evolution. 46:00 It... it really, really concerns me, folks, 46:09 what we do here in this country 46:12 and what we believe... 46:15 particularly in the area of education. 46:19 It bothers me greatly... 46:21 because I have never in my life 46:26 found people that were more bigoted 46:30 than those that deal in the area of science. 46:36 They don't seem to be able to open their mind 46:41 and to look and to reason concerning things, 46:44 and they believe things that are absolutely contrary 46:48 to all kinds of evidence. 46:50 Let me take you a step farther. 46:53 Not only do you have Charles Darwin teaching this, 46:56 Charles Darwin had a friend that studied with him. 47:02 His name was Karl Marx. 47:04 Karl Marx said: "There's no God. " 47:09 Are you looking at the dates? 47:11 Yeah. He said: "There's no God. " 47:15 And so through the writings of Karl Marx 47:19 you have a whole government set up that is godless. 47:23 And Communism came into effect and began to take hold 47:29 and began to influence the whole world. 47:37 You know, 70 years... 47:39 70 years they tried Communism. 47:43 And it failed... fell flat on its face. 47:47 And what disturbs me 47:50 is you can go over to Russia today 47:53 and they will invite you into their universities 47:58 to talk about God. 48:02 But I come back here to my own country 48:05 and they won't let you in the university to talk about God. 48:10 You know, we need to stop and think 48:13 through what's happening and where we are. 48:16 But these men influenced, and these two men - 48:20 Charles Darwin, Karl Marx - 48:22 they had a student that studied under them. 48:26 His name was Sigmund Freud. 48:31 Sigmund Freud... No God. 48:36 Can't go by this book. 48:39 You really need to go by how you feel. 48:43 You know? New morality. 48:46 And all that comes in, and we find that type of teaching 48:51 being taught today. 48:52 It's come down to the place that it affects our lives 48:56 in a very, very definite and real way. 49:01 Well, we find that the sixth beast - 49:06 Atheistic Communism - 49:08 went from 1798 AD 49:11 to 1991 AD. 49:15 That was the time that Atheistic Communism ruled. 49:21 OK? That's the sixth beast. 49:25 The one that we talked about 49:27 the night The One Is. 49:29 And by the way, folks, let me 49:30 tell you, when you're looking at 49:31 those beasts: Five have fallen, 49:33 one is, one is yet to come, 49:34 you've got to remember you've got to look at it from 49:37 John's viewpoint... not yours. 49:41 That's very, very important. 49:43 You have to look at it from John's viewpoint, not yours. 49:47 And he's saying: "Five have fallen, 49:50 one is, one is yet to come. " 50:06 Well, we've looked at them. 50:08 Babylon... which was the lion. 50:11 Medo-Persia: the bear. 50:14 Greece: the leopard. 50:18 Pagan Rome: the dragon. 50:20 Papal Rome: the beast of Revelation 13. 50:24 And tonight the beast of Revelation 11... 50:28 Atheistic Communism. 50:30 Those are the six. 50:32 We have one more to look at, 50:36 because it's the seventh one. 50:38 And it said this about it: 50:44 And in our next presentation 50:46 we will be looking at that two 50:48 horned beast of Revelation 13 50:51 that you can see what the scripture says about it. 50:53 Because it says: 50:57 the two horned beast... 51:02 I told you when we started 51:05 I was going to take you step by step 51:09 right on down to our day. 51:12 And that's where we are. 51:14 See? Our day... the time that are living in. 51:18 And it says that "when this two horned beast comes 51:20 he will continue a short time. " 51:23 You and I can take God's Word. 51:26 We can stand on it. 51:28 We can believe it. It won't fail. 51:32 Give me the Bible, 51:37 star of gladness gleaming, 51:41 to cheer the wanderer 51:46 lone and tempest tossed, 51:51 No storm can hide that 51:55 peaceful radiance beaming, 52:00 Since Jesus came 52:04 to seek and save the lost. 52:10 Give me the Bible - 52:15 holy message shining, 52:19 Thy light shall guide me 52:24 in the narrow way. 52:29 Precept and promise, 52:34 law and love combining, 52:38 'Till night shall vanish 52:44 in eternal 52:48 day. 52:53 Let us pray. 52:55 Father in Heaven, 52:58 as we have seen in history 53:00 what happens when man forsakes Your Word, 53:06 forsakes Your law, 53:09 decides that he no longer needs You. 53:12 Pray Lord that each of us here tonight 53:16 and those that are watching by television 53:19 or listening on the radio 53:21 that tonight they may decide that above all things else 53:26 they will stay with You... commit their lives to You, 53:31 follow You. 53:33 Lord help us to realize 53:37 the importance of standing on the Word of God, 53:42 following You in all that we do. 53:44 Bless each one. Give them wisdom 53:48 as they read Your Word, Lord, that they may understand it. 53:51 That they may examine their own hearts. 53:55 That they may be willing to walk in the light of Your Word, 53:59 and all of us, each one, may day by day 54:04 look to You and be ready at Your soon return. 54:09 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 54:14 Well, we're continuing 54:17 down through the prophecy there 54:20 in Revelation 17. 54:22 And so we've talked about 54:24 six of them. 54:26 Our next presentation is the seventh one, 54:28 and there is an eighth, folks. 54:31 And there's and eighth one also. 54:34 So we're going to take a look at all those in Revelation 17. 54:37 And when we're through with this series, 54:40 you should understand exactly where we are 54:42 in the stream of time... what's taking place. 54:45 So we appreciate you being here. 54:47 We hope that it's opening up God's Word for you, 54:51 you're understanding it. 54:52 Stay close to the Lord Jesus Christ. 54:57 A coal miner of old 54:58 would leave his family every day 55:00 and descend into the depths of the earth 55:02 with the certain knowledge that the smallest mistake 55:06 could keep him and others from ever seeing daylight again. 55:09 Walking along in the dark, 55:11 he could only rely upon his feeble oil lamp 55:15 to keep him alive. 55:17 He faced many dangers down there. 55:19 Rockfalls, flooding, fires. 55:22 But perhaps the danger he feared the most 55:25 was the one that he could not see. 55:28 They called it chokedamp or blackdamp: 55:31 an unbreathable mixture of gases 55:34 that could quickly snuff out his life. 55:36 Imagine for a moment the terror he felt when he realized 55:40 he had hit a pocket of blackdamp. 55:42 The sudden drop in oxygen would put out his lamp 55:46 leaving him in terrifying darkness, fumbling in vain 55:50 to relight it before he lost consciousness. 55:54 Then in the late 1800's, 55:56 a bright new light began to shine in the dark world. 56:01 Using marble-sized pellets of calcium carbide 56:05 and a few drops of water, 56:06 this new lamp produced a gas which burned six times brighter. 56:11 Not only did it make his job a whole lot easier 56:14 but it also saved lives. 56:17 You can see this tiny reflector 56:19 could focus that beam of light 56:21 on the roof of a mine so that he could detect dangerous cracks. 56:25 The lamp was also easy to re-light. 56:28 And since it required far less oxygen, 56:31 it could illuminate the way out 56:33 should they encounter the chokedamp. 56:36 What an incredible illustration this is 56:39 of the condition of fallen man. 56:41 After struggling to survive the pitfalls of life, 56:45 he suddenly realizes the danger he could not see 56:48 had left him without hope and gasping for his last breath 56:53 in utter spiritual darkness. 56:55 For him there is no eternal life through Jesus. 56:59 In fact, he may not have ever heard about Him. 57:04 But friends, just as that bright light 57:07 of the carbide lamp saved lives, 57:10 so does the light of the Bible. 57:12 We need the light of God's Word to illuminate the dark corners 57:16 of our hearts. It focuses our attention on Jesus Christ... 57:20 our only hope for salvation. 57:22 And all who read and study it 57:24 are warned about the rockfalls of life. 57:27 That's why we call this series Give Me The Bible. 57:31 We're trying our best to bring the light of God's truth 57:34 to those who are living and dying in despair. 57:38 It's our mission. It's our passion. 57:40 Won't you join us? 57:43 Please consider what you can do 57:45 for those who still don't know about Jesus. 57:48 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:50 you may send your tax-deductible gifts to: 58:04 Thank you for helping us to bring the Blessed Hope 58:07 to millions all around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17