Participants: Pr. John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001205
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00:07 It has stood the test of time.
00:12 God's Book, the Bible. 00:17 Still relevant in today's complex world. 00:23 It is Written, sharing hope around the globe. 00:36 I'm John Bradshaw Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 00:41 When Adolph Hitler rose to power, he had the ability to 00:45 captivate huge crowds of people with just the sound of his 00:49 voice--and as his global ambitions became more and more 00:52 apparent, Bible-believing Christians all over the world 00:56 started wondering: could this man be the beast of Revelation 01:00 chapter 13? 01:02 After all, the Beast has a mouth speaking great things, it goes 01:05 to war against God's people, and it demands the admiration of the 01:09 whole world. 01:10 So was Hitler the Beast? 01:12 Today, you don't find too many people who think so, because 01:15 Hitler's been dead for a long time--but that doesn't mean that 01:18 Christianity's search for the Beast has come to an end. 01:22 According to Christian history, the Roman Emperor Domitian, in 01:26 an attempt to get rid of the last remaining disciple, had him 01:29 boiled alive in a cauldron of oil. 01:33 Miraculously, the Apostle John survived, so the Emperor had him 01:37 banished to the Island of Patmos, a small rocky prison 01:42 colony located miles from the coast of Asia Minor. 01:53 It was there, as a prisoner, that John had a vision, which 01:56 became the last book of the Bible: the book of Revelation. 02:09 And of all the books ever written, I can't think of one 02:12 that has caused as much speculation or fear--mongering 02:15 as that one--especially when it comes to Revelation chapter 13. 02:20 Right after John gives an account (in chapter 12) of an 02:23 incredible war that actually takes place in heaven, he goes 02:27 on to describe how the conquered dragon (who's been cast out of 02:30 heaven) moves his operations to planet earth. 02:34 And then in chapter thirteen, the dragon gives power to a 02:38 fearful creature that emerges from the sea. 02:41 (Sound of thunder, lightening) Here's how John describes it: 02:49 Revelation 13:1-5 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. 02:55 And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads 02:59 and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a 03:04 blasphemous name. 03:06 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were 03:09 like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. 03:13 The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 03:18 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, 03:22 and his deadly wound was healed. 03:24 And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 03:27 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and 03:31 they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? 03:34 Who is able to make war with him?" 03:37 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and 03:39 blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for 03:42 forty-two months. 03:45 Now you can imagine the impact those words must have had 03:47 on the Christians who first read them. 03:49 It describes a world-wide movement of false worship 03:53 created specifically to counter-act the work of the 03:56 Christian church. 03:58 At the end of chapter 12, it says the dragon was angry with 04:01 the woman--which is a symbol of the Christian church--and the 04:04 dragon does his best to wage war against them. 04:09 This beast, who comes up out of the sea, is the dragon's 04:12 aggressive attack on the church. 04:17 Now, to the early Christians, that kind of a scenario wasn't 04:20 mere speculation: they were starting to experience some of 04:24 the worst persecution Christians would ever face. 04:28 In the year 64 AD, a fire suddenly broke out in the city 04:31 of Rome, and by the time the flames were extinguished a week 04:34 later, ten of the fourteen districts in Rome were either 04:37 damaged or completely destroyed. 04:40 Emperor Nero saw to it that the brand new sect of Christians 04:45 that had recently been established in the city got the 04:48 blame for what had taken place. 04:50 The Roman historian Tacitus put it this way: "...to get rid of 04:54 the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most 04:59 exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, 05:03 called Christians by the populace.... 05:07 Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. 05:09 Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs 05:12 and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the 05:16 flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when 05:19 daylight had expired. 05:21 Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a 05:25 show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the 05:28 dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car...." 05:34 It's hard for Western Christians to imagine 05:36 today, but there was a time when you literally risked your life 05:40 by professing Christianity. 05:42 By the time John's letter was first circulated among the 05:45 churches of Asia Minor, they knew a thing or two about living 05:48 their faith in the face of persecution. 05:51 Even though the Roman Empire was tolerant of various religious 05:54 ideas, the Christians became the exception to the rule. 05:59 They became the most hated group on earth. 06:04 So you can imagine what kind of impact the thirteenth chapter of 06:06 Revelation would have on them. 06:09 Here's a beast, coming up out of the sea, who manages to 06:13 captivate the world, and who kills off anybody who stands in 06:16 its way. 06:18 If Nero was bad, this was going to be worse. 06:22 How much worse? 06:23 We'll look at that in a moment. 06:27 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says "It is written 'Man shall 06:31 not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of 06:35 the mouth of God'." 06:37 Every Word is a one minute Bible-based daily devotional 06:40 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed especially 06:43 for busy people like you. 06:44 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it on-line 06:49 everyday on our website itiswritten.com. 06:53 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 06:55 Watch Every Word. 06:56 You'll be glad you did. 07:01 If Nero was bad, this was going to be a lot worse. 07:06 For the last two thousand years, Christians have pored over the 07:10 last book of the Bible, trying to establish who or what the 07:13 "beast" of Revelation thirteen represents. 07:16 In the earliest days, there were people who pointed to the 07:19 Emperor Nero, but as Nero died and Christianity continued, 07:23 other candidates starting coming to light. 07:25 For example, the early church father Irenaeus continued to 07:28 look to the city of Rome for his candidate, as did Tertullian, 07:32 Victorinus, Jerome, and a host of other significant early 07:36 Christians. 07:37 Today, however, the search for the "beast" of Revelation is 07:40 decidedly less focused, with Christians choosing candidates 07:45 from just about every imaginable walk of life. 07:48 When Hitler rose to power in the 1930s, some people were certain 07:51 that he was the antichrist. 07:54 You can imagine why they might have thought that. 07:57 He may have spoken "great words," like the beast, and he 08:00 may have waged war against half the planet, but nobody outside 08:04 of a tiny group of Nazis actually worshiped Adolph 08:08 Hitler, and his global ambitions came to an abrupt end in the 08:11 Führerbunker in 1945. 08:14 Other popular suggestions have included Napoleon Bonaparte, 08:18 Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 08:21 and even Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. 08:26 But instead of sorting through the mass of suggested 08:29 candidates, we're going to look at the original description, the 08:33 way John wrote it. 08:34 In just a moment, we're going to start unpacking Revelation 13 08:38 itself. 08:41 ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪♪♪♪ It's time for today's Bible 08:58 question and here it is. 09:01 I heard a preacher who predicted the end of the world on a 09:04 certain day, but that day came and went. 09:10 How do we know when the second coming will really happen? 09:13 You know what? 09:14 You're probably going to hear that sort of prediction again 09:17 before too long. 09:19 It seems that people never learn. 09:21 One of the really sad things about failed predictions about 09:23 the return of Jesus is that they cause a lot of people to 09:26 consider the whole idea to be nonsensical. 09:29 But here's what we know: We know that the Bible says Jesus is 09:33 going to return to this earth. 09:34 Now your question is, How do we know when the second coming will 09:37 really happen? 09:40 I'll tell you exactly when the second coming is going to 09:43 happen. 09:45 Follow me now. 09:47 In Matthew 24, Jesus gives us a lot of signs, harbingers of his 09:51 second coming. 09:52 He mentions war and rumours of wars; he mentions famines; 09:56 pestilences; earthquakes... 09:57 And if you take a look at all the signs listed and then look 10:00 at the world around you, you might get the idea that Jesus' 10:04 return is near. 10:06 Jesus said in Matthew 24:33, "When ye shall see all these 10:09 things, know that it is near, even at the doors." 10:16 Jesus spoke of these things in response to a question about the 10:19 end of the world. 10:20 He lists the signs and then says, When you see them 10:24 happening, you can know that my return is near. 10:29 Of course, these are subjective to a degree. 10:31 Haven't there always been earthquakes and famines? 10:34 The answer is yes. 10:35 But in Mt 24:8, Jesus spoke of these things as being like birth 10:40 pains. 10:41 The closer to the arrival of the baby, the more frequent and the 10:44 more intense they become. 10:46 Maybe with what seems to be an increasing amount of tsunamis 10:50 and floods and fires and earthquakes we're at that place 10:52 where Jesus coming is even at the doors. 10:57 I said a moment ago I would tell you when Jesus is going to 10:59 return. 11:00 Here's the answer. 11:01 "Soon." 11:04 Jesus is coming back soon. 11:07 That's what the signs seem to be indicating. 11:12 If you have a question you'd like answered, go to our website 11:14 - www.ItIsWritten.com and click on the questions tab. 11:19 Submit your question, and in a future programme I might be able 11:22 to answer your question too. 11:23 If you have a question for pastor John Bradshaw, please 11:29 write to It is Written, P. O. Box O, 11:32 Thousand Oaks, Calfornia 91359 or visit our website 11:35 itiswritten.com and send us your questions on-line. 11:41 So what kind of information does John provide about the Beast of 11:44 Revelation 13? 11:46 In trying to understand this, it's important to gather as much 11:50 Biblical information as we can so we don't start speculating 11:53 and taking things out of context. 11:56 Really, what we want to know is what John would have understood 11:59 by the symbols being used. 12:01 That way you end up with the big picture instead of with 12:04 prophetic theories that have to change every time there's a new 12:07 headline in the news. 12:10 It's such a detailed chapter that we're not going to have 12:12 enough time to look at everything in one program, but 12:15 let's start collecting the data and see what kind of picture 12:18 begins to emerge. 12:21 To begin with, John sees this "beast" coming up out of the 12:24 sea. 12:26 In Revelation 17--a passage that closely parallels Revelation 12:30 13--you find a very explicit description of what John 12:35 understood by the symbol of "water". 12:37 Revelation 17:15 Then he said to me, "The waters which you saw, 12:45 where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, 12:50 and tongues. 12:51 NKJV You know, over the years, I've seen all sorts of 12:55 speculation when it comes to Bible prophecy. 12:58 I've got to tell you about one guy who came to me after I had 13:03 presented a study on the subject. 13:05 He said to me "John, I think you've got it all wrong. 13:08 This beast of Revelation is actually Proctor and Gamble. 13:14 You know, the large company that produces all kinds of products." 13:18 I was terrified. 13:19 I mean I like Pringles and if eating Pringles was going to get 13:21 me the mark of the beast, I'm in big trouble. 13:24 I said, Ok, tell me why Proctor and Gamble is the antichrist. 13:29 Evidently, so his explanation went, Proctor and Gamble used to 13:32 have some funky little logo or maybe still does, that if you 13:36 held it right and looked at it just right or the wrong way 13:39 maybe it looked like 3 sixes or something like that. 13:43 He was convinced the antichrist was Proctor and Gamble. 13:47 I said okay, tell me, how can you be so certain the antichrist 13:51 is Proctor and Gamble? 13:53 And he said to me, "John, do you know where Proctor and Gamble's 13:56 head corporate offices are? 14:01 I said "come on, man, you're not serious" I did know. 14:04 He said "I'm serious." 14:06 He said "They're in Cin-cinatti and the antichrist, the Bible 14:11 says is the man of sin. 14:14 I said man, I know it's the man of sin, but I don't read where 14:18 the Bible says it's the man of Cincinatti. 14:20 I mean, that idea was popular a while ago, what about 20 years 14:24 ago but it's so far out there that if you believe that, you'll 14:29 be anything. 14:31 Here's what I've discovered. 14:33 If you simply let the Bible speak for itself instead of 14:35 taking a shot in the dark, usually, you're going to find 14:38 that it does a pretty good job of explaining itself. 14:42 In Revelation 13, you've got an animal coming up out of the sea, 14:47 in and in Revelation 17, you've got a prostitute sitting on the 14:51 waters. 14:52 They're parallel chapters, and one of them describes what the 14:55 symbol of water means: it's "peoples, multitudes, nations 14:59 and tongues." 15:02 The beast that comes from the sea is something that comes from 15:05 Gentile nations. 15:07 And of course, when John uses this symbol, he isn't using 15:11 something new. 15:13 Hundreds of years before John saw this beast in Revelation 13, 15:17 the prophet Daniel saw something remarkably similar also coming 15:21 out of the water. 15:22 Here, let me show you. 15:26 It's Daniel Chapter 7, and we will read in verses 2 and 3. 15:29 Daniel 7:2,3 Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by 15:32 night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up 15:36 the Great Sea. 15:38 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different 15:42 from the other. 15:44 Notice again that Daniel is standing by the sea, but now he 15:48 adds a new detail: the four winds of heaven are whipping up 15:52 the sea, and then four different animals come out of the water. 15:55 Wind, in the ancient Biblical world, was a symbol for warfare 16:00 and strife - so when Daniel describes the winds stirring up 16:04 the sea, he's telling us that the Gentile nations are fighting 16:08 with each other. 16:10 And those fights produce four different animals - which happen 16:13 to be the same four animals mentioned in the book of 16:16 Revelation: a lion, a bear, a leopard, and then a strange 16:21 looking animal that defies zoological classification. 16:25 The parallels between Daniel's vision and John's vision are so 16:29 striking, there's just no mistaking it: when John wrote 16:33 the book of Revelation, he expected that we would compare 16:38 it to the book of Daniel. 16:40 Not only are the animals the same, but if you do a little 16:43 math, you'll discover something remarkable. 16:46 Because one of the animals in Daniel 7 has four heads, there's 16:50 a total of seven heads - and of course, the Beast of Revelation 16:54 13 also has seven heads. 16:56 The fourth beast of Daniel 7 has ten horns - as does the Beast of 17:01 Revelation 13. 17:03 The two visions are so similar that they actually become keys 17:08 for unlocking each other. 17:10 So what does it mean? 17:12 Now there's no way we could possibly unpack all of the 17:15 details right now, but there's one important detail I want you 17:19 to see in the time we have left. 17:20 There's no need to speculate here, because the Bible leaves 17:23 no room for guesswork when it comes to the Beast of 17:27 Revelation 13. 17:28 You're not going to want to miss this. 17:30 We'll delve into it in just a moment. 17:35 Perhaps something in today's program has sparked your 17:37 interest in greater Bible study. 17:39 We invite you to visit our website itiswritten.com where 17:43 you will find a host of inspirational resources 17:46 including free Bible study guides, there's also a complete 17:49 archive of past television programs and special video 17:52 seminars that you can view on-line or download. 17:55 Discover more at itiswritten.com As we've looked so far at the 18:01 Beast of Revelation 13, and paid careful attention to the 18:04 Biblical details, we've discovered that in Bible 18:08 prophecy, "the sea" represents masses of people. 18:11 And we've found that Daniel chapter 7 is a critical key that 18:14 unlocks Revelation 13. 18:16 Now, let's turn to the nature of the Beast itself. 18:20 Now, keep in mind: in the Bible, when you come across that word 18:23 "beast, it's just an old-fashioned way of saying 18:26 "animal," and while Revelation 13 doesn't outright tell us what 18:30 animals symbolize in Bible prophecy, Daniel 7 18:35 does explain it. 18:35 We'll read in Daniel 7 and verse 17. 18:39 Daniel 7:17 Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings 18:44 which arise out of the earth. 18:47 NKJV Now, it really couldn't get any simpler than that: a beast 18:49 (or an animal) in Bible prophecy usually represents a king. 18:55 And a few verses later, in verse 23, it expands on that idea: 19:01 Daniel 7:23 "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be a fourth 19:06 kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other 19:10 kingdoms." 19:12 So there you have it,i spelled out in black and white: 19:15 a beast (or an animal) represents a king or a kingdom. 19:18 And the fact that the four animals mentioned in Daniel 7 19:23 are also mentioned in Revelation 13 tells us something very 19:26 important: somehow, there's a direct tie between the kingdoms 19:30 of this world and the kingdom of the beast of Revelation 13. 19:34 Somehow, the values, the ideas, the methods of operating from 19:38 Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome are handed down through 19:43 time and find their clearest expression in this entity known 19:47 as "the beast." 19:50 So what you actually have in Revelation 13 is a king or a 19:53 kingdom - a political entity - that really exhibits the 19:57 characteristics of human government. 20:00 It's the absolute apex of man's rebellion against God. 20:05 When the human race made the conscious choice to turn away 20:07 from the Creator and run things their own way, it resulted in 20:11 the disaster we live with today. 20:14 Remember the big picture: long ago in heaven, Satan rebelled 20:17 against God, and what he coveted was worship. 20:22 The Bible tells us straight out that Lucifer wanted to sit on 20:25 God's throne. 20:26 You read that in Isaiah 14. 20:29 After he was evicted from heaven, he came to this earth, 20:32 determined to get on earth the worship he wasn't able to get in 20:35 heaven. 20:36 And so he creates his masterpiece of deception, the 20:39 beast of Revelation 13. 20:42 And if you look carefully at that chapter, you'll notice in 20:45 that verse 2, it says that the beast gets his power, his 20:48 throne, and great authority from "the dragon." 20:53 And who is the dragon? 20:54 There's no guesswork involved, because the Bible tells us 20:58 explicitly: Revelation 12:9 So the great dragon was 21:06 cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who 21:09 deceives the whole world.... 21:12 All through human history, we've been dealing with exactly 21:15 the same situation: a fallen angel has been working over 21:19 human race, using two principle strategies: deception and force. 21:24 He's been trying to obliterate our memory of the living God and 21:29 redirect our worship towards himself. 21:32 The beast of Revelation 13 is simply the culmination of 21:36 centuries of concentrated effort, and the devil's ultimate 21:40 objective is really obvious when you compare Revelation 13 to a 21:44 remarkable passage found in the writings of Paul. 21:48 Here's what Paul says regarding the Second Coming of Christ in 21:51 Second Thessalonians, chapter 2. 21:53 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4 Let no one deceive you by any means; for 21:57 that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, 22:01 and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who 22:05 opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that 22:08 is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, 22:13 showing himself that he is God. 22:16 When you gather the biblical data and start looking 22:20 at the big picture, you discover that this is a much bigger issue 22:23 than bloodthirsty tyrants like Hitler or Nero. 22:27 This is a global issue driven by the subject of worship - and the 22:32 ultimate question is a matter of loyalty. 22:35 So here's what we know: even though the beast is a 22:38 strange-looking animal, it's still an animal, which means 22:42 that it's a political entity of some sort-and it's a political 22:45 entity that demands worship. 22:49 It's got to be something that's global in scope, because the 22:52 Bible says, "the whole world wonders after the beast." 22:56 It's a human kingdom, because it comes up out of the sea of 22:59 humanity, and it represents the very peak of the devil's 23:03 attempts to redirect worship towards himself. 23:06 And of course, that means it's not only political, it's also, 23:10 by its very nature, religious. 23:13 You know, I've heard almost every theory imaginable about 23:16 this, from a massive supercomputer in Belgium, to a 23:20 single head of state somewhere in Europe or the Middle 23:22 East--but a lot of those theories are based on nothing 23:25 more than guesswork and speculation. 23:28 The mystery of the Beast is not a mystery at all. 23:31 In fact, if you want to do something interesting, start 23:34 checking out what our forefathers in the Christian 23:36 church understood about Revelation 13, and you'll 23:39 discover that at one time there wasn't much confusion about the 23:42 topic at all. 23:45 And of course, the real question for right now isn't really a 23:48 matter of identifying the beast - it's more a matter of 23:51 identifying you. 23:53 Right now, at this moment, are you directing your own life - or 23:56 does your loyalty belong to your Creator? 24:01 As the events of Bible prophecy play out in real life, that's 24:04 going to be one of the most important questions in the world 24:08 - because if your heart is not with your Creator, you're going 24:11 to find yourself a sitting duck for the biggest scam in the 24:15 history of the world. 24:17 And when you consider the cross - when you consider what God has 24:20 done to secure your place in His kingdom, there's really only one 24:25 choice to make. 24:28 Today would you choose Jesus? 24:30 Would you choose to give your heart to the Lamb of Bible 24:35 prophecy because ultimately, whoever the beast is, and you 24:38 can know, if the Lamb, Jesus, owns your heart, then you're 24:44 going to be okay. 24:46 Let's pray together, Our Father in heaven, we thank you today 24:50 that the mysteries of Bible prophecy can be made clear 24:53 through the leading of your Holy Spirit and through the study of 24:57 your Word and I pray that you will give us clear 24:59 understanding, a full understanding of this subject. 25:01 Don't let us be swept away by ideas and speculative theories, 25:05 no matter how popular they might be. 25:09 Give us your grace to stand on your Word, to stand on the truth 25:11 and to live surrendered to the one who is the Way, the Truth 25:14 and the Life. 25:16 Bless us now, please, we pray, not selfishly, but that you 25:22 would be glorified. 25:24 We pray in Jesus name, amen. 25:48 An ancient city rises, the most wicked city on earth. 26:04 The prophets said it would be destroyed. 26:10 They were right. 26:16 It has never been rebuilt yet the ancient prophets saw her 26:24 rising and then the world ends. 26:35 Babylon rising. 26:41 Do you know what's coming? 26:45 Babylon Rising is a dynamic book by Pastor John Bradshaw that 26:49 describes the significance of Babylon in Bible Prophecy. 26:53 Right now, this powerful book is available free from It Is 26:56 Written. 26:56 Just call 1-800-253-3000, ask for the book: BABYLON RISING. 27:02 Or write to It Is Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, CA 91359, and 27:06 we will mail a copy to youre address in North America. 27:11 Please note: This free book is limited to the supply on hand. 27:14 For even faster access, you can download a FREE electronic 27:17 version of the book Babylon Rising from our website. 27:19 Babylon Rising is also a four-part seminar presented by 27:22 John Bradshaw. 27:23 For details, please visit our website: itiswritten.com and 27:28 discover more about Babylon Rising, and many other 27:31 inspirational resources. 27:32 It Is Written is a faith-based outreach made possible by 27:36 viewers like you. 27:37 Thank you for your continued support. 27:39 Our toll-free number is: 1-800-253-3000. 27:42 And our web address: itiswritten.com 27:46 Thanks for joining me today. 27:48 And remember - It Is Written: man shall not live by bread 27:52 alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. |
Revised 2015-02-05