Participants: Pr. Louis Torres
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000730
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01:00 Hello, and welcome to Digging Up The Future.
01:03 Welcome back to our prophecy seminar. 01:05 We're glad that you've joined us today. 01:07 And Pastor Louis Torres has been leading the step-by-step 01:11 through the biblical prophecies and it's been exciting. 01:14 We've learned a lot of different things, 01:16 but today's subject I think 01:17 you'll find especially interesting. 01:19 The Beast of Revelation 13. 01:22 Throughout the Bible, 01:23 there was many different beasts. 01:25 What is a beast? What does it mean? 01:27 And especially, that beast in Revelation 13, 01:30 there's actually a couple of them, 01:31 but we'll be looking at one of them today, 01:34 and I know you'll find it fascinating, 01:36 but for us to really understand, 01:38 we need to have God's presence with us. 01:39 So let's just ask for His presence now 01:42 before we enter in this most important study. 01:44 Let's bow our heads together. 01:46 Father in heaven, today we're indeed grateful 01:49 that You wrote or inspired people 01:52 to write the entire Bible and the last book, 01:55 the one that's hot off the press if you will, 01:58 the one that's was written last, 1890, 02:01 we're gonna just open that up today 02:04 and You've written it in such a way 02:07 that it will reveal You and so we ask that 02:09 You would reveal yourself to us, 02:11 we ask that Your spirit would be with us, 02:14 and we come in Jesus' name. 02:16 Amen. 02:17 Well, before we hear about this beast of Revelation 13, 02:24 we need to be reminded 02:25 that Jesus wants to be with us day by day, 02:29 and at every passing moment and Chris will remind us 02:32 an Anthea as they play 02:34 this wonderful rendition of Day By Day. 05:55 Thank you so much again. 05:57 What a lovely rendition. 05:59 Day by day, it's always nice to know 06:02 that the Lord can be with us, day by day. 06:08 A pharmacist one night had to have night duty. 06:19 And as the night wore on, he became sleepy. 06:25 And there was no business going on, 06:29 no one seemed to be coming. 06:31 And so he thought, it would be nice 06:35 to just take a nap, so he went and locked the door, 06:39 went down on his cot, and went off to sleep. 06:45 As he went into a deep sleep, all of a sudden, 06:49 there was a rap at the door. 06:52 And he was abruptly waken out of his sleep, 06:57 so shaking his head, he went to the door, 07:01 opened the door, 07:02 and there was a little boy with a handwritten note. 07:07 Mister, can you fill this up for mom? 07:11 Well, the man took the note, he was still a little groggy, 07:16 and irritated that his good sleep had been broken. 07:21 So he was anxious to get this done, 07:24 and get the little boy out as quickly as possible. 07:26 So he went to the counter, filled the prescription, 07:29 and gave it to the boy, sent him off, locked the door, 07:33 and went back to his cot to sleep. 07:37 But for some reason, he couldn't sleep, 07:42 and now he was upset that not only was he awoken, 07:46 but now he couldn't go back to sleep. 07:48 Well, he decided, I'll go on the counter 07:51 and go through the prescriptions 07:53 that I have filled and file them away. 07:55 Well, as he was doing that 07:57 he came to the last one that he had just filled, 07:59 and as he looked at it, and his eyes focused on it, 08:04 he immediately realized that he had made a great mistake. 08:09 He had placed in the bottle the wrong medicine. 08:15 He shuddered to think what would happen to that 08:17 unsuspecting mother as she took the medicine. 08:22 And he did not know what to do. 08:25 Didn't know where the boy came from, 08:27 and so that man went to that cot 08:33 and this time he knelt down and began to plea with God 08:36 to please forgive him for his indolence 08:39 and that God could some how spare 08:41 that mother from imminent death 08:43 as she took that particular medicine. 08:46 Well, as he was praying, agonizing with God, 08:49 there was another rap at the door, 08:52 well, he got up, went to the door, 08:55 and to his great surprise, it was the little boy. 09:01 The little boy had tears in his eyes, 09:04 and he said, Mister, I was running down the street 09:09 and I fell and the bottle broke. 09:12 Would you mind refilling that prescription for mama? 09:16 Oh, I tell you, it was one greatly relieved pharmacist. 09:21 He this time went to the counter, 09:23 and made sure that he placed the right medicine 09:26 in the bottle, sent off the boy. 09:29 And then went down and knelt and prayed 09:31 and thanked the good Lord 09:33 for sending an angel to trip that little boy, 09:36 so that mother could be spared. 09:38 And his own career as well. 09:41 Ah, friends, listen, isn't it true 09:47 and it's important to get the right medicine. 09:53 The Bible warns us about the wrong medicine. 09:57 And there's something far more desperately 10:01 dangerous to take than just physical medicine, 10:06 spiritual medicine, the wrong spiritual medicine 10:10 can have eternal consequences. 10:14 Notice what God says 10:16 in the Book of Revelation 14:7-10. 10:23 Many of you may know these references 10:26 as we are turning to it, Revelation 14:7-10. 10:31 Notice it says, that God is warning, 10:37 "Saying with a loud voice." 10:38 What kind of voice? A loud voice. 10:40 "Fear God, and give glory to him, 10:42 for the hour of his judgment has come 10:44 and worship him that made heaven, 10:47 and earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters." 10:50 And it says, "there followed another angel, saying, 10:52 Babylon, Babylon is fallen, that great city, 10:55 because she made all nations drink of the wine 10:57 of the wrath of her fornication." 11:00 And the third angel followed them, 11:01 saying with a loud voice, 11:03 "If any man worshipped the beast in his image, 11:05 and received his mark in his forehead, 11:07 or in his hand. 11:09 The same shall drink of the wrath of God," 11:11 pardon me, "of the wine of the wrath of God, 11:14 which is poured out without mixture 11:15 into the cup of his indignation 11:18 and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone 11:20 in the presence of the holy angels, 11:22 and in the presence of the Lamb." 11:24 Now that sounds again as I'd mentioned 11:28 the other night as a arbitrary God 11:30 demanding something but, no, friends, 11:33 God here is anxiously concerned 11:36 that his children on planet earth 11:39 do not understand that there is a wrong medicine, 11:42 spiritual medicine being offered. 11:44 And the consequences bring eternal, 11:47 fatal for eternity, pardon me, to those who take it. 11:55 What does it says that the Bible speaking to them? 11:57 Well, it's warning against the beast's power. 12:01 And what is the beast? 12:03 Well, people have different ideas of what the beast is? 12:05 I think you probably have heard people come up 12:08 with I remember for example several years ago 12:12 when President Ronald Reagan was a president, 12:14 they thought he was the beast. 12:16 And I remember for example 12:18 there was a big, big computer that was called a beast. 12:22 There are many, many, many ideas 12:24 about the beast and also about 666. 12:27 But I think it's important for us to see 12:29 what the Bible says about this 12:31 but I am wanted to understand 12:33 that the main issue here is that 12:35 God has sent a message to planet earth 12:40 that will save, a gospel that saves. 12:43 And if you remember what it says, 12:44 in the Book of Galatians 1:6-9, 12:48 notice Paul writing and warning the Christians, 12:51 "I marvel that you are so soon removed from him 12:54 that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel." 12:58 Notice, what's their concern? That there was another gospel. 13:02 Then it says, "Which is not another, 13:04 but there be some that trouble you, 13:06 and would pervert the gospel of Christ." 13:10 Then he continues to write, 13:11 "But though we, or an angel from heaven, 13:15 preach any other gospel unto you than that 13:17 which we have preached unto you, 13:19 let him be accursed." 13:22 And Paul doesn't stop there, he simply says, 13:25 "And as we said before, we again so say-- again, 13:30 if any man preach any other gospel unto you 13:33 that you have heard or received, 13:36 let him be accursed." 13:37 This is a strongest denunciation 13:40 the Bible writers can write, let him be accursed. 13:46 Obviously, there is a controversy going on 13:50 and it is in the religious arena 13:53 because we see now that one the man's worship, 13:57 the other one is saying you need to watch out 13:59 for that medicine that seems to be the right one, 14:03 but it will bring eternal consequences. 14:08 In fact, the scripture says, 14:10 "that there is a power that opposed 14:15 and exalts of itself or himself 14:17 above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, 14:20 so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, 14:24 showing himself that he is God." 14:27 A counterfeit, if you please, of gospel of Christ's. 14:37 Who is the beast then? What is the beast? 14:40 And how will that affect you and me 14:44 in the future as we dig up the future. 14:47 Let's study what the Bible says 14:48 first in the past and then we go into the future. 14:52 First of all, we turn to Revelation 13:1-8. 14:57 Revelation 13, if you have your Bibles again, 15:00 Revelation 13 begins with a description 15:04 of the end of Christ and here is what it says, 15:06 "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, 15:08 and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, 15:12 having seven heads and ten horns, 15:14 and upon his horns ten crowns, 15:15 and upon his heads the names of blasphemy. 15:18 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, 15:21 and his feet were as the feet of a bear, 15:24 and his mouth as the mouth of a lion 15:26 and the dragon gave him his power, 15:28 and his seat, and great authority." 15:31 Then it says, "And I saw one of his heads 15:34 as it were wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed 15:37 and all the world wondered after the beast." 15:41 Then it says, "And they worshipped the beast," 15:43 pardon me, "the dragon which gave power unto the beast 15:46 and they worshipped the beast as well, 15:47 saying, who is like unto the beast? 15:50 Who is able to make war with him? 15:55 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things 15:59 and blasphemies and power was given unto him 16:01 to continue forty and two months. 16:03 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, 16:06 to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, 16:09 and of them that dwell in heaven." 16:12 Then it says finally, "And it was given unto him 16:14 to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, 16:17 and to power was given unto him over all kindreds, 16:20 and tongues, and nations. 16:23 And all that dwell on the earth?" 16:24 How many? 16:25 "All that dwell on the earth shall worship him, 16:28 whose names are not written 16:30 in the book of life of the Lamb slain 16:34 from the foundation of the world. 16:35 If any man have an ear, let him hear." 16:37 My friends, let me ask you a question? 16:40 If God pronounces such strong denunciations 16:44 about receiving the beast of them-- 16:45 or worshipping the beast or receiving the mark 16:48 in the forehead or on the hand. 16:50 Don't you think then the God wants you to know what it is? 16:53 There are people who say, well, you cannot know what it is? 16:55 The book is a closed book but, my friends, 16:57 it is clear that if God warns, 17:00 He only warns because He wants you to know 17:03 what to evade, what to escape and what to not accept. 17:07 And so He will not do give us information 17:11 without helping us to understand 17:13 what are they or so, what is the base, 17:15 how can we determine what it is. 17:17 And how can we come to the place 17:19 where we then know how it will affect us. 17:22 First of all, this particular beast 17:25 that rises out of the sea, the scripture says 17:28 looks like a leopard where the mouth of a lion 17:33 and it has seven heads and ten crowns 17:36 and the feet are the feet of a bear. 17:40 Now how many of you have been to a zoo, 17:42 who even seen an animal like this. 17:45 Well, no one has ever seen an animal like this. 17:47 The only animal that maybe something 17:50 that appears to be parts of other animals 17:53 it's called a Platypus 17:55 but otherwise no one has ever seen a leopard 17:58 like this with seven heads 17:59 and ten horns and feet like a bear. 18:02 The interesting thing is that it is in Revelation 13 18:06 and this verse that you will find 18:08 it mentioning this particular animal. 18:11 Where else in the Bible 18:12 then can we find information that helps us 18:15 to describe or to find out who this beast power is? 18:20 We must turn then to the Book of Daniel. 18:22 And if you have your Bibles, look at Daniel chapter 7. 18:26 And beginning in Daniel chapter 7, 18:28 we start there with that great prophet Daniel, 18:30 who loved God, who prayed for understanding 18:32 and God sent understanding to him. 18:35 The Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation, 18:38 you find then that they are two books 18:40 that are apocalyptic in nature. 18:42 There are many, many prophetic books 18:44 such are the major prophets like Isaiah, 18:47 Jeremiah, Ezekiel, these are classical prophecies 18:50 but there are two books that are apocalyptic in nature 18:53 and these books are Daniel and Revelation, 18:55 sister books as you please, if you please. 18:58 One is in the Old Testament, one is in the New Testament. 19:01 One sheds light on the other and one borrows from the other. 19:06 So let's find out then what the scripture says? 19:08 Look at Daniel 7:1, 19:10 "In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, 19:13 Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed, 19:17 then he wrote the dream, 19:19 and told the sum of the matters." 19:21 So here is what Daniel saw, Dan speak-- 19:24 and Daniel said, I saw in my vision by night, 19:28 and, behold, the four winds 19:29 of the heaven strove upon the earth," 19:31 pardon me, "upon the sea. 19:33 And four great beasts came up from the sea, 19:35 diverse one from another." 19:38 So Daniel saw four beasts come up out of the sea. 19:44 Four beasts that come up out of the sea. 19:47 Then it says, "That the first one 19:51 has wings of a lion," notice verse four. 19:55 It says then, "The first was like a lion, 19:58 and had wings, eagle wings 19:59 I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked up 20:03 and it was lifted up from the earth, 20:05 and made stand upon the feet as a man, 20:07 and a man's heart was given to it." 20:08 So the first beast says a lion with what? 20:12 With wings. 20:13 Then it says, 20:14 that the second beast is a bear. 20:16 Notice verse 5, "And behold another beast, 20:20 a second, like unto a bear," 20:22 and this particular beast then it says, 20:24 "it raised up itself on one side, 20:27 and it had three ribs in his mouth 20:30 between his teeth and they said thus to it, 20:34 'arise, devour much flesh.'" 20:36 So we find then that the second beast is a bear. 20:40 Then there's a third beast that follows 20:42 and this third beast is in verse 6. 20:44 Notice it says, "After this I beheld, 20:46 and lo another, like a leopard, 20:48 which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl, 20:54 the beast had also four heads and dominion was given to it." 20:59 Notice it says, dominion was given to it. 21:01 And finally then we read the other beast and it says, 21:06 "After this I saw" in verse 7, 21:08 "in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, 21:12 dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly, 21:15 and it had great iron teeth, 21:16 it devoured and brake in pieces, 21:18 and stamped the residue with the feet of it 21:21 and it was diverse from all the beasts 21:23 that were before it and it had," how many horns? 21:26 "Ten horns." 21:27 Now notice, Daniel sees a beast that he cannot describe. 21:32 Well, how can you describe 21:33 something that has so many parts? 21:35 What do you call it, 21:36 as I said the only animal that has different parts 21:39 is called a Platypus 21:41 but other than that, what do you call something 21:45 that has a body of a leopard 21:47 and feet of a bear and mouth of a lion, 21:51 with horns, ten horns and so many heads. 21:55 There's no description, 21:56 Daniel cannot describe what the beast looks like 22:00 but he can give us indications of what it is. 22:03 And so what are these beasts anyway? 22:07 According to verse 17 of the Book of Daniel, 22:10 you'll find then that these beasts are actually kingdoms. 22:15 Notice it says, "These great beasts, 22:16 which are four, are four kings, 22:19 which shall arise out of the earth." 22:21 That's why if you remember it says 22:23 the dominion was given unto them. 22:25 Well, normally speaking, 22:27 when dominion is given unto somebody, 22:30 it means that they have authority over the domain. 22:33 So what is this referring to? 22:36 We're referring to empires that would arise 22:40 and he's talking about that 22:42 they are within the multitude of people 22:45 because the seas according to prophetic interpretation 22:49 represents nations and peoples etcetera and times. 22:53 And so these beasts arise not in the place 22:56 that's sparsely populated but obviously arise 22:59 where there is a lot of people. 23:01 Then the scripture says that they are kingdoms, 23:04 so they are kingdoms that arise 23:06 where there are a lot of people there. 23:08 So what are these kingdoms? Who would they represent? 23:12 Well, according to what we understand the first beast 23:16 if you remember when we studied the Book of Daniel 2, 23:19 you remember that the first head, 23:22 the part of the gold 23:24 of the head of gold represented Babylon. 23:26 So likewise the lion with the two wings 23:29 represents the Babylonian Empire. 23:32 Then of course you may say is that true. 23:36 Well, I went to the Pergamon Museum there in Berlin 23:39 and if you ever have an opportunity to go to Berlin, 23:42 it is a splendid museum because it has artifacts there 23:46 from many different parts of the world 23:49 especially from ancient Babylon etcetera. 23:52 And right in that museum, 23:54 you'll find for example a lion with what? 23:57 Well, with wings. 23:58 And so, yeah, this is a piece of artifacts 24:03 that was taken from Babylon and you can see then that 24:06 they actually had lions with what? 24:09 With wings. 24:10 It meant then that the lion being the king of the beasts 24:14 that the Babylonian Empire considered them 24:16 to be the king of all the kingdoms 24:18 and wings represented that 24:20 they were able to concuss swiftly. 24:22 Well, then that represents the Babylonian Empire 24:27 and if the Babylonian Empire is represented by the lion. 24:29 Do you remember what follows from Daniel 2, 24:33 you remember then that the bear then must represent what? 24:35 The silver or the Medes and the Persians. 24:38 And the reason why it says that it rises up in one side 24:41 is because after the Medes and the Persians got together 24:44 and they conquered Babylonians, 24:45 it was the Persians that took the ascendancy 24:48 and began to be the ones that ruled the empire. 24:52 So you see then that this particular domain 24:56 and by the way you can notice that 24:59 each empire controls more and more territory. 25:03 The Medes and the Persians began the 539 25:05 when they conquered the Babylonian Empire 25:07 and finally they went down in 331 and it happened 25:12 because the Greeks then fought with them, won the battle, 25:17 Alexander the great then took 25:19 the control of not only the part 25:23 where the Babylonians and the Medes controlled 25:25 but also you see it extends all the way now to Italy. 25:29 And so 331 to 168 B.C., 25:33 you see then that a leopard like beast with four heads. 25:37 So what do you have, you have a lion, 25:38 you have a bear and you have a leopard like beast. 25:42 Then it says that there was another beast, 25:47 that it was indescribable. 25:52 And this particular beast had ten horns. 25:55 I want you to notice what it says 25:56 about the ten horns in verse 24. 25:58 "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are," what? 26:02 "Ten kings or kingdoms that shall arise 26:05 and another shall rise after them and he shall be diverse," 26:09 the word diverse means what? 26:11 Different from the others, "first, and he shall subdue." 26:15 How many? "Three kings." 26:17 So here is a beast then the last beast that has ten horns 26:22 and then it says that these horns are actually ten kingdoms 26:25 and then it tells us that these kingdoms come up from 26:29 or from among the-- 26:33 from the division of the last kingdom. 26:36 And then it says that there is another one 26:38 that rises up after the ten horns 26:40 and it removes three and if you remove three from ten, 26:44 what do you have? Seven. 26:47 Well, can you understand why then 26:50 Daniel is projecting forward as to this thing that would come. 26:54 And then John takes it from there 26:58 and then tells us it is a leopard like beast 27:00 with a mouth of a lion to feed up a bear 27:03 and it has ten horns and seven heads. 27:06 In other words, the horns represent 27:10 the power or authority of the kingdoms, 27:12 so the ten horns remain but the seven heads are only left 27:19 which means then that the three were removed. 27:22 So here is the same beast that Daniel is seeing in the future, 27:26 John picks it up now and is telling us 27:28 that this beast has different parts of the different empires. 27:32 So this final beast then in Revelation 13 27:35 is a beast that's made up of? 27:38 Babylon, Medes and the Persians, 27:41 and the Greeks. 27:43 In other words, what it's telling us 27:45 is that it has become a composite empire, 27:49 it has borrowed parts of the others. 27:53 So we see then that this has taken place. 27:58 Now you may say, is your interpretation correct? 28:02 I was, not long ago, preaching a series like this in a place 28:09 called Washington State, Vancouver was the city. 28:17 And there was a man who I visited, 28:19 who is, his wife was attending my series 28:21 and she wanted to, me to answer some questions. 28:24 When I got to her home, her husband simply said, 28:26 I don't believe that. 28:28 I said, you don't believe what? 28:29 He said, I don't believe that this represents that. 28:31 And I said, why don't you believe it, it's biblical. 28:34 He said, well, you can't prove it to me, I don't believe it. 28:37 And I said, well, that's interesting. 28:39 Well, as I was sitting there I was impressed 28:42 to look at this bookcase, the library was there. 28:45 And so I said, would you mind if I look in your bookcase? 28:48 So I went to his bookcase and there I found a Bible. 28:52 A what? A Bible. 28:54 And so I took it out and I said whose Bible is this? 28:56 He says, my Bible. It was an old Bible. 28:59 In fact, the front cover was kind of almost torn off. 29:02 And I was impressed to look in the back 29:05 and so I looked in the back, it was a Presbyterian Bible, 29:08 by the way, given to him 29:10 when he was a Sunday school boy in Wyoming. 29:14 And it was given to him for good attendance et cetera, 29:17 back about 1934. 29:20 And so I looked in the back and opened it to a commentary 29:25 by the Presbyterians concerning what I'm talking to you about. 29:29 And the commentary simply says that, 29:32 these beasts represent who, you'll understand later on. 29:37 In other words, he was amazed to discover 29:39 that they represented, number one, 29:40 the kingdoms that I'm mentioning 29:42 and then of course, they give some more 29:44 interpretation that I can give you later on. 29:47 Now I went to Nuremberg, Germany, as well, 29:51 and there's a lot of history in Europe. 29:53 And when I got to Nuremberg, 29:54 I was interested to discover this building. 29:58 Now this building is a city hall, 30:00 they call it a Wrath House and at first when I heard, 30:03 Wrath House I thought Rat House and so I thought they were, 30:06 why did the Germans have a rat house. 30:08 And then I discovered it's the name for the City Hall. 30:12 Now this City Hall was built in 16th century. When? 30:16 About the 16th centuries and of course, 30:18 people walk by there all the time 30:20 because there is a castle up here, 30:23 you can see, as you walk up on the cobblestones, 30:27 there's a lot of touristic things to see 30:29 and most people don't even take 30:32 note of what's on that building. 30:35 You see these statues here. 30:38 I want you to take a closer look at these statues. 30:42 They are over each door and when I discovered, 30:45 it was amazing, look, number one, 30:47 here is a Babylonian headdress. 30:50 A what? 30:52 A Babylonian headdress and what do you suppose 30:54 is behind the Babylonian headdress? 30:56 Why, there's a lion with two wings. 30:59 And if you look at this one, it's a Persian headdress. 31:03 And what do you suppose is behind the Persian headdress? 31:06 Why? It is a bear. It is a what? A bear. 31:11 Well, let's go to the next door. 31:13 What do you suppose is up there? 31:14 Why? It's a Grecian headdress. 31:17 And what do you think is behind the Grecian headdress? 31:20 Why? It's a leopard with four heads. 31:24 And then if you notice on the other one, 31:26 it's a Roman headdress. 31:28 And what do you suppose is behind the Roman headdress? 31:31 Well, it's an indescribable beast. 31:34 And, let's a closer picture of that. 31:37 Here's the 10 horned what? Beast. 31:41 Isn't that amazing? 31:42 And if you look at the beast even more closely, 31:47 what do you suppose you see? 31:49 Well, you see something very interesting. 31:53 The face of a man. 31:57 The Europeans back in the 15th, 16th century 32:01 quite well understood that these beasts 32:04 represented these empires. 32:09 History underscores that reality. 32:13 The problem is, friends, that as Americans, 32:15 we do not know the history, we have forgotten a lot 32:18 and we do not know what the Bible is really saying 32:21 because we're detached from all the history that's taken place 32:25 but according to evidence and according to history 32:30 we can see then that these beasts actually 32:32 do represent the Babylonian, the Medes and the Persians, 32:38 the Greeks and finally the Roman Empire. 32:41 But listen, that last beast, the Roman Empire 32:45 had a little horn that would come up out of it, 32:47 and do you remember that that the Roman Empire 32:49 would divide into 10 horns, remember that? 32:52 Just as you remember the image when it came down to the feet, 32:56 how many toes did the feet have? 32:58 Well, it had 10 toes. 32:59 So the Roman Empire would divide into how many? Into 10. 33:03 And so here we have it now that's symbolized by horns. 33:08 But the focus of attention of the prophet 33:11 is not on the ten horns, 33:12 but on the little horn that rises up 33:16 and takes out three out of the way. 33:18 And so notice then, that the prophet says in verse 21-25, 33:24 "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, 33:27 and prevailed against them;" notice that. 33:29 So who's Daniel concerned about? 33:31 Daniel's concerned about that little what? 33:33 That little horn. 33:34 Why, because that little horn is different from the others 33:39 and it actually prevails against the saints 33:43 and makes war against God's people. 33:45 By the way, the word saint, 33:48 it's a biblical word for people who are believers. 33:51 If you're a believer in Christ, and you've accepted the Lord 33:53 as your savior, you are proclaimed to be a saint. 33:57 In fact, the apostles often times wrote 33:59 to the saints here and to the saints there. 34:02 In other words, to believers, the word saint 34:05 does not apply to somebody who is in heaven 34:07 and who is holy but rather to people who are humans 34:11 but who believe and accept 34:13 the love of Christ into their lives. 34:15 So how many of you are saints here today? 34:17 Hopefully all of us are. 34:20 Notice then that it makes war against the saints. 34:25 Now we continue on in discovering more and more 34:30 about what this little horn does. 34:32 "And he speaks great words against" whom? 34:36 Well, "against the most High." 34:38 "And shall wear out the saints to the most High, 34:40 and think to change times and laws: 34:44 and they shall be given to his hand until a time 34:47 and times and the dividing of time." 34:51 Now the Bible is giving us several, 34:53 several identifying marks about this horn. 34:56 Number one, it says it speaks against the most high. 34:59 It makes war against the saints and then it says, 35:02 it tries to change the times and laws 35:04 and also that it lasts for time at times 35:08 and the dividing of times. 35:10 Well, all of this is significant 35:13 because in the Book of Revelation, 35:17 it also uses the same language about another entity. 35:21 This particular entity is a woman, 35:24 representing a church in Bible prophecy, 35:27 who is attacked by the enemy in this particular church 35:32 it says, "was given two wings of a great eagle, 35:34 that she might fly into the wilderness, 35:36 into her place, where she has nourished for" a what? 35:39 "A time." "And times, and half a time, from the serpent." 35:44 In other words, you remember it says 35:46 that the bluer horn would make war with the saints 35:49 and so because it was making war with the saints, 35:52 the scripture says then that the Christians had to fly 35:56 into the wilderness as it were to find hiding, 35:59 but it says, that this power would rule for a time, times, 36:04 and half a times, and it says that during this time 36:07 the woman then who is faithful to Christ 36:10 is also hiding for the same time. 36:12 So what is the time, times, and half a times? 36:15 Well, this is a interesting 'cause verse 14 says that, 36:19 but look at verse 6, verse 6 says, 36:22 "And the woman fled into the wilderness," 36:24 you see that, same place, 36:26 "where she has a place prepared of God, 36:28 that they should feed her there 36:30 a thousand two hundred and threescore days." 36:32 So time, times and half a times 36:34 is the same as a thousand two hundred and threescore. 36:38 Now you remember Abraham Lincoln said 36:39 something about a score when he did his famous speech. 36:44 Well, a score's 20 and if you multiply 20 by 3 36:47 how much you have? 36:49 Sixty. So 1, 260 days. 36:54 Now this is interesting because it tells us 36:57 that power is actually ruling for 1, 260 days. 37:02 Well, if you did not know what this symbolizes, 37:07 you would think, well, 1,260 days 37:10 is only three and a half years. 37:12 So that means that this power only rules 37:14 for three and a half years. 37:16 Not a long time that people have to hide. 37:19 No, but the Bible is not telling us 37:21 that they're hiding for three and a half years. 37:23 The Bible is saying that they're hiding 37:25 for a longer period of time when this power is giving 37:28 a far longer period of time than that. 37:30 Could you remember for example, 37:31 the Babylonians lasted several hundred years, 37:34 the Roman Empire less than about 600 years. 37:36 So it would stand to reason then that 37:39 this power could not be lasting only three and a half years. 37:43 It would have to be lasting much longer than that. 37:46 So how long is it? 37:47 Well, according to Bible prophecy then, 37:50 a time and times and half a times 37:52 and 1,260 days the Bible says that a day equals a year. 37:59 So we're actually talking about this power 38:02 which rule longer than the Roman Empire ruled. 38:05 Roman Empire ruled for about 600 years 38:07 this power is going to rule for 1260 years 38:12 and so we find then that the Antichrist 38:16 would rule for how long? 38:18 1260 years. 38:22 A power that would speak against God, 38:25 a power to persecute the saints, 38:28 1260 years it will stand for reason. 38:33 It could not just be three and a half years. 38:39 In Revelation Chapter13 it says, 38:41 it would persecute the saints. 38:44 In Daniel Chapter 7 it says, it would make war with the saints. 38:48 So in other words this power 38:51 once it would rise out of the Roman Empire 38:54 because it says that the little horn rises from among them. 38:58 From what? From among them. 39:01 So if I were to jump from this stage down 39:04 into your midst then I would be among you 39:08 and so the power rises must rise 39:11 from among the Roman Empire. 39:14 But in particular it rises from among the ten horns 39:19 which is after the division of Rome. 39:21 So no wonder that Paul and John warned 39:24 that the Antichrist or it's already here. 39:28 Simply because they already saw his day 39:30 in their day that the Antichrist was rising. 39:34 Well, it would persecute the saints 39:38 and it says that one of its heads would then be what? 39:43 It would be wounded to death 39:46 but then it says that the wound would be healed. 39:49 So now we find then, 39:51 that not only there's a rule for 1260 years 39:54 but at the conclusion of 1260 years 39:56 there's a wound that receives in one of its heads 39:58 but then it says that the wound is healed 40:02 and that the whole world would wonder after the beast. 40:06 So we've seen then, that the Bible's also declares 40:11 that because he is leading people 40:13 into captivity persecuting the saints. 40:15 In other words, and putting them in prison et cetera, 40:17 it says "He that leadeth into captivity shall," what? 40:21 "Shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword 40:25 must be killed with the sword. 40:27 Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." 40:30 In other words, hold on my people because the one 40:33 that's persecuting you will also suffer the same. 40:37 Now here's the question 40:39 and when did all this take place 40:41 and how can we make it a lot clearer? 40:45 Well, there are several other things that we must see. 40:48 First of all, this particular power must be a religious power 40:53 because it requires the man's what? 40:57 Worship and so we're seeing then more identifying marks, 41:02 it would try to change the law of God and the times. 41:07 Notice in Daniel 7:25, 41:10 "It would think to change the times and the laws." 41:13 So obviously let me ask you a question, 41:16 by what does a government rule? 41:19 By laws. 41:22 Government makes laws and by the laws rules its people. 41:27 It only uses its police force to enforce what? 41:30 The laws, and so if does God have a government 41:34 what's the answer? Yes. 41:36 Does the government have laws, what's the answer? Yes. 41:40 Which are those laws? 41:42 What moral laws have God given to us? 41:44 It's called the what? The Ten Commandments. 41:47 So this power would seek to change what? 41:49 The times and the laws of God 41:52 and so it is exalting itself above god 41:55 and the way that governments exalt themselves 41:58 about other governments is to put laws 42:02 and enforce laws above the other laws, 42:05 that perhaps the other government 42:06 had before I got toppled. 42:08 So we see then many identifying marks. 42:12 It will speak great words and blasphemy. 42:14 Now this is an interesting word now it's introduced, 42:18 great words and what? 42:20 Blasphemy. 42:22 If you were to consider this word blasphemy 42:24 I've asked people, what is blasphemy? 42:26 Oh, you same some swear words Christian against God. 42:30 Well it may include that but I want you to notice 42:33 that the Bible has a definition for blasphemy. 42:36 Notice how does, how the Bible defines blasphemy. 42:39 Number one, Jesus, when a man was brought to Him 42:44 and they could not because of the press 42:46 bring them through the door they went up to the roof, 42:49 the roof apart and drop the man down 42:51 in the very presence of the master. 42:53 And when the Lord saw him the Lord said to the man, 42:56 'thy sins be forgiven thee'. 43:02 Well, the Jews when they heard Jesus say, 43:05 thy sins be forgiven thee, 43:08 what did they say Jesus was doing? 43:10 Why does this man does speak blasphemies? 43:15 Who can forgive sins but who? God only. 43:20 So what is blasphemy? 43:22 Blasphemy is when anyone takes a prerogative of God. 43:28 So a person who claims to have the power of God 43:31 to forgive is committing blasphemy. 43:36 In other words, did Christ commit blasphemy? 43:40 The answer is no. Why? 43:42 Because he is god. What do you say? 43:46 But for you and for me to take the same prerogatives 43:49 we are then speaking what? 43:51 We are speaking blasphemy. 43:53 Well, what else, notice then Jesus said 43:58 that He and the father were one and the Jews then 44:01 again are charged Christ with the same. 44:05 Notice, "the Jews answered Him saying 44:07 for a good work with stone thee not, 44:09 but for blasphemy, and because that thou being a man, 44:13 makest thyself," what? God. 44:16 So you can see then that blasphemy is when somebody 44:20 who's a man takes a prerogatives of whom? Of God. 44:25 Now we have seen then that this power actually 44:28 is seeking to take the prerogatives of God. 44:32 And by taking his prerogatives exalt himself above god. 44:37 The Bible call says particular power, a woman. 44:41 If you go to Revelation Chapter 17, said, 44:45 Babylon the Great and the reason 44:47 why I was calling it Babylon the great 44:49 is because we have just discovered 44:50 this particular power 44:53 rose up after the division of Rome, which is where? 44:56 In Europe. 44:57 So the Antichrist had to rise out 45:00 of the division of the European nations 45:03 and rule the European nations for 1260 years. 45:08 And it was consider to be a woman 45:12 which means it was a church. 45:16 Well we continue on to get some other descriptions 45:20 about this particular woman. 45:22 According to Revelation 17:18, 45:25 it says, that the woman is a city. 45:28 It is a what? The woman is a city. 45:33 And so it is a power that rises up out of the Roman division, 45:42 it rules Europe for 1260 years as a religious entity 45:47 and it is called a church and also it is called a city. 45:52 According to Revelation 17:18, let me read 45:56 that to you so see you can see how clear it says that. 46:00 Revelation 17:18, its says the, "The woman which now saweth 46:07 is that great city which reigneth 46:10 over the kings of the earth." 46:12 So the woman that you saw is what? 46:14 The great city that rules over the kings of the earth. 46:19 And so we're finding then that this particular 46:22 Antichrist power, this beast, Revelation 13, 46:25 is none other than a church that ruled Europe 46:29 for 1260 years and that it was a city. 46:34 Well, this is very interesting what do you say? 46:37 Because the more pieces of evidence we find 46:41 the closer we get to identify 46:43 who is the actual antichrist according to the scriptures. 46:48 I want you to notice then that it also says 46:52 that this particular city sets on seven mountains. 46:56 On how many? Seven mountains. 46:59 So it's a woman that sits on seven mountains that's a city. 47:05 Well, you think about it what church in Europe is a city 47:11 that sits on seven mountains? 47:19 As you consider this you can see 47:22 that the Bible is clear concerning 47:26 what this power is? 47:30 Perhaps by now I don't have to even spell it out, 47:34 I think by now you can see very clearly 47:37 especially those in Europe 47:39 who have a background European history, 47:42 I'm sure as we have gone through every point 47:45 and now you're saying, it dawned on you. 47:51 Because you all know that there's a city 47:54 that sits on seven mountains, that is a church. 48:02 The scripture also says that it has a leader 48:07 and this leader has a number, 48:10 his name represents a number and that number is 666. 48:17 Some people have asked me the question 48:19 right here in the meetings, what is 666? 48:22 Well, in Canada, a brochure came out 48:27 and it said learn all about sin, 666. 48:32 Well, it turns out that it really was a brochure 48:37 announcing Social Insurance Number. 48:40 Learn all about sin, SIN, Social Insurance Number 48:45 and it had six points but when you looked 48:47 at the brochure folded, it looked like 666. 48:52 Well, I was traveling down in Jacksonville, Florida, 48:55 and up on the big billboard on top of a building 48:58 there was a billboard saying 666. 49:04 As so when I looked it up, up there to see what it was, 49:06 it was a cough medicine with the number 666. 49:10 Well, their people think that the 666 is some number 49:15 that's implanted in the hand 49:17 just recently in the Vancouver, Washington 49:21 a man who was attending the meetings came to me 49:24 and said that he just is working at Costco 49:29 and that's a place where people can go on buy 49:32 all other merchandise at a lower price. 49:35 That as he was there that he discovered 49:38 that they're already in certain supermarkets have scanning 49:42 and people actually have implanted 49:44 into their hands chips 49:46 that have their credit card information if you please. 49:49 So rather than having to get into the wallet taking out 49:53 the credit card all they had to do is swipe their hand 49:55 and that's all the information already. 49:57 So people are saying 666. 50:00 Well, if the Bible says that it is the number of a man's name 50:06 then we have to concur that it must be the number of the ruler 50:10 who rules this particular organization who is a city, 50:14 who rules for 1260 years, who receives the wound 50:18 and that persecute the saints 50:20 and who seeks to change the law of God. 50:22 So, let's look at what the review says, number one, 50:30 is little horn that rises out of the ten divisions a Rome. 50:34 Number two, it plucks up three kings, 50:36 number three, rules European nations for 1260 years. 50:42 Number four is diverse, in other words 50:44 the other powers were military and political. 50:48 This power becomes a political religious power 50:50 so it's different than the other powers. 50:53 Then there's a man at the head. 50:55 Numbers seven it speaks blasphemy 50:58 or takes the prerogatives of God. 51:01 Number eight, it persecutes the people of God, 51:05 there's a persecuting power during the Dark Ages in Europe 51:08 is great persecution that came upon believers. 51:12 It changes the laws of God. 51:15 Well, it doesn't change it, it attempts to change him. 51:18 No one can change the law of God. 51:20 God is the one that wrote with His finger on tables stone 51:23 and they cannot be changed. 51:25 But there's an attempt to change it. 51:27 It receives a deadly wound after the 1,260 years 51:31 and then it makes the world drunk with her wine 51:34 which is false doctrines, the wound is healed 51:37 and it has a number or a mark. 51:41 So you can see then, it is a woman or church, 51:45 it sits on seven mountains, it is called Babylon the Great, 51:49 it has a number and mark and God's people 51:53 are called out of that organization. 51:59 Now you may ask the question who is it? 52:01 What is it? 52:03 I'm going to let you consider that. 52:07 But I want you to consider this tonight. 52:12 God in His mercy is revealing the reality 52:17 that there is an attempt to you serve God 52:19 and to you serve the salvation 52:21 that Christ has offered to the world. 52:24 Jesus has come down. 52:27 He has given His blood to save you 52:30 and the Bible says there is no salvation 52:33 that can be found apart from His name. 52:36 In the Book of Acts 4:12, it says there's no name given 52:41 among men under heaven whereby we must be safe. 52:44 In other words friends, through Christ 52:47 you will find salvation. 52:49 And why is it then that God gives 52:52 such a strong denunciation against His power? 52:55 It sounds like an angry God? 52:57 No, friends, it's a God of love warning 53:01 but here's what's happening? 53:04 When I was a little boy in the New York City 53:07 we didn't have any place to play except in the streets 53:09 and down in the basements or in the backyard. 53:13 And between the buildings there was this open space 53:15 that you can run from one building to the other. 53:17 And one day we found a bunch of mattresses out there. 53:21 People those days just threw 53:23 the mattresses out with in the street et cetera. 53:25 Yeah, especially in the ghettos. 53:27 So we thought, oh, wonderful three mattresses. 53:30 We pile them up one upon the other 53:32 and began to jump up and down. 53:34 We had instant trampoline. You understand. 53:37 Well, we're jumping up and down, jumping up and down 53:39 and finally after the excitement 53:41 and the acceleration it all wore out 53:44 because we couldn't jump any higher. 53:45 So we thought well, how can we get 53:47 so more excitement out of this. 53:49 We saw the first storey window, we thought great, 53:54 so we push the mattress against the building 53:56 went up the steps and looked up the window 53:59 now you understand that things look a little bit 54:02 farther down than they look 54:04 when you look up, isn't that true? 54:07 And so you know, we were ghetto kids, 54:10 no, you go first, you go first, you go first 54:12 and finally I remember jumping out 54:14 and filling this dramatic acceleration 54:16 as we came down boom bounce of that mattress. 54:20 Well, after a while we decided we needed a little more height 54:25 and so we went up to the second storey 54:27 and by this time you can now understand 54:29 that the heart is beating a little fast 54:31 as you see the distance 54:33 and I didn't want to jump at this time 54:35 because I could see how far down it was 54:38 but you know, again the boys 54:39 no, you go first, you go first, you go first, 54:41 so I got on the windowsill 54:43 and I was dreading this whole experience 54:46 but you know, what peer pressure does right to kids. 54:48 And so then I stood ready to take my plunge 54:51 and all of a sudden I heard 54:53 some footsteps coming up behind it. 54:55 And as I look back 54:57 who do you suppose is coming up the staircase. 54:59 Well, mom. 55:02 And she saw me perch there in the windowsill. 55:06 And when she saw me, you know what she said? 55:09 Isn't he sweet, he's having such a great time? 55:13 You think that's what mother said? 55:15 I don't want to tell you what mother said 55:18 but I can tell you this she told it to me 55:22 in a high loud voice, she said some like this... 55:27 which means you shameless one, get over there. 55:30 And then she gave me all sorts of warnings. 55:32 If I didn't obey her quickly 55:34 it would be worse than if I fell out the window. 55:39 She hated me, didn't she? No, she loved me. 55:45 She saw that I was not sensible enough 55:50 about what I was doing and out of love 55:54 she caught my attention so that I could escape 55:59 from what it would have happened to me 56:01 and I jumped down. 56:05 Friends, listen, the world today is in a state 56:15 where people do not know 56:18 that they're about to take the plunge. 56:23 God yearns to save you. 56:27 He calls you out of Babylon but you must make the choice. 56:32 You must listen, you must decide 56:36 for Christ or against Him. 56:39 My friends, today will you turn to the Lord? 56:46 Will you open your heart to Him? 56:48 Will you see the danger that you're in 56:51 and will you choose to accept the salvation 56:55 that Christ brings to you? 56:57 Will, you do that today. May God bless you. 57:01 Let us pray together. 57:03 Our Father, thank You for the warnings that you give, 57:07 for the queer revelation that You bring to our hearts. 57:10 Oh, God but I goes, 57:13 help us to make it thy church and be on Your side. 57:16 In Jesus name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17