Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: RJC
Program Code: RJC000014
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00:21 Well, we would like to welcome you back to
00:24 this presentation on the book of Revelation. 00:28 We are looking at the Two Witnesses 00:32 found in the 11th chapter of Revelation. 00:35 And we hope that as we take a look at these 00:39 you'll be able to put it all together because 00:42 we're still into what the scripture describes 00:45 as the trumpets. 00:47 And we've looked at the 8th, 9th, 10th chapters... 00:50 now the 11th chapter. 00:52 And that's what we'll be looking at here today. 00:55 So we welcome all of you that are joining us. 00:57 Those of you that are here and those that are joining 01:00 by television or by radio or by the Internet. 01:04 Glad that you've tuned in, and we hope that as we've gone 01:07 through this week these chapters in Revelation 01:11 that you've been able to see the things that God was showing 01:16 John that's to be shared to you and to me 01:20 at particularly the time in which we are living in. 01:23 So today we're looking at The Two Witnesses 01:27 found in the 11th chapter 01:30 that, uh, witness in sackcloth. 01:36 Strange that they're in sackcloth. 01:39 But we'll look at that and see what it has to say. 01:42 This brings a section to a close - the 11th chapter does. 01:48 And one of the principles in understanding Bible prophecy 01:51 is that God repeats and enlarges. 01:55 And so He's taking us... for instance, 01:57 one section was through the seven churches. 02:00 Went through there. Now from the 4th through the 11th chapter 02:04 He's taking you through another section. 02:06 Starting with the 12th chapter in our next presentation 02:09 we start another series that talks about right down 02:13 at the close of time. 02:15 So our next presentation is entitled War in Heaven. 02:20 And we'll be looking at Revelation the 12th chapter. 02:24 And it will be very, very important as we begin to 02:27 set the foundation for that next series. 02:30 So we're glad that you've tuned in as we take a look at 02:34 God's Word. 02:35 We're always happy to have Jimmy Rhodes 02:40 and Pam come and join us. 02:43 And of course Dona has worked with me for 25 years 02:49 and so you have to be careful because all of a sudden 02:53 she becomes like family and you just... you know, 02:55 she's just there... you don't say much. 02:59 But she has been a great, great blessing. 03:02 And Jimmy and Dona are going to play for you this afternoon. 03:07 They're going to play a medley of Prayer is the Key 03:12 and then followed with another song 03:16 about How Long Has It Been. 03:20 So I hope you will enjoy it as they play. 03:22 But before they do I'm going to ask Chuck Allgaier 03:25 to come out again and read to you the section 03:29 in the 11th chapter that deals with the Two Witnesses. 03:37 Well, if you have your Bible you know what to do. 03:40 You need to pick it up and turn to Revelation chapter 11. 03:43 We're going to read Revelation chapter 11:1-14. 03:49 Revelation chapter 11, 1 through 14. 03:52 Let's read together. 09:04 Our gracious Father in Heaven, 09:08 we come to You, first, Lord, 09:12 just wanting to give You our hearts. 09:15 Inviting You into our lives. 09:19 Asking, Lord, that You will give to us 09:24 wisdom, understanding, enlightenment 09:30 that as we read Your Word 09:34 we may understand what You have shown. 09:39 And as You reveal what the future holds 09:43 and where we stand, we pray that each of us 09:46 may purpose in our hearts and in our souls to follow You. 09:50 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 10:01 As I mentioned, we are still in the trumpets. 10:05 That's what we're dealing with. 10:07 And we... our last presentation we looked at the 10th chapter 10:11 of Revelation. And it talked there about 10:16 God's people and the commission that God has for them 10:21 and what you and I are to do 10:23 as we prepare for the coming of the Lord. 10:26 The 11th chapter picks up 10:30 on the conflict that's going on between God and Satan 10:36 and God's people and the devil's people... 10:39 and the conflict that develops there. 10:41 That's what we're going to be looking at in the 11th chapter. 10:45 And the 11th chapter - like the 10th - 10:48 is kind of slid in between the 6th and 7th trumpets. 10:54 That's where it fits in the whole thing. 10:57 And so we hope it will help you understand 11:00 exactly what's taking place. 11:02 OK. It says: 11:13 Given a measuring rod. He's told to go and to measure 11:18 the temple, the altar, and the people that worship there. 11:23 Notice that it's talking about God's people. 11:27 This is talking about measuring the people 11:30 as well as the altar and so forth. 11:32 And actually when it says "measure those that worship 11:36 there" this is talking about the sealing... 11:39 the sealing of God's people. 11:41 That's what's happening when it's the measuring 11:43 of the people. So this is the sealing of God's people. 11:47 That's what it's referring to there. 12:03 So here he says: "measure the altar, 12:06 measure the people, measure the temple 12:08 but leave out the court 12:11 because it's been given to the Gentiles. " 12:13 And when it says "to the Gentiles, " 12:15 it's basically talking about those that are against God. 12:19 They're contrary to the Lord, 12:21 so this is what he's saying: 12:22 "Don't worry about the court; leave it out. " 12:26 Well he's making a statement here 12:28 about what is to take place. You see, 12:31 there comes a day when there will be a dividing line 12:37 drawn clearly and probation will close. 12:42 And in these trumpets he's down at the end 12:47 and he's trying to tell them "this is what is taking place. " 12:51 And here are God's people... they are being sealed, 12:56 and here are those that are against God. 12:58 That's what he's dealing with. That's why it says 13:01 the day will come when Christ will stand up and say 13:04 "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still. 13:07 And he who is filthy, let him be filthy still... " 13:16 And then what happens? 13:18 Probation has closed and Christ comes. 13:30 So that's what happens. When that line finally is drawn 13:33 and God in His mercy and in His love 13:37 is longsuffering and is slow to draw that line. 13:42 But when it finally is drawn, that will be the end 13:46 and He's going to come. 13:47 And so this 11th chapter is talking about the conflict 13:52 that is taking place there. 14:04 Said: "Don't hurt anything. Hold it until we have sealed 14:08 the servants of our God in their foreheads. " 14:11 And he's talking here to those four angels 14:14 that are holding back the winds of strife, and He's saying: 14:16 "Don't let go! 14:19 Hang on until we have God's people sealed. " 14:22 That's what he's telling them to do. 14:38 So he's telling us clearly 14:40 that He has given a time to the Gentiles. 14:43 And as you study God's Word, 14:46 you find there was a time that was given to the Jewish people. 14:50 You remember he told Daniel 14:52 "Seventy weeks are determined upon your people. " 14:56 That was the time He gave to the Jewish people. 14:59 But at the same time He has given a time to the Gentiles 15:05 and at the same time it's come to a place where 15:10 you and I are living today, and we are living in what is 15:13 called the time of the end. 15:16 That's where we are today. 15:19 So this 42 months given to the Gentiles... 15:22 this was Jerusalem. This was the temple mount, 15:26 and there in the court was where the Gentiles 15:30 could come and go as they pleased in the court 15:33 if they wanted to... 15:34 but they couldn't go farther than that. 15:37 You had to be part of Israel to go in beyond that point. 15:43 But the court had been given to the Gentiles. 15:49 This is what Jesus said: 15:55 So Christ made it clear it was going to be trampled. 15:59 And that's not just referring to the city of Jerusalem. 16:03 That's talking about God's people. 16:07 That's talking about the end of time. 16:09 That's talking about the time of the Gentiles 16:12 that is given to them. 16:14 God tells us, says: 16:20 Each day for a year has been given, 16:22 so in Bible prophecy a day represents one year. 16:26 He said here it was given to them for 42 months, 16:30 and in Bible prophecy a day represents one year. 16:35 And there are 30 days in a prophetic month. 16:40 Thirty days. If you need to go back to Genesis 16:43 to prove that with the question of the flood, 16:46 it makes that very clear that there were 30 days in a month. 16:49 So if I multiply 30 times 42 16:52 that gives me 1,260. 16:56 So he said it was given to them 16:58 basically for 1,260 days - 17:02 and a day represents a year - or 1,260 years. 17:06 And so we find the time that was given to the Gentiles 17:09 was from 538 AD to 1798 AD. 17:14 That was the time given to the Gentiles. 17:18 That time... God made great, great effort 17:23 to take the gospel to all the Gentile world. 17:27 This is the time known as the Reformation. 17:31 God had done all this to try to bring them to a knowledge 17:35 of truth and to accept Him. 17:37 This was the effort that was being made. 17:50 So here He has two witnesses. They have been given 17:54 a period of 1,260 years to prophesy. 17:59 And that 1,260 years they're going to prophesy 18:02 is going to be in sackcloth. 18:06 OK? 18:15 So it tells us that these two witnesses are two olive trees. 18:20 That's what they are. 18:22 "And two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. " 18:26 OK. That... that's the two witnesses. 18:29 What we want to find out: what are those two witnesses? 18:42 So it makes it very clear that, uh... 18:46 you don't want to harm them: the two witnesses. 19:06 Now there's many people that want to take this prophecy 19:10 and say those two witnesses represented 19:14 Moses and Elijah. 19:16 And the reason they say that is because 19:19 Moses, if you remember, is the one who there in Egypt 19:23 turned the water into blood. 19:27 And you remember it was Elijah who prayed 19:30 that it would not rain, and it didn't rain on the earth. 19:34 Remember those? OK... for 3-1/2 years. 19:37 And they take that and try to make this application to it. 19:43 Let me say that we shared with you the other night 19:47 for anything to be confirmed, for anything to be ratified, 19:53 for anything to be established 19:55 it has to be done in the presence of two witnesses. 20:00 OK. It has to be done in the presence of two witnesses. 20:05 Scripture will not accept and God will not accept 20:08 the witness of one person. 20:10 You've got to have two to substantiate it. 20:13 So when it comes to this, He's asking for two witnesses. 20:18 And why the words "the same power, " 20:21 the same power that Moses and Elijah used 20:25 to establish what they did, that same power 20:28 is to attend these two witnesses. 20:31 It is not saying that Moses and Elijah 20:34 were going to come back in person. 20:35 That's not what it's talking about. 20:37 It's talking about that they are two witnesses 20:40 and these two witnesses will have the same authority 20:44 and power that the prophets of old had: Moses and Elijah. 20:49 That's what the scripture is telling you here. 20:51 And these are the two witnesses. They're two olive trees. 20:55 So Moses and Elijah... of their own 21:01 did they have any power? 21:05 No. They were human beings just like you and I. 21:08 They have no more power than you and I have. 21:11 But the DID HAVE the Word of God. 21:15 God had told them: "It won't rain for 3-1/2 years. " 21:21 They were saying it based on the Word of God. 21:24 That was the authority that they used was the Word of God. 21:36 Two witnesses... very important 21:38 that there are two olive trees and two lampstands. 21:57 So here are the two witnesses. Talking about the witnesses 22:01 being there, and it's talking about the olive trees 22:03 and the lampstands. 22:11 So you have these two here. 22:19 He said: "Tell me... what are these? " 22:21 Now listen carefully to the answer 22:23 because he tells him something very definite here. 22:34 "I don't... I don't know what these are. " 22:53 OK. "Not by might, not by power, 22:56 but by My Spirit says the Lord. 22:59 This is the Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. " 23:02 In other words, again, what he's telling them 23:05 is this is the authority... this is the Word of God. 23:08 And this takes place not by might nor power 23:11 but by the Word of God. This is the way. 23:16 "By My Spirit... " This is how it happens! 23:19 That's what he's trying to establish. 23:27 OK, it's very vital that you understand that because if you 23:31 understand the purpose you'll see what is taking place here. 23:56 I hope you're getting the picture 23:59 because here you have the two olive trees. 24:01 The pipes run from them to the lampstands 24:05 and the oil flows to the lampstands. 24:09 All right, now watch very carefully: 24:22 Now he's talking about the two witnesses. 24:24 He says: "These are the two anointed ones. " 24:28 Uh, I want to read to you this text 24:31 and share with you some Hebrew in here, because it's very 24:37 very important because the Hebrew sheds a light on it 24:41 that you don't get in English. 24:43 So this is what it says: 24:53 The Hebrew there is hada'shar. 24:56 That's the Hebrew word, and it means to produce light. 25:06 So when he said: "Who... who are these two witnesses? " 25:09 he said: "Oh these are the two that produce light. " 25:12 OK. Now you should begin to be able to put it together 25:16 because you have oil... and oil is used 25:20 throughout the scripture. It's also used for anointing 25:24 in the case here of Samuel anointing David. 25:28 The oil was a type of the Holy Spirit. 25:34 Also you remember on the Day of Pentecost 25:37 the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples as 25:41 tongues of fire, right? 25:44 So it has both here. 25:46 "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit 25:52 says the Lord. " 25:54 Therefore if you have oil and you have fire 25:57 what are you going to get? 25:59 Well you're going to get light. 26:02 That's what it's going to do: it's going to give you light. 26:04 That's what you had in the sanctuary 26:06 in the seven golden candlesticks 26:08 where the oil was placed in there and it produced light... 26:12 shine. So he's saying: "These two anointed ones 26:16 which are the two that produce light 26:20 they are My witnesses. " 26:36 You know, it's always been amazing to me - 26:40 and I'm sure that Pastor Jim Gilley back here 26:43 can testify to this as well as I can - 26:46 that when you're holding an evangelistic meeting 26:50 and you're preaching and you're trying to explain 26:56 the Word of God and particularly the question of salvation 27:00 and you're trying to get across what it means 27:04 and as you're explaining it all of a sudden you can see... 27:08 you literally, folks, can see something happen 27:12 in the eyes of some people: the light comes on. 27:15 Bang! You know it... you see it, 27:18 you know that it happened. Light came on! 27:20 They saw it, got hold of it. 27:22 This is what it's talking about: the light that shines. 27:25 They say: "Oh, I see that! " 27:28 And they take hold of the hope that there is in Christ. 27:31 That's why it says: "Your Word is a lamp to my feet, 27:34 a light to my path. " 27:36 The light comes on! Boy, I can remember when it happened to me. 27:40 I can remember when I saw the Word of God 27:43 and I saw what it was talking about. 27:45 What... it just opened up! 27:48 I began to see things I'd never understood before. 28:01 In other words, the light shone 28:05 through the power of the Holy Spirit. 28:08 So it tells us when it comes to God's Word, it says: 28:27 So the Holy Spirit is the one who gave to them 28:32 the words of scripture so that when you and I read it we see. 28:38 We understand. It begins to open up 28:41 and it opens up more and more every day. 28:46 I've been reading it for... years, I can 28:50 hardly even imagine how many years I've been reading it. 28:53 You know... but I still read it and the light comes on. 28:57 I see something I hadn't known before. 29:00 It will never come to the place where 29:03 you read it and you know it all. Just doesn't happen. 29:05 I read it and I say: "Oh, that's what that was talking about. " 29:10 That's because it's revealed by the Holy Spirit. 29:13 Comes in... shows you and I... we understand it. 29:17 That two witnesses that it's talking about, folks, 29:21 is the Old and the New Testament. 29:23 Those are the two witnesses he's talking about. 29:27 This is the one that brings light to them. 29:30 And so when He talks about His two witnesses 29:33 that produces light this is the Word of God. 29:36 The very same energy 29:41 that God used in creating the world 29:46 is in this book. 29:49 And so when you and I read it it's not like any other book. 29:55 When I read it there's a power there that you don't find 29:59 any other place. A power, dear friend, 30:02 that is capable of changing your heart and mine. 30:06 It is the two witnesses that God is talking about here. 30:12 Jesus said concerning His Word: 30:29 You see, this it the witness: the Old and New Testament. 30:34 And He says this is what will judge us by it. 30:38 People always asking: "What about somebody who 30:42 doesn't know? " Well, you and I 30:46 are judged by what we know. 30:49 For me to know what God's Word says 30:52 and not to follow it... that's wrong. 30:56 That's wrong. 30:59 But to the person over here who hasn't come that far yet 31:03 God understands that. 31:06 He will be judged on that basis. 31:08 But you and I must also be willing 31:14 to be taught and to learn and to spend time 31:18 in God's Word. Have to! 31:30 So it's saying that these two witnesses that produce light 31:33 uh, this 1,260 days that they're going to prophesy 31:38 is going to be rough... it's going to be in sackcloth. 31:42 That means mourning; that means hard times. 31:46 Not easy... that's the time in which they will witness. 31:56 Now this is talking about the conflict that's going on 32:00 between the kingdom of darkness 32:04 and the kingdom of light. 32:06 And He said: "My witnesses are going to witness in sackcloth. " 32:12 These 1,260 days are mentioned over and over in scripture. 32:29 And here in Revelation 11... all uses a combination of 32:34 this that talks either about a time, times, or half a time 32:37 or it talks about 42 months 32:39 or it talks about 1,260 days... 32:42 which all add up to be in the same period of time. 32:58 So He's telling it simply that a day represents one year. 33:03 So if I've got time that's one year... 360 days. 33:09 Times represents two years... 720 days. 33:14 Half a time - a half a year - are 180. 33:18 That added up gives you 1,260. 33:20 As we just saw a minute ago 33:22 30 times 42 added up gives you 1,260... 33:27 the same amount of time. 33:29 God used that, and as we talked about in our last presentation 33:33 it brings you down to the date of 1798 AD 33:37 which began the time of the end. So what you have here, folks, 33:43 is you have the time of the Jewish people: 33:46 "seventy weeks are determined upon your people. " 33:49 We come down to that, and then you have 33:51 the time of the Gentiles until 1798 AD 33:55 and then begins the time of the end. 33:58 And you and I are living in the time of the end. 34:03 And, dear friend, you're not at the beginning of it... 34:07 you're at the close of it! 34:09 We're down at the very end of it 34:12 and we need to understand that... 34:14 that there's not a lot of time left. 34:19 This 1,260 years was going to be a terrible time. 34:25 This is the time in history referred to as the Dark Ages. 34:34 People were denied the Word of God. 34:37 I mentioned in another presentation 34:42 that by 500 AD 34:46 the Bible had been translated 34:48 into 500 other languages. 34:54 And then it just seemed, folks... it just seemed that 34:58 all of a sudden the curtain closed... BANG! 35:03 And in the matter of 100 years there was only one translation, 35:09 and that was in Latin. 35:12 And if you couldn't read Latin? Sorry. 35:16 And the people that could 35:19 didn't have access to the Word of God. 35:21 So the scripture was basically taken away from them. 35:25 And this became a time of darkness. 35:28 Those people that loved the Lord 35:32 and they loved the Word of God 35:34 and they desired to know the Word of God 35:37 and they had taken and hand- written out the Word of God 35:41 so that they could keep it, those people 35:44 found themselves having to flee from persecution. 35:48 They were hunted and they had to flee to different places. 35:53 And they went up into the mountains 35:57 where they could worship as they pleased. 36:00 I have walked through those... 36:04 through those very mountains; looked where they lived. 36:10 They lived there and tried to worship God, 36:13 but even in those far-out places 36:17 they were still sought and many, many, many of them 36:21 were killed... killed for their faith. 36:26 In fact, during that period of time for about 36:30 a thousand years 36:33 it's hard to describe how bad it was. 36:38 The people were told that they were too ignorant 36:41 to read the Word of God. The Bible was taken from them, 36:46 chained to library walls. If you... 36:49 even if you had a Bible on you 36:52 you were subject to be put to death. 36:56 You couldn't do that. In fact, the Waldensian people 36:59 in order to spread it, took it - little pages of it - 37:03 and put it into their clothing, sewed it into their clothing. 37:07 If they found somebody that was interested, 37:10 they would undo it and take it out and read them 37:12 the Word of God. 37:15 It was horrible during those period of time. 37:19 John Wyclif, known as the Morning Star of the Reformation, 37:28 decided that he would translate the Bible into English 37:33 for the people. 37:36 Had to run most of his life because they were seeking him 37:42 to kill him. In fact, when they finally arrested him 37:45 and were going to, he died on them before they 37:49 got him to the stake to burn him at the stake. 37:53 But this was a... when it says a time of sackcloth 37:58 this was a hard, hard period of time. 38:03 John Hus... and Jerome... 38:09 these men tried to serve the Lord. 38:15 Because they followed the writings of Wyclif 38:19 he was burned at the stake. 38:27 His partner, Jerome, was taken 38:32 and put in prison and just locked away until... 38:35 kept in chains in there until the flesh on his 38:41 body literally rotted. 38:44 And finally... trying to get him to recant... 38:50 When he finally gave up some of his belief 38:55 because of the terrible situation 38:57 and was so sorry that he had even done that. 39:00 They threw him back in prison; burned him at the stake. 39:05 John Hus and Jerome... great, great men. 39:09 But out of this period of time 39:14 in which these men suffered so much... 39:16 And then along came Luther. 39:20 Nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg. 39:24 And you find that things began to change. 39:29 Along came other men like John Calvin and like Zwingli, 39:33 and these men stood up and preached the Word of God. 39:37 And then finally the princes of Europe stood up and said 39:42 "We're not going to do this any longer. 39:44 We're going to follow the Bible; 39:45 we're going to follow the dictates of our conscience. " 39:48 And they refused to follow it, 39:49 and the persecution began to drop off, folks. 39:53 Began to fall off. 39:56 Then you hit 1798 AD - 1,260 years - 1798 AD. 40:01 And it says: 40:11 And that time of persecution came to an end... 40:17 stopped. 40:20 But then something happened 40:25 because the scripture says: 40:41 Now this is the same bottomless pit that we talked about 40:44 just... earlier in the other presentation where it talks 40:47 about the star coming out of this bottomless pit. 40:52 OK. "And he will make war against them, 40:55 overcome them, and kill them. " 40:56 Who is he going to overcome and kill? 40:59 I want to make sure you're with me. 41:01 Who is he going to overcome and kill? 41:04 The two witnesses. That's right. 41:06 "Make war against them, 41:09 overcome them, and kill them. " 41:11 So what happened? Well at this time 41:15 a man by the name of Thomas Paine has written a book 41:19 called The Age of Reason. That has circulated across 41:23 Europe... circulated across Europe 41:27 and people, from reading that book, begin to throw out 41:32 religion. 41:33 The country of France - who had been one of the foremost 41:37 in accepting the Reformation and which through the preaching 41:42 of John Calvin some 500,000 Frenchmen had accepted 41:46 the Reformation and the belief and all - 41:48 France turned against it 41:51 and she began to persecute it terribly. 41:55 But because of the persecution that she put on the people 41:59 when this book came out and the people read it 42:02 they turned on religion. 42:05 They turned on religion so much 42:08 that they established what they called the Age of Reason 42:12 and they threw religion out of the country. 42:18 Said they would have nothing to do with it. 43:17 You see, the Two Witnesses were thrown out. 43:23 Thrown in the street; they were gathered up and burned 43:27 in France. 43:38 They turned against the scripture. 43:41 They burned it in piles, and they took a woman, 43:45 put her on a cart, 43:48 and pulled her through the streets of Paris 43:52 and worshiped her as the goddess of reason. 43:56 And so you find that this beast that rose 44:00 out of the bottomless pit turned on the Word of God 44:06 and killed the Two Witnesses. 44:17 Very important that you understand when it says 44:20 "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt. " 44:24 In other words, it's not talking about the literal city 44:27 of Sodom and Egypt. It's making an application 44:31 spiritually is what it's doing and also to the place 44:34 where Christ was crucified. That is being used 44:37 in a symbolic form. 44:41 What does it mean? Pharaoh? Egypt? 44:45 Remember the children of Israel were in Egypt 44:47 and Moses went in and told Pharaoh: "Let my people go. " 45:00 You find that Egypt represented basically atheism. 45:05 They were against God... went against Him. 45:09 He said: "I don't know the Lord; who is He? " 45:11 And he wouldn't let Israel go. 45:14 Sodom? Sodom you remember was destroyed because of 45:18 its terrible morals... because it had lost its morality. 45:23 And it was destroyed for that reason. 45:26 You see, when they passed a decree to get rid of 45:29 the scripture and they threw the scripture out, 45:33 they lost anything by which they could have a standard 45:37 and the morals in France dropped clear to the bottom, 45:42 folks, clear to the bottom. You can't even describe 45:45 the horribleness of that period of time 45:48 when the whole country lost its morals. 45:51 That's the reason it refers to it as Sodom and Gomorrah. 45:55 And when they gave up the Bible and threw it out, 46:02 if you believed in God, they would take you downtown 46:08 and guillotine you. 46:10 I mean you could not believe in God and live! 46:15 And they did that to ALL the religions. 46:17 Didn't make... whether you were Protestant or Catholic, 46:20 you were guillotined for believing in the Bible and God. 46:24 They died by the untold thousands... 46:28 so much so that blood ran down the gutters 46:31 of the streets of Paris 46:33 from the number of people that they guillotined. 46:36 It says: 46:47 That's why he said "and where our Lord was crucified. " 46:50 He said: "you did it to these people, you did it to Me. " 47:08 Now listen carefully to this: 47:19 Now we're going back 258 years. 47:23 258 years before that is when France 47:28 turned against the Reformation. This is the exact date. 47:32 258 years later this is what is happening. 48:20 258 years later the king of France was beheaded. 48:27 This was the time of the Reign of Terror 48:32 that took place. 48:45 You know, the Bible was ruled out of France 48:51 and it was to lay there for 3-1/2 days. 49:06 I don't have time to go into this, but it always 49:10 is surprising to me. Because France took the stand and 49:13 established the Age of Reason and all 49:15 other nations wrote them and said how wonderful you are 49:18 and how brilliant you are 49:19 and their whole morals were falling to the floor 49:22 and they were losing their whole nation at the same time. 49:25 It's so... people ready to jump on the band wagon 49:30 and not to stand for what is right and what is truth. 49:45 Those Two Witnesses after 3-1/2 days stood on their feet. 49:51 In other words, it says that these Two Witnesses - 49:54 the Old and New Testament that France had thrown out - 49:57 after 3-1/2 days was going to come back. 49:59 Watch this: 50:10 In other words, if there's something that's sure 50:12 it's the prophetic word. 50:13 So watch what happens here: 50:14 January 21, 1793, France threw it out... 50:20 threw out the Bible. 50:22 On June 10, 1796, they voted it back in 50:28 because the whole country had gone down the tubes. 50:33 They had lost everything so much 50:35 and so it was so bad that June 10, 1796, 50:40 they voted it back in. That's exactly 3-1/2 years. 50:42 Just exactly as the scripture said it would be 50:47 it came back to life. 50:49 See? The Word of God stood. 50:52 Now, let me bring this to a close as quick as I can here. 51:07 Here in 1796 AD this is what happens. 51:12 1804 AD you have the British Bible Society. 51:15 The Bible now is being published and sent out to all 51:18 the different countries. 51:19 1816 AD the American Bible Society is established. 51:23 The Bible is being taken everywhere. 51:25 At this same time, Judson goes to Burma, 51:29 Carey to India, Morrison to China, 51:31 Moffat and Livingston to Africa. 51:33 These are missionaries, 51:34 and the Word of God is being spread all over the earth. 51:37 But at the same time you have coming out of this Age of Reason 51:43 the writings of Thomas Paine you have teachings such as 51:47 evolution. Also, new morality. 51:52 You have all these things that are springing up 51:54 at the same time, and these are in opposition to one another 51:59 and will remain that way until Jesus comes. 52:03 And much of the things that you and I face today 52:07 is because of those teachings. 52:10 Unfortunately, our educational system across this country 52:15 is full of evolution. 52:19 Teaches it; students come out not believing in God. 52:24 And yet, this is a conflict that is there 52:28 that's going on because of that time. 52:31 That's when you have Darwin. 52:32 That's when you have these different men 52:35 that taught contrary to what the Word of God said. 52:40 So you and I need to be clear 52:44 where we are concerning the Word of God. 52:57 This is what's taking place. 53:01 This is the time that we're living in. 53:03 And that's why it talks about the Two Witnesses, 53:05 what happened. And that is to help you and I understand 53:10 where we are in the stream of time. 53:13 Because after this... right after this... 53:17 that the seventh trumpet is sounded in which He sets up - 53:23 God sets up - His kingdom. 53:25 That's what happens next. 53:28 This brings the whole part of the trumpets to a close. 53:33 And then the Bible begins to pick up a new scenario 53:38 and take you and I through it step-by-step. 53:41 Dealing, folks, dealing in a very, very specific way 53:45 right down here at the end of time 53:49 and what is happening and what is taking place. 53:52 So we hope that you'll continue to study the book of Revelation 53:56 as we study together. Let's pray. 53:59 Father in Heaven, we thank you 54:03 for Your Word. Thank you that 54:08 You are the One who watches over 54:13 the things of this world 54:17 and that Your Word is sure... that it doesn't fail. 54:21 We pray that we might hold on. 54:25 That we might make it the light of our life 54:30 and that we will walk in the light of its word 54:33 and that we'll stand firm upon the Word of God, 54:37 willing to trust You and to let You 54:41 guide and lead in our lives. 54:44 Bless each one. May the Word of God become dear to them 54:48 and draw them close to Jesus Christ. 54:51 We pray in Christ's name, Amen. 54:56 Our next presentation is on Revelation 12: 55:01 War in Heaven. 55:04 And we're going to take a look at something that begins 55:07 to develop there, folks. 55:08 And it begins to put some things together 55:11 such as the dragon and the beast 55:15 and the false prophet. 55:17 Begins to pull those things together 55:19 that has to do right down at the end of time. 55:22 So thank you for being with us. 55:24 God bless you. Stay close to the Lord Jesus Christ. 55:34 Every day thousands risk their lives to protect and serve 55:38 their fellow man. 55:40 They have a deep commitment to excellency in teamwork 55:43 and when others run from danger, they run to it... 55:47 even if it means personal sacrifice. 55:50 Even if it means making the supreme sacrifice for another. 55:54 They're always on call, ready to serve no matter what. 55:59 Friends, you and I can learn a lot from firefighters. 56:02 In the United States, the majority of them are volunteers. 56:05 That's right... volunteers. 56:08 But even for those who are paid it's more than a job... 56:11 it's a calling. 56:13 Jesus said in John 15 verses 12 and 13: 56:17 "This is My commandment: 56:19 that you love one another as I have loved you. 56:22 Greater love has no one than this: 56:25 than to lay down one's life for his friends. " 56:28 Those who follow the words of Jesus are His friends. 56:31 But Romans 5:8 says that "God demonstrated His own love 56:35 towards us in that while we were still sinners 56:38 Christ died for us. " 56:40 What an amazing thought! 56:42 Christ laid down His life for us 56:44 even though we were not His friends. 56:47 A firefighter is willing to do the same. 56:50 He's constantly preparing for his next mission 56:53 because his own life and the life of others 56:56 depends on his training and qualifications. 56:59 My friends, that's what we're doing right now 57:03 with this series: we are preparing you 57:05 for what is to come. 57:07 Our goal is to make you skilled in the Word 57:10 so that by the power of God you can bring others to safety - 57:14 the safety that can be found only 57:16 in the arms of a loving Savior. 57:18 Won't you help us to train and prepare others 57:21 to fulfill this mission? 57:23 Please consider what you can for for those who 57:26 still don't know about Jesus. 57:28 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:29 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 57:44 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word 57:48 through television. Your gifts bring the blessed hope 57:50 of salvation to millions around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17