Participants: Jac Colon
Series Code: RNN
Program Code: RNN000020
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00:18 Elijah lived at the time when Israel had reached
00:21 a low point in her relationship to God. 00:25 That spineless, vacillating king Ahab 00:29 had married the wicked Phoenician princess Jezebel. 00:33 And Jezebel managed to deceive God's people 00:37 into mixing in the worship of the Lord 00:42 with the worship of Baal, her God. 00:46 So we find God's people worshipping the Lord 00:50 and worshipping Baal at the same time. 00:55 Elijah did the only thing that a man of God 00:57 can do in a time like that, he prayed 00:59 and God gave him a message. 01:03 So dressed in his camel haired robe, 01:08 he went marching into the king's palace, 01:12 passed the guards, down the court 01:14 to the very presence of the king in the throne room 01:18 and delivers his message. 01:20 He said to the King Ahab, 1 Kings 17:1, 01:27 "As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, 01:29 whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the land 01:35 in the next few years except at my word." 01:38 And just as mysteriously as Elijah had appeared, 01:41 he disappeared, leaving the king and his men 01:44 scratching their heads, wondering, what was that? 01:48 Who was he? 01:49 Anyway, did you notice that funny looking 01:51 camel haired robe he was wearing, 01:52 that went out years ago? 01:56 And who does he think he is to see aloft the heavens, 02:00 so there would be no rain except that his word. 02:06 But there was no rain. 02:08 The days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, 02:11 the months into years. 02:13 Three and half years, there was no rain in the land. 02:15 The crops failed, the cattle dying, 02:18 people leaving the country by the droves, 02:20 when finally God send a message to Elijah. 02:23 And he said, go and present yourself to Ahab 02:26 and I will send rain on the land. 02:28 So, Elijah goes, makes an appointment 02:30 to meet the King Ahab. 02:32 And I want you to picture this, 02:33 Ahab riding in his finest chariot 02:37 with his finest white horses pulling him, 02:40 trying to maintain his kingly composure 02:43 and be in control of the situation 02:45 as he sees Elijah standing there. 02:48 He goes up to him and he says, 02:50 you are the one, you troubler of Israel. 02:53 In verse 16, and Elijah says, immediately taking control, 02:57 not to be intimidated by anyone, 02:59 especially a king on this earth because he served 03:02 the king of kings and Lord of lords. 03:04 And he said no. 03:05 he says, "No, I am not the troubler of Israel 03:09 but you and your father's family have. 03:11 You have abandoned the Lord's commands and gone after Baal." 03:15 Now in absolute control Elijah says in verse 19, 03:19 now he said, "Summon the people 03:21 from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. 03:24 Bring the four hundred and fifty false prophets of Baal 03:28 and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, 03:31 who eat at Jezebel's table." 03:33 What could the king do? 03:35 He had to go along with Elijah. 03:39 And so he agreed to meet him on Mount Carmel 03:42 with 950 of the most powerful preachers in the land, 03:49 950 false prophets, false teachers, 03:53 highly respected religious leaders in the land 03:57 and all the people of Israel and King Ahab himself 04:01 on Mount Carmel and there was one man of God Elijah 04:06 standing in that funny looking camel haired robe. 04:11 King, the most popular pastors and preachers 04:17 and teachers in the land. 04:22 The most favorite Bible school teachers, parents, 04:28 fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, 04:31 all on one side, Elijah on the other side. 04:39 And I think we would stand with Elijah, 04:41 but it wouldn't' be easy. 04:45 God is always looking for men and women willing to stand alone 04:50 in the face of the crowd 04:51 in order to follow the Lamb. 04:59 So Elijah went before the people in verse 21 and he said, 05:04 this is the shortest sermon at least 05:06 as far as I know in the Bible, but the most powerful. 05:10 "How long will you waver between two opinions? 05:16 If the Lord is God, then follow Him, 05:20 but if Baal is God, follow him." 05:23 Period, amen. 05:25 Sermon over. 05:27 I know what you're thinking. 05:30 Preacher, why don't you go like Elijah? 05:35 Well, he didn't' have a fifty eight and a half minute 05:37 television program to fill. 05:42 How long will you waver? 05:46 If the Lord is God, then follow Him, 05:49 if Baal is God, then follow Baal. 05:53 But quit claiming to follow the Lord 05:56 while you are going after Baal. 06:01 You see that's the way Satan works. 06:03 He takes a little bit of error 06:05 and sprinkles it in with a lot of truth. 06:08 He has always done that and he always will. 06:11 How long are you going to waver? 06:13 If the Lord is God, follow God, follow Him all the way, 06:16 don't sprinkle in a little error, 06:18 you can't serve both God and Baal. 06:21 You can't worship both God and the beast at the same time. 06:32 So then Elijah said, I want you to prepare test. 06:36 We are going to test to see who is really God. 06:40 You build an altar to Baal and I am going 06:42 to build an altar to the Lord. 06:44 You put an offering on yours, 06:46 I put offering on mine. 06:47 You pray to Baal, I'll pray to the Lord 06:49 and the God who answers by fire then he is the real God 06:53 and the people said fair enough because Baal 06:55 was supposed to be the God of fire, 06:57 he was also supposed to be the God of rain 06:59 but haven't been able to do anything about that 07:01 for the last three and half years. 07:02 Let's see what he can do with the fire. 07:04 So they prepare their altar, they put an offering on it 07:07 and they began to pray, "Oh, Baal, oh, Baal, hear us." 07:10 And they prayed and they prayed 07:12 and they prayed and nothing happened. 07:13 About noon, the Bible says, verse 27, 07:16 Elijah began to taunt them, cry a little louder, 07:18 maybe he can't hear you. 07:20 Louder, louder, maybe he is taking a nap. 07:22 Louder, maybe he stepped out back. 07:25 He taunted them. 07:30 And then he said, that's enough, 07:35 it's obvious Baal isn't going to answer you. 07:40 And he repaired the old broken down altar 07:42 to Lord, put an offering on it 07:44 and about the time of the evening 07:45 sacrifice he step forward. 07:48 In verse 36 he prayed, "O lord, God of Abraham, 07:52 Isaac and Israel, let it be known today O Lord 07:54 that you are God and that I am your servant 07:58 and have done all these things at your command. 08:01 Answer me, O lord, answer me, 08:03 and then these people will know that you, 08:05 O lord, are God, and you are turning 08:08 their hearts back again." 08:10 And they heard a loud roar, a ball of fire came down 08:13 from heaven and it burnt the offering, 08:14 it burnt the altar, it even burnt the water 08:17 they dumped in the trench around it. 08:19 And the people fell face down to the ground 08:22 and they cried out the Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God. 08:28 And there was a revival in Israel 08:33 because one man had the courage to stand against the king 08:38 and 850 false prophets of the land 08:42 and all the people, one man of God. 08:48 What a man, Elijah. 08:54 And then he told them in verse 40, 08:56 "Seize the prophets of Baal. 08:58 Don't let anyone get away, they seized them, 09:01 and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley 09:04 and slaughtered there, all 850 of them." 09:10 What we have just seen is an intensely spiritual battle 09:13 between false worship of a false god and the true worship 09:18 of a true God ending with the divine intervention in glory 09:23 and the execution of the false prophets. 09:25 Does that sound familiar? 09:28 You have been with us long enough at Revelation Now 09:31 to know that this is pointing us to the Revelation 13. 09:39 And then the Bible says that Elijah prayed seven times 09:42 and finally the Lord sent rain on the land. 09:46 It says, "Meanwhile," verse 45, "The sky grew black 09:49 with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on 09:52 and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 09:54 The power of the lord came upon Elijah 09:56 and tucking his cloak into his belt, 09:59 he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel." 10:01 Elijah was the forerunner to the king 10:05 all the way into the city. 10:08 And the Bible tell us that two times again in the future 10:12 Elijah is going to be the forerunner to a king. 10:15 This time a greater king, King Jesus. 10:19 You want to see that prophecy? 10:22 It's the last prophecy in the Old Testament. 10:25 Malachi 4, the last word that God had for His people 10:31 before it was time for Jesus to come. 10:34 Malachi 4:4, "Remember the law 10:38 of my servant Moses, the decrees and the laws 10:41 that I gave him at Horeb for all Israel." 10:44 Verse 5, "See, I will send you 10:47 the prophet Elijah before 10:49 the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes." 10:53 Remember the law of my servant Moses. 10:57 You see the return of Elijah 11:00 presupposes a falling away 11:05 from the law of God and Elijah comes 11:10 back to restore the law of God. 11:14 Does that sound familiar? 11:17 You see these stories are much more than just stories 11:21 to read to your children at bedtime. 11:24 They are stories that teach us about the time of the end. 11:31 So the return of Elijah presupposes a falling away 11:36 to the laws of God and Elijah comes to restore 11:40 God's law two times in the future. 11:44 That what it says, verse 5, "See, I send you 11:47 the prophet Elijah before 11:48 the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes." 11:53 You say, "I don't see two times there. 11:55 I only see one time, before 11:59 the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes." 12:02 Well, let's ask the best interpreter 12:07 of the Old Testament prophecies. 12:10 How many times does Elijah come? 12:11 Let's ask him, you know who that is? 12:15 Who is the best interpreter of the Old Testament? 12:19 Jesus. Can you trust Him? 12:22 So let's ask Him. 12:24 Jesus, how many times does Elijah come? 12:28 In Matthew 17, the disciples 12:30 asking that very question. 12:32 They came up to Jesus, verse 10 and they asked Him, 12:35 "Why then do the teachers of the law say 12:37 that Elijah has to come first?" 12:39 you see the Pharisees were saying Jesus 12:42 can't be the Messiah because Elijah comes first. 12:45 They knew about Malachi's prophecy and Elijah 12:48 is not here yet, so how can Jesus be the Messiah. 12:51 So they go running up to Jesus, 12:53 they are saying you can't be Messiah 12:55 because Elijah has to come first. 12:56 What about that? 12:57 I think they were kind 12:59 of wondering themselves, don't you? 13:01 And Jesus answered the question for them. 13:05 He said, verse 11, "To be sure, 13:09 Elijah comes and he will restore all things." 13:14 Now tell me, is that past, present or future? 13:21 That's future, isn't it? 13:23 He will come, he will restore all things. 13:27 That's future. 13:30 "But I tell you Elijah has already come 13:35 and they didn't recognize him but they have done 13:38 to him everything that they wished in the same way 13:41 the son of man is going to suffer at their hands." 13:43 Then the disciples understood. 13:46 He was talking to them about John the Baptist, 13:52 and they beheaded him. 13:56 You see, Jesus is showing 13:58 that there will be a double fulfillment 14:00 of that Elijah prophecy. 14:03 Why? Because Jesus comes two times. 14:09 Once born as a baby, 14:14 He came as the messiah. 14:17 Second, on the clouds of glory when He comes again. 14:23 So Elijah comes two times, he is the forerunner 14:26 to the king the first time, John the Baptist. 14:29 Forerunner to the king the second time 14:32 when he comes in the clouds of glory. 14:38 Well, they went running to John the Baptist. 14:40 They said, are you Elijah? 14:41 And he said no. 14:43 Now wait a minute, Jesus said he was 14:47 and John says no, I am not. 14:50 Who is right? 14:54 They were both right. 14:56 You say, well, how can that be? 14:59 In Luke 3, in Luke 3:3, 15:06 "He, John the Baptist, 15:08 he went into all the country around the Jordan River, 15:10 preaching a baptism of repentance 15:12 for the forgiveness of sins. 15:13 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, 15:18 he was a voice of one calling in the desert, 15:22 Prepare the way for the Lord, 15:24 make straight paths for Him." 15:26 It wasn't necessary for God to bring back the man Elijah. 15:31 No, it was the message of Elijah, 15:34 the voice of Elijah 15:36 in the spirit and the power of Elijah to make straight 15:40 and prepare the way for the Lord to come. 15:43 You see they were expecting a reincarnation of Elijah. 15:47 They were looking for the man Elijah and John said, 15:52 "No, I am not the man Elijah, I am the voice of Elijah, 15:56 the spirit and the power of Elijah. 15:59 Prepare the way for the Lord." 16:02 And what did he do? 16:03 He said to the crowds coming out 16:05 to be baptized by him in verse 7, 16:07 "You brood of vipers!, you rattlesnakes, he said. 16:11 Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 16:14 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 16:16 And do not begin to say to yourselves, 16:18 'We have Abraham as our father.' 16:20 I tell you God can raise up children 16:22 of Abraham out of these stones." 16:26 Repent, produce fruit, show me by your actions 16:31 that you want to follow the Lamb. 16:33 Let me see you do it, don't tell me about it. 16:36 The only reason they want to be baptized 16:38 was not to burn in hell. 16:42 So John was telling they needed to demonstrate 16:44 it and don't claim you are children of Abraham, 16:47 God can make children of Abraham out of stone. 16:49 You know a lot of people tell me, 16:50 "Well, Pastor, I don't need to be baptized 16:52 under the water like that, my church doesn't do it. 16:55 Or I go to this church and they do Sunday 16:58 saying Sunday is just fine." 17:00 And another church said, 17:01 "Well, when we die we go up to haven, 17:03 a purgatory and if we put enough in the offering then 17:06 we can get him out of there." 17:10 God can make church members out of stones. 17:14 You are not going to be saved because you belong to a church, 17:16 you are going to be saved because you followed 17:18 Jesus Christ who is the Lamb. 17:23 It doesn't matter if you are a Baptist, 17:24 Methodist, Presbyterian, Seventh-day Adventist, 17:28 that's not going to save you. 17:30 What saves you is faith in Jesus Christ 17:33 and following Him even when the whole world 17:37 is doing something else. 17:40 And so John the Baptist started preaching, 17:42 he said what should we do? 17:43 He said the man with two tunics should share 17:45 with the one who has one. 17:46 Don't collect more than you're required to. 17:48 Don't steal, don't extort money and hear it, 17:51 quit living with your brother's wife, 17:53 thou shalt not commit adultery. 17:55 You see, he was restoring the Law of Moses. 18:01 But the prophet said, prophet said that Elijah 18:07 would appear again before the great day of the Lord comes, 18:11 so we should be looking for another Elijah in the last days 18:17 to remind people of the law of God that He gave to Moses. 18:23 Now where can we find a message to be delivered 18:27 in the power of in spirit of Elijah? 18:30 It should be somewhere in the Book of Revelation, 18:34 if it's the last days before Jesus come. 18:36 So where can we find a message that prepares people 18:39 for the return of Jesus Christ 18:42 to be delivered just before He comes? 18:44 Now you should know by now. 18:48 You think it might be the Three Angels' Messages 18:50 of Revelation 14 and now you're beginning to see 18:54 why they are so important? 18:55 No, it's not necessary for God to bring back the man Elijah 19:00 anymore than it was for John the Baptist 19:02 to be the man Elijah. 19:04 It's the message of Elijah preparing the people for God 19:07 to return and the first angel, 19:09 "With the everlasting gospel, goes every tribe, 19:12 language, nation and people." 19:13 Chapter 14:6. And he said 19:16 with the everlasting gospel, and he said in a loud voice, 19:18 "Fear God, give him glory, because the hour 19:22 of his judgment has come." 19:23 Jesus is coming, we are in the end time, 19:26 we are in the last moments. 19:28 Now is the time to worship Him who made the heavens, 19:31 the earth, the sea and the fountains of water. 19:34 He is quoting the Sabbath 19:35 commandment of the Ten Commandments. 19:37 Remember the law of my servant Moses, 19:40 that's the Elijah message for the last days. 19:45 And you are hearing it. 19:47 I am not Elijah, no more than John the Baptist was. 19:52 You are not Elijah but if you have a part 19:56 in helping to proclaim the Three Angels' Messages to the world 19:59 you are proclaiming the Elijah message. 20:04 That's why it's so important. 20:07 And then the second angel followed in verse 8 and he said, 20:10 "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, 20:12 made all the nations drink 20:13 the maddening wine of her adulteries." 20:17 Babylon has fallen. 20:19 On Mount Zion God's people worshipped 20:22 the creator of the heavens and the earth. 20:25 In Babylon they are worshipping the beast, 20:28 the creature because Babylon has fallen. 20:31 Now what does that mean when it says Babylon has fallen? 20:35 John doesn't explain it. 20:37 He assumes we understand the fall of Babylon. 20:40 Well, how are we going to understand that? 20:44 Remember, Book of Revelation quotes 20:47 or alludes the Old Testament how many times? 20:50 Over 600 times, here's another one. 20:55 Let's go back to Daniel. 20:57 We'll go fast because this is going to be reviewed, 20:59 at least the first part of it, in the prophecy of Daniel 1. 21:04 I want to start at Chapter 1, 21:06 in Daniel 1:1 the Bible tells us, 21:09 "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, 21:11 the king of Judah, 21:13 that's in Jerusalem, God's people. 21:16 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon came 21:19 to the city of Jerusalem and he besieged it." 21:22 So the wicked king from Babylon came to Jerusalem 21:25 and he captured God's city. 21:27 Not only that, the Lord deliver Jehoiakim, 21:29 the king of Judah into his hands along with some of the articles 21:33 from the temple of God and these he took 21:35 to the temple of his God in Babylon and put them 21:37 in the treasure house of his God. 21:39 So they went to Jerusalem, captured the city, 21:42 took the people, took some golden cups, 21:44 remember that golden cups out of the temple, 21:47 brought them back to Babylon and put them 21:49 in the Babylonian temple and used them 21:52 to worship the Babylonian gods. 21:55 So they took something that God 21:57 had set aside and made holy, those cups were holy cups. 22:02 They were to be used only to worship the Lord God. 22:05 They took something that God made holy 22:08 and they used it in a common ordinary way 22:11 as though they were not holy. 22:15 That's Babylon. 22:17 Now Chapter 5, Nebuchadnezzar had died 22:21 and Belshazzar, his son gave a great banquet 22:24 for a thousand of his nobles and he drank wine with them 22:27 and in the middle of that drunken orgy, 22:29 the Bible tells us in verse 2 that he gave orders 22:32 to bring those gold and silver cups. 22:34 So they brought the cups, 22:35 he filled them with Babylonian wine, 22:37 those holy cups that were to be used 22:39 only to worship the Lord God. 22:41 He filled them with Babylonian wine and began to drink 22:44 to the Babylonian gods when suddenly his knees 22:47 began to knock, his face turned white, 22:49 the cup slips from his hand because he saw 22:51 a man's hand cut off, writing a message on the wall, 22:55 he couldn't understand it so he called his magicians 22:58 and astrologers and chart watchers and tarot card players 23:02 and anybody else he could find. 23:03 What is it saying, what is it saying? 23:05 And they couldn't but somebody remembered Daniel 23:08 and Daniel came to interpret the message. 23:10 Listen to what Daniel had to say, verse 18, 23:13 "Oh, king, the Most High God 23:17 gave your father Nebuchadnezzar, sovereignty, 23:19 greatness, glory and splendor." 23:21 And he acknowledged that in verse 21, 23:24 "He acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign 23:27 over all the kingdoms of men. 23:28 Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged God but you, 23:33 his son, oh, Belshazzar, you have not humbled yourself, 23:39 though you knew all of this." 23:42 You see, it wasn't as though Belshazzar 23:44 didn't understand those cups were holy, 23:48 he knew they were holy cups. 23:49 He knew he was trampling on something that God 23:53 made holy when he began to drink to the Babylonian gods, 23:56 he knew what he was doing. 23:58 It wasn't ignorance, he knew the truth. 24:03 And because of that the Bible says, 24:07 "You knew all of this, instead you have set 24:09 yourself up against the Lord of heaven. 24:13 You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, 24:15 and you and your nobles, your wives, your concubines, 24:18 you drank wine from them. 24:20 You praised the gods of silver, 24:21 gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone, 24:22 that cannot see, hear or understand. 24:24 But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life. 24:27 That's why God sent the message on the wall." 24:35 You set yourself up against God. 24:37 How did Belshazzar set himself up against God? 24:41 He took the holy cups, the cups that God 24:46 said were to be used only to worship Him 24:50 and trampled on them, 24:53 treated them like any other cup. 24:59 And the Bible says he set himself up 25:01 against the Lord God of heaven. 25:05 That's why the message came. 25:07 Well, what did it say? 25:09 "Mene, mene, tekel, parsin. 25:11 Mene, God has numbered the days of your reign 25:13 and brought it to an end. 25:15 Tekel, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. 25:20 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given 25:23 to the Medes and the Persians." 25:28 God has numbered the days, brought it to an end. 25:31 You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. 25:34 The hour of God's judgment has come. 25:39 Babylon has fallen. 25:44 Here are the Three Angels' Messages 25:45 right here in the Old Testament. 25:49 The gospel goes to the whole world, angel number one. 25:51 Babylon, Belshazzar, you knew exactly what you were doing, 25:55 the whole world is going to know 25:57 the truth before Jesus comes. 26:00 And those who trample on the things that God 26:02 says are holy are going to know that's exactly 26:05 what they are doing before Jesus comes. 26:08 You see, here's a precursor to the Three Angels' Messages. 26:15 Now, we are ready to understand 26:17 Babylon in the Book of Revelation, 26:20 in the New Testament, because you see 26:21 in the Old Testament, Israel was a literal nation 26:26 in their own territory, in their political structure. 26:31 Babylon was also a literal nation, 26:34 their enemy up to the North of Israel 26:37 and they would come down and fight against Israel. 26:41 But in the New Testament the Israel of God 26:44 is the church of Jesus Christ. 26:47 Therefore, Babylon in the New Testament is the enemy 26:51 to the church of Jesus Christ. 27:00 Today we hear lots of stories in the news and sermons 27:04 and books and novels about Iraq being Babylon 27:10 and that Saddam Husain was going 27:12 to re-build the ancient city of Babylon. 27:18 He is not going to make it, in case you are wondering 27:24 but even if he did, it wouldn't be the Babylon 27:27 that the New Testament is talking about. 27:30 It wouldn't be the Babylon that Revelation is talking about. 27:33 Look, Revelation 18:24, "In her Babylon, 27:39 was found the blood of the prophets 27:41 and of all the saints, and all who have 27:43 been killed on the earth." 27:46 Now if the blood of all who have been killed on the earth 27:51 is found in Babylon, then Babylon 27:55 has to be something more than restoring Bagdad 28:00 or a city near Iraq or a city in Iraq near Bagdad. 28:06 Now get it. 28:09 It has the blood of all who have been killed on the earth. 28:13 Babylon is the kingdom of Satan, 28:18 Israel is the kingdom of God. 28:22 And all who follow the Lamb are Israel 28:24 and all who oppose the Lamb are Babylon. 28:30 Babylon has fallen, what does that mean? 28:33 Now we are ready for this complex prophecy. 28:36 Revelation 17:1, "One of the seven angels 28:43 who had seven bowls came and said to me, 28:48 "Come, and I will show you the punishment 28:50 of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters." 28:53 So he sees a prostitute, a harlot. 28:56 And she is sitting on many waters. 28:59 Now remember that Revelation is a symbolic prophecy, 29:05 that's one of our principles we learned from the first verse. 29:08 The Book of Revelation is a symbolic representation 29:14 of what's going to happen in the future. 29:18 And so the woman is a symbol. 29:21 We've learned already that a pure woman 29:24 who obeys the commandments of God and clings 29:26 to the gospel of Jesus 29:28 represents the true people of God. 29:32 A harlot then would be a counterfeit people of God. 29:38 If the pure woman as we learned last night 29:40 symbolizes God's church that obeys the commandments 29:44 of God and clings to the gospel, then the harlot 29:47 must be a counterfeit church, an enemy to the true church. 29:53 In fact when we compare the Old Testament again, 29:56 comparing scripture with scripture 29:59 in the little Book of Judges 2:17, 30:09 "They, your fathers, would not listen 30:12 to their judges but they prostituted themselves 30:15 to other gods and worshiped them. 30:17 Unlike their fathers they quickly turned from the ways 30:21 in which their fathers had walked, 30:22 the way of obedience to the Lord's command." 30:25 So when God's people turn away from obeying God's commands 30:29 they became spiritual prostitutes. 30:32 They are harlots, they are not 30:33 faithful to God anymore. 30:35 They are faithful to someone else, to Babylon. 30:40 That's what pictured here. 30:41 In Revelation 17:15, the waters you saw 30:45 were the prostitutes, it's our people, 30:47 multitudes, the nations. 30:49 So this woman is a counterfeit church 30:52 that is unfaithful to the commandments of God 30:55 and sitting on many waters, she has a support 30:58 of practically the whole world. 31:04 What's her name? 31:07 Verse 5 tells us that this title was written on her forehead, 31:10 a mystery Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes 31:14 and the abominations of the earth. 31:15 Her name is Babylon, a counterfeit church, 31:20 a fallen church because 31:22 she is not faithful to God or His commands. 31:25 Watch this, verse 3, "The angel carried me away 31:28 in the Spirit into a desert, and there I saw a woman 31:30 sitting on a scarlet, beast covered 31:32 with blasphemous names, seven heads and ten horns." 31:34 Sound familiar? We know who that is. 31:38 So now this woman symbolizing a church 31:41 is found riding a beast, the beast 31:45 that we discovered was a church of the Dark Ages, 31:48 the Roman church from 538 till 1798. 31:51 So now we see a new church riding and built on a platform 31:56 of that medieval church that put itself in God's place 32:00 and try to change God's set times and laws. 32:04 And this new church is called Babylon. 32:07 Watch this now, verse 4, "The woman was dressed 32:10 in purple and scarlet, glittering with 32:12 precious gold, stones and pearls. 32:14 And she had a golden cup in her hand." 32:22 Just like Belshazzar 32:28 who took the holy cup 32:31 and said it wasn't holy, used it in a common way. 32:34 This woman takes something that is holy 32:38 and says it isn't holy and uses it in a command way. 32:42 Not a cup but time. 32:48 God's holy day, Babylon says we have changed it. 32:55 It's not the seventh day anymore. 32:58 Don't burden yourself with such trivia, you've heard it. 33:05 It's the first day of the week now. 33:08 You can work on the seventh day, 33:10 you should work on the seventh day. 33:12 As she tramples something God made holy 33:15 just as surely as Belshazzar profane those holy cups. 33:22 But watch this, "This was written 33:26 on her forehead, mystery Babylon the great, 33:28 the mother of prostitutes 33:30 and of abominations of the earth." 33:32 Rome, the roman harlot is now seen joint together 33:37 with her Protestant daughters who joined with her 33:42 in trampling upon God' holy things. 33:48 So we should see a super church consisting 33:52 of Rome and Protestants 33:56 united in declaring 34:00 that God's holy day is no longer holy. 34:04 Not only that, "The great prostitute 34:08 who sits on many waters and with her the kings 34:12 of the earth committed adultery." 34:14 So once again, like in the past we should see 34:16 this church joining hands with the political powers 34:21 of the state to enforce her doctrines and her decrees 34:26 and her particular brand of worship. 34:31 Four things have to happen for this prophecy to be fulfilled. 34:36 First of all, the Protestant churches will need to merge 34:40 together and then the merged Protestant churches 34:47 will reach across the gulf and join forces with Rome, 34:51 the former super church. 34:53 And then they will have to reach out and embrace 34:56 non-Christian religions and bring them into Babylon. 35:01 And finally, this super church, Rome, 35:04 non-Christian religions and Protestant 35:09 will finally reach out to the kings of the world 35:12 and their political powers relying on them to enforce 35:17 her particular brand of worship and insist on trampling upon 35:22 the things that God has said are holy. 35:26 God wants one church, that's His desire 35:32 but never at the cost of compromising the truth. 35:36 When churches unite despite their differences, 35:39 that means that their differences 35:41 are theological differences, 35:44 biblical differences understanding of biblical truth. 35:48 Jesus said, "I am the truth, 35:50 I am the way, the truth and the life." 35:53 So to merge despite their differences 35:55 is to disregard truth and to shove 35:58 Jesus Christ out of the way 36:00 and you don't have a church anymore, you have an army. 36:07 In March 2000 John Paul II had a plan. 36:12 I learned about this because I am on the newsletter-- 36:14 I get an email newsletter 36:16 from the Vatican called Inside the Vatican. 36:19 I don't know if they know I am a Seventh-day Adventist 36:21 or not but I get it and I am going to show you some stuff 36:25 that's going to open your eyes round. 36:28 But here, this is John Paul II's article. 36:30 As soon as I found out it came out, I got to have one. 36:33 I ordered it and here it is, right in my hand. 36:35 Now this is back before the year 2000 36:37 and this was an article that he had prepared in preparation 36:39 for what he called the Jubilee in the year 2000. 36:44 He called for series of meetings between 36:46 Jews and Muslims and Christians to all meet 36:49 together at Mount Sinai, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, 36:52 three different meeting to prepare for this great jubilee 36:55 where they would ll come together in Rome 36:57 and worship together in one jubilee service. 37:00 And he said-- and it did happened by the way, 37:03 and John Paul II says, "All are called to be a part 37:07 of this catholic unity, the new people of God." 37:11 Do you understand the vision he had? 37:15 His vision was to fulfill John's vision of the harlot 37:19 reaching out to her Protestant daughters 37:21 and bringing them back into the fold. 37:27 Now the author of that paper was Cardinal Ratzinger, 37:33 who is now Benedict XVI. 37:39 Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit said, 37:42 this is a very important document, 37:43 the Holy Father wants to find a common denominator 37:47 in all of our faiths that will allow us to work together. 37:50 He wants to move rapidly to break down barriers 37:53 between the churches. 37:54 He wants temporary agreements to allow members 37:57 to worship together in the jet special jubilee programs, 38:00 but beyond that the Pope hopes to move quickly 38:03 towards full communion, bringing them all in back to the full. 38:06 That's his goal, that's his vision, 38:08 that's his plan and that's exactly what John saw 38:11 was going to happen. 38:14 How the Islamic leadersfeel about this? 38:17 Imam, Mohammed Ali, Elijah of Detroit, 38:20 the Islamic Center of America said the whole idea 38:22 of interfaith communication between religious leaders 38:25 is an excellent idea. 38:27 We need to talk about how Islam, 38:29 Christianity and Judaism can contribute to society 38:33 and help with the healing process. 38:34 In other words they are saying, we are onboard, 38:37 we are with you, we want to work together with you, 38:39 we want to heal the world. 38:42 Benedict baptize a Muslim man, March 16, 2008, 38:49 a relatively prominent Muslim leader was baptized 38:54 into the Roman Catholic Church, 38:56 just a symbol of what's going to happen. 38:58 People always ask me, what about Islam? 39:01 What about Islam? 39:03 Islam will be a part of Babylon in some surprising ways. 39:11 What about Protestant leaders? 39:12 What they think of all these? 39:14 Bishop J Philip Wahl of the Evangelical Lutheran 39:17 church said, personally, I think it's wonderful. 39:20 In our proposed statement we would declare 39:22 that the conditions existing within the church at the time 39:25 of the reformation no longer exist. 39:29 And the central argument between Lutheran 39:32 and the Pope, it was just the personal misunderstanding. 39:38 Misunderstanding, well, all were not happy 39:42 in the Lutheran camp. 39:45 Fortunately, Dr. A. L. Barry, 39:48 president of the much more conservative Missouri Synod 39:51 of the Lutheran church said, 39:54 the catholic church has not budged 39:56 since the Council of Trent 39:57 insistence on justification by works. 40:01 The Catholics didn't blink, it was the Lutherans 40:04 who blinked and the Catholic still believe 40:06 that we're saved by works 40:07 and not by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 40:13 So what progress has been made in Pope's plan 40:15 to unite other groups? 40:18 I couldn't believe this article, I saw on the Seattle Times. 40:20 In unprecedented meeting where two Catholic bishops 40:23 sad cross-legged on a stage, smoking a ceremonial peace pipe 40:28 with Indian religious leaders. 40:30 And the purpose of the meeting was to explore ways 40:32 to bring unity between these two groups. 40:35 Bishop Albert Andrew says, there is a rope from heaven 40:38 and it unravels and each strand is a religion. 40:42 But that's wrong, there is a rope from heaven, 40:44 but it doesn't unravel because there's only one strand 40:47 and the one strand is Jesus Christ. 40:51 We are not all on the same path to the same place, 40:55 many think they are but they are following the beast 40:57 that looks like a lamb but speaks like the dragon. 41:03 There's only one strand, folks, there's only one truth. 41:07 It's a truth as it is in Jesus. 41:09 You see the church has never been afraid to take 41:11 the pagan traditions and work them in to her own system, 41:17 that's how Sunday worship came about. 41:20 But that's one tradition they are never gong to change. 41:25 And the other one is the absolute authority 41:27 of the Pope in determining what's right and wrong. 41:29 And here come some of the latest and most startling stuff. 41:34 Joint Anglican and Roman Catholic International 41:37 Commission report 3, now this is little older 41:38 but it's going to lead you to something 41:40 that's just almost unbelievable. 41:43 Anglican is the England's Protestant church, 41:47 the big church of England and they are Protestant. 41:51 Within his wider ministry the bishop of Rome 41:53 offers a specific ministry concerning 41:56 the discernment of truth. 41:58 Now you got to get this. 41:59 The Bishop of Rome has a ministry of discerning truth 42:03 as an expression of his universal primacy. 42:07 We believe this is a gift to be received by all churches. 42:12 So all churches should submit to the Pope's determination 42:18 of what is right and what is wrong and what is truth. 42:22 This is what the Protestant Anglican Church has agreed to. 42:28 Thank God, there's one world religious leader who refuses 42:32 to go along with the politically correct trends of the time. 42:36 Jan Paulsen, president 42:38 of the Seventh-day Adventist church said, 42:41 we affirm our historical position 42:43 that spiritual authority is vested in the Bible 42:47 only as the word of God and not in an individual. 42:50 For Seventh-day Adventist the authority 42:52 of scripture and the authority of the bishop 42:54 of Rome are incompatible. 42:58 Thank God, someone sees it. 43:02 But now 43:09 in my special email, I just got it month and a half ago. 43:16 Inside the Vatican, from Dr. Robert Moynihan 43:21 who has audience with the Pope. 43:26 You are not going to believe what he said in this letter. 43:29 So you say, well, tell us. 43:31 Well, I'll tell you. 43:34 This is amazing. 43:37 He said, I am going to send out newsflash for 12 days 43:39 but now I hope to report again regularly. 43:41 Today comes historic news, 43:45 the Vatican has issued an official text of the document 43:49 in English translated groups of Anglicans, 43:53 Protestant church, which sets up an unprecedented 43:58 structure to allow Anglican congregations 44:01 to reunite with Rome, but still keep their Anglican traditions. 44:09 This will be seen as one of the historic documents 44:12 of Pope Benedict XVI's pontificate. 44:16 We are watching history unfold here. 44:20 No, no, no, we are watching prophecy unfold here. 44:28 But he sees the hugeness of the event. 44:34 But this is just one part of a larger papal strategy 44:40 and vision which opens outwardly towards orthodox churches 44:44 and what has to do with 44:46 the mysterious message from Fatima. 44:49 So he is saying, this is just the beginning, 44:51 the Anglicans they were close to Rome anyway. 44:53 Now we are going after the Orthodox, 44:56 a large body of Russian Orthodox Church that are Protestant. 45:01 It's just the beginning, he says. 45:03 It's just opening the door. 45:06 Now Mary died hundred of years ago 45:11 but she appeared in apparition and now we have 45:15 this mysterious message. 45:17 Do you understand what's happening? 45:22 The church is using messages from someone 45:26 who has supposedly died to influence her theology 45:33 and her direction and her movement. 45:38 Remember Revelation 13, he perform miracles, 45:42 gathering the world to worship the beast 45:46 and the kings of the earth, the nations with them. 45:54 Pope Benedict, who really stymied me 45:56 for the first little bit. 45:57 He didn't do much and I thought, man. 46:01 You know, if he is going to be the one to wrap this thing up, 46:03 he needs to get busy. 46:04 Well, he is busy now. 46:08 In the middle of the economic crisis he published his paper 46:13 on dealing with the economy. 46:16 And I have it, you probably 46:17 wouldn't want to read, it's pretty dry. 46:19 But there are few things in it that I took out 46:22 that are not very dry. 46:24 And here is what it is, he says, 46:26 "In order to manage the global economy to revive economy 46:29 that's hit by the crisis there is an urgent need 46:33 of a true world political authority." 46:38 You got that? 46:39 In order to manage the economic crisis--it's global now. 46:42 So now we need a world political authority 46:46 to manage the economy of the globe. 46:49 Watch this. The economy needs ethics in order 46:54 to function correctly, a world political authority 46:58 that will function ethically. 47:02 Now, look up ethics in your dictionary 47:04 and the Oxford American dictionary says, 47:07 "A set of moral principles." 47:11 A set of principles deciding what is right and wrong. 47:14 So this global authority to manage 47:16 the economy must be moral, it must have a set of principles 47:21 that define what is right and what is wrong. 47:23 But we've already seen if we has to question, 47:26 whose ethics is it? 47:27 We have already seen that the Pope sees himself 47:29 as the only one who is the primary discerner of truth. 47:35 Is this starting to... click here? Now watch. 47:43 It would need to be universally recognized 47:46 and vested with effective power. 47:50 So this global authority, economic authority 47:53 must have power over all the nations 47:56 of the earth to enforce its decisions. 47:59 This is Benedict speaking. 48:03 He wants to enforce his views on the rest of the world. 48:06 There is a strongly felt, he says, a need for reform 48:10 of the United Nations origination and likewise 48:13 of economic institutions, so that the concept 48:16 of the family of nations can acquire real teeth. 48:24 Daniel 7, didn't it say something about 48:26 that fourth beast with teeth of iron? 48:29 I don't want to make too much of that 48:32 but I just thought, that was interesting. 48:37 Could something like this ever happen 48:39 without the backing of Protestant America? 48:45 I don't think so. 48:47 Well, how do Americans? 48:49 We are we going to be brought on board. 48:52 You think it was a coincidence that the day 48:56 after the G8 Summit the Pope had an audience 49:00 with our president, President Barrack Obama 49:04 and gave him a white leather covered copy 49:09 of his paper and his plan? 49:13 No, I don't know what the president did with it. 49:16 He might not do anything with it, 49:19 but one of these days one of our presidents will. 49:23 And when I look at how our current administration 49:28 is bringing our country into alignment 49:31 with the global monetary system, 49:34 I think that we are seeing things happen, folks. 49:41 Keep your eyes open. 49:43 Speaking of the economy, Pope Benedict 49:46 has been pressuring Europe to include Sunday legislation 49:53 in the European Union Constitution. 49:58 Now about a year and half ago it was clear 50:02 that the Catholic Church wanted Sunday observance 50:04 enshrined in the law and that was Benedict's pressure. 50:09 They even had a vote. 50:12 Seven members of the European parliament tabled 50:15 an amendment saying that the minimum rest period 50:18 shall in principle include Sunday. 50:21 It was tabled, it didn't pass. 50:24 One of these days it will. 50:26 But folks, it was brought up for a vote. 50:29 That ought to get our attention. 50:32 It was brought up for vote, sure it got tabled, 50:34 but it was brought up for a vote, 50:36 but watch the reason behind it. 50:39 Oh, this one a huge curveball he threw at me. 50:42 I thought I had it all figured out, 50:46 but this one, he caught me by surprise. 50:49 The amendment stated, the likelihood of sickness 50:53 in companies that required their staffs to work 50:56 on Sundays is greater than is greater in companies 51:01 that do not require their staff to work on Sundays. 51:05 Put that in the economic setting, 51:07 and in our country when we are trying to consider 51:10 enforced healthcare legislation. 51:14 And if the president thinks that the Pope is right 51:17 and that those who work on Sundays 51:20 will cause much more health care expense 51:23 than those who don't work on Sunday, 51:25 I think even our own president would go for that. 51:30 Man, I am speculating a little bit now, I admit that. 51:33 This is little speculate, I don't know 51:35 that's going to happen now, 51:37 but I know it is going to happen. 51:40 And it could happen now. 51:44 Sunday as a traditional weekly rest day contributes 51:48 to these objectives of family and health 51:51 more than any other day of the week. 51:54 Now watch. He went on to say 51:57 in a sermon, this is a year and a half ago. 52:00 Without Sunday worship we cannot live, 52:04 Benedict XVI declared and he said 52:07 it is a necessity for all people. 52:11 Fore thing that has to happen is that there would be a joining 52:15 together of church and state to enforce 52:18 religious particular brand of worship. 52:21 Have you seen this? 52:23 I couldn't believe this. 52:25 This is a document put out by Dr. Napolitano. 52:30 She is the director of Human-- what is it, 52:35 Homeland Security Department of the United States of America, 52:38 shortly after she was installed this document, 52:40 it was available on the web. 52:41 I got it, good thing I got it fast because 52:43 they took it off. They took it off. 52:46 Rightwing Extremism, Current Economic 52:49 and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence 52:51 in Radicalization and Recruitment. 52:55 Now listen to what she says in this paper, 52:56 how to spot Rightwing extremists and potential terrorists 53:01 within the Unites States of America. 53:03 A newly unclassified department of Homeland Security 53:07 document warns against the possibility of violence 53:10 by rightwing extremists concerned 53:13 about illegal immigration, increased federal power, 53:17 restrictions on firearms, abortion, 53:20 loss of US sovereignty and singles out 53:23 returning war veterans as particular threats. 53:29 That's why they took it off because the veterans 53:32 really started fussing about it. 53:35 But listen to this. 53:37 The paper defines rightwing extremism in the US 53:41 as divided into those groups, movements and adherence 53:44 that are primarily hate oriented based on hatred 53:48 of particular religions, racist or ethnic groups. 53:56 And, folks, if you haven't 53:57 figured it out yet, the stuff I've been sharing 53:59 with you about Rome would be considered 54:03 hateful by this people. 54:07 Are you putting this together? 54:08 Oh, you haven't heard anything yet. 54:13 This report also mentions people motivated 54:19 by end time prophecies have been linked 54:23 with radicalization of domestic extremist individuals in groups 54:28 in the past such as violent Christian 54:32 identity organizations. 54:37 Are you interested in end time prophecies? 54:39 Amen. You are on the list as a potential terrorist. 54:46 And that isn't all. 54:49 The last paragraph says, 54:52 the Department of Homeland Security encourages 54:55 recipients of this document to report information 54:59 concerning suspicious or criminal activity 55:02 to the Department of the Homeland Security 55:05 and the FBI. Remember, it wasn't that long ago 55:10 when they were asking us to send 55:12 any suspicious emails from our friend 55:15 to the Department of Homeland Security. 55:16 You remember that, some of you must. 55:18 Just a few months ago. 55:21 And they backtracked on that one too but these 55:23 ideas are in their head. 55:25 When we were in Cuba doing a Revelation Now 55:27 we learned that every city block in Havana, 55:31 every single city block had a president of that block 55:35 that was to report to the government 55:37 any suspicious activity. 55:39 Where are we now, in Cuba? 55:44 Folks, it's coming. 55:46 So what does all this have to do? 55:47 Babylon merging together of protestant churches, 55:51 catholic churches, non-Christian religions 55:54 and the political powers of the state to enforce 55:57 trampling upon something God had said is holy. 56:01 And some people are asking, what should I do because 56:03 my church does that? 56:08 My church doesn't teach that the Lord's day is holy. 56:11 The Sabbath is to be kept separate. 56:14 What should I do? 56:17 Well, I would never have the courage 56:19 to tell you what to do. 56:21 So I am not going to tell you. 56:23 I am going to let God tell you because that's exactly 56:27 what Revelation 18:1 says, "I saw another angel 56:31 coming down from heaven. 56:32 He had great authority, and the earth 56:34 was illuminated by his splendor." 56:35 This is the Elijah message, folks. 56:38 "And with the mighty voice he shouted: 56:40 "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!" 56:42 verse 3, "For all the nations have drunk 56:45 the maddening wine of her adulteries. 56:46 The kings of the earth committed adultery with her." 56:49 And verse 4, "Then I heard another voice 56:51 from heaven say-- "this is not Jac Colon, 56:53 this is God speaking to you, "Come out of her, 56:59 my people, so that you will not 57:02 share in her sins, that you will not receive any of her plagues. 57:05 Come out of her, my people." 57:08 Babylon has fallen. 57:12 Come out of her, my people. 57:16 But I can't, I've been there forever 57:18 and my grandpas started that church 57:20 and my father is a pastor there, how can I leave? 57:24 How can I leave all of my friends? 57:26 Don't leave your friends, lead them out. 57:30 Well, I want to go back and change 57:32 my church and I am going to teach 57:33 all my Revelation lessons to the church. 57:36 Babylon has fallen, you are not going to change Babylon. 57:39 I've been hearing that for 36 years 57:41 and I haven't seen one church change 57:42 yet and you won't a church because 57:44 Babylon has fallen, come out of her, my people. |
Revised 2014-12-17