Participants: Jac Colon
Series Code: RNN
Program Code: RNN000023
|
00:17 Revelation 16:16,
00:23 "Then they gathered the kings together 00:29 to the place that in Hebrew 00:33 is called Armageddon". 00:39 Armageddon, ever since John penned these words 00:45 on the Isle of Patmos 2000 years ago, 00:51 men have pondered the significance, 00:54 the meaning of Armageddon. 00:57 Where is Armageddon? 00:59 When is Armageddon, the last Great War, 01:03 the war that will end all wars? 01:06 Practically every major war has been called Armageddon. 01:12 World War I was thought to be Armageddon, 01:15 World War II Armageddon 01:17 the war that was supposed to end all wars. 01:22 There are so many get it so wrong. 01:28 And how can we be sure that we get it right. 01:34 The answer to that question is 01:35 that we have to apply the keys to understanding Revelation 01:41 and cracking the code. 01:43 We have to apply the keys 01:44 that we got from the Book of Revelation itself. 01:48 It begins with the words the Revelation of Jesus Christ, 01:54 that means Revelation must centre in 01:57 and focus on whom? 01:59 Jesus Christ. 02:01 The Book of Revelation quotes or alludes 02:02 to the Old Testament over 600 times. 02:06 You got it. 02:08 Therefore we have to have an Old Testament foundation 02:11 before we will ever understand Armageddon of Revelation. 02:15 No private interpretation, let the Bible interpret itself. 02:18 We do that by comparing scripture with scripture. 02:23 Very good, Revelation is a symbolic book 02:27 and we have to interpret the symbols. 02:29 How do we know we get the symbols right? 02:31 By comparing scripture with scripture. 02:35 Armageddon is found only one time in the Bible, 02:40 this is the only place that you will ever see 02:43 the word Armageddon in scripture right here in Revelation 16:16. 02:48 You will not find it in the Old Testament, 02:51 you will not find it in any place else 02:52 in the New Testament, it's just right here. 02:55 Now, when a word is mentioned only one time in the scripture, 02:59 then you have to be exceedingly careful 03:03 in interpreting what it means in order to get it right. 03:10 First of all, we have to look at it in its immediate context. 03:16 The immediate context is that Armageddon 03:21 and the gathering for Armageddon 03:23 is the sixth of the seventh last plagues. 03:29 The actual battle of Armageddon 03:32 is the seventh of the seven last plagues. 03:37 The plagues are found in the 16th chapter of Revelation, 03:42 so we need to understand 03:44 Armageddon in the setting of the seven last plagues 03:50 within the largest setting of the Book of Revelation 03:54 and then within the even largest setting 03:57 of the entire Bible including the Old Testament. 04:01 So let's begin 04:03 with the immediate context of Armageddon 04:09 which is the sixth of the seven last plagues. 04:13 I want to start reading in verse 12 04:16 and I want you to picture in your minds what we read. 04:20 It's important to get a clear image 04:23 just sharp focus of this prophecy 04:26 of the sixth of the seven last plagues. 04:30 And I also would like for you to ask yourself 04:32 the question as we read through the sixth plague. 04:38 Where is Jesus? 04:43 Because He is the center of all the prophecies, right? 04:47 So ask yourself where is Jesus? 04:53 Revelation 16:12, 04:56 "The sixth angel poured out his bowl 04:59 on the great river Euphrates, 05:01 and its water was dried up 05:03 to prepare the way for the kings from the East." 05:07 And then I saw three evil spirits 05:10 that look like frogs 05:12 they came out of the mouth of the dragon, 05:14 out of the mouth of the beast 05:16 and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 05:18 They are the spirits of demons performing miraculous signs 05:24 and they go out to the kings of the whole world 05:27 to gather them for battle on the great day of God almighty. 05:33 Verse 16, they gathered the kings together 05:37 to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. 05:40 So picture, three evil spirits 05:44 coming out of the mouth of the dragon 05:45 the beast and the false prophet performing miracles 05:49 and they gathered the kings together 05:51 for battle on the great day of God almighty 05:54 that is Armageddon. 05:55 Picture, the angel pouring out his bowl on the Euphrates River. 06:00 The waters of the Euphrates are dried up 06:03 and that prepares the way 06:05 for the kings that come from the east. 06:10 So where is Jesus in all of this? 06:14 Hold on, you are going to see 06:18 an awesome powerful prophecy. 06:23 The picture to keep in mind, 06:26 the angel pouring out his bowl in the Euphrates River. 06:29 The river dried up 06:31 and the drying up of the Euphrates 06:33 prepares the way for the kings from the east 06:36 and the battle of Armageddon. 06:41 The Book of Revelation quotes the Old Testament 600 times 06:45 and that's one place. 06:47 Daniel, the prophet Daniel 06:50 we are going to review a little bit. 06:51 Daniel 1:1. Look at it with me. 06:55 In Daniel the first chapter we review a little 06:59 and then we will see some new things. 07:01 Verse 1, "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim 07:05 the king of Judah, 07:07 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon 07:10 came to Jerusalem and he besieged it. 07:14 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, 07:17 the king of Judah into his hand, 07:19 along with some of the articles from the temple of God." 07:22 Remember those golden cups. 07:25 "These he took back to the temple of his God in Babylon 07:29 and put them in the treasure house of his God." 07:33 So Nebuchadnezzar that wicked, 07:35 pagan king captured God's people, 07:37 captured God's city, he captured the temple, 07:40 he took the golden cups from the temple, 07:43 he took the people of God captive back to Babylon 07:46 and put those cups in the Babylonian temple. 07:48 As we learned in another lesson 07:51 we saw Belshazzar in a middle of a drunken orgy 07:54 asked for those golden cups filled them with Babylonian wine 07:58 began to drink to the Babylonian Gods, 08:01 taking the cups that God had set aside 08:03 and made holy and using them 08:05 in a common ordinary way as though they were not holy. 08:09 Just as he lifted the cup to his lips, 08:11 he saw a man's hand cut off and writing on the wall, 08:15 "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin". 08:18 I am just reviewing from the previous lesson. 08:21 Daniel came before the king to interpret the message 08:26 that was written on the wall 08:29 and he said remember the words verse 22, 08:32 "Your father acknowledged that the Lord was God 08:35 but you O Belshazzar, you knew all of this 08:40 and in spite of that you have set yourself up 08:42 against the God of heaven. 08:44 And you had those goblets from his temple brought to you, 08:47 and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines, 08:49 you drank wine from them. 08:50 You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, 08:53 wood and stone that cannot see, hear or understand. 08:56 But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life 08:59 and all of your ways." 09:00 That's why he sent a message what did it say? 09:03 "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin." 09:05 Mene, God has numbered the days of your reign 09:07 and brought it to an end. 09:09 Tekel, you have been weighed on the balances and found wanting. 09:13 In other words the hour of God's judgment 09:15 has come, isn't it? 09:18 Your kingdom is divided 09:19 and given to the Medes and the Persians." 09:22 In other words Babylon has fallen. 09:25 Here are the Three Angels' Message 09:27 already in a little bit of a nutshell preview form 09:32 in the Old Testament. 09:33 He knew what he was doing in spite of the fact 09:37 that he knew it was wrong, 09:39 he trampled on those holy cups 09:41 and therefore the hour of God's judgment has come, 09:45 he was judged and Babylon has fallen, 09:48 your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes 09:50 and the Persians. Why? 09:53 Because he didn't believe God, because he didn't trust God, 09:59 God said those cups were holy 10:02 and he said no I can do with them as I please, 10:05 it's up to me to decide, which day to keep holy. 10:11 Are you beginning to see the picture here? 10:15 Babylon has fallen, 10:17 he has brought your kingdom to an end, 10:19 but Babylon was still standing when he made that announcement. 10:25 How can God say Babylon has fallen 10:28 when Babylon is still there? 10:30 In fact it wasn't until later that night in verse 30, 10:34 "That Belshazzar of the Babylonians was slain 10:37 and Darius the Mede of the Medo-Persian Empire 10:41 took over his kingdom, at the age of sixty-two." 10:46 So Babylon fell that very night, Darius the Mede took over. 10:53 Now, how did Babylon fall 10:55 that's what we need to understand, 10:57 how did Babylon fall? 11:01 You see the Bible tells us and history confirms it. 11:07 Babylon was a city that was built on the Euphrates River. 11:14 The Euphrates went underneath the gate into the city 11:21 and then out underneath the gate on the other side of the city. 11:27 The Euphrates River was the lifeline of Babylon, 11:32 without the waters of the Euphrates, 11:35 Babylon would die. 11:39 So how did Babylon fall? 11:44 King Cyrus one of the Medo-Persian kings 11:48 from the east built a dam. 11:55 Did you catch that? 11:57 One of the kings from where, from the east 12:01 because that's where the Medo-Persian Empire was, 12:03 it was at the east of Babylon. 12:05 He built a dam across the Euphrates River, 12:10 diverting it around the city of Babylon 12:15 and drying up the waters of the Euphrates. 12:20 That enabled Cyrus's armies to march into the city of Babylon 12:27 on the dry river bed of the Euphrates 12:30 underneath the gate into the city catch them 12:34 in the middle of their drunken orgy 12:37 and capture Babylon without firing a shot so to speak. 12:44 Now does that sound familiar to you? 12:48 The kings came from the east 12:50 dried up the Euphrates and captured Babylon. 12:54 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the Euphrates River, 12:58 its water was dried up 13:00 to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13:03 Wow! 13:05 Now we can begin to understand this prophecy 13:09 except for one more thing, Cyrus. 13:15 Who was that king Cyrus who came from the east 13:20 and dried up the Euphrates River? 13:23 That's the exciting part of this prophecy. 13:26 Turn to Isaiah, in Isaiah 41:1, 13:34 He speaks and says "Let us meet together 13:37 at the place of judgment." 13:40 Now he is talking about a place of judgment. 13:43 Watch verse 2, "Who has stirred up one 13:45 from the east calling him in righteousness to his service?" 13:51 So here is one serving God in judgment 13:54 and he comes from the east. 13:56 Chapter 42:1, "And he comes in righteousness from the east." 14:01 Chapter 42:1, "Here is my servant, 14:05 whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight." 14:11 So he is called a servant, He is called the chosen one. 14:16 Watch this, Chapter 44:27, "Who says to the watery deep, 14:21 be dry, and I will dry up your streams." 14:25 Who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd 14:30 and he will accomplish all that I please 14:33 he will say of Jerusalem, "Let it be rebuilt, 14:37 and of the temple, "Let its foundations be laid." 14:40 Remember when Israel was captive in Babylon 14:42 Jerusalem was in ruins and the temple was in ruins. 14:46 So here he says Cyrus let it be rebuilt. 14:49 Cyrus said let the foundations be laid. 14:52 Verse 1 in Chapter 45, 14:54 "This is what the Lord says to his anointed one to Cyrus, 14:59 whose right hand I take hold of." 15:03 Verse 13, "I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness, 15:07 I will make all his ways straight. 15:09 He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free." 15:16 Interesting that Isaiah refers to Cyrus 15:24 as a servant, 15:26 the shepherd, the righteous one the chosen one, 15:33 the one who God took his right hand. 15:40 But the Bible says in the New Testament 15:43 that Jesus is a servant, Jesus is the righteous one, 15:49 Jesus is the chosen one, 15:52 Jesus is the one whose right hand God took. 15:59 You see Cyrus is a type 16:03 or a shadow of a greater king 16:07 who would come from the east King Jesus. 16:13 And dry up the Euphrates River and set his people free. 16:20 Why did God raise up the pagan king Cyrus 16:25 to capture Babylon dry up the Euphrates, capture Babylon. 16:30 Why did God raise up this pagan king to do that? 16:33 Because Jerusalem was in ruins and the temple was in ruins. 16:39 And as long as the temple is in ruins, 16:42 then the true worship of the true God 16:46 doesn't exists on the earth 16:48 Because the temple is the center of God's worship 16:53 and so Cyrus was raised up by God 16:56 in his righteousness to capture Babylon 16:59 and to set God's exiles free, 17:02 so they could go back rebuilt the city, 17:05 rebuild the temple and restore the true worship of a true God. 17:11 That's the purpose 17:12 every prophecy has to have a purpose. 17:16 God doesn't just predict the future 17:19 like Sun magazine tries to predict. 17:23 God's prophecies are for a reason, for a purpose. 17:27 Why did he raise up Cyrus? 17:29 He raised him up, so that he could capture Babylon, 17:33 rebuild Jerusalem, let God's people free 17:36 to restore the temple 17:38 and restore the true worship of God. 17:41 That's God's purpose for the prophecy. 17:48 You know there is something else 17:49 about this prophecy that I really like. 17:54 Did you notice it called Cyrus by name, 18:01 who says of Cyrus he is my shepherd to Cyrus, 18:08 whose right hand I take hold of? 18:13 It mentioned Cyrus by name. 18:17 Now why is that so exciting? 18:21 Well to me it's exciting because Cyrus wasn't born 18:26 till hundreds of years later. 18:30 So that means that God knew Cyrus by name 18:34 hundreds of years before he was even born. 18:40 Why is that exciting? 18:42 It's exciting because if God knew Cyrus by name 18:48 hundreds of years before he was born, 18:51 then God must know you by name 18:54 even before you were born God knows you, 18:59 He knows everything about you. 19:00 He knows your name. 19:02 He knows what you do. 19:03 He knows where you are before you were born. 19:06 He knew you would be sitting right here 19:08 listening to the word of God. 19:09 He knew what your decisions would be 19:12 as you heard the word of God unfold. 19:14 He knew whether you would follow the lamb or not. 19:17 God knows you, that doesn't take away your choice, 19:20 He just knows us 19:22 and He knows what we are going to do 19:24 but we still have a choice. 19:27 Wow! 19:28 What a God. 19:30 He knows me, He knows you, 19:33 He knows the disappointments, 19:36 the heartache that you are suffering right now 19:38 at this very moment. 19:42 He has walked that path; He knows what rejection is like. 19:46 He knows what abuse is like, He has been here. 19:52 And He knows what you're feeling right now. 19:54 What a God, amen? 20:00 So picture it again, 20:03 Cyrus King from the east dries up the Euphrates River, 20:08 captures Babylon, sets God's exiles free 20:12 back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple 20:16 and to restore the true worship of God. 20:22 Cyrus then is a type or a shadow foreshadowing 20:30 a greater king who would come from the east. 20:36 Didn't Jesus say as lightning flashes 20:40 from the east to the west, 20:42 so will the coming of the son of man be. 20:46 Cyrus foreshadowed the coming of a greater king 20:51 who sees his end time people captive in Babylon. 20:59 Dries up the Euphrates to deliver His people 21:05 and restore the true worship of the true God. 21:13 How does it all unfold? 21:16 Now we are ready to see it. 21:17 Let's go back to Revelation, this time Revelation 19, 21:23 in Revelation 19... 21:32 verse 7, "Let us rejoice and be glad 21:40 and give him glory!" 21:43 Why, what's the big event? 21:46 "Because the wedding of the Lamb has come, 21:51 and the bride has made herself ready, 21:55 fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." 21:58 Fine linen stands 21:59 for the righteous acts of the saints. 22:03 Who is the bride? 22:05 Verse 9:21, "One of the seven angels 22:09 who had the seven bowls." 22:12 So one of the angels with the last plagues 22:14 came to explain things and he said to me "Come, 22:20 and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 22:24 Who is the bride? 22:25 Verse 10, "He carried me away in the Spirit 22:28 to a mountain great and high, and he showed me the Holy City, 22:33 coming down out of heaven from God." 22:36 So who is the bride? 22:37 It's the Holy City, it's the New Jerusalem. 22:40 The Heavily Jerusalem is coming down out of heaven from God. 22:48 But when we compare scripture with scripture 22:51 and we go to Hebrews 12:22 it tells us 22:56 "You have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, 23:01 to the city of the living God." 23:04 So you church when you come to Jesus he said, 23:08 you have come to Mount Zion, 23:11 you have come to the heavenly Jerusalem, 23:13 you have come to the city of the living God. 23:15 Verse 23 "You have come to the church of the firstborn, 23:19 whose names are written in heaven. 23:22 You have come to God, the judge of all men, 23:25 you have come to Jesus." 23:26 So the moment we come to Jesus 23:28 our names are written in heaven 23:30 and we are citizens of the New Jerusalem 23:33 the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God, 23:36 we are citizens in that city, our names are written there, 23:40 but we are still down here. 23:44 But, the bride has made herself ready. 23:52 The New Jerusalem is the bride but the people aren't, 23:55 their names are just written there. 23:59 And so Jesus is saying it's time for Me to go 24:02 and to get My bride. 24:04 It's time for Me to go and to get My people, they are ready. 24:10 The Three Angels' Messages have gone to the whole world, 24:13 my people have responded, they are following the Lamb. 24:17 They have demonstrated what it means to follow the Lamb. 24:20 I am going to go and get my people. 24:24 Problem is His people are in the claws of Babylon, 24:32 trying to destroy them. 24:35 No problem because verse 11 tells us, 24:40 "I saw heaven standing in open 24:42 and there before me was a white horse, 24:44 whose rider is called Faithful and True. 24:48 With justice he judges and makes war. 24:50 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. 24:54 He has a name written on him that no one 24:56 but he himself knows, 24:58 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, 25:00 and his name is the Word of God. 25:04 The armies of heaven are following him, 25:05 riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, 25:08 white and clean. 25:09 And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword 25:12 with which to strike down the nations. 25:14 And He will rule them with an iron scepter. 25:17 He treads the winepress of the fury 25:19 of the wrath of God Almighty. 25:21 And on his robe and on his thigh he has this name written, 25:24 King of kings, Lord of lords, 25:27 Jesus Christ is coming riding on a white horse 25:31 to capture His people from Babylon, 25:34 to snatch her from the jaws of death 25:37 and to bring her to the New Jerusalem 25:40 to the wedding Supper of the Lamb. 25:44 Wow! 25:47 Revelation is all about Jesus, 25:50 He is the king who comes from the east. 25:58 Verse 19, "I saw the beast 26:02 and the kings of the earth all of them, 26:06 and their armies gathered together 26:09 to make war against the rider on the horse and his army." 26:15 Now you got to picture this. 26:17 Jesus is coming for His bride, He is coming for us. 26:22 The kings of the earth, the beast, 26:26 the false prophet all their armies 26:29 are gathered together to make war against whom? 26:34 Not against Israel, 26:37 it never says the war is against Israel, 26:40 they are gathered together 26:42 to make war against the rider on the horse, that's Jesus. 26:48 Armageddon is the devil and his armies against Jesus 26:52 or Jesus against them, however you want to look at it, 26:55 because they are trying to crush the life 26:59 out of the bride of the Lamb and He is coming to deliver us, 27:04 that's what Armageddon is all about. 27:06 It's not over geographic boundaries 27:09 set by the United Nations 27:11 and fought over by the Middle Eastern countries. 27:14 It's not about that, it's about Jesus 27:17 and His bride 27:18 and those who are trying to crush the bride of Christ. 27:26 So watch it again, 27:28 "Saw the beast and the kings of the earth 27:30 and their armies gathered together 27:33 to make war against the rider on the horse." 27:40 If you ever gets discouraged read Revelations 17:15, 27:47 actually read Revelation 17:12 and following, 27:53 "Ten horns you saw are ten kings 27:55 who have not yet received a kingdom, 27:57 but who for one hour will receive authority 27:59 as kings along with the beast. 28:00 They have one purpose, they will give their power 28:02 and authority to the beast." 28:04 All the kings of the earth, 28:05 they are not fighting against each other. 28:07 No, they give all of their authority to the beast, 28:10 they are fighting against whom? 28:12 Verse 14, "They will make war against the Lamb, 28:16 don't get discouraged. 28:18 Sometimes he attacks us, he is going to attack us, 28:22 he is going to keep attacking us, 28:25 but watch, "But the Lamb will overcome them, 28:31 because he is King of kings and Lord of lords 28:35 and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers." 28:39 Follow the Lamb. 28:41 You want to win this war, follow the lamb, 28:43 He is going to win. 28:47 So the dragon, the beast, the false prophet, 28:51 the kings of the earth and all of their armies 28:54 are gathered together to make war against the Lamb, 29:00 against Jesus. 29:02 The rider on the white horse where they gathered to? 29:07 We have already read that but let's read it again. 29:12 Verse 13, "I saw three evil spirits 29:14 that looked like frogs; 29:15 they came out of the mouth of the dragon." 29:17 You know what, I want to start at verse 12 29:19 because that gives us a bigger picture here. 29:21 Verse 12, "The sixth angel poured out his bowl 29:24 on the great river Euphrates." 29:26 Is it getting clear to you now? 29:28 "He poured out his bowl on the great River Euphrates, 29:30 its water was dried up to prepare the way 29:32 for the kings from the East." 29:34 That's Jesus "And then I saw three evil spirits, 29:37 they looked like frogs, 29:38 they came out of the mouth of the dragon, 29:39 the beast, the false prophet. 29:41 They are spirits of demons 29:42 and they perform miraculous signs, 29:44 they go out to the kings of the whole world, 29:46 to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty." 29:51 So where are they gathering them to? 29:52 Verse 16 says, "Then they gathered the kings together 29:55 to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon." 30:00 The beast, the kings of the earth, 30:03 the false prophet all of their armies 30:07 are gathered together to a place called Armageddon 30:12 to make war against the Lamb. 30:18 He is going to loose that one every time. 30:22 But where is Armageddon? 30:25 When we did Revelation now over in the Middle East 30:29 after we are finished we went to--towards through Israel 30:33 and went up to the northern parts of Israel 30:37 to a little place called Megiddo. 30:39 You may have heard about it, 30:42 and there is a little hill 30:44 overlooking the big valley of Esdraelon 30:46 and we were there on Megiddo and there was a sign, 30:53 this is Armageddon, the place of the last Great War. 31:01 But it was a plane in the little hill 31:08 and it was Megiddo not Armageddon, 31:14 so do we want to trust the Rabbis 31:21 who don't accept Jesus Christ as their Savior 31:25 to interpret a New Testament prophecy 31:28 that centers on Jesus Christ, 31:32 practically the whole Christian world does. 31:36 But I see something else there 31:38 when I look through the eyes of Jesus. 31:43 Where is Armageddon? 31:45 Remember that word is only found in one place in your Bible 31:48 that's Revelation 31:51 and actually John gives us a clue, 31:53 He said, "They gathered the kings together 31:57 to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon." 32:04 Now this is a New Testament. 32:07 The New Testament was not written in Hebrew. 32:12 So I think John is telling us 32:14 if you want to understand Armageddon, 32:16 you better know a little Hebrew. 32:18 At least one word or actually two words, 32:24 Armageddon is from the Hebrew Har there H is silent 32:29 and it means mountain. 32:32 Magedon, the Megiddo means slaughter. 32:40 The dragon, the beast, 32:43 the kings of the earth and their armies, 32:48 all the wicked are gathered to the mountain of slaughter 32:55 to make war against the Lamb. 33:01 God's people are gathered to Mount Zion 33:08 to worship the Creator of the heavens and the earth. 33:13 There are two mountains in Revelations, 33:17 two gatherings in Revelation. 33:20 One to Mount Zion, the Lamb is there 33:25 and one to Armageddon, the mountain of slaughter 33:31 and the beast is there. 33:37 That's the last Great War and it will end all wars. 33:49 Now, we're ready to go 33:51 to the broader scope of that prophecy 33:55 in the wider context of Revelation. 33:58 Now I want to kind of sweep through 34:00 from Revelation 12 up until the end. 34:05 I am going to paint in broad strokes the big picture, 34:09 because when you have the big picture 34:12 then you can go through and study the details. 34:15 Then the beast and 666 and the mark 34:19 and Armageddon all fall into place. 34:21 But if you just take one here and one there, 34:24 without a big picture you don't know where to hang it 34:28 and it gets confusing. 34:30 But watch how simple and clear Revelation is now Chapter 12:7, 34:36 "There was war in heaven. 34:38 Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, 34:40 and the dragon and his angels fought back. 34:41 He was not strong enough, 34:42 they lost their place in heaven." 34:44 We know about that war, 34:46 that war was over who is going to rule, 34:48 Satan want to sit on God's throne, 34:50 God's laws are laws of love. 34:52 Satan wanted to put his laws in place of God's laws. 34:56 God could have destroyed Satan rights then in heaven remember? 35:00 We talked about all this, why didn't he? 35:02 When Lucifer that perfect angel in heaven 35:04 was trying to deceive all the angels 35:07 into following him instead of God, 35:09 and trusting him instead of God, 35:11 God could have walked in and destroyed him right then. 35:14 Why didn't he? 35:15 Wouldn't it had been better 35:16 if He would have stopped this thing before it started? 35:19 No, because if He would have destroyed Lucifer, 35:21 then all the other angels would be worshipping God 35:24 out of fear instead of love 35:26 and they would have never known 35:27 that God's laws are laws of love. 35:31 So, He had to let Lucifer go. 35:33 He had to give him time to demonstrate 35:36 what it would be like if he really had a kingdom to rule 35:40 and the bad news is that he was hurled down to the earth 35:43 and his evil angels with him, bad news for us. 35:47 You say, well, that's not fair. 35:48 Why didn't He send him to some other Pluto or some place out. 35:53 There is nothing fair about sin, 35:57 but there is everything fair about God 36:00 and He is going to make it up to you far greater than what- 36:03 what you could ever dream or imagine. 36:08 Verse 13, "When the dragon saw 36:10 he had been hurled to the earth, 36:11 he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child." 36:15 Now remember we studied 36:17 and learned that the woman symbolizes God's people 36:23 if she is the pure woman. 36:25 That harlot dressed in scarlet and purple, 36:29 the adulterous woman symbolizes a counterfeit to God's people. 36:36 So this time we see a woman 36:38 is a pure woman clothed with the sun. 36:42 In the Old Testament that woman is a nation of Israel. 36:46 In the New Testament 36:48 that woman symbolizes the church of Jesus Christ. 36:54 So we have to ask ourselves 36:56 when John saw the dragon pursuing this woman 37:00 is it in Old Testament time or is it in New Testament times. 37:04 Old Testament, it would be Israel, 37:06 New Testament, it would be the church. 37:08 You see the cross is the determining factor 37:12 as to how to understand Revelation. 37:16 When we see that "The dragon had been hurled to the earth, 37:20 and he pursued the woman 37:21 who had given birth to the male child." 37:25 Jesus had already come, 37:27 so it must be the New Testament woman 37:30 the church of Jesus Christ. 37:32 Shouldn't surprise us because we had already studied 37:35 that "the woman was given in Verse 14 37:37 the wings of the great eagles, 37:38 so that she might fly to the place 37:39 prepared for her in the desert, 37:41 where she would be taken care of for a time, 37:42 times and half a time" same thing that Daniel saw 37:46 the antichrist would be in power time, 37:48 times and half a time. 37:51 So during that time, times and half a time 37:53 that we have already studied was 1260 years from 538 until 1798. 37:58 The woman is hidden in the desert; 38:01 God has always had followers, 38:04 believers who would follow the Lamb. 38:07 Always, even in the darkest times of the Dark Ages. 38:11 So now we are through the Dark Ages 1798 after that, 38:15 "From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, 38:18 to overtake the woman sweeps her away with the torrent." 38:21 And we know that symbolizes war, 38:23 trying to destroy the people of God 38:26 that happened during the Dark Ages. 38:27 Europe just about wiped the true believers 38:31 off the face of the earth. 38:32 During the Spanish Inquisition St. Bartholomew massacre 38:37 and all the other times when those who stood 38:40 on the scripture were slaughter their blood 38:42 was flowing in the streets, 38:43 "But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth" 38:47 the first beast came up out of the water 38:49 representing multitudes of people, 38:51 but this second beast comes up out of the earth, 38:54 after the deadly wound so around the turn of the century 38:58 the late 1700s we see another beast rising, 39:02 quite uninhabited part of the world. 39:04 Relatively compared to Europe 39:07 and he had two horns like a lamb 39:09 we already identified that one is protestant America. 39:12 The United States of America 39:14 when the pilgrims came to this country 39:16 to escape the persecution, establish a nation 39:20 where they have the freedom to worship God as they choose. 39:25 "But, she spoke like the dragon." 39:31 America is going to change. 39:35 America is changing and we are seeing our freedoms 39:41 eroding away slowly but surely. 39:49 We still have the right to worship as we please. 39:53 Praise God for that. 39:57 But there are some in very influential circles 40:00 in government that would consider 40:03 the prophecies that we have been talking about 40:05 as hateful, and would even ban them. 40:11 Did you know that your United States Senate 40:15 and your United States House of Representative 40:18 had a motion on the floor to ban 40:23 and make it illegal any interpretations of prophecy 40:28 that pointed to the Vatican as the antichrist and the beast? 40:32 Fortunately it was voted down 40:36 but one of these days it's going to be voted up. 40:39 We have already seen as I read to you from the document 40:43 produced by the Department of Homeland Security, 40:46 we have already seen that 40:49 those who focus on end time prophecies 40:53 are more likely to be candidates for terrorism 40:57 than other parts of the population. 41:01 We've already singled out. 41:05 Our freedoms are being stripped away. 41:08 I want to show you some things. 41:11 How could that ever happen here in the United States of America? 41:16 I found this when I was reading a book 41:20 that was written about 300 years before Christ was born, 41:27 wasn't written by a Bible prophet, 41:30 it was a written by a pagan philosopher, 41:33 his name was Plato, the book was The Republic. 41:39 And I had chills going up and down my back when I read it. 41:43 See if you think he wasn't talking about our times. 41:48 It's a little long but bear with me. 41:52 All forms of government destroy themselves 41:56 by carrying their basic principles to excess. 42:02 The first form is monarchy, that's a king ruling, 42:08 and the principle is unity of rule. 42:12 Carried to excess, the rule is too unified. 42:16 And the monarch or the king takes too much power to himself. 42:23 Leading families' rebel and they establish an aristocracy 42:29 whose main principle is that selected families rule. 42:35 The principle of selection is carried to excess 42:38 and somewhat large numbers of able men are left out, 42:42 the middle class join them in rebellion, 42:45 and they establish a democracy, 42:48 whose principle is liberty and that's us. 42:54 But, this principle too 42:56 is carried to excess in the course of time. 43:00 The democracies become too free. 43:03 Now this was written 350 years before Christ. 43:08 This principle is carried to excess in the course of time. 43:12 The democracies become too free until at last, 43:17 even the puppy dogs in our own homes 43:20 rise on their hind legs and demand their rights. 43:27 Watch out now, it's called animal rights. 43:34 Now don't misunderstand me. 43:37 I believe that God made us stewards over this earth 43:42 and the animals and we need to take care of the animals 43:47 and protect them, they're God's creatures. 43:53 But it's possible to go to extremes and excess 43:57 and people have done jail time 44:01 for plowing up accidentally, a Kangaroo rat. 44:06 It was an endangered species in that cornfield. 44:12 And there are so many things now that can't be done 44:15 because it might infringe on animal rights 44:19 and scare the rattlesnakes out of their natural habitat. 44:26 Some people don't even want me to go scuba diving, 44:29 because when I jump off the boat it causes trauma to the fish. 44:35 Now, we can go to extremes 44:38 and that's what Plato was talking about. 44:42 So everybody is demanding their rights, picture this, 44:46 everybody thinks they have something comes to them. 44:51 So what happens when they don't get, 44:53 what they think they have coming to them? 44:57 That's when you start seeing demonstration 45:00 that turn into riots and anarchy. 45:05 We have almost had that a few times 45:07 in some of our elections 45:09 when people thought their vote wasn't counted. 45:11 You remember the Chads, 45:13 we were on the brink of anarchy in some places in rioting. 45:19 Disorder grows to such a point, 45:22 that a society will abandon all of its liberties 45:25 to anyone who can restore order. 45:28 And then comes the fourth form of government, 45:31 tyranny, dictatorship. 45:33 And the monarchy may be restored, 45:35 and the process begins all over again, not this time. 45:40 There will be a monarch, there will be a king 45:43 but this process isn't going to happen all over again. 45:49 In this kind of environment and then the political 45:53 and economic crisis that we are facing in this country 45:57 and are oing through now 45:59 it doesn't take much of an imagination to see 46:03 people believing that they are not getting their rights. 46:08 Getting anxious, demonstrating 46:11 and even rioting to get what they believe is their right. 46:19 The stage is ripe for a powerful political leader 46:24 to emerge performing miracles, saying I have the answer, 46:31 people will abandon their freedoms 46:33 to anyone who can promise them order. 46:38 The stage is set folks for a worldwide super church. 46:45 And this is from an email newsletter 46:47 that I get from Dr. Robert Moynihan from Rome 46:50 called Inside the Vatican. 46:52 He announced that the Protestant Anglican Church 46:57 is now being invited by Rome to reunite with Rome 47:01 and keep their Anglican traditions, 47:04 the priest can continue to marry, 47:06 these things will still be okay, 47:08 but they must recognize 47:10 the authority of the pope in matters of truth. 47:16 He said this will be seen as one of the historic documents 47:18 of Pope Benedict XVI pontificate, 47:21 we are watching history unfold here. 47:24 But this he said, is just one part 47:26 of a larger papal strategy in vision 47:28 which opens outward towards orthodox churches, 47:31 other protestant churches 47:33 and which also has to do with mysterious message from Fatima. 47:37 An appearance of Mary with prophecies 47:39 they were locked up and no one really knew what they were 47:44 but now they are beginning to unfold those prophecies. 47:48 But Mary died 2000 years ago. 47:52 Messages that come from beyond the grave. 47:55 Remember I saw demon spirits performing miracles 47:59 gathering the world together bringing them together 48:03 for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. 48:06 Are you seeing what's happening? 48:08 And that isn't all, the next day he said, 48:12 He was on a train approaching Tatarstan, 48:15 gateway to the Stan countries, 48:18 beyond Tatarstan is Kazakhstan, 48:20 Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan 48:24 countries that are all part of the Muslim world, 48:26 He was going to Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan 48:30 and Kazan reflects that it's half of its population is Muslim 48:34 and the other half Orthodox Protestant Russians 48:38 of the Orthodox Protestant Church. 48:42 The first glimpse of Kazan that I catch at dawn 48:45 as the train pulls into the city is the mosque with its minarets 48:49 and the domes of the cathedral, side-by-side. 48:53 Mosque and the protestant cathedral side by side. 48:57 But the fascinating thing about Kazan 48:59 is that it is known throughout the world 49:01 as a city of tolerant coexistence. 49:04 There is no evident tension whatsoever 49:07 between the Muslims in the city and the Christians in the city. 49:11 And this, I believe is part of the mystery 49:13 of the icon of Kazan which came from Fatima. 49:19 So here we are using spirits from beyond the grave 49:23 to bring peace and harmony between Muslims and Christians 49:29 and they are attributing it to a vision from beyond the grave. 49:37 I don't know how prophecy can unfold 49:39 any clearer than it is right now. 49:41 We are living in the last days 49:43 and folks our freedoms are going to be stripped away 49:45 and you are going to be forced to worship 49:48 in a way that is contrary to the word of God 49:51 and you will be threatened with boycott, 49:53 you will be threatened with a death decree. 49:55 And there are miracles happening all over the place, 49:58 the devil is the master at making 50:00 wrong look right and right look wrong. 50:02 Everything inside of you is going to say 50:04 that it must be right, that you are following the lamb 50:06 when it's actually the beast 50:08 and the lamb is going to be made to look like the beast 50:11 only those who know the lamb from the scripture 50:15 can tell the difference between the two. 50:22 In Chapter 14, here comes a good part, 50:25 Verse 6 "I saw another angel flying in midair, 50:28 he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to every nation, 50:30 tribe, language and people". 50:32 Every living being on earth is gonna hear the truth about God 50:36 when the beast is doing his deceptions 50:38 to try to gather the world into worshipping the beast, 50:41 God has a message, the hour of God's judgment has come. 50:44 Now is the time, worship the creator not the creature. 50:48 The beast is the creature, God is the creator, 50:51 Worship him who made the heavens, 50:52 the earth, the sea and the springs of water, 50:55 because the hour of God's judgment has come." 50:57 Second angel Babylon has fallen, 50:59 come out of her my people. 51:01 Third angel, if anyone worships the beast 51:03 and his image and receives his mark, 51:04 he will also drink the wine of the wrath of God. 51:07 The whole world is forced to choose 51:09 either worship the beast, the beast says or die, 51:12 there will be a death decree 51:14 or God says, worship the creator of the heavens and the earth 51:18 or you will drink the wine of the wrath of God. 51:21 There will be no straddling offence, just follow the Lamb, 51:24 don't follow me, don't follow grandma, grandpa, 51:27 anyone, follow the Lamb. 51:30 It's the only safety we going to have through times like this. 51:36 And then Chapter 15, 51:39 Three Angels Messages go to the whole world. 51:41 Everyone has been forced to choose one way or the other 51:44 and the Bible tells us verse 5, "I looked in heaven, 51:49 that's the tabernacle, the temple was opened 51:51 and out of the temple came the seven angels 51:53 with the seven plagues. 51:54 They were dressed in clean, shining linen 51:57 and wore golden sashes, 51:58 one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels 52:01 seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, 52:04 who lives for ever and ever. 52:05 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God 52:09 and from his power, no one could enter the temple 52:12 until the seven plagues were completed." 52:15 In other words every decision has been made 52:17 everyone has had the opportunity to choose, 52:19 everyone you see is worshipping either the beast or the creator, 52:24 everyone has either the mark of the beast 52:26 or the seal of God on their foreheads, 52:28 then the plagues are poured out. 52:32 Why? What purpose could God have with these awful plagues? 52:38 Chapter 16:1, "I heard a loud voice from the temple 52:41 saying to the seven angels, 52:44 "Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth. 52:48 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, 52:50 and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people 52:53 who had worshiped the beast and his image." 52:56 Not on God's people, 52:57 only on those who worshipped the beast. 53:00 The great tribulation won't come to you 53:02 if you have a seal of God on your forehead. 53:06 "And then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, 53:08 and it turned to blood, 53:09 the third angel on the rivers and springs of water, 53:12 and they became blood." 53:13 And verse 5, "Then I heard voice of the angel 53:16 in charge of the waters saying, You are just in these judgments, 53:19 you who are and who were, the Holy One, 53:20 because you have so judged, 53:22 for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, 53:25 you have given them blood to drink, 53:26 "Yes, Lord, just and true are your judgments.'" 53:29 Now God is showing that he is doing the right thing 53:32 and everyone agrees when he destroys the wicked 53:35 and delivers His people, Verse 8, 53:38 "The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, 53:40 and was given power to scorch people with fire." 53:42 But look at the end of Verse 9 53:44 "They refused to repent and glorify God." 53:47 You see Babylon claims to be the people of God 53:50 but as the plagues are poured out 53:52 they are beginning to demonstrate 53:54 now they refuse to repent 53:56 "They cursed the name of God, they refused to glorify God". 54:00 Verse 10, "The fifth angel poured out his bowl 54:03 the beast was plunged into darkness. 54:05 Men gnawed their tongues in agony; 54:07 they cursed the name of God". 54:11 Now we can understand the sixth plague. 54:13 "The sixth angel poured out his bowl 54:15 on the great river Euphrates, 54:16 and its water would dried up 54:17 to prepare the way for the kings from the East." 54:20 There is only one thing 54:21 preventing Jesus from coming right now, 54:24 He has to give Satan time 54:26 to demonstrate what his kingdom was like, 54:28 he has to give his people time, 54:30 to demonstrate what it's like to follow the Lamb. 54:36 Watch this, Chapter 17:1, 54:39 "One of the seven angels who had seven bowls 54:41 came and said to me, 'Come, 54:43 and I will show you the punishment 54:44 of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.'" 54:47 So one of the angels with the seven bowls 54:49 is going to tell us about this prostitute 54:51 and interpret it for us, she sits on many waters. 54:55 What's her name? Verse 5. 54:57 "Mystery Babylon, the Great, 54:58 the mother of prostitutes and abominations of the earth." 55:01 So here is Babylon the harlot the counterfeit church 55:04 sitting on many waters just like Babylon of old. 55:08 What are the waters symbolize, Verse 15 "The waters you saw, 55:12 where the prostitute sits, are peoples, 55:14 multitudes, nations and languages." 55:16 So there is the harlot sitting on waters 55:18 the people are the ones who give her, her support, 55:21 they give her, her power, 55:23 but the prophet said that the waters were going to dry up 55:26 to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 55:29 So, Babylon will lose her power. 55:31 She will lose her support, the people will recognize it, 55:35 how does it happen, he continues on verse 10, 55:38 "The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute 55:41 they will bring her to ruin, they will leave her naked, 55:43 they will eat her flesh, they will burn her with fire." 55:46 Because the people finally recognize 55:48 that they have been lead astray by their leaders, 55:51 by their pastors, by their teachers 55:54 that's the darkness, the darkness of the plague 55:57 is the realization that the people they are persecuting 56:01 are not receiving the plagues we are, 56:04 we have been deceived, we have been lead astray. 56:09 And now, there are those who worship God 56:13 and those who worship the beast, they are marked, 56:17 they don't repent because they love God, 56:21 they don't repent because they trust God, 56:25 they repent because they want all the privilege of being saved 56:29 but they don't want to have to trust God 56:32 to live their lives the way He made us. 56:38 But it's too late now, everyone had their opportunity. 56:44 It's going to be a dark time for God's church, 56:48 it's going to be a time 56:49 where it seems like that if one more minute goes by 56:52 the church will be crushed away into darkness, 56:56 Babylon is so powerful and strong. 56:59 But at the darkest hour God's people are gonna look up 57:06 and see a rider on a white horse. 57:14 His name is the word of God, on his head are many crowns, 57:21 He is dressed in a robe, 57:23 spotless and white dipped in blood 57:27 and he has his name on his thigh King Of kings and Lord Of lords 57:32 and God's people are delivered 57:37 at a place that in Hebrews is called Armageddon. |
Revised 2014-12-17