Participants:
Series Code: TAM
Program Code: TAM000012S
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00:30 Let's bow our heads for prayer.
00:32 Our Beloved Heavenly Father, thank You for the privilege of 00:38 calling You our Father. 00:39 We thank You that You have not left us in this world without 00:44 guidance, without information about what is happening 00:48 in the world, and what will soon transpire, 00:50 so that we can prepare. 00:52 We ask, Father, that as we open Your Word today that Your 00:55 Holy Spirit be with us. 00:57 Show us the times we're living in so that we might prepare 01:01 properly for the great events that are soon to 01:03 take place in this world. 01:05 And we thank You, Father, for hearing our prayer, 01:08 for we ask it in the precious name of Your 01:11 Beloved Son, Jesus, Amen. 01:14 Before we begin our study today, I would like to just mention 01:19 that what I've presented in the last two lectures, 01:21 plus what I'm going to present in the lecture today, 01:25 is found in a book that I wrote which is titled, 01:29 Prophecy's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 01:32 There's a lot more material in the book than what I've 01:34 been able to share in the lectures. 01:36 So if you are interested, you can call Secrets Unsealed with 01:40 the information at the end of the presentation, 01:42 and they'll tell you how to get a copy of this very, 01:46 very important book. 01:47 Now we want to review, very briefly, what we studied 01:52 in the last two lectures. 01:53 And we're going to do it quickly, because we have a lot 01:55 of material to cover in our lecture today. 01:57 First of all, we want to talk about the sea beast. 02:01 The sea beast, according to what we've studied, 02:04 represents the papacy, the Roman Catholic papacy. 02:08 And then as we studied last night, the land beast 02:14 of Revelation 13 represents the United States of America. 02:19 And as we studied the two horns like a lamb, on the head of that 02:25 beast that rises from the earth, represents two kingdoms: 02:29 the kingdom of the church, and the kingdom of the state. 02:33 In other words civil and religious liberty. 02:38 But Revelation 13 tells us that this second beast is going to do 02:43 some rather strange things. 02:45 This second beast is going to help the first beast 02:50 recover its power. 02:52 In fact this second beast, that rises from the earth, 02:56 is going to lead the whole world to worship the first beast, 02:59 and to worship an image of that first beast, and also to receive 03:06 the mark of the beast, or the number of the beast, 03:09 which means that this second beast that rises from 03:12 the earth is functional. 03:14 Its purpose in prophecy is to restore the 03:18 first beast to power. 03:20 And in our lecture today we're going to talk about 03:23 the image to the beast. 03:25 Of course, an image is a likeness. 03:27 And so the image is going to be very much like the first beast. 03:33 So if we know what the first beast was like, 03:35 we're going to know what the image of the 03:39 beast is like as well. 03:40 Now, as we've studied, the two horns like a lamb represent 03:46 two kingdoms: the church and the state, 03:48 separate from one another, or we could say that they represent 03:53 civil liberty, and religious liberty. 03:56 Civil liberty would have to do with the kingdom of the state, 03:59 and religious liberty would have to do with the 04:02 kingdom of the church. 04:04 But the question is, In Revelation 13 what is 04:07 represented by the voice of the dragon? 04:10 Because the book of Revelation says that this second beast 04:14 that rises from the earth has two horns like a lamb. 04:17 In other words, it has these two kingdoms separate from one 04:21 another, full civil and religious liberty, but then this 04:25 beast begins speaking as a dragon. 04:30 What does it mean that this beast speaks as a dragon? 04:33 Well, we need to understand what the dragon represents 04:38 in the book of Revelation. 04:40 And I'm going to go through this quickly, because we don't 04:42 have time to read all of the Bible verses. 04:45 But the best place to understand the meaning of the dragon 04:50 is in Revelation 12. 04:51 And I'm just going to give you the picture. 04:53 We don't have time to look it up right now. 04:55 But I'm going to give you the picture of what we 04:57 find in that chapter. 04:58 The chapter begins by showing a woman that has a child in her 05:05 womb, and that child is about to be born. 05:07 And then a dragon is seen who wants to devour the child 05:11 as soon as the child is born. 05:13 Now it becomes very obvious that that child who is going be 05:17 be born is none other than Jesus Christ. 05:19 And the dragon is waiting for him, to kill him 05:23 the moment that he's born. 05:25 Now we need to understand that the dragon has a double 05:29 meaning in this passage. 05:31 Of course, we know that the dragon is a symbol of Satan, 05:36 because he's called the Ancient Serpent, the Devil, 05:39 and Satan in Revelation 12. 05:41 So in the first instance the dragon represents Satan. 05:45 But let me ask you, Through whom did Satan attempt 05:49 to kill the child? 05:51 Was it him personally who did it? No. 05:53 The Bible tells us that it was through a ruler of the Roman 05:56 Empire; a ruler called Herod. 05:59 In other words, Satan did it through the medium of a king, 06:04 King Herod, who was a king of the Roman Empire. 06:08 In other words, the dragon represents Satan, but the dragon 06:11 also represents the civil power through which Satan attempted 06:16 to kill the child. 06:17 Then you find there in Revelation 12, that the woman, 06:22 after the child is born, and the child goes to heaven, 06:25 and he's caught up to God and to His throne, the Bible tells us 06:28 the woman has to flee away to the wilderness for 1260 years. 06:33 We've encountered that prophecy before, haven't we? 06:35 She has to flee for 1,260 years from the presence of the dragon. 06:42 Interesting! The same dragon that wanted to kill the child 06:45 is the dragon that wants to destroy the woman, 06:49 or wants to destroy the church. 06:51 So if at the beginning of Revelation 12 the dragon 06:54 represents Satan, working through Rome, what must be 06:57 represented by the dragon who wants to persecute 07:00 and destroy the woman? 07:01 It must also be Satan working through whom? through Rome. 07:05 And we noticed that the little horn is the persecuting power 07:10 during the 1260 years. 07:12 And, of course, the little horn represents Satan working 07:16 through papal Rome. 07:18 So, in other words, the second stage, the dragon trying to 07:21 destroy the woman, is Rome. 07:23 The first stage when the dragon wants to destroy 07:27 the child is Rome. 07:28 So let me ask you, When this beast that arises from the earth 07:32 has two horns like a lamb, but it speaks like a dragon, 07:35 it must mean that it speaks like Satan, 07:38 but it also speaks like whom? 07:40 It's going to speak like Rome. 07:44 In other words, like the first beast, the sea beast. 07:47 Are you following what I'm saying? 07:48 Because all the way through it's Satan working through 07:53 the medium of Rome. 07:55 Now this second beast is a very unique beast, 07:59 because every beast in Daniel 7 conquered the beast 08:03 that came before it. 08:04 But this is the only beast in Bible prophecy that actually 08:08 helps the previous beast recover its power. 08:11 That makes this beast absolutely unique. 08:15 This beast helps the first beast, or the sea beast, 08:19 recover its power which it lost. 08:22 Now it's become very common in the United States for people 08:26 to talk about the need to be Christian, and to be patriotic. 08:30 And many Christians believe that in order to be both, 08:34 you have to be in favor, for example, of school vouchers, 08:38 and you have to be in favor of school prayer, and you have to 08:41 be in favor of federal funds for charitable choice, and you have 08:45 to be in favor of religious displays on public property, 08:48 etc. etc. They say if you don't believe in those things, 08:51 you're not really Christian, and you're not really patriotic. 08:54 But let me tell you something, if you're in favor of those 08:58 things, of the state mandating those things, which have to do 09:02 with religion, that is unpatriotic and un-Christian. 09:06 And you say, How do you say that? 09:08 Let me explain why. 09:09 You see, the Lord Jesus taught that we're supposed to render 09:13 to Caesar that which is Caesar's, 09:15 and to God that which is God's. 09:17 You do not blend the two. 09:19 And so when Christians are in favor of the government 09:24 mandating religious things, that is not Christian, 09:28 because that's not what Jesus Christ taught. 09:30 And it's also not patriotic. 09:33 And you say, Why isn't it patriotic? 09:34 For the simple reason, folks, that the founding fathers of 09:38 the United States separated church and state. 09:42 We found it in our last study in the First Amendment to the 09:45 Constitution of the United States the principles upon which 09:49 this nation is based are the principles of civil and 09:54 religious liberties, separation of the things of the church 09:57 from the things of the state. 09:58 So when Christians say, We need to join the church 10:01 and the state, that is not patriotic, because it goes 10:04 against the principles upon which the United States was 10:07 built; the two principles that are the secret of its power. 10:12 Now in order to understand the work of the beast of Revelation 10:15 13, the beast that rises from the earth, we need to go back 10:19 to a prophecy that we find in the Old Testament. 10:21 It's the prophecy of Daniel 3. 10:24 You see, in Revelation 13 this beast raises an image. 10:29 It commands everybody to worship the image. 10:32 Whoever does not worship the image is to be killed. 10:36 Now that scene comes directly from Daniel 3. 10:41 And so in order to understand this, we need to 10:43 go back to Daniel 3. 10:45 Actually folks, do you know it's very, very interesting 10:48 to notice that Daniel 3 is illustrating one of the clauses, 10:55 actually the First Clause of the First Amendment 10:58 to the Constitution of the United States. 11:01 You say, Well, how is this? Let me explain. 11:05 Nebuchadnezzar was the civil ruler of Babylon, wasn't he? 11:11 He was to preserve the civil order. 11:13 But Nebuchadnezzar raised up an image, and he commanded everyone 11:19 to what? to worship. 11:21 Let me ask you, Was this the civil power trying to establish 11:25 religion? Most certainly. 11:27 He's trying to establish a religious observance by raising 11:31 an image, and saying to everybody, 11:32 You need to worship this image. 11:34 Was he overstepping his bounds? 11:37 Yes, because he had the right to legislate when it came 11:41 to civil matters, but he did not have a right to command people 11:45 to worship in a certain way. 11:47 Let me ask you, When he established this religious 11:50 observance, what was the immediate result? 11:52 The immediate result folks, was persecution. 11:56 As you read the book of Daniel, was Daniel a very good 12:02 citizen of Babylon? 12:04 Did he respect the king? 12:06 Did he pray for the king? 12:07 Did he obey the legitimate civil laws of Babylon? 12:11 He most certainly did. 12:13 But when the king overstepped his bounds, and he legislated, 12:17 he established a religious observance with its civil power, 12:20 these three young men practiced civil disobedience. 12:25 The story shows us that the time when we can practice civil 12:29 disobedience is when the state oversteps its bounds, 12:34 and legislates the first table of God's law. 12:38 It legislates worship. 12:40 It establishes a worship observance. 12:43 So let me ask you, In this story, do you find an 12:47 illustration of the Establishment Clause 12:50 of the First Amendment to the Constitution 12:52 of the United States? Yes. 12:54 Because the First Amendment says, Congress shall make no law 12:58 respecting the what? the establishment of religion. 13:02 And the reason for that is because when the state, 13:07 or when the civil power establishes religion, 13:09 the immediate result is what? persecution. 13:12 By the way, Did God intervene to deliver those three young men? 13:17 Yes. There was no hope to be delivered from the hands of the 13:21 civil power who wanted to enforce this 13:23 religious observance. 13:25 There was no escape unless God directly intervened. 13:29 And God, actually Jesus Christ, came into the furnace, 13:33 and He delivered the three young men who obeyed 13:37 God rather than man. 13:38 Now in Daniel chapter 6 we have another story that illustrates 13:42 the Second Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. 13:45 You see, we have this story of Daniel 6. 13:49 The Second Clause of the First Amendment says, Congress shall 13:52 make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 13:54 nor prohibiting the what? the free exercise thereof. 13:59 In other words, the government cannot prohibit you from 14:01 practicing your religion, and it cannot establish a religion 14:04 and tell you that you have to follow that religion, 14:06 or you have to follow this practice in this certain way. 14:09 Now where in Daniel do we find an illustration of the 14:14 free exercise part of the First Amendment to the Constitution? 14:19 It's in the story that we find in Daniel 6. 14:22 Interesting that the first two clauses of the First Amendment 14:25 to the Constitution are illustrated 14:28 in the book of Daniel. 14:29 You say, what story is that? 14:30 You remember that King Darius, deceived by his advisers, 14:35 gave a law, or a decree, that no one could pray to any God 14:42 during a period of how long? 14:44 During a period of 30 days, no one could pray to their God. 14:48 Let me ask you, Was Darius establishing religion? No. 14:53 What was he doing? 14:54 He was prohibiting the free exercise of religion. 14:58 He was saying, You can't pray. 15:00 He wasn't saying, You have to pray this way. 15:02 He said, No, you can't pray. 15:04 He's, in other words, trying to eliminate the free 15:07 exercise of religion. 15:09 And you know what happened. 15:11 Daniel, as usual... 15:13 He was very obedient to the king's civil laws. 15:16 He was greatly respectful of the king. 15:18 He prayed for the king. 15:19 He was loyal to him. 15:21 But when it came to the civil power making this religious 15:24 decree violating the Free Exercise Clause, so to speak, 15:29 he opened the windows to his room as he always did 15:35 three times a day. 15:36 The Bible tells us that he was arrested, and he was thrown 15:40 into a den of lions. 15:42 Let me ask you, What happens when the Free Exercise 15:44 Clause is violated? 15:46 The immediate result is what? persecution. 15:50 That's what happened in the days of Jesus. 15:53 That's what happened in the Middle Ages. 15:55 That's what's going to happen at the end of time. 15:57 This second land beast is going to make an image of the first 16:01 beast, which means that because the first beast joined church 16:05 and state, it used the sword of the state. 16:07 It must mean that this second beast from the earth is also 16:11 going to use what? is going to use the sword of the state. 16:14 Because an image is a likeness. 16:17 This beast that rises from the earth is going to be similar 16:21 to the beast that dominated during the Middle Ages. 16:25 And, by the way, what was Daniel's only escape? 16:30 The law of man could not deliver him, because the laws of the 16:33 Medes and Persians could not be changed. 16:36 So who had to intervene to deliver Daniel? 16:38 God had to intervene to deliver Daniel from the 16:42 mouths of the lions. 16:44 By the way, Do you know that neither Nebuchadnezzar, 16:47 nor Darius really understood what God was 16:49 trying to teach them? 16:50 Because immediately after this experience... 16:54 It's interesting. Nebuchadnezzar says, Now I forbid anyone 17:00 to say anything against the God of Daniel. 17:03 Because if you say anything against the God of Daniel, 17:06 I'm going to raze your house to the ground, and I'm going to 17:10 chop you up in pieces. 17:11 Let me ask you, Did he have a legitimate right to do that? 17:14 Absolutely not! He was a civil ruler. 17:17 He could not say that of the true religion, 17:20 or of a false religion. 17:21 And Darius didn't understand either, because after this 17:25 experience he says, I command everyone to tremble and to fear 17:30 before the God of Daniel. 17:32 No king can command to tremble and to fear 17:35 before the God of anyone. 17:36 Because the government has been placed to govern in 17:39 civil matters, not in religious matters. 17:43 Are you understanding the picture that we're 17:44 talking about here? 17:46 The Establishment Clause, and the Free Exercise Clause 17:49 of the Constitution of the United States were divinely 17:52 inspired, because these clauses are actually found illustrated 17:58 in Holy Scripture. 18:00 Somebody might say, Pastor Bohr, do you really think that it's 18:07 possible in the end time that such a scenario 18:10 is going to take place? 18:12 That the United States of America, this beast that rises 18:15 from the earth, which we clearly identified last time from 18:19 the Bible, that it would violate the Free Exercise Clause, 18:23 and the Establishment Clauses of the Constitution 18:26 of the United States? 18:28 Do you really believe that such a thing is possible? 18:30 Not only do I believe that such a thing is possible, but 18:34 prophecy tells us that that's exactly what is going to happen. 18:38 You see, the papacy destroyed the view of Jesus, 18:43 and the apostles of the separation of church and state. 18:46 We studied in one of our lectures that Jesus taught 18:49 that Caesar's things, and God's things are to remain separate. 18:54 They are not to be blended or mixed. 18:56 In fact, when the two kingdoms came together, when the Jews 19:00 used the civil power of Rome the result was persecution 19:04 and the death of Jesus Christ. 19:06 The apostles also, in the book of Acts, they never used the 19:09 civil power of Rome to advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ. 19:12 Never! They preached the word of God. 19:15 They used the sword that God gave them. 19:16 And people were converted, and they joined the church. 19:19 But they never used the civil power of Rome. 19:22 But the Jews used the civil power of Rome 19:25 to persecute the Christians. 19:27 You see, the apostolic view was to keep the things of the 19:29 church, and the things of the state separate. 19:32 But the papacy changed that during the Middle Ages. 19:36 The founding fathers of the United States of America 19:40 returned to the view of Jesus and the apostles 19:44 when they established the government of the United States 19:47 of America; a government of the people, by the people, 19:50 and for the people; a government that recognized that there are 19:54 two kingdoms in the United States. 19:55 And we can be citizens of both kingdoms: a civil kingdom, 19:59 and the religious kingdom, but they should 20:00 remain always separate. 20:02 That was the view that Jesus and the apostles had held. 20:05 But prophecy tells us that in the United States of America 20:09 these principles will be repudiated, 20:11 and the United States will return to the position that the 20:14 papacy had during the 1260 years. 20:17 In other words, they will make an image of that. 20:21 And you say, Pastor Bohr, you're crazy! 20:24 That could never happen in the United States of America; 20:27 the land of the free, and the home of the brave. 20:30 Listen, you don't think so? 20:32 You say, Well we have the Constitution. 20:36 We have the First Amendment. 20:37 How could this ever happen? 20:38 Listen, prophecy tells us that this beast that rises from 20:43 the earth, has two horns like a lamb, but at the same time 20:48 that it has the horns, it speaks like a dragon. 20:50 Let me ask you, Is that kind of like a split personality type? 20:54 Absolutely! You say, How is it possible that it has two horns 20:57 like a lamb, the two principles that Jesus recognized: 21:01 separation of church and state, civil and religious matters, 21:04 separate one from another. 21:05 And you're saying that at the same time that it has those two 21:09 principles, that it's going to speak like a dragon? 21:11 It's going to speak like Rome? 21:13 It's going to persecute like Rome? 21:15 It's going to join church and state like Rome? 21:17 How could you say such a thing? 21:19 The fact is that prophecy tells us that it's going to be 21:22 that type of thing, because it's still going to have the two 21:25 horns like a lamb, which we've identified as civil 21:27 and religious liberty. 21:29 But at the same time that it has those, 21:30 it's going to speak like a dragon. 21:32 In other words, the United States is not necessarily going 21:35 to eradicate, or get rid of the First Amendment, but it is going 21:40 to act contrary to the First Amendment. 21:43 And you say, How is this possible? 21:45 Well, the United States government has three branches. 21:50 And you know which ones they are. 21:53 They're the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, 21:56 and the Judicial Branch. 21:59 The Executive Branch enforces the laws. 22:04 The Legislative Branch makes the laws, or writes the laws. 22:09 And the Judicial Branch primarily the Supreme Court, 22:14 interprets the laws, and tells you whether they are 22:18 Constitutional or not Constitutional. 22:21 Let me ask you, What if Congress should write a law and actually 22:30 give it for enforcement, and it's taken to the Supreme Court, 22:35 and the Supreme Court says this law is unconstitutional. 22:38 What happens? The law does not go, right? 22:43 But what happens if the Congress enacts a law 22:47 that is unconstitutional, and somebody appeals it to the 22:53 Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court says it is Constitutional. 22:57 Let me ask you, Will that law be enforced? 22:59 It most certainly will be enforced. 23:01 Even if a law goes against the Constitution, 23:04 if the Supreme Court says that that law goes, it goes. 23:08 So let me ask you, Which is the most powerful 23:11 branch of government? 23:12 You know, most of the time when I ask this people say, 23:15 the Executive; they enforce the law. 23:19 But not really. The most powerful branch of government 23:23 is the Judicial Branch; primarily the Supreme Court 23:26 of the United States of America. 23:28 And if you don't believe that, all you have to do is remember 23:33 the election of the year 2000; a very contemporary event. 23:39 Do you remember what happened in Florida? 23:41 all the hanging chads? 23:43 Ha! Well, you know, that will stick in our memory forever, 23:47 the fiasco of the hanging chads. 23:50 And, you know, that you had lawyers involved, and they were 23:53 taking it to this Circuit Court, and to the Appeals Court, 23:56 and the lawyers were fighting it. 23:57 But when the Supreme Court said George Bush won; case closed. 24:03 George Bush became President of the United States of America. 24:06 And, actually, the Supreme Court elected the President 24:10 of the United States of America. 24:11 Now this is the scary thing; the Supreme Court presently has 24:17 five Roman Catholic Judges: John Roberts, the Chief Justice, 24:22 Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy, 24:27 and Samuel Alito. Within the next eight years or so some of 24:33 the more liberal judges on the Supreme Court, you know, 24:38 Judge Justice Ginsburg, for example, was just operated on 24:43 for, I think it was pancreatic cancer. 24:45 And so many of these more liberal judges 24:47 are going to pass. 24:49 What if we had one or two more Roman Catholics named 24:52 to the Supreme Court? 24:54 You say, Well, the Justices are red blooded Americans, you know. 24:57 They're patriotic and they're really Christian. 25:00 But you know, Roman Catholicism teaches that your first 25:03 loyalty is to the church. 25:05 Whatever the church commands, that's what you do. 25:09 Even if it means setting the civil power on the back burner 25:14 you always do what the church says. 25:17 You see, the problem is many Protestants today are 25:21 fascinated by the papacy. 25:22 And the reason why they're fascinated by the papacy 25:26 is because the papacy fights for human rights. 25:28 It fights for the poor. 25:29 It fights for morality. 25:31 It fights for conventional marriage. 25:34 It fights for religion in America. 25:36 It even fights for religious freedom. 25:39 And so Protestants in the United States say, Well, this system 25:44 has definitely changed. 25:46 But, you know, I've looked in vain for any change 25:49 in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. 25:51 They have changed not one dogma. 25:53 And as we looked at the book, The Keys of This Blood, 25:57 by Malachi Martin, he clearly expressed that the Roman 26:01 Catholic papacy has the desire for geopolitical world power 26:05 once again, as she had during the Middle Ages. 26:07 In other words, she has not changed. 26:09 She presents a new facade after Council Vatican II, 26:14 but inside she's the same. 26:16 Behind the variable appearance of the chameleon there is the 26:21 invariable vehenom of the serpent. 26:24 Now let me read you a couple of statements here from 26:29 my favorite book on Bible prophecy, The Great Controversy. 26:32 This, folks, was written over 100 years ago, 26:37 what I'm going to read now, over 100 years ago! 26:40 And when it was written the United States wanted nothing 26:43 to do with the Roman Catholic papacy. 26:45 It was a Protestant country, and nobody wanted anything 26:49 to do with this system when she wrote this. 26:52 But she said the following: 27:15 Is that what happened in the Middle Ages? Yes. 27:18 That's what the image would be; a replica, or a copy of what 27:24 existed in the Middle Ages; the church using the state 27:28 to accomplish her purposes. 27:30 Also in the same book, The Great Controversy, Page 581, 27:35 this visionary writer says this: 27:41 If she needs to re-establish it it is because she what? lost it. 27:50 See, the word recover. 28:20 And this country, folks, will speak like a dragon. 28:23 It will speak like Rome. 28:25 On Page 445 she says this: 28:58 You see, at that time the issue will be global survival. 29:03 The same argument will be used as was used when Jesus was 29:09 condemned by the Jewish Sanhedrin. 29:13 Do you remember what they said? 29:14 It is better for these dissenter to die, 29:17 than for our nation to perish. 29:21 And so the same argument will be used once again, 29:24 and everybody will say, This is Christian. 29:27 This is patriotic. 29:29 We need to do this for the land of the free 29:31 and the home of the brave. 29:32 And, folks, there's a growing intimacy between Protestant 29:37 America, and Roman Catholicism. 29:39 For example, Protestants have delighted in participating 29:43 with the Roman Catholic Church on social issues such as 29:47 abortion, gay marriage, judicial activism, electing people to the 29:52 Supreme Court that they feel they should elect there. 29:55 Documents of great significance have been signed; for example, 30:00 Evangelicals and Catholics together were great leaders of 30:03 Protestant denominations, and great leaders of the Roman 30:07 Catholic Church basically said, Let's stop proselytizing one 30:12 another's members, and lets just go out and preach 30:16 the gospel together. 30:17 Also, the Lutherans and the Catholics, of all people folks, 30:21 the Lutherans? Martin Luther was the one who began 30:24 the Protestant Reformation in the year 1517 when he put the 30:28 the 95 Theses on the cathedral door in Wittenberg. 30:31 Lutherans and Roman Catholics signed the Joint Declaration 30:37 on Righteousness by Faith. 30:38 And basically the Lutherans are saying it was just a battle 30:42 over words, over semantics. 30:44 We basically agree on the doctrine of 30:47 righteousness by faith. 30:48 You see, Protestants in the United States 30:50 have forgotten history. 30:52 And when we forget history, we are doomed to repeat 30:57 the errors of history. 30:58 On a state level, the United States has drawn very, very 31:02 close to the Roman Catholic papacy. 31:04 From the time that Ronald Reagan joined forces with 31:07 John Paul II to overthrow Communism in the Eastern Block, 31:12 to giving a Congressional medal to John Paul II, a Congressional 31:18 Medal of Freedom to establish diplomatic relations with 31:23 the papacy to three presidents, a president's wife, 31:27 and a Secretary of State kneeling before the body of 31:31 John Paul II, to the pope visiting the White House. 31:35 All of these things show us that there's a political 31:38 correctness involved. 31:39 There's this desire to draw forces together. 31:42 In other words, there's no longer any desire to be 31:46 different, to be separate. 31:47 In fact, many are saying, We are all in this together. 31:53 Let's just love one another, and preach the gospel together. 31:57 The question is, Which gospel? 31:59 Is it the gospel that the Bible presents, or is it the gospel 32:04 that is presented by the Roman Catholic Church? 32:06 You know, if history proves right, and I believe that 32:10 history does prove right, because history repeats itself. 32:14 Unscrupulous, and self-serving legislators in the United States 32:19 of America will repeat the same mistake that Pontius Pilate 32:23 committed back in the times of Jesus Christ. 32:26 They will give in in order to preserve their position 32:30 of power, in order to continue being elected by the people, 32:34 in order to gain popularity they will deliver people whom 32:38 they knowingly know are innocent. 32:41 Let me just read Mark 15:11 where it speaks about the 32:47 trial of Jesus, and it says there: 32:57 In other words, the enemy of Jesus was not the state. 33:02 Pilate didn't have any gripe with Jesus. 33:04 Even the multitudes were not really, technically, 33:08 the enemies of Jesus. 33:09 It was the religious leaders. 33:11 And the religious leaders influenced the people 33:15 to clamor to the state that they would destroy and kill 33:20 public enemy number one. 33:22 That's exactly the way that it's going to happen in the future 33:25 in the United States of America; exactly the same thing that 33:29 happened during the Middle Ages. 33:31 Ellen White, once again in the book, The Great Controversy, 33:34 Page 592, has this rather chilling description 33:38 of this time. She says: 33:41 And we're going to discuss this a little bit later on. 34:37 And you say, Pastor Bohr, that could never happen 34:41 in the United States of America. 34:43 Well, folks, that's not what prophecy says. 34:48 Prophecy tells us that this beast from the earth is going 34:53 to make an image of that first beast. 34:56 It's going to join church and state, and eventually it is 35:00 going to condemn God's people to death, 35:03 as happened with Jesus Christ. 35:06 You see, people today have been unwilling, to a great degree, 35:11 of learning from the experience of the earliest church. 35:16 You see, what happened in the early church is that the early 35:19 church lost its power. 35:21 And as a result of losing its power, the moral condition of 35:26 society deteriorated. 35:28 And so the church said, We need to straighten things out. 35:33 And so, basically, what they did was unite with the civil power 35:37 to enforce morality, and to enforce religion 35:40 to moralize society. 35:42 Protestantism today is experiencing a drought. 35:47 You see, Protestants today want to do the same thing 35:51 that the church did in the third and fourth centuries 35:55 of the history of the Christian church. 35:56 You see, the church had gone astray from its roots. 35:59 It had gone astray from preaching the word of God. 36:01 The Holy Spirit had slowly but surely been 36:04 withdrawn from the church. 36:06 Therefore the church said, In order for society to be moral, 36:09 we have to appeal to the arm of the state to force 36:12 people to be moral. 36:14 In the United States Protestants today believe that by having 36:20 on our currency, In God We Trust, and by saying in the 36:24 Pledge of Allegiance, One nation under God, 36:27 and by the government mandating prayer in public schools, 36:31 and by posting the Ten Commandments in our court rooms, 36:36 and by having Christmas displays on public property, 36:39 or by enacting a Constitutional Amendment against gay marriage 36:43 we say society is going to become moral. 36:46 Let me tell you, folks, what makes people moral is not 36:50 what the government says, but it is God, through the Holy 36:53 Spirit, taking the law and writing it on the human heart. 36:57 Then you don't need any human laws. 36:59 You don't need any civil laws to enforce morality in society. 37:03 Because Jesus is in the heart through His Holy Law. 37:07 You see, Protestantism has lost its power. 37:12 Instead of preaching the unadulterated word of God, 37:15 through the powerful ministration of God's 37:18 Holy Spirit, Protestants today preach a prosperity gospel. 37:21 They say, Oh, plant a seed in my ministry and you'll get rich. 37:26 Many Protestant churches major in signs and wonders, 37:31 and people just love signs and wonders. 37:34 Other Protestant denominations major in 37:37 psychological self help courses. 37:40 And many even major in political involvement, thinking that this 37:46 is going to better people's lives. 37:49 But Scripture tells us that that which can improve people's lives 37:54 is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 37:57 which penetrates deep, and transforms the heart 38:01 of the human being. 38:02 You know what's going to happen folks, 38:05 is described in Revelation 17. 38:07 We've studied this before, but let me review 38:10 some of the details. 38:11 In Revelation 17 you have a harlot, and that harlot is 38:17 sitting on many waters. 38:18 The many waters on which the harlot sits are multitudes, 38:23 nations, tongues, and peoples. 38:25 In other words, this fallen church, this apostate church, 38:28 sits on the multitudes of the worlds. 38:30 She governs them, and she controls them. 38:33 And she also fornicates with the kings of the earth, 38:37 which means that this is an apostate church, a harlot church 38:40 that has illicit relations with the kings of the earth. 38:43 It says there in Revelation 17 that this apostate church 38:48 is clothed in purple and scarlet. 38:50 Those are her favorite colors. 38:51 And she's adorned with gold and silver, 38:55 and with precious stones. 38:57 And she has a golden cup in her hand. 38:59 And with the golden cup are found her abominations, 39:02 or her wine. And she gives those false doctrines, 39:05 or abominations, to the nations. 39:07 And the nations drink, and the nations become drunk. 39:11 And along with her, they want to shed the blood of all of 39:15 those who are not in harmony with her teachings. 39:17 And she appeals to the kings of the earth to be the enforcers. 39:22 But as we studied, the Bible says in Revelation 17:16, 17, 39:28 that the kings will hate the harlot, and they will make her 39:32 desolate, and naked, and eat her flesh, 39:36 and burn her with fire. 39:37 Basically what this is saying is that the political powers 39:42 with which this apostate church fornicated, the political powers 39:47 that she used to accomplish her purpose, are going to eventually 39:51 rise against her to destroy her. 39:55 I'd like to read you another statement that we find in 39:59 The Great Controversy, Page 655, that describes this climatic 40:03 moment when people realize that they've been 40:05 deceived by this system. 40:07 The people see that they have been deluded. 40:11 They accuse one another of having led them to destruction. 40:15 But all unite in heaping their bitterest condemnation 40:19 upon the ministers. 40:21 It's a serious thing to be a minister. 40:22 If you're a minister don't deceive people. 40:26 Study your Bible, and make sure that you're 40:28 teaching the truth. 40:55 The day is coming; the reckoning day is coming. 40:57 She continues saying: 41:24 Interesting that she uses the words swords. 41:38 Let me ask you, What happened at the French Revolution? 41:41 Did you have a small scale model of this event 41:45 in the French Revolution? 41:46 What did this beast, this sea beast do during the 1260 years? 41:51 It used the state to persecute and kill everyone who was not 41:57 in harmony with it. 41:59 Is that true, or is that not true? 42:01 It is absolutely true. 42:02 All you have to do is punch into the computer, inquisition, 42:07 and that will give you all of the gory details of how the 42:10 church used the state to persecute those who were not 42:14 in harmony with the church. 42:16 Well, the fact is folks, that what happened in 1798 42:20 is that, actually even before, during the French Revolution, 42:24 the people said, We're not going to put up with this anymore. 42:27 In other words, the lid of the pressure cooker blew off. 42:32 Because the people had been so oppressed, and so trampled upon, 42:36 that they said, We're not going to take it anymore. 42:38 And they arose against the kings, and they arose against 42:42 the religious system. 42:43 In fact historians say that the blood flowed freely 42:47 in the streets of Paris in France, because they rose 42:52 against the church. 42:53 Is that going to happen again when the people of the world 42:56 see that this system has oppressed them, 42:58 and has trampled upon them? 42:59 Absolutely! Reckoning day will definitely come. 43:04 The Bible describes this moment when God's 43:08 people are in jeopardy. 43:09 Do you remember in Daniel 3 when the three young men were 43:12 delivered from the fiery furnace? 43:13 The word delivered is used several times in chapter 3. 43:16 Do you remember when Daniel was delivered 43:18 from the lions den? 43:20 The word delivered is used many times. 43:21 Those stories are typological. 43:23 In other words, those stories actually illustrate 43:26 in small scale model, what is going to happen 43:28 at the end of time. 43:30 And you say, How is that? 43:31 Notice Daniel 12:1. 43:33 Here is where you have the end times scenario of Daniel 43:38 in the lions den, and the three young men in the fiery furnace. 43:42 It says in Daniel 12:1, At that time... 43:45 If you look at the previous verses, it speaks about the 43:48 King of the North that goes out to kill and slay God's people. 43:52 It says: 44:02 Let me ask you, Was the time that Daniel spent in the 44:05 lion's den a time of trouble? 44:06 Do you think it was a time of trouble for the three young men 44:09 in the fiery furnace? 44:10 You'd better believe it! And so it says: 44:22 There's the key word in Daniel 3 and Daniel 6. 44:30 And you say, How do you know this is talking 44:32 about the end time? Notice verse 2. 44:37 It's speaking about the resurrection, right? 44:38 This is the end time. 44:58 Now I would like us to take a look at two stories as we draw 45:04 our presentation today to a close. 45:06 Do you remember the story that we find in the book of Esther? 45:13 Do you all remember the story that we find 45:15 in the book of Esther? 45:17 You see, you have a three fold alliance in the book of Esther 45:22 that wants to destroy the Jews. 45:26 You have, first of all the king, secondly you have a vile woman 45:33 who is the wife of Haman, and in the third place, 45:36 of course, you have Haman. 45:38 And then you have Mordecai, who represents 45:41 God's faithful people. 45:43 Now how does this story develop? 45:46 Go with me to Esther 3:8, Esther 3:8. It says: 46:19 So how does the plot develop? 46:23 Haman, because Mordecai does not bow before him, 46:28 as the king has commanded... 46:30 See, there you have a religious decree. 46:31 The king has commanded that everybody needs to kneel 46:33 and bow before Haman. 46:35 Mordecai says, I can't do that. 46:37 I'm a Hebrew. Thou shalt not have any other God's before Me. 46:43 The Bible forbids idolatry, he said. So I can't do it. 46:48 So the Bible says that Haman was filled with wrath. 46:50 And he said, I've got to destroy this individual. 46:54 But he says, Not only him. 46:56 I've got to destroy all of his people. 46:58 Let me ask you, Did you have a union of church and state 47:03 in this story? You most certainly did. 47:06 The king was Ahasuerus. 47:09 Who was the religious figure that really wanted 47:12 the destruction of the Jews? 47:13 Did the king want the death of the Jews? No! 47:16 He was deceived by his what? by his religious adviser, right? 47:22 And he actually thought that his religious adviser was 47:25 doing him some good. 47:26 He says, Wow, thank you so much Haman. 47:28 These people are a risk to my kingdom. 47:30 If we let them remain then the kingdom is going to disappear, 47:34 and there's going to be anarchy. 47:36 Thank you for being so interested in my kingdom. 47:38 So for awhile the plot goes real well. 47:42 But to make a long story short, instead of Mordecai and his 47:47 people being destroyed, who hung on the very gallows that he 47:52 created for Mordecai? 47:54 Haman and his wife hung on those gallows 47:58 that they made for Mordecai. 48:01 And on the day of the battle God's people were delivered 48:05 from the hand of Haman. 48:07 So in this story we find an illustration of what 48:11 we're talking about here. 48:12 An illustration of the dangers of having a religious figure 48:17 try to influence a political figure into punishing those 48:22 who do not worship as this union says that it's supposed 48:28 to worship. And as a result what do you have? 48:30 You have persecution. 48:33 Now there's another interesting story that we find in Scripture. 48:37 And this will illustrate fully, and completely, 48:41 the scenario that we're portraying here that's going 48:44 to happen to the United States of America. 48:46 Do you remember the story of John the Baptist? 48:49 You know, John the Baptist was thrown into prison. 48:53 Why was he thrown into prison? 48:55 Because he told king Herod that it was not licit for him to have 49:03 another man's wife. 49:04 By the way, what is that called? adultery. 49:08 So what did John the Baptist denounce? 49:11 He denounced adultery of the king with this vile woman. 49:16 What was her name? Herodias. 49:18 Interesting! And that landed him in jail. 49:22 The fact that he denounced the fornication of the king 49:26 with this vile woman, Herodias. 49:29 And so the Bible says that Herodias hated John the Baptist. 49:33 She wanted to get rid of him. 49:35 But the problem is, evidentially the king didn't listen to her 49:38 very much, and so she was always looking for the opportunity. 49:44 She says, How can I get rid of this man who denounces this 49:49 relationship that I have with the king? 49:51 So an opportune day came when king Herod was 49:58 celebrating his birthday. 49:59 And it just so happens that this vile woman had a daughter. 50:03 And the name of the daughter was Salome. 50:07 And this is when Herodias, this adulterous woman, 50:12 this fornicating woman, who was fornicating with the king, 50:16 because the king was not her husband. 50:20 She said to her daughter... 50:22 By the way, the king was under the influence. 50:24 He had drunk wine. 50:26 So he wasn't thinking straight in this story. 50:29 There's music involved. 50:31 Just like in Daniel 3 you have music involved. 50:34 Which the wrong kind of music can bewitch you. 50:38 The wrong kind of music can hypnotize you. Hello! 50:42 The Devil knows that. 50:43 That's why he's using it in the world today. 50:45 So she notices that the king is drunk. 50:48 And she says to the daughter, You know, go in and dance 50:54 for the king, because the king had his eye on her. 50:58 So she goes in. The king says, Please dance for me. 51:02 I want to see you dance. 51:03 She says, Only if you grant me a wish. 51:07 And he says, Oh, yes, I'll grant you any wish you want, 51:11 up to half the kingdom. 51:13 He had to be drunk to offer half the kingdom for a dance. 51:18 The Bible says that he swore in the presence of the men 51:24 that were in the court. 51:25 He said, I will give you what you request, 51:27 up to half the kingdom. 51:30 And so Salome went in and danced. 51:34 And then she went to... 51:35 Listen to this, she went to her mother. 51:38 She did not have a mind of her own. 51:41 She was the image of her mother. 51:42 She went to her mother, this adulterous woman that John 51:45 the Baptist landed in jail, because he was 51:47 denouncing this fornication. 51:49 In Revelation is there a message against the fornication of 51:53 Babylon at the end of time? Absolutely! 51:55 You see, this literal story illustrates great spiritual and 51:59 religious principles at the end of time; worldwide global 52:02 movements at the end of time. 52:04 And so she goes to her mother and says, Mother, 52:07 what should I ask for? 52:09 And her mother says, The head of John the Baptist. 52:16 Let me ask you, Was she just like her mother? 52:19 She was just like her mother. 52:22 You say, How do we know that? 52:23 You know, what would a normal daughter have done if her mother 52:27 had said, I want the head of Pastor Bohr? 52:31 Mother! I hope that that would be the case. 52:35 Mother! How is it that you ask for the head of Pastor Bohr? 52:41 No! That can't be! 52:42 You know what she said? Okay. 52:45 Was she just like her mother? 52:47 She was identical. 52:49 She was an image of her mother. 52:51 And so she goes to the king. 52:53 She says, I want, on a platter, the head of John the Baptist. 52:57 And now the king saw that he had been deceived, 53:00 but it was too late. 53:02 He was too embarrassed to go against his sworn statement 53:08 before all of the courtiers that were in there. 53:10 And so he did what Pilate did. 53:12 He washed his hands. 53:15 The Bible says that the henchman went into the prison 53:20 and beheaded John the Baptist. 53:23 And the interesting thing is the way that this story ends, folks. 53:26 If you read this story that, by the way, is in Mark 6:14, 53:31 all the way through verse 28. 53:33 It says that the man who cut off John the Baptist's head 53:38 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl, 53:42 and the girl gave it, or the daughter gave it to her mother. 53:48 Who is the dangerous figure in this story? 53:52 The dangerous figure in this story is the mother. 53:56 Not the king, not the daughter, but the daughter is used as an 54:00 instrument for the mother to get her purposes accomplished. 54:04 Let me ask you, Does the harlot of Revelation 17 have daughters? 54:10 She's called the mother of harlots, 54:12 and the fornications of the earth. 54:15 Are her daughters going to do her bidding? 54:18 They were born from her in the 16th Century, and they 54:24 sustain many of the same teachings that she sustains. 54:28 And eventually they will join church and state, 54:31 as she joined church and state. 54:33 And eventually they will be the instrument; 54:37 they are not the protagonist. 54:39 They will be the instrument through which she, 54:43 the mother of harlots, will give a death decree 54:47 against God's people; for God's people to be eradicated 54:51 from planet Earth. 54:53 You say, Pastor Bohr, what you've presented is insane. 55:01 It could never happen in these United States of America. 55:04 Let me tell you, folks, in a time of severe crisis, 55:08 natural disasters, a collapsed economy, crime such as never 55:19 has been seen before, nations do very strange things. 55:24 And they have the tendency to look for a scapegoat 55:29 for what is happening. 55:31 And you know, when I sit down and I think about these things, 55:36 I'm saddened, because this is a great country. 55:40 I wouldn't have wanted to have been born in any other country 55:44 in the world than the United States. 55:45 Not because it has more people, or has more money, 55:49 or because it's scenery is more beautiful. 55:51 No, but because of the wonderful principles upon which this 55:54 country was established. 55:56 And when I think that the United States is going to repudiate 55:59 those principles, I'm deeply saddened. 56:03 What could have been and wasn't. 56:07 Now the question is, What religious observance is 56:13 the United States going to enforce? 56:15 You say, It's going to enforce religion, and it's going to 56:20 prohibit the free exercise of religion. 56:23 So what religious observance, or observances is the United States 56:28 going to enforce contrary to its principles? 56:31 Would you like to know? 56:35 Well, all I can say is don't miss the next exciting episode. 56:40 Allow me just to say that in our next lecture we're going to talk 56:45 about the number of the beast. 56:48 Fascinating study! 56:50 It's the number of his name, the Bible says. 56:54 You say, How do you get a number from a name? 56:57 We're going to talk about that tomorrow, and it's going to be a 57:01 fascinating subject. 57:03 And I hope that you make it a point to come, because what 57:06 we're talking about are life and death matters folks. 57:09 This is not just intellectual information. 57:13 These are matters of life and death that we know them, 57:16 or else we'll come out on the wrong side. 57:19 I pray to God that we will choose to be on the right side. |
Revised 2023-04-20