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Series Code: TMC
Program Code: TMC000004A
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00:19 We use the word antichrist
00:22 and I think many times we misunderstand it. 00:26 'Cause when the Scripture speaks of the antichrist 00:29 to you and I the word anti means against. 00:35 That's what we normally think of when we use the word 00:38 anti we think of against, 00:40 but that is not the way the Scripture uses it. 00:43 When the Scripture is speaking of the antichrist 00:46 it uses it in the sense of instead of or in place of. 00:52 That's what it's talking about. When it speaks of the antichrist 00:55 it's talking about something that is in place of 00:58 or instead of. It's not talking about something 01:02 that is against. Now the word antichrist 01:06 is actually only used by the apostle John. 01:11 John is the one that uses it and it's used in I and II John. 01:16 And John starts out and says this about the antichrist 01:19 and it's only used four times. 01:21 I want you to listen carefully as we look at those four times 01:25 because they help you understand some things 01:29 about the antichrist. So please follow 01:31 as we take a look here at I John the second chapter 01:35 and verse 18: 01:47 So John said: "You've heard that the antichrist is coming. " 01:52 That's important. Let's go on and read another one. 02:01 So if you are studying that scripture 02:04 all of a sudden you see that John is talking about 02:07 two different types of antichrists. 02:09 He says there's an antichrist that is coming 02:12 and there are antichrists that are already here. 02:16 Now watch as he continues: 02:29 So John says that if a person denies the Father 02:33 he denies the Son he's an antichrist. 02:36 Now that could be anybody, right? 02:39 Sure... that could be anyone. 02:41 If he denies the Father, denies the Son, 02:44 that could apply to anyone who did that. 03:08 So John is saying here that you have heard 03:11 that the antichrist is coming 03:14 and he says the spirit of the antichrist 03:17 is already in the world. 03:20 So we're beginning to put some things together 03:22 as we take a look at what John has to say. 03:36 So when we start looking at what John had to say 03:40 we find that John talks about two types of antichrist. 03:45 Two different types of antichrist. 03:47 Those two types of antichrist are: 03:52 If a person denies Christ, 03:55 denies the Father, denies that He came in the flesh, 03:58 that person is an antichrist. 04:01 That's what the Scripture says. 04:03 But it also talks about another type of antichrist. 04:10 Now folks, if there's an antichrist that is coming 04:14 and He's already in the world 04:18 in John's day, that can't refer to a human being 04:23 'cause people don't live that long. 04:26 See, he says the spirit of that antichrist 04:29 is already started. So he says that antichrist 04:33 is coming so that can't be talking about 04:36 a person, an individual. It has to be talking about 04:40 a system or a power that the spirit of it was 04:43 already starting in John's day 04:46 and would go clear to the end of time. 04:49 So you find John is talking about two different types 04:53 of antichrists. One: an individual who denies God. 04:57 That's an antichrist. But he's talking about a power 05:01 or a system that was going to come into the world 05:04 and he said the spirit of it's already developing in my day 05:07 and it's going to go clear down to the day 05:10 when Jesus comes back. 05:12 OK. Paul... Paul talks about the antichrist. 05:17 He doesn't use the word antichrist 05:19 but he talks about it and you'll recognize it 05:21 as we look at some of the scriptures in which Paul 05:24 gave as he describes what the antichrist would do. 05:42 This is referring to the antichrist. 05:44 Said until he's revealed: the son of sin or perdition. 05:50 Till he's revealed. All right? Now watch: 06:06 So it says that this power... 06:08 And you remember I said that that word antichrist 06:12 doesn't mean opposed to 06:15 it means in place of or instead of. 06:18 And Paul's saying that this antichrist power 06:21 is going to show himself as God. 06:26 In place of God... that's what Paul is saying: 06:28 that he will oppose that. That he will presume to be God. 06:33 "showing himself that he is God... " 07:04 So it says that the things are revealed in God's Word. 07:08 God puts them there for you and I to understand 07:12 clearly... that we can see what it says. 07:14 But it says these people would not receive 07:17 the love of the truth. 07:19 In other words, they weren't willing to look at God's Word 07:22 and say: "Yes, I'll follow it. " 07:24 And God says because they would not receive 07:27 the love of the truth this is what happens. 07:39 So dear friends, it is absolutely vital tonight 07:43 that you and I be willing to accept what God's Word says. 07:49 That is essential if a person is going to grow in grace 07:52 and if God is going to lead that person... then I have to 07:55 be willing to take the Word of God 07:58 and make my stand on the Word of God 08:00 and stand there and say: "This is what I believe. " 08:04 If I'm not willing to do that, God can't lead me. 08:07 That's what the Scripture says: 08:09 they would not receive the love of the truth. 08:11 THEREFORE, God sent them strong delusions 08:14 that they should believe a lie. 08:16 So tonight we want to look very carefully 08:20 as we take a look at the antichrist. 08:23 So we're going to go to the book of Daniel, 08:26 and in the book of Daniel, 08:27 Daniel outlines this whole thing for us. 08:31 Daniel has been praying 08:34 that God will help him understand 08:37 what the Word is teaching and what this 7th chapter is about. 08:41 Now folks, I want to share a principle with you tonight. 08:45 Because as we are studying these prophecies 08:48 you'll find that God uses a principle. 08:50 And that principle is simply this, like with Daniel here, 08:55 He gave Daniel the vision that you and I studied 08:58 the other night in Daniel the 2nd chapter. You remember that? 09:01 OK. And He took us step by step 09:04 so far. Then you'll find that God will back up 09:08 and start exactly at the same place again 09:12 and this time He's going to take us a little farther. 09:16 In other words, God is going to show us that 09:19 and He's going to repeat it and enlarge. 09:22 Repeat it and enlarge. 09:24 That is what God does... that's a principle 09:27 in understanding Bible prophecy. 09:29 So tonight as we take a look at this 09:31 you're going to see some of it repeated. 09:34 OK? That we talked about here on Sunday night. 09:38 You're going to see some of that repeated and then 09:40 you're going to see God enlarge it so that you and I 09:43 will understand more of it. 09:45 So as we go to Daniel watch this principle 09:48 as we continue to study God's Word. 09:51 Because when we studied Daniel the second chapter 09:54 you remember we found there to be what? 09:57 Four nations. Those four nations were? 10:06 Those four powers, folks - 10:09 I'm talking about repeat and enlarge - 10:11 those four powers are mentioned in Daniel 2, 10:16 Daniel 7, Daniel 8, and Daniel 11. 10:20 They're mentioned in those four chapters. 10:23 So God, in each case, is just simply repeating it 10:27 and enlarging it so that you and I understand 10:30 more and more of what He's talking about. 10:33 And that's what we're looking at tonight. 10:35 So... let's go to Daniel the 7th chapter 10:38 and see what Daniel saw in this vision. 10:57 So it just simply says he had a dream 10:59 and Daniel has written it down - recorded it - 11:03 so that you and I can see what he dreamed. 11:19 So Daniel is having a dream. In his dream 11:23 he is seeing the wind blowing across the water 11:27 stirring up the water. And as the wind stirs up the water 11:31 watch what happens: 11:39 So as a result, four beasts rose up out of the water 11:43 out of the sea. 11:45 Now... God simply uses symbolism. 11:49 God uses symbolism, and He tells you without any question 11:54 of a doubt exactly what that symbol is in the Bible. 11:58 So you and I don't have to be in doubt about it 12:00 God reveals it very clear. 12:02 So we have wind blowing on the water 12:05 and beasts rising up out of it. 12:08 Let's see what the Scripture tells us about those. 12:23 So the Bible tells us as clear as it can 12:26 that water represents people, nations, tongues. 12:31 So when you are studying Bible prophecy... 12:34 Listen carefully: don't apply this outside of Bible prophecy. 12:41 In other words, you might be reading when the children of 12:44 Israel crossed the Red Sea. 12:46 Don't take the Red Sea there to mean people. 12:49 When you're dealing with prophecy... 12:52 when in prophecy you come to water, 12:55 water represents people, nations, tongues. 12:58 OK... let's go on: 13:05 I'm giving you a text here to illustrate how He uses wind 13:09 or water to represent people and He uses a definite 13:13 symbolism for wind. 13:44 So here God is talking about wind, 13:47 a whirlwind, going through and it destroyed people. 13:51 In other words, wind in Bible prophecy 13:54 represents war, represents strife, represents hard times. 14:00 That's what wind represents. 14:02 So when Daniel had a vision and he saw the wind 14:06 blowing on the water he's really seeing war 14:10 and strife taking place among the people. 14:14 As the result of that, four beasts come up from the sea. 14:27 Let's take a look 14:28 and see what these four beasts looked like... 14:31 what they represent. 14:33 The first beast the Scripture says 14:36 was like a lion. Watch: 14:49 So the Scripture doesn't leave us in any doubt 14:53 as to what beasts represent. They represent kings. 14:56 They represent nations; they represent powers. 14:59 And so as a result of war and strife among the people 15:04 kingdoms rose up. 15:22 This first beast you'll find the Scripture tells us 15:26 represents the kingdom of Babylon. 15:30 This beast rose up on its two hind feet. 15:34 It says that a man's heart was given to it. 15:37 It's the only beast in the Bible that you find 15:41 a man's heart was given to it. 15:43 And the reason a man's heart was given to it 15:45 was because of the conversion of King Nebuchadnezzar. 15:49 That he accepted the Lord... gave his heart to Him. 15:52 So a man's heart was given to that beast. 15:55 But this represents the kingdom of Babylon. 16:07 I told you that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, 16:10 was one of the greatest generals the world has ever known. 16:13 Never lost a battle. 16:14 And he had taken the city of Babylon and lavished 16:17 everything that he could upon it. 16:20 It was referred to as "the golden kingdom. " 16:23 And I read to you on Sunday night how Nebuchadnezzar 16:26 wanted that kingdom never to end. 16:30 OK... never to come to an end. 16:34 But God said that isn't what would happen. 16:37 You remember Nebuchadnezzar's grandson, 16:42 Belshazzar, didn't follow the Lord. 16:46 One night they were having a great party 16:50 and they had called and had the golden vessels 16:53 they had taken from the temple in Jerusalem 16:55 they had them brought it and they were drinking out of those. 16:58 They were drinking wine out of them 17:00 and celebrating to pagan gods. 17:02 And while they were doing that 17:04 all of a sudden a bloodless hand began to write on the wall. 17:12 Belshazzar called in all of his wise men. 17:16 Said: "Tell me what it's saying. " 17:18 As a matter of fact, it scared him so bad it says 17:20 that his knees "knocked" is what the Scripture says. 17:24 But nobody could interpret it. 17:26 Nobody could tell Belshazzar what it meant 17:29 until the queen, his mother, 17:33 said to him: "Oh, there's a man in your kingdom 17:37 by the name of Daniel who can tell you what it means. " 17:41 They called in Daniel. He's now 90 years old. 17:47 They asked him what it meant. 17:49 And Daniel interpreted it, and this is what it said, folks: 18:02 The words written on the wall 18:04 were MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 18:08 Mene: your kingdom is numbered, 18:12 found wanting... terrible words. 18:16 TEKEL: 18:23 Peres: your kingdom has been... 18:31 And I told you that Cyrus was right there 18:35 at the command of the Lord. 18:37 So the Scripture made it very clear 18:39 that that kingdom of Babylon was going to fall to the 18:42 Medes and Persians. That's exactly what happened 18:45 because it goes on in Scripture and says this: 19:01 So now we have a second beast coming on the scene of action. 19:04 It's represented as a bear. 19:06 And the Scripture tells us clearly that Medo-Persia would 19:10 overthrow Babylon. How does the bear represent it? 19:14 Well, I told you the other night 19:17 that this was a coalition of two powers. 19:19 The Medes and the Persians came together. 19:21 The Persians were stronger than the Medes. 19:23 That's why the Scripture says this bear raised itself up 19:27 on one side: because the Persians were stronger 19:31 than the Medes. But also it says this bear 19:34 has three ribs in its mouth. 19:37 Those three ribs represented the three countries 19:40 that Medo-Persia overthrew. Those three countries 19:43 were Babylon, Egypt, and Lydia. 19:47 Those are the ones that Medo-Persia overthrew. 19:50 Under the leadership of Cyrus they overthrew Babylon. 19:55 And I told you that in the book of Isaiah 20:02 it spoke of Cyrus. 20:05 Isaiah the 45th chapter verse 1 20:08 it called Cyrus by name 20:11 150 years before he was born. 20:18 Now if you don't believe this Book is inspired 20:21 you tell me how that happens when God will call a person 20:25 by name. In fact, I can read from the Scripture 20:31 where God said to Jeremiah, He said: "I knew you 20:33 while you were still in the womb. " 20:37 God knows the end from the beginning. 20:41 Called Cyrus by name. Not only called him by name... 20:44 said exactly how he would overthrow the city of Babylon. 20:48 And he did it just exactly as God described. 21:01 So all of a sudden we have the 3rd beast coming on the scene 21:04 of action. And this beast rep- resented the kingdom of Greece. 21:09 Greece. This beast like a leopard 21:14 had four wings on its back like a bird. 21:22 Under the leadership of Alexander the Great 21:25 Greece overthrew Medo-Persia 21:30 in 331 BC. 21:34 Alexander the Great faced Darius of the Medes and Persians 21:40 on the plains of Arbela. 21:44 Darius had one million men. 21:47 Alexander the Great had 40,000 21:50 and Alexander the Great overthrew them. 21:55 That's why this beast has four wings on its back. 21:59 Because when he overthrew Darius, the Medes and Persians, 22:02 Alexander the Great took his army and they began to march 22:06 and they took every country they came to. 22:08 He marched his army for 7 years without ever going back home 22:13 and wept because there was nothing else to conquer. 22:19 Reaching the borders of India 22:22 his men refuse to go any farther and they head back. 22:25 Alexander the Great now is suffering. 22:28 He's suffering from epilepsy. 22:31 He's suffering from drunkenness. 22:33 They have arrived back, folks, 22:36 to the city of Babylon. 22:40 Alexander the Great is lying on a table in that very 22:44 banquet hall where the hand had written 22:47 MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 22:49 Lying on a table there dying 22:52 and he called in his generals 22:56 and his generals have asked him 22:57 to who he's going to give the kingdom. 23:00 And he said: "When I die 23:02 I'll give my kingdom to the strongest. " 23:06 And when he died his kingdom was given to his four generals. 23:11 That's why that beast has four heads: 23:15 'cause it represented his four generals 23:18 that the kingdom was given to. 23:39 The fourth power that comes on the scene of action 23:44 is the kingdom of pagan Rome. 23:46 Pagan Rome overthrew Greece in 168 BC 23:52 lasting longer than any other kingdom. 24:04 OK. Pagan Rome went from 168 BC to 476 AD. 24:10 As I told you the other night 24:12 Rome was the one who brought civilization to the world. 24:17 It opened up the waterways and opened up the roadways 24:20 and people could travel where they had never been able to 24:22 before. Rome was the power that was ruling at the time 24:26 Jesus was born. 24:29 It was the decree of Caesar Augustus that sent Joseph 24:33 and Mary to Bethlehem to pay their taxes. 24:36 You remember Rome was the one that was ruling 24:38 at the time Jesus died. 24:41 For you remember, He was tried in a Roman court 24:47 by Pilate. 24:50 Rome ruled to 476 AD. 24:55 Now you were with me the other night on Sunday night 24:58 as we went through this, and this is the part I was 25:01 talking to you about repeating. 25:03 You see, God repeats and enlarges. 25:06 You remember I told you as we went down through that 25:09 image we came to the ten toes. 25:11 Watch because this beast has ten horns. 25:26 All right, those you remember I told you were the Germanic 25:29 tribes that came down on the Roman Empire 25:32 and broke it to pieces. They were such tribes as 25:36 the Anglo-Saxons, the Franks, the Heruli, 25:38 the Vandals, the Ostrogoths... 25:39 and they broke the Roman Empire into ten different parts. 25:45 OK. That is the same 25:48 as the ten toes on the image of Daniel 2. 25:53 Now we're going to begin to enlarge, OK? 25:58 Those 10 tribes became the nations of Western Europe 26:03 such as the Alemanni, the Franks, the Visigoths... 26:19 The Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths 26:21 are now extinct, and I'll tell you why tonight. 26:24 What happened to them. 26:26 Now folks, the other night I read you a text 26:29 in Revelation the 17th chapter 26:30 where it says these ten kings have received no kingdom as yet. 26:35 But they will receive authority for one hour with the beast. 26:38 And several of you have come up and said 26:40 "You didn't say anything about that. " 26:42 No I didn't... because we're coming to that. 26:45 We're going to trace it right on down 26:47 and we're going to see how all that fits together. 26:50 We'll come to that and talk specifically how that all 26:53 fits together. OK... but these ten tribes 26:57 became the nations of Western Europe today. 27:09 We're enlarging now, folks... 27:26 All right. 27:28 So tonight we want to identify this little horn 27:32 the Scripture identifies as that of the antichrist. 27:35 Before I go on I want to take just a moment 27:39 and tell you that the Bible and history 27:43 does certain things. 27:45 One of the things that's unique about the Bible 27:48 is when the Bible talks about individuals 27:51 or it talks about nations or powers 27:54 it tells both the bad and good. 27:57 You know, sometimes in history they have tainted and told only 28:02 the good. Scripture doesn't do that; it tells bad and good. 28:06 So tonight as we identify this little horn 28:09 you've got to understand that we are talking about 28:12 a power; we're talking about a system; 28:16 we are not talking about people. 28:19 Please do not take what I say and apply it 28:22 to an individual. That would be wrong! 28:25 That would be just as wrong as could be. 28:28 Let me illustrate what I mean. 28:32 I'm a citizen of the United States of America. 28:35 Glad to be one! 28:36 Sometimes the United States government 28:39 does some things that I don't agree with. 28:43 Maybe they never do anything you don't agree with 28:45 but sometimes they do things I don't agree with. 28:48 If they do something that you or I don't agree with, 28:52 does that make all the people in the US bad people? 28:55 Huh? No. 28:58 So when I'm talking about this system tonight 29:01 don't take it and apply it to individuals 29:04 because that isn't the way it's to be applied. 29:06 We are talking about history; 29:08 we're talking about something that happened in the past 29:12 as we come on down through time. 29:15 So look at it very clear because the Scripture is 29:18 very clear. I'm going to give you 8 points 29:22 that the Scripture gives to identify this power. 29:25 I want to say something else about that. 29:29 If you can take these 8 points 29:33 and make them fit any other power on the face of the earth, 29:38 please tell me. I'll listen to everything you have to say. 29:43 I have never been able to get it to fit any other power. 29:49 What I will tell you is don't do to me like one man did. 29:53 Came up to me after the meeting was over and he said: 29:55 "Well I disagree with you. " 29:57 And I said: "Well that's OK... 29:59 You can disagree with me. " 30:01 He said: "Well I just don't see it that way at all. " 30:04 And I said: "Tell me... how do you see it? " 30:07 "Oh, " he said, "I don't know what it means. 30:08 I just disagree with you. " 30:10 You know, I hope that you will be open enough 30:13 that you'll take God's Word and open it up and look and see 30:17 and study it if you don't know what it means. 30:19 Study it until you do have some conviction about it! 30:23 THAT is important. 30:24 OK, let's see if it will iden- tify this little horn for us 30:28 'cause that's what we want to take a look at 30:30 is this little horn that's coming up among those ten. 30:35 All right... number one: 30:48 That's the first point. 30:55 I'm reading... this is the Scripture, folks. 30:57 This is Daniel 7:24-25 and that's what I'm reading. 31:01 I've just broken it up and given you the points 31:04 that God uses to identify it. 31:31 Those are the 8 points that God gives you and me 31:34 to identify without any question of a doubt 31:37 who this little horn is. 31:39 So now we're going to go back and take it step by step 31:42 and watch how Scripture and history bears out 31:46 exactly what God says. 31:59 Rise from what kingdom? 32:01 Well, this represents the fourth beast. 32:04 This fourth beast. The fourth beast was who? 32:08 Pagan Rome. 32:10 So there's no use you going over into Asia 32:13 and start looking for the little horn. 32:16 There's no use you going to the United States 32:18 and start trying to find the little horn there. 32:20 There's no use of you going over into Africa 32:23 trying to find the little horn there. 32:25 It had to come out of that kingdom which was Pagan Rome 32:30 so that little horn has to arise out of that kingdom. 32:34 You with me? 32:35 That's the first point. 32:37 Second point: 32:52 So the Scripture tells us secondly 32:54 that this little horn was going to come up what? 32:58 "Among them. " 33:00 So it makes it very clear that it had to rise out of Pagan Rome 33:04 but it had to come up among the ten horns. 33:07 That's where it had to come up. 33:09 Had to come up in Western Europe. 33:12 It brings it right down to the location. 33:15 It tells you it had to arise in Western Europe. 33:19 OK... let's go to the third point: 33:24 These ten kings which we just talked about 33:28 and it said it came up... Let me make one other point: 33:32 It says it "came up after them. " 33:35 Those ten kings came into existence in 476 AD. 33:40 When it says the little horn had to come up after them 33:43 that means he had to come into existence after 476 AD. 33:48 And that little horn came into existence in 538 AD. 33:54 So it fulfills it. 33:55 It came up in the Pagan Rome Empire; 33:58 it came up among the ten horns; 34:01 and it came up "after them. " OK? 34:07 What happened? What took place? 34:13 As these Germanic tribes moved down on the Roman Empire 34:18 they broke it apart. There's a Roman emperor 34:23 that's trying to hold his kingdom together. 34:26 His name is Justinian. 34:29 Justinian is fighting these Goths 34:33 trying to hold them back. 34:34 His general Belisarius is fighting them. 34:37 In the city of Rome, folks, 34:40 in the city of Rome the Bishop of Rome, 34:44 the Bishop of Rome... his name is Silverius. 34:48 Silverius is a godly man. 34:51 He's a man that loves the Lord. 34:53 He's a man that loves the people. 34:55 He tries to serve the people. 34:57 And Silverius has refused to have anything to do with 35:01 the war between Justinian and the Goths. 35:04 Since he is the Bishop of Rome 35:07 he has control of the city of Rome. 35:09 And any time the army of Belisarius got close to the 35:14 city of Rome he had all the gates of the city of Rome shut 35:18 and refused to let them in. 35:19 If the Goths got close, he shut the gates 35:22 and refused to let them in. 35:25 Well, the Goths had backed Justinian's army 35:30 clear to the walls of the city of Rome. 35:34 Silverius has had all the gates shut. 35:39 It looks like Justinian's army is going to be wiped out. 35:45 So Belisarius has sent a note to Justinian saying 35:48 "Do something for us or we're going to be wiped out. " 35:54 Justinian went to his wife. 35:56 Justinian's wife was a Christian. 35:59 She happened to be a friend of the Bishop. 36:03 And he pled with her to ask the Bishop to 36:07 raise the gates to the city of Rome 36:09 to let his army in 36:11 and shut the gates and keep the Goths out 36:13 and save his army. 36:15 She went to Silverius and pled with him 36:19 and out of respect for her 36:22 he raised the gates of the city of Rome, 36:25 let the army in, shut the gates, 36:28 and kept the Goths out. 36:29 But Justinian and Belisarius had already agreed 36:36 that if they got inside the city of Rome 36:39 they would banish the Bishop. 36:42 Why? Justian sees his kingdom falling apart 36:47 and he thinks that since he can't control it 36:51 politically maybe he could control it religiously. 36:57 And so he banishes Silverius 37:00 and he takes and puts Vigilius on the seat of the Bishop. 37:05 It's his puppet and he thinks that 37:07 through him he can control it. 37:10 That's why history says: 37:20 That comes from The History of the Christian Church vol. 3. 37:23 That's exactly what happened. 37:26 Now that had great great influence. 37:32 It had great should I say effect 37:36 upon the whole kingdom. And we'll talk about that 37:39 later on, but remember the date: 538 AD. 37:43 All right... next point: 37:48 Now I told you, Justinian 37:51 felt that he couldn't control his kingdom any longer 37:54 politically so he thought maybe he could control it 37:57 religiously. So with Vigilius taking the seat 38:01 of the Bishop and working under Justinian 38:03 all of a sudden you find the kingdom changing 38:07 and you find union of church and state. 38:10 No longer is it just a political power; 38:13 it is a religio-political power. 38:17 Church and state have come together. 38:20 That is why the Scripture says it is different. 38:23 Different than it has been. 38:28 This is from the history book called The Rise of the Medieval 38:31 Church by Alexander Fleck. 38:34 And listen carefully. It's a very very important 38:39 statement in history. This tells you what happened. 38:46 Now folks, let me explain something: 38:49 Justianian, when he put Vigilius on the seat 38:55 of the Bishop... he never intended 38:58 Vigilius to be anything other than the docile 39:02 head of the dept. of religion. That's all he intended 39:05 for him to be. But history says 39:08 that the Bishop of Rome seized the scepter 39:12 and stepped to the seat of Caesar. 39:15 And this is what it says happened. Watch: 39:44 All of a sudden he found himself 39:46 not just the head of the church... 39:49 he finds himself the head of the government! 40:09 So all of a sudden you find the power that had been 40:13 in the state all of a sudden now 40:15 the religious head has. 40:18 And so you find union of church and state 40:23 taking place. It's a different power 40:25 than it has been before. 40:36 Thus it changes. 40:46 When these Germanic people - 40:48 the Goths, the Anglo-Saxons, the Franks, the Heruli, 40:51 the Vandals - when they moved down on the Roman Empire... 40:55 moved down and began to run over the Roman Empire, 41:00 the Christian people that lived in the Roman Empire 41:03 remembered the Commission that Christ had given to the 41:06 Christians and He told them they were to preach the gospel 41:08 in Jerusalem, Samaria, and to where? 41:10 To the ends of the earth. 41:12 So when they went out 41:14 they found these Germanic people with open hearts. 41:18 They found people who were willing to accept the gospel 41:21 and they preached Jesus Christ to these Anglo-Saxons, 41:25 these Franks, the Heruli, the Vandals 41:27 and these people accepted Christianity. 41:31 That is the reason, folks, Western Europe is Christian 41:35 to this day. OK? 41:38 But among those powers that accepted Christianity 41:43 there were three tribes... 41:46 these three tribes: the Visigoths, Heruli, 41:51 and Vandals... When they went in and preached to these 41:55 these people taught a belief to these people 42:00 that was called Arianism. 42:02 Arianism says that Jesus Christ was a good man. 42:05 Says He was a prophet, 42:08 but it says He was not divine. 42:12 Teaches that He wasn't divine. 42:15 Those 3 tribes accepted that. 42:18 That was very offense to Justinian, to Vigilius 42:24 and those of the church. And since it had become a state 42:28 as well as just a church 42:31 they sent out their army and they had 42:34 those three tribes wiped out. 42:38 Now folks, if you don't believe what I'm telling you tonight, 42:42 I invite you to go to the library and check me out. 42:46 Listen: the descendants of the Alemanni are the Germans. 42:50 The descendants of the Franks are the French. 42:53 The descendants of the Anglo-Saxons are the English. 42:58 You cannot find any descendant for the Visigoths, 43:02 the Heruli, and the Vandals. 43:04 The Bible says that he would pull them up 43:07 by the roots, and that's exactly what took place 43:12 just as the Scripture said it would. 43:16 "He shall speak pompous words against the Most High. " 43:19 Now folks, you remember as we studied what Paul said 43:22 there in Corinthians, he said that this power would 43:26 put himself in the place of God. 43:28 That's what it said: he would show himself 43:30 to be God... that's what he said. 43:32 So I want to share with you just some things. 43:34 You have to judge it for yourself. 43:36 Again, I am not talking about people. 43:39 I'm talking about a power; I'm talking about a system. 43:49 They don't belong to anybody else but God, 43:52 and it says it would "speak pompous words. " 43:55 Let's look at what those two things are. 44:18 It says that the priest has the power to forgive sins. 44:21 Do you remember the other night 44:23 when I studied with you and when Jesus told that paralytic 44:27 "your sins are forgiven. " Do you remember what the 44:29 Pharisees said? They said: "Blasphemy! 44:33 Only God can forgive sins. " 44:37 You'll find that taught in Scripture. 44:40 Says here the priest can forgive sins. 44:44 Secondly: 45:01 Let me read you one other. 45:20 And so when it says he would speak great words 45:23 or pompous words, as far as I'm trying to tell you is 45:26 history has borne that out that he's done just that. 45:33 Now folks, I want to try to make something clear 45:36 because this doesn't apply just to this power. 45:39 Any time... If you want to go and get your history books, 45:42 you want to go to the library and you want to read and study 45:45 you'll find that any time in history 45:48 that a church - I don't care what church it is - 45:52 has taken state power... 45:55 any time a church has taken on state power 45:59 it's persecuted. I don't care whether you're talking about 46:03 Lutherans, whether you're talking about Baptists, 46:05 whether you're talking about Roman Catholic... 46:07 I don't care what you're talking about 46:09 when that church has assumed state power 46:12 it has persecuted. A church is not capable 46:16 of handling state power 46:18 and it should never be placed in the hands of the church. 46:22 Why? Because a church, I don't care what church it is, 46:26 they believe what they believe to be the truth. 46:31 And if you don't believe like they do, 46:35 then they're going to persecute. 46:38 That has always happened. 46:40 So what I'm reading to you tonight, don't be shocked at. 46:44 You don't understand, you want to read it, 46:46 then go to the library. I'll name some books 46:48 for you. You can read Fox's Book of Martyrs 46:50 or you can read Short Short Stories of the Reformation. 46:53 Or you can read The History of the Reformation by d'Aubigné 46:56 or you can read Here I Stand by Bainton 46:59 or you can read The History of Europe by Quabbin 47:01 and they will all tell you what I am sharing with you tonight. 47:06 All you have to do is read about the Massacre of St. Bartholomew 47:09 where they slew 60,000 Huguenots one Sunday morning. 47:13 Or read about the persecution of the Waldensian people. 47:31 You find that shocking? You must understand 47:35 she has existed longer than any other institution. 47:38 OK? 47:45 So when it says that this power would persecute 47:47 the saints of the Most High all I'm trying to do tonight is 47:51 to tell you that she has fulfilled that. 48:06 Now God is very very accurate in what He does. 48:11 He tells you exactly how to count time in prophecy. 48:15 Watch carefully as He tells you how to do this. 48:18 It say that this power would think to change what? 48:22 Times and laws. 48:25 Now if all these other points we're talking about 48:27 have fallen true... this should fall true. 48:29 So has it changed that of law? 48:33 OK... listen: this is a statement 48:36 taken from history and it says the Pope has power... 48:48 That's a statement... that's what they say: 48:50 that they can change it. 48:52 Have they changed it? 48:54 Well let me read to you from their own catechism 48:57 'cause this is what we're talking about: changing law. 49:01 Listen... this is what they've done. 49:02 You take the 10 Commandments. If you read in the catechism 49:06 you'll find they did away with the second commandment. 49:08 You won't find it in the catechism. 49:10 You find it in the Scripture but not in the catechism. 49:13 If you take a look at the fourth commandment 49:16 they shortened the 4th command- ment from 94 words to 8 words. 49:21 Literally just shortened it that much: 94 words to 8 words. 49:33 So you find when it talks about they would change the law 49:36 of God they have changed the law of God. 49:39 Now folks, again I am talking about a power, 49:42 I am talking about a system in the past. 49:45 I am not talking about individuals. 49:47 There are many many individuals 49:49 within this particular fellow- ship or this particular belief 49:53 that are sincere Christian people. 49:56 And if you take what I'm saying tonight 49:58 and you apply it to an individual, 50:01 you are doing the wrong thing. 50:03 OK? 50:05 So please understand what I'm saying. 50:09 Secondly, the Scripture helps you and I, 50:14 and from tonight on, folks, you ought to be able to 50:16 study prophecy and apply time and see how God uses it 50:21 for God tells us exactly how to count time. 50:24 Ezekiel 4 verse 6 says: 50:31 So when you're studying Bible prophecy 50:34 a day will simply represent one year. 50:38 That's what a day will represent. 50:40 Let's look at another text: 50:55 So here again God said: "I will give you a day 50:58 to represent a year. " 51:00 So when we look at this particular prophecy 51:03 we find that God talks about that they would be given 51:07 into his hand for a time, times, and a half a time. 51:11 Now in the Bible a time represents one year. 51:14 OK? Since a day represents a year 51:19 if you pick up your Bible and you begin to study it, 51:22 you'll find there are 360 days in a Biblical year. 51:27 If you need help with that, go to Genesis the 5th chapter 51:30 where it talks about Noah and the flood. 51:32 It'll tell you very clear there are 360 days 51:35 in a Biblical year. OK? 51:37 So if I've got one time that's 360 days. 51:41 Times means two years... 51:43 that's 720. 51:44 And a dividing of time or a half a time 51:47 represents a half a year which is 180. 51:50 If you add those together, that gives you 1,260 days 51:55 and each day represents one year. 51:58 OK? 52:00 Now let's see what happens. 52:02 I told you the papal power - this little horn - 52:06 came into being in what year? 52:10 538 AD... that's when Vigilius ascended the throne. 52:13 538 AD. If I add 1,260 years 52:20 to 538 AD it takes me to when? 52:25 Takes you to 1798 AD. 52:28 Now folks, something very very important 52:33 happened in 1798 AD. 52:37 I mean extremely important happened in 1798 AD. 52:42 But that's as far as I'm going to take you tonight. 52:46 If you want to know what happened in 1798 AD, 52:48 you've gotta be here Friday night. 52:51 OK? 52:53 And I can assure you it's very important 52:55 that you know what happened in 1798 AD. 52:57 But I want you to watch as we put together 53:01 what we've learned, and I want to take you just a step 53:04 farther because there's some fantastic things, folks, 53:07 that you need to apply here as we look at it tonight. 53:12 As we take a look at Scripture 53:16 and we're trying to see where we are, 53:18 God here in the book of Daniel, folks, 53:22 He is stressing... He is stressing over and over 53:26 some points that you and I must understand 53:29 so that we'll be ready for His coming. 53:32 And He's telling you: "I'm telling you these things 53:35 before it happens. " 53:44 God's saying: "Listen, I want you to know this 53:46 so you'll believe. " So watch carefully tonight, 53:49 dear friend. Please watch 53:51 because you're going to see where we are 53:54 and what God has to say. Listen: 53:59 We found the head of gold on the image represented who? 54:04 Babylon. The lion tonight represented? Babylon. 54:11 The arms and breast of silver represented Medo-Persia. 54:16 The bear represented Medo-Persia. 54:21 The belly and thighs of bronze 54:25 represented Greece. 54:27 The leopard beast represented Greece. 54:31 The legs of iron represented pagan Rome. 54:35 The dragon represented pagan Rome. 54:39 Then from there you remember we went to the ten toes. 54:43 And the ten toes were those ten Germanic tribes. 54:46 And in Daniel 7 the ten horns on that beast 54:50 represented the ten Germanic tribes. 54:52 All that was repeat for you tonight. 54:54 But then we went to this little horn 54:58 which represented the papal power 55:01 that came into existence. 55:03 OK... we enlarged on that. 55:06 So now you've seen another power taking us 55:09 clear down to 1798 AD. 55:13 And it says that his kingdom would go to 1798 AD. 55:17 Now watch what the 7th chapter of Daniel does. 55:23 When it talks about this little horn, OK? We're talking about 55:27 the little horn - the papal power - 55:29 you'll find that little horn is mentioned in: 55:46 All those talk about the little horn. 55:50 Scripture says that when that little horn comes to an end 55:56 the judgment begins. 55:59 Watch: 56:01 Talks about the judgment and you'll find that 56:05 in Daniel 7 verses 9 to 12. You with me? 56:23 So the Bible says that when this little horn 56:26 comes to an end, the judgment is going to take place. 56:30 And then the Bible says that when the judgment 56:34 ends you know what it says is going to happen? 56:36 Says God's going to set up His kingdom. 56:39 Watch: 56:43 Daniel 7:13-14 talks about God setting up His kingdom. 56:58 So when you take a look at the 7th chapter of Daniel 57:02 it takes all those things and lines them up 57:05 for you and I, and this is simply what it's telling us: 57:26 Are you getting an idea of where we are in the stream of time? 57:30 Hmm? Are you beginning to get the picture? 57:33 Scripture puts it all together so that you and I can know 57:36 exactly where we are in the stream of time. 57:39 We're right down at the end when Jesus is going to come back. |
Revised 2019-03-12