Participants: Lonnie Melashenko
Series Code: VOPS
Program Code: VOPS000017
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00:30 Hello, everyone.
00:31 I want you to take your lesson outline 00:34 that was handed to you as you came 00:35 into the seminar this evening 00:37 to the chart of the two tunnels. 00:39 It should look something like this. 00:41 Coordinators in the downlink locations, 00:43 you can find that on your website, 00:44 in case you didn't get them 00:45 into the hands of your local students. 00:48 And hand that out tomorrow night. 00:50 You'll notice on the back 00:51 a very helpful glossary of keys to the prophetic symbols 00:55 that we've been studying from night to night. 00:57 And if you're watching at home, 00:58 I want you to run and get your Bible and join us. 01:01 There's a big class tonight 01:02 and turn to the Book of Revelation 1:1, 2 and 3. 01:06 And each time we read off a little text 01:08 which is printed for you there on your outline, 01:11 I'd like to invite you to take your Bible 01:12 and do a little homework. 01:13 As we refer to the text just draw a neat little circle 01:16 around the verse numerals that we're studying 01:19 and we'll do some underlining, too. 01:21 That will appear on the screen, in case I forget. 01:24 Now we all have that passage together, 01:26 I'd like to have you read, 01:27 everyone here tonight, out loud, Revelation 1:1. 01:31 You might want to follow the screen to make sure 01:33 we're all reading the same translation. 01:35 All together, opening the Book of Revelation, 01:37 read with me. 01:38 "The--" Hidden Book of-- 01:43 Did I make a mistake? Yes. 01:45 What does your Bible say? Revelation. 01:47 You mean this isn't hidden? This isn't deep? 01:49 This isn't perplexing? No. 01:51 What does the second word of your Bible say? 01:54 Revelation. "The Revelation." 01:57 What does revelation mean? Revealed. 01:59 That which has been revealed. 02:00 There's nothing hidden, there's nothing secret about this. 02:03 And it is the revelation of whom? 02:05 Jesus Christ. I feel better already. 02:08 Don't you? Amen. 02:10 Now let's read again, all together. 02:11 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto Him 02:17 to show His servants things which must," what? 02:22 "Shortly come to pass." 02:23 And notice, "He sent and signified," 02:27 see that word, sign-if-y, signify. 02:31 This is sign language, this is symbols. 02:35 Now you continue to watch in your Bible while I read. 02:38 "Who bore witness to the word of God, 02:40 and to the testimony of Jesus Christ 02:42 and to all things that he saw." 02:43 Now you join me and everybody read together again. 02:46 Cursed is he who-- Blessed. 02:49 Did I make another mistake? Yes. 02:50 You better keep on me tonight. 02:52 What does your Bible say? Blessed. 02:54 Circle that word, blessed. 02:56 The pastor of a 3,000 member church, 02:59 who had President Eisenhower as a member, 03:02 told his congregation, "You will go crazy 03:05 if you read the Book of Revelation." 03:07 What does your Bible say will happen if you read it? 03:09 Blessed. 03:10 "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear," 03:13 you might want to circle that. 03:14 "And the words of this prophecy and keep those things 03:17 which are written in it," for what? 03:19 "The time is near." 03:21 All right, we're ready now 03:23 to plunge into the heart of the Book. 03:24 Turn over just 3 pages forward to Chapter 12 of Revelation. 03:30 When we get to Revelation 12, 03:32 I'd like to invite you to take your little pen 03:33 and circle numeral 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. 03:37 Revelation 12:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 03:39 then put a little circle around 14 and 17. 03:44 When you've done that, I want you to try to forget 03:46 all of our plans for the week that's coming up, 03:49 all of the pressures you might have, 03:51 maybe the vacation you're planning to Myrtle Beach 03:53 or wherever, all of the problems 03:54 and I want you to try to visualize 03:57 what I read as you follow along. 03:59 Revelation 12:1-6. 04:01 Follow in your Bible, if you'd like 04:02 or look at the screen. 04:04 "Now a great sign appeared in heaven, 04:08 a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, 04:11 and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 04:14 Then being with child, she cried out in labor 04:17 and in pain to give birth. 04:18 And another sign appeared in heaven, 04:20 behold, a great, fiery red dragon 04:23 having seven heads and ten horns, 04:25 and seven diadems on his heads. 04:27 His tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven 04:31 and threw them to the earth. 04:33 And the dragon stood before the woman 04:35 who was ready to give birth, 04:37 to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 04:40 She bore a male Child 04:43 who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. 04:45 And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 04:48 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, 04:51 where she has a place prepared by God, 04:53 that they should feed her there 04:54 one thousand two hundred and sixty days." 04:57 Someone says, "Lon, look. 04:59 You just told us this was not a hidden book. 05:02 What on earth do these verses mean?" 05:05 May I have your eyes? 05:08 Let me just try to re-live what we just read. 05:10 And then we'll go back to the Bible. 05:12 Remember John, the beloved disciple who wrote Revelation, 05:15 he was exiled on a lonely island called Patmos. 05:18 And God showed him there a vision 05:21 of this beautiful woman, standing off in the heavens. 05:25 And she is clothed with nothing 05:27 except for the pure iridescent folds of the light of the sun. 05:31 On this woman's head is a diadem 05:33 of 12 sparkling, brilliant, living stars. 05:37 She's pregnant, about to deliver. 05:41 But something is beneath her feet. 05:43 She's standing on the moon. 05:46 Now over to one side 05:47 is a red dragon snapping furious, 05:51 intending to destroy the Child as soon as it's born. 05:55 Well, she gives to birth to a man child 05:57 destined to rule all nations, but he's caught up to God. 06:01 So evidently the dragon fails to destroy the Child 06:04 and he becomes so angry 06:05 he turns his destructive fury on the woman 06:08 and so persecutes and attempts to destroy her 06:11 that God takes her and hides her 06:13 in the wilderness for 1,260 days. 06:18 You say, "Well, Lonnie, the picture is a bit clearer. 06:19 But what on earth does that mean?" 06:22 Obviously, we're dealing with symbolic prophecy. 06:26 And as we've learned from night to night, 06:27 we borrow symbols, even today in our world, don't we? 06:30 You've got an outline page 06:32 with the keys to prophetic symbols. 06:33 That will be handy to tuck in your Bible. 06:35 Now some people say, "Well, you know, 06:37 all of those beasts of Revelation, 06:39 I know what they are, 06:40 they are just the beastly doctrines 06:41 that some churches teach." 06:44 I've even heard some say that, 06:45 "Well, that beast of Revelation 13, 06:47 that must be Henry Kissinger." 06:50 Now, folks, you get into difficulty 06:52 if you place your own interpretation 06:53 on these symbols. 06:55 But if the scripture provides the key 06:57 that unlocks the meaning of the symbols, 06:59 there's no problem, right? 07:01 Now Daniel 7:23 we discovered, 07:04 says that in prophecy a beast represents, what? 07:08 A nation or a kingdom. 07:10 And we, of course, borrow this idea 07:11 of using animals for symbols for nations. 07:15 If you see a bear in a political cartoon, 07:17 what nation's in the news? 07:18 Russia. 07:19 If you see an eagle flying through the air? 07:22 United States of America. 07:23 If you see a lion, what country is there? 07:25 Great Britain. 07:26 Okay, now if you see a beaver, what country is that? 07:31 My folks, north of the 49th 07:33 parallel in Canada, let me hear it. 07:35 Canada. Now a question. 07:39 What is this woman in Revelation a symbol of? 07:44 Well, that's our next text. 07:46 We got to have several texts for this. 07:47 You don't build any doctrine on one text. 07:49 You got to have at least two. Let's look at Jeremiah 6:2. 07:54 You can look at it on the screen, 07:55 we'll be staying in Revelation, 07:56 but if you want to quickly flip over there, Jeremiah 6:2. 07:59 You can put a circle around verse 2. 08:01 It says, "I have likened the daughter of Zion 08:04 to a lovely and delicate woman." 08:07 You see, friends, Zion in scripture 08:09 refers to Jerusalem or God's people. 08:12 The daughter of Zion refers to God's church. 08:16 A woman represents God's people. 08:18 Well, let's have one more text. 08:20 Let's go to Apostle Paul to make sure. 08:22 2 Corinthians 11:2. 08:25 You've got those written on your outline, 08:27 so you can look them up later. 08:28 Notice the screen. 08:29 "For I am jealous for you," 08:32 Paul says, "with godly jealously. 08:35 For I have betrothed you to one husband." 08:38 Now what does betrothed means? It means engaged you. 08:42 "That I may present you as a chaste virgin to,"" whom? 08:47 "Christ." 08:48 See, Christ in scripture is symbolized as the groom, 08:52 His bride is His church. 08:54 Amen. 08:55 So God gives us this gorgeous metaphor, 08:57 a lovely symbol, a woman is God's church. 09:02 But I want you to notice 09:03 though that the character of the woman 09:05 determines the character of the church. 09:07 If she's pure, if she's innocent, 09:09 if she's a virtuous woman, 09:11 a virgin that represents a pure church, 09:14 a holy church, a true church. 09:17 Some parents say, "Oh, brother Lonnie, 09:19 I sure don't want my kids 09:20 to get a hold of the Book of Revelation 09:21 'cause it talks about the harlot there. 09:23 That woman in scarlet, loose and fallen." 09:26 Folks, that is not talking about physical impurity at all. 09:29 It's talking about a church that's played harlotry 09:32 and been unfaithful to her Lord. 09:34 See? Now let's go to something else. 09:38 This picture of the church is talking about 09:41 the Presbyterian church, is that right? 09:45 A Baptist church? No. 09:47 What does this woman mean? Which church in particular? 09:52 A little Greek lesson right now. 09:53 Ekklesia. 09:56 That's the word that's translated "church". 09:57 You say it with me in three syllables. 09:59 Ek-kle-sia. 10:04 Put them together now. Ekklesia. 10:06 What does that mean in the Greek? 10:09 It literally means "God's called out ones." 10:15 I want to be one of God's called out ones. 10:17 Don't you? Amen. 10:19 If you're one of God's called out ones, 10:21 you belong to His church. 10:23 Now once we have the key symbols in place, 10:26 watch how this unfolds in a beautiful picture. 10:29 Because here in Revelation 12, John sees the pure woman, 10:33 this pure church of his day pictured 10:37 as a virgin in white. 10:39 She's a pure church then. 10:40 This is the church of Jesus in the New Testament, 10:43 clothed with the iridescent light of the noonday sun 10:46 or with Jesus who's known as the light of the world. 10:50 I want you to notice that this New Testament church 10:52 is crowned with a diadem of 12 stars. 10:57 Help me out, class. 10:58 Who were the brilliant, sparkling 12 living stars 11:01 of the New Testament church? 11:03 The 12 apostles, right? 11:06 So the earliest days of the New Testament church 11:09 are symbolized here by this virgin, 11:11 crowned with the 12 apostles. 11:14 And she's standing on something. 11:16 She's standing on the moon. 11:19 Question for you, does the moon shine 11:22 from its own light or from borrowed light? 11:24 Which? Borrowed light. 11:26 Borrowed, that's right. 11:27 So, here the New Testament church, 11:29 you see, is standing on something, the moon. 11:31 Something is passing away. Something's beneath her feet. 11:35 What a beautiful symbol 11:36 of the Old Testament dispensation, passing away, 11:40 all which had pointed forward to Christ. 11:43 All of those types and ceremonies 11:45 and symbols pointed forward to Christ the true Lamb of God 11:49 who died on Calvary's cross. 11:51 You see the light in those lambs of the Old Testament 11:53 was only a reflection of a greater light 11:56 that pointed to Jesus. 11:58 So all of this now was passing away, 12:01 it was beneath her feet. 12:03 The moon is a perfect representation 12:05 of the Old Testament which shone from light borrowed 12:08 from Jesus in the New Testament. 12:11 Well, now this woman is pregnant, 12:14 she's about ready to give birth to a man Child, 12:17 who would rule all nations with a rod of iron, 12:20 but who would be caught up to God and to His throne. 12:22 Who is this? Jesus. 12:25 But someone says, "Well, wait a minute. 12:26 Then isn't this woman Mary?" 12:29 No. Remember this is just a symbol. 12:32 Yes, Mary is the mother of Jesus, 12:34 but prophecy tells us 12:36 that we will see this woman in white, 12:39 clear to the second coming. 12:41 Anybody here seen Mary? No. 12:45 See this is the symbol of the church. 12:47 The New Testament church of Jesus Christ 12:49 gives birth to Christ. 12:51 But now there's a snapping, furious, 12:54 red dragon nearby in verse 4. 12:56 Who is that red dragon? Satan. 12:59 Are you sure? Yeah. 13:00 Notice verse 9. 13:02 "So the dragon was cast out, 13:05 that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, 13:07 who deceives the whole world, he was cast to the earth, 13:10 and his angels were cast out with him." 13:12 So who is the dragon? Satan, primarily. 13:16 But you know Satan never comes out 13:18 into the battle in visible form, does he? 13:20 Anybody here ever seen Satan? No. 13:23 You might think you might have seen somebody like him, 13:25 but he usually works through persons, 13:28 he works through institutions, he works through evil things. 13:31 All right. 13:33 Now through whom did Satan work 13:34 to destroy the Christ Child as soon as He was born? 13:39 Herod who tried to destroy 13:41 all the babies in Bethlehem, remember? 13:43 But he failed. 13:44 And then the Bible says, 13:45 Jesus was caught up to God and to His throne. 13:48 And so furious was Satan to destroy Christ, 13:52 that when he couldn't destroy Him personally, 13:54 he turned his destructive fury on the woman. 13:57 He tried to destroy the New Testament church 14:00 by persecuting her until it got so bloody and so furious, 14:04 God had to take the woman and hide His church 14:07 in the wilderness for 1,260 days. 14:13 Now one more symbol to unlock. 14:15 We've learned that a day 14:17 in prophetic symbolic prophecy represents what? 14:19 A year. 14:20 Ezekiel 4:6, Numbers 14:34, 14:23 two texts at least to prove any point. 14:26 It says, "Each day for a year," 14:28 so this would represent then 1,260 literal years 14:33 of persecution that God would take His church, the woman, 14:36 and hide her in the wilderness for 1,260 years. 14:41 Now I want you to take your pen and your pencil, 14:42 let's go to the chart of the tunnels right now. 14:45 I'm gonna go to the chart board. 14:49 Now over this timeline at the top, 14:51 if you'd like to write on your page, 14:53 let's just put that in, 1,260 years. 14:58 All right. 15:03 Where is this in the Christian era? 15:06 Where does that come in? 15:08 To get our bearings, 15:09 let's put the cross in over here on the left, okay? 15:13 And over on the right, 15:14 why don't we put in our day, this is us here today. 15:19 Okay, so this is beginning 15:20 to get a little bit more definition. 15:23 Our day. 15:25 1,260 years of persecution, tribulation. 15:29 Well, we know that after the apostles died, 15:32 persecution grew worse and worse, 15:35 greater and greater and greater 15:37 for the first few hundred years, 15:39 second hundred years, third hundred years 15:40 until one day, history actually tells us that 300 leaders 15:43 of the early Christian church came together for a meeting 15:46 and not one of them had a normal body. 15:49 Every one of them was crippled and stoned 15:51 and eyes plucked out, missing limbs, 15:53 they'd been tortured and persecuted. 15:55 How many of you came into this meeting 15:56 tonight that way because of your faith. 16:00 No. 16:01 You haven't been tortured, 16:02 you haven't been persecuted like that. 16:04 You know, maybe our religion is too cheap, isn't it? 16:07 Friend, unless you have something to die for, 16:10 you don't have anything worth living for. 16:12 Amen. 16:13 But Satan's very subtle. 16:15 At first he used the Roman Empire to persecute. 16:19 Gladiator fights. 16:20 Throw those Christians to the lions in the coliseum. 16:22 Torture them. 16:23 But then Satan got the church to begin persecuting itself. 16:28 You say, how did he do that? 16:30 Well, under these torturous threats, 16:31 some of the Christians began to weaken 16:33 and they compromised their faith 16:35 and they made some concessions to heathenism 16:37 and paganism and watered down certain teachings. 16:42 But they were embarrassed 16:43 by these other more courageous Christians 16:45 who lived up to their conscience. 16:47 So these compromising drifters turned 16:50 and persecuted their own brethren. 16:51 And it's always that way, isn't it? 16:54 Some people are probably laughing at you 16:55 for spending three weekends with your Bible 16:58 at these meetings here at the Jamil center. 17:00 And they haven't cracked the Book in 20 years. 17:03 Friend, don't worry about ridicule. 17:05 Thank God you have the courage to come to these study seminars 17:08 and learn about God's prophetic truth. 17:10 Amen. 17:11 But the persecution got so bad that by the year 533 A.D. 17:18 the Emperor Justinian issued a decree 17:22 removing all protective barriers 17:24 to allow full and relentless persecution of any Christians. 17:27 No restraints, no protection for the church. 17:30 And that decree actually went into effect, 17:32 5 years later in the year 538, that is in history. 17:38 That decree went into effect. 17:40 Now anyone could be slain for the simple crime of belief 17:43 in the word of God or studying the Bible. 17:46 All right, now you add 538 to 1,260, 17:50 what does it come out to? 17:53 What year would it end? 17:55 1798. All right. 18:00 Historians call these 1,260 years 18:03 of persecution the Dark-- What? Ages. 18:07 So dark, that as late as the 16th century 18:12 in France, 50,000 people, 18:15 the flower of France were dragged from their beds 18:17 at the toll of the bell at midnight 18:19 and they were slain in the streets. 18:20 It's called the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre 18:23 in Paris, France, when blood ran like water. 18:26 But 200 years later there was a complete political reversal 18:31 and military coup when the persecuted 18:34 became the persecutors. 18:35 And even the king lost his head and all Europe was aghast. 18:39 You read European history, it's phenomenal. 18:41 But suddenly the persecution mysteriously diminished 18:44 and it dried up as Jesus predicted, by the way. 18:46 Why did it dry up? 18:48 Because in 1787 we have the French Revolution. 18:53 When suddenly persecution just stopped in 1798 18:58 when the Pope was taken captive 19:00 by Napoleon's general, Berthier, 19:02 exactly 1,260 years later. 19:07 But you know, ladies and gentlemen, 19:08 during those tragic Dark Ages, 19:11 creditable historians estimate that 50 million people perished 19:16 for no other crime than to protect this Book. 19:20 Folks, the story of the Bible is a thriller. 19:23 It cost human blood. 19:26 Satan tried to stamp it out. Prophecy predicted it. 19:30 But now let's come down to the next chart. 19:33 The tunnels and the railroad tracks. 19:36 I wonder how many budding young artists we have here tonight. 19:39 And I want you to draw right now with me a train, 19:43 maybe a locomotive, would you? 19:45 Come on, I don't want to see you looking at me, 19:46 I want you to be drawing. Right now, everybody. 19:48 Camera's gonna come down, pick up on some of you, 19:49 so you got to have something on your page 19:51 or we're gonna be embarrassed. 19:53 I'll draw something here. How are you doing? 19:56 Don't make your train too big, it can't get into the tunnel. 20:00 I'm gonna make an old fashioned locomotive here. 20:03 How about you? 20:04 Put a couple of cars on it if you want. 20:06 Maybe put a little steam engine there on the top. 20:09 Okay? 20:13 All right. 20:15 May I have your eyes? 20:18 Suppose you're standing on a mountain up 20:19 there in Banff, Canada watching the railroad tracks 20:22 wind through the valley heading for a tunnel. 20:25 And you watch a black locomotive, 20:28 it's made out of iron, 20:29 it's one of the old iron horses. 20:30 It's on a single track tunnel 20:32 and approaches this tunnel with 12 black iron cars 20:37 and it thunders down the track and disappears into the tunnel. 20:41 What kind of a train should come out 20:43 of the other end of the tunnel? 20:46 Same one. Same kind. 20:49 But suppose a black locomotive 20:53 with 12 iron cars thunders down the track, 20:56 darts into this tunnel and you watch 20:58 and out the other end spurts a red diesel 21:03 with 250 red steel cars steaming out the other end, 21:09 what would you say? 21:13 Something happened to that train in the tunnel, right? 21:17 Yes. Now forget trains. 21:20 If you can, I want you to come down to the next chart. 21:24 What do you see coming down the track of time? 21:28 The church of Jesus Christ, 21:31 through the first hundred years, 21:33 the second hundred years, through five centuries. 21:37 But Satan so terribly persecuted that church 21:40 that God had to take her 21:41 and hide her in the wilderness tunnel in 538 A.D. 21:45 For 1,260 years, after which should emerge around 1798 21:52 the same church before the world. 21:55 Now, friend, the true 21:56 and the faithful loyal virgin Christian church 21:59 of Jesus Christ was hidden from view for 1,260 years. 22:04 But notice, the same pure church 22:06 that Jesus and the Apostles taught, 22:08 goes into the tunnel in 538 A.D. 22:12 Answer me, what kind of church 22:15 should come out of the tunnel around 1798? 22:18 Same thing. 22:21 But instead, 250 different denominations 22:26 spurt out the other side, 22:27 each quarreling, arguing, pointing fingers, 22:30 and claiming, "I'm right, you're wrong." 22:34 What happened to the church into the tunnel? 22:39 Why are there so many denominations today? 22:41 You see, the Bible came through unscathed. 22:46 But something happened to the church in the tunnel. 22:49 In fact, Paul predicted a falling away. 22:52 Centuries of compromise with paganism 22:54 into the Christian church infiltrated doctrines 22:57 and rites and practices and teachings, 22:59 Paul or Peter never heard of, 23:01 that suddenly claimed the rank of divine institution. 23:05 And, friend, is it any wonder that God says 23:07 in these last days of human history 23:10 you and I are to get our Bibles and contend earnestly 23:13 for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. 23:17 That is why, ladies and gentlemen, 23:19 these Voice of Prophecy Speaks meetings. 23:21 Amen. 23:22 Horrific changes took place during those Dark Ages. 23:27 There's no more fascinating story 23:29 than the story of the Waldenses 23:31 and the Huguenots and the Albigenses. 23:33 There's a Huguenot church, by the way, down here. 23:35 It's the only one in North America, 23:36 it's in Charleston. 23:37 I went there, and Jeanie and I wept, 23:39 the last Huguenot church in North America. 23:42 These faithful Christian groups, 23:44 who all across Europe, they were the guardians 23:47 of truth and God's word during those terrible Dark Ages 23:50 when God's word was outlawed and suppressed by the church. 23:55 And, folks, let's remember now that was our church. 23:59 Whether you are Protestant 24:00 or Catholic, this was our heritage. 24:02 Did they make tragic mistakes? Yes, just like we do today. 24:06 But it got to the point where no Bibles were allowed. 24:10 If you possessed a Bible or even studied one 24:12 you were persecuted, prosecuted and put to death by the church. 24:17 People were burned at the stake 24:18 because they wanted to translate the Bible 24:20 into the language of the dialects of the people. 24:23 In fact, for 1,200 years the Bible was forbidden. 24:27 It was only heard occasionally in cathedrals 24:29 in a locked foreign language on the weekends. 24:33 Well, this gentleman, Peter Waldo 24:34 happened to have a Bible. 24:37 He was so persecuted and hunted like a wild beast 24:40 that he and his Waldensian followers 24:43 climbed up into the Piedmont valleys of northern Italy. 24:46 But soon it wasn't safe there either. 24:48 And they fled to the Alps, hiding in caves 24:52 and the wilderness for centuries. 24:55 Whole cultures lived and died in those caves 24:58 trying to protect the Bible. 25:01 They felt their heaven-sent mission 25:02 was to make hand-written copies of the Word. 25:05 Printing hadn't been invented yet. 25:07 So they would cautiously send out these little pieces 25:10 of the Bible throughout Europe. 25:12 But they lived in the stone fortresses 25:14 and caves and copied scripture portions 25:16 on parchment sitting on stone tables. 25:18 And they and their families 25:19 would copy just one verse a thousand times, 25:22 maybe in German or French or Italian. 25:25 And then they would send their fine young boys and girls 25:27 down into the valleys to enroll 25:29 as university students, disguised as students. 25:33 But they had sewn into the hems of their garments 25:36 and linings portions of those scriptures. 25:39 If they were caught, they were slain immediately. 25:43 But when they would find an earnest teacher, 25:45 maybe a sincere student who just seemed discouraged 25:48 and bent over, crushed with guilt, 25:51 not knowing what the Bible said about forgiveness, 25:54 they would produce a little passage 25:58 in their own language and the truth would spread. 26:01 If the authorities found the source, they would die. 26:05 Meanwhile, the older folks, the parents, 26:06 they would disguise themselves as peddlers. 26:09 And they'd go down into the valleys 26:10 selling pots and pans and cloth. 26:13 And if they came to a sincere home 26:14 and found someone discouraged 26:16 because of all of their awful sins, 26:18 they would cautiously bring out 26:20 from the folds of their garments a text. 26:23 My friend, the Bible says, "If we confess our sins, 26:27 He is faithful to forgive us 26:29 our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteous." 26:32 They had never heard words like that before. 26:35 My sins? You mean even my sins? 26:38 I can go to the Savior and ask forgiveness? 26:40 Yes. 26:41 And they would produce more scripture 26:43 and read with them into the night, 26:45 have a little rest there, perhaps. 26:46 And in the morning, they would slip away 26:48 before breakfast and off that missionary would go. 26:51 The host would rush outside, you know, 26:52 we didn't even get their name or where she was from. 26:56 They hurried out to the street 26:57 just like other people looking for their missionary. 27:01 And that was the signal 27:02 the authorities were looking for. 27:03 And they found their missionary 27:05 lying in cold blood at the street corner. 27:08 Any library will tell you this story. 27:10 In fact, John Milton, the blind poet of England, 27:13 Latin secretary to Oliver Cromwell, 27:16 John Milton was so stirred 27:18 by the slaughter of the Waldenses 27:20 as late as 1655, that he wrote these words, 27:24 "Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, 27:28 Whose bones lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold. 27:32 E'en them who kept thy truth so pure of old, 27:35 When all our fathers worshiped stocks and stones." 27:40 The great hymn writer of the church at this time, 27:42 Isaac Watts, he composed this hymn, you know it. 27:45 "Am I a soldier of the cross?" 27:49 He wrote about the Waldenses, 27:50 the Huguenots, the Albigenses. 27:52 One of the stanzas goes like this: 27:54 Must I be carried to the skies 27:58 On flowery beds of ease? 28:00 While others fought to win the prize 28:03 And sailed through bloody seas? 28:06 Folks, that's why the founding 28:08 fathers of America fled over here. 28:09 The pilgrims and the Puritans, 28:11 they boarded the Mayflower 28:12 to escape all of that persecution, 28:14 bound for America, land of freedom. 28:16 And America's poets, writing about Plymouth Rock said, 28:19 "I call it holy ground, the spot where first they trod, 28:24 They left unstained what here they found, 28:27 Freedom to worship God." 28:30 Folks, the story of the scriptures 28:31 is just a thriller. 28:35 There came a day in Europe 28:37 when 20,000 troops under French Colonel DePerot 28:41 went up into those mountains to destroy the Waldenses. 28:45 Now you talk about hitting a fly with a hammer. 28:48 He sent 20,000 soldiers to exterminate 28:51 2,000 of the Waldenses, 28:53 boasting to the villagers in the valley, 28:55 "Come to the public hanging of the Waldenses 28:58 and see the end of them tomorrow." 29:01 Well, they started up the mountain. 29:02 But, you know, those Waldenses 29:03 have been living up there for centuries, 29:05 they knew every tree, they knew every boulder. 29:07 They were hiding behind them, watching. 29:08 And when they saw the troops coming up, 29:10 well, they simply dislodged some of those boulders, 29:12 which thundered down the mountain 29:14 and killed some of the soldiers 29:15 and even Colonel DePerot was wounded. 29:18 He begged for refuge in a Waldensian fort. 29:21 They were very kind to give him food and lodging, 29:24 but the rest of them just fled. 29:26 Next day the army moved in for the kill, 29:29 the soldiers moving very cautiously now, 29:31 hiding behind the trees and rocks. 29:34 Got up there and the Waldenses were gone. 29:37 Their caves and their forts were empty. 29:39 They were up in their stocking feet 29:42 on the tops of the mountains, singing Psalm 124:2, 3, 29:46 "If the Lord were not on our side, 29:47 then when men rose up against us, 29:49 we would have been swallowed up quick." 29:51 Amen. Praise the Lord. 29:52 And the soldiers cursed, 29:54 "Heaven itself seems to be blessing these people." 29:59 But tragically it wasn't always so. 30:02 I hope I can share this. 30:07 There came a day when 260 Waldenses 30:11 were in a little cave. 30:13 The soldiers discovered they were inside. 30:17 So they built a fire at the opening of the cave 30:19 and you know what happened. 30:21 It licked up the oxygen, all 260 of them died. 30:26 I hope if I live long enough I get to go to Europe, 30:29 some day I want to go down and crawl into that cave. 30:33 You got to get in on your hands and knees. 30:36 Would the light of truth be entirely extinguished? 30:40 Oh, no. 30:41 There came a day in the seclusion 30:43 of a German library, that a young monk, 30:46 soon to become a priest, 30:47 found a Bible chained to the monastery wall. 30:52 Martin Luther had never even seen a Bible 30:54 even though he was studying for holy orders. 30:56 He'd only heard fragments in Latin. 30:59 Square-jawed, independent Luther, 31:04 he was fascinated with the Bible. 31:06 He came back again and again for months 31:08 and he would study that Bible. 31:10 He didn't find anything about painful pilgrimages 31:13 to holy shrines or indulgences or penance. 31:17 You see, Luther was taught 31:19 that he needed to lie on the ground, 31:22 cold ground and lacerate his back 31:24 to show God how bad he was. 31:26 But he found nothing about that in the Bible. 31:29 But he found a lot about Jesus, he found lot about forgiveness. 31:34 And his favorite text was Romans 1:17, 31:36 "The just shall live by faith." 31:40 And Martin Luther turned to his church 31:42 of his day and he shook civilization 31:44 to its very foundations with the Reformation. 31:47 A new renaissance was coming. The new world. 31:50 In fact, Luther began to translate the Bible 31:52 into German, the language of the people. 31:54 Luther was one of the first Protestants. 31:58 You folks here in Carolina heard about Protestant? 32:01 You say, but, Lonnie, we're a little more cultured, 32:03 we say Protestant. 32:06 Friend, a protestant is simply one who protests 32:09 against any doctrine or practice or teaching 32:12 that's not found in the Bible. 32:15 Luther turned to his church with some big questions, 32:18 expecting to receive appreciation for his research. 32:21 But they said, "Oh, father Martin, no. 32:26 Luther, the church hasn't taught 32:27 this for centuries and we don't intend to. 32:32 Martin, you recant or you'll be excommunicated for heresy." 32:38 What was he to do? 32:40 Let truth die? No. 32:42 I'm so glad that Luther championed truth. 32:45 He stepped out of the church of his day. 32:48 And when Luther died, his followers built a fence 32:51 around what Martin Luther believed 32:53 and they called it a creed. 32:55 You ever hear of creed? 32:58 Now there's nothing wrong with a creed, 33:01 except that it makes no provision for advancing light. 33:04 It locks you in to that century. 33:07 We know that his followers were called Lutherans. 33:11 You ever heard of a Lutheran? Yes. 33:13 But you see, friend, 33:14 the Reformation was only beginning. 33:17 Along came other groups of reformers 33:20 who recovered truths that Luther hadn't even found yet. 33:23 Wycliffe over in England. 33:25 Reformers like John Knox of Scotland. 33:27 John Calvin in Switzerland. Zwingli, Hus, Jerome. 33:30 They came to the leaders 33:31 of the Lutheran reform movement, 33:33 "Look what we found." 33:35 But they were met with the same cold and icy reserve 33:38 "Well, Luther didn't believe this, so we can't accept it." 33:44 What were these reformers to do? 33:46 Let truth die? 33:48 No, they followed Luther's example 33:50 and they stepped out of Lutheranism, 33:53 stepped forward in the light of truth 33:55 and they founded the Presbyterian church. 33:58 And then the Anglicans and the Methodists. 34:00 The Anabaptist reformers, they came along and said, 34:02 "Look, what we've discovered, baptism by immersion." 34:05 And the Baptists were founded. 34:07 Each recovering new rays of light from the word of God. 34:11 Friend, listen, Revelation 12 34:14 tells us the history of the Christian church 34:16 and why there are so many denominations today. 34:19 Folks, God never intended it to be this way. 34:23 Because you see the Reformation isn't finished yet. 34:26 The denominations we have out there today 34:29 are the sad human tendency of dependence upon the past. 34:34 Well, if father and mother believed it, 34:36 it's okay for them, 34:38 I guess it's good enough for me. 34:39 If you ever hear anyone say that, you pray for them. 34:43 That is devastating. 34:45 Now I thank God for my grandfather 34:47 and my mother and my father. 34:50 But God says He expects us to grow, 34:53 to keep following new light, to keep the Reformation alive. 34:57 God wants end-time Christians 34:59 to gather all of the rays of light, truths that were lost 35:03 in the Dark Ages for 1,260 years. 35:06 Jude 1:3 says, 35:08 Lonnie, "You must contend earnestly for the faith 35:11 that was once delivered unto the saints." 35:15 My Christian friend, please listen. 35:18 The Bible says the truth is progressive. 35:21 We need to grow in it, daily move in it, 35:24 daily change, daily progress. 35:26 God does not save us by denominations. 35:30 One of my favorite texts, Proverbs 4:18, says, 35:33 "The path of the just is as the shining light 35:37 that shines more and more unto the perfect day." 35:44 All right, we are ready now for Revelation 12 again. 35:46 Would you look at verse 14 with me? 35:49 Now we're gonna understand some things 35:51 we didn't know before this evening. 35:53 It says, and you can look at this chart, too, 35:55 and see what this text is talking about. 35:57 It says, "But the woman was given 35:59 two wings of a great eagle, 36:01 that she might fly into the wilderness 36:04 to her place, where she is nourished 36:06 for a time and times and half a time, 36:08 from the presence of the serpent." 36:10 Now that's just another way of figuring the 1,260 years, 36:13 a time is a year, times two years, 36:14 half a times 180 days, come out to 1,260, same thing. 36:18 It says, "So the serpent or the dragon 36:20 spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, 36:23 that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 36:26 But the earth helped the woman, 36:29 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood 36:32 which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth." 36:34 Can you see God hiding the Waldenses there, 36:36 in the earth, in that verse? 36:39 Now here's where you and I come in today in 2003-2004. 36:44 Here's where we come into the picture. 36:46 Read with me verse 17. All together, out loud. 36:51 "And the dragon was enraged at the woman, 36:54 and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, 36:58 who keep the commandments of God 37:00 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." 37:04 Who is the dragon? Satan. 37:06 Write that in on your Bible, 37:08 write over that verse so you'll never forget it. 37:10 Satan. 37:12 He's angry with whom? Church. 37:16 The woman or the church. 37:18 Write in church over top of woman there 37:20 so you won't forget this. 37:22 And Satan goes to make war with the rest of her offspring 37:26 or as the King James says the remnant, 37:30 the last end of the church. 37:33 That's us. 37:35 Now let's read with me again that passage 37:37 as interpreted by your own Bible. 37:39 And you want to look on the screen 37:40 because I've kind of adjusted it. 37:42 Here's how it's interpreted. All together. 37:44 "And Satan was angry with the church, 37:48 and he went to make war 37:50 with the last end of her offspring, 37:53 who keep the commandments of God 37:55 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." 37:57 Can I have your eyes one more time? 38:00 Tell me. Listen carefully. 38:02 In the first part of Chapter 12 38:05 Satan or the dragon was angry 38:07 with which part of the Christian church? 38:12 Which part of the New Testament church 38:14 was he angry with at first? 38:17 The first part, the early church. 38:20 In the last verses we just read 38:22 Satan is angry with what part of the church? 38:25 The last end or the remnant. 38:28 Ladies and gentlemen, Revelation 12 38:31 is the history of the Christian church 38:34 and 80% of this audience tonight, 38:36 I don't care where you're watching me, 38:37 you have never heard this before. 38:40 But I want you to notice. 38:42 Friend, God is so concerned that we get this message 38:44 and recover the truth lost 38:45 in the tunnel of those Dark Ages 38:47 and recover the same faith that went into the tunnel 38:51 that He describes two outstanding features 38:55 of God's true called out people in the very last days. 38:59 He says they keep the commandments of God 39:02 and they have the same faith as Jesus. 39:05 Amen. 39:07 Some people say, "Well, you know, 39:09 if you try to keep the commandments, 39:11 you're not really saved by grace." 39:13 God says, commandment-keeping 39:15 and the faith of Jesus go together. 39:19 'Cause listen, friend, 39:20 if I have enough of the grace of God in my heart, 39:24 I'm not gonna kill you if I don't like you. 39:26 I'm not gonna steal from you. 39:29 I will certainly not take your wife. 39:32 You see, commandment-keeping 39:33 isn't a means of salvation, it's an evidence of salvation. 39:37 Amen. 39:38 And God clearly says here, 39:40 "Lon, My last day called-out ones, 39:43 My people waiting for the second coming of Jesus 39:46 will be keeping the commandments 39:48 and have the testimony of Jesus." 39:50 I want to be part of that group. 39:51 Don't you? Amen. 39:53 You seamstresses who like to sew, 39:59 you go downtown here and you see a 70% off 40:01 remnant sale, yardage at a store. 40:05 And you go, and to your delight, 40:06 you find something that will match 40:07 the garment or moving right along, 40:09 something else, maybe a beautiful piece of cloth, 40:13 lots of accessories you purchased. 40:15 So you buy enough cloth to make a matching blouse. 40:18 And it's blue material. 40:20 Kind of got a pattern on it, 40:22 you can't get rid of the family quick enough after dinner 40:24 so that you can spread out your simplicity pattern 40:27 and you start to stitch and sew. 40:28 But alas, you discover, 40:29 well, you've just got enough cloth, 40:32 except for one sleeve. 40:35 So you hurry back to the store, 40:36 you know it's the last day remnant sale, 40:37 you find the same sales clerk. 40:39 And you even know her. 40:40 And she says, "Oh, I'm so sorry, 40:42 the material is all gone." 40:43 Oh, but she happens to know 40:44 three ladies from your neighborhood 40:46 who came in for that sale and they bought material, too. 40:49 So you know them, so you go to each of them 40:52 and you knock at the first door and you explain your problem. 40:54 "I just need a little bit more material." 40:55 She says, "Sure, I'll be glad to help you, 40:57 I bought plenty of material." 40:58 She brings out her package 40:59 and she opens it, it's the wrong color. 41:03 You bought blue, hers is red. 41:06 Well, you don't disturb her anymore, 41:08 you thank her very much, you hurry to the next address. 41:10 She brings out her material, well, you're kind of happy, 41:13 it's the same pattern but hers is purple. 41:17 Yours was blue. So you try again. 41:20 You go to the third door 41:21 and this lady brings out her material. 41:24 Oh, it's the same pattern, 41:25 the same identical weave, same color. 41:27 In fact, there's even a matching thread, 41:29 you know, where they cut it 41:30 and tore a little bit at the bottom. 41:32 Of what can you be reasonably certain? 41:36 You have found the remnant of the original. 41:39 Amen. 41:41 Now, friend, I want to be saved, 41:45 I want my family to be saved. 41:47 When Jesus forgives my sins, 41:48 I want to walk in all the light of God's truth, 41:51 the prophetic light that shines brighter 41:53 and brighter to the perfect day. 41:55 God says, "Lonnie, Revelation 12 provides 41:58 absolute certain thumbprint identification marks 42:01 to help you find God's truth in these last days, 42:04 identical features to match up exactly 42:07 with the original faith of Jesus. 42:09 You can find My last-end remnant 42:12 of what started way back there in the New Testament. 42:14 Jeremiah 29:13 says, Lon, 42:17 'And you shall seek Me and you shall find Me 42:20 when you search for Me with all your heart.'" 42:23 So you take the Bible, 42:27 the original that went into the tunnel. 42:30 Then you take what you believe. 42:33 If it has the same pattern of belief, 42:36 the same weave of doctrine, the same texture of harmony, 42:39 the same consistency of practice and teaching, 42:43 then, friend, you can know you have found the remnant. 42:49 As you consider your decision for Jesus Christ, 42:52 I want you to take that response card 42:54 as the row captains pass the containers. 42:56 I don't want you to mark anything yet 42:58 but God's word has identified 43:00 God's called out ones in these last end-times. 43:04 Right now I want you to listen to Joey as she sings. 43:12 Why have You chosen me 43:17 Out of millions Your child to be 43:23 You know all the wrongs that I have done 43:30 Oh, how could You pardon me 43:36 Forgive my iniquities 43:40 To save me in Jesus Your Son 43:48 But, Lord, help me be 43:53 What You want me to be 43:58 Your word I will strive to obey 44:06 My life I now give 44:10 For You I will live 44:15 And walk by Your side all the way 44:26 Let us pray together. 44:27 Eternal Father, Jesus tonight has identified for us 44:31 a precious truth through the Voice of Prophecy, 44:36 how to identify present truth out there 44:40 and the importance of being part 44:41 of God's called-out ones. 44:45 We simply take what we believe 44:47 and we measure it up against 44:48 the original blueprint of scripture. 44:51 But, Lord, tonight, then that means 44:53 we must make a choice to keep walking in the light 44:57 that shines brighter and brighter 44:59 to the perfect day. 45:01 So, Father, would You help us just now 45:03 as we make our choice and choose to be 45:07 one of God's called-out ones. 45:10 I want you to take your pencil and your commitment card. 45:14 I'd like to have you choose one of these responses. 45:17 Number one, I hope everyone can understand clearly 45:20 the importance of belonging to a church. 45:23 Check that, if I understand 45:25 the importance of belonging to a church. 45:27 God wants us to take our beliefs, 45:29 He lights the candle of our lives, Revelation says, 45:32 for you to put that on a lamp stand, 45:34 which represents the church. 45:36 Secondly, there may be some tonight 45:38 who haven't yet made a decision to join a church. 45:41 This is so important, I want you to consider carefully. 45:44 I would like to belong to God's called-out ones. 45:49 Check number two if that's your decision tonight. 45:52 And I hope many individuals 45:53 who haven't taken the step of baptism 45:55 will now see how that is so important. 45:57 And you'll check number three, I want to be baptized. 45:59 Make your decision just now as Joey sings. 46:07 I am amazed to know 46:11 That a God so great could love me so 46:17 Is willing and wanting to bless 46:25 His grace is so wonderful 46:29 His mercy so bountiful 46:34 I can't understand it, I confess 46:42 But, Lord, help me be 46:46 What You want me to be 46:51 Your word I will strive to obey 46:59 My life I now give 47:03 For You I will live 47:09 And walk by Your side all the way 47:19 My life I now give 47:23 For You I will live 47:29 And walk by Your side all the way 47:44 Father, we thank you for the message 47:45 of that song that touches our hearts. 47:48 We want to walk by Your side all the way. 47:52 Give us the courage and the will 47:54 to follow our convictions. 47:57 Because it's not just enough to talk about religion, 48:00 Jesus wants us to put it into practice, 48:02 to do, to follow, to obey. 48:05 Bless every heart who listens tonight 48:06 and as we make our choice, seal it for eternity. 48:10 In Jesus' name. Amen. 48:14 I want you to be sure now 48:15 that you place your response card 48:18 in that container as it comes down the row. 48:22 Tomorrow night, "The Great Pretender." 48:26 Friend, do not miss tomorrow night's meeting. 48:29 It will be one of the most revealing sessions 48:32 you will have ever heard. 48:33 Tomorrow night, "The Great Pretender." 48:35 By the way, last night, I went onto our chat room 48:39 and I found 235 of you waiting for me there, 48:42 I couldn't answer all of the questions, 48:43 but it was fun to be talking with you up until midnight. 48:45 I'll be on the chat room tonight again. 48:47 If you have a computer just dial in, 48:49 prophecyspeaks.com. 48:50 And I'll be there 48:51 from 10 o' clock on till whenever. 48:54 But we have some special materials 48:56 for you tonight at the downlink sites. 48:58 This special pamphlet produced by Pacific Press, 49:02 we so much appreciate signs of the times. 49:04 "What the Bible says about God's church." 49:06 Be sure to get your copy as you leave. 49:08 Tomorrow night, "The Great Pretender." 49:10 Over in the hospitality centers tonight 49:12 our host and hostesses would be 49:14 so pleased to greet you. 49:15 I'll spend just a few minutes in ours 49:17 because I got to get away and get on that chat room. 49:19 Remember, friend, as we go, God really does love you. 49:26 Amen. Goodnight. |
Revised 2014-12-17