Participants:
Series Code: WHO
Program Code: WHO210044S
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00:30 Hello, friends, and welcome to another week of worship
00:34 here on 3ABN Worship Hour. 00:37 And I'm excited that you are joining us today 00:40 because the message that we have to share 00:42 is indeed a very important one. 00:44 One that God has laid upon my heart, 00:46 and we've already done a part one 00:48 to this little mini-series. 00:50 Today we're going to do the final part, 00:52 part two of a series entitled "Beast Mode 2.0." 00:57 And so, I just wanna thank you. 00:59 Praise the Lord that you're joining us today 01:01 and you know what? 01:03 We got lots and lots to discuss 01:04 because we're here to worship the Lord 01:06 in spirit and in truth. 01:08 And we're certainly going to be diving deep 01:10 into the Word of God. 01:11 So before we go any further, 01:12 let's go ahead and go right to the Lord 01:14 in prayer this time. 01:17 Our Father in heaven, 01:20 Lord, as we prepare to open Your Word 01:23 to consider the prophetic path 01:27 that You have led us, 01:29 led this country. 01:32 Lord, we recognize that not all of this path, 01:36 in fact, a great majority of it is really not even Your doing. 01:40 It's not Your plan, 01:42 but nonetheless, Your Word has spoken. 01:45 And today we want to come to understand that Word 01:48 much more clearer than before. 01:52 And so, Father, I'm praying right now in Jesus' name 01:54 that You will bestow upon us, the Holy Spirit 01:57 that we can have the spiritual eyesight, 01:59 the spiritual hearing, 02:00 the spiritual mind of Jesus Christ, 02:03 to be able to rightly divide Your Word of truth 02:05 at this moment. 02:07 And, Lord, may this not just be about information, 02:10 may it not just be about us being informed about something, 02:14 but may we take this message, 02:15 may it penetrate and prick our hearts 02:18 to lead us into a deeper, more intimate relationship 02:21 with Jesus Christ, our savior. 02:23 We praise You. 02:25 And we thank You, Lord, 02:26 for Your never-ending love, grace and mercy. 02:28 And we ask this in Jesus' holy name. 02:30 Amen. 02:34 Beast Mode 2.0, that's right. 02:38 This is part two. 02:39 So I'm just gonna give a disclaimer right up front. 02:42 If you haven't viewed part one, 02:44 it would probably be helpful for you to view part one 02:48 before you listen to today's part two. 02:51 Now, again, I'm not gonna discourage you 02:53 to listen to today's part two, 02:55 because I want you to watch this. 02:57 I believe that God has a beautiful, 02:59 powerful message for us 03:00 through this particular sermon. 03:02 But nonetheless, 03:03 I encourage you to go back if you haven't, 03:05 watch part one, 03:06 because part one sets us up for part two, 03:09 but here in the beginning, 03:10 I would like to do just a very quick 03:12 kind of bullet point summary of what we covered in part one. 03:16 In part one, 03:17 we talked about how God in His Word 03:20 does mention 03:22 and talk about the prophetic path 03:23 of this nation. 03:25 That is the United States of America. 03:28 And we see that 03:29 as we look into the prophetic text of Revelation. 03:32 When we consider what the Bible says, 03:34 there of the second beast of Revelation Chapter 13. 03:38 We find that there is a path 03:39 that doesn't seem to look like a very positive one 03:41 as we kind of called it or discussed it, 03:44 discussed it to be labeled 03:46 perhaps as the spiritual decline 03:48 and fall of the United States of America. 03:51 And we connected it or at least illustrated it 03:53 from the point 03:55 in comparing it to the nations of Israel and Rome. 03:59 We saw there that in the beginning, 04:01 Israel throughout its journey, 04:03 but very early in its journey, 04:04 we see that they pretty much rejected God as their King. 04:09 And they declared to the prophet, to Samuel. 04:11 They said, 04:13 "We want our own king. We want a man to rule over us. 04:16 We want him to be our king and to make the decisions 04:18 and to lead and guide us." 04:19 So they rejected God 04:21 and God told the Prophet Samuel, 04:22 hey look, you know, they haven't rejected you, 04:24 they've rejected me. 04:25 And, of course, we know that 04:27 all throughout the Old Testament, 04:28 it tells the story of the journey, the path, 04:31 the declining path of a nation that would eventually split, 04:35 become unified and reach its demise. 04:38 Of course, we know a second version 04:41 or second phase of Israel's journey 04:43 would lead them to be overtaken 04:44 by another great world power. 04:47 And we know that world power to be the nation 04:49 or the Empire of Rome. 04:50 And we even see some comparative characteristics 04:54 between the nation or the Empire of Rome 04:56 and, of course, modern United States of America. 04:59 We're gonna make some more of those comparisons today. 05:03 But today, my friends, 05:04 I wanna point you to the text of scripture. 05:08 Before we can properly identify the second beast, 05:11 we have to first identify the first beast, right? 05:14 And in the last presentation, in part one, 05:16 we looked at some very clear identifications 05:19 of that second beast of Revelation 13, 05:21 which we have already clearly said 05:23 is the United States of America, 05:25 it can be no other empire. 05:26 It can be no other nation 05:28 than that of the United States of America. 05:31 But what I would like to do 05:32 is simply kind of do some repeat 05:35 and enlarge for the moment. 05:36 And I want us to go to Revelation Chapter 13. 05:38 And I want us to just for a moment 05:40 look into what the Bible has to say 05:42 about this first beast of Revelation 13, 05:46 because if you don't study 05:47 who this first beast of Revelation 13 is, 05:50 then by the time you get 05:51 to the second beast of Revelation 13, 05:53 you're not gonna have the full story, 05:54 because the second beast, 05:56 ultimately in the end, 05:57 inevitably creates an alliance with the first beast. 06:00 And you need to have the proper identifications 06:03 and understanding there. 06:04 So let's go to Revelation Chapter 13, 06:06 I'm going to begin reading in verse 1. 06:09 We're not going to read all the texts 06:11 pertaining to that first beast, 06:12 but we're going to read the major ones 06:13 that give us some clear identifications 06:16 as to undeniably who this can be. 06:19 Notice what the Bible says in Revelation Chapter 13, 06:22 beginning in verse 1. 06:25 John writes, he says, 06:26 "Then I stood on the sand of the sea. 06:28 And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, 06:30 having seven heads and ten horns, 06:34 and on his horns ten crowns," 06:38 don't miss that, 06:39 "and on his heads a blasphemous name." 06:44 It says, "Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, 06:46 his feet were like the feet of a bear 06:49 and, of course his mouth like the mouth of a lion. 06:52 The dragon gave him his power, his throne, 06:56 and his great authority." 06:59 We're gonna go to verse 5. 07:00 We'll come back to verse 3 in a moment. 07:02 But verse 5 says, "And he," speaking of this first beast. 07:05 "And he was given a mouth speaking great things 07:07 and blasphemies, 07:09 and he was given authority to continue forty-two months. 07:14 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, 07:18 to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, 07:21 and those who dwell in heaven. 07:25 It was granted to him to make war with the saints 07:28 and to overcome them. 07:30 And authority was given him 07:32 over every tribe, tongue and nation." 07:38 Now, within the context of those verses 07:41 that we just read, 07:42 we didn't read all of the verses 07:43 pertaining to that first beast. 07:45 And there's a reason why, for the sake of time, 07:46 we're going to read the major ones 07:48 pertaining to its identification. 07:50 But now I want to go back to verse 3. 07:53 And after we read a portion of verse 3, 07:56 that will give us the completeness 07:58 of how we can start listing these identifications 08:01 as to who this is very clearly. 08:04 So let's go back to Revelation 13:3, 08:07 notice what the Bible says, 08:08 speaking of that first beast. 08:09 It says, 08:11 "And I saw one of his heads 08:12 as if it had been mortally wounded, 08:15 and his deadly wound was healed." 08:20 Okay. 08:22 So there you have it. 08:24 It receives eventually a deadly wound, right? 08:28 But then, you know, if you don't really understand 08:30 the historicity behind this beast, 08:33 then you come to think that 08:34 just by reading the chronology of verse 3, 08:37 it's like the deadly wound is given. 08:39 And then immediately the deadly wound is healed. 08:41 But you and I know the nature of a wound. 08:43 That's not how it takes place. 08:44 If you receive any kind of wound, 08:46 but especially a bad wound. 08:47 And in this case, we know it was bad 08:49 because the Bible says it was a deadly wound. 08:51 We know that that type of wound does not heal overnight. 08:54 It does not heal instantaneous. 08:57 There is a span of time 08:58 between the time that the wound is given 09:00 until the time that the wound is healed. 09:02 And we're gonna find out a little bit 09:03 that, of course, we are living currently 09:05 right now, as I'm speaking, 09:07 we are living in the time period 09:08 in which that healing process 09:10 has been going on for some time. 09:12 We're living during the healing process, 09:14 but that deadly wound is not quite healed just yet, 09:18 but, my friends, I believe we are on the way, 09:20 we are approaching very closely 09:22 the complete healing of that wound. 09:25 But based on what we just read in verses 1. 09:28 2, 5, 6, 7, and obviously verse 3, 09:31 as we went back there. 09:33 If we look at all of those verses 09:34 and we consider them, 09:36 what identifications can we draw from this? 09:38 Very, very clearly, let's look at this. 09:39 I brought up about six identifications 09:42 or six points of identification. 09:44 Number one, 09:45 notice how this beast comes up out of the sea. 09:49 And we know that that beast coming up out of the sea 09:52 simply represents mass population of people. 09:55 If you go over to Revelation 17:15, 09:58 we don't have to guess as to what the sea represents. 10:00 We know Revelation is a highly symbolic book. 10:03 There's lots of symbols that you must allow. 10:05 Rule number one, remember, 10:07 we always must allow the Bible to interpret itself. 10:09 In this case Revelation 17:15 10:12 provides for us an answer 10:14 as to what that water, that sea, 10:16 that, that beast is coming out of what it represents. 10:19 And, of course, it tells us that it represents 10:21 a multiple mass population of nations, tribes and tongues. 10:25 So a mass populated group of people. 10:28 So that's number one identification. 10:30 Number two, 10:31 we know that this is a blasphemous power. 10:34 It's blaspheming God, 10:35 it's blaspheming God's name and God's tabernacle. 10:38 And, of course, we know very clearly 10:40 then in the Bible, 10:41 if you do a responsible research, 10:42 you know, that blasphemy according to the Bible, 10:44 according to the Scripture, 10:46 there's many times, 10:48 many different ways you can blaspheme God. 10:49 But ultimately the general rule is that 10:52 a person who blasphemes God 10:54 is a person who is usurping 10:56 or taking control of God's offices, 11:00 His control, His authority, 11:02 His ultimate authority upon themselves. 11:05 So as a creative man or created man, 11:08 if we are taking God's authority 11:10 upon ourselves, 11:12 that we are forgiving sins, 11:14 and we are persecuting people in the name of God, 11:16 perhaps by taking people's lives 11:18 because we believe they're heretics 11:20 or whatever the case may be, 11:21 or simply claiming to be God on earth. 11:24 The Bible declares that as blasphemy. 11:26 So this power is a blasphemous power. 11:30 Identification number three, 11:32 the Bible says that this beast would reign for 42, 11:36 and I put there prophetic months 11:38 because we're talking about prophetic timing. 11:40 A biblical month contains 30 days. 11:44 So if you take 42 and you multiply that times 30, 11:47 you're going to get 1,260 days. 11:52 But remember we're about prophetic timing. 11:54 And we always apply that year- day principle 11:57 as found in Scripture. 11:59 So we're not talking about 1,260 literal days, 12:03 but we're talking about 1,260 years. 12:07 So again, 42 prophetic months or 1,260 years. 12:12 The Bible tells us as an identification 12:15 that, that great first beast, Antichrist power, 12:19 as you might have heard it called before, 12:22 that is a blasphemous power. 12:24 And it's going to rule historically for 1,260 years. 12:29 Let's go on to our fourth identification. 12:31 It's a persecutive power. 12:33 It seem persecuting the saints over in Daniel Chapter 7 12:37 as well as Revelation13, as well as Revelation 17. 12:43 When you see that great harlot 12:44 and she's drunken with the blood of the saints 12:46 and the martyrs of Jesus Christ. 12:48 We see very clearly here, this is a persecuting power. 12:51 So this is a power 12:53 that thinks it has the authority 12:54 to persecute God's saints. 12:57 And we're gonna see in a blasphemous way 13:00 in the name of God. 13:02 We see there that it is given an identification number five, 13:07 that this power is given, 13:08 of course, by the dragon himself. 13:11 But it says there very clearly that all the world wanders 13:13 after this beast, 13:15 that it is given world dominion 13:16 and everyone worships this beast. 13:17 We're talking about a world dominant system. 13:21 We're not talking about some little system 13:22 on some little meely-neely corner of some street, 13:25 somewhere in some city, 13:26 we're talking about a world dominant system. 13:30 And then, of course, our last identification here, 13:33 just for the sake of time, 13:35 we see that 13:36 this power receives a deadly wound. 13:38 And you'll see that I have in parentheses there, 13:41 the year 1798. 13:44 Okay. 13:45 1798. 13:47 Okay. So let's just get it out in the open. 13:49 All right. 13:51 Let's just be candid about it. 13:52 There's no need in beating around the bush 13:54 or sugarcoating anything. 13:56 There's only one world system, my friends. 13:58 There's a... 14:00 And notice the words I'm using, one world system. 14:03 We are talking about 14:05 the great Antichrist of Bible prophecy, 14:07 and we're not talking about one single individual, 14:10 but a system of people. 14:13 And we see that this system that fits this identification, 14:16 that fits all these identification. 14:18 They're established in a mass population 14:20 a blasphemous power, 14:21 claiming the authority of God 14:24 ruling for 1,260 years, historically. 14:28 That also has a history of persecuting God's saints 14:31 down through time. 14:32 That is also a worldwide dominant system. 14:36 And, of course, historically also received a deadly wound 14:40 in the year, 1798. 14:42 My friends, it can be none other 14:43 than the Roman papal church state. 14:47 Make no mistake about it. 14:49 There is no other earthly system 14:51 or individual or individuals 14:53 that fit the description more clearly 14:55 than that of the Roman papal church state. 14:58 And let's make no mistake about it. 15:00 We're talking about the Roman Catholic system. 15:03 Okay, let me make it clear. 15:05 We're not beating up Catholic individuals here. 15:08 We're not here to slur or to damage or to talk bad 15:10 about Catholic individuals. 15:12 I believe that God has wonderful people, 15:14 genuine Christians 15:16 who are living up to all the light that they know 15:17 that are in the Catholic system, 15:19 who are being led and worked on by the Holy Spirit of God. 15:22 So we need to make that very, very clear, 15:24 but nonetheless, it doesn't make any difference 15:26 of what the Bible actually has to say about 15:28 and that's the fact that the Bible confirms 15:31 that this system, 15:32 of course, is a blasphemous anti-Christ type of system. 15:36 And so that being said, 15:39 talking about those 1, 260 years, 15:42 we're going back to that deadly wound. 15:44 And I have a little, just a little graph here, 15:46 a little time chart to put up here. 15:48 You will see that as the Bible says, 15:50 it ruled for 42 months. 15:52 That 1,260 years, 15:54 the Roman papacy in 538 AD was given, 15:58 not just ecclesiastical authority, 16:00 but political authority as well by the Emperor Justinian 16:03 that was in the year 538 AD. 16:06 And if you count 1,260 years later, 16:09 something had to happen in 1798 AD. 16:13 And if you look up your history and you do it responsibly, 16:16 you will find that a very significant blow 16:20 happened in the year 1798 to the Catholic system 16:25 when Napoleon Bonaparte, 16:27 the Emperor or the president or the captain, or the main man 16:32 of the French armies at the time 16:34 and the French nation 16:35 basically commanded his main general, 16:37 General Berthier to go into the Vatican, 16:40 march into Rome, go into Vatican City 16:42 and basically took the pope captive, 16:44 arrested him. 16:46 And they basically shut down 16:47 the political and civil authority 16:50 of the Catholic Church. 16:51 They were just simply 16:53 another functioning ecclesiastical system, 16:55 but their power was momentarily stripped from them. 16:58 And let me tell you something, 17:00 that was a deadly wound given to the papacy 17:02 that had ruled dominantly for more than 1000, 17:05 in this case, 1,260 years. 17:11 So, my friends, when you read all of that 17:12 and study the first few verses of Revelation 13, 17:16 and you come to the clear conclusion 17:17 that it can be none other 17:19 than the Roman papal church state, 17:20 who was given that deadly wound in 1798. 17:24 By the time you get to verse 11 17:27 in Revelation 13, 17:29 you see another beast, a second beast, 17:32 that beast we talked about in part one. 17:34 The second beast is coming up from the earth 17:38 around the same time 17:40 that that deadly wound is given to the first beast. 17:42 Notice what Revelation 13:11 says. 17:46 It says, 17:47 "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth 17:51 and he had two horns like a lamb 17:53 and spoke like a dragon." 17:56 Okay. 17:58 Now we're gonna look again really quickly 18:00 at some other identifications 18:02 of this second beast of Revelation 13, 18:05 but make no mistake about it, my friends, 18:07 there can only be one nation, 18:09 one empire that fits all the identifications 18:12 and the time frame 18:14 in which that first beast is going down. 18:16 And the second beast is rising up, 18:18 not from the sea, but from the earth. 18:20 My friends, we're talking about the United States of America. 18:25 And I told you that 18:27 this series is based on identifying the fact 18:30 that while the United States of America 18:32 can be found very clearly 18:34 in the symbolic passages of Revelation Chapter 13. 18:37 Make no mistake about it, my friends, the end result, 18:41 the story of its end is not a positive one. 18:46 Let's look at a few of these identifications 18:47 that we can conclude just from verse 11, 18:50 which is where the bulk of our identifications come from. 18:53 Now, we looked at a few of these in part one, 18:55 I'm going to do a quick review of a couple of them, 18:58 but in these last two identifications, 19:01 when we start to identify this as being a lamb-like, 19:04 and of course speaking as a dragon, 19:05 that's where we're going to focus 19:07 the bulk of our time today 19:08 and looking at the spiritual decline 19:11 and ultimate fall 19:13 of the United States of America, 19:14 as told from Bible prophecy. 19:17 Our first identification 19:18 comes clearly from the Scripture. 19:20 And as you see there, 19:21 as it's gonna pop up on your screen, 19:23 we see that this beast the second beast, 19:25 this United States nation 19:27 is described as coming out of the earth. 19:30 Okay? 19:31 Now the first beast of Revelation 13, 19:34 that seven headed beast again with the 10 horns, 19:37 the crowns upon its horns 19:38 and in all the body like a leopard 19:40 and the face like a lion, the feet like a bear. 19:42 All of these, all of, all of that, 19:44 the description of the first beast, 19:46 it includes the fact that it comes up out of the sea 19:49 and we identified it just a few moments ago, 19:51 coming up out of the sea, 19:52 according to Revelation 17:15 means that 19:55 it was established or created from a mass population, 19:59 a large group of people. 20:00 In other words, an already established land 20:03 with lots and lots of population. 20:06 But in comparison, 20:07 but yet also in contrast to that, 20:09 we see that this second beast 20:11 doesn't come up out of the sea, it comes up out of the earth. 20:15 And so in opposition 20:16 or in contrast to the first beast 20:18 is not, oh, it's not being established 20:20 or growing from an already, 20:22 you know, mass populated area, 20:24 but rather we know that it grows up out of the earth, 20:26 which means it is established. 20:28 It grows out from a sparsely populated area. 20:34 Number two, 20:36 not only does it come up from the earth 20:37 or established from on a very relatively low 20:41 or almost no populated area. 20:43 We see that our second identification 20:46 is that arises around the same time 20:48 that, that second, the first beast is going down. 20:51 That is, it rises around 1798. 20:53 Now, if you have a clear understanding 20:55 of history, 20:56 okay, it doesn't take a rocket scientist 20:58 or a professional American historian 21:01 to confirm the fact that 21:03 when did the United States grow 21:05 and begin to be considered, 21:07 you know, a great nation, 21:09 an empire that the rest of the world 21:10 was beginning to recognize 21:12 its independence and its growth. 21:14 We know clearly that 21:15 the nation of the United States of America 21:18 declared its independence in 1776 21:20 with the Declaration of Independence. 21:22 And I love those famous words there, right? 21:24 As they're declaring their independence. 21:26 "We hold these truths to be self-evident 21:28 that all men are created equal, 21:31 that they are endowed by their Creator 21:32 in certain inalienable rights 21:34 that among these are Life, Liberty, 21:37 and the Pursuit of Happiness." 21:41 So as this great nation is being established, 21:44 you know as a babe in 1776, 21:47 you better believe that as time goes on, 21:49 by the year 1798, 21:51 you better believe that abuzz all around the world, 21:54 people were starting to recognize and hear stories 21:57 about the fast growing and dominant nation 22:00 of the United States of America. 22:02 So does it fit the historical timeline? 22:05 Of course, it does. 22:06 In fact, I challenge you name another nation 22:09 that was rising up from relatively nothing 22:12 around the time of 1798. 22:16 I challenge you to find that for me, 22:18 because it only points to one nation, 22:20 the United States of America 22:22 can be the only one to fit 22:24 this second beast description as found in Revelation 13. 22:27 So it is indeed, 22:29 we see it arising around the time of 1798. 22:33 First beast receives this deadly wound. 22:35 The second beast is rising to power. 22:38 And while this second beast is rising 22:40 to a world dominant power over a period of time, 22:43 that first beast deadly wound is being healed in the process. 22:47 And we're gonna see that 22:50 these two beasts' paths 22:52 are going to cross in the future 22:54 as we continue reading through the Bible. 22:56 Our third identification there 22:58 that we find according to the text, 22:59 Revelation 13:11. 23:01 We see that our third identification 23:03 is pointing to the fact that 23:04 this second beast has no crowns on its horns. 23:09 Now I say, no crowns on the horns 23:11 because the first beast have the 10 horns, 23:13 which represented the 10 divisional nations 23:16 of Western Europe at the time 23:18 that was controlled by that dominant papal system. 23:23 But when you get to the second beast 23:24 there's horns there, 23:25 but there are no crowns on those horns. 23:27 What is that? 23:28 That's just another identification to the fact 23:30 that if you do the history of Europe, 23:31 if you also studied the history of the United States, 23:33 then you know that during the time 23:35 of those older days, 23:37 back in the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th century AD 23:42 most of the European nations 23:43 as the Bible clearly and accurately points out 23:46 were led out by some royal monarch. 23:48 They were led by kings and queens. 23:50 Those are the individuals that made the decisions 23:52 for the nations back then. 23:54 But when the people fleeing from Roman persecution, 23:59 fled Western Europe 24:00 and traveled across the Atlantic 24:02 and found the new world 24:04 when they decided that they wanted to establish 24:06 a new great nation, 24:08 it was not going to be let out by a royal monarch 24:11 of any kind or a dictatorship. 24:13 It was going to be established 24:15 on a different form of government. 24:16 And we see that indeed, the United States of America, 24:19 it of course is not led by kings and queens, 24:21 but led ultimately by a representative democracy, 24:25 a body of people. 24:27 In other words, the power is supposed to be given 24:30 to the people in the system, 24:31 rather than in Western Europe, 24:33 where we see at the time 24:34 are led out by kings and queens. 24:39 Then we come to identification number four, 24:43 and this is where the body of this message 24:46 really begins to pick up speed 24:49 and really begins to take substance. 24:53 You cannot miss the fact that the scripture says 24:56 that it has two horns like a lamb. 25:02 Okay. 25:04 So there was something lamb-like 25:08 about the second beast. 25:10 Now I'm gonna come back to that in just a moment, 25:12 but just speaking about those horns for a moment, 25:14 let's just properly identify 25:16 what those two horns represent. 25:18 In Bible prophecy generally a horn represents a, 25:20 in other words, 25:22 a smaller nation of some kind, 25:23 a significant power or authority, 25:26 or within a larger empire. 25:28 In this case, we know that there were two great principles 25:31 on which this nation was founded. 25:34 Now make no mistake about it. 25:35 Let's go back to what we just said 25:36 a few moments ago. 25:38 When the people 25:39 that is the settlers of early America, 25:40 when they were fleeing Western Europe, 25:43 they were fleeing 25:44 that great tribulation time period 25:47 and the inquisitions and the persecution 25:49 that was going on by the first beast, right? 25:52 Previously to this, 25:53 they were fleeing that from Western Europe 25:56 to come start a new nation, a new world 25:58 in which they could have the freedom of speech, 26:01 the freedom to worship, like they wanted to, 26:03 you know, without all of the persecution. 26:05 And so that's why 26:07 if we were to identify those two horns 26:09 on which represents 26:10 the two principals of the two powers 26:12 on which this nation was established, 26:14 we don't have to go very far. 26:15 History confirms this 26:17 independent, but yet responsible study 26:19 of the United States of America will confirm this. 26:22 But I found two quotes that I really liked 26:24 that I feel like nails this down 26:25 and identifies it very clearly 26:27 as far as the nature of these two horns. 26:29 And that comes from first, 26:31 our first quote is from The Great Controversy, 26:32 page 441. 26:34 Notice what it says. 26:35 It says, 26:37 "And he had two horns like a lamb. 26:39 The lamb-like horns," 26:41 notice how it says, 26:43 "the lamb-like horns 26:44 indicated youth innocence and gentleness, 26:48 fitly representing 26:49 the character of the United States 26:52 when presented to the prophet as, " 26:54 notice "coming up in 1798." 26:59 And then we're gonna tie that one 27:00 also to the next quote, 27:02 which is found from Spirit of Prophecy, 27:04 volume 4, page 277, 27:06 again, identifying the horns. 27:08 Notice what it says. 27:09 It says 27:11 "And the lamb-like horns 27:12 emblems of innocence and gentleness, 27:14 well represent the character of our government, 27:19 as expressed 27:20 in its two fundamental principles, 27:22 Republicanism and Protestantism." 27:26 Now let's identify that for a moment 27:28 because right, as I just said, 27:30 republicanism, 27:31 many people's minds are going to, 27:32 you know, the Republican Party 27:34 and all of my Democratic friends watching this, 27:36 they just about lost their minds. 27:37 And this is not a political sermon. 27:39 We're not talking about politics. 27:40 We're not talking about parties here. 27:43 Our nation was established as a Republican. 27:45 A very clear Republican when it says republicanism, 27:47 it's talking about the Republican, 27:48 which it stands, 27:50 or the Republican which we created, 27:51 which is the power is given to the people, right? 27:54 And then we held elections 27:56 in which we create representatives 27:58 that go on to vote for president 28:00 rather than a royal, 28:01 but the whole system 28:03 is established by the people and for the people. 28:06 And, of course, it is carried out 28:07 in a systematic form of government 28:10 known as a representative democracy. 28:13 And so the two fundamental principles 28:15 that we see in which this nation was built, 28:17 notice republicanism, 28:19 a Republic. 28:21 And, of course, the second one, 28:22 now this one's, this one's huge, 28:26 Protestantism. 28:28 Let me tell you something, my friends, 28:30 regardless of where you stand spiritually 28:32 in your walk with God, 28:34 and regardless of your opinion 28:35 about Protestantism or Catholicism 28:39 or any other ism out there, 28:41 it does not change the fact 28:44 that history makes it clear 28:46 that the early settlers of this nation 28:49 were Protestants. 28:50 They were fleeing Catholic persecution 28:54 and the bulk of our founding fathers, 28:56 the bulk of our government 28:57 and the principles on which, 28:59 on which this form of government functioned 29:02 was indeed Protestant, 29:04 Christian principles and ideology. 29:08 So again, Republicanism and Protestantism, 29:11 that's where you get these two horns, 29:12 but let's make no mistake, my friends, 29:15 when you look at and it says it has two horns like a lamb. 29:17 I find that to be very interesting. 29:20 First of all, we have to understand that 29:22 this is symbolic language 29:24 because I've personally never seen a lamb, 29:26 a legitimate lamb with horns. 29:28 But nonetheless, 29:29 we see prophetically here 29:31 that this nation is described as almost being lamb-like. 29:36 Now that's significant 29:37 because if you do a word search 29:38 just in the Book of Revelation alone, 29:41 the word lamb is mentioned 28 times 29:45 in the Book of Revelation, 29:47 27 of those 28 times 29:52 when in that, the word lamb is being used, 29:54 27 of the 28 times, 29:56 it's directly referring to Jesus Christ 30:00 as the lamb of God. 30:03 The only instance in which the word lamb is used 30:06 in which it's not directly speaking of 30:09 or identifying or, 30:11 you know, talking about Jesus Christ as the lamb. 30:14 It's right here in verse 11 of Revelation 13 30:18 in which it's applying this lamb like characteristic 30:22 to the second beast of Revelation 13, 30:25 this great United States nation. 30:29 Now, understand 30:31 even when I go back 30:32 and I'm not gonna to pull it up on the screen here, 30:33 but I just want to reference it. 30:35 Even when I go back and I read those two quotes 30:36 that we just read from Great Controversy 30:38 and Spirit of Prophecy. 30:40 We see again, that the words used here, 30:42 lamb-like horns indicate youthfulness, 30:45 innocence and gentleness, 30:47 fitly representing 30:48 the character of the United States. 30:51 No one is going to deny the fact, 30:53 if they are honest with themselves, 30:55 if they are intellectually honest 30:56 with themselves 30:57 that this nation, at least in its beginning 31:00 and throughout much of its history 31:02 was considered a Christian nation. 31:05 Now that doesn't mean that 31:06 it was officially entitled that, 31:09 but because we were established 31:10 upon Christian biblical principles, 31:13 or many of those Christian biblical principles 31:15 were in the back of many of our founding fathers' minds 31:17 when they were writing the Declaration of Independence 31:20 or the Constitution 31:21 and the amendments and the Bill of Rights 31:23 and all of these great, great governmental documentations 31:26 that teach and tell the character of this nation. 31:29 My friends, no one's gonna deny the fact 31:31 that somewhere in there flooded throughout 31:33 and behind every corner 31:36 is a biblical principle, 31:38 Christian characteristics. 31:43 Fleeing Roman persecution, 31:45 coming to this new world. 31:47 They wanted to establish a nation 31:49 in which they could worship freely 31:52 as Christians, Bible Christians. 31:56 Now we know I'm not gonna deny the fact 31:58 that yes, there were other religions 32:01 early on and later into the story 32:03 or the path of this nation. 32:05 People coming from Muslim faith 32:06 and people coming from Hinduistic faith, 32:08 and people coming from Buddhistic faith 32:10 or any other type of faith out there. 32:12 But let me tell you something, 32:14 if you could get in a time machine 32:15 and go back to 1776 and step foot on this land 32:18 and talk to the people, 32:19 the vast, large dominant majority opinion 32:22 and ideology that was shared in this nation 32:26 was Christian. 32:28 It was Protestant Christianity. 32:33 They wanted the freedom to be able to speak their mind 32:37 and speak clearly 32:38 and share their thoughts and ideas. 32:39 They couldn't do that in Western Europe. 32:41 Rome would penalize them for it. 32:45 They wanted the ability, 32:46 the freedom to be able to worship freely, 32:49 according to their conscience, 32:51 without someone persecuting them 32:52 or burning them alive at a stake. 32:55 And praise the Lord, we see this reflected 32:57 in our very first constitutional amendment. 33:01 We see there that it says Congress 33:04 shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion 33:09 or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. 33:14 That means our government is not to enforce religion 33:19 upon anyone, 33:20 but it's certainly not able to pass 33:22 or should not be passing any laws 33:23 or infringe upon the rights of people 33:26 to worship freely as they see. 33:30 But make no mistake about it. 33:32 When these laws were written, the men writing them, 33:36 the culture of the day, 33:37 the mentality of the day, 33:39 and I would even say 33:40 for the majority of the history of this nation, 33:44 and when these amendments and these rights, 33:46 and these principles were created, 33:47 it was created from the minds 33:49 of practicing Protestant Christians. 33:54 And we even see this reflected in many of our documentation, 33:57 you know, many, many different aspects 33:59 of American culture. 34:00 For instance, if you could just look at this, 34:02 just a simple list. 34:03 We see, you know, God's spoken about 34:04 in the Declaration of Independence. 34:07 We see even God professed there 34:09 even on our very currency still to this day. 34:11 In God we trust. 34:14 We see it written. 34:15 We see leaders writing about God and Jesus Christ, 34:18 the Bible and the Christian religion 34:21 in their memoirs and journals and in their speeches. 34:24 And we see biblical words and Christian principles, 34:28 Protestant ideology 34:30 plastered on the walls of monuments and buildings 34:33 all across this nation. 34:36 So for one to say 34:38 that the United States of America 34:39 was founded as a Christian nation, 34:41 that wouldn't be entirely wrong. 34:44 Although it was clearly created 34:46 for anyone to be able to come 34:49 and freely practice their religion. 34:51 No matter what it was, 34:53 without any persecution. 34:57 Even the very first president of the United States, 35:02 George Washington himself, 35:03 which many people accuse of being a deist, 35:06 you know, not necessarily a Christian, 35:07 but a deist. 35:09 I would argue the fact that 35:10 he might have struggled with his faith 35:12 and struggled with his ideas 35:14 about Christianity throughout his life. 35:16 But there's no doubt about it, 35:17 that he professed his belief in Jesus Christ 35:20 as his Lord and Savior. 35:22 You can find many, many documents 35:23 and in many different writings where he's praying to. 35:27 And he's praying for his people in the name of Jesus. 35:30 And in making his statements clear 35:32 that he is a Christian. 35:33 But here's one beautiful quote that I had to share 35:36 from George Washington 35:37 about this was actually his fare... 35:40 in his farewell speech. 35:42 So as the administration of George Washington 35:44 is about to transition 35:45 to the second president of the United States. 35:46 John Adams, 35:48 we see as Washington is giving his farewell speech. 35:51 And by the way, you can Google it, 35:52 just Google George Washington's farewell speech. 35:54 I encourage you to read it. 35:55 It's powerful, powerful speech. 35:58 You see, George Washington was not affiliated 35:59 with any political body. 36:01 He wasn't Republican, He wasn't Democrat, 36:03 but he was the very first president 36:04 of these United States. 36:06 And this is what he had to say about religion in America 36:09 in his farewell speech. 36:11 Notice what he said. 36:12 He said, 36:13 "Let us with caution 36:15 indulge the supposition 36:17 that morality can be maintained without religion. 36:22 Whatever may be conceded to the influence 36:24 of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, 36:29 reason and experience both forbid us to expect 36:34 that national morality can prevail in exclusion 36:39 of religious principle." 36:42 The very first president of the United States, 36:44 as he's leaving office, 36:45 he says, let me make it clear. 36:47 He says, if you think that this nation 36:49 is going to continue to be able to live up to moral principles 36:53 and to be a moral nation 36:55 with moral principles and moral guidelines, 36:59 and you want this nation to continue 37:02 taking religion completely out of it 37:04 is not the answer, 37:05 because then its moral decline will continue 37:08 and it will be completed. 37:11 Even the second president of the United States, 37:14 John Adams had this to say. 37:16 He said, 37:17 "Suppose a nation in some distant region 37:20 should take the Bible for their only law book 37:23 and every member should regulate his conduct 37:26 by the precepts there exhibited." 37:28 He says, 37:29 "What a Utopia, what a Paradise would this region be!" 37:34 John Adams was notorious for being a staunch Christian 37:37 upholding as many biblical principles as possible. 37:39 Now, again, I wanna make it very clear. 37:40 That doesn't mean these men were perfect. 37:42 And it certainly doesn't mean they didn't commit sins. 37:44 They were worthy of strong rebuke. 37:46 And worthy, you know, 37:48 it needed to be repented of, for sure. 37:50 But nonetheless, 37:52 the imperfect men that they were, 37:54 they believed in the Christian principles. 37:55 And in leading this nation, 37:57 they wanted to continue to uphold the fact 37:59 that this in their mind was a Christian nation 38:01 founded on Christian Protestant, 38:04 biblical ideology. 38:07 The great Samuel Adams, father of this, 38:09 one of the founding fathers of this nation 38:12 and a great publicist. 38:13 He even signed the Declaration of Independence. 38:15 Notice what he had to say. 38:17 In fact, this was his recommendation. 38:20 This was his cry to the people of Massachusetts 38:24 in which he served. 38:26 He told them to pray these words, 38:27 and this is what he says. 38:29 He says, 38:30 "Pray that we may with one heart and voice 38:33 humbly implore His gracious and free pardon 38:35 through Jesus Christ, 38:37 supplicating His Divine aid, 38:39 and above all to cause the religion of Jesus Christ, 38:43 in its true spirit, 38:44 to spread far and wide to the whole earth 38:46 shall be filled with His glory." 38:50 These were Christian men 38:51 believing in the biblical scriptures, 38:54 believing in the principles and ideology 38:56 of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 38:59 Even the great Patrick Henry, 39:01 famous for his speech to Virginia 39:03 as he was the first Virginian government. 39:05 The first Virginian governor. 39:07 And he said those famous words, 39:09 "Give me liberty or give me death." 39:12 But he had also these words to say on one occasion. 39:14 He said, 39:15 "Being a Christian is a character which I prize 39:19 far above all this world has or can boast." 39:24 And, of course, on a second occasion, he said, 39:26 "Righteousness alone can exalt America as a nation. 39:32 Whoever thou art, remember this, 39:34 and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, 39:37 and encourage it in others." 39:40 I love that, 39:41 the fact that he's willing to openly declare 39:44 to the nation, to the people 39:45 and to the people that he's serving there. 39:47 He says, hey, 39:48 we need to uphold Christian biblical principles. 39:50 My friends, early on there's no denying it 39:52 that this nation was established 39:53 on Christian principles, 39:55 at least with Christian ideas 39:56 as we were growing into the nation 39:58 that we were becoming. 39:59 Even the very first chief justice 40:02 of the Supreme Court 40:03 ever elected, 40:05 John Jay had these words to say. 40:07 He said, 40:09 "Providence has given to our people 40:11 the choice of their rulers, and it is the privileged duty," 40:15 notice, 40:16 "and it is the duty of as well as the privilege 40:19 and interest of our Christian nation, 40:22 to select and prefer Christians 40:24 for their rulers." 40:26 This was the mindset of our founding fathers 40:29 and even all the way up 40:31 to the 34th Congress of the United States 40:34 in 1856 on the floor of Congress, 40:39 this is what one of the leaders had to say. 40:41 He said, 40:42 "The great, vital 40:44 and conservative element in our system 40:47 is the belief of our people 40:49 in the pure doctrines and the divine truths 40:53 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." 40:56 My friends, make no mistake. 40:58 This nation was founded upon the ideas 41:00 and the principles of Christianity. 41:03 And I could go on and on listing more and more people, 41:05 names like John Quincy Adams, Alexander Hamilton, 41:09 John Hancock, James Madison, George Mason, John Morton, 41:13 Noah Webster, 41:14 the father of American education. 41:17 My friends, when you look at this list, 41:18 these were all men, 41:20 fathers, founding fathers of this great nation, 41:22 all Christians who made a great impact 41:25 and served as leaders in this nation. 41:27 And let me tell you something, my friends, 41:29 we're talking about the early stages 41:30 of American history. 41:31 I think that's clearly been established 41:33 up to this point 41:34 that we were established 41:36 upon Christian Protestant principles, 41:37 okay, from the Bible. 41:39 But let me make this clear. 41:40 You can even study the path, 41:42 continue to study the path of our nation 41:44 all the way up to say 1955. 41:46 I looked up some statistics and even in 1955, 41:50 some 170 plus years 41:52 after this nation had already been established. 41:55 And many, many things had happened. 41:57 In 1955, check this out, 92% of America was Christian. 42:03 And you can see the breakdown of statistics below that, 42:05 70% were Protestant. 42:07 Don't miss that, 42:09 70% of that 92% was Protestant, 42:12 22% were Catholic, 4% were Jewish, 42:15 2% were of other religions, 42:17 you know, Hinduism, Buddhism, 42:18 you know, Islam, all those things. 42:20 And, of course, the 3% at that particular time in 1955 42:25 did not take any religious belief. 42:26 They just said, you know what? 42:28 We don't, we're not affiliated with any religion. 42:30 We don't really necessarily believe in religion. 42:31 But nonetheless, 42:33 92% of America in 1955 were professed Christians, 42:37 70% of that Protestants, right? 42:40 My friends, there's no doubt about it 42:44 that this nation for a long time 42:46 chose a path as imperfect as it was. 42:49 And let me just say this for the record, 42:51 even as I'm saying all these things 42:53 as if I'm just uplifting 42:54 all of the great Christian ideas 42:56 that we had as a nation, 42:57 does that mean that we didn't make mistakes? 42:59 Oh my goodness. 43:00 Did we make our mistakes? 43:02 Were there men and women in this nation 43:04 that in professing the name of Jesus Christ 43:06 did horrible things and practiced horrible things 43:09 and brought oppression upon people for, 43:11 you know, some very, very long time, 43:14 such as slavery and many other things. 43:16 Yes. 43:17 We have some very dark stains upon the times 43:20 in which we as a nation chose its character to be Christian. 43:25 So I'm certainly not saying that in that early stages 43:27 or even all the way up 43:28 that we were just such a perfect nation, 43:30 because many of the things 43:31 I'm very, very much ashamed of. 43:33 And I'm ashamed to tell 43:35 a lot of the history of this nation 43:37 under that Christian principled banner 43:40 that we claim it to be. 43:44 But even as it may appear like a lamb, 43:48 the Bible says 43:50 that eventually, 43:52 and this is our point number five. 43:53 Eventually it will speak as a dragon. 43:59 Notice Revelation13:11 one more time. 44:02 It says, 44:03 "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, 44:05 and he had two horns like a lamb, 44:08 and he spoke like a dragon." 44:13 Oh, how the tides have shifted in this nation 44:18 in recent decades. 44:21 The same United States of yesterday 44:24 is not the same United States of today. 44:27 That once proudly proclaimed 44:29 and identified Christian nation, 44:32 can no longer claim that 44:34 as the statistics 44:35 and the clear observations of what we're seeing around us, 44:39 the fruits of this nation shows 44:40 that we have went full on beast mode. 44:45 And I'm gonna make this very clear. 44:48 That, you know, something's messed up about this story. 44:52 When you see that 44:53 this is really the only institution 44:56 in all spoken of all the Bible 44:58 that is described as both lamb like 45:01 and dragon like. 45:03 A lamb and a dragon to describe this nation. 45:06 What a deep and drastically different comparison 45:10 and contrasting idea. 45:11 A lamb like yet dragon like nation, 45:15 that's the United States. 45:17 Let me show you some startling statistics 45:20 just in the past 66 years, 45:22 how America has drastically changed 45:25 from what it once was to what it is now. 45:27 If we compare 1955, 45:28 to what I just showed you earlier 45:30 to the year 2020, okay? 45:32 Look at the statistics now, 45:35 68%, now I'm looking at this right side over here. 45:38 You have the 1955 statistics on the left there. 45:41 Now we're looking on the right side. 45:43 We see 2020, 68% of America is Christian. 45:47 And you may look at that and say, 45:49 "Oh, Ryan, that's a great thing. 45:50 It's still the majority." 45:51 Oh, but look 45:53 at the drastic number changes below. 45:55 Where it once was 70% Protestant, 45:57 now it is only 37% Protestant. 46:01 Of course, Catholicism is still holding out 46:03 at their 22%, 46:04 which is actually a big deal. 46:07 And then notice over here, 46:08 non-specific 46:09 that's in the category we didn't have in 1955. 46:12 Non-Specific these are people that say, I believe in Jesus. 46:16 I claim to be under Christianity 46:18 as a believer, 46:19 but I'm not necessarily Protestant, 46:21 I'm not Catholic. 46:23 I'm just Christian, I'm just whatever. 46:24 So I'm non-specific Christian. 46:26 That's 9%. 46:28 And then, of course, 2% is Jewish. 46:31 And, of course, 6% is other that is, 46:35 you know, the Hinduism and the Buddhism and the Islam 46:38 and all the other different religions 46:40 that are not Christian, 6%. 46:42 But if we can pull that back up on the screen, 46:44 I want you to see this bottom number, 46:46 which is so shocking. 46:47 Notice when 1955, 46:49 only 3% of the population was of no religion at all. 46:53 In other words, it could be atheist, 46:54 could be agnostic, 46:56 no affiliation at all. 46:58 But notice here in 2020, 47:00 nearly one quarter of our entire nation 47:04 claims to be non-Christian or non-religious. 47:09 Has America changed? 47:12 Are we different than yesterday or yesteryear? 47:17 In fact, recent poll as of even as early as, recent as 2018, 47:23 shows that less than half of Americans, 47:26 49% believe that 47:29 all the 10 commandments are still relevant today. 47:33 What? 47:35 Talk about a drastic change? 47:37 That's a drastic change. 47:38 Less than half of America at 49% 47:42 statistically have admitted 47:44 that they believe 47:45 that the 10 commandments are still relevant today. 47:48 In fact, I found another study, 47:51 a survey that was done by the Kelton Research. 47:55 And notice this, 47:57 they were basically polling Americans 48:00 to respond to a comparison 48:03 of what they knew about McDonald's Big Mac Burger 48:08 and the 10 commandments. 48:10 A survey by Kelton Research found 48:12 80% of American respondents 48:16 could name the Big Mac's primary ingredient, 48:20 which is two all-beef patties, 48:22 but less than six in ten 48:26 knew the commandment thou shalt not kill. 48:31 Get this, less than half of the respondents, 48:35 45% could recall the commandment 48:39 honor thy father and mother, 48:42 but 62% of this same group knew that 48:46 the Big Mac included a pickle or some pickle on it. 48:52 Bobby and Peter, 48:55 the latest recalled names 48:57 from the fictional Brady Bunch Family 49:01 were remembered by 43% of the respondents. 49:06 Topping the 34% who knew the commandment that says, 49:11 remember the Sabbath day, 49:13 and only 29% 49:16 recalling the commandment that says 49:18 thou shalt not worship other gods 49:21 or bow down to false images or idols. 49:23 My friends, has America changed? 49:26 Have we become a little more dragon like? 49:28 I believe we've entered full beast mode 2.0. 49:31 We're just a second beast of that first beast. 49:36 Check this out. 49:37 The statistics comparing 49:38 what happened in night crime in the 1960s 49:42 versus 2019, 2020. 49:45 I say that 2019, 2020, 49:47 because I had to take an average 49:48 of some of these between the two years. 49:50 But get this, 2000, this is 1960, murders, 49:54 all the murders in 1960, as horrible as it is, 49:57 was 9, 110 people died 50:00 because they were murdered in 1960. 50:03 There in 2000, there in 2019, 50:06 the number was 16, 425 people murdered. 50:10 And I looked at the statistics for 2020, 50:12 over 19, 000 people murdered in 2020. 50:18 In 1960, there were 17,190 rapes. 50:23 Horrible. 50:26 In 2019 and 20, 50:28 325,566 rapes. 50:35 In 2000, excuse me, 50:36 1960, there were 154, 320 cases 50:41 of aggravated assault. 50:44 2019, 2020, 821,182. 50:51 Theft was over 2 million in 1960. 50:55 That's horrible, right? 50:57 But theft today in 2020, it's over 6 million. 51:04 Six million thefts. 51:07 And don't get me started 51:09 on the murdering of innocent babies. 51:11 Abortion 51:13 as controversial as a subject that is 51:15 not gonna get too much into it. 51:17 I'm just gonna make it very clear 51:18 that as a Christian, 51:19 I stand against the idea of murdering unborn babies. 51:24 I stand strongly against it. 51:26 Abortions in 1960, 292. 51:32 That's horrible. 51:35 Abortions today, 2020, 51:39 over a million. 51:43 That's 300,000 unborn babies 51:47 being murdered every single day. 51:51 I looked at the worldwide numbers. 51:52 It's even worse, 51:54 more than 42 million unborn babies 51:57 being murdered worldwide. 51:59 My friends, what in a world we've come to. 52:02 Matthew 24:12 says, 52:05 "And because lawlessness will abound, 52:07 the love of many will grow cold." 52:09 Is that the truth for America? 52:10 You better believe that's the truth for America. 52:12 Because lawlessness, 52:14 we don't even believe in the 10 commandments anymore. 52:16 Less than half of the population believes 52:18 that the 10 commandments are irrelevant. 52:20 The very law that governs heaven 52:21 is irrelevant 52:23 in this so-called Christian nation. 52:26 2 Timothy 3:1-2, 52:28 listen to this horrible list 52:30 and tell me if it doesn't fit the description 52:31 of what we're living in today. 52:33 It says, 52:34 "But know this, 52:36 that in the last days perilous times will come: 52:37 For men will be lovers of themselves, 52:39 lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, 52:42 disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 52:45 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, 52:47 without self-control, 52:48 brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, 52:51 lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 52:53 having a form of godliness but denying its power. 52:58 And from such people turn away!" 53:03 We are a different nation. 53:07 We are not the same Christian nation 53:08 that we were before. 53:10 And you know what? 53:11 There may be someone watching at home right now 53:13 and saying, "Oh, that's a good thing." 53:14 You look around at society today. 53:15 You look at the America we have today. 53:17 And as horrible as some of the events 53:19 were of the past, 53:21 you look at it today 53:23 and it's four times worse, 53:24 three times worse, 10 times worse. 53:26 You come up with the number. 53:30 In the 1950s and 60s, 53:31 there were executive orders signed 53:34 and sodomy laws 53:36 that existed in establishing cultural principles 53:38 against homosexuality. 53:42 But yet recent polls show them 53:43 more than 72% of American citizens 53:45 believe the LGBTQ movement is a great thing. 53:49 And right now currently we have over 11 million people, 53:52 4.5% of the American population. 53:55 They claim to be, 53:57 you know, lesbian, gay, or transgender 53:59 or some other version. 54:03 My friends, can we say beast mode? 54:07 America has entered full beast mode. 54:10 You know what I have about four, five, six, seven, 54:13 I don't know other slides here. 54:15 I don't even have time to present, 54:16 so much information here 54:18 on how the United States has changed. 54:22 We've become more of a political nation, 54:25 more allegiant to a presidential candidate 54:28 than we have the God of the universe 54:30 and the God for which this nation 54:31 is supposed to stand for. 54:34 My goodness, 54:36 we have literally turned into a modern Israel, my friends. 54:41 I'm not gonna have them put this, 54:42 put any more slides up at this point. 54:45 But I just wanna take the last couple of minutes 54:47 to just remind you, my friends, 54:48 of what the Bible actually says. 54:52 Israel rejected God as their King. 54:55 They said, "We want a man to rule us." 54:58 And the attitude of Americans today 55:00 as we, again, like I said, 55:01 we are more allegiant to, 55:03 to a presidential candidate of some sort, 55:05 believing that a man can solve the problems of this nation. 55:10 Vote for Trump. 55:12 He's for Jesus. 55:13 My goodness, where have we lost our minds. 55:16 Vote for Biden. He's going to bring us back. 55:18 Really? 55:21 My friends, how about vote for Jesus Christ? 55:24 Jesus Christ is the answer to our problems. 55:28 We should have a separation of church and state. 55:31 I'm certainly not saying we should, 55:33 you know, take our Christianity and our Bible 55:35 and you know, 55:37 go in and start enforcing Christian laws and principles. 55:39 That's certainly not what I'm saying. 55:40 What I'm saying is 55:42 in the hearts and minds of the citizens, 55:43 we need to turn back to the God who established this nation. 55:47 But yet we have pushed Him out. 55:50 We've pushed Him out of our government. 55:52 We've pushed Him out of our schools. 55:54 We've pushed Him out of our churches in many cases. 55:57 And we for sure 55:58 have pushed Him out of our homes. 56:02 My friends, we have become 56:03 a replication of that first beast. 56:07 And that's what Revelation 13 says. 56:09 It says, "It will become an image to the first beast." 56:13 Go read those last verses. 56:14 Verses 12, 56:16 all the way through to verse 18 in Revelation 13. 56:21 We need a people 56:22 who will rise up in these last days 56:25 and say, you know what? 56:26 I've read the back of the book. 56:28 I know the story. 56:29 God's word has spoken. 56:31 I don't care how many Trumps or Bidens 56:33 or however many presidential candidates you vote for 56:36 think they can solve 56:37 the problems of this nation, my friends. 56:40 No man can. 56:42 And no man will. 56:48 So as we close today, 56:51 I pray that we be brought back to the heart of true worship 56:57 and the God of the universe, 57:01 Jesus Christ. 57:02 Will you pray with me? 57:04 Will you repent if need be 57:05 and say, Lord, come into my heart. 57:07 Let's pray. 57:08 Father in heaven, 57:11 forgive us our sins, Lord. 57:14 Heal us, Lord, 57:15 in creating us a clean heart 57:17 and renew a right spirit within us, 57:20 taking away our distractions of the world 57:22 and this horrible nation around us 57:24 and being turned back to you, Lord. 57:27 That's my prayer in Jesus' name for me and for all. 57:31 We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. |
Revised 2021-04-23