Monday, March 9, 2009

ARMAGEDDON(Part 10)Evangelist: Lawrence Nelson

The purpose of this subject is to discover the inspired meaning of Armageddon. Many of you who listen will be surprised to learn that the battle of Armageddon is not exactly as you have heard it in the past. Many evangelists have endeavored to draw crowds by sensational preaching but Armageddon is not a battle between the East and West. Neither does the Bible teach that the battle of Armageddon agrees with the secret rapture theory believed by most Protestant churches of today.
Now, before we get down to some serious Bible study, let us first seek God's wisdom that we might understand divine inspiration. Will you join me in prayer? Our loving Father, we praise Thee for giving to us in Thy Word a detailed description of what we might expect in this end time. Grant us Thy Holy Spirit that we might comprehend Thy divine predictions, for we want to be found on the winning side in the battle of Armageddon. We ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Let us begin this study by reading Revelation 16:13-16. "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." This divine instruction leads us to ask some questions. What is the cause for this battle of Armageddon? Where does this battle take place? Who are the participants? When does it begin? How will it end? Who will win? We will be satisfied with Bible answers. As we proceed, let us keep in mind that every earthly war that has ever existed on this planet has been fought by two opposing sides. The battle of Armageddon is no exception. The Bible states clearly that one army will be completely annihilated when victory is achieved so it is important that we are found on the winning side.
Let us first determine the cause of Armageddon. There is always a reason for war between two sovereign powers. We will discover that the Bible teaches that Armageddon is a great war between the eternal God of the universe and His loyal subjects, who are in a fight to the death with the devil and his army who have accepted Satan as their god. Believe it or not, the cause for which these two opposing powers are fighting is to determine who is to be worshiped - Christ or Satan. Armageddon is a fight started by Lucifer to overthrow Jehovah and to remove Christ from the throne so that Satan could sit on God's throne. It is a battle to deify the man of sin, the devil himself.
One thing that we can learn from the history of warfare on this planet is that before a war ends in final victory there are many smaller battles. Take for example, World War II. Many of us can remember that there were a number of battles which prepared the way for the final battle, such as the battle for the English Channel, the battle of Leningrad, and the Battle of the Bulge. All of these battles led finally to the battle for Berlin and victory. In this study we will discover that Armageddon is composed of seven major battles which we will consider one by one.
Let us take the first - the battle in heaven to overthrow God's throne . This was an actual battle that took place more than six thousand years ago. Isaiah 14:12-14 explains the cause for this war, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." Lucifer was so filled with pride and self-conceit that he attempted to cast Christ from heaven's throne and place himself on the throne of the universe. He was determined to usurp the power of God.
In order to do this he promised the angels of God that he would change heaven's law of love to God and obedience, and provide them with a government based on love of self in which all of his subject could obey the desires of their own heart. In order to accomplish this he demanded that they accept him as their leader and surrender to his dictatorship. One must never underestimate the seriousness of this coup in heaven. It divided all of heaven's angels into two opposing sides. Christ and His obedient subjects consisted of some two-thirds of the angels, while Satan and the remaining one-third of the angels joined in the attempt to overthrow the government of God. This was the first of seven battles which scripture calls Armageddon.
Revelation 12: 7-9 describes how the first battle took place in heaven. "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." The outcome of this first battle is very clear. Christ expels Satan and his angels from heaven, but we must keep in mind that the issues over which the first battle was fought are the same for which the next six battles took place. God does not change His divine principles on which His government is based, and neither does Satan who continued to use the same evil methods of battle which he used in heaven, namely deception, flattery, doubt and downright lies.
This takes us to battle number two. The second battle took place in the Garden of Eden. Satan having been cast out of heaven into this earth, which had recently been created, determined to capture Adam and Eve and set up an earthly kingdom in which he would be the god of this planet. The details are found in Genesis 3: 1-6, "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
The fall of Adam and Eve has changed the lives of every living person on this earth, for it brought sorrow, pain, sickness, and death to all. By capturing our first parents, Satan was able to seize control of this world and demand of his earthly subjects that they worship him as a god. Thus he became the dictator of planet Earth for hundreds of years. Satan continued to spread his evil teachings causing universal wickedness.
This brings us to battle number three. The next battle, which climaxed in a worldwide flood, took Satan but a short time to conquer. As man multiplied on the face of the earth, millions upon millions decided to accept Satan's counterfeit government until almost every living soul joined on the devil's side. The Bible puts it in these words found in Genesis 6:11-13, "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, (This brings us to battle number three - the next battle, which climaxed in a world-wide flood) The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." So when the flood came, only eight individuals could be found on earth who were still faithful to God and obedient to His commands.
In these wars, God is not concerned by numbers, for His kingdom is based strictly on love, truth and obedience. So what does God do with a world that is completely dominated by Satan? No problem. Listen to Genesis 6:5, 17, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die."
After the flood begins the next battle - number four. This battle begins to take place soon after the flood in the days of Nimrod. God now decides to develop a special people whose father would be called Abraham. His descendents where to separate from Satan's idolatrous people and settle in the land of Palestine where Jerusalem was to become its capital. It was God's plan that His people would be so successful that they would attract all nations who would discover that the best government for the people was based on truth, love, and obedience.
But Satan quickly developed his battle plan. He gained control of a man named Nimrod who developed a kingdom for Satan called Babel. These people defied God by building a tower so high they believed that God could not destroy it. But God dispersed these evil people by confounding their one language into the many languages now known in this world. With a mighty stroke of lightning God destroyed the tower of Babel. Satan salvaged what he could and began to build the city of Babylon on the nearby banks of the Euphrates River. He patterned this city after the Holy City of Jerusalem from which he had been cast out. Satan hoped desperately that Babylon would become the capital of Satan's world empire.
These two warring sides each have a totally different object. God's people, the Jews, were to display God's government of love in which God promised to give His only Son as a sacrifice for man's sins and to provide freedom of choice and eventual everlasting life to every obedient subject. At the same time Satan's kingdom, composed of paganism, demanded the sacrifice of sons and daughter of all of his followers who were to be offered alive to their pagan god, called Baal, in order to appease the wrath of the devil. Satan instituted the worship of the sun as a god to be served in fear. The Bible speaks of this, Satan's kingdom, in Isaiah 14:16,17, "Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?"
But wonder of wonders, Jesus Christ, heaven's commander, comes down to this world in person to face the devil, revealing in person the character of His kingdom. Satan could not contain himself and he immediately revealed himself as a murderer. Revelation 12:4,5 explains it in this way, "And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne." It is here that we discover that God the Son, who could not die, prepared himself with a body that could die. He comes to this earth, ruled by Satan, to live as a man, proving to the universe that God's holy law could be obeyed in love by all of his followers.
Satan tried every temptation that he could invent to try to force Christ to sin and become his subject, but he totally failed. Infuriated, he invaded God's Jewish church and captured its priests and rulers who, as subjects of Satan, demanded Christ to be crucified. Jesus died the death that should have been ours, proving what God had said of Satan in John 8:44, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
It was Satan's plan to keep Christ in the tomb and then establish his throne here on this earth. But Christ arose in victory over death because He said, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Revelation 1:18. In dying for you and for me, Christ won the right to redeem man, and to recapture the ownership of this world. But the battle of Armageddon was still far from over.
This brings us to battle number five which is taking place from the day of Christ's resurrection to that of our day. Since the Jewish church and the nation rejected their Savior and crucified Him, Jesus declared in Matthew 23: 37,38, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." Now it is Christ who attacks Satan by establishing a Christian church based on His eternal principles of love and obedience, and challenging His followers to go and make converts out of Satan's subjects, the Gentiles. The good news of a Savior that loved man so much that He would die to save them, and promise eternal life to those that obeyed His commandments spread like wild fire among the Gentiles. Satan was stunned. The gospel spread throughout the entire world in one generation and Satan's subjects were converted to Christianity by the tens of thousands.
Like a madman Satan now attacked the Christian church with relentless persecution, but the blood of Christians only proved as seed for new converts. So Satan decided to change his tactics and to use the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind. He ordered his pagan subjects to join the Christian church - not to become Christians at heart, but to infiltrate God's true church and thereby change the gospel of Christ. The apostle Paul warned of this danger in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-7, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way."
But this warning was overlooked by the majority of God's people within the church. Tired of the many years of persecution and amazed at the tremendous number of pagans professing to be converts the church, now filled with unconverted pagans, demanded that the blood-bought doctrines of Christianity be compromised with their pagan traditions. Thus the false teaching that man could save himself by his works took hold in Christianity. Also the worship of images of saints now found their way into the church. As paganism gradually succeeded in planting its pagan doctrines within the church, it finally became so strong as to demand that the Christians forsake the seventh-day Sabbath and keep Sunday, the first day dedicated to their sun god. Almost every divine doctrine was compromised by the traditions of paganism. This is how the papal religion developed which God called in Revelation a mixture of Christianity and paganism.
History reveals the results, known as the Dark Ages, in which Satan almost succeeded in destroying the truth by prohibiting the Word of God to be read by the people. But God raised up some mighty men in spite of Rome's restrictions, men such as John Wycliffe, Jerome, Huss, Luther and others who, with God's help, began the Protestant Reformation. Eventually the Bible was restored to the common people and this brought the papacy to its knees and made it possible for Napoleon to inflict a deadly wound upon the papal institution by bringing an end to the 1260 years reign of the pope.
Now God was in a position to give His last warning to the world. He startled the inhabitants with the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755. This was followed by the darkening of the sun and causing the moon to appear as blood in 1780. Finally God brought about the falling of the stars in 1833, all of which He had predicted in Revelation 6:12, 13, "Lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind." It was thus that God prepared the world for the final end-time warning message of the three angels, which you have been hearing in this series of tapes, declaring that earth's judgment day had arrived and that Babylon is fallen. Do not receive the mark of the beast for you will be destroyed by the brightness of Christ's Second Coming.
Satan knows that it is time for Christ's Second Coming so he is now uniting the religions of the world by a great ecumenical program which will ultimately place the pope in control of all the religions of the world. Furthermore, at the same time Satan is gaining control of the nations of the world in the United Nations government that will finally be directed by the pope as portrayed in the woman of Revelation 18 as the papal church riding the beast and all the world wonders.
This brings us to the most decisive battle, number six, of Armageddon which will now take place as revealed in Revelation 19:11-20 when Jesus Christ comes. "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. ... (Now notice) And I saw the beast (that's the papacy), and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army."
These two great opposing armies are thus revealed fighting each other to the death. One side is led by the Creator of heaven and earth, with all those who bear His signet - keeping all the commandments of God. On the other side stands the prince of darkness, with those who have chosen to obey tradition and rebel. Each side will clearly reveal their allegiance. God's people will bear the seal of God - the seventh-day Sabbath; the other side, the mark of the beast - keeping the first day, Sunday. Both armies consider the opposite side to be worthy of treason. Those who obey God will be considered as committing treason to the New World Order. Those who obey the pope will be considered by God as committing treason to His divine law. This battle will be fought to the finish.
I am afraid that few realize how great this coming battle will be, for each person on the face of the earth will be forced to make a decision either to fight and die for Satan, or to rather die than sin for Jesus Christ. John the Revelator was shown the enormity of this battle. He tells us that men's hearts will fail them for fear. He saw the earth moved out of its place, its mountains thrown into the midst of the sea. He tells of the vials of God's wrath being poured out in seven last plagues bringing pestilence, famine and death to those on the side of Satan.
This is all revealed in Revelation 19:17 - 21, "And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. ... And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."
But there is also the greatest news ever to be realized. At the Second Coming of Christ all who have died in the last 6000 years in these battles of Armageddon and been obedient to Christ's holy Word will be resurrected to live again. Those who are alive in this end time and would rather die than sin by accepting the mark of the beast will join the resurrected saints without experiencing death. Both the resurrected and the living saints will meet the Lord in the clouds and receive immortal life. Praise the Lord. However, the followers of Satan will be consumed by the brightness of Christ's Second Coming. The Bible states in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, "And then shall the Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." Thus ends battle number six of Armageddon.
But there is still one more final engagement. This brings us to battle number seven, of Armageddon, which takes place 1000 years later. During that period of time the devil and his angels will be confined to this desolate earth with all of his wicked dead. "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." Revelation 20:1, 2.
During this thousand years God will convene a judgment session in heaven to consider the fate of the wicked. Revelation 20:12 reads, "I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." At the conclusion of the judgment of the wicked the saints of God, who have been living in heaven with Jesus, will gather together in the New Jerusalem that will then descend from heaven down to this earth as we read in Revelation 21:2, 10, "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ... And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God."
With the New Jerusalem safely positioned here on this planet Earth, Christ calls forth the wicked in the second resurrection. Once more the wicked will live under the control of Satan whom they have chosen to obey. Immediately Satan organizes this vast army of the wicked in a battle array to surround the Holy City in which the saints of God are now living. His plan is to take the city, with the saints, and sit on heaven's throne. His plans are thwarted as God unleashes the fires of hell and annihilates every one of the wicked who have been resurrected. This fire also destroys the devil and his angels. Listen as I read God's description of this final battle of Armageddon. "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Revelation 20:7-10.
Satan will be no more for I read in Ezekiel 28:18,19 where God describes the end of Lucifer, "Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." Oh, how we should thank God. What a day of victory this will be.
It is then that we can expect the wonderful scene shown John the Revelator as he tells us in Revelation 21:1, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. ... And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." Praise the Lord!
Oh, beloved, I plan to be there with Jesus in this earth made new, how about you? I beg you in the name of our blessed Savior to decide this very moment that you will join God's remnant people who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. I'll see you in heaven.
Let us pray. Oh loving God, how we thank Thee for Thy wonderful gift of Jesus that one day soon we might live with Thee. Please help these dear listeners to be faithful in their decision to keep the commandments of God and ever remember the divine power of divinity is able to keep them from falling. For I read in Thy holy word in Jude 24, 25, "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." Praise God! With such a promise, we shall all meet at the feet of Jesus to ever praise His holy name.
www.ElderNelson.com

Sunday, March 8, 2009

THE SCARLET WOMAN OF REVELATION 17(Part 9)Evangelist: Lawrence Nelson

Our subject is the scarlet woman of Revelation 17, number nine in this series. In this message we shall deal with God's final warning to the inhabitants of this world as found in Revelation 14:8. "And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." The rejection of this warning message will bring forth the wrath of God. Revelation 14:9-10 tells us, "The third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb."
You have listened to eight of these studies, and now I ask you to pay close attention as we put these divine predictions together. Before we do this we must pray for heavenly guidance. Our loving Father, we are nearing the end of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. Please open our understanding to these inspired prophecies so we may know what is expected of each of us to prepare for Christ's Second Coming. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
Today the entire world is captivated by the pope's increasing political and religious dealings. This is exactly what God said would happen. Since 1929 the papal deadly wound has been healing. Revelation 13:3 tells us, "And his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." In this our day almost every nation on earth has its ambassador to the Vatican. Even the United States of America has circumvented its Constitution by appointing an ambassador to the Vatican on January 10, 1984.
For some 25 years the Catholic ecumenical movement, planned by Vatican's two councils, has been accomplishing its deadly purpose. Today it is no wonder that it has become unpopular to preach God's warning message which you have been hearing on these tapes. In a book The Keys of This Blood, by Malachi Martin (a Jesuit), the struggle of the papacy to regain control of this world is clearly outlined on p. 15. I quote, "It is about who will establish the first one-world system of government in the society of nations. It is about who will hold and wield the dual power of authority and control over each of us as individuals and over all of us together as a community; over the entire six billion people are expected by demographers to inhabit the earth early in the third millennium." Then just listen to this, "Our way of life as individuals and as citizens of the nations; our families and our jobs; our trade and commerce and money; our educational system and our religions and our cultures; even the badges of our national identity, which most of us have taken for granted - all will have been powerfully and radically altered forever. No one can be exempted from its effects. No sector of our lives will remain untouched." This is a picture of what the papacy is planning to do when it will gain control of this world.
So few people seem to realize that the pope will become the head of the New World Order and rule the world through the United Nations. For some time it has been common knowledge that the Vatican has been asked to be seated as its world power in the United Nations. On October 5, 2003 the National Catholic Register officially took this step with the headline, "The Vatican is Open to the Full Membership of the United Nations," p. 4. There is no question that the papacy is planning to rule the world.
Now let us look at the last universal world power of prophetic prophecy. You will find this in your visual aid - beast #8. Notice carefully the divine description as found in Revelation 17:1 - 5, "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
Before we study this tremendous prophecy let us briefly review what God has already revealed in Daniel 2, in Daniel 7 and in Revelation 12, 13 and 14. This will prepare us to understand the prophecy of the scarlet woman. Now, why has God seen it necessary to reveal the dragon power in four different prophecies? Because God, the Creator of our minds, knows the learning process which is so necessary to education. Thus the Lord teaches the simple before presenting the complex. Like a child entering school, he must first learn to add and subtract before he can master algebra or geometry.
Let us quickly review the most simple prophecy of Daniel 2. God begins with the image of a man whose head of gold represented the empire of Babylon (compare beast #2), the chest of silver represented Medo-Persia (beast #3) and the belly and thighs of brass representing Greece (beast #4), the legs of iron stood for pagan Rome and the feet with ten toes a mixture of iron and clay - the division of pagan Rome into ten kingdoms (as you compare beast #5) - out of which papal Rome developed to rule the world (as you find in your visual aid #6). This prophecy of the world kingdoms comes to an amazing climax with a mighty stone destroying the entire image structure representing what will take place at the Second Coming of Christ. For the scripture states, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." Daniel 2:44.
The second prophecy of world governments is found in Daniel 7 which gives the details of how each world kingdom developed and was overthrown by a succeeding power. For instance, the lion rose in 606 BC (beast #2) which is called Babylon, which had wings. Archeologists discovered this was the exact symbol of Babylon. Next came a bear in 538 BC (beast #3) which devoured the three ribs - or provinces - of Babylon and became lifted up on one side when the Persians overthrew the Medes. Then came the next, the leopard in 331 BC (beast #4) with wings revealing the swiftness in which Alexander the Great conquered the world. The four heads revealed that when Alexander died his four generals would rule in his stead. The next beast was known as pagan Rome in 168 BC (beast #5) which divided into ten kingdoms for it had ten horns. Three of these horns were then destroyed by a little horn, the papacy (beast #6) which spoke great words against the Most High God and wore out the saints of God with persecution and dared to change God's eternal law by commanding all to keep Sunday sacred instead of the seventh-day Sabbath.
This power ruled the world for 1260 years. Here again God revealed the climax, for God holds a judgment session in heaven and sends Christ back to this earth to punish such wickedness as we read in Daniel 7:26, 27, "But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."
Now this brings us to the third prophetic prophecy found in Revelation 12: 13, 14 which describes in detail the beginning of this dragon power controlling this world. It reveals how this war began in heaven and now continued on this earth (see beast #1). Revelation 12:3, 7- 9 reads, "And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. .. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
This is an inspired description of the war that began in heaven and is continuing here on earth between the dragon's church of pagan tradition and God's true church which the Bible pictures as a pure woman. The scriptures give us the detail of how it began on earth when the old serpent (that's Satan) beguiled Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden. The war that started in heaven continues on this earth. God said in Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity (that's war) between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
Revelation 12 describes how the dragon used King Herod of pagan Rome (beast #5) to try to kill Baby Jesus. After some 33 years of harassing Christ finally he succeeded in deceiving the Jews to crucify their Messiah. However Christ arose victorious from His grave and returned to His Father in heaven after He had begun His New Testament church which replaced the Jewish Church. God's true church is now represented by the woman and was continually persecuted for 1260 years during the papal reign as described in Revelation 13:1, 2. "I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." And it was given unto him to make war with the saints.
You will notice that these verses trace the devil's kingdom back to the very beginning by naming each beast in reverse order (see beasts #5 - 1) such as the ten-horned beast of pagan Rome (beast #5). Next it takes us back to the leopard beast of Greece (beast #4), and then back to the beast of Medo-Persia (beast #3), then back to the lion of Babylon (beast #2), and finally to the dragon who is Satan (beast #1). Here God is tracing back through each kingdom revealing how Satan was able to give his great authority of paganism to the papacy.
Then inspiration adds the verse of Revelation 13:3, "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." This deadly wound took place in 1798 – the same date the United States of America was recognized as a new world power (beast #7). The papal deadly wound began to heal in 1929 when his temple kingdom was restored to the Vatican. Today the whole world wonders after the beast and the Bible predicts that the United States will enforce the papal mark of the beast. To make sure that no one could possible misunderstand who this beast is God has give us his number - 666 - that is found in his name.
These astounding facts are God's final warning of Revelation 14:9-11. We read, "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."
Here again the climax of this prophecy is revealed in the Second Coming of Christ who comes with a sharp sickle. I am reading in Revelation 14:14-16, "I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." This scripture plainly states those who will be saved in this final harvest. I am reading verse 12, "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
Now with this background of three major Bible prophesies all related to the ending of the world, let us now study the fourth prophecy of the scarlet woman of Revelation 17. I am reading verses 1-5, "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." (This is beast #8 on your visual aid).
Here is brought to view the final and complete destruction of papal power. We will list these divine predictions one by one.
You will notice that inspiration declares this evil woman sits on the beast. She is in absolute control. Her deadly wound has been healed. She has control of the whole world for the waters under the beast represent the peoples of the entire world as you read in Revelation 17:15, "The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."
The beast upon which the harlot sits is the same papal beast as described in Revelation 13 (beast #6). However, since this prophecy is specifically dealing with its condition at the end of the world God now declares it a scarlet beast, the Biblical description used to designate her sins. Isaiah 1:18 says, "Though your sins be as scarlet," ... "For her sins have reached unto heaven," Revelation 18:5.
Furthermore this papal power is given the name "Mystery, Babylon." This terminology takes us back to the beginning of pagan doctrines. It was Nimrod who built the Tower of Babel on the plains of Shinar in defiance of God. He boasted that he could build a tower so high that it would reach unto heaven. Genesis 11:4. But now God declares her sins - those of modern Babylon - have indeed reached unto heaven. Revelation 18:5. When Nimrod died, this pagan religion of Satan taught that he went straight to the sun and became the sun-god to be worshiped by keeping Sunday as a holy day. His evil wife, Samiramus, who was also worshiped because she bore an illegitimate son whom she claimed was by a virgin birth, had a child who was born on December 25 and named Tammuz. He was killed in a wild boar hunt. Since he was supposed to be a holy child they declared forty days of a weeping vigil to be held each year. This was the beginning of pagan Sunday-keeping and worship of the Virgin Mary, and Christmas on the twenty-fifth of December, and the Catholic forty days of Lent. All this is paganism.
Inspiration declares this harlot woman to be a great city in Revelation 17:18, "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." This is a religious and a political power ruling the world and commanding obedience to her spiritual doctrines of tradition.
Revelation 16:19 declares, "And the great city was divided into three parts." This is explained in verse 13, "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet." The dragon is the author of paganism which is spiritualistic in doctrines as visualized in beast #1. The beast here mentioned is the papal power (beast #6) and the false prophet is apostate Protestantism (beast #7) which has made an image to the beast by obeying and enforcing the commands of the beast to keep Sunday instead of the Lord's Day, the seventh-day Sabbath.
Let us now consider the words, "Drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." Revelation 17:6. History verifies that this scarlet woman, the papacy, killed millions of Christians who would not obey the pope, and again in the very end time it will be a persecuting power.
Keep in mind the words of Revelation 17:5, "The mother of harlots." This reveals that the ecumenical movement has accomplished its goal. Protestant churches no longer protest against the beast for they have accepted the papal invitation as "separated brethren" and have joined the papacy to enforce her doctrines.
As Christ revealed these mysteries John marveled. "And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns." Revelation 17:7. If John wondered, no wonder that all the world wonders after the beast!
Please take note: God emphasizes that this scarlet-colored beast is indeed the same beast of Revelation 13:3 (beast #6) for the wound has been healed. Revelation 17:8 clarifies this so there can be no doubt. "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is." The words "the beast that was," refers to the time period when the papal church ruled the world for 1260 years from 538 AD to 1798 AD at which time she received a deadly wound when the pope was taken prisoner and died in exile. The words "and is not" is the period of time from 1798 to 1929 when the papacy was no longer in control of the world because of its wound. The words "yet is" reveals that the wound that began to heal in 1929 when Mussolini returned the Vatican state to the pope is once again controlling the world affairs. Thus inspiration declare, "All the world wondered after the beast." Revelation 13:3.
Revelation 17:12, 13 reveals that the United Nations would divide the world into ten sections, which it has already done. "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast." This is verified by the enclosed visual aid chart of the ten kingdoms proposed by the club of Rome. The words "having one mind" reveal the entire world has united with the papacy, but only for a short time of one hour. The Bible prophecy tells us that a year stands for a day as found in Ezekiel 4:6. Therefore one hour is about 15 days. It is at this time that Christ will pour out the seven last plagues.
As we consider Revelation 17:10,11 keep in mind the time in which this is written by the apostle John some 66 years after the resurrection of Jesus. For this scripture states, "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." Paul who lived during this time wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:7, "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work." So consider the words "five are fallen." Now look at your chart of beasts and count them. #1 The dragon#2 Babylon#3 Media Persia#4 Greece#5 Pagan Rome
Thus five empires are fallen. Then Inspiration continues, "one is," (which is papal Rome #6). Next the scripture states, "the other is not yet come," (that's beast #7 referring to the United States which did not exist when this verse was written). But the scripture says, "when he cometh he must continue a short space," (which means a little while).
Now this brings us to Revelation 17:11. "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." The word "the beast that was" is the papal power (beast #6). The words "is not" speaks of the time when the wound was inflicted by Berthier who took the pope prisoner in 1798 to die in exile. The words, "even he is the eighth," reveals that this is the same power which had emerged after the healing of the wound in 1929. The words, "of the seven," reveal that the dragon power which was manifested in the past world empires (beasts #1-7) is now again existing in the scarlet woman - but God declares not for long because this time it goeth into perdition. She will be destroyed by the very nations which she has deceived.
So it is no wonder that we have come to a time when the pope boasts that soon the world will demand that he rule over them in the New World Order. This is what God said the papacy would do. I am reading Revelation 18:7. "I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."
What made this possible? The papacy has succeeded in making all churches drink from its cup of false doctrines. Revelation 17:4 states, "Having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations ... of her fornication." Let us examine some of these lies found in her cup as time permits.
1) The papacy teaches that the soul never dies, but God says in Ezekiel 18:20, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."
2) The papal church says that hell is burning now, but God says in 2 Peter 3:7, 12, "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?"
3) The papal church says tradition, not the scripture, is the rock on which the church of Jesus Christ is built. But God says in 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
4) The papal church teaches that we should pray to Mary, but God says in Matthew 6:6, " But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
5) The papal church teaches (and this is found in Development of Christian Doctrine p. 272, 273 by Cardinal Newman), "The use of temples and these dedicated to particular saints and ornamented on occasion with branches of trees, incense, lamps, candles, votive offerings on recovering from illness, holy water, asylums, holy days and seasons, the use of vestments, to tonsure (the shaving of the head), the ring in marriage, turning to the east, images at a later date, perhaps the ecclesiastical chant (and notice these words) all are of pagan origin and sanctified by their adoption into the church." Friend, this is why God says in Matthew 15:3, "Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?"
6) The papal church commands, "Keep the first day of the week and lo the whole entire civilized world bows reverent obedience to the commands of the Holy Catholic Church. It is the mark of our authority to overrule God's law." Father Enright, History of the Sabbath p. 802. But God says in Exodus 20: 8-10, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God." "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God. Revelation 14: 9,10.
We could present many more but time would not permit. Like the three major preceding prophecies of this dragon power this fourth prophecy of the scarlet woman ends with the battle in which Christ will be victorious by completely destroying the papal power with its United Nations. I am reading Revelation 17:14, "These shall make war with the Lamb." But Revelation 19 describes the outcome, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS....And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."
Beloved, on what side will you fight in this final battle soon to take place here on this earth? Will you be numbered with the dragon by accepting his traditions and receiving the mark of the beast or when Christ comes will He find you keeping His commandments and receive His seal of approval? How you answer will determine the difference between eternal life or eternal death. May God help you to obey Christ. Be aware, God has revealed how you can gain the victory with Him as found in Revelation 12:11, "And they overcame him (that's the dragon) by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death."
Let us pray. Our loving Father, we must each make a decision now. Please help us to so live that we may be worthy of Thy great love by obeying Thy commandments to live eternally with Jesus. Open our eyes that we may see beneath the tinsel of temporal prosperity and realize that by obeying Satan, we can only gain in this life a life that ends in death, but by saying yes to Jesus, we will live eternally. Thank thee, dear God, for Thy precious gift of eternal life given to those who obey Him. Amen.
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