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Good evening everyone. I want to welcome you to our fourth presentation of Three Angels,

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One Message, where we've been taking a kind of a deep dive into one collection of passages

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from Revelation in Chapter 14. We started first with looking at the Gospel and how it

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was presented in the book of Revelation. Then we moved to the first angel, which was a call

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back to faithful worship of the Creator God. Then we looked at the Fall of Confusion that

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was embodied in old time, the Tower of Babel and the confusion of languages. Then at Babylon,

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then finally now spiritual Babylon. So you would see religious confusion, political confusion,

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social confusion, all leading towards getting people really away from being grounded in

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Jesus. So what we saw though from that second angel is that the confusion wouldn't last

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forever. The confusion would fall. Babylon is fallen, is fallen, says that second angel.

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We studied a couple of key points as to how we could prepare ourselves against the confusion

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if you will. Testing things by the word of God. Prayerfully considering if what you're

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hearing lines up with what you're studying, etc., etc. Tonight we're going to pick up

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with our third and our final angel. It's not our final message, but it is our final angel.

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Angel three, Revelation and the Mark of the Beast. This is a long collection of slides.

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It's only slightly longer than we have been, but we are trying to get through them in a

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reasonable time. So before we dive in, let's say a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we

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want to thank you so much for your word. We want to thank you for being our surety and

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our stability in this world of chaos and confusion. So now we pray that as we open up your word,

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as we study this passage again, this important passage, I pray that you would be present,

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help us to understand, help us to apply what we learn, not only those of us here, but also

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those that are watching online. We pray for them as well, for we ask in Jesus' name, Amen

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and Amen. Well, let's ask the question, what is the Mark of the Beast? This is an oft-talked

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about, oft-debated. Sometimes it gets pretty fantastical when anyone brings up this particular

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topic. Maybe you've heard that the Mark of the Beast is a tattoo, a brand, or a mark

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on the skin. Some people like to think of it maybe like the tattoos that the Jews got

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during the Holocaust. That practice will be reinstituted again, but this time for Christians.

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You get a tattoo on your arm, get a tattoo on your head, and that's how they will tell

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if you have the Mark of the Beast. Have you heard of that? Well, have you heard this one

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maybe that the Mark of the Beast is the number 666? That you should avoid it if you go to

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Walmart and you ring up your groceries and they come to $6.66, we'll put on an extra

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package of gum. If you go to the DMV and you get the license plate where those three numbers

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say 666, change it out for something else. That actually did happen in the state of Arkansas

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when I was growing up. It happened to be that time when the number came up in the sequence.

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That was the most requested replacement play. No one wanted it, but you could see a few

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of them driving around because some people saw that just the number itself is not associated

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or is not the Mark of the Beast. I've even heard it relatively more fantastical with

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regards to this number. If you have ever seen the energy drink Monster, have you seen that

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can? You've seen where it's got the three claw marks that go down the front of it. That's

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their trademark. Well, I have heard it proposed that because those three claw marks look like

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the sixth letter in the Hebrew alphabet, then the Monster can is associated with the Mark

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of the Beast. So don't drink that. They are probably not healthy for you. They have nothing

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to do with the Mark of the Beast. I can assure you. What about this? A universal ID card.

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You need to not only have your driver's license, but everybody also needs to have a secondary

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ID card that then is used to enter buildings or used to get across state lines or used

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to have you heard maybe something along those lines? Or this. This one is really popular.

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A microchip implanted under the skin, maybe in your palm or something like that. This

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is actually being practiced right now. There are at least two different kinds of microchips

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that humans get implanted just under their skin, one for medical purposes. This was introduced

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shortly after COVID, where you could have the microchip just under the skin. All of

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your important and necessary medical data was stored on that microchip. So if you went

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to the ER, if you were unconscious, if you just wanted to streamline a doctor's visit,

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they could scan your microchip. They would pull up your age, your weight. It would tell

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them if you've got any cancers in your family histories, things like that. That's already

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being put into practice. There is also a microchip that is being used where you can have it

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connected to all of your financial payment accounts, if you will. So it works like if

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you take your credit card and you tap and go. They also have a microchip that you can

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have implanted where you just give a high five to the payment machine and off you go.

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It's charged right to your Visa account. That is there. But so far, there is no association

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with a microchip and the Mark of the Beast. Well, some people even thought that the COVID

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vaccine itself was the Mark of the Beast. This gained a little bit of traction. It was

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kind of shot down about as quickly as it shot up. And that's because really, vaccines are

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not the Mark of the Beast. They can be very good for you. They are sometimes encouraged

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if it works for you. But with it being a new technology, with it being at the hands of

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in many places heavy-handed government responses, this of course led people to wonder about

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its, are there ulterior motives behind it? If you're a little bit more into conspiracies,

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one can perhaps understand how you might go, I don't know about that. Well, I can assure

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you that the Mark of the Beast is not the COVID vaccine. Or maybe it's something else.

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Maybe the Mark of the Beast is just something else. I've heard there's a whole lot of different

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theories out there, but these seem to be some of the most popular ones, depending on where

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you look and what you read. What we need to remember before we continue is that the book

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of Revelation is a book heavy in cryptic symbols. We have strange beasts. We have trumpets.

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We have bowls. We have speaking angels. We have rainbows and we have things like that.

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The book of Revelation speaks of Jesus. It speaks of the gospel. It speaks of eternal

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truths written by a loving God to an end time generation. And the book of Revelation speaks

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of worship. In fact, we studied worship as Revelation's greatest issue. I'm sorry. In

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our second presentation. Why? This is going to be annoying, I can tell. Because the central

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issue in Earth's final conflict has to do with worship. The conflict between Christ and

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Satan began in heaven over worship. It will come to its final climax over worship. So

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what should we be looking for with the Mark of the Beast? Well, first, let us briefly

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review to make sure we understand this vital point. The messages we've been studying are

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so important that they are pictured as being carried by three angels flying swiftly through

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the sky. We devoted one whole presentation to the everlasting gospel, a defining quality

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about these angels. I'm not going to reread all of them. We have read them many times

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before. The first angel did cry out, though, fear God and give him glory because the hour

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of his judgment has come and the heart of it worship him. Worship. Heaven's first

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appeal is to give our supreme allegiance and heartfelt worship to the creator. The

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creator in light of heaven's judgment. In our last message, we studied that Babylon

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represents a confused apostate religious system that has substituted falsehood for truth while

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aligning herself in unholy unions with world governments. She rejected the pure truths

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of the Bible. She preferred to mix truth with error so that the second angel's message

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announces that she has fallen from God's favor and we should not share in her confusion.

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In fact, there was a warning a couple of chapters later to come out of Babylon and then

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God calls you his people. Don't stay in confusion is the warning. Note one cannot

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one cannot faithfully worship God if we have mixed truth with error. That's in the first

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and the second angels message. It's got to be a pure worship or it's not faithful worship.

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It is something else. We've continued now with the first verse of this third angel.

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Let's read it and another angel a third followed them saying with a loud voice if anyone

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worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or his hand with this

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first verse we see again that worship is at the forefront of the proclamation. The angel

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recognizes another entity that people can worship the beast and its image and warns

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against doing such a thing though you do not want to be found in the with the group of

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people who worship the beast and its image. You don't want to be found there because it

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goes on to say that if you are you also will drink the wine of God's wrath for full strength

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into the cup of his anger. So it is is it clear that the heart of what we are studying

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is worship. Is that clear so far worship should we then be looking for the mark of the beast

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to be detached or unassociated from worship. No we should see it closely connected to the

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thought the idea of worship. So let's now turn our attention to its discovery before

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we can look to the mark though we need to look to the beast. The beast Revelation 13

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and before I go on I want to say that this is this particular presentation is rather

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large. I have done my best to condense it down into a singular into a singular presentation

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but there's so much I couldn't get to. We are leaving out other very relevant sections

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of the Bible just because I can't make this 200 slides and three hours long. We don't

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want to do that to either you or me. So if there are other questions if there is a greater

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interest in the extra material please see me or or Kevin Sarah Anthony Grace even Janet

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has done this study with me on the side. We have other resources contact us DM us on Facebook

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we can get the resources to you for greater study. So for tonight we're going to go through

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some things a little bit quicker than I would prefer but we're going to do our best. Well

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one we have already touched on that in Bible prophecy a beast equals a nation. You might

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also hear it phrased as a king or a kingdom or a nation. Any one of those threes are interchangeable

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today we really don't have a lot of kingdoms but we do have plenty of nations and so that

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would be the equivalence if you read kingdom in the Bible. We will also see that this nation

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is a religious nation. The beast of Revelation 13 is a religious nation and we know that

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because it blasphemes. If it were not religious it could not blaspheme in other words. How

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does it blaspheme? Well Revelation 13 6 tells us this he opened his mouth in blasphemy against

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God to blaspheme his name his tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven. And then again

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in Revelation 17 so he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. I saw a woman

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sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy having seven heads and

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ten horns. You find the same nation depicted a couple of different ways or at least two

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in Revelation. Revelation 13 it's depicted without the woman. Revelation 17 it has the

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woman. Both locations the beast is blasphemous. That's the common thread that we're seeing.

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Since blasphemy is mentioned numerous times as one of the identifying features of the

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beast power it must be significant. Let's discover how this term is used in other places

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in the New Testament. We got to find let the Bible interpret itself in other words. John

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10 33 the Jews answered him this is Jesus they were accusing him of this. They said

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for a good work we do not stone you but for blasphemy and because you here's the definition

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being a man make yourself God. They were accusing Jesus of being blasphemous because they said

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he was only a man who claimed to be God and he couldn't do that. Well was Jesus a blasphemer.

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Well certainly not. Oh why not. Well because when Jesus claimed it it was true. If you

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were I claimed it it would not be true. It would be blasphemous. But Jesus had that right.

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Jesus was a mortal being but he still claimed the privileges the prerogatives of God as

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an equal. That wasn't blasphemy for him but for anyone else. It would be. That's one

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definition. Our second definition in Luke 521 again they were looking to accuse Jesus

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of this. The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason saying who is this who speaks blasphemies

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and here's our definition who can forgive sins but God alone. If you believe that you

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can forgive sins then you are guilty of blasphemy because the Bible says that only God can forgive

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sins but again for Jesus this was not because Jesus was as much God as he was man. So to

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summarize the two biblical examples of blasphemy are this if any man pretends to be or claims

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to be God and if any man claims the power to forgive sins in Jesus case the accusations

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were unjust because he truly was and is God. He holds all the powers all the prerogatives

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of God including the right to forgive sins. So now let us discover what other entity violates

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these two principles of blasphemy. There really is only one that consistently does both and

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that's the key. You might be able to find a couple of institutions a couple of churches

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a couple of individuals who perhaps are guilty of one or the other but you usually don't

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find both at the same time in the same institution consistently and without interruption. I'm

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going to tell you upfront that we are going to show that the Roman Catholic Church claims

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both of these things. They claim that the power of forgiveness or absolution first is

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there is their first claim it's vested in her priests by Christ himself. That's a this

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is a rather big claim but let's see quote from a very prominent Catholic author quote

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seek where you will throughout heaven and earth and you will find but one created being

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who can forgive the sinner. Who can free him from the chains of hell and that extraordinary

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being is the priest the Catholic priest. Well we can ask this question who can forgive sins

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except God. They had already thought of this the author was the question which the Pharisee

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sneeringly asked who can forgive sins is the questions which the Pharisees of the present

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day also ask and I answer. There is a man on earth that can forgive sins and that man

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is the Catholic priest. What did we just read from the Bible itself though. That certainly

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doesn't align with this. The Pharisees were accusing Jesus that he could not do a thing

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and they were acknowledging God as the only one who could and yet this Catholic author

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recognized in men the very thing that defines blasphemy. That doesn't sound like ground

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that we should find ourselves on because what does the Bible say the Bible says in

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first Timothy 2 5 that there is one God one mediator between God and men the man Christ

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Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all. You need the mediator who is sinless because you

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are sinful. If if the priest is the mediator between God and sinful humanity then he would

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also need another mediator. In other words they would find themselves in a cycle that

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they couldn't escape. One a person who needs a defense attorney really shouldn't be defending

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someone else from breaking the law. Makes sense. All the Catholic Church tries to thread

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that needle that just simply cannot be thread. That is it is an official teaching of the

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Roman Church that God dispenses the grace of forgiveness through the priest. Proof of

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this church's teaching of this doctrine is seen actually in a rather recent news semi

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recent. This just actually re-emphasizes that fact. In March of 2020 when all the churches

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mostly the churches globally were closed down due to the pandemic Catholics wondered how

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can we then be forgiven of our sins. We can't go to our priest because inside of the Catholic

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Church if you can't make it to confessional you cannot have that sin forgiven. That's

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not hyperbole that's literal. That's a part of their sacraments. So the pope made this

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declaration that well actually a Vatican Tribunal that deals with matters of conscience

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including confession stated this that though absolution of sin is the usual means through

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which sins are forgiven by a priest in times of that's supposed to be great necessity

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such as with the ongoing spread of COVID at the time other solutions are needed. In other

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words because this is such a big deal we are going to give you a secondary option. We will

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bestow upon you a secondary option. What is that secondary option? Well Pope Francis said

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that people who can't manage to go to confession as a result of being locked down can confess

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directly to God. In other words they believe that your sins cannot be forgiven except by

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a priest but the pope can give you permission to go to God directly. Thank you but I will

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take 1 John 1 19 at its word if we confess our sins. He that is Jesus is faithful and

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just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So what does the Bible

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say? Who do you go to for forgiveness of sins? Right to God. Does the Bible say that that

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must pass through a priest first? No. Who does it say is faithful and just in your forgiving?

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Jesus. There is no ifs, ands, or buts to this. This is about how faithful and just he is

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when we go to him with our confessions. That speaks so much about his love and his grace,

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his kindness and his long suffering towards us. Why would we put up another barrier between

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us and our savior who loves us? Why would we do that? Especially contrary to what the

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Bible has said. And how far does he take the forgiving? Well good news he takes it all

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the way cleansing us even from all of the unrighteousness. That's wonderful news my

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friends. I'm so encouraged by that. No man, no priest, no pew warmer can do what Jesus

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will do when you go to him with your faults and your failings. Jesus will do it all for

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you. Also we've looked at the one example of how blasphemy, if any man claims the power

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to forgive sin, is present in the Roman Catholic Church. But we need to make sure that we only

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or don't only leave it at the one. We have to have both. We have to have both of them

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or it cannot be a true characteristic. So now let's look at this second example. If

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any man pretends to be or claims to be God. A somewhat lengthy quote but bear with me.

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The Pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man. But as it were

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God and the vicar of God. Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown as King of Heaven,

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as King of Earth, and of the lower regions. In other words he also has the rulership,

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the authority over hell. That's what that would mean. The Pope is as it were God on

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earth, chief King of Kings, to whom has been entrusted by the omnipotent God direction

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of the heavenly kingdom. This is an expansion over where Jesus says you have the keys to

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heaven and to hell. Whatever you say will be bound in heaven and whatever you don't

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permit will be. I'm kind of paraphrasing but they have taken that to mean other than

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God will honor prayers of faith to you literally have authority in heaven, on earth,

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and on hell in place of God. That's the conclusion that they have drawn. This is

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from article two in Prompta Bibliotheca. This was written in 1772. Pope Leo the

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13th urged, quote, complete submission and obedience of will to the church and to the

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Roman Pontiff as to God himself. This was from the great encyclical letters of Pope

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Leo the 13th. The same a proud Pontiff, and he was a proud Pontiff, he also claimed

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this, we the popes hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty. More evidence could

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be given, I would say these two are enough, you can find it. And in case you're wondering,

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maybe these quotes are just super old, they haven't recanted them. The state hasn't

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or the church hasn't reneged on them. They still wear the crowns, they still hold the

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titles today that they did in the 1716, the 1400s. None of that has changed, it just

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carries on. In fact, they believe that it cannot change. Even when you have a

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heretical pope, that pope is still respected as carrying these titles. I don't

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know how you harmonize it, but they hold it. The Roman Church certainly believes

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that the pope stands in the place of God himself on earth. So let's look at these

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identifying characteristics. It's a nation that is religious, in other words, it's an

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unhealthy union of church and state. And we talked a little bit last week on how you

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can have a healthy union. You can have Christian ideals supporting a political

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movement for something good. And an example I like to use is abolition. You could

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use temperance movements, things like that. They kind of went hand in hand at times.

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This would be an unhealthy union. We saw that it's blasphemous. If you read through

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the Bible, you will see that it's received its power from imperial or pagan

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Rome, and that it would rule for a set time. Revelation 13 verses 4 and 5 say,

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They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and it

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was allowed to exercise authority for 42 months. A dragon was a well-known symbol

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for imperial Rome, for pagan Rome. It means other things in the Bible, but it is

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certainly this. Historically speaking, we need to do a little bit of math. When we

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are calculating time periods, because you notice we just saw a time period right

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here, 42 months. When calculating these time periods in the Bible, especially in

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prophecy, you have to do it a little different. It's not a one-to-one ratio in

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that one day equals one day. In the Bible, in prophecy, we call it a day-to-year

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principle. It means that for every day mentioned in the prophecy, we actually

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count in terms of years. These two references in Numbers 1434 and in

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Ezekiel 4-6 give the principle, one to the Israelites and one to Ezekiel. These

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were from the word of the mouth of God Himself. We're not taking it from Moses.

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We're not taking it from Ezekiel. God says, here's the principle. One day, one

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year. So now let's look at this, 42 months. In ancient calendars, they did not have

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the 31, 30, 31, 30. They didn't count like that with your knuckles because they

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didn't know that there were 365 and a quarter days. They believed that there was

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a fixed 30-day month, a fixed 360 days. All the ancient calendars operated on

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this because it came from, I believe, Egypt or certainly Babylon, the ancient

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Babylonian Empire. They liked to work with good rounded numbers. So they had

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30-day months. You just do the simple math. 30 days times 42 months is 1260 days,

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prophetic days. So if you take that principle into account, that's years.

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That's all we're looking at. It is also described the same time period. It's

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described different ways elsewhere in the Bible, most notably Daniel chapter 7,

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where you will see it read one literally as the 1260 days, but also as time, times,

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and the dividing of time. So that would be a time as a year. Times being plural

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would be two years, and the dividing of time, of course, would be half a year. So

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that comes up to three and a half years. Same thing, 1260 days. Again, lots of

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places we can go to to build our case for what we're making today. We just don't

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have time for all of it. Well, let's look at this. Historically, when Constantine

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moved the capital of Rome in AD 330 from Rome to Constantinople, it left a

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leadership vacuum in Rome. That vacuum was fairly left open until about AD 538,

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when Justinian, the Roman Emperor, officially granted the Roman Bishop the

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role of defender of the Emperor's empire, the definer of heretics, and defender of

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the faith. This was the Roman Emperor basically said, I'm not there anyways.

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It's kind of nice in Constantinople. I've left the bishop in an unofficial

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capacity. Well, in this year they made it official. The scepter was handed over, the

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titles were bestowed, and now the Bishop of Rome got to rule. The Pope then filled

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this void, became not only a powerful religious leader, but also a political

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force to be reckoned with in Europe. The papacy, and that's a little different

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than just the Catholic Church, the papacy is the Vatican, the city, the little city

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state, because it is its own nation, if you will, and it's the Church. The

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Catholic Church and the Vatican make up the papacy. So the papacy exercised great

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influence from AD 538 for 1260 years until the year 1798 when Napoleon's

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general Berthier took the Pope captive. Now some people have said yes,

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Pastor Aaron, that was not the first time that the Pope had been captured in

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history. That's true, not the first time the Pope had been captured. Well, why

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does it matter? Well, because when the Pope was captured this time, it lasted.

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It really put an end to the high level of influence that the papacy exercised

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in Western Europe until that point. The Church had already been a little on the

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decline, but then when that happened, it really went out of fashion. At other

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times when the Pope was captured, the Church still kept influencing kings and

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monarchs and rulers and the like, even when the Pope was in a dungeon cell

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somewhere. Not this time. This time, I believe, because God said when this date

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would roll around, then it would come the end of this long stretch of authority.

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When God says it, it's going to happen. Berthier and his army captured Pope

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Pius VI. They removed him from his throne. The aged Pontiff was hurried from

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prison to prison and at length confined in a fortress at the top of the Alps

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where he died in exile in 1799. This was an extremely serious blow to the papacy,

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but it wasn't fatal because it says that the beast was wounded as if it were dead.

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It's a very interesting wording that the Bible gives it because it doesn't say

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that the beast was wounded dead. It was as if, like a cockroach. You ever stepped

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on a cockroach and off it goes again? You step on it again and off it goes

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again? Just to be fair, I have family members who are Catholic. I have a lot of

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respect for many Catholics. There are some who are deeply faithful, and this is

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not an insult on them. The wound just didn't kill it, is what we're trying to

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say. Why is that? Well, because Revelation 13 continues after the mortal wound

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was received by the first beast, another beast comes up. It exercises all the

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authority of the first beast in the presence, makes the earth its inhabitants,

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worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. You can be

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terribly wounded and live. There are some incredible x-rays out there of railroad

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spikes through the skull of people just, I mean, missing whole sections of bodies

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and they should have bled out and miraculously they were sustained and so

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on. This mortal wound carried the same result. Anyone looking on at the papacy

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in 1798 would have said it's done for, but the Bible tells us that that wound

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was going to heal. Well, it's not far-fetched to see how that wound has

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healed today. The Roman papacy is gaining in authority, power, and influence around

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the world. World leaders welcome the Pope as he travels around the world as an

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ambassador of the Church of Rome. In fact, the papacy is the only place that has,

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it's the only church that also has its own embassies that other world leaders

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then go to and send their own ambassadors. It's a church, don't forget.

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There is not another church around the world that has that. There is not another

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church as worldly famous as Billy Graham was. He could not go where the Pope goes

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and get the red carpet treatment. The tens of thousands of people that flock to

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the Pope in areas hostile to Christianity, the Pope goes and is

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welcomed with open arms. It's the only religious leader that is like this.

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Presidents seek the Pope's advice. It's incredible. He was invited to address a

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joint session of the US Congress in a move that many political observers

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considered unprecedented. I don't remember how long ago that was, 2016, 2018,

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somewhere in that area, I believe, 2015. He did his rounds up in New England, ended

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up in Pennsylvania and then at Congress and so forth. It was a big deal.

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I remember there was a lot of chatter about it and then it was unprecedented

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when he talked to both chambers of Congress at the same time. Kings, political

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leaders, presidents visit him regularly at the Vatican and they treat him as

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royalty when he visits other countries. There is not another religious leader

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that is welcomed like him. Not Joel Osteen, not the Dalai Lama, not anybody

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that is welcomed like the Pope. By all external appearances, the papacy seems to

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be softening its image to accommodate the spirit of our age. In fact, the

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current Pope is called heretical by many of his followers because of this

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softening appearance. He's gotten a little softer on same-sex unions, a

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little softer on out-of-wedlock babies, a little softer on who can be baptized, a

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little softer on these things that are historically hard lines inside of the

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Catholic Church. By all appearances, he seems actually like a pretty nice guy.

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He bends down and washes the feet of people that no one else would touch. Some

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of it is okay. I think more people could follow that kind of example, but we have

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to be mindful. At a time when the world is looking for moral leadership, the

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Pope's star is rising rapidly, and those yearning for such leadership are right.

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Moral leadership is in short supply. The latest research on moral leadership

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finds that employees, managers, and executives believe that the need for

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moral leadership is more urgent than ever. Surveys reveal a deep lack of trust

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in institutions and governments, and in case you're wondering, over the last two

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years, it has dropped precipitously in the United States. The trust in

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institutions, the trust in governments, the trust in reporting avenues and other

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institutions like our news, no one trusts them in the United States,

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certainly not compared to 20 or 50 years ago. It's falling, but like we talked

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about, when there is a vacancy, people look for that hole to be filled. Millions

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of people are wondering, where is someone who is morally fit to lead the world? If

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you want to bring the world together today, in a world fragmented by ethnic

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tensions and racisms, with governments and even allies that don't trust one

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another, where is a moral voice capable of bringing people together? In a world

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of instability and uncertainty, rising hunger and increasing poverty, economic

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and environmental disasters, it would be easy, very easy, if there were another

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global upheaving like we saw with COVID, perhaps a tactical nuke. That has

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actually been in the news recently. It would be very easy to see how someone

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like the Pontiff of Rome could be the one that the world invites to bring

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everyone together, because if you'll remember or if you weren't here and you

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can watch it on our The End to Confusion, one purpose to confusion in reference to

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how cults operate, they confuse their followers so then the leader can be

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chosen a little bit more certainly. When there's lots of confusion, people look

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for stability. When you have everybody seemingly failing you on who you can

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trust and one person comes forward and says, you can trust me, I am morally

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upright, and everyone else goes, sure he is. It's very easy to add stability, if

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you will, to a world of confusion. It's not a far-fetched kind of way to kind of

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piece some of these things together.

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We just talked on this. Human nature looks for stability from confusion and

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the Pope has already revered the world over by leaders of every nation and

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religion. It's not hard to see how he could rise to the top and everyone look

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to him as a moral guide, a moral fixed point, if you will, in a world of

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confusion. But this doesn't answer one question. One question that we need to

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ask, because remember we aren't talking about the Mark of the Beast, well what

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vehicle could the devil use or what he might suggest to unify society?

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We have to ask this. Have you ever wondered what he might use? Well, history

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often repeats itself. We've mentioned him once before. Let's return just for a

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moment to the days of Constantine. Constantine was in charge about the time

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that Rome was falling apart. Germanic tribes on their shores, financial

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instability, the money was just kind of going around. They weren't conquering.

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People were just staying at home and debating things in cycles. Rome really

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just kind of fell. It really wasn't conquered. So in an attempt to save his

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empire, Constantine turned to religion. He found something. The authority of the

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church combined with the power of the state, it became the very instrument that

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Constantine was searching for. People find peace and stability in faith. And so

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he united the two. Christians had a special reverence for Sunday since

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Christ rose from the dead on that day. Christians and Constantine's time kept

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both the Sabbath and Sunday. One because it's in the Bible and the other one

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because Christ rose on that day. It kind of kept them both. The pagans of

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Constantine's time were often sun worshipers. The continual strengthening of

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the sanctity of Sunday in the fourth century, it was a calculated political

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and religious move to save the empire at a time of crisis. If you've got one

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group yelling at the other and that group accusing this group, well if you

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find common ground that the two of them can stand on and then the emperor comes

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out and says, here's your common ground, stop fighting. That lends itself to

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stability. Constantine was looking for that. He wanted his empire united and the

403
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:56,000
Roman church wanted it converted. That's precisely why Constantine passed the

404
00:44:56,000 --> 00:45:02,000
first Sunday law. The church reinforced its decree in church councils by making

405
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:10,000
Sunday the sacred day of worship. We read this. Arthur Weagle is a renowned

406
00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:16,000
historian. He says this, the church made a sacred day of Sunday largely because

407
00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:22,000
it was the weekly festival of the sun. It was a definite Christian policy to take

408
00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:27,000
over the pagan festivals, endear to the people by tradition, and give them

409
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:33,000
Christian significance. It wasn't only done for the days of worship, it was also

410
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:40,000
done for the idols that they worshiped. I believe Saturn and Peter are the exact

411
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:48,000
same idols. Saint Peter if you look in Catholic church. I believe it's, it might

412
00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:53,000
be Mars and Peter. That would make a little bit more sense than Zeus and John

413
00:45:53,000 --> 00:46:02,000
or something like that. You can find the same pagan idols in one temple with

414
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:08,000
the idols that represent supposed saints in the Catholic church. Exact same

415
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:17,000
idols. We see this with other holidays as well. All Saints Day and so on. A

416
00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:26,000
common day of worship does have the potential to unite a divided world. We're

417
00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:32,000
certainly living in a divided world if you will. As we have emphasized to start

418
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:37,000
off our presentation tonight, the central issue of Earth's final conflict will be

419
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:43,000
worship. The issue of the mark of the beast revolves around worship, but it

420
00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:50,000
also focuses on the issue of authority. Whose and how? That's what we have to get

421
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:55,000
to. We have to ask a couple of these questions. Whose authority and how does

422
00:46:55,000 --> 00:47:01,000
the mark of the beast revolve around worship? Well one, we start with something

423
00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:07,000
that we know. The Sabbath is the eternal symbol of our rest in Jesus Christ. We

424
00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:12,000
looked at that. We studied it. The seventh day of the week is at the heart of how

425
00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:21,000
we worship God. From creation to Exodus to Isaiah to the Gospels to the book of

426
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:29,000
Acts to the Epistle to the Hebrews to Revelation. The Sabbath is that focal

427
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:35,000
point for worship in terms of how we worship God. We've already been called

428
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:40,000
back to this faithful worship by the first angel and with the Sabbath's

429
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:47,000
connection to creation, we acknowledge God's authority in our lives. Because by

430
00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:52,000
recognizing the connection between Sabbath and creation, we recognize God's

431
00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:57,800
authority as our Creator. That's the connection. The biblical Sabbath means

432
00:47:57,800 --> 00:48:03,240
that we rest in Him because of what He has done in creating and redeeming us. We

433
00:48:03,240 --> 00:48:07,400
can't make ourselves. We can't save ourselves. He did it. Sabbath tells us

434
00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:10,880
that. We observe the Sabbath to acknowledge His creatorship and

435
00:48:10,880 --> 00:48:17,080
sovereignty in our lives. We keep the seventh day Sabbath not to work toward

436
00:48:17,080 --> 00:48:26,480
salvation, but because we are already saved. That's why it's a rest in Him. He's

437
00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:34,480
already done the work. We just accept it. That's what the Sabbath is. But the

438
00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:42,280
Church of Rome claims that Sunday is the mark of its ecclesiastical or church

439
00:48:42,280 --> 00:48:50,000
authority. We saw the connection of the Sabbath with Jesus, but the

440
00:48:50,000 --> 00:48:54,960
Catholic Church claims that Sunday is the mark of its authority. Let's see what

441
00:48:54,960 --> 00:49:02,980
they say. Of course, the Catholic Church claims that the change, the change of the

442
00:49:02,980 --> 00:49:08,480
days of worship, was her act. And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power

443
00:49:08,480 --> 00:49:14,080
and authority in religious matters. That's the American Catholic Quarterly

444
00:49:14,080 --> 00:49:20,100
Review. The Roman Church claims that the mark of its authority is its right to

445
00:49:20,100 --> 00:49:24,520
change the Sabbath from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week.

446
00:49:24,520 --> 00:49:34,000
Now, I want you to, we're going to correct something in just a moment. We go

447
00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:37,520
on with another quote, Louis Gaston Seguerre, in his treatise on the

448
00:49:37,520 --> 00:49:41,800
authority of the Catholic Church, dated 1874, says this,

449
00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:47,920
Thus the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay in

450
00:49:47,920 --> 00:49:54,500
spite of themselves to the authority of the Catholic Church. Somewhere in my

451
00:49:54,500 --> 00:49:59,000
box is still packed from moving. I have my own copy of a little tiny Catholic

452
00:49:59,000 --> 00:50:03,620
Catechism where you can flip to the pages. I have them marked and I have them

453
00:50:03,620 --> 00:50:07,440
highlighted, where they ask the question, what is the Sabbath? And the Catholic

454
00:50:07,440 --> 00:50:12,400
Catechism will say, the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. Then they will

455
00:50:12,400 --> 00:50:16,400
say, well then why do we worship on Sunday? And the Catholic Catechism will

456
00:50:16,400 --> 00:50:22,720
answer, because the Church, using her authority, conferred the day of worship

457
00:50:22,720 --> 00:50:30,040
to Sunday. Then someone has asked me, well Pastor Aaron, I've looked at

458
00:50:30,040 --> 00:50:35,440
those. Those are copyrighted from the 1950s. Now that's old. This date is old.

459
00:50:35,440 --> 00:50:41,320
1874, that's so old. Church doesn't think that anymore. So of course I got out my

460
00:50:41,320 --> 00:50:45,880
Catechism, I dusted it off, I turned to the copyright page and I saw that that

461
00:50:45,880 --> 00:50:54,440
copyright from the 1950s was correct. It was the 1950s. But then I saw 1975, 1985,

462
00:50:54,440 --> 00:51:02,880
1995, 2005, and then 2015, the most recent copyright. Once they had to start

463
00:51:02,880 --> 00:51:07,040
renewing their copyrights every ten years, they basically just says, yep we

464
00:51:07,040 --> 00:51:11,760
still believe it. Because every time that copyright is renewed, the Church is

465
00:51:11,760 --> 00:51:17,960
reaffirming those statements. So I'm just waiting for 2025 when I will pick up my

466
00:51:17,960 --> 00:51:22,920
new copy, and I will look to see if it is still there, and I would be surprised if

467
00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:34,760
it is not. So what vehicle would the devil suggest to unify society? Is it

468
00:51:34,760 --> 00:51:40,520
possible? We're just asking the question, is it possible that the vehicle used to

469
00:51:40,520 --> 00:51:48,200
accomplish the goal of world unification will be Sunday worship, a common day of

470
00:51:48,200 --> 00:51:55,720
worship, promoted as a world day of unity for the good of mankind? Because if you

471
00:51:55,720 --> 00:51:59,040
are going to get maybe non-religious people on board, you've got to

472
00:51:59,040 --> 00:52:03,120
connected it, you got to connect it to something that also applies to the

473
00:52:03,120 --> 00:52:08,240
non-religious. Maybe it's just for the good of mankind. Well the stage is being

474
00:52:08,240 --> 00:52:19,120
set even now. Pope Benedict XVI, I had to think there, says this June 6, 2012,

475
00:52:19,120 --> 00:52:26,720
the demands of work can't bully people out of needed time off. It can't bully

476
00:52:26,720 --> 00:52:31,640
people out of needed time off. Now someone reading that might go, yeah that's

477
00:52:31,640 --> 00:52:38,040
right, I'm a workaholic, my husband is, my wife is, my parents were, I certainly

478
00:52:38,040 --> 00:52:41,520
don't want that for me or my kids, wouldn't it be great if we weren't

479
00:52:41,520 --> 00:52:51,600
bullied by work into never having time off? Sounds good, sounds good. But he went

480
00:52:51,600 --> 00:53:02,280
on to say that Sunday might be, could be, let's consider if it shall be. No, it must

481
00:53:02,280 --> 00:53:11,280
be a day of rest for the Catholic Church. No, for everyone he says. When he says

482
00:53:11,280 --> 00:53:16,200
everyone, my friends, he means it. Here's the reason. So people can be free to be

483
00:53:16,200 --> 00:53:21,440
with their families and with God. And if you choose to not be with God that day,

484
00:53:21,440 --> 00:53:24,160
at least you get to be with your families. That's a win-win for the

485
00:53:24,160 --> 00:53:30,360
religious and the non-religious. And then he takes it one step further by

486
00:53:30,360 --> 00:53:40,600
defending Sunday, one defends human freedom. I like human freedom. If you

487
00:53:40,600 --> 00:53:47,640
take Pope Benedict at his word, then you have to associate human freedom with the

488
00:53:47,640 --> 00:53:59,000
observance of Sunday. Sunday is the day of the Lord and of man, a day which

489
00:53:59,000 --> 00:54:07,000
everyone must be able to be free. Free for the family and free for God, Pope

490
00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:11,840
Benedict says. Make no mistake about it, the day is coming and I believe it's

491
00:54:11,840 --> 00:54:18,440
possibly sooner than we think. I have, I have, I guess my own personal opinions as

492
00:54:18,440 --> 00:54:21,960
to why I think it might be sooner than we think. But I believe sooner than we

493
00:54:21,960 --> 00:54:29,640
think laws will be passed restricting religious liberty. As a side little

494
00:54:29,640 --> 00:54:37,400
parenthetical, the Pope says that Sunday is the day of the Lord and of man. Did we

495
00:54:37,400 --> 00:54:48,040
see that? The Bible says that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath and that the

496
00:54:48,040 --> 00:54:56,920
Sabbath was made for man. I would encourage us that we take the Bible as

497
00:54:56,920 --> 00:55:03,520
it reads and that we always test what is said with what is written. Because if we

498
00:55:03,520 --> 00:55:13,320
take one man at his word, then we have to throw out these Bible verses without

499
00:55:13,320 --> 00:55:19,200
putting too fine a point on it. Those who conscientiously follow the Word of God

500
00:55:19,200 --> 00:55:25,000
and keep the true Sabbath of the Lord will be labeled as opposing unity and

501
00:55:25,000 --> 00:55:30,520
the good of society. Now can you imagine? Let's read this quickly. Those who honor

502
00:55:30,520 --> 00:55:34,320
the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order, as breaking

503
00:55:34,320 --> 00:55:38,600
down the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy and corruption, calling

504
00:55:38,600 --> 00:55:42,880
down the judgments of God upon the earth. Their conscientious scruples will be

505
00:55:42,880 --> 00:55:47,480
pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, contempt of authority. They will be

506
00:55:47,480 --> 00:55:55,280
accused of disaffection toward the government. Sounds fantastical. Can't

507
00:55:55,280 --> 00:56:01,720
happen. Certainly not in the United States. A recent quote by a prominent

508
00:56:01,720 --> 00:56:07,280
American political spokesperson says this, again we see a majority of Americans

509
00:56:07,280 --> 00:56:13,120
who disagree. And so when you are not with what majority of Americans are, then

510
00:56:13,120 --> 00:56:20,280
you know that is extreme. That is an extreme way of thinking. It's an extreme

511
00:56:20,280 --> 00:56:25,360
way of thinking to not just go along with the majority of what Americans are

512
00:56:25,360 --> 00:56:32,200
thinking. This should catch our attention because in the United States tradition

513
00:56:32,200 --> 00:56:38,920
we have very clear parameters put in place to protect the minority from the

514
00:56:38,920 --> 00:56:45,120
predations of the majority. You should not be labeled extreme if you choose to

515
00:56:45,120 --> 00:56:50,360
just not go along. And I would say that with us should certainly catch our

516
00:56:50,360 --> 00:56:55,960
attention as the word extremist is being used with increasing abandon in our

517
00:56:55,960 --> 00:57:00,480
public discourse. It's being thrown around like it's Christmas morning and

518
00:57:00,480 --> 00:57:04,920
your kids are playing with the wrapping paper. Everything is an extremist this

519
00:57:04,920 --> 00:57:09,680
and what extremist has come to mean is you don't agree with what we want you to

520
00:57:09,680 --> 00:57:17,040
agree with. That's how it's becoming more and more used like. It's almost also

521
00:57:17,040 --> 00:57:25,280
always in the context of a threat to our democracy. So if you find yourself in a

522
00:57:25,280 --> 00:57:33,000
minority and you aren't going along with the majority you can today be labeled

523
00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:40,080
an extremist and a threat to our democracy. It no longer takes great leaps

524
00:57:40,080 --> 00:57:45,720
of the imagination to draw the connection from in the minority and that

525
00:57:45,720 --> 00:57:52,640
would be Sabbath keeping in this conversation to a threat to democracy or

526
00:57:52,640 --> 00:57:58,480
a way of life or even freedom for people as the Pope would say. If you're not a

527
00:57:58,480 --> 00:58:04,240
part of all of that the only thing left mostly unsaid is what to do with those

528
00:58:04,240 --> 00:58:10,600
that are labeled extreme. Because of course you do something with people that

529
00:58:10,600 --> 00:58:18,560
are labeled a threat to democracy. So what is the mark of the beast? What is

530
00:58:18,560 --> 00:58:28,200
the mark of the beast? While it still seems inconceivable to us today. Oh this

531
00:58:28,200 --> 00:58:31,680
is a continuation I actually do want to continue the thought from this last one.

532
00:58:31,680 --> 00:58:40,040
It still seems inconceivable to us today that anything like that could threaten

533
00:58:40,040 --> 00:58:48,360
us today except it's not far-fetched. Regardless of how you fall this is my

534
00:58:48,360 --> 00:58:54,400
interpretation of the two years of COVID. Generally two years. During COVID

535
00:58:54,400 --> 00:59:00,880
governments around the world forced under penalty of fines and imprisonment

536
00:59:00,880 --> 00:59:09,760
the closure of houses of worship around the globe. That was a manner of enforced

537
00:59:09,760 --> 00:59:15,280
worship. How so? Well because it was declared you must worship at home or

538
00:59:15,280 --> 00:59:24,040
else. That is a manner of enforced worship. It has been demonstrated that

539
00:59:24,040 --> 00:59:28,920
governments across the globe need only to declare something an emergency and

540
00:59:28,920 --> 00:59:34,600
they will rapidly violate religious liberties in many forms. And it generally

541
00:59:34,600 --> 00:59:40,880
works that if if the power can be exercised in the negative sense stay

542
00:59:40,880 --> 00:59:47,200
away governments also have a track record of enforcing it and do this in

543
00:59:47,200 --> 00:59:52,000
the positive sense. While they've already flexed one direction the mark of the

544
00:59:52,000 --> 00:59:59,120
beast would suggest flexing the other way. That's all we're saying. So what is

545
00:59:59,120 --> 01:00:04,800
the mark of the beast? Well the beast is the papacy, the Vatican, the Catholic

546
01:00:04,800 --> 01:00:10,680
Church. That it is Sunday observance is what it claims as its mark of authority.

547
01:00:10,680 --> 01:00:17,080
And that the mark of the beast is enforced observance of Sunday as a

548
01:00:17,080 --> 01:00:23,880
sacred day of worship. It's forced. Revelation 13 tells us that under

549
01:00:23,880 --> 01:00:31,480
threats and and penalties and coercion you are you take it or else. So that's

550
01:00:31,480 --> 01:00:38,240
why it is enforced. Revelation 14 9 says this though another angel a third

551
01:00:38,240 --> 01:00:42,360
followed them saying with a loud voice if anyone worships the beast and its

552
01:00:42,360 --> 01:00:47,240
image receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand he also will drink the wine

553
01:00:47,240 --> 01:00:52,640
of God's wrath poured full strength into the cup of his anger he will be tormented

554
01:00:52,640 --> 01:00:56,720
with fire and sulfur in the presence of the Holy Angels and in the presence of

555
01:00:56,720 --> 01:01:03,360
the Lamb and it will not be a pretty day for the worshipers of the beast and its

556
01:01:03,360 --> 01:01:07,840
image whoever receives the mark of its name. In other words God is desperately

557
01:01:07,840 --> 01:01:12,400
warning you and I about what will happen to those who ally themselves with the

558
01:01:12,400 --> 01:01:17,920
beast and follow after its claim to worship. Those who have rejected the

559
01:01:17,920 --> 01:01:22,600
first two angels warnings the call to true worship and away from religious

560
01:01:22,600 --> 01:01:28,040
confusion find themselves in danger of being on the receiving end of God's wrath

561
01:01:28,040 --> 01:01:36,460
in the judgment. How are God's people to respond to this challenge to God's

562
01:01:36,460 --> 01:01:42,080
authority this challenge to his prescribed means of worship? Well if

563
01:01:42,080 --> 01:01:46,360
worship on Sunday eventually enforced as the mark of the beast what is the

564
01:01:46,360 --> 01:01:53,860
alternative? Is there an alternative? Well Jesus says in John 14 15 if you

565
01:01:53,860 --> 01:01:59,240
love me keep my commandments and I prayerfully hope each one of us can

566
01:01:59,240 --> 01:02:04,000
answer to the affirmative on the first one. How are we doing on the second half?

567
01:02:04,000 --> 01:02:10,920
Do you love Jesus today? God's people are always motivated by their love for him.

568
01:02:10,920 --> 01:02:18,760
God's people are not motivated out of fear. They are not motivated because if

569
01:02:18,760 --> 01:02:24,560
I do this then God will gift me something. It's not a tit-for-tat kind of

570
01:02:24,560 --> 01:02:33,440
exchange in our relationship to him. We are motivated by love. How has Jesus said

571
01:02:33,440 --> 01:02:39,800
that we can show our love for him? Well faithfulness is how we can show our

572
01:02:39,800 --> 01:02:43,880
love to God and it brings us to the counter option for the mark of the beast

573
01:02:43,880 --> 01:02:50,320
the seal of God. Revelation 7 verse 2 says I saw another angel ascending from

574
01:02:50,320 --> 01:02:56,920
the rising of the Sun with the seal of the living God. Seals in ancient times

575
01:02:56,920 --> 01:03:02,800
were used to notarize or attest to the authenticity of official documents. I

576
01:03:02,800 --> 01:03:08,200
was in school at a time when the archaeology professor at Southern

577
01:03:08,200 --> 01:03:14,320
Adventist University all of a sudden was very excited and next thing the the

578
01:03:14,320 --> 01:03:19,000
school of religion knew he had basically disappeared for the next day and

579
01:03:19,000 --> 01:03:25,160
that's been changed. What is going on with with our professor? Well word came

580
01:03:25,160 --> 01:03:32,040
through the archaeology grapevine that the seal of Isaiah had been

581
01:03:32,040 --> 01:03:41,320
found in an excavation. Well that is so so vitally important to a biblical

582
01:03:41,320 --> 01:03:48,200
archaeologists mind that adds so much evidence extra biblically to the real

583
01:03:48,200 --> 01:03:53,800
existence of the prophet of Isaiah that he basically just took off and started

584
01:03:53,800 --> 01:03:58,760
calling people in Israel and doing what he did. It was very exciting to find

585
01:03:58,760 --> 01:04:05,400
these seals. Often the seals that we find are the only pieces of evidence of a

586
01:04:05,400 --> 01:04:11,480
person's proof of their existence because some things are so old and

587
01:04:11,480 --> 01:04:17,920
they've mostly been destroyed. They're very important. Everybody who was anybody

588
01:04:17,920 --> 01:04:23,200
had a seal. People designed their seals to be unique, distinctive, and

589
01:04:23,200 --> 01:04:27,360
individualized and they were used this way and this is this is not going to be

590
01:04:27,360 --> 01:04:31,320
uncommon to us if you ever had anything notarized. If you have a marriage

591
01:04:31,320 --> 01:04:36,840
certificate or a birth certificate we do the same thing today. With the contract

592
01:04:36,840 --> 01:04:42,240
or the agreement there would be a bit of a sealing wax. They would press the seal

593
01:04:42,240 --> 01:04:47,360
into it as evidence that the document was genuine. To be authentic a seal must

594
01:04:47,360 --> 01:04:53,440
contain at least three elements. We still do this today. The name, the title,

595
01:04:53,440 --> 01:04:57,480
and the territory of the individual whose seal it was and you would see that

596
01:04:57,480 --> 01:05:05,640
like Mrs. Jane Doe, County Clerk, Catoosa County on your marriage certificate.

597
01:05:05,640 --> 01:05:14,080
Something like that, right? We see that. Same three categories. Since the final

598
01:05:14,080 --> 01:05:19,360
conflict is over worship and God's authority is revealed in his law, we

599
01:05:19,360 --> 01:05:24,760
expect God's seal to be embedded in that law. In fact, the prophet Isaiah says

600
01:05:24,760 --> 01:05:33,080
this, bind up the testimony seal the law among my disciples. At the heart of God's

601
01:05:33,080 --> 01:05:38,400
law we read the fourth commandment, the one dealing with the Sabbath, which says

602
01:05:38,400 --> 01:05:45,960
this in part. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor

603
01:05:45,960 --> 01:05:52,760
and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. Four

604
01:05:52,760 --> 01:05:57,880
in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth the sea and all that is in

605
01:05:57,880 --> 01:06:02,280
them and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath

606
01:06:02,280 --> 01:06:08,400
day and he hallowed it. We see in this commandment the name the Lord your God

607
01:06:08,400 --> 01:06:14,760
and it doesn't just give his name he also tells his relationship to you. The

608
01:06:14,760 --> 01:06:22,440
Lord your God, the title, the one who made, creator, I made it all and his

609
01:06:22,440 --> 01:06:29,920
territory, the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them. His territory is

610
01:06:29,920 --> 01:06:37,160
as expansive as it gets. Some of the old Napoleons or the old

611
01:06:37,160 --> 01:06:44,880
Stalins would be jealous of this kind of territory. God claims everything as his.

612
01:06:44,880 --> 01:06:50,320
The Sabbath places us in a special position of worship and loyalty to the

613
01:06:50,320 --> 01:06:55,920
Creator. That is why it is singled out as the Keystone Commandment, the sign or

614
01:06:55,920 --> 01:07:03,720
the seal of the Covenant. Most of the Ten Commandments are accepted even by

615
01:07:03,720 --> 01:07:09,680
secular people as good. Non-religious people look at don't murder and they go

616
01:07:09,680 --> 01:07:13,960
yep. They look at don't steal they go yeah I don't want anyone taking my stuff

617
01:07:13,960 --> 01:07:18,620
from my car. You know they look at don't don't covet or don't cheat with my

618
01:07:18,620 --> 01:07:23,720
spouse. Yeah yeah don't don't do that. We can agree with that. You know kids honor

619
01:07:23,720 --> 01:07:28,240
your mother and father and they say yes you hear that little Jimmy? Even the

620
01:07:28,240 --> 01:07:33,440
non-religious agree with most of the Ten Commandments. Religious people even

621
01:07:33,440 --> 01:07:39,120
agree with the other ones. Have no other gods before me. Don't worship idols. Don't

622
01:07:39,120 --> 01:07:47,720
take God's name in vain. They go yep yep yep all makes sense. This one though this

623
01:07:47,720 --> 01:07:57,480
is the only one debated over. It's the only one that people go well I don't

624
01:07:57,480 --> 01:08:02,440
know about that one. I think I I think I read somewhere that I didn't read it in

625
01:08:02,440 --> 01:08:06,160
the book of Acts. People will say that because I didn't read it in the book of

626
01:08:06,160 --> 01:08:12,840
it's there. It's very obviously there or they will say well it's not explicitly

627
01:08:12,840 --> 01:08:19,600
restated or this is the only one that people really try to explain away rather

628
01:08:19,600 --> 01:08:25,280
than wondering how can I be faithful towards it like the other nine. That's

629
01:08:25,280 --> 01:08:31,160
the better question because the Sabbath places us in a special position of

630
01:08:31,160 --> 01:08:39,240
worship and loyalty to the Creator. That's why it is this by observing the

631
01:08:39,240 --> 01:08:44,440
Sabbath God's last-day people are placing their seal. They are giving their

632
01:08:44,440 --> 01:08:50,800
assent and their agreement to a covenant relationship with God. It is their pledge

633
01:08:50,800 --> 01:08:56,440
of loyalty and obedience to the whole law. James says if you stumble in one

634
01:08:56,440 --> 01:09:01,840
you've stumbled in the rest of them. You can't explain away one and say I'm doing

635
01:09:01,840 --> 01:09:08,040
great God how about it. It doesn't work that way according to the Bible. When we

636
01:09:08,040 --> 01:09:13,680
observe the Sabbath we acknowledge our position as subjects of the divine king

637
01:09:13,680 --> 01:09:20,160
because for an agreement to be valid both parties have to sign it. I just

638
01:09:20,160 --> 01:09:25,120
recently went through the process of buying my first house. I've only ever rented

639
01:09:25,120 --> 01:09:35,280
until now so many papers. So much and everyone has to sign it. Me and my wife

640
01:09:35,280 --> 01:09:39,720
and the seller and his wife and the attorney is signing things and our

641
01:09:39,720 --> 01:09:47,160
realtors are signing things and it's about this thick. So many. If one of us

642
01:09:47,160 --> 01:09:53,340
didn't sign on that dotted line we'd have to start all over. Both parties had to

643
01:09:53,340 --> 01:09:58,880
sign to it before it could be a valid purchase. So it is with our covenant

644
01:09:58,880 --> 01:10:04,920
relationship with God. He's already put his stamp on his part of the bargain.

645
01:10:04,920 --> 01:10:10,440
I've made you. I've created time. I've asked you to be with me during that time.

646
01:10:10,440 --> 01:10:17,760
I will bless you. I will forgive you. I will I will bring you home one day. Now

647
01:10:17,760 --> 01:10:23,320
put your name on there and that's what we're supposed to do with the Sabbath.

648
01:10:23,320 --> 01:10:30,040
The prophecy of Revelation 13 tells us that in the last days during the time of

649
01:10:30,040 --> 01:10:36,480
universal crisis God's people step forward. We don't continue to sit on the

650
01:10:36,480 --> 01:10:42,760
bench watching everyone else argue about this or that. We step forward and we

651
01:10:42,760 --> 01:10:49,640
place our stamp, our seal, our signature right on the covenant. Not by just saying

652
01:10:49,640 --> 01:10:58,920
yes please but by actually keeping the Sabbath. Can't just say okay makes sense.

653
01:10:58,920 --> 01:11:06,760
You've got to follow through. As I say put skin in the game. When they do this

654
01:11:06,760 --> 01:11:15,680
it will be God's turn. He steps forward. He puts his seal on it. He guarantees. He

655
01:11:15,680 --> 01:11:23,120
guarantees that they are his true followers. That's a beautiful thing

656
01:11:23,120 --> 01:11:30,400
because God wants the universe to behold in his people the triumph of his grace.

657
01:11:30,400 --> 01:11:35,800
He wants to show us off. He wants everyone to know that even in a time of

658
01:11:35,800 --> 01:11:41,040
universal apostasy, even in the face of a death decree, even under the

659
01:11:41,040 --> 01:11:46,200
threatenings of you can't buy and sell, that God will have a people who is loyal

660
01:11:46,200 --> 01:11:53,280
to him and they are unwavering. God wants to show you off. God wants people to

661
01:11:53,280 --> 01:11:59,240
notice that you are faithful to him and the ceiling is God's shout of triumph.

662
01:11:59,240 --> 01:12:08,200
It's God's trumpet of victory over you. It is his victory banner that waves

663
01:12:08,200 --> 01:12:14,000
before the universe. The mark of the beast at its very heart exalts human

664
01:12:14,000 --> 01:12:21,680
above the divine. It places man's word above God's word. I even showed a very

665
01:12:21,680 --> 01:12:27,800
clear example of man's word violating God's word. Just side by side. Just like

666
01:12:27,800 --> 01:12:33,480
that. Just like that. The mark of the beast results in replacing the

667
01:12:33,480 --> 01:12:37,600
commandments of God with human decrees and it leads to giving glory to man

668
01:12:37,600 --> 01:12:44,720
rather than giving glory to God. Comes down to this climax. Revelation 14 and

669
01:12:44,720 --> 01:12:49,920
verse 12. Here is a call for the endurance of the saints. Those who keep

670
01:12:49,920 --> 01:12:54,260
the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. This is all building up to

671
01:12:54,260 --> 01:13:02,560
something. God's last-day message ends with this climax. We are saved by grace.

672
01:13:02,560 --> 01:13:09,840
Our hearts are filled with the faith of Jesus. His faith motivates and changes us

673
01:13:09,840 --> 01:13:17,000
and inspires and empowers us if we are found in this description. Do you want to

674
01:13:17,000 --> 01:13:23,200
be found in that description? God, Jesus' faith frees you from the guilt of your

675
01:13:23,200 --> 01:13:30,600
past, delivers you from the bondage of sin both past and present and the hope

676
01:13:30,600 --> 01:13:37,040
of in the future nevermore. You won't have to worry about it again. You are

677
01:13:37,040 --> 01:13:44,760
saved by grace. You can't do anything else but through the power that he, but

678
01:13:44,760 --> 01:13:50,120
through his power, you give him your allegiance and you serve and obey him

679
01:13:50,120 --> 01:13:58,880
forever. Right now we are faced with a choice of the two options presented in

680
01:13:58,880 --> 01:14:05,080
the Word of God for showing who your allegiance belongs to, who you love and

681
01:14:05,080 --> 01:14:12,200
who you want as Lord in your life. Which will you choose? Like this man facing the

682
01:14:12,200 --> 01:14:18,560
fork in the road, which way will you turn? Do you want to be counted among the

683
01:14:18,560 --> 01:14:27,520
saints of God? Well, turn towards Jesus. Do you want to be sealed with his seal?

684
01:14:27,520 --> 01:14:35,440
Choose to keep his Sabbath. Do you desire to avoid religious confusion and following

685
01:14:35,440 --> 01:14:45,880
after a coercive institution? Well, leave Babylon. Avoid confusion. Don't go towards

686
01:14:45,880 --> 01:14:54,280
man's dictates, but rather towards God's directives. You have a choice today and

687
01:14:54,280 --> 01:14:59,800
today you will face the same challenge put forth by Joshua to Israel of old.

688
01:14:59,800 --> 01:15:09,440
Choose this day whom you will serve. Will it be God or will it be the beast? Let us

689
01:15:09,440 --> 01:15:15,360
pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word and we thank you for the

690
01:15:15,360 --> 01:15:19,440
warnings, but not only the warnings, but we thank you for the promise because as

691
01:15:19,440 --> 01:15:24,200
we turn to you, as we draw closer to you, you have promised to sustain us, to lift

692
01:15:24,200 --> 01:15:30,120
us, to bring us all the way through to the end. Lord, I pray that that would be

693
01:15:30,120 --> 01:15:35,400
sooner than later. Lord, we thank you for your faithfulness towards us and we pray

694
01:15:35,400 --> 01:15:40,440
for the strength to make a decision in your favor tonight as we pray in Jesus'

695
01:15:40,440 --> 01:15:54,920
name. Amen.