22- “Revelation’s Mark of the Beast Exposed” - Revelation's Ancient Discoveries

what does the future hold where can we find certainty in a world of uncertainty the book of Revelation provides hopeful answers for today tomorrow and forever join Mark Finley author and world-renowned speaker on a journey into the future with revelations ancient discoveries [Music] when you look at the book of Revelation one of the major topics in Revelation is this conflict over worship conflict between righteousness and unrighteousness conflict between truth and error and at the heart of that conflict is a crisis over worship there are two signs in the book of Revelation the seal of God and the mark of the beast and in this presentation we're gonna probe both what is the mark of the beast what is the seal of God and how can we avoid the mark of the beast let's pray as we enter into this most significant vitally important presentation Father in Heaven reveal to us clearly your truth help us to see the truth of your word and may it make a difference in our lives in Christ name Amen the title of this program is revelations mark of the beast exposed this is part of a series of telecasts called revelations ancient discoveries aired here on three angels broadcasting when I was asked to do this series on the book of Revelation I knew that one of the key topics was the one we're going to be presenting right now revelations mark of the beast exposed many people are quite confused about the mark of the beast they have the idea that it is 666 branded on somebody's forehead and so they've often said it's I've lectured on the book of Revelation well I don't want anybody I'm not gonna let em a brand 666 on my forehead much more subtle than that some have felt that maybe it's the barcode on cans or that which we scan on consumer goods and they've said you know that has to do with 666 a time when you cannot buy or sell but we need to go to Revelation itself and discover some basic things like who is the bee what is the mark of the beast and how can you avoid the mark of the beast the book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ so as we study this issue of the beast power discover who the Beast is we want to be sure that Jesus is central whoever the Beast is and whatever the beast power is whatever that Antichrist power is it's something opposite of who Christ is it teaches teachings not in harmony with Jesus so Jesus is always front and center in the book of Revelation but revelation reveals Jesus truth and exposes Satan's deceptions if there is a pathology or a sickness in the human body it's not always pleasant to have a diagnosis by a physician that you're sick let's suppose you had cancer and let's suppose that you needed a diagnosis before treatment which of course you would and let's suppose in that diagnosis the cancer was worse than you thought but the physician said if you have a very painful operation I know that we can that cancer can be removed we can get it it has not yet metastasized the growth is growing we need to cut it out you and I wouldn't look forward to surgery but we would look forward to saving our life sometimes in life you have to go through things that are quite painful for the ultimate result of saving your life so the subject of the mark of the beast it's not a pleasant one at times to discuss because we're looking at some long cherished religious opinions and I want to do this as kindly as lovingly as I can but wouldn't you expect me as a preacher of the word of God to share truth with you even at times of that truth were painful if it could save your very life revelation 13 verse 1 says then I stood on the sand of the sea when I saw a beast rising up out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns and on his horns ten crowns and on his head a blasphemous name now the Beast which I saw was like a leopard his feet were like the feet of a bear his mouth like the mouth of a lion the waters which you saw what a you see this beast comes up out of the water so let's pause here for a moment we have to let revelation describe its own symbols so remember the Beast comes up out of the water what are the waters represent revelation 17 verse 15 the waters which you saw where the harlot sits are people's multitudes nations or tongues we've studied about that harlot that false religious system in revelation 17 but what do the waters represent they represent peoples so a beast coming up out of the sea like we saw in Revelation 13 that we just read represents something a power coming up out of a peopled area of the world out of a population base not of an area that is not populated so in Bible prophecy we look at the symbols and the symbols explain themselves waters represent people they we sometimes use the expression the great sea of humanity and so it's a very common symbol now in the book of Revelation in not only in Revelation but throughout Bible prophecy what does a beast represent a beast represents a king or a kingdom Daniel chapter 7 verse 23 thus he said the fourth beast shall be the fourth what Kingdom on earth when you read these prophetic symbols they are quite common throughout scripture and they're consistent you read about a beast representing a king or a kingdom in the Book of Daniel you carry that over to the book of Revelation a beast represents a king or a kingdom so the beast coming up out of the sea represents a kingdom arising in a populated area of the world so a beast represents a a political power or it could represent a political religious power but something that has Authority now that where does this new power get its authority from revelation 13 verse 2 the dragon gave him his power his throne in great Authority so his throne of rulership comes from the dragon this is revelation 13 if you go back to Revelation the twelfth chapter you'll notice something about this dragon in Daniel chapter 7 you have four beasts you have a lion with eagle's wings Babylon you have a bear with three ribs Meeta persia you have a greece with the leopard like beasts describing greece and then you have this really nondescript dragon like beasts representing Rome so back in Daniel 7 the fourth beast represents Rome the Beast that comes up in Revelation 13 is this composite beach to remember how it read I stood upon the sand of the sea so another beasts come up out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns upon his horns ten crowns upon his head the name of blasphemy the Beast which you saw was like unto a what leopard there you see it feet like the feet of a what bayar mouth like the mouth of a lion and the dragon see again it's describing the Babylon medo-persia Greece pagan Rome of Daniel 7 there's another interesting aspect of this dragons work you look at revelation 12 verse 4 and 5 the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth so now this is the dragon in Revelation 12 who do they represent to devour her child as soon as it was born so the dragon to devour the child who's the child child is Jesus of course and who's the dragon in Revelation chapter 12 it says the dragon which you saw has Satan so how do you harmonize the dragon being Satan the dragon being pagan Rome Satan always works through some earthly power so in Revelation 12 the dragon is working through pagan Rome to destroy Jesus in Revelation 12 the dragon Satan is bent on destroying Christ now remember it was a Roman official Herod that passed the decree that all male children be killed the dragon Satan working through pagan Rome to destroy Jesus it was a Roman governor Pilate that sentenced Christ to death and ordered his crucifixion again the dragon Satan working through pagan Rome to destroy Jesus you look again it was a Roman emblem that sealed Jesus tomb in Roman soldiers that guarded it again the dragon working through pagan Rome to destroy Jesus so when you come to Revelation 13 and you see the dragon gave the power and great authority to this beast coming up this new power that's rising in Revelation 13 you have to raise a question since in Daniel 7 the dragon like beasts nondescript beast who is pagan Rome since in revelation 12 the Satan works through pagan Rome who did pagan Rome give its power thrown in great Authority - let's go to history we'll find six identifying characteristics of this beast power that leave no question no shadow of a doubt what the beast power is first it gets it gets its authority from pagan Rome professor the Blancas the professor of history and the University of Rome said this - the succession of the Caesars came the succession of the pontiff's in Rome when Constantine left Rome now this is Professor LeBlanc professor of history University of Rome he gave his seat to the pontiff what did revelation chapter 13 say that this beast power would get its seat of government its authority from pagan Rome so who got its authority from pagan Rome it was of course papal Rome of the pontiff so the beast power identified here in Revelation 13 would have to be papal Rome because it got its seat of government from pagan Rome the pontiff's sat there in the throne of the Emperor's or the Caesars Stanley's history page 40 again we go to history says this the Pope's filled the place of the vacant Emperor's of Rome inheriting again their power prestige and titles from paganism the papacy is but the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire sitting crowned upon its grave this is not a preacher this is Stanley's history now let me assure you the Beast is not a person the Bible doesn't say the Beast is a person the beast is always a power a political power or a religious power it is a religious political system let me pause as well here in our ancient discovery systems on series on the book of Revelation in our revelations ancient discovery series it's not our goal to condemn blaspheme any religious organization there are many wonderful wonderful godly people in the Roman Catholic community I was brought up in a lovely Catholic home my mom was Roman Catholic and I was educated by the priests and the nuns for much of my life the first eight years of my education and I look back at that with deep Thanksgiving one of the things that I really appreciate is learning to memorize my Catholic Roman teach Roman Catholic teachers my nuns really taught me how to memorize a great deal so I thank God for that and I I remember the first time I heard a message like this it really tore me apart inside but you know when you look at Scripture you have to say I don't want to go the easy way we have to say what is truth and if this is clear truth I want to following so let's look at the identifying characteristics of this beast power then let's look at the mark of the beast let's look at the seal of God and try to put all that together tonight the beast of revelation 13 describes a religious political power system that would grow up out of Rome after the fall of the Roman Empire now notice another characteristic revelation 13:8 all who dwell on the earth will worship Him in other words it is a system of religious authority or worship it talks about all over the world there would be this worldwide religious power so whoever the beast powers of Revelation 13 it can't be something done in a corner it's not an individual it's a political religious system that spans the globe there's another characteristic of this power as well Revelation 13 verse 5 said he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies according to the Bible what is blasphemy how does the Bible itself define blasphemy what does the Bible say that blasphemy is Jesus was charged with blasphemy certainly wasn't a blasphemer but John 10 verse 33 the Jews answered him saying for a good work we do not stone you but for blasphemy and because you being a man make yourself God so any human being that claims the authority of God is indeed a blasphemer because blasphemy is when a human being claims Authority of God does the Roman Church make that claim one must be fair with history and so let's go to the original sources in encyclical letters of Leo the 13th of course Pope we hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty another aspect of blasphemy is found in mark 2 verse 7 again the Pharisees scribes say religious leaders of Judaism why does this man Jesus speak blasphemy like this who can forgive sins but God alone so they're claiming Christ is a blasphemer why because he has the power to forgive sins was Jesus a blasphemer no not at all why not because he was God and therefore could claim the power to forgive sins but yet any earthly power that would claim the power to forgive sins would enter into what the Bible calls blasphemy in the book the dignities and duties of the priest we read this sentence and this is volume 12 page 2 dignities and duties of the priest is a book that priests get to study their responsibilities as a priest for the priesthood God himself this is amazing God Himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of his priest and either not to pardon or to pardon according as they refuse or give absolution the sentence of the priest precedes and God subscribes to it again I let you judge for yourself the Bible says blasphemy is claiming to be equal with God does the church do that they claim to the Bible says blasphemy is claiming the power to forgive sins you've seen the clear statement I need not comment on it honest hearted people guided by the Spirit hear the call of God to their hearts and want to step out from falsehood and tradition Jesus is our only priest and I remember a time when my mother was sitting in the backyard of our home there in Norwich Connecticut and I came out in the back it was a hot sunny July day I had come to Jesus I had heard and understood these truths and I so wanted to share them with mom my dad had already accepted them came out in the back porch and I said you know mom when I was taught in catechism I was taught that I needed a priest because the priest would be a mediator between God and me that I was not good enough to a approach God but mother let me read you a Bible text and I read her first Timothy or it says it's only one mediator between God and man the man Jesus Christ and I noticed tears come in her eyes because she began to understand maybe for the first time in her life the Oh supremacy of Christ we are not good enough to appear before God we need a priest but Jesus is our priest so here are three characteristics of the beast power they have authority the peace targets authority from pagan Rome papal Rome did it is a worldwide religious power papal Rome is it claims equality with God papal Rome does but notice revelation 13 verse 7 it was granted to him to make war with the Saints and to overcome them in other words during the middle or Dark Ages church and state would unite and this power would become a persecuting power did church and state unite under Rome and persecute those that didn't go along with its teachings there's only one answer to that you look at history and certainly the answer is yes this would be a persecuting power during the dark or Middle Ages there is a fifth characteristic it says revelation 13 verse 5 he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies in other words the power to forgive sins as exalting one's authority above the authority of God and he was given authority to continue 42 months now what's that all about authority to continue 42 months here is mathematical proof of this identity in Bible prophecy one prophetic day equals one literal year you read that in Ezekiel 4 verse 6 numbers 14 and verse 34 he says I've given you one day for a year now every time you read about a day in Bible prophecy in the Bible rather it's not a year but when you read about it in Bible prophecy it is a symbol you have symbolic prophecy you have beast coming up out of the sea you have like a lion with eagle's wings nothing like that in natural phenomena you have a bear raising itself up on one side with three ribs in its mouth you have these symbols you have the leopard with four heads and the wings and this dragon like beast and then you have time prophecy in the context of those symbols and so where you have symbolic prophecy you have symbolic time prophecy as well so one prophetic day equals a year so in the Bible there are 30 days in a prophetic month so this power drain for 42 months or 1260 prophetic days or 1260 literal years what is that all about the papal power rose to its ascendancy when vaggelis 2 was crown by Justine II in the pagan Roman Emperor there in 538 ad now before that time the last of the barbarian or the Aryan tribes were driven out of Rome and here the significance of this date is papal Authority is given at this point the papacy ruled for 1260 years certainly there was the Reformation during this time with Luther and Zwingli and HUS and Jerome and the other reformers but if you take 12 at 60 years and you add it to AD 538 you come to ad 1798 what happened in AD 1798 the Bible is very very plain Napoleon looking down to the South Seas the Pope of Rome as a rival and so he sends his general he actually sent him the year earlier but the general came back empty-handed he goes down in 1798 it's birthday exactly in that year that Bible prophecy predicted murthy a general Berthier interest Rome takes the papacy captive during that time takes the Pope captive the Pope actually dies in captivity there are a number of rivals that rival that the battle for the papacy and that's an interesting history in itself but here's the point that in 1798 the Pope is taken captive what does history tell us about these remarkable events church history page 24 the murder of a Frenchman in in 1798 gave the French an excuse for occupying the Eternal City and putting an end to the papal temporal power the agent Pont himself was carried into exile into Valencia the enemies of the church rejoiced they thought of course the last Pope they declared has resigned so 538 ad French put a crown on the king they Pig their Emperor Justinian enables the king rather enables the Pope to sit upon his throne and gives him civil authority at that time then 1798 occurs what takes place Napoleon sends his French general down he overthrows Rome takes the Pope captive so from 538 to 1798 the receiving of authority the removing of authority exactly like the Bible says in that 1260 year period now what does the Bible say about this let's look at it very carefully and I saw one of his heads as if had been mortally wounded in fact that's what many people thought that the papacy was mortally wounded and his deadly wound would eventually of course be healed in all the world would marvel or follow the Beast again so the Bible predicted that the Pope would go into captivity it would be a deadly wound but that deadly wound would be healed and the Pope eventually would achieve worldwide prominence or authority again so here are five characteristics 5 identifying characteristics of the beast power of Revelation chapter 13 it would get its authority from pagan Rome it did it would be a worldwide religious power it was it would claim equality with God it indeed did it was a persecuting power during those dark ages it was it would reign for 1260 years exactly historically like the Bible says but there is another identifying characteristic found in revelation 13 verse 18 it says here's wisdom but he who has understanding calculate or compute the number of the beast for it is the number of a man and his number is 666 so when you look at that it says let's calculate now I want to hear be sure we understand 666 is not the only identification of the beast in fact if we didn't have 666 we could still easily identify the beast from those five characteristics outlined in Revelation 13 but it does help to confirm that identity now in the Bible prophecy of course 7 equals perfection the six equals apostasy or rebellion throughout scripture one of the official titles of the papacy is vicarious fili a day or vicar the Son of God this is one of the very authoritative one of the official titles of the papacy Vic arias fili a date in fact it's one of the most exalted titles because it means vicar the son of God if you take Vic arias filly a day and you compute that in Roman numerals and of course in the days of John you had the use of these Roman numerals and Roman numerals are a very common symbol or common system of computation thee would equal 5 I would equal 1 C would equal 100 a would equal 0 r would equal 0 1 would equal I would equal 1 u that's the same as V that would equal 5 s would equal 0 so you just have five and one and a hundred and one and five that is 112 then F fili a would equal zero I would equal one L would equal 50 I would equal one and I would equal one again you've got 53 D in the day Eve Vic arias vicar the son of filly a Dei God D would equal 500 e will equal zero and I would equal one that's five hundred and one if you add them up one hundred and twelve 53 and 501 here is wisdom but him that hath understanding calculator compute the number of the beast it's the number of his name and that is the number of a man so notice the name or title of the papacy of acharyas fili a day you'll get two and three and one that six one in five and zero that's 6 + 5 + 1 is 6 so you have 666 so the beast power outlined in Revelation chapter 13 is a religious power it's a power that would rise out of Rome and assert religious authority now notice what scripture says each of these identifying characteristics must be present they are of course in the papacy he causes all both small and great rich and poor free and slave to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads that no one may buy or sell except the one who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name what is this talking about the mark of papal Authority the mark of papal authority that would be enforced at a time of universal crisis famine fire flood earthquake hurricane natural disaster war conflict strife economic disaster so around the world the Bible preaches that before the coming of Jesus it would be great disaster and the human race would look for a single world ruling authority to bring human beings together to bring peace back to the world under the auspices of the sign or mark of that authority now in Bible prophecy what is indeed this mark of the beast to understand the mark of the beast we must first understand God's sign seal or mark in the book of Revelation you have both the mark of the beast and the seal of God so you can't fully understand the mark of the beast unless you understand the seal of God so in revelation 7 verse 2 and 3 it says then I saw another angel ascending from east having the seal of the Living God so what is this seal of the Living God then the angel says hurt not the earth for the sea until we've sealed the servants of God in their foreheads now notice he cries with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea in other words hold the strife back hold the destruction back hold the calamity the conflict back until something happens till we've sealed the servants of God we're in therefore it's saying do not harm the earth the sea or the trees till we've sealed the servants of God in their foreheads did you notice something interesting the mark of the beast is received either in the fort or in the hand the seal of God only in the forehead will understand that why shortly so what is God saying here he's saying before the mark of the beast goes forth I want my people to receive my seal the seal that they are mine the seal that I owned them the seal that they belong to me the seal that they are the creators the mark of the beast is enforced either in the hand or in the forehead the forehead is a sign of the brain it's a sign of conscience reason and judgment it's a symbol of the intellect the forebrain so the devil either deceive people by the millions into following him in their mind whereas the hand is a symbol of force coercion power so the devil doesn't care if he deceives you like the serpent or he forces or coerces you like the dragon and says you can't buy or sell and there's this economic boycott or there's this death decree the devil doesn't care which way he gets you God never appeals to us through force or coercion but he only appeals to us through truth and love the devil can use force and fear that Jesus only uses love and truth forehead means you're convicted it's right the hand means your converse to go along your you're coerced to go along with it Jesus only appeals to our logic God never ever uses force he winds us by love now what is this seal what's another name for the seal romans 4 verse 11 talking about abraham he received the sign of circumcision or a seal of righteousness in the bible a sign or a seal is the same thing a seal authenticates a document where we find God's eternal code of conduct of course in its law so the Holy Spirit which is the sealing agency the Bible says in the book of Ephesians grieve not the Holy Spirit Ephesians 4:30 where bear you are sealed until the day of redemption so the Holy Spirit seals in your heart loyalty to Christ seals in your heart commitment to God's law the Holy Spirit places within you that power that strength that desire to serve Christ in him alone look I say 8 verse 16 seal the law among my disciples so God's seal is found in his law the Holy Spirit seals the law in our hearts or in our lives what's another name for seal it's sign Ezekiel 20 verse 12 moreover I also gave them my Sabbath's to be a sign between me and them so God's Sabbath is his sign or his seal of ownership and authority in all of the Ten Commandment law there's only one commandment that tells us why we keep the commandments you read the commandment says honor your father and mother why should do that I mean it's the right thing to do yes thou shalt not kill why not thou shalt not steal why not don't commit adultery don't cover it why not don't have any other gods before you why not don't take the name of the Lord your God in vain why not no images why not why not remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God in it thou shalt not do any work for the Lord made the heaven the earth the sea and all that in the mayor's why not because God created you because God fashioned you revelation 4 verse 11 thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things so the Sabbath is the symbol of the Creator God it's the symbol that we belong to him it's the symbol of his ownership so the seal of God is really the Holy Spirit placing within our heart and mind the desire to be loyal to Christ 666 symbolizes man's rebellion in changing God's law which is his sign his seal or his mark of authority now royal seals were commonly used throughout the old and new testament period royal seals always would have the name of the sealer the title of the sealer in his territory so if you have a royal seal for constant enix for example it would say name constantine title emperor and territory roman empire if you had a seal of the united states force abraham lincoln it would say name abraham lincoln title president his domain or territory United States so seals were commonly used to authenticate a document even now if you go down to a justice of the peace if you go down to a notary public you have a seal you have an informant an important document bring it down to the notary and the notary will put their seal on it the seal will have the name of the notary it'll have the title of the notary and it will also have the territory of that notary now God's seal in his law the Sabbath has his name his title in his territory it says remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God so what's his name it's the LORD thy God what is his function it is creator the one who made in what's his territory heaven and earth look for in six days the Lord that's his made he's that's his title he's the maker the Creator the heavens and the earth the sea and all that in them is that's his territory and he rested the seventh day so the Holy Spirit leads us to conversion the Holy Spirit is the sealing agency the Holy Spirit writes the law of God in our mind so we know it in our heart so we love it the Holy Spirit then places within our disc arts the desire to follow Christ the Sabbath becomes the visible symbol that we desire through His grace to be loyal and committed to him he has blessed the Sabbath day and he's hallowed it it is His divine seal in the last days of Earth's history at a time when there's war terrorism conflict strife on every hand God has a group of people that will stand for him on the other hand there will be this mass ecumenical movement to bring people together to have world peace God's seal his name the Lord your God is titled the Creator is territory heaven and earth he is gathering men and women under his banner to serve him he says in Ezekiel 20 verse 20 how am i Sabbath's and they shall be a sign between me and you that you may know that I am the Lord your God just as the Sabbath is the sign of God just like a seal was the sign of the ancient King the ancient Emperor the ancient ruler the Sabbath is God's sign of loyalty God's sign of faithfulness God's sign that he indeed is the creator and we want to worship Him the central issue regarding the mark of the beast is worship whose shrine will we worship at whoever worship at the shrine of man of the shrine of Jesus whose Authority will we accept the authority of man the authority of Jesus the it's not a matter of days my friend simply it's a matter of Allegiance it's a matter of loyalty it's a matter of a conflict over the law of God a conflict between the seal of God and the mark of the beast now what does the Church of Rome claim is the sign of its authority what is the Church of Rome claim that it's the sign of its authority notice in the Catholic record September 1 1923 I read Sunday is our mark of authority the church is above the Bible and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact so what does the church itself claim that is its mark of authority of course Sunday now somebody says pastor mark please make this plain does everybody who keep Sunday have the mark of the beast not at all let me repeat that everyone who keeps Sunday does not have the mark of the beast there are so many conscientious Christians there Catholic Christians there Baptists Christians there Pentecostal Christians there Lutheran Christians they are nondenominational Christians I meet them everywhere they love Jesus they're totally committed to Christ and they do not have the mark of the beast by keeping Sunday but look in the future church and state will unite in the future at the time of crisis when this world appears to be falling apart in an attempt to unite all the world a decree will be passed leading people to worship on the first day of the week denominational differences will be dropped for the sake of political unity and the sake of trying to save the world now that doesn't mean that each religious denomination is going to blend into one but they will find at least two points in common one Sunday worship and second the idea of the soul being immortal and they'll be led on those two points in this great unity movement but God will have a people a people that are loyal to him a people that are faithful to him a people that will never give up their conscientious convictions to him God has a more and that mark is the Divine Sabbath the Roman Church has a mark of its authority Sunday and the church claims that its authority is above the authority of the Bible if you read get Peter Gammons catechism it says which day is the Sabbath day answer Saturday is the Sabbath day why then do we keep Sunday instead of Saturday gehrman's Catechism says because the church changed the day from Saturday to Sunday why did the church do this because of its authority if you look at the converts catechism very similar statements Catholic Encyclopedia very similar statements you look at the statements of Edward Hiscox author of the Baptist manual points out that Sunday came into the church through pagan sources adopted by the papacy and that it then it's come into Protestantism so the Roman Church as a mark of its authority not based on biblical authority but based on its claim that it can exalt the Sunday Sabbath above the true Sabbath of the Bible in st. Catharines Catholic Church Sentinel May 21 1995 they were discussing the issue of the Bible Sabbath and why the Catholic Church keeps Sunday rather than the Sabbath and look at what this Catholic Journal said May 21 1995 perhaps the boldest thing the most revolutionary change the church ever did happened in the first century not quite historically accurate happened in about the third or fourth century the holy day the Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday not from any directions noted in the scriptures now note this is st. Catharines Catholic Church Sentinel May 21 1995 and what's its saying what's it talking about it says that the church changes the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday not based on Scripture what's it based on we go on but from the church just sense of its own power people think people who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority should logically become seventh-day adventists and keeps Saturday holy isn't that an amazing isn't that an incredible statement from the monastery from the Catholic Church saying people that want to keep Sabbath should become seventh-day adventists a friend of mine I don't know about you but I want to follow Jesus and I know that's why you are watching this telecast because deep within your heart you want to follow Jesus deep within your heart you want to hang on to the truth of Scripture deep within your heart you know that Jesus indeed is your Lord Jesus indeed is your savior and that the Bible is your only guide you see the final issue is one of loyalty the final issue is one of commitment to Christ and the final issue will deal about worship the issue in heaven had to do with worship and loyalty the issue in the Garden of Eden had to do whose voice would you listen to with Adam and Eve had to do with loyalty down through the centuries the human race has been tested on this area of obedience tested in this area of loyalty tested in this area of worship when men and women come to Jesus when they're saved by His grace when they're redeemed by his love they long to be obedient to him you see in every age God has had called men and women to take a stand in the days of the early Roman Empire Perpetua Vivian took a stand for Christ and was not popular to take that stand in those days not common to take that stand but she took a stand for Christ this young woman in her 20s would not burn incense to Caesar Christ her Lord as the result of that she was cast into prison she had just born a baby and the Roman authorities the pagan Roman authorities took that baby and held it outside of the prison bars and she could hear her baby crying from milk and they said if you renounce Christ we will open the doors of the prison open the gates of the prison and we will give you your baby and you can nurse it she could not renounce Christ they did everything they could from starving or beating her and one day they came in and they said you're foolish why won't you renounce Christ prepare to a Vivier pointed to a clay pot and she said what's that they said a clay pot she said if we call it by any other name than a clay pot will it make it anything else they said no it's a clay pot she said if I'm called by any other name back than a Christian I I can't change who I am I'm still a Christian she died because of her faith she took that courage and God is calling men and women in this crisis our of Earth's history to take a stand in these last days of Earth's history God invites his people to take a stand I have spent many weeks months years traveling in Eastern Europe traveling in the former Soviet Union I've talked to scores of men and women who've been imprisoned for their faith I've talked to people who have suffered for their faith I remember my dear friend Mikhail kulikov he's died now this great man of faith his tremendous man of God who told me about his father's trial his father was a sabbath-keeping adventist minister he was tried by the communist government for what they called counter revolutionary activities he had baptize some young people at night one of them was a communist informer who told on the father said he was coerced he wasn't of course but he was often often manipulated this young man was by the government to do that bastard Mikkel cool coughs father was imprisoned for his faith he was tried falsely accused after the trial which none of the family could be in pastor kulikov told me I went down to his cell there was a young Russian guard about his age in his early 20s guarding the cell pastor kulikov said can I can I talk to my father the guard looked one way the guard looked another way said I'll give you five minutes pastor kulikov one-eighty said My father embraced me we cried and cried together I didn't know if I'd ever see him again I said What did he say to you he said Oh son how much I love you be faithful to Christ then he took his hand he ran it through my hair he said look the court records indicate they're gonna come and arrest you next the court records indicate that you two will be sent to prison but don't worry they'll cut off all your hair but it'll grow again pastor kulikov was sent to five years in prison when I talked to him after that his father was in one prison he was in another prison his brother was in another prison his brother never made it out of prison he died in prison but I said to Pastor cool off pastor Cooke of how did you survive in prison he said I knew there was something beyond I knew that I was going to a land where there's no sickness suffering or death I knew that God would get me through and he said by the way in prison there were many Jewish rabbis and you know what I took those five years I learned Hebrew in prison and God worked it out for good because now I've been able to translate the old Russian Bible into modern Russian because I learned Hebrew and I could translate it from the original languages my friend this moment God is going you to take a stand this moment God is calling you to follow his truth this moment God is calling you to look beyond what is to what will be to look beyond time to eternity God is calling you to follow him Jesus says to you just now do you like to live in a land where there's no sickness suffering a death land where there is no more night listen as Celestine sings about that glorious land about that marvelous land about that time that all of our trials should be over of our sufferings OBO for all of our heartache they'll be over there'll be no more no time with the earth and heaven will pass my way it's not a dream God will make all things new that cool he's the curves from which I stumble evil is banished to eternal No [Music] no more tears never crying again and pray Jesus to be great [Music] we will in the light of the reason [Music] see all around now the nations bow down to see the only sound is the praise to cry [Music] smooth we the nurse from the go work hard I know the game so there's no need no need to dress [Music] No No [Music] never cry [Music] and pray is too they're great [Music] we will ha ha [Music] see Paul there is a mansion that's prepared just for me when my city Pizza so there will be no more No [Music] [Music] [Music] we will he's done [Music] that way we were [Music] the result [Music] the reason [Music] it will be worth it on that day my friend whatever sacrifice you have to make now whatever commitment that God is calling you to make whatever stand he's inviting you to take whatever decision he's leading you to it'll be worth it on that day no more night no more heartache no more pain no more suffering you know when I heard a message like this for the very first time it really stirred me to the depth of my soul because as I mentioned I was brought up in a very lovely Roman Catholic home my father had become a seventh-day adventists my mother educated us in Catholic schools but yet I began to study the Bible I knew there was something missing in my life I knew there was a deep down longing within that wasn't being satisfied by the traditions of the church and I came to a point where I heard a message just like the one you've heard that really gripped me that really moved me and I knew I had to do something with it I had to make a decision to make that decision meant to step out for my friends to make that decision meant to step out from for much of my family to make that decision meant to step out from everything that was comfortable for me but I sensed the conviction of the Spirit of God I sensed the moving of the Holy Spirit and I knew that for me personally to be faithful to Christ I needed to make that decision I'd like you to pray about what God wants you to do just forget about the influence of others forget about your legacy your past forget about how you've been brought up and just say Jesus whatever you want me to do that's what I want to do ask Jesus to bring deep conviction to your be honest with Christ listen for his voice speaking through his word play fair with God tell him Lord whatever you want me to do make it plain to me and I'll do it because I'm dedicated to following you and your word why not make that decision as we pray father in heaven thank you so much that you are faithful to your word you'll never let us down you'll guide us you'll strengthen us for the decisions ahead and we thank you for that in Christ's name Amen thank you for joining us for revelations ancient discoveries God has an amazing plan for your life as you continue in Christ to follow him now and forever [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN)

Views: 548,066

Rating: 4.6624475 out of 5

Keywords: 3ABN, Three Angels Broadcasting Network, yt:quality=high, Revelation's Mark of the Beast, What is the mark of the beast?, Mark Finley, Bible Study, Revelation, Bible, Prophecy, What day is the Sabbath?, the biblical Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday, 666, Is the mark a computer chip?, the tribulation, will you be left behind?, left behind and the tribulation, End time prophecy

Id: lvTL_lnN5-Q

Length: 58min 0sec (3480 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 04 2018