"Revelation's Land Beast" - Pastor Stephen Bohr

let's bow our heads for prayer our loving Heavenly Father what a joy it is to be in your presence today we thank you Father for your holy word because it's a sure guide in a world that doesn't know where to turn in a world that's confused about Bible prophecy we ask father that you will open our understanding today that we might be able to comprehend about the beast that rises from the earth I ask Lord that you will remove preconceived notions from our minds and you will help us only to hear your voice and we thank you for hearing our prayer for we ask it in the precious name of Jesus amen in last times presentation we studied about the Beast that rose from the sea and we noticed that that beast that rose from the sea is a symbol of the Roman Catholic papacy now I want to make it very clear that we are not opposed to Roman Catholics we're talking about a system we're not talking about the individuals within that system there are very many sincere loving Christians within that communion but we're talking about the Roman Catholic Church as an organization or as a hierarchy now you remember if you were here last time that we noticed that the fourth beast of Daniel chapter 7 has four stages of Dominion the first stage of Dominion is of course the dragon beast ruling by itself that represents the Roman Empire then from the head of that dragon beast come ten horns which represent the ten divisions of the Roman Empire the Roman Empire was fragmented as a result of the barbarian invasions and then we notice that a little horn rises among the ten that represents the Roman Catholic papacy which ruled for 1,000 260 years from 538 to 1798 when the Pope was taken prisoner by Napoleon's general Bethy and then we noticed that there was a period of time in which that little horn or the Beast remained inactive because the secular governments of the world maintained the system bound in other words they did not allow this system to use them the Bible uses the symbol of the symbolism of the sword they did not allow the church to use the sword of the state and so for about 200 years after the French Revolution the Roman Catholic Church has not been able to use the civil powers of the world to persecute we notice also in our study that this deadly wound is going to be healed the sword is going to be returned once again to this system in all the world the Bible says is going to wonder after this system is going to wonder after the Beast and you'll say how in the world could this wound be healed how is it possible that any nation in the world would allow this system once again to climb on it and to use that government or to use that secular power as a sword to persecute once again those who are not in harmony with the teachings of the church well today we're going to study a little bit about the healing of that deadly wound we're going to identify a second beast in Revelation 13 this beast does not rise from the from the sea it rises from the earth and this beast is actually going to return the sword to the first beast you see this second beast from the earth is going to make an image of the first beast this second beast is going to command all of the world to worship the first beast in fact this second beast is going to command everyone on earth to receive the mark of the beast by the way in the future we're going to have one lecture on the image to the Beast we're going to have another lecture on the mark of the beast and we're going to have still another one on the number of the beast so each one of those aspects we are going to study but today we want to identify the power or the nation that is going to return the sword to the sea beasts or to the Roman Catholic papacy in fact do you know that the Bible says that when the sword is returned to the sea beast that the sea beast is actually going to be able to kill through this power through this nation that rises is going to be able to kill everyone who is not in harmony with her teachings we find that in Revelation chapter 13 and verse 15 where it says he was granted power to give breath to the image of the Beast that the image of the Beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the Beast to be killed yes persecution will arise again just like it existed during the Middle Ages now let's read about this beast that rises from the earth that is going to help the first beast did its power back Revelation chapter 13 and verse 11 revelation 13 verse 11 then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon other versions say he had two horns like a lamb but he spoke like a dragon now the remarkable thing about this second beast this earth beast is that it has a split personality in other words it has a positive side and it has a negative side the positive side are the two horns like a lamb because we're going to notice in Revelation that the lamb represents Jesus Christ so this beast has a positive sign the two horns like a lamb but it says that this same beast that has two horns like a lamb speaks like what like a dragon let me ask you what similarity is there between a dragon and a lamb no similarity at all and yet in this one beast you find these two carrot mystics two horns like a lamb it has two aspects like a lamb but it speaks like a dragon in other words it has a stool personality it has a split personality I want you to notice that it's not that this beast has two horns like a lamb and then the two horns are broken in other words it ceases being like a lamb and then it speaks like a dragon when the two horns are broken no the Bible says that it speaks like a dragon even while it still has the two horns in other words it professes one thing but it actually lives another in other words it professes two principles we're going to notice that Christ entertained and it's going to say we believe in that but at the same time it's going to persecute like the dragon of Revelation chapter 12 now let's identify this lamb beast let's see actually it's not a lamb beast but the beast that has two horns like a lamb let's review the order of kingdoms that we studied last time you remember that we have a lion what Kingdom does the lion represent battlin then we have a bear what Kingdom does the bear represent the Medes and Persians then we have a leopard what Kingdom does a leopard represent Greece then we have a dragon beast and what does that dragon beast represent Rome and then that dragon beast grows ten horns what do the ten horns represent they come from the head of Rome of the dragon beast it represents Rome that was divided into ten kingdoms as a result of the barbarian invasions 476 is the key date that's when the last Roman Emperor was deposed and then you have the little horn which represents the papacy which by the way is Roman also it comes from the head of the dragon beast which is Rome and it rules for 1260 years but then at the end of the 1260 years it receives a what a deadly wound the sword that it used to persecute now turns against it in other words the sword is taken out of its hand and the sword rises against it and gives it a deadly and for a while this beast is inactive this sea beast is inactive because it has a deadly wound but the Bible says that its deadly wound is going to be what healed now I want you to notice something very interesting about this beast when this first beast Falls when the sea beasts receives its deadly wound at that moment is when this land beast rises so we have a chronological detail to know exactly when this beast is going to arise in the flow of history let's notice several characteristics characteristic number one of this land beast that is going to give the sword back to the sea beasts and it's going to impose the mark of the sea beast it's going to impose the number of the sea beast it's going to make an image of the sea beast it's going to tell everyone to worship the sea beast in other words everything it does if is with reference to the sea beasts it all it's almost like it doesn't have its own identity it arose for one purpose and that was to return the identity or the ability to persecute to that first beast now notice Revelation chapter 13 verses 10 and 11 revelation 13 verses 10 and 11 verse 10 speaks about the deadly wound it says he who leads into captivity shall go into captivity he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword see that's the deadly wound here is the patience and the faith of the saints and notice immediately after it speaks about the deadly wound we find in verse 11 then so when the first beast falls it says then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon so when does the second beast rise it rises to power when the first beast receives its deadly wound because it says he who kills with the sword will be killed with a sword then he says then I saw another beast rise from the earth which means that this beast would have to rise around what year it would have to be around the 1798 when the first beast received its deadly wound a second characteristic which helps us identify this beast from the earth is that in Revelation 13 beginning with verse 11 there is no reference to waters there is no reference to winds of strife in fact this beast that rises from the earth doesn't even fight with any other beasts in other words it does not arise in the midst of strife winds of strife represent Wars it doesn't have to conquer any previous nation it actually arises in a different place it can't be in Asia and it can't be in Europe you say why not because if you read Daniel chapter 7 you'll notice that the lion and the bear which are Asian powers by the way rose from the sea also the leopard and the dragon beast which are European powers rose from the sea as well but this beast rises from the earth which might means that it must rise in a different place are you understanding what I'm saying now something very important is that prophecy is actually moving from east to west because the first two beasts are Asian powers the lion and the bear the next two beasts are European powers which is Greece and Rome and by the way always moving further what further west so where would you expect this beast from the earth to arise probably further west than Europe and let me ask you what is it that is west from Europe the North America the United States of America in fact it's interesting that there are no waters it rises from the earth waters represent multitudes nations tongues and people's let me ask you in the United States when the pilgrims came to the United States were there lots of people living in this country was it like the old country Europe absolutely not there were very few living here I'm going to give you some statistics a little bit later on fact let me read you of statements one of them is by Daniel J Burstein who for many years was the librarian of Congress he says this about North America the vacancy of North America was to prove to be its peculiar promise to the world that is of the United States emptiness was America's special fertility and another author said this GA Townsend about the territory where this country rose the history of the United States was separated by a beneficent Providence from the wild and cruel history of the rest of the continent and like a silent seed we grew into an empire so the United States arose in silence no wins no wars no fighting other nations it arose in the earth where there was a scarcity of people it arose around the Year 1798 and this author says that it rose like a plant do you know that that word that's used I saw another beast rise from the earth that word rise is used in the New Testament to describe a plant that grows from the earth it's interesting that this historian says in in the last quotation I read like a silent seed we grew into an empire now another point that will help us identify this power is that the first beast the sea beasts and this earth beasts are contemporaneous in other words they exist at the same time but the first beast is older than this second beast because the second beast rises after the first beast has ruled for 1260 years in other words they exist at the same time their powers that are simultaneous in the flow of history and the interesting thing is that this second beast actually helps the first beast to get its power back you know usually when you look at the beast in Daniel chapter 7 you know the bear fights the lion and takes away his power and the leopard flight's fights the bear and takes away his power and the dragon fights the leopard and takes away his power in other words every power defeats the previous power but this is very unused because in 1798 when the first power falls and loses the sword the Bible tells it that that this second power is not going to fight that first power but is actually going to do everything possible to restore the power to the first beast unbelievable revelation 13 also says that this power is going to be worldwide and it's going to be a superpower it's going to be a superpower economically because the Bible says that he's got to forbid to buy and sell to whoever does not receive the mark of the beast it's a worldwide military military power because it says that it's going to kill everyone who does not receive the mark of the beast and it is also a worldwide political power because it says that everybody on earth all the world marveled and worship the Beast in other words this second beast is the enforcer of the first beast this second beast is actually the sword in the first beasts and and you say this is incredible how would this beast lend itself to be used in this manner well it's unbelievable but it's true one final characteristic before we move on to talk about the two horns like a lamb which was is one especially I want us to dwell upon this nation before it becomes an oppressive nation and actually enforces the religion of the first beast actually was a blessing to those people who fled from the old country to the United States I'm not going to read the text but if you go to Revelation chapter 12 you're going to notice in verse 16 that immediately after towards the end of the 1260 years when the church was being persecuted says the dragon was spewing water out of his mouth to drown the woman which represents the church we're told there that the earth helped the woman and the earth swallowed the waters of persecution that the dragon spewed out of his mouth in other words at first this nation provides what help and refuge for those who are persecuted in Europe but later on what's going to happen with this nation instead of providing refuge for God's people it is going to become a what a persecuting power by the way I'd like to mention just briefly here the phenomenal growth of the United States into a world superpower in 1701 the United States had two hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed there were 2.8 million in the year 1800 there were five million two hundred and thirty six thousand that's around the time of the deadly wound in 1900 the United States had 76 million two hundred and twelve thousand in 1950 the United States had 150 one thousand three 151 million three hundred and twenty five thousand and today the latest that I saw on the internet the United States has has over three hundred and six million inhabitants since 1950 the population of the United States has doubled as a silent seed we grew into an empire let me ask you is the United States a global power economically militarily and financially absolutely can it serve eventually as the enforcer for this power there's no nation in the world that could serve as the enforcer of this power except the United States now I want to go and dwell upon the two horns like a lamb that's what I want to dedicate most of our time to in this lecture first of all we want to ask what does this beast represent what does a beast represent in Bible prophecy well you know that a beast represents a nation right the lion represents Babylon the bear medo-persia the leopard Greece the dragon Rome the he-goat represents Greece the RAM represents medo-persia in other words beasts in prophecy represent nations now allow me to read you a statement from Adam Clarke he was a great Bible commentator he's not a seventh-day Adventist but he explains what a beast represents see this is not only seventh-day Adventist that believed that beasts represent nations he says this as a beast has already been shown to be the symbol of a kingdom or Empire the rising up of this second beast that's the land beast must consequently represent the rising up of another Empire is he right he said well if the first beast is an empire well the second beast must also be what an empire in order to be consistent now what do look two horns represent how many beasts do we have its I'm not talking about the sea beast and the land beast the land beast is how many beasts just one right four there's two horns so how many nations does this beast represent it's one nation but it has two horns now what do the two horns represent once again Adam Clarke gives this explanation very very good explanation he says as the seven-headed beast is represented as having ten horns this is the dragon beast it has ten horns which signifies so many kingdoms leagued together to support the Latin Church so the Beast which rises out of the earth has also two horns which must consequently represent two kingdoms for if horns of a beast mean kingdoms in one part of the Apocalypse that's the book of Revelation kingdoms must be intended by this symbol whenever it is used in a similar way in any other part of this book is he right I mean you have to be consistent you can't say that the ten horns of the dragon beast represent one thing and to say the two horns on this land beast represents something totally different the two horns on the head of the Lamb beasts or this beast that has characteristics like a lamb represent two kingdoms now there's a biblical parallel that is very very close to this symbol that we have in revelation 13 verse 11 go with me to Daniel chapter 8 Daniel chapter 8 and I want to read verse 3 and then we'll jump down to verse 20 Daniel chapter 8 verse 3 then I lifted my eyes and saw and there standing beside the river was a ram how many animals 1 a ram which had okay say I'm 1 beast with what 2 horns and the two horns were high but one was higher than the other and the higher one came up last now what do those two horns represent on this one beast this one ram with two horns what does the RAM and what do the two horns represent verse 20 the RAM which you saw having the two horns they are the kings of media and Persia let me ask you was this one nation yes it was one nation one beast is used to represent it a bear and a ram one nation but this one nation was composed of how many kingdoms this one nation was composed of two kingdoms in other words that this beast of Revelation 13 represents one nation but that one nation has two what has two kingdoms or dual kingdoms within it now we're going to come back to this you'll understand what we're talking about we're setting the basis now but let me ask why are these two horns like horns of a lamb you know there are many beasts in Scripture that have horns in prophecy but this is the only time when the horns are specifically identified what kind of horns you know for example the dragon beast that says it has ten horns it doesn't say that what kind of ten horns they are there's just ten horns but with this beast it specifies it says that it has two horns like a what like a lamb that must be important now the question is what does the lamb represent the word lamb is used in the book of Revelation twenty nine times in 28 of those references it indisputably refers to Jesus Christ and so somehow this beast the only time where you might have an exception is here in this text revelation 13 verse 11 it must mean that somehow this one nation and its head it will have Torn's which represent two kingdoms and those kingdoms are the ones that were recognized by whom they were recognized by Jesus Christ because the lamb represents whom the lamb represents Jesus so the two horns like a lamb is the positive side of this beast let me ask you is this good that has two horns like a lamb sure but the problem is that there has two horns like the lamb you know there's two horns like kingdoms that Jesus recognized but at the same time it will speak like what it'll speak like a dragon because it has a split personality in other words the two horns like a lamb are the positive side they're related in somehow to the Lord Jesus Christ and so we need to ask the question what two kingdoms did Jesus Christ the lamb recognize because the two horns are kingdoms and they're they're two horns like a lamb so they must be two kingdoms that Jesus what that Jesus recognized now the question is which two kingdoms did Jesus recognize as viable well we've studied this in previous lectures you remember that Jesus says render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are gods did Jesus recognize two kingdoms did the Lamb of God recognize two kingdoms yes he did so let's summarize this beast that rises from the earth must be a kingdom this beast that rises from the earth that has two horns the two horns must represent that in that nation there are two what there are two kingdoms and they have to be two kingdoms of Jesus recognized because they are two horns like what two horns like a lamb and we know that the two kingdoms that Jesus recognized are the kingdom of Caesar the civil government and the kingdom of God which is on earth the church now let's talk a little bit about the history of the United States of America what nation in the world arose around the year 1798 one nation that recognized in its founding documents the legitimate simultaneous existence of two kingdoms separate one from another there's only one nation in the world that originated as one nation that recognized two kingdoms the same kingdoms that Jesus recognized as being separate one from the other I want to read a statement from the great controversy page 440 this magnificent book on Bible prophecy here Ellen White says what nation of the world was in 1798 rising into power giving promise of strength and greatness and attracting the attention of the world the application of the symbol and meets admits of no question one nation and only one meets the specifications of this prophecy it points unmistakably to the United States of America now what I want to do is go through the history of the United States to show you that in its founding documents you have this idea of one nation composed of two kingdoms separate one from the other now the history in the United States can be divided into two great periods the first period is known as the colonial period and the second period is known as the constitutional period you know the constitutional fathers men such as George Washington Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison and Benjamin Franklin knew three things these were the constitutional fathers that arose around the year 1798 to write the founding documents of the United States they news three things first of all they knew the history of the church in the Middle Ages in fact do you know that every document founding document of the United States the Declaration of Independence the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were all ratified before the Beast received its then they wound as the first Kingdom was coming to an end or receiving its deadly wound the other Kingdom in its founding documents was rising to power that's very very interesting and the founding fathers knew the history of the church in the Middle Ages they also knew the history of the United States in the colonial period and they also knew their Bibles as we're going to notice now the constitutional fathers knew and they were living at the end of the 1260 years that when church and state are joined together the automatic result is persecution for example they knew the history of John Huss that man who was convicted and burned at the stake for his religious convictions they knew for example that he had been kept in subhuman conditions in prison squalor they knew that false witnesses were called to testify against against him they knew that he had violated no civil laws they knew that he was tried for the religious convictions of his conscience they knew that he was called before a religious tribunal much like the Sanhedrin at first he knew that that religious tribunal had pronounced a death sentence against him and they know that then they took him to the Emperor to have the emperor stamp his imprimatur upon the sentence of death and they know that because of his religious convictions he was burned at the stake they knew the history of the church in the Middle Ages when church and state are united or joined together I'd like to read you a few statements from this very interesting book that I have it's called Hoss the heretic it's written by an individual called PO GS the papers in fact this is the man who was sent to arrest John HUS and actually as he watched the way that John HUS was treated by the Roman Catholic Church he actually came to sympathize with John HUS as against the church that he represented let me read about the conditions that John HUS was in because of the convictions of his conscience during the Middle Ages this is on page 19 of this book after a short while HUS was led out of his dungeon into a decent chamber but his feet almost refused to carry him he swayed as he walked listless and unused to the day was the light was the light of his eyes deathly pale his cheeks and loose what was left of his teeth since 11 had fallen out due to the damn prison the nails on his fingers were terribly long because he had been unable to bite them off for many weeks upon his skin was a crust of dirt which exuded an awful stench and his otherwise brown hair fell in white ringlets upon his rotting and torn garb this is this is an individual who belongs to the Roman Catholic papacy describing this his shoes had rotted upon his feet and his shirt and loin cloth had vanished the rounded flesh which had covered his bones had shrunken and shriveled and he had become a picture of war without equal unrecognizable to those who had known him before horror filled those who looked upon him and pitying people prepared a bath for him brought shirts and clothing and refreshed him with strengthening foods for which he could only thank with tearful eyes on page 28 we find this statement with the clock striking eight and the bells telling the procession of bishops Cardinals and Fathers see this is their taking him to his trial not to his religious trial notice who is his appearing for the procession of bishops Cardinals and fathers and deputies move toward the church where a chair had been placed for us about which the seats of the gentlemen were arranged he was brought there for the convictions of its conscience he had violated absolutely no civil laws in fact when they gave him an opportunity to speak he said this God gave to Peter his disciple and notice the terminology very important God gave to Peter his disciple the key to open all hearts and the heaven of faith with it but not the sword God gave Peter the what he gave him the key to open hearts but not the sword to sway as you say all those who do not accept your worldly doctrines and who evade them did he understand what the sword is he most certainly understood what the sore blade he said you haven't been given the sword you've been given the key to open the heavenly kingdom when the final vote was taken among the religious dignitaries 31 votes were cast not guilty 11 votes were cast for excommunication and forty-five votes were cast for death then he was taken to the Emperor who had promised to give him safe conduct back to his home and he broke his word in fact there was a count there count slum who who told the the the Emperor and like to read the words that he spoke to the Emperor as he was about to to sign the death warrant for HUS this is what he said Caesar knows he calls he calls him Caesar Caesar desist from such doings Caesar Caesar do not write your name with blood but poets continue saying but the Emperor's ears were deaf and were further closed by the Cardinals bishops and priests who crowded about him kissed the hem of his garments and praised his name when he sees the quill and wrote his name and Haas was taken and he was burnt at the stake you know I've been in the palace of the Inquisition in Lima Peru it's a depressing experience they actually have models where they show the types of torture that was you that were used against people for no reason other that they did not agree with the church torture and death some were even burned at the stake like John Huss was burned at the stake and it wasn't the church who did it but the church used the sword of the state in order to accomplish its purpose you see the constitutional fathers not only knew the history of Europe when church and state are joined together they also knew the history of the colonial period in the United States you know there many people who misunderstand or don't understand the colonial period do you know that during the colonial period which begins at around 1620 when the pilgrims arrived in the United States atheist Jews Quakers and Baptists were deprived of their religious rights because they did not agree with the established Church of the colonies which was the Puritans or what it was the Anglican Church did you know that there were Sunday laws in the colonies and if you didn't go to church on Sunday you could be whipped you could be fined you could be jailed and in the case of three colonies you could be executed for not coming to church on Sunday did you know that they actually cut off the ears of Quakers for coming back when they had been exiled from the colonies if they came back once they cut off one ear if they came back the second time they cut off the second ear and if they caught him the third time they executed them for their religious convictions did you know that only people who professed to be loyal to the established church could occupy positions in the civil government and also the government paid the salaries of the ministers interestingly enough and so the church and the state were joined together and as a result you had persecution you know many people know the story for example of Roger Williams Roger Williams arrived in the colonies in 1629 he pastored a church there but he started teaching separation of church and state he said there there there are to be two kingdoms in this country absolutely but they're supposed to be separate one from another because that's what Jesus taught are you seeing what the two horns are Jesus said two kingdoms in the same nation separate one from another and of course what he was teaching went over like a lead balloon and so they banished him from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and he himself says that in though towards the end of 1635 and the beginning of 1636 he had to flee for three weeks through huge snowdrifts to get out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony because they had been banished and if they found him in there they could throw him in prison or they could even execute him and so he ended up in Rhode Island Ennis and he established the capital of rolla Rhode Island which is Providence that's interesting that he would call that city Providence and so the founding fathers knew the history of what happens when church and state are united together in Europe they knew what happened when church and state are joined together in the United States in the colonial period they also knew their Bibles in several places they wrote about how they knew that because the Jews allied themselves with the Roman state that led to the death of Jesus Christ they knew three things they knew the history of Europe in the Middle Ages they knew the colonial period and they knew their Bibles and they know that when these two kingdoms become one automatically there is persecution and so the constitutional fathers knowing this when they wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution was ratified in 1787 and the Bill of Rights which are the ten first ten amendments to the Constitution was ratified in 1791 they said we're going to have a different system of government in this nation that we're establishing we are going to have yes church and state but church and state are going to be separated like Jesus talked to kingdoms in one nation the same two kingdoms that Jesus Christ recognized and remember that this is taking place immediately before the first beast received its deadly wound by the way this idea of the separation of church and state is known as republicanism and Protestantism you see during the Middle Ages what happened is in civil affairs that King was the law you know whatever the King said in civil matters that's what was done in religious matters whatever the Pope said that was done in other words all of the power flowed from up down but the constitutional father said we're going to try a revolutionary experiment we're gonna have not the power flow from up down from the king down to the people so they have to jump when he says jump we're not gonna have the power flow from the Pope down where everybody has to subject themselves blindly no we're gonna have a system of government where the power flows down up a government of the people by the people and for the people where there will be freedom of religion and where they'll be also freedom in civil matters it's interesting to notice Ellen White was born 29 years after the deadly wound it's interesting to notice how she describes this idea of the founding fathers in great controversy page 441 she says among the christian exiles who first fled to America and sought an asylum from royal oppression that has to do with civil power right from royal oppression and priestly intolerance what Kingdom does that have to do with the civil that the religious power she continued saying where many who determined to establish a government upon the broad foundation of civil and religious liberty how many kingdoms their civil and religious liberty their views found place in the Declaration of Independence which sets forth the great truth that all men are created equal and endowed with the inalienable right to life liberty and the pursuit happiness and the Constitution guarantees to the people the right of self-government providing that representatives elected by the popular vote shall enact and administer the laws freedom of religious faith was also granted did you catch this she's talking about civil matters and what religious matters she says freedom of religious faith was also granted every man being permitted to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience republicanism which by the way means a state without a king and Protestantism which means a church without a pope became the fundamental principles of the nation and now notice what she says these principles are the secret of its power and prosperity what is the secret of the power and prosperity the United States all the money we have all of the vast territory have we have the power powerful military that we have know the secret of the power of this nation is found in the two principles upon which it was established and she goes on to say that when these two principles are repudiated and we'll talk about this one will deal with the image to the beast when these two principles are repudiated that will lead to national apostasy and national apostasy will lead to national rule she also says in great controversy page 442 the founders of the nation wisely sought to guard against the employment of secular power on the part of the church with its inevitable result in tolerance and persecution I want to read you three statements from three of the founding fathers first Benjamin Franklin you know he had an interesting way of putting things this is what he said when religion is good I conceive that it will support itself and when it does not support itself and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obliged to call for the help of the civil powers tis a sign I apprehend of it being a bad one was he right of course he was right he's talking about separation of church and state notice these words that are etched on the washing on the Jefferson monument you can go to Washington DC and go to the Jefferson monument these are the words that are etched in stone this is what he said Almighty God hath created the mind free all attempts to influence it by temporal punishment or burdens are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion no man shall be Confed impaired to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain their opinions in matter of religion i know but one code of morality for men Withers acting singly or collectively did Thomas Jefferson believe in the separation of church and state did he believe in two kingdoms yes separate from one another notice the words of George Washington this are words for the Baptist delegation August 8 1789 here Washington says if I could have entertained the slightest apprehension that the Constitution framed by the convention where I had the honor to preside might possibly endanger the religious rights of any ecclesiastical Society certainly I would never have placed my signature on it and if I could now conceive that the general government might ever be so administered as to render the liberty of conscience insecure I beg you will be big you will be persuaded that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny and every species of religious persecution for you doubtless remember I have often expressed my sentiments that any man conducting himself as a good citizen and being accountable to God alone for his religious opinions ought to be protected in worshiping the deity according to the dictates of his own conscience three of the founding fathers Thomas Jefferson was actually actually the one of the architects of the Constitution of the United States let me ask you once again did these men believe in two kingdoms within the same nation yes and sometimes I ask people when I lecture on this I say let me ask you how many how many kingdoms are you citizens of how many countries are we in now we're in one country right but how many how many kingdoms are we citizens of in one nation we are citizens of two kingdoms we have two passports one passport is a u.s. passport that's the that's the civil passport and then we have the blood of the Lamb which is the other Passport you see were citizens of one nation because we were born here or we were naturalized here were citizens of the other nation because of the new birth we were born again and so we live in one nation but within that one nation there are two kingdoms there are to be ever what separate one from another you know there many Christian actually activists today in the United States who say that the separation that the separation of church and state was established so that the state could not control the church but the history of the Middle Ages and the history of the colonial period shows that the reason why the founding fathers separated church and state was because there was a danger that the church should use the state to accomplish her purposes frequently Christian activists also say well the expression separation of church and state is not found anywhere in the Constitution and that's true if you look in the Constitution for an expression that says separation of church and state you're not going to find it but if you read the First Amendment to the Constitution you're going to find that clearly in the First Amendment is the idea of the separation of church and state of religion from politics notice what the First Amendment says Congress shall make no law now what part of no law don't you understand Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment establishment of religion this is the first Clause of the First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion in other words it doesn't say that Congress can't make a law establishing a church or Congress can't make a law establishing a religion No it says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion in other words what the First Amendment forbids is not you know favoring one Church above another Church or one religion above another religion the First Amendment forbids the Congress from enacting laws that have to do anything with religion period and so the First Amendment the first Clause of the First Amendment says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion and then you have the second clause or prohibiting the free exercise thereof that's you know they're known as the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause in others the government can tell you to worship in a certain way and the government can't forbid you to worship in the way that your conscience tells you to worship let me ask you does that very clearly and obviously establish a separation between church and state it most certainly does because the First Amendment says that Congress can't make any law having to do with religion it cannot tell you to to practice religion in a certain way and it can't forbid you from practicing your religion in a certain way in other words there's a separation between the civil power and the religious power James Madison who is known as the father of the Constitution had this to say about the the Constitution and the relationship between religion and government he said this there is not a shadow right in the general government to intermingle with religion it's least interference with it that is with religion would be a most flagrant usurpation I can appeal to my uniform conduct on this subject that I have warmly supported religious freedom that clear 1797 the United States signed a treaty it's known as the Treaty of Tripoli it was actually approved by the president John Adams and this is what the Treaty of Tripoli said this is only a portion of the treaty the government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian religion now we need to understand that it was founded upon this idea of two principles separation of church and state separation of symbol matters from religious matters but that doesn't mean that the United States was founded as a Christian nation it was founded as a nation of Christians it's different to say that it was a Christian nation than to say that it is a nation of Christians where most of the people at that time at least were Christians now what about Thomas Jefferson in 1802 he wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association and he used when it's known as the metaphor of the wall and actually he probably got this metaphor of the wall from Roger Williams long before him but he didn't give him credit if he did notice what he had to say to the Danbury Baptists believing with you their religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship that the legitimate powers of government reached actions only in non opinions I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof thus building a wall of separation between church and state you know what I think Thomas Jefferson knew much better what the First Amendment to the Constitution meant than the Christian revision revisionists who want to rewrite it and reinterpret it today because he was nearer to the even and he actually participated in it by the way do you know that the third Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution has to do with civil rights isn't it interesting that in the First Amendment you have these two things the first two clauses the deal with religious freedom and the last part of the first amendment deals with civil liberty just in thus encased folks within the First Amendment to the Constitution one of the founding documents of the United States you have this idea of two kingdoms in the Declaration of Independence in the Constitution and in the Bill of Rights you have this idea of separation of church and state you know the third clause having to do with civil liberty guarantees freedom of speech freedom of the press freedom of assembly and freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances yes are those civil rights yes and some the First Amendment you have religious rights and you have civil rights contained within the same amendment so what is it that is going to happen according to Bible prophecy according to Bible prophecy this beast that arose from the earth there at first sustained the idea that this is one nation having two kingdoms separate from one another church and state where you could be actually a citizen of both within the same country where Congress could make no law respecting an establishment of religion nor forbidding the free exercise of religion prophecy tells us that this nation is going to repudiate those principles because we're told in Revelation 13 that this beast had two horns like a lamb which we've clearly identified as these two kingdoms which represent the church and the state and the derived ideas of freedom of religion and also civil freedom what's going to happen is this country is going to repudiate these two principles and it is going to speak like a dragon in other words it is going to become a persecuting power like the dragon tried to kill the child when the child was born that was Rome by the way like the dragon tried to destroy the woman in the wilderness during the 1260 years that was another room by the way this same room at the end of time will recover the sword and they are most unlikely of all nations will be the nation that will return the sword to this sea beast so it can once again persecute the Saints of the Most High you know I pray to God that this wouldn't happen that as people hear what I'm presenting and watch it on television they say wow you know this is amazing history of the United States of America we can't allow this to happen we cannot allow this church to use the United States of America to accomplish its purposes we cannot have another Middle Ages we must stand firm with our principles upon which our nation was established I pray to God that that would happen the Bible prophecy tells us that as God has announced things are going to happen they happen because God knows the end from the beginning he does not determine them them that way but he knows that they're going to occur because he knows the end from the beginning I pray that in this final conflict we will choose to be on the right side [Music]

Channel: Aaron

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Id: bN_nclCUJMU

Length: 57min 5sec (3425 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 24 2019