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Control of the World
Fred R. Coulter—December 28, 2013
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Here's an interesting report sent to me from The New Scientist:
Revealed, the Capitalist Network That Runs the World
(newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed—the-capitalist-network-that-runs-the-world.html#.UshUHMKA2M8)
I've talked about the super-elite, the power brokers of the world. After running an analysis of all the corporations in the world and their inner-locking boards of directors and banks' holders of stocks and bonds, it has been reduced to 147 companies, less than one per nation in the world. He lists all 50 of them. I'm not going to read all 50, but it's quite a thing. These are the ones who control everything that is going on in the world.
When I said that Target Store is losing the 40-million, and they found out later that they didn't have the security code, was not an accident. What they are trying to do is prepare the world for what they are going to bring. The way you prepare the world for what you're going to bring without telling them what you're going to do, you soften them up. You get all indignant, because 'how dare they let my identity be taken!' Then they will demand a full-proof system. As we saw, they're working on a full-proof system, called the mark of the beast.
Just a little bit about China. Let's go to Luke 4, because we know that Satan is the 'god of this world.' How did he become the 'god of this world'? That was the test of Adam and Eve: Would they follow God or not? When they decided to choose for themselves what is right and what is wrong, they put themselves under the authority of Satan the devil. God did not entirely cut them off from Him, but now they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. They could come to the east gate where God would meet them.
It's very interesting. That is a foretaste or a fore-example of what the temple and tabernacle is. When people worship God at the temple, they face west, because God comes from the east, the east gate, and fills the temple. When men worship east and worship the sun, they are turning their backs on God! The first thing that Jesus had to do after His baptism was to be tempted by Satan the devil,
Luke 4:3: "Then the devil said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, command that this stone become bread.'" The reason that he wanted to do this was because if he could get Jesus to go against the command of God, then he would have caused Jesus to sin.
Remember, no man—not even Satan the devil—can change the Word and will of God! That becomes very important. Jesus quoted the Scripture; He didn't rely on His own thoughts, v 4: "But Jesus answered him, saying, 'It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God."'"
What's the first thing you hear from the pulpit in the Protestant denominations? The law is done away! That's not from God. You can apply that to all the religions of the world: Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, whatever 'ism' you want, especially Muslim.
Verse 5: "Then the devil led Him up into a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, 'I will give You all this authority, and the glory of them all; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I desire.'" (vs 5-6).
There's one requirement to be in this top rung of the super-elite of the world, v 7: "Therefore, if You will worship me in my presence, all things shall be Yours." There are people who worship Satan the devil and know that they do. In exchange for that, they receive wealth, privilege and rulership, all of those things that Satan controlled.
When this talks about the 147 companies that control everything, there is nothing done that they don't control. That's why they don't like the American system, because they can't control the American people the way that they can in other countries. God can use that to forestall their plans. I hope with the coming election that's what happens, so they will change their tactics.
One of the things they wanted to do a couple years ago was to establish the 'global warming congress,' so they all met in Denmark in December. They should have gone there in the summer. Even Obama was going to go, but what happened? God had a little surprise for them—3 feet of snow. How are you going to declare global warming with 3 feet of snow? So, they've had to change their plans.
Whenever God allows Satan to do something, he must get permission from God, just like he did in bringing upon Job his trial. So likewise, they have to change their plans. But they are always in control.
I want you to think on this for just a minute. What is a bank that is called the World Central Bank? Do you know what it is? The central bank of the central banks of the world! There are 58 central banks, and that bank is called The Bank of International Settlements. All major trades and money going here and there in the world, and it's trillions every day, finally comes through the Bank of International Settlements.
All western world central banks are extensions of the Rothschild's, including Russian and also China. Who was the Secretary of State that had secret negotiations with the communist Chinese before President Nixon went over there? Henry Kissinger! He belongs to that elite. The central bank in China is an extension of the Rothschild's banking control.
I was thinking this the other day because there are a lot of problems coming up with China, they are printing money like crazy. They have debt, in some cases, 250% of GDP. Think on this for a minute: All the gold that the Chinese are buying and putting into kilogram bars, instead of ounce bars or pound bars, are sent to Switzerland, melted down, and sent on to the new vaults that they are building in China.
Who owns, literally, and controls all that gold? The Rothschild's and the Bank of International Settlements! It's under no nation, though it's in Switzerland. No one can audit it; no one can know what it does, just like all the central banks. Not very many people know that American banks, through the Federal Reserve, loaned Europe $16-trillion to bail them out.
- Is it time to take down America? or
- Is it time to let there be a short revival in America?
It depends what these 147 elite want to do. That depends on what God wants and what Satan is allowed to do.
In order to bring about a world currency, which they must do first, all currencies have to fail at the same time. Are they ready to do that, yet? Let's take it one step further. Has Satan gotten permission from God to do it, yet? I think the answer is no!
What they are doing now, few people realize it, but Japan, England, United States, and China are all printing money as fast as the presses can run. That's necessary to bring down all the rest of the banking system when they want to.
I want you to hearken back to one thing, if you could, please. What happened in 2008? Just before the election to insure who would be elected—Barak Hussein Obama—there was a sale of bonds that dropped the market in hours 500 points and sent all the banks into disarray. That was a test! We recovered from it and because of that one thing: Obama was elected. Nobody asked: Who started the selling? Never answered! because of the 147!
They got bailed out, the Federal Reserve started printing money, and we're still printing money, still buying the U.S. bonds—it's called now QE4—as well as Japan and England and China. So, they know that in order to collapse the entire system worldwide:
- They've got to have a plan to rescue it, which then will be the world currency; it'll be paper, coin and digital at first
- It has to be so that it's going to affect everyone in the world
Living in the society that we live in, people are going to demand immediate relief. So, we just need to keep up on these things and see how they are going.
Let me read a quote from Albert Einstein: 'A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of the truth.' Unless that authority is God and it was wise! You can take that and you can apply it to many things, even the Church of God.
In Germany they have a little program in their credit cards, in the chip, that each transaction is separated from past and future transactions. We don't know what will happen in the way they are going to bring this out.
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Now let's continue on with the 14 things to happen in prophecy before the end comes. As we look at these, we see them building up, but what is going to be the maximum of it? We don't know! How long will it take? We don't know! Some of the projects that they have online to do, such as the one I discussed last week with the canal through Nicaragua by the Chinese, they plan about 8 years to build it.
Once that is done, that gives deep-sea access straight to America. There will be no restriction or no inspection by Americans of what they do or what they bring in. We don't know exactly how long that is going to be.
XI. Hating Christians and Martyrdom
We see that happening more and more and more, which then will be not only hating Christians but martyring Christians. I think we see a little bit of this with the Duck Dynasty controversy going on.
Isn't it interesting, who is pushing to get rid of the statements that Phil Robertson made? One of the 147 great corporations of the world! 'We cannot allow that speech. We must be tolerant, but we won't tolerate that.' In the name of tolerance, they become intolerant. That's called double-speak. That's the way Satan works.
There are people who even threatened to kill him. There are more and more groups that want to kill Christians. Look at what's happening in the Sudan and in Egypt right now—killing Christians.
Matthew 24:8: "Now, all these things… [that happened in v 7] …are the beginning of sorrows." As we go through this, let's understand something important. How long is the time of sorrows? We're not told!
Verse 9: "Then shall they deliver you up to affliction, and shall kill you; and you shall be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then shall many be led into sin, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another" (vs 9-10).
That's how all totalitarian governments work. Let's see how Jesus also prophesied of this a little later. Of those who are hated, as we found out in part 5 this series in Rev. 17 that there are two classes of martyrs:
- the saints of God
- the martyrs of Jesus
This becomes important for us to understand. Let's call to remembrance what the Apostle Paul said, that the Gentiles who do not have the law, if they keep the things in the law, are a work of the law unto themselves. In Rev. 17 we find an application of it. There are people who will be following a lot of the precepts of Jesus Christ, howbeit even called Christian in the world, but will not be Christian, because the saints are a distinct category.
Revelation 17:6: "And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints…" The saints are those who have the Spirit of God. Saints means the ones who are Holy and we are Holy brethren.
"…and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus…." (v 6). Who are these people in the second category? They are going to be martyred, but that doesn't mean that they are going to attain to eternal life, because they have been martyred. They will qualify for the second resurrection. Let's see this category of people and there are a good number of them in the world. You can divide the Protestants into two groups:
- those who are for Jesus
- those who are actually against Jesus
Let's look at what Jesus says concerning the ones who are for Jesus.
Mark 9:38: "Then John answered Him, saying, 'Master, we saw someone who does not follow us… [the apostles were chosen by Christ] …casting out demons in Your name, and we forbad him because he does not follow us.' But Jesus said, 'Do not forbid him; for no one who does a work of power in My name can easily speak evil of Me. And the one who is not against you is for you'" (vs 38-40). There are those in the world in that category; those are the ones who will be the martyrs for Jesus.
Let's see those who are against Jesus, who claim to be doing things in His name as well, Matthew 12:30: "The one who is not with Me is against Me… [those who are for Jesus, but are not the called-saints, have to be the ones who are the martyrs of Jesus (Rev. 17)] …and the one who does not gather with Me scatters."
Let's see some other things where Jesus warned us, where we will be hated. People don't like to be told the pure Word of God. They may be for Jesus, but they don't belong to Him because of this:
John 15:16: "You yourselves did not choose Me, but I have personally chosen you…" A saint is defined this way in Rev. 19: called, chosen and faithful! That's a saint.
- called—you have to answer the calling of God
When you answer the calling of God:
- you are chosen
When you are chosen:
- you come to repentance and are baptized
After that you have to be:
- faithful
Those are the ones who are the saints!
"…I have personally chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; so that whatever you shall ask the Father in My name, He may give you" (v 16).
- How is that last statement qualified?
- Is it the will of God?
Verse 17: "These things I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you" (vs 17-18). We're seeing that. Look at how the Muslims treat Christians. Look at how the atheists treat Christians. This will build, especially when we preach the Gospel in truth and in power, it's going to magnify many, many times over. Why?
Verse 19: "If you were of the world, the world would love its own…." I don't know how many saw Rick Warren who was asked, 'How do you explain Christmas?' In the first place, you can't build the Truth on sand. There is no foundation; Christ is not there! So, he explained it and made it sound very plausible. If someone at that interview would have stood up, and said, 'You are absolutely wrong, Jesus was never born December 25th'—if you were in the audience—they would shout you down, but that would be the Truth.
What we believe that is contrary to the world is why we are not of the world. We're not of the world because of what we do. We are not of the world because we have the Holy Spirit of God the Father. We belong to Him! We are under the jurisdiction—not in it yet—of:
- the Kingdom of God
- the laws and commandments of God
- the Truth of God
- the Word of God
While we have to be in compliance with the laws of the land, where they are not contrary to the laws of God, we don't submit to the world as being part of it! So that's why we are not of the world.
"…However, because you are not of the world, but I have personally chosen you out of the world, the world hates you for this" (v 19). Try this on for size: There is no salvation in the Roman Catholic Church; the pope is not the representative of God; your religion is vain. Try that in St. Peter's Basilica Square.
Verse 20: "Remember the word that I spoke to you: a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also, If they kept My word, they will keep your word also." Your word is what I'm [Jesus] going to tell you to say.
Verse 21: "But they will do all these things to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him Who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have nothing to cover their sin. The one who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no other man has done, they would not have had sin; but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father. But this has happened so that the saying might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause'" (vs 21-25).
What is going to sustain us in the time of difficulty and trouble? It will come! Unless you know and have proved the Word of God to be true, everything about what you believe and practice to be true, not because someone said to do it, but because it was the Word of God, and you do it because it is the Word of God. You have the Holy Spirit. That will strengthen you. When you are brought before councils to give an answer, what will happen? The Spirit of the Father will give you in that hour and time exactly what you need to say! We can say, provided that you have been faithful and know and have studied the Word of God.
Verse 26: "But when the Comforter has come, which I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of the Truth, which proceeds from the Father, that one shall bear witness of Me. Then you also shall bear witness because you have been with Me from the beginning" (vs 26-27).
It's exactly this way. When God created Adam and Eve, He put in them all the process genes and chromosomes and variations for all the coming human race, the beginning of it. Because of procreation, God is the One Who gives life, God is the One Who is creating, though it is born of the mother. Down through every generation, God is the One Who is doing this.
Likewise with the Word of God; we have the Word of God. We are to know the Word of God. If God has said it, and we say what God has said, then we are speaking for God on His behalf His Word to them and that is as good as God telling them. Do you understand that?
John 16:1: "I have spoken these things to you so that you will not be offended. They shall cast you out of the synagogues…" (vs 1-2). They did that back then.
If you read about Chrysostom in the last part of the 4th century, 390sA.D.—his hatred toward true Christians—he was giving sermons against those who kept the Passover, kept the Holy Days, kept the Sabbath, railing against them, and told them that if you go where they had their meetings—the Christians had meetings, he said—'They're going to the Jewish synagogues.' No, he called them synagogues. That's what has brought about concerning how they will persecute us. They were cast out of the churches because they wouldn't keep Sunday.
"…furthermore, the time is coming that everyone who kills you will think that he is rendering service to God" (v 2). This was the whole basis of the Inquisitions—correct? Yes, indeed! They killed millions. Read the account of the Waldensians:
- they refused to believe the trinity
- they refused to submit to the authority of the pope
- they refused to keep Sunday
- they refused to keep the Eucharist
They slaughtered them, many other groups like that, all in the name of Christ, same way with the Crusades.
Verse 4: "But I have told you these things so that when the time comes, you may remember that I said them to you. However, I did not say these things to you at the beginning because I was with you." That time is going to come!
Track 2 or Download
When we were baptized, we pledged our lives unto death to God in exchange for loving God, obeying Him and overcoming, so that we can receive eternal life. When the time comes, God will give us that kind of attitude that we need that there is nothing that they can do to us to take away eternal life. If Christ died for us, and we died to Him in the watery grave of baptism, and if we are martyred, then that is a guarantee.
XII. Preaching the Gospel to the World
We know, what did Jesus say about the Gospel? It would be preached in 'all the world to all nations, then shall the end come.' Here in the book of Revelation, let's see that when it gets down to the time that the Church can no longer preach the Gospel directly, that something else is going to happen.
First of all, let's come to Rev. 14 and this takes place before the two witnesses. We know the two witnesses will be preaching the Gospel. The two witnesses will preach the Gospel, the Church will preach the Gospel until the time that they are shut down. Then what is going to happen?
Revelation 14:6: "And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth… [God is going to give warning] …and to every nation and tribe and language and people." This is going to be a blanket event really when you understand it.
Look at it now from this point of view of what's happening now with the number of Bibles, those who are preaching about Christ—whether in truth or whether in contention—and of course, every Church of God needs to be doing their part to preach the Gospel to the world as well as feeding the flock. When none of those things are operative, and this is probably before the two witnesses come on the scene.
Here's the basic message, v 7: "Saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God, and give glory to Him, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him Who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.'" Instead of the beast who says he is God! So, there are going to be some big dramatic things take place.
Verse 8: "Then another angel followed, saying…" This is when Babylon the Great reaches its highest point in controlling the whole world, getting rid of those who preach about Christ. Some are taken to a place of safety, as we have already covered.
"…'The great city Babylon is fallen, is fallen… [ready to come] …because of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, which she has given all nations to drink.'" That ties right in with Rev. 17 & 18.
Think about this for a minute: When do you give warning of something that is going to happen? After it happens or before it happens? You have to give warning before it happens! It's like driving your car down the road and all of a sudden something happens and then your wife or your husband says to you, 'I meant to tell don't do that.' Thank you.
Verse 9: "And a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast… [who is proclaimed God on earth] …and his image…'"—which is idolatry and a source of martyrdom, for those who will not worship the image of the beast, they would be killed. This has to happen before the fact. What we are seeing is the three angels' messages are before the beginning of the Tribulation. Otherwise they would be of no affect. They are before the enforcement of the mark of the beast. At first it will be voluntary.
"'…and receives the mark in his forehead or in his hand, he shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed undiluted in the cup of His wrath; and he shall be tormented in fire and brimstone in the sight of the Holy angels, and of the Lamb" (vs 9-10). How all of that works out, the only way we are going to know is to be there.
Here's one that they used to say the human being can be tormented forever, but that's not what it really says. You have to read it carefully:
Verse 11: "And the smoke of their torment ascends into the ages of eternity…" It doesn't say they are tormented into the ages of eternity. The smoke ascends. What happens? They are killed! Wherever there is fire, wherever there is death—however you want to put it, especially with tormented with fire—they die. The smoke rises. Where does the smoke go to? It goes into the atmosphere!
They just discovered in recent years that what covers the atmosphere of the earth is kind of like a shield, in addition to the magnetic shield. They didn't understand what was happening until they saw where the satellite was taking pictures of when lightning comes down on the earth. They never knew that lightning also went up through that covering of the earth way beyond the atmosphere. As the lightning is coming down, it is going up at the same time.
After that event happened, they saw that this cover over the earth kind of opened up like a little door and radiation from the earth, bad radiation escaped and went out into space. Once it goes into space, it goes on and on. It is the smoke, which are actually little particles, that goes out into the universe. Of course, all of that will be dissolved when God makes the new heavens and the new earth.
"…and those who worship the beast and his image, and all who receive the mark of his name, have no rest day and night.' Here is the patience of the saints… [during all this difficulty that we just covered with the three angels] …here are the ones who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (vs 11-12). This tells us something else, as well. In order to keep the commandments of God, it takes faith. It takes no faith to not keep the commandments of God.
Verse 13: "And I heard a voice from heaven say to me, 'Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from this time forward. Yes, says the Spirit, so that they may rest from their labors; and their works follow them.'"
If this were at the end of the Tribulation, this verse could not be true. But if this is at the beginning, just before the Tribulation, then this verse becomes true. This shows that these whole sections of verses applying to the three angels, and they will be preaching the Gospel, they will be warning the world when the Church cannot do it. They could do it to a certain extent, but there comes a time when it takes something greater.
Right after they start, then I believe that's when the two witnesses begin. How long the three angels continue their messages we are not told. We are not told if this is an introduction to what the two witnesses will do. Could very well likely be, but we don't know. Even at the last minute, those who are of the Church are going to have to continue preaching the Gospel wherever they are.
When will the famine of the Word come? I think that will come when the churches can no longer preach as they do now! This is how God is going to take care of that. Obviously the two witnesses' mission in preaching is going to be preaching the coming of Christ, the power of God, but it is not going to be like the Church preaches to repent and be baptized. This is going to be, 'You better pay attention because this plague is coming on you because you reject God.' The message will be essentially the same, but a totally different emphasis at that time.
Sidebar on Rev. 10: There are the seven thunders. John was told not to write the seven thunders. No one knows what they are. One way to tell a false prophet, if he tells you he knows what the seven thunders are, you can know that he is a false prophet because no one knows.
Revelation 10:8: "Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again, and said, 'Go, take the little book that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the earth.' And I went to the angel, and said to him, 'Give me the little book.' And he said to me, 'Take it and eat it, and it shall make your belly bitter, but in your mouth it shall be sweet as honey.' Then I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it; and it was sweet as honey in my mouth; but after I ate it, my belly was bitter. And he said to me, 'You must again prophesy against many people, and nations, and languages and kings'" (vs 8-11).
I don't know exactly how this is going to be done. Could it be that some of those who are in a place of safety must go and preach the Gospel? Could be, because this is just down into the Tribulation, getting close to the end of it. There are going to be different ones going out and preaching the Gospel, and so forth. That will be done. We find the Gospel to be preached is from
- the Church
- the two witnesses
- the three angels
- again the Church, probably with those who are in a place of safety
XIII. The Churches of God
We've got a lot of material on the Churches of God. Let's take an overview of the layout from Rev. 1, which is related to the death of Christ and His resurrection, that is the Passover and Unleavened Bread.
Rev. 2 & 3 are the letters of Christ to the seven churches. What takes place beginning right during the Feast of Unleavened Bread? The counting toward Pentecost! How many weeks are there? Seven weeks! This is symbolic of the seven weeks leading up to Pentecost.
Revelation 4:1: "After these things… [after the seven churches] …I looked, and behold, a door opened in heaven; and the first voice that I heard was as if a trumpet were speaking with me, saying, 'Come up here, and I will show you the things that must take place after these things.'" What did he do when he got up there? He saw the throne of God, four living creatures, twenty-four elders! This is symbolic of the resurrection, or Pentecost, the 50th day.
Let's see the same kind of language that we have in Rev. 4; this is when the two witnesses come back to life: Revelation 11:11: "Then after the three and a half days, the spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a great voice from heaven, say, 'Come up here!'…." (vs 11-12). Exactly the same wording as we have in Rev, 4. What are the two witnesses, but the first resurrected from the dead, the last to be martyred. We have a type of Pentecost.
Let's look at the seven churches. I'm not going to belabor and beat upon the Laodiceans. If we don't know we're Laodiceans and are repenting, then we are missing the point. Never has the Church of God lived in a time when it has available to it and the people in general everything they need, where you could say, 'I have everything I need.'
But let's look at the warning, because the seven churches are direct prophetic references to the history of the Church down through time. Think of this for a minute.
- Does the Bible give us the history of Israel down through time to the return of Christ? Yes!
- Does it give us the history of the Gentile nations through the Babylon system from the time of Nebuchadnezzar down to the return of Christ? Yes!
- What is the most important organization in all of them, as far as God is concerned? The seven churches!
This letter goes to the existing seven churches. What if it starts out:
- week #1 with Ephesus
- week #2 it goes to Smyrna [transcriber's correction] week #3 it goes to Pergamos
- week #4 it goes to Thyatira
- week #5 it goes to Sardis
- week #6 it goes to Philadelphia
- week # 7 it goes to Laodicea
We have within that seven-fold meaning a type of counting toward Pentecost and the final harvest. You all follow that?
What we find is the Bible is multi-layered in its presentation and in its fulfillment. Unless you understand about the Holy Days of God and keep them and have done so for a long time, it's hard to come to understand that what I just said is undoubtedly true.
Where does all the difficulties start? When the churches don't do what they are supposed to do! The seven churches that were received the letter directly. Then down through history we have the seven churches in type as it comes along to the end. Then in the end, I think it's most likely that as God sees the churches on earth, not as the corporate organizations that are necessary for men to organize themselves into, but as God looks down on the earth there are seven churches wherever God's people are.
With that said, how does it start that the Church begins to slack off and not follow God the way that they should? I'm just going to hit on the steps that caused the problems.
Church at Ephesus
Revelation 2:4: "Nevertheless, I have this against you that you have left your first love." They don't give up on God, but they don't love Him with the intensity that they ought to. This is very akin to what happens at the end of being lukewarm. But what happens when you lose the first love to God, and we can see this in the Protestants, then you substitute your works in helping people and not preaching the Gospel as you ought to.
What keeps you intense in preaching the Gospel? The love of God and the Spirit of God! God says to repent. The result of that is, this gives an opportunity for the synagogue of Satan as pictured here:
Church at Smyrna
There is nothing that God has against the Church at Smyrna. This also shows that loving God unto death, unto martyrdom, and being cast in jail and being faithful to God at all times is more important than doctrine!
In our age, when we have the whole Bible and everything, doctrine becomes very important, because now we have all the Scriptures. This was not completely afforded to all the Churches of God down through history.
God commends them and promises them eternal life because they have been faithful unto death. What happens when the Church is a weakened state like that?
The next step, Satan comes along, or you go to where Satan is, or you are already there where Satan is:
Church at Pergamos
They remained faithful as long as Antipas was faithful, but after that what happened? False doctrine! Doctrine that leads you away from God is important, because it will cause you to sin. What happened here? They lived right in the city where there was Satan's great cathedral! There was a big altar to Zeus, and that's where Satan lived.
What happened? They saw how it was organized and those who believed in a hierarchy, the Nicolaitans, took over, which is what God says He hates. They began eating things sacrificed to idols. Now this is not animal sacrifice. What is the main thing in Satan's counterfeit 'Christian' church? The Eucharist, which is called the Sacrifice of the Mass performed before the idols in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Orthodox Church. That's why you get right back to the whole basis of everything; the Passover is the key! He corrects them for that.
Let's see how important it was that they repent, Revelation 2:14: "But I have a few things against you because you have there those who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication."
What was the last thing that the Apostle John wrote in his first epistle? Flee idolatry! They succumbed to idolatry and the Sacrifice of the Mass.
Verse 15: "Moreover, you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate."
Sidebar: Everyone likes to say the love of God is unconditional. That is not true. The love of God is everlasting. The love of God, even some people say, is going to cover the sin of Satan the devil. That is a devil's or Satan's doctrine. Not true! Never happen! There are things that God hates. Here's one of them: the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, the doctrine, which thing God hates! Because you have the love of God and you have the judgment of God and the sentence of God.
If God is perfect and righteous, which He is, then He cannot love sin, which Satan is. He can forgive sin upon repentance, but concerning Satan, has Satan repented? No! What was his sin, the greatest sin of the universe? Wanting to take over the throne of God the Father! God's love does not cover his sin! Furthermore, there is no indication that he has ever slightly begun to even think about repentance.
God will correct His Church and we have lived through this—haven't we? Someone asked recently, 'Why are there so many Churches of God?' You have to get rid of all the false doctrines and teachings!
Verse 16, God says: "Repent! For if you do not repent, I will come to quickly, and will make war against them with the sword of My mouth." You can't go bringing any doctrines of Satan, doctrines of demons. If they repent, then it can be forgiven. If they don't, there is no forgiveness.
Church of Thyatira
We have something very similar, only now it has grown into a greater problem because of the one who calls herself a prophetess, named after Jezebel. Jezebel was the daughter of the priest of Baal, whom Ahab the king of Israel married.
God tells them to repent. He will not tolerate this. What happens? You see a progression of sin! You let sin come in and be accepted. What is the principle of sin that we're taught during the Days of Unleavened Bread? A little leaven leavens the whole lump!
That's why Satan puts in a little leaven and pretty soon you pick up on it. Satan uses human beings. Look what happened to WCG (Worldwide Church of God) because they did not repent. Did the sword come against them? Yes, the sword of the Word of God! Where is it today? No longer exists! What is left of it is called Grace Communion Fellowship. Blasphemous, indeed! Every false doctrine has replaced every true doctrine and that's because the Church did not stay alert.
What happened after Thyatira we get down into the Middle Ages here, and then with Sardis we're getting into the time when the Waldensians were just being rescued, actually they were rescued by the Protestants.
Church of Sardis
It is so beaten down that it has very few works, and Jesus said their works weren't complete. He also told them one thing: strengthen what is left! In other words, whatever you have left, don't give up on that, and 'I will not blot your name out of the Book of Life,' which tells you Sardis is the bare minimum to qualify for eternal life.
Church at Philadelphia
We covered in part 5 this series, which is faithful to the Word of God in everything.
Church at Laodicea
We find that here it's not so much a mixture of satanic things, as the start of their problems, but a mixture of lukewarmness and lackadaisicalness by equating the blessing of physical things with spirituality. Then not putting Christ first, but the things first. We've experienced being spewed out of the mouth of God. We have seen that. He tells them to repent. This is what needs to happen with the Churches of God.
- Is there ever a day living in this age that we do not have to repent?
- How many things do we see just watching the news that are sin indeed?
That in many cases is getting pretty close to medium core pornography, to say nothing of all the programs and all the movies and everything that there is which are varying degrees of lies and fairy tales and satanic indoctrination.
I know, for myself, I pray every day for the washing of the water by the Word, to cleanse my mind from all of those things that my eye picks up, which I am not intending to watch, but it comes right there on television; same way with all the advertising for the movies.
- Are they not occult?
- Are they all not involved in world domination?
- world wars?
- aliens from outer space?
Yes, it is all occult!
I've never run a survey of it, but maybe someone might want to, if you just watch the news. I watch none of the soap operas except to see they are nothing but sexual, brain washing to accept sexual depravity, homosexuality and domination by women. So you can eliminate all of those. But just on the so-called good channels, news channels: would be interesting: How many of the advertisements are focused on the areas of the private sexual parts of men and women, though they are clothed and some very scantily? I think when they blurt that on you can't sit there with your remote and all of a sudden go to a blue channel. You'd be watching the blue channel all the time.
That's why we need to ask God to wash our minds with the washing of the water by the Word and to cleanse those images out of our minds.
The Laodiceans need to repent and that what I hope we are, repenting Laodiceans. I would also hope that we are really Philadelphians. But I have seen this down through time. Any group that claims to be Philadelphian never ends up loving the brethren; so they can't be Philadelphia, because Philadelphia means brotherly love. Look what's happened to the city of brotherly love where the Constitution was signed. It is a cesspool of hatred and racial division.
Whatever your problem is, you have to decide how you are going to handle it. The truth is, it's not the Church that saves you, it is God! The Church is to feed you the Word of God so you can have a relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. God alone can save you!
XIV. No Truth, No Faith
Luke 18—we're getting close to this time, especially when you see what's happening in the Protestant churches. Did you know that in some of them they have ecumenical movements, not just with Catholics, but with Muslims, and they read out of the Koran and the Bible and the Catholic traditions. And 'we're all goody-goody wonderful; we lovey-dovey everybody.' But how much Truth is there?
Remember when I showed you a number of years ago the annotated world Bible where they take from the Bible, from Sanskrit, from Buddhism, from Muslim, from Hinduism, wisdom and this replaces the Bible.
Luke 18:8: "I tell you that He will execute vengeance for them speedily… [for the saints who cry out to Him day and night] …Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, shall He find the true faith on the earth?" That's what we are going to be facing somewhere down the road. That will happen, and this probably ties in with the question about when is the famine of the Word.
- Will He find the true faith?
- Where is the faith to be found?
- In the Bible?
or
- In us?
In us! That's where it's to be found.
This is why we need to be alert to all of these things that we're going to be facing. We can say we have finished with this year's 14 Things to Watch in Prophecy. I've given this sermon about three or four times and each time it's a little different. I don't know what it will be like if I give this again in another three years—2017, if we all live that long. What will it be like at that time? I hope we live long enough to see, but if not, it's for another generation.
Scriptural References:
- Luke 4:3-7
- Matthew 24:8-10
- Revelation 17:6
- Mark 9:38-40
- Matthew 12:30
- John 15:16-27
- John 16:1-2, 4
- Revelation 14:6-13
- Revelation 10:8-11
- Revelation 4:1
- Revelation 11:11-12
- Revelation 2, 4, 14-16
- Luke 18:8
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Matthew 24:7
- Revelation 19, 18; 3
Also referenced:
- Booklet: Why Christianity Has Failed in America by Phil Neal
- Article: Revealed, the Capitalist Network That Runs the World(newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed--the-capitalist-network-that-runs-the-world.html#.UshUHMKA2M8
FRC:lp
Transcribed: 1-7-14
Formatted: bo—1-8-14
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