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Doug Batchelor: Hello friends, welcome back to "Prophecy Odyssey." In our last episode we learned about the mysterious beast of Revelation 13 that arose from the sea and was given power by Satan to dominate the world. Today, we're going to continue our study of this end time beast that persecutes God's people. Using precise symbolism, the Bible actually helps us to identify this power that exists even today. Before we get started, remember, check out the Prophecy Odyssey Bible lessons and our free offer so you can deepen your learning experience. I'll tell you more about how to get those resources later in this program. So now, thank you for watching and God bless you as you continue your "Prophecy Odyssey" adventure.
Doug: Number seven, how far reaching is the influence of the beast power? Answer, it tells us and all the world, how much? "All the world marveled and followed the beast." Would you say and agree that the Catholic Church is an international power? Pope just came back from another international tour. He's been to all the major countries of the world. Most popes, if their health permits, they travel. In fact, do you know one reason the people in Brazil speak Portuguese and the people in much of South America speak Spanish is because the Pope had the power to divide the world. It was called the Treaty of Tordesillas. And he divided the world along what they thought the longitudinal lines were and they said, "Everybody that is east of this I'm given to Portugal and everybody west we give to Spain" and he actually they misunderstood how big South America was. Spain ended up getting most of it. But the Pope was dividing the world back then. He was an international power. No historian doubts that.
Number eight, what comes out of the mouth of the beast? It says, "He opens his mouth in blasphemy against God to," what's it? "Blaspheme His name." Now, what does that mean? Blaspheme. In Bible, if you're going to understand a Bible term, use the Bible to define it. Blasphemy is defined as a human claiming to forgive sins. Let me give you an example. Jesus once said to a man, "Son, your sins are forgiven." The religious leaders looked at each other, they said, "He is speaking blasphemy, who can forgive sins but God alone," right? So, claiming to have the prerogatives to forgive sin and our sins are against God, is called blasphemy.
What's another biblical definition for blasphemy? When a human claims to be God. They took up stones to stone Jesus. Why? For blasphemy. Why? Because they said, "You being a man, make yourself God." That's blasphemy and they were going to stone him. So, there's two biblical definitions, okay. Did the church in Rome begin to take on those attributes? Read it for yourself, they freely admit it? This is from the Roman catechism. This is the Catholic Church's manual, doctrinal manual. Question, does the priest truly forgive the sins or does he only declare they are remitted? Answer, the priest does really and truly forgive the sins in virtue of the power given him by Christ.
Now, if you step on my toe or hurt my feelings and say, "Pastor Doug, will you forgive me?" I'd say, "Sure, I forgive you." In that sense, I forgive your offenses against me. But if you say, "Pastor Doug, will you forgive my sins as I've committed through my life against God?" I'm a pastor, but I don't have that power. Only God and the blood of Christ can forgive those sins. What washes away my sin? Nothing, nothing, no one but the blood of Jesus. No man has that power. So that's one of the definitions, all right.
Another definition is for a man to put himself in the place of God. According to the Catholic churches, now I'm reading from their own teachings and their own quotes. They claim the Pope say we have the power, the identity of God on earth. We, the popes, and this is from Pope Leo XIII. We the popes hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty. The Bulwark April 30, "You know that I am the Holy Father, the representative of God on the earth, the Vicar of Christ, which means I am God on the earth."
So, they, and you know, the Caesars used to do this. The Caesars say, "We are divine, we should be worshiped." The Pharaoh's used to do that. Alexander the Great went to Egypt. He thought, "I can unite my empire by saying they must worship me." A lot of kings started; they believed in royal worship because that's how they got the dedication of the people. You read in the Bible, Darius, Daniel chapter 6. King Darius, his advisors said, if you want to unite the Babylonian Empire under Medo-Persia, tell them you're a god. They can't pray to anybody but you for 30 days. So, this is not the first time that leaders have tried to unite through worship. And that's something they've done.
Another definition of what would happen is it says he will, think this is Daniel chapter 7 verse 25, the beast power would think to change times and laws, meaning the times and the laws of God. According to the Catholic teachings, the Pope has power to change times to abrogate laws, that means change laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts and the word precept means teachings of Jesus, of Christ. This is in their official teachings. The Pope is the one through whom the Bible is interpreted. And since he is a Vicar of Christ on earth, by the way, Jesus didn't say the Popes or Vicar.
Jesus says, "The Holy Spirit is my representative." I have a representative on earth; it's the Holy Spirit. It's not a man. We are not to worship a man. The only one, matter of fact, John fell down to worship an angel. The angel says, "You're not even supposed to worship angels." But if you look at what happened through the Dark Ages, people. I think I told you the other day my dad met Pope John Paul II and he said he was so excited. Says, "I kissed his ring." I said, "Dad." My father's not a believer. But we shouldn't worship a man, amen. "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day will not come until there is a falling away that comes first."
Now Paul is not talking about a falling away in the world. The world's already falling. Paul is warning the church there will be a falling away in the church, a major falling away. This happened during the dark ages when the church became a political religious institution. Became a government power, began to force and persecute instead of spreading the love and teachings of Jesus. "There'll be a falling away and the man of sin is revealed," again, he says it's a man. "The son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worship, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
Now many have read this thinking, well, in order for the anti-Christ to sit in the temple of God that must mean the temple of God's going to get rebuilt. That's a misinterpretation. The Jewish temple is not being rebuilt. The Bible says Christ said, "Destroy this temple made with hands and in three days I will make one without hands," and He spoke of His body. Paul said what? "Don't you know that you are the temple of God?" Peter says, "You are living stones. Jesus is the cornerstone." We are built up making a habitation. Christ said, "My body is the church." It's saying this anti-Christ power would claim to sit over the temple of God, the church of God, putting himself in the position of God.
You're getting it? A lot of Christians are waiting for the Jews to rebuild the temple. Friends, I tell you, I'm half Jewish. I've been there. There are no plans to rebuild the temple. If you want to think there's gonna be trouble in the Middle East, just watch what happens if the Jews would trying to bulldoze the mosque of Omar and build a temple. And the Jews do not sacrifice lambs anymore. The whole sacrificial system has been done away with.
In the temple of God on earth, it was a symbol of the throne, the holy of holies. There was one thing in there. It was the ark of the covenant that had the Ten Commandments. And the seat of the ark of the covenant was called the mercy seat. It's where God appeared to Moses and Aaron, the high priest. It's called the Shekinah Glory. Isaiah chapter 6, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord high and lifted up. The train of His robe filled the temple, and on the sides of his throne were two Seraphim. And they cried one to the other, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy,'" these two Seraphim, two cherubs, angels on the side of the throne. That's a symbol for the throne of God. Revelation says, "I saw a great white throne." This throne flanked by angels.
Now look in the Vatican. The Pope sits on a white throne with an angel on the right and an angel on the left. You don't think there's a message in there somewhere? And the Bible says, "All the world wonders." And it says, now we got to go, I said we're going to read Revelation 17. Now go with me. There's this other beast, seven heads, ten horns, Revelation 17, go quickly, quickly. Revelation 17, we just want to make sure we're not misleading you. You tell me if we're talking about the first beast in Revelation 13, Catholicism, the papacy.
America is the second beast. I'm giving you a little taste of it. Protestants, don't miss that study. I'm a loyal American. I'm a Protestant, so I'm trying not to condemn people, but you've got to know what's coming. Go to Revelation 17. And let's see what it says here. Start with verse 3. "So, he," the angel, "Carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and I saw a woman on a scarlet beast," scarlet is a sin, it's you though your sins be a scarlet. "On a scarlet beast in the wilderness which was full of names of blasphemy." You get that blasphemy again. "Having seven heads and ten horns sitting in the same territory," sitting over those nations in Europe. "And the woman," what does a woman represent? Revelation 12, the woman is clothed with sun, moon, stars, glory, God's light, God made sun moon stars. This is earthly glory, manmade. "The woman is arrayed in purple." What color? "Purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup," this all comes up. "Full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication." In the Bible, fornication was often in the Old Testament, it was connected with idolatry. "And on her forehead a name was written: "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots." She's a mother, she's got daughters.
What does a woman represent? You know, most of the Protestant churches came out of Catholicism. You aware of that? Do daughters sometimes resemble their mothers? That means they retain in their teaching some of the things that the mother had. "And abominations of the earth and I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints," this woman persecutes.
Anyone here ever heard of the Inquisition? I don't know, if you go to Spain, Spain's the worst. I mean, you go several countries in Europe, they take you on tours under the church and they show you the torture implements that the church used during the Inquisition. And, you know, I would try to hide that if I were them, but it's very--they make a lot of money. We paid a little bit to go see it so I could take pictures. But it was a persecuting power. "The woman drunken with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." And then I'm not going to read it all. It says, "The seven heads of seven mountains on which the woman sits," go to the last verse in chapter 17, just it kind of ties it all up for us. The woman that you saw is the great city that reigns over the kings of the earth.
All right, what great city was reigning over the kings of the earth when John had the vision of Revelation? Rome, we all in agreement? He didn't say it's the woman that will be reigning. He says at this moment John was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos when he had his vision by Rome. It says the woman is sitting on seven heads, seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. You can Google it. Don't do it now, but Google city of seven hills, you know what comes up? Rome.
So, there's no question it's a woman, what's a woman represent? In Rome with scarlet and purple and a lot of gold. I don't know if you've ever toured Rome, but there are more gold and silver and precious stones in the treasures of the Vatican. By the way, did you know the Pope also is technically the pastor of a church? Pastor also and I are also pastors. I travel and I do evangelism, but I also pastor a church. Granite Bay Hilltop, hopefully they're watching now, or you're all excommunicated on the hope. No, we don't excommunicate. But the Pope is the pastor.
Here's a plaque in front of the church that the pope pastors in Rome. It says, this is in Latin, I'll translate it for you, "The sacred Lateran mother and head of all churches in the city of the world." It says that it is a worldwide power and it is a mother. They claim the very title that you find. "Having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations." What does that mean? The whole Protestant Reformation boiled over what they called the mass and how the communion service should be held. The priest says, "I go through my ceremony and I actually transfer the fermented grape juice." Protestants typically use unfermented. "I transfer it into the blood of Christ. I create God, I create his blood." And the reformer said, "No, man cannot create God." According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the chalice is the most important of the sacred vessels, a golden cup, fermented wine. It's supposed to be unleavened bread and unfermented wine. Jesus said. "She's arrayed in scarlet and purple." I don't know if you're aware of it, but officially the cardinals wear what color? Red and the bishops wear purple. And have you seen this before when they have an enclave?
Number nine, then it gives us a time period. How long would this first beast rule? Answer, "And he was given authority to continue for forty and two months." Now, the Jewish month has got 30 days. It's a lunar calendar and that's what's being used in calculating. And if you do 42 months, that comes to exactly 1260 days and in prophecy, a day equals a year and we've got the references here for you. One day is a year. Look at Ezekiel 4:6. Look at Numbers 14:3. Look at Jesus's phrase in Luke 13, verse 32. And so that 42 months, sometimes it's called a time, that means one complete year, a times or a pair a couple of years, which is now three, and a dividing or half a year, three and a half years. One thousand two hundred and sixty days, 42 months, it uses all three phrases in the Bible, so there's no confusion about that time period. It tells us how long they would have uninterrupted power before it receives a deadly wound.
All right, we need a starting point. In 538 AD., Justinian, the Roman emperor, moves the capital to Constantinople, gives the Pope an army, says, "You are now large and in charge," and they began to use force and compel worship. "Vigilius ascended the papal chair under the military protection of Berecilius in 538 AD. The Roman Church pushed itself into the place of the Roman World-Empire, of which it is the actual continuation; the empire has not perished, but only undergone a transformation. The Pope, who calls himself 'King' and 'Pontifex Maximus' is the Caesar's successor," that is the exact title that the Caesar used to have, Pontifex Maximus. The Pope uses the same title.
Here's our starting point, 538. It said if you go 1260 days, but a day is a year, so you're really going 1260 years. During that time period we've got what we call the Dark Ages. The Bibles were taken away from the people. They were printed in Latin. The average person did not know what the Bible said. They were told if they don't obey the church, they will burn forever and ever in hell, but you could pay enough money to the church to buy an indulgence or pray a person out of purgatory. None of that is in the Bible, but the people did not know that because the Bibles were chained in the monasteries.
They had almost uninterrupted power telling the kings of Europe how to rule and how to govern, but then after the French Revolution, Napoleon came along, and he did not care too much for the Pope. They had a disagreement because the Pope would not support him being emperor. And in 1798, Berthier made his entrance into the Rome. Because a Frenchman had been murdered, they used that as an excuse to arrest the Pope. He was taken into captivity, he died in captivity, and their power was interrupted. Five thirty eight, 1798, 1260 years. Now something else is happening in 1798. America was formed as a country in 1776. We were not recognized by Europe as an independent country because we were at war with Britain and they weren't sure who was going to win until 1798. They said, "Okay, we will trade with you now. We will recognize your government as an independent government." A lot of things happened during that time.
Number ten, what happened to the beast after the 42 months? "And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast." Now it says it received a deadly wound by his sword. Something else was happening near the end of this time. Martin Luther, who was a Catholic priest, translated the Bible into German. The first book ever printed on a printing press was a Bible called the Gutenberg Bible. If you own one, you can retire. There's not that many left, very valuable Bible. And more and more Bibles began to be spread.
But it said it looked like the church received a deadly wound. The French Revolution, atheism began to spread through some of the kingdoms. A lot of kings were overthrown. America rose up, which was an empire without a king. And there was great turmoil and change, but the Catholic Church began to heal and recover its power and its international influence. In 1929, with the help of Mussolini, "The Lateran Treaty instituted the Vatican City as an independent state, and the Pope in executive command." Once again, the Vatican, it became an independent country where ambassadors from around the world came because of their global influence.
You know, the Pope was instrumental in talking to Fidel Castro about trying to heal the breach for the United States. And the Pope was instrumental in trying to bring reconciliation between the Russian Orthodox and the Greek Orthodox and the Roman Catholics and he's done a lot of international political trying to heal the wounds and he uses the word healing the wounds, very phrases that Francis uses. Second Vatican Council initiated its goal of restoration of unity. That was 1962 to 1965. 1967, the Catholic Church launched the annual World Day of Peace. They began to seek reconciliation with Protestants.
In the 20th century, the Vatican established diplomatic relations with 147 countries. That's as of 2022. Only 13 countries left to go. They even for the first time, went to the Middle East for the Abraham, Abrahamic covenants. 2020 for the first time ever, do you know the United States, all the original Supreme Court justices were Protestants? Now, the majority of the Supreme Court justices are Catholics with two Jews and one, I think he's Anglican. 2017, the Lutherans that were leading the Protestant Reformation and the Catholics signed a joint treaty saying the protest is over. We're all going to unite and be friends. Since that time, Pope Francis was the first one to address the joint session of Congress.
Revelation is foretelling there is going to be a unity of Protestantism and Catholicism and then there'll be some trigger, whether it's an economic collapse or international war or natural disaster or combination of all three that people out of fear are going to run to religious leaders and form a one world government, but wait now I say too much. Keep coming. Not too far from where we are, they've got the United Nations Pope speak at the United Nations. Will you please I'll write them a letter, ask if Pastor Doug can address the United Nations? It ain't gonna happen, right? I'm just a pastor. I'm not a political leader. Why would the Pope get to talk to them? Pope Francis, president meets with him. They have throngs that come to the Capitol Mall. You've got the Vatican flag it's right next to the US flag. "The Pope is the best-known person of the 20th century. He's formed personal relationships with the leaders of 91 countries and is prepared for worldwide rule."
Now I didn't say that. This is written by a Jesuit author by the name of Malachi Martin. "While the Papacy is not presently dominantly in world affairs as it once did by coercion, the papacy is nonetheless one of the most influential powers in the world today."
Number 11, is the beast a religious power? The definitions we read Revelation 17, Revelation 13 compels worship. Yes or no, religious power? Yeah, it causes as many as would not worship. Have you noticed the beginning of the Bible? Cain and Abel had a problem. It was over how to worship. They both claimed to worship the same God. One killed the other. They were brothers. Could it be that people who claim to be Christians will kill Christians? Jesus said the day is coming when those who kill you will think they are serving God. Have you read about Paul what he did to the Christian church before he was converted? What does the beast do to the saints? It's granted for him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. It's a persecuting power.
During that Dark Age period, between 30 and 50 million Christians, Jews and others were killed by the church. The wars against the Huguenots and the Waldensians and the Albigensians and the others. Now brace for impact. The number says it's the number of a man. You got to calculate the number. It needs some basic math. What is that number? 666. God's number in Genesis was 777. "Confronted with the Pope, one must make a choice. The leader of the Catholic Church is defined by the faith," the Christian faith, "As the Vicar of Jesus Christ (and is accepted as such by believers.)" What does that word Vicar of Jesus Christ mean?
The Pope is considered the man on earth who represents the Son of God who takes the place of the second person of the omnipotent God of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, who's the second place? The Son. Takes the place of the Son? I didn't write that. That's what they wrote. The reason they got the triple tiered crown, they say the Pope is the Lord of heaven, the Lord of earth, the Lord of the underworld, Lord of all. How does God identify those who get the victory over the beast? Answer, "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." If you do not want to be in that group that is confused in the last days, friends, then you need to be committed to the Word of God.
Doug: Friends, I hope you've been blessed by today's message, but really the reason we do this is so that people might know Christ. You know, information is not going to save us. It's a relationship with Jesus, the one who died on the cross for your sins. You must personally accept him. And that's the most important thing and why we do these programs. If you've not asked him into your heart before, then I'd encourage you to do it right now. His arms are open wide. Just come to Him as you are and ask Him.
Doug: Hi friends, I trust you're being blessed by what you're watching. If you want to be doubly blessed, then you're going to want to get the Prophecy Odyssey study guides that go along with these presentations. There's 15 study guides, they're beautifully illustrated, and they will greatly enhance your Bible comprehension. So, if you'd like to get them, simply follow the instructions that you see on the screen. You will be glad you did.
Doug: Today you've learned the stunning truth about Revelation's Antichrist beast power, but you may have more questions about this important but very deep topic. If so, I'd like to invite you to request a copy of “The Mark of the Beast." This Amazing Facts study guide reveals much more about this last day power and how you can avoid its deceptions. To get yours, simply follow the instructions on your screen and we'll send it to you quickly and free of charge.
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