[No audio.]
- Noah gave a warning message to the world.
Downloaded from YTS.MX
He told them the hour of God's judgment had come
and showed them their need to enter into the ark of refuge.
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This judgment hour was a testing time in which all
were faced with the choice to accept or reject the message.
Then their probation closed and the door of the ark
was shut and the execution of judgment came by flood
when the waters covered the earth.
The events at the end of time will follow
this pattern exactly, so walk with me now into the future.
(epic music)
I'm your host, Jeff Reich, I'm walking along a timeline
that spans the length of an entire football field.
Every inch of this field represents one year of time.
As you can see, this timeline really puts things
into perspective.
Previously, we saw how a prophecy in the book of Daniel
foretold the very year when the days of Noah
for the time of the end would begin.
We saw how this 2300 day prophecy began in 457 BC
with the decree of Artaxerxes and how one day
being a symbol for one year, it would last 2300 years.
(epic music)
This prophecy extended well beyond the days of Jesus.
All the way down to the year of 1844.
This is when the first angel's message began to repeat
the warning message announcing the hour of his judgment
is come, this testing time lasted 120 years in the days
of Noah, but in our day, the judgment message
has been sounding now for over 170 years.
[Narrator] As the message of Noah
spread throughout the earth,
so today, the three angels' messages are circling the globe,
warning its inhabitants to enter into the ark
of the everlasting covenant before the execution
of the final judgment, before the flood, there came a time
when the last message of mercy had been given
and with the completed ark and its open door set before
the people, they were brought to make a choice.
This is where we are today.
The second and third angels' messages warns us
of the world's last great crisis that will place
multitudes of the earth in the valley of decision,
just as it was in the days of Noah.
(epic music)
[Dave] As we spoke of Noah preaching a day of judgment,
a day of decision, you're either on or you're not
on the ark, you know, take your pick, so
he was a preacher of righteousness
and so by promoting and really saying this is the only way
that it works is to obey God's law,
he was condemning as it were, by contrast,
the false systems of worship, but it's clear
that the majority of the population were not comfortable
with God's requirements, so they must have set up
some of their own.
(epic music)
- By the worldwide proliferation of false worship
and idolatry in the days of Noah,
the people were well prepared to reject the invitation
into the ark and the innumerable systems of false worship
in our day will yield a similar result in the rejection
of the everlasting covenant, but God will leave none
who desire a knowledge of the truth to be deceived.
Both his mercy and his justice demand a clear delineation
between truth and error, that all may have sufficient light
to make their decision, then the genuine seeker of truth
is able to untangle himself from error
and those who choose not to are left without excuse.
For this purpose, God sends the second angel's message.
(somber music)
[Narrator] And there followed another angel saying
Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city
because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath
of her fornication.
(eerie music)
- [Stephen] Now what is the wine?
Wine represents false doctrine in scripture.
[Narrator] Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging.
And whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
The effect of this wine is deception
because it is fermented wine,
which leads people away from the truth.
[Stephen] So in contrast to the first angel's message,
which presents true doctrine, Babylon is preaching
wine or false doctrine.
(somber music)
[Jeff] The darkness of night obscures from view
the truth about the world around us.
Confusion, like the darkness, has concealed from us,
the truth about the character of God.
False doctrines and ideas are like the trees of the forest
that change with the seasons.
They blow about in the wind and rise and fall
through the centuries.
There's only one way to dispel the darkness
and that is with light.
(epic music)
Peter tells us we have a more sure word of prophecy,
where unto ye do well that ye take heed,
as unto a light that shineth in a dark place
and with the light from these prophecies,
we are able to identify this system called Babylon.
(somber music)
[Ivor] The system of Babylon is reflected by this woman
in Revelation chapter 17.
[Narrator] So he carried me away in the spirit
into the wilderness and I saw a woman sit upon
a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy,
having seven heads and 10 horns.
[Jeff] The first three symbols that help us to identify Babylon
are the woman, the beast, and the seven heads.
In order to arrive at a correct understanding
of these symbols, we must allow the Bible to define them
for us, so here's what God has to say about
the prophetic symbol of a woman.
[Narrator] I have likened the daughter of Zion
to a comely and delicate woman.
[Jeff] Zion was the name given to the people of God.
As we read in Isaiah.
- [Narrator] Say unto Zion, thou art my people.
- So in the Old Testament, a woman is used by God
as a symbol to represent his people.
In the New Testament, a woman still is used
to represent God's people in the form of his church.
[Narrator] For this cause shall a man leave his father
and mother and shall be joined unto his wife
for they two shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning
Christ and the church.
[Jeff] In the book of Revelation, there are two women.
One is a virgin dressed in white representing God's church
and the other woman named Babylon is a harlot,
meaning she represents a counterfeit church
and she is the one sitting upon a beast.
Once again, allowing the Bible to interpret its own symbols,
we turn to the book of Daniel to define the symbol
of the beast.
[Narrator] The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom
upon earth.
[Jeff] According to Daniel, a beast is a symbol for a kingdom
or a nation, since the Bible uses a woman
as a symbol for a church and the beast for a symbol
of a nation, then this symbol of a woman
sitting upon a beast
is a symbol of a church
in control of a nation or a kingdom.
In other words, this nation is both a church and state power.
Next, John says that this beast has seven heads
and the Bible tells us what these heads represent
just six verses later.
[Narrator] And here is the mind which hath wisdom.
The seven heads are seven mountains on which
the woman sitteh.
[Jeff] The fact that this woman sits upon this beast
with seven heads tells us this church and state power
is located near seven mountains.
John goes on to describe this woman in detail.
[Narrator] And the woman was arrayed in purple
and scarlet colour and decked with
gold and precious stones
and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full
of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.
And upon her forehead was a name written,
Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots
and abominations of the earth.
[Jeff] Our fourth clue is that this woman or church
named Babylon is described as a harlot,
meaning she has committed adultery against God
by forsaking his covenant.
So this church does not represent God's people.
Instead it represents a counterfeit church.
Our fifth characteristic is the woman's appearance.
She is described being arrayed with purple
and scarlet colors, having allowed the Bible to define
its own symbols, we see God telling us Babylon
is a church and state power located around seven mountains
and it is a counterfeit church that appears
primarily in purple and scarlet colors.
There's only one church that fits this definitive
description, the Roman Catholic church,
also known as the papacy, so let's investigate
the evidence for this conclusion.
[Narrator] Vatican City is the only church
and state nation in the world.
It is known as the city on seven hills
and its primary colors are purple and scarlet.
(epic music)
During the Protestant reformation,
many of the reformers
including Thomas Cranmer, John Wesley, William Tyndale,
John Wycliffe, Philippe Melanchthon, John Huss,
Martin Luther and hundreds of others all concluded
the papacy was the harlot of Babylon identified
in the scriptures.
(epic music)
I for my part will set free my own mind
and deliver my conscience by declaring aloud to the pope
and to all papists that the papacy is in truth
nothing else than the kingdom of Babylon
and a very Antichrist, for who is the man of sin
and the son of perdition, but he who by his teaching
and his ordinances increases the sin and perdition
of souls in the church while he yet sits in the church
as if he were God?
All these conditions have now for many ages been fulfilled
by the papal tyranny, First Principles of the Reformation
by Martin Luther, page 197.
(epic music)
[Jeff] The second angel's message is a warning
against the wine of Babylon and the intoxicating influence
of its false doctrines which have deceived the entire world.
Yes, even the Christian world.
This great feat was not accomplished at once,
but subtly over several centuries.
- When you think about Jesus's statement just before he left
He said this gospel shall be preached in all the world
and then the end will come, we see the disciples
going out, preaching this gospel, but we see
that the end did not come, the reason I believe
is because that gospel became tainted
and a different gospel began to go out into all the world.
- In part two of this series, we saw how the everlasting
gospel and the everlasting covenant are revealed
through the sanctuary, but now we're gonna take a look
at a prophecy in the book of Daniel
where the sanctuary comes under attack.
That's what's really being described here,
an attack on the gospel and the covenant by replacing it
with a counterfeit covenant.
[Ivor] According to Daniel chapter eight,
the bible talks about this little horned power
that would defile the sanctuary.
[Narrator] Yeah, he magnified himself even to the prince
of the host and by him, the daily sacrifice
was taken away and the place of his sanctuary
was cast down and in host was given him against
the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression
and it cast down the truth to the ground
and it practiced and prospered.
- And the little horn, there's no doubt
as you look at the sequence of the chapter,
that it's speaking about the Roman Catholic papacy.
[Jeff] Daniel's prophecy is telling us
that the papacy would magnify himself
and exalt himself even above Christ,
the prince of the host, and by the papacy,
the truth is represented by the sanctuary
and Jesus's ministry in heaven would be cast to the ground.
Instead of looking to Jesus as our high priest
in the heavenly sanctuary, the people were taught
to look to human priests in a counterfeit sanctuary
upon the earth.
(crowd cheers) (eerie music)
(birds call)
[Ivor] And so what you have is during the Dark Ages
you have this power rising upon the scene
that actually attacked every article of furniture
and the truth they represented.
The altar of sacrifice, representing the sacrifice
of Christ, was attacked, altered in a sense
and a new teaching came upon the scene that said
the sacrifice of Christ was not sufficient
for the forgiveness of sins, if you wanted to be forgiven,
you had to pay money, you had to perform indulgences,
you had to do penance and so the sacrifice of Christ
was not sufficient for the forgiveness of sins.
[Allen] And the one time sacrifice of Christ
is now being repeated perpetually at every mass
and so the cross in effect has lost its power.
(fire crackles)
- The laver, which represented baptism,
that too was altered, we must repent and be baptized,
which means you must be of age to understand
that you have sinned and repent on free will.
And so this teaching was replaced by infant sprinkling.
(somber music)
[Clayton] And then when you look at the table of shewbread,
that represents the Bible, the Bible in the Dark Ages
was taken away.
(somber music)
[Narrator] It is forbidden for laymen to read
the Old and New Testaments.
We forbid them most severely to have the above books
in the popular vernacular, the lords of the district
shall carefully seek out the heretics in dwellings,
hovels and forests and even their underground retreats
shall be entirely wiped out.
Pope Gregory IX in the Council of Tolusanum, 1229 AD,
canons 14 and two.
[Ivor] And so when you take away the word of God,
take away the truth of God, you have a people that are now
bound to superstition, and bound to tradition
over the word of God, the people were told
that you couldn't read the Bible for yourself.
- Instead of the bread of life, and we partaking of that,
in terms of the scripture, somebody else now has
to interpret it for us. - And so the truth
and the importance of the Bible being the foundation,
that was lost sight of.
(eerie music)
- The altar of incense, which represented
Christ's intercession on our behalf
was cast down and in its place was set up
what was called a confessional booth,
a two compartment room divided by a curtain,
with a man sitting in the place of God,
hearing the confessions of other men
and so the people were told, you can't have
direct access to God, you must come to priests
and confess your sins to them.
- The priest came and he placed himself in-between
the sinner and the Lord said, no, you must go through me,
you need to confess your sins to me.
[Ivor] And again, barriers being put up between man and God.
- Just the individual's ability
to go directly to God is lost.
(somber music)
- The seven-branch candlestick represented the church.
This too was attacked in the persecutions that happened
during this time period known as the Dark Ages.
- Witnessing was trying to be stamped out
and that's what you find the candlestick is all about,
witness.
- Anyone who differed with the teaching of this dominant
church or this dominant system was persecuted,
burned at the stake, you know, tortured in
many different ways in order for them to fall in line
with the system.
And so in so many different ways you see the sanctuary
being cast down.
(eerie music)
Then you get into the most holy place
where is the Ark of the Covenant.
[Clayton] That's where you find the 10 Commandments,
inside the Ark.
[Ivor] The Bible says this power would think to change times
and laws, Daniel 7:25.
- And the Reformation clearly showed or preached
with power, that they saw
the papal power who said that it had the right
to change God's law as representing this power.
[Narrator] The Bible says, remember that thou
keep holy the Sabbath day, the Catholic church says no.
By my divine power, I abolish the Sabbath day
and command you to keep the first day of the week.
And lo, the entire civilized world bows down
in reverent obedience to the command
of the holy Catholic church.
- The prophecy foretold the Catholic church
would think to change times and laws
and the church acknowledges this fact.
[Narrator] The pope has the power to change times,
to abrogate laws and to dispense with all things,
even the precepts of Christ.
- And as you look at the Roman Catholic church theology,
you'll find that the second commandment basically
in the catechisms is eradicated, it doesn't appear.
[Clayton] They deleted one commandment, which was dealing
with the imagery, you can't have an image
and so now they have a problem, they have only nine
commandments, so they took the 10th commandment
and they divided it in half.
(somber music)
- In addition to the sanctuary being cast down
in terms of many of the doctrines and the law,
we also lost the idea of the Sabbath.
[Ivor] They took the seventh day Sabbath,
which pointed to Saturday and said by the power
and authority of the church, we have changed that day
to Sunday, the first day of the week.
(somber music)
- Re-emphasizing the change of this commandment,
a Catholic priest said this in 1903.
[Narrator] It is well to remind the Presbyterians,
Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians
that the Bible does not support them anywhere
in their observance of Sunday.
Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic church
and those who observe the day observe a commandment
of the Catholic church.
(somber music)
- Mankind, who used to understand
the keeping of Sabbath
was part of the Christian life in the early church
was now being told that no, the first day of the week
is the new Sabbath, set up by the Roman church
because she says she has the power to do so.
- The safe way is always the way of scripture.
If God said so,
and I let myself be convinced by someone
that God did not say so, then who's to blame?
I'm to blame.
- The idea that God's Sabbath, for instance,
has changed is ludicrous when you think about
the only commandment that begins with the word remember.
Is the one they want us to forget
and so those are the unchangeable precepts of truth
and he put that in the Ark of the Covenant.
That was lost during the Dark Ages.
- Through the centuries, the sanctuary
and the truths it represents were cast to the ground,
in other words they were made void because the truth
about the ministry of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary
was counterfeited by the false doctrines
of the Roman Catholic church on the earth.
There are many more false teachings that make up
the wine of Babylon but one that strikes directly
at the very heart of the gospel is that relating
to the covenant God established with his people.
Jesus used pure unfermented wine as a symbol
of his covenant, whereas the Bible describes
the counterfeit covenant of Babylon as fermented wine.
- Jesus in the New Testament as he's giving
the disciples the last supper,
he gives them the bread and says this is my body
which is broken for you and then he gives them the wine
which is grape juice and he says this is the blood
of the covenant, or the New Testament, in fact.
Jesus said, this is the New Testament in my blood.
The wine symbolizes the new covenant.
What is the new covenant, God says I will write in my law
in your heart and in your mind.
When Babylon offers this counterfeit wine,
they're offering a counterfeit covenant.
This wine is counterfeit wine and according
to Proverbs 31, the Bible says it is not for kings
to drink wine or strong drink less they drink
and forget the law.
So this wine is fermented.
It is impure.
And when you drink this wine, it leads you to forget
what God said to remember, and what did God say to remember?
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy
so this is the wine that is being given to the world
at this time.
(epic music)
- So you see that every piece of furniture,
including the law of God, was taken out.
[Ivor] So everything that the Bible says that this power
would do, they did in the allotted period of time
and so here you've got this total casting down
of the truths represented in the sanctuary.
[Doug] So the whole sanctuary, all the way from the door
to the holy of holies had been corrupted
and it needed to be restored.
[Ivor] The prophecy of Daniel 8:14
tells us unto 2300 days,
then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
At a certain period of time, all the truths that had been
cast down by this little horned power
would ultimately be restored.
[Allen] And so the entire sanctuary is cast down
and trodden underfoot by this man of sin.
Protestant Reformation brings it back.
[Ivor] And over a period of 500 years,
that exact thing happened.
God began to bring different movements upon the scene
that would restore each article of furniture,
almost century by century over a period of 500 years
and so you have John Wycliffe coming upon the scene
in the 1300s, he translated the Bible
into the language of the people and thus set off
as it were the Reformation.
(epic music)
Martin Luther is born in the 1400s, begins the Protestant
Reformation in the 1500s, and he in essence
restores the truth that Christ's sacrifice is sufficient
for the forgiveness of sins, you don't have to pay money,
you don't have to do penance, it is by faith
and his sacrifice for us that we are forgiven of our sins.
John Calvin, comes upon the scene in the 1500s,
founder of the Presbyterian movement.
Calvin has a very strong burden for prayer.
Wrote extensively on prayer.
Basically taught that you don't need to go through
priests in order to have access to God.
You can have direct access to the throne of God yourself.
In the 1600s.
(somber music)
John Smith and Roger Williams become the founders
of the Baptist movement and their special burden
is the restoration of the true mode of baptism.
You must repent and then be baptized.
You can't be sprinkled, true baptism is a symbol
of being fully submersed, fully buried
and fully brought up into the newness of life
and so the Baptist movement
restores the true mode of baptism.
(epic music)
In the 1700s, you have John Wesley, who comes upon
the scene, he's the founder of the Methodist movement
and John Wesley has a very strong burden
for the lay evangelist, you are the light of the world,
let your light shine.
The Methodist movement in essence added to everything
else that the movements before it had brought back.
Now they add this element of evangelism,
go out there and let your light shine.
(flames pop)
So by the 1800s, there's one article of furniture
left to be restored, it is the Ark of the Covenant,
specifically the seventh day Sabbath
and it is in this century that God brings on the scene
the Seventh-day Adventist movement.
That would focus specifically on the law of God
and the commandment that had been cast down,
which is the seventh day Sabbath.
(epic music)
So in essence, you have these two prophecies
in the book of Daniel, one stating that the sanctuary
would be defiled, the other one stating
that it would be purified at the end of 2300 days.
And to a T, you find this confirmed in history.
The fact that this everlasting gospel is again preached
in 1844 simply signifies that all the things
that had been altered and disrupted in the true
everlasting gospel were fully restored by 1844.
At the same time that the everlasting gospel
is fully restored and begins to go forward again,
it is at that time that the judgment begins
and so now you have this message going forward.
It is an end time message and it is a message
that actually prepares the world for the coming of Christ.
- Just like Noah was calling people into the ark
and out of the crowd, God in the last days
is calling people out of the false teachings of Babylon.
[Narrator] And I heard another voice from heaven
saying, come out of her, my people,
that ye be not partakers of her sins
and that ye receive not of her plagues.
- Come out of her, my people.
- You come out of the false and you come into the true.
- If God's people are in Babylon, it must represent
churches that claim to serve the Lord,
or else God wouldn't call them my people.
- And so God is inviting people into the true worship.
- And in the days of Noah, the collective mindset
ridiculed the plan of salvation.
They refused to go into the ark,
and there is a way of the ark in the end because
there's an Ark of the Covenant, which points to the law
which is within the sanctuary, those that reject it here
will reject it there.
But the people are being deceived.
They are not by choice accepting these things
so as God enlightens people with his spirit
and they realize the truths of the Bible,
they will make a choice and they will come out
of the system that rejects the way of God.
(dramatic music)
- The Sabbath isn't being kept where I'm at.
The commandments aren't being preached where I'm at.
You know,
I'm not hearing that we're in the hour of God's judgment
and so they say hey, where I'm at,
the first angel's message isn't being preached,
so I'm actually gonna get out.
(somber music)
[Allen] When I first heard this message preached to me,
that the denomination to which I belonged
was Babylon, and that it was a false method of worship,
it frightened me, I came out of the Roman Catholic church.
And I knew many good people within the Roman Catholic system
but when I saw that their teachings were contrary
to the scripture, I had no choice,
being a sentient human being, I looked at it and said,
well, the only logical conclusion is to follow what God
has said in His Bible, not the traditions of men.
And it was very difficult because my whole family
is Roman Catholic and they still are to this day.
And this is what we need to do to let people known
that Babylon is fallen, it's twice fallen.
Not only Roman Catholicism, but also the daughters
of the harlot that's addressed in Revelation 17,
that they too have become spiritual Babylon.
[Narrator] And upon her forehead was a name written,
mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots
and abominations of the earth.
- She's described as the mother of harlots and abominations
so she's the mother and she has daughters.
And so when this second angel's message goes forward,
I believe the message is speaking
generally about the mother, but more specifically
about the daughters.
So who are the daughters?
They are the Protestant churches that came out of her
that are no longer protesting, that have rejected
the first angel's message.
[Stephen] So very clearly the second angel's message
calls people to come out of the religious systems
where the first angel's message is not being practiced.
[Ivor] The Protestant churches who have turned their back
on the sanctuary message, on the law of God,
on the Sabbath is what is being pointed out here.
Babylon is fallen, is fallen, Revelation 18 picks up
by saying, come out of her, my people,
so it is a call for God's people who are in
these fallen systems to come out of them
because these fallen systems are teaching
that there is some other way to the throne of God.
When there is only one way to the throne of God
and that is through the pattern given to us
in the sanctuary.
(flames crackle) (epic music)
[Narrator] Instead of protesting the traditions
of men and the wine of Babylon, these churches
have drunk of it and pour it out on their congregations.
The term Babylon, confusion, may be appropriately
applied to these bodies.
(man speaks in tongues)
All professing to derive their doctrines from the Bible,
yet divided into almost innumerable sects with widely
conflicting creeds and theories, but religious faith
appears so confused and discordant that the people
know not what to believe as truth.
♪ We are alive ♪
- [Narrator] Not withstanding the spiritual darkness
and alienation from God that exists in the churches
which constitute Babylon, the great body of Christ's
true believers are still to be found in their communion.
- I need it, Lord!
- [Narrator] There are many of these who have never seen
the special truths for this time.
Not a few are dissatisfied with their present condition
and are longing for clearer light.
- Take your hands off of God's property.
- [Narrator] They look in vain for the image of Christ
in the churches with which they are connected.
As these bodies depart further and further from the truth
and ally themselves more closely with the world,
the difference between the two classes will widen
and it will finally result in separation.
(somber music)
- I can remember when I first heard this message
and I'd have to say that I was one of those people
that was in Babylon, I was a pagan,
but when I first came to Jesus, I joined just your typical
evangelical church and did not know these things
that we're talking about. And so when I learned
the truth about the Sabbath and I learned about the message
of coming out of Babylon, it was a struggle,
it was painful, for one thing, I think I was a little angry
that I felt I'd been deceived by, maybe they were sincere,
but teachers that were not telling me the whole message.
I was frustrated, I went to several different pastors
and said, why are we worshiping on the first day
of the week, when the Bible clearly says the seventh day
is the Sabbath and I might have asked 10 different pastors,
I probably got 11 or 12 different answers.
They didn't agree with each other.
That to me immediately said something was wrong.
Secondly, it was a struggle because my friends
were all in these churches and I had to make a decision,
am I willing to not only lose my friends but my employment
was at risk and I had to turn down jobs
because keeping the Sabbath means you keep it holy.
You don't work that day and so I went through
some personal trials to take a stand,
but in the end, I look back and God provided.
He blessed and whenever we step out in faith and follow him
ultimately it'll be better and he'll bless,
he'll work miracles for us.
(inspirational music)
- The first and second angel's messages will be challenging
for most Christians, these warnings bring into question
many of the fundamental beliefs Christians have held
their whole lives. I imagine hearing the solemn warnings
of a global flood pronounced by Noah in his day
challenged the people in the same way.
Many of those people professed to be worshipers
of God, but they had drifted so far off into false worship
that they really believed Noah to be delusional,
so they rejected the call to come into the Ark.
The wine of Babylon and the false systems of worship
are having the same effect today.
They'll prevent many people, even Christians,
from receiving the first angel's message.
The message is calling them to enter into the Ark
of the everlasting covenant, it's a call to worship Him
who made heaven and earth and the sea.
We saw how this message points back to the Sabbath
commandment because it's both a memorial of his creation
and a sign of the everlasting covenant.
By resting on the Sabbath day,
we show that we are worshiping
the true God and that we have entered into the everlasting
covenant by embracing its symbol of the Sabbath.
But many sincere Christians have been deceived.
They believe themselves to be worshipers of the true God
and partakers of his covenant while they disregard
the very heart of his covenant.
Although deceived, God knows many have been faithfully
living up to the life they have, but if they continue
in error and reject the truths found in the three angels'
messages, they will find themselves outside the ark
like those who rejected the pleas of Noah.
God is love and because he is love, one thing he cannot do
is force someone to accept his mercy against their will.
Love beckons, love invites, love pleads,
but love can never violate free will upon which
its very existence depends.
God embraces and rejoices in those who come to him
and he respects the decisions of those who do not.
But this is not so with the great adversary.
He'll use any means necessary, including coercion
and force to secure homage and to achieve his objectives.
For centuries, Satan has been preparing his most
powerful deceptions for his final onslaught,
but love, on the other hand, would have every person
to make an intelligent decision of their own free will
and for this purpose God sends the third angel's message
to reveal the enemy's plans that all may have sufficient
light, that none would be deceived when they stand
in the valley of decision.
(somber music)
[Narrator] And the third angel followed them saying
with a loud voice, if any man worship the beast
and his image and receive his mark in his forehead
or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine
of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture
into the cup of his indignation and he shall be tormented
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels
and in the presence of the lamb
and the smoke of their torment
ascendeth up forever and ever and they have no rest,
day nor night, who worship the beast and his image
and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Here is the patience of the saints.
Here are they that keep the commandments of God
and the faith of Jesus.
- The third angel's message speaks about those
who receive the mark of the beast.
- You have really the most fearful curse
found in the Bible is what happens to those
who receive the mark of the beast
and it's connected with false worship
and a judgment that comes on those who worship
against the worship of the Bible.
- But not only does he warn the world to worship
the creator in the first angel's message,
but he warns the world not to worship the beast
or his image in the third angel's message,
so the issue at the end of time clearly is gonna be
over worship.
- The devil is not trying to get us to not worship.
He's trying to get us to counterfeit worship.
In the last days, the devil and the beast power doesn't say,
don't worship, they say worship.
But worship the beast.
[Dave] We see a parallel with Noah's day, the population
of the earth is divided into two groups.
There's the majority, unfortunately on the outside
of the boat with the mark of the beast, and the minority
inside the boat with the seal of God.
- Even today, the identity of the beast
remains a mystery to most.
Popular culture has made these prophecies
the subject of countless movies and books
and this has led people into all kinds of speculation
and by doing this, it's diminished their significance
and has buried their true meaning
under a cloak of confusion.
The truth is,
we can know exactly what the mark of the beast is.
After all, that's the reason God gave us this warning.
First, we need to realize no one will be safe
through this crisis by knowing what the mark
of the beast is, when this last conflict comes,
only those that have the seal of God on their foreheads
will be preserved through the last great conflict.
So what's really important is that we know how
we can receive the seal of God.
So before we look at the mark of the beast,
let's first learn about the seal of God.
[Narrator] And I saw another angel ascending
from the east, having the seal of the living God,
and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels,
to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
saying hurt not the earth, neither the sea,
nor the trees, til we have sealed the servants of our God
in their foreheads.
- In the days of Noah, Noah was sealed in the ark,
simply meant that he couldn't get out, no one could get in.
[Narrator] Once in the ark, the Bible says
the Lord shut him in, the word shut and the word seal
are used interchangeably throughout the scriptures.
For example, God said to Daniel, shut up the words
and seal the book, even to the time of the end.
Therefore, the word shut and the word seal
have the same meaning.
So when the Bible says the Lord shut him in,
it's the same as saying, the Lord sealed him in.
Noah was sealed in the Ark of the Covenant made with him.
And he was preserved through the flood.
- They were sealed on the inside, they were saved
from the trial that was going to come on the whole world.
[Stephen] There's not another time of trouble in human history
that's gonna compare in intensity to the one that
God's people will go through.
In order to go through this period,
severe trial, God's people have to be sealed before.
And the purpose of the seal is first of all
for God to identify who are his so that the angels
are clear as to who they need to protect during this time
of trouble. Isaiah chapter eight and verse 16
speaks about sealing the law among God's disciples.
[Narrator] Bind up the testimony, seal the law
among my disciples.
- So here we discover that there is a relationship
between God's seal and his law.
- When you look at the ancient seals used in Biblical
times, they always contained three elements.
They contained the name of the issuing authority,
the king or whoever it might be, they contained
his title, and they contained his jurisdiction.
- A seal has got the title. It's got the name.
It's got the territory.
And when you look through the 10 commandments
it's only the fourth commandment
that speaks of God as the creator.
[Doug] It's got the name,
it's got the territory. - [Dave] The ruler of heaven
and earth and his jurisdiction.
[Doug] So right in the Sabbath commandment, you've got
the seal of of God and so it's unique and really identifies
who we worship.
- Just as in Noah's day getting on that ark represented
an acceptance of all of the morality that God promoted,
the 10 commandments, the observance of God's will,
so at the end of time the acceptance of the Sabbath
indicates the acceptance of all of the moral requirements
of God.
- The seal according to the Bible can be summed up
in that one commandment, the fourth commandment,
not because that commandment is
by itself a saving commandment
but because that commandment gives authority
to the entire law, without the fourth commandment,
the entire Decalogue can be anyone's commandment.
But this is the Lord, your creator.
And therefore, it gives the seal of authority
to the entire law.
By keeping that day, according to the commandment,
you are acknowledging the authority of the lawgiver
and that is why it is important to keep the Sabbath.
[Narrator] And hallow my Sabbaths and they shall be
a sign between me and you, that ye may know
that I am the Lord your God.
[Clayton] The Sabbath really
determines who you are worshiping.
[Stephen] Keeping the Sabbath shows that we have committed
our lives to our creator.
To our savior.
If the Sabbath is the sign of God as the creator,
the mark of the beast must be an opposite sign
that this power created
to rival the sign that God established.
What was the sign that God established that he's
the creator, the Sabbath, so what would be the mark
that distinguishes the beast and demanding worship
from people, it would have to be another day.
[Narrator] The last war in the book of Revelation
is a war over worship. The third angel's message
warns us twice that many will worship the beast.
This is a violation of the first commandment
that says thou shalt have no other gods before me.
The third angel's message warns us twice
that many will worship the image of the beast.
This is a violation of the second commandment
which prohibits the worship of images and idols.
We have been warned many will receive the name
of the beast, a counterfeit of the third commandment,
to not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
and finally, the third angel's message warns us twice
not to receive the mark of the beast,
a counterfeit of the seal of God in the fourth commandment.
To remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- So if you look at the parallel
between having no other God,
the number, the name, the image, then there's a Sabbath
which is the mark, they actually all parallel.
It all revolves around that first table of the Decalogue.
(somber music)
[Jeff] The first four of the 10 commandments are laws
that define how we're to worship God.
So when the first angel's message commands us
to worship him who made the heaven, the earth
and the sea, it's pointing us to the ark
of the everlasting covenant through the worship
of the creator, the second angel's message warns us
of the false worship that will confuse people
and lead them away from the covenant
and the third angel's message warns us about the beast
that will try to prevent people from entering into
the covenant by forcing them to disregard
the sign of worship to the creator and receive instead
the sign of worship to the beast,
so just who is this beast?
(somber music)
[Narrator] And I stood upon the sand of the sea
and saw a beast rise up out of the sea,
having seven heads and 10 horns and upon his horns
10 crowns and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
[Jeff] John sees this beast
having seven head and 10 horns.
This is exactly the same description of the beast
in Revelation chapter 17 that was carrying the woman
named Babylon dressed in purple and scarlet colors.
Note that this beast also has seven heads and 10 horns.
Back in chapter 13, John saw the first beast rise up
out of the sea, in chapter 17, the sea is defined
this way, the waters which thou sawest, where the whore
sitteth, are peoples and multitudes
and nations and tongues.
So what God is revealing is that this beast in Revelation
13 will rise to power in a populated area.
The beast in Revelation 17 is carrying a woman
who is full of the names of blasphemy
and when we go back to the beast in Revelation 13,
it also has upon his heads the names of blasphemy.
The descriptions of these two beasts are the same
because they're both referring to the same power.
The beast John saw rise up out of the sea
is the same power he saw carrying the woman
named Babylon who we already saw represents the papacy
of the Roman Catholic church.
(somber music)
(crowd cheers)
- Eventually, through studying through who is the beast
and determining the understanding of the beast
to represent the system of the papacy
and the Catholic church, you find that their special claim
to mark of worship is their prerogative that they claim
of having changed the law of God.
Changing it, just completely changing it.
Taking the fourth commandment and making it apply
not to the Sabbath of creation, not to the sign
of the creator's power and authority, but to Sunday.
This is what the Catholic church claims
to be their mark of authority
and this is the mark of the beast,
at the very end of time.
- An archbishop from the Roman Catholic church said
the following in 1562.
[Narrator] The authority of the church could therefore
not be bound to the authority of the scriptures
because the church had changed the Sabbath
into Sunday, not by command of Christ
but by its own authority.
- The Catholic church points to their changing
of the law of God as proof that her authority
is above the Bible and claims that this change
is a sign of its authority.
In 1893, the Catholic church distributed
the first edition of an article that was later
re-titled Rome's Challenge, Why Do Protestants Keep Sunday?
In this publication, the Catholic author
poses this question to Protestants.
[Narrator] It is not yet too late for Protestants
to redeem themselves, will they do it?
Will they stand consistently upon the Protestant
profession, will they indeed take the written world only,
the scripture alone as their sole authority
and sole standard, or will they still hold the indefensible
self contradictory and suicidal doctrine and practice
of following the authority of the Catholic church
and wear the sign of her authority?
Will they keep the Sabbath of the Lord,
the seventh day according to scripture?
Or will they keep the Sunday according
to the tradition of the Catholic church?
- The doing away with the reminder of God's authority
as the creator, the doing away with the acceptance
of the sign of faith, doing away with those things
strikes at the very heart of our relationship with God
and all that flows out of that.
(somber music)
- The most defiant thing that could be done
to challenge the authority of God would be to change his law
because the law is the foundation of his government.
And the papacy claims this change as a sign
of her authority, those that worship the creator
will honor the day God sanctified
as as sign of his authority and covenant
and those that trample upon God's law
to obey a human enactment will receive
the mark of the beast because he accepts the sign
of allegiance to the power which he chooses to obey
instead of God.
This is the central conflict on this last war over worship.
As this crisis escalates and becomes universal,
every person will receive the sign of the power
they choose to obey in the forehead or in the hand.
[Allen] It's depicted in both the forehead and in the hand.
Now to really understand what that entails, let's go back
to Deuteronomy chapter six.
And these words, which I teach thee today,
you will take them and teach them to your children.
They will be upon your hand
and as frontlets between your eyes.
Now first we need to understand, what are these words?
These words are the commandments just given
in the previous chapter.
In Exodus chapter 13 verse nine, he says the same thing,
in Deuteronomy 11 says the same thing.
The law of God shall be in your hand and be frontlets
between your eyes.
- And that adds new meaning to the mark of the beast.
- To have it in the forehead means that you have made
a mental assent to not following Christ.
- These are symbols, in the hand means
your actions and in the forehead, it means
in your faith, in your worship.
- You can take that mark either way.
You may not mentally assent to it and you may just
grasp it and say, well, I don't really agree,
but I'll go along with it because I value my life.
It says it's in the hand and in the forehead.
They've got the law and the covenant of the beast.
In their actions and in their worship.
[Jeff] In this war over worship,
the beast has a powerful ally.
After seeing the first beast rise up out of the sea,
John sees another beast and tells us this second beast
is the one that will force the world to worship
the first beast.
[Narrator] And I beheld another beast coming up
out of the earth and he had two horns like a lamb.
And he spake as a dragon and he exerciseth
all the power of the first beast before him and causeth
the earth and them which dwell therein to worship
the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
- To cause someone to do something
means you're using force
and in this prophecy, the second beast will use its power
to cause or force the inhabitants of the earth
to worship the first beast.
(somber music)
[Jeff] The first beast rose up out of the sea
and we already saw how the Bible uses the sea
as a symbol to represent a populated area of peoples,
multitudes, nations and tongues.
Now the second beast is seen coming up out of the earth
which by contrast represents a remote area,
far from the cities or populated areas of the earth.
Here is a new nation rising to power in a relatively
uninhabited area.
(somber music)
Furthermore, this beast has two horns like a lamb.
Throughout the Bible, the lamb is a symbol to represent
Jesus, the lamb of God, so when the second beast
is described as having two horns like a lamb,
we would rightly be looking for a new Christ-like
or Christian nation rising to power in a relatively
uninhabited area.
Without question there is but one nation
that fits these qualifications, and not coincidentally
it's often regarded as the most powerful and influential
nation in the world, the United States of America.
(dramatic music)
[Narrator] The founding fathers of this new nation
professed a belief in the God of the Bible
when they declared, we hold these truths to be self evident
That all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their creator with certain unalienable rights,
that among these are life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness.
In addition to professing a belief in the creator,
the Constitution of the United States of America
in the first amendment guarantees both civil
and religious liberty, it states,
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
To avoid the religious intolerance and persecution
that had pervaded Europe for so many centuries,
this new government was set up to prohibit the church
from controlling the state and the state from controlling
the church. Jesus said, render therefore unto Caesar
the things which are Caesar's and unto God
the things that are God's and these Christian principles
written into the founding documents of the United States
were the secret of its success.
Millions fled to America that they might worship
according to the dictates of their conscience,
but the Bible declares a change is coming.
When John saw this beast coming up out of the earth,
he says it was like a lamb but spake as a dragon.
In the very next verse we read that this beast,
that is the United States of America,
will cause the earth and them which dwell therein
to worship the first beast, the prophecies declare
the United States of America, often regarded
as the world's most powerful civil authority,
will unite its efforts with the Roman Catholic church,
which is regarded as the world's most prominent moral
and spiritual authority, one beast representing the church,
the other beast representing the state will unite
and trample underfoot the civil and religious liberties
upon which the United States was founded.
(dramatic music)
- In the time of Christ and the apostles
when thousands were leaving the religion of the Sadducees
and the Pharisees, which Jesus had declared corrupt
and they were coming into Christ's body, his New Testament
church, the religious leaders turned to political power
to persecute them, that's why Herod, the king in Acts
chapter 12, had arrested Peter, and he killed James.
The church was appealing to political power
to persecute God's people.
History's gonna repeat itself, it happened during
the Dark Ages, with the beast power,
when they appealed to the state to persecute,
imprison and kill those who did not go along
and comply with the church mandates.
It's gonna happen again, we'll see history repeat itself
in the last days, there's no question.
[video] Probably we should be debating a bill
requiring every American to attend a church of their choice
on Sunday to see if we can get back to having
a moral rebirth.
- Yeah, we're talking about state Senator Sylvia Allen
and she thinks the nation is suffering from a moral decay.
[Walter] The issue of the Sabbath will become
very, very prominent in the world.
The airwaves and the television systems will also
give the opposite view because God is a God of fairness,
so this message of a choice between two systems of worship
and two Sabbaths, the Biblical Sabbath of the seventh day
and the Sabbath of the rest of the world
will be made prominent by the media, by the press
and by groups that will make sure
that this is a clear message.
[TV] Christians have said they changed it, no, no, no,
you're wrong.
[Allen] A lot of people are gonna hear this message
in the 11th hour, many thousands are gonna be converted.
[TV] In six days, and the seventh was a day of rest.
Now the first day, the Sunday, which was by the way,
borrowed by the Romans and the Greeks.
A clear amendment, what's wrong with that?
- So what's happening here is the sins of Babylon
are being laid open but people are gonna realize
that Babylon is the churches.
(somber music)
And these churches that have been teaching false doctrine.
[Doug] They'll run to their pastors and their priests
and say, are these things true, why haven't you told us
this? - [Allen] and they're going to
say, are these things so?
[Doug] And of course most of them will do all they can
to denounce it and to turn them away
and they'll continue to say peace, peace
and don't worry about these things
oh, they're deceived
but they're not going to be satisfied.
[Allen] There will be many that hear this message
and they will embrace it.
[Doug] And they're gonna take a stand at great personal loss
and experiencing great tribulation and persecution,
they're going to tear themselves from Babylon
[Allen] And they will begin to leave the nominal churches.
But the leaders will not rest easy on this.
In fact, they will do whatever they can to go counter
to the message that's being given.
[Doug] The religious leaders, Protestants and Catholics
are going to join their forces.
(sweeping music)
And there will probably be great financial turmoil
in the world, maybe natural disasters
if they're gonna say all of this calamity
is because these people here,
they're not complying, they're going along with
their idea of the Bible and they'll appeal to the powers
of the state.
- These church leaders, these Protestant leaders,
will join themselves with the state
and they will form an image to the beast.
[Stephen] Church and state will join hands.
I know that sounds impossible in
a country where you have the first amendment,
where the Congress cannot make laws establishing religion
or forbidding the free exercise of religion.
We say how in the world could that ever happen
in these United States of America?
Revelation 13 verses 11 to 18 tell us that the day
is coming when that's gonna take place.
[Narrator] And he doeth great wonders,
so that he maketh fire come down from heaven
on the earth in the sight of men and deceiveth them
that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles
which he had power to do in the sight of the beast,
saying to them that dwell on the earth
that they should make an image to the beast.
- When it says the United States shall say to the world,
they should make an image to the beast,
it is saying that they should
mirror the system of the papacy,
creating a church and state government.
The leading churches of the United States
will unite upon common points of doctrine
and together they will influence the state
to enforce their decrees.
(somber music)
- The religious leaders in the United States
will push strongly for a national Sunday law.
(somber music)
[Walter] Governments will be inundated
with requests for legislation to ensconce Sunday
as a day of worship.
(somber music)
[Stephen] Which eventually will lead
to a universal worldwide Sunday law.
[Doug] You can see this in the story of Daniel
in a couple of places.
There was a law made, they had to choose.
- When the image was set up on the plains of Dura,
no big deal, right, it wasn't until
everybody was compelled to bow down that it became
a big deal.
- Do I obey the law of the state,
bow down and worship the golden image
or do I obey the law of God and stand up
when everyone else is bowing down?
The devil wanted them to break the law of God.
- And then after they didn't do it,
there's the death decree.
(somber music)
- The ancient story of the golden image set up in Babylon
for everyone to worship or be killed is itself
a prophecy depicting Babylon the great at the end of time
that shall set up an image to the beast
that whosoever would not worship it should be killed.
[Narrator] And that no man might buy or sell,
save he that had the mark or the name of the beast
or the number of his name.
[Jeff] Imagine from this moment forward, that you're not allowed
to buy or sell.
No food, no clothing, no water.
How long would you last?
The purpose of this law is to compel those
who would obey God's law to perish as outcasts
from society or give in and receive the mark of the beast.
Ridicule, persecution and the severity of punishment
will increase, ultimately resulting in the death penalty.
[Narrator] And he had power to give live unto the image
of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak
and cause that as many that would not worship the image
of the beast should be killed.
(somber music)
- Police!
(somber music) (men shout indistinctly)
- Ground, get down.
[Stephen] And anyone who does not comply
with this law of the state
instigated by the church will be persecuted.
[Doug] The political pressure is gonna be applied
so that they're gonna use military and police power
to persecute those that believe the Biblical truth.
- And many prior to the close, the final close of probation
will lose their lives or they will be put in prison.
The error of the world is what has taken over.
The minority message today is God's righteous message
of faith, it's the message of Noah
and it's a message of hope, it's a message of deliverance,
but it's also a message of judgment.
[Walter] What the final choice is about
is man making a choice
between a law that is God given
and a law that is man given.
And Roman Catholicism says the exact same things.
It says the choice is between the Biblical Sabbath
and the papal Sabbath.
(somber music)
- Right now nobody has the mark of the beast.
It's only when the decree shall be enforced by law
that men and women shall receive the mark of the power
they choose to obey.
(somber music)
Before we go any further, I want to take a moment
to consider three
underlying principles behind this controversy.
You see, the contest between the Sabbath of God
and Sunday legislation is a controversy over the character
of God, who is God, would he compel everybody to worship him
by force or does he desire the service of love
offered of our own free will.
How you answer this question will determine on which side
of the controversy you'll be found.
If you believe God would compel his subjects to worship him
then you might see the Sunday law as the will of God.
However, if you believe that the character of God
is selfless and loving, then in the enforcement
of the day of rest and the violation of liberty
and conscience, you will recognize the working
of another power.
(somber music)
The second principle is another question,
how does God save us?
The idea that we can appease God and put an end
to the calamities and disasters on the earth
by a strict enforcement of a day of worship
is the outworking of the principle that man can somehow
save himself by his own works.
On the other hand, if we believe God's covenant promise
that he will accomplish the work of our salvation,
then we'll enter into his rest and honor
the seventh day Sabbath that was given to be a sign
that we acknowledge that he is the one that saves us.
(somber music)
The third principle is demonstration.
It's in a crisis that character is revealed
and when the final conflict will engulf the world,
all will manifest the character they have developed.
One class will reveal the selfless character of God
by sacrificing their lives to help save others
while the other class will reveal the selfish character
of the adversary by sacrificing the lives of others
to save themselves.
(somber music)
These are the principles behind the last conflict
that will involve all of us, so you can plainly see
what you believe about the character of God
and what you believe about salvation will very much
determine whether you choose
to receive the mark of the beast
or the seal of God.
(somber music)
The three angels' messages are already proclaiming
the last judgment hour message, warning us
of the events surrounding the execution of the judgment
to come, we don't know how soon these events will take place
so we don't know the exact year, but however, we do know
that it'll happen soon and in quick succession.
Let's look at an exploded view of these last day events.
Already circumstances in our world are coming together
to bring about the mark of the beast crisis
just as the Bible foretold and then there's the close
of probation, followed by the execution of the judgment
and then the second coming of Christ.
In the days of Noah, the whole world was in the valley
of decision, but after all had made their choice
to accept or reject the refuge of the ark,
the door of mercy was shut.
In that moment, their decisions were sealed.
All had chosen to accept or reject the invitation
to enter into the refuge of the everlasting covenant
and very soon the door will close again, forever.
(epic music)
- Many people miss the point that the parallel
between the days of Noah and the end of time
is not so much in the destruction itself
and the wickedness that existed in the world.
The real parallel is found in the moment
when the door closed.
(epic music)
- We as humans simply cannot fathom the patience
and the endurance of God.
- But he said, my spirit will not always strive with man.
There's a limit and back in the days of Noah,
he outlined 120 years.
- Why he didn't smite the wicked right away,
is because he loves his creation.
He has to demonstrate that every ounce of opportunity
and patience will be given to the wicked,
but there comes a point where probation closes
and we see that in the door of the ark being shut.
- I think right now we're coming to the conclusion
of God's probationary time of mercy for this generation.
- Noah's message is going out in the form of the three
angels' message, and
there comes a point where that message
will no longer go out.
- The wicked were lost not when it started to rain.
They were lost when the door closed.
- So Noah was saved, he was sealed.
But those on the outside, their doom was fixed.
- But the people didn't know it.
They saw the door close, but they mocked Noah,
not realizing that salvation had ended for them.
[Walter] Probation was closed, yet man was still on earth
and so at the end of time, there will be a time period
when probation is closed
but man will still be here on earth.
- The judgment is finished, the judgment has been made
that a nation, a people are going to be destroyed,
but the execution of that has not been carried out yet.
This is what is gonna happen at the end of time.
[Jeff] Many Christians believe
the offer of salvation will end
after Jesus returns, but the closing of the door
in the days of Noah shows us this is not true.
The door of salvation will close before the second coming
and we read this in Revelation chapter 22.
[Narrator] He that is unjust, let him be unjust still.
And he which is filthy, let him be filthy still.
And he that is righteous, let him be righteous still.
And he that is holy, let him be holy still.
[Jeff] And we know Jesus still has not come at this point
because the very next thing he says is--
[Narrator] And behold, I come quickly.
- And at that particular point,
God's patience will have been exhausted
just as it was in Noah's time.
- So God asks us to prepare not for the second coming
of Christ, he asks us to prepare for the closing
of the door of probation,
that's the key point.
- Right now the outcome of our case in the heavenly judgment
is still being investigated.
Because the door into the refuge of the everlasting
covenant is still open and that door is Jesus.
[Narrator] I am the door, by me if any man enter in,
he shall be saved.
- Jesus also spoke about the door of salvation
in the book of Revelation.
- [Narrator] I have set before thee an open door
and no man can shut it for thou hast a little strength.
- The reason Noah didn't shut the door to the ark
is because it represented the door of salvation
and no man could shut this door.
Imagine the faith Noah had preparing an ark
for 120 years, knowing he had no way to close the door.
He trusted God would fulfill his promise and he did.
When we read the Lord shut him in.
When the judge strikes his mallet, the case is closed
and the investigation is finished.
In the same way the closing of the door of the ark
showed the case of every individual had been determined.
All had chosen to accept or reject the promise of mercy.
In order to understand how God will shut the door
of salvation at the end of time, we need to turn
to our lesson book, the sanctuary
and we'll see how Jesus is keeping the door open right now.
[Narrator] For Christ is not entered into the holy places
made with hands which are the figures of the true,
but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God for us.
[Doug] He's in the presence of God
He's there as our intercessor.
Right now, we have a mediator who's interceding.
He ever lives to make intercession for us.
But obviously there's a time when that intercession stops.
The time will come when he's gonna stand up
and he leaves.
- The high priest will come out of the most holy place.
The censer will be cast down.
At this particular point, there is no more intercessor
and there can be no more forgiveness of sin.
(somber music)
[Narrator] It is Christ that died, yea,
rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
- As our defendant in the heavenly tribunal,
it's the intercession of Jesus before the father
pleading the merits of his blood on our behalf
that makes mercy possible.
This means when Jesus leaves the father's presence,
mankind will no longer have an intercessor
and the door of mercy will close.
- At that time, the saved are saved and the lost are lost.
- Which means that every case has already been decided
for life or for death.
[Doug] We take God's mercy for granted because so often
when we sin, we know God is there, we can pray
and He'll forgive, but someday the laundrymat's gonna close
and we won't be able to be cleansed anymore.
And so now is the time to receive that sanctification
and that cleansing.
- At the end of time, God is gonna have a generation
that will still have the sinful nature
but through the power of God, they will totally
and completely gain the victory over sin.
[Narrator] And I saw as it were, a sea of glass
mingled with fire and them that had gotten the victory
of the beast and over his image and over his mark
and over the number of his name stand on the sea of glass,
having the harps of God.
- They're called the 144,000, the living saints
when Jesus comes.
Who will develop a character like the character
that Jesus developed, in other words,
they will develop a character of victory over sin.
[Narrator] Victory over sin is victory over selfishness.
Jesus's life was an unbroken stream of selfless service
to God and man, when God's people are perfected,
their life will also be one of selfless service,
free of all selfishness.
For the completeness of Christian character is attained
when the impulse to help and bless others
springs constantly from within.
This is the character God's people will develop.
- And by the way, it will be in the worst circumstances
in the history of planet earth unless we have found refuge
in Christ before the moment that probation closes,
there will be no refuge during the time of trouble.
(inspirational music)
- The Bible says that Satan is the accuser of the brethren,
but in our defense, Jesus stands in the presence of God
for us, but Jesus cannot finish his work of intercession
until there's a generation of saints upon the earth
who are so filled with the spirit they can stand
in the presence of God without an intercessor,
so right now, Jesus is working to fulfill the promises
of his covenant in those who are allowing him to do so.
Having confessed their sins upon Jesus, they have been
forgiven and through his power, their characters
are being sanctified and restored. In other words,
they'll be able by God's power to stand in the time
of trouble without sinning when there is no longer
an intercessor in the heavenly sanctuary.
(inspirational music)
[Allen] To compare the type of
what transpired with Noah and his family
by entering into the ark and having the door shut,
and nothing happening for seven days.
- And the wicked were outside and there was no sign
that what Noah had predicted was gonna take place.
- His thought had to have been, well, this flood,
these waters are gonna be coming any time now.
- Undoubtedly Noah during that time went through
a severe test of his faith.
[Allen] And a day passed and nothing happened.
Two days passed and nothing happened,
so I can only imagine that Noah is beginning to wonder.
- He was thinking, well, you know, could it perhaps be
that I was wrong.
- And after those seven days passed,
then judgment came.
We're gonna see the same thing at the end of time.
[Ivor] God's people will go through
a serious time of trouble.
(somber music)
They will be led to believe, be tempted to believe
that the presence of God has departed from them.
(somber music)
Because of the chaos and because of really their own sins
that they can look back and see throughout their own life,
man, you know, look at my life, it's not what it should
have been, and they'll go through that time of trouble
which is really a time of mental agonizing.
Has probation closed and did I make it?
(man sobs) (somber music)
Exactly when probation closes, no one knows.
- We will know when probation has closed
when the plagues fall.
- There's a parallel between the days of Noah
in the sense that you have the preaching.
The preaching divides the world into two groups.
Then you have the closing of the door.
Then you have a period where the faith of those
inside the ark is tested and those outside
become more certain that Noah and his family are wrong
and then you have the destruction.
The parallel with the end of time is striking
because you have the preaching of the three angels' message
which includes the hour of God's judgment.
Then after that, you have the closing of the door
where the filthy will be filthy and the righteous
will still be righteous.
And the holy will be holy and the unrighteous
will still be unrighteous and then after that
you're gonna have the period of tribulation,
where God's people will be on earth,
their faith will be tested and then you have
the destruction, so there's a striking parallel
between what happened in the days of Noah
and what happens with relations to the judgment
at the end of time.
- And that judgment once again ends at the close
of probation, not at the second coming of Christ.
It ends at the close of probation, when the door
is closed, just as it was in the days of Noah.
[Walter] In Luke chapter 13, there is also the shut door.
And the people knocking at the door wishing to come in.
[Narrator] For many, I say unto you,
will seek to enter in and shall not be able.
When once the master of the house is risen up
and hath shut to the door and ye begin to stand without
and to knock at the door saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us
and he shall answer and say unto you,
I know you not whence ye are,
then shall ye begin to say, we have eaten and drunk
in thy presence and thou hast taught in our streets
but he shall say, I tell you, I know you not
whence ye are, depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
- And the sad thing about this is that many of these people
that are knocking on the doors were self deceived.
They believed that they were walking with the master
when they actually were walking with another one,
a counterfeit.
(somber music)
[Narrator] Jesus identified only one reason
why he claimed not to know them, he said,
depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
And the word iniquity means lawlessness.
Though they claim to be followers of Christ,
they have not surrendered themselves to the working
of the Holy Spirit and therefore they did not keep
his commandments.
[Ivor] The Bible says that this is how we know that we love God
When we love him and keep his commandments
and that his commandments are not grievous.
[Stephen] In First John it says he who says I know him
and does not keep his commandments is a liar
and the truth is not in him.
So just claiming to be a Christian is not enough.
It's not the real deal.
- That's why so many'll be shocked when they find out
they're outside of the ark.
And they say, Lord, Lord and he says depart from me,
I don't know you.
And so that's gonna be the condition of the last days.
People are gonna think that the trappings of religion
somehow are a substitute for real holiness and godliness.
(somber music)
- When God shut the door of the ark,
the people had already made their choice.
Some decided to go in the ark, others decided
to stay outside the ark.
The case of each was decided by their own free choice.
Only after everyone had made their decision
was the door closed, then the execution of the judgment
began when it started to rain.
(thunder rumbles)
[Walter] It rained 40 days
and the Bible says all the fountains,
plural, of the great deep burst forth.
That sounds like a pretty catastrophic process
and when this burst forth, it shot up, causing first
a rift in the earth's crust and this water under great
pressure with all these billions of tons of rock upon it
shot forth and shot up into the atmosphere,
kilometers high, so there you have a source for rain,
such as we cannot imagine today.
Massive erosion as this water at great pressure
and great speed gushes forth out of this cleft,
where today, for example we have the mid Atlantic ridge
and this rift going around the earth.
That could have been the initial crack in the earth
where it burst forth.
- I think it would terrify us right now if we could see
what happened environmentally to the world
during the flood.
- How it must feel not to be on the ark,
in the face of God's judgment.
- This judgment in context of Revelation 14 six and seven
was to point people back to the creator,
the one who made the heaven, the earth,
the sea, but what's different in terms of
the message in Revelation 14, it says and the fountains
of waters, now that can only point back to the flood.
[Narrator] In the 600th year of Noah's life
in the second month, the 17th day of the month,
the same day where all the fountains of the great deep
were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened.
- This is where we see an idea, the fountains of waters,
the great deeps opening up and God executing judgment
on the world through water.
- The first angel's message tells us to worship him
who made the fountains of waters, referring back
to the very waters that flooded the earth,
so after the first angel's message announces
the hour of his judgment is come, we're reminded that God
will once again judge the world as he did in the days
of Noah, the execution of that judgment came in the form
of a global flood, but here, at the end of time,
it comes in the form of the seven last plagues.
(somber music)
[Narrator] In the days of Noah,
it was the flood that destroyed the world,
but at the end of time, this will be accomplished
by what the Bible calls the seven last plagues.
The second angel's message directs this warning
to God's people who are still in the fallen churches
saying, come out of her, my people,
that ye be not partakers of her sins,
and that ye receive not of her plagues.
- God has his people now that may be scattered through
many churches, but they're not gonna be able to stay
because those that stay in Babylon
will receive the plagues.
It's very clear.
[Narrator] The third angel's message also warns us
about these plagues, saying if any man worship the beast
and his image and receive his mark in his forehead
or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine
of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture
into the cup of his indignation.
And the wrath of God according to the Bible is defined
in the next chapter as the seven last plagues.
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous,
seven angels having the seven last plagues
for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
- The plagues are really the outpouring of God's wrath
without any mixture of mercy and that's not me saying it,
it's the Bible saying it.
(somber music)
It'll be the worst period in the history of the world.
- God is long suffering, but there's a point beyond which
man cannot go, and when that point is reached,
the plagues will fall.
We don't need to wonder when that point is
because David in the book of Psalms told us.
- [Narrator] It is time for thee, Lord, to work
for they have made void thy law.
- In the mark of the beast crisis, mankind will pass a law
forcing people to break the law of God, making it void.
Then at that time,
God will intervene just as he did in Egypt.
- Pharaoh made a law.
He said to Moses, you, Moses, make the people rest.
"Shabbat," in the Hebrew.
You, Moses, make the people keep the Sabbath.
Get thee to thy burdens, so he makes an anti Sabbath law.
So Pharaoh made a law like that and the consequence
of that was plagues.
The anti typical Pharaoh will make a similar law
and the consequence will be plagues.
(somber music)
[Clyde] Probation has closed,
everyone has made their decision.
And now this is the beginning of the judgment period.
To see what their decision has brought upon them.
(thunder crackles)
[Narrator] And I heard a great voice out of the temple
saying to the seven angels, go your ways
and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
- The seven last plagues are described in Revelation
chapter 16, and some of those plagues are,
for example, people will develop sores
all over their bodies.
(glass shatters)
[Narrator] And the first went and poured out his vial
upon the earth and there fell a noisome and grievous sore
upon the men which had the mark of the beast
and upon them which worshiped his image.
- The ocean will be turned into blood
and everything that is alive in the seas will die.
[Narrator] And the second angel poured out his vial
upon the sea and it became as the blood of a dead man
and every living soul died in the sea.
(somber music)
And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers
and fountains of waters and they became blood.
- The fountains of rivers, the drinking water
will also be turned into blood.
(somber music)
- The sun will scorch all of the vegetation
with a heat, an incredible heat.
[Narrator] And the fourth angel poured out his vial
upon the sun and power was given unto him
to scorch men with fire.
And men were scorched with great heat and blasphemed
the name of God, which hath power over these plagues
and they repented not to give him glory.
(fire crackles)
And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat
of the beast and his kingdom was full of darkness
and they gnawed their tongues for pain
and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains
and their sores and repented not of their deeds.
And the sixth angel poured to his vial upon the great
river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up,
that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
[Stephen] And of course during the sixth plague,
the drying up of the Euphrates means that
the multitudes will withdraw their support
from their religious leaders and they will turn
on their religious leaders at this point,
but I must underline that this takes place
after probation is closed.
[Narrator] The people will see that they have been deluded
We are lost, they cry.
And you are the cause of our ruin.
And they turn upon the false shepherds.
Everywhere there is strife and bloodshed.
[Clayton] People are still alive while the door has closed
and the heavens are falling, plagues are falling
and this happens before Christ comes in the clouds of glory.
[Jeff] Even after the sixth plague is fallen,
we know Jesus has not yet returned to the earth
because between the sixth and seventh plagues, he says,
behold, I come as a thief.
[Narrator] And the seventh angel poured out his vial
into the air and there came a great voice out of the temple
of heaven from the throne, saying it is done
and there were voices and thunders and lightnings
and there was a great earthquake, such as was not
since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake
and so great and there fell upon men a great hail
out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent
and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail
for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
(somber music) (thunder rumbles)
- None of the seven last plagues will touch
any of God's people.
- Some people think that God's gonna rapture
the church out of the world before Jesus returns.
The Bible doesn't teach us that God saves us
from tribulation, he saves us through tribulation.
- God's people will be protected from the plagues.
Kinda like Israel in Egypt.
[Doug] When those plagues fell on ancient Egypt,
he didn't save them from Egypt before the plagues fell.
He saved them through the plagues.
- And if that is the typology, then the same must apply
at the end of time. God's people will be here
when the plagues fall.
[Allen] They all have the seal of the living God
upon their foreheads,
so when the plagues fall, they will be able to stand.
They will move through the plagues.
God will save them through the plagues
just as he saved Noah's family that were sealed
inside the ark through the Flood. So we see this
parallel concept here, both in Genesis and Revelation.
- It'll be the worst period in the history of the world.
(thunder rumbles)
It'll be a time where only God's protection will preserve
God's people because God's people will go through
this period and Psalm 91 will be a comfort
during that period.
(thunder rumbles)
[Narrator] A thousand shall fall at thy side
and 10,000 at thy right hand, but it shall not come
nigh thee, only with thine eyes shalt thou behold
and see the reward of the wicked
because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge,
even the most high, thy habitation.
There shall no evil befall thee,
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling
for he shall give his angels charge over thee
to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in thy hands lest thou dash
thy foot against a stone.
- They have a sterling character that they have developed
through an intimate relationship with Christ
and Christ as a result will place his seal upon them
to sustain them in the time of trouble and to
reveal to the angels who will be protected
during this time of trial.
- The ark in the days of Noah was the means
by which God fulfilled his covenant promise
to show mercy to Noah.
Therefore, the ark at the end of time is the means
by which God will fulfill his promise to show mercy
to those that enter into the everlasting covenant.
The means by which this promise is fulfilled
is through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
To those that have entered into the covenant
by the blood of Jesus, God now commissions his holy angels
to preserve and protect them through the seven last plagues.
- You know, it's the final
outpouring of God's wrath upon a world
that has rejected his mercy, that has rejected his law,
his righteousness.
[Ivor] And in rejecting God's mercy,
what else can God do when you say I don't need
forgiveness for that? (paper tears)
(somber music)
[Narrator] No man need receive these plagues
because Jesus has already drunk of this cup for us.
It was in the garden of Gethsemane when the guilt
for the sins of the world was placed upon the shoulders
of Jesus, and he said, my soul is exceeding sorrowful,
even unto death.
Then he went a little further and fell on his face
and prayed, saying, oh my father, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will
but as thou wilt. The cup of this wrath
and the separation from his father on our behalf
broke the heart of the son of God
and by receiving God's wrath for us,
the Bible says, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath,
but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ
who died for us.
[Doug] While the world might mock and ridicule,
they stopped mocking when the rain started
and when these final plagues fall,
people are gonna realize that they had heard the truth.
Now is the time to listen and prepare.
(somber music)
[Jeff] Just as the multitudes stood before the ark,
contemplating the final decision that would seal
their fate, so you today stand in the valley of decision.
Will you receive the message of Noah repeated
by the three angels' messages?
Will you enter into the ark of the everlasting covenant
by resting upon the seventh day, observing the sign
of the covenant?
Will you be among those who keep the commandments of God
and the faith of Jesus, or will you be among those
who keep the commandments of men?
The mark of the beast crisis will come and it will bring
all to a decision, and then probation will close.
As it says in scripture, multitudes, multitudes
in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord
is near in the valley of decision.
(thunder rumbles) (epic music)
After the seven last plagues, the next event is that blessed
hope and the glorious appearing of the great God
and our savior Jesus Christ.
For centuries, Christians have talked of, dreamed about
and longed for that day when they shall look upon
the face of him who died to redeem them.
And now that time has come.
But will you be ready to meet him?
(somber music)
- So when Christ's presence comes again,
when Christ comes a second time, we're told
that this earth will basically be left
in a state that is uninhabitable because of the fire
and the presence of God.
[Narrator] Our God is a consuming fire.
When he returns to the earth, Paul writes,
the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with his mighty angels in flaming fire.
[Stephen] He will return as a consuming fire because Jesus
will not only come as the human being that he was
when he walked upon this earth, he will come
as king of kings and Lord of Lords.
In other words, his glory will no longer be veiled.
(thunder rumbles) (epic music)
- Overwhelmed with the vision of Christ coming to earth,
Isaiah wrote, who among us shall dwell
with the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
And this is the question we're each faced with as we prepare
to dwell in the consuming fire of Christ's presence
at His is coming, but after Isaiah asked who can dwell
with the devouring fire, he answers his question and says,
he that walketh righteously.
Only the righteous can safely dwell in the presence of God.
This means the message Noah gave to prepare a people
for the judgment of the world by water
is the same message that will prepare a people
for the judgment of the world by fire
because Noah was a preacher of righteousness.
(epic music)
As evolutionist I could never understand
why should I keep a Sabbath
if there was no six-day creation?
So this issue will be agitated at the end of time again.
I remember one particular lady who came to my meetings
when I talked about the Little Horn of Daniel seven and eight,
and the beast of Revelation 13. Which prophecy identifies as the
the Roman Catholic Papacy.
And she had been brought up in the Roman Catholic Church.
She'd actually been in a convent,
been educated in a convent.
And, when I preached that message she'd
been excited up to that point,
but she quit coming. But the good news is,
it took time for the message to sink in.
But after several months of studying for herself,
you know, she embraced the message.
When I was first introduced to the sanctuary, it bored me.
Because I had no clue what it was about,
I was just coming into the church.
And I was just excited about the mark of the beast.
And the sanctuary was just, like ok... the mark of the beast!
That's what's important!
It was not until after learning how to study the Bible,
and beginning to see the beauty of the parallels
within the sanctuary.
When I started studying it personally.
And realizing its place within the context
of the Three Angels' Messages that it
just added a whole new depth to
my understanding of the Word of God,
of the plan of salvation, of the character of Christ
and it really impacted my view of the plan of salvation.