BIBLE PROPHECY TODAY
INTRODUCTION
Welcome ! We are glad for each one that has come to fellowship with us today. We especially thank the members of the Community Church for their kind and thoughtful invitation extended to us to share this building with them.
As we begin, we invite all who would like to do so, to kneel with us as we ask The Lord to bless us as we worship Him in Spirit and in Truth .
Hymns:
Choruses: # 7 = C and # 4 = G.
Take The Hand Of Jesus
Jesus made a very startling statement in John 6: 53 which was so offensive to many of those who were listening that some of those who had become His followers turned away and walked with Him no more. Here is what Jesus said:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.
Why did Jesus use such a vivid description of our connection with Him ? One reason is that those who heard this statement would not easily forget it. Secondly, just as the food we eat becomes a part of our flesh and blood and gives us physical being, we must become so closely connected with Him that our spiritual life becomes one with Him, We live as He lives, we think as He thinks, we become, “one flesh” !
It seems that those who left Him because these words were offensive to them, reacted a bit too quickly, because in John 6: 63, Jesus explains what He meant by “eating His flesh and drinking His blood” John 6: 63.
“It is The Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: The Words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
Jesus is The Word of Life.
John 1: 1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
We are here today to feast on His Word . To receive The Word’s of Jesus, into our mind and into our heart that we might receive the promise of eternal life. The Scripture says in,
John 3: 36; “He that believeth on The Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not The Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
What does it mean to, “believe” in Jesus” ? It is very easy to say, “I believe in Jesus”, as millions of professing Christians say; but Jesus says to me and to you, “prove it” ! Prove to Me that you really do love Me !
There are only two groups of people in the world.
One group are those who love God and obey Him, and the other are those who love themselves and
obey the devil !
There are only two spirits in the world.
The Spirit of God, and the evil spirit of Satan !
We choose which group we will be in. No one else can make the choice for us. God will do all He can to help us choose to love and obey Him, but He does not force us to make that choice. We decide our own destiny. We choose eternal life with God, or eternal death with the devil !
The Devil will use every trick in his book to get us to do evil, but he can not make us do evil. We choose to do evil !
Those who truly love God and obey Him are members of Christ’s Church. Membership in Christ’s Church is not a matter of which denomination we belong to, but, it is a matter of a truly loving relationship with Jesus Christ ! It is by spending time with Jesus by feasting on His Word that this relationship becomes sweeter every day !
2 Peter 1: 19 – 21.
1. 2 Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure Word of Prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Day Star arise in your hearts:
2 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.”
2 Peter 1:21 “For The Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by The Holy Ghost.”
Jesus tells us to study Bible Prophecy and to take heed to what He is revealing to us. Do you want to know the future ? Then study Bible Prophecy .
We are going to study Prophecy and by God’s Holy Spirit understand how the prophesies of The Bible have been fulfilled in history that is past, which prophecies are being fulfilled at this very moment of time and which are about to be fulfilled in the very near future !
Look at 2 Peter 1:19 again
2. “We have also a more sure Word of Prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Day Star arise in your hearts:
Is this world a “dark place” ? It surely is ! Do we need a Light to guide us ? We surely do !
God tells us that Prophecy is that light.
What is history ? History is “His Story”. History is the story of the life of Jesus Christ. History shows us how Jesus is working to save us from the curse of sin.
Before The Three Divine Powers of Heaven
created this planet, They formulated an emergency plan and wrote it down in all its finest details. Why did God need an emergency plan ? Because Lucifer, the Leader of all the angels in heaven, had rebelled against God and had been cast out to this earth ! In case the first man and woman that God created, should choose to join Lucifer’s rebellion. Jesus, The Son of God pledged His own life, His own blood, to save man from eternal death. Thank You Dear Jesus !
Bible Prophecy reveals all the most important events in history that point to the work of Christ for our salvation !
When The Bible says prophecy is a light to guide us through this dark world all the way to the
New Jerusalem , who is that light ?
3. John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world;..”
Jesus is the “light” of the world and if we are walking with Him we will never be in darkness ! He is the Day Star that is to arise in our hearts and keep our feet on the narrow path to the City of God ! If we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus who is The Light going before us, to show us the way , we will never need fear the darkness of this world ! Isn’t that wonderful ! Friends, keep your eyes on Jesus, The Light of the world !
4. 2 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.”
What does that mean ? no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.”
It means that The Bible is the interpreter of the Bible. We must search out every text that is related to the subject being studied to discover the meaning !
There are over 600 protestant churches in the world and each one claims to have the truth but yet all of them “interpret” different verses differently !
Are there really 600 different meanings to Scripture ? We’ll let the Scripture give us the answer !
5. Ephesians 4: 4 – 6. “There is one body, and One Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
Only ONE !
How are we going to decide which One so we are not deceived ? It is really very easy to tell ! How can we know for certain which One ? Again we let the Scriptures tell us.
6. Isaiah 8:20 “To The Law and to The Testimony: if they speak not according to This Word, it is because there is no light in them.”
If anyone teaches a different meaning than what Christ taught; there is “no light in them” ! NONE !
“To The Law..” which law ? “to The Testimony…” Which testimony ?
7. Revelation 12:17 “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the Commandment’s of God, and have The Testimony of Jesus Christ.”
Who is the dragon that is angry with this woman ?
8. Revelation 12: 9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
From where was Satan cast out ?
8 A. Revelation 12: 7 & 8. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and His Angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
No guessing here, The Bible clearly tells us the dragon is the serpent also called the devil and satan.
Who is the woman ?
The Bible represents The Church of Christ as a pure woman and the church of satan as a harlot woman. The dragon is making war against this woman and her children so we know this is the pure woman that represents The Pure Church of Christ.
Jeremiah 6:2 “I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.”
Christ compares His Church to a pure woman.
And notice the two marks of identification for the seed of the woman: The dragon is making war against “the remnant of her seed, which keep the Commandment’s of God, and have The Testimony of Jesus Christ.”
The true people of God will be keeping all ten of God’s Commandments and they will also have the Testimony of Jesus Christ !
What is the Testimony of Jesus Christ ?
9. Revelation 19:10 “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have The Testimony of Jesus: worship God: for The Testimony of Jesus is The Spirit of Prophecy.”
Once again we see the wonderful fact that The Bible is not of any “private interpretation”, but clearly explains other Scriptures when we honestly seek to understand the Word of God.
So the True People of God will be keeping all of Gods Commandments and They will have The Testimony of Jesus, which is The Spirit of Prophecy. They will be able to understand and correctly explain the meaning of Bible Prophecy.
I was raised a Lutheran. Martin Luther was one of the greatest of the Protestant Reformers and he is a favorite of both me and my Sweetheart. But God is always giving a better understanding of His Word to those who search with an honest heart.
At age 18, I became a Seventh Day Adventist and a few months later my Dad & Mother and brothers and sisters also. But as the years went by the Adventist Church left the Bible teachings behind, and became more and more like the worldly unbelievers and are presently in the darkest apostasy. By 1991, events in the large organization became so bad that My Wife I withdrew our membership.
Are we Seventh Day Adventists still. Yes, but simply because The Bible teaches that the True Sabbath is the 7th day of the week and that Jesus Christ will return very soon. Some of you have acknowledged that you also believe the 7th Day is the Sabbath. So we believe God has brought us together, at your kind invitation, to study these things and see what the will of The Lord is for all His children in these very last moments of time, just before Jesus comes the second time !
Can we understand The Bible without God’s help ? We will never understand unless we have the help of The Holy Spirit. That is why there are over 600 different denominations !
10. John 16:13 “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come.
Jesus said The Spirit would, “show you things to come”. One of the things the Holy Spirit would do is to help us understand the Prophecies. There are all kinds of people out there who claim to be Christians and some of them claim to be prophets and there are over 600 different views on what certain prophecies of The Bible reveal !
Just because I claim to be a “Christian” does not mean I have the Holy Spirit ! There is a condition we must meet if we would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we can correctly understand and explain the Prophecies. What is that condition ? 11. Acts 5:32 “And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him.
Obedience to all of God’s Commandments is the condition to receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit We need the Holy Spirit to correctly understand the Scriptures and to correctly explain Bible Prophecy !
The Spirit of God is not the Author of Confusion ! He does not tell one person one thing and another person something else about the same verses in The Bible ! The problem lies in the mind of men and the Bible explains it in this way:
12. Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
13. Isaiah 8:20 “To The Law and to The Testimony: if they speak not according to This Word, it is because there is no light in them.”
Notice: The Bible does not say we can teach contrary to any part of Scripture and still be accepted as a teacher of Truth. If our teaching is in any way a contradiction of Scripture there is no light in our message. We change God’s Truth into a lie !
OK, we will continue our study next Sabbath. If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to speak to us and we can further investigate the subject together.
Everyone is invited to a fellowship lunch down stairs that will be ready in about 15 minutes.
Hymn #:
1 John 2: 18
“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.”
As the Apostle Paul saw the events taking place in the church and in the world in his time, he concluded that time would surely not continue much longer. But he knew also that according to Bible Prophecy, there were some events still to take place that were not seen in his day. He gives us more insight in 2 Thess. 2: 1 – 4.
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”
Paul saw the spirit of antichrist already working in his time and he said there were many antichrists, but then he says that there would come a man who would sit on a throne; in a temple and exalt himself, claiming to be God. Paul called that man, the man of sin and the son of perdition !
Is there a man who sits in his temple today and exalts himself saying he is god ? Here is one of many statements from such a man: "The Pope is of so great dignity, and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God. “...We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty..." Pope Leo XIII, in Praeclara Gratulationis Publicae (The Reunion of Christendom), Encyclical promulgated on June 20, 1894.
Here is another:
"The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in Heaven and earth." Pope Pius V, quoted in Barclay, Chapter XXVII, p. 218, "Cities Petrus Bertanous".
d."
The Apostle Paul said Christ would not return until there was a “falling away” from the True Gospel of Jesus Christ and that a man would arise claiming to be God, “sitting in a temple and saying he is God” ! Paul’s prophecy is now fulfilled, the Pope’s of the Roman Catholic Church have made this claim for centuries ! Paul called this man the , “man of sin” and “the son of perdition” ! There is no mystery here, The man of sin has been revealed and that man is the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore; there is no question that Jesus is Coming soon !
Is it important to study Prophecy ? Yes, very important. Not only are we to study it but we are to pay close attention to what God is revealing to us. “take heed”, God says. In the prophecies we see how everything comes to pass just as God said it would. Step by step, event after event, in their order pointing to the great climax of the ages, the Glorious Return of Jesus Christ !
