Feast of Tabernacles 2004 – Day 5

Fred R. Coulter – October 4, 2004

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And greetings, brethren. Welcome to the Feast of Tabernacles, Day 5, 2004. Today we are going to look at Satan’s kingdom, the false kingdom that he is going to set up right at the end time, which is going to look like it’s the best that humans have ever done religiously, governmentally, and economically. Let’s look first of all and see how Satan got his power. Now you see, the truth is, Satan does not have a kingdom. He thinks he has a kingdom. He thinks his kingdom over all the demons that fell with him, the angels who rebelled as we find there in Revelation 12 and Isaiah 14 and in Ezekiel 28; how that he considered himself as good as God, and how was it that he deceived the angels - one-third of them into following him. They became the demons, the principalities, the powers of this age. Now they have no kingdom. Let’s understand that. But they have a kingdom by stealth.

And we go back and we look at what happened to Adam and Eve. First of all, God created them. And He gave them and all mankind the territorial rights to the whole world. And God has put all the nations where they are according to the number of the children of Israel. And so God is the one Who established the nations. And God is the one Who has given them sovereignty, which is a very key thing when we understand the kingdom of Satan. That’s why it is a kingdom “which is, and is not, and yet is,” as we will see described in the book of Revelation. Satan still uses the same tactics that he used on Adam and Eve, which I am sure that he used on the angels who fell with him to convince them to follow him, and to convince them to worship him as God instead of the true God. So what happened? Satan always works this way. First of all, he challenges God. And he did so with Eve by saying, “Is it really true that God said you can’t eat of any of the trees in the garden?” Which he knew was a lie. And of course, Eve had to respond. And then he played on her lust - the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the lust to make one wise; and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now when Adam did so, they gave part of their sovereignty to Satan. And Satan had a toe-hold into this world. As things progressed, after Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden - because the truth is this: you cannot dwell with God and dwell in sin. And that’s the whole lesson of the Garden of Eden. Now you can come as they did to the east gate, where the cherubim were put in the Garden of Eden, to fellowship with God and have your sins covered. But nevertheless, they gave this world to Satan. And that is shown in the actions of Cain when he killed Abel, and shown in the actions of the whole population that absolutely corrupted itself which God had to destroy in the days of Noah because it was so evil. And it was because they were worshiping Satan the devil.

Now when Jesus Christ came (and we also know that Satan is called the god of this world) one of the first tasks that Jesus had to do was establish the sovereignty of God among His people by dethroning Satan the devil. However, even though he has been dethroned as it were, his kingdom still has the power until the return of Christ. So in conquering Satan the devil, Jesus opened the way so that with the Spirit of God and the Word of God, and through repentance and conversion, now God can call the people that He wants to rule in the kingdom of God with Jesus Christ. So let’s come here to Luke 4, and let’s see this struggle. And let’s see how Jesus Christ did not give any sovereignty to Satan. And this becomes a very important thing when we understand what’s going on in the world; when we understand how that Satan is going to also deceive the whole world and establish his one world government, which is coming. And it’s going to be profound.

So let’s see here, Luke 4, beginning in verse 1 (FV): “And Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing in those days; and after they had come to an end, He hungered. Then the devil said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that this stone become bread’ ” (Luke 4:1-3, FV). Appeal to personal vanity; appeal to use the power of God in a wrong way. Now Jesus could have done it, couldn’t He? Yes He could have, just like He told Pilate, “Even at this hour I could call on God and He would send twelve legions of angels” (Matt. 26:53, paraphrased). But He didn’t do it because that was not God’s plan. So here is a misuse of power, a misuse of what God has given Christ to do as the Messiah - to heal the sick, to raise the dead, and so forth.

Now Jesus gave the answer. And as the Son of Man, the Son of God, He is showing the whole basis and the whole reason of how men need to live. And this is what Adam and Eve should have said to Satan clear back in the Garden of Eden. But they didn’t do it. And that’s why the sin of Adam and Eve is so great and noted all the way through the Bible. “But Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” ’ ” (verse 4, FV). And Matthew finalizes what was there in Deuteronomy 8: “...that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4, FV; Deut. 8:3). Now here comes the test of sovereignty for rulership, because mankind has given to Satan the devil sovereignty step by step by step, to rule over them. And the final kingdom of Satan the devil which is coming in the very near future - how long we have before that happens, we do not know; but we need to understand that there is every sign and every indication pointing to it. And it is coming; it is coming; it is coming; it is coming. And I think it’s high time that we be alert, that we be awake, that we understand what is going on, that we be busy doing, as Jesus said, our Father’s business.

Now verse 5: “Then the devil lead Him up into a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, ‘I will give You all this authority, and the glory of them all; for it has been delivered to me...’ ” beginning with Adam and Eve and all of those who follow and worship Satan the devil, they deliver their sovereignty, and as we will see, the sovereignty of their nations to Satan. “ ‘...And I give it to whomever I desire. Therefore, if You will worship me in my presence, all things shall be Yours’ ” (verses 5-7, FV). We need to understand, Jesus knew and realized that His kingdom was not of this world. And we need to understand that. We need to understand something also much more fundamentally important, which is this: only God can reform the world. Only God can remove Satan from his position. So all of the things that human beings do today to try and make the world a better place, at the very best their efforts are going to be temporary. But the die has been cast; the powers have been set in motion. And God has prophesied that it is coming. And this final kingdom of Satan is going to be as all-powerful and as all-consuming as Satan and human beings can make it.

So Satan is the one who takes the power, because it’s been given to him by human beings who have surrendered their personal sovereignty and their national sovereignty to him instead of God. Now let’s go on. What did Jesus say? “But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan; for it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve” ’ ” (verse 8, FV). Any other thing is a false god. So then he led Him to Jerusalem. Now here again, we have misuse of power with the bread, we have misuse of power with the nations, and now we have another misuse of power to make God do something. Now the key is this: no man is ever going to command God to do anything. You need to understand that. God says that He would give to us if we ask; that He will provide for us if we seek; that He will open if we knock. So that’s where our attention needs to be directed. God will provide in all circumstances.

But we need to understand, never misuse God by trying to command Him to do something for you. And how many ministers have done that down through time? Where did they end up? What happened to their works, and their lands, and their buildings, and their colleges? See, God will not be mocked. Brethren, we are in the most fantastic and serious, profound battle that has ever come upon the earth. And this is a spiritual war of the greatest magnitude that has ever been. But we need to grasp that. And we need to understand that we are not here to please ourselves. We are not here to have a good time. We are not here to have a social club. We are here, as we have seen, to qualify to be rulers in the kingdom of God. We are here for salvation; we are here to preach the Word of God. We’re not here to do our own things. We’re not here to demand of God. Because when this kingdom of Satan comes into its fullest glory, which it will, then you’re going to understand that if you haven’t made the use of your time to grow, to change, to overcome, to have a relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ, you’re going to be just like the five foolish virgins who said, “Oh, give us oil!” There isn’t going to be any available.

Now Luke 4:9 (FV): “Then he led Him to Jerusalem and set Him upon the edge of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down from here; for it is written, “He shall give His angels charge concerning You to keep You; and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest You strike Your foot against the stone.” ’ ” Now let’s understand something else too: just because someone quotes Scripture does not necessarily mean they are telling you the whole truth. Satan will quote as much Scripture as necessary in order so that you will believe his version of it. And that’s why there are so many denominations in the world and so many religions in the world. That’s why the apostle Paul said that we are to prove all things and hold fast that which is good. And there are as many heresies among brethren as there are among ministers, and God is going to hold you accountable. You need to understand that. Let’s see what Jesus said: “But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘It is clearly stated, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God” ’ ” (verses 9-12, FV).

Now let’s see how it’s coming on this world. Let’s see how Satan is active. Satan is busy in government, in organizations, in movements, in schools, in economics, in education, and in the private personal lives of hundreds of millions, if not billions of people on this earth. And he is busy, and he is active, and he is working, and he is deceiving. Let’s come to Revelation 12:9 (FV). Let’s see what is happening in this world right today. And that’s how he’s going to bring in his final kingdom, the way he has always done it - through stealth and through human beings worshiping him, and giving the sovereignty of themselves and their nations to him.

“And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, who is deceiving [present tense active participle from the Greek – “who is deceiving”] the whole world...” And the ones that he wants to deceive more than anything else are those who have the Spirit of God. And how many have let themselves be deceived and discouraged and disillusioned and give up? Amazing, isn’t it? “...He was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him” (Rev. 12:9, FV).

Now let’s begin to look at how Satan does this. Satan is the god of this world, II Corinthians 4:4. Satan is a liar and has been a liar from the beginning. So the way that he operates is by deception. And he will tell as much truth as is necessary to deceive and make it look good. You need to understand that. Let me give you an example. Let’s look at a blatant lie, and everyone can understand that it’s a blatant lie. Here is a million dollar bill. And it mimics “The United States of America, In God We Trust,” one million dollars. But it’s a phony. Recently there was a woman arrested attempting to use this to buy goods. Some people are just plain stupid.

Now then, I want to show you another one. This is a twenty dollar, United States of America. You probably have some in your pocket. And the new ones are colored so that they can eventually bring in the Amero. Because their plan is to defunct the dollar. This is a clever counterfeit. It has no value except what people accept it for. Now let me read you in the fine print. Hell loves fine print. “This note is legal tender for all debts public and private.” It’s worth nothing. Now if you want real money you have to have gold and silver because there is value, because God created value in those. There’s no value in it. And how do we get this? By the stealth of Satan the devil to institute the Federal Reserve System and usurp the power of Congress to create currency and give it to an international, independent, unregulated corporation called the Federal Reserve. And he has done this in every major nation in the world. See, they are under his control. They have given sovereignty to him.

Now let’s come to Revelation 17, and let’s read about this beast, because it describes it very aptly. And I think you will understand it even more by the time we’re finished with this sermon. And of course, you need to understand that there always has been by Satan an alliance of religion and economics and politics. And it’s pictured by what is given here in Revelation 17. Now it’s very interesting, because the prophecies in the book of Daniel, Daniel is told, “Go your way, for the words are sealed until the time of the end” (Dan. 12:9). And now we come to the book of Revelation, and the book of Revelation is the last book in the Bible. And the book of Revelation is that which reveals. And the book of Revelation is that which Christ said which will shortly come to pass. And the understanding of this comes at the end of the age when we look and see the reality of it. And the book of Revelation is looking at the world as a whole. And so when we read Revelation, when we come to understand Revelation, we need to understand that it’s talking about the vast scale of things on a worldwide basis. We’ll see that.

Now Revelation 17:1 (FV): “And one of the seven angels who had the seven vials came and spoke with me, saying to me, ‘Come here; I will show you the judgment of the great whore who sits upon many waters...’ ” Now the “waters” are important to understand, because we will see that in Revelation 13 in just a little bit. Let’s come over here to verse 15. The way you understand the Bible is to let the Bible interpret the Bible. And the way you understand the Bible is to obey the Bible in those things that you learn, beginning with the simple things. Too many people want to jump in and understand the complicated things. No. That’s not how to begin. You begin by keeping His commandments. You begin by loving God. You continue by studying His Word and growing in grace and knowledge, and let God give you the understanding, and do as the Bible says. The way you interpret the Bible is by the Bible itself - here a little, there a little, precept upon precept, and line upon line.

So here, verse 15 (FV) says: “Then he said to me, ‘The waters that you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.’ ” A worldwide event. See, we’re not dealing with a little mickey-mouse religious movement. And we are not dealing with just the Roman Catholic Church alone. We are dealing with all the religions of the world, and they are set, as we have seen, to bring in a one world religion. That’s why they have attacked, as we have seen, the Word of God with such vociferous evil to change it so that people won’t know the truth. Just like Pilate said to Jesus, “What is truth?” And that’s the way people are going to be because there are so many false Bibles out there, so many false religions out there. Where do you go? What do you do? How do you find it? And so even within the church of God there are great and deep problems.

So let’s come back here to verse 2. And as we read these things I want you to think of the magnitude of what is being said: “With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication...” And that’s fornication with civil power, religious power, and economic power. “...And those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication” which is the propaganda of all the good, sweet things that come from the governments of this world. People can’t see straight because they don’t know God. So spiritually they’re blinded. They have given themselves over to not want the truth, so God is going to turn this world totally upside down and let it believe the lie and worship Satan the devil openly. And then they will learn the consequences of giving up the sovereignty of theirselves and their nations to Satan the devil.

Verse 3: “Then he carried me away in the spirit to a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, full of names of blasphemy.” Now seven heads and ten horns are always a symbol and sign of Satan’s system and his usurped kingdom that he has on this earth. “And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and was adorned with gold and pearls and precious stones; and she had a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominations and the filthiness of her fornication; and across her forehead a name was written [the hard forehead of a harlot]: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (verses 3-5, FV). Now you go back and you read the book The Two Babylons by Alexander Hyslop and you are going to see that all the religions of the world come from ancient Babylon. And the religions of the world are Satan’s devices and organizations and people that work for him to deceive people away from the true Word of God. And so it’s coming.

Verse 6 (FV): “And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And after seeing her, I wondered with great amazement.” Because here is the apostle John receiving all of these visions of the great end time worldwide things that are coming on this earth. And here he is in about 95 A.D. receiving these things. And then to see that which comes up, which professes itself to be of God but is of Satan, he’s amazed: how did this happen?

“Then the angel said to me, ‘Why are you amazed? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up out of the abyss and go into perdition.’ ” Now how can you have something that was and is not? We’ll answer that today. Let’s continue here. Let’s see what’s going to happen. Because as I said before, there is a dividing line, a dividing sword, a dividing plummet that is coming between the world and the true saints of God. So we need to be prepared for it. We need to understand. Notice what it says: “ ‘And those who dwell on the earth, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world [that is, the Book of Life which was established from the foundation of the world], shall be astonished when they see the beast that was, but is not, and yet is’ ” (verses 7-8, FV). In other words, we are going to be forewarned. And we’re going to know. But I also want to tell you something else: this is not done in a corner. This is not done so deceptively and so secretly that other people in the world do not know about this. There are many warning voices going out by many people. And I’m going to read you one today. We’re going to take some excerpts from the book, Diplomacy By Deception, by Dr. John Coleman.

Now let’s understand something. If Satan is deceiving the whole world, that means there is a conspiracy, right? Yes. And who is leading it? Satan the devil. He also has another book, which I’ll give a sermon on again here a little later on, The Committee of 300. Because you see, Satan has those who worship him openly, those who do his bidding directly. And the great leaders and the great powers of this earth through their secret societies worship and serve Satan the devil, which includes leaders from every nation in the world. So today we’re going to find out, what is that beast that was, and is not, and yet is?

His first chapter is, “The Threat of the United Nations.” And we’re going to see how the United Nations fills that bill. We’re just going to cover some general principles that he has in his book. “The history of how the United Nations was created is a classic case of diplomacy by deception” (Diplomacy By Deception, Dr. John Coleman, 1993, page 1). Then he goes on to show that the United Nations is the successor of the defunct League of Nations, but actually continued all during the time that it was supposedly dead. And of course, the League of Nations was founded in Geneva, Switzerland. Now that’s why I have said, because the United Nations is proving itself so corrupt today, that it’s probably going to be reorganized and is probably going to go back to Geneva where the League of Nations buildings are still there, and yes, they are used by the United Nations for their non-governmental agencies. Did you know that? You’re going to be astounded with it.

Now there was a peace conference in January 18, 1919, and it had 70 delegates representing the international bankers from the 27 victorious allied nations. They set upon for reparations from Germany. The reparations went to the League of Nations. Finally the League of Nations was corrupted and went out of business. However, we need to understand this: the international bankers, “It was not until April 18, 1945...” And by the way, he points out that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was told two weeks after the attack of Pearl Harbor what he was to do to help set up a coming United Nations. Lesson number one, the way that they gain control is by war. I want you to think about that with this war on terror. “It was not until April 18, 1945 that the League of Nations dissolved itself, transferring all of its assets (mainly money taken from the German people after WWI, and war loans not repaid by the allies to the United States) [they transferred all that] to the United Nations. “In other words, the Committee of 300 never gave up on its plans for a One World Government and waited until the United Nations was in existence before dissolving the discredited League of Nations” (Diplomacy By Deception, page 5). Amazing stuff isn’t it? Absolutely amazing.

Now let’s understand something of what’s happening in the United States of America today. “In the case of the United States, the plan is not to overthrow the U.S. government or its Constitution, but to ‘make it negligible.’ ” Now you understand why all the federal judges have been doing what they’ve been doing, and tearing down the Constitution? “This has largely been accomplished by slowly and carefully implementing the socialist manifesto written in 1920 by the Fabian Society, which was based on the Communist Manifesto of 1848” (Diplomacy By Deception, page 6). Now let’s understand something: the Fabian Society has its schools in Oxford University in England, and they take the young men that they are able to use and manipulate and give them what is called a Rhodes Scholarship, after Cecil Rhodes who founded it. Now then, let’s understand something more profound: did you know that Bill Clinton attended Oxford, and did you know that he is part of this whole set up?

Let’s go on. You need to get the book and read it. “The warmed over League of Nations was thrust upon the U.S. Senate in 1945, dressed under a new label: the United Nations Treaty.” Now they had this giant thick treaty that they were given three days to approve. Now they should have rejected it. And here’s what we’re going to find out. This is the profound thing that most people do not understand concerning sovereign nations and the United Nations. But it’s just like the principle that I’ve already reiterated, which is this: Satan gets power and sovereignty by people giving it to him because they leave God and His ways and begin to follow him. We’ll see this. “A law, which is what a treaty is, must be clearly written and unambiguous.” Which is the whole bailiwick of the United Nations was totally so. “…The document was so poorly written and, in many instances, so vague, deceptive, and contradictory, that it could have been rejected on those grounds alone.” The United Nations Treaty was far from clearly written and unambiguous. “In any case, the United States, bound by its Constitution, could not [though they did] ratify the U.N. Treaty, for the following reasons…” And as we will see, this will help unravel the mystery of what it talks about, “the beast that was not, and yet is.”

It should have been rejected on this count. “(1) Our Constitution rests upon the bedrock of sovereignty...” Sovereignty means – we’ll define that in a little bit. Now, “(2) [in order to make a treaty, let’s understand this] The United Nations is not a sovereign body, having no measurable territory of its own. It is housed on U.S. territory in New York in a building loaned by the Rockefellers. Under the U.S. Constitution, we cannot make a treaty with any nation or body that lacks sovereignty. The United States could not (and cannot) make a treaty with a body or country having no sovereignty. The U.S. can make an agreement with a country or body having no sovereignty…” (Diplomacy By Deception, pages 7-8). Any body lacking the sovereignty, the agreement is null and void, ipso facto, by the very fact that they don’t have sovereignty. It’s meaningless. And you stop and think what they’re trying to bring on the whole world today, not only going in and obeying a One World Government, which is coming; and the audacity of some of the lawmakers in the United States Congress are calling for United Nations observers for the coming election in November. You think about those things. This is profound and serious difficulties, and this is how the whole beast at the end time, which is going to be formed around the United Nations or its soon-coming successor, is going to deceive the whole world.

Part 2

Now Dr. Coleman says, which is true: “The U.S. can make an agreement with a country or body having no sovereignty, but can never enter into a treaty with a body lacking sovereignty” (Diplomacy By Deception, page 8). Then he lists several other things as to what happened here and how it took place.

He talks about the first Gulf War. He talks about how the – here, let me read this: “Not a single U.N. Security Council resolution, affecting either directly or indirectly the United States, has any validity, as such resolutions are made by a body which itself has no sovereignty.” And yet that was the basis of the first Gulf War. And because the current President Bush was denied that by the U.N. Security Council, he went on his own, so they’re all going against him because he went on his own. So you see, there you go.

“The U.S. Constitution is above any so-called world body, and that, particularly, includes the United Nations…” And that goes for any other country in the world too. “…The U.S. Constitution is above and superior to any agreement or treaty made with any nation or group of nations, whether connected with the United Nations or not. But the United Nations de facto and de jure gives the president of the United States unlimited dictatorial powers not granted by the Constitution.” (Diplomacy By Deception, page 11)

Now let’s see some other things here. This becomes important. “What constitutes sovereignty? It is based upon adequate territory, a constitutional form of money, a substantial population, in clearly demarcated borders which are definitely measurable. The United Nations is totally lacking in these requirements, and no matter what our politicians might say, the U.N. can never qualify as a sovereign body in terms of the U.S. Constitution’s definition of sovereignty. Therefore, it follows that we can never have a treaty with the U.N. Not now, not ever. The answer could be a that, either out of sheer ignorance of the Constitution, or else, as servants of the Committee of 300 [who are the servants of Satan the devil], the senators, in 1945, went along with the U.N. Charter in breach of their oath of office to defend and uphold the U.S. Constitution.” Therefore, as he says in another part, that is treason. “The United Nations is a shiftless, rootless leach, a parasite feeding off of its U.S. host. If there are any U.N. troops in this country, they should be ordered out forthwith, as their presence in our land is a defilement of our Constitution, and should not, indeed, cannot be tolerated by those who have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution” (Diplomacy By Deception, page 13). So you need to understand, the Constitution in America has been made negligible.

He sums it up: “To sum up our position regarding U.N. membership: We, the sovereign people of the United States, are not obligated to obey any U.N. resolutions because enactment of the United Nations Charter by the Senate, which purported to make the Constitution yield to the United Nations law, conflicts with the provisions of the Constitution, and is, therefore, ipso facto, null and void.” And you can see how this is even rooted into the Supreme Court, where there are Supreme Court justices that look to the laws of other nations to see how they need to interpret the Constitution; which is not an interpretation, but a destruction of it by the court which is supposed to uphold it. Because Satan has so deceived it.

Now I want you to understand something very profound: no man, no group of men, no organization in this world is going to change it because the only way this is going to be changed is by the return of Jesus Christ. The U.N. is the ultimate punishment given to all the people in the world for rejecting Jesus Christ. And it’s going to exercise that power. And only Christ can stop it and destroy it. “The United Nations is in fact a One World Government body put together with the objective of overriding the U.S. Constitution...” (Diplomacy By Deception, page 17). And the constitutions, I will say, of all sovereign nations of this world.

Now let’s look at some of the Scriptures here. We know, as we have covered back in the book of Daniel - now we just want to look at something here very, very important. Let’s come to Revelation 13, then we’ll get back to the book of Daniel, then we will come back to the book of Revelation. But Revelation 13 becomes very important. Now we can fairly well pinpoint when this began. And that was with the founding of the League of Nations, which carried through and was not dissolved until April 18, 1945, and it gave all the assets to the United Nations. Now it’s carrying through. So what is happening here, the prophecies of Revelation 13 are coming to pass in a very profound way. Should that surprise any of us, that all the prophecies of God are going to come to pass in a profound way? It shouldn’t. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35), and these are the words of Jesus Christ that He gave to John and told him to write them for us.

Revelation 13:1 (FV): “And I stood on the sand of the sea...” Now what is the sea? We saw that: peoples, and languages, and tongues, and multitudes. Now here on the sands of the sea, showing a whole worldwide occurrence, as it were. “...And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea...” The beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Let’s go back to Revelation 17 and let’s finish a little bit here so we can have a little clearer perspective on what we’re doing. Let’s come back here to verse 8. We read down through verse 7 before, so let’s come to Revelation 17:8 (FV): “The beast that you saw was, and is not, but is about...” Yes, we read verse 8; verse 9: “Here is the mind that has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.” Now we need to understand that Revelation 17 is the historic projection of this system. Revelation 13 is its final fulfillment. So God put it not in chronological sequence, as far as laying out the chapters of the book. And He did that so that we have to search, so that we have to prove, so that we have to learn, and know. “…On which the woman sits.” Now we can apply this to the Roman Catholic Church, we can apply this to Babylon the Great. There’s fulfillment in both of them.

Now notice verse 10 (FV): “And there are seven kings; five are fallen, and one is [both of those have taken place], and the other has not yet come [Now that began with the League of Nations]; and when he has come, it is ordained that he remain a little while.” So it hasn’t come to its final fruition. It’s been developing, as Revelation 13 is talking about. And here now it’s talking about the single man, the one who is called the “Beast,” he is going to be brought to the fore. That’s what it’s talking about here. And he is going to head up this whole system. “...And the other has not yet come; and when he has come, it is ordained that he remain a little while.” Now we will see how that is fulfilled back in Daniel 9 in just a little bit.

“And the beast that was, and is not, he is also the eighth, and is from the seven, and goes into perdition.” Now isn’t that interesting? Of the seven – it’s come out of that seventh system. So here we are with the eighth one, and here we are going to come with that great man, the son of perdition who is going to rule the whole world. Because the whole world will have given up its sovereignty to Satan the devil. Now this shows the final fulfillment of it here, verse 12: “And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but shall receive authority as kings for one hour with the beast. These all have one mind, and shall give up their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb shall overcome them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful” (verses 11-14, FV). The summary of many prophecies. You see, Christ alone can destroy the system. Human beings cannot.

And here’s another thing for us to understand: it is more important to be right with God and grow in grace and knowledge now, than it is to fight against the system. And I’ll tell you why: because God is raising it up. And if you fight against the system, you’re fighting against God, because He has ordained that it is. Just exactly as He told the Jews when Nebuchadnezzar was attacking. He said, “I have raised up Nebuchadnezzar. If you resist him, he’s going to kill you. And I will deliver you into his hands because he is My servant. But if you surrender and go to Babylon, I’ll preserve you.” So today we can take a principle from that. God has not given us the authority to fight against this system, even if it kills us. Now there’s a time when it comes that we will witness against it as God gives us the mind and the mouth to do so. But God has prophesied that these things are going to come. That’s why all of these movements out there to stop it only amount to a warning by men - and they’re doing a better job than we are as far as knowing and understanding the intricacies of government, because we don’t know a thing about that, do we? No, we don’t. And they are giving a warning. And that’s part of a warning that God is raising up different men to give that warning. You need to understand that.

Now let’s come back to Revelation 13. So here is the beast rising out of the sea. Now the sea are peoples, right? What are we told of the United Nations? That this is all the people of the world coming together to have a one world government, a grand deception. Because the people of the world have nothing to do with it except that they’re going to be ruled over by it. “...Having seven heads and ten horns...” Now exactly how that falls out, we’ll have to wait and see. We know that ten horns are ten kings, as it says there in Revelation 17. They receive power one hour with the beast. Now then, most people do not realize this, but the United Nations has the world divided into ten regions. So could it be that these kings who receive power one hour with the beast and have crowns on their heads, even though they have the names of blasphemy, are appointed by the beast, by agreement, by the United Nations, to run that region? We’ve said ten nations in the past, but this is greater than ten nations. This is the whole worldwide thing. All nations, right?

Now notice verse 2. This refers back to the book of Daniel, and showing here that what is coming up is an amalgamation of the greatest and most glorious facets of the kingdoms of this world. “And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, and his feet like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne and great authority.” See, because Satan only receives sovereignty as people give it to him. And once he has it, then he delegates it to those that he desires. And so that’s what he’s doing here. As we have seen, in fact, it has no authority. What a tremendous deception. “And I saw one of his heads as if it were slain to death, but his deadly wound was healed; and the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast” (verses 2-3, FV). So out of this system is going to come one man; and that one man is described in II Thessalonians 2, coming out of this great mystery of lawlessness. And he is going to be the ruler of this world, and govern and ruthlessly destroy the earth through the power that has been given to him. We’re going to see that in just a minute. We’re not going go to II Thessalonians 2 because we might run out of time. You can go ahead and read that. We’ve covered that many times before.

“...And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon...” So this is why there is a steady progressive, continuous, insidious, all out attack upon Christianity, and the Ten Commandments, and Jesus Christ, and God the Father; and that is so that people will worship the dragon who is Satan the devil. “And they worshipped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who has the power to make war against him? And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to him; and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months” (verses 4-5, FV). That is after the deadly wound was healed. And as I have explained before, when this beast - let’s go back to Daniel 9 right now - when this man goes into the sanctuary of the temple that is going to be built in Jerusalem by the Jews, and proclaims that he himself is God and stops all the sacrifices, you know the Jews are going to try and assassinate him. And also, because God had begun dealing with the Jews by that time in the time order of the chronology of the prophecies.

Now let’s come to Daniel 9:26, and here is a little known prophecy and a greatly misunderstood prophecy. “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off [that’s when Christ was crucified], but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary...” And that happened in 70 A.D. So then there was a prince that came, right? Yes indeed. Now there is going to be another one to fulfill its second – actually, its third fulfillment. Nebuchadnezzar was first, Titus was the second, and the one that is coming is the third. And so he is going to destroy the city and the sanctuary, “...And the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” That’s talking about the whole great tribulation. Now notice verse 27: “And he...” Not the Messiah. The prince of the people, who is the son of perdition, who magnifies himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped so that he shows that himself, he is God. “...He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week...” (Dan. 9:26-27). Now one week is seven years. Now if you don’t have the chart and the tapes that I have done on the outline of Revelation 1 and 2, be sure and write for them. Because I show just a basic outline how this happens. So a week, seven days, equals seven years in fulfillment.

Now notice, “...And in the midst of the week...” Now this does not refer to Jesus Christ, though He was crucified in the midst of the week. This has nothing to do with Jesus. Because when He died the sacrifices did not cease. They continued for another forty years. “...And in the midst of the week [after three and a half years; that’s when the deadly wound was healed] he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (verse 27). Now it’s talking about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem again. So that’s going to happen.

Now let’s come back here to chapter 8. Let’s see how this man is going to operate. There are many, many prophecies of this as we go through and pick out the different prophecies in the Bible. So in order to understand Revelation 13 to it’s full, because that is an overview of everything at the end, all the particulars that go with it come from different sections of the Bible and must be put together properly to give the whole picture of what is happening. Now let’s come back here to Daniel 8. Again, just as Revelation 13 is rooted going clear back to the beast of Daniel 7 and Daniel 8, so likewise the string of Babylon the Great - because see, you have Babylon, then you had the Medo-Persian Empire, and then you had the Grecian Empire, and then you had the Roman Empire. And the Roman Empire and its system continues down to today. And guess where the European Union was founded? And by what treaty? The Treaty of Rome after World War II. Isn’t that amazing?

Now let’s come here to Daniel 8. And it talks about the destruction of the Medo-Persian Empire. And let’s begin here in verse 19: “And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.” Let’s remember that. The end time is when God determines it. I just got a letter the other day, someone saying, “Well, the 1,335 day starts on May 4, 2004.” Now let me tell you something, no man is going to tell God when the prophecies are going to be. And it found its way to the round file very quickly. So the time appointed is when the end shall be. “The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia” (Dan. 8:19-20). So that’s why kings and kingdoms are likened unto beasts. That’s why the final beast is called “the beast,” because he’s going to be ruler of the whole world. And it’s going to come out of this system which began with Babylon. That’s why it’s called in the book of Revelation, “Babylon the Great,” because it’s the final fulfillment of it.

“And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king” being Alexander, who conquered the whole civilized world. Now that being broken, because he died, it took him 12 years to conquer the Medo-Persian Empire and spread Greek culture throughout the whole eastern part of the Middle East. He died, and he died in Babylon. Amazing, isn’t it? “Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms...” So it was divided into four kingdoms. And that’s then where we get later the king of the north and the king of the south. “And in the latter time of their kingdom [which comes right through Revelation 13], when the transgressors are come to the full...” (verses 21-23). We haven’t quite reached it yet. Now this is important to understand. Remember what God told Abraham when He made His covenant. He says, “It’s not yet time now, because the sin of the Amorites is not yet come to the full” (Genesis 15:16, paraphrased). It was 430 years later. So here we have “when the transgressors are come to the full.” What is the fullness of the transgressions of the people of this world? When they worship Satan openly. And that’s coming.

It says, “...a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty...” And we’ll see that when we come back to Revelation 13 in just a minute. “...But not by his own power [because it’s by the power of Satan the devil]: and he shall destroy wonderfully [that is awesomely], and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.” And we will see that in just a minute in Revelation 13. “And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper...” And that’s deception and witchcraft and worshiping Satan the devil. “...And he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace [a false peace; and it could also be prosperity] shall destroy many...” (verses 23-25).

Now here is where we get the identification of when this will take place, and the character of the man who will do it, though it does not name the man by his own particular name because it follows what the Bible says, “You shall know them by their fruits,” so it describes his fruits and his actions so we will know by that who this man is. But if we be as close to the end time as we think we are close to the end time, that man is alive somewhere on this earth, and has already been dedicated to Satan the devil to serve him, probably from birth.

Now there are many secret societies in this world. And most of them don’t realize this, that they’re all under the aegis of Satan the devil and under the control of the Illuminati, and the political faction is the Committee of 300. Now if that sounds strange to your ears, you better wake up and understand what’s going on. You better get some of these books and read these books. Let me tell you something - back in 1966 I was doing visiting tours clear over into Colorado. And I visited some brethren who had been baptized years and years ago and no one had ever visited them. So I made arrangements and I got there and visited them. And the brethren there, the husband and wife, they said, “I want you to listen to these records.” So it was 33 speed records. Remember those big old ones? My, how technology has changed. And then you go back and you think of the one that Thomas Edison first invented with the big speaker coming out. My, how we’ve progressed, right? Yes indeed. But that progress is all leading to the end, the destruction of the world anyway.

So he played these for me, and I listened very intently because this was Myron Fagin’s explanation of the Illuminati, and how it was founded through Adam Weishaupt, who was a Jew and also a Jesuit; and how and they took over the whole of what is called the Masons, and all secret societies that men belong to in this world. So you name them, they’re controlled by the Illuminati and all of the different men and women that hail the coming kingdom of Satan - the one world government. And so I said to myself, “Wow. Boy. That’s amazing.” So that Feast of Tabernacles - and every year Garner Ted Armstrong would take my wife and I to dinner because my wife babysat for Garner Ted Armstrong and his wife with their kids. So I was very anxious to tell him, “Look, we’ve got to be preaching this.” He said, “Aw no, there’s nothing to it. Just forget all about that.” And I said to myself, “How can it be?” After hearing those things it’s evident to me what is happening in the world. So I told myself this: I said, “Alright, what I’m going to do is just put it on the shelf. I’m not going to get it out of my mind, nor am I necessarily going to stand up and preach it. I’m just going to watch and observe and see.” So later I got the book, None Dare Call It Treason. And then I got another book, The Fourth Reich of the Rich. And I got another book, TragedyandHope by Professor [Carroll] Quigley, which lays it all out in about 970 pages.

See, because - and as Dr. Coleman says, when they reach a certain point they can let it be an open conspiracy. So I said to myself, “This is amazing.” And I have watched it through the years. And I have studied it through the years, which will bring me pretty close, we’re 38 years into that right now, aren’t we, from ‘66 until now? And according to the Scriptures and according to what’s happening in the world, that is true.

Now notice, he identifies it. You see how it takes it from the time of Babylon through Medo-Persia, through Greece, through the Roman Empire, clear down to the end, to the one man who is called the beast in Revelation. And it says we can identify him here. The last part of verse 25: “...he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes [Revelation 16 and 19]; but he shall be broken without [human] hand.” Now how are the beast and false prophet executed? God sends an angel and casts them into the lake of fire. Not by human hand. Now notice verse 26: “And the vision of the evening and morning which was told [to you] is true...”

Now let’s come back here to Revelation 13, and let’s see this, because this is something. This is the world ahead of us, Satan’s great counterfeit kingdom, that’s going to come in all its glory, in all its splendor, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. And everyone is going to be so absolutely turned toward this and turned against God, that only those that God is going to call and only those who have the Spirit of God will understand. Many of them will not repent until they get into the great tribulation.

Now let’s come back to Revelation 13, because we have to see something that is very important. Because you see, we have to prove our love, our faith, our belief, our conviction, and the use of the Holy Spirit of God unto death. Now God is going to spare a lot of seniors. They’re going to pass their final exam and go to the grave. But those of us who are alive and remain, we just might as well make up our minds and not go out and look for it, not go out and provoke it, because this one world system is going to provoke it sooner or later anyway. But we might as well make up our minds to the fact that it’s going to cost us our lives. And it’s not going to be pleasant, but it’s going to be worth the crown of glory that we’re going to receive. So we might as well realize that and make up our minds to that effect, and ask God to give us the strength, and determination, and the faith, and the love. And as Jesus said that unless you forsake all that you have and carry your cross you cannot be His disciple. And now we are down to the time when we need to be prepared for this.

Now notice what’s going to happen. After he was given the time to continue for forty and two months after stopping off the sacrifices there at the temple and the attempted assassination, he’s going to be proclaimed God on this earth. “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. And he was given power to make war against the saints, and to overcome them; and he was given authority over every tribe and language and nation.” Again, worldwide. “And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If anyone has an ear, let him hear” (Rev. 13:6-9, FV). There we have it. We don’t have time to get into the mark of the beast. We’ll save that for another sermon.

But I want you to understand that as we are in training right now to be able to be the kings and priests in the true kingdom of God which Christ is going to bring when He returns, that we better be about doing the work of growing, of overcoming, of learning, of praying, of studying, of being steadfast with God. Because the day is going to come that if we do not, and if we do not exercise the power of God’s Spirit in our lives, then we are going to be like the five foolish virgins whom Christ says, “I don’t know who you are. And I don’t know where you came from.” Because you see, eternal life is so profound, and so valuable that God is not going to give this just to anyone, but to those who love Him with all their heart and mind and soul and being, whether in life or whether in death.