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Lying
Wonders
We have traveled quite a
way in history, but true history and prophecy go
right together. Revelation 13:12-14 tells us,
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. 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...
This second beast did this
in the sight of men and in the sight of the
beast, by the power of the beast. It was a
deception, not a true miracle. I am not going to
spend a lot of time on miracles, but II
Thessalonians 2:9-10 will tell us what kind of
miracles this beast works. Even him, whose
coming is after the working of Satan with all
power and signs and lying wonders, And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that
perish; because they received not the love of
the truth, that they might be
saved.
Now we know that this fellow
deceives those who dwell on the face of the
earth by deceptive miracles and lying wonders.
What does the Scripture mean when it says that
he makes fire come down from Heaven? Fire coming
down from Heaven, through the Bible, is a
supposed sure sign that God is in this thing. It
reverts back to Elijah's day when he met those
false prophets on Mount Carmel.
Elijah
said, And call ye on the name of your gods,
and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the
God that answereth by fire, let him be
God... After the prophets of Baal failed to
call down any fire, Elijah repaired the altar of
the Lord, and built it in the Name of the Lord.
He laid the sacrifice on, had barrels of water
poured on it, prayed a short prayer, and God
sent down the fire.
Now here (Revelation
13:13-14), we have a figurative, or symbolic,
expression of a religion which is deceiving
people by making them feel that God was in their
works by the means of lying wonders and
deceptive miracles. What are some of them? One
such lying wonder is transubstantiation. I was
at a Catholic funeral not long ago, and that
priest took a cracker nd let them know that
after he prayed over it, it became the body of
Christ. What a miracle! BUT, it was a LIE!! It
was a cracker BEFORE he prayed and it was a
cracker AFTER he prayed. That is a lying wonder,
and tragically, horribly, so many are following
after such things in this day and age.
Deceptive
Miracles
Fire falling down from
Heaven is some means that religious
organizations use to deceive people to make them
feel that God is really in it. WE come right on
over from Catholicism to the false fire of
Pentecostalism. How do they try to convince
people today that God is in the thing? By the
jumps, the shakes and the hollars. That is not
the power of God shaking them--the power of God
does not knock you down! That is NOT the power
of God; contrariwise, it is a deceptive thing,
trying to make people feel that God is in this
thing.
Back of all the deception is the
devil. What does he want to do with that
deception? He wants to make an image to the
beast, or he wants to build up a human
organization. He is not truly interested in your
getting a good experience of salvation where you
can live victoriously.
Revelation 18:23
uncovers these miracles: it says they do it by
sorcery. And the light of a candle shall
shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of
the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard
no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were
the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries
were all nations deceived. Sorcery is magic
(magick) or deceptive miracles. When Aaron, in
order to prove to the Egyptians that God was
with Moses and himself, threw down his rod, it
actually turned into (became) a serpent. Pharaoh
then called for his magicians so they could try
to imitate the act. What is a magician? A man
who has a hand that can move faster than the
eye. He pulls rabbits out of hats, everything
imaginable, right in front of your eyes. He
pulls things out that there is no way to get
inside that silk hat. How does he do it? By
sorcery--deception--illusion--trickery.
Jesus
Himself said, For there shall arise false
Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew
great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it
were possible, they shall deceive the very
elect. Matthew 24:24. How are you going to
know where God is? You cannot say that God is
somewhere simply because people are supposedly
getting healed by the dozens. You cannot say God
is somewhere simply because people are finding
good jobs, getting rich "overnight" and living
in mansions. That is being offered to (and in
too many cases, consumed by) the public today.
How CAN you tell where God is? There will be a
people who will hear THE TRUTH, rejoice in THE
TRUTH, and live clear-cut, holy lives before
God. In the midst of all the confusion, He is
seeking such.
An
Image
Let us continue with
Revelation 13:14, now. 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, which had the wound by a sword, and did
live.
Now, what did the devil have in
mind with all those miracles? Not to help
people, but to build an image to the first
beast. What is the image? My friends, the word
image means "an imitation, a
representation, a similitude of any person or
thing, a copy". So the devil was/is working
through this deception to build up a copy, an
image or a similitude of the first beast.
Protestantism today is a similitude, a copy, an
image of Roman Catholicism. It is just a little
more deceptive, but it is an image of Roman
Catholicism.
An image in the light of the
Scriptures is an ecclesiastical organization
which is a direct image of Rome. Now, I know
that many people feel that Protestantism is
nothing like Roman Catholicism, but I ask you to
again look at it in the light of God's Word. The
likeness between Romanism and Protestantism is
very conspicuous. Revelation 17:1-5 pictures a
mother and daughter, Roman Catholicism being the
mother and Protestantism being her harlot
daughters.
Why are the many organizations
of Protestantism called an image to the beast?
First of all, Rome claims power to admit and
excommunicate members by man rule; Protestantism
does the very same. Both prescribe their own
discipline--or disciple. Roman Catholics are
taught to follow the teachings of "the church".
You can take a Roman Catholic Bible and read
right in it that you must be born again, but
they follow the teachings of "the church",
regardless of what the Bible instructs.
Protestantism does just the same: they are
individual organizations. Their members are not
governed by what the Word of God says--they are
goverened by what their "church"
teaches!
This second beast resembles the
lamb, but its power lies in deception and
violence; the work is done, according to verse
12, to magnify the first beast. Revelation 16:13
calls this second beast the false prophet
because it brought forth more advanced
intelligence: And I saw three unclean spirits
like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,
and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of
the mouth of the false prophet.
Protestantism has certainly increased our
knowledge and wisdom. Protestantism has changed
much of the fashion of life, but the spirit
which animates it is unchanged. That which comes
up out of the earth must go back down to the
earth.
Too many today use knowledge,
culture, and earthly wisdom to teach men that
there is nothing worthy of worship except that
which you can see, touch and taste. This is
going on in the teachings of Protestantism. The
thought of faith, looking to the unseen,
believing in that which man can't see with the
natural eye, is out of the question. Why? Human
intelligence! This second beast operates out of
the earth. What human intelligence can't lay
hold of, they lay down as false. We are
therefore seeing a greater rising up of pastors
who do not believe in a burning hell any more.
They don't believe in the Virgin Birth or a real
devil. Why? Human intelligence! They refuse to
accept such things from the Word of God because
they are not according to their own reasonings.
I say this because we need to be afraid of this
spirit.
Both systems are goverened by
men. Today, many bodies of the Protestant faith
are uniting under one head. I want to show you
how it is making an image to the beast. Somebody
may say, "That was back there." It is developing
an image more today than it ever was. Why? Many
portions of Protestantism are coming together,
and they have a president over the whole council
of it. That president over the whole council of
the different Protestant sects is a direct image
of the Pope reigning over Roman
Catholicism.
"He That Hath
The Son Hath Life"
It is all
man-made. This is why I refuse to join the
Council of Churches, city, state or nation. Why?
I got my eyes opened. I'm not going to help
build up an image to that
beast.
Protestanism, in their teaching of
millenniums and a second chance is an image of
Catholicism's teaching of purgatory. The Bible
PLAINLY teaches that there is NO SUCH chance!
There is NO opportunity for anybody beyond death
or beyond the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Roman Catholicism in their human(istic) teaching
believes there is a purgatory out there, and the
Protestants believe there is a millennium out
there. One teaching is as false as the other;
both of them came up out of the earth. None of
that teaching came from God out of
Heaven.
I John 5:12 teaches us, He
that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath
not the Son of God hath not life. It is just
that simple. No matter what men tell you, only
he that has the Son has life. Friends, if you
don't have Jesus Christ in your heart and life
through the Spirit of God, you are spiritually
dead and on the road to hell. That's a hell that
NO priest or pope can pray you out of. If you do
have Christ in your heart and life, my friends,
preachers and popes can rise up unanimously
against you, but they can't touch you. You will
go to Heaven despite all their greatest efforts
against you. It is just that settled and it is
just that way.
The second beast speaks
more like the dragon every day. Revelation 13:6,
speaking of the first beast again, says, And
he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to
blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them
that dwell in heaven. This second beast
speaks just like that.
The question may
be asked, "How does he blaspheme against God?"
In many different ways. We will just take a
simple one from the Bible. The Jews charged
Jesus with blasphemy because He said that He
could forgive sins. The Jews thought He was a
man; they did not realize that He was God. When
any priest, a man, says he can forgive sins, he
is blaspheming. There is NO man who can forgive
sins. NO ONE BUT God can forgive sins, so man
blasphemes God when he says that he can forgive
sins.
Revelation 17:3 says that she
(Babylon) is full of names of blasphemy: So
he carried me away in the spirit into the
wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet
coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy,
having seven heads and ten horns. How do you
blaspheme the Name of God? To put the name of
men where God's name belongs is blasphemy. Go
look at the Catholic edifices: it's St. Mary's
Church, St. Joseph's Church, St. Luke's Church,
etc. Then come over to Protestantism, and you
will find such names as St. Luke, St. John,
Wesleyan--blasphemy.
The Mark Of
The Beast
The mark of the beast is a
whole message, but let me hit it a little rap or
two. I have lived long enough to watch prophets
call that mark of the beast one thing and
another. When times goes on long enough to prove
one lie untrue, they come up with another one,
and they will be doing that until Jesus comes.
The Bible says, And he causeth all, both
small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,
to receive a mark in their right hand, or in
their foreheads: 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.
Revelation 13:16,17.
The first thing I
want you to notice is where the mark is put. The
mark is put on the RIGHT HAND and in the
forehead. The Bible tells us VERY PLAINLY
where it is. Perhaps one of the most dangerous
marks of Catholicism which is embedded in
Protestantism today is the deception of
multitudes. When we begin to talk about this
mark in the forehead and in the hand, I want you
to turn your minds a moment to the deception
that has been put on multitudes. There are
millions who believe they are saved as Catholics
because a priest has by some formal rite
admitted them into "the church". It is the same
with Protestantism. Whether it was by
"christening" as a little baby or some other
ceremony, there are many different formal rites
in which people are resting as their
salvation!
This mark in the forehead and
in the hand is a symbolic expression of
ownership. When Jesus gave the Revelation to
John, and right on up until just a few years
back, slaves were marked in the forehead so that
all would know to whom they belonged. The mark
in the forehead and in the hand begins to speak
of some kind of mark this beast has put on
people so that everybody can see to whom they
belong.
Every person reveals his "brand
of religion" by the name he bears. Another way
is by where he goes and what he does, the deeds
of his life. Religions have marks. It is
sometimes manifested by the clothing worn, the
way of life, or their
actions.
Head-And-Hand
Religion
Someone might ask, "Why in
the forehead and in the hand?" It does NOT say
ON the forehead--but IN
forehead--the mind. How does he mark one in
their mind? By the teaching, they are marked in
their mind until they believe this, that and the
other. We could say by catechism. There
is hardly any religious group you can join
without taking a "catechism class". They are
marking you in your mind. If you do not have
time to go to catechism class, but they think
you will be a good payer (not player, PAYER),
they take you in by just marking you in the
hand--just shake the preacher's hand and they
will take you in. Jesus has all His sheep marked
in the forehead and in the foot--they HEAR His
voice and FOLLOW Him. My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me. John
10:27. Every one of God's sheep are
marked.
Someone might contend, "He is
talking about a mark where you can't buy or
sell." This head-and-hand mark is merely a
picture of the cheapness of false religion: it
is a head-and-hand religion. It does NOTHING for
the heart. There is nothing in this chapter that
mentions anything about a day coming when you
can't buy groceries or gasoline. Everything
within this lesson is a spiritual lesson.
Remember, the Revelation is a spiritual
revelation, revealing spiritual conditions to
come upon the earth.
Here John talks
about a time when you can't buy or sell without
the mark, the number of his name, or the name of
the beast. Buying and selling is a figurative
expression of a means of exchange. In Roman
Catholicism, you must adhere to its teachings
and mandates, or you have no part in them. In
other words, you have no exchange with them. The
same is true in Protestantism. You can't carry
on exchange unless you belong to that
organization. Oh, you can visit and be treated
"properly", but you will never get into the
exchange of it to the place where they are
willing to use you and let you be used unless
you join that organization. You must have their
mark in order to have their
recognition.
We are infringing right now
on the message of the eighth beast, where there
has been a breaking down of some of these things
down through the years. It is not enough to be
saved; you have to join their organization or
group. In many cases of the past, you had to be
licensed by their organization, or you could not
carry on a medium of exchange. Hello? Are you
beginning to recognize what we are talking
about? This mark of the beast causes ill
feelings, hatred, envy, strife, and even murder
in the hearts of supposed-to-be God's
people.
In many Catholic-controlled
countries, the mark reaches deeper than the
spiritual realm. In Spain, force is used to
pressure non-Catholics into their molds. A
non-Catholic cannot run for office in Spain. You
can't have any kind of funeral in Spain except a
Catholic funeral. You can have no kind of
marriage in Spain unless the priest marries you
and your children must be sent to a Catholic
school. Somebody may say, "Well, that's just in
Spain." Let me tell you, your marriage to a
Catholic will never be recognized unless you
agree to sign your children over to the dictates
of their teachings.
The Number Of
His Name
What is the number of his
name? His number is 666. Remember that Greece
and Rome, and also the Jews, use letters of the
alphabet for numbers. Not only does Vicarius
Filiidei in Latin add up to 666, but it is
not a coindidence that the word Lateinos,
which means "Latin-kingdom" contains the number
666. The Hebrew name for the Roman beast is
Romiith. Take the numerals out of it, and
it adds up to 666. So in Latin, Greek, and
Hebrew, it is still the mark of a man. Just as
they wrote, "King of the Jews" in three
languages over the Son of God, God is good
enough to reveal in three languages that the
number of this man, the Pope of Rome, is
666.
What does that have to do with
Protestantism? How do they receive the number of
his name? Vicarius Filiidei means "I am a
vicar of the Son of God." In other words, "As a
man, I am here running this organization." Every
Protestant organization has its own human head.
By having their own human vicar, they take the
number of his name. The TRUE vicars are The Word
and The Holy Spirit, and they are crowded out
and set aside for the conferences of men to have
their place. May God help us to see that they
buying and the selling is spiritual. Proverbs
23:23 says, Buy the truth, and sell it not;
also wisdom, and instruction, and
understanding. But if we are not recognized
by the local organization of churches, we don't
have a mark, or a number, or a
name.
Friends, the system of
Protestantism is antiChrist; it is against
Christ. Don't look for help from Protestantism
to build up the kingdom of God. Don't look for
help from Protestantism to build up the Church
of God--it is antiChrist. When you get right
into the very system of it and seed of it, you
see the same spirit predominates there which
predominates in Catholicism. If a Roman Catholic
ever gets salvation and gets to Heaven, he will
have to get past the priest and get to Christ in
old-time Bible repentance. The Protestant is the
same: if he ever gets to Heaven, he is going to
have to get by his creed and preacher, and get
to Christ and walk in the light of God's
Word.
God Is
Calling
In these days, God is
calling His people back to the morning-time
light, and it is bringing about Bible unity that
the Word of God tells us about. In the 17th
Chapter of John, Jesus set forth very plainly
four things that it takes to have unity. And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou
hast sent. John 17:3. And now I am no
more in the world, but these are in the world,
and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through
thine own name those whom thou hast given me,
that they may be one, as we are. John 17:11.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is
truth. John 17:17. nd the glory which
thou gavest me I have given them; that they may
be one, even as we are one. John
17:22.
Four things that it takes to have
unity:
- Every person making up
unity must have eternal life. (John 17:3)
- We
have to be kept through the Father's name. (John
17:11)
- Sanctified through The
Truth, not some creed, dogma or teaching of a
church. We have to be sanctified, or set apart,
through The Truth, by by Word of Truth. (John
17:17), and
- WE
must have the glory of God. (John
17:22).
We are not speaking
against any person or people--only a system
which is deceiving countless millions. Why am I
so against it? Well, the deception of it causes
people to be calm, with no disturbed feelings
whatsoever about their soul's welfare. They are
not the least bit excited about anything that
has to do with their soul. They are seeking
after something that will bring pleasure to the
flesh. They think they have made an agreement
with hell and death; if death comes on them
today, many of them would split hell wide open.
They have been rocked to sleep in the carnal
security of Protestantism until it is hard to
even stir them to think about their
souls.
Let me tell you, Friends, the
Bible is almost confirmed. Everything has been,
or is being, fulfilled. Eternity is right out
there. One of the Scriptures we used in this
message is found in I John 5:12. e that hath
the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son
of God hath not life.
This is the
question: Have you opened your heart's door and
let Jesus Christ come in? He promised to never
leave you nor forsake you. If through the
circumstances of life you have left Him, are you
truly sorry? What will it take to bring you to
yourself, to cause you to turn and come back to
the Father's house? Friends, without Christ,
without a living experience of Christ in the
heart, there is no real life here or hereafter.
You are under the power of spiritual death now,
called the first death. When physical death
comes on you, you will fall under the power of
the second death--to be forever separated from
God, and that's forever and ever and ever and
ever!
The 20th Chapter of Revelation lets
you see beyond the judgment. The dragon, the
beast, and the false prophet are going into the
lake of fire that burns forever and ever and
ever. Just as long as Heaven lasts, so does
hell. Are you a member of Christ, or are you a
member of the beast? ARe you a member of Christ,
or are you a member of the beast? Are you a
member of Christ, or are you a member of the
false prophet? Well, my friends, it will make an
eternal
difference. |
