THE STUDY OF REVELATION

Transcription

1 THE STUDY OF REVELATION 1

2 Creation Revelation Robert & Mary Tozier At Sunrise Bible Church Las Vegas, NV 2

3 Behold I Come Quickly Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. 3

4 Behold I Come Quickly. The Study of Revelation Lesson 39 4

5 Opening Prayer 5

6 Behold I Come Quickly The Study of Revelation Lesson 39 THE LEGEND OF SEMIRAMIS PART 2 {REV 17:1-11} 6

7 LET S SET THE STAGE 7

8 LET S SET THE STAGE Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. (Continued) 8

9 LET S SET THE STAGE 3 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. 4 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: Continued 9

10 LET S SET THE STAGE 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. (Continued) 10

11 LET S SET THE STAGE Rev 17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. (Continued) 11

12 LET S SET THE STAGE 9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains [large governments], on which the woman sitteth. 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is [Rome], and the other is not yet come; and when he [Revived Rome] cometh, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast [Antichrist system] that was, and is not, even he is the eighth [Antichrist], and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. We will look at the Antichrist next. 12

13 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted 13

14 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted Nimrod is a type off antichrist. It is important to our understanding of end-time events to know that the Antichrist will be compelling. The Antichrist will be a great deceiver. He will appear to have all the answers. He will have political, economic, and religious power at his disposal. 14

15 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted Revelation 17 speaks of a final religion that influences the kingdoms of the world. It also speaks of the destruction of the corrupted religious system for one final system under a future leader known as Antichrist, who according to Revelation 13:11-12 will require worship of himself. The Antichrist will have the power to do so since Revelation 17:17 reveals that the kings will give their kingdoms to the Antichrist. 15

16 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted The Antichrist will truly be a world ruler. Many today follow a New Age religion that mixes various religions, particularly Eastern occult religions. New Agers today, steeped in occultism, await the coming of the Christ. This New Age Christ is not Jesus Christ, but the New Age is preparing the world for the great delusion and acceptance of the 16 Antichrist. [147]

17 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted People are so constantly being indoctrinated with these beliefs that it is difficult to discern the truth many will be ready to believe the lie. 2 Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed. 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong 17 delusion, that they should believe a lie:

18 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted To many new agers, God is an indwelling god, a natural spirit within the universal psyche of man. In this respect, God is reduced to a type of universal myth and the student is led into new age and Eastern thought with emphasis on introspection and experience. [147] 18

19 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted The pantheist, evolutionist, Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ( ) believed that without the evolution of collective thought, how can there be a consummated Christ. [147] 19

20 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted Gary Kah observes: According to Jung and Chardin, we are not unique individuals responsible for our own independent thoughts and choices, nor are we accountable to a personal God for those thoughts and choices. Rather we are all part of a vast living, evolving organism a global brain that encompasses all of humanity and is God. This is the very essence of Pantheistic religion. [147] 20

21 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted For Chardin, God, the universe, and man are evolving and will eventually reach the Omega Point, when the universe turns completely into Christ (an evolving Christ). [147] 21

22 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted The modern church, like Chardin, fails to adequately deal with sin and man s fallen nature. [147] The modern message is love, and the modern emerging church avoids anything that might be frightening or disturbing to the congregation, including sin, hell, and prophecy. [113; 131; 132] 22

23 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted Certainly, Mega Church advocate Rick Warren advises not to spend much time studying prophecy. [132] This is the trend of many churches today. They also believe that Biblical prophecy is too frightening and controversial. That s too bad, since they then must ignore a third of the Bible. 23

24 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted The modern mega church of the 21st century, considers that preaching about sin, hell, and prophecy is not conducive to church growth. It s not good for business. Dr. Larry Spargimino writes about Mega Church Movement (MCM) which is designed for church growth and making pastors more like CEO s than shepherds. Rick Warren is a big part of this movement. [109] 24

25 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted Spargimino asks and answers the question: Where is the MCM [Mega Church Movement] taking us? Into the emerging church movement, a movement characterized by an extremely flexible approach to the Bible and Bible doctrine. It seeks to bring together the diverse traditions and beliefs of a broad spectrum of Christians while at the same time seeking to remain orthodox. [109] Sound doctrine is being compromised for the sake of ecumenism and church growth. 25

26 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted Many churchgoers today are flirting with New Age ideas, and may not even recognize it. These ideas are encoded within much of the media, including movies like the ever popular Star Wars. The new age ideas of the Cosmic Christ are there, but are cleverly disguised to the average churchgoer. 26

27 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted They send their children off to public school where they are taught that evolution is a fact, thus the Bible is myth. This is reinforced in the children s minds by The Learning Channel, The Discovery Channel, and National Geographic. 27

28 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted Parents then send their children off to secular or liberal colleges to become indoctrinated with the belief systems (worldviews) of their professors who denigrate, as unscholarly and ridiculous, the last vestiges of their Christian beliefs. Finally, parents wonder why their children soon abandon their Christian beliefs, become atheists, or seek truth within other religions. 28

29 The Antichrist Why He Will Be Accepted Recently, the popularity of the book and movie, The DaVinci Code, has thrust the ideas of Gnosticism, particularly Neo- Gnosticism into the limelight. 29

30 What is Gnosticism? 30

31 What is Gnosticism? The Gnostics believe that the material realm is evil, and that an evil creator created it. This idea was expanded upon by Helena Blavatski, the founder of Theosophy. We will look at Theosophy in another lesson. She believed that Adonai was the bad God, and Lucifer was the good god that saved mankind from the slavery of Adonai. 31

32 What is Gnosticism? This is why many think that secret knowledge is to be sought, which was exactly what Lucifer offered Eve in the Garden (Gen 3). 32

33 What is Gnosticism? Gnosticism believes that it is our goal to find certain lost secret knowledge so that we can find our way back to the true God from whom we became separated. [85] Freemasonry is structured around this idea looking for secret knowledge that was lost. Some Gnostics believe that God is both male and female. [85] The Jesus of the Gnostic writings is a phantom, a spirit who sometimes inhabits a body and sometimes does not, and who talks in a way that 33 few could understand. [85]

34 What is Gnosticism? Gnostic beliefs are difficult to define since many are contradictory, and differ from group to group. [85] The form of Gnosticism that Dan Brown is promoting in his DaVinci Code is based on the premise that secret spiritual truths were revealed to a select elite few of Jesus disciples and Mary Magdalene. Dan Brown s form of Gnosticism is called Neo-Gnosticism (New Gnosticism). 34

35 What is Gnosticism? The Gnostics believed that salvation depended on possessing this secret knowledge. Today, Gnosticism is the most accepted form of pantheism (God is everything). It was the Gnostics that attempted to infect Christianity at the very beginning. Gnosticism was the main adversary of the first century church, and was an offshoot of Kabalism. [147] 35

36 What is Gnosticism? Kabalism itself was another version of the mystery religions. [147], Simply put, Kabalism is a Jewish cult that represents an attack on the Old Testament. Likewise, Gnosticism is a Kabalist type attack on the New Testament. [85; 141] To the Gnostic, the search for secret knowledge is of primary importance. [85; 141] 36

37 What is Gnosticism? Hidden knowledge that s the lure of books such as Dan Brown s, The Da Vinci Code, and the occult books of Alice Bailey and Helena Blavatsky. [85; 141] According to the Gnostic, when the seeker finds the secret knowledge, it opens his mind to the light that dwells within his self. Thus the seeker is saved. 37

38 What is Gnosticism? Therefore, salvation is obtained by looking into one s self, to find that spark of divine within that belongs to God a danger of contemplative prayer. To the Gnostic, our spiritual problem is lack of knowledge (gnosis), not sin. [85; 141] This is the essence of Jungian psychology and the teachings of the New Age Movement. However, the Bible says that our problem is sin, and our redemption is through Jesus Christ (Rom 3:23-26). 38

39 What is Gnosticism? The Bible also says that it is lack of knowledge that keeps us from discovering truths contained in the Word of God (Romans 10:14, Hosea 4:6). It is knowledge of God s Word that we must seek, not some secret gnosis (knowledge) within ourselves. Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. 39

40 Islam 40

41 Islam Some statements coming from the former Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, point to similarities of end-time messianic beliefs of Islam and the Antichrist events and the seven-year Tribulation scenario of the books of Revelation and Daniel. Islam, he says, looks for the return of the 12th Imam, who it is believed will institute 7 years of peace and rule after which will be the judgment and the end of the world. [49] 41

42 Islam The Bible refers to the coming Antichrist who will enter into a 7-years peace accord during which God will bring wrath on the earth, following which Christ will return and reign for 1,000 years, which will end with the final judgment and the end of the world. 42

43 What is the Final Religion? 43

44 What is the Final Religion? The Church, with the leading of Catholicism, Rick Warren, and the Emerging Church, is full of the spirit of Ecumenism and Interfaithism, having the desire to merge within itself, as well as to seek accommodation with all other religions [Interfaithism] of the world, including the New Age. 44

45 What is the Final Religion? A desire for church growth is producing mega churches that preach a watered down, seeker friendly, version of Christianity. It is this willingness to accommodate and to merge that may produce the final form of a world religion. 45

46 What is the Final Religion? It is a lack of knowledge of the Biblical truths and the constant indoctrination in New Age and humanistic beliefs that is changing the minds of the people. The media is beating the drums of political correctness and toleration so that truth is distorted to the point that good seems bad and bad seems good. At the same time the secular school system is changing the worldview of millions for the next generation. 46

47 What is the Final Religion? The Catholic pope has engaged in ecumenical and interfaith efforts toward the Protestant churches and pagan religions. The pope is reaching out to leaders in other religions with the message that we all worship the same God, in spite of the obvious irreconcilable differences. In particular, the pope has reached out to Muslims, stating that Allah is the same as Jehovah, even though Allah is derived from the Babylonian moon god. 47

48 What is the Final Religion? New Agers would also be deceived by a cosmic Christ-like figure that speaks of oneness of mind and spirit in harmony with mother earth. Liberal Reformed churches generally do not believe that the book of Revelation is relevant for today, and so might well fall prey to the deception of this 7-years peace agreement, and accept the Antichrist. 48

49 What is the Final Religion? In view of this, could it be that the final religion will merge New Age beliefs, the apostasy of liberal Protestant and Catholic churches, and Islam together in oneness of spirit with nature? The acceptance and worship of the Antichrist could conceivably merge these belief systems. This is even more likely if the fundamentalists of all these religions were somehow neutralized. 49

50 What is the Final Religion? Notice how John Phillips and Jerry Vines describes the Antichrist in their commentary, Exploring the Book of Daniel: 50

51 What is the Final Religion? Wickedness will get worse and worse. As the man of sin the promotion of sin will be his chief aim. He will gratify lust and glorify sin. He will appear as the messiah of the Jews, the mahdi of the Muslims, the krishna of the Hindus. He will be the ideal of the humanists, the Christ of apostate Christendom, the mantra of the eastern mystics. A war-weary, famine-ravished, disease-ridden, plague-infested, panic-stricken world will hail him till the indignation [God s wrath] be accomplished. [93] 51

52 What is the Final Religion? It is these things and more that are setting the stage for the final deception and the religion of the Beast. 52

53 Mystery Religion 53

54 Mystery Religion Mystery Religion has had a major impact on the church. Babylonian Mystery Religion developed around tradition concerning Nimrod, his wife Semiramis, and her child Tammuz. Babylonian Worship was carried on through symbols (a mystery religion). A rift occurred between Semiramis and Nimrod when she was found to have been pregnant with an illegitimate son. 54

55 Mystery Religion To maintain power she overthrew Nimrod and had him torn into fourteen pieces by drug crazed priests. Semiramis installed the illegitimate son, Tammuz, as King. The name Tammuz is from "Damu" meaning blood, in Greek, Adonis. Or his name may be from "tam," meaning to "make perfect," and "muz," meaning fire - together meaning perfecting fire. 55

56 Mystery Religion Since fire was a representation of Baal (Nimrod), candles are lighted in his honor. Votive candles are lighted as part of Roman Catholic worship. Tammuz was born on 25 December. Tammuz was the son of the Sun-god, and the golden calf was one of his symbols. This date was a pagan celebration of the winter solstice. 56

57 Mystery Religion Because the holiday affected many of the pagan converts, this day was chosen to celebrate the birthday of our Lord by the Church of Rome. Tammuz eventually killed his own mother in a power struggle. Maimonides calls Tammuz a false prophet who advocated worship of the Zodiac and the seven stars of the Pleiades. 57

58 Mystery Religion Tradition states that Shem had Tammuz executed, and on that night supposedly all the images (demons) around the world wept all night. Thus the practice of weeping for Tammuz on the first day of the month of Tammuz, mid (June/July), was begun. This tradition of the death of Tammuz might very well refer to the death of Nimrod. 58

59 Mystery Religion The story is similar to that of the Egyptian story of Osiris. Osiris is considered to be Nimrod as well as Tammuz. The women of Egypt wept for Osiris as the Phoenician and Assyrian women wept for Tammuz. Women in Greece and Rome wept for Bacchus. 59

60 Mystery Religion Both Osiris and Bacchus (as represented by a spotted fawn) were torn apart. Notice that Jewish women wept also for Tammuz. Notice the spread from Babylon of the mystery religion into the culture and worship of other nations. EZE 8:14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 60

61 Mystery Religion Now notice that in a version of the Death of Nimrod (Osiris), Shem (Sem, Hercules) petitioned the Egyptian courts for the trial and execution of Nimrod for his great apostasy. Nimrod was then cut into fourteen pieces that were distributed to each city in the empire. Semiramis (Isis) searched for every part of Nimrod's body and had it buried wherever 61 it was found.

62 Mystery Religion This was the origin of relic worship. This Babylonian and Egyptian relic worship became integral with Buddhism and Greek paganism, as well as veneration practiced by Roman Catholicism. Embedded in every Catholic altar there is a relic, usually a fragment of the bones of a Catholic saint. 62

63 Mystery Religion Nimrod became a false messiah after his death. Semiramis now claimed that Nimrod was the Sun-god Baal, and when she gave birth to her son Tammuz, she claimed that he was the reincarnation of Nimrod. The doctrine of reincarnation began. Satan clumsily counterfeits the resurrection of Christ. 63

64 Mystery Religion Semiramis also claimed that Tammuz was supernaturally conceived. Semiramis was claiming for Tammuz, that he was the promised Seed of Genesis 3:15. This initiated the mother-child cult that has pervaded many cultures, including the Madonna and Child of the Catholic tradition. We will look at the mother-child cult in another lesson. 64

65 Mystery Religion GEN 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. This is one of the elements of the mystery religion still with us today and is part of what Paul calls "the mystery of iniquity" in Second Thessalonians. 2TH 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 65

66 Mystery Religion EZE 8:13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. 14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. In the Egyptian version, Osiris, whose wife/sister/daughter is Isis and their child is Horus, was murdered by his brother Set. 66

67 Mystery Religion Set cut Osiris' body into fourteen pieces. Isis recovered all pieces except his private parts, which had been cast into the sea. Horus defeated Set, and Osiris was proclaimed a resurrected god, and his body parts were encased in fourteen different statues. 67

68 Mystery Religion You can begin to see how these stories were used and expanded upon by the various cultures, including development of the Greek and Roman gods, and that they had their roots in Nimrod, Semiramis, and the Babylonian Mystery Religion. Nimrod is known, among other names, variously, to the Greeks, Hercules; the Egyptians, Osiris and Horus; and also the Greek s, Apollo; and even Baal. 68

69 Mystery Religion Nimrod and his followers are memorialized as the Greek Titans, the 12 children of Uranus. It should be noted that Shem was considered the primitive or ancient Hercules. The line of Shem, one of Noah s three sons, is the line of the Semites or Israel. Hercules was considered to be Nimrod by the later Greeks and Assyrians. 69

70 Mystery Religion Nimrod was symbolized by Sun images, fish, trees, pillars, and animals. Nimrod's kingdom is the first kingdom mentioned in the Bible. According to tradition, Nimrod, a Hamite, came up by water, possibly from the region of Ethiopia, through the Persian Gulf with an army. He conquered the area of the Middle East known as the Plains of Shinar, modern Iraq. 70

71 Mystery Religion A tradition states that during the battles Nimrod met his future wife Semiramis, who was an inn/brothel keeper in the city of Erech. 71

72 End of The Study of Revelation - Lesson 39 72

73 Closing Prayer 73

74 Creation Revelation Robert & Mary Tozier At Sunrise Bible Church Las Vegas, NV 74