Weekly Bible Study – August 1, 2016

The prophecy of Daniel 9.
The Purpose of the Seventy Sevens or the 490 years in Dan 9:24.

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Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings

STUDY TITLE:

The prophecy of Daniel 9.
The Purpose of the Seventy Sevens or the 490 years in Dan 9:24.


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Terms & Abbreviations used:

PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
Old Sin Nature = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine [Bible Truth]
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth

To look up other “terms”, go to:

Alphabetical Listing

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotes and references are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible. However, a few may be corrected translations of the original language.

The prophecy of Daniel 9.
The Purpose of the Seventy Sevens or the 490 years in Dan 9:24.

This section lists six specific things that the Jews or Israel should understand and look forward to. Three of them have negative connotations, three of them have positive connotations.

1. As we have now noted in some detail is the principle found in the phrase in Da 9:24, to make an end of sin which means to bring one major sin to its completion, which is the sin of unbelief.

2. In the phrase in Da 9:24, “to finish the transgression which not only refers to the payment for sin but also deals with the entire OSN, including the good that it produces. This second point of the prophecy not only talks about the payment for sin, but it also talks about what our Lord did about human good as well. You must remember that when our Lord fulfilled the prophecy in Da 9:24-27, He also dealt with our problem concerning human good as well, which most believers have no idea about. You see, most believers do not believe Ps 39:5b (KJV) Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.

Ps 62:9, Men of low degree are only vanity, and men of rank are a lie; In the balances they go up; They are together lighter than breath.

Ps 144:4, Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow.

The production of human good is really more of a serious problem then what the average believer really understands. Because of passages like Mt 6:23, “If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness.” What does that mean? It means that a lot of believers who do a lot of good things do not realize that they are living in the darkness of producing human good. For example, you will recall what our Lord said to some unbelievers.

Mt 7:13-21, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven.”

By the way, what is the will of His Father?

Jn 6:40, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life;”

Mt 7:22-23, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”

Lawlessness is the noun anomos (an’-om-os); which means against the Jewish law; wicked; transgressor. Sometimes the word can also refer to the production of human good. Remember passages like Ro 8:8, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. In other words, a second part of the prophecy in Da 9:24 that our Lord would fulfill would be to reveal the fact that God the Father, the author of the divine plan, would reject human good or the good deeds man could perform without help from the character and nature of God.

So far then the first two points that we see concerning the prophecy is this:
The first part of the prophecy deals with the sin of unbelief.

The second part of the prophecy deals with our Lord dealing with the entire OSN and all of the transgressions of the human race including the production of human good which is also called transgressions or evil. Therefore, with this in mind let us look at The Doctrine of Human Good.

Point 1. Definition and Description.

Human good must never be confused with morality or the legitimate production of the believer. There is legitimate morality and there is legitimate production of good called divine good. However, the problem is that there is also the arrogance of morality. That is the self-righteousness of life described by the apostle Paul as being piles of dung in Php 3:8, I conclude all things [Paul’s pre-salvation human celebrityship and achievement] to be loss because of the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have forfeited all things, also, I keep on concluding them to be piles of dung in order that I may win for Christ.

Human good is the production of the believer who lives in the cosmic system and who does not rely on the filling of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, human good is not valid in God’s eyes. Human good is the production of evil. Whether it is altruism or any form of asceticism or some system of self-sacrifice, human good is the production of the believer in Satan’s domain or kingdom, called in the Bible the cosmos or the world system. Altruism is an unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others.

Now, that’s good, it’s a good thing, but it does not impress God especially if it’s the result of what the flesh or the OSN produces. Not because it makes God angry but because it makes man feel that there is something good about him that impresses God. When in reality, God says Ro 3:10-20, as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one. Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving, The poison of asps is under their lips Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

This is why to advance in the spiritual life, you must distinguish between human good and divine good.

For example, the writer of the book of Hebrews says in Heb 5:11, “Concerning Him [the Lord Jesus Christ] we have much to say [this refers to the CONTEXT which is the doctrine of the High-priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ and the universal priesthood of the believer] and it is hard to explain [difficult to teach].
In this passage, the writer is addressing those under the influence of human good and legalism, and therefore they are very difficult to teach. Relying upon human good and entering into legalism produces pride and pride makes one stupid.

Ps 94:8, “Listen, you senseless among the people; And when will you understand, stupid ones?”

Je 4:22, “For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children, And they have no understanding.”

So the recipients were in no position to receive advanced doctrine. They were ignorant of doctrine, and added to that they had become involved in human good and the religious activity of their day. And so he gives the reason why doctrine is hard to explain to certain believers, Heb 5:11, Concerning Him we have many doctrines to communicate [is the corrected translation] and hard to explain because you have become dull of hearing.

They had become dull or hearing. They were not like that before. They were positive for a while, then they would peel off, then they would come back, then they would peel off, then they would come back.

Finally, they advanced, or should I say regressed, to the place where they became dull of hearing. Once you repeat certain actions over and over again, you reach a place where you just continue to exist in that state or action.

So, in Heb 5:12, For though by this time you ought to be teachers, [or teaching other people] but you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God [basic doctrines all over again], and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness not self righteousness but divine righteousness.

And, notice next, the reason is stated, because he is a babe, or immature. Therefore, verse 14, Heb 5:14, But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

The Greek word for good is kalou which refers to the believer with positive volition toward doctrine producing and recognizing divine good, it means that which is excellent, virtuous, admirable, excellent in its nature and characteristics. The Greek word for evil is kakou which refers to the function of the royal priest or the believer in carnality, the word means intrinsically worthless, evil motivation. The background to this passage is legalism and relying upon human good for acceptance with God. However, the problem is that human good and spirituality can appear to be the same thing overtly but they are not the same in the eyes of God or inwardly.

Pr 14:12, There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

So, the discernment needed today is the same as it was then. Solid food or advanced doctrine produces the ability to discern between being involved in grace and truth or being involved in legalism, human good and self-righteousness. And this discernment only comes from the intake of Bible doctrine or positive volition toward doctrine. Only the believer with positive volition toward doctrine can distinguish between grace and legalism or honorable good and the human good.

So, human good is the result of function inside the cosmic system. Human good is often a reaction, e.g., helping someone because you dislike a person who wasn’t helping that person, or showing someone how much better you are by your Christian production. That’s functioning under arrogance. People often even give because they are unhappy or trying to make themselves look good. The point is that the believer performing human good can be motivated by cosmic one or cosmic two. The cosmic system is Satan’s plan as the ruler of this world to control believers and unbelievers. It is His policy for the rulership of this world. And Satan’s cosmic system is composed of two separate power domains.

Cosmic one is Satan’s exploitation of believers through their own arrogance. This is his means of controlling the human race. Satan invented arrogance, for arrogance was his original sin.

Cosmic two is Satan’s propaganda and indoctrination college to educate and promote antagonism toward anything related to God, especially the grace of God.

Cosmic one emphasizes arrogance and abnormal preoccupation with self.

Cosmic two emphasizes antagonism and intolerance toward the plan, purpose, and will of God, as well as toward all Christians executing it.

The target of cosmic one is yourself; the target of cosmic two is Bible doctrine. In cosmic one, we destroy ourselves. In cosmic two, we become antagonistic toward Bible doctrine. This is why we are told to stay away from the cosmic system.

1Jn 2:15, Do not love the world [cosmic system], nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

The word kosmos means the order, or the government, the system developed by Satan which is alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ. It doesn’t mean that you have to hate the world as such, but it means that you despise those systems designed by Satan which are evil. Can I enjoy earthly goods? Can I enjoy riches, advantages, pleasures, etc.?
Absolutely!

We are talking about that satanic system of deception, where even believers think they are living the spiritual life, but they are not.

1Jn 2:15-17, Do not love the world [cosmic system], nor the things in the world [cosmic system]. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father [personal love for God the Father] is not in him. For all that is in the world [kosmos or the cosmic system], the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.

Loving the cosmic system means deception of your motivation, of your thought pattern, of your decision making and of your action. In verse 16, the lust of the flesh is the old sin nature seeking to control the soul. The lust of the eyes is motivational evil in cosmic one. The boastful pride of life is the arrogant pattern of life, the functional evil of the other forms of arrogance in cosmic two. As the leader of all fallen angels and as the ruler of planet earth, Satan has been able to compile a cosmic system which is a mass of thoughts, opinions, speculations, systems of false doctrines, panaceas, plans, systems of all categories for deceit, policies, and objectives by which Satan seeks to control the world which he rules.

However, although Satan is the ruler of this world, he does not necessarily control the people of this world, that depends upon individual volition. Eph 2:2, “In which sphere [real spiritual death] you formerly walked according to the lifestyle of the cosmic system [world].”

In the sphere of real spiritual death from birth, all unbelievers reside in Satan’s cosmic system and are influenced by it to some degree, depending upon their adherence to the laws of divine establishment. So human good is a part of Satan’s deception because he wants man to think that God is impressed with human goodness. Human good can be characterized by fanaticism and arrogant concentration without doctrinal inculcation. Fanatics can produce human good.

There are three classifications of human good:

a. From the believer living in the cosmic system.

b. Human good of establishment orientation. This is really not human good, but establishment good. An example is the unbeliever who honors the laws of establishment.

c. Then there is human good of the unbeliever registered in the Book of Works. Human good is a reference to anything produced by man apart from the grace provisions from God.

Anything God provides in grace for production becomes divine good. Human good and divine good are antithetical and mutually exclusive. This is why knowledge of human good and evil is not needed for a relationship with God.

Ge 2:17, “But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”

Lewis Sperry Chafer made this statement that really goes along with our doctrine of human good. “The value and delusion of a counterfeit are increased by the nearness of its likeness to the real.”

Human good is very near and like divine good. Human good can be very deceitful because of Mt 6:23 “But if your soul-perception is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness or [skotos, your spiritual blindness]!”

So human good is not just a simplistic doctrine but also a very significant one with very serious repercussions. And this same principle is stated in 2Co 11:13-15, which also has a warning about that which appears to be good overtly but in reality is nothing more than the production of human good.

2Co 11:13-15, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds.”

A remarkable passage concerning the extent of the Satanic counterfeit and the promotion of good. Notice that in verse 13, “false apostles, deceitful workers, are transforming or disguising themselves into the apostles of Christ.” Then in verse 15, they are “servants or ministers of righteousness.” Here are Satan ministers teaching people how to be righteous and humanly good. The purpose of this deception is to imitate the real ministers of Christ and to blind people from the true righteousness of God which is imputed as a gift from God’s grace and cannot be earned or deserved by man. What they do is to gather into their message every available “form of godliness” or really “so-called godliness” and promote the production of human good rather than divine good.

They are promoters of “human good works and righteousness” and they will be very attractive and deceptive since Satan controls them. And why does Satan do this? He does this because he wants to promote creature credit over creator credit. Satan figures that if creatures can impress the creator then he is the greatest creature ever created and therefore should be worshipped as such.

Ro 1:25, For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Therefore, these servants or ministers of righteousness will be very well respected in society and their lives will undoubtedly be free from the great scrutiny and temptations that come from the kingdom of darkness toward those who communicate truth. However, it should also be noted that many times these false ministers do not necessarily know the real mission they have. They can be sincere, preaching and teaching the best things the angel of light, their energizing power, is pleased to reveal unto them. Their gospel and teaching is based on human viewpoint and appeals to human resources. There can be no appreciation of divine revelation in them because they are not filled with the Spirit and 1Co 2:14 says, A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

They are ministers of righteousness, which message should never be confused with the doctrine of grace. One is directed only at the reformation of the natural man, while the other aims at regeneration through the power of God. They are also usually sincere and full of humanitarian zeal. They are always talking about helping others and doing good etc. However, any counterfeit system of doctrine which would omit the power of God and the grace and knowledge which accompanies that power, is used by the strategy of Satan to force some secondary truth which blinds one from the real truth. By secondary truth I mean something that is true, however, it is not being taught or referred to properly. For example, 2Co 7:10 says, For Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation.

That’s a true statement, however it is not saying that you have to feel sorry for your sins to be saved. It is saying that recognition of your need can lead to repentance toward the person of Christ. So, human good is the production of the believer who lives in the cosmic system and who does not rely on the filling of the Spirit. Therefore, human good is not valid in God’s eyes.

Point 2. The Source of Human Good is the Area of Strength of the Old Sin Nature.

All human good in history will be judged because it comes from the same source as sin, i.e., the old sin nature.

Ro 6:6-14, knowing this, that our old self [the old sin nature] was crucified with Him, that our body of sin [the sin nature] might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature; for he who has died [positional truth and being crucified with Christ on the cross] is freed from sin [the bondage of the old sin nature]. Now if we have died with Christ [and we have through union with Him], we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to the sin nature, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let the sin nature reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For the sin nature shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.

We were crucified with Christ as Ga 2:20 teaches, however, although we were crucified with Christ on the cross through positional truth, human good was not judged on the cross so that it could continue along with evil as the issue in the angelic conflict. Therefore, human good was rejected at the cross.
Human good will have a day when it stands before God and is judged and evaluated by the perfect holiness and integrity of God, for the believers of the Church-age, 1Co 3:11-15 2Co 5:10. It will be judged or evaluated for Old Testament saints and Tribulational martyrs, at the end of the Tribulation and the Second Advent, Da 12:3; Jn 5:29; Re 20:4; and then the millennial saints at the end of the Millennium, sometime before the Great White Judgment, Re 20:15.

1Co 3:13, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.

2Co 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Da 12:3, “And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Jn 5:29, and shall come forth; those who did the good {deeds} to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil {deeds} to a resurrection of judgment.

Re 20:4, And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

All of these passages teach that God will evaluate human good someday in the future. Human good continues because Satan still rules until the Second Advent. And Human good will continue in the Millennium to prove that its source is the old sin nature and not the presence of Satan. Human good is totally divorced from the integrity of God. Therefore, it never accomplishes what it seeks to accomplish. It never fulfills its objectives of improving anything.

Man had relationship with the integrity of God in the garden through creation and divine provisions not through good deeds.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service –– July 31, 2016

ALL NEW FORMAT – CHECK IT OUT
EMBEDDED VIDEO SERMON in HD – WITH NOTES BELOW VIDEO
Doctrine of the Pivot; Part 20. Beware of the daughters of Babylon.

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name and Praise the Lord
in our Hearts and Minds.

ALL ARE WELCOME

from - Romans 8:38-39

Hymn #1

Hymn #2

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry, also called the convincing ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and the pastor’s message is the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to convince you what you are learning is true or not.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess [simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins].” NKJV (New King James Version)

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life and you will be saved the very second you believe in Him:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Our guest Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to
teaching the Word of God from the original languages and
making it available at no charge throughout the world.

Sermon

NOTES

Re 1:3 Blessed or Happiness’s belong to the one who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy in found in this book, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Re 22:18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book;

Re 22:19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

Point 5. America and Biblical Prophecy and the Role of the Pivot in the Last Days.

The Harlot or the Whore of Babylon.

IDENTITY 1 - is found in Re 17:1 "Come here, I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

IDENTITY 2 - Re 17:2 "The kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."

The Jews were evil people and they had their part in the holocaust as well as the kings and rulers in the Middle Ages or Medieval period which lasted from the 5th to the 15th century who were influenced by the great harlot of Rome.

IDENTITY 3 - Re 17:3 "I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns."

Re 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Re 17:3 why does the dragon have seven heads and ten horns?

If we were studying the book of revelation, I believe that we would probably conclude that the horns represent kings and kingdoms and the seven heads refer to seven different empires.

Which civil or political power does Revelation 17 tell us the woman gets her 'seat' and 'authority' from? = It is Rome!

Who is the whore of Babylon?
It is the Roman Catholic Church.

There is a great ecumenical movement happening today that is trying to unite all churches and faiths together who are called by many "Babylon's daughters."

Cold or psuchros is used for the unbelievers in the Laodicean church.

Hot or zestos refers to believers who have lived in the PPOG and who have utilized grace and advanced to maturity.

The solution for the cold unbeliever is to believe in Christ.

The solution for the hot believer is the problem solving devices made available through his relationship with God. The alternative is to be miserable...no happiness from prosperity, and poor, or impotent...no power or strength in prosperity, and blind...no perception of truth, and naked...no uniform of honor in time and therefore no uniform of glory in eternity.

"Grace precedes judgment" and therefore the Lord offers them some advice on how to recover.

Many scholars today have now begun to teach why they believe America is revealing itself to be somewhat of a daughter of Babylon, and for some good reasons.

America’s historical religious aspirations are now reflecting Babylonian religion.

Even America’s national symbols reflect Egyptian Paganism.

Our Capitol Building mirrors Rome, the Washington Monument reflects Egypt, our paper money has pagan symbols on it, the statue of liberty is drenched with paganism, Christmas, Christmas tree, Easter holidays are drenched with paganism.

Sexual symbolism found in much of our popular architecture which reflects ancient religions which believe that our connection to the divine was best achieved through sexual rituals.

All mythology has Babylon as it singular parent.

America’s Inclusion of Nazi Socialism Corrupted Our Government.

Many of our leaders on America knowingly and intentionally have invited the spirit of Antichrist into our land.

The common definition of a mega-church is a church that has at least 2,000 or more in attendance each week.

The majority of church-going Americans attend a church with 200 or fewer members.

The mega-church mentality involves a certain leadership, a kind of personality, a plan for growth and expansion, and a set of goals and priorities, dreams and aspirations.

Mega-church pastors hold the most TV airtime, write the most popular Christian books, and affect more church leaders than any other single group of people.

The mega-church promotes counterfeits, like all suffering is from the devil, all sickness is from the devil, all poverty is from the devil and even all death is from the devil.

Anything that is not positive, they teach is satanic which type of thinking is really a form of witchcraft.

Php 1:29 For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

Ex 4:11 "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

The mega-church SAYS all poverty is from the devil.

Re 2:9 'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich),

3Jn 1:2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. It is about soul and spiritual prosperity not an increase of materialistic prosperity.

Mt 6:19-20, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

These Mega-churches also teach that all death is from the devil which is totally ridiculous because that would mean that Satan defeats every member of the human race because everyone dies physically.

Hag 2:8 'The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' declares the Lord of hosts.

Pa 24:1 The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.

Pa 50:10 "For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills."

Php 1:29 For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

Ac 5:41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.

Ro5:3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;

Jas 1:2-3, Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

Mega-churches also often place an improper emphasis on size and numbers to the neglect of spiritual development.

“The building up of the body of Christ” is true church ‘growth,’ which results in attaining…to mature manhood,” (Eph 4:11-16).

The growth of the church should first of all be personal and spiritual, not numerical.

In an effort to avoid this numbers-game pitfall, true spiritual leaders must prioritize spiritual growth above numbers growth.

They should be hesitant to expand the church’s numerical size without accompanying growth on the spiritual level.

Mega-churches also allow individual members to get lost or become anonymous in the crowd, thus neglecting the specific needs of specific people.

According to the biblical model of church interaction, members should be active serving one another, loving each other, and ministering to one another’s spiritual needs; Ga 6:1-10.

In a mega-church, it is possible for someone to slip in for the service and leave, without forming relationships, exercising his or her gifts, or experiencing the ministry of other members.

The larger the church, the easier it is to forsake one of the most important aspects of church life which is fellowship with members of the body of Christ and submission to the legitimate spiritual authorities which exist.

Mega-churches tend to foster an entertainment model for church, rather than properly emphasizing involvement and interaction.

They’ve got top-notch musicians, expensive Audio Visual equipment, plush seating, amazing architecture, talented speakers, engaging drama, advanced technological accoutrements, and even good coffee served fresh in the lobby.

Some would say, “yes.” Others would question that claim, since it is easy for a member to be drawn into the entertainment of the experience rather than the spiritual impact of the service.

Mega-churches are often built and organized based on the interests and desires of the congregation, rather than growing up into Him in all aspects.

Though there doesn't seem to be anything inherently sinful or wrong about mega-churches, we should occasionally stop to think about whether the mega-church mentality is really the way of doing church.

We know that the early church grew by thousands, and those thousands were added to the church (Acts 2:41- Acts 4:4).

There is more evidence to suggest that the “church” was a loosely organized collection of smaller house churches, not a massive single mega-church.

Whatever our stance on the mega-church model, let us be sure that we make the teaching of the word of God our touchstone for church growth.

"Beware of the dog and pony show!"

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The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Weekly Bible Study – July 25, 2016

The prophecy of Daniel 9. The astonishing Prophecies of God.

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Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

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God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings

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The prophecy of Daniel 9. The astonishing Prophecies of God.


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Terms & Abbreviations used:

PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
Old Sin Nature = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine [Bible Truth]
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth

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Alphabetical Listing

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotes and references are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible. However, a few may be corrected translations of the original language.

The prophecy of Daniel 9. The astonishing Prophecies of God.

We begin this morning by noting the principle behind the so-called “Three Wise Men,” who many believers did not know were not believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is true that they came to worship Him but that’s because they were what we noted this past week as polytheist who believe in many gods that they should worship. And to them, the lord was just another one for them to worship.

Our Lord taught monotheism, that there is only one God. He taught the disciples in ACT 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”

In REV 15:4, He is called the only one alone who is holy or the true Holy One, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone art holy; For all the nations will come and worship before Thee, For Thy righteous acts have been revealed.” Either our Lord is a liar and a fraud and the Bible is a book filled with lies or he is truly who He says He is and the Bible, in its original language is truly the word of God and from God. You see, we are monotheist which refers to the belief in one God not polytheist, the belief in many gods.

We believe in one God who has three distinct personalities, who we call the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A very simple illustration is found in the simple illustration of an egg. Sometimes the simple illustrations are the easiest to understand. I could be very technical and show you how all of the illustrations have some form of consistency in them, but the preciseness and accuracy of the illustration is not the goal I seek to accomplish.

My goal is simply to illustrate an analogy which will serve to cause you to understand the concept of the Trinity in a simplistic way. There have been many attempts to explain the “Trinity,” the relationship between God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The most advanced illustration is light whereas the most simple illustration that represents the “Trinity” accurately is probably the example of an egg. Therefore, for the sake of simplicity I have chosen the egg illustration.

The yolk represents God’s “Person,” His Being, and His Holiness which no man can see and is called unapproachable light. 1TI 6:16, He alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. So, the yoke can be used as an illustration of God the Father.

Then we have the egg white which could be used to represents God the Holy Spirit because as God’s Person is unapproachable, the Spirit illustrated by the white of an egg acts as insulation of the shell from the yoke. We know that it is through the Holy Spirit that God can communicate, and speak through and interact with mankind.

Then there is the egg shell, the part of the egg that can be seen that reveals the presence of a yoke or in the analogy the presence of God the Father. We are told throughout the word of God that the Lord jesus Christ is the only member of the trinity that can be seen. For example, since we are in the Gospel of John, look at Jn 1:18.

JOH 1:18, No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

JOH 6:46, Not that any man has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.

JOH 14:8, Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

JOH 14:9, Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

In other words, using the analogy of the egg, as the shell of an egg reveals the presence of the yoke, to see the Lord Jesus Christ - TLJC is to see and realize who God the Father is and the fact that He is present. Also, as the white of an egg connects the yoke with the shell, so the ministry of the Holy Spirit unites the visibility of the Lord Jesus Christ with the invisibility of God the father for us to understand. And under the principle of spiritual metabolism, when of the spiritual egg we do so by the ministry of the Holy Spirit united us together with the Father. And we do this every time w eat the word.

JER 15:16 Thy words were found and I ate them, And Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

EZE 3:1-3, Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach, and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

JOH 6:53, Jesus therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.

So there is a connection between the eating of the spiritual egg. Our Lord’s person is identified by the shell which is joined to the Father by means of the Holy Spirit, because God’s Spirit is said to be the Father’s well as the Son’s.

Another analogy we could use to back up the reason why we are monotheist and believe in the Trinity and the fact there is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is found in the principle of the body, soul and spirit, which man possessed in the original creation of mankind. In GEN 1:27, And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Mankind was originally created with a body, soul, and human spirit. This is why we are told in 1TH 5:23, Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Because mankind lost his human spirit the day that he sinned, he needed to be born again or needed a new human spirit which he does receive on the day he is born again (Jn 3:3-7). God is made up of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, you and I have a body, soul and human spirit. The analogy to the trinity is obvious. Our body is analogous to our Lord Jesus Christ, the overt manifestation of who we are. Our Human spirit is analogous to God the Holy Spirit, the human spirit acts as that part of us that unites our physical body with our soul, the real you, or in the analogy, the Holy Spirit acts as our human spirit and unites us with the Father and the Son. And that leaves the soul which is analogous to God the Father and the real you who we are made in the image of God.

Therefore, in the analogy, our human spirit (analogous to the Holy Spirit) is designed to operate with the physical body (analogous to the Lord jesus Christ) to unite us with our soul (analogous to God the Father) which is the real person. Our Lord said it would be through the ministry of the Holy Spirit that He and the Father would come to us and make their abode or their home with us.

JOH 14:20-23, “In that day [the beginning of the Church-age and the baptism of the Holy Spirit] you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and WE will come to him, and make OUR abode with him.”

In JOH 14:26, He says “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”


It was the Father’s desire to join His Spirit with all of us as well for He has said “They shall be My sons and daughters” (2Co 6:18). In order to accomplish this union with God and man, He allowed His Shell [the Lord Jesus Christ] to be broken with the weight of our sins to cleanse us from our entire sin nature. And the analogy is that through the brokenness of the Shell, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit white pours out into our beings through our faith in what was done and believers are joined with the yolk, for it is by One Spirit we have access to God the Father (Eph 2:18).


So that is why we are monotheist and not polytheist, like the so-called “Three Wise men.” Now, the point is that the interesting thing is that there was a group of men who were watching the prophecy that Daniel spoke of and were waiting for it to be fulfilled. And so they knew about it and they came to worship Him. Who were these men? These men were known as the wise men as history records for us, but even history misses out on the details concerning them, because they were really known as the Magi and were made up of more than just three. Most of us know them as the Three Wise Men because of the fact they brought three distinct categories of gifts to our Lord when He was born. But there were more than the three wise men. There could have been as much as 40 or 50 of them. They are called the “Three Wise Men” because they brought three important gifts which were also related to prophecy because the gifts they brought spoke of the prophetic kingship of our Lord, and also His death and burial. Even the gifts which the Magi brought to Jesus suggests that they were being prompted or motivated by Daniel’s prophecy.

We know that because of MAT 2:2-11, Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, they said “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.” And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he began to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born. And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet, (Micah 5:2) ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler, Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ Then Herod secretly called the magi, and ascertained from them the time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and make careful search for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, that I too may come and worship Him.” And having heard the king, they went their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Consider these gifts once again: They presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Gold - Daniel said in Da 9:25 that the coming Messiah was to be a “prince,” a term that reveals royalty and the perfect gift for a king.

Frankincense - an incense that was used for the “purpose of cleansing and putting perfume upon a corpse.

Myrrh -The Jews used Myrrh for embalming bodies for burial preparation.

It is extremely interesting that two of the three gifts which the Magi presented to baby Jesus related to His death and burial. In other words, the Daniel prophecy contained all the information which the Magi needed to know to bring these gifts. Now, here’s another interesting principle which is the fact that how did the Wise

Men know that the star they saw in the Heavens was so special that they were willing to travel hundreds of miles to Jerusalem?

Why did they set out on a very long journey on camels to go and present gifts to the coming King? Who told them about a king being born? Well, they were followers of a Pagan god called Zoroaster who also promoted astrology and the reading of the stars. And even though God’s people were ignorant of the coming prophecy concerning a king, Satan’s students were not. Even though they do not believe in God or Jehovah Elohim in the sense of trusting Him for salvation, they did, however, respect His word, though not concerning their need for salvation. Like the demons in Jas 2:19, they believed that God existed but they were also polytheist, they believed in the worship of other gods as well.

Just believing in the truth is only the beginning, it’s also knowing and trusting and relying and humbling yourself to the point of applying that which you know that really counts and matters. Furthermore, these men were not even Jews; many believe they were Iranians or Iraqis as followers of King Nebuchadnezzar. Today, in Iran and Iraq, these pagan worshippers of Zoroaster are still around and being followed. How could they have known anything about the impending birth of the Jewish Messiah that had been prophesied for so many years? If we jump 33 years later, we see Jesus weeping over the people of Israel, cursing them because they had not recognized Him as Messiah. Jesus said, “that horrible judgments would come them because they you did not know or recognize the time of your visitation.” (Lk 19:44). The time when God was visiting them.

LUK 19:37-39, And as He was now approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”

Why did the Pharisees want our Lord to rebuke His disciples? Because they were calling Him the king of the Jews and he was receiving their praise.

LUK 19:40-44, And He answered and said, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” And when He approached, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. “For the days shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Please focus for a moment on our Lord’s Words, “The time of your visitation.” The Lord had every right to expect the people would know precisely when He would appear, because He had revealed the precious secret over 600 years before His birth to the prophet Daniel. Had the Jews of our Lord’s day been aware of this ancient prophecy, they would have recognized instantly that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah - just as the Wise Men knew when they came to see the lord jesus Christ once they had seen the “Star in the East.”

If your spiritual eyes are open and receptive to the Spirit, your faith will be dramatically increased. Now, the fact that Daniel was a high official of the royal government of Babylon is also highly significant in our study, because only high government officials or high religious leaders had access to books. There was no printing press at that time.

The Wise Men were scholars and therefore they had access to the writings of Daniel. Furthermore, the Wise Men were Magi, and at the time were of the order of the Pagan Medo-Persian religious god called Zoroaster. You see, the Magi were ancient interpreters of dreams and were astrologers (monthly prognosticators), enchanters, sorcerers, and magicians. The King called them “Wise Men” because they had convinced him they could give him the best advice and interpret any dream. However, today, we would call them warlocks or witches.

Whenever any pagan king of that day conquered another nation, he would take their best young men and their best “Wise Men” to his court to advise him. We see them in the Bible in the court of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. In fact, the Magi had always held Daniel in very high esteem, because he had saved the lives of the Magi in Daniel’s day. What happened is that King Nebuchadnezzar had a horrifying dream sent to him from God, a dream he could neither recognize the details nor what it meant.

So the King gathered together all his “Wise Men”, including Daniel, and demanded they tell him what the dream was and what it meant. He threatened all the Wise Men with death if they could not tell him what he dreamed and what it meant. As the King’s soldiers were rounding up all the Wise Men to put them to death, Daniel asked for a one-day extension. That night, after much prayer from Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, that God would reveal the dream to Daniel.

DAN 2:1-19, Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream.” Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. “But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm, that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean. “Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.” Because of this the king became indignant and very furious, and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them. Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; he answered and said to Arioch, the king’s commander, “For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, in order that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;

So God made the dream known and King Nebuchadnezzar spared the lives of Daniel, his three friends, and all the Magi. From that moment on, the Magi revered Daniel and his God-given insights greatly. They did not become believers in God as the only God of the universe; rather, they believed Him to be the most powerful

God of that time period, and certainly very powerful during any age. They still remained pagan polytheists which again means a belief in more than one God. In fact, they were worshippers of the legendary Zarathustra, whom many Satanists consider to be the forerunner of the real Antichrist, including a lot of those in Iraq and Iran who follow the Sun god even today.

Now, the Magi knew of all Daniel’s writings, and undoubtedly had copies of the Book of Daniel, and therefore, they knew of the prophecy of Da 9:24-27.

At the time of the appearance of the Star, they knew they were within a lifetime of this prophecy coming to pass. When they saw the Star, their knowledge of this remarkably precise prophecy, plus the promptings of the Holy Spirit, caused them to embark on the very long journey to Israel to pay their homage to the Jewish Messiah.

Let us now consider this amazing prophecy from the incredible book of Daniel. We are going to study the prophecy concerning the timing of the coming of Jesus Christ, given in unbelievable detail 600 years before Jesus was born. You will see that God foretold to the exact day when the Jews would be officially presented their long-awaited Messiah! Fulfilled to the letter.

MAT 21:1 And when they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them, and bring them to Me. “And if anyone says something to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” Now this took place that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid on them their garments, on which He sat. And most of the multitude spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees, and spreading them in the road. And the multitudes going before Him, and those who followed after were crying out, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the multitudes were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.” And Jesus entered the temple and cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers den.”

Now, let us read the passage first, verse by verse, with a little commentary to understand it a little better.

DAN 9:24, “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place.”

Da 9:24 is literally saying in the first part “Seventy weeks or 490 years have been decreed for your people [Daniel’s people - the Jews] and [Daniel’s] holy city [Jerusalem]. This all means that in the first 69 weeks of prophecy or in 483 years that the Messiah will make an atonement for sin or deal with sin once and for all as our Lord did and completed at the end of the first 483 years of the prophecy. And our Lord did when he came for the first time.


However, there is still more to be accomplished which He will accomplish at the end of the last week or the seventh week of the prophecy when the Tribulation period is fulfilled and then at the Second Advent the Millennial Reign will begin. Once this happens then our Lord will fulfill the four unconditional covenants or promises that He promised the Jews He would fulfill. And what are they? What are the four unconditional covenants our Lord promised Israel?

The Abrahamic Covenant defines the race for client nation Israel. Abraham became a Jew at age 99; circumcision was the sign, Ge 12:1 3, Ge 13:15 16, Ge 15:18. Just to name a few.

The Palestinian Covenant defines the land for client nation Israel, Ge 15:18; Nu 34:1 12; Dt 30:1 9; Jos 1:3 4. This is the real estate of the client nation.

The Davidic Covenant defines the dynasty for client nation Israel, 2Sa 7:8 16; Ps 89:20 37.

The New Covenant defines the restoration of the client nation Israel at the Second Advent and its millennial modus operandi, Je 31:31 34. Once the seventy weeks of years or the 490 years are fulfilled by our Lord, then these unconditional covenants become a reality and totally fulfilled in the Millennial reign, the thousand year period for Jewish rule and for God to fulfill His promise, covenants, and His prophecies that he gave the Jews throughout the entire Old Testament. Now, before all of these happen, a prophecy was given to Daniel the prophet concerning the exact day of their fulfillment.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service –– July 24, 2016

ALL NEW FORMAT – CHECK IT OUT
EMBEDDED VIDEO SERMON in HD – WITH NOTES BELOW VIDEO
Doctrine of the Pivot; Part 19. Eight major identifications concerning the beast and the Great Whore of Babylon.

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name and Praise the Lord
in our Hearts and Minds.

ALL ARE WELCOME

from - Romans 8:38-39

Hymn #1

Hymn #2

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry, also called the convincing ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and the pastor’s message is the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to convince you what you are learning is true or not.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess [simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins].” NKJV (New King James Version)

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life and you will be saved the very second you believe in Him:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Our guest Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to
teaching the Word of God from the original languages and
making it available at no charge throughout the world.

Sermon

NOTES

Re 1:3 Blessed or Happiness’s belong to the one who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy in found in this book, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Point 5. America and Biblical Prophecy and the Role of the Pivot in the Last Days.

The First Beast mentioned is related to the Great Harlot or Whore of Babylon in Rev 17 and 18, and it is none other than the Roman papacy or the Roman Catholic Church and it also refers to the pope.

There are at least eight major identifications and descriptions of the beast and the Great Harlot or Whore of Babylon which are intimately related.

What is the main lesson behind the symbol of this woman riding the beast?

The Identification Marks of The Harlot or the Whore of Babylon.

IDENTITY 1 - is found in Re 17:1 which says "Come here, I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

The waters represent the people and nations around the world.

When you sit upon something, you are being supported by that which you're sitting upon. - This is an ecclesiastical or religious organization that has support from all different people and nations, a world-wide support.

Jn 6:28-29; They said therefore to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

Mt 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.

Jn 6:40 "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life;

Mt5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
Pleroo:
a. To fill up a deficiency.
b. To fully possess.
c. To fully influence.
d. To fill with a certain quality.

1. To fill up a deficiency means that TLJC came to fulfill up the deficiency that we all had to accomplish or obey the Holy Scriptures.

2. To fully possess means that TLJC fully brought out the full meaning of the Holy Scriptures in His life.

3. To fully influence means that TLJC brought the Scriptures to their intended completion by fully influencing what they were made to do for mankind.

4. To fill with a certain quality means that TLJC emphasized that the Scriptures point to him as the Messiah and are fulfilled in His salvation work.

Ro 8:8 Those who are in the flesh (and we are) cannot please God.

The Expositor’s Commentary on Matthew concluded by saying: "The best interpretation of these difficult verses says that Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets in that they point to Him, and He is their fulfillment.
Law = reveals sin but cannot fix it. (Ro 3:20)
Faith would be irrelevant. (Ro 4:14)
Law - brings wrath upon those who follow it. (Rom 4:15)
Purpose = to increase sin. (Ro 5:20)
Christians are not under the law. (Ro 6:14)
Christians have been delivered from the law. (Ro 7:1-6)
The law is good, perfect and holy but cannot help you be good, perfect or holy. (Ro 7:7-12)

The law which promises life only brings death through sin. (Ro 7:10)
The law makes you sinful beyond measure. (Ro 7:13)
The law is weak. (Ro 8:2-3)

Strength of sin = Law (1Co 15:56)
Law = a ministry of death. (2Co 3:7)
Law = a ministry of condemnation. (2Co 3:9)
Law = fading away. (2Co 3:11)
It produces a mind-hardening and a heart-hardening veil. (2Co 3:14-15)

The law cannot justify anyone. (Ga 2:16)
Christians are dead to the law. (Ga 2:19)
The law frustrates the grace of God. (Ga 2:21)
To go back to the law after embracing faith is “stupid”. (Ga 3:1)

The law curses all who practice it and fail to do it perfectly. (Ga 3:10)
The law has nothing to do with faith. (Ga 3:11-12)
The law was a curse that Christ redeemed us from. (Ga 3:13)

If the law worked God would have used it to save us. (Ga 3:21)
The law was our prison. (Ga 3:23)
The law makes you a slave like Hagar. (Ga 4:24)

Christ has abolished the law which was a wall of hostility (Eph 2:15)

Paul considered everything the law gained him as “skubala which is Greek for “dung”. (Php 3:4-8)

It was made for the unrighteous but not for the righteous. (1Ti 1:9-10)

The law is weak, useless and makes nothing perfect. (Heb 7:18-19)
It is obsolete, growing old and ready to vanish. (Heb 8:13)
It is only a shadow of good things to come and will never make someone perfect. (Heb 10:1)

IDENTITY 2 - Re 17:2 "The kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."

There have been many leaders of nations who was convinced by the RCC and papacy that the Jews were evil people and they had their part in the holocaust as well as the kings and rulers in the Middle Ages.

The Middle ages or the Medieval period began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery.

This is a church that has influenced kings and world rulers throughout the past 2000 years and continues to have 'diplomatic relations' with nations all over the world.

It is the ONLY religious institution that can have diplomatic relations with the 'kings of the world,' in fact, right now it has diplomatic relations with over 180 nations.

The inhabitants of the earth have certainly been made drunk with the false teachings (wine) of the Catholic Church.

IDENTITY 3 - Re 17:3 "I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns."
Revelation 12 tells us that the dragon is Satan, 'that old serpent called the devil.'

Why does the dragon have seven heads and ten horns?

Revelation 17 tells us that those ten horns represent kings and-or kingdoms.

Re 12:4b And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

Re 12:5 tells us that he was "caught up to God and His throne."

Who did Satan use to try and kill Jesus when He was born?

He tried and used the ruler of ROME, who, of course failed, even though a Roman ruler, Herod had all male infants killed; Mt 2:16.

Which civil power does Revelation 17 tell us the woman gets her 'seat' and 'authority' from? It is Rome!

Who is the whore of Babylon?
The Roman Catholic Church.

There is a great ecumenical movement happening today that is trying to unite all churches and faiths together who are called by many "Babylon's daughters."

"There is a common assumption among church leaders and church attendees, that the bigger the church is, the better they are doing

More members, a bigger budget, a new building, additional programs, and better technology are commonly seen as really good things

The common definition of a mega-church is a church that has 2,000 or more in attendance each week.

The majority of church-going Americans attend a church with 200 or fewer members.

The mega-church mentality involves a certain leadership, a kind of personality, a plan for growth and expansion, and a set of goals and priorities, dreams and aspirations.

Mega-church pastors hold the most TV airtime, write the most popular Christian books, and affect more church leaders than any other single group of people.

Php 1:15-19, "Certain ones, on the one hand, are proclaiming the Christ even from jealousy and strife or discord, but certain ones on the other hand because of good motivation" the former category from the motivation of divisive self-promotion proclaim Christ, not from pure motives, since they presume to arouse mental distress with regard to my imprisonment. What is my conclusion? Only that in every way, whether in false motivation or in true, Christ is being proclaimed; and in this I am happy, not only at this time, but I will continue being happy.

2Co 11:4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted,

1Ti 4:1, another doctrine, called doctrines of demons or doctrines of devils.

Mega-churches often place an improper emphasis on size and numbers to the neglect of spiritual development.

“The building up of the body of Christ” is true church ‘growth,’ which results in attaining…to mature manhood” (Eph 4:12-13).

The growth of the church should first of all be personal and spiritual, not numerical.

In an effort to avoid this numbers-game pitfall, true spiritual leaders must prioritize spiritual growth above numbers growth.

In addition, they should be hesitant to expand the church’s numerical size without accompanying growth on the spiritual level.

Mega-churches also allow individual members to get lost in the crowd, thus neglecting the specific needs of specific people.

According to the biblical model of church interaction, members should be active serving one another, loving each other, and ministering to one another’s spiritual needs; Ga 6:1-10.

In a mega-church, it is possible for someone to slip in for the service and leave, without forming relationships, exercising his or her gifts, or experiencing the ministry of other members.

Mega-churches tend to foster an entertainment model for church, rather than properly emphasizing involvement and interaction.

They’ve got top-notch musicians, expensive Audio Visual equipment, plush seating, amazing architecture, talented speakers, engaging drama, advanced technological accoutrements, and even good coffee served fresh in the lobby.

Since it is easy for a member to be drawn into the entertainment of the experience rather than the spiritual impact of the service.

Mega-churches are often built and organized based on the interests and desires of the congregation, rather than rowing up into Him in all aspects.

Though there doesn't seem to be anything inherently sinful or wrong about mega-churches, we should occasionally stop to think about whether the mega-church mentality is really the way of doing church.

We know that the early church grew by thousands, and those thousands were added to the church (Ac 2:41- Ac 4:4).

There is more evidence to suggest that the “church” was a loosely organized collection of smaller house churches, not a massive single mega-church.

Whatever our stance on the mega-church model, let us be sure that we make the teaching of the word of God our touchstone for church growth.

"Beware of the dog and pony show!"

Rev 17 talks about this ecumenical movement, and also making churches bigger, joining together with each other, putting aside your doctrinal differences.

Revelation 17 says that Babylon has daughters, and her daughters are the apostate churches that came out of the Roman Catholic Church during the reformation.

IDENTITY 4 - Re 17:4 And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,

Notice that the main colors of this church, the whore of Babylon is Purple and Scarlet.

It is also a very wealthy church that is decked out with gold and precious stones.

The main colors of the Bishops and Cardinals in the Catholic Church are Purple and Scarlet?

The Roman Catholic Church is one of, if not THE most wealthiest institution in the world?

If you look at some of the coins that the Vatican has had produced, you will see images of a woman with a golden cup in her hand on them. Blatantly boasting of who she is!

The sins of the Roman Catholic Church are immense, with its idolatry, murder, child abuse and so on, that she has committed throughout her history, and CONTINUES to commit.

When the mark of the Papal Church is enforced upon the world, THEN the message of Revelation 18:2 will go out to the world, and her fall into apostasy will be COMPLETE!

IDENTITY 5 - Re 17:5 and upon her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

What about Babylon the Great being the "MOTHER of harlots"?

There is no other church that has "harlot daughters" like the Papal Church of Rome does.

Literal Babylon from the Old Testament is the original mother of abominations, but the Roman Catholic Church is the spiritual mother of abominations that took on many of the Pagan customs of original Babylon.

IDENTITY 6 - Re 17:6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.
It says that she is DRUNK with the blood of God's people.
Did you know that the Roman Catholic Church has caused TENS OF MILLIONS of Christians to be persecuted and brutally murdered?

IDENTITY 7 - Re 17:18 "And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth."
"Her large diplomatic corps maintains relations with more than 100 nations." (U.S. News and World Report, October 30, 1978, p. 24)

IDENTITY 8 - Re 17:6 And when I saw her, I wondered greatly.
This verse is tied in with the persecution by this power upon God's people.

John already saw great persecution upon God's people at the hands of Pagan Rome when he was alive.

It is because John sees an actual professed Christian church doing the persecution and killing God's people.

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

Hymn #3

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.