Weekly Bible Study – December 30, 2019; The Doctrine of the Pivot. Part 10. The Importance of understanding how and why you need to study Biblical Prophecy.

The Doctrine of the Pivot. Part 10. The Importance of understanding how and why you need to study Biblical Prophecy

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try right clicking the link then open in new tab or window; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens.

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 known unconfessed 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, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, 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 simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

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 3:14-15, 16, 17, 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 McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

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

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

The Doctrine of the Pivot. Part 10. The Importance of understanding how and why you need to study Biblical Prophecy

In a world filled with chaos and confusion as man simply seems to be running wild, many people are anxious about the future and the uncertainty about the future and what lies ahead steadily which is growing worse and worse. As our Lord said concerning the last days: Luk 21:26, “Men’s hearts will be fainting them from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world;” Consider 20 million people every day search the Internet daily for answers from religion and Christianity. They are searching for answers about the future yet confusion abounds even though the apostle Paul said in 1Co 14:33, for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. So, confusion abounds, so does fear, and so disillusionment and sadly so also does anger…that’s right even anger.

People have become divided because of the differences they have with biblical prophecies. This is because with so many opinions available, millions of believers and even unbelievers, simply do not know what to believe or whom to believe and what they should do. Yet the answers to their questions are available. In fact, these answers can be proven straight from the Bible. Remember the Bible says such things as Jer 29:13, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

In the passage before you, our Lord said in John 7:17, “If any man is willing to do God’s will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I am just speaking from Myself.” I believe that one of the main problems is the fact that we have ignored certain Biblical principles such as in 2Co 11:3 where the apostle Paul said: But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

We have also ignored certain Biblical principles such as in Matt 18:3-4, where the Lord said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” I am here to tell you this morning that if you are interested in this and you are willing to take the time to prove the truth, the fog of fear, anxiety, disillusionment and frustration will disappear. For example, if you have been following what we have been studying in the book of Revelation, you already have some idea about the first beast mentioned in Rev 13:1; 17:1, the RCC and the Papacy, the Roman empire, and there will be much more for you…if you desire it. But YOU have to want it. You can have it, if you want it!

If you do and stick with some of the principles of learning I have given you – and I am about to give to you, I believe you will soon have no doubt about what the future holds! And not only that, but instead of fear and confusion I believe you will be looking forward to Tit 2:13, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;

This is what the Bible reveals as the Rapture; our Lord is coming back to meet us in the clouds of the air. Now, put on your thinking caps with me, and listen to what I am about to say. Too much is at stake for guess work or blind acceptance of man’s opinions, in fact, more is at stake now then you can even imagine. The diligent Bible student always examines what the Bible has to say about the subject they desire to learn about, Acts 17:10-11. God has revealed to me that the majority of the time, the answers that we are looking for are crystal clear, right in front of us – and right to the point. We are the ones that complicate things. Remember, He calls us sheep not genius. This is something that He has been leading me too. By the way, the pastor who stops learning, stops teaching.

Let me give you some illustrations of what I mean.

1. If you could lose your salvation, like many teach, isn’t it such a serious doctrine that He would not hide it from us but come right out and state that for His sheep to understand it, since it is so important? Then why don’t we have a passage that warns us… “Beloved, make sure you do not lose your salvation?”

Secondly, what about what many of the Baptist teach, why don’t we have a command for the church-age believer that says; Thou shall tithe, or thou shall get baptized in water, Paul said two things about that in Eph 4:4; 1Co 1:14.

Nor does the word of God say: thou shall speak in tongues, thou shall not get sick or suffer because all sickness and suffering is of the devil, thou shall worship Mary as the sinless one, who is the mother of GOD! Why don’t we have these things in writing directly, and right to the point, after all we are sheep! Well, the answer is that we don’t have these commands because they are not true for us today.

Now, let’s take the book of Revelation. Would God foretell plagues upon all who receive the mark of the beast and then leave mankind in the dark about what it is? Would He say in effect, “I am going to pour out My wrath upon the earth with all kinds of plagues causing the death of countless millions on those who have the mark but I will not tell you what it is or make it available for you to understand it” I will not tell you how to avoid it or how to escape from getting it. I cannot explain the mark of the beast, all I can do is show you what God has revealed then it will be up to you! But that knowledge cannot come unless some very necessary background is given to you first.

Therefore, for your sake and mine, I cannot afford to get involved with foolish and unlearned questions that the Bible says just genders or produces strive. We’ll see more of this information as we go on in our study. So, the world is in confusion…but what do you expect when the lights of the world are confused and the salt of the earth, believers, have lost their savor or their taste. Terrorism, war, famine, disease, poverty, ignorance, civil unrest and misery are widespread and growing worse.

Where are these conditions leading and why? The world seems to be just drifting along—sleepy, drunken and oblivious to what lies ahead. The average person has no idea what the future holds—and many do not care. Few are concerned beyond “tomorrow”—and fewer still remotely suspect what is coming in our time. James put it like this in James 4:13-16, Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.

The apostle Paul said in Eph 5:14-18, “Awake, sleeper [or sleeping ones spiritually speaking], And arise from the dead [ones-other reversionists], And Christ will shine on you.” Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

When God’s Plan is understood, confusion, mystery and misunderstanding disappear. Events become clear! Historians can only record what has already happened. They cannot see into the future. Yet, one third of the Bible is prophecy, history written in advance.

Isa 41:21-24, “Present your case,” the Lord says. “Bring forward your strong arguments,” The King of Jacob says. Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the former events, declare what they were, That we may consider them, and know their outcome; Or announce to us what is coming. Declare the things that are going to come afterward, that we may know that you are gods; Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together. Behold, you are of no account, And your work amounts to nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination.

Then notice Isa 42:9, “Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

Then in Isa 44:7, ‘And who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place.

Isa 46:9-11, “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely, I will do it.

God foretells major events before they happen. He wants you to know what the future holds—what lies ahead for the world. Much Bible prophecy remains unfulfilled. Many major events must yet come to pass. Conditions in Europe and around the world will soon dictate that the world is getting ready to receive a single great authority for a short time. The point is that behind the scenes, enormous events are now taking shape. Prophesied world trouble will end in events terrifying beyond description. They will soon stun and shake every nation on Earth! You say, that sounds like dooms day teaching! Have you been watching, listening, or reading what’s going on right before your eyes? Are you going to be like those who Peter warned us about in 2Pe 3:3-4, when he said “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

There will always be pessimists, those critical individuals who just simply can’t stand to see others excited and pumped up about the Word of God. World history is the study of the rise and fall of empires. But few know why great “civilizations” come and go, governments rise and fall—why events move as they do. This thinking is about to change—in a BIG WAY!

We are answering certain questions concerning who the Two Beasts are who are mentioned in the book of Revelation and whether or not the United States of America has a role and if it does, will there be a pivot that is in view in the last days of biblical prophecy. We have already answered two of the important questions we needed to understand as it relates to Bible prophecy.

1. The first statement and question was that there are two world powers which are symbolized in Rev 13 and so who or what is the first beast or power mentioned? We noted that one of the most popular translations concerning this question is that The beast with seven heads is none other than referring to the Roman Empire, especially the Roman papacy or the RCC and the place of the Pope. This beast or empire is mentioned in the book of Daniel which identifies certain nations in Europe who were a part of the Roman Empire. And I have already mentioned who they could be referring to in our previous studies.

2. Our second point or question is: In what year did the RCC and the papacy begin its world influence and power and when would it lose that influence and power?

Answer: We noted that the RCC and the Papacy began its world influence and power in 538 AD and as the Bible seems to predict, it would lose its world influence and power 1260 years later in 1798, when Napoleon’s General Berthier took the pope captive and the papal power received its deadly wound. The Bible predicted that the Papacy would lose its world influence and power at the end of the 42 months. This prophecy was fulfilled in 1798, when Napoleon’s General Berthier took the Pope captive and the Papal power received its deadly wound.

So, here is my conclusion I gave in closing on Friday that I need to give again because I have added some things to it. The Bible predicted that the papacy would have 42 prophetic months, or 1,260 literal years. This prophecy was fulfilled in 1798 when General Berthier, one of Napoleon’s Generals, took the Pope captive and the papacy received its deadly wound (Rev 13:3). Beginning in Rev 13:11, what nation would rise around the same time that the papal power was wounded? Rev 13:11, And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. Therefore, and this is not an absolute interpretation but an absolute consideration or question, what new nation arose at the time that the first beast lost its power and influence? The RCC and the Papacy received its deadly wound in 1798. The United States declared independence in 1776, voted the Constitution in 1787, adopted the Bill of Rights in 1791, and was definitely a world power by 1798.

In Daniel an Revelation, most nations are said to “rise out of the sea.” This new nation is different. For example, in Rev 13:1, And he stood on the sand of the seashore and I saw a beast coming up out of the sea,

Dan 7:3, “And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.”

However, here it says that it rose out of the earth. What does this mean? Look at Rev 13:11, And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. Revelation shows that water symbolizes areas that have large populations (Rev 17:15), such as in Europe. The earth would be the opposite. This new nation would arise in a sparingly populated area. For example, look at Rev 17:15, And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.”

This second beast or nation begins with just a few individuals involved. History says that the U.S. always was large in terms of area, but its population was small, only 4 million in 1790, reaching 7.2 million in 1810, 32 million in 1860, 76 million in 1900, 132 million in 1940, and 321 million in 2015. However, the point is it began as a small nation as far as population was concerned!

Rev 13:11 says that the beast “out of the earth” will have two horns like a lamb. And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, also note that these horns do not have crowns like the First Beast. The First Beast is said to have diadems or crowns in Rev 13:1, And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems or ten crowns. What do the horns represent? In Dan 7:24, it says that horns represent kings or governments.

Dan 7:24, “As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.”

In the case of this beast, the two horns could represent America’s two governing principles: civil and religious liberty, or church and state. In the early day of our nation you could also call these Republicanism and Protestantism. America was the first country to give you freedom of worship without government interference. The absence of crowns on the horns represents a republican form of government, rather than being a monarchy. A monarchy is a country that is ruled by a monarch, and monarchy is the system or form of government. A monarch, such as a king or queen, rules a kingdom or empire.

Lamb-like horns symbolize an innocent, young, and spiritual nation. This new beast, or government, would try to uphold its beginning doctrinal principles. Therefore, only America could fit the correct time-slot and characteristics of this Second Beast. America started out innocent and non-oppressive. The Bible tells us, though, that a major nation will soon war against the saints. In Rev 13:11, we have another description of this nation when it says that the Second Beast which comes up out of the earth; not only has two horns like a lamb, but he also spoke as a dragon. Could it be that America will “speak like a dragon,” because speaking like a dragon could refer to the viewpoint of Satan and he will attempt to destroy God’s true people and force everyone to obey him.

So, America could try and force people to worship against their own beliefs. But, Revelation doesn’t stop there. What else does it say America could do, if this is in view? In Rev 13:12, And he exercises all the authority of the First Beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the First Beast, whose fatal wound was healed. This Second Beast will be a nation which “exercises all the power and the authority of the First Beast which was before him.” in Rev 13:12. And then it says that the Second Beast makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the beast. Could America become a persecuting power that will try and force people to go against their conscience, just like Papal Rome, the First Beast of Revelation 13 did?

Rev 13:12, And he exercises all the authority of the First Beast in his presence. And he causes earth and those who dwell in it to worship the First Beast, whose fatal wound was healed.

Without taking scriptures out of context, that the Second Beast causes those who are alive in the earth to worship the First Beast, whose fatal wound was healed. Could it be that the United States will lead all nations of the world in forcing the worship of the First Beast, the Papal Antichrist. Do you think that an Arab nation who calls their God Allah, who they believe is greater than the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ, do you believe they will have the power to deceive all those who profess to be Christians to now worship Allah and follow the teaching of Mohammad?

I don’t think so!

I think that the Second Beast will be identified as a Christian nation who points to the First Beast, led by the Pope and Papal authority and the Second Beast will promote Jesus but not the Jesus of the Bible. They will promote a Jesus, but it will not be the Jesus of the Bible it will be what Paul warned the Corinthians of, another Jesus in 2Co 11:4, For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different gospel which you have not accepted, but you receive beautifully.

They will promote another doctrine but it will be doctrines from demons, 1Ti 4:1. In other words, the Second Beast will point to the First Beast and promote: Another Jesus, another Spirit, another Gospel, another doctrine. That’s what we have to be concerned about! The Second Beast will make it appear deeply spiritual as the Second Beast will also elevate signs and wonders and miracles. For in Rev 13:13, concerning the Second Beast we read, And he performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. Remember that there are passages like Matt 16:4, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign;”

Notice Rev 13:14, And he [the Second Beast] deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. Could it be that America, the U.S.A. will make an image to the beast by making laws about religious practice. Even going so far as it did when the First Beast was ruling for a certain time, especially during the middle or dark ages, could it be that the Second Beast will require worship to the point of fear of death. This will be an image of the Church-state power that the papacy used in the Middle Ages, slaying millions of saints for their faith. The U.S. could join civil government and apostate Protestantism into a partnership that will support the Papacy.

Notice that in Rev 13:15 we read, And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. This Second Beast, this nation that we might be closer to than what we have thought before, as leader of this international apostasy, will impose a universal death sentence upon those who don’t worship the beast or his image. But, and here’s a very important question to consider, “Over what issue will force be used and the death sentence be passed?”

Well, let’s just read the passage even though these things may have stirred up many more questions that we now have that we did not have before we considered what we have been noting. Rev 13:15-17, And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead, and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

The final issue will be about this: Are you willing to search out the truth and pay the price no matter what the consequences may be or would you rather not! Revelation reveals that there will be two superpowers at the end of time: could it be the United States of America and the RCC and the papacy working together?

The beast of Rev 13:11-18 has some very interesting similarities and comparisons with America and there are many who even believe that the beast mentioned could symbolize America.

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 – December 29, 2019; Theophany is a term for the appearance of Jesus Christ before the First Advent.

EMBEDDED VIDEO SERMON in HD – NOTES
The spiritual things of God are foolishness to the natural man.

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 or participating in a Communion Service, 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); 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 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 Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Terms used by RMBM

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.

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

Sermon

NOTES

Unlike the bible study, these notes are not just for reading without watching the video. These notes are more designed to follow along during the sermon and to bring up the “hover pop-up scripture references” (some websites may require to left click the link, if that doesn’t work then look them up in your Bible) when the Pastor asks everyone to turn to that passage in their bibles.

Sermon: The spiritual things of God are foolishness to the natural man.

Recipient of this Epistle = the Chosen or the Elect ones as mentioned by Rom 8:33 who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;

The foreknowledge of God the Father knows every thought, every word or every deed we would ever perform by the sanctifying work of God the Holy Spirit.

Matt 10:29-30, “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from our Father knowing that the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Verse 1Pe 1:8 because there is actually a spiritual analogy with reference to our subject of a Theophany where it says in the first part of the verse “And though you have not seen Him, you love Him,”

How can you love someone who you cannot see?

You can love someone who you cannot see by learning how the individual thinks about life.

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe Him or you believe what He says which causes you to greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible or +H and full of glory.

This is the attitude of the believer who desires to worship our Lord Jesus Christ who, like the apostles, they can see the main issue spiritually which is that the Life of God dwells in the souls of man.

Verse 8 our “growing up in grace and knowledge” or “growing up by means of God’s grace and knowledge.”

NT Theophany is seen and revealed in certain passages especially the mystery doctrine of the Church-age and is also revealed to us by “Divine Revelation.”

A New Testament Theophany or a spiritual application of a Theophany especially in the New Testament.

Matt 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth;

Matt 5:14 “You are the light of the world.”

2Co 3:2 “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.

1Pe 2:5 “You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood,”

2Co 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

2Co 5:16 “Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.

Phi 2:12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

The main issue is that we should all know the divine principles behind this system of thinking, and why we are here.

One of the main goals of a Theophany is to make sure you are ready to worship the Lord according to the principle that a right thing must be done in a right way.

John 4:23-24 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.”

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

There are so many spiritual principles that are needed under the principle that we receive the Word of God which gives us power in Acts 1:8.

ACT 1:8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

1Co 2:14 = 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 appraised or literally spiritually judged or spiritually evaluated.

The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God.

Because the spiritual things of God are foolishness to the natural man.

“natural” = the Greek adjective ‎psuchikos which refers to the thoughts of the natural man or woman which are known as “human viewpoint;” Isa 55:6-11.

The spiritual individual knows the spiritual information that he needs to know whereas the natural minded man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God because they are spiritually discerned.

Notice what our Lord says in the phrase “not to the spiritual man but to the natural man” which our Lord says that the spiritual man or woman knows and understands the deep things of the Spirit of God.

The natural minded man cannot understand them, (the deep things of the Spirit and the Word of God).

Because they (the things of the Spirit of God) are spiritually appraised or literally spiritually judged or spiritually evaluated.

All of these passages and principles are spiritually appraised and the natural man does not have the power to appraise so.

Luk 3:7 He therefore began saying to the multitudes who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

John said there was coming a Messiah and He would be a terrifying judge.

One of the most misunderstood individuals in the “Word of God” was one of the main prophets of the Old Testament who knew the Messiah was coming = John the Baptist.

There was a time when John the Baptist became a little confused as to when his Lord, Jesus Christ, was on His way to begin His ministry of fulfilling the plan of God the Father.

Everything that John had said about the Messiah, he received from God; as when Luk 3:2 was fulfilled and the Holy Spirit “The word of God came to John.”

Luk 3:2b “the word of God came to John the Baptist, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.”

John was declaring that Messiah had come and he was saying certain things about the Messiah.

He was saying that the Messiah was going to be a judge, that when the Messiah came terrible things would happen.

Luk 3:7-8, He therefore began saying to the multitudes who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance”

Matt 3:7 But when he [the Baptist] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Do you know what our Lord did?

He was known for His mercy.
He healed the sick.
He gave sight to the blind.
He gave hearing to the deaf.

He gave voices to the dumb.
And life to the dead.

Luk 7:33 “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, ‘He has a demon!’

Here comes this guy name Jesus, and “We don’t understand Him either.

He eats good food and He drinks the best wine.

He hangs out with prostitutes and publicans and sinners, the so-called unholy crowd; Matt 9:10.

Our Lord goes to the best homes to eat; Luk 14:1.

Luk 14:1 And it came about when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching Him closely.

Luk 8:3 And Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

John 19:24 the Scripture might be fulfilled, “They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”

They said He must be a glutton and an alcoholic, Luk 7:34.

The Lord said, you know what, you can never ever scrutinize, figure out, and appraise and judge a spiritual man!

Especially, when that spiritual man is busy appraising all the things of God in his heart, 1Co 2:15-16.

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 of their eternal future.

Internet Church Service – December 22, 2019; Are you ready to increase your spiritual relationship with our Lord?

https://ticket2heaven2009.blogspot.com/2019/12/internet-church-service-december-22.html

EMBEDDED VIDEO SERMON in HD – NOTES
Are you ready to increase your spiritual relationship with our Lord?

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 or participating in a Communion Service, 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); 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 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 Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Terms used by RMBM

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.

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

Sermon

NOTES

Unlike the bible study, these notes are not just for reading without watching the video. These notes are more designed to follow along during the sermon and to bring up the “hover pop-up scripture references” (some websites may require to left click the link, if that doesn’t work then look them up in your Bible) when the Pastor asks everyone to turn to that passage in their bibles.

Sermon: Are you ready to increase your
spiritual relationship with our Lord?

Even though our Lord knew the plan of God for His life, He did not let that rulership to dictate to Him how he should live His life for others.

Notice what our Lord was thinking at the end of verse 2 where we read that His job or profession did not stop Him from doing so.

(1) This individual was said to be a rich man was called a “chief tax gatherer” whose one responsibility was collecting money from other Jews, as well as being rich himself.

Being someone who was known as a “chief tax-gatherer” our Lord did not let Himself be controlled by anything that He was trying so hard to get away from.

For our Lord was trying very hard to destroy the motivations that He had to have to be motivated by the inner happiness and contentment that God the Father had for all of us.

“Are you ready to increase rather than to decease your spiritual relationship with our Lord”?

Here it is in totality John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.

What about the words that you studied and that you also stopped them from multiplying God’s life within you or with anyone!

Are you ready to believe what those words that you said were just for you or “Are you ready to increase your love for our God who lives and abides upon us forever?”

(1) This individual was said to be a rich man was called a “chief tax gatherer” = the responsibility was collecting money from other Jews, as well as being rich himself.

(2) We are ready because He made us ready.

Our Lord was very happy and content then we noted that the blessings that we received were outstanding blessings that we enjoyed habitually, from that very same goal.

We are now ready and prepared to satisfy our Lord in revealing God’s plans for changing our plans over to Him.

We all have a unique spiritual life which also has ways of doing such things that our enemy desires to trap us with , Satan, and the Kingdom of God wants to fight with.

Without a relationship with God and seeing things from the divine viewpoint of life, all of these things are meaningless.

Fatalism comes from the Latin fatum meaning “that which the gods ordain to happen.”

Although we believe in divine timing and that there is a time ordained by God for us to function in these areas, when Solomon writes this, he is not viewing it from divine viewpoint.

We believe that God gives you a certain amount of time that you might use it for His glory.

Isa 43:7 “Everyone who is called by My name, I have created for My glory, Those whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

God has created you for His glory and until you believe that and then live for that purpose, you will never find true happiness and contentment in life.

The mature believer regards every day as the Lord’s day, Rom 14:5-6.

Every day we live is a gracious gift from God and it should be a day that we have time set aside for our relationship with Him.

The only time we possess to honor God in this life is the number of days He provides for us in the Christian life, Psa 90:12; James 4:13-15.

James 4:14 “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

Job 23:12 “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”

“treasured” is the verb tsaphan which means to esteem; to admire, appreciate, respect, and even worship.

Psa 56:4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust;

Psa 56:10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, Whose Word I praise,

Every day is a day when we should be learning doctrine and preparing ourselves to glorify God.

Psa 102:23 “In the course of my life, He broke my strength, He cut short my days.”

Eph 5:16 17 “Constantly buying time, because the days are evil. Because of this, stop being ignorant, but completely understand the will [purpose] of the Lord.”

The Philosopher William James said, “The great use for one’s life is to spend it for something that will outlast it!

God’s timing is perfect and if you are in fellowship with Him, you will have peace of mind with everything you do.

If you are not in fellowship with God and you do not have doctrine resident in your soul, you will concede with Solomon in Ecc 3:9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?

Regardless of the circumstances and events that surround your birth, God gave you life at that moment, so that was the right time for you to be born.

You had nothing to say about your birth and that’s why your timing was perfect!

You did not choose your parents; God did.

You did not choose your birthday; God did.

Your volition wasn’t involved at all.

If you have any complaints about your parents or your birth, your timing is off!

Don’t say you were born too late or too early or you would have been better off if you lived during another generation.

God is perfect, His ways are perfect and you and I were born under the perfect timing of God.

If we complain about anything related to our birth or our environment, or our parents, or our home, we are blaspheming God.

Anyone who resents his parents or his early environment, no matter how bad or how good it was, is totally out of sync with life.

Every time you use your environment as an excuse for your bad habits or your bad decisions, you are so far out of line that you are disoriented to life.

All your bad habits and bad timing can only be corrected by believing in Christ and then taken in His word on a consistent basis.

We are all on God’s timetable regarding when we are born and when we die.

Only our perception of what’s happening can be wrong, and that will be brought out in this passage.

People are often bitter, upset, and disturbed because of the way someone they love dies, putting themselves out of God’s timing for the rest of their lives, as if somehow everything in life is unfair to them.

There is a lot of unfairness in the world, but the minute you react, you’re out of God’s timing.

Look at all the people who complain about their birth, their parents, their home, their environment, and their circumstances right now.

Becoming very pushy and trying desperately to make things happen is a sign of being on your own timing.

Your wrong timing as a believer will destroy you and make you miserable in life.

Timing is simply defined as the selection of the best time for doing something in order to achieve the desired effect with maximum results.

For the Church-age believer, timing is a matter of adjusting to and synchronizing with the PPOG.

Every time we make a decision that is contrary to some principle found in the word of God, contrary to the mechanics of the PPOG, then we are out of sync with God’s plan.

“Bad Timing = a matter of being out of fellowship, falling apart; under pressure; being out of the will of God, having the wrong priorities, making the wrong decisions.

Above all, bad timing is lost opportunity under the equal privilege and equal opportunity of God’s plan.

The Hebrew for plant is nata which means to plant, to work, to invest.

Solomon is saying that God has allotted or assigned to you a profession, a business, or a job and also the time to put into that job.

Planting and plowing describe an agricultural economy at the time that Solomon wrote this.

In our day, “there is a right time to invest and there is a right time to reap from that investment.”

There is always a right time in business, in the stock market, to buy property, to get into your own business, etc.

This verse says that whatever you do in life by way of making a living, there’s a right time and a wrong time.

You were born at the right time and you will die at the right time because those are God’s decisions.

Once you’re alive, you must make decisions in life.

Knowing when to plant and when to plow is a matter of understanding the soil, the weather and what crops you’re trying to produce.

Timing in life is a matter of knowing what you want to do in life, what business you want to be involved in, what you want to do to make money to sustain yourself.

If you don’t look at life from the divine viewpoint and you just look at it like life “under the sun”…..time is meaningless even when you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing.

Uproot is the Hebrew verb aqar which means to root up; to destroy, to exterminate.

Before you can replant after your crop grows you must destroy the old to make room for the new.

This is also means that there could be a time in your life for you to uproot or destroy or to exterminate that which you have been planting.

The key again is being in fellowship with God and He is not the author confusion.

If changes need to be made, God has His ways of revealing that to you.

Don’t try to hold on to something that God has taken away.

The Hebrew verb for kill is harag which means to kill the enemy in battle or to execute the criminal.

If you are in the military or law enforcement, there are times when you must practice violence.

In the laws of divine establishment, capital punishment is the way that crime is controlled.

As a result of following this principle, the Jews didn’t even need jails.

A “time to kill” refers not only to capital punishment for criminals, but also to the fact that when you serve your country in the military, you should kill the enemy, for that is your job.

You are not a murderer, it is honorable to kill in war, not dishonorable.

The Bible does not say “You shall not kill”, it says “You shall not murder.”

There is a time to kill and a time to heal.

If you kill when it’s time to heal then you’re a murderer.

The verb to heal is rapha which means to heal; to bind up wounds, to heal medically, physically, to restore life; to save life; to mend or repair; reconcile.

A time to tear down is the Hebrew paratz which means to demolish, or to break away.

The Hebrew banah is used for construction of something wonderful, something great, it can also mean to repair something.

A time to tear down means to demolish certain things in our life or to break away from those things.|

There’s even a time when we need to break away from certain people.

The Hebrew word banah is used for construction of something wonderful, something great, it can also mean to repair something.

It could refer to a friendship, a relationship, a family matter etc.

You never confuse the time to weep and the time to laugh, because once you are in sync with God’s plan, you’ll know when it’s time for both.

God has allotted a certain amount of time in your life for laughing and dancing and weeping and mourning.

Many pastors spend all of their time trying to set people “straight” rather than just teaching the word of God and letting God do it!

There’s a time to laugh even when you’re behind the pulpit!

If your timing is right, you will enjoy the laughter and the dance and you will also have peace and tranquility while you are weeping and while you are mourning.

Laughter and weeping are used here as opposites yet they are a direct relationship between the mentality of the soul and the emotions.

The verb to weep is bakah and it means legitimate weeping not operation cry baby or the tears of bitterness but an expression of emotion!

Our Lord wept at the tomb of Lazarus, John 11:35.

This was weeping of bereavement, indicating our Lord’s great capacity for love.

Our Lord wept out of patriotism in Luk 19:41, because of the coming destruction of Jerusalem.

Our Lord also wept at the cross, Heb 5:7; Psa 22.

This expressed the manliness and maturity of Christ.

He could cry and scream under the horribleness of spiritual death and still orient to the grace of God and pray.

Laugh is the Hebrew verb sachaq which refers to legitimate humor because of relaxation not laughing at foolishness or to hurt someone or to make fun of them and mock them.

I hope my children will not remember me so much as a serious person but as a person that it was fun to be with!

God has appointed us times of tension and times of relaxation and if we have doctrine in our souls, we can enjoy both!

God has given us a certain amount of legitimate pressure and relaxation.

A time to mourn is the kal infinitive construct of caphad which means to weep or to beat the breast and it’s used for mourning for loved ones at a funeral.

There’s a certain amount of time that God has set aside to mourn for those who have died but, only a certain amount of time and then you must pick up the pieces and move on.

You remember them in your soul but you are not to beat your breasts for them over and over again such as weeping over the grave and putting yourself in agony of mind.

If you desire to go to the grave of a loved one, there’s nothing wrong with that nor is there anything wrong with memories that may bring tears to your eyes.

A time to dance is the kal infinitive construct of raqad which means to dance as an expression of pleasure and happiness not as the sexual expressions of today.

C.S. Lewis probably said it best, he said “Pain is God’s megaphone. He whispers to us in our pleasures but He shouts to us in our pain.”

I’ve seen families throughout my ministry draw strength from one another while in mourning over the death of a loved one.

I have seen that same family laugh and enjoy each others’ company right at the funeral.

“gather” = s the Hebrew verb kanac which means to collect materials for building; to collect stones for construction, or to clear a field for plowing, or to prepare the military with weaponry.

Jer 1:10 “See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant.”

When God gives you rest and peace from problems and difficulties, whether it’s to your nation collectively or you individually, it’s time to build and prosper.

2Ch 14:7 “For he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours,

Just like we have a certain amount of time in our lives when we are called to war or peace.

If it’s not literal war, it is the spiritual warfare of Eph 6:12.

There is time when destruction is the only alternative, however, a constructive soul with inner grace and inner power can handle the destruction!
Knowing when to be constructive and knowing when to be destructive takes greater wisdom than any of us really have.

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.

Internet Church Service – December 22, 2019; Are you ready to increase your spiritual relationship with our Lord?

EMBEDDED VIDEO SERMON in HD – NOTES
Are you ready to increase your spiritual relationship with our Lord?

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 or participating in a Communion Service, 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); 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 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 Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Terms used by RMBM

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.

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

Sermon

NOTES

Unlike the bible study, these notes are not just for reading without watching the video. These notes are more designed to follow along during the sermon and to bring up the “hover pop-up scripture references” (some websites may require to left click the link, if that doesn’t work then look them up in your Bible) when the Pastor asks everyone to turn to that passage in their bibles.

Sermon: Are you ready to increase your
spiritual relationship with our Lord?

Even though our Lord knew the plan of God for His life, He did not let that rulership to dictate to Him how he should live His life for others.

Notice what our Lord was thinking at the end of verse 2 where we read that His job or profession did not stop Him from doing so.

(1) This individual was said to be a rich man was called a “chief tax gatherer” whose one responsibility was collecting money from other Jews, as well as being rich himself.

Being someone who was known as a “chief tax-gatherer” our Lord did not let Himself be controlled by anything that He was trying so hard to get away from.

For our Lord was trying very hard to destroy the motivations that He had to have to be motivated by the inner happiness and contentment that God the Father had for all of us.

“Are you ready to increase rather than to decease your spiritual relationship with our Lord”?

Here it is in totality John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.

What about the words that you studied and that you also stopped them from multiplying God’s life within you or with anyone!

Are you ready to believe what those words that you said were just for you or “Are you ready to increase your love for our God who lives and abides upon us forever?”

(1) This individual was said to be a rich man was called a “chief tax gatherer” = the responsibility was collecting money from other Jews, as well as being rich himself.

(2) We are ready because He made us ready.

Our Lord was very happy and content then we noted that the blessings that we received were outstanding blessings that we enjoyed habitually, from that very same goal.

We are now ready and prepared to satisfy our Lord in revealing God’s plans for changing our plans over to Him.

We all have a unique spiritual life which also has ways of doing such things that our enemy desires to trap us with , Satan, and the Kingdom of God wants to fight with.

Without a relationship with God and seeing things from the divine viewpoint of life, all of these things are meaningless.

Fatalism comes from the Latin fatum meaning “that which the gods ordain to happen.”

Although we believe in divine timing and that there is a time ordained by God for us to function in these areas, when Solomon writes this, he is not viewing it from divine viewpoint.

We believe that God gives you a certain amount of time that you might use it for His glory.

Isa 43:7 “Everyone who is called by My name, I have created for My glory, Those whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

God has created you for His glory and until you believe that and then live for that purpose, you will never find true happiness and contentment in life.

The mature believer regards every day as the Lord’s day, Rom 14:5-6.

Every day we live is a gracious gift from God and it should be a day that we have time set aside for our relationship with Him.

The only time we possess to honor God in this life is the number of days He provides for us in the Christian life, Psa 90:12; James 4:13-15.

James 4:14 “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

Job 23:12 “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”

“treasured” is the verb tsaphan which means to esteem; to admire, appreciate, respect, and even worship.

Psa 56:4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust;

Psa 56:10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, Whose Word I praise,

Every day is a day when we should be learning doctrine and preparing ourselves to glorify God.

Psa 102:23 “In the course of my life, He broke my strength, He cut short my days.”

Eph 5:16 17 “Constantly buying time, because the days are evil. Because of this, stop being ignorant, but completely understand the will [purpose] of the Lord.”

The Philosopher William James said, “The great use for one’s life is to spend it for something that will outlast it!

God’s timing is perfect and if you are in fellowship with Him, you will have peace of mind with everything you do.

If you are not in fellowship with God and you do not have doctrine resident in your soul, you will concede with Solomon in Ecc 3:9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?

Regardless of the circumstances and events that surround your birth, God gave you life at that moment, so that was the right time for you to be born.

You had nothing to say about your birth and that’s why your timing was perfect!

You did not choose your parents; God did.

You did not choose your birthday; God did.

Your volition wasn’t involved at all.

If you have any complaints about your parents or your birth, your timing is off!

Don’t say you were born too late or too early or you would have been better off if you lived during another generation.

God is perfect, His ways are perfect and you and I were born under the perfect timing of God.

If we complain about anything related to our birth or our environment, or our parents, or our home, we are blaspheming God.

Anyone who resents his parents or his early environment, no matter how bad or how good it was, is totally out of sync with life.

Every time you use your environment as an excuse for your bad habits or your bad decisions, you are so far out of line that you are disoriented to life.

All your bad habits and bad timing can only be corrected by believing in Christ and then taken in His word on a consistent basis.

We are all on God’s timetable regarding when we are born and when we die.

Only our perception of what’s happening can be wrong, and that will be brought out in this passage.

People are often bitter, upset, and disturbed because of the way someone they love dies, putting themselves out of God’s timing for the rest of their lives, as if somehow everything in life is unfair to them.

There is a lot of unfairness in the world, but the minute you react, you’re out of God’s timing.

Look at all the people who complain about their birth, their parents, their home, their environment, and their circumstances right now.

Becoming very pushy and trying desperately to make things happen is a sign of being on your own timing.

Your wrong timing as a believer will destroy you and make you miserable in life.

Timing is simply defined as the selection of the best time for doing something in order to achieve the desired effect with maximum results.

For the Church-age believer, timing is a matter of adjusting to and synchronizing with the PPOG.

Every time we make a decision that is contrary to some principle found in the word of God, contrary to the mechanics of the PPOG, then we are out of sync with God’s plan.

“Bad Timing = a matter of being out of fellowship, falling apart; under pressure; being out of the will of God, having the wrong priorities, making the wrong decisions.

Above all, bad timing is lost opportunity under the equal privilege and equal opportunity of God’s plan.

The Hebrew for plant is nata which means to plant, to work, to invest.

Solomon is saying that God has allotted or assigned to you a profession, a business, or a job and also the time to put into that job.

Planting and plowing describe an agricultural economy at the time that Solomon wrote this.

In our day, “there is a right time to invest and there is a right time to reap from that investment.”

There is always a right time in business, in the stock market, to buy property, to get into your own business, etc.

This verse says that whatever you do in life by way of making a living, there’s a right time and a wrong time.

You were born at the right time and you will die at the right time because those are God’s decisions.

Once you’re alive, you must make decisions in life.

Knowing when to plant and when to plow is a matter of understanding the soil, the weather and what crops you’re trying to produce.

Timing in life is a matter of knowing what you want to do in life, what business you want to be involved in, what you want to do to make money to sustain yourself.

If you don’t look at life from the divine viewpoint and you just look at it like life “under the sun”…..time is meaningless even when you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing.

Uproot is the Hebrew verb aqar which means to root up; to destroy, to exterminate.

Before you can replant after your crop grows you must destroy the old to make room for the new.

This is also means that there could be a time in your life for you to uproot or destroy or to exterminate that which you have been planting.

The key again is being in fellowship with God and He is not the author confusion.

If changes need to be made, God has His ways of revealing that to you.

Don’t try to hold on to something that God has taken away.

The Hebrew verb for kill is harag which means to kill the enemy in battle or to execute the criminal.

If you are in the military or law enforcement, there are times when you must practice violence.

In the laws of divine establishment, capital punishment is the way that crime is controlled.

As a result of following this principle, the Jews didn’t even need jails.

A “time to kill” refers not only to capital punishment for criminals, but also to the fact that when you serve your country in the military, you should kill the enemy, for that is your job.

You are not a murderer, it is honorable to kill in war, not dishonorable.

The Bible does not say “You shall not kill”, it says “You shall not murder.”

There is a time to kill and a time to heal.

If you kill when it’s time to heal then you’re a murderer.

The verb to heal is rapha which means to heal; to bind up wounds, to heal medically, physically, to restore life; to save life; to mend or repair; reconcile.

A time to tear down is the Hebrew paratz which means to demolish, or to break away.

The Hebrew banah is used for construction of something wonderful, something great, it can also mean to repair something.

A time to tear down means to demolish certain things in our life or to break away from those things.|

There’s even a time when we need to break away from certain people.

The Hebrew word banah is used for construction of something wonderful, something great, it can also mean to repair something.

It could refer to a friendship, a relationship, a family matter etc.

You never confuse the time to weep and the time to laugh, because once you are in sync with God’s plan, you’ll know when it’s time for both.

God has allotted a certain amount of time in your life for laughing and dancing and weeping and mourning.

Many pastors spend all of their time trying to set people “straight” rather than just teaching the word of God and letting God do it!

There’s a time to laugh even when you’re behind the pulpit!

If your timing is right, you will enjoy the laughter and the dance and you will also have peace and tranquility while you are weeping and while you are mourning.

Laughter and weeping are used here as opposites yet they are a direct relationship between the mentality of the soul and the emotions.

The verb to weep is bakah and it means legitimate weeping not operation cry baby or the tears of bitterness but an expression of emotion!

Our Lord wept at the tomb of Lazarus, John 11:35.

This was weeping of bereavement, indicating our Lord’s great capacity for love.

Our Lord wept out of patriotism in Luk 19:41, because of the coming destruction of Jerusalem.

Our Lord also wept at the cross, Heb 5:7; Psa 22.

This expressed the manliness and maturity of Christ.

He could cry and scream under the horribleness of spiritual death and still orient to the grace of God and pray.

Laugh is the Hebrew verb sachaq which refers to legitimate humor because of relaxation not laughing at foolishness or to hurt someone or to make fun of them and mock them.

I hope my children will not remember me so much as a serious person but as a person that it was fun to be with!

God has appointed us times of tension and times of relaxation and if we have doctrine in our souls, we can enjoy both!

God has given us a certain amount of legitimate pressure and relaxation.

A time to mourn is the kal infinitive construct of caphad which means to weep or to beat the breast and it’s used for mourning for loved ones at a funeral.

There’s a certain amount of time that God has set aside to mourn for those who have died but, only a certain amount of time and then you must pick up the pieces and move on.

You remember them in your soul but you are not to beat your breasts for them over and over again such as weeping over the grave and putting yourself in agony of mind.

If you desire to go to the grave of a loved one, there’s nothing wrong with that nor is there anything wrong with memories that may bring tears to your eyes.

A time to dance is the kal infinitive construct of raqad which means to dance as an expression of pleasure and happiness not as the sexual expressions of today.

C.S. Lewis probably said it best, he said “Pain is God’s megaphone. He whispers to us in our pleasures but He shouts to us in our pain.”

I’ve seen families throughout my ministry draw strength from one another while in mourning over the death of a loved one.

I have seen that same family laugh and enjoy each others’ company right at the funeral.

“gather” = s the Hebrew verb kanac which means to collect materials for building; to collect stones for construction, or to clear a field for plowing, or to prepare the military with weaponry.

Jer 1:10 “See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant.”

When God gives you rest and peace from problems and difficulties, whether it’s to your nation collectively or you individually, it’s time to build and prosper.

2Ch 14:7 “For he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours,

Just like we have a certain amount of time in our lives when we are called to war or peace.

If it’s not literal war, it is the spiritual warfare of Eph 6:12.

There is time when destruction is the only alternative, however, a constructive soul with inner grace and inner power can handle the destruction!
Knowing when to be constructive and knowing when to be destructive takes greater wisdom than any of us really have.

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.

Weekly Bible Study – December 23, 2019; The Doctrine of the Pivot. Part 9. The Completion of the Eight identities of the first beast (continued)

The Doctrine of the Pivot. Part 9. The Completion of the Eight identities of the first beast (continued)

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try right clicking the link then open in new tab or window; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens.

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 known unconfessed 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, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, 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 simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

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 3:14-15, 16, 17, 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 McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

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

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

The Doctrine of the Pivot. Part 9. The Completion of the Eight identities of the first beast (continued)

We have now completed our first principle of consideration which had to do with the first Beast of power. For you need to remember we are answering certain questions concerning who the two beasts and if America is involved in the prophecies of the last days.

1. The first statement and question was the fact that there are Two World Powers which are symbolized in Rev Ch 13. Who or what is the first power? The Answer for now is the fact that: The beast with seven heads is none other than the Roman Empire, especially the Roman papacy or the RCC [Roman Catholic Church] and the place of the Pope.

2. Therefore, our second question: In what year was the papacy predicted to lose its world influence and power? When we talk about the influence and power of the papacy, we are talking about periods of time when the RCC and its Pope had world influence and world power. There was a time when there was really no such thing as the separation of Church and State, they were one and the same when it came to world power, politics and religion.


In Rev 13, we are told that there would come a time when the RCC and the Papacy would be slain and lose its world influence and power as it had.

Our second point: In what year was the papacy predicted to lose its world influence and power?

The Answer: Historical records reveal the Papacy began its reign in 538 AD upon Emperor Justinian’s decree, and under the military protection of General Belisarius. Let me give you a little historical background without getting too complex or technical. General Belisarius was one of the last important figures in the Roman military tradition, he led Imperial armies against the Persian Empire, the Ostrogothic regime of Italy, and the barbarian tribes attacking Constantinople.

Now, the Bible says the beast will rule for exactly 1260 years before receiving a mortal wound, Rev 13:5.

Let’s begin in Rev 13:1, And he stood on the sand of the seashore. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. Now, I’ve already given to you who most scholars say the ten horns and the seven heads refer to but that’s not our subject this morning. Rev 13:2, And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.

These have to deal with empires as we will note and then John will begin to introduce the second beast.

Rev 13:3-4, And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?”

Note that this beast is different than the first beast. The first beast = emphasizes a powerful religious organization. The second beast = emphasizes a powerful military organization. Rev 13:5, And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies; and authority to act for forty two months was given to him.

Remember in the interpretations we are dealing with one beast which already was, and another which is to come. However, the apostle John saw both of these beasts as future as far as he was concerned. Make sure you understand this because at the time John lived, these prophecies concerning the coming of the two beasts was future for the apostle John, whereas one has already been fulfilled for us while we are awaiting the fulfillment of the next beast which is to come.

Rev 13 was probably written in 96 AD. First beast – lived from 538-1798 AD. Second Beast = Future beast {?}.

We know this because in Rev 13:5 we read, And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies; and authority to act for forty two months was given to him. Now, remember, especially for those of you who studied Dan 9 with me, that in Biblical prophecy, 42 months = 3.5 years or 1,260 days which also in biblical prophecy can refer to 1,260 years. Remember that in Biblical prophecy that years can refer to days just as at time days can refer to years. Why is this important to understand?

A period of only 1,260 literal days, only 3 1/2 years, falls ridiculously short of fulfilling the requirements of the 1260-day prophecy in regard to the Rome and the Roman Catholic Church and the Papacy. But, when we function under the biblical prophecy principle that says that the number 1,260 days can also refer to years, the year-day principle of biblical prophecy is extended to 1260 years, and then the prophecy meets a unique fulfillment.

How? or Why?

Because In 538 A.D. the Ostragoths abandoned their siege of Rome — and this left the Bishop of Rome to exercise the prerogatives of Justinian’s decree of 533 AD and then the power and the authority of the Papacy grew, and grew, and grew. The Ostragoths were a strong military people of the Goths who were Germans in the eastern Roman Empire.

Now, who was Justinian and what was Justinian’s decree of 533 A.D? Justinian was a Christian emperor of Rome who appointed a man called Pope Vigilius to be one the leaders of all the churches, as the absolute and final authority throughout the Roman Empire. He used a passage from the book of Proverbs which was written by King Solomon about the Lord Jesus Christ, but Justinian said it represented the city of Rome and its Pope, who made this statement as a Pope:

Prov 8:15, “By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.”

Justinian decreed that, that verse referred to the Pope of Rome given absolute authority to the RCC and the Papacy. Justian went on to promote the following statement that he put into law when he said, “The heart of the King is in the hand of God, and it will incline to whatever side God wishes” that is to say, that He may confirm your empire, and maintain your kingdoms for the peace of the Church and the unity of religion; He said “The heart of the King is in the hand of God, in other words whatever the king says, is from God. And at the time the king or emperor of Rome said whatever the Pope says listen to him for he is sent from God to us. He said, “God was literally speaking through him.” And if you did not follow this then you were disciplined, jailed, beaten, scourged and in some cases, even put to death.

Then notice, the next part of the statement, “And it [the heart of the Pope] will incline or reveal to whatever side God wishes.” Total blasphemy. In effect, laws were passed which said in effect to reject what the Pope says is to reject God Himself. You were said to be an apostate or a heretic. Then he stated at the end of the statement this; – “That is to say, that he [the Roman Pope or the Pope of Rome] may confirm your empire, and maintain your kingdoms for the peace of the Church and the unity of religion.”

This gave one man the final authority in the Roman Empire and the RCC, thank God he did not have this authority throughout the world, basically because of the Protestant religion which eventually also ended up with their own system of apostasy. The first Pope was Pope Vigilius (died 7 June 555), he was Pope from 29 March 537 to his death in 555. He is considered the first Pope of the Byzantine Papacy. Byzantine refers to the Roman empire of the East.

Question: “Was Saint Peter the first Pope?”

Answer: The Roman Catholic Church sees Peter as the first Pope upon whom God had chosen to build His church (Matt 16:18). That is when our Lord said what He said about the mystery of the Church in Matt 16, notice it!

Matt 16:13-19, Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He {began} asking His disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some {say} John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal {this} to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Now, when our Lord said to Peter in Matt 16:18, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; He said you are Peter or petros, a chip out of the stone or a part of the rock, and upon this rock, Petra, the massive rock, the fact that He is Messiah, as Peter said in Matt 16:16, Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God, I will build My church. This was one of only a few references to the fact that a new dispensation was about to be launched. For when the Lord said, “Upon this rock I will build my church”, He used the fut-act-ind of oikodomeo [to build] which means that the church did not exist at the time that the Lord said it, it was future.

And every system of theology which tries to start the church in Abraham’s tent or with Noah or with Moses has an erroneous understanding of the Scripture and does not understand the correct biblical interpretation of history. They fail miserably when it comes to God’s plan and mystery doctrine. And that’s why most churches are involved with cleaning up the devil’s world because they do not understand dispensational truth or the dispensation of the mystery.

However, that is not our subject because what I wanted you to see is that the RCC says in Matt 16:18, when the Lord said you are Peter or petros, and I will build my church, the RCC upon you Peter as its first Pope. When in reality our Lord said you are Peter or petros, a chip out of the stone or a part of the rock, and upon this rock, Petra, the massive rock, which is the fact that He is Messiah, as Peter said in Matt 16:16 Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God, on His messiah-ship He would build His church.

For when the Lord said, “Upon this rock I will buildaa, my church”, He used the fut-act-ind of oikodomeo [to build] which means that the church did not exist at the time that the Lord said it, it was future. We are all pebbles or chips in the rock but the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundational rock. This why the apostle Paul said in Eph 2:20-22, that we have been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Like Peter we are all little chips out of the rock, but he, the Lord is the Rock, the only Rock, 1Co 10:4 we all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.

1Pe 2:4-5, And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The RCC teaches that Peter had authority (predominance) over the other apostles. The Roman Catholic Church maintains that sometime after the recorded events of the book of Acts, the Apostle Peter became the first bishop of Rome, and that the Roman bishop was accepted by the early church as the central authority among all of the churches. It teaches that God passed Peter’s apostolic authority to those who later filled his seat as bishop of Rome. This teaching that God passed on Peter’s apostolic authority to the subsequent bishops is referred to as “apostolic succession.”

The Roman Catholic Church also holds that Peter and the subsequent Popes were and are infallible when addressing issues in the World-wide Church from their position and authority as Pope. It teaches that this infallibility gives the Pope the ability to guide the church without error. The RCC claims that it can trace an unbroken line of Popes back to St. Peter, citing this as evidence that it is the true church, since, according to their interpretation of Matt 16:18, Christ built His church upon Peter. This is totally false.

While Peter was central in the early spread of the Gospel (part of the meaning behind Matt 16:18-19), the teaching of Scripture, taken in context, nowhere declares that he was in authority over the other apostles, or over the entire Church). For in Acts 15:1-23 compared to Gal 2:1-14, even the apostle Paul rebuked Peter for his compromises with the early Christian and Jews. And even Peter knew his place for 1Pe 5:1-5, he said he was a fellow apostle, or fellow elder and that there is one leader over one local church or assembly whether it is face-to-face or non face-to-face.

Nowhere does Scripture state that, in order to keep the church from error, the authority of the apostles was passed on to those they ordained (the idea behind apostolic succession). What Scripture does teach is that false teachings would arise and claim apostolic authority even from among themselves, Acts 20:28-30. Was Peter the first Pope?

The answer, according to Scripture, is a clear and emphatic “no.” Peter nowhere claims supremacy over the other apostles. Nowhere in his writings (1 and 2 Pe) did the Apostle Peter claim any special role, authority, or power over the Church. Nowhere in Scripture does Peter, or any other apostle, state that their apostolic authority would be passed on to successors. Yes, the Apostle Peter had a leadership role among the disciples. Yes, Peter played a crucial role in the early spread of the gospel (Act chapters 1-10). Yes, Peter was the “rock” as a winner believer that Christ predicted he would be (Matt 16:18). However, these truths about Peter in no way give support to the concept that Peter was the first Pope, or that he was the “supreme leader” over the apostles, or that his authority would be passed on to the bishops of Rome. Peter himself points us all to the true Shepherd and Overseer of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ (1Pe 2:25).

And so the first Pope who came into power when Rome began its power in the Catholic Church was Pope Vigilius John Paul II. Now, watch this: exactly 1,260 years later the Papacy suffered its deathblow as it lost its world-wide power and authority that it is also claimed in the political realm.

How?

The spectacular victories of the armies of Napoleon in Italy placed the Pope at the mercy of the French Revolutionary Government, which now advised that the Roman Religion would always be a persistent enemy of the Republic. So, the government urged Napoleon to destroy the center of unity of the Roman church, and Napoleon did just that. In 1798 the French Army under General Berthier marched into Rome and proclaimed the political rule of the Papacy at an end and took the Pope prisoner. The Pope was removed to France where he died in exile. The 1,260-year rule of the Papacy was finished, the reference to the First Beast being the RCC with the Pope ruling the world seized. Now it’s just a matter of simple mathematics.

It is also a great method by which to see the Lord glorified. If the prophecy is correct, 1,260 years after 538 AD the beast must receive a mortal wound, Rev 13:3, And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;

Now, if you add 1,260 years to the beginning year that the RCC took over which was 538 AD, you will arrive in the year 1798 AD.
1,260 + 538 =1798

So, according to the Bible we are told the first reign of the beast will last till the year 1798. So, did it end in 1798, and how? First understand, according to the prophecy, we learn that, Rev 13:10, If anyone is destined for captivity, [in others words, the First Beast led others into captivity], to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword [like the First Beast did], with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.

The prophecy is telling us that the beast would be destroyed with the sword (sword = a reference to the military) at the end of its reign of exactly 1,260 years. Did this happen to Papal Rome in 1798? YES IT DID! Again, on February 10th Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798AD sent General Berthier into Rome, Italy. That’s Exactly 42 prophetic months, or 1260 years, sometimes also called a time, and times, and dividing a time after the Papacy began its powerful reign that the Pope “shall go into captivity” by the military. By the way, shortly after his captivity the Pope did in fact die, in exile.

Our second question:
2. In what year was the papacy predicted to lose its world influence and power? Answer: The Bible predicted that the papacy would lose its world influence and power at the end of the 42 months. This prophecy was fulfilled in 1798, when Napoleon’s General Berthier took the Pope captive and the papal power received its deadly wound.

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.