Bible Study - Mr Herbert Armstrong - November 8, 1980
(NB Headings are not part of original, but are added for clarity)

The Beast of Daniel and Revelation

Herbert W. Armstrong

8 November 1980

(PLAY FROM START)

I tell you, it is simply wonderful the communication we have these days. During the Feast of Tabernacles I was able to speak to you the opening day and again on the final Last Great Day. All of the churches and all of the Feast sites that is, all over the United States and all over Canada, and on the first day to England also, and Hawaii.

Last Sabbath, {1} a week ago today, I spoke from Jerusalem to the church in Pasadena. It was night in Jerusalem but I spoke to the morning church in Pasadena. And there they recorded what I said and it was replayed again for the afternoon service in the auditorium in Pasadena.

Now two weeks ago we had a great meeting of the brethren in London. I think there were brethren only from around the London area. I don’t think the brethren came down from up in northern England or Scotland, or North Ireland; but there were a few who came over from Germany and other countries on the Continent of Europe. And we had more than a thousand and I thought they had gotten the message that I gave on the Last Great Day of the Feast. I found out they had not.

And the ministers there asked me to give them that same message, and so I gave that to them two weeks ago today. And we had a wonderful meeting there in London—over a thousand of our people. I don’t know how many of you were out in New York, but I would guess that there must be a thousand or more of you there listening right now.

middle east meetings (PLAY FROM 1:45)

Now the following Monday night, after speaking in London, I spoke (and that was just the following Monday from the Sabbath the day after tomorrow, you might say) I spoke to a very large banquet in Cairo. I spoke for a half hour, or longer. And there were about three hundred or more there. It was a large banquet; many, many tables with about eight or nine or ten seated each round table (at many of the tables) filling the Great Grand Ballroom. And they were the top people of Egypt. And I spoke quite a while to them.

Then at Jerusalem last Monday, I had a good private meeting with Prime Minister Begin. I was accompanied of course (as I always am) by Mr. Rader and also the Mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek (Mayor of Jerusalem). And by the way he had been speaking on the National Network, The ABC Network from New York just about ten days before. But he was back in Jerusalem and he went along with us to the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister’s Office. And incidentally, Prime Minister Begin was in a very important meeting in Tel Aviv. Now it’s a one hour automobile drive from Tel Aviv on up to Jerusalem. Jerusalem, you know is up higher. It is about 2,250 feet elevation, whereas Haifa is right down on the sea shore.

And the Prime Minister left his meeting with several important people in Tel Aviv. He drove an hour to come to Jerusalem to have the personal meeting with me, and then another hour’s drive back. And for that two and a half hours, or a little more, he just left his people of his important meeting in Tel Av-iv just waiting for him. And I mentioned how sorry I was that he had to come and all of that thing, and come out of the meeting and come all that distance to get to see and talk to me. He said, “Mr. Armstrong, I would get up in the middle of the night to talk to you.” Well that sort of warmed my heart a little bit too.

Now I am to have a meeting next Tuesday with President Sadat of Israel. Now I know you’ve all, of course, read a great deal about how President Carter got President Begin of Israel (the Prime Minister) and President Sadat of Egypt together at the White House, up at Camp David. And got them together and had them photographed together with him, and all of that. Well I’m not going to get to have them photographed together with me because Mr. Sadat will be in Cairo, while Mr. Begin is in Jerusalem.

But I tell you what I am going to do, and I already have the permission of President Sadat for it and I told this to Mr. Begin and he was glad to have me do it. He said, “That will be fine.” I am going to give them a cover story on The Plain Truth, and I don’t know whether it’ll be possibly the February number. And I don’t know just which number, it could be March, but I think probably February.

open door to world leaders (PLAY FROM 5:16)

I will have the two of them pictured on the front cover of The Plain Truth. And then I am going to write quite an article about my meetings with them and about the whole situation in the Middle East. Now that is a boiling pot of the whole world right now. That’s where the trouble spot is. Not anywhere else. It is there.

And I know the world has been looking on the United States the last few days because (what was it three days ago, four days ago?) we had the elections. And incidentally I might just say a few things about that. Now the governments of this world are all the ideas of human men. What Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden, they took to themselves from The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Instead of letting God give them the knowledge of what is good, and what is evil; and tell them what is sin and what is righteousness, they said they would decide for themselves. They would manufacture the knowledge in their own minds of what they thought was good, and what they think is evil. So, their children are the World.

You look at the whole world today, four billion people and more. And you see, last December I was speaking to the top leaders of one fourth of all of those people in China. And one of the Vice-Chairmen (there are two Vice-Chairmen who run the government in China) and I was speaking to one of the two Vice-Chairmen. And they are molding the thoughts, the thinking, the believing of one fourth of all of the people on earth—one billion people. That is a lot of people.

God has opened doors for me to see more Heads of Government, more Presidents, more Chairmen, Prime Ministers, more Kings than any other man in the world. Nobody else, except Mr. Rader who always goes with me, has ever seen as many. I have seen them in South America. I have seen them all over Europe. I have seen them in South Africa, in West Africa, in East Africa, in North Africa. I have seen them in the Middle East. And I know the Arab leaders. I know King Hussein. I know President Sadat.

I know the President (or who was the President — but he still really acts as President, though he officially resigned) of Lebanon. I spent a day with him in his mountain home up in the mountains. That’s before the great trouble in Beirut.

Beirut has practically been destroyed by all that trouble that has happened since. But I did have quite a whole day’s visit with the President there. And with those in Asia; with the Emperor of Japan, with the head people of China, with the top people in Korea, and with the President of South Vietnam before he had to move out, and the Communists took over. And so it goes.

Now just day before yesterday, Mr. Rader and I had luncheon once again with King Leopold the Third of Belgium. He is a very dear friend of mine. He’s been a guest in my home out in Pasadena, and I had not seen him now in almost four years. It was nice to see him and his wife in their home at the Chateau. And incidentally, they are living at, or just adjacent to, Waterloo.

Now Waterloo is where Napoleon had his final defeat. They call it “his Waterloo,” as they say. Well that’s where Napoleon was finally destroyed and the government that he had had of the so-called Holy Roman Empire.

the holy roman empire (PLAY FROM 9:19)

Now that’s what we’re expecting next over here in Europe, is that there will be a union of ten nations going together in Europe and the Pope at Rome will sit on top of the whole heap. There will be one man over all the governments. There will be a King (or, I don’t know whether you will call him a President, a Prime Minister; whatever term they give him, I don’t know) over each one of the ten nations.

Now I did think… Let me just say I did think that Belgium, and Sweden, and Norway and countries like that would be in it. And I have sort of changed my mind a little bit. You see the Bible doesn’t tell us just which nations. The Bible only tells us there will be ten. And it doesn’t tell us which, and so I can’t know. But now I am beginning to think that the Polish Pope may bring Poland in. And they are having labor trouble right now. It’s in this morning’s newspaper right over here in Paris.

There is going to be another labor trouble in Poland, and as you know Romania is not really very enthusiastic with the Soviet, and neither is Yugoslavia. And I can begin to see some of those nations breaking loose from the Russian orbit and going in.

Instead of the Scandinavian nations, they will go in with France and Germany; and with Spain and Portugal and Italy, and form the ten nations with the Roman...and that will be the same territory that was occupied by the old Roman Empire. That is coming along.

Now I have as I said, a meeting scheduled in Cairo next Tuesday with President Sadat. And incidentally our whole television crew are over here and they will be, on Monday, getting in, getting their cameras all set up and everything for this, as they did, and we were completely photographed in the meeting with Prime Minister Begin of Israel. And I am doing what I can to help bring about peace between these nations. But I tell you brethren, there is not going to be any peace until Christ comes and gives us all peace in the government of God.

founder of public opinion polls (PLAY FROM 11:46)

The governments of the world, today are on a competitive basis. Everybody is living in a competitive manner, one person against another. In sport it’s all competition. In politics it’s all competition. Brethren, let me tell you something. You may not realize this, I have said it before, but maybe you didn’t quite get it. Do you know who first started this idea of taking polls of public opinion? Do you know who started it? Who the real founder of that was? It was myself. I did it back in the year of 1915, and that’s before a great many of you were born.

And I did it for a national magazine, and I can show you yet, copies of that national magazine publishing that report of merchandising and retail conditions in the little town of Richmond, Kentucky.

Then I made another survey up in Lansing, Michigan. And after that I made surveys in other cities. And I started this thing of making surveys of public opinion. And let me tell you, I have known all along, and I was writing newspaper editorials on a newspaper back in 1932,{2} and I was showing that the polls were not predicting who would win the election that year. And they didn’t.

You remember that was the year that FDR (Franklin Roosevelt) was running against Hoover. And the polls said it was about even, and I knew it was not going to be even, because I said “the polls are not accurate.” You know why? They don’t know how to do it. They don’t get information from a large enough percentage of all the people. And they don’t get information from the right percentage of each block.

For example, in the vote we have the Catholic vote, the Jewish vote and the Protestant vote. We have the black vote, the white vote, the capital vote, and the management vote, the labor vote. We have this vote and that vote. Well you’ve got to know what percentage of the people are in each group and how they go. And they don’t do that. They just take a few here and there, and they don’t know how to take a poll.

But I did start all this poll business regardless, myself, and I know something about it. Well, I won’t take time because I know there is going to be a sermon, and Dr. McCarthy is there, I understand, today and I don’t want to take up his time. So I am going to stop right here.

I am sure you all know…..I must say a little something. The State of California has dropped the law suit against God’s Church. I’m sure you all know that.

And there will be something about it of course in The Plain Truth and the Worldwide News. And I just sent something in, that I just finished writing since I have been here in Paris, and where we’re just stopping off so that we can go up and see King Leopold and have lunch with him. And then we are on our way tomorrow back to Cairo, Egypt for the meeting with President Sadat. Now I’ll get to you in New York when I can.

how satan influences governments (PLAY FROM 15:08)

But the governments in this world are all influenced on the idea of get. Now every vote group (I mentioned all these groups in the vote) every group wants to GET what is right for them to get for their interests. They don’t care what happens to anyone else.

What about the politicians? Well they want to get the vote. They just want to get the POWER. And that’s what it was in the law suit against the Church. There was the Attorney General of California. He wants to be the Governor. He wants more power. He’s going to run for Governor next time.

Well his law suit against us didn’t advance him like he thought it would. It hurt him. Anyhow, we did have a little something to do without playing any politics. We had a little something to do with the California Legislature making void the law on which the Attorney General based his whole LAWSUIT.

He was going to take over our Church and if we went, EVERY OTHER CHURCH would have been taken over by the Governor, or by the Government of California. But now he doesn’t have a leg to stand on, so he dropped the law suit and we have won a great victory there. But always there’s the ecstasy of winning — the agony of losing.

President Carter and his wife Rosalind went into a room and in agony they burst out in tears, and they just cried aloud. It was so hard. And of course Mr. Reagan is all up in ecstasy. I had to think; four years ago Mr. Carter and his wife Rosalind were in ecstasy, and President Ford and his wife were in agony. And they were probably crying tears because they lost. Now did that spoil the ecstasy of President Carter? No, I don’t think it did. He was so happy that he won he didn’t care if it did hurt them. Or is that true now?

I know that’s a pretty strong statement, but just think about that a minute. That is the way Satan has got into all of us. He’s got it into our minds. We don’t care what happens to the other fellow. The average person says, “Well I don’t feel it if he suffers. It doesn’t make me suffer, I am not suffering, what do I care if the other guy suffers?” Brethren in the Kingdom of God we are going to care if the other man suffers, and we are going to try to keep the other man from suffering. We are going to try to have all of us enjoy the ecstasy and nobody having to suffer {3} the agony.

the problems are spiritual (PLAY FROM 17:46)

You know our troubles in this world are all spiritual, and people don’t know that; and they can’t think spiritually because they don’t have a spiritual mind. You can’t have a spiritual mind without the Holy Spirit of God; and the people in the world don’t have that. So until Christ comes, and until He sets up the Government of God…

And incidentally, the only place in the world, where for hundreds and hundreds of years, where the Government of God has been effective, is in our Church right now. And the government of man was trying to destroy that Government. God didn’t let them destroy it, and we have won that great victory. God is still on His throne and don’t you ever forget it.

Well brethren, I’ll come see you when I can. I can’t tell you when that will be. I don’t know whether it will be next month or next year, or longer. I need to go so many places. I need to see so many of our brethren and churches. I’ll get to you when I can. I do think of you. I pray for you daily brethren. I think of you a lot and I need your prayers.

So I am going to turn everything over now. I have taken some of Dr. McCarthy’s time, and I mustn’t take any more. Thanks for letting me talk to you from Paris, France. It’s afternoon here. It will soon be dark and the day is almost spent over here. The Sabbath Day is gone. We are still going to have another little Bible study before sunset. And so you go ahead and have your service there. So, bye-bye everybody. God bless you all.

---

Bible study continues (PLAY FROM 19:31)

Okay now we are having a little Bible study in the Sabbath over here in our apartment in the Plaza Athénée Hotel, in Paris, France. Yesterday it happened that I had mentioned something about the governments of the world and about the way governments were two-thousand-five-hundred years ago, and on to now.

And I would like to go into some of the prophecies along that line, since this is being recorded and many people are going to hear it. I think I have not gone into a subject of this kind for a long time now and I think it might be quite interesting.

First, let me preface it, this way, by saying this. Before all things else, where did everything come from? Here we are — people, and we, we’re only here for a little while. We have to eat food and drink water to keep going, to give us fuel, to give us energy to live and work with. We have to have a heart in each one of us to pump blood all through our system.

We have to have lungs to breathe air; and the blood goes through the lungs on the way back to the heart.

We have many systems in the body that have to keep going to keep us alive. So there is the circulatory system of blood. There is the digestive system that digests our food — the eliminative system. Some of it has to be eliminated that isn’t burned up and used in energy and in work.

There are many marvelous things in the human body. And then there is the human mind.

But what happened? This didn’t just happen. It had to be designed. It had to be planned and someone had to think it out and someone had to produce it.

two personages in the godhead (PLAY FROM 21:39)

Now before all else, you read in the book of John in the New Testament, where we have Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (which are really the biography’s of the life of Jesus Christ): And the beginning of John, which originally was really the first book in the New Testament; now we have it the fourth. It says:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was [also] God.

Now “Word” is translated from the Greek word in which it originally was written by John. It was written in the Greek language and it means just what is says, “Word” or it means a “Spokesman,” the one who speaks. But He was God... but He also was with God.

Now there are Two Personages and they both are God, but the One is the head of the Other.

The One that is the Word, (we read in the fourteenth verse of that same chapter) was made flesh. In other words, born as a human being and dwelt among us. Then He was born as Jesus Christ about nineteen hundred and seventy, or eighty years ago, or ninety years ago. He became Jesus Christ.

Now Jesus Christ had been God. They had always existed. Your mind can’t conceive that. It’s impossible for you to really believe that. I can’t believe it, but I know someone had to always live. And God had a great supreme superior mind. He could think. He could plan. and they had to think and plan. And you know they might have been thinking and planning for thousands (it might have been millions) of years before they decided on what to create and what to make and what to produce.

angels created first (PLAY FROM 23:45)

The first thing they created were angels. Now God is a Spirit. Christ was then with God and He was a Spirit, He hadn’t been born as a human being yet. They were composed of Spirit. They didn’t have a heart pumping blood. They didn’t have to eat food for fuel. They had always existed and they had self containing life.

But they had to think and they had to think out what they wanted to create and design, and plan it and design it. They created angels. They set angels on the earth when they created the earth, instead of man. That’s long before man was created. And so they set angels here.

Now there was one thing God could not create and that was character in those angels. And their creation was not complete until they had formed a character, one way or the other.

Now either they had to form a character that is holy, righteous, perfect; without anything wrong in it whatsoever — a spiritual character{4} or a wrong character. God could give them [a] mind – and He did. But He could not….

If He had made them so they had to be right and have a right character, it would be just like man making a machine that has to do what man makes it do. It can’t think.

And in order to have personality; in order to have character; in order to be personal beings, God had to make them with minds that could think, and that could plan, and that could make decisions.

And they had to decide if they were to have the good character that God had — and God had the perfect character; always deciding and doing the right thing. Then they had to decide that for themselves.

God put them on earth. Now He put angels on earth, and apparently put a third of all the angels on earth with them. And the angels had to develop character. Now to do that God, to govern their lives so they would live the right way, and so they would have peace instead of always having conflict; they would have harmony instead of disharmony and war; they would build up instead of trying to tear down and destroy: God gave them a way of life. He made that way of life a foundational law. He gave them a government.

The way of give and the way of get (PLAY FROM 26:40)

Now you cannot have a government without a basic foundational law, or a constitution, on which your government is based. In the United States we have the Constitution of the United States. We have one for every State in the Union. There is a basic law for every city, for every county, for every state, for every nation. The basic law of the government of God is simply the way of life that is summed up in the one word Love; but it is out flowing love, not incoming love, because then incoming love is lust.

And I don’t like to use the word “love” because people today call illicit sex, “love” and that’s not love at all. That is lust. But it is out flowing, so I use the word “give” to show it’s out from yourself. The transgression of that way, (or the wrong way then) is “get.” I use the word “get” and “give.” That makes it simple and people can understand and as I speak to people in foreign nations and before crowds of people in foreign nations, I use the words “give” and “get” and they can understand that.

So God’s basic law, and the basic law of the government He put over those angels was love – out flowing love (or give) for everybody. It’s the way of cooperation, not competition. It’s the way of serving, not being served. It is the way of sharing, not taking away from other people; the way of helping, not hurting other people; the way of building up and building together with other people, instead of destroying and tearing down.

Well, so God set the angels on the earth and He set this Lucifer on the throne of the whole earth and Lucifer was set here to administer that government of God and administer that basic constitution (or way of life) which is give. But Lucifer rebelled. Lucifer said I think God is wrong. I think that competition is better. I think, “Look at the ecstasy you get from winning, from competition.”

Now I have just been talking about the ecstasy that Mr. Reagan just had here...what was it, three or four days ago on a great landslide victory when he won. But there was the agony that poor President Carter had to suffer. And President Carter and his wife, Rosalind went into a room alone, closed the door, and others could hear them just crying aloud in agony. But you know, I had to think, four years ago President Carter was in ecstasy because he won, and Gerald Ford and his wife were in agony because they lost four years before.

Do you think that hurt Mr. Carter’s ecstasy? No, he was enjoying the winning. He didn’t care. The fact they (the Ford’s) were suffering didn’t hurt Mr. Carter did it? Well I wrote something about that earlier today and I said, “I wished that Mr. Carter might be able to read what I just wrote,” because he would say, “It’s no skin off my nose. It didn’t hurt me that the other guy suffered.” But now, maybe it’s not hurting Mr. Reagan any that Mr. Carter is suffering.

In our way of life is the way that that Super Archangel Lucifer, that God put on the throne; he rebelled and wanted the get way. He says, “I’d rather take and have. It isn’t going to hurt me if the other guy suffers. What do I care if he suffers? I want to have everything for myself.” So he became Satan the Devil. But he is still today sitting on that throne.

Now Satan, he was the former Cherub Lucifer. He is an immortal spirit being. He’s not a mortal human being like we are. He doesn’t have a heart. He doesn’t have to eat food. He has self-containing life and he still lives even today. He was living when Adam was put on the earth six thousand years ago. He is living yet today.

adam's choice (PLAY FROM 31:31)

So then God created man on the earth. Well, the earth had become rather devastated and God, in six days, renewed the surface of the earth as you read in the one hundred and fourth Psalm and verse thirty. But He prepared it for man and then God created man. And the first man Adam, was given a chance to restore the government of God to the earth. But to do that, he had to reject the way that Lucifer had gone, and the angels. He had to go the way of God’s character (the way of love).

But he let his wife Eve be deceived by Satan and Adam went right along. Eve grabbed him by the nose and said, “You come along here with me husband; we’re going to TAKE to ourselves the knowledge of what is right and what is wrong.” So they took of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. They rejected God. They rejected the way of God. They rejected the government of God.

Now let me tell you why that’s so important. The only place on earth today where the government of God has been restored like God put it originally, is in the Church of God (The Worldwide Church of God). And this whole thing of the State of California and its law suit was an effort by the governments of Satan to destroy the government of God. That’s what it was all about.

I’m nothing. I’m a nobody. But God did call me; and Christ has been using me and opened my mind to see this, and to start the church based on the government, and based on that law of give instead of get. And to teach that way, and that is what we are trying to do and trying to live.

Satan is the one who is ruling. Now Adam was the progenitor of the whole human race. He had children. They had children. Their children had children, and the whole world has come from Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve made the decision for this WHOLE WORLD and they made the decision to reject the government of God, and the way of God and to go the way of Satan.

cut off from god (PLAY FROM 34:08)

So look at our sports and athletics. One team wins, the other team has agony. The one has ecstasy and the other has the agony. Everything is competition and strife, trying to hurt one another in this world. It’s a wrong way to live, but the world is living that way. That law suit against the church was merely Satan using one of the governments.

You see, God said to Adam; “You have made the decision for all of your children. And all of your children will be the whole world as it will be when there are four billion people on earth. And you have made the decision.” All God did was make what Adam had decided, binding. Adam made the decision, not God.

Adam cut all of his children off from God. They’re cut off from God. They can’t reach God. They can’t know God. They don’t know about God. And Jesus Christ said, “No man can come to me, except the Father draws him,” God the Father which sent Christ. The world is cut off from God.

Now then, God said, “You go and form your own governments.” I won’t go into the rest of it. They were to form their own kind of society and their sports and everything else. But we’re going to talk on government for a little while now. He said, “Go form your own governments.”

Satan had been the one who was to have administer the government of God and he had put a different kind of government on and Satan didn’t want God’s government on the earth. Adam had turned to Satan and Satan’s way and Adam’s children were going to be led by Satan and they were cut off from God, but they weren’t cut off from Satan! Oh no! So men formed the governments on the earth.

first world ruling empire (PLAY FROM 36:02)

Now we come along to about the year of 604BC. Six hundred and four years before Christ. And I want to read you a little now from the book of Daniel: In the very first of Daniel beginning the first chapter, and the first verse.

Daniel 1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim… [Now he was the king of Judah, and they were still living in Judea. And the king Jehoiakim was reigning in Jerusalem where we just were about four or five days ago.] In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim [who was the] king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar [the] king of Babylon…

Now Nebuchadnezzar had now raised up and organized the first world empire. The greatest government that ever existed since Adam was created on earth. And he came to Jerusalem and besieged it in war. Now he conquered it and he took the Jews, slaves to Babylon.

Daniel 1:2-4 (And) the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into [Nebuchadnezzar’s] hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried… [And so on… Now then;]. (3) And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, (and) of the king’s seed, and of the princes; (4) Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, (and) such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.

In other words, those Jews were just a little bit smarter in their minds than the other people, and the king of Babylon knew it. And he said; “Pick out the most brilliant young Jewish people and bring them over here and we can use them in our government.” So he took four. There was Daniel and his three friends.

I just wanted to show you a little bit there. Now farther in the first chapter we read this; beginning with verse seventeen.

nebuchadnezzar's dream (PLAY FROM 38:40)

Daniel 1:17 As for these four children...

Now they were selected. They were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, his three friends. As for these four children (well they were grown men); they were about like these two young men we have right here in the room with us – Kevin and Aaron Dean, who are both married and have children but are still young men.

Daniel 1:17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in (all) visions and dreams.

Now get that, Daniel had been given understanding in visions and dreams. Now then we come to the second chapter and I just want to give you a little of it here and we’ll get through it as fast as we can.

Daniel 2:1-9 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, [now Nebuchadnezzar is the big pagan king up in Babylon — over in pagan Babylon, where the religion was the Babylonian Mystery Religion] Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. (2) Then the king commanded to call the magicians (and) the astrologers and the sorcerers, (and) the Chaldeans for to shew the king his dreams. So they came... (3) And the king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. (4) Then spake the Chaldeans to the king...[said] O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream and we will shew [you what it means. We’ll tell you] the interpretation. (5) The king answered [and he was just a little too smart for them. He was going to try them and he was going to put them to the test. The king answered] and said to the Chaldeans, the thing is gone from me: [I don’t remember my dream, don’t remember what it was] if ye will not make known unto me the dream, [with] the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. (6) But if ye shew [me] the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me... [tell me what I dreamed, and when you tell me it will come back to me. Well,] (7) They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew [you] the interpretation (of it.) [But] (8) The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain this time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. (9) But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me...

So he was going to put them to death, in other words. I won’t read the rest of that right there. But they told him that, “There is no-one but the gods that can show you what you dreamed. We are only human. We can’t do that.”

Well anyway, they were going to be put to death. Then it was finally discovered that God had given Daniel skill to know dreams. And Daniel was brought before the king. And these other astrologers and fortune tellers, they wanted Daniel to do it because it would save their lives for them. Daniel was brought to the king.

Daniel 2:27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, [I’m way over in verse 27 now.. and said to the king:]

the great image (PLAY FROM 42:32)

Daniel 2:27-28 …, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; (28) But [Daniel said] there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and [will] maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. [Now he’s talking about something that is going to happen in your life time and mine, right down here in the end of this twentieth century. Now that’s why it is important for us today. Something that will happen at the latter day] Thy dream, and the visions [on your] head (upon thy bed,) are these;

Then he told him that there was a great image that he saw. It went WAY UP like a skyscraper in the sky, a great, huge image. Let me give you a quick description.

Daniel 2:31-35 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. [This is verse 31 now – verse 31] This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. (32) This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, (33) His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. (34) Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, [in other words, no human did it – cut out supernaturally by God] which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, [Now notice it didn’t strike the head; it only struck the feet. I’ll explain that in a minute] and brake them to pieces. (35) Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind [blew] them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain,

A mountain, I mentioned to some of you yesterday, is used in symbol in the Bible to mean a nation: Became a great nation... and filled the whole earth. A great kingdom that will fill the whole earth.

Now actually that stone was to be Christ and Christ, at His second coming, is going to do that. And that hasn’t happened even yet.

Daniel 2:36-37 [That] is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. (37) Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

nebuchadnezzar, the head of gold (PLAY FROM 45:11)

Now there is a purpose in this. Here was a gentile. God had, had Israel and Judah to be His nations and they had both failed Him. They had refused to obey the Constitution (or the basic law of their government), which was the law of God — the way of give, the way of outflowing love. And they wouldn’t live that way.

And now here was the gentile that had built the greatest world empire. And God was going to give this gentile king a chance to see if he would surrender to God. And God would then let this gentile be His servant and put in the government of God over the earth. Now King Nebuchadnezzar is being given a chance, like Adam had been given a chance originally.

Daniel 2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee [that is this King Nebuchadnezzar] ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

The head of gold then represented Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom, the Chaldean Empire (or, it’s often called in ancient history – Babylon, The Kingdom of Babylon. And its capitol was the City of Babylon, which was almost destroyed. It is near{5} Baghdad today. Now; Thou art this head of gold.

Daniel 2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom [another government, another people or nation] inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which [will] bear rule over all the earth.

Now that was the image, and as the image comes on down, we find a time sequence. The head of gold was 604 BC. After that was to come the Persian Empire; and after that the Greco/Macedonian Empire.

Daniel 2:40 And the fourth kingdom [there will be a fourth, and that was Rome from 31 BC on] shall be strong as iron...

Now notice as it went on down; silver is a little stronger than gold, but it is not as valuable. In character (spiritually) they were less and less valuable as time went along. They were degenerating. But in physical power and strength, they were getting stronger.

Silver is harder than gold, and brass is stronger and harder than silver. And now iron is stronger and harder than any, but is less in value. A piece of iron doesn’t cost much, but the same size chunk of gold would be worth an awful lot of money today. You see? But pure gold is very soft, it is not strong at all.

the fourth kingdom of iron (PLAY FROM 48:14)

Daniel 2:40 (And) the fourth kingdom (shall) be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces (and bruise).

The fourth then is the Roman Empire and it was going to rule over all these other kingdoms and they would have been gone. The Persian Empire, the Greco/Macedonian Empire, they were all gone.

Daniel 2:41-43 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron… [Now imagine, the toes were the very last part of it and it is the toes that were to be struck by Christ when He comes. And here’s the time sequence of governments of the earth that it’s talking about]; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. (42) And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.{6} (43) And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

the toes of iron and clay (PLAY FROM 49:34)

Now those toes represent the government that I say is going to come to restore the Holy Roman Empire and they won’t stay together. They won’t stay together but a matter of days or a few weeks at the most, because some of them are strong. Germany is pretty strong but some of these nations are going to be pretty weak, and they won’t stay together. Now here’s a prophecy of all of this and if you’re going to live to see this happen.

Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings... [of the toes; and that hasn’t happened yet and I’m just waiting for that to come to pass.]

Now to understand it fully you have got to go to the seventh chapter of Daniel, the thirteenth chapter of Revelation and the seventeenth of Revelation. Put them all together and then you’ll really understand it. And I don’t know anyone else that does understand it. I really don’t. And in the days of these kings (shall)the God of heaven [will] set up a kingdom...

Now God already has set up a kingdom in the days of those kings, and that is the government of God in God’s church. And he has put me here to organize it and I am the instrument he has been using. Now just remember this, it is more important than you possibly can dream. This is not some fanatic’s wild dream. This is the truth, and it’s the truth that no-one has had for nineteen-hundred years on the earth.

...set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:

Of course now that kingdom won’t really be here till Christ comes and he will set it up. It isn’t just....but this church is going to go ahead right in and be part of that kingdom. We will be immortal in that time. We won’t be human beings.

Daniel 2:44 ...and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all of these kingdoms, [in other words, the governments of Europe and the kingdoms of men on this earth] and it shall stand forever.

Well that’s enough. There is more of it but that covers the story right there in the second chapter.

the four beasts of daniel (PLAY FROM 52:00)

Now then, let’s go on to the seventh chapter. And there are things along in the third and fourth and fifth chapters that also fit in with it, but they are more detailed that we don’t need to go into, and haven’t time to go into and cover all of this, of course, in this one study today. But now in the seventh chapter of Daniel, I’ll begin with verse three, to just save what time I can. Because we don’t have time to cover every word of course. Well I have to begin a little bit in the first verse.

Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon...

Now this is later. Belshazzar was the king that succeeded Nebuchadnezzar. This is after Nebuchadnezzar is dead, that Daniel has this dream himself now. You see, what I just read, the king had the dream and Daniel told him what the dream was. But this time Daniel has the dream himself, the young Jewish lad.

Daniel 7:1-2 In the first year of Belshazzar [the] king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions...(2) Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

Now you’ll find that John has a vision in Revelation 13 and he saw a beast rise up out of the sea while he was standing on the sea shore.

Daniel 7:3 And four great beasts [or wild animals] came up from the sea, [different] one from another. (4) [now] The first was like a lion, [it was only like a lion. It doesn’t say it was a lion, was like a lion] and [it] had eagle’s wings:

Now I’m going to skip what I can and just read the essential parts, because I want to just kind of skim through. And it’s interesting if you have the time to go through every bit of it, but we don’t have the time to cover the ground I want to cover in this bible study.

Daniel 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear... [There’s another wild animal]

Now you’re going to see that that first animal which was like a lion, (which is the king of beasts) represented Nebuchadnezzar - was the same as the head of gold of the statue. The second (which is a bear) is the same as the breast of silver. In other words he’s talking about the four great world empires. The second one then was like a bear.

Daniel 7:6 After this I beheld, [I’m down to verse six now] and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; and the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

Dominion: You see it’s talking about a government that had dominion to rule (the governments that were influenced by Satan). God told Adam that his children would have these governments. Now here they are coming along. These are the main governments that were world governments.

Daniel 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: [Now, this iron compares to the iron legs of the other beast. The iron legs were the Roman Empire that had a capital in the West at Rome, a capital in the East at Constantinople. It was the two, the East and the West but they were all Roman Empire. “I considered”... Now lets see;] ...before it; and it had ten horns.

the ten horns (PLAY FROM 56:10)

Now I want you to notice; the first beast had a head. It was like a lion. The second was like a bear and had a head. Now you’ve got two heads. The third beast was like a leopard, but the leopard had four heads; and now you’ve got six heads.

Now there is a seventh one to come up and that makes seven heads. But on this seventh one are ten horns. Now, with that;

Daniel 7:8 I considered the horns, and behold there came up among them another little horn, [another little horn that came up among these other horns] before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots... [Now, I can tell you who it represented but I can’t take time to go into all of it].

The fourth beast then was the Roman Empire, and the Roman Empire really fell in 476 A.D. And “there were three”. The little horn is the Roman Catholic Church, and before it there were three that were plucked up by the roots. They are gone, you can’t find any trace of then in history. They were the Heruli, the Ostergoths and the Vandals. Where are the Vandals today? Where are the Ostergoths? Where are the Heruli? You can’t find them. They were wild animals. Let me go back and read that now:

Daniel 7:9 I beheld till the thrones [of these governments now; represented by these wild animals who had the characteristics of wild animals, not of tame animals] were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, [that is God, the Ancient of Days, and] whose garment was white as snow, [which is a symbol in the Bible of purity and righteousness and holiness] and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels [like] burning fire.

God has a throne. God is the one who governs the whole universe.

Daniel 7:11-12 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. (12) [Now] as concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season...

The people went on but their government was taken away and destroyed. You see? Now verse thirteen:

Daniel 7:13-14 [And] I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man [that’s Christ] came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, [that is to God the Father] and they brought him near [unto] him. [they brought Christ near unto God the Father.] (14) And there was given [unto] him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that ALL people, nations, [all the nations of the earth now] and [all] languages, should serve him: [And] his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

That is the Kingdom of God when Christ will come, and that’s going to happen in your life time – you younger people. And I’ve always thought it would happen in my life time and it may if God keeps me alive that long (which He can do if he wants to).

revival of the roman empire (PLAY FROM 59:57)

Daniel 7:15-18 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. (16) I came near unto one of them that stood by, [that’s an angel in his dream] and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me [to] know the interpretation of [these] things. (17) These great beasts, [or these wild animals] which are four, are four kings… [or four kingdoms. Now they represent four kingdoms starting with the Chaldean Empire of 604 B.C. Six hundred and four years before Christ.]. (18) But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

The saints are the church. Many of the saints are dead. That includes Peter, and Paul, and John, and Andrew, and Philip. They are going to be resurrected. That includes the church today. We’re going to be there. I expect to be there.

Now if you like the governments and the way on earth today, and you want the agony as well as the ecstasy, you can have it. I don’t want it. You can have it. If you want to be sick at your stomach and vomit and throw up and then go and eat your own vomit. Go ahead and do it. I don’t want to.

I want the way of God (the right way, the happy way), that’s the way I’m going to live. But the saints of the most High are going to take over all the governments. That’s why we have to have government in the church. We’re going to rule the rest of the nations. We have to learn how to govern and how to be governed in the church now, today. And you’ll notice that many of them that have gone out of the church, their whole trouble is they don’t like the government. They don’t want the government of God. They want the government of man.

Daniel 7:19-21 Then I would know the truth [about] the fourth [wild animal, or] beast, which was [different] from all the others, exceeding dreadful, ...[and so on] (20) And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, [that little horn] and before whom three fell; [and] of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, [which really represented the papacy and the Roman Catholic Church] whose look was more stout than his fellows. (21) I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints…

And in history they have. They put the saints to death. The Catholic Church persecuted and put the saints to death That’s the history of the Catholic Church. That’s why God calls it a Great Whore, full of blasphemies and the worst thing that even God could call anyone. It’s the worst counterfeit that ever happened.

Daniel 7:22-24 Until the Ancient of days [that’s when Christ] came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High... [we’re going to do the judging] (23) [Then] he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, [the fourth of these great world ruling kingdoms are the Roman Empire] ...and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. [And that’s exactly what the Roman Empire did.] (24) And the ten horns [Now get this. The ten horns out of that kingdom, that was that seventh head now of the Roman Empire] ...are ten kings [or kingdoms] that shall arise: and another shall rise after them…

That was the papacy now; and after them but before the bishops of Rome; the Heruli, the Ostergoths and the Vandals were passed out and plucked up by the roots. You can’t find any trace of then today. They are gone. ...and he shall subdue three kings. [That was the Vandals, the Ostergoths and the Heruli]

Daniel 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High...

They call him the most Holy Father. The Pope is NOT HOLY even. THAT’S BLASPHEMY TO CALL HIM.......GOD IS THE MOST HOLY FATHER. But they call the Pope that. I say that that is blasphemy. And if they had the power they’d lop my head off for saying that. That’s what they would do

Daniel 7:25...and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws:

They have changed the calendar. The have changed the time. They have changed the law of God. They have changed the Sabbath to Sunday. That’s why they observe Sunday today. And the bishops of the Catholic Church and the Cardinals say that you can search the Bible from beginning to the end and you can’t find A WORD telling you to observe Sunday.

I know because that’s what I started to search the Bible for, to prove to my wife the Bible says “you should keep Sunday.” It doesn’t say it anywhere. You can’t find it. I tried and I couldn’t find it.

saints to possess the kingdom (PLAY FROM 1:05:50)

Daniel 7:25-27 [But things] ...will be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of times [That is a time is 360 years and times; in other words it is a total of dividing of times or half a time, it’s a total of 1260 years if you figure it out. And it was exactly that long in history.] (26) But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, [and] consume [it] to destroy it unto the end. (27) And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the WHOLE heaven, [that’s earth wide or the whole earth] shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High,

That is God’s church. And the saints that are already dead will be resurrected. That will start back with old father Abraham and the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New. They’ll be resurrected and the kingdom (the government) will be given to them.

Daniel 7:27 ...an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey [them]

Now, you see, you’ve got that as a background. Now we turn onto the thirteenth chapter of Revelation. The book of Revelation, and the thirteenth chapter of Revelation ties right up to it. Now of course there is a whole time sequence in Revelation. It would be nice to begin at the first of Revelation. And the second and third are the messages of Christ about the seven epics and eras of the church. And the fourth and the fifth show the throne of God; the sixth shows the opening of the seals; and the seventh and eighth and ninth, and so on show the time of the beginning of the Day of the Lord.

The book of Revelation is all about the time when God begins to intervene in world affairs. Now, here in the thirteenth chapter of the book of Revelation and John is telling what he saw in vision. He seemed to think he was taken in vision to…well he was on the Island of Patmos when this vision came to him. But the time of his vision; it was set at a certain time and he was seeing things of about nineteen — I think about 1934, (about 1934; thirty-three or thirty-four).

beast of revelation (PLAY FROM 1:08:38)

Thirty-four was the first year; it was a full year of the life of The Worldwide Church of God. It was founded in 1933 but it really (more or less) started in August but it was not even set up and organized until in October of 1933. Thirty-four would have been the very first year, and that is the time setting of this; and it just all the more gets back to this very church. Very, very significant.

Now; John is telling what he saw in vision in the Book of Revelation and the whole thing is about the Day of the Lord when God begins to intervene. And that hasn’t happened yet. We’re just right ahead. Just a few years ahead, (maybe three, four years) but very, very close.

Revelation 13:1-2 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast [now again, a wild animal] rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, [here is seven head and ten horns all over again. And you see there were the four parts of the image in Daniel 2. And the ten toes instead of the ten horns. You see how these things all fit together?] and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the names of blasphemy. [showing that they are of Satan the Devil; very evil] (2) And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, [it wasn’t a leopard, it was just like a leopard] and his feet were as the feet of a bear, [that’s the strongest part of a bear] and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: [the mouth is the strongest part of a lion] and the dragon [which is the devil] gave him his power….

Now you turn over here to the twelfth chapter (or turn back) — the twelfth chapter, it says:

Revelation 12:7,9 There was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, [Let’s see] (9) [but] the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world….

So you see the Dragon is the Devil. It’s not my interpretation. The Bible just says so in plain language. I just give you what the Bible says, not my interpretation. Now this beast was like a leopard. A leopard’s body is quick and cat-like — quicker than any animal, any big animal (wild animal). His feet were like the strongest part of a bear; its feet. And its mouth like a lion — the strongest part of a lion. And the Dragon (or the Devil) gave him his power, his seat and great authority.

God said “go and form your own governments” but the Devil is the one who has led men to form these governments and they are all based on “get” not “give.” They are all based on competition. They are all based on everyone trying to get for himself. That’s the world you live in.

Revelation 13:3 And I saw one of his heads [now there are seven heads and ten horns remember: one of his heads] as it were wounded to death….

That’s the seventh head that was the Roman Empire: wounded to death. The death of the Roman Empire was 476 A.D. Now remember 476 A.D., any history will give you that. Check it up. You don’t have to take my word for it.

union of church and state (PLAY FROM 1:12:23)

“...and his deadly wound was healed:” It was healed in 554 A.D. When the pope at Rome had Justinian, who was Emperor over Constantinople, come to Rome and reform the Roman government in the west. And now they call it the Holy Roman Empire because the pope sat on top of the whole heap. And it was a union of church and state; beginning 554 A.D.

Now remember, three of the first governments there, the Heruli, the Ostergoths and Vandals had been plucked up by the roots. They are gone, that leaves seven more, doesn’t it? The first of those was Justinian, the first of those seven.

Revelation 13:3-4 And I saw one of his heads{7} as it were wounded to death…. [that was the original beast. Let’s see; and they wondered] (4) And they worshipped the dragon [or the Devil] which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

That’s what they will say. The United States of Europe will come up and it will be a stronger power than RUSSIA. It’ll be a stronger power than the Soviet. It will be a stronger power than the United States. I don’t know (things that are happening just since the election day three days ago) it may be a little longer than I thought before all this happens. Maybe I’m not going to live to see it; I don’t know, but you can be sure it will happen.

Revelation 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things [that is the beast. The mouth given unto him is that of the pope, “speaking great things” It isn’t that the beast, or the ruler, the Emperor had the mouth speaking great things; that mouth was the papacy] and blasphemies: [because they call the pope “the most Holy Father”] and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

Now that began in 554 A.D. and it lasted 1260 years – forty and two months – count it out. It began in 554 A.D. It ended at Waterloo, where I was for lunch, day before yesterday. Napoleon... “power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” Napoleon met his Waterloo, (as the say) his final defeat at Waterloo in 1814. Now it’s exactly the forty-two months of the Bible — or 1260 years!

Revelation 13:6-11 And he opened is mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. (7) And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, [which the Catholic Church did do] and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.[different nations speaking different languages] (8) And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, [Now that is coming to pass yet again, that this is talking about:“shall worship him”] whose names are not written in the book of (life of) the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. [All except truly converted Christians] (9) If any man have an ear, let him hear. (10) He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. (11) And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb,...

the holy roman empire (PLAY FROM 1:16:33)

Now a lamb is a symbol of Christ (a tame animal). Christ is called “The Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world.” They used to sacrifice the lamb, and Christ’s life was sacrificed for us. He is “The Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world,” to use the Bible expression. “And he had two horns like a lamb,”

Now this other beast, actually, is a wild animal coming up out of the earth, but he had two horns like a lamb. And a lamb is a tame animal, (but the animal is a wild animal) but he spoke as a dragon. He pretended he was the servant of Christ, (or in place of Christ). Actually Vicar of Christ, (which is the Pope’s title) means in place of Christ. It means they have knocked Christ off and the Pope is in his place and has taken Christ’s place and Christ is kicked out. That’s what that really means. So they worship Mary instead of Christ. And, here’s this other beast now.

Revelation 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, [the first beast before him was the revived Roman Empire 544 A.D. — 1814 A.D. And it was the papacy that exercised the power and sat on top of the heap. You see?] and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

He only caused it, but he caused them to worship the Roman Empire, “whose deadly wound was healed; the Holy Roman Empire.

Revelation 13:13-14 And he [which is now this papacy] doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. [And that is yet to happen and you are going to find that happening soon. When you do, remember I told you] (14) And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying...[that’s what the Pope will do in the sight of the man that’ll be the ruler of the revived Holy Roman Empire (or of the United Europe that is coming up) saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

Now an image is a replica and a representation, a copy, an image. And the beast is a government, and that image is a government, and it is the Vatican, which is a government. And it is a government as well as a church. Do you realize that? Now they have a guard that is called the Swiss Guards; that if we get to stop off in Rome you will see the Swiss Guards marching all around St. Peters, in Rome.

And Rome is both church and State, and nations send their Ambassadors to Rome – not to the church but to the government. And Vatican City is a little, tiny, small government in part of the city of Rome and it itself is a separate city – a separate government.

the mark of the beast (PLAY FROM 1:20:11)

Revelation 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, [which now is the Vatican and the civil government of the Roman Catholic Church] that the image of the beast [which is this Vatican] should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

He is not going to kill them; he causes them to be killed. He will pronounce them heretics and the civil government soldiers will put them to death. That’s the way they used to do it hundreds of years ago. The civil Roman Empire used to do that.

Revelation 13:16 And he [which is this same papacy] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

And that is the observance of Sunday instead of the Sabbath, and I can prove that. That will take longer than I’ve taken in all of this so far in this study; much longer. But I do have it. I have it all written and I’m going to revive it again and get that booklet out again. “In their right hand or in their foreheads.” In other words, the right hand symbolizes labor. This is all symbolical. The forehead is in your mind.

Revelation 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

You won’t be able to do business or buy or sell anything. It’s going to be a terrible time. We won’t be able to keep the Sabbath if we’re still here. That’s why the Bible shows that this church, this Philadelphia era is going to be taken away where we’ll be clear out of their jurisdiction. And if the Bible shows us any place where we are going to go, it’s down in the wilderness of Petra. But I’m not sure that’s it and I’m not sure the Bible shows us where it will be but IF it does, that’s the place.

Revelation 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.{8}

******Sadly the tape ends abruptly at this point

---