Revelation - Mysterious Beast
82-09
Telecast Date: February 26, 1982
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   And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns, ten crowns, and upon his heads, the names of blasphemy. And the beast, which I saw, was like unto a leopard. And the feet were the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority. Now, what did that beast mean? It's only a symbol, but it means something that is very vital to you and me on the earth today.

   The World Tomorrow. The Worldwide Church of God presents, the World Tomorrow with Herbert W. Armstrong, ladies and gentlemen, Herbert W. Armstrong.

   Once again, where is this world headed now? Only Bible prophecy can tell us, but no one has understood the Bible prophecies until very, very recently. And almost nobody even now. It seems that almost nobody understands that there is a purpose being worked out here below. As Winston Churchill said to the United States Congress during World War II. I've repeated that again and again and again. And I need to repeat it some more because people do not realize they do not understand that there is a purpose being worked out here below among human beings on this earth. And that implies a higher power above doing the working out. What is that purpose? Almost nobody knows, now Bible prophecy has been closed and sealed until now. And even the prophet Daniel didn't understand the prophecies he was writing. You find in the 12th chapter here of the book of Daniel, and beginning with verse eight (Daniel 12:8), Daniel says, "I heard", he heard the things that an archangel was telling him and revealing to him, and he was writing it down. It's been preserved in history for us today." He says, "I heard but I understood not." And then said, "I owe my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?" And he said, "Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed and sealed up till the time of the end." We're in that time of the end now.

   Now, in verse four (Daniel 12:4), the angel said to Daniel, "But thou, oh Daniel, shut up the words, seal the book until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro." Look at transportation, how people are going to and fro so rapidly today. Never until the 20th century did that happen? "Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." In the decade of the sixties, the world's fund of knowledge doubled. But the world's troubles doubled also in that same decade, many shall run to and fro, knowledge shall be increased. We're in that time now of a knowledge explosion, rapid transportation. But the prophecies have been closed until now, but they are open now at this time. Now God's time has come.

   The keys that unlock prophecy to our understanding have now been found. And one of those keys is a very startling thing that very few people understand. I have written a book, and over 2 million people. As a matter of fact, approximately 2,250,000 people have received and read this book, "The United States and the British in Prophecy." Where is the United States and the English-speaking people? Where are they mentioned in the prophecies of the Bible? Where are they mentioned in the Bible? The Bible mentions small nations. It mentions Greece, it mentions Ethiopia, it mentions Egypt, it mentions other nations. Could it omit such great nations as the British people, the United States? It doesn't. And yet I'll venture to say that none of you knows where it is mentioned in your Bible.

   Now, here is a book of over 200 pages. I'll be glad to send you Gratis. No request for money, no charge. It's free, no obligation, no request, no follow-up. "The United States and Britain in Prophecy." I'm going to announce something else at the close of the program. So, remember this, jot it down, I'll give you the mailing address at the close of the program, and you may have your copy if you have not already received it. As I say, more than 2 million people have received it already.

   Now, it's rather shocking to know that the gospel that Jesus Christ preached or the gospel of Christ has not been preached to the world and was not preached for exactly 1900 years. It was not proclaimed to the world. Now, that's a rather shocking statement.

   Haven't you heard the gospel of Christ? No, you've heard the gospel about Jesus Christ. But the gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel that Christ himself proclaimed. He was a messenger sent from God to read in the third chapter of the book of Malachi, a prophecy in the Old Testament prophesying that Jesus would come as a messenger sent from God with a message to this world. That message was the gospel, and gospel means good news, and it was good news, and all we have in the world today is bad news. That was good news.

   But what was that gospel? What was the message that Jesus brought? What was his message they proclaim about the uh what they call a gospel about the messenger, but they don't say anything about his message. And most of you have not heard it except on this program. What was that gospel?

   In Mark the first chapter beginning with verse one (Mark 1:1), it says the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ". Then it talks about John, the Baptist preparing the way for his coming. And then it comes to the Gospel in verse 14 (Mark 1:14). "Now after that, John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel". What gospel, what gospel did Jesus preach? And why haven't you heard it, "preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand repent ye and believe the gospel", repent means to acknowledge you've been wrong, repent means turn around to a different lifestyle, a different way of living God's way of life. And practically nobody knows what is God's way of life. That's the way God lives. I've talked about that before and I don't have time at the present time to go into that.

   But it is the Kingdom of God was the message that Christ brought and the Kingdom of God has not yet appeared even yet. But in 53 A.D., I want you to notice what happened in the year of 53 A.D. The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the church churches up in Galatia that is well, the Nation of Turkey is occupying that land today, beginning with verse six Galatians. One in the New Testament (Galatians 1:6-9). Paul wrote, "I marvel that you are so soon turned from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel which he says, is not another, but there be some that would trouble you and pervert the gospel of Christ. And it certainly has been perverted. Why haven't you heard it? Why isn't it being proclaimed today?

   Listen to what Paul wrote. "But though we are an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you, then that which we have preached unto you, let him be a cursed" and then he makes it a double curse. The next verse he says, "As we said before, so say, I again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you, then that ye have received" which Paul had preached, "let him be a cursed". How about those that preach another gospel today, Paul is preach is proclaiming a double curse upon them.

   Now, what gospel did Paul himself proclaim? Turn back to the book of Acts, the 28th chapter beginning with verse 30 (Acts 28:30), "Paul dwelt two whole years". This was in Rome "in his own hired house" or a hired hall where he preached "and received all that came unto him, preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching those things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him". That is what the apostle Paul was preaching the Kingdom of God.

   Now, what is the Kingdom of God? And what did he mean by the Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God is the government of God over the whole world. And the Kingdom of God is the government of God being, rule, being proclaimed, and the government of God over the world by the family of God. And the family of God is that to which those who are called through Jesus Christ may be born. You may be born into the God family.

   Today, Satan has deceived the whole world and the thinking, well, born again is just something that happens to you right now in this life. Oh, Poppycock, I wish that we could all get our eyes open. The Bible says flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That's what we are, and flesh and blood can't inherit the kingdom of God. But Jesus himself said to Nicodemus, "That which is born of the spirit is spirit," that is in John three, and in verse six (John 3:6), is spirit. You are not spirit. I am not spirit yet, but I hope to be, and I hope you will be. That which is born of the spirit is no longer human, no longer flesh and blood. You know that only Jesus Christ has been born again. He was born once as a human. He had God's holy spirit. He never sinned, but He paid for your sin and mine by His death. And then He was born again by a resurrection. Read it in the first couple or three verses of the first chapter of Romans (Romans 6:1-3). He was born by a resurrection, and He is now very God, and He's the Firstborn of many brethren, and the other brethren have not been born of God, even as yet.

   The Kingdom of God is the government of God over the entire world. You read of that back here in the 11th chapter of the Revelation. And in verse 15 (Revelation 11:15), "The kingdoms of this world are become", that is shall, this is a prophecy, and shall become "the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever", over the governments, the Kingdoms, the nations of this world. That means the United States. That means Britain. That means Canada. That means Russia. That means China. That means France and Germany and the nations of this world. Our Lord and His Christ is going to rule.

   And then again in the 19th chapter of the Revelation and verses six and seven (Revelation 19:6), and he says, "I heard as it were the voices of a great multitude, the voice of many waters, and as the voice of the mighty thundering saying, 'hallelujah for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to Him, for the marriage of the lamb has come. He's going to marry the church, and it says here His wife has made herself ready." That doesn't mean everyone, every individual, and it will be ready, but the church will be ready. The church of God will be ready because God says so, and when He says so, it's really going to happen.

   Now, the Book of Revelation is a story flow of events to happen. It will reveal what must shortly come to pass in the Book of Revelation. I've had a number of programs on this Book of Revelation, and there is a, a story thread, a time sequence of events in the Book of Revelation. But that time sequence is interrupted by a few inset chapters. Now, the 12th chapter of Revelation is an inset chapter. The 13th chapter, the 17th chapter, they are all inset chapters that are just sort of set in to the story flow or going back aways and bringing up something just to bring it up to date to the point of the story.

   So once again, I'd like to just begin in the 13th chapter of the Book of Revelation. In the first verse (Revelation 13:1-2), "I stood on the sand of the sea". John is writing what he saw in a vision. He seems to be standing on the shore of the sea, "and I saw a beast" that is a wild animal "coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and 10 horns."

   Now, that's a rather peculiar type of a wild animal. It's a wild animal. But here God is using wild animals to be symbols for certain nations, for certain kingdoms that men have had swayed by Satan on this earth. And He takes those wild animals that have the same characteristics, the same type of character, shall we say, that those particular nations had and that, that symbolism them or illustrate them.

   So, he stood upon the sea shore, "and I saw a beast" or a wild animal "rising out of the sea, having seven heads". That's a strange kind of an animal, "having seven heads and 10 horns", not a single horn or two horns, but 10 horns. "And upon his horns, 10 crowns". Now, a crown symbolizes a ruler and authority and political rule. "10 crowns on these 10 horns and upon his heads, the names of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard". Now, it was not a leopard; it was just like a leopard. "And the feet were as the feet of a bear". And that would be a funny kind of a leopard having feet like a bear. But the main body like a leopard, a leopard is catlike and very, very quick, but it's having ponderous feet like a big bear "and his mouth as the mouth of a lion", especially of a male lion, that is the strongest part of a lion. So, he had the strongest part of a lion, the strongest part of a bear, and the most effective part, the catlike part of a leopard. "And the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority". Here is a wild animal that has power, a seat, and great authority. Speaking like it is speaking of governments.

   Now, what is it talking about? These symbols are explained back in the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel, beginning with verse one (Daniel 7:1-7). "In the first year of Belshazzar, the king of Babylon", the Chaldean Empire, and the first great world empire, "Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night and behold the four winds of heaven strove upon the great sea, and four great beasts", not one but "four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from the other. The first was like a lion". Now, he saw a beast that was like a lion. "Then he beheld a second beast that was like a bear with his ponderous feet. And then he saw a third like a leopard". Notice, now he's describing the same thing that John saw in his vision. "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". Notice the iron in this beast; it devoured and it brake in pieces and sent the residue with the feet of it. And it was diverse from all of the beasts that were before it and it had 10 horns". Now, here you see exactly the same thing that John had seen except this is four animals and John just saw one animal that had the same characteristics.

   Now, then beginning with verse 17 (Daniel 7:17), "These great beasts which are four, are", now this tells us the Bible explains its own symbols. You don't have to guess at what these symbols mean. "These four beasts are four kings" or kingdoms because the fourth beast was the fourth kingdom. He said, "which shall arise out of the earth". And it represents first the Chaldean Empire, then the Persian Empire, then the Greco-Macedonian Empire, and finally the Roman Empire and other governments like the Holy Roman Empire, the middle dark ages until we come to our time today. "But the saints are the most high", that is real converted Christians who have and are led by the Holy Spirit of God. The saints of the most high "shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom, for ever and even forever," under Christ at the time of Christ coming.

   Now, that is speaking of governments in this world or kingdoms or empires or governments in this world before the coming of Christ and before the saints, which is the church that will be His bride, that will meet Him when He comes and which as I just read, you will be prepared and ready when He comes.

   But now what four kingdoms are these for that? We have to turn back a little further into the book of Daniel, back into the second chapter of Daniel. And here in the second chapter of Daniel, Daniel was brought before the king Nebuchadnezzar. Now this is the first of the world empires. This is the first of the real world governments of man that have ruled the world. Man's government started out with little cities and city-states and then there would be two or three cities. And finally, this Nebuchadnezzar got a whole world empire together, and this is showing the governments of that system of Gentile world governments right up until our time today. And what is going to happen today?

   The king had a great dream. In the dream, he had seen a stupendous image, a great statue, a stupendous one. He said it was so great, it was terrifying, and it had a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thigh of brass, legs of iron, and the feet and the toes, part of iron and part of miry clay. I want you to notice now, beginning with verse 40, Daniel (Daniel 2:40-45), "And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, for as much as iron break in pieces and subdue all things, and as iron that break all these shall it break in pieces and bruise." Now, Daniel explains here in the second chapter, explaining the dream to King Nebuchadnezzar, that it represents the governments of the world right up until the time of the coming of Christ, from 604 B.C. in the time of King Nebuchadnezzar. And it represents first the Chaldean Empire, then the Persian Empire, then the Greco-Macedonian Empire, and finally the Roman Empire and other governments like the Holy Roman Empire, the middle Dark Ages until we come to our time today.

   "And whereas thou sawest the feet and the toes, part of potter's clay, part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided, there shall be in it the strength of the iron, for as much as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly weak or broken. And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, and they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with miry clay". They won't get along together, and it won't last long. In other words, "and in the days of these kings of the toes", we're waiting for that to happen in Europe today, my friends, that is the next thing to happen. Where are we now? Just before this is happening, "in the days of these kings, the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom". That is the Kingdom of God, that is the final end of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God. And Christ is coming to set up the Kingdom of God and to rule all nations. "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom", the Kingdom of God, "which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all of these kingdoms". It will rule all of the nations of this earth together, "and it shall stand forever."

   Now, that's getting down to our day, and it shows that Christ's coming is going to smite this whole image representing the governments of this world on the toes. "For as much as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands", in other words, not human hands, but coming supernaturally from God, which is the coming of Christ in power and glory as the King of Kings to rule all nations. "And that it break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter, and the dream is certain, and the interpretation is sure". It is as sure as the rising of tomorrow's sun, and it is going to happen, and it is going to happen in your time and mine.

   Now, I would like you to know more about the Book of Revelation, for example. And these things, again, I want to offer you, as I have in other programs, the booklet on, "The Book of Revelation Unveiled At Last. You can begin to understand this greatest book of prophecy, "The Book of Revelation Unveiled At Last". There is no charge, there's no obligation, no follow-up or request for money. And then, along with it, we will send you if you're not already a subscriber, we'll send you a copy of The Plain Truth with a circulation of more than 4 million subscribers all around this world. Now, in five languages. Very soon we're adding Italian as the sixth language. But now published in five languages. The Plain Truth, a marvelous magazine analyzing today's world events. Now, if you're not a subscriber, we'll send you a copy of The Plain Truth, and you may have a year subscription, no subscription price, no subscription price. Absolutely free.

   Now you just send your name and address to me, Herbert W Armstrong in Pasadena, California 91123. Herbert W Armstrong Pasadena, California 91123. Or why don't you go to a telephone right away and call toll-free area code 800-423-4444. That's area code 800-423-4444. And if the lines are busy, keep trying. In California, Alaska or Hawaii, you call collect area code 213-577-5555. Now call, collect area code 213, we'll pay for the call, 577-5555. So, until next time, Herbert W Armstrong, goodbye friends.

   For the free literature offered on this program, write Herbert W Armstrong Pasadena, California 91123 in Canada Box 44, Vancouver BC or in the continental United States, you may call this toll-free number 800-423-4444 in California, Alaska and Hawaii call collect 213-577-5555. If the lines are busy, please try again. The preceding program and all literature were produced by the Worldwide Church of God.

Please Note: The FREE literature offered on this program are no longer available through the Address and Phone Number given, please visit www.hwalibrary.com for all FREE literature offered on this program.

Telecast Date: February 26, 1982
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