3/02/05 & 3/06/05 - “GOD’S TEST OF LOYALTY” Part 5
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Hello!  This is Richard Vaughn

Today we will continue our series titled, “GOD’S TEST OF LOYALTY” and today’s segment will be Part 5. Before we begin, let us seek God’s guidance, “Heavenly Father, we who live in the final days before probation for the evil generation will finally close and every case eternally decided ask once again for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we open your word today and continue with this most important subject. We pray for wisdom, knowledge and Father increase our understanding so that we may live in the center of Your revealed will, as we ask all these things in Jesus Name, Amen.”
Have you been to the Revelation Seminar at the Best Western in South Hill? Evangelist Ron Rogers, through a multi-media presentation is explaining the mysteries in the two books of Daniel and Revelation. Your understanding of these two books will be made crystal clear. If you have been coming you have been blessed, if you’re hearing this broadcast on Wednesday and haven’t been out yet, you have only missed 4 studies and there is still plenty of time to catch up. The fifth presentation, “The Bibles Longest Prophecy will be Friday night March 4th at 7:00pm. If you’re hearing this broadcast on Sunday, there are still plenty of presentations to go, come out tonight March 6th at 7:00 pm and you’ll see and hear Revelation’s Eternal Sign. I will be there and I want to meet you personally. My brothers and sister in Jesus, this may be God’s last call to planet earth before the most devastating plagues will soon begin. So come to the Best Western and don’t let anything have a higher priority.
Right now, I continue to keep my pledge, to cry aloud and spare not, to lift up my voice like a trumpet and to show God’s people where they are transgressing God’s law.
Recapping the messages of the last 5 weeks. I have stated that the first beast of Revelation 13 is the antichrist beast power and the same as the little horn power in Daniel 7. I also stated that the Papacy changed God’s 7th Day Sabbath from Saturday to the pagan day of worshipping the sun god, the first day of the week, Sunday and that Sunday keeping is going to be the mark of the beast, after the National Sunday Law is passed.
Now we are ready to continue to prove all this with the Bible. Last week, we left off in Daniel Chapter 7, verse 5. Recapping in verses 1-5 Daniel saw in vision four great beasts that came up from the sea, different one from another.  We learned from the Bible that the beasts and the sea were four ruling kingdoms that would arise from the existing nations, each coming to power after winning wars. Verse 4, the lion that had eagle's wings was the first world ruling empire and history tells us that Babylon was the first world kingdom and that they ruled from 606 to 539 BC, and this coordinates with the head of gold kingdom identified in the Daniel 2 vision. In verse 5 we learned the second world ruling empire was like a bear raised up on one side with three ribs in his mouth. We know from history and the prophecy of the silver chest and arms kingdom in Daniel 2, that it was Medo-Persia that ruled the world next from 539 to 331 BC. Represented by a bear, raised on one side meant one side was more powerful then the other and that was true as the Persians were more powerful then the Medes. The three ribs in its mouth were the three nations it defeated to rise to power. That would be Lydia, Egypt and Babylon.
Resuming with verse 6. “After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.”  This leopard beast with four wings would be the same kingdom as the thighs of brass in Daniel 2. History bears out that it was the third world empire that was to rise and that would be Greece, who defeated the Persian empire in the battle of Arbela, led by its capable General Alexander the Great. The four wings represented the speed with which it conquered and came to power. The four heads represented the four divisions of the Grecian empire after Alexander died of acute alcohol poisoning at a young age. It was split up amongst the four generals, Cassander, Lysimachus, Selecus and Ptolemy. 
And God showed Daniel the fourth ruling world empire in verse 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: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.” This fourth beast would be the 4th world empire. We know from history that this iron teeth beast was the 4th ruling world empire the iron monarchy of Pagan Rome. It corresponds with the 4th kingdom in Daniel 2, the legs of iron. And it ruled the world from 168 BC to 476 AD. It tells us that it was different from the other kingdoms that came before it and it had ten horns. This word “horns” is a new prophetic symbol and just as we let the Bible interpret the symbols for beasts as kingdoms, sea as multitudes and nations, winds as strife and war, and wings as speed, so we must let the Bible interpret what a horn is. 1 Samuel 2:1 & 10 tells us. “And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD:” “The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.” So a horn is a symbol of exaltation, power and honor. What are these ten horns on the 4th beast? They coordinate with the ten toes in the Daniel 2 prophecy. They are the ten kingdoms that Rome divided into when Rome fell in 476AD. Those ten nations were as follows: The Visigoths which today is Spain; the Franks, now France; the Lombards, now Italy; the Suevi, now Portugal; the Alamani, now Germany; the Anglo-Saxons, now England; the Bergundians, now Switzerland and three more nations that are no more today, the Ostrogoths, the Heruli and the Vandals. We will see in the next verse why these three are no more.
All right now we are reading Daniel 7 and verse 8. “I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” 
Here is where God is introducing us to the little horn antichrist power of the Papacy of the Roman Catholic Church, God’s word will prove it and history confirms it. Follow as God makes this crystal clear. There are a number of identifying characteristics that prove this little horn is the Papacy, but in this verse alone there are 5 proofs. Let’s dissect the verse. Daniel says “I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn.” All right the ten horns are the 10 nations of western Europe that we previously mentioned. They were on the scene in 476 AD. So we learn that the little horn power comes up among the 10. That means he arises after 476 AD. Point #1. He comes up among the nations of western Europe. The Papacy is in Rome. Point #2. He comes up after 476 AD. The Papacy came into power in 538 AD. Now the verse goes on to say, “before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots:”  What does this mean? Seven of the nations yielded to the power and influence of the Papacy, however there were three that posed interference and would not yield, that would be the Ostrogoths, the Heruli and the Vandals. And history proves that in succession, these three nations fell one after another under the attacks of nations loyal to the Papacy, until in 538 AD the three were no more, and no longer was the Papacy hindered in its assumption of power. So identifying Point #3. The Papacy eliminated the three resisting nations.
Continuing verse 8 we read, “…and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” This portion of the verse is identifying three additional points. The eyes in prophecy normally identify the Spirit of God or Divine Intelligence, but this is a power guided not by the Bible, but by the human intelligence, human leadership, human authority. Therefore Point #4, is a man at the head of this power, Point #5, being led by a different spirit, not the Spirit of God. Point #6, having a mouth speaking great things, and as we will learn shortly, the antichrist Papacy speaks blasphemy against God. 
Daniel 7, verses 9-14 switch to the judgment and in verse 15 it swings back to the vision of the 4 beasts and the little horn. Daniel is really troubled to understand and in verse 16 he petitions Gabriel, the angel complies by stating to Daniel in verse 17 that the four beasts are the four kingdoms.
In verses 19 and 20, “Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;  
  7:20   And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.  Daniel reiterates that he desires to understand about this fourth terrible beast and the ten horns in his head and especially that little horn that had eyes and speaks great things. That verse finishes with Point #7, “…whose look was more stout than his fellows.” This is revealing that he would be very different from the 10 nations that preceded him. And so he was because the others were political kingdoms with kings who ruled the affairs of their nations. But here was a form of government that was both political and religious in nature, that sought to rule over all nations. Point #7 then is a religious political power.
Daniel 7:21 “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;” Point #8 this would be a persecuting power that would kill God’s true people and history confirms that during the middle ages that conservative estimates show that the armies by Papal decree killed over 50 million of God’s saints. Some estimate it may have been more like 120 million.
Point #9 tells us in verse 22 that the Papacy would still be exercising power, even directing its persecuting power of God’s saints until Jesus comes.
Daniel 7:23 reads, “Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.” This is further explanation of the Pagan Roman empire.  
Daniel 7:24 “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.” Here we have confirmation of what was revealed earlier in the chapter that the 10 nations come out of the Roman empire, the rising of the little horn power the Papacy and that it subdues the three nations, the Ostrogoths, the Heruli and the Vandals.
The clock says it’s time to stop and we will get into point number 10 next week. Wednesday listeners, I want to meet you Friday night at the Best Western, so come before 7 and let’s talk. Now if you’re hearing this on Sunday morning and haven’t been to the meetings yet, come on out this night, Sunday the 6th, and join this seminar.
 
Next week “God’s Test of Loyalty” - part 6.
God bless you friends and study your Bibles daily,

Until next week, Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. Even so, Come lord Jesus.