45-The United States in Prophecy - NKJ

1. It Is God Who Rules the Nations. He Sets Them up for a Time.

2 Chronicles 20:6 And said: "O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the _kingdoms_ of the _nations_, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to _withstand_ You?

Bible prophecy discusses those nations which play a role in the overall plan and purpose of God. The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation follow the sequential flow of history, while accomplishing this.

2. God Reveals the Mysteries of the Future Through His Prophets.

Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His _servants_ the _prophets_.

3. There Are Six Clear Identifying Marks Which Reveal the Leopard Like Beast of Revelation 13 As Representing the Roman Church.

Revelation 13:2 Now the beast which I saw was like a _leopard_, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great _authority_.

4. A - It Rises From the Sea.

Revelation 13:1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten _crowns_, and on his heads a _blasphemous_ name.

Revelation 17:15 Then he said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, _multitudes_, nations, and _tongues_.

5. B - It Received the Seat of Its Government From Pagan Rome.

6. C - It Claims the Privileges and Prerogatives of God.

Revelation 13:5 And he was given amouth speaking great things and _blasphemies_, and he was given _authority_ to continue for forty-two months.

Luke 5:20-21 When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you." [21] And the scribes and the _Pharisees_ began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks _blasphemies_? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

7. D - It Persecutes the Saints (Believers. ).

Revelation 13:7 It was _granted_ to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And _authority_ was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

8. E - It Reigns Supreme for 42 Months, Or 1, 260 Days Or Literal Years.

Revelation 13:5 And he was given amouth speaking great things and _blasphemies_, and he was given _authority_ to continue for forty-two months.

9. F - the Leopard Like Beast of Revelation 13 Is Identified with the Mysterious Number 666.

Revelation 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has _understanding_ _calculate_ the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

10. The Second Beast Arises at the Same Time the First Beast Goes into Captivity, Or Around 1798. The Second Beast Is a Separate Power From the Leopard Like Beast.

Revelation 13:10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the _patience_ and the faith of the _saints_.

11. The Second Beast Rises Rapidly From the Earth - An Unpopulated, Or Sparsely Populated Area. The Second Beast Has Two Horns with No Crowns. It Has No King. It Is a Democratic Republic Form of Government.

Revelation 13:11 Then I saw another beast _coming_ up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a _dragon_.

12. The Features of the Lamblike Beast Rapidly Turned to That of a Dragon. Religious Liberty Is Followed by Religious Oppression.

Revelation 13:11-12 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. [12] And he _exercises_ all the _authority_ of the first beast in his _presence_, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

13. The Second Beast (The United States) Gives Its Influence to the First Beast, the Papacy. The Central Issue in the Final Conflict Is Worship.

Revelation 13:12 And he _exercises_ all the _authority_ of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Revelation 14:6-7 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the _everlasting_ gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth--to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people-- [7] saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His _judgment_ has come; and _worship_ Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and _springs_ of water."

Revelation 14:12 Here is the _patience_ of the saints; here are those who keep the _commandments_ of God and the faith of Jesus.

14. The Sabbath Is God's Eternal Sign of True Worship.

Revelation 4:11 "You are worthy, O Lord, To _receive_ glory and honor and power; For You created all _things_, And by Your will they exist and were created."

Exodus 20:8-11 _Remember_ the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9] Six days you shall labor and do all your work, [10] but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your _daughter_, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your _stranger_ who is within your gates. [11] For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. _Therefore_ the LORD _blessed_ the Sabbath day and _hallowed_ it.

Ezekiel 20:12 Moreover I also gave them My _Sabbaths_, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who _sanctifies_ them.

15. Satan Will Use Miraculous Signs and Wonders at a Time of International Crisis to Forge a Union of Church and State Power. This Union Will Violently Oppose and Oppress God's People.

Revelation 13:13-14 He _performs_ great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. [14] And he _deceives_ those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, _telling_ those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was _wounded_ by the sword and lived.

16. God's Faithful People Will Not Yield to the Coercive Pressure to Violate God's Law.

Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the _commandments_ of God and have the _testimony_ of Jesus Christ.

Next Bible Study: 46-The Last Supper And The Communion Service

c:\a-\bibsty\_redo_st\updatefi\k_45_nk.htm