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to have minds for the Lord Jesus,
hearts for the truth, and
hands that are skilled to the task.
HomeSermonsPastor Ernest AmstaldenPage 40

Sermons by Pastor Ernest Amstalden (Page 40)

The Most Important Question

WHY DOES GOD ALMIGHTY, THE ONE WHO WANTS THAT NO HUMAN BEING PERISHES BUT THAT ALL COME TO REPENTANCE, pour His wrath upon this earth.
While this question is not the most important one we can ask, it is none the less a crucial one. Isn’t God loving, caring, forgiving, merciful and gracious? Yes, He certainly is; but he also is pure, holy, righteous, and just.
This most important question: WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM? Will put every human being on the spot. Now and especially during the tribulation period when the world ruler together with the world religious leader will demand that we proclaim that they are the savior of the world, those who say that they are FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST must deny to worship anyone else and PROCLAIM WITHOUT HESITATION LIKE THE APOSTLE PETER DID:
YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.

The Seven Divine Proclamations

This chapter is a the chain-link that connects the events of the middle of the tribulation, the details we found in Revelation 10-13, and the events of the second half of the tribulation period, the details we will find in chapter 15-16.
The main theme was the COUNTERFEIT TRINITY that is coming unto the world stage with the purpose to usurp God’s authority and to persecute and kill those who refuse to bow down to this NEW WORLD RELIGION. It will be the born-again believers, the true followers of Jesus Christ that will refuse to worship the image of the beast and the antichrist.
Revelation 14:9-12 deals with the people who take the mark of the beast. None of those who do so have a second chance to receive salvation from the Lord. God already gave them the chances they needed. They had the 144,000 Jewish evangelist preaching the gospel during the first half of the Tribulation period and then the angel proclaimed it the everlasting Gospel one more time. This was the last chance.
IN OTHER WORDS, THE OPPORTUNITY OF SALVATION WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ALL AS LONG AS THEY ARE WITHOUT THE MARK OF THE BEAST. Once the mark is taken, signifying the acceptance of the Antichrist AS THE ONE TRUE GOD, they reached the point of no return.

A Glimpse of Hope

There are times when troubles just seem to pile up. It is during those times that we need some relief. We need to know that everything will turn out all right. In other words, no matter how spiritual, how mature, how long we have been saved, we need ASSURANCE that a brighter day is coming.
When we hear what is going on in our world right now, we can easily be overwhelmed by all the bad news that which are relentlessly coming our way every day. It is during those days that IT IS VERY EASY TO LOSE THE SIGHT OF THE PROMISES OF VICTORY GOD HAS GIVEN US AND ASSURED US IN HIS BOOK, THE BIBLE.
Throughout the book of Revelation, John heard many voices, voices from individual angels, voices from the four living creatures, the voices from the 24 elders before the throne of God, the voices of the innumerable angelic beings, the voices of the 7 angels who hold the seven trumpets. Now finally, here in chapter 14, John hears the voice of Jesus once again. A glimpse of hope.

The Power of Religion

The false Christ and the false Prophet will precede the Real Christ. Jesus clearly teaches that truth. He also reveals to us that before the final false Christ, which we know as the Anti-Christ, will come, there will be many false Christ’s and many false prophets who claim to be the one or who claim to speak on behalf of the real Christ. The false prophet will be the spiritual leader of the world religions, claiming to represent God Almighty. It will be one of the most incredible deceptions the world will ever witness.
This second beast is necessary to show up on the world stage to complete the counterfeit trinity. This beast counterfeits the holy spirit in the person of the False Prophet.
Remember, Jesus himself confirmed to His disciples that the prophet Elijah will come BEFORE THE GREAT AND DREADFUL DAY. The whole world will be in amazement. This must be the resurrected Elijah. Remember, the one of the signs that symbolizes the Holy Spirit is FIRE. This false prophet will be able to do the same.
Just as the Holy Spirit brings all true born-again believers into one body, so the false prophet will bring all religions of the world into one body. While the antichrist, which will be in charge of the political and economical system of the entire world, he needs the false prophet to legitimize his office. Finally, during the tribulation period, Satan will have his master piece in place, the RELIGEOUS LEADER OF THIS WORLD WILL DEMAND THAT ALL PEOPLE ON THIS EARTH MAKE AN IMAGE TO THE BEAST, THE POLITICAL LEADER OF THIS WORLD.

The Great Counterfeit

Remember, this book of Revelation is revealing to us primarily Jesus Christ, the one who said to JOHN in Revelation 1:8: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.
Today, we will put our spiritual spotlight on the first beast. This best is a masterpiece, the greatest counterfeit the world has ever seen. This Beast WAS GIVEN MANY TITLES IN THE BIBLE. There are at least 20 different titles given to this beast, the master piece of counterfeiting. The Apostle Paul reminds the believers from this church that when he was with them, he was teaching all the details regarding this truth to them.
It is amazing how the Bible clearly states the contrasts between Jesus Christ and the Antichrist. And yet, he will be able to deceive the whole world with his great counterfeit. How is that possible?
The Antichrist will have the power of the occult behind him. This power is not his own, but his father’s power, which is Satan. He will seek to destroy the holy people of Israel with this supernatural power. This beast, the Antichrist, will be the most powerful man on earth. Eventually he will declare himself to be deity and he will stand up against “the prince of princes, Jesus Christ, and so truly be the ANTI-CHRIST. THIS MAN WILL BE Satan-controlled and Satan-energized. What an incredible counterfeit.

Under His Provision and Protection

Let me give you an outline of this entire chapter which will help you to put everything into its context:
• Verses 1-5 are a summary from the birth to the ascension of Jesus Christ.
• Verse 6 shows the Jews on a constant run.
• Verses 7-14 reveal the reasons why the Jews are on a constant run during the second half of the tribulation period. Satan has been cast down to earth.
• Verses 15-17 describe Satan’s persecution of the remnant, the believing Jews.
GOD ENTERED INTO A COVENANT RELATIONSHIP WITH ABRAHAM, the father of Isaac and grand-father of Jacob. It is Jacob which wrestled with God until God changed his name to ISRAEL and blessed Israel.
I need to explain at this time what a COVENANT RELATIONSHIP MEANS.
But first, let me say what it DOES NOT MEAN:
The covenants contained in the Bible are absolutes, which means, that they cannot be changed. God initiated them and chose the people with which he entered into a covenant relationship. This covenant relationship HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE THEOLOGICAL COVENANTS PREACHED AND DEFENDED BY THE COVENANT THEOLOGIAN OF OUR DAYS.

Satan’s Temporary Victories

We all know that God could speak the word and His victory be immediately accomplished; however mankind must be considered or else the cross of Jesus Christ would be in vain.
During this battle between Satan and his army and God and his army, Satan will experience temporary victories. This is the case because Satan as the master deceiver will succeed in his craft to deceive the whole world.
During the tribulation period, which will last according to Daniel, precisely 7 years, divided into two 3 ½ years period, Satan will also experience temporary victories because he will once again succeed in deceiving the WHOLE WORLD.
If Satan wants to counterfeit that relationship between Father and Son, he will have to live in a man, known as the antichrist, and empower this individual with his own power. So what the antichrist will do, in reality, IS SATAN’S DOING. When the world sees the antichrist, they actually see SATAN. No wonder they all worship the beast. They all worship Satan. He knows that he has just 3 ½ years on this earth, his 4th dwelling place, and then it’s over. He will experience his final victory, setting up his kingdom on this earth, delivering first PEACE, LIBERTY, AND PROSPERITY, like the people on this earth never experienced before. But it will be a false peace, a false liberty, and a false prosperity. His victory will be short lived.
Because of Satan’s confinement, man, under the ruler ship of Jesus the Messiah, finally will achieve his goal, which was to exercise authority over the earth. Finally, man will fulfill his calling given him when God created him and put him in the Garden of Eden.