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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Eric Walsh

The Shock Doctrine

I toured here when they were building it.

And honestly, I thought it would take a lot longer to finish, but maybe that's because I'm not on campus anymore.

And it's nice that God has lined it up so that Advent Hope can use this space, because now the parking is so easy.

I used to run across that street, and I just knew 1 Sabbath I was gonna be like Frogger and get hit coming across that street.

So I'm real happy that I can walk in safety to church with you guys now.

I know this was a little bit unusual because normally they plan me to come weeks and weeks in advance and this week I was called and It was late notice, but God worked it out so I could be here and I praise God because I enjoy worshiping here at Advent Hope I want you to turn with me in your Bibles if you have your Bible to Revelation chapter 13 Revelation chapter 13.

We're going to start at verse 11 Revelation chapter 13 starting at verse 11.

And we're going to read through verse 18, Revelation 13 starting at verse 11.

The Bible says, And I beheld another beast come up out of the earth, and he had 2 horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

And he exercised with all the power of the first beast before him, and causes the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on earth in the sight of men.

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 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.

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free in bond to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads.

And that no man might buy or sell save that he had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 603 score and six." Our message this Sabbath is entitled, The Shock Doctrine.

Father God, we thank you for bringing us together into this wonderful edifice on this your Holy Sabbath day.

Lord, transform the common use of this structure.

That Father God, now angels, would be given charge over this place.

This would be a place where the Holy Spirit would dwell.

That Father God, as I speak today, my thoughts, my words are not heard.

But instead, Father God, we are given a message from the throne room of grace.

As John is on the Isle of Patmos, He's banished because he can't be killed so easily and in order to try and limit his impact on the new and budding Christian Church he is banished onto an island.

Here John in the quietness of nature and Patmos is a rough rocky island but he's able to really have time with God in his old age.

1 of the things that's amazing about John and about the book of Revelation is that John, in the quietness of his exile, is able to see things that no human really has ever seen.

Not since Daniel have such vivid visions really been seen.

And John takes these things and he begins to write them down and he explains to not only himself and the church at the time, but all the way through to our day, John is explaining what will come upon the earth.

It is powerful because John is obviously a very good student of the Old Testament Scripture so he is able to see the visions and see the images and John understands the connection that the book of Revelation has back to the book of Daniel.

It is a powerful written word that is given in Revelation.

As a matter of fact, when you look at Revelation chapter 13, 1 of the things that is powerful is that He begins to describe a beast, and this beast is different than the beast that you see in Daniel and most of the other beasts you see in Revelation.

In fact, the Bible says in Revelation chapter 13 and verse 11, that John beholds a beast coming up out of the earth, and this beast had 2 horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Now, most of you are probably familiar with the idea that this beast represents the United States of America.

What is interesting about this beast is that this beast really does not have a form.

When you read the book of Revelation and Daniel, normally the beasts are given the forms of animals, and so you can link them back in a literal sense to the nations they represented, the powers they represented, but also you can link them to each other.

Now, what's interesting here is that this beast, without form, is said to have 2 horns like a lamb, but speak as a dragon.

A lot of times we mix up and say that this is a lamb-like beast.

In fact, the Bible does not describe the beast that way.

It is described as having 2 horns like a lamb.

And horns are indicative of the animal or the beast, in this case the power of the beast.

Now, these horns are like a lamb because it gives you the connotation that somehow this beast has some connection to being a lamb-like, like Christianity's lamb, Jesus Christ.

Ellen White, describing this most vividly and accurately, says that these are Protestantism and Republicanism, meaning that they are represent the Christian Church that has broken away from the Catholic Church, and we now know that that is the group, 1 of the major groups that really started the United States of America, and that this government would be a representative government.

Meaning that it would not be under dictatorial control.

The people would have a voice in this kingdom.

The people would have a voice, and the principles that laid out the start of this nation would be based in Protestantism.

History bails us out on that and shows us that that is true.

But 1 of the things that's interesting is when you look at it, something has to happen to this beast.

Something has to happen to this beast that it goes from having 2 horns like a lamb.

And if you stop there, it would describe the United States 1 way.

But what becomes interesting is that the second part of it says it would have 2 horns like a lamb, but it would speak like a dragon.

And that it would exercise, verse 12, all the powers of the first beast before him, and cause all the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed.

The question, 1 of the questions I want to hit you with today is, what happens to this beast that switches, turns, changes the course of where it is going, so that it goes from being a beast who would have its power source be representative government and Protestantism, to a beast that speaks like a dragon and forces the world to worship the beast that came before it.

Another key question from here would be, what would make this beast even necessary?

What happened in the world that the first beast couldn't do what the second beast did in the first place Why the need to make an image to the first beast?

So Let's look at the first beast Revelation 13 1 says and I stood on the stand of the sea and saw a beast rise up out of the sea Having 7 heads and 10 horns and upon his horns 10 crowns and upon his heads the name of blasphemy Instantly 1 difference is that 1 beast comes up out of the earth 1 comes up out of the sea.

We know the sea represents multitudes and people.

So 1 piece comes up where there are people.

And 1 comes up where there weren't many people.

And I think also you could add where people were transplanted to.

The Americas were a place where people were transplanted to.

There are only 1 set of people in the United States that didn't choose to come here in recent history, and that are, those are the indigenous, what we call Native Americans.

Everybody else was brought here, and 1 other group was brought here against their will those were those African slaves America is a nation of transplanted people So she looks different that she comes up out of the earth But 1 comes up out of the sea, the first beast in Revelation chapter 13, the Bible says, and stood upon the sand of the sea, John says, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having 7 heads and 10 horns, and upon his horns 10 crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as 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.

So 1 beast gets his power from the dragon, the other 1 speaks like a dragon in the second part of Revelation 13.

And I saw 1 of his heads, as it were, wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed, and all the world wondered after the beast.

And they worshipped the dragon, which gave power unto the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast?

And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and look at this, and power was given unto him to continue 40 and 2 months.

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and look what else was given to him in verse 7, and to overcome the saints.

And power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations.

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world Verse 9 says if any man have an ear let him hear 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 2 beasts in 1 chapter the first beast seems to have complete power and control in Revelation chapter 13 What happens to make the second beast necessary if the first beast had so much control?

Why would the second beast even be necessary?

And what would shift the world to a place where the dragon would need another beast to speak like a dragon and to resurrect an image to the first beast.

Well, on the back of your dollar, if you look on the back of your dollar, around the Great Seal of the United States, there is a statement that says, in the Latin, translated, a new world order for the ages.

And I remember calling to the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C.

To have all of the Latin on the back of the dollar bill translated by them.

Annuit coeptis, meaning a God has favored our endeavors, or he has favored our endeavors.

And then a novus order seclorum, a new world order for the ages.

When they were coming from Europe to the United States, there was those who said, we will create a new world order in the United States.

A shift, a swing was going to happen in the world.

But the question you have to ask yourself is, if a country that is built on representative government, built on representative government and Protestant principles, how does it turn from that kind of a government to 1 that speaks like a dragon and forces people to do what it wants?

Forcing worship on people of things it does not want to worship.

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The Shock Doctrine

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