3ABN Spring Camp Meeting 2013: Showers of Blessings

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Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN)

Stephen Bohr

Revelation’s Apostate Trilogy

This morning we're going to study about the end time Elijah, the apocalyptic Elijah.

But before we do, we do want to ask for the Lord's presence, and so I invite you to bow your heads with me as we pray.

Father in heaven, thank you for giving us life this day.

Thank you for the privilege of living in a place where we can worship you according to the dictates of our conscience.

We realize that these days are going to come to an end soon.

Help us Lord to take advantage of this time of relative peace.

We ask that as we study about the end time Elijah that you have called to announce to the world that Jesus is coming soon and the need to prepare that your Holy Spirit will be with us that we might be able to understand what we're going to study not only understand it intellectually but apply it to our daily lives instill it in our hearts we thank you for the privilege of coming before your throne boldly and we do so not because we have any merit but because we come boldly in the name of Jesus, Amen.

When should we expect the end time Elijah to appear?

I'd like to begin by reading from Malachi chapter 4 and verses 5 and 6.

Here we find a prophecy that God will send Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord.

It says there, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.

This text tells us that God is going to send Elijah immediately before the great and terrible or dreadful day of the Lord.

So we need to ask when is the dreadful day of the Lord?

We don't have to guess because in the immediately preceding verses we are told when the great and terrible day of the Lord is let's read verses 1 to 3 in Malachi chapter 4 it says therefore behold the day is coming burning like an oven and all the proud yes all who do wickedly will be stubble and the day which is coming shall burn them up says the Lord of hosts that will leave neither root nor branch but to you who fear my name the son of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings and you shall go out and grow fat like stall fed calves you shall trample the wicked for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this says the Lord of hosts so the question is when is the great and dreadful day of the Lord it's referring to the coming of Christ and so are we to expect another Elijah immediately before Jesus comes according to the book of Malachi yes this prophecy was partially fulfilled as we studied last night in John the Baptist but the dreadful and terrible day of the Lord did not come in the days of John the Baptist and so we are to expect another Elijah who will fully fulfill this prophecy of Malachi chapter 4 and verses 5 and 6.

Now let's take a look at some principles that we need to take into account in order to understand the end time Elijah when will this Elijah appear?

Immediately before the second coming of Christ according to what we've studied where would we expect in the Bible to find a description of this Elijah?

Well I think that the book of Revelation would be a good place to go because it's the last book of the Bible and it describes the end time so we would expect to find this Elijah in the book of Revelation the last book of the Bible.

Now we would expect also in the last book to find not only Elijah and his message but also the trilogy of enemies that Elijah had all throughout the course of history beginning with the historical Elijah continuing with the prophetic Elijah and the Elijah of the Middle Ages.

Now the question is how will this Elijah come and how will his enemies come?

Will they be literal individuals like in the Old Testament story and the New Testament story?

There's a governing principle that we need to take in mind and that is that in the Old Testament you're dealing with literal Elijah because you are dealing with literal Israel.

His enemy was a literal harlot who committed literal fornication with a literal king who had literal false prophets who promoted the literal worship of the literal son God, Baal.

But at the end of time the geographical, personal, and ethnic limitations from the Old Testament story are removed.

And the persons in the Old Testament story become symbolic of spiritual worldwide systems.

In other words, Elijah, Israel, Jezebel, Ahab, Baal, the false prophets are not individuals in the end time, but represent global systems.

And so, what was local and literal becomes spiritual and global or worldwide are you understanding the principle this is a vital principle in the studying of a study of Bible prophecy and those who ignore it fall into all sorts of mistakes in their interpretation of Bible prophecy.

So what we want to do first is see if we can find the 3 enemies of Elijah before we talk about Elijah and his message.

Go with me to Revelation chapter 16 and verse 19 we're gonna be mostly in Revelation in our study today Revelation chapter 16 and verse 19.

It speaks here about the great city Babylon and we're told something very interesting about Babylon.

It says, Now the great city was divided into...

And the cities of the nations fell, and the great Babylon was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

And so you say, Pastor Bohr, what are the 3 parts of Babylon?

Well we don't have to guess because just a few verses before this 1 that we just read in verse 13 Revelation 16 verse 13 we're told what that trilogy is.

It says, and I saw 3 unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophets.

And so here we have the 3 divisions of end-time Babylon.

The trilogy that constitute the enemies of the end time Elijah now the question is who are the dragon the beast and the false prophet well in order to understand we have to go earlier in Revelation where these 3 powers are introduced and they are introduced in Revelation chapter 12 and 13.

So we have to go back to these chapters to understand who these enemies are.

Let's talk first of all about the dragon.

Go with me to Revelation chapter 12 and let's read specifically verse 3.

Revelation chapter 12 in verse 3 it says here, And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born.

Who is this child that was going to be born?

The child is none less than Jesus Christ And we're told that the dragon stood next to the woman to devour the child.

Now the question is, who was it that stood next to the woman to devour the child when the child was born?

But it was not the devil in person, it was the devil through the civil power of Rome.

In fact, go with me to Matthew chapter 2 and verses 16 and 17 where we find how Satan worked through Rome through the civil power of Rome to try and slay Jesus Christ.

It says there in Matthew chapter 2 verse 16 then Herod when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men was exceedingly angry and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts from 2 years old and under according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

And so we find that the dragon although it primarily represents Satan it represents the civil powers that Satan works through to accomplish his purpose.

Let me give you another biblical example Ezekiel chapter 29 and verse 3 and I'm reading from the King James Version because I think that it is a more accurate translation Exodus I mean Ezekiel chapter 29 and verse 3 speaks about Pharaoh who is mentioned in the book of Exodus and I want you to notice what Pharaoh, the civil leader of Egypt is called Ezekiel 29 verse 3 says speak and say, thus saith the Lord God.

Behold I am against thee Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great what?

Well some versions say the great monster what does the King James Version say?

It says the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers which has said my river is mine own and I have made it for myself so who is the dragon Pharaoh and what is his position he is King Now I know that traditionally we believe that the dragon represents spiritualism.

But you know we need to look at it carefully because really the threefold alliance, all 3 of them are dominated by spiritualism.

Because the 3 evil spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet Ellen White clearly identifies what the dragon represents in testimonies to ministers page 39.

She says this kings and rulers and governors those are civil powers right kings and rulers and governors have placed upon themselves the brand of Antichrist and are represented as the dragon who goes to make war with the saints with those who keep the commandments of God and who have the faith of Jesus.

So what is represented specifically by the dragon according to testimonies to ministers and also what we've noticed in Revelation chapter 12 and Ezekiel 29 Kings, rulers and what?

Now let me pursue this from another angle.

Go with me to Revelation chapter 19 and verses 19 through 21.

I want you to notice that even though Revelation 12 and 13 presents the trilogy as the dragon, the beast, and the false prophets, Revelation chapter 19 presents it somewhat differently.

Notice what we find beginning in verse 19.

And their armies gathered together to him wake war against him who sat on the horse and against his army then the beast was captured and with him the what the false prophet who worked signs in his presence by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

What are the 3 powers that are mentioned here in Revelation 19?

The dragon represents the kings of the earth.

Of course in the very next chapter you have the dragon behind the dragon because an angel descends from heaven and binds the dragon to the earth the 1 who is behind the kings of the earth the 1 who is behind the civil powers of the world.

So we know that the dragon represents the kings of the earth.

Let me ask you, do you think the kings of the earth are going to be somewhat wimpish at the end of time just like Ahab was?

Just like the kings during the Middle Ages were absolutely they will be manipulated by the beast and they will be manipulated by the false prophet now let's turn to talk about the identity of the beast we know that the dragon represents the kings of the earth what does the beast represent go with me to Revelation chapter 13 and verses 1 & 2 this is speaking about the Roman Catholic papacy during the 1260 years And you'll notice here that it says in Revelation 13 verses 1 and 2, Then I stood on the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having 7 heads and 10 horns, and on his horns 10 crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.

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.

And now notice the dragon which in Revelation chapter 12 represents the civil power of Rome because Rome was the dragon that tried to kill the child it says the dragon which is Satan working through Rome gave the beast his what his power his throne and great authority and let me ask you how long did the Beast rule after the dragon gave him his power?

Time times and dividing up time 3 and a half years just like in the days of whom?

In other words the Beast represents the same thing as Jezebel.

The Beast represents the power that uses the kings of the earth to accomplish its purpose.

Now listen carefully to what I'm going to say in Revelation chapter 13 this power is called the Beast but in Revelation chapter 17 a different name is given to this power in Revelation 13 the Beast rules for time times dividing of time 1260 years during the Middle Ages but in the end time which is the picture of Revelation chapter 17 a different symbol is used in Revelation 17 the beast is called the harlot who fornicates with the kings of the earth.

The Beast uses the kings of the earth during the 1260 years.

The harlot in the end time influences the kings of the earth by committing fornication with them.

Is that true of what happened with Elijah in the Old Testament?

Is it true of the Church of the Middle Ages?

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