Amazing Facts

Guest (Male): This presentation is brought to you by the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry.

Doug Batchelor: You know, Revelation is written in what they call a chiastic structure where it sort of makes a statement at the beginning, it reaches the pinnacle in the middle, and and it reinforces the statement at the end. And we're going to be looking at the pinnacle of the prophecy you find in Revelation chapter 12. Bible says, I have likened the daughter of Zion to a lovely and a delicate woman. God's church is symbolized by a pure woman. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the church. If you want to hurt somebody, it's one thing to hurt them, but you're much more effective if you hurt what they love the most.

And God loves us even more than his own son in that he sacrificed his son. Jesus offered himself that we might be saved. So, the devil knows that Jesus greatly treasures. He's desperate to save us. He loves us more than his own blood. He gave his blood to save us. And the devil wants to hurt Jesus by hurting us. So, whenever you're going through trials and you think that God doesn't care, oh, he cares. Elijah, what you see happening here in Revelation comes from the time of Elijah. Elijah, there was a famine for 1,260 days.

A Jewish year is a lunar calendar, 360 days. You can read that for 1,260 days there was a famine. Elijah fled into the wilderness and he was fed by God. The prophets were hidden in caves and Obadiah fed them, right? During the famine. And Jezebel was on the throne. Jezebel was a corrupt pagan queen who began to manipulate a Jewish king. And you had the commingling of church and state with false religion mixed in till the famous showdown on Mount Carmel. So, number five, where did the woman go during this terrifying period of persecution and how long did it last?

The church, the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God that they should feed her there 1,260 days. What is the perfect number of God in the Bible? Seven. What's half of seven? Three and a half. And half of seven Jewish years is 1,260 days. How long did Jesus teach? 1,260 days. It usually represents a time of resistance and persecution. Christ at the end of that time period was killed for his testimony. Jezebel tried to kill Elijah at the end of that three and a half year period. After Jesus' death for three and a half years, the apostles preached to the Jews and then they killed Stephen exactly three and a half years later.

And now you have three and a half prophetic years, which is 1,260 years from 538 to 1798. What happened then? Napoleon sent his general Berthier into France, arrested the Pope, put him in captivity. He died in captivity. The Catholic church lost its dominance over Europe during the time of Napoleon and but that deadly wound would be healed later. We'll talk about that in another study. During the Dark Ages, the church went underground. You've heard of the Waldensians and the Huguenots and they lived in the Alps and they lived in the mountains and they would try to share their faith.

Time of great persecution. But another way the church fled into the wilderness. What country all of a sudden comes into visibility right about the time of 1798? When did the United States have our Declaration of Independence? 1776. Now, that's when we declared it. Are you aware that the nations of Europe did not recognize us as an independent country until 1798? They realized, you know, they finally looked like they broke free of Britain. And 1798 they treated us as an independent country and all the nations of Europe welcomed our ambassadors at that time America then became the depository of free Protestant religion.

Why did the pilgrims come? Well, some came for trade and some came for exploration. But the first ships that landed, they were looking for a light on a hill. They were looking for a place where we could practice our religion according to the dictates of our conscience. And in just a few years, America became the world's number one supporter of international missions. We still are today. Did you know that? It became a bastion of Protestant growth. And unfortunately, a lot of Protestant division, too. We got more denominations in North America, Protestant ones, than any other country of the world.

The church fled into the wilderness not only in Europe, but during that end of that time period, America opened up and provided a place for freedom. The dragon persecuted the woman, the church who gave birth to the male child. Some people think this woman was Mary. You're going to see a lot of paintings in the Catholic church of Mary standing on a moon with 12 stars above her head. I must tell you that it isn't Mary. It's the church at large. Mary was a godly woman, but doesn't say that Mary fled into the wilderness and the dragon tried to devour her.

None of the rest of this prophecy applies to Mary. Mary stayed with the apostle John and she was well known by the church and she died probably in the Antioch. Okay, so you get the true church is in the wilderness from 538 for 1,260 years to 1798. You can look up these dates if you studied history at all, you're acquainted with these things. You get this church-state union. This beast receives a deadly wound, but the deadly wound would be healed and it would recover. We'll get to that later. So, the wilderness now opens up across the water.

And America provides sanctuary. And all the time period fits. Now, I always think it's interesting. Uh, people come from other countries. A lot of, uh, immigrants come to America and they want to assimilate. And I remember, uh, Karen and I were in Russia after the fall of communism and we had Russian friends that moved to America and they said, so what do Americans eat for breakfast? Cereal. Cereal. Okay. So, they go to the market and they find this aisle that's as long as an airport terminal. And there's cereal on both sides and they're bewildered. They're going, how do I pick cereal?

How do you pick cereal? By the cartoon on the cover? If it's got the word cocoa, you pick it, right? You know how I pick my cereal? I don't look at the picture. I immediately flip to the side of the box and I read the ingredients. I read the ingredients. I read the vitamins. I read the fiber contents. If the first ingredient is sugar or the second ingredient sugar, I put it back. You know how people pick a church in North America? There's so many different denominations. They look at the cartoon cover. You know what the main reasons are people pick churches in North America?

It's the church where my family went. Got to be loyal to the family. Now, that 's nice, but that's not the right reason. It's close to the house. That's great if the church is close. Wrong reason. Great music program. We hope the church has a good music program. Wrong reason to pick a church. Great children's program. You'd be surprised how many people pick a church because they got a good children's program. That is important. Wrong reason to pick a church. I like the looks of the building. It's new and sophisticated. It's where the important people in the community go.

That's why they pick the church cuz you know, make contacts and influence. I go cuz the preacher is good-looking and dynamic. We know that's why you're all here this morning, right? Or they go to the church because they have a great potluck. Now, I hope that you find a church that has a good children's program, good music, good child care, and the preacher will keep you awake. It's got a nice building, good facilities, that they sometimes feed you and all those things are good. None of them are the reason to pick a church. And yet those are the main reason people in North America pick a church.

There is one reason to pick a church biblically. You know what it is? The teachings of the church are in harmony with the foundational teachings of Jesus Christ. You need to read the ingredients. You're responsible for what your church teaches and what it believes. What are the doctrines? You ask people, what does your church believe? Oh, my church believes the same as I do. Oh, what do you and your church believe? Same thing as a pastor. Oh, what do you, the pastor in the church believe? We all believe alike. People don't know what they believe.

Let's face it. The average American is biblically illiterate. The Bible says we should be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks us the reason for the hope that is in us with meekness and fear. People can tell you about Survivor and The Bachelor and all these different programs, but they can't tell you about thus saith the Lord. We need to know cuz the devil, the deception in the last days are going to be so overwhelming if it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived. God in prophecy is telling us how to find his church.

Let's take a look. For one thing, it tells us when it appears. It appears after this time of great dearth, the 1798 period. What are two other identifying marks of God's true remnant church? The dragon is enraged with the woman and he went to make war with the rest. That word rest there, if you've got King James, it's the remnant. It means the remainder of her offspring who keep the commandments. Do you think that would be 60%? 80%? There is it 100 %? They believe in all 100 % every church keeps some of them. They believe in all of the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus.

If you read in Revelation 19 verse 10, it says, fear God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. I there are religious leaders in the country on TV. I know we're friends. They come to me and they say, Doug, you talked about prophecy an awful light. And I said, yeah, it's 30% of the Bible. And Jesus talks a lot about prophecy. And it's there to help wake us up and prepare us for what's coming, friends. And yet a lot of churches are ignoring these prophecies that appeal to the last days. We are in prophecy countdown right now.

These things are unfolding. Do you think the world's going to go on much longer the way it's going? With AI and the explosion of technology and the implosion of the environment, all these things happening at once. And Jesus said, that day is going to overtake most people as a thief, meaning it'll be sooner than you think. People all figure it out, you know, when it turns into an apocalyptic meltdown. Yeah, I guess the end is coming. Jesus said when he comes, they will be planting and building and buying and selling and marrying and acting like I've got lots of time left.

And it'll overtake the world as a thief. But Jesus said that day should not overtake you as a thief. Why? Cuz you read the Bible. You know what's coming. You're studying the word. The dragon is angry with the woman. Number seven. How did Jesus say that we're to demonstrate our love for him? For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. They're not a burden. That's 1 John 5:3. John 14:15 Jesus said, if you love me, do what? Keep my commandments. You know, I saw somebody had a bumper sticker.

It said, if you love Jesus, honk your horn. Any of you ever see that? Yeah. And you know, you go up behind him and you say, oh, it's a Christian. Beep beep. And they turn around and they gesture you in a way that you can 't repeat in church. They forgot about their bumper sticker. And then I saw another bumper sticker it said, if you love Jesus, tithe. Anybody can honk. That's interesting. If you love Jesus, tithe, anybody can honk. Honking's cheap. God is wanting our hearts. He said, if you love me, obey me. Number eight.

What three angelic messages will God's end-time church be preaching? Now, it tells us what the emphasis will be. If you read in Revelation 14 just before the before the second coming, take your Bibles. You might turn there real quick. Revelation chapter 14. You know, Revelation 13 has the mark of the beast. Revelation 14 then says and you can start with verse six. 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. It's a message that's going to the whole world.

God's church in the last days is not going to be a local corner fellowship. It's going to be an international movement. Every nation, tongue, and people saying with a loud voice that in Greek is megaphone. Fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come. And worship him. It's calling us back to worship the creator, him that made the heaven, the earth, the sea, the springs of water is part of the Sabbath command. And another angel follows in. Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city. We just read about Babylon in chapter 17 because she talking about a woman, false church has made all nations drunk with the wrath of her fornication.

Babylon counterfeit truth is much bigger than the truth, friends. If you're waiting for the day when the true faithful remnant is going to be popular, it will never happen. Christ said most of his people forsook him cuz what he said was difficult. Then the third angel followed them saying with a loud voice, if anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or his hand, he himself also will drink the wine of the wrath of God that is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation and will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and the presence of the lamb.

Friends, the most fearful curse and plague ever found in the Bible is in chapter 14 of the New Testament of Revelation for those who receive the beast and his image. Do you think people should get warned about this? Oh, and then look in verse 14, same chapter. Then I looked and behold a white cloud and one on the cloud sat like the son of man having on his head a golden crown and in his hand a sharp sickle. Christ is coming to reap the harvest of the earth. So, these messages go to the world just before the second coming.

If that's clear, say amen. Number nine. To whom will God's church present these messages? Having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. This message is going to go to the whole world in the last days, friends. And it's happening now in your hearing. Amen. What specifications has God given in his word to help us identify? Does God give us anything specific to help us to find his remnant church in the last days? One it will appear into its visible work after it emerges from its wilderness in 1798.

All right, well, let me just stop and tell you something here. I know some of you are thinking, well, pastor Doug, you're going to tell us to join your church. Of course I am. If if I wasn't telling you that you are going to be saying, why don't you join the church? You think we should join? When I came to Jesus and started reading the Bible, I went to a lot of churches, met a lot of beautiful people, but they all disagreed. I said, Lord, I want to know the truth. I want to be able to open up the Bible and give a biblical defense for what I believe.

There are so many denominations. How do I make up my mind? While I was living up in the cave in the mountains there, someone brought me a book called The Great Controversy. I don't know if any of you have seen our commercials on Fox Network this week. Have you seen some of the commercials? You see Fox News. I see some hands. Yeah, we're airing commercials, 70 commercials. It's the only news channel that would air our our religious commercials. We're advertising this book. It's called The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem. And I hope you will order one of those and read it.

It pointed me to the Bible. It gave me an understanding of the things I'm presenting in this seminar. And I said, this is the truth. Where where have these people been? And it led me to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. And I didn't want to join the Seventh-day Adventist Church because I thought, well, people call them a cult. They say they're not popular. But as I looked at this actual teachings, I said, this is biblical. And I said, I want to go with what the Bible says. So this church meets this criteria. Look, it appears after the visible work.

After 1798 it rose up in the 1800s. It'll teach the same truths as the apostles taught and its teachings will agree with the Bible. You know what remnant means? Let me how many of you ladies have gone to a fabric store and you order a remnant? I hold up a dollar it gets everyone's attention. Okay. So, when you go to the fabric store or the fabric factory and they're making cloth, they get like a cardboard cylinder. And they start to roll the fabric up on the cardboard. Now, you notice what's going on first is this end.

And you roll it up and then you send it off to the fabric store and then people come in and they say, I want to make some pillows. I want to make some curtains. And so they start cutting pieces off of the roll, right? And they call it a bolt of cloth. And they keep cutting it off. And finally, you get this odd shape down at the end. And that's called the remnant. And they usually have them on sale. But you know, the interesting thing about the remnant is what comes off last is what went on first.

You with me? God's church in the last days, the remnant is going to be as the church was in the beginning. The Bible says that we are going to return to the faith that was once delivered to the saints. So, we're going to have a faith and we're going to have a religion that's going to be the same as the religion that the apostles were teaching in the beginning. All right, let's keep going. It will proclaim God's three end-time messages with a loud voice. It'll have those three messages. It'll be proclaiming that to the world.

It will be a worldwide movement. It's not just a local congregation. There are some lovely neighborhood churches where every pastor sort of is a law unto himself. But this is a global movement. Do you know that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the fastest growing Protestant church in the world? I don't even like to call it a denomination. As far as I'm concerned, it's a movement. And just in the last couple of years, Karen and I have been to India and Pakistan and China and Malaysia and South America and Central America. We we just we travel all over the world.

And everywhere we go, we meet these people that are finding Bible truth and they are swarming back to the word of God, which tells me that Jesus is coming soon. It will teach the same gospel as the end times. Well, that was around the time of the founding of our country that this church rose up because it had a nurturing, fertilizing place where there was freedom of religion and people could practice their faith. Here I am in 2014. Do you know Amazing Facts was one of the only groups that was allowed to come into China and preach a full evangelistic series like I'm doing here, except a lot more people.

I was able to preach for 15 nights, the same number of meetings I'm doing here in mainland China and then they stopped. And we are able to videotape it and the tapes are going around the country. Uh, this last year the largest Christian church in India, probably third or fourth largest Christian church in the world, the pastor there is a friend of mine, Dr. Satish Kumar. He let me preach in his church. I'll tell you friends, if you want to make an evangelist happy, let him preach to about 20,000 people. His membership is 390,000. And they have about five services during the day and all these buildings scattered across and he's got campuses everywhere.

And he used to listen to Amazing Facts tapes years ago when he first went into ministry. So, he doesn't believe everything we believe, but he's a Bible preacher and he is watching. He's letting us share his material. We're sending magazines that he's sharing with his congregation. Things are happening all over the world, friends. Jesus gave us these seven prophetic identifying marks and he said, go and find my church. What does Jesus promise if you search? He says, seek and you will find. And the seeking needs to happen in the Bible. Number 12. How many church organizations in the world will fit these seven points?

There's what? One Lord, one faith, one baptism. And they're going to match up with what the teachings of the scripture are going back to the teachings of Bible times. Number 13. Many denominations call themselves Christians. Does that make them God's true church? No. You read in Isaiah chapter four verse one in that day seven women. What's a woman? They'll take hold of one man, Jesus saying, we'll eat our own bread, their own idea of the bread of life. We'll wear our own apparel, our own idea of righteousness. But we want to be called by your name to take away our reproach.

You got all these different churches. They want the name Christianity, but there's a lot of wolves that are scattered in among the sheep. How do you pick a church with all these denominations, friends? Read the ingredients. It's in the Bible. Number 14. Once a person discovers God's true end-time church, is it necessary to become a member? Well, why wouldn't you want to? The Bible says the Lord did what? He added to the church daily those who are being saved. Who wants to be saved? We must be part of that. Take a stand with God's people.

Take a stand for God's truth. Membership in God's end-time church we're called into one body. That body is the church. 1 Corinthians chapter 12 13 we enter that body by baptism. Number 15. How many ways of escape were there in Noah's day? There was one ark and there was one door and Jesus said, I am the door. The Bible says that he is the truth. Friends, there aren't multiple truths. You aware of that? There is the truth. Jesus is the truth. There is one ark in the last days. Since here's the important question. Since there are many faithful Christians in other churches and since God only has one remnant church in the last days, what's going to happen to these sincere Christians?

Answer. Jesus said, other sheep I have that are not of this fold. Them also I must bring. They will hear my voice through the word through the preacher. They'll hear my voice. And there will be how many? One flock, one fold, one shepherd. When Jesus comes back, do you think he's coming back for church that's scattered if through all these different disagreeing denominations or is there going to be a movement of the spirit that's going to bring people back together based on the word where Christians are going to stand. And I see that movement happening now.

Friend, God is offering you peace and eternal life. How? Well, it all begins by simply turning towards the Lord. The Bible promises that if we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. You can turn to him right now and ask for forgiveness in a new heart. And he's ready to forgive and receive you. That's why Jesus came. Whether you know it or not, he's always been your best friend. A new life is only a prayer away. Just ask him now.

Guest (Male): Amazing Facts began in 1965 with a God-inspired concept.

Guest (Male): Hello, this is Joe Cruz on The Amazing Facts broadcast, facts which affect you. Each radio broadcast would begin with an amazing fact from science, nature, or history followed by a Bible message that touched the hearts of listeners from every walk of life. The program was an instant success and the ministry soon began expanding to include Bible lessons. In 1986 Amazing Facts added the medium of television to its growing outreach efforts offering soul-winning evangelistic messages for viewers around the world. In 1994 pastor Doug Bachelor assumed leadership of the ministry adding the Bible Answers Live call-in radio program and new Ministry TV programs began airing on multiple networks around the world.

For 50 years the driving vision of Amazing Facts has been the bold proclamation of the everlasting gospel. And with a team of evangelists circling the globe and thousands of men and women being trained through the Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism program AFCO, the ministry is helping God's church see a rich harvest of souls. Amazing Facts God's message, our mission.

Guest (Male): Would you like to know God's plan for our troubled world and solutions for your life's challenges beautifully redesigned and updated? Amazing Facts 27 Bible study guides provide straightforward Bible-based answers that are enlightening, encouraging, and easy to understand giving you real relevant Bible answers to questions like how can I have healthier relationships? When will Jesus come? And much more. Order yours today by visiting afbookstore.com or by calling 800-538-7275.

Guest (Male): You can become a Bible expert with The Amazing Facts Historicals of Prophecy Bible Study Experience now available in 18 languages. These 24 easy-to-read lessons will give you confidence about what the Bible really says about last day prophecy, the afterlife, and so much more. Even better, it's absolutely free at historicals.org. Don't miss out. Get the answers you need for a happier, healthier life today at historicals.org.

Guest (Male): Don't forget to request today's free offer. It's sure to be a blessing. And thank you for your continued support as we take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

Guest (Male): This presentation was brought to you by the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry.