Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.gracespringfield.com/sermons/42620/the-jewish-final-solution-to-the-worlds-problem-from-biblical-to-secular-history-ii/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] It does seem strange to me to not be saying to you, would you please open your Bibles to such and such a passage? Because we've been doing that for so long.

[0:13] And we do not mean to imply at all that we are deviating from the authority of Scripture, its value, or anything of the kind. It's just that we have come to the place in the exposition of this subject of the Jewish final solution to the world's problems that is not found in the Bible, and yet it involves these key people, the nation of Israel, and the fact that they are not only a main player in the plan and program of God, they are the main player in the plan and program of God that is yet to unfold.

[0:54] Well, actually, that isn't true either. It has been unfolding all along, but it has not become so aware of its being unfolded as it will when we get to the prophetic portions.

[1:06] So I want you to be advised historically where we are coming from and how that this is absolutely essential to an appreciation of the overall plan and program of God.

[1:18] We have to go outside of the Bible and look at some things that have occurred in history in order to be able to plug them in to the final mix so we'll have a complete picture.

[1:31] And that's what we are attempting to do. We have already made the point that the first significant persecution in the New Testament, and I'm going to forget about the Old because there was persecution in the Old from the Egyptians and from the Babylonians and from the Persians and from the Greeks and so on.

[1:52] We're not going back there now. We are moving further ahead. And we would remind you that in the New Testament, the persecution that began there with which we are most concerned has to do with Jew on Jew.

[2:09] Yes, it is true. The Romans were occupying the land of Israel at the time, and they too oppressed the Jews, extracting tribute from them, etc., and at times were responsible for the crucifixion of thousands of Jews.

[2:26] So we are not considering that, but we are looking at the New Testament persecution that is recorded, which was exclusively Jew upon Jew.

[2:39] These were Jews, and in the main, we may consider them headed up by Saul of Tarsus, who of course was thoroughly Jewish, being of the tribe of Benjamin and so on.

[2:51] He led the persecution against other Jews, and these other Jews were Jews who had embraced Jesus as the Son of God and as the Jewish Messiah.

[3:06] They were growing in number, and the Apostle Paul, or excuse me, Saul of Tarsus, later to become the Apostle Paul, Saul of Tarsus, along with the Jewish establishment, consisting of the high priestly caste, the chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees, all of these considered these fellow Jews, who had embraced Jesus as the Messiah, to be in error.

[3:38] And they represented a real threat to Judaism as it had been practiced for hundreds and hundreds of years. Therefore, these people need to be stamped out.

[3:51] And the way you do that is through a thing called persecution. You oppress them. You deprive them. You malign them.

[4:01] You mistreat them. You threaten them. You do everything you can. And it is all with the idea of bringing them in the line with what position you hold.

[4:12] So, let's look at this for just a few moments from the standpoint of the rationale of persecution. We know that it has existed in humanity from time immemorial.

[4:24] Why do men deem it necessary to persecute others? Why can't we all just take an attitude, live and let live?

[4:38] You want to believe whatever? Okay. I don't agree with that. But if that's what you want to believe, that's fine with me. Okay. I'm going to believe something else. Why can't we be content to do that?

[4:50] Why aren't we content to do that? Because when people get in a position of authority and power, they take the idea unto themselves, we are right.

[5:06] You, who are not of the same opinion as we, are wrong. Therefore, we must compel you to agree with us so we can all be right.

[5:20] And no one will be wrong. Now, you know, on the surface, that doesn't sound too bad. Because what would you have? You'd have unanimity. You would have agreement.

[5:32] You would have absence of conflict. You would have everybody embracing the same thing. And the basis for an argument or for differences doesn't exist.

[5:43] The problem is, your holding an opposite position automatically casts doubt upon ours being right.

[5:58] Now, think of that psychologically and emotionally. Your holding an opposite position to mine can cast doubt upon whether mine is really right.

[6:15] So, rather than re-examine my position, I'm going to force you to change yours.

[6:28] So, we'll be together. Persecutors feel so strongly about this. They must force you to comply with our position.

[6:43] Eventually, you will be glad we made you comply. Kind of sounds like Karl Marx, doesn't it? Dissent.

[6:53] Dissent. Dissent and disagreement cannot be tolerated for the good of the whole. Including even for the good of the dissenters.

[7:06] So, we are going to protect you from yourself. By making you, forcing you, to come over to our position. And the way we're going to do that is make you pay too dear a price not to.

[7:24] That's called persecution. And what is often behind persecution is the motivation that is political. Or religious.

[7:35] Or both. Or sometimes economic. And we are going to see in the material that follows this morning. How that the political and the religious are married.

[7:47] And constitute a double threat. This is all about man's unwillingness to allow his fellow man the freedom of conscience.

[8:01] That has been a cherished. American institution from the time of our inception. Freedom of conscience.

[8:13] And we still cherish it. Except there are pockets here and there. Except there are pockets here and there. That insist on a new dynamic. That is called political correction.

[8:26] And it seeks to disallow people their convictions. If it is deemed that their freedom of conscience. If it is deemed that their freedom of conscience hinders or, God forbid, hurts someone's feelings.

[8:45] And it seeks to allow his fellow man the freedom of conscience. Man's unwillingness to allow his fellow man the freedom of conscience. Is that cherished thing that multitudes of Americans have fought and died for.

[9:00] And this includes even one's freedom to be wrong in our eyes. You have heard the expression. And I think it's a very valid one.

[9:11] And it's one that ought to be the heartbeat of every American. And that is, I completely and totally disagree with the position you hold. But I will fight to the death for your right to hold that position.

[9:27] That's what freedom of conscience is. It has nothing to do with agreeing with one another. It has everything to do with respecting the conscience and freedom of another individual.

[9:38] To formulate their own conclusions and their own opinions. Totally independent from yours. And perhaps in complete disagreement from yours. And the fact that you may be convinced that they are absolutely wrong.

[9:51] Has nothing to do with it. They are entitled to that. And the reason this is so. And this is so critical. Is because God has given to each of us as human beings.

[10:04] This wonderful thing called human volition. It is the power that you possess to exercise your will. For one action as opposed to another action.

[10:16] One belief as opposed to another belief. You have the perfect right to do that. And you have a responsibility to formulate your positions with that volition.

[10:26] Because the positions you reach and the actions that you exercise that come there from. Is going to be the basis for your accountability. God is giving you the power to make moral choices between right and wrong.

[10:41] This position and that position. And the choices that you make you are one day going to answer for. As an individual. That is why. That is why.

[10:53] We must not violate one another's freedom of conscience. Because. That individual. Himself. Exclusively.

[11:04] Alone. Is going to stand before God. And give an account. And they need to be able to do it. With the freedom of their will. Having been exercised.

[11:16] Not impinged upon by others. The persecution complex. The persecution methodology. The persecution rationale.

[11:29] Simply says. Even if we have to kill you. For non-compliance. Our doing so. Will convince others. It is futile.

[11:40] And foolish. To resist. And by the way. Let me just insert here. This is the whole rationale. For cutting off people's heads. It is to put.

[11:52] Abject. Fear. Into others. So that they will not. Oppose. Those. Who cut off people's heads. But will comply. With their demands.

[12:03] The solution. The solution. Of course. Is for you. To convert. To the belief. And positions.

[12:15] That we hold. So that's all you have to do. Is just be reasonable. And come over to our side. And embrace what we believe. And the shackles of persecution.

[12:26] Will drop off. Because we will all be. One big. Happy family. And that's where this world is. And that's where it has been.

[12:38] And that's where it is going. And it's all about. Power. It's all about. Being able. To be in the position.

[12:50] To set the agenda. And call the shots. It's all about power. Whether it's religious. Or political. History. Both ancient. And modern. Is replete.

[13:01] With some of the most. Sordid. And inhumane. Examples. Of persecution. Both religious. And political. Yet. No century. In all of humankind's history.

[13:14] Has approached. The mass numbers. Of people persecuted. And murdered. In the 20th century. We just concluded. 16 years. Ago. The years.

[13:26] Of 1900. To the year. 2000. Topped. All the preceding. Centuries combined. For the wholesale murder. Of untold.

[13:36] Millions. And by the way. For those who would say. That religion. And religious advocates.

[13:47] Have been responsible. For the persecution. And deaths. Of more people. Than any other. Avenue. That is not correct. What has been more.

[13:58] Responsible. For the deaths. Of untold. Millions of people. Than anything else. Nothing. Religion. Although. As bad as that is. It is atheism.

[14:09] The lives. That have been taken. On behalf. Of atheism. Marxism. And communism.

[14:20] 50 million alone. In the Soviet Union. And who knows. How many untold millions. In the Pol Pot regime. In the Cambodian. Killing fields. And in China.

[14:31] How many people there. All of which are. Atheistic nations. To the core. And all of these. Atheistic nations. Together. Have combined. For the murder. And the torture.

[14:41] And the persecution. Of far more people. Than any religious motive. Or doctrine. In the history. Of humanity. So don't ever let anybody.

[14:52] Tell you. Oh. Religion has been nothing. But a big bloodbath. Religion has been responsible. For more than. No. No. No. No. No. Listen. Nobody's saying. That religion.

[15:03] Is not. Involved. And nobody's saying. That Christianity. So called. Is not involved. We are saying. That. What has been done. By way.

[15:13] Of the murder. Of millions of people. By Christians. Has paled. In comparison. To what has been done. In the name. Of godless. Atheism. Particularly.

[15:24] In Asia. And in. Parts of Europe. So. Having shared that. Now. We're going to go back. And the book. From which I will be.

[15:35] Taking. Much of this content. Is called. Constantine's Sword. Written by James Carroll. The author of the National Book Award.

[15:48] And American Requiem. It is. A rather. Heavy tome. It is. Almost. Eight hundred pages. And. I have. No alternative.

[16:00] But to share. Some of these. Extensive paragraphs. With you. Because they so. Clearly define. What we are going to be. Talking about. And let me. Set the platform here.

[16:10] A little bit. If I may. We are going to go back. To the earliest. Centuries. Of Christianity. That.

[16:21] Are. Outside. Of the Bible. As far. As we can determine. Probably. Probably the last. Addition. That has been made. To the Bible. To the New Testament.

[16:32] Was likely. Somewhere. Close to. 100. A.D. That means. That. After.

[16:43] About. 70 years. Following. The death of Christ. The scriptures. Are concluded. We don't have.

[16:55] Any additional. Revelation. There's nothing. In the Bible. About what happened. In the third. Or fourth. Century. Or anything like that. We have to go. To secular history. To find that out.

[17:05] And yet. There is plenty. That was happening. And by the way. The period of time. That we're going to be. Talking about. You learned. In school. Was characterized. As. The dark ages.

[17:16] And you're going to find out. Why. It really was. Dark ages. So early on. Early on.

[17:28] If I may just. Make a little bit. Of a bridge here. From the Bible. To where we're going. Early on. And in the book of Acts. In connection. With the death. Burial. And resurrection. Of Christ.

[17:39] Virtually. All of those. Who were. Early believers. In Jesus. Being the son of God. Dying for the sins of the world. Etc. These were Jews. Jesus was a Jew.

[17:51] He came to the Jewish nation. And he lived. In the Jewish nation. He died. In the Jewish nation. He is the Messiah. Of the Jewish nation. And of the entire world.

[18:03] And. A. Great number. Of Jews. Believed. In Jesus. They became his disciples. And his followers. But the thing. That is really important. That you need to understand.

[18:14] Is that a greater number. Did not. Those who embraced. Yeshua HaMashiach. As their savior. Constituted. A small minority. Of the people.

[18:24] In Israel. And it certainly. Did not include. The religious establishment. The Jewish hierarchy. That called the shots. For the Jewish people. There were a couple. Of exceptions.

[18:35] Happily so. One was Nicodemus. And the other. Was Joseph. Of Arimathea. We have every reason. To believe. That they became. True believers. These people. Were all Jews. And it wasn't.

[18:46] Until you. Get ten years. Down the road. And come to. Acts chapter 10. With Cornelius. A Roman army officer. Who came to faith. In Jesus. As the Messiah.

[18:57] And as the savior. That any. Gentiles. Of any significance. Or any note. Were actually. Added. To. That growing number. Of people. Who believed. In Jesus.

[19:07] We have every reason. To believe. That Cornelius. If not. If not. The first. Was one of the first. Because he turned. A lot of heads. Raised a lot of eyebrows. When this non-Jew.

[19:19] Came to faith. In Jesus. That was big news. Because up to then. Everybody had been Jewish. And what happened. Was. After that. Shortly after that.

[19:29] God raised up. Saul of Tarsus. Of all people. The least likely. Individual. In the world. To become. An apostle. Of Jesus Christ.

[19:40] Saul of Tarsus. And God raised him up. For the specific purpose. Of being. The apostle. To the Gentiles. And I know.

[19:51] Some people are. Maybe even tired. Of hearing that term. They think they know. What it means. And what it involves. But let me tell you something. This was cataclysmic. This was absolutely.

[20:04] Unheard of. That the apostle. Should have a Gentile. I mean. The Gentiles. Should have an apostle. And the least likely. One. To be that. Was Saul of Tarsus. But that was his commission.

[20:16] And. He. Began. Undertaking it. Immediately. Preaching Christ. In the synagogues. But he's the apostle. To the Gentiles. Yet. God made it quite clear.

[20:27] When he saved him. Back in chapter 9. That he was raising him up. To be an apostle. Or a messenger. To the sons of Israel. Israel. And to kings.

[20:38] And princes. And to Gentiles. What that means is. Paul's parish. Was the whole world. Everybody. To the Jew.

[20:48] I became as a Jew. That I might win. The Jew. To the Greek. To the Gentile. Or. Everything. Whatever was required. That's what Paul was. Paul was your man. He was the apostle.

[20:59] To everybody. And in connection. With his efforts. And the efforts. Of others. Whom he had brought along. Like Timothy. And Titus.

[21:10] And Barnabas. And so on. They began. Reaching out. To. Non. Jews. All of whom. Were pagans. Idolaters.

[21:21] Into all kinds of. Crazy religions. Christians. And they began. Preaching Christ. And multitudes. Of these. Non-Jews.

[21:33] Began. Coming to faith. In this. Jewish Messiah. And this. Was known. As the. Gentile. Church. Or the. Gentile. Community.

[21:44] And Jews. And Gentiles. Who believe. Were coming together. And this is what. Constituted. The church. Called the body. Of Christ. It was Jew. And Gentile. On the same level.

[21:55] On the same plane. Accepted. With all the same benefits. All the prerogatives. Everything else. There was no distinction. The middle wall. Of partition. Was broken down. Neither Jew. Nor Gentile. Bond or free.

[22:05] Male or female. You all children of God. By faith. In Christ Jesus. And the number. Of Gentiles. Non-Jews. Who were coming. To faith.

[22:15] In Christ. Began. To mushroom. Meanwhile. The religious. Jewish. Establishment. Who had embraced. The old.

[22:26] Mosaic. Economy. And rejected. Christ. As being the Messiah. Of Israel. Dug in their heels. They would not be moved. And.

[22:37] They began. Persecuting. Other Jews. In a. Stronger fashion. Even than what. Saul of Tarsus. Had been doing. And as the number. Of Gentiles.

[22:48] Began to grow. A curious. Thing. Took place. I'm not exactly. Sure. Where. But it was. Probably. In that. Second. Century.

[22:58] That this. Began. Developing. As the number. Of. Non-Jews. Began. To proliferate. And come. To faith. In Christ. And this thing. Was mushrooming. I mean.

[23:09] It was growing. Leaps. And bounds. And you've got. The religious. Jewish. Establishment. Still holding their own. And having nothing to do.

[23:19] With this thing. Called Christianity. Lo and behold. The pendulum. Of persecution. Began. To swing. And instead. Of Jew.

[23:31] Persecuting Jew. As it was. With Saul of Tarsus. It became. Gentile. Persecuting Jew. Now.

[23:41] Gentiles. Became. Much. Greater. In number. And were. In the driver's seat. They were. Proliferating. And just. Growing. In leaps. And bounds. Meanwhile. Judaism. Was rather.

[23:52] Stagnant. Because it was. A very. Very. Small. Group. Religiously. To start with. Got to understand. That the Jewish. Religion. As practiced. By Jews. Was very.

[24:03] Tiny. Very. Minor. Relatively. Insignificant. Nonetheless. That's where. The chosen. People. Of God. Were. And the vast.

[24:13] Majority. Of everyone. Around them. In the Mediterranean. World. Just. Outnumbered. Them. Tremendously. And what. Began. To happen. This is hard.

[24:24] To pin down. But what. Began. To happen. Was the. Thinking. Developed. On the part. Of the non-Jews. That is. Gentiles. Who'd come out. Of paganism. That.

[24:35] That. Coveted. Status. That God. Originally. Bestowed. Upon the Jewish people. That made them. The chosen people. Has been withdrawn.

[24:47] God. Is mad. At the Jew. He's really. Put out. At the Jew. Because. It was the Jew. And the Jewish people. Who rejected.

[24:58] The very. Messiah. Savior. That God. Sent. And God. Has. A controversy. With the Jew. Whereas. The Jew.

[25:10] Used to be. God's chosen people. Now. They are. God's. Hated people. And God. Hates them. Because. They crucified.

[25:20] Their Messiah. After all. God. Went to all. Of the trouble. Of sending. His own son. To redeem. These people. And how. Did they show. Their gratitude. They killed him.

[25:33] And the Jew. Was charged. With deicide. Which means. The murder. Of the deity. Well. Let me make this.

[25:45] Very. Very clear. Right now. Lest there be. Any misunderstanding. God. Has never. Hated the Jew.

[25:55] Hath. God. Cast off. His people. Whom. He foreknew. Paul said. God. Forbid. God. Has never. Hated the Jew. God. Doesn't. Hate the Jew. Now. Contrary.

[26:06] To what. Some Gentiles. Think. And the church. Which is. The religious. Establishment. Referred to. As. The church. Or the body. Of Christ. Has not.

[26:17] Taken the place. Of the Jew. We have been. Brought on board. As an entirely. Different thing. Altogether. Unheard of. Unthought of. And unknown. Soon. We are not.

[26:29] Something. That was. Prophesied. And promised. In the Old Testament. We aren't there at all. We aren't even mentioned. There isn't even a hint. That this thing called. The Christian church. Is going to one day.

[26:40] Be established. You will search all of the Old Testament. In vain. You won't find anything. Even close to that. Which means. We. The church. Not the subject. Of prophecy. We are the subject.

[26:52] Of mystery. And if you read Ephesians 3. You'll never get a clearer report. Than that. Which says. That. This whole concept. Of the Jew. And Gentile.

[27:02] Coming together. In one body. Was a mystery. That was hidden. In the mind. Of God. From time. Immorial. And never was revealed.

[27:14] Or even hinted at. Until God revealed it. To the Apostle Paul. And then he went public. With it. And it got him. In a lot of trouble. Still does.

[27:28] So. This. New. Found. Thing. Called. The church.

[27:39] That sees. The church. That sees. Themselves. As the replacement. For Israel. Is now. In the driver's seat. And it is. Growing. Like crazy. By the time. You get to the second century.

[27:50] Third century. This is when Christians. By the way. Were being persecuted. By Rome. See. There's a lot of persecution. To go around. Now. The Romans. Are persecuting. Christians.

[28:01] And the reason. They're persecuting. Christians. Is purely political. It's nothing religious. Please understand that. Jews. Never. Prosecuted. Or persecuted. Christians. Because of the Christian.

[28:12] Religion. As far as the Romans. Were concerned. You could just add. Jesus Christ. To their list of gods. And go on with it. And they wouldn't have any problem with that.

[28:23] But that's not what Christians were doing. Christians. Were insisting. That there was. But one Lord. And that one Lord. Was Jesus Christ.

[28:35] King of all. That wouldn't do. That would not do. Because that means. Your initial loyalty then. Is going to be. To this God.

[28:46] And Rome can't tolerate that. Your loyalty. Has to be to Rome. And to the emperor of Rome. Who by the way. Was deified also. And regarded as God.

[28:56] So it was a political thing. More than a religious thing. As far as the Romans. Were concerned. You could have a half a dozen. Different religions. They didn't care. But you owed your allegiance.

[29:07] And loyalty to Rome. And if you would not give it. Then you would pay dearly for that. And the Christians. All they had to do. When they were brought before. Roman authorities. And threatened with execution. All you have to do.

[29:17] Is say. Caeserum. Curios. Caesar is Lord. And you're off the hook. You can go free. And these Christians.

[29:28] Many of them. Wouldn't do that. They responded with. Jesus. Jesus.

[29:43] Is Lord. And for that. They paid. With their life. Can you imagine that? Now listen.

[29:54] Lest you think that is really strange. That is exactly. What's going on today. There are people in the Mideast. Who have been executed.

[30:05] And are being persecuted. As we speak. And their lives are being taken from them. And heads are being cut off. As we speak. Simply because.

[30:15] They will not say. Allah is the only true God. And Muhammad is his prophet. That's all they have to do. Because that constitutes conversion.

[30:28] To Islam. And then. Your life will be spared. You realize how many Christians. Have refused to do that. And paid for it with their life.

[30:40] We've got the same thing going on now. That was going on back then. 1500 years ago. 1800 years ago. And the rationale. And the logic. The threat. The intimidation. Everything behind it.

[30:50] Is the same. So. By the year. 315. That is about.

[31:02] 285 years. After the death. Barrel. And resurrection. Of Christ. This thing. Called. The Christian church. Has been growing. And proliferating. And multiplying.

[31:13] And spreading. And some of the most unlikely people. Have become Christians. So much so. That it posed. A real threat. To the declining.

[31:24] Roman Empire. And a young man. By the name. Of Constantine. Came to the throne. And saw the writing. On the wall. And came to the conclusion.

[31:35] We're not going to beat. These people. There are too many of them. And they're multiplying. Like rabbits. We'd better join them. And he passed.

[31:47] What was known. As the edict. Of Constantine. And whereas. Prior to that time. It was. Governmentally. Illegal. For anyone. To be a Christian. And if you were a Christian.

[31:58] You kept it quiet. Now. The law passed. Says. It is. Illegal. Not. To be. A Christian. And as a result.

[32:09] Of that edict. There were. Thousands. Of pagan. Priests. Who were baptized. Into. The Christian church.

[32:22] And some say. That's where the corruption. Really began. And we've never recovered. From it since. Now. What is taking place is. In this fourth century.

[32:34] 315. 325. The council of Nicaea. And Chalcedon. Christianity. Or what is going to be.

[32:45] Passed off. And described as Christianity. Is now. In the driver's seat. Never been there before. Never had this kind of power.

[32:56] This kind of authority. Before. They were always. The despised underdog. Now. They are in the forefront. And what is happening. Is that.

[33:07] What we now know. As. The Roman Catholic Church. Began coming into prominence. And I don't want anyone. To think. That this is a diatribe. Against Catholicism.

[33:18] It's not intended. To be that at all. I'm just trying to be. Accurate. Historically. And what was happening. Is. In accord. With the tradition.

[33:28] That existed then. In the minds. Of many people. Who saw Peter. As the first pope. And apostolic succession. As something that God intended. And should be continued on. There were installed.

[33:40] Individuals. In what was referred to. As the chair of Peter. And they became. The pope. Or the papa. And that means. The head bishop. Or the head of the church.

[33:51] And literally. It meant. To be. The vicar. Or the substitute. Of Christ. On the earth. And as far as. The Roman Catholics. Were concerned. And even today. It hasn't changed.

[34:02] As far as. Roman Catholics. Are concerned. Even today. Is. The pope. Of Rome. Is the closest thing. You will get. To Jesus Christ.

[34:13] On this earth. And he is. The vicar of Christ. He is Christ. Stand in. On the earth. In so far as. Roman Catholics. Are concerned. Of course. Protestants. Don't see it that way. But that's the position.

[34:23] That the Roman Catholics. Take. And what happened was. With this. Religion. Of. Christianity. Morphing. Into.

[34:34] What is going. To become. The Roman Catholic Church. With the. Pope. At the head. And bishops. And cardinals. Etc. Installed. Under them. Based upon. A lot of tradition.

[34:45] And a lot of imagination. And very little scripture. Because they saw. Themselves. In this hierarchy. As being. The replacement. For the Jewish hierarchy. And what did the Jewish religion have?

[34:57] Well. The Jewish religion had. A high priest. And the first one. Was Aaron. Remember? So. And during. During Christ's earthly ministry.

[35:09] The high priest. Was Caiaphas. And Annas. They were. The high priest. That was. That was. The ultimate. Office. In. Jewish. Religion. Was the high priest.

[35:20] And then there were. Chief priests. Under him. And Roman Catholicism. Simply took their cue. From what had already been established. In. The.

[35:30] Jewish. Tradition. And the Jewish. Hierarchy. They had a high priest also. And their high priest. Is called. The Pope. And they have bishops. And cardinals. Under them. And that takes the place of.

[35:42] The chief priest. And. And so on. Others. In. In the. In the Jewish hierarchy. So. It became a natural thing. For them. To see themselves.

[35:53] As the replacement. For the Jewish system. And they were also. Regarded. As the replacement. People. For the Jewish people. And this is why we refer to this.

[36:04] As replacement theology. There are those who embrace that. Today. In fact. What I have just described to you. Is the majority opinion. Worldwide.

[36:18] This is the position. That is embraced. By the majority. Of Christendom. And that is. That the Christian church. Has replaced. The Jew.

[36:29] As God's chosen people. That is why it is called. Replacement theology. Sometimes it is also referred to. As supersessionism. And I would emphasize. As I have in the past.

[36:40] We. Here at Grace Bible Church. And those like us. Constitute a minority. There aren't many people. Who believe what we do. Insofar as.

[36:52] The church. Being. A completely separate thing. Altogether. Not to be confused with Israel. We see ourselves as mystery. We see the Jew. As prophecy. And the two should not meet.

[37:03] So. When you try to make them mesh. You end up with all kinds of problems. And this by the way. Is why there is so much confusion. And so much differences. In the interpretation of scripture. Because they do not see that distinction.

[37:14] They do not hold that difference. As we do. So. With this taking place. What is going to occur now. Is. And this is very dramatic. And very dynamic. And it is very key to understanding.

[37:25] Because. You've got to. You've got to. Get a handle on this. With this newfound. Authority. And position. Of the church.

[37:37] The church. Being in the driver's seat. They also. Were able to secure. To themselves.

[37:48] Not merely religious authority. And power. But political authority. And power. And that was. Huge. Now the Roman Catholic Church.

[37:59] Doesn't have that so much today. Although they do have. The Roman Catholic Church. And the Pope. Does have. A lot of political clout. Especially in certain circles.

[38:10] Where they. Where they either oppose something. Or favor something. And they have a lot of influence. And a lot of people are listening to them. And take them very seriously. But nothing like it was.

[38:21] In the Middle Ages. Because. Let me put it this way. The Pope of Rome. In the early centuries. When religion. And politics.

[38:32] Were married. Into one group. The Pope. Possessed. The power. Of eternal life. Over. The kings. And queens.

[38:43] Of Europe. Now. That. Is power. They held their eternal destiny. In their hands. Well. In actuality. They didn't.

[38:55] But they believe they did. And those on the receiving end. Believe they did. And this is why. Monarchs. Kings. And queens. And princes. Were unwilling.

[39:07] To cross. The Pope. In Rome. To go against the Pope. Because. He could excommunicate you. And if he excommunicated you. You were kicked out of the church. You're going straight to hell.

[39:19] When you die. And they believe that. Because salvation. Was viewed. As in the church. Eternal life. Was in the church. And grace. Was received. Through the sacraments.

[39:30] And the only one. Who could dispense the sacraments. Was the church. And if you were not in the church. You're doomed. Now. This became. A new basis. Of persecution. And who.

[39:41] Is it. In this. Newfound position. Of political power. And religious power. That is now vested in. The Roman Catholic Church. Who.

[39:52] Now. Are they going to look at. As non-compliant. And stubborn. And resistant. And refusing to embrace. Jesus as the savior of the world.

[40:03] Who? The Jew. The Jew. The Jew. And that's where. So much. Of what we are going to be talking about.

[40:15] Right now. Began. Listen. Carefully. Don't have much time. Want to share this paragraph with you. Come to be talking about Augustine. St. Augustine.

[40:28] Or as he is sometimes referred to. As Augustine. Had to have been. One of the most brilliant individuals. Who ever lived. But he still had a fallen mind.

[40:40] That enabled him to think. With a warped intellect. And he reached some conclusions. That were real doozies. But he also reached some conclusions. That were absolutely profound. And were reflective.

[40:51] Of an incredible mind. And he had to have had. An incredible mind. I don't want to take anything away. From this man. So far as his ability. And his contribution. Is concerned.

[41:01] Because. In his city of God. And in the confessions. Of St. Augustine. Which were written. In the fourth century. I mean. How much stuff. Do you know. That was written. In the fourth century.

[41:12] That's still available. On bookshelves today. His stuff is. It's very profound. He had a. He had an incredible mind. But he didn't have a mind.

[41:23] That could reach. No wrong conclusions. And he reached. Some pretty wrong ones. As we see now. And can look back on history. And we know places. Where he was wrong. But he was still. An incredible individual. And he probably contributed more.

[41:36] To Roman Catholic theology. Than anyone else. And John Calvin. Is going to be profoundly influenced. By Augustine. Thirteen hundred years later.

[41:49] Or twelve hundred years later. And Calvin will have been. A Roman Catholic priest himself. So. What we are sharing with you. And by the way. What we're talking about now.

[42:00] Keep in mind. When we're talking about. The Roman Catholic Church. Please. Remember. We're talking about a time. When. There were no Baptists. Didn't exist.

[42:10] There were no Lutherans. There were no Methodists. There were no Presbyterians. None of these denominations. Even existed. Nobody had even heard of them. Back then. This was all there was.

[42:22] And it. So far as I know. Was the only. Actually. Recognized. Religious body. At that time. Now I know. There were lots of splits.

[42:33] And splinters. And there were pockets. Of true believers. Here and there. And yon. But by and large. So far as. Organization is concerned. And recognition is concerned. The Roman Catholic Church.

[42:45] In those early centuries. Was it. That was all that existed. There wasn't anything else. And within. That Roman Catholic Church. And its priesthood.

[42:55] And all the rest. There were. Those. Who were. Genuine. Believers. In. The Lord Jesus Christ. They were really. Saved people.

[43:07] There were also. A whole bunch that weren't. So nothing else has changed. In the Protestant Church today. There are believers. And there are unbelievers.

[43:18] We all know that being in church. Doesn't make you a believer. Billy Sunday used to say. Being in church. Doesn't make you a Christian. Any more than standing in a garage. Makes you an automobile. But.

[43:30] There are true believers. And. Unbelievers. In every assembly. And. It's that way. In Roman Catholicism. In fact. I can't prove this. Of course. But.

[43:41] I would go so far. As to say. There are probably. Percentage wise. Percentage wise. There are probably. More true believers. In the Roman Catholic Church.

[43:52] Today. Than there have ever been. In its history. With maybe. With the exception. Of the first couple of centuries. And. And these. And. And of course.

[44:03] A lot of Protestants. Come back and say. Well if they're true believers. How can they possibly. Stay in the Roman Catholic Church. Well that's another subject. But it has a great deal. To do with emotion. Family ties. Tradition.

[44:13] And all the rest of it. Which is very. Very powerful. And often more powerful. Than the intellect. So. That's. I'm. Boy. Time is getting away from me. And. I gotta.

[44:29] Well. I'm not going to start this. Because I won't be able to. Do it justice. But just say. This is coming. Okay. And. What I've given you this morning.

[44:41] Is. Background material. Regarding this persecution thing. And I just want you to keep in mind. That. That. That. That. These. Who comprise.

[44:53] This early Roman Catholic Church. Are going to establish themselves. As some of the most.

[45:05] Brutal. Persecuting. Bodies of people. Who have ever lived. And what they are going to be doing.

[45:19] Will all be in the name. Of Christianity. Christianity. And if you don't get anything else. Out of this. You will gain. An appreciation.

[45:32] For why. Most. Jewish people. Are scared. To death. Of Christianity. And want nothing. To do with it. For the most part. Happily. There are Jewish people.

[45:44] Who become true believers. In Christ. They get their eyes open. And they see the real truth. But let me tell you something. There are a lot of Christians. People who name the name of Christ.

[45:55] Who wantonly. Persecuted. Abused. And yes. And sometimes. Put to death. Jewish people. In the name.

[46:06] Of Christianity. Now those of us. Who are Christians. Would like to think. That there were no true believers. Among them. And let me just close with this.

[46:18] If I may. Because this is very very. Much on the front burner today. With our president. And his refusal. To identify. The extremist. Jihadists.

[46:29] As Muslims. You know. He will not call them Muslims. You know why. And so many Americans. Get so irked. And so provoked at him. For being. Unwilling to do that. And we charge. The president.

[46:40] With not being willing. To call a spade a spade. And after all. What are these people. If they are not Muslims. They're not Catholics. They're not Protestants. They're not Jews. They're Muslims. Why can't he call them Muslim terrorists?

[46:51] And the reason he can't. Is for the same reason. That a lot of Christians. Will not call those. Who persecuted Jews. In the middle ages. They will not call them. Christians.

[47:02] They will call them. Religious. They will call them. Catholics. But they refuse. To call them Christians. And the reason for that is. They say. That is not. Christianity.

[47:12] Christianity. And I'm sure. That our president. President Obama. Would say. I will not call these Muslim terrorists. Because. That is not Islam. That is Islam.

[47:24] Hijacked. That is Islam. In an extreme. I refuse. To dignify. Those terrorists. By calling them. Muslims. Well now. It gets complex.

[47:34] And very complicated. Because. Those who were. Engaging in these jihads. They consider themselves. To be Muslims. And they consider themselves.

[47:44] To be doing nothing more. Than following. What the Quran teaches. And you know what. That is exactly. What it teaches. And they are doing it.

[47:56] So. The rub is. To what extent. Do you. As a Muslim. Interpret the Quran. Do you take it literally. Or do you take.

[48:08] Most of it. Figuratively. And the answer is. The jihadists. Take it. Literally. And they say. Where Muhammad said. That you are to seek out. The infidels.

[48:19] Give them a chance. To convert. To Islam. And if they won't convert. Kill them. That's what the Quran says. And that's what the jihadists.

[48:29] Are following. The. Moderate. Muslims. Many of whom. We have living here. In this country. Do not interpret.

[48:41] The Quran. Literally like that. They say. Well. There is a jihad. That is internal. And the internal. Jihad. Is a war. In your own heart. And mind.

[48:52] And you are to fight. Inwardly. And struggle. Inwardly. To become a better person. And you are to fight. Against yourself. As it were. It's kind of like. The flesh and the spirit. Thing. In Christianity. In the United States.

[49:02] And. So this is. This is where part of the problem is today. And the point has been made. If you cannot identify. And name your enemy. How can you defeat them? And we've got a real problem.

[49:12] On our hands today. With this thing. Called Islam. Because there are different factions of Islam. And do you know something? Do you know that 80%. 80% of Muslims.

[49:27] Are Sunni. S-U-N-N-I. They are Sunni. That is a branch of Islam. And only 20% are Shiite. So the Shiites are greatly outnumbered by the Sunnis.

[49:43] And the Sunnis do not even consider the Shiites. As legitimate Muslims. And the Shiites do not consider the Sunnis.

[49:54] As legitimate Muslims. So you see what a mixed bag we've got here. And how complex this thing is. It is very very difficult. And what is taking place now in Europe.

[50:07] With these things we've been reading about. About the women molesting and raping and groping women in Germany. And so on. These are Muslims.

[50:17] Who are approaching. Western women. Within the dictates of the Quran. And they assault these women. And they say these women.

[50:29] Deserve it. For the way they are dressed. As if they expect European women. To dress like Muslim women. And I don't think they're very much interested in that. But nonetheless.

[50:40] That's their position. They hold it against them. And the Muslims take a very supremacist attitude. Like Islam. They and their position is superior to everything. And that too. Adds to the mix.

[50:51] So we are in a real quandary here. And you know something. All of this stuff with Islam. Goes back. And we're going to see this.

[51:02] How this surfaces. In the series that we're going to be bringing. Over the next two or three times. Because Islam. Didn't even exist. Until Muhammad came on the scene. In the 7th and 8th century.

[51:16] This was hundreds and hundreds of years. After Christianity had already been established. So. Buckle your seat belts. We're going to be in for us. A real bumpy ride.

[51:26] Upcoming. And I think it will be enlightening. I can't tell you it's going to be edifying. I can't tell you it's going to be edifying. But I can tell you this. It's going to be very enlightening.

[51:40] Very enlightening. When we get through with this series. You are going to have an entirely different perspective. On a lot of things. And we trust it will all be because. It was simply.

[51:51] Based on truth. Much as I would like to. Open this up right now for Q&A. I'm going to resist the temptation. Because we'll be here until 3 o'clock.

[52:01] If we do that. So. Going to ask you to stand. And I'll dismiss you. Father we recognize. These are really difficult issues.

[52:13] That we've been dealing with. And yet they are a part of human history. And would be foolish to ignore them. Perhaps. Perhaps in large part. Much of our problem today.

[52:25] Stems from. Having ignored history. And we don't want to belong to that crowd. We want to be as enlightened. As we can be.

[52:36] So that we can make. As intelligent decisions as possible. And take as intelligent. God honoring positions. As possible. And to this end.

[52:47]  We commit this study. And those that are to follow. In Christ's name. Amen. Amen.