"And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord. It is a privilege to have you here with us today. We are especially grateful for those of you who have been continuing to share the ministry website with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness to share God's Word with others continues to bring about tremendous results. People are responding to God's Word! This is all so amazing. P ray that God will continue to give us boldness to speak the truth in ministry in the face of adversity in the coming days! I want to let all of you know how grateful I am for all of you. We are so thankful your prayers. Prayer is powerful tool, and a mighty weapon against the adversary. And through your sharing, God continues to bring a number of people to faith in Jesus Christ. Praise God! May He continue to use you and this ministry mightily to effect change in even more lives. All for His glory! The attack on the Church, religious faith and Christians, ultimately traces back to human sin and America’s normalization of it. In recent years, there has been an increase of attacks against churches, church statues and
It is again my honor and great privilege to open the Word of God with you today. I am convinced that the truths here are those kinds of truths that the Lord has designed to reveal only to those who belong to Him
and hide it from others. I believe that is why when the unregenerate attempt to read God's Word, they are thoroughly and hopelessly confused. I would like to add, this should not be the case for those of us who are believers. Throughout the Bible, we often find the familiar words, "If anyone has an ear, let him hear," I believe this has a far greater connotation that what is frequently alluded to. It means more that simply hearing the words, but understanding and comprehending them as well.
I invite you to
follow along with me as I read to you these first ten verses of chapter
13, to set the text in our minds, though today, we will be looking only at the first four of them. Revelation 13:1-10. Listen for the voice of our Lord. " And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.As we embark on our study of chapter 13, we are introduced to the coming antichrist, I believe you will immediately notice his association is with the dragon, who is none other than Satan. He is the child of Satan.
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. 2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. 3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; 4 they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?" 5 There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints."
Historically, the Church has had its most profound impact when it was under persecution. The reality is, whenever the world persecutes the Church, it thrives even more. Persecution, affords us with an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate the unmerited love, patience, forgiveness, mercy, and grace of God. Satan's has never stopped the Church from thriving through persecution.
In John 16, Jesus told His disciples to expect this. 'They will make you outcasts from the synagogue. An hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think he’s offering service to God." In fact, it was the Jews who were the first persecutors of Christians. They were the ones who killed Christ. It wasn't long before the Gentiles would pick up persecuting the Christians, and the Romans would carry that on for nearly three hundred years.
Christians who are living pure and righteous lives, are a constant, personal rebuke to the sin and debauchery of the world. Because they hate us, they will persecute us. This is exactly what Jesus said would happen. Perhaps, you've never considered that to be a prophecy, but that's what it is, and if I may add, a very accurate one. Let me remind you that persecution is the cost of discipleship. Jesus said "Take up your cross and follow Me." Christ carried His cross all the way to His death. The level in which you are persecuted is directly related to your faithfulness.
In John 15, Jesus told His disciples, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you." The presence of Christians makes life miserable for the unregenerate sinner. From the moment that you became a Christian, your relationship with the world changed. They hate us because we are not part of the world system. The true Church preaches against sexual immorality, sin and judgement and hell and the world hates it! Because they are under the control of Satan.
James, the younger brother of our Lord said in James 4, "Friendship with the world is hostility toward God."
Anybody who loves sin, hates Christianity. I have some Christians say, "I don’t feel like I am hated by the world." Allow me to tell you how you can elevate persecution and hostility, start identifying sin as evil. Fornication and sexual immorality is evil. Tampering with ones gender identity is evil. Abortion is evil. All religions that deny the deity of Christ is antichrist, that's evil. That’s exactly why they killed Jesus because He said their religion was evil. Look, you do not have to be mean, hateful and cruel, you can and should say it with love, but it has to be said.
In II Timothy 3:12, the Paul said " Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
The issue for the cancel culture mob was not the words used, but rather the message the propagate. If you say anything against what they say, they claim it is objectionable, it's hate speech. We are only tolerated to express what we feel if it fits into their message. Former President Barack Obama notably criticized cancel culture, arguing social media judgments do not, in fact, equate to true social activism.
Cancel culture is not new, however, it began trending again in 2020, following the racial protests. It’s a shame that our world has come to this. I believe that the antidote to the cancel culture agenda, is reclaiming the public square, and speaking the truth for Jesus Christ.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for these truths that are so powerful, so profound. Grant us the boldness and courage to proclaim that the world is not our king, Jesus Christ is our King. Empower our voices to call the lost and deceived to the safety of Christ. You have given us that mission, that’s our responsibility to reach out to those who are slaves of sin. Cause our transformed lives, to demonstrate to the watching world, that we belong to You. Touch their hearts, open their eyes and reveal Christ to them Lord and draw them to Him.
We ask and pray this in Jesus' name
Amen
Today's Message: The Beast And The False Prophet
The first ten verses of chapter 13, John sees this astounding vision, a vision which closely parallels the prophecy of Daniel. This is the most graphic presentation of the antichrist found anywhere in Scripture. It is not only riveting but unforgettable.
We already know biblically, that Satan is the god of this world. The kingdom of darkness provides us with a stark contrast of the glorious kingdom, which yet to come, when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. Only one is deceived and delusional, would deny that our world is rapidly descending into further decay and moral corruption. The world certainly is looking for a leader, someone who is going to rise up and solve all of our problems.
Such a leader is indeed coming, in fact, Satan is going to specially design him. He is going to rise to a position of prominence, power and authority, like no one has ever had in the history of the world has ever seen. We can only imagine how much worse it will be when the Antichrist is in power and the Church is removed. The corruption, moral, social, economic, ecological and political failure and devastation on the earth will be insurmountable. Rest assured, Satan is already preparing the world for the Antichrist.
It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints."
I'd like you to note, that while Satan is firmly planted on the sand of the seashore, he calls forth out of the sea, which represents the abyss, the beast. He is a man who rules over a conglomerate world kingdom, that is described as ten horns and seven heads, this is symbolic of the nations of the world over which he stands. By the way, the metaphor of the sea is used in the Old Testament to describe the
realm of wickedness, that sphere of Satan, the source of satanic
sea monsters. A reservoir of evil, if you will. This man will be a charismatic demagogue, who is brilliant, persuasive and yet extremely deceptive and deadly.
We see that the beast is literally coming up out of "the
abyss," that is described in Revelation 11, which is that prison that currently incarcerates the most vile
demons and where Satan will eventually be incarcerated during the
millennial reign. As we mentioned last time, the ten horns are symbolic of strength and power, and are representative
of all of the world of human power that will collaborate with him.
If you read Daniel 7, you can see how this Antichrist rises from out of all these monarchs. The seven heads, refer seven different world governments of the past, which as we noted previously Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and then of course, the final kingdom. Of the seven kings, five have fallen, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and the one that is would be Rome, and the other has not yet come, is the revived Roman Empire, the world empire under the Antichrist. This kingdom embodies all of the satanic power and all of the demonic influence of all the evil empires of the day, the Antichrist is going to be the ruler of it, who will be the worst of anti-God, anti-Christ power and influence from all of human history.
Verse 1 says, "And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names." As I mentioned earlier, Satan is taking his position squarely in the middle of the nations of the world who are represented by the sand of the seashore. He wants to be worshiped and adored, he's not about to let go of this world. This is the great dragon symbolically standing over the nations of the world as if he possesses them. The sea is symbolical of masses of people
I have heard many speculate that the Antichrist is a Jew, and he would come from the cursed tribe of Dan. We know that John Chrysostom, in the fourth century AD taught that, though we cannot be dogmatic about its origin. I am however, convinced that he will be a Gentile. Jesus referred to this time as "the time of the Gentiles" in Luke 21:24. Bear in my mind, he is going to lead a European alliance, of a revived Roman Empire of Gentile nations.
The blasphemous names may be what Paul in II Thessalonians 2 ascribes to the man of lawlessness. He opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, proclaiming himself to be God. However, the blasphemous names on the beast's heads are not identified. These names will demonstrate their allegiance to the beast whom they will deify rather than the one true God.
In verse 2, as John is looking at this vision more closely, he sees a very complex beast. "And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority."
When God gave Daniel his vision, He showed him the four great world empires to come, certainly the 'first three bear the image of animals. A leopard because of his incredible swiftness and rapid speed. Daniel 7 says there was a fourth beast, and this one is an indescribable one. Verse 7 just says, "Dreadful, terrifying, extremely strong, with large iron
teeth, devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its
feet, and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and
it’s the one that had the ten horns." He's talking about Rome. The leopard, the bear, and the lion are all embodied in this one beast. Notice Daniel described the world empires that were to come, here, John describes them as they’ve already come and gone.
At the end of verse 2, John says "And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority." He's talking about his shear force, meaning there is no human element to stop him. The apostle Paul tells us in II Thessalonians 2, "he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way." Satan’s dictator will be allowed to rule without restraint for 42 months, the last half of the Tribulation. By this time, those who have heard the truth and rejected it, will be
literally overcome by the myth of worshipping the Antichrist. Again, all restraint is now gone and all the demons of the universe have come from out of the pit, and are on the earth for the first time in human history.
History demonstrates that leaders are born in a crisis, rising in the midst of the unsolvable problems. Think of Adolph Hitler, who began as a lowly corporal, rising through the ranks until he was in charge of everything. He gained his power because of the chaos.
That brings us to verses 3-4, "I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?" This is speaking of his acclaim. People are going to be amazed by him. Notice that the word "slain" here is the very same word used back in chapter 5.
This beast receives a mortal wound. I am sure that many will be amazed to see him come back to life. It has been interpreted that one of the kingdoms that was destroyed will come back. This would be the new revived Roman Empire. This would correspond to a highly symbolic "wounding" and subsequent healing. However, most see this as a reference to the Antichrist being physically
stricken with a mortal wound and being raised from the dead by Satan. He is empowered by Satan. I have a difficult time wrapping my head around the idea this man actually dying and be raised from the dead. Satan cannot do that. However, if God chooses to do it, it can be done. We have seen his world empire, his counterfeit death and his global worship.
In Closing..
The chaos, moral decline and violence in our world seems to be escalating. As I have stated before the phrase "If anyone has an ear, let him hear," I believe this is so very important today. This serves as a warning specifically to the saints that will be alive
during this time of just unprecedented suffering and persecution, to submit without retaliation to the impending
persecution at the hands of the antichrist, but it is also a message of
hope. God is reminding us that He is the one who is in charge and His grace will prevail. Allow me to remind you my dear brothers and sisters, His grace is sufficient. And it is by His grace, we shall all persevere.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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