The Career of The Beast (The First Beast) | Revelation 13:3-10 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Series)

Amen. Well, let's turn on our Bibles

now to the Book of Revelation chapter 13.

Revelation 13 · chapter mention

Revelation chapter 13. Today, by the grace of God, we

Revelation 13 · chapter mention

are going to continue to explore the five.

Insights concerning the career of the beast, This beast who

represents a coming world ruler who will seek to eradicate

what's left of Christian witness while deceiving the masses just

before the return of Christ. And last week we spent our time

together meditating on the 1st characteristic of the

Antichrist, the fact that he will be a global political

leader unlike anyone in all of history.

And the reason for this individual's unprecedented

authority is because, according to the Bible, he was empowered

by Satan unlike anybody else in the past, to the extent that he

is granted authority over all nations, all tribes, all

languages, all peoples. And this beast, as you heard, is

also known as the Antichrist. He's a powerful figure that the

Scripture not only predicts will emerge on the world stage to

oppose Christ, but more importantly, he will actually

seek to replace Christ. He will present himself as

humanity, savior, and deliver. And he will promise them hope.

He will grant them so many things that will persuade them

to the point of worship. And for the rest of this

afternoon, I want us to consider the four remaining

characteristics of this fascinating character, the

career of this beast. And as we meditate on these

things, we will certainly be challenged.

We will be encouraged at the same time.

So if you were with us last week, you remember that in

Revelation 13 one and two, we have a vivid description of this

man and how he will emerge as a global leader.

But the second characteristic is found in verse 3.

So let's read from verse one through verse 3 to recapture the

scene together. Revelation 13 verse one reads

and I saw a beast rising out of the sea with 10 horns and seven

heads, with 10 didem on its horns and blasphemous names on

its heads. And the beast that I saw was

like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's.

And its mouth was like a lion's mouth, and to it the dragon gave

his power and his throne and great authority.

One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but it's mortal

wound was healed and the whole earth marvelled as they followed

the beast. Father, we pause to pray because

we humble ourselves in your presence, acknowledging that

with a text like this, we need Your help.

We need your help with every part of Your word, but

especially in a chapter that is often misunderstood,

misinterpreted, misapplied. So Lord, keep us safe and help

us know You through these verses.

Move our hearts to the worship of the true God and may every

other rival in our lives lose their power and may you have

ultimate and total devotion from us.

We ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.

Let me remind you, the first insight concerning the career of

this beast is that he will be a global leader.

The second one is found here in verse 3.

And it can be summarized in this He will perform false miracles.

He will perform false miracles. Now, it's likely that the

acceptance of this beast will be because of his charm, his

charisma, his overall attractiveness.

He's going to again come to the world.

He's going to arrive on the global scene when the nations

are in great turmoil, when there seems to be a lack of competent

leadership, when there seems to be no answers, when governments

will fail and fail and fail with no hope insight.

And so he will come. When the world is in chaos,

especially during the tribulation period, he will seem

to have the answers. He will even perhaps bring some

solution to small scale issues. But there will be 1 event, a

significant occurrence that will lock in the allegiance of the

world and bring it to a dangerous extreme.

And verse 3, we're told what that event will be.

Sounds like a supposed miracle. And the miracle looks like it

will be a resurrection, that something will take place that

will lead to a mortal wound, but it will be healed, and it will

be healed to a degree that it will cause the world to be

absolutely stunned by what they see and they hear.

Now, there is some debate about what this mortal wound means,

the fact that one of the heads of the beast will be afflicted

and that it will be restored. Some would say that this is not

speaking about an individual being assaulted or attacked, but

it looks like it's actually an empire or a government that will

fall and then rise again. And the reason for that

conclusion is because the beast with these characteristics like

the horns and the heads refer to such things depending on the

context. So some are satisfied in saying

this is not actually talking about a person that will be

afflicted, but a system or an organization or a state or a

nation that will seem to have fallen but will again gain life

and rise to power once more. And some would say that is

speaking about the Roman Empire specifically.

And though that is true in some case, we have to remember that

the beast here, yes, represents a system, but it is also

embodied in a person, just like many empires in the past have

been inseparably linked to its rulers, especially if they are a

dictator. And the way that the stunning

event is repeated in this chapter solidifies the

interpretation that what will happen in verse 3 will happen to

a singular person. So if you're still there, Scroll

down to verse 12 of Revelation 13.

At this point, we're going to see another beast arise, but

we'll see that next week. But notice a description in this

verse about the first beast, the one that we've been studying

about in verse 12. It reads.

It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its

presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the

first beast whose mortal wound was healed.

Look at verse 14. And by the signs that it was

allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those

who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast

that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.

So whatever this wound is, it's very important to the Holy

Spirit for us to know about. It's repeated several times in

this close section of Scripture, but in the verses that we just

read, we have helpful clarification.

The fact that this beast is worshipped strongly suggests

that we are being told about an individual, not about a

collective group of people or an ideology or government.

A person seems to be worshipped here.

Additionally, this other beast that's going to emerge is going

to cause people to worship the image of the beast, the image of

a beast. And that seems to make more

sense if this image is about a singular person, a person who is

ruling this powerful empire. And if that's not convincing

enough, there is a striking parallel between the phrase that

we read in verse 3 and another portion of Scripture elsewhere

in Revelation. So go back to verse 3 again.

Look at the opening words. One of its heads seemed to have

a mortal wound. Now the NASB version, especially

the 1 from 1995, renders the same phrase in the following

way. And I saw one of his heads as if

it had. Been slain?

Does that sound familiar to you? As if it had been slain it

should. Because it is a description that

John receives and gives about a vision that he had of Christ

back in Revelation 5. In case you forgot, go back to

that chapter. Look at verse 6 of Revelation 5

and notice what is said about the Lamb who clearly represents

the Son of God. And Revelation 5-6 it reads.

And between the throne and the four living creatures, and among

the elders I saw a lamb standing as though it had been what,

slain with 7 horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven

spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

So the fact that this expression is used for a singular person in

this context, which represents Christ, strongly suggests that

it's also referring to a person, a single individual in

Revelation 13, especially if that person in Revelation 13 is

wanting to imitate Christ. And that is precisely what this

snapshot is about. The Antichrist, who will be

possessed by the devil, whose ambition at this point in

history will do everything that he can to extinguish the light

of the gospel in the world and deceive the world into eternal

destruction, will achieve this in great part by posing as

Christ to the extent that he will pull off a stunt, A

resurrection like performance. Now we don't know exactly how

that's going to play out, but we do know this, that it will be

some type of assassination. How do we know that?

Because we read it in verse 14 of Revelation 13, that he was

wounded by what? By a sword?

So he was attacked by a weapon. He was targeted.

And this will be something recognized by all.

So let's just use our imagination here for a moment.

I want you to envision a popular political figure.

He seems promising. He's winsome, he's attractive,

He's gaining more traction, he's winning the trust of most

people. And all of a sudden he is

attacked and he's attacked to such a point where it looked

like it was fatal. And so again, this is not

spelled out. This is not the script that I'm

presenting found in the word of God.

We're just trying to imagine what could lead to this.

So this individual seems to have died, seems to have been killed,

and the world is recording this, and the media is covering this.

And shortly after, there is his funeral.

And there's a great spectacle and there is ongoing footage.

And there is the news outlets. They're watching this and

reporting on it. And here you have an open casket

where this man that seemed to be the hope of the world is laying

lifeless. And suddenly he sits up.

And he waves to the global population as the nations are

watching, and slips out of his cask as though nothing had

happened. That will cause the world to

marvel, wouldn't you say? And that is?

Exactly what is going to happen, this is going to cause the world

to be absolutely spellbound. And if you think that this kind

of thing is imaginary or far fetched, I want you to think for

a moment about a political figure who didn't die too long

ago by the name of Hitler. If you actually study Hitler's

career, he had survived multiple assassination attempts.

And some of those attempts were such close calls, some of them

were so, so powerfully orchestrated, so effective, that

it seemed nearly impossible for this man to escape.

And it happened so frequently that it led many people to

believe that this man was, what, immortal.

And he boasted about that. So this is no exaggeration.

We've seen this in recent history.

But in this case, it will be more successful than at any

point in history. Now, as we consider this

further, we have to understand that this man is going to

perform something that will be very realistic.

Now there's debate. Is this going to be a real

resurrection? Like is God actually going to

permit this individual to rise from the dead in order to

achieve a greater purpose? Could be.

But it could also be that he will do something that will be

so slimy, so deceptive. It'll be the scheme that will

make it appear as though he rose from the dead.

And that is equally possible. It's not entirely clear, but one

thing is for certain. He will mimic Christ's greatest

miracle. He will try to imitate him to

this point in order to dupe the world into their own eternal

damnation. And although this is an

incredible deception that will take place in the last days,

just a few years before Christ will return physically, we have

to be mindful believers, that first John chapter 4 informs us

1 John 4 · chapter mention

that the spirit of this Antichrist is at work now.

He's at work now, and if you and I want to be guarded and

shielded from whatever other plans of deception he may come

up with, which he is continually doing, by the way, and we need

to be equipped and there is a way that we can be equipped.

There is one main thing that you and I have to adopt and adhere

to and pursue constantly. If you want to be deceived,

proof turn with me in your Bibles.

The Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 9.

2 Thessalonians 2:9

This also speaks about the Antichrist and it gives another

commentary of what's taking place here in Revelation 13,

Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 9, Paul says the coming of

2 Thessalonians 2:9

the lawless one. That's another title for the

Antichrist. That's another identity for the

beast. The coming of the lawless 1 is

by the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and

wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are

perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.

So who are the victims of this great deceiver?

Those who refuse to love the truth.

Those who refused to love the truth.

Notice that those who will be caught by these lies who believe

what is false, are not those who are not exposed to the truth.

That's not what it's saying here.

It's those who knew about the truth and yet refused to love

it. To love it.

How do you know you love the truth?

Here's one way you know that no matter what it demands of you,

you will submit to it. No matter how, no matter how it

challenges you, you will yield to it.

No matter what it asks of you, you will surrender to it.

It's one thing to know the truth.

It's one thing to be able to explain the truth.

It's another thing. To love the.

Truth. And the only way you know that

you love the truth is that you obey the truth.

And here's how that challenges you on more of a personal level.

You and I may have grown up with a specific theological

background that interpreted certain things in different

ways. But when you come to the

Scripture and compare it with other Scripture and you come to

a clear conclusion that what you grew up hearing was actually

false, was misinterpreted, misapplied, what will you do in

that moment? Will you submit to the truth?

Will you love the truth to that point?

Or will you hold on to your tradition, to your

denominational allegiance when culture is heading one way to

the point that it's influencing evangelical churches to adopt

their mentality and how we view things in the Word of God

concerning us in the church, in the home, in marriage and

sexuality, do we do what the Bible says or do we give in to

the culture? See, if you don't love the truth

to the point where you say no matter what anybody says, no

matter what I grew up with, I'm going to obey what God says.

If you don't have that whole hearted commitment, you are open

to being deceived. And if you think that the

Antichrist is only doing his work here with a few years left

before Christ returns, let me remind you that His Spirit is

active this afternoon. He's active in some churches

this afternoon. So you want to guard your heart.

You want to be shielded. You want to have the confidence

that nothing can sway you or that there's not one part of

your life where you're in darkness.

Love the truth no matter what it costs you, no matter if

everybody around you abandons the truth.

And part of loving the truth, by the way, is loving all of the

truth, not just the things that you think you need to obey

wholeheartedly and other things you can just be flexible on.

Yes, there are matters that are not as black and white where we

have to be charitable and we have to be humble.

But I'm talking about the clear things.

Were you denying it as willful disobedience?

You're bowing to the pressure of your flesh or those around you

who hold to a different interpretation.

Love the truth, and even the Antichrist himself cannot trick

you. You don't love the truth.

You don't hold the truth as your supreme authority.

I fear for you because the spirit of the Antichrist is at

work even now. So the second characteristics of

the career of the beast is that he will be performing false

miracles. But let's come to the third one.

In verse four of our main text, Revelation 13, verse 4 reads and

Revelation 13:4

they worship the dragon. For he had given his authority

to the beast, and they worship the beast, saying who is like

the beast and who can fight against it.

So the impact? Of this miracle will be so

significant that it will cause the world to go from amazement

to Worshipful adoration. That's the third characteristic.

The beast will not only be a global leader.

He will not only perform false miracles, but he will also be

worshipped. He will be deified in the eyes

of men. They worship the dragon.

Look at verse 4 again, and they worship the beast.

This is something that the Antichrist will gladly accept

because according to 2nd Thessalonians 2, verse four, he

will claim himself to be God and it will be this false miracle

that will strengthen his claim. I'm no ordinary human being.

I'm God sent. I'm who you've been waiting for.

And you got to remember, there's going to be this accumulation of

death, there's going to be disease, and there's going to be

war. There's going to be bloodshed.

At a feverish pitch during the tribulation period.

But this man seems to escape death.

Wow, who is this guy? And they will fall at his feet.

But the real reason that the beast will be worshipped is

because that is what Satan has been.

Longing for all along. Remember, it's by the activity

of Satan that this man is able to do what he's doing.

Satan has always wanted to be honored and praised the way God

is. The audacity of the devil during

the wilderness temptation of our Savior, who approaches our

Christ and says. All these things I will give to

you if you would just bow down and do what?

Worship me. I mean, the pride of the devil

is so extreme that he actually believes he is worthy to be

worshipped by the true God. And he will achieve receiving

this kind of worship through the beast to the point, listen, that

he will actually be worshipped directly.

Did you notice that doesn't just say in verse four that they

worship the beast, It says that they worship the dragon because

he gave authority to the beast and they will worship the beast,

meaning what? That there will be some in the

world at that time who will have the knowledge that this man is

operating by satanic power and they will glorify Satan for that

Are the people who worship Satan directly today.

OK, so this isn't, this isn't like fantasy, right?

This isn't, this is real. And there will be others who

unknowingly are worshipping the devil as they place their

affection and their devotion toward the beast.

And there are people today who don't realize that whatever they

are worshipping, if it's not Christ, if it's not the truth,

they are in fact worshipping the devil.

Now, that may sound shocking, but I want to give you another

shocking statement that in this one verse alone, we actually

learned something about worship. Yeah, we learned something about

worship in a verse that tells us about how people worship the

devil and worship the beast. Let me ask you something.

What came before? The worship of the world

according to verse three. Look at it again.

It says that they marveled at the beast.

They marveled at the beast. Some translation say wondered,

others say they were amazed. And it all means the same thing

and revealing very important truth.

True worship cannot come unless we first wonder.

Marvel proceeds. Worship amazement comes before

adoration. So they marveled at the beast,

and then they worship the beast. And that is a pattern for both

true and false worship. This means that if you are today

here struggling to be devoted to Christ, struggling to love Him

with all your heart, it's likely because you have never

experienced or have lost your sense of awe for Christ.

And the only true way back to sincere devotion, sincere

holiness, sincere ministry, sincere passion for the Lord is

to reserve your energy and your focus on renewing your absolute

awe of Christ, to behold His glory long enough until it moves

you to love Him and serve Him in the way that He deserves.

Does this make sense today? They marveled at the beast.

Look what he did. Look who he is.

Hear his claims. And then they worshiped.

And the reason why so many professing Christians are stale

in their worship is because they haven't marveled or they've lost

their sense of wonder. And when they're trying to get

themselves all worked up to do what?

To serve at the church and to sing from their hearts, just

forget all of that. What you really need to do is

sit at the feet of the Lord with this book open before your face

and beg Him to open your eyes until your heart becomes warm

again. Let the rays of Christ's beauty

so shine upon you until your heart becomes tender again.

People miss this. It seems so simple.

Yes, it is simple, but it's also supernatural.

That's why Paul does something like this in Ephesians 118.

He prays for the Ephesians. He tells them, I'm always

remembering you, my prayers, and I never cease to give thanks for

you. And he tells them the subject

matter of his intercession for them.

Here's one of them in Ephesians one, verse 18, having the eyes

of your hearts enlightened. Wow.

Did you know that your heart has eyes?

Not physiologically speaking, of course.

Spiritually speaking, I'm praying for your eyes.

Not your physical eyes, but the eyes of your heart, the seed of

your emotions, the citadel of your will.

I'm praying that those eyes would be enlightened, that they

would be open to see. See what He gives three things.

Having your the eyes of your hearts in line, that you may

know what is the hope to which He has called you.

I want you to know the hope that you have in Christ.

Do you really see it? Do you really understand it?

Notice he's not talking about your mind.

The mind is important. He's talking about your heart to

get it, to see it, to perceive it, to register it.

I'm praying that your eyes will see the hope to which He has

called you. What are the riches of His

glorious inheritance in the Saints?

Just how wealthy you are spiritually, the inheritance

that you have because of the gospel.

I'm praying that you would see it.

There's a will right there and your name is in it and you don't

understand. I want you to see it.

I want you to look at the fine print of what you received, the

treasures that are yours in Christ, verse 19, and what is

the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe

according to the working of his great might, all the power that

you are connected to, Do you perceive it?

Do you discern it? It was the apostles that said in

Acts 420 when they were charged by the religious leaders, Don't

you dare talk about Jesus or teaching his name again.

And they said, For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and

heard. True worship comes from wonder.

If you don't wonder, you're never going to worship.

And that's why from this pulpit, we emphasize knowing the Word of

God personally so much, because this book, this holy book, is a

means by which you catch glimpses of his glory.

If you're not going to see it here, you're not going to see it

anywhere. Oh well.

Doesn't creation testify to the glory of God?

Creation is just an introduction to who God is.

Creation is meant to show you there is a God.

Inspiration is to show you who that God is.

Unfortunately, as the world approaches the end, the masses

are going to worship Satan through the beast instead of

worshiping the Father through the Lamb of God.

Who is Christ? He will be worshipped.

Who would have thought that we would have learned about worship

in Revelation 13? But we come now to the 4th

characteristic and verses 5 and 6.

And the beast was given a mouth, uttering haughty and blasphemous

words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for 42

months. It opened its mouth to utter

blasphemies against God, blaspheming His name and His

dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.

The 4th characteristics of the career of this beast will be

that he will blasphemy God openly.

That seems to be of great importance to the Holy Spirit,

to show us that he will have not just the ability to perform

miracles, He's going to have a big mouth, a boastful mouth, A.

Blasphemous tongue. But that's not just showing the

viciousness and the vileness of his speech.

It's also speaking about his persuasiveness, his auditory

skills, words. So he will not only set up

listen to globalist government, he's actually going to establish

a worldwide religious system. Where he is the object, He is

the center of people's worship. And in order to draw others into

this new religion, in order to secure new followers, he will

continually undermine all other forms of worship, especially the

worship of the one true God. And he will do this by primarily

speaking against three things. According to verse six.

The first thing is God's name. The second thing is God's

dwelling. And the third thing is God's

people. Let's look at it again.

First, he will blasphemy God's name.

Now that means more. Than him using the name of

Christ in a scornful or irreverent manner, in the way

that we see in our entertainment and interviews and and all these

different forms of. Media Biblically speaking, God's

name reveals His character. That's why, for example, Jesus

says when He prays to the Father in John 17 verse 6, I have

John 17:6

manifested your name, I have manifested your name to those

whom you have given me out of the world.

So Christ embodied the name, the character of God.

So this is what this means, that the beast blaspheming the name

of God mainly implies that He will rail against God's

character, His attributes, His nature, His law, His promises,

His plan of salvation, among other things.

All that God is, He will mock, he will belittle, he will drag

in the mud as he exalts himself as the true God.

So he would defame God's name and the the blasphemy of

Christ's name today is just a precursor.

It's just a preview of the greatest form of disrespect and

dishonor that will come to the true God at this point in

history. But he will also malign God's

dwelling place. We see here, right?

That it will be God's dwelling, that he will blasphemy.

Other translations say Tabernacle, but the context

shows that it is speaking about heaven.

Now as I thought about this, I wondered, why is the Antichrist

going to spend his time ridiculing heaven?

And then it hit me. You got to consider the

condition of the. World at this time, the disease.

The death toll, millions upon millions, the disasters that

will come from all spheres, from above, from below, from around.

I mean, what hope are people going to have living in a world

that is literally falling apart? Heaven sounds pretty good,

doesn't it? That this world as we've known

it is not permanent. That this is going to be

destroyed and replaced one day. Then even if I were to perish

with this world, there is another domain, another realm,

another life beyond this life. But the Christians believed to

be heaven. And yet the Antichrist is going

to scorn such an idea. In fact, he might even convince

the world that he is going to be the means to bring heaven to

earth. I know it's bad.

Now just watch what I'm going to do.

Just see how I'm going to bring the golden age.

You think that it hasn't been as bad as it is now?

Watch how great it's going to become if you just follow me and

worship me. This longing for another realm

ruled by the Christian God is absolute foolishness.

You're not children, you're grown adults.

Get real. There's no thing such thing.

As a hopeful heaven for you, I'm the one who's going to bring

heaven. And this is a good place to

remember as Satan today actively seeks to misinform unbelievers

about life after death, does he not?

That's the spirit that's still at work.

But he's not just working against unbelievers.

He misinforms them, yes, but I I'm persuaded that he distracts

believers from heaven or else how does Colossians 32 make

sense where Paul says set your mind on things above.

Why would he have to say that because we have the tendency to

be so earthbound and so caught up with the things of this life.

He goes no, no, no, keep your meditation upward heavenward

where Christ is seated. That's your home.

That's where the most precious citizenship you owns relies and

is depended on. So that spirit is still mocking

eternity, still distracting people from what's to come.

What's more permanent, more valuable, more lasting?

But finally, the beast will target those who dwell in

heaven. Isn't that interesting?

This means that he will not only slander the very dwelling place

of God, but he's actually going to mock those who have already

arrived there. So how this all plays out, we're

not entirely sure, but this may refer to the Antichrist mocking

those who have died for their faith under his regime in order

to discourage others from doing the same or from joining them in

their belief in Christ. All in all, ridicule and social

pressure have always been Satan's tactics.

To discourage the Saints and others who are open to following

Christ from actually doing so. You got to.

Remember, according to Revelation 12, the devil was

evicted from heaven, barred from having access to the direct

presence of God, so that he can no longer slander and accuse the

children of God. So what does he do?

Here, well, through the beast on earth, he targets those who are

in heaven. This is how vile he is.

This is how aggressive he is. He's merciless, but it's not He

will do. He will also turn his attention

to believers who are alive during the Tribulation period

and unleash his fury upon them. Which leads us to the 5th and

final characteristic of his career.

He will target Christians. The Antichrist will primarily

hunt down followers of Jesus Christ.

Let's read from verse 7 down to verse 10 of our main text.

Also it was allowed to make war on the Saints and to conquer

them, and authority was given it over every tribe and people and

language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it.

Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of

the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain, If

anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone has taken captive to

captivity, he goes. If anyone is to be slain with

the sword, with a sword must he be slain?

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the Saints.

Look again at verse 7. Also.

It was allowed to make war on the Saints and to conquer them.

So he is primarily going to prey on Christians.

Why? Because they will be among those

who refuse to worship Him, and not just refuse to worship him,

but persuade others to worship the true God.

They're going to stand in His way.

They are going to be a nuisance to His desire to win the world

to Himself. And so He will, because of their

bold stance, lead a campaign that will harass Christians

worldwide. There will not be one safe place

on the globe. Because you have to remember,

the globe surrendered to His leadership.

Every democracy, every Republic, every regime, it doesn't matter

the form of government, it will all come under 1 banner.

So there'll be no place to hide, physically speaking.

And this campaign, according to the verses that we just read,

will last for 3 1/2 years, for 42 months.

He will see Christians as his ultimate threat.

They hold the true gospel. They represent the true God.

So I must silence them. And whether you believe that

believers will be removed from the earth or raptured before the

Tribulation or after, there is one thing that none of us can

deny. There will be Christians during

the Tribulation period. There will be Christians during

this period. And that makes American

Christians more uncomfortable than anybody else.

You you speak this kind of message to Chinese Christians.

In China or in Iran, they go, yeah, we get it, we understand.

But us here in the West, we perk up.

What do you mean them? We're going to be slaughtered.

What do you mean that we're going to be attacked by

governments? We haven't known anything like

that. I mean, some of us have.

But it's true. The Bible predicts this.

I'm not here to get into that debate.

If the Lord wills, there'll be an entire session at some point

in Revelation where we'll look at these different views

concerning the removal of the church.

But I want us to focus here on how the Lord gives instructions

to those who will come to saving faith in Christ during this

time. Look at verse 9 and 10 again.

If anyone has an ear, let him hear.

If anyone is to be taken captive to captivity, he goes.

If anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must

he be slain? Here is a call for the endurance

and faith of the Saints. The manuscript variations

between the King James and the new King James, they are

slightly different than what I just read from the ESV, but the

the message, the core message remains the charge.

If anyone has an ear to hear, let him hear is always used in

the New Testament to grab the attention of the listener and to

understand that what's about to be said is of massive

importance. So essentially what we have here

in this vision of the beast is the crescendo.

This is the pinnacle. This is the climax of the

message, and it's for believers who will be alive during that

time. And here's the essence of the

message. Whatever happens to you,

surrender to it trustingly and faithfully, whether imprisonment

or execution. Do not resist your fate, do not

fight back, do not attempt to rally together and violently

plot against the beast regime. Reserve your energy for enduring

until the end and glorifying God in the process.

Now, I'm aware that the Bible contains instructions that if

persecution comes to one place, we are to flee, and that there

are instances where we need to utilize our rights.

But what we have here, what's in view here, is a world that is

faced with two inescapable options.

Worship a man who claims to be God when in fact he is charged

by the devil. Or suffer.

And what the Holy Spirit is saying to believers is choose to

suffer. Your faith is worth suffering

for. Now that sounds easier said than

done. So we have to ask this question.

Is there anything else in this text that can make that choice

easier for those who want to obey Christ?

And I'm here to say, yes, there are.

There are fingerprints of God's sovereignty all over this

passage that encourages the believers then and believers now

to endure absolutely anything. For the sake of Christ.

Did you notice some of it? Look at verse 5 again.

And the beast was given a mouth, uttering haughty and blasphemous

words, And it was allowed. To exercise authority for 42

months. Look at verse 7 now also, it was

allowed to make war on the Saints and to conquer them, and

authority was given it over every tribe and people and

language and nation. Who is the one who gives the

beast the influence to do what he can do?

Here? Some would say it's Satan.

That's partly true. But beyond that, the Antichrist

activity is ultimately legitimized and authorized by

God himself. He was allowed.

He was given. He was given.

He was allowed. So the reason why believers can

surrender to their terrifying destiny under this man's

authoritarian regime. Because God is ultimately under

control. And this is what this means for

our suffering, that even if we have to face the most fearsome

ruler. Or the most oppressive regime

that man has ever experienced. Not one thing can be afflicted

upon his children unless he permitted it.

That is true for the Antichrist or any other agitator in our

lives. Moreover, regardless of the

nature of our pain, take hope in knowing that it's numbered.

The days of our trials are numbered, right?

We've seen that throughout Revelation.

Whether it's the church in Smyrna who would be imprisoned

for a certain amount of days, or as we we approach the final

moments of human history, everything has been organized by

our God to fulfill a glorious purpose.

Even down to the duration of it and for reasons beyond our

understanding, God allows it and all He asked us for our

faithfulness through it. So he says this is for the

endurance of the Saints. This is for the faith of the

Saints. And there are going to be times

even perhaps now you're listening to this and the pain

that you're feeling emotionally, mentally, physically seems

permanent or that. There are people in your life,

directly or indirectly, who seem to be getting away with their

injustice. They are corrupt and they seem

to evade any kind of punitive encounter.

And sometimes it will feel like in the world.

Christianity and Christians are being conquered.

Did you notice that phrase in the beginning of verse 7?

Also, it was allowed to make war on the Saints and to conquer

them, to overcome them and other translations.

In what way is the Antichrist going to overcome Christians?

It's very important to make the distinction purely in a physical

way. It just means that he will be

able to kill them. In no way does it suggest that

He will be able to destroy our souls, rob us of our eternal

inheritance, change our status before God.

If anything, for those who are in Christ, we are invincible.

We are invincible. Let me bring you to one final

passage today. Let's go to Romans 8 together

and confirm this glorious reality.

Romans 838 to 39. Romans 8 is a jewel among many

jewels in the Bible. And notice how Paul concludes

his thoughts in Romans 838. For I am sure that neither

death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor

things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor death, nor anything

else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the

love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Don't you love how this begins? Look again at the first few

words of verse 38. For I am sure, can you say that,

can you say I am 100% absolutely convinced that I am more than a

conqueror, that no matter what happens to me in this world or

in this body, I am more than a conqueror because I am held and

I am kept by the unchanging love of Jesus Christ.

You know the context of this passage if you if you read just

earlier, Paul speaks about martyrdom, that we like sheep

are being slaughtered all the day.

And then he transitions to this stop.

Even if I am met by loss, even if I am afflicted with disease,

persecution, even martyrdom, nothing can take away the most

valuable thing that I possess, and that is the eternal

affection of my God that he has set upon me because of Christ

Jesus. Nothing can change that.

So I never lose really. So back in Revelation 13, yes,

the Antichrist will be able to conquer believers, but Paul

reminds us we are more than conquerors.

He will target Christians, and he is targeting Christians Now,

that spirit, even in the West, we're seeing it more and more.

Are we not? Are you watching the news?

What's happening to Christians and what happened?

What's happening to churches? He's doing all that he can to

encroach and to see what he can get away with.

And I'm not a prophet, nor am I son of a prophet.

But all I know is that no matter what is going on around us, we

have to be willing to endure. And one of the ways that you can

endure is if you behold who God is, what He has done for you

enough, where you adore Him more than your life, will you love

Him more than anything else? And not only will we be able to

endure all things, we can endure all things and enjoy God in the

midst of it. So this is what we learned here

thus far with the career of the beast.

There's instruction for today as well as prophecy for tomorrow.

But here's my question as I wrap this message up.

Do you have ears to hear? Have you heard anything today

that resonated with you? How will you respond to these

things today? Well, I can give you one way we

can respond. We can ask God to open our eyes

so that we can marvel at Him again and worship Him the way He

deserves. And when we do that, so many

other things can be solved. So many other things can be

solved. Let's ask Him for that grace.

Father, we thank You that in a vision about the future, you

give us so much instruction for today.

And Lord, in this moment, we pray that you would revive our

awe of Christ, though we admit that with our physical eyes

looking at words on a page or with our physical ears hearing a

sermon, if you don't help us, if you don't intervene, then we

will not be changed. We need a work of God to be

performed upon the eyes of our hearts to be able to see what

you want us to see. So for those who have never,

ever beheld just how majestic and dazzling and splendid Christ

is, may they catch a glimpse this afternoon.

For those who once were enthralled by Christ, but

they're now fascinated by other things more than Christ.

Oh, would you bring us back again to being spellbound by who

He is? We've done our part, Lord.

We have opened your word, we have expounded it, we have

looked at it faithfully, but the power for it to actually

minister to us comes from You. And we ask that you would do

that work. Lord, we want to glorify You.

Finally, in your resurrection. We thank you that in your

resurrection you redeem. We read about the Antichrist and

his false resurrection. He condemns, He destroys, He

deceives. Lord, your resurrection gives

life. It offers hope, it transforms,

it renews, it secures our inheritance forever, which makes

us more than conquerors. We thank you that in your

resurrection we will be resurrected and your transformed

body. We will have a transformation

for these bodies. Thank you, O God, that no matter

what is taken from us in this life, even our own lives, we

have what you have offered us forever, and we give you thanks

for this as a church, as your church, in Jesus name, Amen.

Amen. Let's stand together, church.

Let's worship the living God in 2nd Corinthians 318.

So we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,

are being transformed into the same image from 1° of glory to

another. For this comes from the Lord who

is the Spirit. He says we all implying that

this is available to every Christian.

This is not just for the spiritual elite.

This is for. Anybody who wants it, we all

with unveiled face. What does unveiled face mean in

the context? You see who?

Christ is for who He truly is. The blinders have been removed.

You can perceive Him as the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

You are there, we all with unveiled face.

But don't just stop there. That's just the initial

exposure. You continue to behold the glory

of the Lord. You know what that word behold

means to stare at? It's not a quick look.

It's not a peak to concentrate on, to focus on, to study,

beholding, what's the subject matter, the glory of the Lord.

When you do that long enough, one of the benefits is that

you're transformed into that very same image that you've been

staring at all along from. 1° of glory to another.

Implying what? That it is a process.

It is not instantaneous. You don't just go to 1 Bible

study or you don't just read one week in the book of whatever

book you're reading in the Bible and expect to become like

Christ. In that same amount of time,

it's a lifelong journey, but oh, it's incremental.

You graduate, you grow as long as you behold.

The moment you take your eyes off the majesty of Christ is the

moment you shrink and you go in the other direction.

So my charge to you in light of this, the one thing that moved.

Me. Yes, I love prophecy.

I love figuring out these codes and these mysteries.

I enjoy that, but all these things should lead us to

practical worship. To know that what God asks of us

first is to wonder at Him before we worship him.

That's our homework this week. If I can use that word, that's

our duty. And that duty will turn into

delight. My charge to you today is to

find a fresh way. If you're not, if you're doing

it, praise God. Stay there, but find a fresh way

to behold the glory of the Lord. And trust the process that the

very thing that you are examining, we'll transform you

more and more. And I can guarantee you that you

will know true worship from that discipline.

You'll know how to worship here. You'll know how to worship in

your workplace. You'll know how to worship when

you're alone. Worship is not just singing

songs. It's a life.

It's a life lived out for the glory of God.

And so, Lord, we ask you that you would help us.

Behold you. Oh please, we pray that every

single service, your glory would manifest.

And that Lord, beyond these meetings, we pray that we would

behold your glory. Lord, we we, we want you to be

greater than any entertainment, than any hobby, than any

achievement. We want you to be the ultimate

the the supreme. Source of our delight and we

can't get there unless you help us.

So Lord help us. I pray that there will be a

zealous ambition burning in every heart to say, oh, I want

to see his glory. And we believe that you'll help

us see it. We love you, Lord.

Thank you for showing us who you are today in Jesus name, Amen.

Amen. May the Lord Jesus be with you.

There should be fellowship and something to fellowship around

in terms of food downstairs. And if you really want to take

this beholding seriously, here's a little segue.

Sign up for that workshop. Sign up for that Bible workshop

so you can know the tools to be able to excavate and mind God's

Word and perceive the beauty of who He is.

OK, God bless you. We'll see you this week, Lord

willing. Prayer and Friday Bible study is

on. Take Care now.

Bye bye.