The Beast's Persecution

Good morning. It's good to be with you and worship with you. It's great to see some new faces in the audience, but also some old faces I haven't seen in a while.

And it's good to always to see my church family every week. So it's good to worship with you guys.

Please turn with me to Revelation chapter 13.

Revelation 13 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand. We'd love to bring you a copy that you can have.

Revelation chapter 13. It's the last book in the Bible for those of you who are new to the Bible and familiar with it.

Revelation 13 · chapter mention

Revelation chapter 13. I'm going to cover the first 10 verses today, chapter 13, but let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Revelation 13 · chapter mention

Heavenly Father, you sent your only son to bear witness to you and to the kingdom of God

and to the good news of salvation that he accomplished through his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.

And Lord, you have taught us in your word that just as Jesus suffered, just as he was persecuted,

that those who follow him too will face tribulations.

As we look at the bare reality of that this morning in Revelation 13,

won't you feel your precious people,

my brothers and sisters in Christ,

won't you fill us all with hope,

with faith,

which remind us of your sovereignty,

of your care,

of your love,

that we might endure faithfully till the end.

Amen.

Grant us endurance as we hear your word.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

If you are able, please stand for the reading of God's word from Revelation 13.

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea,

with ten horns and seven heads,

with ten diadems 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 its mortal wound was healed,

and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.

And they worshipped the dragon,

for he had given his authority to the beast.

And they worshipped the beast,

saying,

Who is like the beast?

And who can fight against it?

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.

And 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 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.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

2 Thessalonians chapter 2 prophesies about the Antichrist,

2 Thessalonians 2 · chapter mention

saying that before Christ's second coming,

the man of lawlessness will be revealed,

the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself

against every so-called God or object of worship,

so that he takes his seat in the temple of God,

proclaiming himself to be God.

But that same passage,

which teaches about that Antichrist that is coming,

also teaches us that the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.

The Antichrist is not here yet in his fully-fledged form,

but his rebellion, the mystery of lawlessness,

is already at work.

This is confirmed by 2 John 7, which says,

Many deceivers have gone out into the world.

Those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh,

such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist.

Already many deceivers and many Antichrists have gone out into the world.

Revelation 13 is John's prophetic vision about the Antichrist,

and I do think it predicts in the end,

at the climactic end,

a single individual Antichrist will appear at the end.

I think Revelation 17 is a little clearer on that front.

But I think for the main application,

it's inclusive.

While it's inclusive of that end-time Antichrist,

I think in the same way that the woman that we saw in chapter 12

was a corporate representative

and a symbol for the people of God,

I think this beast is also a corporate representative,

a composite picture of the worldly kingdoms and kings

that are in rebellion against God

and persecute God's people.

And this happens during the entire church age

between Christ's first coming and his second coming.

And why does Scripture contain warnings about these Antichrists?

Because God doesn't want us to be caught unawares.

He wants us to be aware and prepared and equipped.

He doesn't want us to be blindsided by fierce persecution.

He wants us to endure with faith till the end.

In the game of American football,

I would just call it football,

but we've got some British people here.

And in the game of American football,

quarterbacks and running backs and wide receivers

seem to get the most attention

and appear to be the most important players in the game.

But if you look at the average salary,

not the individual salaries,

but the average salary across the board for each position,

it's the left tackle that actually gets paid more

than any other position,

including the quarterback.

The unnoticed job of the left tackle

is to protect the quarterback's blind side.

Because most quarterbacks are right-handed.

They turn this way,

square up this way,

and throw the football this way.

And so they can't see anything on their left side.

And so the teams usually put their best blockers

on that left side

because it doesn't matter how good your quarterback is.

If he's not protecting his blind side,

he can get crushed underneath these,

I don't know,

three,

four hundred pound behemoths

and get injured,

which has happened many times before.

And they can't do anything.

And so what Revelation 13 is doing this morning

is it's playing left tackle for us.

It's protecting our blind side

and warning us against what is coming.

Because if you can see this

three, four hundred pound man

running after you,

trying to tackle you,

you can do something about it.

You could try to run away

or you could at least brace yourself for impact.

But if you're blindsided,

then you're totally defenseless

and vulnerable to injury.

And here God teaches us

to brace for and endure

the persecution of the worldly kingdoms,

trusting that God is sovereign overall.

There are three, I think,

main exhortations for us here.

First, we are to repudiate

the blasphemous beast.

Second, we are to worship

the sovereign lamb.

And third, we are to endure

even unto death.

At the end of chapter 12,

we saw that the great red dragon

had emerged from his bottomless abyss,

the sea,

and stood on the sand of the sea.

And now this beast

also rises up out of that same sea.

And as I mentioned last week,

the sea is often in scripture

a symbol of chaos and disorder.

And that's why at the end of Revelation 21,

after Christ comes

and consummates his kingdom,

the sea is no more.

Jesus is the prince of peace.

They came to give us peace,

as we talked about

in the assurance of pardon,

Romans 5.

But this beast

comes to make war on the saints.

He's the prince of chaos.

And we know that this beast

is cut from the same cloth

as the dragon

that we looked at last week,

because like the dragon

of chapter 12,

this beast has 10 horns

and seven heads.

Jesus is the image

of the invisible God.

And we can say that this beast

is the image

of the invisible dragon.

Just as the lamb of God

representing Jesus

in Revelation 5, 6

had horns symbolizing

his authority and power,

likewise this beast

also has horns.

Just as Jesus

in Revelation 19, 12

is described as having

many diadems,

this beast has diadems

on his head.

But this beast

is just a cheap imitation

of Jesus.

We're told in verse 17,

we were told in chapter 12,

verse 17,

that the dragon makes war

on the rest of the woman's offspring,

on those who keep

the commandments of God

and the testimony of Jesus.

The dragon makes war

on the saints.

Now we see exactly

how Satan makes war

against the saints

by using these proxies.

Including this beast.

He says in verses 5-7

of our chapter

that he was allowed

to exercise authority

for 42 months

and make war on the saints

and to conquer them.

Remember the 42 months,

if you don't know

what I'm talking about,

you can listen to

the previous messages.

The 42 months

is the 1,260 days

and that is

the three and a half years

prophesied of

in Daniel 12, 7.

And it's the period

of the church's witness

to Jesus

where they are

spiritually protected by God,

but it's also the period

of intense persecution

by the beast

of the saints

where they are

physically vulnerable

and sometimes even killed.

And so we see here

the dragon last year,

I mean last chapter,

and then we see here

the beast

and then in the rest

of chapter 13

which we'll cover next week,

we'll see the false prophet,

the second beast.

And these three form

an unholy triad

in mockery

of our triune God.

The beast

as we have seen

and we'll see some more

is the image

of the dragon

and just as Jesus'

image of the father

and the false prophet,

the second beast

we'll look at next week,

bears witness

to the beast

in the same way

the spirit bears witness

to Jesus,

God's son.

In the same way

that the Holy Spirit

seals God's people

with the name of God,

this false prophet

seals the followers

of the beast

with the name

of the beast.

in the same way

the Holy Spirit

performs signs

and wonders

to verify

the proclamation

of the gospel

by his servants.

Likewise,

this false prophet

will perform

signs and wonders.

So the dragon,

the beast,

and the false prophet

are very intentionally

parodying

the triune God.

And this is

the very nature

of evil.

Satan is incapable

of being original

because he is not

the creator.

He is only

an imitator.

He can only produce

cheap knockoffs

of the real thing.

His kingdom

is a bootleg kingdom.

His glory

is a bogus glory.

And his name

is a phony name.

Theologian

Cornelius Plantinga Jr.

explains this

imitative nature

of evil

this way in his book,

not the way

it's supposed to be.

To do its worst,

evil needs to look

its best.

Evil has to spend

a lot on makeup.

Hypocrites

have to spend time

polishing their act

and polishing

their image.

Hypocrisy

is an homage

that vice

pays to virtue.

Vices

have to masquerade

as virtues,

lust as love,

thinly veiled sadism

as military discipline,

envy as

righteous indignation,

domestic tyranny

as parental

concern.

even Satan

who looks heroic

to rebels

must masquerade

as an angel

of light

in order to look

merely plausible.

This infernal

embarrassment,

Satan must appeal

to our God-given

appetite for goodness

in order to win

his way,

suggests a significant

feature of evil.

To prevail,

evil must leech

not only power

and intelligence

from goodness,

but also

its credibility.

We can see now

why

the very identity

of this beast

and what he says

and does

are all

blasphemous.

There are blasphemous

names on its head,

verse 1 says.

His mouth utters

haughty and blasphemous

words,

verse 5 says.

It opened its mouth

to utter blasphemies

against God,

blaspheming his name

and his dwelling,

says in verse 6.

To blaspheme

is to slander someone,

to speak against someone

in a way that damages

that person's name

and reputation.

It means to revile

a person

or defame a person.

You know,

Titus 3, 2

commends us

not to slander

anyone.

That word slander

is the exact same word

as the word blaspheme

here.

But usually

in our English

Bible translations

when it says blaspheme

it refers

to speaking against God

or something

that is sacred

and holy.

In Matthew 26,

64 to 66

we see an example

of this.

Jesus

claims to be

the son of man

prophesied of

in Daniel 7

that we read

in the cult worship

who receives authority

from the ancient

of days

and sits on his throne

and reigns over

all the nations

and then after hearing

that the high priest

tears his robes

and says

he has uttered

blasphemy.

What testimony

do we need?

We should

kill him.

He deserves death

and condemnation

because he's blasphemed.

Well,

Jesus wasn't blaspheming

because he actually

is the son of God.

But if anyone

who is not worthy

of that title

and anyone

who is not befitting

of that glory

claims to be that

that is blasphemy

because it's injurious

to God's name

and reputation

to be compared to

or to be likened

to such inferior beings.

No matter how great

this red dragon is

we saw in the last chapter

no matter how many

diatems are on its head

no matter how powerful

or how much authority

it has upon the earth.

This beast

is just a flea

compared to

the glory

and authority of Christ.

That's why it's blasphemous

for him to claim

such things.

There's an Aesop's fable

entitled

The Donkey

and the Lion's Skin.

I'm sure many of you

have heard of this

growing up as a child.

It goes like this.

A donkey found

a lion's skin

left in the forest

by a hunter.

He dressed himself

in it

and amused himself

by hiding in a thicket

and rushing out

suddenly at the animals

who passed that way.

All took to their heels

the moment they saw him.

The donkey was so pleased

to see the animals

running away from him

just as if he were

King Lion himself

that he could not

keep from expressing

his delight

by a loud

harsh

bray.

I wish I could

sound a bray for you

but I can't.

A fox

who ran with the rest

stopped short

as soon as he heard

the voice.

Approaching the donkey

he said with a laugh

if you had kept

your mouth shut

you might have

frightened me too

but you gave yourself

away with that

silly bray.

This is the story

that C.S. Lewis

takes in the last battle

and uses.

The moral of the story

is this.

A fool

may deceive

by his dress

and appearance

but his words

will soon show

what he really is.

This is exactly

what the Bible teaches.

How do we

identify

and expose

antichrists

for what they are?

By their words.

1 John 2.22

says this is

the antichrist

he who denies

the father

and the son.

1 John 4.3

every spirit

that does not

confess Jesus

is not from God

this is the spirit

of the antichrist

which you heard

was coming

and now is

in the world

already.

2 John 1.7

says that many deceivers

have gone out

into the world

those who do not

confess the coming

of Jesus Christ

in the flesh.

Such a one

is the deceiver

and the antichrist.

Anyone who refuses

to confess

Jesus Christ

as Lord

as the one

who came in the flesh

the son of God

to redeem us

is the antichrist

and like the donkey

spray antichrist

reveal themselves

by their words

for no good tree

bears bad fruit

and no bad tree

bears good fruit

for each tree

is known

by its own fruit.

Those who are evil

cannot speak good

because out of the

out of the abundance

of the heart

the mouth speaks.

That's what Jesus

taught in Matthew 12

and the beast

is no exception.

like the harsh

praying of

the donkey

he utters

blasphemous words

because that's

what he is

he's a counterfeit

Christ.

Don't be deceived

by the counterfeit

Christ in this world.

Jesus told us

in Matthew 24

if anyone says

to you

look here's

the Christ

or there he is

do not believe it

for false

Christ

and false

prophets

will arise

and perform

great signs

and wonders

so as to lead

astray

if possible

even the elect.

See I have

told you beforehand

so if they say

to you

look he is

in the wilderness

do not go out

if they say

look he is

in the inner rooms

do not believe it

for as the

lightning comes

from the east

and shines

as far as the west

so will be

the coming

of the son of man.

Wherever the

course is

there the

vultures

will gather.

Jesus'

second coming

is going to be

unmissable

like a lining

that shines

in the lights

of the entire sky

it's going to be

unmissable

from the east

to the west

that prophecy

seems to get

twisted by every

like Messiah

false Messiah

claiming

especially the ones

from Asia

they're like

look it comes

from the east

I'm the true Messiah

I'm the Christ

no

that's not

it's not about you

that's not what

they're saying

Jesus' coming

is going to be

unmissable

if you missed it

already

that's not the Messiah

where the body

is

the vultures

gather

when Jesus

comes

he says

in Matthew

24

30 to 31

he will gather

all of his

elect

to himself

if that hasn't

happened

then he has

not yet come

I think this

beast

as I mentioned

earlier

is primarily

a composite

symbol

and a corporate

representative

of all the

worldly

kingdoms

that oppose

God

and persecute

people

and here's

why I think

that

look at

verse 2

it says

the beast

that I saw

was like

a leopard

his feet

were like

a bear's

and his mouth

was like

a lion's mouth

and to it

the dragon

gave his power

and his throne

and great

authority

note that

all the animals

that this beast

resembles

the leopard

bear

and lion

are all

ravenous

and ferocious

wild beasts

it characterizes

the way the beast

makes war

on the saints

the beast

is an allusion

to Daniel 7

where

Daniel sees

a vision

of four

great beasts

that rise

out of the sea

like this beast

that rises

out of the sea

in Revelation

the first beast

looks like a lion

second looks

like a bear

the third

looks like a leopard

but then there's

a fourth beast

which is terrifying

and dreadful

and exceedingly

strong

that's how Daniel

describes it

that is different

from all the beasts

that were before it

and it had

ten horns

so notice

that this

Revelation 13

beast

has ten horns

and it looks

like a leopard

and a lion

and a bear

if Daniel 7's

vision

matches

Nebuchadnezzar's

dream in Daniel

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

which is what

most people think

then the lion

like beast

represents the

Babylonian empire

the bear

like beast

represents the

Medo-Persian empire

and then the

leopard like beast

represents the

Macedonian empire

and then the

final beast

the fourth beast

terrifying beast

represents the

Roman empire

empire

and so this

beast

in Revelation 13

is not one

of those beasts

but a composite

picture of all

four of Daniel's

beasts

it looks like

all of them

and this is why

I think

he has

also seven

heads

if you add up

the number

of all the heads

of the beasts

in Daniel's vision

they have

seven heads

total

so it's a composite

picture

also because seven

symbolizes

completeness

beasts

it represents

all the

worldly kingdoms

and kings

that oppose

God

the ultimate

hybrid beast

the sum

of all

beasts

later in

Revelation 17

we're told

explicitly

that the

seven heads

represent both

seven mountains

and seven

kings

which shows

that these

symbolic

pictures

can have

multi-layered

meanings

multiple meanings

and one of

the nicknames

for Rome

was a city

on seven

hills

or a city

of seven

mountains

so I think

the Roman

empire

is clearly

included

in this

composite

picture

of the

beast

we're also

told that

the ten

horns

on the

beast's

seven heads

are ten

kings

who have

not yet

received

royal power

in later

Revelation 17

and that's

where it wears

diamonds on

those ten

heads

the number

ten signifies

completeness

and so

and later

at the

end of

the end

times

we're currently

in the end

times

since the

coming of

Christ

but at the

end of

the end

times

these ten

kings

who will

later

receive

royal power

will hand

over all

their authority

to this

beast

that in

Revelation 17

is described

as the

eighth

because it's

the one

that comes

after the

seven

that represents

all the

worldly

powers

I think

that will

be the

most

devilish

antichrist

that ever

comes

and nothing

will be

like it

but even

now

that this

beast

is active

and if

Satan's

authority

the dragon's

authority

is behind

this

beast

which

represents

world's

governments

and powers

then we

should not

be surprised

when God's

people are

marginalized

and persecuted

by nation

states

the beast's

crude

imitation

of Jesus

the true

king of

kings

continues

in verse

three

one

one

of its

heads

seemed

to have

a

mortal

wound

but

its

mortal

wound

was

healed

and the

whole

earth

marveled

as they

followed

the beast

one

of its

heads

means

one

of the

kings

John is

likely

making

imaginative

creative use

of the

Nero legends

that were

popular

in his

day

Nero

Caesar

was

emperor

of the

Roman

empire

during

54 to

68

80

during

which

he was

notorious

for his

vicious

persecution

of the

Christians

but when

he was

eventually

deposed

by the

Roman

senate

and declared

a public

enemy

he committed

suicide

the next

day

by falling

upon a

sword

and later

in verse

14

we're told

that this

beast was

wounded by

the sword

and yet

lived

but because

Nero's death

was shrouded

in mystery

and there

were very

few witnesses

popular legends

were built up

around Nero

and many

people in

those days

believed that

Nero would

return

so this is

called the

Nero

return

legend

or the

Nero

living again

legend

Nero

kind of

resurrected

legend

and

this is

there were

sibling

oracles

like Oracle

of Dolphin

you've probably

heard of it

they wrote down

oracles

and one of the

oracles

did say

that Nero

would return

to life

to take

vengeance

on those

who deposed

him

and retake

the kingdom

and so

I think

John is

making

creative use

of that

legend

to show

what basically

the end

time

Antichrist

is going

to be

like

and what

the beast

is like

throughout

the age

this legend

was so popular

that Dio

Chrysostom

a first century

Greek historian

says

quote

even now

everyone wishes

that Nero

were alive

and most people

actually believe

in it

even by the

fourth century

Augustine

the Christian

pastor

writes

that some

people believe

still

that Nero

now lives

in concealment

in the vigor

of that same age

which he had

reached when he

was believed

to have perished

and will live

until he is revealed

in his own time

and restored

to his kingdom

so Nero

was popular

with the Romans

but not

with the Christians

for understandable

reasons

Roman historians

like Tacitus

note that

Nero

most likely

instigated

the great fire

of Rome

so that he can

clear the grounds

to create

so that he can

build the golden

house that he

had been dreaming

about

dreaming about

the golden

house

but then

afterwards

he blamed

the Christians

as scapegoats

oh they're the

ones who did it

and burned him

alive

several

ancient writers

including

Tertullian

described Nero

as the first

that persecuted

Christians

and the Christian

doctrine

and so

Nero is a very

fitting

kind of a

ready-made

type

of figure

of the Antichrist

and John

uses him

and the

narrow

returned legend

as a literary

foil to Christ

to show how

this beast

is just a

crude imitation

of Jesus

the beast

is said to

have a

mortal wound

and that

word

in verse 3

the word

wound

is the exact

same word

that's used

to describe

how the lamb

was slain

later in

verse 8

and just as

the lamb

earlier in

chapter 5

verse 6

was slain

but nevertheless

standing

referring to

his resurrection

of Jesus

so now

this hideous

beast

imitates

the lamb

who had

a mortal

wound

that was

healed

and later

in verse

14

it was said

that he

was wounded

but yet

lived

which is

resurrection

language

just as

in chapter

5

after the

lamb

is seen

the heavenly

host

fall down

before him

and worship

him

and they

praise him

for how

he ransomed

people for

God

from every

tribe and

language and

people and

nation

but now

here

after this

mortal wound

of the beast

is healed

he says

the whole

earth marveled

as they

followed the

beast

and they

said

authority

was given

to go

for every

tribe and

people and

language and

nation

and all

who dwell

on earth

will worship

him

the beast

is imitating

Christ

in order to

rob him

of his

worship

Jesus

was afflicted

with the

mortal wound

so that

he died

on the

cross

so that

he might

make atonement

for our

sins

so he

might bear

our

punishment

to bear

the wrath

of God

and

extend to

us

forgiveness

and freedom

he was

pierced

for our

transgressions

he was

crushed

for our

iniquities

the

chastisement

that brought

us

peace

was upon

him

with his

wounds

we are

healed

but in

contrast

this

beast

this

beast

mortal

wound

serves

no

salvific

purpose

it's

like a

it's an

entirely

self-serving

trick

like a

magician

who

creates

an illusion

a death

defying

illusion

to get

applause

from people

and get

people

to follow

him

this

beast

his

wound

is just

a crude

imitation

I do

think that

at the end

of the end

times

as I

mentioned

that there

will be

a singular

antichrist

who will

conquer the

people of

God

like never

before

I

explain that

more when

we get

to

Revelation

17

but

this

beast

I think

it's

resuscitation

coming back

from healing

from the

mortal wound

I think

it's probably

best understood

in the main

application

as the

repeated

rise and

fall

of states

and kingdoms

that oppose

God and

oppress

God's

people

because they

keep coming

back

don't they

first was

the Egyptians

and then it

was the

Persians

then it

was the

Babylonians

then it

was the

Macedonians

I think I

flipped you

over there

a little bit

the Genghis Khan

and the

Mongol Empire

massacred

4 million

Christians

12-14 AD

Tamerlan

and his

Timurid Empire

killed about

4 million

Christians

in 1358

late 1800s

and early

1900s

1.2

million

Armenians

Muslim

Christians

killed by

the Ottoman

Empire

about 12

million

Christians

killed

under the

Soviet

Union

among the

6 million

Jews

that the

Nazis

killed

1 million

Christians

were also

killed in

death camps

according to

Open Doors

a ministry

that keeps

track of

persecuted

Christians

and tries

to help

them

360 million

Christians

throughout the

world

face high

levels of

persecution

hundreds of

millions

of Christians

face extreme

persecution

in countries

like North

Korea

Somalia

Yemen

Eritrea

Libya

Nigeria

Pakistan

Iran

Afghanistan

Sudan

and India

again and

again this

beast seems

to rise

again

and it's

this seeming

indestructibility

of the beast

that leads people

to worship

the dragon

and the beast

saying in

verse 4

who is like

the beast

and who can

fight against

it

this too

is a

parody

of the

worship

of the

saints

because

repeatedly

throughout

the scriptures

we see

the people

of God

marveling at

who God

is in

this manner

in Exodus

15

11

who is

like you

oh Lord

among the

gods

who is

like you

majestic

in holiness

awesome

and glorious

thief

doing wonders

only God

is incomparable

only God

has no equal

only God

is transcendent

and sovereign

overall

but this

donkey

in a lion

skin

the pretender

the imposter

the fraud

dares

to receive

the worship

that belongs

to Yahweh

it's blasphemy

it's a

travesty

does it

grieve you

brothers and

sisters

that God

is not

given the

worship

that is

due to

his name

does it

grieve you

that the

whole earth

marvels

as they

follow the

beast

that's

why we

have our

mission

to go

to our

neighborhoods

to the

nations

with the

gospel of

Jesus

Christ

this

worship

of the

beast

is also

a mockery

of the

church

who worship

the true

Christ

Deuteronomy

33

29

says

who is

like you

and this

time it's

not referring

to God

it's

referring to

God's

people

who is

like you

a people

saved

by the

Lord

the shield

of your

help

and the

sword

of your

triumph

I don't

know if

Chris

Tomlin knew

about this

first when he

wrote that

song that

we were

singing

we talked

about God

is our

shield

and sword

there is

no one

like the

people of

God

on earth

no one

as precious

as the

saints

on earth

who have

been saved

by the

Lord

there's

no one

like us

for whom

God

himself

is our

shield

and God

himself

is our

sword

but the

beast

and its

worshippers

mock us

that's why

it says

in verse

6

he not

only

blasphemes

God's

name

he also

blasphemes

God's

dwelling

that is a

reference to

those who

dwell in

heaven

meaning the

heaven dwellers

those who

have their

citizenship

heaven

in heaven

those who

are right

now

spiritually

seated

with Christ

at the

right hand

of God

in heaven

as it

says in

Ephesians 2

that's us

the dwelling

place of God

the temple

of God

1 Corinthians

3 16

says

the beast

slanders

God's

people

speaks against

God's

people saying

you will be

destroyed

not saved

you are not

the chosen

people

you are not

the favorite

people of

God

but these

are lies

and we

must repudiate

the beast

verse 8

reminds us

of who we

really are

it says

and all

who dwell

on earth

will worship

the beast

everyone

whose name

has not

been written

before the

foundation

of the world

in the book

of life

of the lamb

who was

slain

the book

of life

is mentioned

a total

of six

times

in revelation

it's the

census book

of the new

heavenly

Jerusalem

it's the

invited guest

list

of the

eternal

wedding feast

of the lamb

and if you

are a

Christian

then your

name has

been written

in that

book

before the

foundation

of the

world

it's an

amazing

thought

before

there's a

lot of

people

pregnant in

our church

were having

babies

before

their first

child is

born

expecting

father and

mother will

often take

weeks

and months

and maybe

before some

people have

trouble conceiving

even years

to prepare

their house