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The Beasts and the Hero - The Book of Revelation · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And I looked, and lo, a lamb
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  Speaker 1: stood on the Mount Zion. Revelation 14.1 As the final
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  Speaker 1: battle unfolds before me in the book of Revelation, I
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  Speaker 1: pray that the magnitude of the battle doesn't go unnoticed
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  Speaker 1: in the life of believers. As the cosmic battle between
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  Speaker 1: good and evil takes place, my spirit is rejoicing. because
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  Speaker 1: I know that this is a fixed fight. Through your word, God,
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  Speaker 1: I recognize that the beast is Satan and that the
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  Speaker 1: warrior is Jesus. I also acknowledge that through the one
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  Speaker 1: act of Christ's crucifixion, he conquered Satan, sin, and death
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  Speaker 1: in one swoop. Heavenly Father, I thank you that the
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  Speaker 1: armies of the Lord are fighting on our behalf. I
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  Speaker 1: thank you that because of your redemptive plan for my
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  Speaker 1: life and for the life of your children, we don't
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  Speaker 1: have to be swallowed up by Satan and his beast.
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  Speaker 1: I praise you because the mark of the beast will
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  Speaker 1: never be a sign that I receive for myself or
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  Speaker 1: for my family. I declare that I am yours, God.
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  Speaker 1: I declare that for the rest of my days I
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  Speaker 1: will fight on the side of my Savior, Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 1: to rescue all His children who are lost. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life. To
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  Speaker 1: hear the Bible come to life, stay tuned for the
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  Speaker 1: Bible in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Beasts and the Hero In our last story, John
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  Speaker 2: was taken up by the Spirit to see a vision
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  Speaker 2: of God's throne room. He was told to write down
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  Speaker 2: what he saw, so that all the churches might be
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  Speaker 2: enlightened about things to come. Now John sees images of past, present,
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  Speaker 2: and future evils. Yet each time the evils are dealt
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  Speaker 2: with by the armies of God. And John beholds one
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  Speaker 2: final stand against darkness by the true hero of history, Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
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  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, There are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's JackGraham.org In our previous episode, we heard how John,
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  Speaker 3: the apostle of Jesus, was caught up in a vision
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  Speaker 3: and saw the Lord standing before him. He was at
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  Speaker 3: first terrified, but Jesus told him not to fear, but
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  Speaker 3: to write down what he would see, hear, and share
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  Speaker 3: it with seven churches and churches and Christians for generations.
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  Speaker 3: Then John was taken to heaven. and he saw the
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  Speaker 3: very throne room of God. He saw heaven with his
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  Speaker 3: own eyes. There every creature and angel cried out in
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  Speaker 3: praise to God and called Jesus worthy of honor and
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  Speaker 3: praise and glory forever. Today we'll hear as John is
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  Speaker 3: shown evil and tribulations, not only in the past, but
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  Speaker 3: the future. But in the midst of tribulation and terror,
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  Speaker 3: we see that our God is the ultimate victor, that
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  Speaker 3: Jesus overcomes and we overcome with him. John will see
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  Speaker 3: a final battle, the battle of Armageddon, in which Jesus
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  Speaker 3: gives us victory forever and vanquishes the enemy, the devil himself.
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  Speaker 3: Let's listen now to this reading from the Revelation.
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  Speaker 2: After being shown the fate of the earth, I saw
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  Speaker 2: a great vision in heaven of things to come and
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  Speaker 2: things that have already happened. An image of reality, a
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  Speaker 2: picture of evil and its inevitable demise. I saw a woman,
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  Speaker 2: Clothed with the brightness of the sun, the moon was
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  Speaker 2: under her feet, and on her head was a crown
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  Speaker 2: of twelve stars. Her beauty was staggering. She was pregnant
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  Speaker 2: and in anguish giving birth. Her pain was great, and
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  Speaker 2: her agonizing screams shook the earth. Another sign appeared in heaven.
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  Speaker 2: A great dragon emerged with seven heads and ten horns.
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  Speaker 2: His presence was that of pure evil, and he was
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  Speaker 2: shrouded in darkness. His wings stretched further than the breadth
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  Speaker 2: of the earth, and I watched his mighty tail swing
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  Speaker 2: into the stars. He cast a third of the stars
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  Speaker 2: down from heaven to earth, and great was their fall.
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  Speaker 2: My heart raced as I watched the dragon fly over
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  Speaker 2: the woman who was giving birth. He waited for the
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  Speaker 2: child like a lion stalking its prey. He knew that
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  Speaker 2: the child was meant to rule over all the nations.
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  Speaker 2: When it emerged from the woman's womb, the dragon pounced
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  Speaker 2: to devour it. But the child was caught up by
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  Speaker 2: God and taken to his throne. The dragon roared in
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  Speaker 2: agony as it watched the child rise to heaven and
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  Speaker 2: the woman flee to the wilderness. Then I saw a
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  Speaker 2: bright light emerge from the blackness of the night. I
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  Speaker 2: saw Michael, the archangel, glistening in glory. His sword was
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  Speaker 2: drawn and the host of heaven's armies were behind him.
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  Speaker 2: The dragon roared and flew towards Michael. The angels descended
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  Speaker 2: with swords drawn to fight the dragon. Great was their battle.
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  Speaker 2: Michael fought valiantly with the angels of heaven behind him.
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  Speaker 2: The dragon raged against the angels but was defeated and
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  Speaker 2: cast down to the earth. Its wings were clipped and
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  Speaker 2: the serpent slipped through the earth seeking to deceive the world.
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  Speaker 2: I heard another voice from heaven saying, The salvation and
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  Speaker 2: power of Christ has come against the enemy. The forces
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  Speaker 2: of darkness have been conquered by the blood of the
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  Speaker 2: Lamb and the word of the saints' testimony. Rejoice! The
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  Speaker 2: dragon looked for the woman so he might devour her,
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  Speaker 2: but she was given wings to fly away from him.
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  Speaker 2: From the serpent's mouth came a torrent of water to consume.
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  Speaker 2: But the earth swallowed up the waters, and the dragon
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  Speaker 2: stood on the sand of the sea, lamenting his defeat.
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  Speaker 2: Then I heard the earth shake beneath the dragon's feet.
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  Speaker 2: The sea rumbled and the waves were great. From the
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  Speaker 2: sea arose a beast with ten horns and seven heads.
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  Speaker 2: The beast was like a leopard, and its feet were
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  Speaker 2: like bear paws. The mighty beast worshipped the dragon, and
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  Speaker 2: the dragon gave the beast all its authority to wreak
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  Speaker 2: havoc on the earth. It was given a mouth to
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  Speaker 2: spread lies throughout the world. For forty-two months it spat
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  Speaker 2: forth venomous deceit and corrupt truths. It made war against
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  Speaker 2: the saints of God, and many from the earth fell
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  Speaker 2: at its feet to worship it. The saints of God
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  Speaker 2: endured its rule and warred against it until the finisher came.
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  Speaker 2: Then the earth shook again. The mountains split and burst open.
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  Speaker 2: Another beast rose. It had two horns like a ram.
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  Speaker 2: It spoke with the slithery deceit of the dragon, calling
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  Speaker 2: all men and women to worship the first beast. It
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  Speaker 2: marked every man and woman with a mark on their
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  Speaker 2: forehead or right hand with the name of the beast
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  Speaker 2: or the number of its name. Its number was 666.
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  Speaker 2: Wrath was poured out on the earth and judgment reigned
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  Speaker 2: and ruled for thousands of years. I looked upon the
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  Speaker 2: desolation of the earth. Sorrow, evil, and madness plagued all
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  Speaker 2: within it. The beasts loomed over the earth, destroying all
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  Speaker 2: in their wake. Then I heard voices from heaven. I
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  Speaker 2: looked up and saw light. From it were the voices
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  Speaker 2: of a great multitude, singing,' Hallelujah! Salvation is coming from
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  Speaker 2: the Lord! His judgment is just! The marriage of the
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  Speaker 2: Lamb has come! Watch as He redeems His bride!' Then
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  Speaker 2: I saw heaven split open like gates, and behold, a
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  Speaker 2: white horse descended from the skies. The one riding the
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  Speaker 2: horse was called Faithful and True. He was the warrior
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  Speaker 2: of justice, the finisher. His eyes were like flames of fire,
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  Speaker 2: and he was wearing a robe dipped in blood. His
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  Speaker 2: name was called the Word of God. He rode towards
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  Speaker 2: the beast with intent to kill. From his mouth was
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  Speaker 2: a sword. It extended to strike down all the evil
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  Speaker 2: nations below. He rode with the fury of God Almighty,
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  Speaker 2: like the wind he galloped, and I could see writing
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  Speaker 2: carved into his thigh, saying, King of kings and Lord
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  Speaker 2: of lords. I watched as the beast rose up against
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  Speaker 2: the white rider. He gathered the evil armies of the
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  Speaker 2: earth and ran towards him. The mighty horsemen and the
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  Speaker 2: beast clashed. With a swoop of his sword, the rider
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  Speaker 2: enveloped the armies. The beast raged against him, but he
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  Speaker 2: was not equal to the Lord of Lords. His horns
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  Speaker 2: were ripped from his head, and his knees were torn
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  Speaker 2: from his limbs. With decisive justice, the hero of history
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  Speaker 2: cast the beast into In today's reading, the Apostle John
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  Speaker 2: is given a vision of great conflict.
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  Speaker 3: A conflict that began in eternity past, continued through the generations,
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  Speaker 3: and will continue to the end of time, but will
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  Speaker 3: culminate in a great battle between God and Satan, between
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  Speaker 3: good and evil. John sees a woman who appeared in
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  Speaker 3: heaven clothed in brightness like the sun. She appeared to
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  Speaker 3: be beautiful and majestic with a crown of twelve stars
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  Speaker 3: on her head. She was pregnant, crying out in the
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  Speaker 3: pains of childbirth. This woman apparently represents Israel, the nation
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  Speaker 3: chosen by God, who gives birth to the child who
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  Speaker 3: is the Messiah, the Savior. His name is Jesus. Next,
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  Speaker 3: John saw another sign in heaven, a great red dragon.
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  Speaker 3: The dragon was symbolic of pure evil. The dragon was
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  Speaker 3: the great deceiver, Satan himself. The dragon swept a third
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  Speaker 3: of the stars from the sky, representing other angels that
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  Speaker 3: fell when Satan rebelled against God. The dragon stood before
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  Speaker 3: the woman, prowling like a stalking lion, hoping to devour
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  Speaker 3: the child when she gave birth. Satan has done everything
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  Speaker 3: that he could possibly do to destroy God himself, but
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  Speaker 3: he of course cannot. God did not allow the dragon
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  Speaker 3: to take the child. Jesus was born. He lived a
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  Speaker 3: perfect life. He died on a cross for the sins
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  Speaker 3: of the world. And he was raised from the dead,
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  Speaker 3: ascended to heaven, and now sits on the throne of
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  Speaker 3: God as worthy of all praise, glory, and adulation. And yet,
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  Speaker 3: there's still a battle going on. Next, we heard how
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  Speaker 3: John saw the archangel Michael as he led a great
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  Speaker 3: battle against the dragon, the devil. The angels of heaven
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  Speaker 3: joined Michael and the dragon, the devil, was cast down
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  Speaker 3: from heaven to the earth where it continued to deceive.
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  Speaker 3: This imagery reveals things that have already happened in one sense,
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  Speaker 3: but also what is yet to come. Satan still prowls
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  Speaker 3: like a roaring lion, waiting and watching for whom he
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  Speaker 3: may devour. He always seeks to stop God's plans and
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  Speaker 3: destroy people, defeating God's church. There are spiritual battles with
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  Speaker 3: Satan going on all around us with principalities and powers
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  Speaker 3: and demon forces. We know it's true. We must be aware.
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  Speaker 3: We must be alert to the fact that the lying serpent,
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  Speaker 3: the devil, the great dragon himself is still on the loose.
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  Speaker 3: And we must be ready for spiritual battle, relying on
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  Speaker 3: the power of the cross in the name of Jesus
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  Speaker 3: by the power of his blood. Listen to these great
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  Speaker 3: words and mark them in Revelation 12 verses 10 through 11.
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  Speaker 3: And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, now
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  Speaker 3: the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our
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  Speaker 3: God and the authority of Christ has come for the
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  Speaker 3: accuser of our brothers has been thrown down who accuses
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  Speaker 3: them day and night before our God and they have
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  Speaker 3: conquered him. By the blood of the Lamb and by
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  Speaker 3: the word of their testimony, for they love not their
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  Speaker 3: lives even unto death. What a powerful scripture. We overcome
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  Speaker 3: Satan to this very day with the blood of the Lamb, Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: by the word of our testimony, our own faith, and
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  Speaker 3: that we love our lives not even until death, that
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  Speaker 3: we are willing to lay down our lives for Christ.
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  Speaker 3: John's vision continues. telling us of a future time when
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  Speaker 3: a beast will come. This beast is the Antichrist. He
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  Speaker 3: is not the devil himself, but the son of Satan.
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  Speaker 3: The beast will torment the saints who follow Christ in
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  Speaker 3: the tribulation period, and they will endure many things. Evil
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  Speaker 3: and sorrow and pain will be rampant on the earth.
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  Speaker 3: It will be hell on earth as judgment comes from
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  Speaker 3: the throne of God. These visions should strike fear in
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  Speaker 3: the hearts of unbelievers. But to believers, they remind us
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  Speaker 3: that we have escaped this coming judgment, that we have
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  Speaker 3: hope in Christ. Because of what Christ has done for
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  Speaker 3: us in forgiving our sins by his blood, we overcome.
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  Speaker 3: And we live in Christ forever because he is coming
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  Speaker 3: for us. Yes, Jesus is coming again. It's talked about
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  Speaker 3: over and over again in both the Old Testament and
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  Speaker 3: New Testament. Though he came the first time as the
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  Speaker 3: Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world,
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  Speaker 3: He comes the next time as the Lion of the
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  Speaker 3: tribe of Judah, in judgment upon all unbelievers, but with
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  Speaker 3: hope forever in heaven to those who trust in Christ.
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  Speaker 3: When Christ comes, he will defeat the enemy, the beast,
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  Speaker 3: once and for all. The devil will be thrown into
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  Speaker 3: hell and chained forever, and ultimately into the lake of fire.
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  Speaker 3: Hell forever and ever. The ultimate purpose, the point of
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  Speaker 3: the book of Revelation, is that Jesus is making all
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  Speaker 3: things new. There is a new heaven and a new
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  Speaker 3: earth that is coming, that our God reigns, and that
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  Speaker 3: nothing in this world, its history or its destiny, is
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  Speaker 3: out of the hands or the control of God Almighty.
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  Speaker 3: We as believers can look forward to the day when
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  Speaker 3: Christ comes and takes us home. Evil has an expiration date,
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  Speaker 3: and though we don't know exactly when that will be,
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  Speaker 3: we can look to the signs of the times, and
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  Speaker 3: all around us we know that we are getting near
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  Speaker 3: the end. One day and one day soon, the time
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  Speaker 3: will come when God will deal with judgment upon all
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  Speaker 3: who deny him. And then we who know the Lord
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  Speaker 3: will share his glorious future and we will be with
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  Speaker 3: the King of kings and the Lord of lords forever.
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  Speaker 3: Dear God, we thank you for this eternal hope that
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  Speaker 3: we have in you. We thank you for Jesus and
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  Speaker 3: the promise that you will come for us. We pray
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  Speaker 3: that in the midst of evil that is all around us,
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  Speaker 3: in the midst of suffering and tribulation and pain, that
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  Speaker 3: we will be faithful to you. May we always look
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  Speaker 3: to you, the Lamb of God, who takes away our sin,
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  Speaker 3: and believe in you, and live for you until you
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  Speaker 3: come for us. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 3: listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack
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  Speaker 3: Graham from Dallas, Texas, and before we go, I want
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  Speaker 3: you to know that I would love to send you
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  Speaker 3: my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement every single day.
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: That's JackGraham.org.