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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.
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  Speaker 2: 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.
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: The Beasts and the Hero In our last story, John
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  Speaker 3: was taken up by the Spirit to see a vision
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  Speaker 3: of God's throne room. He was told to write down
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  Speaker 3: what he saw, so that all the churches might be
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  Speaker 3: enlightened about things to come. Now John sees images of past, present,
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  Speaker 3: and future evils. Yet each time the evils are dealt
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  Speaker 3: with by the armies of God. And John beholds one
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  Speaker 3: final stand against darkness by the true hero of history, Jesus.
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  Speaker 4: Hello, Jack Graham once again with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 4: Bible in a Year podcast. We're so grateful for the
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  Speaker 4: millions of people who have downloaded the Bible in a
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  Speaker 4: Year and would encourage you to invite others to join
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  Speaker 4: us in this journey as well. In our previous episode,
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  Speaker 4: We heard how John, the apostle of Jesus, was caught
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  Speaker 4: up in a vision and saw the Lord standing before him.
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  Speaker 4: He was at first terrified, but Jesus told him not
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  Speaker 4: to fear, but to write down what he would see, hear,
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  Speaker 4: and share it with seven churches and churches and Christians
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  Speaker 4: for generations. Then John was taken to heaven and he
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  Speaker 4: saw the very throne room of God. He saw heaven
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  Speaker 4: with his own eyes. There every creature and angel cried
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  Speaker 4: out in praise to God and called Jesus worthy of
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  Speaker 4: honor and praise and glory forever. Today we'll hear as
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  Speaker 4: John is shown evil and tribulations, not only in the past,
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  Speaker 4: but the future. But in the midst of tribulation and terror,
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  Speaker 4: we see that our God is the ultimate victor, that
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  Speaker 4: Jesus overcomes and we overcome with him. John will see
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  Speaker 4: a final battle, the battle of Armageddon, in which Jesus
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  Speaker 4: gives us victory forever and and vanquishes the enemy, the
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  Speaker 4: devil himself. Let's listen now to this reading from the Revelation.
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  Speaker 3: After being shown the fate of the earth, I saw
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  Speaker 3: a great vision in heaven of things to come and
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  Speaker 3: things that have already happened. An image of reality, a
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  Speaker 3: picture of evil and its inevitable demise. I saw a
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  Speaker 3: woman clothed with the brightness of the sun. The moon
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  Speaker 3: was under her feet, and on her head was a
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  Speaker 3: crown of twelve stars. Her beauty was staggering. She was
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  Speaker 3: pregnant and in anguish giving birth. Her pain was great,
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  Speaker 3: and her agonizing screams shook the earth. Another sign appeared
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  Speaker 3: in heaven. A great dragon emerged with seven heads and
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  Speaker 3: ten horns. His presence was that of pure evil, and
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  Speaker 3: he was shrouded in darkness. His wings stretched further than
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  Speaker 3: the breadth of the earth. and I watched his mighty
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  Speaker 3: tail swing into the stars. He cast a third of
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  Speaker 3: the stars down from heaven to earth, and great was
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  Speaker 3: their fall. My heart raced as I watched the dragon
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  Speaker 3: fly over the woman who was giving birth. He waited
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  Speaker 3: for the child like a lion stalking its prey. He
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  Speaker 3: knew that the child was meant to rule over all
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  Speaker 3: the nations. When it emerged from the woman's womb... The
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  Speaker 3: dragon pounced to devour it, but the child was caught
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  Speaker 3: up by God and taken to his throne. The dragon
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  Speaker 3: roared in agony as it watched the child rise to
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  Speaker 3: heaven and the woman flee to the wilderness. Then I
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  Speaker 3: saw a bright light emerge from the blackness of the night.
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  Speaker 3: I saw Michael, the archangel, glistening in glory. His sword
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  Speaker 3: was drawn and the host of heaven's armies were behind him.
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  Speaker 3: The dragon roared and flew towards Michael. The angels descended
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  Speaker 3: with swords drawn to fight the dragon. Great was their battle.
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  Speaker 3: Michael fought valiantly with the angels of heaven behind him.
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  Speaker 3: The dragon raged against the angels but was defeated and
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  Speaker 3: cast down to the earth. Its wings were clipped and
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  Speaker 3: the serpent slipped through the earth seeking to deceive the world.
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  Speaker 3: I heard another voice from heaven saying, The salvation and
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  Speaker 3: power of Christ has come against the enemy. The forces
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  Speaker 3: of darkness have been conquered by the blood of the
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  Speaker 3: Lamb and the word of the saints' testimony. Rejoice! The
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  Speaker 3: dragon looked for the woman so he might devour her,
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  Speaker 3: but she was given wings to fly away from him.
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  Speaker 3: From the serpent's mouth came a torrent of water to
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  Speaker 3: consume her. But the earth swallowed up the waters, and
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  Speaker 3: the dragon stood on the sand of the sea, lamenting
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  Speaker 3: his defeat. Then I heard the earth shake beneath the
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  Speaker 3: dragon's feet. The sea rumbled and the waves were great.
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  Speaker 3: From the sea arose a beast with ten horns and
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  Speaker 3: seven heads. The beast was like a leopard, and its
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  Speaker 3: feet were like bear paws. The mighty beast worshipped the dragon,
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  Speaker 3: and the dragon gave the beast all its authority to
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  Speaker 3: wreak havoc on the earth. It was given a mouth
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  Speaker 3: to spread lies throughout the world. For forty-two months it
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  Speaker 3: spat forth venomous deceit and corrupt truths. It made war
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  Speaker 3: against the saints of God, and many from the earth
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  Speaker 3: fell at its feet to worship it. The saints of
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  Speaker 3: God endured its rule and warred against it until the
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  Speaker 3: Finisher came. Then the earth shook again. The mountains split
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  Speaker 3: and burst open. Another beast rose. It had two horns
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  Speaker 3: like a ram. It spoke with the slithery deceit of
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  Speaker 3: the dragon, calling all men and women to worship the
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  Speaker 3: first beast. It marked every man and woman with a
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  Speaker 3: mark on their forehead or right hand with the name
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  Speaker 3: of the beast or the number of its name. Its
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  Speaker 3: number was 666. Wrath was poured out on the earth
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  Speaker 3: and judgment reigned and ruled for thousands of years. I
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  Speaker 3: looked upon the desolation of the earth. Sorrow, evil, and
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  Speaker 3: madness plagued all within it. The beasts loomed over the earth,
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  Speaker 3: destroying all in their wake. Then I heard voices from heaven.
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  Speaker 3: I looked up and saw light. From it were the
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  Speaker 3: voices of a great multitude, singing,' Hallelujah! Salvation is coming
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  Speaker 3: from the Lord! His judgment is just! The marriage of
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  Speaker 3: the Lamb has come! Watch as He redeems His bride!'
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  Speaker 3: Then I saw heaven split open like gates, and behold,
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  Speaker 3: a white horse descended from the skies. The one riding
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  Speaker 3: the horse was called Faithful and True. He was the
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  Speaker 3: warrior of justice, the finisher. His eyes were like flames
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  Speaker 3: of fire, and he was wearing a robe dipped in blood.
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  Speaker 3: His name was called the Word of God. He rode
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  Speaker 3: towards the beast with intent to kill. From his mouth
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  Speaker 3: was a sword. It extended to strike down all the
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  Speaker 3: evil nations below. He rode with the fury of God Almighty,
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  Speaker 3: like the wind he galloped, and I could see writing
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  Speaker 3: carved into his thigh, saying, King of Kings and Lord
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  Speaker 3: of Lords. I watched as the beast rose up against
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  Speaker 3: the white rider. He gathered the evil armies of the
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  Speaker 3: earth and ran towards him. The mighty horsemen and the
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  Speaker 3: beast clashed. With a swoop of his sword, the rider
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  Speaker 3: enveloped the armies. The beast raged against him, but he
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  Speaker 3: was not equal to the Lord of Lords. His horns
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  Speaker 3: were ripped from his head and his knees were torn
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  Speaker 3: from his limbs. With decisive justice, the hero of history
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  Speaker 3: cast the beast into the lake of fire. God's chosen hero,
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  Speaker 3: the Messiah, Jesus Christ, had defeated evil once again. and
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  Speaker 3: for all.
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  Speaker 4: In today's reading, the Apostle John is given a vision
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  Speaker 4: of great conflict, a conflict that began in eternity past,
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  Speaker 4: continued through the generations, and will continue to the end
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  Speaker 4: of time, but will culminate in a great battle between
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  Speaker 4: God and Satan, between good and evil. John sees a
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  Speaker 4: woman who appeared in heaven clothed in brightness like the sun.
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  Speaker 4: She appeared to be beautiful and majestic with a crown
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  Speaker 4: of twelve. stars on her head. She was pregnant, crying
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  Speaker 4: out in the pains of childbirth. This woman apparently represents Israel,
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  Speaker 4: the nation chosen by God, who gives birth to the
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  Speaker 4: child who is the Messiah, the Savior. His name is Jesus. Next,
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  Speaker 4: John saw another sign in heaven, a great red dragon.
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  Speaker 4: The dragon was symbolic of pure evil. The dragon was
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  Speaker 4: the great deceiver, Satan himself. The dragon swept a third
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  Speaker 4: of the stars from the sky, representing other angels that
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  Speaker 4: fell when Satan rebelled against God. The dragon stood before
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  Speaker 4: the woman, prowling like a stalking lion, hoping to devour
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  Speaker 4: the child when she gave birth. Satan has done everything
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  Speaker 4: that he could possibly do to destroy God himself, but
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  Speaker 4: he of course cannot. God did not allow the dragon
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  Speaker 4: to take the child. Jesus was born. He lived a
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  Speaker 4: perfect life. He died on a cross for the sins
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  Speaker 4: of the world. And he was raised from the dead,
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  Speaker 4: ascended to heaven, and now sits on the throne of
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  Speaker 4: God as worthy of all praise, glory, and adulation. And yet,
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  Speaker 4: there's still a battle going on. Next, we heard how
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  Speaker 4: John saw the archangel Michael as he led a great
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  Speaker 4: battle against the dragon, the devil. The angels of heaven
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  Speaker 4: joined Michael and the dragon, the devil. was cast down
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  Speaker 4: from heaven to the earth where it continued to deceive.
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  Speaker 4: This imagery reveals things that have already happened in one sense,
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  Speaker 4: but also what is yet to come. Satan still prowls
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  Speaker 4: like a roaring lion, waiting and watching for whom he
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  Speaker 4: may devour. He always seeks to stop God's plans and
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  Speaker 4: destroy people, defeating God's church. There are spiritual battles with
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  Speaker 4: Satan going on all around us with principalities and powers
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  Speaker 4: and demon forces. We know it's true. We must be aware.
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  Speaker 4: We must be alert to the fact that the lying serpent,
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  Speaker 4: the devil, the great dragon himself is still on the loose.
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  Speaker 4: And we must be ready for spiritual battle, relying on
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  Speaker 4: the power of the cross in the name of Jesus
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  Speaker 4: by the power of his blood. Listen to these great
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  Speaker 4: words and mark them in Revelation 12, verses 10 through 11.
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  Speaker 4: And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now
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  Speaker 4: the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our
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  Speaker 4: God and the authority of Christ has come, for the
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  Speaker 4: accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses
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  Speaker 4: them day and night before our God. And they have
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  Speaker 4: conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by
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  Speaker 4: the word of their testimony, for they love not their
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  Speaker 4: lives even unto death. What a powerful scripture. We overcome
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  Speaker 4: Satan to this very day with the blood of the Lamb, Jesus.
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  Speaker 4: by the word of our testimony, our own faith, and
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  Speaker 4: that we love our lives not even until death, that
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  Speaker 4: we are willing to lay down our lives for Christ.
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  Speaker 4: John's vision continues, telling us of a future time when
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  Speaker 4: a beast will come. This beast is the Antichrist. He
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  Speaker 4: is not the devil himself, but the son of Satan.
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  Speaker 4: The beast will torment the saints who follow Christ in
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  Speaker 4: the tribulation period, and they will endure many things. Evil
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  Speaker 4: and sorrow and pain will be rampant on the earth.
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  Speaker 4: It will be hell on earth as judgment comes from
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  Speaker 4: the throne of God. These visions should strike fear in
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  Speaker 4: the hearts of unbelievers. But to believers, they remind us
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  Speaker 4: that we have escaped this coming judgment, that we have
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  Speaker 4: hope in Christ. Because of what Christ has done for
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  Speaker 4: us in forgiving our sins by his blood, we overcome.
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  Speaker 4: And we live in Christ forever because he is coming
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  Speaker 4: for us. Yes, Jesus is coming again. It's talked about
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  Speaker 4: over and over again in both the Old Testament and
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  Speaker 4: New Testament. Though he came the first time as the
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  Speaker 4: Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world,
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  Speaker 4: he comes the next time as the Lion of the
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  Speaker 4: tribe of Judah in judgment upon all unbelievers, but with
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  Speaker 4: hope forever in heaven to those who trust in Christ.
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  Speaker 4: When Christ comes, he will defeat the enemy, the beast,
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  Speaker 4: once and for all. The devil will be thrown into
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  Speaker 4: hell and chained forever. and ultimately into the lake of fire,
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  Speaker 4: hell forever and ever. The ultimate purpose, the point of
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  Speaker 4: the book of Revelation, is that Jesus is making all
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  Speaker 4: things new. There is a new heaven and a new
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  Speaker 4: earth that is coming, that our God reigns, and that
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  Speaker 4: nothing in this world, its history or its destiny, is
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  Speaker 4: out of the hands or the control of God Almighty.
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  Speaker 4: We as believers can look forward to the day when
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  Speaker 4: Christ comes and takes us home, Evil has an expiration date,
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  Speaker 4: and though we don't know exactly when that will be,
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  Speaker 4: we can look to the signs of the times, and
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  Speaker 4: all around us, we know that we are getting near
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  Speaker 4: the end. One day and one day soon, the time
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  Speaker 4: will come when God will deal with judgment upon all
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  Speaker 4: who deny him. And then we who know the Lord
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  Speaker 4: will share his glorious future, and we will be with
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  Speaker 4: the King of kings and the Lord of lords forever.
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  Speaker 4: Dear God, we thank you for this eternal hope that
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  Speaker 4: we have in you. We thank you for Jesus and
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  Speaker 4: the promise that you will come for us. We pray
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  Speaker 4: that in the midst of evil that is all around us,
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  Speaker 4: in the midst of suffering and tribulation and pain, that
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  Speaker 4: we will be faithful to you. May we always look
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  Speaker 4: to you, the Lamb of God, who takes away our
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  Speaker 4: sin and believe in you and live for you until
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  Speaker 4: you come for us. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you
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  Speaker 4: for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm
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  Speaker 4: Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app
• 15:42
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• 15:46
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  Speaker 2: Tony Evans, and I'm excited to have you join me
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  Speaker 2: on this new podcast, Heroes in the.
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: Come to me, boy. You and your God will crumble
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  Speaker 3: beneath my feet.
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  Speaker 1: He beckoned the giant and said.
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  Speaker 3: I come to you in the name of the Lord
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  Speaker 3: of hosts and creator of the stars.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we all have giants that we face in
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  Speaker 2: our life. And when you understand that the greatness of.
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  Speaker 5: God affects our ability to handle the giants of life,
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  Speaker 5: it will encourage, inspire, and challenge all of us to
• 17:25
  Speaker 5: our faith in God and our growth in Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Listen to Heroes in the Bible with Dr.
• 17:32
  Speaker 5: Tony Evans on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
• 17:35
  Speaker 5: you get your podcasts.