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Unveiling The Beast (The First Beast) | Revelation 13:1-2 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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In Revelation chapter 12, we learned that one of Satan's
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final fits of rage before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ
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is that he will wage war against followers of Jesus Christ across
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the world in an unprecedented way.
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And it's in Revelation chapter 13 where we discover how he will
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attempt to pursue this. The way that the evil one will
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seek to exterminate what's left of Christian witness during the
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Tribulation period is by possessing a human being in a
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manner unlike what we have seen in the past.
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We are about to be introduced to a figure in this prophetic book
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that you have most likely heard about before, but not in the
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detail presented in this passage.
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If you've been with us in this series of the Book of
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Revelation, then you most definitely have heard about this
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individual. If you're visiting for the first
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time and you are hearing what I'm saying, and this already
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sounds strange or unfamiliar, I want to let you know from the
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beginning that we are studying a book in the Bible that makes
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predictions. Another way of putting it.
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This is a book filled with prophecies.
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These are not predictions made by men merely, but by God, who
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through men gave insight into what will come.
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And the reason why as a church we take these prophecies
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seriously is because the Bible has given us predictions before,
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and history testifies that those predictions have come to pass.
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And so it is our conviction that if God was right before, then
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he's probably going to be right again.
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And so we're taking these claims very seriously.
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We believe that they are indeed from God.
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And at this point here, what we discover is the blueprint for
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the last days. What we are looking at here are
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some of the final marks of what's to come before the
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culmination of the age. And the focus of our study this
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afternoon is a person. And this person is famously
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known as the Antichrist. The Antichrist goes by many
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other titles in the Bible. In Paul's writings alone, he is
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known as the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction, or the
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lawless. 1 And that's not even counting what this man is known
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as in other places of the Bible. But what we're about to see in
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Revelation chapter 13 is an identity about this man that is
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new. This agent of Satan who arise
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near the end of time is called the Beast.
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The Beast, a name that accurately reflects the twisted
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nature and personality and behavior of this one man.
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Now, this is not the first time that the Beast is referenced in
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the Book of Revelation. He appeared in Revelation 11,
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verse 7, when we were told there briefly that the beast will kill
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the two witnesses. But John now in this chapter
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reintroduces this diabolical character, and more
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specifically, he's going to give us insight into his career, what
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he is going to do, and how he is going to do it.
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Evidently, this is something that the Lord wants us to know
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because it's in our Bibles. And the reason why I say this is
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because I'm fully aware of how some can be overwhelmed, maybe
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even intimidated by something like this, given its symbolism.
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We have to trust something. We got to trust that by
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meditating on these things, we're going to do more than just
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satisfy our curiosity. If we interpret it faithfully
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and apply it rightly, it will bless us, it will bless us, it
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will equip us, it will stir us, it will move us in a deep way.
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At least it should. And this is what we seek to do
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by God's help. So again, let me emphasize why
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we're here today. We are looking at Satan's plan
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to extinguish the light of the gospel near the end of time
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during his final few years of tyranny.
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And he will attempt to do this by raising up a powerful
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individual known as the Beast. And in this session, we will
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begin looking at 5 insights about the career of the Beast.
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And the reason why I say begin is because we're only going to
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look at the first one today. The first one is the most
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densed. The the first one is the most
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packed with information. And I don't want us to be
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overwhelmed, but I want to let you know that if we decode this
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first one, this initial insight, it's only going to get easier
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from here. And we'll look at that by God's
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grace next week as we simply focus on the 1st foundational
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point about the career of this man known as the Beast.
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This is what it is. He will be a global leader.
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He will be a global leader. Turn with me to Revelation 13.
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We're going to look at the 1st 2 verses together, John writes.
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And I saw a beast rising out of the sea with 10 horns and seven
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heads, with 10 diadems, that is, crowns on its horns and
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blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was
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like a leopard. Its feet were like a bear's and
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its mouth was like a lion's mouth, and to it the dragon gave
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his power and his throne and great authority.
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Let's pray, Lord, we admit that we need the spirit of wisdom and
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revelation at this moment. Guide us, Lord, help us see your
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wisdom, your beauty in this very text.
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Help us understand it with clarity.
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May the delivery be accurate, may be faithful to your design,
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to the message that you desire to give through it.
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And Lord, may we all be transformed as a result.
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We believe that every corner of the Word of God has this
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purpose, our sanctification and you being glorified.
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May we experience that now as a church.
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In Jesus name we pray, Amen and Amen.
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John's first sight of this beast is truly hideous.
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He has seven heads, and with each of those heads there's a
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blasphemous name. He has 10 horns and there are 10
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crowns upon these horns. And if that wasn't frightening
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enough, the other parts of the beast are just as grotesque.
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We see here that he looked like a leopard.
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We learned that his feet are like that of a bears.
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And when you look at its mouth, it was ferocious.
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It was like the mouth of a lion. And there is no doubt that these
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characteristics portray the vicious and monstrous nature of
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this beast, whoever he is. And that's significant already
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because we've studied about the Antichrist before and we have
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determined from the Bible that he will be a future political
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leader, a ruler Who Will Win the affection and the devotion of
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the globe. Now, if you're going to do that,
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it's very unlikely that you're going to be successful if you
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look like this. So this is indeed symbolic, but
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more than symbolic, it's God's perspective on the beast from a
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human standpoint. He, he has to be charismatic.
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He has to be a genius. He, he has to be successful.
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He has to be charming to some degree if he's going to sway the
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world to surrender to his leadership.
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But from God's standpoint, he's hideous.
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He's ugly, he's vile, he's destructive.
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And all I want to tell you from this point is that God sees the
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things differently than we do. But these details also provide
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incredible insight, and the best way to understand the message of
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these symbols is to examine them individually.
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And this is our practice as a church.
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When we come to something that seems cryptic, challenging,
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strange, we have to step back and ask ourselves, have we seen
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any of these features and other parts of the Bible?
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Have we seen paralleling Scriptures?
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And if we have, we have to visit them to to see if they will shed
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light on what's presented before us.
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And that's what we're going to do.
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So we're going to turn these verses that we just read, these
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first 2 verses, into bite size portions and we'll begin by
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examining where the beast comes from.
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Look again at Revelation 13, verse 1.
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And I saw a beast, John says, rising out of the sea.
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Throughout the Scriptures, especially the Old Testament,
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the sea often represents things. Obviously there are parts of the
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Bible where the sea is literal, but in different areas we see
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that the sea can represent chaos, danger, even forces of
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evil that oppose God. But there are also other places
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in certain contexts where the sea simply symbolizes nations,
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especially Gentile nations. We find that in the book of
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Daniel, and we even find it in the Book of Revelation.
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Consider another vision that John experiences where the beast
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is included and other characteristics similar to what
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we have in Revelation 13, where God gives him the interpretation
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of some details that help us understand what's before us.
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You have your Bible with you. I hope so.
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Go to Revelation 17. Look at verse 15.
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This is the middle of another vision John will experience.
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But I look at this one verse to shed some light on the verse
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that we're looking at in our main text.
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Revelation 17, verse 15. And the Angel said to me, the
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waters that you saw, John, you saw a sea.
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You saw a body of water, large body of water.
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The waters that you saw where the prostitute is seated are
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peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.
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Do you see that? So this body of water again
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speaks of nations. With this in mind, we can
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understand that the beast emerging from the sea signifies
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that he's going to come from this world, specifically the
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Gentile world. Now there's debate.
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Is the beast a Gentile? Is he a Jew?
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Is he a mix? We won't get into that
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conversation now, but what is obvious is that he is a human
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being and that he is summoned by Satan at a particular point.
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At what point we'll remember how Revelation 12 ended when he was
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kicked out of heaven. He pursued the woman and he
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failed. So he vented his anger toward
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the rest of her offspring, those who bear the testimony of Jesus.
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And he stands the border there beside the water.
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And then the next thing you see in Revelation 13 is the
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emergence of this beast. He is summoning this individual.
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But let's go to the next detail. In Revelation 13, we learned
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that, yes, he comes from the sea, but also with 10 horns and
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seven heads, with 10 items on its horns and blasphemous names
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on its heads. What do we make of these
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details? What do we do with these
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features? Well, let's ask ourselves this.
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Have we seen something similar before?
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We're going to keep asking that question, by the way.
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Have we seen these horns and these heads in a similar fashion
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associated with a different creature that we've studied
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recently? Answer Yes.
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Just go back to Revelation 12. Look at verse 3.
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Revelation 12 and another sign appeared in heaven.
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Behold, a great red dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns and on his
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heads 7 diadems. Not exactly the same, but close
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enough. And that's intentional.
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There is differences in in the details, but we're not looking
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at the differences, we're looking at the similarities.
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The beast shares the same qualities as the dragon.
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Who's the dragon? Satan.
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So he resembles the devil. He is distinct from the dragon.
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He's his own thing, but he reflects the nature and the
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ambitions of the evil. 1 So he does arise from men.
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He comes from the sea, comes from the world.
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He is a human being, but he also carries the likeness of Satan.
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In other words, he is practically the devil Incarnate.
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And that's why in other parts of Revelation you'll read The Beast
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Who Arose from the Abyss. Well, which one is it?
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Well, again, he's coming from the sea, the world, but he's
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also energized. He is summoned and he's
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operating under the power of Satan himself.
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This is, in a sense, Satan trying to mimic God.
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We're God, who in Christ came in the flesh.
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He wants to do the same. He wants to appear in a way in
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the flesh. He wants to embody someone.
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He wants to take over and he wants to operate through a human
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being, and he will do so successfully.
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But the shared features between the beast and the dragon are not
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only to emphasize this point, it's also to highlight the
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influence the beast will have in the world.
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What do I mean by that? Well, let's go back to the same
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vision that interpreted the sea, because in it we're also going
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to get further clarity about what these symbols represent.
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So let's go back to Revelation 17.
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I want you to see what it says here in verse 8 down to verse
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10, Revelation 17, verse 8 and 10.
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Is there anything here to help us understand what these heads
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and these horns mean? Well, let's read.
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The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to rise
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from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.
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And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in
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the book of life, from the foundation of the world, will
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marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to
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come. This calls for a mind with
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wisdom. Pause there for a moment.
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God tells us that in order to understand these things, we have
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to use our minds. We have to think.
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We can't be lazy in our study of God's Word and expect to get
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answers. So there's a challenge even in
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this. This calls for a mind of wisdom.
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Somebody's who's willing to do the work of the Word to arrive
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at conclusions. Just throwing it out there
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because we're going to be doing a lot of travelling in our
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Bibles. This calls for a mind with
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wisdom. The seven heads are 7 mountains
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on which the woman is seated. But look at verse 10.
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Now they are also 7 kings. There are 7 kings, five of whom
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have fallen. One is the other has not yet
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come. And when he does come, he must
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remain only a little while. Now Scroll down to verse 12 and
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the 10 horns that you saw are 10 kings who have not yet received
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royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for
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one hour together with the beast.
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These are of one mind and they hand over their power and
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authority to the beast. I'm aware that we just read a
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lot of data. There's a lot of information
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here and we'll get to the details once we arrive at this
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chapter. But for now, all we need to see
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is that these heads and these horns clearly represent
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political leaders and their kingdoms, rulers in this world,
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and the reason why these powers symbolized by these horns and
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heads are first associated with the dragon.
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Remember Revelation 12, He had several heads, He had many
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horns. The reason why these political
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leaders, their kingdoms are associated with the devil, what
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we studied in Revelation 12, is because it's being communicated
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through the Word of God that these powers are ultimately
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under the dominion of Satan. The Bible teaches that this
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world to a certain degree is under the influence and the
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leadership of the devil himself. I don't think I need to give
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many examples to you to prove that.
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Real world cultural illustrations.
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It's not even subtle anymore. It's right in our face.
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Sometimes it is more deceptive, sometimes it is cloaked in
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supposed righteousness and goodness.
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But the day that we're living in is just in your face.
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And it's even causing unbelievers to wonder.
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I mean, there's got to be something operating behind the
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scenes for these devilish agendas and symbolisms and all
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these acts and what we find in our entertainments.
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This is something beyond the natural, for the Bible has
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answers. So Satan ultimately is the
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puppet master and God has granted him a level of control,
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but not total control. But here's what's interesting.
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We find that in Revelation 12, the devil has his horns in the
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heads. But then you go to Revelation 13
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and those horns and heads are now upon who the beast.
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Yes, because they, they're, they're sharing the same
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qualities. They're from the same family.
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They, they carry the same DNA, but more than that, because
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Satan at that point will delegate these authorities to
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the beast, he will hand over these positions and these powers
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and these governments over to this one man.
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So here's what this means. This beast, whoever he is, will
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be a leader indeed, but he will be spearheading a global agenda.
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He's not going to be just leading a powerful nation.
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He is going to rule over all nations.
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And the nations at that time will gladly surrender their
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power to him. Now you might be wondering what
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will the world come to for, for such a decision to be made?
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Well, listen, if you, if you actually just lean in a little
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bit, there have been talks of, of globalism for decades.
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There's a push for it even in our day, to erase borders to to
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erase distinctions, to all come under 1 banner.
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And so we even see undertones of this.
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We, we realize this from time to time it rears its ugly head, but
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it will reach its fulfilment in this person.
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And one of the reasons why it will actually happen is because
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the world will be such a mess. There'll be so much confusion
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and havoc. There'll be such a lack of
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competent leadership that when this figure does eventually
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emerge on the scene, people will desperately throw themselves at
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him. He's going to put a spell on
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them. He's going to make promises.
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And in fact, the Bible shows us that initially he's going to
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solve world issues that global leaders have not been able to
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do, the only dreamed about doing.
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And so he's going to win the allegiance of the nations.
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And it's ultimately going to be a satanic trap.
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He's going to deceive these world leaders to surrender their
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power. He's going to work through this
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individual to make it even more convincing.
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And the power of the beast and his system is expounded on in
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the next set of details back in Revelation 13.
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Look at verse 2, John says, after describing where he came
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from and what he looked like, to zoom in and give us more details
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of his appearance in verse 2. And the beast that I saw was
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like a leopard, Its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was
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like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his
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power and his throne and great authority.
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So the second part of that verse confirms what we just heard,
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right? That Satan is going to
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orchestrate it for the world to be united under this one system,
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the beast. But what do we do with all of
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this? That much is clear, I hope.
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But why is he described as a part leopard, part bear, part
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lion? What was the question I said
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that we were going to repeat over and over again.
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Have we seen these features in the same context in different
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parts of the Bible before? Answer.
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Very good. Yes, we have.
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Who saw it? Daniel.
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Very good. So let's go to Daniel Chapter 7.
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Now this is where things get very interesting.
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Daniel the prophet had a vision about the same beasts.
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And notice how these two texts will complement each other.
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You're saying, well, what's so impressive about that?
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Well, Daniel existed and lived hundreds of years before the
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time of Christ. John, who's writing Revelation,
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is doing so decades after the resurrection and center of
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Christ. And yet there's perfect harmony
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in their writings, in their not just writings, in their
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predictions. Daniel 71.
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Notice what the Holy Spirit says through him.
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In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a
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dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed.
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Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter.
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Daniel declared, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the
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four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.
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Isn't that interesting? Here we see the sea again, and
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what's going to happen with the sea?
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Verse 3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea,
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different from one another. The first was like a lion and
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had eagle's wings. Then as I looked, it's wings
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were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and
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made to stand on 2 feet like a man.
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And the mind of a man was given to it.
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And behold another beast, a second one like a bear.
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It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth
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between its teeth and it was told arise devour much flesh.
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After this I looked and behold another like a leopard with four
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wings of a bird on its back, and the beast had four heads and
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dominion was given to it. This is fascinating.
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This is exhilarating. And in case you're a little bit
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confused of what we just read, Daniel actually gives us the
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interpretation because he was granted the interpretation.
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What Daniel is seeing here is the trajectory of human
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governments, more importantly and more specifically world
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empires from his time until the return of Christ.
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Proof. Are you still in Daniel 7?
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Scroll down to verse 17. Here's a part of the
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interpretation of this vision. He's told these 4 great beasts
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are 4 kings who shall arise out of the earth, but the Saints of
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the Most High shall receive the Kingdom and possess the Kingdom
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forever, forever and ever. It's right there, it's plain.
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But what kingdoms is Daniel seeing?
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Well, biblically and historically we know the first
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king that Daniel saw was represented by a lion, and that
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represents and speaks of the Babylonian Empire.
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The Babylonian Empire. Babylon in the Bible is referred
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to both as a lion and an eagle in certain passages, and notably
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these symbols also appear as some claim and Babylonian
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historical artifacts. So we know that Babylon is
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represented by this majestic creature because it was a
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majestic empire, powerful, fierce, lofty, impressive.
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Following the line, we learn about the bear.
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The bear speaks about the Medo Persian Empire because this is
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the historically speaking, and biblically speaking, there's
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history in the Bible. The Medo Persians succeeded the
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Babylonian Empire. Why a bear?
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Because it wasn't as majestic as Babylon, but it was powerful.
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It was scary, maybe not as swift, but very destructive.
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But then we come here and we realize something about the
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third and it is a leopard, or like a leopard.
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Leopards are fast, are they not? But more than just a leopard
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being fast, we're told that it had four wings on its back.
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So it's very fast. And this is an image that points
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to the Greek Empire. And this empire, especially led
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by Alexander the Great, swiftly conquered the Persian dynasty.
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The speed, the agility, the far reaching success of Greece's
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military campaigns are perfectly captured by this image of a
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leopard that is winged. Now, there are other details I
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skipped over, but if you are intrigued by this and you look
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more carefully at these other symbolisms, you'll be blown to
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blown away to realize that there are so many historical
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fulfillments in them. So much so that skeptics of the
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book of Daniel refused to believe that Daniel wrote this
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at his time. That's how accurate these
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pictures are. And so you'll have some who say
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whoever wrote the Book of Daniel wrote it long after these
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empires emerged and succeeded one another.
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But there are differences between what we find in Daniel's
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vision and John's 2 main ones. This is interesting.
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The same beasts appear, right? But did you notice that the
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order is different? What's the sequence of the
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beast, these kingdoms and Daniel?
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It begins with a lion, then the bear, then the leopard.
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In Revelation 13, what do you find?
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The same beast? Reverse order.
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He saw the leopard, right? And then the bear, and then the
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lion. Is that detail significant?
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I think so. It just speaks about how
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surgically precise our Bibles are.
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And I think the simple answer is that Daniel is looking forward
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to these empires rising. So he's seeing it from the front
27:35
end, his perspective. He's looking ahead, whereas John
27:38
is reflecting, he's looking backwards on these empires and
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the order that they had already appeared.
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But John's vision is more than just a reflection, because in
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Daniel's perspective, he sees these beasts as separate
27:54
entities, right? Different kingdoms.
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But then when John sees it, he sees these beasts compiled,
28:04
merged, mashed up into a single beast.
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What does that mean? It means that John's vision is
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that this new beast that will appear in the last days will be
28:19
convergence of these former world empires that are
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historically known for persecuting the people of God.
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In other words, the future empire John sees will be a
28:28
combination of the strengths of these historical empires who
28:36
have persecuted the people of God in the past.
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So this empire, whatever this beast is, will have the strength
28:43
of Babylon, it will have the authority of Babylon, it will
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have the ferocious force and movement of the bear, and it
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will have the agility like a leopard all in one, all rolled
28:59
up in a single one. So the impression that we're
29:02
supposed to have, if you, if you read that with a Hebrew mind and
29:05
with a biblical mind like we do, understanding the implications
29:09
of the the strongest traits of those former empires now
29:13
colliding into one empire, this thing is going to be
29:16
unstoppable. It's going to be so
29:19
overwhelming. You think America is powerful?
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You've seen nothing yet. This will eclipse all former
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things. Whatever the history books have
29:29
testified about, this will be unlike anything that we've ever
29:34
known. Now some of you might be
29:38
wondering, but I thought Daniel saw a vision of four beasts.
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So why is John by the Spirit only borrowing from the imagery
29:50
of the the first three that we read about?
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And if you thought that, I applaud you because you're
29:56
paying attention. I commend you for that.
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Yes, there is a fourth beast that Daniel describes.
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And I think looking at that 4th beast will give us even more
30:04
understanding of the beast that we see in Revelation 13.
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Let's go look at it. Daniel 7, are you there?
30:10
Look at verse 7. After this I saw in the night
30:14
visions and behold a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful
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and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth.
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It devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with
30:29
its feet. It was different from all the
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beasts that were before it, and it had 10 horns.
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Wow. At face value, Daniel seems to
30:42
be seeing the same beast that John is seeing in Revelation 13,
30:47
right? Is that the case?
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I would say yes, but with a clear distinction.
30:54
A very important difference. He is looking at the same beast,
30:58
but at two different stages. Let me explain.
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Babylon. Medo, Persia, Greece, you're
31:10
seeing the succession of these kingdoms, and we come to the 4th
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1. Historically speaking, who does
31:15
this 4th one represent? Rome.
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Rome. And this accurately fits Rome.
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I mean, Rome conquered Greece and became one of the most
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impressive and lasting empires in all of human history.
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And that's why Daniel says here that it was different from all
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the other beasts. Nobody can stop Rome.
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But what Daniel does here is that he goes on to give details
31:38
of the fourth beast that don't completely match the historical
31:44
Roman Empire, namely that when the reign of Rome expires of the
31:50
fourth beast, when when it comes to an end, evidently the literal
31:55
eternal reign of Christ will what begin?
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That's something repeated over and over in Daniel Chapter 7,
32:05
and here's one example of that. Are you still in that chapter?
32:08
Look down at verse 23. There's further understanding of
32:12
what this 4th beast, beast means.
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And in Daniel 723 we read thus he said, As for the 4th beast,
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there shall be a fourth Kingdom on earth.
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We shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall
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devour the whole earth and trample it down and break it to
32:29
pieces. OK, look at verse 26.
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Now this is the same breath. This is the same train of
32:35
thought. But the court shall sit in
32:38
judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and
32:42
destroyed to the end. And the Kingdom and the dominion
32:45
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
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shall be given to the people of the Saints of the Most High.
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His Kingdom shall be an everlasting Kingdom, and all
32:53
dominion shall serve and obey him.
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Do you recognize the difficulty of this interpretation?
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If the 4th beast symbolizes the Roman Empire and that God says
33:06
here that he will destroy it, and not just destroy it, but
33:09
hand over all the kingdoms under heaven to the Saints, how can
33:14
this be reconciled with the fact that the Roman Empire collapsed
33:18
around 1500 years ago? Are we living in that reality of
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all the kingdoms of heaven being given over to the people of God?
33:25
Some say yes, we are, which would be a disappointment to me
33:30
if this is it. No.
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So there's only three possible answers.
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You ready? 3 possible answers to this
33:38
apparent dilemma #1 this prophecy failed.
33:41
It failed, the 4th Kingdom would end, and immediately after we're
33:45
talking about the return of the Son of Man.
33:47
That's in the same context, the same chapter.
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Where is it? Which leads to the second
33:51
possible answer that even good hearted genuine believers would
33:56
say, well, this is referring to a spiritual dominion that Christ
34:01
inaugurated when he entered into history under the Roman rule and
34:06
reign during the time of their peak success.
34:09
Because we know that even in the Gospels that Rome was in power
34:12
when Christ came into the world. And so they would say all the
34:15
stuff that you're reading about dominion and the Kingdom and the
34:19
greatness of the Kingdom being handed over to the people in the
34:21
Saints of the Most High, that's all spiritual.
34:25
This is how they would try to reconcile this.
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But here's the third and final option.
34:30
The prophet Daniel is speaking about the same beast that John
34:34
saw about the future, but in two stages.
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And if the beast is the same here as it is in Revelation 13,
34:45
then I believe option #3 is the most accurate.
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Which would mean what? That in the last days there will
34:51
be some form of revived Roman Empire?
34:55
That there will be this confederation of nations that
34:57
will dominate in a way that was previewed by the Roman Empire.
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Now, that conclusion alone has led to many speculations, many
35:08
crazy applications. Some are more safe than others.
35:14
What does that really mean? Well, we can't get into that
35:16
now, But I would just say that is the understanding of this
35:21
beast that yes, historically Rome fell, but there is going to
35:27
be some kind of renewal that reflects its dominating
35:31
influence in the last days, known as the beast, and it will
35:38
carry the strongest characteristics of former
35:41
empires in that last period of time.
35:47
Now, if you're hearing this interpretation and you're
35:49
finding difficulty to accept it, let me mention one more thing to
35:51
hopefully persuade you. There are other details that
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Daniel gives about this fourth beast that are very difficult to
35:59
say, being historically fulfilled in ancient Rome.
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Let me give you just one example of that.
36:05
We read Daniel 723, but we skipped to verse 26.
36:08
What's in between? Let's read from verse 23 again.
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Thus he said, As for the 4th beast, there shall be a fourth
36:18
Kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms,
36:21
and it shall devour the whole earth and trample it down and
36:25
break it to pieces. As for the 10 horns, out of this
36:29
Kingdom 10 kings shall arise, and another shall arise after
36:33
them. He shall be different from the
36:35
former ones, and shall put down 3 kings.
36:38
He shall speak words against the Most High and shall wear out the
36:42
Saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times
36:46
and the law, and they shall be given into his hand for a time,
36:50
times and half a time. And then he goes on to describe
36:53
how God's reign will come and take over everything.
36:58
Again, I'm aware that there are more details even here.
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Here's the main point, however. The reason why I read this is
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because you would be very hard pressed to try to see the
37:09
fulfillment of the fourth beast, the 4th empire, in this way in
37:15
history, especially when you consider the duration of the 4th
37:23
kingdom's maniacal reign. What does it say there at the
37:26
end of verse 25? Does this sound familiar to you?
37:30
They shall be given it to his hand for a time, times and half
37:34
a time. Have we seen that before in
37:36
Revelation? Yes.
37:38
That is describing the final few years of the tribulation period.
37:42
It's the same duration. So it's got to be speaking about
37:45
the same thing. So here's here's what we've
37:51
gathered so far. Daniel and John are seeing the
37:55
same thing, the same beast, but at two different stages.
37:59
It was historically fulfilled in part, but there's going to be
38:02
some kind of revival of a Romanesque type of empire in the
38:06
last days. Now this is how this has LED
38:10
some to believe then the beast in Revelation 13 is not a
38:13
person, it's a system, right? Because what have we been
38:16
studying the past few? Well, I don't know how long it's
38:18
been, but what a beast is a Kingdom.
38:23
So then why are we making it sound like a beast as an
38:27
individual? Is the beast in Revelation 13 a
38:30
person or a political power like a government?
38:36
And my answer is it's both. It's both.
38:39
Both. You actually consider this in
38:40
history, that in any empire, the government tends to be almost
38:45
wholly identified with the ruler, especially if it's a
38:50
dictatorship. And if you look back at
38:53
Revelation 13, we only read the first 2 verses.
38:55
But you go on and you read that the beast will be worshipped.
39:00
It's very unlikely that people will worship an ideology.
39:04
Maybe so. But then you go on to read in
39:08
Revelation 13, and there will be another beast that we're going
39:10
to study about in the coming weeks.
39:12
And he's going to persuade the world to worship the image of
39:16
the beast. The image of what?
39:21
A set of laws, a creed. And here's the most convincing
39:28
part, when you get to the end of Revelation, in Revelation
39:31
chapter 19, when Christ returns, one of the first things that he
39:34
will do is judge the beast. And it says this, that he will
39:38
throw him and the false prophet alive into the lake of fire.
39:44
To me, case closed. He's not just an idea, he's not
39:49
just a system, he's not just a form of government.
39:52
He's not just an empire. It is an empire, but it's also a
39:57
person who's running it. Well, we've heard a lot, haven't
40:03
we? I'm sure you can see why we
40:06
couldn't cover every point. Today was meat and potatoes in
40:10
the first point alone. So let's just pause here and
40:14
consider something marvelous. Isn't it amazing that Daniel and
40:16
John are seeing the same thing centuries apart in their
40:21
ministries, but seeing and complementing each other's
40:25
visions of the last days? How is this possible?
40:28
Well, it's the same. God is revealing it to them.
40:30
You can't convince me that this book is not supernatural.
40:36
But then we look at this and we think to ourselves, OK, well,
40:38
what do we do with all this information?
40:40
I mean, hopefully clarified, hopefully again, it provides
40:42
some tools of how to interpret the scriptures.
40:47
But if I myself wanting to ask this question whenever we come
40:49
to texts like this, what does it do for me now?
40:54
How does it influence me in my day-to-day with all the
40:58
responsibilities I have? And yes, I know we're studying
41:02
about the end of the world, but my world seems like it's ending
41:03
on its own. So preacher, help me.
41:08
Well, I have nothing to offer except the Word of God.
41:11
And I think one thing that we can do in terms of application,
41:15
in terms of how to relate this to ourselves, is to see Daniel's
41:20
reaction to the vision that he saw.
41:23
It's the last verse of Daniel 7. Notice how he wraps things up in
41:29
verse 28. Here is the end of the matter.
41:34
As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me and my color
41:41
changed, but it kept the matter in my heart.
41:47
Apart from Daniel experiencing a supernatural thing, the reason
41:53
why he responded in such a way was because the thoughts that he
41:59
was having about the implications of this vision
42:03
overwhelmed him and moved him. It provoked something internal.
42:12
And I'm not here concluding this message to suggest that the way
42:15
we should feel about what we just heard is to be frightened,
42:19
anxious. But I do want to say that it
42:24
should do something in you, something.
42:29
When Daniel saw what he saw, sure.
42:32
The experience in itself was moving, but I believe when he
42:39
saw it, he believed it. It wasn't just an experience.
42:45
It was something that he believed to be true and that's
42:48
why it did the work in him to the point that it physically
42:51
manifests. I mean, he was losing the color
42:53
in his face. How did you respond in this past
42:58
50 minutes sitting there today to what was just said?
43:03
What did it do for you? Oh, I'm sure some light bulbs
43:07
went off in our minds. That's OK.
43:09
God wants us to use our minds. But do you actually understand
43:15
the implications of these predictions, where this is all
43:20
heading, how the story is going to conclude, how it speaks to
43:28
the temporal nature of the things that we think are going
43:30
to last forever, like your house and your body, your
43:33
relationships, all of that has an expiration date.
43:40
And we know that from personal experience.
43:42
But the Bible wants to tell us it's not just going to be an
43:44
individual thing where we're all one day going to die.
43:46
This whole world, this whole world is going to be flipped
43:49
over. This, this whole thing, all of
43:53
history is leading to one point, and that's Christ ruling and
43:57
reigning. That's Christ returning to
43:59
redeem and to establish his Kingdom.
44:03
That's where all of this is headed.
44:07
So maybe you're here today, you're visiting, and we're so
44:09
glad you're here. Maybe you've been coming, but
44:10
you're not a believer in Jesus Christ and you don't know what
44:13
to do with what you just heard. Here's how I want to speak to
44:17
your heart. You may not believe it, but at
44:23
least leave this place questioning what you just heard
44:28
and asking yourself what? What does this mean if it's
44:34
true? And are these claims just coming
44:39
from one author? No, I just mentioned it more
44:42
than once. You're talking about a library
44:45
of books of ancient literature that are speaking about the same
44:48
thing. How is that possible?
44:52
I want you to ask those questions.
44:54
Don't just leave out of here scoffing.
44:56
Don't just walk out of thinking, OK, I don't know what that was,
44:58
but glad it's over. No, no, Ask yourself, what did I
45:03
just hear? And if it's true, what does that
45:07
mean for me? And if you're so confident that
45:13
this is not true, then challenge it, Disprove it.
45:17
Believer, again and again, you are being reminded of what your
45:21
purpose is. Now there's a question of why
45:25
Daniel was alarmed. I mean, this ends on a good
45:29
note. All these other kingdoms will,
45:31
will fall, they will collapse and Christ's Kingdom, the Son of
45:34
man will come and rule and reign.
45:36
But I believe Daniel's wrestling with different emotions here.
45:40
It's what we need to consider also as we study this is, yes,
45:44
our future, but also the future of those who don't know Christ,
45:50
the loved ones that don't have faith in the Messiah, What's
45:55
their future going to be? Our children, Are we praying for
45:58
them? You know, you have some parents
46:00
who are more concerned about their future job and their
46:02
salary and who they're going to marry more than where they're
46:04
going to spend eternity. And so all these things need to
46:09
be considered. And if you find yourself sitting
46:11
there today unmoved, well, here's how we can pray and ask
46:14
God's help. Lord, do something in my own
46:16
heart. If I can hear these things,
46:18
these prophecies and your perspective on life and humanity
46:22
and history, and it doesn't do anything to me, then Lord do
46:26
something in me. And that is something that God
46:30
is willing to do because this book that has been written by
46:35
him is also written by God who is alive even now, and He can
46:42
work in your heart right now if you would just humble yourself.
46:47
What that means is if you don't believe in Christ, you can know
46:51
salvation today, and you can be assured that your futures
46:55
absolutely set on the path of redemption and hope and
46:59
everlasting joy and bliss. And if you're a believer here
47:03
and you find yourself for whatever reason, week after
47:05
week, becoming more stale and indifferent and more excited
47:09
about the things of this world than the things that are going
47:11
to happen to this world as God to revive your heart, that's
47:17
something He's willing to do. Can we pray?
47:30
Father, we stand amazed at your word.
47:38
We thank You that in this one service alone we heard verses
47:44
that minister to our personal needs, How You know about all
47:48
things from Psalm 139. We reminded in the same service
47:53
of the gospel truth how we are guiltless because of our faith
47:56
and the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.
47:59
And now we've come to prophecy to see what you will do in the
48:02
days to come and how you are telling us ahead of time.
48:05
I know tomorrow all these things happen in one service.
48:11
We do not take your word for granted.
48:14
We are blown away by Your revelation, but Lord, we don't
48:18
want to just be stimulated intellectually.
48:20
We pray like Daniel shows us even in this one brief moment,
48:23
how it moved him and it provoked him.
48:26
Lord, move us. It is our prayer that what we
48:30
heard would make us holier. It will make us more intimate
48:34
with You in the place of prayer. It will want us to get deeper
48:37
into the word for ourselves, that it will help us detach from
48:42
the things of this life. It will help us love those who
48:47
need to be loved and serve those who are called to be served and
48:51
reach out to those who don't know the truth.
48:55
So, Lord, take all the things that we've just studied together
48:58
and translate them into our lives and be glorified by our
49:02
obedience. We thank you for this in Jesus
49:05
name, Amen and Amen. All right, let's stand.