Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / The Mark of The Beast (666) | Revelation 13:15-18 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Study Series)

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The Mark of The Beast (666) | Revelation 13:15-18 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  Few subjects in the Bible have stirred as much curiosity and
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  intrigue as the truth of the mark of the beast.
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  It has not only sparked debate among Christians, but has even
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  captured the fascination among some in the secular world,
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  especially in recent years. But like many difficult
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  teachings in the Bible, there is much confusion generated from
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  this truth than understanding, more speculation than insights,
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  strange interpretations and imaginative connections to
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  modern or historical figures or events, leaving many to be
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  really hesitant to engage with this subject or to even come up
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  with reasons why it's beneficial for us to know.
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  But we as believers who love the Word of God have to understand
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  that misguided teachings or unsupported conclusions should
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  not deter us from approaching even a text like this with
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  absolute confidence and assurance.
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  With any part of God's Word, we have to believe that God has
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  something to say through it, that he wants to bless us, that
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  he wants to inform us, that he wants to equip us.
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  And that is no less true than with the truth that is before us
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  today. And by God's grace, we're going
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  to seek to unlock what seems to be a mystery for many.
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  But before we can even do that, we have to remind ourselves of
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  the context in which it is introduced.
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  And so you and I need our Bibles, right?
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  So if you have a Bible with you, let's turn to Revelation 13.
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  And in the latter portion of this chapter, the Holy Spirit
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  reveals that there is coming a dangerous duo, a duo that will
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  be summoned and empowered by Satan himself with unparalleled
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  authority, and they will dominate the world.
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  Revelation 13 tells us that they are identified AS2 separate
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  beasts. They have their own distinct
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  kind of profiles, yet they are working in tandem.
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  The first beast the Spirit shows us will be a political leader.
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  He will be a world dominating figure, he will be brilliant, he
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  will be persuasive and he will indeed have his way.
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  He will actually bring to fruition what many have only
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  theorized or dreamt about and that is a globalist regime.
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  He will bring the nations together under 1 banner.
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  But more than implementing a universal political system, this
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  individual who is known as the first beast will demand worship.
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  And this is where the second beast comes in.
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  Because the second beast, who is also a man, will emerge on the
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  scene, and he too will be a persuasive voice.
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  And he will compel the world to give their homage and their
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  devotion and their ultimate worship to the first beast.
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  And he will even perform signs and wonders to win the trust of
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  the masses. And over and over, with his
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  ability to communicate and the power behind his message, there
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  will be a compelling case for the world to begin to bow the
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  knee to the first beast. But there's going to be more
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  than just amazement. And there's going to be more
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  than just deception at play here to win the allegiance of the
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  nations. We're about to discover that
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  there will be cruel implementations.
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  There will be certain protocols and systems that will be in
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  place in order to pressure the people to surrender their hearts
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  to this evil tyrant known as the Antichrist.
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  And that is where we find ourselves here in Revelation 13.
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  Our main text is in verse 15 down through verse 18, but we're
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  going to read from verse 11 to refresh our memory.
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  Revelation 13, verse 11 reads. Then I saw another beast rising
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  out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb,
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  and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority
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  of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and
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  its inhabitants worship the first beast whose mortal wound
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  was healed. It performs great signs, even
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  making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of
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  people. And by the signs that it is
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  allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those
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  who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the the
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  beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
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  And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the
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  beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak, and
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  might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast
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  to be slain. Also.
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  It causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both
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  free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,
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  so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark that is
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  the name of the beast or the number of its name.
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  This calls for wisdom. Let the one who has
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  understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is
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  the number of a man, and his number is 66 6.
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  Let's pray, Lord, your word calls for wisdom in this portion
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  of Scripture, and that's what we asked for.
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  We asked for wisdom, as we heard even earlier through Paul's
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  words. What does the Scripture say,
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  Lord? No matter our presuppositions or
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  our own ideas or our own conclusions, we pray that all
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  things would bow to the truth, and that Lord, you would clarify
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  all confusion, that you would settle any heart that is
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  troubled, and that Lord, we would see your wisdom in these
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  verses for our worship and our love for you.
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  We pray these things in the matchless name of your son, who
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  we believe to be alive and the soon coming King.
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  Amen and Amen. So in my personal reading this
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  week, I find myself in the Book of Daniel.
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  An amazing book for many reasons.
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  And early in Daniel's story, you would know this if you've read
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  the book, we see that King Nebuchadnezzar decides to build
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  a massive golden statue of himself and he threateningly
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  commands all his subjects to worship it.
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  And I just found myself earlier again this week being reminded
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  that this is just one of many examples in biblical history of
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  how humanity is capable of 1. Worshipping themselves, and two,
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  worshipping idols in general. So it should not surprise us
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  then that what we just read about the future is a man who
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  will have others worship an image of himself.
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  Now what's interesting about this image, however, is that it
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  stands out from all other previous idols we see in the
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  scriptures for one main reason. This idol, this image, this
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  structure of some kind, this object, we're not too sure what
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  it will be, has been given life. It's animated, it's receiving
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  breath, and it comes off as though it is alive.
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  Now if you've read the Scriptures carefully, you would
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  notice that the Holy Spirit repeatedly emphasizes the the
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  foolishness of pictorial or physical idols and the scorn
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  that is offered. A holy scorn, may I add, is that
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  these idols, they have eyes, but they do not see.
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  They have ears, but they cannot hear.
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  They have hands, but they cannot move their feet but cannot walk,
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  and they have mouths but cannot speak.
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  So one example is from Psalm 115, four and five.
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  And you don't have to turn there, but listen to these
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  words. Listen to what the psalmist
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  says. Their idols are silver and gold,
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  the work of human hands. They have mouths but do not
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  speak, eyes but do not see. And that reverberates throughout
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  the Scripture, even up to the Book of Revelation.
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  Do you remember how this holy contempt is offered towards
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  idols under the six trumpet judgment?
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  If you forgot, you can now turn to Revelation 9 and look at
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  verse 20 for a moment. Revelation 9, verse 20, John
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  writes, The rest of mankind who are not killed by these plagues
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  did not repent of the works of their hands, nor give up
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  worshipping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and
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  stone and wood which cannot see or hear or walk.
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  Nor do they repent of their murders or the sorceries of
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  their sexual immorality or their thefts.
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  So we know that idol worship is nothing new, and we also know
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  that it's not going to grow old. It's going to be prevalent even
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  in the last days. But interestingly, according to
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  John, the image of the Antichrist, the first beast in
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  Revelation 13, will in fact not be a lifeless structure.
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  We're told that it will have the ability to speak, and more than
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  that, it will somehow possess the authority to kill those who
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  do not worship it. Now you can imagine the
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  difficulty of John's immediate audience and trying to make
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  sense of how a mere object or idol can perform such acts.
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  But with modern technology today, that difficulty no longer
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  remains, does it? Now, whether this image will be
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  animated technologically or supernaturally is not entirely
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  clear. And whether this image will be
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  mass produced and forced to be placed in people's homes or
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  erected in key regions is not made known either.
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  But if we concentrate on what is clear, we can have wonderful
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  discussions of what this verse is conveying.
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  Or we can talk about how the language here reminds us of one
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  of the first acts that God performs in Genesis, in Genesis
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  27, when he breathes into the man who was formed out of the
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  dust, and we're told there that he became a living creature.
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  Telling us what that yet again in Revelation 13, we have the
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  Antichrist trying to imitate God.
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  Or we can discuss how more specifically, this is the second
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  beast whom we learned to be a counterfeit Holy Spirit.
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  And we know that the Holy Spirit, one of his wonders is
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  that he breathes life into the lifeless soul, right?
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  He regenerates us. He makes us born again.
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  And here we find again the anti Holy Spirit seeking to mimic the
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  true Holy Spirit by bringing life to something that was once
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  lifeless. Oh, there are so many things
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  that we can speak about, but allow me to focus on just one
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  gripping thought. And it is how the incentive to
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  worship the Antichrist is so different from the draw to
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  worship the true Christ. Look back again with me here.
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  John tells us that anyone who refuses to worship the image of
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  this beast will be executed. The moment they resist, they
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  will be slain, in John's word. Do you understand what that
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  means? That this kind of worship for
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  this kind of beast will be enforced.
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  The people will be coerced, and this will essentially promote a
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  devotion driven entirely by terror.
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  This is what this tyrant is going to produce.
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  And though it is true that there are consequences for those who
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  refuse to worship and surrender to the true God, that kind of
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  punishment is a manifestation of holy justice against those who
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  have first made the decision to reject God's grace.
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  Do you remember what Paul said in Second Thessalonians 18,
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  where early in that book, very short book, he describes the
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  return of Christ, the true sense of Christ's return, that He will
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  inflict vengeance on those who do not obey God or the Gospel of
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  our Lord Jesus? Notice that the main crime that
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  Christ will execute judgment for are against those who have made
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  the decision to reject the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
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  What's the gospel? The good news?
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  What's the good news about Jesus?
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  Grace? God's grace.
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  So does our God judge? Yes, but for what?
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  Those who have swatted away his gift?
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  Those who have denied him? Those who have blasphemed him?
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  Those who have not received freely that gift of salvation.
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  You see, with the true Christ Christ, judgement comes to those
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  who have first denied his grace. Whereas the Antichrist gives no
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  grace at all because Satan has no grace to offer.
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  Think of it this way. The Antichrist says worship me
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  or die. The true Christ says worship me
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  because I died for you. You see, the primary way our God
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  wins the worship of sinners, wins our love, wins our loyalty.
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  It's through His love. It's through His indescribable
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  sacrifice. No such thing exists in the
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  world of worship with the Antichrist.
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  I mean, you can even see this in the resurrection type miracle
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  that he will perform. Remember we studied that
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  together earlier in this chapter that there will be some kind of
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  assassination attempt and He will bring this kind of stunt
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  where He will make it seem as though He rose from the dead.
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  But notice the difference. That is clearly an imitation of
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  what Christ has done. But the motive is far different.
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  The Antichrist will do this to try to flex his power, to try to
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  impress the masses. It's deception.
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  But Christ didn't do what He did to try to impress us.
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  He did it to pay for something. He did it for our behalf.
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  He did it for something that we were lacking.
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  He did it out of His love. He didn't have to do it.
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  He chose to do it. So even in the motive of the
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  miracles that we see here between the true Christ and the
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  Antichrist are so different. And All in all, the Kingdom of
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  darkness weaponizes fear to when peoples worship, while the
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  Kingdom of God extends grace to to win sinners.
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  In fact, have you ever considered how the Book of
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  Revelation ends? This book that is clearly
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  dominated by future judgement, holy justice, cosmic chaos, all
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  these things that at 1st may terrify us.
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  Have you ever wondered the last words of the Book of Revelation?
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  Well, let's turn there. Look at it.
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  Revelation 22 verse 21, the signature verse to end this
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  prophecy is what the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.
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  Amen. Isn't that amazing that after
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  describing God's fiercest display of wrath against evil
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  and evil doers, the last thought that he wants the reader to
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  encounter before closing this prophecy is grace.
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  You want to know why? Because that's God's disposition
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  towards humanity, forgiveness, restoration, redemption.
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  So in the last verse of not just the Book of Revelation, but of
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  all the Scriptures is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  We serve a wonderful master. You know, the Antichrist seems
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  not to take any issue of getting worship, no matter how he can
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  get it. And clearly this is this is
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  driven by dread. Some will be deceived, some will
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  fall in love with this man. But in that same prophecy we
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  read that others will have no other choice.
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  At least they think they have no other choice.
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  And Satan seems to take no issue with cold, external, mechanical
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  devotion. Christ is not interested in that
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  kind of worship. He wants genuine, heartfelt
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  adoration and affection. And the way that He draws that
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  out of us is by pouring out His love first.
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  He melts the hearts of those who have turned their backs on Him.
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  That's how he draws US. Oh, what it this should cause us
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  to worship him. Imagine if Christ was like the
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  Antichrist. He's not.
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  Thanks be to God, he is not. But the extent of the Antichrist
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  slavish system is explained in the next verses.
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  Let's look at it again. So we realize that he's going to
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  make this image. It's a remarkable kind of
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  achievement, but he has other things in mind.
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  In verse 16 we read also. It causes all, both small and
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  great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on
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  the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell
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  unless he has the mark that is the name of the beast or the
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  number of its name. So the Antichrist in his
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  totalitarian regime will not only promote man worship, but
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  will also administer a required universal marking system.
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  Evidently, he's going to impose this new arrangement of personal
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  identification. And what that ID is going to
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  reveal is going to be the most important thing that one can
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  know about an individual at that time.
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  Here it is. Are you for or are you against
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  this new world leader? That's all that's going to
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  matter at this point. Are you marked for him or are
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  you not marked for him? And John tells us that a
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  person's allegiance or lack thereof will be known.
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  It'll be very hard to hide. It's going to be apparent.
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  It's going to be plan, it's going to be physical.
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  Now, there are two vital things that we have to try to
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  understand in order to get clarification of what this mark
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  is about. And if you can remember these
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  two things, you'll be a step ahead from a lot of people who
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  are kind of in this state of confusion about what this
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  prophecy really entails. 2 things about this mark.
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  The first thing is it's spiritual significance and the
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  second thing is it's physical consequences.
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  The spiritual significance is what we'll begin with.
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  Remember up to this point we have seen how pathetically
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  desperate Satan is to mirror God, to imitate God, to replace
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  God and we see it even with this mark.
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  Remember we've studied this chapter by chapter, verse by
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  verse. We we've seen that this concept
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  of a mark in terms of devotion has already appeared.
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  Do you remember how the 144,000 Jews are distinguished in
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  Revelation Chapter 7? If you don't go there for a
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  moment and look at one verse with me in Revelation 7 verse 3.
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  This is what the Holy Spirit says about this future group of
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  people, Revelation 73 reads, saying Do not harm the earth or
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  the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our
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  God on their foreheads. We know, of course, that this is
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  primarily speaking about a spiritual stamp, a spirit
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  spiritual designation. But Satan Listen wants to mock
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  it. This is a parody.
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  And more than that, if you notice in Revelation 13, he's
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  very specific. He wants to ensure that those
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  who are committed to the Antichrist are labeled in one of
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  two places, one the right hand, the other the forehead.
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  Why those two places? Well, if you and I know our Old
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  Testament well, then we would we would ask this question.
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  I think. Is there any place in the Old
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  Testament that reveals the idea of the hand or the the head
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  being connected to a form of devotion?
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  I see a lot of heads ironically nodding.
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  Deuteronomy 6. Let's turn there.
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  This is what is commonly known as the Shema.
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  This is a central instruction for the Jewish people even to
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  this day. But notice what is mentioned in
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  this set of instructions, Deuteronomy 6, beginning in
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  verse 4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
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  God, the Lord is 1 You shall love the Lord your God with all
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  your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might.
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  And these words that I command you today shall be on your
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  heart. You shall teach them diligently
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  to your children and shall talk to them.
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  When you sit in your house and when you bought walk by the way,
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  and when you lie down and when you rise, pause for a moment.
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  Every time I read this, it moves me.
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  Do you know why? Because it instructs families,
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  especially parents, that when we seek to disciple our children,
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  it should look more than just having a set devotional time.
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  I'm not against those. I think those are wonderful.
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  But there's something more realistic here being presented
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  that when we want to train our children concerning the things
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  of God, it should be conversational.
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  It should be casual on our on our Rd. trips.
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  We should we should talk about biblical truths as we travel.
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  We should be able to relate all of life to the things of God.
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  I believe that's more effective than anything.
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  You may disagree with me, but I believe to be able to show our
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  loved ones how we can include and we should connect all of
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  life, all of our problems, all of our joys to what God has
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  revealed about himself and to us is so effective.
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  Not my idea. It's here and Deuteronomy 6.
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  But notice what it goes on to say in verse 8.
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  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as
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  frontlets between your eyes. Where's that here?
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  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on
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  your gates. What is this instruction all
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  about? It's clear the lobbying on one's
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  hand and between one's eyes is both symbolic and practical.
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  All it's really saying is God's people should be in a place
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  where they adopt everything that God has said to their thinking
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  and to their doing. In essence, it speaks of the
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  integration of God's voice in all of life, in our day-to-day,
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  internally and externally, in your thought life, in your heart
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  life, in your actual life. And so this is really a picture
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  of complete and absolute devotion.
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  Now, Jews today would actually take this literally and they
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  have those small boxes with, you know, scriptures in them, and
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  they would tie it around their hands and tie it around their
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  heads. What God's after really is that
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  this would be obeyed, this would be lived out, this would be
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  chairs, the truth of God. And what we find here in
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  Revelation is that this ancient and holy call to consecration is
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  now mimicked for an evil purpose.
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  Satan takes this, and he now seeks to apply to his own
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  worship. So imagine how a Jewish audience
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  especially would understand and interpret the mark of the beast
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  immediately. They would primarily recognize
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  this as an inversion and perversion of what God asked of
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  them. This biblical tradition that all
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  that you think up here and all that you do with this would be
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  to the glory of God, would be instructed and inspired by God.
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  And now I read of this evil regime that's asking to be
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  marked on the hand and on the forehead.
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  It's clear. And they would also recognize
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  the depth of the spiritual defiance of this.
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  They would see that this is a lawless system intent on
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  claiming what belongs to God alone, and that is again,
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  complete devotion. So this is deeply disturbing
• 25:07
  because it carries spiritual significance.
• 25:09
  So listen and you and I understanding what the mark of
• 25:12
  the beast is about, we have to 1st answer it in this way.
• 25:15
  It carries spiritual significance, and what the mark
• 25:18
  of the beast seeks to do is twist what God asked since the
• 25:23
  beginning by taking that symbolic imagery and instruction
• 25:27
  and applying it here. However, we cannot discredit the
• 25:34
  physical implications of this mark, which brings us to the
• 25:38
  second point, the physical consequences.
• 25:42
  Now you have some, and it's becoming more popular believers
• 25:47
  who are very comfortable staying within the realm of symbolism
• 25:50
  when it comes to the mark of the beast.
• 25:53
  And you can make an argument for it being purely symbolic if you
• 25:57
  stick with verse 16 alone, But that becomes virtually
• 26:00
  impossible when you factor in verse 17 of Revelation 13.
• 26:05
  Look at it again, the end of it, or really all of it, so that no
• 26:11
  one can buy or sell unless he has the mark that is the name of
• 26:16
  the beast or the number of its name.
• 26:20
  This is undeniable. The mark of the beast is more
• 26:23
  than just a token of loyalty. It becomes an integral part,
• 26:29
  apparently to economic survival. Or else what do you do with
• 26:34
  this? Are you going to symbolize this
• 26:35
  as well? You can't buy or sell unless you
• 26:38
  have this mark on 2 physical locations on your body.
• 26:45
  Again, as comfortable as you would want to be to keep it
• 26:49
  within the sphere of just. This is really a spiritual
• 26:53
  picture. It is, but it goes beyond that.
• 26:57
  At its core it is spiritual, but in its manifestation, it's it's
• 27:01
  physical. And so understand the Antichrist
• 27:06
  Empire will have complete control of how the world
• 27:09
  conducts business, of how transactions are made, and how
• 27:13
  people access basic necessities and supplies for daily life.
• 27:21
  It seems as though cash and other forms of payment will no
• 27:23
  longer be relevant because the economic standards that we have
• 27:27
  always known will seem to disappear and be replaced by
• 27:32
  controlled credit system. And this is what interests
• 27:37
  people, isn't it? But here's what we have to say.
• 27:41
  First of all, the Spirit of God tells us that mankind,
• 27:45
  regardless of the societal status, will be subject to this
• 27:48
  new type of organization. It's a new world order, and it's
• 27:52
  inescapable. If if you want to be a part of
• 27:57
  this commerce, there's only one way, and that is for you to
• 28:01
  pledge your allegiance to this man.
• 28:02
  You want to be a part of this economic system.
• 28:04
  You have to worship the one who controlled it.
• 28:08
  We've seen minuscule manifestations of this
• 28:11
  throughout history and different forms of governments and
• 28:14
  regimes, but it's going to have its full-fledged manifestation
• 28:18
  here. And this is a type of
• 28:21
  persecution. It will be crushing.
• 28:25
  It will bring pressure to everybody on a level that
• 28:29
  humanity has never experienced. And when you even factor in all
• 28:34
  the loss and all the devastation due to the disasters that we've
• 28:39
  been studying up to this point in the world during the
• 28:41
  tribulation period, that appeal becomes even stronger.
• 28:44
  The temptation is even heavier that there will be one man who
• 28:50
  will contain all control over the stockpile of the nations.
• 28:59
  And this will cause people to bow the knee, but there will be
• 29:03
  some who will refuse, namely Christians who will not give
• 29:09
  themselves over to this wickedness.
• 29:11
  Those who will be saved during the tribulation period would
• 29:15
  rather die than live to worship this wicked foe.
• 29:22
  I want to, I want to consider a couple of thoughts when you
• 29:25
  meditate on this vile methodology.
• 29:28
  There are some instruction in it.
• 29:31
  The first one to consider, at least, is that again, you can
• 29:34
  see a difference between how Christ operates and how the
• 29:37
  Antichrist functions. Here's a man who immediately is
• 29:40
  willing to withhold basic goods for survival unless you are
• 29:46
  willing to give your heart to him.
• 29:50
  This is cruel. This is this is unimaginably
• 29:53
  devastating. You got to think about the
• 29:55
  children. You got to think about wives.
• 29:57
  You got to think about the difficult decision that fathers
• 29:58
  will have to make and many will flock to the sign up sheet,
• 30:04
  whatever that would look like to receive this mark in order to
• 30:09
  survive. But I couldn't help but reflect
• 30:12
  on how God, even with those who hate him, does not treat them in
• 30:17
  such a way. You know where my mind went when
• 30:20
  Paul was preaching to those idolaters in Lystra in Acts
• 30:24
  chapter 14, in a moment, because he performed a miracle in the
• 30:28
  name of Jesus, that crowd turned and began to worship him and his
• 30:32
  ministry team. And Paul begins to preach an
• 30:36
  impromptu sermon to repel this idolatry.
• 30:39
  And he wants to point him to the true God.
• 30:41
  And in his spontaneous attempt to persuade their hearts that
• 30:46
  the true God alone is worthy of worship, let me read to you what
• 30:49
  he says to describe him at least in one part.
• 30:53
  In Acts 14 verse 16 to 17, Paul says in past generations he
• 30:59
  being God, in past generations he allowed all nations to walk
• 31:03
  in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself
• 31:07
  without witness, for He did good by giving you rains from heaven
• 31:12
  and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and
• 31:17
  gladness. What a difference.
• 31:21
  Again, what a contrast, the tenderness of this guy,
• 31:25
  infinitely more holy than all of us put together.
• 31:27
  And yet Paul is addressing a group of people who, along with
• 31:33
  many nations, have turned their backs on God and walked in their
• 31:37
  own ways. And how did God treat these
• 31:38
  nations that walked in their own ways?
• 31:39
  He gave them rain and He gave them groceries, and He gave them
• 31:45
  memories and He gave them picnics and He gave them
• 31:49
  vacations and He gave them promotions and He gave them
• 31:52
  fruit and a harvest. He gave them sales, He gave them
• 31:58
  savings. This is what the true God did.
• 32:02
  This is what the true God still does today.
• 32:03
  To who? Those who have taken His mark?
• 32:06
  No, those who are walking in their own way.
• 32:09
  The reason why Paul is communicating this is so that
• 32:11
  they would get some kind of a taste of the mercy of God, that
• 32:16
  this is how God treats us, though we do not deserve it.
• 32:20
  What does He have in store for those who do live for Him and
• 32:22
  love Him? And then you read about the
• 32:26
  Antichrist, and what does he do? You want to eat, You want to
• 32:30
  drink. You want to feed your family?
• 32:31
  You want to have dinner tonight? Take my mark again.
• 32:36
  This should cause you and I to fall deeper in love with our
• 32:40
  God. But there's another thought to
• 32:45
  consider. This is a sobering reminder of
• 32:49
  the foolishness of humanity's worship then and today, then and
• 32:55
  today. Why will people worship the
• 32:57
  beast, plain and simple, for temporary gain?
• 33:03
  Why do people worship what they worship today instead of the
• 33:06
  true God for temporary gain? Different era, same disposition.
• 33:15
  And what people then in this prophecy and what people today
• 33:18
  failed to consider is that no matter what kind of reward you
• 33:21
  may inherit because of your allegiance to something apart
• 33:24
  from the true God, it will cost you and I eternally, eternally.
• 33:30
  And that is certainly the case for those here who will take the
• 33:33
  mark upon themselves. Fast forward to Revelation 14
• 33:37
  and look at this and verse 9 and 10 And another Angel 1/3
• 33:45
  followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships
• 33:49
  the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead
• 33:54
  or on his hand. He also will drink the wine of
• 33:57
  God's wrath poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and
• 34:03
  he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of
• 34:07
  the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
• 34:11
  More on that when we get to Revelation 14, but focus on this
• 34:15
  truth with me for now. Isn't it sad that the same ones
• 34:21
  in Revelation 13 who took a mark so that they can be spared from
• 34:25
  the wrath of the Antichrist, and that they can gain a little bit
• 34:28
  for a little bit of time, will suffer eternally for it?
• 34:35
  And those who refuse to give themselves over to the
• 34:38
  Antichrist will indeed suffer, but will win forever?
• 34:45
  See, Revelation 13 reminds us that the world worships that
• 34:49
  which is temporary, but the righteous they worship the
• 34:53
  eternal One who rewards eternally.
• 34:57
  And that will be the grace that will stir the hearts of those
• 35:03
  during the tribulation period to refuse to extend their hand or
• 35:09
  to remove their hair so that they can have a few years of a
• 35:13
  comfortable life. They will understand that though
• 35:19
  you may kill the body, you cannot destroy the soul.
• 35:24
  And they will have even a greater reward awaiting them at
• 35:27
  the entrance of the shores of Eternity.
• 35:30
  Now, I'm aware that some after hearing all this about the mark,
• 35:33
  especially what we just said, now might experience a little
• 35:37
  bit of fear in their hearts, especially when you consider the
• 35:42
  consequences of this mark. This is no joke.
• 35:47
  This is not a light thing. This is not a little stamp that
• 35:50
  you know you put on if you want to go into some kind of event or
• 35:53
  concert or whatever you want to call it.
• 35:56
  This has permanent consequences. So you have people asking this
• 36:03
  I, what is this mark? I need to know?
• 36:06
  Give me as many details as you got.
• 36:10
  How do I know if my loved ones don't know what the mark is and
• 36:12
  they will take it? How do I know if I have not
• 36:14
  already entertained a prototype of the mark or maybe the mark
• 36:16
  slipped into my life somehow? And if any of those kind of
• 36:19
  thoughts have ever entered into your mind, I want to provide
• 36:21
  helpful clarification. OK.
• 36:24
  The mark of the beast is not a vaccine.
• 36:30
  Yeah, it's catching on a little bit.
• 36:31
  Yeah. The mark of the beast is not a
• 36:34
  vaccine. The Mark of the Beast is not any
• 36:37
  type of Internet service. The Mark of the Beast is not a
• 36:41
  day of the week that you choose to worship on, namely Sunday.
• 36:47
  Some will understand that, maybe more than others.
• 36:50
  The Mark of the Beast is not any of these kind of mysterious,
• 36:56
  vague, ambiguous mediums or practices.
• 37:02
  The Mark of the Beast will be totally recognizable.
• 37:06
  The Mark of the Beast will be absolutely obvious.
• 37:09
  Do you know why? Because it is inseparable from
• 37:13
  the worship of a man. Do we understand this?
• 37:19
  Whatever this mark is, it is a physical brand that signifies
• 37:23
  the adoration of a single person who's asking for it.
• 37:27
  In other words, to take this mark is to consciously
• 37:31
  participate in a new world religion.
• 37:36
  Let me put it more plainly. You can't accidentally take the
• 37:40
  mark. You can't.
• 37:44
  That is scripturally impossible. Look again at the end of verse
• 37:47
  17. He says that is when he's
• 37:49
  describing the mark, the name of the beast, the name of the
• 37:54
  beast, or the number of its name.
• 37:56
  So this is again, a labeling of some sort.
• 38:00
  There is going to be the name of this individual on this mark or
• 38:05
  a numbering system that stamps you as his possession.
• 38:09
  So there's all these wild theories out there and when you
• 38:13
  hear them, I, I, at least I've never heard somebody properly
• 38:17
  interpret what this mark is all about.
• 38:20
  The key feature of it is that you are demonstrating that you
• 38:25
  are surrendering to a person. I am living for this figure.
• 38:32
  I am giving myself over to this man.
• 38:35
  I see him as God. I see him as my Savior.
• 38:39
  If you understand that, you've virtually eliminated every
• 38:42
  theory that we've heard up to this point about the mark of the
• 38:44
  beast, because nothing has ever fit that profile.
• 38:49
  No demands have ever been made, at least on this scale.
• 38:57
  I'm not saying that the technology to implement it isn't
• 38:59
  potentially developing. I think in fact it is.
• 39:02
  I think the world is being, obviously, if we believe this is
• 39:04
  prophecy, the world is being prepared for this man and this
• 39:10
  duo to step on the scene and do what the Bible says they will
• 39:14
  do. Don't get the idea that the
• 39:17
  first beast and the second beast are just going to appear and
• 39:20
  then put all these things into motion.
• 39:22
  I think it's going to be much more subtle than that.
• 39:29
  Now, we must not become sensational when it comes to
• 39:32
  these things. And the way you and I avoid
• 39:35
  getting into any kind of hysteria is by remaining
• 39:37
  grounded in the Bible. Just stay in the text.
• 39:43
  Doesn't matter what kind of dream this guy had on YouTube.
• 39:46
  I don't know who you are. I don't know what you believe.
• 39:50
  Who are you? Just because he speaks
• 39:53
  confidently, just because he seems persuasive, you just stick
• 39:59
  with the Word of God. You will not be shaken.
• 40:02
  And interestingly, a call for wisdom is exactly what comes
• 40:08
  next in this passage. Look again in verse 18.
• 40:10
  This calls for wisdom. But the one who has
• 40:14
  understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is
• 40:16
  the number of a man, and his number is 666.
• 40:19
  Arguably, no number has stirred the imagination of believers and
• 40:22
  unbelievers alike as this number 666.
• 40:29
  What do we do with 666? Those digits have appeared in
• 40:34
  movies, music, conspiracy theories now more than ever.
• 40:41
  And you have some who even tattooed on themselves.
• 40:43
  I've seen it. I have no idea why you would do
• 40:45
  that, but they do. So it's not just a Christian
• 40:50
  cultural thing. It is becoming mainstream, and
• 40:55
  there's so many things said about it that are erroneous.
• 41:00
  That being said, those who are more committed to understanding
• 41:02
  the significance of this number often appeal to a Jewish
• 41:06
  practice called gematria. And gematria is this
• 41:14
  interpretation method that seeks to assign numbers to letters,
• 41:19
  phrases, sentences, words in the Hebrew.
• 41:24
  But that's also a practice that you find in in history with the
• 41:28
  Greek and Latin as well. So you understand how this
• 41:32
  works. Certain numbers or certain
• 41:35
  letters are assigned certain numbers.
• 41:37
  And so you have to do kind of these renderings and a little
• 41:40
  bit of math to put these together.
• 41:42
  And these letters equate to this number.
• 41:44
  And what that has led to throughout history is proposals
• 41:48
  of potential candidates of Antichrist who have appeared
• 41:52
  apparently, and all those have proven to be futile.
• 41:57
  Why? Because no matter what kind of
• 41:58
  historical figure you want to point to, and many have been
• 42:02
  pointed to, none of them fit the description of the career and
• 42:06
  the character of the Antichrist. You may have seen previews of
• 42:10
  it, but not the full manifestation of it, not the
• 42:14
  actual fulfillment of it. And so there are, again, some
• 42:19
  who are at rest saying, well, you know, Nero was the
• 42:23
  Antichrist or Napoleon was Antichrist or this president is
• 42:28
  the Antichrist. And, and they're there, and
• 42:32
  they'll do all these things. And they'll show you a chart and
• 42:34
  they'll put, you know, lines together and say, you see, you
• 42:37
  see how this is 666. Did you see what he said in this
• 42:39
  interview? And do you see what he did here
• 42:41
  and there? OK.
• 42:43
  And my question is, you spend a lot of time on that.
• 42:46
  I can see. But when you go to the Bible,
• 42:51
  does that person fit this description?
• 42:54
  I mean, it's very simple, isn't it?
• 42:58
  OK, so then what do we do with 666 then?
• 43:01
  If it hasn't been historically fulfilled, If it's still yet
• 43:04
  future, what do we do with it? Well, this could very well be a
• 43:10
  case of something becoming clearer and more revealing to
• 43:14
  those living in the Tribulation period.
• 43:17
  Here's what I mean by that. It is likely that the full
• 43:20
  meaning of 666 will only be revealed once the Antichrist
• 43:24
  ascends to power and the world circumstances make it
• 43:29
  discernible. Do you remember what first Peter
• 43:35
  one verse 10 and 11 says when Peter was telling us about the
• 43:40
  prophets of old who are searching and inquiring
• 43:45
  carefully about the sufferings and about the subsequent glories
• 43:51
  of Christ, about the person of the Messiah and the timing of
• 43:55
  His arrival? Do you remember that really
• 43:58
  proving to us that we are on the other side of what was a veiled
• 44:02
  mystery for even the prophets? I think there's something there
• 44:07
  in that truth for this prophecy. What do I mean?
• 44:10
  That in the same way that those prophets didn't have the full
• 44:13
  comprehension of the ministry, the the mission and the man of
• 44:17
  the Messiah until that generation lived in the day of
• 44:21
  the Messiah. It could be said that we will
• 44:25
  not know what 666 is all about unless you're living in the days
• 44:30
  of the Antichrist. We'll make it much more obvious,
• 44:33
  such as the nature of prophecy, that there are some things that
• 44:38
  are more clear than others. And in the same way that it was
• 44:42
  not as clear for some concerning the first advent of Christ, we
• 44:47
  can also say that it is not as clear for the second advent of
• 44:51
  Christ. However, there is a symbolic
• 44:56
  lesson here. So in the Bible, from Genesis to
• 45:00
  Revelation, there are numbers, a lot of numbers.
• 45:03
  There's a whole book called Numbers, but there are patterns
• 45:08
  with numbers that eventually show a message behind it that
• 45:13
  when it's applied to a certain person or event, there's a
• 45:16
  deeper meaning. And we'll talk more about this
• 45:17
  at the Bible Study seminar. So for example, in the Book of
• 45:22
  Revelation alone, we have clearly seen that the number 7
• 45:26
  carries meaning. It speaks of completion, it
• 45:29
  speaks of perfection. It actually speaks about God in
• 45:32
  many cases. That is equally true with the
• 45:35
  number six. And what number six highlights
• 45:41
  and points to is man. Man was created on the 6th day.
• 45:46
  Man was called to work for six days.
• 45:48
  And there are other kind of patterns that you see,
• 45:51
  especially in the Old Testament, that make that truth more
• 45:53
  concrete. But beautifully, the fact that
• 45:56
  man is 6 and God's number is 7 also communicates the thundering
• 46:00
  truth that man falls short as 6 falls short as seven.
• 46:06
  Man falls short of God's completion, his perfection, his
• 46:10
  standard. So when you keep that in mind,
• 46:14
  that 6 is imperfection, whereas 7 is perfection.
• 46:17
  Wow. I come to Revelation.
• 46:18
  I don't just find 6, I find 666. And what do you have with 666?
• 46:25
  Well, an emphasis the amplification of what?
• 46:28
  The fallenness of man, the shortcomings of man, and more
• 46:33
  importantly of Amen. What did we learn together in
• 46:37
  this chapter? A couple people approached
• 46:40
  myself after one of the services and they were they were moved by
• 46:43
  this particular point of how when we see all the key
• 46:46
  characters in this new regime that is prophesied.
• 46:50
  You have the dragon who's the devil.
• 46:51
  You have the first beast who is the false Messiah and you have
• 46:54
  the second beast who works as an anti Holy Spirit.
• 46:56
  What does that look like? Unholy Trinity.
• 47:01
  And now you have 666 emphasizing what the unholy Trinity at work
• 47:10
  again, bringing the height of depravity in their efforts that
• 47:17
  what you see here and what we've been looking at is a man who
• 47:21
  seeks to replace God, who is holy, holy, holy.
• 47:27
  And he is going to try with a last effort to demand worship
• 47:32
  from the world before the true Christ returns.
• 47:35
  So symbolically, what does this number speak about The
• 47:39
  manifestation, the pinnacle of man's rebellion through a man
• 47:44
  who will lead all men to defy God, who is perfect and
• 47:49
  complete. And here's what I'm most
• 47:54
  concerned about when it comes to discussing the mark of the
• 47:56
  beast. I've alluded to this already
• 47:59
  have so many people caught up and seeing modern fulfillment
• 48:02
  and seeing was it going to be this technology or is it going
• 48:06
  to be AI? Is it?
• 48:08
  Listen, what the Bible wants to convey more than anything else
• 48:13
  is immediate reflection with this truth.
• 48:15
  It is prophecy, but all Scriptures by God for our
• 48:18
  sanctification, our consecration, our
• 48:20
  transformation. Isn't it interesting?
• 48:22
  And I rarely do this, but peek over to Revelation 14 for a
• 48:25
  moment. Look at verse 1.
• 48:27
  John says. Then I looked and behold, on
• 48:29
  Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with them 144,000, who had His
• 48:34
  name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
• 48:39
  Right after we learn about the mark of the beast, we are
• 48:41
  reintroduced to God's mark. Do you see what's happening
• 48:45
  here? Here's my question for you.
• 48:46
  At the end of the service, which mark do you bear?
• 48:52
  Do you have God's mark? You're saying what is that?
• 48:56
  Is it the same mark as 144,000? We can debate.
• 48:59
  One thing is certain, there is a seal in this moment available to
• 49:03
  you. It's the Holy Spirit, and He is
• 49:06
  accessed through faith in Christ.
• 49:09
  So my question for you today is, is your soul marked by God?
• 49:15
  That's more important than figuring out what this mark in
• 49:19
  Revelation, Revelation 13 is all about.
• 49:22
  It's if you're marked and the only way you can have your soul
• 49:27
  sealed by God's grace and his future promise and His current
• 49:32
  protection and His fellowship is if you repent and you believe in
• 49:37
  the gospel. If you understand the extent of
• 49:40
  God's grace and mercy by dying on the cross on your behalf.
• 49:44
  That he is unlike any other God who laid down his life for your
• 49:49
  life, who paid for your sin, who shed his blood.
• 49:55
  I find it amazing that there are 1,000,000 today who are willing
• 49:58
  to die for a God who didn't do anything close to what Christ
• 50:02
  has done for us. And the invitation is now yours,
• 50:11
  and there is no call for you to extend your physical hand or to
• 50:14
  stretch out your forehead, your heart, by faith, as you turn
• 50:23
  your eyes to heaven. You say, Oh Lord, I recognize
• 50:27
  though I may not have all the answers, I recognize just how
• 50:29
  accurate your word is that even as we read through these verses,
• 50:33
  I can, I can sense where our world today is headed.
• 50:38
  And before anything else, I want to ensure that I'm marked by
• 50:41
  you. If this is where everything is
• 50:44
  headed, I want to make sure that I am ready for your return.
• 50:50
  If you leave with anything, leave with that.
• 50:52
  And so today I make that invitation.
• 50:54
  Give your life to Jesus Christ who made you, who died for you,
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  and who is waiting for you to receive him now.
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  Would you do that? Let's pray.
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  Father, we want to thank you for giving us answers.
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  Thank you for opening our minds. But Lord, we also thank you that
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  you've used even a text like this to touch our hearts.
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  And Lord, even in this, we've realized that there is no God
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  like you. You are not an idol.
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  You are not dumb, you are not speechless, You are not
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  immobile. You even tell us that you're
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  here right now and you see every heart in this place.
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  And Lord, for the heart that doesn't know you made a sense.
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  A personal call to give their hearts to you and for the
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  believers here, May our love for you be strengthened, and may
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  none of us ever be ashamed to bear the marks of the Lord Jesus
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  Christ to show that we belong to You and that you're the only
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  hope for the world. So Lord, even with this truth
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  about the mark of the beast, we worship you and we thank you for
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  giving us your word. In Jesus name we pray, Amen,
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  even as we sing. If you don't know Christ today,
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  you can speak to the Lord in your own heart and God will hear
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  you and he can change you where you walk out of this room in
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  this building a new creature. That's my prayer for you.
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  If you don't know Christ, believers, you know him, you
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  know the one in whom you believe.
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  Let's stand and give him our love.