Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / The Career of The Beast (The First Beast) | Revelation 13:3-10 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Series)

Transcript

The Career of The Beast (The First Beast) | Revelation 13:3-10 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  Amen. Well, let's turn on our Bibles
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  now to the Book of Revelation chapter 13.
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  Revelation chapter 13. Today, by the grace of God, we
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  are going to continue to explore the five.
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  Insights concerning the career of the beast, This beast who
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  represents a coming world ruler who will seek to eradicate
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  what's left of Christian witness while deceiving the masses just
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  before the return of Christ. And last week we spent our time
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  together meditating on the 1st characteristic of the
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  Antichrist, the fact that he will be a global political
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  leader unlike anyone in all of history.
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  And the reason for this individual's unprecedented
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  authority is because, according to the Bible, he was empowered
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  by Satan unlike anybody else in the past, to the extent that he
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  is granted authority over all nations, all tribes, all
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  languages, all peoples. And this beast, as you heard, is
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  also known as the Antichrist. He's a powerful figure that the
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  Scripture not only predicts will emerge on the world stage to
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  oppose Christ, but more importantly, he will actually
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  seek to replace Christ. He will present himself as
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  humanity, savior, and deliver. And he will promise them hope.
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  He will grant them so many things that will persuade them
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  to the point of worship. And for the rest of this
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  afternoon, I want us to consider the four remaining
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  characteristics of this fascinating character, the
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  career of this beast. And as we meditate on these
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  things, we will certainly be challenged.
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  We will be encouraged at the same time.
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  So if you were with us last week, you remember that in
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  Revelation 13 one and two, we have a vivid description of this
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  man and how he will emerge as a global leader.
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  But the second characteristic is found in verse 3.
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  So let's read from verse one through verse 3 to recapture the
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  scene together. Revelation 13 verse one reads
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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 didem on its horns and blasphemous names on
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  its heads. And the beast that I saw was
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  like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's.
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  And 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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  One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but it's mortal
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  wound was healed and the whole earth marvelled as they followed
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  the beast. Father, we pause to pray because
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  we humble ourselves in your presence, acknowledging that
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  with a text like this, we need Your help.
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  We need your help with every part of Your word, but
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  especially in a chapter that is often misunderstood,
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  misinterpreted, misapplied. So Lord, keep us safe and help
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  us know You through these verses.
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  Move our hearts to the worship of the true God and may every
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  other rival in our lives lose their power and may you have
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  ultimate and total devotion from us.
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  We ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.
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  Let me remind you, the first insight concerning the career of
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  this beast is that he will be a global leader.
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  The second one is found here in verse 3.
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  And it can be summarized in this He will perform false miracles.
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  He will perform false miracles. Now, it's likely that the
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  acceptance of this beast will be because of his charm, his
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  charisma, his overall attractiveness.
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  He's going to again come to the world.
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  He's going to arrive on the global scene when the nations
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  are in great turmoil, when there seems to be a lack of competent
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  leadership, when there seems to be no answers, when governments
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  will fail and fail and fail with no hope insight.
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  And so he will come. When the world is in chaos,
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  especially during the tribulation period, he will seem
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  to have the answers. He will even perhaps bring some
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  solution to small scale issues. But there will be 1 event, a
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  significant occurrence that will lock in the allegiance of the
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  world and bring it to a dangerous extreme.
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  And verse 3, we're told what that event will be.
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  Sounds like a supposed miracle. And the miracle looks like it
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  will be a resurrection, that something will take place that
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  will lead to a mortal wound, but it will be healed, and it will
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  be healed to a degree that it will cause the world to be
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  absolutely stunned by what they see and they hear.
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  Now, there is some debate about what this mortal wound means,
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  the fact that one of the heads of the beast will be afflicted
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  and that it will be restored. Some would say that this is not
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  speaking about an individual being assaulted or attacked, but
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  it looks like it's actually an empire or a government that will
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  fall and then rise again. And the reason for that
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  conclusion is because the beast with these characteristics like
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  the horns and the heads refer to such things depending on the
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  context. So some are satisfied in saying
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  this is not actually talking about a person that will be
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  afflicted, but a system or an organization or a state or a
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  nation that will seem to have fallen but will again gain life
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  and rise to power once more. And some would say that is
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  speaking about the Roman Empire specifically.
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  And though that is true in some case, we have to remember that
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  the beast here, yes, represents a system, but it is also
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  embodied in a person, just like many empires in the past have
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  been inseparably linked to its rulers, especially if they are a
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  dictator. And the way that the stunning
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  event is repeated in this chapter solidifies the
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  interpretation that what will happen in verse 3 will happen to
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  a singular person. So if you're still there, Scroll
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  down to verse 12 of Revelation 13.
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  At this point, we're going to see another beast arise, but
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  we'll see that next week. But notice a description in this
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  verse about the first beast, the one that we've been studying
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  about in verse 12. It reads.
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  It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its
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  presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the
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  first beast whose mortal wound was healed.
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  Look at verse 14. And by the signs that it was
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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 beast
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  that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
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  So whatever this wound is, it's very important to the Holy
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  Spirit for us to know about. It's repeated several times in
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  this close section of Scripture, but in the verses that we just
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  read, we have helpful clarification.
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  The fact that this beast is worshipped strongly suggests
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  that we are being told about an individual, not about a
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  collective group of people or an ideology or government.
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  A person seems to be worshipped here.
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  Additionally, this other beast that's going to emerge is going
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  to cause people to worship the image of the beast, the image of
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  a beast. And that seems to make more
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  sense if this image is about a singular person, a person who is
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  ruling this powerful empire. And if that's not convincing
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  enough, there is a striking parallel between the phrase that
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  we read in verse 3 and another portion of Scripture elsewhere
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  in Revelation. So go back to verse 3 again.
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  Look at the opening words. One of its heads seemed to have
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  a mortal wound. Now the NASB version, especially
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  the 1 from 1995, renders the same phrase in the following
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  way. And I saw one of his heads as if
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  it had. Been slain?
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  Does that sound familiar to you? As if it had been slain it
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  should. Because it is a description that
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  John receives and gives about a vision that he had of Christ
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  back in Revelation 5. In case you forgot, go back to
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  that chapter. Look at verse 6 of Revelation 5
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  and notice what is said about the Lamb who clearly represents
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  the Son of God. And Revelation 5-6 it reads.
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  And between the throne and the four living creatures, and among
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  the elders I saw a lamb standing as though it had been what,
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  slain with 7 horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven
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  spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
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  So the fact that this expression is used for a singular person in
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  this context, which represents Christ, strongly suggests that
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  it's also referring to a person, a single individual in
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  Revelation 13, especially if that person in Revelation 13 is
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  wanting to imitate Christ. And that is precisely what this
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  snapshot is about. The Antichrist, who will be
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  possessed by the devil, whose ambition at this point in
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  history will do everything that he can to extinguish the light
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  of the gospel in the world and deceive the world into eternal
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  destruction, will achieve this in great part by posing as
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  Christ to the extent that he will pull off a stunt, A
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  resurrection like performance. Now we don't know exactly how
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  that's going to play out, but we do know this, that it will be
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  some type of assassination. How do we know that?
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  Because we read it in verse 14 of Revelation 13, that he was
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  wounded by what? By a sword?
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  So he was attacked by a weapon. He was targeted.
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  And this will be something recognized by all.
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  So let's just use our imagination here for a moment.
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  I want you to envision a popular political figure.
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  He seems promising. He's winsome, he's attractive,
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  He's gaining more traction, he's winning the trust of most
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  people. And all of a sudden he is
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  attacked and he's attacked to such a point where it looked
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  like it was fatal. And so again, this is not
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  spelled out. This is not the script that I'm
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  presenting found in the word of God.
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  We're just trying to imagine what could lead to this.
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  So this individual seems to have died, seems to have been killed,
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  and the world is recording this, and the media is covering this.
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  And shortly after, there is his funeral.
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  And there's a great spectacle and there is ongoing footage.
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  And there is the news outlets. They're watching this and
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  reporting on it. And here you have an open casket
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  where this man that seemed to be the hope of the world is laying
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  lifeless. And suddenly he sits up.
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  And he waves to the global population as the nations are
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  watching, and slips out of his cask as though nothing had
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  happened. That will cause the world to
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  marvel, wouldn't you say? And that is?
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  Exactly what is going to happen, this is going to cause the world
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  to be absolutely spellbound. And if you think that this kind
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  of thing is imaginary or far fetched, I want you to think for
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  a moment about a political figure who didn't die too long
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  ago by the name of Hitler. If you actually study Hitler's
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  career, he had survived multiple assassination attempts.
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  And some of those attempts were such close calls, some of them
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  were so, so powerfully orchestrated, so effective, that
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  it seemed nearly impossible for this man to escape.
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  And it happened so frequently that it led many people to
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  believe that this man was, what, immortal.
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  And he boasted about that. So this is no exaggeration.
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  We've seen this in recent history.
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  But in this case, it will be more successful than at any
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  point in history. Now, as we consider this
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  further, we have to understand that this man is going to
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  perform something that will be very realistic.
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  Now there's debate. Is this going to be a real
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  resurrection? Like is God actually going to
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  permit this individual to rise from the dead in order to
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  achieve a greater purpose? Could be.
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  But it could also be that he will do something that will be
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  so slimy, so deceptive. It'll be the scheme that will
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  make it appear as though he rose from the dead.
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  And that is equally possible. It's not entirely clear, but one
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  thing is for certain. He will mimic Christ's greatest
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  miracle. He will try to imitate him to
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  this point in order to dupe the world into their own eternal
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  damnation. And although this is an
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  incredible deception that will take place in the last days,
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  just a few years before Christ will return physically, we have
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  to be mindful believers, that first John chapter 4 informs us
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  that the spirit of this Antichrist is at work now.
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  He's at work now, and if you and I want to be guarded and
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  shielded from whatever other plans of deception he may come
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  up with, which he is continually doing, by the way, and we need
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  to be equipped and there is a way that we can be equipped.
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  There is one main thing that you and I have to adopt and adhere
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  to and pursue constantly. If you want to be deceived,
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  proof turn with me in your Bibles.
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  The Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 9.
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  This also speaks about the Antichrist and it gives another
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  commentary of what's taking place here in Revelation 13,
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  Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 9, Paul says the coming of
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  the lawless one. That's another title for the
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  Antichrist. That's another identity for the
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  beast. The coming of the lawless 1 is
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  by the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and
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  wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are
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  perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.
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  So who are the victims of this great deceiver?
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  Those who refuse to love the truth.
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  Those who refused to love the truth.
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  Notice that those who will be caught by these lies who believe
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  what is false, are not those who are not exposed to the truth.
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  That's not what it's saying here.
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  It's those who knew about the truth and yet refused to love
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  it. To love it.
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  How do you know you love the truth?
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  Here's one way you know that no matter what it demands of you,
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  you will submit to it. No matter how, no matter how it
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  challenges you, you will yield to it.
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  No matter what it asks of you, you will surrender to it.
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  It's one thing to know the truth.
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  It's one thing to be able to explain the truth.
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  It's another thing. To love the.
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  Truth. And the only way you know that
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  you love the truth is that you obey the truth.
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  And here's how that challenges you on more of a personal level.
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  You and I may have grown up with a specific theological
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  background that interpreted certain things in different
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  ways. But when you come to the
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  Scripture and compare it with other Scripture and you come to
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  a clear conclusion that what you grew up hearing was actually
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  false, was misinterpreted, misapplied, what will you do in
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  that moment? Will you submit to the truth?
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  Will you love the truth to that point?
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  Or will you hold on to your tradition, to your
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  denominational allegiance when culture is heading one way to
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  the point that it's influencing evangelical churches to adopt
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  their mentality and how we view things in the Word of God
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  concerning us in the church, in the home, in marriage and
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  sexuality, do we do what the Bible says or do we give in to
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  the culture? See, if you don't love the truth
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  to the point where you say no matter what anybody says, no
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  matter what I grew up with, I'm going to obey what God says.
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  If you don't have that whole hearted commitment, you are open
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  to being deceived. And if you think that the
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  Antichrist is only doing his work here with a few years left
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  before Christ returns, let me remind you that His Spirit is
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  active this afternoon. He's active in some churches
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  this afternoon. So you want to guard your heart.
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  You want to be shielded. You want to have the confidence
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  that nothing can sway you or that there's not one part of
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  your life where you're in darkness.
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  Love the truth no matter what it costs you, no matter if
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  everybody around you abandons the truth.
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  And part of loving the truth, by the way, is loving all of the
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  truth, not just the things that you think you need to obey
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  wholeheartedly and other things you can just be flexible on.
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  Yes, there are matters that are not as black and white where we
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  have to be charitable and we have to be humble.
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  But I'm talking about the clear things.
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  Were you denying it as willful disobedience?
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  You're bowing to the pressure of your flesh or those around you
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  who hold to a different interpretation.
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  Love the truth, and even the Antichrist himself cannot trick
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  you. You don't love the truth.
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  You don't hold the truth as your supreme authority.
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  I fear for you because the spirit of the Antichrist is at
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  work even now. So the second characteristics of
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  the career of the beast is that he will be performing false
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  miracles. But let's come to the third one.
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  In verse four of our main text, Revelation 13, verse 4 reads and
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  they worship the dragon. For he had given his authority
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  to the beast, and they worship the beast, saying who is like
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  the beast and who can fight against it.
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  So the impact? Of this miracle will be so
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  significant that it will cause the world to go from amazement
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  to Worshipful adoration. That's the third characteristic.
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  The beast will not only be a global leader.
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  He will not only perform false miracles, but he will also be
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  worshipped. He will be deified in the eyes
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  of men. They worship the dragon.
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  Look at verse 4 again, and they worship the beast.
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  This is something that the Antichrist will gladly accept
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  because according to 2nd Thessalonians 2, verse four, he
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  will claim himself to be God and it will be this false miracle
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  that will strengthen his claim. I'm no ordinary human being.
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  I'm God sent. I'm who you've been waiting for.
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  And you got to remember, there's going to be this accumulation of
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  death, there's going to be disease, and there's going to be
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  war. There's going to be bloodshed.
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  At a feverish pitch during the tribulation period.
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  But this man seems to escape death.
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  Wow, who is this guy? And they will fall at his feet.
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  But the real reason that the beast will be worshipped is
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  because that is what Satan has been.
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  Longing for all along. Remember, it's by the activity
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  of Satan that this man is able to do what he's doing.
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  Satan has always wanted to be honored and praised the way God
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  is. The audacity of the devil during
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  the wilderness temptation of our Savior, who approaches our
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  Christ and says. All these things I will give to
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  you if you would just bow down and do what?
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  Worship me. I mean, the pride of the devil
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  is so extreme that he actually believes he is worthy to be
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  worshipped by the true God. And he will achieve receiving
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  this kind of worship through the beast to the point, listen, that
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  he will actually be worshipped directly.
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  Did you notice that doesn't just say in verse four that they
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  worship the beast, It says that they worship the dragon because
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  he gave authority to the beast and they will worship the beast,
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  meaning what? That there will be some in the
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  world at that time who will have the knowledge that this man is
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  operating by satanic power and they will glorify Satan for that
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  Are the people who worship Satan directly today.
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  OK, so this isn't, this isn't like fantasy, right?
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  This isn't, this is real. And there will be others who
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  unknowingly are worshipping the devil as they place their
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  affection and their devotion toward the beast.
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  And there are people today who don't realize that whatever they
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  are worshipping, if it's not Christ, if it's not the truth,
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  they are in fact worshipping the devil.
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  Now, that may sound shocking, but I want to give you another
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  shocking statement that in this one verse alone, we actually
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  learned something about worship. Yeah, we learned something about
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  worship in a verse that tells us about how people worship the
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  devil and worship the beast. Let me ask you something.
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  What came before? The worship of the world
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  according to verse three. Look at it again.
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  It says that they marveled at the beast.
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  They marveled at the beast. Some translation say wondered,
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  others say they were amazed. And it all means the same thing
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  and revealing very important truth.
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  True worship cannot come unless we first wonder.
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  Marvel proceeds. Worship amazement comes before
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  adoration. So they marveled at the beast,
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  and then they worship the beast. And that is a pattern for both
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  true and false worship. This means that if you are today
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  here struggling to be devoted to Christ, struggling to love Him
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  with all your heart, it's likely because you have never
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  experienced or have lost your sense of awe for Christ.
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  And the only true way back to sincere devotion, sincere
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  holiness, sincere ministry, sincere passion for the Lord is
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  to reserve your energy and your focus on renewing your absolute
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  awe of Christ, to behold His glory long enough until it moves
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  you to love Him and serve Him in the way that He deserves.
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  Does this make sense today? They marveled at the beast.
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  Look what he did. Look who he is.
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  Hear his claims. And then they worshiped.
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  And the reason why so many professing Christians are stale
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  in their worship is because they haven't marveled or they've lost
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  their sense of wonder. And when they're trying to get
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  themselves all worked up to do what?
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  To serve at the church and to sing from their hearts, just
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  forget all of that. What you really need to do is
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  sit at the feet of the Lord with this book open before your face
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  and beg Him to open your eyes until your heart becomes warm
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  again. Let the rays of Christ's beauty
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  so shine upon you until your heart becomes tender again.
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  People miss this. It seems so simple.
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  Yes, it is simple, but it's also supernatural.
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  That's why Paul does something like this in Ephesians 118.
• 25:18
  He prays for the Ephesians. He tells them, I'm always
• 25:21
  remembering you, my prayers, and I never cease to give thanks for
• 25:23
  you. And he tells them the subject
• 25:25
  matter of his intercession for them.
• 25:27
  Here's one of them in Ephesians one, verse 18, having the eyes
• 25:32
  of your hearts enlightened. Wow.
• 25:35
  Did you know that your heart has eyes?
• 25:40
  Not physiologically speaking, of course.
• 25:42
  Spiritually speaking, I'm praying for your eyes.
• 25:45
  Not your physical eyes, but the eyes of your heart, the seed of
• 25:50
  your emotions, the citadel of your will.
• 25:56
  I'm praying that those eyes would be enlightened, that they
• 26:00
  would be open to see. See what He gives three things.
• 26:04
  Having your the eyes of your hearts in line, that you may
• 26:06
  know what is the hope to which He has called you.
• 26:08
  I want you to know the hope that you have in Christ.
• 26:11
  Do you really see it? Do you really understand it?
• 26:15
  Notice he's not talking about your mind.
• 26:17
  The mind is important. He's talking about your heart to
• 26:21
  get it, to see it, to perceive it, to register it.
• 26:23
  I'm praying that your eyes will see the hope to which He has
• 26:25
  called you. What are the riches of His
• 26:28
  glorious inheritance in the Saints?
• 26:30
  Just how wealthy you are spiritually, the inheritance
• 26:34
  that you have because of the gospel.
• 26:36
  I'm praying that you would see it.
• 26:39
  There's a will right there and your name is in it and you don't
• 26:42
  understand. I want you to see it.
• 26:43
  I want you to look at the fine print of what you received, the
• 26:46
  treasures that are yours in Christ, verse 19, and what is
• 26:51
  the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe
• 26:56
  according to the working of his great might, all the power that
• 26:59
  you are connected to, Do you perceive it?
• 27:03
  Do you discern it? It was the apostles that said in
• 27:09
  Acts 420 when they were charged by the religious leaders, Don't
• 27:12
  you dare talk about Jesus or teaching his name again.
• 27:15
  And they said, For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and
• 27:20
  heard. True worship comes from wonder.
• 27:29
  If you don't wonder, you're never going to worship.
• 27:34
  And that's why from this pulpit, we emphasize knowing the Word of
• 27:37
  God personally so much, because this book, this holy book, is a
• 27:41
  means by which you catch glimpses of his glory.
• 27:46
  If you're not going to see it here, you're not going to see it
• 27:48
  anywhere. Oh well.
• 27:49
  Doesn't creation testify to the glory of God?
• 27:51
  Creation is just an introduction to who God is.
• 27:55
  Creation is meant to show you there is a God.
• 27:59
  Inspiration is to show you who that God is.
• 28:06
  Unfortunately, as the world approaches the end, the masses
• 28:11
  are going to worship Satan through the beast instead of
• 28:18
  worshiping the Father through the Lamb of God.
• 28:21
  Who is Christ? He will be worshipped.
• 28:26
  Who would have thought that we would have learned about worship
• 28:28
  in Revelation 13? But we come now to the 4th
• 28:32
  characteristic and verses 5 and 6.
• 28:40
  And the beast was given a mouth, uttering haughty and blasphemous
• 28:44
  words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for 42
• 28:49
  months. It opened its mouth to utter
• 28:52
  blasphemies against God, blaspheming His name and His
• 28:56
  dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
• 29:01
  The 4th characteristics of the career of this beast will be
• 29:04
  that he will blasphemy God openly.
• 29:06
  That seems to be of great importance to the Holy Spirit,
• 29:09
  to show us that he will have not just the ability to perform
• 29:12
  miracles, He's going to have a big mouth, a boastful mouth, A.
• 29:17
  Blasphemous tongue. But that's not just showing the
• 29:21
  viciousness and the vileness of his speech.
• 29:23
  It's also speaking about his persuasiveness, his auditory
• 29:28
  skills, words. So he will not only set up
• 29:34
  listen to globalist government, he's actually going to establish
• 29:39
  a worldwide religious system. Where he is the object, He is
• 29:45
  the center of people's worship. And in order to draw others into
• 29:51
  this new religion, in order to secure new followers, he will
• 29:54
  continually undermine all other forms of worship, especially the
• 30:00
  worship of the one true God. And he will do this by primarily
• 30:03
  speaking against three things. According to verse six.
• 30:06
  The first thing is God's name. The second thing is God's
• 30:10
  dwelling. And the third thing is God's
• 30:12
  people. Let's look at it again.
• 30:15
  First, he will blasphemy God's name.
• 30:17
  Now that means more. Than him using the name of
• 30:20
  Christ in a scornful or irreverent manner, in the way
• 30:24
  that we see in our entertainment and interviews and and all these
• 30:27
  different forms of. Media Biblically speaking, God's
• 30:34
  name reveals His character. That's why, for example, Jesus
• 30:39
  says when He prays to the Father in John 17 verse 6, I have
• 30:42
  manifested your name, I have manifested your name to those
• 30:48
  whom you have given me out of the world.
• 30:52
  So Christ embodied the name, the character of God.
• 30:55
  So this is what this means, that the beast blaspheming the name
• 30:59
  of God mainly implies that He will rail against God's
• 31:04
  character, His attributes, His nature, His law, His promises,
• 31:09
  His plan of salvation, among other things.
• 31:13
  All that God is, He will mock, he will belittle, he will drag
• 31:18
  in the mud as he exalts himself as the true God.
• 31:24
  So he would defame God's name and the the blasphemy of
• 31:27
  Christ's name today is just a precursor.
• 31:29
  It's just a preview of the greatest form of disrespect and
• 31:34
  dishonor that will come to the true God at this point in
• 31:36
  history. But he will also malign God's
• 31:40
  dwelling place. We see here, right?
• 31:43
  That it will be God's dwelling, that he will blasphemy.
• 31:46
  Other translations say Tabernacle, but the context
• 31:49
  shows that it is speaking about heaven.
• 31:52
  Now as I thought about this, I wondered, why is the Antichrist
• 31:56
  going to spend his time ridiculing heaven?
• 32:02
  And then it hit me. You got to consider the
• 32:05
  condition of the. World at this time, the disease.
• 32:10
  The death toll, millions upon millions, the disasters that
• 32:15
  will come from all spheres, from above, from below, from around.
• 32:20
  I mean, what hope are people going to have living in a world
• 32:23
  that is literally falling apart? Heaven sounds pretty good,
• 32:27
  doesn't it? That this world as we've known
• 32:31
  it is not permanent. That this is going to be
• 32:33
  destroyed and replaced one day. Then even if I were to perish
• 32:37
  with this world, there is another domain, another realm,
• 32:41
  another life beyond this life. But the Christians believed to
• 32:46
  be heaven. And yet the Antichrist is going
• 32:52
  to scorn such an idea. In fact, he might even convince
• 32:55
  the world that he is going to be the means to bring heaven to
• 32:59
  earth. I know it's bad.
• 33:01
  Now just watch what I'm going to do.
• 33:03
  Just see how I'm going to bring the golden age.
• 33:06
  You think that it hasn't been as bad as it is now?
• 33:09
  Watch how great it's going to become if you just follow me and
• 33:11
  worship me. This longing for another realm
• 33:18
  ruled by the Christian God is absolute foolishness.
• 33:25
  You're not children, you're grown adults.
• 33:28
  Get real. There's no thing such thing.
• 33:33
  As a hopeful heaven for you, I'm the one who's going to bring
• 33:36
  heaven. And this is a good place to
• 33:38
  remember as Satan today actively seeks to misinform unbelievers
• 33:43
  about life after death, does he not?
• 33:46
  That's the spirit that's still at work.
• 33:47
  But he's not just working against unbelievers.
• 33:51
  He misinforms them, yes, but I I'm persuaded that he distracts
• 33:55
  believers from heaven or else how does Colossians 32 make
• 34:03
  sense where Paul says set your mind on things above.
• 34:07
  Why would he have to say that because we have the tendency to
• 34:09
  be so earthbound and so caught up with the things of this life.
• 34:13
  He goes no, no, no, keep your meditation upward heavenward
• 34:17
  where Christ is seated. That's your home.
• 34:20
  That's where the most precious citizenship you owns relies and
• 34:24
  is depended on. So that spirit is still mocking
• 34:32
  eternity, still distracting people from what's to come.
• 34:35
  What's more permanent, more valuable, more lasting?
• 34:40
  But finally, the beast will target those who dwell in
• 34:43
  heaven. Isn't that interesting?
• 34:46
  This means that he will not only slander the very dwelling place
• 34:50
  of God, but he's actually going to mock those who have already
• 34:55
  arrived there. So how this all plays out, we're
• 34:58
  not entirely sure, but this may refer to the Antichrist mocking
• 35:03
  those who have died for their faith under his regime in order
• 35:09
  to discourage others from doing the same or from joining them in
• 35:14
  their belief in Christ. All in all, ridicule and social
• 35:21
  pressure have always been Satan's tactics.
• 35:25
  To discourage the Saints and others who are open to following
• 35:27
  Christ from actually doing so. You got to.
• 35:32
  Remember, according to Revelation 12, the devil was
• 35:37
  evicted from heaven, barred from having access to the direct
• 35:40
  presence of God, so that he can no longer slander and accuse the
• 35:44
  children of God. So what does he do?
• 35:47
  Here, well, through the beast on earth, he targets those who are
• 35:52
  in heaven. This is how vile he is.
• 35:55
  This is how aggressive he is. He's merciless, but it's not He
• 36:00
  will do. He will also turn his attention
• 36:03
  to believers who are alive during the Tribulation period
• 36:06
  and unleash his fury upon them. Which leads us to the 5th and
• 36:09
  final characteristic of his career.
• 36:11
  He will target Christians. The Antichrist will primarily
• 36:17
  hunt down followers of Jesus Christ.
• 36:19
  Let's read from verse 7 down to verse 10 of our main text.
• 36:28
  Also it was allowed to make war on the Saints and to conquer
• 36:31
  them, and authority was given it over every tribe and people and
• 36:35
  language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it.
• 36:40
  Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of
• 36:43
  the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain, If
• 36:47
  anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone has taken captive to
• 36:53
  captivity, he goes. If anyone is to be slain with
• 36:57
  the sword, with a sword must he be slain?
• 37:01
  Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the Saints.
• 37:07
  Look again at verse 7. Also.
• 37:10
  It was allowed to make war on the Saints and to conquer them.
• 37:14
  So he is primarily going to prey on Christians.
• 37:17
  Why? Because they will be among those
• 37:19
  who refuse to worship Him, and not just refuse to worship him,
• 37:24
  but persuade others to worship the true God.
• 37:26
  They're going to stand in His way.
• 37:29
  They are going to be a nuisance to His desire to win the world
• 37:33
  to Himself. And so He will, because of their
• 37:38
  bold stance, lead a campaign that will harass Christians
• 37:42
  worldwide. There will not be one safe place
• 37:44
  on the globe. Because you have to remember,
• 37:49
  the globe surrendered to His leadership.
• 37:51
  Every democracy, every Republic, every regime, it doesn't matter
• 37:56
  the form of government, it will all come under 1 banner.
• 38:01
  So there'll be no place to hide, physically speaking.
• 38:04
  And this campaign, according to the verses that we just read,
• 38:07
  will last for 3 1/2 years, for 42 months.
• 38:12
  He will see Christians as his ultimate threat.
• 38:15
  They hold the true gospel. They represent the true God.
• 38:18
  So I must silence them. And whether you believe that
• 38:26
  believers will be removed from the earth or raptured before the
• 38:32
  Tribulation or after, there is one thing that none of us can
• 38:35
  deny. There will be Christians during
• 38:37
  the Tribulation period. There will be Christians during
• 38:41
  this period. And that makes American
• 38:46
  Christians more uncomfortable than anybody else.
• 38:48
  You you speak this kind of message to Chinese Christians.
• 38:51
  In China or in Iran, they go, yeah, we get it, we understand.
• 38:57
  But us here in the West, we perk up.
• 39:02
  What do you mean them? We're going to be slaughtered.
• 39:04
  What do you mean that we're going to be attacked by
• 39:06
  governments? We haven't known anything like
• 39:08
  that. I mean, some of us have.
• 39:10
  But it's true. The Bible predicts this.
• 39:13
  I'm not here to get into that debate.
• 39:15
  If the Lord wills, there'll be an entire session at some point
• 39:17
  in Revelation where we'll look at these different views
• 39:20
  concerning the removal of the church.
• 39:22
  But I want us to focus here on how the Lord gives instructions
• 39:25
  to those who will come to saving faith in Christ during this
• 39:28
  time. Look at verse 9 and 10 again.
• 39:30
  If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
• 39:32
  If anyone is to be taken captive to captivity, he goes.
• 39:35
  If anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must
• 39:38
  he be slain? Here is a call for the endurance
• 39:40
  and faith of the Saints. The manuscript variations
• 39:45
  between the King James and the new King James, they are
• 39:49
  slightly different than what I just read from the ESV, but the
• 39:52
  the message, the core message remains the charge.
• 39:57
  If anyone has an ear to hear, let him hear is always used in
• 40:00
  the New Testament to grab the attention of the listener and to
• 40:05
  understand that what's about to be said is of massive
• 40:09
  importance. So essentially what we have here
• 40:12
  in this vision of the beast is the crescendo.
• 40:15
  This is the pinnacle. This is the climax of the
• 40:18
  message, and it's for believers who will be alive during that
• 40:23
  time. And here's the essence of the
• 40:26
  message. Whatever happens to you,
• 40:29
  surrender to it trustingly and faithfully, whether imprisonment
• 40:35
  or execution. Do not resist your fate, do not
• 40:40
  fight back, do not attempt to rally together and violently
• 40:44
  plot against the beast regime. Reserve your energy for enduring
• 40:48
  until the end and glorifying God in the process.
• 40:54
  Now, I'm aware that the Bible contains instructions that if
• 40:57
  persecution comes to one place, we are to flee, and that there
• 41:00
  are instances where we need to utilize our rights.
• 41:04
  But what we have here, what's in view here, is a world that is
• 41:07
  faced with two inescapable options.
• 41:12
  Worship a man who claims to be God when in fact he is charged
• 41:16
  by the devil. Or suffer.
• 41:20
  And what the Holy Spirit is saying to believers is choose to
• 41:24
  suffer. Your faith is worth suffering
• 41:30
  for. Now that sounds easier said than
• 41:33
  done. So we have to ask this question.
• 41:35
  Is there anything else in this text that can make that choice
• 41:38
  easier for those who want to obey Christ?
• 41:42
  And I'm here to say, yes, there are.
• 41:44
  There are fingerprints of God's sovereignty all over this
• 41:48
  passage that encourages the believers then and believers now
• 41:52
  to endure absolutely anything. For the sake of Christ.
• 41:58
  Did you notice some of it? Look at verse 5 again.
• 42:03
  And the beast was given a mouth, uttering haughty and blasphemous
• 42:08
  words, And it was allowed. To exercise authority for 42
• 42:14
  months. Look at verse 7 now also, it was
• 42:18
  allowed to make war on the Saints and to conquer them, and
• 42:22
  authority was given it over every tribe and people and
• 42:26
  language and nation. Who is the one who gives the
• 42:28
  beast the influence to do what he can do?
• 42:32
  Here? Some would say it's Satan.
• 42:34
  That's partly true. But beyond that, the Antichrist
• 42:37
  activity is ultimately legitimized and authorized by
• 42:41
  God himself. He was allowed.
• 42:45
  He was given. He was given.
• 42:47
  He was allowed. So the reason why believers can
• 42:51
  surrender to their terrifying destiny under this man's
• 42:57
  authoritarian regime. Because God is ultimately under
• 43:02
  control. And this is what this means for
• 43:07
  our suffering, that even if we have to face the most fearsome
• 43:14
  ruler. Or the most oppressive regime
• 43:19
  that man has ever experienced. Not one thing can be afflicted
• 43:23
  upon his children unless he permitted it.
• 43:26
  That is true for the Antichrist or any other agitator in our
• 43:29
  lives. Moreover, regardless of the
• 43:34
  nature of our pain, take hope in knowing that it's numbered.
• 43:38
  The days of our trials are numbered, right?
• 43:40
  We've seen that throughout Revelation.
• 43:43
  Whether it's the church in Smyrna who would be imprisoned
• 43:45
  for a certain amount of days, or as we we approach the final
• 43:51
  moments of human history, everything has been organized by
• 43:56
  our God to fulfill a glorious purpose.
• 43:59
  Even down to the duration of it and for reasons beyond our
• 44:06
  understanding, God allows it and all He asked us for our
• 44:09
  faithfulness through it. So he says this is for the
• 44:13
  endurance of the Saints. This is for the faith of the
• 44:15
  Saints. And there are going to be times
• 44:18
  even perhaps now you're listening to this and the pain
• 44:20
  that you're feeling emotionally, mentally, physically seems
• 44:23
  permanent or that. There are people in your life,
• 44:29
  directly or indirectly, who seem to be getting away with their
• 44:33
  injustice. They are corrupt and they seem
• 44:36
  to evade any kind of punitive encounter.
• 44:44
  And sometimes it will feel like in the world.
• 44:47
  Christianity and Christians are being conquered.
• 44:52
  Did you notice that phrase in the beginning of verse 7?
• 44:55
  Also, it was allowed to make war on the Saints and to conquer
• 44:58
  them, to overcome them and other translations.
• 45:02
  In what way is the Antichrist going to overcome Christians?
• 45:05
  It's very important to make the distinction purely in a physical
• 45:09
  way. It just means that he will be
• 45:11
  able to kill them. In no way does it suggest that
• 45:13
  He will be able to destroy our souls, rob us of our eternal
• 45:19
  inheritance, change our status before God.
• 45:23
  If anything, for those who are in Christ, we are invincible.
• 45:29
  We are invincible. Let me bring you to one final
• 45:32
  passage today. Let's go to Romans 8 together
• 45:36
  and confirm this glorious reality.
• 45:39
  Romans 838 to 39. Romans 8 is a jewel among many
• 45:56
  jewels in the Bible. And notice how Paul concludes
• 46:00
  his thoughts in Romans 838. For I am sure that neither
• 46:06
  death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor
• 46:09
  things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor death, nor anything
• 46:14
  else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the
• 46:17
  love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• 46:20
  Don't you love how this begins? Look again at the first few
• 46:23
  words of verse 38. For I am sure, can you say that,
• 46:30
  can you say I am 100% absolutely convinced that I am more than a
• 46:38
  conqueror, that no matter what happens to me in this world or
• 46:41
  in this body, I am more than a conqueror because I am held and
• 46:47
  I am kept by the unchanging love of Jesus Christ.
• 46:53
  You know the context of this passage if you if you read just
• 46:55
  earlier, Paul speaks about martyrdom, that we like sheep
• 46:59
  are being slaughtered all the day.
• 47:00
  And then he transitions to this stop.
• 47:04
  Even if I am met by loss, even if I am afflicted with disease,
• 47:09
  persecution, even martyrdom, nothing can take away the most
• 47:12
  valuable thing that I possess, and that is the eternal
• 47:14
  affection of my God that he has set upon me because of Christ
• 47:17
  Jesus. Nothing can change that.
• 47:20
  So I never lose really. So back in Revelation 13, yes,
• 47:26
  the Antichrist will be able to conquer believers, but Paul
• 47:32
  reminds us we are more than conquerors.
• 47:37
  He will target Christians, and he is targeting Christians Now,
• 47:41
  that spirit, even in the West, we're seeing it more and more.
• 47:44
  Are we not? Are you watching the news?
• 47:47
  What's happening to Christians and what happened?
• 47:49
  What's happening to churches? He's doing all that he can to
• 47:52
  encroach and to see what he can get away with.
• 47:56
  And I'm not a prophet, nor am I son of a prophet.
• 47:59
  But all I know is that no matter what is going on around us, we
• 48:04
  have to be willing to endure. And one of the ways that you can
• 48:10
  endure is if you behold who God is, what He has done for you
• 48:16
  enough, where you adore Him more than your life, will you love
• 48:20
  Him more than anything else? And not only will we be able to
• 48:27
  endure all things, we can endure all things and enjoy God in the
• 48:31
  midst of it. So this is what we learned here
• 48:34
  thus far with the career of the beast.
• 48:36
  There's instruction for today as well as prophecy for tomorrow.
• 48:39
  But here's my question as I wrap this message up.
• 48:42
  Do you have ears to hear? Have you heard anything today
• 48:47
  that resonated with you? How will you respond to these
• 48:52
  things today? Well, I can give you one way we
• 48:55
  can respond. We can ask God to open our eyes
• 49:00
  so that we can marvel at Him again and worship Him the way He
• 49:03
  deserves. And when we do that, so many
• 49:06
  other things can be solved. So many other things can be
• 49:10
  solved. Let's ask Him for that grace.
• 49:28
  Father, we thank You that in a vision about the future, you
• 49:33
  give us so much instruction for today.
• 49:40
  And Lord, in this moment, we pray that you would revive our
• 49:46
  awe of Christ, though we admit that with our physical eyes
• 49:53
  looking at words on a page or with our physical ears hearing a
• 49:56
  sermon, if you don't help us, if you don't intervene, then we
• 50:01
  will not be changed. We need a work of God to be
• 50:05
  performed upon the eyes of our hearts to be able to see what
• 50:10
  you want us to see. So for those who have never,
• 50:14
  ever beheld just how majestic and dazzling and splendid Christ
• 50:18
  is, may they catch a glimpse this afternoon.
• 50:22
  For those who once were enthralled by Christ, but
• 50:26
  they're now fascinated by other things more than Christ.
• 50:31
  Oh, would you bring us back again to being spellbound by who
• 50:36
  He is? We've done our part, Lord.
• 50:40
  We have opened your word, we have expounded it, we have
• 50:44
  looked at it faithfully, but the power for it to actually
• 50:47
  minister to us comes from You. And we ask that you would do
• 50:52
  that work. Lord, we want to glorify You.
• 50:53
  Finally, in your resurrection. We thank you that in your
• 50:56
  resurrection you redeem. We read about the Antichrist and
• 50:58
  his false resurrection. He condemns, He destroys, He
• 51:02
  deceives. Lord, your resurrection gives
• 51:03
  life. It offers hope, it transforms,
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  it renews, it secures our inheritance forever, which makes
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  us more than conquerors. We thank you that in your
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  resurrection we will be resurrected and your transformed
• 51:17
  body. We will have a transformation
• 51:18
  for these bodies. Thank you, O God, that no matter
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  what is taken from us in this life, even our own lives, we
• 51:25
  have what you have offered us forever, and we give you thanks
• 51:28
  for this as a church, as your church, in Jesus name, Amen.
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  Amen. Let's stand together, church.
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  Let's worship the living God in 2nd Corinthians 318.
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  So we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,
• 51:52
  are being transformed into the same image from 1° of glory to
• 51:57
  another. For this comes from the Lord who
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  is the Spirit. He says we all implying that
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  this is available to every Christian.
• 52:08
  This is not just for the spiritual elite.
• 52:10
  This is for. Anybody who wants it, we all
• 52:13
  with unveiled face. What does unveiled face mean in
• 52:15
  the context? You see who?
• 52:16
  Christ is for who He truly is. The blinders have been removed.
• 52:20
  You can perceive Him as the Son of God, the Savior of the world.
• 52:24
  You are there, we all with unveiled face.
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  But don't just stop there. That's just the initial
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  exposure. You continue to behold the glory
• 52:31
  of the Lord. You know what that word behold
• 52:32
  means to stare at? It's not a quick look.
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  It's not a peak to concentrate on, to focus on, to study,
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  beholding, what's the subject matter, the glory of the Lord.
• 52:45
  When you do that long enough, one of the benefits is that
• 52:48
  you're transformed into that very same image that you've been
• 52:52
  staring at all along from. 1° of glory to another.
• 52:57
  Implying what? That it is a process.
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  It is not instantaneous. You don't just go to 1 Bible
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  study or you don't just read one week in the book of whatever
• 53:07
  book you're reading in the Bible and expect to become like
• 53:09
  Christ. In that same amount of time,
• 53:11
  it's a lifelong journey, but oh, it's incremental.
• 53:14
  You graduate, you grow as long as you behold.
• 53:17
  The moment you take your eyes off the majesty of Christ is the
• 53:20
  moment you shrink and you go in the other direction.
• 53:25
  So my charge to you in light of this, the one thing that moved.
• 53:28
  Me. Yes, I love prophecy.
• 53:29
  I love figuring out these codes and these mysteries.
• 53:32
  I enjoy that, but all these things should lead us to
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  practical worship. To know that what God asks of us
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  first is to wonder at Him before we worship him.
• 53:43
  That's our homework this week. If I can use that word, that's
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  our duty. And that duty will turn into
• 53:48
  delight. My charge to you today is to
• 53:50
  find a fresh way. If you're not, if you're doing
• 53:53
  it, praise God. Stay there, but find a fresh way
• 53:57
  to behold the glory of the Lord. And trust the process that the
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  very thing that you are examining, we'll transform you
• 54:06
  more and more. And I can guarantee you that you
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  will know true worship from that discipline.
• 54:11
  You'll know how to worship here. You'll know how to worship in
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  your workplace. You'll know how to worship when
• 54:15
  you're alone. Worship is not just singing
• 54:17
  songs. It's a life.
• 54:19
  It's a life lived out for the glory of God.
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  And so, Lord, we ask you that you would help us.
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  Behold you. Oh please, we pray that every
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  single service, your glory would manifest.
• 54:32
  And that Lord, beyond these meetings, we pray that we would
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  behold your glory. Lord, we we, we want you to be
• 54:36
  greater than any entertainment, than any hobby, than any
• 54:40
  achievement. We want you to be the ultimate
• 54:43
  the the supreme. Source of our delight and we
• 54:46
  can't get there unless you help us.
• 54:49
  So Lord help us. I pray that there will be a
• 54:51
  zealous ambition burning in every heart to say, oh, I want
• 54:56
  to see his glory. And we believe that you'll help
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  us see it. We love you, Lord.
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  Thank you for showing us who you are today in Jesus name, Amen.
• 55:09
  Amen. May the Lord Jesus be with you.
• 55:14
  There should be fellowship and something to fellowship around
• 55:17
  in terms of food downstairs. And if you really want to take
• 55:21
  this beholding seriously, here's a little segue.
• 55:23
  Sign up for that workshop. Sign up for that Bible workshop
• 55:27
  so you can know the tools to be able to excavate and mind God's
• 55:31
  Word and perceive the beauty of who He is.
• 55:33
  OK, God bless you. We'll see you this week, Lord
• 55:36
  willing. Prayer and Friday Bible study is
• 55:38
  on. Take Care now.
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  Bye bye.