Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Antichrist_ The Beast Out of the Sea

Transcript

Antichrist_ The Beast Out of the Sea · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

0:00
Speaker 1: There's a scripture Paul writes in the New Testament that says,
0:05
Speaker 1: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly with
0:08
Speaker 1: all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and
0:13
Speaker 1: hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts
0:19
Speaker 1: to the Lord. That gives a whole new dimension to
0:23
Speaker 1: the ministry of music as we teach and admonish one
0:28
Speaker 1: another in music. these ways songs and hymns and expressions
0:37
Speaker 1: of worship it was over five years ago that I
0:43
Speaker 1: dreamed of occasions such as this where there would be
0:47
Speaker 1: a place where this kind of music and this kind
0:52
Speaker 1: of if you will admonition and instruction would go on
0:56
Speaker 1: where God's people would have in one hand a copy
1:01
Speaker 1: of the scriptures and in the other hand a hymnal.
1:05
Speaker 1: From the scriptures we learn of our faith and in
1:09
Speaker 1: the hymnal from that we sing of it, which carries
1:12
Speaker 1: our heritage all the way back in the passing of
1:17
Speaker 1: centuries of time. Did you know we have Luther to
1:20
Speaker 1: thank for the whole idea of a singing congregation? Until
1:25
Speaker 1: then there was the chanting of the monks in the monastery.
1:30
Speaker 1: And there was the singing of those songs in Latin
1:34
Speaker 1: known only to the clergy. But in the language of
1:38
Speaker 1: the people, Luther set us free so that we might
1:43
Speaker 1: sing our faith, and he believed that we needed both,
1:46
Speaker 1: and we wholeheartedly agree. And now in preparation for the
1:50
Speaker 1: second message of the morning, please turn to Revelation chapter 13.
1:56
Speaker 1: We're working our way through the book, and we've come
1:59
Speaker 1: to this... very interesting, intriguing. I wanted to say, but
2:08
Speaker 1: I didn't want to sound like a popular term, this
2:12
Speaker 1: dynamic personality called the beast, who will be the most
2:18
Speaker 1: profound in the sense of his leadership, the most popular
2:24
Speaker 1: political leader the world's ever known. And then, as we'll
2:27
Speaker 1: see in verse 11, when we get there next time,
2:29
Speaker 1: there will be a second in command who will be
2:32
Speaker 1: a religious leader and the false prophet working alongside this
2:37
Speaker 1: political leader we'll read about now. We'll have the world
2:40
Speaker 1: in full sway as the earthlings believe the message that
2:45
Speaker 1: they present. We read in Revelation 13.1 that the dragon
2:50
Speaker 1: stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw
2:55
Speaker 1: a beast. coming up out of the sea, having ten
3:00
Speaker 1: horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, crowns,
3:09
Speaker 1: and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast,
3:15
Speaker 1: which I saw, was like a leopard, and his feet
3:19
Speaker 1: were like those of a bear, and his mouth like
3:23
Speaker 1: the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him
3:27
Speaker 1: his power and his throne and his great authority. I
3:34
Speaker 1: saw one of his heads as if it had been
3:37
Speaker 1: slain and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole
3:42
Speaker 1: earth was amazed and followed after the beast. And they
3:47
Speaker 1: worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast.
3:53
Speaker 1: And they worshiped the beast saying, Who is like the
3:58
Speaker 1: beast and who is able to wage war with him?
4:04
Speaker 1: There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words
4:08
Speaker 1: and blasphemies and authority to act for 42 months was
4:15
Speaker 1: given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies
4:18
Speaker 1: against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, that is,
4:23
Speaker 1: those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to
4:26
Speaker 1: him to make war with the saints and to overcome them.
4:33
Speaker 1: And authority over every tribe and people and tongue and
4:39
Speaker 1: nation was given to him. All who dwell on the
4:44
Speaker 1: earth will worship him. Everyone whose name has not been
4:48
Speaker 1: written from the foundation of the world in the book
4:52
Speaker 1: of life of the lamb who has been slain. If
4:55
Speaker 1: anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is
4:59
Speaker 1: destined for captivity, to captivity he goes. If anyone kills
5:05
Speaker 1: with the sword, with the sword he must be killed.
5:11
Speaker 1: Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.
5:17
Speaker 1: You will find your outline for the message in your
5:21
Speaker 1: worship folder. Now join me as we pray, please. Our Father,
5:30
Speaker 1: we acknowledge that you are our mighty fortress, and we
5:35
Speaker 1: have learned, as Peter says, to whom else shall we go?
5:40
Speaker 1: You have the words of eternal life. And so, our Father,
5:44
Speaker 1: we find comfort in our rest in you, in the
5:49
Speaker 1: way that you meet our needs, take care of us,
5:54
Speaker 1: protect us, watch over our young while we are away
5:58
Speaker 1: from them, and Provide for us a way of making
6:02
Speaker 1: a living by giving us strength in our bodies and
6:06
Speaker 1: minds that work well, that we might think and we
6:10
Speaker 1: might lead and we might follow. Thank you, our Father,
6:14
Speaker 1: for all the blessings that come our way, which we
6:17
Speaker 1: so seldom mention, for the breath that we have in
6:23
Speaker 1: our lungs, for the blood that courses through our veins,
6:27
Speaker 1: for the freedoms from illness and disease, for good health,
6:33
Speaker 1: for life itself, for family, for memories, for the great
6:39
Speaker 1: holidays that are before us that will again remind us
6:43
Speaker 1: of your hand of goodness to us. You are not
6:47
Speaker 1: only a mighty fortress, you are a giving and gentle shepherd.
6:52
Speaker 1: Thank you for shepherding us. We're often not very lovely
6:57
Speaker 1: and We're not gentle in return. We often are in
7:01
Speaker 1: a stubborn state of mind and irritable and impatient. And yet,
7:08
Speaker 1: each time we come back to you, there you are
7:11
Speaker 1: again to encourage us and lift our spirits and forgive
7:16
Speaker 1: us and give us new hope to go on. Thank you, Father,
7:21
Speaker 1: for your sovereign hand over us which not only gives
7:27
Speaker 1: us life, but as you choose, takes from us life.
7:33
Speaker 1: In light of that, our Father, may we hold life loosely.
7:36
Speaker 1: May we remember that the blessings that come from you
7:39
Speaker 1: are not ours to claim forever on this earth. And
7:44
Speaker 1: so in your sovereign hand, as you take one and
7:47
Speaker 1: another from us, remind us that you do all things well.
7:53
Speaker 1: And therefore we praise you, King of Heaven.
7:55
Speaker 2: Amen.
7:57
Speaker 1: We lift our voices in our songs today and we
8:00
Speaker 1: open your word to hear your truth. May it become
8:05
Speaker 1: for us more important than anything of our own opinion.
8:11
Speaker 1: Humble us and quiet us as we prepare ourselves for
8:15
Speaker 1: the sowing of the good seed. We pray this and
8:19
Speaker 1: now give to you in the name of the Lord Jesus.
8:23
Speaker 1: And everyone said, Amen. answer the following questions. They really
8:34
Speaker 1: all have the same answer, but the questions are different.
8:41
Speaker 1: There's this restaurant that was once popular and well attended
8:45
Speaker 1: by people in the community, served great food, and people
8:49
Speaker 1: would come not only for breakfast and lunch, but they
8:51
Speaker 1: even sometimes would enjoy dinner there. Now the restaurant no
8:57
Speaker 1: longer has that many people who stop in, and The
9:01
Speaker 1: food isn't really that good, and in fact, it's pretty
9:04
Speaker 1: well going under. What does that restaurant need more than
9:09
Speaker 1: anything else? There's this team, this athletic team, put together
9:18
Speaker 1: around a number of good young athletes, and the school
9:23
Speaker 1: has had a long, long-term history of winning, and now
9:29
Speaker 1: that's changed. Athletes are still pretty good, but they've lost
9:35
Speaker 1: now for the fourth year in a row, and the
9:37
Speaker 1: crowds are thinning, and there's not that much morale at
9:40
Speaker 1: the school. Well, what does that team need more than
9:46
Speaker 1: anything else? What one thing? There's a city that was
9:54
Speaker 1: a thriving metropolis. People moved in there to live there
9:59
Speaker 1: and be a part of the capital, of the city.
10:01
Speaker 1: Business was good and climate was great, but now there's
10:07
Speaker 1: been a turn. In fact, the crime rate is greater
10:10
Speaker 1: and there's no new home section being built. In fact,
10:15
Speaker 1: people are leaving more quickly than they are coming. What
10:19
Speaker 1: does that city need? What one thing more than anything else?
10:26
Speaker 1: There's this country struck by terrorism. Thousands are killed. Fear
10:32
Speaker 1: is sweeping the country and panic is setting in. People
10:36
Speaker 1: are pulling in and drawing their blinds and locking their
10:39
Speaker 1: doors and spending no time on the streets. But somehow
10:44
Speaker 1: this country needs to turn around and rally around the flag.
10:47
Speaker 1: What does a country need? more than anything else. The
10:56
Speaker 1: answer by now to all of you is obvious. One word, leadership.
11:03
Speaker 1: It's the most significant ingredient in any movement. Peter Drucker,
11:09
Speaker 1: the guru of management and leadership these days, known for
11:14
Speaker 1: his famous quotations, once said this, if an enterprise fails
11:20
Speaker 1: to perform, we rightly hire not different workers, but a
11:25
Speaker 1: new president. If there's trouble brewing at the bottom and
11:30
Speaker 1: the trouble continues to brew, chances are good the real
11:33
Speaker 1: problem is at the top. The restaurant doesn't need necessarily
11:39
Speaker 1: another chef or new servers or even a different menu.
11:44
Speaker 1: It needs a new manager, maybe a new owner. The
11:49
Speaker 1: athletic team doesn't necessarily need to recruit fellows from some
11:53
Speaker 1: other area. That team needs another coach, as we're learning
12:01
Speaker 1: here in Dallas. You lucky dogs able to get home
12:06
Speaker 1: in time to see the game. And we'll go on
12:08
Speaker 1: to the city. What does that city need? It needs
12:12
Speaker 1: a mayor. It needs a group of leaders. who will
12:16
Speaker 1: put together a plan that will get that city back
12:18
Speaker 1: on its feet. And the church that was emptying, once
12:26
Speaker 1: powerful in its preaching and strong in its music, that
12:31
Speaker 1: is failing probably needs another pastor. Same for a country.
12:39
Speaker 1: We found that out on 9-11. Without the right leader,
12:46
Speaker 1: There's no rallying of the citizenship. What is true in
12:53
Speaker 1: all these realms for good is also unfortunately true in
12:58
Speaker 1: the realm of wrong and evil. We should not be
13:02
Speaker 1: at all surprised to read and to learn that the
13:05
Speaker 1: great usurper of this world, the devil himself, when he
13:12
Speaker 1: makes his final move to conquer the And to hold
13:16
Speaker 1: full dominion over the earth uses a leader. A very
13:24
Speaker 1: carefully chosen and prepared vessel of his to possess. To
13:33
Speaker 1: do his evil work through, he needs someone who will
13:38
Speaker 1: become for him the dictator leader of the world. All
13:44
Speaker 1: of us have lived long enough to remember dictators who
13:47
Speaker 1: ruined countries. Stalin in Russia, Sosescu in Romania, Hitler in Germany,
13:56
Speaker 1: Idi Amin in Uganda, Pol Pot in Cambodia, and most recently,
14:03
Speaker 1: Saddam Hussein in the great country of Iraq. Evil leaders, dictators,
14:11
Speaker 1: who determined they would answer to no one As they
14:15
Speaker 1: push the country in the realm of wrong. To satisfy
14:19
Speaker 1: their own arrogance and game plan. Interestingly when we meet
14:27
Speaker 1: this individual in Revelation 13 verses 1 to 10. We
14:32
Speaker 1: find that he is called not by some human name.
14:37
Speaker 1: But by the name of a wild animal. Therion is
14:41
Speaker 1: the Greek word. Therion means wild animal. beast, which describes
14:47
Speaker 1: his nature. Well, this isn't the first time scripture has
14:51
Speaker 1: told us of this individual. He's just called him by
14:54
Speaker 1: another name. John, in his first letter, chapters 2 and 4,
14:59
Speaker 1: called him out-and-out Antichrist. Paul calls him, in 2 Thessalonians 2,
15:06
Speaker 1: the man of sin, or accurately, the man of lawlessness.
15:13
Speaker 1: So we've seen him before. But he's never set for
15:16
Speaker 1: a portrait. Not until now. Understand when he will come
15:21
Speaker 1: on the scene. It will be yet future. When the
15:24
Speaker 1: world is at its chaotic, most chaotic moment, longing for
15:29
Speaker 1: and needing a leader who will give them a reason
15:32
Speaker 1: for going on. When wrong will have taken over and
15:36
Speaker 1: judgment will have fallen, the people will long for anyone
15:40
Speaker 1: who can help sign that peace pact between Israel and Palestine.
15:45
Speaker 1: who can come in with charisma and remarkable popularity, fame,
15:51
Speaker 1: and fortune, and persuade the people that he has a
15:54
Speaker 1: plan that's worth following. And it is clearly against God.
16:01
Speaker 1: Dwight Pentecost, in his book, Prophecy for Today, writes this.
16:05
Speaker 1: The scriptures reveal that this conflict between good and bad,
16:09
Speaker 1: between light and darkness, is going to come to its
16:11
Speaker 1: climax today. when Satan brings his great masterpiece, the man
16:15
Speaker 1: of sin, the lawless one, the beast, on this world
16:19
Speaker 1: scene as the head of a great confederation of nations.
16:24
Speaker 1: This world is headed for a coming worldwide dictatorship under
16:29
Speaker 1: whom all nations shall be consolidated into one great world
16:34
Speaker 1: empire that will center in the worship of Satan. This
16:37
Speaker 1: system will be characterized by lawlessness, godlessness, and absolute authoritarianism.
16:46
Speaker 1: It will be the aim of this dictator to exterminate
16:49
Speaker 1: every believer in Jesus Christ and to outlaw God from
16:55
Speaker 1: this universe. He comes on the scene rather innocuously in
17:00
Speaker 1: the biblical text. Chapter 13, we find a dragon walking
17:05
Speaker 1: along the seashore. Now if you were reading and had
17:09
Speaker 1: never read before in Revelation, You'd imagine an animal with
17:13
Speaker 1: four feet dragging himself along with his tail swishing back
17:17
Speaker 1: and forth near the seashore. But we know from our
17:20
Speaker 1: study of Revelation 12 that the dragon, and also Revelation 20,
17:26
Speaker 1: is none other than Satan. So it's a symbol of Satan,
17:30
Speaker 1: the devil himself. In apocalyptic literature, especially in the book
17:36
Speaker 1: of Revelation, the sea often represents refers to Gentile nations,
17:45
Speaker 1: not the Jews. So this causes most students of prophecy
17:50
Speaker 1: who take the scriptures literally and are conservative in their
17:53
Speaker 1: theology to claim that this one will come from among
17:57
Speaker 1: the Gentile nations. The political leader of the future will
18:03
Speaker 1: not be a Jew. He'll be a Gentile. Satan is
18:08
Speaker 1: standing on the sand of the seashore. It's a picture
18:13
Speaker 1: of his being in the midst of the nations of
18:15
Speaker 1: the world as if they were his rightful possession. They're not,
18:20
Speaker 1: since he is a usurper who seeks the world's worship.
18:25
Speaker 1: But Satan is moving about looking for his man. And
18:30
Speaker 1: he finds him. He emerges from the sea, we read
18:35
Speaker 1: in verse 2. And as we read in verse 1,
18:38
Speaker 1: and as we read of him, we will see his
18:41
Speaker 1: source of power is none other than the devil himself.
18:45
Speaker 1: John writes, I saw a beast coming up out of
18:52
Speaker 1: the sea. In our terms today, if we were to
18:55
Speaker 1: read it in the Dallas Morning News, it would be
18:57
Speaker 1: reported that an individual emerged out of a certain country
19:02
Speaker 1: or is coming on the scene out of a particular nation.
19:07
Speaker 1: Biblical literature refers to it as a beast coming out
19:10
Speaker 1: of the sea. We know he has authority because he
19:13
Speaker 1: is said to have ten horns, seven heads, and on
19:17
Speaker 1: those horns were ten diadema. It's the word for crowns.
19:23
Speaker 1: This is a picture of royal authority or governmental authority.
19:28
Speaker 1: The horns, most often in New Testament prophetic literature, refer
19:34
Speaker 1: to rulerships, so These are probably the ten nations that
19:39
Speaker 1: will be drawn together to follow him. The seven might
19:44
Speaker 1: refer to the seven original consecutive worlds empires beginning with
19:52
Speaker 1: Egypt and Assyria. Then you have Babylon and Medo-Persia followed
19:58
Speaker 1: by Greece and Rome and then the Antichrist's own evil empire.
20:06
Speaker 1: The shift to seven crowns may may well refer to
20:10
Speaker 1: governmental authorities that will be prominent then. Quite likely the
20:15
Speaker 1: ten national leaders who cooperate with this leader in his
20:20
Speaker 1: rulership over the world is portrayed in these ten diadem
20:25
Speaker 1: and ten horns. Please observe they are all anti-God because
20:31
Speaker 1: the end of verse one tells us they had blasphemous names.
20:37
Speaker 1: Their work Their persuasion, their philosophy of life, their motive
20:42
Speaker 1: is all about blaspheming the name of the living God.
20:50
Speaker 1: Verse 2 describes something of his authority and his style
20:59
Speaker 1: of leadership. The beast which I saw was like a leopard.
21:05
Speaker 1: His feet were like those of a bear. His mouth
21:10
Speaker 1: was like the mouth of a lion. If you remember
21:17
Speaker 1: prophetic literature from your previous years of study, you know
21:21
Speaker 1: that Daniel 7 includes such creatures as a leopard and
21:26
Speaker 1: a bear and a lion. This is an opposite order
21:31
Speaker 1: from the way Daniel 7 refers to them. Nevertheless, this
21:35
Speaker 1: probably has reference to a composite empire. resembling those powerful,
21:42
Speaker 1: vast empires of ancient years. And just imagine what they
21:46
Speaker 1: would represent. They would incorporate all the characteristics of these
21:52
Speaker 1: previous powers. Brutality, ferocity, swiftness, strength of military might, craftiness, determination, cruelty, deception.
22:10
Speaker 1: One writer sums it all up in these words. Here
22:14
Speaker 1: John sums up all the brilliance of Greece, all the
22:18
Speaker 1: massive ponderousness of power of Persia, all of the absolute
22:24
Speaker 1: autocratic royal dominion of Babylon that the Gentiles have ever known.
22:30
Speaker 1: The point being no human force by now will be
22:34
Speaker 1: able to withstand him. Don't miss the final sentence of
22:39
Speaker 1: verse 2. It puts a chill up your back. The
22:43
Speaker 1: dragon gave him his dunamis, his thronos, and his exousia megalene.
22:53
Speaker 1: His dynamic, his charisma, and his promotion revealed in the
23:01
Speaker 1: word transliterated in English as throne, thronos. He's promoted to
23:07
Speaker 1: a place of authority. He's elected into into power or
23:11
Speaker 1: he's appointed there by the people and with that comes
23:14
Speaker 1: influence that is great. Please notice it all comes from
23:19
Speaker 1: the dragon. Now a person with this kind of authority
23:25
Speaker 1: and this kind of power must make an impact on
23:28
Speaker 1: the world. An interesting way he does it to grab
23:31
Speaker 1: the attention of the world yet future. John says I
23:35
Speaker 1: saw one of his heads as if it had been slain.
23:41
Speaker 1: Some teach that this creature, this individual, literally is assassinated
23:47
Speaker 1: and comes back from the dead, and in his resurrected state,
23:53
Speaker 1: he now has the amazement of the people. We read
23:58
Speaker 1: here that the whole earth was amazed as they followed
24:03
Speaker 1: after the beast with the wound that had been healed.
24:07
Speaker 1: It may be that an attempt is made on his life.
24:10
Speaker 1: It may be that someone attempts to assassinate him or
24:13
Speaker 1: some conspiracy. But I tend to think it's a phony death.
24:19
Speaker 1: I think it's a fate assassination. I think it's all
24:23
Speaker 1: a setup to get the people of the world to
24:26
Speaker 1: believe him. I think it's staged. And as a result, they...
24:34
Speaker 1: They follow him believing that he has been raised from
24:39
Speaker 1: the dead. What kind of authority would that bring? One
24:44
Speaker 1: writer writes this. Perhaps Antichrist will explain his extraordinary powers
24:50
Speaker 1: by claiming to be the reincarnation of the Christ spirit.
24:56
Speaker 1: Certainly in a world where New Age pantheism and Eastern
25:01
Speaker 1: mysticism are extremely important, popular, more people would be inclined
25:10
Speaker 1: to believe in a reincarnation than a resurrection. Whatever, Antichrist's
25:18
Speaker 1: seeming invulnerability to death will win him greater, more widespread acclaim.
25:28
Speaker 1: Stay with me through this as you walk the journey
25:31
Speaker 1: that's a very unusual path in this man's resume. The
25:37
Speaker 1: earth is aching for leadership. The need is enormous as
25:42
Speaker 1: the people, many are dying under the judgments. There is
25:47
Speaker 1: a great calling among humanity for a voice of authority
25:54
Speaker 1: for some persuasive leader to say, we'll go this way
25:58
Speaker 1: or we'll go against that power. And he comes on
26:01
Speaker 1: the scene with that kind of message and he sweeps
26:04
Speaker 1: the people off their feet with this remarkable, albeit deceptive method.
26:13
Speaker 1: And do they follow? Verse 4 is the answer. Talk
26:18
Speaker 1: about an amazing appeal. They worshipped. Of the dragon. Because
26:24
Speaker 1: he gave his authority. To the beast. And then they
26:28
Speaker 1: worship the beast. Saying. Who is like the beast. Who
26:34
Speaker 1: is able. To wage war with him. You may not
26:38
Speaker 1: know it. But that's lifted from Exodus 15. As it
26:41
Speaker 1: was there used. For the praise of the living God.
26:45
Speaker 1: And now they apply it to a man. And to
26:48
Speaker 1: the source of his power. Satan himself. The world by
26:51
Speaker 1: now is willing to believe anything and will be willing
26:57
Speaker 1: to follow anyone who has this kind of persuasive style
27:04
Speaker 1: and technique and charisma. Some have taught that this is
27:10
Speaker 1: a resurrected Nero. There's no reason to embrace that. Some
27:14
Speaker 1: have said it's Judas come back from beyond. Again, that
27:18
Speaker 1: carries no weight. Some have said it's the death of
27:22
Speaker 1: the Roman Empire that will be revived. But this is
27:24
Speaker 1: speaking of a man, not an empire. This is people.
27:29
Speaker 1: This is a person that people are following. This isn't
27:32
Speaker 1: a nation or a philosophy of a nation. Whether his
27:37
Speaker 1: death is real or fake isn't clear. The point is
27:40
Speaker 1: the people will believe it's real. And they will bow
27:47
Speaker 1: and worship before him. Now, the activities are enough to
27:53
Speaker 1: keep you awake at night. Verse 5. There was given
27:58
Speaker 1: to him a mouth speaking arrogant words. Now, I want
28:03
Speaker 1: to interrupt here. I sound like a radio announcer. Let
28:05
Speaker 1: me interrupt this broadcast to bring you some information. But
28:08
Speaker 1: even though it's technical in nature, I think it will
28:11
Speaker 1: help you appreciate how possessed he is of Satan. Therion
28:17
Speaker 1: is a Greek word that is neuter, neither masculine nor feminine.
28:23
Speaker 1: So truly, the pronoun that would modify this particular name
28:28
Speaker 1: of the beast would be neuter. It would be it,
28:34
Speaker 1: not him, not her. And that's literally the way this
28:39
Speaker 1: could have been rendered. Because it's a man, the translators
28:43
Speaker 1: have correctly rendered it. But I think it emphasizes something
28:46
Speaker 1: when in the reference of 5 through 8, four times
28:51
Speaker 1: the same identical phrase appears in the original. Let me
28:56
Speaker 1: give it to you exactly as it is. Look at
28:59
Speaker 1: verse 5. There was given to it a mouth. There
29:06
Speaker 1: was given to it authority for 42 months. Verse 7.
29:11
Speaker 1: There was given to it to make war. And there
29:16
Speaker 1: was given to it authority over every tribe, people, tongue,
29:22
Speaker 1: and nation. The beast is Satan's man. He really would
29:29
Speaker 1: have no message without Satan. He would have no sense
29:33
Speaker 1: of strategy without the brilliant strategy of Satan himself. He
29:38
Speaker 1: is a prophet. of Satan. All of you know that
29:46
Speaker 1: one of the conferences that Cynthia and I say yes
29:49
Speaker 1: to is a conference up in westernmost Virginia where we
29:54
Speaker 1: go almost every year to minister to the people of
29:58
Speaker 1: Capitol Hill and and some from the Pentagon, the flag officers.
30:02
Speaker 1: In this gathering at Wintergreen Conference Ground, we have the
30:05
Speaker 1: opportunity to minister four times, once on Friday evening, twice
30:11
Speaker 1: Saturday morning, and then again on Sunday morning before we
30:15
Speaker 1: fly back home. That means Saturday night is left a
30:19
Speaker 1: little free for some fun, and these people enjoy fun.
30:23
Speaker 1: Folks from D.C. need more fun, and so Saturday night,
30:27
Speaker 1: it's always a fun night and it's a delightful time.
30:29
Speaker 1: This last conference, we had the best ventriloquist on the planet.
30:34
Speaker 1: He was fabulous. He had four dummies he travels with, literally.
30:40
Speaker 1: And he gives them life and he uses them and
30:43
Speaker 1: they do everything but sing in harmony. I wondered as
30:46
Speaker 1: I watch him, is he possessed? Anyway, he's able to
30:48
Speaker 1: do this kind of thing and they talk back and
30:50
Speaker 1: forth and he hardly moves his lips. David Pendleton is
30:54
Speaker 1: a master at this. And he uses the audience and
30:57
Speaker 1: people's names from the audience as he has these four
31:00
Speaker 1: creatures sitting there. And you find yourself wanting to talk
31:03
Speaker 1: to the dummies. In fact, he does interviews with people.
31:06
Speaker 1: And here are these four-star generals answering this dummy as
31:09
Speaker 1: he goes back and forth answering questions. Well, that morning,
31:12
Speaker 1: in the middle of the busyness of the morning. I
31:14
Speaker 1: really had to go to the bathroom. And so while
31:16
Speaker 1: everybody was in the conference, this ties together, trust me.
31:21
Speaker 1: Everybody stayed for the question and answer session. I slipped
31:24
Speaker 1: out to go to the bathroom. Well, I walked in,
31:27
Speaker 1: and while I was in there, I thought, this is
31:29
Speaker 1: the nicest men's room I've ever seen in my life.
31:32
Speaker 1: All these booths, there's nothing out in the open. Men
31:35
Speaker 1: just don't have it like this. Which told me I
31:40
Speaker 1: was in the wrong restrooms. And I finish, and of course,
31:47
Speaker 1: the great concern, really you have two great concerns. Is
31:51
Speaker 1: anyone else in here? And second, will anybody see me
31:55
Speaker 1: leave through this door? Well, I made it back, and
32:00
Speaker 1: like you, I told them what happened, and they just
32:03
Speaker 1: broke into great laughter. Well, that night, David Pendleton has
32:06
Speaker 1: this old lady who was a part of his four dummies,
32:11
Speaker 1: and she's looking all around the audience, and she looks
32:13
Speaker 1: over at me, And he says to her, do you
32:18
Speaker 1: know him? She says, yes. And he says, where did
32:20
Speaker 1: you see him? I met him in the restroom this morning.
32:26
Speaker 1: Pendleton has a fantastic presentation. In the middle of his
32:30
Speaker 1: fun stuff, he says, let me show all of you something.
32:34
Speaker 1: We all got quiet. And he picks up one of
32:36
Speaker 1: these creatures, and it kind of hangs over nothing. And
32:44
Speaker 1: he puts his hand up behind and suddenly the head
32:47
Speaker 1: pops up. And he gives this little creature a voice.
32:52
Speaker 1: And he gives this little creature a personality. And you
32:56
Speaker 1: find yourself amazed that you don't even look at David
33:01
Speaker 1: anymore as you see these little creatures he gives life to.
33:06
Speaker 1: He uses it as a wonderful presentation of the gospel.
33:10
Speaker 1: Without Christ, we are nothing. But when he comes into
33:13
Speaker 1: our life, He gives us the whole purpose for being,
33:18
Speaker 1: even our personality. That's the beast. That's the beast. But
33:27
Speaker 1: the awfulness is that the power comes from the source
33:33
Speaker 1: of the worst kind of evil and the most brilliant
33:39
Speaker 1: of plans and the most persuasive of speeches And the
33:45
Speaker 1: most believable. Of concepts. Verse 5 says. There was given
33:54
Speaker 1: to it. A mouth. Meaning a message. And not surprisingly.
34:01
Speaker 1: Because Satan is arrogant. He will speak arrogant words. And
34:04
Speaker 1: because Satan is blasphemous. He will speak blasphemy. And the
34:08
Speaker 1: people will hear it. And the people will believe it.
34:10
Speaker 1: And the people will love it. Furthermore, he will have,
34:14
Speaker 1: there's our word exousia again, he will have authority and
34:17
Speaker 1: it will be given to him for the last three
34:19
Speaker 1: and a half years of this dreadful period yet future.
34:23
Speaker 1: The last era of this time when all hell will
34:27
Speaker 1: have broken loose. And he will come on the earth
34:31
Speaker 1: to have that kind of persuasive leadership. And we read
34:35
Speaker 1: he opened his mouth and blasphemies against God. Why, of course,
34:38
Speaker 1: Satan has done that since he was Since he arose
34:42
Speaker 1: in his own pride in the heavenlies. And he blasphemes
34:46
Speaker 1: his name and his tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven.
34:51
Speaker 1: He takes delight in turning against the things of the
34:54
Speaker 1: Lord and turning the people away from spiritual things and
34:57
Speaker 1: away from angelic work and even the work of the church.
35:01
Speaker 1: It was given to it to make war with the saints.
35:04
Speaker 1: You better believe it. The only ones not following him
35:07
Speaker 1: are the people who are following Jesus. By now, those
35:10
Speaker 1: who have been left behind when we're taken off the earth,
35:14
Speaker 1: many of them have come to realize that there was
35:16
Speaker 1: a Messiah. There was a Savior. And my friend who
35:19
Speaker 1: told me about this Christian message was true and told
35:23
Speaker 1: me the truth. And now they believe. And so there
35:25
Speaker 1: are those who follow Christ. And therefore, they will not
35:29
Speaker 1: worship this one who will have such persuasive leadership and power.
35:34
Speaker 1: And we read that he will make war with the saints,
35:37
Speaker 1: and the goal is to exterminate them, as we read,
35:40
Speaker 1: to overcome them. And again, authority over, he was given
35:44
Speaker 1: authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.
35:47
Speaker 1: It will sweep the world. There will not be a
35:51
Speaker 1: television broadcast without the mention of his name. There will
35:55
Speaker 1: not be a significant event on world affairs, at least politically,
35:59
Speaker 1: where his name does not come up and his image doesn't.
36:02
Speaker 1: is not on the face of the television. He will
36:04
Speaker 1: be a household name around the world, around the globe.
36:10
Speaker 1: He is Satan's pawn, speaking arrogant, blasphemous words, and the
36:15
Speaker 1: scope will be among all the nations and people and
36:18
Speaker 1: tongues and tribes. And talk about loyalty, verse 8. All
36:25
Speaker 1: who dwell on the earth will worship him, That is
36:30
Speaker 1: everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation
36:34
Speaker 1: of the world in the book of life of the
36:37
Speaker 1: Lamb who has been slain. Who is that? Well, that's
36:42
Speaker 1: the Christian. That's that pocket of uncooperative believers. As in
36:51
Speaker 1: the Nazi regime, that would be those who hid the Jews.
36:56
Speaker 1: That would be those who didn't give Hitler Their loyalty.
37:04
Speaker 1: These people are seen as turncoats. Even fellow citizens will
37:08
Speaker 1: hate them. Those who follow the beast will carry the
37:14
Speaker 1: credit cards that allow them to buy and will have
37:17
Speaker 1: the ability to sell and to live under their own roof.
37:21
Speaker 1: These will probably be without homes to live in. Destitute. Afflicted. Tormented.
37:33
Speaker 1: For the last part of this message, I want you
37:35
Speaker 1: to imagine yourself in a small pocket of believers in
37:39
Speaker 1: this period of time. You've survived the first three and
37:43
Speaker 1: a half years. Now you see emerging this leader. You're
37:51
Speaker 1: alone with two or three others hiding in a cave
37:54
Speaker 1: or some distant wilderness. Somebody had enough forethought to bring
37:59
Speaker 1: along a New Testament. And you turn to Revelation 13, 9.
38:04
Speaker 1: And you realize God's talking to you. If anyone has
38:13
Speaker 1: an ear, let him hear. And now the believers of
38:19
Speaker 1: that era are given instruction since the persecution has now
38:24
Speaker 1: reached a maddening level. If anyone is destined for captivity,
38:30
Speaker 1: to captivity he goes. What does that mean? Well, I
38:36
Speaker 1: go back to Corrie ten Boom and her being a
38:39
Speaker 1: part of the hiding of the Jews. Remember when they
38:42
Speaker 1: came and they were found out and the Nazis appeared,
38:47
Speaker 1: they didn't fight them. They went into captivity. They trusted
38:52
Speaker 1: in their Lord and his providence to preserve them. This
38:55
Speaker 1: was not a time to retaliate. This was a time
38:59
Speaker 1: to cooperate. You're sunk. You can't make it alive, so
39:05
Speaker 1: go in. Go with them. It doesn't mean you follow
39:07
Speaker 1: their teaching. It means you go into captivity. Look further.
39:12
Speaker 1: If any kills with the sword, you can expect death
39:16
Speaker 1: in return. You resist. When surrounded by those aggressive armies,
39:23
Speaker 1: you're finished. You trust the Lord to hold you close.
39:28
Speaker 1: Here is the perseverance. and the faith of the saints.
39:32
Speaker 1: You say, you know what? I'd be a part of
39:36
Speaker 1: the resistance party. I don't believe in ever doing something
39:41
Speaker 1: like that. Really? You've already forgotten 1 Peter 2, where
39:46
Speaker 1: it speaks of Christ. who though he was reviled, reviled
39:51
Speaker 1: not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed
39:55
Speaker 1: himself to him who judges righteously, who his own self
39:58
Speaker 1: bore our sins in his own body on the tree,
40:01
Speaker 1: that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousness,
40:04
Speaker 1: by whose stripe we are healed. It was a non-resistance.
40:11
Speaker 1: It was a submission. They didn't murder him. He gave
40:17
Speaker 1: up his life. They didn't look around and have to
40:21
Speaker 1: fight him as he was running. He said, I've told
40:23
Speaker 1: you all along, I am he. So some of the
40:26
Speaker 1: soldiers fell back, hardly able to believe their ears that
40:29
Speaker 1: he wouldn't run or he wouldn't fight. He even rebuked
40:32
Speaker 1: Peter for cutting off an ear of one of the soldiers, remember?
40:35
Speaker 1: He's telling these believers in the future, you live for Christ.
40:43
Speaker 1: One day after another, you trust him. And if they
40:47
Speaker 1: find you and bring you into captivity, you go. Because
40:52
Speaker 1: if you kill with the sword, you'll be killed in return.
40:58
Speaker 1: Here's the perseverance and faith of the saints. Now, I
41:04
Speaker 1: realize some of this stuff is enough to keep you
41:06
Speaker 1: up every night from now on. You're just going to
41:08
Speaker 1: not sleep anymore having heard this. You think, maybe I'm
41:12
Speaker 1: living next door to the beast or... Maybe it is Clinton.
41:19
Speaker 1: After all, I don't know. No, no, don't go there.
41:25
Speaker 1: Or maybe it is. They named some guy over there
41:28
Speaker 1: in some Gentile country. Maybe we need to stop that. Yes,
41:36
Speaker 1: I believe he could very well be on the earth scene. Yes,
41:39
Speaker 1: I believe he could be born and could be growing
41:41
Speaker 1: up right now. Yes, I believe the time is so short,
41:46
Speaker 1: I think he could maybe be in his college years,
41:50
Speaker 1: going through training right now. I don't know that he
41:54
Speaker 1: knows that this is his role. I don't know that
41:57
Speaker 1: that's fallen into place yet, but I believe it is
41:59
Speaker 1: that real. Well, how do I go on? Let me
42:07
Speaker 1: give you two or three realities that I want you
42:10
Speaker 1: to remember. This is the part I don't want you
42:12
Speaker 1: to forget. The other stuff is interpretive, and you've got
42:15
Speaker 1: to come to terms with some of it on your
42:16
Speaker 1: own study, but you can take this to the bank.
42:20
Speaker 1: Here are three realities, and each of the three ends
42:24
Speaker 1: in something that's not known at the time. It isn't visible.
42:29
Speaker 1: It isn't audible. It's behind the scenes. Here's what I mean.
42:33
Speaker 1: Number one, satanic wonders are often impressive, but they are
42:40
Speaker 1: always deceptive. Satanic wonders are often impressive, but they are
42:48
Speaker 1: always deceptive. Keep that in mind, will you, when you
42:57
Speaker 1: come across information about certain so-called miracles or certain wonders
43:04
Speaker 1: and signs. Be careful. Don't gravitate in that direction. Not
43:12
Speaker 1: only will you be misled, you will be deceived. They
43:18
Speaker 1: may be wonders and they may be miraculous, but remember,
43:23
Speaker 1: God is not the only source of the miraculous. Satan
43:27
Speaker 1: is a supernatural power. He can do miracles. But in
43:33
Speaker 1: God's miracles, there is never anything deceptive. It's what it is.
43:39
Speaker 1: And he gets all the glory for it. Here's a
43:42
Speaker 1: second reality I don't want you to ever forget. Wherever
43:48
Speaker 1: anything or anyone other than God is worshipped, Satan is pleased.
43:57
Speaker 1: Wherever anything or anyone other than God is worshipped, Satan
44:06
Speaker 1: is pleased. Remember, the enemy's goal is to keep us
44:13
Speaker 1: from worshiping the Lord. He will have you worship anything
44:18
Speaker 1: just so it isn't God. And the list is pages long.
44:29
Speaker 1: I love the third one because it's full of hope.
44:32
Speaker 1: When Satan's power is at its worst, God's providence is
44:38
Speaker 1: at its best. Isn't that wonderful? When it seems all
44:43
Speaker 1: is lost, God is doing his best work. I think
44:49
Speaker 1: it was Churchill who said of Hitler, let him do
44:52
Speaker 1: his worst, we will do our best. We saw the
44:57
Speaker 1: best of Britain during the Blitzkrieg and the Luftwaffe that
45:02
Speaker 1: bombed that great country almost into oblivion, but the spirit
45:09
Speaker 1: never died. Now you say, you know, Chuck, I hear you,
45:19
Speaker 1: but I need to have something really powerful in return
45:26
Speaker 1: to stand against the enemy. No, you don't. As a Christian,
45:33
Speaker 1: you have that power. Greater is he who is in
45:37
Speaker 1: you than he who is in the world. The name
45:40
Speaker 1: of the Lord Jesus Christ is a name of before
45:43
Speaker 1: even the demons will bow and back off. The blood
45:47
Speaker 1: of Christ from the Lamb of God is the most
45:52
Speaker 1: powerful of all authorities in heaven and earth. You can
45:57
Speaker 1: rest in that. Let me give you a simple technique,
46:00
Speaker 1: and I'm copying it from Paul. Whatever you do in
46:03
Speaker 1: word or deed, do all in the name of the
46:07
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus. Whatever you do, when you get up in
46:10
Speaker 1: the morning, do it for the glory of God. When
46:13
Speaker 1: you carry out your work, carry it out for the
46:15
Speaker 1: glory of God. When you are with your friends, be
46:19
Speaker 1: with them to glorify God, to make the most of
46:23
Speaker 1: the moment in his name. I read this past week
46:29
Speaker 1: of a traffic jam over North Carolina. The driver in
46:34
Speaker 1: front of this man suddenly slammed on his brakes to
46:37
Speaker 1: keep from hitting the car in front of him. The
46:39
Speaker 1: guy behind him said to hit his brakes and it
46:42
Speaker 1: threw him into the steering wheel. Everything on the front
46:44
Speaker 1: seat fell over and the kids in the back were
46:46
Speaker 1: almost thrown up against the front. And so the guy
46:48
Speaker 1: in the second car behind rolled his window down and
46:52
Speaker 1: yelled out the window. Hey, what in God's name are
46:55
Speaker 1: you doing? And the guy in the car in front
47:00
Speaker 1: who happened to be Billy Graham stuck his head out, said,
47:04
Speaker 1: I do everything in God's name. What a great answer.
47:11
Speaker 1: Whatever you do, whatever you do, do it in his name.
47:20
Speaker 1: Whatever you worship, worship for his glory. However you spend
47:24
Speaker 1: your time or your money, keep him in mind. Let
47:29
Speaker 1: him be magnified. It's not about you. It's about him.
47:36
Speaker 1: That's why worship is always so satisfying. We were created
47:41
Speaker 1: for that. And when it finds its fulfillment in the
47:45
Speaker 1: living God, there is no power that can eclipse that.
47:54
Speaker 1: So tonight, when it gets dark and you hear a bump,
47:59
Speaker 1: not to worry. Don't run afraid of the dark. Don't
48:05
Speaker 1: start concerning yourself over sounds in the attic. Don't let
48:11
Speaker 1: your imagination run away from you. The enemy loves it
48:14
Speaker 1: when you run scared. You have nothing to fear. Unless,
48:22
Speaker 1: of course, you don't know Christ. And if you don't
48:25
Speaker 1: know Christ, it could be a demon. But don't let
48:28
Speaker 1: it bother you. I just thought of that, and I
48:33
Speaker 1: thought I'd throw that in. You know what? Let me
48:38
Speaker 1: tell you, I'm going to lay it straight. It would
48:42
Speaker 1: scare the bejeeber out of me if I didn't know Christ, honestly.
48:46
Speaker 1: There are people that read this kind of stuff. You know,
48:49
Speaker 1: this is the son. Bible prophecies coming true. There it is.
48:55
Speaker 1: Saw a lady at the grocery store the other day,
48:57
Speaker 1: bought four, not of these, but the one about the
49:00
Speaker 1: two-headed snake that this gal gave birth to and on
49:05
Speaker 1: and on. Stay away from that nonsense. This is ridiculous.
49:10
Speaker 1: Are you kidding? I can hardly wait. That's why we
49:21
Speaker 1: are given a copy of the scriptures because you don't
49:26
Speaker 1: run into any snakes unless it's a symbol of something
49:30
Speaker 1: you need to know about and then God will tell
49:32
Speaker 1: you what that is. We got a confused world going
49:36
Speaker 1: on around us, folks. Doesn't mean we're proud and smug.
49:39
Speaker 1: It breaks our hearts. It means we care very much
49:42
Speaker 1: about those who hear bumps in the night and can't
49:45
Speaker 1: sleep and who worry when they're all alone and it's dark.
49:51
Speaker 1: They see all these films and all these games they
49:53
Speaker 1: play with demonic influence and they're scared. You know the
49:58
Speaker 1: only good thing? That their fright will lead them to
50:03
Speaker 1: their knees. They'll come to the Savior. That's about it.
50:10
Speaker 1: Maybe you've never in your life heard a message quite
50:15
Speaker 1: like this. Maybe it's just enough to tweak your interest
50:19
Speaker 1: to open the other 65 books. But you need Christ
50:25
Speaker 1: to have him help you make sense of it, to
50:29
Speaker 1: keep you in balance, to guard you against foolish extremes
50:33
Speaker 1: and needless fears. You know the good news? He's available.
50:37
Speaker 1: He's available. He's willing. He's not willing that any should perish.
50:45
Speaker 1: He doesn't want anyone to perish. But all to come
50:48
Speaker 1: to repentance. That's got your name all over it. We
50:53
Speaker 1: exist to help people just like you. And I give
50:57
Speaker 1: you my word. Nobody will ever put you down in
51:00
Speaker 1: stone briar. Because you made a mess of your life.
51:04
Speaker 1: We've all made a mess of our lives. Thankfully Christ did.
51:11
Speaker 1: Rescued us. Wouldn't you like to know. Someone who accepts
51:16
Speaker 1: you just like you are. Give him your life. Guarantee
51:21
Speaker 1: a ticket to glory. Free yourself from all of the
51:25
Speaker 1: terrible things yet future. Talk to us. Connect with us.
51:32
Speaker 1: Write us. Communicate. Let us hear from you. We'll guard your.
51:40
Speaker 1: and we'll help you get back on your feet. I
51:48
Speaker 1: want to thank you today, Lord, for the truth that
51:51
Speaker 1: you have so carefully preserved. Thank you for devoted, quiet,
51:58
Speaker 1: yet great-hearted men and women. Some of them scholars, some
52:05
Speaker 1: of them not. Thank you for faithful peasants. for simple
52:11
Speaker 1: people who just realized that the truth is God's truth.
52:19
Speaker 1: And as we look back into our heritage, we just
52:21
Speaker 1: see a whole row of them. We thank you for
52:24
Speaker 1: saving them and then leading them to teach us so
52:29
Speaker 1: we'd believe. Deliver us, our Father, from the chaos of
52:35
Speaker 1: panic and the numerous fears that drive people crazy. nuts
52:40
Speaker 1: these days. Help us in the peace we find in
52:44
Speaker 1: Christ to grow in our passion for those who don't
52:47
Speaker 1: know you and give us courage to tell them graciously
52:53
Speaker 1: about the Savior. I pray for anyone who's hearing these
52:58
Speaker 1: words right now that you would reduce them to submission,
53:03
Speaker 1: bring them to a place of humility where they'll acknowledge
53:07
Speaker 1: that they're lost and And they'll turn to you and
53:10
Speaker 1: your son. It's in his name we have met. It's
53:15
Speaker 1: him we worship. And it's because of him we pray.
53:20
Speaker 1: Even the name of Christ our Lord. Everybody sit. Amen.
53:37
Speaker 2: And the sound recording was copyrighted in 2024 by Charles R.
53:41
Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
53:45
Speaker 2: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
53:50
Speaker 2: In the preceding message, Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. is grateful
53:54
Speaker 2: to Moody Publishers for permission to quote from the book
53:57
Speaker 2: New Testament Commentary, Revelation 12-22 by John MacArthur, copyrighted in
54:01
Speaker 2: 2000 by John MacArthur, Jr.