Beyond Today Television Program

Unmasked: Satan and the Beast of Revelation - Part 5

Jun 25, 2023

Listen

The Bible reveals a man known as the Beast. Under Satan’s sway he will deceive nearly all the world.

[Steve Myers] We have to ask ourselves, do I live my life the way that Jesus Christ lived His life? And so you see what it comes down to, this is a war on your mind, on your thinking, on your loyalties. You're going to let your eyes deceive you or you're going to believe the word of God and follow Jesus Christ.

[Narrator] Join our presenters from the United Church of God as we bring you hope for today and hope for tomorrow directly from your Bible here on "Beyond Today."

[Steve Myers] Today's prophecy is about the devil. It's an unusual program that we're going to deal with today. Have you ever thought about the devil in Bible prophecy? Oftentimes you don't consider it that way but when we look at the book of Revelation, we begin to see some of the devil's main objectives. Revelation, in the sense, holds a key.

We recognize the fact that Satan hates mankind and there is coming wrath and future deception. But prophecy shows it's not just a future thing. It's not just something often the distance. It's something that impacts you even today. And so when we look to the book of Revelation, we begin to find that it starts to explain the devil's motivation.

You ever wondered why does the devil do what he does? Well, Revelation begins to define some of those aspects of what he does and why. And so we'll spend a lot of time today in Revelation chapter 12, in Revelation chapter 13. And so beginning in chapter 12 notice what it says about the devil in prophecy. It says, "A great sign appeared in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a garland of 12 stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth." So it begins with this kind of fantastical language, strange images, and the book of Revelation holds many of those types of images. But remember, they tell an important story. This is symbolic. And so today we're going to examine some of the symbolism in Revelation, break it down and begin to recognize Satan's influence not only in the future, but today as well.

Now as chapter 12 begins, you get an idea. This is talking about Mary being in labor at the birth of Christ, but there's more, there's more to the story. It also recalls the history of ancient Israel. Go back to the patriarch Joseph. You may remember Joseph and his dream coat. He had many dreams and he talked to his family about those dreams and one of those important dreams he told his family about the sun the moon, and the stars that bowed down to him. And so that's back in Genesis 37. Here we find similar symbolism and those stories connect. From them ancient Israel developed. Now if you fast forward to Revelation, this woman symbolizes even more, more than just Joseph's family. The son chosen to be the light of the world representative of not only Christ but God's people as well. Look at Revelation 12. We look back at this again, what is it that's clothed with these symbols? Not only Mary who is going to give birth, but this woman that now has expanded the symbolism to include God's chosen people, spiritual Israel. That would be the one true church of God. And so as we look back, look at verse five in Revelation 12, it talks about the time the Messiah would be born. And so it says in verse five, "She bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Her child was caught up to God and His throne." And so we find the birth of Christ and also the resurrection of Jesus Christ. All kind of rolled up into this one verse.

But it's also interesting to find what happened when Christ was going to be born. What was the devil's perspective and what does the devil have to do with any of this? Well, verse four begins to give us some insight. Here, it says, "The devil, the dragon, Satan," verse four, "Stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her child as soon as it was born."

Now, you realize that literally happened. That wasn't just symbolic, if you go to the gospels, go to Matthew, Mark, Luke, it records how Satan declared war in a sense. He influenced the leader of the time, Herod, that was the Jew’s Roman appointed king. And what did he'd want to do? He wanted to eliminate any potential threat to his throne. And so Satan used him to try to undermine God's plan.

So when you read about that in let's say the book of Matthew, Matthew 2 it says that Herod slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts all around those from two years old and under. And yet God wasn't about to allow the Messiah to be killed. And so God helped Mary, Joseph and Jesus and the family escaped to Egypt until Herod died. Now, as you look at what it says in Revelation, though it's interesting we've got additional aspects of that particular prophecy. And just like Satan was prevented from destroying Christ, he's going to be prevented from demolishing this woman that it's talking about the church. God's not going to allow that. And so in verse six, it begins to describe that. It says, "The woman fled into the wilderness." Well, that literally happened to Mary. But future prophecy, speaking of the church it says where she has a place prepared of God. And so it's interesting when we begin to put the pieces together, recognize what that symbolism represents.

God protects his people from Satan but that's not the end of the story. Satan's not going to give up. He relentlessly wants to persecute the church. He wants to demolish God's plan. He wants to do away with any chance that God would succeed. And so at this time he's going to try to kill God's people at the end. And he's going to bring an all out war against God, against His angels and against humanity as well. And Revelation describes that in verse seven. It tells us, "War broke out in heaven." What was the outcome? It says, "But the great dragon was cast out that serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world and he was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him." So that's describing a time that's just ahead of us. That's coming just shortly before Christ returns to earth. In fact, verse 10 reminds us of that Christ it says, is going to bring salvation and strength in the Kingdom of God. So Satan won't succeed. But it's interesting that on the horizon we find this battle that's going to take place, spiritual battle. And yet the devil is going to be cast down. And verse 12 says, "Woe, to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea for the devil has come down to you with great wrath because he knows he has a short time."

So when you begin to think about the symbolism of Revelation, the prophecy of Satan and what his plans and purposes are all about, well what's going to happen when he loses that battle with God's angels? Well, he turns and he directs his rage at the people of God. Remember, that's symbolic of that woman. And of course connecting back to Joseph and God's people. Today, God's people are known as the Israel of God. Galatians 6:16 tells us that, that it's not just physical Israel but this is spiritual Israel, the spiritual people of God, the members of God's church.

And so it might cause you to step back. Well, am I part of the Israel of God? Am I a spiritual Israelite? You see, Revelation certainly focuses your thinking in that way, that to be a part of God's people, we have to be followers of God. And so Satan's not going to just war against the natural descendants the offspring of ancient Israel, not just those at the birth of Christ, but the rest of her offspring. It says right here in chapter 12 verse 17, he's going to war against the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. That tells us he is going to be fearsome with those who keep the commandments, commandment keeping Christian, those who keep the teachings of Christ, those true Christians that follow the commandments. Does that describe you? Christ specifically warned about those who claim to be Christian and yet don't keep the commandments. Christ even warned against this coming battle against Satan. In Matthew 24 he describes this time that God's people will be under attack. In verse nine of chapter 24 in Matthew here's what Christ Himself said, "They will deliver you up to tribulation. They'll kill you and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake." And so we find some of God's people will be protected, some will survive the attack, others will be martyred. It almost makes you wonder, well, how could that even take place? How could the world turn into a place where true Christians are hunted down and killed? Well, the book of Revelation describes this. We see Satan in prophecy in Revelation 13. We see the story becomes a little clearer.

Notice what it tells us in verse one of chapter 13. Here we have revealed a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and 10 horns, and on his horns 10 crowns and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now, what could that possibly be? Amazing language that's used here. We certainly see it's a beast. It's like a wild animal, but it has power and control. So it's not talking about animals, it's talking about government. It's talking about world power. It's talking about a geopolitical powerhouse that will control the world an end time revival of the Roman Empire. And we see it's described as an animal I think for a particular reason. How can it be so powerful? Well, verse two says, "His power, his throne is great authority comes from the dragon." This is by the power of Satan. And so no wonder it's got the characteristics of a leopard, a bear and a lion. And it's really an indication of how powerful his influence really is because it describes the power that this whole system has by utilizing Satan's power. Chapter three or chapter 13:3 reminds us of that. It says, "All the world marveled and followed the beast." They all fell in line in other words, here it says, they say, "Who's like the beast who's able to make war with him." And it goes on to say, "Authority was given to him. The beast power over every tribe, tongue and nation." That's all encompassing. So here we find not only a system a government being described, a superpower but also a human being who's in charge. That's also called the beast. That's a dictator, a president, perhaps a prime minister a chancellor, an emperor, perhaps that one individual over this beast world superpower all under the authority of Satan. And he's going to use this empire and he's going to use it as a principle weapon against Jesus Christ and warring against the people of God.

And here's where we get into recognizing the real motivation that Satan has behind all of this. I mean, what's his purpose? What is his scheme? Why does he want to do this? When we look at verse eight of chapter 13 gives us insight to that. It says, "All who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names have not been written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world." There it is. There's that key to his motivation. It's worship. And so imagine the worldwide worship of the beast literally of the being behind the beast. Satan, the devil himself. He'll give this coming dictator the power to transform things to look like they're good, look like they're wonderful and ultimately use not only political power, not only military power who's like the beast, but also you've got a worldwide religious crusade in a way that is just on the horizon. And so when you think about that, why would that take place? How would it happen? What would be the means for that happening? Well, Revelation holds a key to that as well.

We read a little bit further in chapter 13 and we see another beast described another one. Let's notice what it says in verse 11. Revelation 13, it says, "I saw another beast coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon." Then it says, "He made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast." So who's this second beast? Well, once again, we see it's a tool of Satan and he uses his position, his authority to influence mankind to worship the first beast the emperor, the president, the leader. And he's going to persuade the masses. But you wonder, well, how could that be? It's obviously going to be false religion. This isn't going to be godly, but like Satan he'll be a skillful deceiver and he's going to be directly manipulated and empowered by Satan the devil. In fact, we see some of Satan's power come through. Verse 13 is an indication of that. Why would people believe it? Well, notice what it says. It says, "He performs great signs so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth and cause as many who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed." And so you have a very powerful false religious leader who can do things that seem like amazing miracles. I mean, other sections of scripture call him the false prophet. Well, he's a leader of a false religious system. The Apostle Paul called him the lawless one.

Second Thessalonians chapter two tells us that his working is according to Satan and he has powers and signs and lying wonders. But why would people fall for that? Well, sometimes you've probably heard the saying seeing is believing and they're taken in by that. The Thessalonians also gives us another key. They forfeit the truth because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved.

Do you love the truth? Do you know the truth? You see, not only knowing the truth but following the truth. We have to ask ourselves, do I really follow the truth that Jesus Christ himself taught? Do I live my life the way that Jesus Christ lived His life? And so you see what it comes down to, this is a war on your mind, on your thinking, on your loyalties. You're going to let your eyes deceive you or you're going to believe the word of God and follow Jesus Christ. You see some people read the book of Revelation and they say, "Ah, this is all fanciful language and symbolism and you can't believe this is actually going to happen. Can you believe this? Really, could it happen? It doesn't seem possible in our modern times." Well, we know emperor worship certainly was a thing in the past. Go back to the Roman Empire. The emperors were to be worshiped as gods. Well that was a long time ago, right? Well, not that long ago, just go back to World War II.

The Japanese people were required to worship their emperor as a god. And we know the story through the decades. There are leaders, false religious leaders that deceive their own disciples to kill themselves at their leaders' request. So history obviously proves it's all too possible. And so the second beast represents himself like a lamb. Well, we think of Christ as the Lamb of God. Yet how does he talk? How does he speak like a dragon, the devil reminds us Satan transforms himself. And here we find it's not just religion, it's not just taking in the world by false worship, but there's control. In fact, the world is seduced so that they fall into line in commerce business. In fact, verse 17 says, no one may buy or sell except the one who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. And so here we see Satan's motivation not only to be worshiped, but he wants spiritual control of humanity. And so there's a warning, there's a warning.

We're all given verse nine, if anyone worships the beast and his image receives his mark says they shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God. So what will you do? Certainly there is judgment on the people who follow the ways of Satan. And yet to the very end, Satan is going to pursue the people, pursue humanity, try to subvert the plan of God, subvert the true church of God and God's people. Those that serve and obey God. Well, who are those people? Can I claim to be one of those people one of those who are loyal to God Almighty? Well, you read through scripture it becomes very plain Revelation, makes it plain. These are commandment keeping Christians. These are people who follow faithfully Jesus Christ and His teachings instead of following the beast.

Well that applies right now, right now. In fact, go right to the very end of the book. Revelation 22:14 says, "Blessed are those who do his commandments." So we have to be doers of the word of God. And yet so many religions today say, "God's commandments are done away." But here we find true commandment keeping Christians. They're the ones. They're the ones that Satan attacks. And yet at the same time, they're the ones who have every reason to be confident in the outcome. These are commandment keeping Christians who love God, who love Jesus Christ, who follow His teachings, who obey God, who like Christ, obey the Sabbath and keep the Sabbath. And so here's the challenge the challenge that we're faced with today. Satan's kingdom is found on a form of godliness. And most people don't realize that religion, most religion today, has consistently substituted ungodly false traditions that began in ancient times, to do away with the commandments of God. So it's not just a prophetic thing in the future. This is something that's been ongoing. And so it has influenced Christianity. They've substituted the day of the sun, Sunday originally dedicated by the pagans for worshiping the God of the sun and it replaced the Biblical Sabbath. And so you look to the traditions of Christianity today, keeping Christmas, another form of ancient traditions celebrating the winter solstice.

You see it's unbiblical to adopt those days as Christian, no possible connection to the birth of Christ in Christmas. And so Christ warned about it, we find in Mark 7:7 He made no mistake about it. He said, "In vain they worship me teaching as doctrines the commandments of man." He went on to say, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition." And so when we read the book of Revelation, we recognize the fact we need to be commandment keeping Christians, that ultimately Christ will return to earth. The kingdom of the beast will be destroyed and dismantled. They're going to be stopped. Satan will no longer be able to manipulate and deceive and that war of Satan will ultimately come to an end. And Revelation 20:10 tells us that very fact, "The devil who deceived him will be cast into the lake of fire."

You need to understand this amazing symbolism in the Book of Revelation. It may sound confusing, but I'd like to help you to be able to understand. And so we have a Bible study aid called "The Book of Revelation Unveiled." You see, there's so much to understand and this study aid will help you dig into your Bible and into the Book of Revelation to really understand. So call us at the number on your screen to get your free copy of "The Book of Revelation Unveiled." Or you can go to beyondtoday.tv. There you can read it right there online or download your own copy because there is no doubt future prophecy will affect you and your family and it's in the works right now. So what will you do? Well, our study aid will help you sort out all the symbolism and come to an understanding. And through our program today, we're finishing up our series on "Satan The Devil." So be sure and order your free copy. Call us at the number on your screen or go to beyondtoday.tv. "Satan Unmasked," It's been the title of our series.

It reminds us never underestimate the sinful skill that Satan uses to deceive in war against you and against all humanity. Don't fall for that delusion. Get rid of those unbiblical practices as you come to find them in your life. We know Satan goes to church. We know he's subverted Christianity and he wants to control the message and you as well. In the future, he'll empower the beast against God's people. But there is hope. There is hope. We are told in James 4:7, "Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." I pray that you choose to dedicate yourself to discovering the true worship of the one true God.

[Narrator] Please call for today's free offer, "The book of Revelation Unveiled." Revelation is God's newscast of events before they happen, you'll read about the mark and number of the beasts as well as the work of God's two witnesses at the time of the end. Order now call toll-free 1-888-886-8632 or write to the address shown on your screen. You can understand Revelation and how it actually reveals a coming world filled with promise, joy, and peace. It's a book about your future.

When you order this free study aid, we'll also send you a complimentary one year subscription to our Beyond Today magazine. The Beyond Today Magazine brings you understanding of today's world and hope for the future. Six times a year you'll read about current world events in light of Bible prophecy as well as practical knowledge to improve your marriage and family. Call today to receive your free booklet, "The Book of Revelation Unveiled" and your free one year subscription to Beyond Today Magazine. 1-888-886-8632 or go online to beyondtoday.tv.

[Gary Petty] In today's world of confusion disorder and suffering, fellowshipping with others and learning the truth from God's word is more important than ever. Hi, I'm Gary Petty, a pastor with the United Church of God. If you are looking for a church that encourages living with the word of God really teaches you found the right place. We're a community of believers dedicated to seeking the truth and preaching the good news of the coming kingdom of God. We'd like to welcome you to come and join us on this spiritual journey. We have hundreds of congregations around the United States and across the world. Visit ucg.org to find a church near you. We're looking forward to meeting you soon.

Like what you see?

Create a free account to get more like this

Create a free account

or sign in

The Book of Revelation Unveiled

Steve Myers

Steve is the Operation Manager for the Ministerial and Member Services department of the United Church of God. He is also an instructor at Ambassador Bible College as well as a host on the Beyond Today television program. Together, he and his wife, Kathe, have served God and His people for over 25 years.

Related Media

Given In

Cincinnati East, OH

The Beast and Its Mark

Aug 1, 2020

Steve Myers

Listen

Who is the end-time Beast? What is the Mark of the Beast? What does it have to do with the coronavirus? This sermon delves into Revelation to answer those questions from a Biblical perspective.

Transcript

[Steve Myers] I know when you begin contemplating what in the world is going on these days, so many different things come to mind. It doesn't seem like you can avoid it in so many ways, whether it's a notification on your phone or you turn on the news. They're constantly talking about the issues and the problems, the problems with the economy, the problems with national GDP. And then you hear this report about one thing, and then this report on the other hand, and they're conflicting. Well is this fake news, or is that fake news, or what is real? And then there are the challenges with peoples' jobs, and of course the pandemic. I think it just continues to point to the fact that we live in such a time of confusion and trouble and this unsurety that we face.

And then it's always interesting to hear a little story here or there that tries to relate these things to the Bible. Have you heard some of those things? And most oftentimes, where do they direct their attention when it comes to these times of trouble and confusion and the Bible? It seems they always go to Revelation, don't they? They seem to go to Revelation, and you hear different stories about different things. And then there's this mark of the beast thing, and there's this beast that's going to be out there, and then watch out, because there's the coronavirus. And somehow they're all intersecting.

And so when you begin to think about that, how do you sort that out? Because it's interesting the connections that people try to make. And sometimes I think we forget the overall picture. When you really get down to it, what are we really fighting against? I mean, it's the greatest villain of all time. I mean, if you had to pick, who's the greatest evil beast of the whole Bible, well, that's an easy one, right? It's got to be Satan. It's got to be Satan the devil. We know the story. We know that time and time ago he rebelled against God, and he took a third of the angels with him. And that rebellion has intensified more and more and continues right to this day. He deceived the first man and woman, and we know he is the most subtle, deceitful, shrewd, cunning creature that there is.

And so over and over again he slanders God. He blasphemes. He tries to undermine His people. And he tries to undermine the plan of God and the plan of salvation, what God's purpose is all about. And in all of that, if you had to describe what is his goal, what would it be? What is Satan's goal? I mean, ultimately, he wants to be sovereign. He wants to be God. He wants to be in charge. Now, do you think he knows that that's not going to happen? Or is he just totally ignorant?

I mean, we know that demons can know scripture, right? He knows. He knows God's got it in for him and this is not going to work. And so what's his reaction to that? I mean, realizing he can't replace God, he'll never be God, he wants to try to undermine God's purpose, His plan of redemption, salvation itself, and destroy us, destroy God's people. And in the meantime, what does he really want? If we break it all down, the bottom line, what does Satan want? He wants to be worshipped, doesn't he? He wants to get the glory. He wants the honor. He wants the adulations. He wants to be adored. He wants to be loved. So how in the world is that going to happen?

He wants to realize that through human beings, through people, he can make it happen. And so through human beings, he wants that honor, and that love, and that recognition. And so when you look at Revelation, it speaks over and over and over about how they will come about. Revelation 13 begins that story showing how Satan will manipulate people to bring about his honor. So take a look at Revelation 13. Probably a familiar story because it begins with a key concept that we have to keep in mind. As we face all of the information that's out there and misinformation, news and fake news, true biblical things, and the phonies, the fakes, the counterfeits that are out there, keeping the overriding theme in mind will definitely help us.

So what's the theme as we look at Revelation 13 and beyond? Well the central idea when it comes to the beast, the number, his name, the mark, all of those things, it takes us back to worshipping the leader. Emperor worship, worshipping the king, absolute devotion to the leader is really what it comes down to. So Revelation 13 begins there. Now, this just lies ahead of us, and it describes the beast. What is the beast? Well this end-time beast, is it a person, or is it a government?

Yes, it is. It's both. The beast is a person. It's an individual. It's a ruler. It's a king. But it's also a government. It's also this geopolitical system. You could say it's a confederation of nations that are working together. So we've got the government and its leader being described in chapter 13. So look at verse 1. John stands on the sea, on the sand at the seashore, and what does he see? “A beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads, ten horns, horns on ten crowns… heads… and on his heads a blasphemous name.” So you can see how he's insulting God, cursing all, speaking evil.

And where is that all coming from? Well, it's not just from the person. It's not just from this governmental system. We see verse 4. “They worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, ‘Who's like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’” And so we have this coming government system with its leader that gets its authority from where? From Satan. The dragon gave him his power. We see that in verse 2, verse 4. It's repeated over and over. Now is that something new? Is this something that's, like, never happened before in history?

This isn't new. Go back to Babylon. Go back to the first world-ruling empire, you might say. Who's the power behind the power there? Satan. Did Satan use Nimrod to go against God? Absolutely. Did he use Babylon in that way? No doubt. And so we begin to see that really clearly that Satan has used kings and emperors and governments to help him achieve his goals. And it's no different as we look just down the line. And behind it, all, remember his goal? I mean, we see it right here. Look at verse 8, “All who dwell on the earth will worship him.” Not just the king, not just the system, but the power behind the king, the dragon, Satan himself.

Verse 12 says the same thing. At the end of verse 12, “all who dwell in it worship the first beast,” because that's his goal. And in fact, even when a second beast comes along that's mentioned in verse 11, they work in tandem. They work together. And this second beast isn't a government. It's not just an individual. But we find a cohort here. Let's notice what it says in verse 11, another beast coming out of the earth. So this one is not in the sea. This one comes out of the earth. We see it's a little bit different in that way. And what about this one? Well, “he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.” What could be harmful about a little lamb, right? It's not even a sheep, right? It's this nice little fluffy little lamb. Seems innocent, seems nice. What could be harmful about that? That's what it seems like. But what's the reality behind this power? Same. Same thing. Dragon is behind this one. Satan is behind this one.

So what we find is this beast, this individual, also known as the false prophet, also known as the one who is the man of sin, the son of perdition. The Bible has lots of names for this beast because this individual causes people to worship the king, the emperor. And so here we find the government and religion working together, working together to deceive the people. Now has that ever happened before in history? Absolutely. Church and state working together. It's the story of Europe. And it's happened time and time and time again.

And so it's the same old story, different players, but the same power behind what's going on. And so we find this individual, this beast, this man of sin, this false prophet imitates Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, so this one looks like a lamb but is not a lamb. This is the power of Satan the devil working through the false prophet. And so even though it looks good, it looks right, it's imitating and faking and counterfeiting the true Lamb of God, and gets its power from the devil. And of course, as we being to think about that we can see how this power is defined.

And something that comes into play that maybe we haven't really considered as we think about these things coming down the line, maybe sooner than later, and I think we can find an interesting insight. Hold your place here in Revelation 13, and take a look at 1 John 4. 1 John 4, right near the beginning of that chapter, we'll look at verse 2. As John talks about false prophets certainly harkens to this time that lies ahead when the false prophet will be on the scene, but he makes an interesting statement in verse 2. He says this. "By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God." Okay. What is that referring to then?

Well, it's not just saying, okay, I believe in Jesus. It's not just saying that, but it's recognizing something special here. It's recognizing the fact that Jesus Christ was Emmanuel. He was God in the flesh. He wasn't just a great prophet. He wasn't just a great rabbi. Not just an interesting teacher. But He was God in the flesh. And you live your life according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. That's what that's recognizing. So when we recognize Christ has come, well that talks about the plan of God. I have a Savior. I have a Messiah who died for me. God died for me that I might have life, eternal life in the Kingdom of God, in His family. That's the plan. That's the purpose kind of all in a little nutshell there.

But on the other hand, look at verse 3. "Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world." Now sometimes this false prophet is referred to as the Antichrist, or sometimes even the beast, the emperor, the king is referred to as the Antichrist. And if we put this section of scripture and connect it to what we're reading in Revelation 13, I think it throws an interesting light on what they could be teaching and saying.

Consider. Will the Antichrist, will this system, will the beast, the emperor, the false prophet proclaim that Jesus Christ has not come? “That guy you heard about, that's not the real deal. We're the real deal. You've heard of the two witnesses. Well, here we are. Don't fall for that phony story about Jesus Christ coming in the flesh. That hasn't happened yet.” So when we read Revelation we certainly find a self-proclaimed prophet that's come among us that is the new messiah, the new savior, the one that will bring us peace, the one that will bring us prosperity, the one that will bring hope to mankind. He'll appear on the scene, and what will happen to this messiah? He's going to be worshipped. He's going to be worshipped like he is God in the flesh even though it's just all a ruse. It's all fake. It's all phony.

And when we talk about worshipping Revelation 13, we read that word "worshipped." Proskuneo is the Greek word. Yeah, it literally means you bow down. You get down on your knees. You are prostrate before this individual. You're doing obeisance because they are the great one. They are the ruler. They are the leaders. And so you pay homage to them. That's what this worshipping is all about. In fact, that word also carries another very… I find it so very interesting. When you get into some of the wording, this Greek word proskuneo, yes, it can mean to lay down on your hands and knees and touch the head to the ground in showing reverence. Of course, that's what Satan wants. That's what the beast wants. That's what the emperor wants. That's what the false prophet is encouraging. Absolutely.

But that word can also mean to kiss the hand. To kiss the hand. Have you ever seen people that are paying homage to others, and they go up and they kiss their hand or they kiss the ring? Yeah, we've seen things like that, showing respect in that way. And in fact, it's not just something that's going to be encouraged. It's more than that. In fact, if you're still there in Revelation 13, notice verse 15. This shows the severity of the expectation when it comes to showing reverence to the king and the power. Revelation 13:15. It says “He was granted the power to give breath to the image of the beast,” of course this is the false prophet, “that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

So it's not just a nice idea that you worship the king. You do this or die. That's going to be the option in the future. And so the false prophet is going to work in coalition with the beast power to have the king worshipped. And so the world will be forced to worship the beast who's ultimately energized by Satan the devil. And if you don't you'll be killed. We see that happen. We fast forward, if we would, Revelation 11 talks about the two witnesses that are killed. God's witnesses, God's representatives are killed because they won't bow down. They won't pay respect. They won't do homage, and so they are killed. And so could the beast deceive the world into believing they're the witnesses, and the real witnesses are the phonies?

And so when we recognize that I think it begins to set the frame for how we view this entire section of scripture because it's not only worship and be killed. There's something else that's connected to that just a couple of verses later. Take a look at verse 16, Revelation 13:16. Yes, you have to worship the king and the beast. You have to pay homage or be killed. But then verse 16 talks about another aspect. It says “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Verse 18. “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate,” literally count “the number of the beast, for it's the number of a man: His number is 666.” Probably the most infamous number in all history right there, 666.

Have you heard any speculation about this particular mark or this number? Probably. There's a lot going around right now about what that might mean. Now if you look in the Greek, this is charagma. Charagma is a stamp, literally a stamp or a brand, or it could be connected to an etching. That's the literal meaning of the word. And of course, that brings to mind, especially when we take the context of Scripture here, slaves in ancient Babylon were marked. They were branded or tattooed on their face or on the back of their hands. History has shown us that is certainly the case.

Now is there a connection to ancient Babylon and this beast system that lies ahead? Well of course there is. Of course, there is. We recognize that Satan has worked through these various systems throughout time, and these different world-ruling empires have been influenced by Satan the devil. And so we know that when this next resurrection of this empire comes, there's a parallel here. There's a connection here between that first beast of Babylon and the last one, this last Roman beast that's on the way.

And so we see this literal mark somehow translates to today, and some kind of connection is made here. So what is it? Some try to connect the coronavirus to 666, that it must be the mark of the beast, or maybe the vaccine, the immunization that they're working on. That's going to be the mark of the beast. And the number is obvious, right? How about corona itself? C-O-R-O-N-A. Six. There's your first six. And of course, if you're into numerology, what does that, where you assign a number to every letter of the alphabet, right? A would be 1, B would be 2, C 3, O 15, R 18, back to O again, 15, N 14, A 1. Add it all up. Sixty-six. So you have corona, 6, and 66. Obviously, this is the number of the beast, right? Really? All right, we're going to talk about that in a moment. But you probably heard things like that. They're out there. They're out there.

What we tend to forget is what this book of Revelation is all about. It's a book of revealing. It's to reveal God's plan, to reveal His purpose, not to hide it or shroud it in some talk that maybe it could be this or that, or we'd better watch out. You see, who was this letter written to initially? Yes, it's written to us by extension, no doubt about that. There are wonderful things that apply to now and things that lie just ahead of us. But don't forget this letter was written at the end of the first century. And who was it written to? It was written to the seven churches. They're described at the end of chapter 2 and chapter 3, those seven churches in Asia Minor. And so if we forget the context of this letter, we're going to forget how we interpret it.

And what's on God's mind as He reveals? Worship. You see, at that time, the way of worship was the Roman imperial cult. That was worship of the day. And if you study history, I know you have, maybe you haven't thought about it for a while, but what did they like to do with the Roman emperors who died? Other than bury them, other than that. Well, they would deify them, wouldn't they? They would be gods. And so oftentimes after they died, a Caesar would then be worshipped as a god, and the Roman citizens would honor him and worship him. Good example: Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar died. What happened afterward? They deified him. Caesar is now a god. And so they put him in the whole pantheon of gods and worshipped him too. And of course, the son comes along, Augustus. Guess what title he took? Son of god. Augustus was son of god.

Now study history. It's interesting. Many Greeks, especially when you get to the eastern parts of the Roman Empire, they got ahead of the game a little bit. And so instead of waiting, they began worshipping the emperor before he died. While he was still alive, many of those individuals would worship the king, worship Caesar, worship the emperor. You know that to be true. Just read the book of Ephesus. When you read the book of Ephesus, Ephesians, Ephesus worshipped the Roman imperial cult. They worshipped Caesar. It was a problem in Ephesus. It wasn't any different in Smyrna. It wasn't any different in Pergamum. In fact, the other seven churches, pretty much the same. They had that issue.

And of course, the real tyrannical emperors, the really oppressive ones, they didn't wait for the Greeks to worship them. They demanded it while they were still alive. A good example of that: Nero and the man who followed him, Domitian. They demanded worship while they were still alive. In fact, Domitian demanded to be addressed as both lord and god. Do you think they were serious about this cult? Absolutely. It was all wrapped around worshipping the emperor.

Now we read about the mark of the beast. What's connected to that? Worship. Worship is connected to that. Worshipping, in this case, the beast's image, and by extension the beast, and then by further extension, the dragon, Satan. And so put yourself in first-century Rome. Do you think Caesar's image was anywhere to be found? If you've ever seen pictures or ever visited Italy, wow. You got statues everywhere, busts of Caesar here and there. Then you got the coins. Whose face was on the coin? Well, even Christ drew attention to that, right? It was Caesar's image right there on the coins. It was everywhere. And not just the image but the whole claim to divinity. Claiming to be a god was right there before them.

And of course even back in that day, if you wanted to go to the agora, in Greek it would be the marketplace, the forum. You want to go to the forum. You want to buy and sell your goods in the marketplace. Well, they had various guilds. So might be of the leather guild so you could sell your tents and leather goods. Or you might be a fisherman, and you're of the fishing guild, and you come and bring your goods to the forum where you can sell them to the people. Well in order to do that, you had to be a part of the trade guild. You had to be a part of the group, a part of the organization, in other words.

And oftentimes these organizations had special celebrations. If you wanted to be in the guild, you wanted to be in the gang, you had to participate in these feasts, in these celebrations. And what do you think they were honoring? Well, pagan gods. And who do you think would be right among them? Caesar. The emperor would be right there. So if you wanted to buy or sell, you'd better worship the emperor. You'd better honor the king.

And so when we read that in Revelation 13:17, this wouldn't be a shock to a first-century reader. Well yeah, this makes sense. When it talks about buying and selling, literally what that's saying in the Greek is going to market. You want to go to market? You want to go to Walmart? You want to go to Meijer? You want to go to Kroger? What's the delineating factor? Worship. It's worship. First-century people took the mark of the beast by participating in the economy, buying and selling. And so your relationship to the imperial cult and worshipping the king impacted your ability to take part in buying and selling, in the economy, right? You couldn't trade. You couldn't redeem. So it's really interesting how that is all impacted.

So if you wanted to be a good citizen, just curse Christ, accept Caesar. Well, in fact, you don't even have to exclusively worship Caesar. You could just include him in all the rest of the gods. If you want to throw Christ in there, that'd be okay too, but just make sure you're worshipping Caesar, worshipping the other gods, and it's okay. So sometimes it wasn't exclusivity either. Just throw Christ in with the other gods, and that'll be okay. Well, you can't do that as a Christian, and that's the key. That's the key is participating in the economy, in buying and selling at the expense of your faith, giving up your faith in God, giving up trusting Jesus Christ. And so we see that happening throughout the empire. That's what the context was all about.

And it won't be any different in the future. In the future, it will come down to worshipping the king, the emperor, the president, the leader, or you can't shop, you can't barter, you can't sell, you can't buy what you need. You're going to need that proof to engage in business. Now, okay, could it be a literal stamp, a literal mark? Possibly. But it seems to indicate something more figurative, a counterfeit, a manipulation, a mental stamp of ownership. Who owns you? Does the king own you? Does the system own you? Or do you belong to God? That's the question. And I can't help but think of that old political saying from a number of years ago. Do you remember? It was the statement of the election. "It's the economy, stupid." Remember that phrase? Yeah, that's what it comes down to. Worship the beast, worship the king, or you won't be able to participate in the economy. You can't be a part of it.

And it's interesting how in this section of scripture it includes body parts to identify how this mark is received. And of course here, what does it say? In your hand and head. Figuratively you hand your actions, your head. Well, that's where I think, in my thought and my deeds. It's reflected in what I think and what I do. Where's my loyalty? Where am I thinking my loyalty is? If it's to God the Father and Jesus Christ, it'd better show in my actions. That's the identifying factor. So this sign identifies you as who you already are, really.

So are you a person of the dragon or a child of God? That's what it's going to come down to. And of course, people want to try to get it right down to the exact. Well, what exactly, when you get right down to it, what is it? Okay, that's where we have a tendency to get off base just a little bit because there are endless, it seems, speculations. And one of the challenges is it brings fear. We worry about these things. I mean, for those of you who have been around for a while, do you remember a time that it was thought that if you accepted a government-mandated social security number, that was the equivalent of taking the mark of the beast? Does anybody remember hearing that? Yeah, that was out there at one time.

Today, it's the Corona vaccine. They're going to give you this vaccine. I've heard, well, maybe there will even be a chip in that vaccine. It'll just be right there inserted under your hand. Really? Is that it? Or is it a tattoo? Or other chip implant? Or maybe it's a SIM card? I've even heard people speculate it's masks. Masks are the mark of the beast. No. None of those things are the mark of the beast. You have to remember the context of the book. If we get away from the context, we're going to misunderstand. Now could they be used in connection to the mark of the beast? Well, yeah, that could be. But the mark means I forsake God. I turn my back on God, and I reject faith in Jesus Christ. So if I have to do that to get the vaccine, well maybe there's a connection there, but of itself, it's nothing.

When we look at the context biblically speaking, the mark of the beast has to be tied to worship. Period. That's it. So could I get tricked into the mark? No. You can't get tricked into it. Look at the biblical context. When we see what the Bible says, it doesn't allow us to think that the mark of the beast is something that I could just accidentally fall into. Not going to be an accident because what is this a mark of? It's a mark of loyalty. It's a mark showing honor. It's a mark that shows worship, either false worship or true worship.

So if you're worshipping, that's something that requires thinking, doesn't it? You have to be involved in that. It requires that you're fully cognizant of what's happening, that you have a heartfelt awareness of what you're doing because if you don't, can you call that worship? If you're not really in the moment knowing, recognizing, praising, honoring? Yeah, you have to know it. So this mark requires full cognizance to take.

And so when you recognize that, when this thing comes along, you're going to know exactly what you're doing. There's no doubt about it. You're going to know it. You're going to know whether you're honoring God or you're cursing God, cursing Christ. Whether you're pledging devotion and continued honor to God or pledging devotion to His enemy, you're going to know. You're going to know.

And, in fact, when you recognize this, I think we begin to see how true worship can't be excluded from this whole equation. It has to be a part of things. In fact, if you turn the page to Revelation 14, it mentions this mark once again. Don't forget emperor worship. Don't forget leader worship. Don't forget this Roman imperial cult that is going to be brought back to life once again. Revelation 14 speaks of that. Look at verse 9. Verse 9 it says, “a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,’" okay, we just read about that in chapter 13. What about somebody that does that? Verse 10, "he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone and the presence of holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb."

That's not good. Not a good thing to pay homage to the king, to the beast, to the emperor. This is bad. To receive that mark and worship his image, it's bad news. It also goes on to say, verse 11, "The smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast in his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." Now that's an interesting comment. They have no rest. They have no rest. What is that talking about? In fact, they reference that again in verse 12, or a little bit later in verse 13. Look at verse 12. We'll read on.

"Here is the patience of the saints." So here we have this compare and contrast. We have those who will be evil, who will worship the beast, worship the dragon. On the other hand, God's people. All right? What about the patience of the saints? "Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." Is this about worship or not? Absolutely it is, isn't it? It's about worshipping God and obeying God, following His way.

Verse 13. "I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.’" So we have another reference to resting, and specifically resting from labors. So interesting. On one hand, we have those that worship the beast, worship the king, and yes, it could mean they literally bow down to an image, to a statue, to maybe a giant statue. Has that ever happened before? Yeah. Remember the time in Daniel? Go back to Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. Remember after Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar his dream? What does he do? He builds a giant statue and says, "Everybody bow down when you hear the music play." Yeah, that's happened before. So it certainly could be that.

Representing the fact if you don't bow down and worship, you're not buying and selling. Certainly, that could be the case. But I think when you look into the context that there's even more here, especially when you look at the Greek words and the construction, the way this is laid out. There's something else that seems to be a part of what's going on, something in addition to just bowing down and worshipping that's connected here, because what is being worshipped here? Well, they're worshipping this statue, this image, this ikon is the Greek word, the ikon which is representative of Caesar, the king, the president, whatever it is via the beast, the dragon. Yes, that's true. They're worshipping that.

But when we read this section of Scripture, it also seems to be connected to how you worship and when we worship because of this word, rest, resting from our labors. And I think here is where obedience to God and keeping His Commandments, and of course there is that Fourth Commandment that is involved with resting from your labors, isn't it? Six days you have to do all your work, all your labor. And what's the seventh day? It's the Sabbath. You rest from your… What is Sabbath observance anyway? It's an act of obedience, isn't it? It's an act of honor and worship. And we can go all the way back to the beginning of the book in the book of Genesis. It tells us there the Sabbath is a sign. It's a sign between God and His people because the Sabbath is certainly how true Christians worship the true God.

And so what we find here, there's a direct correlation between worshipping God, the true God and the true way, and your ability to buy things and sell things. So when we read in verse 11, "There is no rest day or night for those who receive the mark of the beast," all right, does that mean they're just going to be tortured, and they're going to die, and that's it? I think it could mean that, but I think in reading exactly what it says, they have no rest day or night, interesting wording here. In the Greek, this word for rest is not talking about a Sabbath rest, per se, but it's ceasing from work, a cessation of labor or business. Yet they have no break from work. They have no day of rest, do they? They have no day of rest. It's all about the economy, right? That's what it's all about. It's all about the boss. It's all about the king. It's all about the system.

So could it be that those who do accept the mark of the beast don't have a day of rest? In fact, in verse 12 I think it reinforces that concept there that when we stand against the mark of the beast, we take a stand for the commandments of God, not just the Sabbath but all of the commandments of God. So that's why we see that mentioned right here. Here are those who keep the commandments of God. That's what verse 12 says. We keep the commandments of God. And when God's people obey and keep His commandments, whether they're facing persecution, whether they're facing struggle, the pressure, we're going to keep the Sabbath. We're going to obey. And as a result, well it says some will die. Some will be persecuted. Some will be martyred. It says that very clearly. They will die.

And then verse 13, “they may rest from their labors,” yeah, I think that could definitely be pointing to dying and you rest in the grave, no doubt. But remember, I think there is this connection how and when we worship as well here because the Greek would certainly allow this to be understand as, take a look at verse 13, “that they may rest from their labor.” It could allow to be understood as they kept the Sabbath as a day of rest from their labors because ultimately that's why they're martyred. So then their obedience and their good works follow them to the grave. Their works follow them to the grave. And so when we recognize that, we see the beast usurping the authority of God, the First Commandment. You worship the king, worship the beast? The Second Commandment, worshipping icons and idols? Are you crazy? The Third Commandment, the Fourth Commandment, they all tie together.

And so the Sabbath is the command that puts it all together, not only showing how we worship, when we worship, but also identifying who we worship. It's a sign between God and us. We worship the true Creator, God. No wonder the beast is going to hate the saints, because we know the truth, and we live the truth, and we practice the truth. And doing that will help us to escape the ultimate deception.

And so all of this, I believe, is truly important to us. Anybody think we're not edging closer to this time? Do you think that things are pushing on? Any doubt that we're in the midst of prophecy being fulfilled and a step closer to this time of the end? I think the elements are in place. We see them all around us. Yet, we have some time. We have some time. And that's the good news. That's the good news. We have time, and we need to make sure that we have the right mark, or sometimes the Bible calls it a seal, “the seal of God.” We have the seal of God as His people, as his servants.

You might just write down Ezekiel 9. It talks about a time where God's people who were sighing and crying over the abominations of the world at that time in Jerusalem were sealed by God. They had that mark on their foreheads, and that mark is certainly shown by how we worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:21 reminds us of that very fact, that we are the true disciples of Christ who worship and praise and honor God in the way that He wants to be honored. And so we have time. We have time. And if we've found that we've kind of slipped away, that we haven't been doing what we need to be doing, now is the time to repent. Now is the time to change. Now is the time to recognize we can’t, we can't step back. We have to step forward.

Look at Revelation 18:4, just a couple of pages further on. It's a good reminder that we have such a wonderful, awesome Creator who's on our side, who wants the best for us. And what's so wonderful about this? We see this very clearly. Revelation 18:4, "I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, lest you receive her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.’" And so that's a reminder. God is on our side, and we don't have to be overly anxious and let fear take over during these times. We know this is just the beginning of things that will certainly get much worse.

But among all that, we don't have to listen to the fear-mongers. We don't have to be worried. We don't have to worry that somehow this is going to take me by surprise, and I won't know it's even happening, and somehow I'll accidentally turn from… That's not going to happen. Don't get taken in by those wrong ideas of what the Bible really says. God says don't worry about this coming power. Don't worry about one-world government. Don't worry, God is on our side. He's with us. He'll never leave us or forsake us. So let's make sure we're fine-tuning our relationship with God, that we love Him more than ever, that we listen to Him more than ever and read His Word, and we live His truth, and we pray, and we talk to God.

We're not sidetracked, because Satan would love to sidetrack us about fighting over silly things like masks. This is not the time to do anything like that. This is not the time to fight about masks. It's not the time to think somehow the next political candidate is going to save us. Boy, if we elect the wrong person we're all… Come on. Human beings are not going to save this world. We are in the hands of Almighty God, and we'd better stay there and not fall for the deception, not fall for the trickery of the coming beast power and the power behind it, Satan the devil. We can't do that.

And I think at this time, we cannot forsake assembling together. Hebrews talks about that, and some of us have. We've forsaken assembling together. We can't do that. I'm not saying to be unwise. Certainly, during this time there are those that have underlying health conditions, and that doesn't allow them to meet together, but many are not in that position. Have you gone to the store? Have you gone to work? If you've gone to the store and you've gone to work, what's keeping you from church? It shouldn't be like that. What's most important to you? Is something like a mask or the coronavirus, is that going to sidetrack our faith? If we've done those everyday things and we've been out there, we should be here.

Now I'm not saying if you got a health problem that you come to church. That's a legitimate reason not to. But we can't allow staying home to feel so comfortable that we forsake assembling together. This is a commanded assembly of God. It shows who our true King is, where our loyalty really lies. Now, of course, we obey Caesar when it doesn't violate God's commands. So when Caesar says wear a mask, all right. I'll wear a mask. That doesn't violate God's commands. But if they say don't keep the Sabbath, sorry. We got to keep the Sabbath. We've got to obey God rather than man. And don't get those two confused.

And so let's assemble together. Let's be wise. Let's keep a safe distance, certainly. Okay, wear a mask. But don't give up assembling together. That's proclaiming who our Lord and Master really is. And now is not the time to worry about vaccines and what that might mean and all of that type of thing because it all brings us back to what it is the time for. It's the time for spiritual action, that we obey ever more closely to our great God than ever before, and that we rely on His spiritual direction. We rely on His help that much more fully than ever. And so God wants to give us the help to do just that. He's given us His Spirit. So by the power of God's Spirit, we can be completely and absolutely loyal followers of Jesus Christ.

So let's make ourselves ready. That's an indication of who God's people are. They made themselves ready. Let's have that urgency. Let's watch and pray always. And let's get our spiritual house in order. We know that with God's help we can certainly do that. And through Jesus Christ, there is no doubt. We can overcome the beast and its mark.

UCG Sermon