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SERIES: THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST, WEEK 54

TITLE: THE FALSE PROPHET

TEXT: REVELATION 13:11-18

INTRODUCTION: (1) IN HIS SERMON ON THE MOUNT, OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, SOLEMNLY GAVE THIS WARNING IN MATTHEW 7:15&16, HE SAID: (READ THEM).

* NOW THE VERB “BEWARE” IN THIS TEXT LIT. MEANS TO BE ON GUARD AGAINST SOMEONE BECAUSE THEY ARE SO HARMFUL.

** AND IT IS NOT A COMMAND SIMPLY TO NOTICE OR SENSE SOMETHING, BUT TO BE ON GUARD AGAINST SOMEONE, BUT TO TAKE HEED, TO WATCH OUT FOR DANGER.

*** NOW WHAT DID JESUS SAY WE WERE TO BEWARE OF?

**** WELL, OF FALSE PROPHETS. AND SPECIFICALLY FALSE PROPHETS WHO COME IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING.

(2) AND SHEEP’S CLOTHING WAS WOOL CLOTHING MADE FROM SHEEP, SPECIFICALLY A WOOL GARMENT THAT A SHEPHERD WORE, WOOL CLOTHING MADE FROM THE SHEEP THEY TENDED.

* I’M TALKING ABOUT THE WOOL CLOTHING THAT WAS THE CHARACTERISTIC GARB OF A SHEPHERD IN THAT DAY.

** MEANING FALSE PROPHETS DO NOT DECEIVE THE FLOCK BY IMPERSONATING SHEEP, BUT BY IMPERSONATING A SHEPHERD, WHO WEARS SHEEP’S CLOTHING IN THE FORM OF HIS WOOL GARMENTS.

*** BELOVED, FALSE PROPHETS DECEIVE NOT BY DISGUISING THEMSELVES AS SHEEP, BUT BY IMPERSONATING TRUE SHEPHERDS.

**** THEY USE RELIGION AND MASQUERADE AS SHEPHERDS AND THEREFORE HAVE CREDIBILITY AND ACT LIKE THEY CARE FOR THE SHEEP.

(3) NOW FALSE PROPHETS HAVE PLAGUED GOD’S PEOPLE IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS.

* AND AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE END TIMES, THEIR NUMBERS AND REACH WILL MULTIPLY.

** IN FACT SPEAKING OF THE END TIMES IN HIS OLIVET DISCOURSE, JESUS SAID IN MATTHEW 24:4&5 (READ).

*** NOW BEGINNING IN V. 9 OF MATTHEW 24, JESUS GIVES MORE DETAIL TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION AND BEGINNING IN MATTHEW 24:9 THROUGH MATTHEW 24:15 HE SAID:

(4) V. 9 – THEN THEY WILL DELIVER YOU TO TRIBULATION, AND WILL KILL YOU, AND YOU WILL BE HATED BY ALL NATIONS BECAUSE OF MY NAME.

V. 10 – AT THAT TIME MANY WILL FALL AWAY AND WILL BETRAY ONE ANOTHER AND HATE ONE ANOTHER.

V. 11 – MANY FALSE PROPHETS WILL ARISE AND WILL MISLEAD MANY.

V. 12 – BECAUSE LAWLESSNESS IS INCREASED, MOST PEOPLE’S LOVE WILL GROW COLD.

V. 13 – BUT THE ONE WHO ENDURES TO THE END, HE WILL BE SAVED.

V. 14 – THIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM SHALL BE PREACHED IN THE WHOLE WORLD AS A TESTIMONY TO ALL THE NATIONS, AND THEN THE END WILL COME.

V. 15 - "THEREFORE WHEN YOU SEE THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION WHICH WAS SPOKEN OF THROUGH DANIEL THE PROPHET, STANDING IN THE HOLY PLACE (LET THE READER UNDERSTAND),

* NOW THIS ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION IS THE ANTICHRIST, THE BEAST OUT OF THE SEA TALKED ABOUT IN REVELATION 13:1-10.

** AND JUST AS FALSE CHRISTS WHO HAVE PLAGUED MANKIND WILL CULMINATE IN THE FINAL ANTICHRIST;

*** SO ALSO WILL THE FALSE PROPHETS CULMINATE IN A FINAL FALSE PROPHET WHO WILL BE INTRODUCED TO US TODAY IN OUR STUDY OF REVELATION 13:11-18.

**** AND THIS FALSE PROPHET WILL BE SATAN’S LAST AND MOST POWERFUL LYING DECEIVER.

(5) HE WILL BE IN ESSENCE, SATAN’S HIGH PRIEST, THE WORLD’S RELIGIOUS LEADER WHO WILL LEAD PEOPLE INTO THE SATANIC RELIGION OF WORSHIPPING ANTICHRIST.

* AND THIS ULTIMATE FALSE PROPHET, THEE FALSE PROPHET, THE WORLD’S RELIGIOUS LEADER IN THE TRIBULATION, WILL USE RELIGION AND WILL LEAD THE ONLY RELIGION TOLERATED, ONE WORLD RELIGION, THE PINNACLE OF THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT, AS THE MEANS TO EMPOWER ANTICHRIST, THE WORLD’S POLITICAL LEADER AT THIS TIME.

** AND RELIGION AND POLITICS COMBINED WILL BE USED BY ANTICHRIST FOR WORSHIP AND FULFILLING SATAN’S DIABOLICAL PLAN TO BE THE GOD OF THIS WORLD AND BRING ABOUT HIS KINGDOM IN HOPING TO STOP CHRIST’S KINGDOM FROM HAPPENING.

*** SO THE FALSE PROPHET WILL BE A KEY FIGURE AT THIS FUTURE TIME. IN LIGHT OF THAT, I’VE TITLED OUR MESSAGE THIS MORNING, “THE FALSE PROPHET.”

**** AND JOHN’S VISION OF THIS FALSE PROPHET REVEALS 3 KEY ELEMENTS ESSENTIAL TO HIS ROLE WHICH WILL BE OUR OUTLINE TODAY.

(6) NO. 1 HIS PERSONALITY, TALKED ABOUT IN VV. 11&12; NO. 2 HIS PERFORMANCE OR POWER TALKED ABOUT IN VV. 13&14; AND NO. 3 HIS PLAN, COMMUNICATED IN VV. 15-18.

* AND WITH THAT OUTLINE AS OUR GUIDE, LOOK AT V. 11 WHERE WE’LL START TO LOOK AT OUR FIRST POINT TODAY, HIS PERSONALITY. LOOK AT REVELATION 13:11 PLEASE.

I. HIS PERSONALITY, (READ V. 11)

A. NOW AT THIS POINT OF JOHN’S VISION (WHICH MOST LIKELY STARTED IN CHAPTER 12 VERSE 1), A NEW SCENE IS VIEWED BY JOHN, ONE THAT BRINGS ANOTHER BEAST TO HIS ATTENTION.

* AND UNLIKE THE FIRST BEAST THAT HE SAW THAT CAME OUT OF THE SEA IN VV. 1-10, THIS BEAST COMES UP OUT OF THE EARTH OR LAND.

** AND IN THE ANCIENT WORLD, THE EARTH OR LAND WAS LESS MYSTERIOUS AND FRIGHTENING THAN THE SEA.

*** AND DR. ROBERT THOMAS SAYS AT THIS POINT IN HIS COMMENTARY ON REVELATION 8-22 ALONG THE LINE OF THOUGHT AND I QUOTE: “IN THE MINDS OF THE ANCIENTS, NONE OF THE TERRESTRIAL ANIMALS COULD COMPARE IN MAGNITUDE WITH THE MONSTERS FROM THE DEEP, SO COMING OUT OF THE EARTH IN ITSELF INDICATED A DEGREE OF INFERIORITY IN POWER OF THE SECOND BEAST TO THE FIRST.” (END QUOTE)

**** AND THAT THIS BEAST ARISES FROM THE EARTH SUGGESTS THAT HE WILL BE LESS OVERPOWERING AND TERRIFYING THAN THE ANTICHRIST, THE BEAST OUT OF THE SEA.

1. AND THIS APPEARS TO BE THE CONTEXT FOR NOTICE THAT THIS BEAST ONLY HAS TWO HORNS WHEREAS THE FIRST BEAST HAD 10 HORNS AND THIS BEAST LOOKS LIKE A LAMB, NOT THE COMBINATION OF A LEOPARD, A BEAR AND A LION, SPEAKING OF THE FIRST BEAST IN REVELATION 13:2.

* THIS BEAST HAS MIGHT SIGNIFIED IN STRENGTH AND POWER OF THE TWO HORNS, BUT NOT THE STRENGTH AND MIGHT OF 10 HORNS.

** BEYOND THAT HE, (AND THE PERSONAL PRONOUN HE AND HIM ARE USED REPEATEDLY TO SHOW THIS BEAST IS A PERSON), THIS BEAST APPEARS TO BE AS HARMLESS AS A LAMB.

*** SUGGESTING THAT HE DOES NOT COME AS A CONQUERING DICTATOR LIKE THE FIRST BEAST, BUT ON THE SURFACE APPEARS AS A SUBTLE DECEIVER, WITH GENTLENESS AND MEEKNESS AS A LAMB.

*** BELOVED THIS BEAST AS A LAMB COMES IN INNOCENCE IN HIS DEMEANOR, AS SOMEONE GENTLE, IN HIS MANNERISM.

**** BUT THE MEEKNESS STOPS THERE FOR HE SPOKE AS A DRAGON.

2. AND OF COURSE WE LEARNED EARLIER IN CHAPTER 12 THAT THE DRAGON IS SATAN SO THIS BEAST, LIKE THE FIRST BEAST IS A MOUTHPIECE FOR SATAN, SPEAKING HIS WORD, COMMUNICATING HIS MESSAGE.

* WHICH REMINDS US THAT FALSE PROPHETS OFTEN APPEAR MILD AND HUMBLE AND MEEK AND HARMLESS.

** AND THEY OFFER FALSE HOPE AND FALSE SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS TROUBLING PEOPLE. THEY SOUND GOOD, BUT IN REALITY THEY ARE THE VOICES OF HELL, SPEAKING FOR SATAN COMING AS ANGELS OF LIGHT, READ II CORINTHIANS 11:13-15.

*** WELL, THIS LAMB WITH TWO HORNS COMING OUT OF THE EARTH, HIS PERSONALITY APPEARS TO BE SOMETHING IT’S NOT ALSO, FOR HE WILL BE A MINISTER OF SATAN.

*** AND HE WILL HAVE AUTHORITY AND CAUSE PEOPLE TO WORSHIP THE FIRST BEAST, LOOK AT V. 12 PLEASE.

B. READ V. 12. NOW BEGINNING IN V. 12, WE WILL SEE THE FALSE PROPHET’S PERSONALITY MANIFEST BY HIS ACTIONS.

* FOR THERE IS A GREEK VERB USED 8 TIMES IN VV. 12 THROUGH V. 16 TRANSLATED EXERCISES AND MAKES HERE IN V. 12, PERFORMS AND MAKES IN V. 13, TO MAKE AND PERFORMS IN V. 14, CAUSE IN V. 15 AND CAUSES IN V. 16.

** AND AS YOU PUT THESE VERBS TOGETHER WE SEE THAT THE FALSE PROPHET EXERCISES AUTHORITY, FORCES WORSHIP, PERFORMS GREAT SIGNS, BRINGS FIRE DOWN FROM HEAVEN AND CAUSES PEOPLE TO RECEIVE THE MARK OF THE BEAST IN VV. 12 THROUGH 16.

*** AND FIVE OF THE USES OF THIS GREEK VERB (WHICH YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN) ARE IN THE PRESENT TENSE TO POINT OUT THE HABITUAL REPEATED PRACTICE OF THE FALSE PROPHET IN DOING THESE THINGS.

**** AND HE DOES THESE THINGS TO CAUSE TO MAKE THE EARTH DWELLERS, A PHRASE USED REPEATEDLY TO TALK ABOUT UNSAVED PEOPLE IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION, TO WORSHIP THE FIRST BEAST – ANTICHRIST.

1. HE WILL LEAD THE WORLDWIDE CULT OF ANTICHRIST WORSHIP.

* THE FALSE PROPHET’S MISSION WILL BE TO USE ALL THE MEANS AVAILABLE TO HIM FROM THE ANTICHRIST TO CAUSE “THE EARTH AND THOSE WHO DWELL IN IT TO WORSHIP THE FIRST BEAST, WHOSE FATAL WOUND WAS HEALED.”

** SO THE FALSE PROPHET’S PURPOSE IS TO POINT PEOPLE TO ANTICHRIST, WHICH IS A SATANIC IMITATION OF THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN POINTING PEOPLE TO CHRIST.

*** FOR IN SATAN’S IMITATION IN HIS UNHOLY TRINITY WE HAVE THE DRAGON WHICH IS SATAN IMITATING GOD THE FATHER, WE HAVE THE BEAST OUT OF THE SEA WHICH IS ANTICHRIST IMITATING JESUS CHRIST AND WE HAVE THE BEAST OUT OF THE EARTH WHICH IS THE FALSE PROPHET IMITATING THE HOLY SPIRIT.

**** SO THE FALSE PROPHET IS NOT IMPOTENT, HE IS A POWERFUL FORCE, BUT ONE THAT DIRECTS THE ATTENTION TO THE ANTICHRIST, THAT WANTS PEOPLE TO WORSHIP HIM. THERE IS NO COMPETITION BETWEEN THE TWO BEASTS BUT ABSOLUTE COOPERATION.

2. AND SO HIS AUTHORITY OR POWER IS GIVEN TO POINT PEOPLE TO THE ANTICHRIST WHOSE FATAL WOUND WAS HEALED AS WE STUDIED ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO AND THAT I’LL ELABORATE MORE ON IN V. 14.

* BUT BOTTOM LINE, HIS PERSONALITY IS ONE THAT POINTS ATTENTION TO THE FIRST BEAST AND HE HAS A LOT OF POWER AND AUTHORITY TO DO THAT.

** WHICH LEADS US TO WHAT HE SPECIFICALLY DOES TO FULFILL THAT ROLE, HIS PERFORMANCE WHICH IS OUR 2’D POINT TODAY. LOOK AT V. 13 PLEASE.

II. HIS PERFORMANCE, (READ V. 13)

A. NOW THE FALSE PROPHET PERFORMS GREAT SIGNS AND WONDERS, TO GET THE ATTENTION OF PEOPLE AND TO DIRECT THAT ATTENTION TO THE ANTICHRIST.

* AND BELOVED THESE SIGNS MIMIC NOT ONLY THE MIRACLES OR SIGNS PERFORMED BY CHRIST IN HIS INCARNATION, BUT ALSO THOSE OF THE TWO WITNESSES WE STUDIED ABOUT IN REVELATION 11:5&6.

** AND IF YOU RECALL THEY HAD THE POWER TO DESTROY THEIR ENEMIES WITH FIRE.

*** AND ALSO IN BIBLICAL HISTORY ELIJAH THE PROPHET CALLED FIRE DOWN FROM HEAVEN TO CONSUME THE OFFERING OF ELIJAH TO DISTINGUISH HIM AS A TRUE PROPHET OF GOD IN CONTRAST TO THE FALSE PROPHETS OF BAAL IN I KINGS 18:36-38.

**** AND THEN IN II KINGS 1:9-12, THE FIRE OF GOD CAME DOWN TWICE AND TO CONFIRM THAT ELIJAH WAS A MAN OF GOD, A TRUE PROPHET, KILLING IN TOTAL ON TWO OCCASIONS 100 OF THE KING AHAZIAH’S SOLDIERS.

1. AND ONE LAST BIBLICAL REFERENCE I WANT TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION IS NUMBERS 16:35 WHERE FIRE COMES DOWN TO CONSUME 250 MEN WHO WERE OFFERING INCENSE, WHICH VALIDATED MOSES IN A SENSE AS A PROPHET OF GOD.

* MY POINT BEING, THIS FALSE PROPHET IN REVELATION 13:13 WILL PERFORM GREAT SIGNS AND EVEN MAKE FIRE COME DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN TO EARTH, OBVIOUSLY THROUGH SATANIC POWER, TO VALIDATE THAT HE IS A TRUE PROPHET.

** AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE DOES HE PERFORM THESE SIGNS AND WONDERS AND MIRACLES, TO DECEIVE PEOPLE AND DIRECT THEIR WORSHIP TO ANTICHRIST. LOOK AT V. 14 PLEASE.

B. READ V. 14. NOW THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SIGNS DONE BY THE BEAST, CLIMAXED IN THE MAKING OF FIRE TO COME DOWN TO THE EARTH, ESTABLISH THE CREDENTIALS OF THIS GREAT DECEIVER AS A PROPHET, WHICH WILL ENABLE HIM TO MAKE AN UNBELIEVABLE DEMAND TO MAKE AN IMAGE TO THE FIRST BEAST.

* AND THE SIGNS HE PERFORMS GIVES HIS PLATFORM TO DECEIVE FOR “SEEING IS BELIEVING,” TO THOSE WHO SEE THESE SUPERNATURAL SIGNS.

** IN OTHER WORDS, WHILE THERE IS NO DECEPTION IN THE SIGN ITSELF, THE OBJECT BEHIND IT IS A VERY DEADLY DECEPTION; “HE DECEIVES THOSE WHO DWELL ON THE EARTH.”

*** AND THE VERB DECEIVES, DECEIVED OR DECEIVETH, DEPENDING ON WHICH TRANSLATION YOU HAVE, IS THE WORD PLAN-AH-O FROM WHICH WE GET OUR ENGLISH WORD PLANET, AND IT IS USED 8 TIMES IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION.

**** AND THIS VERB LIT. MEANS TO WANDER, TO CAUSE TO STRAY, TO LEAD ASTRAY, TO LEAD ASIDE FROM THE RIGHT WAY, TO LEAD AWAY FORM THE TRUTH TO LEAD INTO ERROR.

1. AND THE CONNECTION WITH OUR WORD PLANET IS THE PLANETS APPEAR TO WANDER THROUGH THE HEAVENS, NOW WE KNOW THEY ARE IN ORBITS, BUT FROM OUR VANTAGE POINT THEY APPEAR TO WANDER, TO ROAM.

* WELL, THE FALSE PROPHET WILL LEAD PEOPLE ASTRAY, THEY WILL WANDER AFTER ERROR, WILL LEAD PEOPLE ASIDE FROM THE WAY OF TRUTH, AND HE WILL DO IT WITH SIGNS.

** AND THAT THE UNBELIEVING WORLD WILL BE DECEIVED IS DUE NOT ONLY TO THE WICKED DECEPTION OF SATAN AND HIS DEMONS THROUGH ANTICHRIST AND THE FALSE PROPHET.

*** BUT ALSO COMES AS GOD’S JUDICIAL JUDGMENT ON MANKIND FOR REJECTING TRUTH TO BELIEVE A LIE.

**** FOR EXAMPLE, THE NOUN FORM OF THE VERB PLU-NAHHH-O IS FOUND IN II THESSALONIANS 2:11 TRANSLATED DELUSION WHERE IT SAYS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE MAN OF SIN, ANTICHRIST BEGINNING IN V. 8, READ II THESSALONIANS 2:8-12.

2. AND HERE IS JUDICIAL BLINDNESS. AND WHAT BRINGS IT IS FAILURE TO RESPOND TO THE TRUTH LEAD TO A YIELDING TO THE SATANIC LIE THAT BRINGS JUDICIAL BLINDNESS.

* AND THE FALSE PROPHET IN HIS SPECIAL RELIGIOUS OFFICE, IS THE SATANIC AGENT IN DECEPTION AND HIS SIGNS AND WONDERS ARE THE MEANS HE USES TO CONVINCE THE WORLD OF UNBELIEVERS OF HIS CREDENTIALS.

** WHICH LEADS TO TELLING, TO THE BOLD DEMAND “TO MAKE AN IMAGE TO THE BEAST” (WHICH IS THE FIRST BEAST) FOR WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE THE SENTENCE CONCLUDES BY COMMUNICATING “WHO HAD THE WOUND OF THE SWORD AND HAS COME TO LIFE.”

*** AND THE FALSE PROPHET’S SIGNS AND WONDERS LEAD TO THE POWER OF PERSUASION, HE SPEAKS LIKE A DRAGON, AND SINCE THE HUMAN HEART IS AN IDOL FACTORY, COMMUNICATED BY CALVIN IN HIS INSTITUTES, PEOPLE WILL BUILD AN IMAGE, LIKE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL DID THROUGH AARON AS MOSES WAS ON THE MOUNT.

**** AND THIS IMAGE WILL BE A TRIBUTE TO AWESOME POWER OF ANTICHRIST, WHO HAD THE WOUND OF THE SWORD AND HAS COME TO LIFE, TO SEEMINGLY CONQUER DEATH!

3. AND IF YOU RECALL TWO WEEKS AGO WHEN WE WERE INTRODUCED TO THE BEAST OUT OF THE SEA – ANTICHRIST, IN REVELATION 13:3, HE HAD A FATAL WOUND THAT WAS HEALED AND THE WHOLE EARTH WAS AMAZED ABOUT IT.

* FOR REVELATION 13:3 SAYS: “I SAW ONE OF HIS HEADS AS IF IT HAD BEEN SLAIN, AND HIS FATAL WOUND WAS HEALED. AND THE WHOLE EARTH WAS AMAZED AND FOLLOWED AFTER THE BEAST.”

** AND WHAT WE HAVE THEN IS, THIS FAKE CHRIST, WILL TRY TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE HE IS THE CHRIST, COUNTERFEITING HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION.

*** I MEAN HE HAD A WOUND OF THE SWORD, A WOUND THAT HE DIED FROM AND HE COMES BACK TO LIFE.

**** AND THE WORLD WAS AMAZED, LIT. MEANS THEY WERE IN WONDER, LIT. TO BE STUNNED IN WONDER.

4. AND AS A RESULT THEY FOLLOW AFTER THE BEAST, AND THEY WORSHIP SATAN IN ESSENCE BECAUSE THEY END UP WORSHIPPING THE BEAST WHO IS ENERGIZED BY SATAN, REVELATION 13:4.

* SO THESE AMAZING EVENTS ALL LEAD UP TO THIS BOLD DEMAND TO MAKE AN IMAGE TO ANTICHRIST.

** AND I’M NOT GOING TO SPECULATE ABOUT THIS IMAGE BECAUSE OF TIME, BUT JUST SAY IT HAPPENS. THIS IMAGE IS MADE WHICH LEADS US TO OUR THIRD POINT, HIS PLAN. THE PLAN BEHIND ALL THE SIGNS AND WONDERS AND THIS IMAGE BEING BUILT. LOOK AT V. 15 PLEASE.

III. HIS PLAN, (READ V. 15)

A. NOW IN ANOTHER DISPLAY OF POWER TO LEAD PEOPLE ASTRAY AND TO DECEIVE, THE FALSE PROPHET WILL GIVE BREATH TO THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST, SO THAT THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST WOULD EVEN SPEAK.

* AND BREATH IS THE BETTER TRANSLATION OVER LIFE HERE, FOR THE GREEK WORD IS PNEUMA, BREATH OR SPIRIT, NOT THE NORMAL GREEK WORDS TRANSLATED LIFE.

** AND WHAT WE HAVE IS THE FALSE PROPHET WILL ANIMATE THE IMAGE OF ANTICHRIST SO THAT IT GIVES THE APPEARANCE OF BEING ALIVE.

*** AND OF COURSE WITH THE TECHNOLOGY TODAY, THAT IS NOT FAR FETCHED.

**** AND THEN ADD TO THAT, THE WORLD’S DESPERATE NEED AND ALL THE JUDGMENTS OF THE TRIBULATION, TO BELIEVE IN A DEATH CONQUEROR, THE DECEPTION BECOMES VERY REAL.

1. BUT GET THIS, THROUGH THIS RUSE, THIS TRICKERY, THIS STRATAGEM, THE FALSE PROPHET’S REAL DIABOLICAL PLAN BECOMES VISIBLE.

* AND THAT IS THIS IMAGE SPEAKS AND COMMUNICATES THE DEATH SENTENCE TO ANYONE WHO DOES NOT WORSHIP THE IMAGE OF ANTICHRIST, MUCH LIKE NEBUCHANEZZAR’S IMAGE IN DANIEL 3:6.

** AND THE OUTCOME WAS SHADRACH, MESHACH AND ABEDNEGO, THE 3 HEBREW HOMEBUILDERS, SOMETIMES CALLED MY SHACK, YOUR SHACK AND A BUNGALOW, WOULD NOT BOW AND WERE THROWN INTO THE FIRE FURNACE TO DIE, BUT GOD PROTECTED HIS OWN.

*** AND WE CAN SPECULATE ON A LOT OF THINGS AT THIS POINT, BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS, THE FALSE PROPHET WANTS THE BEAST TO BE WORSHIPPED AND ALSO USES THIS AS A MEANS TO DESTROY ANTICHRIST’S ENEMIES, GOD’S PEOPLE.

**** AND AS A PART OF THIS PLAN, HE GIVES OUT A MARK TO EVERYONE. LOOK AT V. 16 PLEASE.

B. READ V. 16. NOW THE FALSE PROPHET, AS A PART OF HIS PROGRAM TO ENFORCE THE WORSHIP OF ANTICHRIST REQUIRES ALL CATEGORIES OF UNBELIEVERS TO RECEIVE A MARK.

* AND EVERY SOCIAL GROUP OF SOCIETY, SUMMARIZED AS THE SMALL AND THE GREAT, THE RICH AND THE POOR AND THE FREE MEN AND THE SLAVES ARE GIVEN THIS MARK.

** THIS ACTION WILL CROSS ALL THE BOUNDARY LINES OF SOCIETY.

*** AND THE MARK OF THE BEAST IS GIVEN TO ALL STRATAS OF PEOPLE AND IS A SIGNIFICANT WORD USED 7 MORE TIMES IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION.

**** AND THIS WORD FOR MARK LIT. MEANS A STAMP, A BRAND.

1. AND IN THE ANCIENT WORLD, SUCH MARKS (TATTOOS AND BRANDS, STAMPS) WERE COMMONLY GIVEN TO SLAVES, SOLDIERS AND DEVOTEES OF RELIGIOUS CULTS.

* BUT HERE THIS MARK WILL BE GIVEN TO THE FOLLOWERS OF THE BEAST AND IT WILL BE PUT IN A PLACE THAT IS VERY VISIBLE OR ACCESSIBLE FOR SCANNING, ON THE RIGHT HAND OR ON THE FOREHEAD.

** NOW FOR WHAT PURPOSE? WELL THAT ANSWER IS GIVEN IN V. 17. LOOK AT V. 17 PLEASE.

C. READ V. 17. NOW THE PURPOSE FOR THIS MARK IS FOR CONTROL, FOR TO BE ABLE TO LIVE, TO BE ABLE TO BUY THINGS OR SELL THINGS, YOU MUST HAVE THIS MARK.

* FOR NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO BUY OR SELL WITHOUT THE MARK. AND THINK ABOUT IT, TO BUY FOOD THAT IS PROBABLY ALREADY BEING RATIONED BECAUSE OF THE SEAL AND TRUMPET JUDGMENTS, AND TO BUY WATER, WHICH NO DOUBT IS BEING RATIONED, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE MARK OF THE BEAST – THE MARK WHICH CONSISTS OF THE NAME OF THE BEAST OR THE NUMBER OF HIS NAME.

** AND BELOVED, THERE WILL BE AN ECONOMIC BOYCOTT FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT IDENTIFY, FOLLOW AND WORSHIP ANTICHRIST.

*** AND THINK OF IT, FOOD, CLOTHING, MEDICAL SUPPLIES, AND OTHER NECESSITIES OF LIFE POTENTIALLY IN DEMAND IN AN EARTH THAT HAS BEEN DEVASTATED BY JUDGMENT CREATING HUGE SHORTAGES, THESE THINGS WILL BE UNOBTAINABLE WITHOUT THE MARK.

**** AND SINCE WE ARE HEADED TO A CASHLESS SOCIETY WHICH IS VERY PRACTICAL AND SAFER IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES, HAVING A COMPUTER CHIP ON YOUR HAND OR FOREHEAD, OR A SCANNING BAR CODE WILL BE YOUR TICKET TO BUY OR SELL.

1. AND THAT IS NOT FAR-FETCHED IN A WORLD THAT WILL BE PERMEATED WITH THEFT OF EVERY KIND. YOUR ID IS ON YOU TO IDENTIFY YOU AND ELECTRONICALLY TAKE CARE OF TRANSACTIONS.

* I MEAN I DON’T EVEN WRITE A CHECK ANYMORE TO PAY MY BILLS, I DO MY BANKING AND BILL PAYING ON LINE.

** AND SCANNING PEOPLE’S FOREHEADS OR HANDS WOULD IDENTIFY THEM TO A CENTRAL COMPUTER SYSTEM THAT ENABLES YOU TO BUY OR SELL. NOT FAR FETCHED, IN FACT PRETTY PRACTICAL, EXCEPT THAT TECHNOLOGY WILL FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE BEAST AND WILL BE USED BY HIM FOR WORSHIP AND LOYALTY.

*** AND THAT NUMBER OF THE BEAST IS GIVEN TO US IN V. 18. LOOK AT V. 18 PLEASE.

D. READ V. 18. NOW THE EXCLAMATION “HERE IS WISDOM” APPEARS TO BE A WARNING TO THOSE WHO WILL BE ALIVE AT THIS FUTURE TIME TO BE DISCERNING AND WISE.

* AND THESE PEOPLE THAT ARE ALIVE AT THIS FUTURE TIME WILL NEED TO SEE OR RECOGNIZE WHAT IS HAPPENING AND UNDERSTAND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NUMBER CONNECTED WITH ANTICHRIST’S NAME.

** NOW THOSE WITH WISDOM WILL BE ABLE TO CALCULATE THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST, FOR IT SAYS HERE IN V. 18, “FOR THE NUMBER IS THAT OF A MAN; AND HIS NUMBER IS SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX” OR A TRIPLE 6, 666.

*** AND I’M NOT GOING TO SAY A WHOLE LOT AND SPECULATE ABOUT THIS NUMBER WHICH IS REALLY INTRIGUING FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE WITH ALL KINDS OF FORMULAS THAT FOLLOW.

**** BUT I WILL SAY THAT IN BIBLICAL NUMEROLOGY, 7 IS THE NUMBER OF PERFECTION, IN A SENSE GOD’S NUMBER. AND SINCE MAN FALLS SHORT OF PERFECTION, HIS NUMBER IS SIX.

1. MAN WAS CREATED ON THE SIXTH DAY IN GENESIS 1:26-31 AND THE NUMBER 6 IS USED FOR OTHER THINGS IN SCRIPTURE.

* AND TRIPLE 6 IS PROBABLY USED FOR EMPHASIS JUST AS THE TRIPLE REPEATED STATEMENT “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY” EMPHASIZES, HIGHLIGHTS AND STRESSES GOD’S ABSOLUTE HOLINESS.

** AND 666 IS THE MARK OF THE BEAST.

*** AND PHYSICALLY SPEAKING, IT WILL BE NECESSARY FOR EVERY HUMAN BEING TO HAVE THE MARK OF THE BEAST TO LIVE.

**** BUT SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING, IT WILL BE FATAL IN THE END, FOR ONLY UNBELIEVERS WILL RECEIVE IT.

IN WRAP (1) I WANT TO MAKE TWO APPLICATIONS OF OUR TEXT TODAY. NO. 1 THERE ARE A LOT OF SPECULATIONS CONCERNING THE FALSE PROPHET FROM HE WAS A PERSON IN THE FIRST CENTURY, TO HE WILL BE A POPE, TO HE REPRESENTS AN INSTITUTION, A FORM OF GOVT., OR AN IDEOLOGY.

* AND SOME OF YOU MAY BE THINKING I AM TAKING A LOT OF LIBERTY TO CALL HIM A PERSON, ESPECIALLY ONE WHO COMES IN THE FUTURE AND EVEN CALLING HIM THE FALSE PROPHET.

** WELL LET ME GIVE YOU SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER. HE IS A PERSON BY THE PRONOUNS USED TO TALK ABOUT HIM AND THE CONTEXT, AND ONE WHO COMES ON THE SCENE IN THE FUTURE THAT IS ACTUALLY CALLED THE FALSE PROPHET.

*** FOR 3 TIMES IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION THIS BEAST IS CALLED THE FALSE PROPHET. AND THE KEY TEXT OUT OF THE 3 IS REVELATION 19:20 WHICH AT LEAST IN MY UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATES THAT THIS FALSE PROPHET IS A FUTURE PERSON SUPPORTING OUR FUTURISTIC INTERPRETATION OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION.

**** AND AFTER CHRIST COMES BACK IN REVELATION 19, WHICH ALL OF US AGREE THAT JESUS HASN’T RETURNED YET, EXCEPT THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WHO BELIEVE THAT HE RETURNED IN 1917 IN THE HEAVENLIES.

(2) BUT I DON’T THINK ANYONE HERE BELIEVE THAT BUT AFTER CHRIST RETURNS, NOTICE WHAT HAPPENS IN REVELATION 19:20.

* REVELATION 19:20 SAYS: “AND THE BEAST WAS SEIZED, AND WITH HIM THE FALSE PROPHET WHO PERFORMED THE SIGNS IN HIS PRESENCE, BY WHICH HE DECEIVED THOSE WHO HAD RECEIVED THE MARK OF THE BEAST AND THOSE WHO WORSHIPED HIS IMAGE; THESE TWO WERE THROWN ALIVE INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE WHICH BURNS WITH BRIMSTONE.”

** NOW CLEARLY THE 2’D BEAST IS THE FALSE PROPHET FOR HE IS THE ONE IN REVELATION 13 WHO PERFORMED THE SIGNS AND DID THE THINGS TALKED ABOUT HERE.

*** AND HE IS CALLED THE FALSE PROPHET AND AS A HUMAN BEING IS THROWN ALIVE INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE.

**** AND GUESS WHAT? HE IS STILL BURNING 1 THOUSAND YEARS LATER AND IS CALLED THE FALSE PROPHET AGAIN IN REVELATION 20:10 (READ IT).

(3) NOW THE 3’D REFERENCE TO HIM IS FOUND IN REVELATION 16:13, WHICH YOU CAN LOOK UP ON YOUR OWN TALKING ABOUT THE SATANIC UNHOLY TRINITY, AND THAT HE IS CALLED THE FALSE PROPHET.

* AND TO ME, ANOTHER PROOF THAT REVELATION 4 AND ON IS PROPHECY, NOT YET FULFILLED.

** BUT LAST OF ALL, ONE MORE QUICK APPLICATION, AND THAT IS THE FALSE PROPHET WILL BE A GREAT DECEIVER, AS SATAN IS NOW.

*** AND BECAUSE SATAN IS A PRO AT DECEPTION USING FALSE RELIGION I CHALLENGE YOU IF YOU ARE A TRUE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST TO APPLY JUDE V. 3, TO EARNESTLY CONTEND FOR THE FAITH.

**** TO BE DISCERNING IN THE TRUTH WAR THAT WE ARE IN TODAY BY KNOWING THE TRUTH SO WELL YOU CAN SPOT ERROR FROM A DISTANCE.

(4) BELOVED, LET THE WORD OF GOD SATURATE YOUR MIND TO TRANSFORM YOUR MIND AND LIFE THAT YOU WILL NOT BE DECEIVED BY THE WILES OF ERROR.

* SATAN IS A MASTER OF USING FALSE IDEAS, THE TRUTH WAR IS A BATTLE AGAINST EVIL IDEAS, THOUGHTS, ARGUMENTS, FORTRESSES MADE UP OF SATANIC LIES.

** AND PEOPLE ARE DECEIVED BY EVIL SYSTEMS OF THOUGHT AND FALSE DOCTRINE LED BY FALSE PROPHETS.

*** SO MAY WE KNOW THE TRUTH, GUARD THE TRUTH, AND LIVE THE TRUTH. IMMERSE YOURSELVES WITH SOUND PURE DOCTRINE IN AN AGE OF DECEPTION AND DECEIT.

**** ENGRAFT THE WORD OF GOD IN YOUR HEART TO READING THE WORD, STUDYING THE WORD, MEMORIZING THE WORD, MEDITATING ON THE TRUTH AND LISTENING TO IT.

(5) I CLOSE WITH II TIMOTHY 4:1-5 WHICH JARED AND DAN HAVE PREACHED ON THE LAST TWO WEDNESDAYS. (READ THEM AND PRAY)