The Mystery

And the 10 horns that you saw are 10 kings that have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour together with the beast.

These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. They will make war on the Lamb and the Lamb will conquer them for he is Lord of lords and King of Kings and those with him are called and chosen and faithful and the angel said to me, the waters that you saw with a prostitute is seated her peoples, and multitudes and nations and languages.

The 10 horns that you saw all day and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour flash and burn her up with fire for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind, and handed over there royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled and the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth spray heavenly father, we are dealing with an extremely difficult message today, but a passage Lord that should give every single one of us hope and a passage Lord should give the children of God, a firm app look on what's going to take place in our teacher. I pray heavenly father that as we leave this place today, we would be more confident in our Lord Jesus Christ than we ever have been before.

Help us to realize what our calling is on this earth that we are but dust and Lord, there's nothing special about any one of us here, but heavenly father, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is God Almighty, and we praise you for his pop for his sovereignty for his strength and for his promise that he is going to make all things whale or guiding directors to this passage. May Jesus be uplifted and it made his congregation be benefited by and is in the precious name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. You may be seated. I got saved at age 21 chips line is the pastor at Kings of First Baptist Church in Kings Mountain and has been for 32 years now share the gospel with me. My conversion was dramatic. It was night and day. I was lost and then I was saved in just the a moment of time now. I don't to church all my life I was raised in a home that honored Christ a home that believe the Bible I was.

If you would ask me at that point in time if I was a Christian, I would've told you. Yes, or at least I think so. I believe that the Bible was the word of God.

I believe that the Bible was truly God's word. I believe that Jesus was virgin born that he died on the cross to pay the debt for sinners, that he was resurrected from the dead.

I believed all of that but my friend chips line had come to Christ. A few months before idea and there was a radical change in his life.

I mean this man was on fire for the Lord P up. He knew that he was forgiven. He knew where he was going when he died and he had an unbelievable joy. I knew I did not have that joy as a chipset down with the open Bible and and begin to share with me one night and he went through the Scriptures with million all of a sudden all that that was hazy and unclear became just as clear as a bail, my eyes were opened, and I realize that I was not just a pretty good guy that had a few human flaws. I was a sinner. I was lost I was headed for eternal hail in it where it absolutely broke me. I felt guilt before but I've never felt guilt that it had led me to a true and genuine repentance. I went home that night, after listening to Chip and I tried to go to sleep.

I couldn't go to sleep and I finally went into the the living room, 2 o'clock in the morning October morning and I got down on my knees beside my couch. I begin to just cry out to the Lord, begging him for forgiveness. Just expressing my trust in him and what he had done on the cross and what he had done to the resurrection and just handing my life in surrender to him. I can remember getting up off my knees and I knew at that point in time I would never be the same again. I felt like somebody taken a scrub brush and just scrub me on the inside and I knew where I was going. When I died I knew that I belong to Jesus and Jesus belong to me that the next morning, 5 o'clock, I had to go to work.

I worked the Clemson Donegal and remember walking across campus and and I it was like everything was different. The sky was blue or the grasp ringer me. Everything was just so clear that's my testimony at that time I started looking for some role models. I started looking for people who do. I wanted to emulate an people that I thought really walk with the Lord.

Chip Sloan was my first example Charles longer missionary to Vietnam was a great role model Thurman Stone was my pastor at Calvary Baptist and it was just a great expositor. The word love God's word.

He became an great example. I started reading somebody put in my hand a book, the Pilgrim's progress and I'm River reading that book in just me and mesmerized by NAFTA reading the book I wanted to find out more about the author so I read the biography of John Bunyan and when I read that biography.

It just absolutely touched my heart. Here was a man who had been thrown into prison for 20 years of his life for just simply preaching the gospel.

He had a daughter. His name was Mary, who was born blind and he loved her dearly, but pretty much missed her whole childhood because he was in prison at that time I said to myself what is it about these role models that I have about these examples that I want to follow what is it that makes me attracted to them and makes me want what they have in the one attribute I saw above all the other ones I think was perseverance. These men would not quit even if it meant death and hungered.

After that I started asking myself what is it that makes them persevere. Why will they not quit. What is their motivation and John Piper help me in the book that he wrote called, desiring God. John Piper said the Christian is not just responsible for serving God for working for God, for worshiping God. But he said this should be true of every Christian that we go hard with vengeance after a joy in God because God delights in us delighting in him.

I share this with you many times.

I'm not apologizing for that I think is one of the most important statements outside the Bible that I've ever read. Piper was explaining what it means to what what it means to believe in Jesus. We read your Piper said we are surrounded by unconverted people. You think they do believe in Jesus drugs on the street say they believe unmarried couple sleeping together say they believe elderly people who haven't sought worshiper Fellowship for 40 years say they believe all kinds of lukewarm world loving church attender say they believe the world abounds with millions of unconverted people who say they believe in Jesus. It does no good to tell these people to believe in the Lord Jesus.

The phrase is empty my responsibility as a preacher of the gospel and a teacher in the church is not to preserve and repeat cherished biblical sentences, but to pierce the heart with biblical truth in my neighborhood every truck on the street believes in Jesus.

Drug dealers believe in Jesus panhandlers you haven't been to church in 40 years believe in Jesus so use different words to unpack what believe means in recent years I've asked you receive Jesus as your treasure not just savior everybody wants out of hail but not to be with Jesus, not just Lord they might submit begrudgingly. The key is, do you treasure him more than everything couldn't be that today the most straightforward biblical command for conversion is not believe in the Lord but delight yourself in the Lord as we look at this passage in Revelation 17 we see a lot of stuff here nothing. The primary emphasis is this to help you and me as children of God to persevere and to do it with great joy in my opinion the passage that we are dealing with today is probably one of most difficult and most complicated passages in all the book of Revelation. If you remember from last week. We were looking at the mystery woman. The harlot, the great prostitute and we saw this about her that she was symbolic of the culture that is permeated by the world and she is mounted or seated on the beast, and we saw that the beast was the secular political system. She is sitting on the beach like she's riding a horse and in the way you need to see that is the essence in the beast and the political system. There is power and there is great strength but the one that is on her, the one that is all the beast is the one that is controlling and directing the actions of the political system that is the culture where does she live.

She lives in the wilderness what's in the wilderness baroness dryness emptiness just a just boredom. That's the result of given the into the culture. The mystery woman this right harlot is a liar. She seduces with her. Her our faults beauty with her seductive clothing with her gaudy jewelry and when we give in to the culture then what do we experience not satisfaction and joy like we think were going to get we experience absolute emptiness not gave a long introduction to this this morning for a purpose because I wanted you to see the attribute that best defines my role models that best defines the Christians who I want to emulate. And that is attribute of perseverance and why do they persevere they persevere because Jesus is there treasure like persevere because they they want to delight in the Lord. They want to joy in the Lord. They want to be excited about the Lord and that joy would not let them quit. That's the call to the Christian in Revelation 17. How can we overcome seductive culture. How can we help our children to shun the world.

How can we get ourselves prepared for prison.

Perhaps persecution death how we get ourselves prepared for it by delighting ourselves in the Lord.

Delight yourself in the Lord your God and he will give you the desires of your heart, brothers and sisters.

That's what I want. I would like to be more like John Bunyan and more like chips loan and more like Thurman stone.

I would like to be more like these men in their perseverance.

How I do that by treasuring Jesus by making him my delight. Delight yourself in the Lord your God and he will give you the desires of your heart for poinsettia want to share with you concerning the mystery woman in the beast number one is recognizing the base. Look at verse seven through eight. But the angel said to me why do you marvel. I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and 10 horns that carries her the beast that you saw was and is not and is about to rise in the bottomless pit, and go to destruction, and the dwellers on earth. These names have not been written in the book of life and the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast because it was and is not and is to come. Have we seen this book beast before.

Yes, we sing this be several times of the beast represents the secular political system that is directed and guided by the Dragon who is Satan who is diametrically opposed to Christ and to his church.

We first saw the beast and right Revelation chapter 11 and what was she doing she was. She was killing the two witnesses which is a picture of the of the martyred church. Revelation chapter 12 we saw the beast is the Dragon or Satan waging unsuccessful war against the church. Revelation chapter 13 we what we we saw our the beast that was, is making war on the saints but here in Revelation 17 verse eight.

The Scripture says this, the beast that you saw was and is not is about to rise in the bottomless pit, and go to destruction. He was is not and then about to rise and destroy what is that have reference to this is not mean that the beast and his master, which is the Dragon or Satan are completely inactive. That's not what would it means but it means that during this time in the church age that there is a limitation and we talked about this before but let me reiterate during the church age. Satan is bound, he is bound in what way he is bound in his ability to deceive the nations now in the Old Testament times before Christ, there was only one nation that had the truth and that was Israel. Israel had the word of God, the law of God, the prophecies of Scripture. Israel had the promises of the Messiah and they had it with the rest of the world was in spiritual darkness.

And then Jesus came, Jesus came to this earth. He lived a perfect sinless life. Then he died a substitutionary atoning death on the cross. Then he was had to break the power of death. Then he ascended into heaven and is seated right now at the right hand of God the father after the ascension. The disciples went out carrying out the great commission that Jesus gave them and begin to spread the gospel to the four corners of the earth. When that happened, why came into the world.

The rest of the world is no longer in darkness, and Satan could no longer deceive the nations. Jesus prophesied this in John chapter 12 verse 3232. He said this this voices come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world. Now, with the ruler of this world be cast out. And I when I'm lifted up from the earth speak of the cross, will draw all people to myself that the 20th chapter of Revelation we are told right before Christ returns something else is going to happen that Satan is going to be unleashed is going to be released. That's going to happen and for a short season for short period of time.

He is going out to deceive the nations once again. That's how he was, how he is not and how he is caught to come to destroy. Richard Phillips explains it well when it comes to the base. The same pattern recurs in history there was Pharaoh of Egypt and sniper above Assyria and the Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in the Old Testament between the two testaments, there was Antiochus epiphanies the persecuted the Jews and Herod the great who tried to slay the Christ child.

All these beastly tyrants had their bloodied day of power until God cast them down. They were, and then were not, but always a beast rose again, as in the road and the persecution of the Christians and now in John's time in the minutes of the Emperor Domitian. GK Bill writes this situation will continue until Christ final coming, at which time the beast success over God's people will seem even greater than before Robert mailed science down through history. He repeatedly comes up from the UBS to harass and if it were possible to destroy the people of God recognizing their pattern Christians who live in godly times should be aware that evil is only waiting to come back. Likewise, Christians were suffering under product persecution can know that the beast who has arisen is soon to be defeated just as it is certain that the beast will rise in the bottomless pit.

He will go to destruction.

The abyss is a place of darkness. That is the very opposite of heaven.

The beast drastically best is always a prelude to his return to the UBS in defeat and disgrace that John's vision points out that the beast appearing will be celebrated by the world. Look at verse eight. Again, the beast that you saw was and is not and is about to rise from the bottomless pit, and go to destruction in the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life and the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast because it was in is not, and is to come. If you have problem with the doctrine of election more God's sovereignty over man's salvation. Then you need to explain this one to me for who is it here that's in rebellion against Christ and his church. Who is it here has this inbred hatred for Jesus Christ the Scriptures very plain. Those who were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.

Now don't think that these are just poor people you just just the got passed over for no reason whatsoever, and they didn't have a chance and I really wanted to come to Christ. But but they just didn't have the opportunity and is not what's going on at all these people had been rebellious against God.

From their beginning.

They hated Christ they hated his grace, they won't know fellowship with Christ and they won't know fellowship with Christ church whatsoever. These are the people that follow the beast know all people have a desire to worship that desire to worship is down inside of us. And when the lost world refuses to worship the true God. What happens Satan raises up powerful and charismatic people in order that they would follow him because they have rejected the true and living Christ.

These leaders draw the unsaved masses to them. Sales think of Hitler made us a tongue.

Idi Amin, Osama bin Laden, think of the road and Domitian.

These people were absolutely evil to the core they killed millions and millions of people and all these people are just drawn to them like they are something special like they are God's. Richard Phillips said if we wonder how humanity can fall for this charade. We should remember that because they are alienated from God.

Sinners are eager to replacing in on the slightest pretext they will give their allegiance to an imposter that John tells us to expect this kind of political deception or delusion, and it will happen is telling us all the way through church history, we have seen it in the past we will see it in the future.

But Paul tells us that in that last hour that in that time period immediately preceding the second coming of Christ that a world dictator will arise and will deceive the messes through the power of satanic delusion he will perform signs and miracles and wonders. This man will be the last political dictator and he will be destroyed and his followers by the return of Christ. Second Thessalonians 2 verses 8 to 12 tells us just that and then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion so that they might believe what is false in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. You say Doug is this something that our generation should be concerned about where I would first of all, warn you not to get caught up in setting dates and coming up with unwise predictions.

I would also warn you about getting so caught up in what the antichrist is doing that that you forget about what Jesus is doing it. I see people do that. But Paul said this in first Thessalonians 5126 concerning the times of the season.

Brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying peace and security than sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief, for you are all children of light children to the day we are not of the Niger of the darkness.

So then let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. But it's God's people should not be called off guard. We need to understand that globalism is coming. We need to understand that immorality in all shapes and forms is going to be the thing of the day it's going to be what happens. It's going to be what you see more and more and more, we need to understand that we need to understand to be prepared for a worldwide convulsion of God's God and God's truth. Could Jesus come back in our generation. You better believe he could and we need to be prepared for that. You, this is kind of interesting if you take a look at our political situation in this country just and what's the shift that's taken place in just the last 12 years I me. There is been a shift that is taken place very very quickly to a stance that is anti-wall, anti-moral and anti-God is absolutely amazing. What is taken place so fast. 12 years ago we begin to see seeds planted in the day.

We are beginning to see the harvest and brothers and sisters. It's a harvest that could pave the way for the most satanically inspired man who ever lived. Jesus gave us these instructions in Mark 13 but concerning that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the sun but only the father be on guard. Keep awake for you do not know when that time will come is like a man going on a journey when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work commands a doorkeeper to stay awake, therefore, stay awake for you do not know when the master the house will come in the evening or at midnight when the rooster crows were in the morning, lest he come suddenly and find you asleep and what I say to you I say to all study awake .2 war on Christ.

Look at verse 9 to 14. This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated. They are also seven kings. Five of whom have fallen, one is the other is not yet come. And when he does come, he must remain only a little while as the beast that was and is not. It is an eight but it belongs to the seven and it goes to destruction, and the 10 horns that you saw are 10 kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour together with the beast. These are of one mind, they hand over their power and authority to the beast. They will make war on the Lamb and the Lamb will conquer them for he is Lord of lords and King of Kings and those with him are called and chosen and faithful that in verse nine Scripture says this this calls for a mind of wisdom.

What's he saying the sin put on your thinking cap because this is difficult.

They talk here about seven heads that are seven mountains, most Bible scholars believe that this has reference to the Roman Empire of the capital of roof. The Roman empires the city of Rome. It was called the city on seven hills. We have nicknames for our cities. Don't wait New York's call the Big Apple. Charlotte called the Queen city Chicago is called the Windy City Rome was called the city on seven hills. The Roman Empire symbolic of all the secular world empires that will rise and fall before Christ returns.

Verse 12 says that they are 10 horns that are 10 kings is very interesting back in the 1970s and all the last days novels were are starting to come out one of the things that most of the dispensational's would say is that this is a picture of the European common market, and he said right now they are nine countries that are in polluted in the European common market, but the Scripture says here that there will be 10. So they said when the. The 10th one comes in, then that will be the time of the rapture the church will take place and then they'll start the seven year period of tribulation.

Well, that's kind of interesting because if you look now they're not 10 countries that are in the European common market, there 28 and so this tells us. Be very careful what you try to do with with numbers trying to make them fit something that's happening in our day and time. All that is being said here is this throughout church history. These empires are going to rise and they're gonna fall, they will persecute the church capably persecute the church out of these political empires rise, especially the last and most wicked one, 13 and 14. Again, these are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. They will make war on the Lamb and the Lamb will conquer them for he is the Lord of lords and King of Kings and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.

Why would nations hand over their power and authority to the political system with one mind. Why would they do that, we give you an example, has the world bawled into the climate change agenda have a bawled into that and they just accepted that as truth and something that we gotta do something about one of New York's youngest polyp turns out the Conseil Cortez a few months back stated that unless we begin to do something right now to reverse global warming.

This earth is going to be destroyed it within 12 years. I was absolutely amazed at all the people just bought into that and suggest this is exactly what's going to happen and you think about it. If enough people believed that that something was going to happen to this earth. Unless something took place and then this leader rose up in this leader said I have the solution. I know what to do. I can change things I can reverse things. How many in this world would willingly give their authority in their power to him with one mind. What would happen. The beast would wage war against the church. Richard Phillips said worldly powers. We unite under the beast to bring great affliction to Christians for periods during history and an intense way.

At the very end.

But just when the Antichrist seems to be grasping victory, Christ will appear and bring him to utter in final rule and while delivering believers into the kingdom of glory as John was earlier told here's a call for the endurance and faith of the saints is also call for sinners to surrender to Christ in faith while time remains .3 marveling at evil verse 15 and 16 and the angel said to me, the waters that you saw with a prostitute is seated our peoples, and multitudes and nations and languages and the 10 horns that you saw all day in the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire. The lost world. That is the world without God buys into the lives of the satanically inspired political system, the lost world is mesmerized at the worldly wisdom that they have in the promises of prosperity and satisfaction so they bowed to the beast and then what happens they get devoured by that same beast brothers and sisters that Halcyon works like I said last week. Sin will take you further than you want to go. It will keep you longer than you want to stay and it will cost you more than you will pay my fourth point is God's sovereign victory.

Verse 17 through 18 for God is put it in their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled and the woman that you saw was the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth was talking to a man the other day and go to this church, but he knew of preaching on the book of Revelation.

He said that your crazy they said you're nuts. He said that book scares the dickens out of me. I said I can understand that the sublimity would help me us and what helps me is the doctrine of the sovereignty of our God has that helped me greatly because it lets me know that none of this stuff is catching God by surprise that God is the our Alpha and Omega. He's the first in the last he knows every thought of every person who's ever lived, or will ever live any nobodies with lower monkeywrench into his plan.

Nobody is going to stay his hand. Verse 17 says for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose.

In other words they meant it for evil and God meant it for good was the greatest crime, the greatest sin is ever been committed.

It was the people who nailed Jesus to the cross that was a wicked evil thing that they did to nail on the cross, the perfectly sinless son of God, they did it. Was it a bad thing. It was they meant it as a bad thing, but God meant it for good.

For what Jesus did on the cross by dying for us was to purchase our salvation for ever and ever, when Jesus will return everything will be made right. We will marvel at how everything just fit together perfectly. All of our questions will be answered all of our doubts will be totally cleared up in our fight with sin self and Satan will be finished, brothers and sisters. Jesus is Lord brothers and sisters. Jesus's sovereign and brothers and sisters. Jesus wins and all hail King stopping that's no reason to be scared because that is gloriously good list. Let's pray all heavenly father we thank you and praise you that there's so much great and glorious hope in your word and Lord as we look at the yes yes there are things that we are studying that are frightening and Lord nobody just except persecution is something that doesn't matter. This is this is tough stuff that were dealing with the year but yet Lord help us that we might always remember that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is on the throne that he will stay on the throne, and all hail King stopping for Jesus.

We love you today. Thank you and praise you for your love and goodness to us.

Helpless Lord, that we might walk in your past, helpless Lord, that we might persevere and our faith helpless Lord, that we would have the right role models to look at to look to for guidance and direction, and most of all, fill us with your Holy Spirit, that that which we do not bring honor and glory to your name and it is in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen