The Mark of the Beast

Gender bottles with you today. Turn with me if you would to Revelation chapter 13 and were look at verses 11 through 18 this morning that I saw another beast rising out of the earth, and had two horns like a lamb spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast is mortal wound was healed. He performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people by the signs, it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast. It deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived, was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the base to be slain. Also, it causes all the small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand and went on so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark that is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

This calls for wisdom.

Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man and his number is 666 spray heavenly father, we thank you and praise you for your goodness and grace. We thank you Lord for your precious word that gives us wisdom and direction and guidance that we need Lord to live out the life that you've called us to heavenly father as we look at this passage today. We see many things that are frightening to our flesh and would ask heavenly father that we might understand who you are and that the God we serve is a God that is greater than anything or anyone or any being else in this in your creation would ask heavenly father that we might put our trust in you that Lord we might put our joy in you that our faith might be in you and you alone God and directors to this passage will give you praise and honor and glory for what you do for us Jesus holy and precious and we pray, amen. You may be seated.

Last week we studied the first beast, who rose from the sea and we saw that that based as a representative of the secular political systems that have risen and fallen all the way through history and will continue to rise and fall we saw that he got his power from the Dragon and the Dragon recite in John's day. When John wrote this, the political system was the Roman Empire. The dictator that John was living under was a man whose name was donation.

He was a very wicked demon possessed maniac who built a huge statue to himself in the city Ephesus and built an altar there to himself that people are common sacrificed animals to him as if he were God. Sometimes people say to me Doug why is the book of Revelation so hard to understand why did John write it so cryptically. Well if John had written the book in a literal sense and if he had used terms like the Roman Empire and it mentioned people donation the book of Revelation would never have been circulated is just that the. The government would've stopped if they were to put into it. They would not let it been circulated and the apostle John would have died.

John wrote the book apocalyptic way for a reason and that is that the Christians might read it and understand what was being said, while the government and the dictators would read it and not understand what was being said. So they didn't try to read it and they could not understand it, so they just let it be circulated in the Christians were greatly blessed by that they received it and were greatly blessed by it.

Now in John's generation died off, other generations begin to grow up they had different dictator different governments that they had to deal with the principles that John had laid down in his word back in the first century will principles that were very helpful and very valid to these new generations that were growing up. In other words, the word of God is absolutely timeless. The word of God speaks to the heart of every generation and these principles have been valid and they have been useful for us. The last 2000 years and will continue to be useful to us until Christ returns.

The question that we must ask is this how we as Christians deal with the beast.

You might remember a few weeks ago I mentioned, Joseph taunts a friend Bob Dorsey preached at our church several years ago but Joseph was a Baptist minister in Romania under a time of very harsh communism and he told us a story. Hey said that this a communist squad of soldiers came to his house and they they went into his library. They took his buttocks and tore his lips apart and burn them and then they beat Joseph time after his beating. Joseph looked over at his wife and said honey would you go make some hot tea for our guest and they did and then I came back the next that beating again in the next day they did for seven days in a row, beating him until his skull was cracked each day as if would respond with that kind of kindness.

Finally, the last day that they were there.

The squad leader called them off to the side by himself and he said why do you respond to our torture with with such kindness and Joseph said your weapon is killing my weapon is dying and the squad leader said tell me about your God, and Joseph led him to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ folks when we face the beast. We must not compromise truth. We must not cower before wickedness. We must not run from persecution. But we must love and we must often turn the other cheek, angry tirades do not help the cause of Christ people getting just mad and going off on a tangent does not help the cause of Christ. But if we will live godly lives, and yet loving lives, uncompromising lives. We are going to make an impact on the society in which we live.

So today we are to move from the first beast of the second sin. Remember that first beast is the first beast is government against Christ and his church stuck Texas to the passage that were looking at today and will be dealing with the second beast and I got four points on a share with you the first point is identifying the beast look of May versus 11 to 12 then I saw another beast rising out of the earth, and had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon and exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. So who is the second base Revelation 16 verse 13 referred to him as the false prophet.

The first because the second beast is the propaganda tool for the first beast is false religion that fosters rulership of a political system. If you remember back to Revelation chapter 11 we will read about that the two witnesses, and if you remember the two witnesses represent the true church. What did they do, they preach the gospel. They preach Jesus Christ and him crucified. They still in the word of God and they would not be moved. That was the true church. The two witnesses. What we are looking at today. In the second beast is a Counterfeit of the true church.

The Scripture says that the second beast had two horns like a lamb is as a counterfeit.

This is a false church. They don't propagate the true gospel. They put propagate the false philosophies of the state look of the denominations in our country right now who is capitulated to the culture and blatantly rejected the truth of God's word and they line up with the culture and was a government agenda in a time period of less than two decades we've seen denominations all across our land turned their backs on God's word, and accept the liberal anti-God agenda that stands diametrically opposed to God's holy Scripture. How does that happen. Paul explains it in Romans chapter 1 of the theologians call this particular passage that I'm going to read the process of a probation. Look at verses 24 through 30 verse 30 is therefore God gave them up in the lust of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and they worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent party, boastful, inventors of the evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless, and listen to this, though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but they give approval to those who practice them. Is it loving for a church to put a rainbow flag in front of their church building to attend to say we embrace the practice of homosexuality. We will not tell you that it's a sin, we will not tell you that it will destroy your life and that it displeases a holy and righteous God will approve of your lifestyle and we applaud you for it.

But that is the actions of the second beast that is satanically empowered, politically motivated. It is deceptive and not truthful.

It is evil and it is not loving and that is exactly what John is telling the church to watch out for what can we do on to listen to these words from Joel Bianchi following mankind substitute Satan worship for God worship that is evident all around us today is people do what they think is right in their own eyes, all the while godly people are judged as intolerant when they refused to bow down to the forces of humanism that degrade the Bible. Mock Christians promote an bridal unbridled sex kill unborn babies promote homosexuality and desecrate the Lord's day.

Similarly, millions of people exalt the papacy as Christ infallible spokesman on earth. All the while blind to the fact that the papacy is the reformers and Puritan show so poignantly in their writings manifest every quality about the antichrist that the Scripture set forth then too many false religions can live quite happily with the wicked and tyrannical government and many pastors and priests, including some claiming to be Christians willingly become the tools of an intolerant state and culture.

How can we stand against such beast.

How can we be true to God when the powerful secular world around us argues everybody's doing it so why shouldn't you nobody believes the Bible is infallible anymore. How can we stand against the religious world that promote self worship sacrifices Christ afresh in in every and every mass or teaches that the Koran is more trustworthy than holy Scripture in a world that does not worship no trust or love, the Lamb of God, finding it salvation in him alone. How can we boldly and unashamedly put all our trust in him. How we answer that question.

I think Paul answered in Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10 through 12 when he said finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you might stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood that gets powers and principalities rules of darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places, as we said last week. Lucifer said in in Isaiah chapter 14, I will be like the most high God.

How does he try to be like the most high God. He does it.

The counterfeit and what we are seeing here is a counterfeit Trinity, a false Trinity, the Dragon, the beast and the false prophet. Then if you take a look at what was the true Trinity is the triune God.

God the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit the false Trinity is the Dragon which is Satan.

The priest, which is the secular political system and in the false prophet, which is the false religious system. Folks, what's the primary ministry of the Holy Spirit, the primary ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus Christ and to magnify him to glorify him and to make him known will only share with you what the Scripture says in John 16 about this.

John 16 eight 215 and when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment concerning sin, because I do not believe in me concerning righteousness, because I go to the father and you will see me no longer concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth free will not speak of his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come. Glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you all at the father has is mine therefore said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. This is what the second phase, the false prophet, the false religious system does it glorifies the state. It glorifies the political system, the priest of Vail and the largest time, great honor to Ahab the King and Jezebel the Queen. They did it to the false religion of bail is him and finish their constituents they are worshipers to bow down to Ahab and Jezebel. The in John's day the false religious system was built around the exultation of the Caesars had Hitler gained so much power.

One of the ways he gained power was through a false church with the liberal church that just gave him their allegiance of the true church came to understand who we Hitler was in the fall against him and in doing so, they were persecuted and many executed Dietrich Bonhoeffer's a good example of that.

The same thing is happening in America but it's a liberal church in America sold out to the agenda of the culture and the political system, and they have swallowed their teaching. Just hook line and sinker and the deception is unbelievable what he believed just 50 years ago that we would be doing in the churches today what we see happening in the church is the day where churches would be embracing abortion, the killing of unborn babies were same-sex marriage would be embraced and applauded where a sex change operations would be accepted and thought is a good thing where a new definition of love would be be the word tolerance. Tolerance for what tolerance for almost anything except absolute truth and submission to the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you had said 50 years ago. The majority of denominations in America would be embracing those kind of things. 50 years from then meant people to left in your face able to said that never could have happened a present sisters.

It's here it's here right now and we need to see it and we need to understand it, the Pope, pastors, bishops, and liberal church members standing hand-in-hand with Hollywood with the liberal media and with a corrupt political system that is with the second beast is when John wrote the book of Revelation. He was not writing just to the literal seven churches in and in Asia minor.

He was writing looking down the future 2000 years is writing to Grace Church and Harrisburg. He was warning us not to be caught off guard.

He was promising us that persecution would come. So what can we do about it. Here's what you can do, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you might stand against the wiles of the devil .2 is the deceit of the second beast.

Look at verse 13 to 14. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived correct Revelation 11 were the two witnesses who represented the church were compared to Moses and Elijah and Moses, and in the Old Testament was empowered by God to cast the 10 plagues on Egypt why God do that so that Egypt and so that Israel would understand that Jehovah and Jehovah alone is God and then Elijah lived in a time where there was a 3 1/2 year drought. Horrible, terrible drought, people were dying.

Everything was just turned up it was just a horrible situation and Elijah prayed and God broke that terrible terrible drought want to get do that while he got allow that, so that people in Israel and people around the world would know that Jehovah and Jehovah alone is God.

So John prophesied that the second beast. The second beast would counterfeit God's miraculous works wanted to share with you what Richard Phillips had to say and I love his quote from Vern Poythress here.

Listen carefully to this most sophisticated ancient people did not believe that idols were themselves gods, but rather thought them conduits by which God's communicated with their servants to trickery and apparently by supernatural powers that Satan was permitted to exert these wonders promoted the prestige of idol worship.

John emphasizes the myth of the first beast being wounded by the sword and yet living we saw in the previous chapter that the death and resurrection of the beast likely glamorize his the renewal of Satan's and Rome's power after the victorious first coming of Christ with pagan Rome flushed with victory in earthly glory.

The marbles displayed by pagan charlatans presented a compelling image of the deity that captivated many worldly people in the false worship today instead of cheap magic tricks. The advances of science and the achievements of government are held, is proof of the false gospel.

Secular humanism, Vern Poythress writes technology then becomes the worker miraculous signs worship the power of the beast, the power of the technocratic state organization.

The power of the expert. Because technology can work wonders like no one else in the news broadcast in public schools in movies and television utopian message calls us to promote progress beyond the narrow thinking of the Bible with its God in salvation in his holy lifestyle.

Of course, they never point out the reality of societal breakdown and the soul crushing bondage of sin. Since the false prophets goal is the world's worship of a tyrannical beast and his slave master Lord the Dragon, Paul Gardner writes man replaces God in Christ with himself and in doing so, succumbs to the full description of the beast .3 is the persecution by the second beast verse 15 through 17. It was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak in my calls those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also, it causes all the small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, remarked on the right hand or the four head so that no one can buy or sale unless he has the mark that is the name of the beast or the number of its name. What we are dealing with here is fault allegiance to the state. The second beast, the false religious system gives breath and that means life to the image of the beast and is currently persecution the compulsion and through martyrdom.

In this first allegiance is placed on everyone. Verse 16 says, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave.

In other words, it doesn't matter what race you are.

It doesn't matter what job you have.

It doesn't matter what social class you're in. It doesn't matter how much money you have, what matters is this will you deny Christ, and will you bail to the state and its culture in Nigeria right now, the radical Muslim group of Boca hurrah him is killing Christians destroying Christian schools destroying churches for what purpose to force the Christian community there in Nigeria to bail before Islam in Hollywood actors who call themselves Christians are put on blacklist so they won't get work. I talked to a missionary. Not long ago who was doing mission work in and a Moslem country in the Middle East. He said that the Christians in that country could just almost not find jobs in the early jobs. It would be given to them were the menial jobs that nobody else would take and I paid virtually nothing about this mark of the beast and the popular like today's novels that we read this mark of the beast is something that is yet to come. And it's a technology that will create a computer chip that will be a place in the body somewhere that will control all of commerce that may happen that may happen, but we must remember that when John wrote this John was not writing to just that group of Christians that we can be living in that day immediately preceding the second coming.

He was written. Writing to his generation and all the generations that would live until Christ returns. And John is referring here to the phenomenon that is common to his own day.

The Greek word corolla, that was used it was a word that was used as a emperors stamp on an official document it in this like the mark of the beast is the state's political and economic stamp of approval given only to those who will bow to the government agenda. The mark of the beast is not something someone accidentally takes it as an absolute personal purposeful pulling out of their own allegiance to the state into its culture me tell you something brothers and sisters that kind of devotion goes only to God, it goes only to God. Verse 17 says that people without the mark will not be able to buy or sale to go back to Revelation to your member the church at Pergamum in the church at Pergamum is that they were having a hard time making a living. Why because the art to make a good living.

You had to be in a trade deal to be in a trade deal you had to pay allegiance to idolatry and you had to pay allegiance to cultic prostitution when the Christians would not do that they could not get jobs and they were having trouble just making ends meet having trouble keeping from starving to death. Richard Phillips hit the nail on the head when he said this Christian businessman today may be closed down for refusing to fund abortion through their insurance Christian military officers may forfeit promotion because they refuse to hide their faith. The point is at the base paint Christians as being disloyal to the governing regime. Because of our higher allegiance to Jesus.

As a result, Christians refers to the periphery of public life, unable to be elected to office, or operate small businesses in the ancient world, where the Emperor certificate was required at the marketplace. The beast might literally reduce believers to starvation. Revelation 29 Jesus said that he was aware of what is people were suffering. He said I know your tribulation and your poverty Jesus stated, but you are rich.

Be faithful unto death, he added, and I will give you the crown of life. How relevant are these words to so many Christians who lose out this present world for Christ sake again in inheritance and glory with him in the world to come .4 is a call to wisdom. Look at verse 18. This call for wisdom, let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man and his number is 666 know most of you have heard some of the wild crazy conspiracies about number 666 number back in the 1980s up divorce and will antichrist must be up to Ronald Reagan because his name Ronald Wilson Reagan all of those names had six letters so it's gotta be the antichrist. Some are saying there was Henry Kissinger and one wise commentator came out and said that the antichrist must be a Barney the dinosaur that the children love that because if you take his name are are his description and its 18 letters keep purple dinosaur while face the rise move is not to go in that direction bullets to understand the symbolism in the number 666 all the way through the book of Revelation, we see the number seven number seven is the heavily number the number of completion. The number of perfection. It is the number that that that tells us of something complete, something perfect. The number six is a is a number that is all short of seven. It tells us of imperfection incompleteness.

It tells us of deficiency is the number of fallen man books the call to wisdom the call to wisdom is don't believe the deceit of 666666 is the false Trinity 777 is the true trim Trinity 666 is the false Trinity don't fear the persecution the Dragon, the beast and the false prophet are going to experience eternal suffering. One of the close of the illustration back years ago there was a man in Russia's name was Morris Kornfield.

He was a doctor and he worked in a labor camp in Russia. He had been a theist all his life until one of the prisoners Christian man in the in his camp where he was working share the gospel with him share the gospel with them and it struck his heart and struck his heart in such a way that he got on his face before God when he got by himself and trusted Christ as his Lord and Savior for number of months he didn't want to tell anybody because he knew what that might mean.

And finally, he couldn't help it any longer. He saw all these Christians that were suffering in this camp and so we begin to help them out medically help them out emotionally. Finally, they found out that he was a believer I came to his house where he was staying in his bedroom, broke into his house and they took a hammer and they beat him to death. Did cornfields witness matter was his commitment to Christ. Was it really worth his life. The last person to ever hear Kornfield speak was a man that you probably all heard of his name was Alexander Solzhenitsyn and the last thing that Morris Kornfield did in speaking was to share the gospel.

That gospel penetrated the heart of Alexander Solzhenitsyn and what did he do with it.

He went on to write some books at the gulags Archipelago and several other books that got to shake the communist empire folks on one close with Richard Phillips words and he's got an exhortation to us. He said the wisdom is not had a strike back at the beast with his own weapons, but had a bully declare the gospel message of Christ, the resume is not Heather evade the beast. Tierney had a persevere in Christian courage and commitment. Having the beast number knowing his limitations in a certain defeat. We can live without fear of his assault even as hammer blows can do nothing but send us into the loving arms of the victorious Christ knowing Jesus calculating the infinite value of his cross, trusting his perfection and glory and salvation. We are made bold to tell others about them. John's intent is with the angel said of the victorious believers in chapter 12 would be said of us as we tromped in faith. They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb by the word of their testimony, and by the fact that they loved not their lives unto the death. Spray heavenly father I pray for our church the day as I look at what's going on in America today.

I can't help but to believe that things are not going to get better that things could get very much worse that persecution can increase that it would be tough to take a stand for Christ sake without experiencing great persecution. I pray to Jesus that you would give us the heart, the courage, the strength, the love for you to be able to stand in very difficult times. Heavenly father, we thank you for what you had to share for us in the word and to let us know Lord that although we are fighting against politics. It's not a political war.

It's a spiritual war front for the political systems in order are just empowered by the Dragon and help us heavenly father that we might realize that he's already a defeated foe and that our confidence, our boldness are our courage might be in you, and nothing else. We love you Jesus, thank you for dying for us.

Thank you for loving this. Thank you Lord for calling us out to be your servants and way we do it in a way that would honor Christ and it is in Jesus name we pray. Amen