1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,760 I can't help but think that that's a good theme song for our study of the book of Revelation. 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:14,960 We'll understand it better by and by because there are some tough spots in Revelation and 3 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:21,200 tonight we're in the 13th chapter and this is a challenge to us. 4 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,400 Actually I'm not going to need it tonight, Paul. 5 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:29,000 So isn't that wonderful how he thinks ahead that way? 6 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:30,520 It really is. 7 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:33,000 I'm grateful for his help. 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:43,280 But tonight we're not going to need the overhead as we look at this chapter. 9 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:47,480 Did you get the note as you came in, the notes I should say, the outline? 10 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:48,840 Okay, great. 11 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:49,840 Thank you. 12 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:57,680 There are seven great actors that are on the stage of world history in the last 42 months 13 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:00,840 of this age. 14 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:05,800 We've been looking at those as we've worked our way through chapters 12 and 13. 15 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:13,600 In the first place we studied the woman clothed with the sun in chapter 12, representing, 16 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:19,440 we believe, the nation of Israel, the 12 tribes of Israel. 17 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:25,880 The red dragon, the second actor, which is clearly identified as Satan. 18 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:32,840 The third is the male child who was born of the woman clothed with the sun. 19 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:39,960 This male child ascends to the throne of God and it is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. 20 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:44,320 The fourth great actor is Michael, the archangel. 21 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:50,520 The fifth, the offspring of the woman, which would be the Jewish nation in that day of 22 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,340 the tribulation. 23 00:01:53,340 --> 00:01:58,120 The sixth of the actors is the beast from the sea that we studied a few weeks ago and 24 00:01:58,120 --> 00:01:59,700 tonight. 25 00:01:59,700 --> 00:02:05,520 The seventh, the beast out of the land. 26 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:10,920 The second wild beast, because that's really what the word means, it's not a domesticated 27 00:02:10,920 --> 00:02:16,560 kind of beast, it's a wild, untamable beast. 28 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:23,320 The second of the beasts is a religious counterpart to the first one that we saw that came up 29 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,720 out of the sea. 30 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:32,660 That beast is a political figure and ruler. 31 00:02:32,660 --> 00:02:43,160 It is not only a person, but beyond the personage of the beast, there is his empire, his power 32 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:44,800 base politically. 33 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:50,520 The beast seems to have that dual representation. 34 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:57,600 It is both a man and it is his empire and as we saw, we believe that the best interpretation 35 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:06,880 of his empire, his power base, is that that is identified as a version of the Roman Empire 36 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:14,320 to be revived in the last days with a confederation of ten European nations represented by the 37 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:21,680 ten horns that were a part of that beast that we studied. 38 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:26,840 Both of the beasts, the political ruler and this religious ruler that we'll look at tonight, 39 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:30,200 are puppets that are empowered by the great dragon Satan. 40 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:37,000 They are used really for his purposes. 41 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:44,280 There is a miraculous resurrection or at least an apparent resurrection that is suggested 42 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:50,640 in the language tonight with relation to that first beast. 43 00:03:50,640 --> 00:04:00,080 Let me just mention up front that it may refer to a wound that is received by the personage 44 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:08,400 of Antichrist, this political ruler, a wound which at least appears to take his life and 45 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:15,340 which is by all appearances supernaturally healed and he is restored. 46 00:04:15,340 --> 00:04:23,640 Or what we will read this evening may refer to the wounding of the empire that he rules. 47 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:32,360 There are some who see it that way and understand that the healing and the apparent resurrection 48 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:40,640 in the language that is used refers to the revival of the empire, the Roman Empire over 49 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:44,280 which this Antichrist will rule. 50 00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:51,560 It is clear that this beast speaks great blasphemies against God, against his realm, against his 51 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:59,320 people and that he has given 42 months to do his work and to kill believers in the tribulation 52 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:00,720 period. 53 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:09,040 Now Daniel in the Old Testament also saw this political ruler, but he did not see what is 54 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:16,200 revealed to us now by John in this vision of the revelation. 55 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:23,080 It is a counterpart to the political ruler in the religious realm. 56 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:30,520 He says, �Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns like 57 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:39,680 a lamb and spoke like a lion.� And so we see first the description of this wild beast 58 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,020 itself. 59 00:05:42,020 --> 00:05:45,560 It is another beast as John describes it. 60 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:52,560 The word �another� means another of a similar kind to what he has just seen. 61 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:57,480 In the Greek language you can say �another� two different ways at least. 62 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:03,120 One way means another of a different kind. 63 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:07,920 The other way, and that is the way that is here, John writes it, �another beast of 64 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:14,720 the same sort, another beast similar to the first one.� The idea seems to be not that 65 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:19,840 the two are identical, but that the two are of the same nature. 66 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:22,840 They have the same desires. 67 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:29,800 They come from the same energy source, which is Satan. 68 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:37,520 And we see in the description that this beast comes up out of the earth or out of the land. 69 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:44,080 Now there are some Bible teachers who have historically understood this to mean that 70 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:50,600 this religious leader that we are looking at will come from the land of Palestine. 71 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:56,720 Now when he says that he comes out of the land or out of the earth, it means that he 72 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:00,240 is coming forth from that part of the mid-east. 73 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:07,280 And therefore is probably a Jew, an apostate Jew from Israel. 74 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:14,800 The argument is that because then of his Jewish ancestry he will be able to work his deception 75 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:20,940 more easily upon the Jewish nation. 76 00:07:20,940 --> 00:07:28,520 They tie that together with a phrase from Daniel chapter 11 verse 37 where there is 77 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:36,520 a phrase regarding the gods of his fathers speaking of the antichrist. 78 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:41,040 And they say that the antichrist too may well be from the Jewish nation. 79 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,080 They have a Jewish connection there. 80 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:48,000 However, the word God there is really the word gods. 81 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:52,800 It does not refer to the God of Israel, but to the pagan gods. 82 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:56,480 And furthermore it refers to antichrist and not to the false prophet. 83 00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:04,440 And so it seems to me that to try to tie Daniel 11 with this and to read into this phrase 84 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:10,280 that he comes up out of the earth or out of the land, meaning that he comes out of Israel, 85 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:12,320 is going a little far. 86 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,720 It's stretching it in the interpretation. 87 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,200 There's no contextual support for that it seems to me. 88 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:28,920 The country and the national origin of this beast, this religious leader, are not clear 89 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,400 at least in my opinion. 90 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:37,880 He is described as having two horns like a lamb. 91 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:42,320 You get the picture in your minds of a lamb that has the two horns. 92 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:48,680 It may be that the two horns stand in contrast to the antichrist who is seen with ten of 93 00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:54,960 them and therefore it indicates that he has lesser power than antichrist. 94 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:57,680 I'm not sure the horns are that significant here. 95 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:04,720 Certainly there are no crowns associated with these horns as with those of the first beast. 96 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:09,040 So it may be that the emphasis here is not so much upon the horns as upon the fact that 97 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:13,240 he appears to be like a lamb. 98 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:19,680 There seems to be an obvious allusion to the lamb of God. 99 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:27,020 That there is an imitation of sorts here of Christ. 100 00:09:27,020 --> 00:09:36,320 The same individual, at least if you follow my line of interpretation, is called in subsequent 101 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:42,600 passages by a different name than this beast out of the earth. 102 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:46,360 Turn with me to chapter 16 and verse 13. 103 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:50,200 Is this coming across clearly enough to you tonight? 104 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:51,720 I feel like I'm really having to strain. 105 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,840 We need it a little louder then. 106 00:09:54,840 --> 00:10:01,240 Thank you. 107 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:05,200 Revelation 16 and verse 13. 108 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:12,160 He says, I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming up out of the mouth of the dragon, 109 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:20,320 out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 110 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:26,520 Where is the name that is given subsequently in Revelation for this second beast? 111 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,440 He is called the false prophet. 112 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:37,160 Chapter 19 and verse 20 repeats this name. 113 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:45,440 Then the beast was captured and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, 114 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:50,560 by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped 115 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:51,560 his image. 116 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:57,560 Now you go back and compare what is said about the second beast in chapter 13 and you see 117 00:10:57,560 --> 00:11:05,280 that this person who is called the false prophet here in chapter 19 and verse 20 is the very 118 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:06,920 same person. 119 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:11,780 He is the one who worked signs in the presence of the beast. 120 00:11:11,780 --> 00:11:16,680 He deceives those who received the mark of the beast and who worships the image of the 121 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:19,520 beast that he sets up. 122 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:26,040 Then again in chapter 20 and verse 10 it says, and the devil who deceived them was cast into 123 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:32,960 the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. 124 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:43,360 So this description of the beast as a lamb gives us the overtones of a religious figure. 125 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:55,240 One who sort of stands in as a messiah on behalf of this one who claims to be God, anti-Christ. 126 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,920 Now they are both anti-Christ in a sense. 127 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:05,040 You see them joining their unique giftedness together so that the one as a political ruler 128 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:11,480 and the other as a religious ruler cause the world to be united after them and to follow 129 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:12,480 them. 130 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:19,480 And now going back again to chapter 13 we see that he speaks as a dragon. 131 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:23,000 And so here we have the tie in with Satan. 132 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:30,520 He is one who reveals his true nature and his source of ability as coming from Satan 133 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:33,920 himself. 134 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:40,520 Now in chapter 13 verses 12 and 13 we see the deeds of the beast. 135 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:48,720 It says he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. 136 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:52,720 Notice that phrase as we saw it in chapter 19. 137 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:58,680 And causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast whose deadly 138 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:00,840 wound was healed. 139 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:04,140 There's what I was referring to earlier. 140 00:13:04,140 --> 00:13:12,040 He performs great signs so that he even makes fire come down from God on the earth in the 141 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:15,440 sight of men. 142 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:23,720 We notice that the first beast delegates tremendous authority to this second beast. 143 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:32,520 It says that he exercises his authority in the presence of the first beast. 144 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:42,120 Now 34 times in the book of Revelation you see that same phrase in his presence. 145 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:43,960 It doesn't always refer to evil. 146 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:45,040 But here it is. 147 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:54,240 It is the false prophet doing his thing in the presence of the first beast, the antichrist. 148 00:13:54,240 --> 00:14:01,240 And what it means is that the first beast, the antichrist, gives him the authority. 149 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:08,240 To be in his presence means that he derives his authority from the antichrist. 150 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:15,480 The position of his ministry, if you want to put it that way, is given to him because 151 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,440 he is in the presence of the beast. 152 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:24,920 He derives his authority, his power from the beast. 153 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:29,600 And you notice that this false prophet does not promote himself but he promotes rather 154 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:33,960 this first beast. 155 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:40,640 He causes the world to worship after the first beast. 156 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,680 You'll notice it says he causes the earth and those who dwell in it. 157 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:47,720 Let me stop for a moment to point that phrase out to you. 158 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:51,800 You see it again here in this chapter and we've seen it before in the book. 159 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:58,240 And it's a technical term and it refers to those who are lost, those who have the mark 160 00:14:58,240 --> 00:14:59,240 of the beast. 161 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:05,640 It refers to those who have no relationship to the true God, who have rejected him and 162 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:14,720 who by that have been turned, because of that, have been turned to the lie of the antichrist. 163 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,200 They are his followers. 164 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:23,680 And now this false prophet causes these people who have been thoroughly deceived by the lie 165 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:29,760 of the antichrist to worship this first beast. 166 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:38,520 He points them in his direction and the implication seems to be that he creates a religion around 167 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:42,160 this first beast. 168 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:50,480 Just as Jesus came to reveal the Father to us, so this false prophet will claim to be 169 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:55,160 revealing God to the world in that day. 170 00:15:55,160 --> 00:16:00,840 Only that God will be this first beast. 171 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:10,160 He causes an image to be built and constructed to the first beast, according to verse 15. 172 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:18,000 And that image is erected in the rebuilt, the reconstructed temple in Jerusalem. 173 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:25,240 It seems that Jerusalem will become the central city to this new religion. 174 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:33,120 It already is the holy place by the world's three greatest religions. 175 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,480 And it seems that a fourth religion will be added in the days of the tribulation, at least 176 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:46,400 the last half of it, as this new religion that may in some way amalgamate the others 177 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:53,960 and unite the others so that the religions of the world will be focused upon this first 178 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:56,520 beast, the antichrist. 179 00:16:56,520 --> 00:17:03,200 And then this false prophet, it says, causes great signs, great wonders to take place. 180 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,960 These are literally, it says, megala wonders. 181 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:10,640 We talk about mega this and mega that. 182 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:14,080 Well here it's mega wonders. 183 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:19,860 M 184 00:17:19,860 --> 00:17:35,000 Well there are some who have suggested that perhaps laser technology will be such in that 185 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:41,720 day that there will be satellites that antichrist will be able to launch and which will be able 186 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:47,560 to fire at his command at the earth, different sites on the earth, so that he is able to 187 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:53,920 command buildings or groups to be struck with fire. 188 00:17:53,920 --> 00:18:02,080 And the fire will literally fall right out of the sky upon these places and people. 189 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:05,600 It is also possible for Satan to duplicate this kind of thing. 190 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:09,280 So it need not be a man-made satellite. 191 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:15,600 I have no doubt that Satan is able to imitate this kind of miracle which certainly is reminiscent 192 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:22,420 of Elijah in the Old Testament, one of God's great prophets. 193 00:18:22,420 --> 00:18:29,120 This man, the false prophet in his deeds will do great signs and miracles. 194 00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:31,800 Let's turn to a couple of other passages to see that. 195 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:39,480 Matthew chapter 24, first the words of Jesus himself. 196 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:45,800 Matthew chapter 24. 197 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:51,040 The disciples have asked Jesus what are the signs that we should look for of your coming 198 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:55,160 and of the end of the age. 199 00:18:55,160 --> 00:19:01,720 Jesus in this response from his teaching on the Mount of Olives gives them some signs. 200 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:07,000 And understand that the signs that he gives do not relate to the church and to the rapture 201 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,400 of the church. 202 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:17,120 They relate to what the disciples specifically asked him about and that is his coming again 203 00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:19,800 and the end of the age. 204 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:25,120 So as we look at the signs in this chapter, understand that those signs are for that coming, 205 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:28,000 not for the coming for the church. 206 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:34,040 There are no signs related to that imminent return of Christ for his church. 207 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:39,440 But regarding the end of the age and his coming again, one of the things that Jesus says, 208 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:47,000 verse 23 says, then if anyone says to you, look, here is the Christ, or there, do not 209 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:56,800 believe it, for false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders 210 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:02,720 so as to deceive if possible even the elect. 211 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:07,320 Now it is not possible for the elect ultimately to be deceived, but Jesus is simply pointing 212 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:13,680 out how strong the delusion will be. 213 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:19,680 And he says there will be signs and wonders that will cause deception throughout the earth 214 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:24,820 and people will worship the antichrist because of them. 215 00:20:24,820 --> 00:20:32,780 This ties together with 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and what the apostle Paul writes regarding 216 00:20:32,780 --> 00:20:40,840 this man of lawlessness or the antichrist. 217 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:42,040 Let's begin in verse 3. 218 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:45,800 We've read a verse or two out of this context before, but let's look at the whole passage. 219 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:52,700 He says, let no one deceive you by any means, 2 Thessalonians 2, 3. 220 00:20:52,700 --> 00:21:00,040 For that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, 221 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,800 the son of perdition. 222 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:10,520 That phrase, the falling away, is our word apostasy. 223 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:12,920 The apostasia. 224 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:19,160 There are a few Bible teachers who try to see this as being some reference to the rapture. 225 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:24,600 And if it were, it would be a very clear statement as to the rapture before the antichrist comes, 226 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:26,440 a pre-trib rapture. 227 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:30,880 I don't think that's a very good understanding of the term. 228 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:35,820 If the word apostasy is used here, the rapture of the church, it's the only place in the 229 00:21:35,820 --> 00:21:39,120 whole New Testament where it's ever used of that. 230 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:46,720 Rather, the word apostasy almost always refers to the falling away from the truth that will 231 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:50,680 occur right at the end times. 232 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:55,320 Man has always strayed from the truth and rejected the truth, but there is going to 233 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,280 be something unique about the end times. 234 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:03,640 There is going to be a dramatic and sudden and worldwide falling away from the truth 235 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:05,560 about God. 236 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:10,720 An apostasy of unparalleled magnitude. 237 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:18,120 Now it says that that's going to come first and the man of sin is revealed after that, 238 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:24,680 the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that 239 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:32,280 is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is 240 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:33,280 God. 241 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:40,080 Now this is that great act of antichrist when in the middle of the tribulation period he 242 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:47,160 will go to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and there command that the sacrifices cease, 243 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:52,520 as Daniel chapter 9 tells us he will in the middle of the seven years. 244 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:57,800 And he will set up himself as God and the false prophet, though not mentioned here in 245 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:03,680 this context, will be partnered with him in this and a new religion will be established, 246 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:10,480 Jerusalem the headquarters, and the temple of God will be usurped and the worship of 247 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:14,280 Antichrist will be focused upon it. 248 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:18,080 And Paul goes on to say, do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you 249 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:19,080 these things? 250 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:24,880 And now you know what is restraining that he may be revealed in his own time. 251 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:30,200 The mystery of lawlessness is already at work, and we know that to be true, it's been at 252 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:32,280 work through the age. 253 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:38,080 Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way, probably referring 254 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:44,560 to the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit upon evil during this age. 255 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:51,800 But in some sense the Holy Spirit is going to loosen his hold, his restraint upon lawlessness 256 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:54,300 at God's appointed time. 257 00:23:54,300 --> 00:24:01,020 That may be, by the way, an allusion to the rapture of the church. 258 00:24:01,020 --> 00:24:09,860 The church of Jesus Christ being indwelt by the Holy Spirit is the salt of the earth. 259 00:24:09,860 --> 00:24:14,680 Your presence in mind in the world today is a hindrance to evil. 260 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:21,040 And folks, that is why people hate the church of Jesus Christ so much. 261 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:27,640 There is a growing hostility in our society against true believers. 262 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:32,440 You see it everywhere from newspaper stories to television stories to what you read in 263 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:33,720 books. 264 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:39,840 There is a hostility to those that hold to the values of the Word of God and who believe 265 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:44,440 in Jesus Christ as the only Savior of the world. 266 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:45,440 Why is that? 267 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:52,140 Well, because our presence is a hindrance to the lawlessness that wants to break out 268 00:24:52,140 --> 00:24:53,700 among men. 269 00:24:53,700 --> 00:24:59,240 Not only is it a lawlessness within the heart of man himself, but there is a supernatural 270 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:05,120 element of Satan working in the world wanting this lawlessness to break out. 271 00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:10,420 And our presence stops that or hinders it to some degree. 272 00:25:10,420 --> 00:25:16,220 And so when Paul says what he does about the restrainer being removed, it may be a reference 273 00:25:16,220 --> 00:25:25,640 to the church being taken out so that then lawlessness can explode like it wants to. 274 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:28,400 Where was I before I got carried away there? 275 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:30,040 Here we go, verse 8. 276 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:36,320 And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will consume with the breath 277 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:40,320 of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming. 278 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:45,400 It's worth pointing out that every time Antichrist is mentioned in the New Testament in the same 279 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:49,040 context his judgment is also mentioned. 280 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:51,000 Every time. 281 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:57,680 God wants to make it clear that this powerful lawless individual is doomed already. 282 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:01,120 He will fall into the judgment of God. 283 00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:07,420 He goes on to describe him as the coming of the lawless one, he says, is in accordance 284 00:26:07,420 --> 00:26:16,560 or in according to the working of Satan with all power, signs, and lying wonders and with 285 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:22,920 all unrighteous deception among those who perish because they did not receive the love 286 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:25,720 of the truth that they might be saved. 287 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:30,660 These are the earth dwellers who have rejected the truth and therefore they have been turned 288 00:26:30,660 --> 00:26:35,200 to a lie and now they are completely deceived. 289 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,240 By what? 290 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:46,520 By the lawless one and the working of Satan with power and signs and lying wonders. 291 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:54,760 So going back now to Revelation 13, don't be surprised if you see miracles being done 292 00:26:54,760 --> 00:27:01,480 that are not done in the name of Jesus Christ or that are done in the name of Jesus Christ 293 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:11,680 but not sincerely because the enemy of our souls is capable of imitating miracles and 294 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:17,560 by his working can perform signs and wonders that in the last days will cause the whole 295 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:22,720 world to be deceived. 296 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:29,600 Therefore we must constantly be on guard and discerning the spirits as we are told in 1 297 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,760 John 4 verses 1 to 3. 298 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:37,800 I'm going to digress for just a moment here and say something else. 299 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:48,680 We live in a world that for the last 150 or 200 years has been controlled by scientism. 300 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:56,320 That is, we will not believe in anything that we can't put in a test tube. 301 00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:59,440 We've got to be able to see it, to feel it, to smell it. 302 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:07,760 It's got to be measured and tested by science before it's real. 303 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:13,400 Now we think because we've been born during this period that man must have always thought 304 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:14,400 this way. 305 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:21,080 The fact is that this is a new idea that's come upon the world. 306 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:27,480 Only in the last 150 years or so has this dominated. 307 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:34,840 Before that there was an integration of the supernatural with the natural. 308 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:42,240 Our world view that we're taught in school, we're taught by media, by our culture is 309 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:46,480 that the supernatural is here and the natural is here. 310 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:50,400 You see this, you don't see that, therefore it's not real. 311 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:54,280 The only thing that's real is what you can see. 312 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:57,160 That's the world view that dominates our culture. 313 00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:02,840 The world view that has dominated the last 2,000 years, however, is a world view that 314 00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:07,200 sees an integration of the supernatural with the natural. 315 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:09,720 There's an overlapping of the two. 316 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:16,640 So people before this anticipated and expected that supernatural things would happen. 317 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:18,960 That's the way they saw the world. 318 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:23,920 By the way, that's still the way a lot of people see the world who haven't been contaminated 319 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:27,680 by western civilization. 320 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:32,640 They still see the supernatural even though it may not be God, it's evil. 321 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:41,400 They nonetheless see that there are supernatural forces that are at work in nature. 322 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:47,200 Now there is a change that is suddenly taking place. 323 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:55,280 Time has led us to hopelessness and despair and you are now seeing a change taking place 324 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:57,440 in the western culture. 325 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:07,880 There's starting to be a reintegration of supernatural forces and energy with the natural. 326 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:13,000 I'm not talking about godly supernatural forces, I'm talking about the forces of darkness. 327 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,900 You see it in new age kinds of thinking. 328 00:30:16,900 --> 00:30:24,160 You see it in some medical care where they are understanding that beyond medicine and 329 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:30,760 scientific treatment, there's a power in the mind to heal. 330 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:34,240 Of course there is some truth to that. 331 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:40,280 But they are seeing it beyond just the normal, they are seeing supernatural power in the 332 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,880 mind as they call it. 333 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:50,240 And it's tapping into the dark side to occultic kinds of forces. 334 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:56,640 It seems to me that what this suggests is that by the time the tribulation period arrives, 335 00:30:56,640 --> 00:31:04,000 there's going to be a willingness on the part of the western world, this Roman Empire 336 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:09,360 in ruins as it is now, there's going to be a willingness in the western civilization 337 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:14,040 to reintegrate the supernatural with the natural. 338 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:22,960 So that when signs and wonders are being done by this powerful religious figure, the false 339 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:30,340 prophet, they will immediately connect that with this political figure, the antichrist, 340 00:31:30,340 --> 00:31:31,360 as they are told. 341 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:36,800 The false prophet will say, here, here's the source of it all, here's the antichrist, 342 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:38,920 and the world will just suck it up. 343 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:45,400 They'll be ready for it because I think even right now they're getting prepared by the 344 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:53,120 change of thinking in western civilization regarding the supernatural and its relation 345 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:56,720 to nature. 346 00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:01,360 In verses 14 to 17 we see the deception of the beast, we've already talked about this 347 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:03,000 to some degree. 348 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:07,360 He deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in 349 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:12,960 the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the 350 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:17,280 beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 351 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:22,360 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the 352 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:28,480 beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast 353 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:30,980 to be killed. 354 00:32:30,980 --> 00:32:38,280 And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark 355 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:42,640 on their right hand or on their foreheads. 356 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:49,560 And so here we see the deception of the beast and the false prophet. 357 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:55,840 The miracles are done in the presence of the beast, an image is made. 358 00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:59,880 The image is given breath. 359 00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:08,960 The idea seems to be to be given vitality, to be given life-like force, to be given reality. 360 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:16,560 By the way, what is that new term that's being used in computer generated images and games? 361 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:17,560 What's it called? 362 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:18,560 The new reality? 363 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:19,560 What is it? 364 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:20,560 Virtual. 365 00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:23,320 Virtual reality. 366 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:27,540 That ties together exactly with the language that is used here. 367 00:33:27,540 --> 00:33:32,800 This image is given virtual reality. 368 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:34,680 It's given breath. 369 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:41,580 It's given vitality so that this image appears to be alive and it can speak. 370 00:33:41,580 --> 00:33:47,880 And not only that, it is able to call fire down upon those who will not worship the beast, 371 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:51,840 that they may be killed. 372 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:57,480 It could be that our computer technology is entering right into the stage where this kind 373 00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:03,720 of an image can be built with disastrous results. 374 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:08,960 You say, well can people on a broad scale be this deceived? 375 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:17,640 Have you ever heard of Sung Myung Moon and his prophetess, Young Eun Kim? 376 00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:24,120 Sung Myung Moon first came to the United States about 1973 or 4. 377 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:27,120 Does that sound about right? 378 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:30,600 Remember I was pastoring in Cincinnati at the time and we went over to downtown and 379 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:39,240 saw all over downtown Cincinnati the pictures of this Korean individual and he was coming. 380 00:34:39,240 --> 00:34:43,760 I've forgotten exactly what the phrase was but the idea was he was coming to proclaim 381 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:47,120 Christ. 382 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:51,320 And we were all caught off guard wondering who in the world is this individual. 383 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:54,080 Well now today we understand who he is. 384 00:34:54,080 --> 00:35:02,720 He is a Korean antichrist who calls himself the Lord of the Second Advent. 385 00:35:02,720 --> 00:35:11,000 Jesus you see, according to him, failed and now Sung Myung Moon has come to finish the 386 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:12,000 work. 387 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:19,000 He has lots of weird and strange ideas that perpetuate the unification church but he has 388 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:25,480 this woman who is called Young Eun Kim who is his prophet. 389 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:32,160 And she goes before him, points to him, he gets up and speaks and thousands upon thousands 390 00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:37,880 of people in stadiums around the world, not so much now in the United States thankfully, 391 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:45,080 but in other parts of the world follow after this Korean version of the antichrist. 392 00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:55,840 We see the deception, we see the religious emphasis in this false teacher and he has 393 00:35:55,840 --> 00:36:04,280 vitality that is given to him by this religious leader who is his false prophet, this woman. 394 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:11,720 Now it says that there is an enforcement to the deception in the case of the coming antichrist. 395 00:36:11,720 --> 00:36:15,200 The enforcement has to do with economics. 396 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:19,800 It says he causes all small and great rich and poor free and slave to receive a mark 397 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:25,860 on their right hand or on their foreheads and that no one may buy or sell except one 398 00:36:25,860 --> 00:36:32,840 who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. 399 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:38,520 And so all the people, and we're thinking here now of the earth dwellers, will have 400 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:48,400 this mark, literally the word means an imprint, upon their forehead or upon their right hand. 401 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:56,560 This is in contrast to the mark that is said to be upon the lambs 144,000 in the next chapter 402 00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:58,520 in the first verse. 403 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:05,080 There it says, I looked and behold a lamb standing on Mount Zion and with him 144,000, 404 00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:13,840 we've seen them before in chapter seven, having his father's name written on their foreheads. 405 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:19,340 So we have on the other side of the equation the antichrist who is causing people to place 406 00:37:19,340 --> 00:37:24,120 his name on their forehead or in their right hand. 407 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:30,320 It's the mark of his, it's a mark or it's his name or it's the number of the beast, 408 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:33,540 which we'll talk about in a moment. 409 00:37:33,540 --> 00:37:38,680 Is this talking about some kind of a tattoo with invisible ink? 410 00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:42,320 That's possible, that's been suggested. 411 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:48,920 Is it talking about more recent technology in which information about an individual can 412 00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:56,120 be placed on a microchip and put under the skin so that you can be identified by that 413 00:37:56,120 --> 00:37:59,120 microchip that has all of your statistics? 414 00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:05,320 Is it possible that such a microchip will allow you, because you have it on your body, 415 00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:12,120 it will allow you to buy and sell, to eat in the tribulation period? 416 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:15,720 Well I think that is possible. 417 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:24,560 It seems here that men will be marked as animals or as slaves, branded as it were, with antichrist 418 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:32,720 identification signifying that they belong to him and that they will be slaves of the 419 00:38:32,720 --> 00:38:37,240 beast because of this. 420 00:38:37,240 --> 00:38:39,960 Tremendous deception that we see here. 421 00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:45,640 Now we come to the designation of the beast in verse 18. 422 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:49,080 This is a deeply debated verse. 423 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:56,920 Here is wisdom, let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it 424 00:38:56,920 --> 00:38:58,920 is the number of a man. 425 00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:05,640 His number is 666. 426 00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:09,520 Well I wish we had the wisdom that John refers to here. 427 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:11,800 Here is wisdom. 428 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:13,040 Here is understanding. 429 00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:15,480 Here is insight. 430 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:17,960 Here is the identity. 431 00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:23,440 This beast's number is 666. 432 00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:28,840 Now there has been a lot of speculation as to what this number means. 433 00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:39,080 Some of the speculation is related to a study of numbers and alphabets. 434 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:47,120 Both the Greeks and the Romans did not have numerals and so they assigned number qualities 435 00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:49,680 to letters of their alphabet. 436 00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:53,720 And so we have what we call Roman numerals, right? 437 00:39:53,720 --> 00:40:00,280 These are letters from the alphabet but they stand for numbers. 438 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:10,200 Interestingly someone pointed out that if you take each of the letters of the Roman 439 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:22,560 numbers that is I, V, X, L, C, D, that's 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 and you add all 440 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:25,920 of those together what do you get? 441 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:28,920 What do you think? 442 00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:31,920 666. 443 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:33,920 What does that tell us? 444 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:37,280 I'm not sure. 445 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:44,640 Some say, they deduce from that that that's an indication that it's the Roman Empire. 446 00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:51,120 There were Roman numerals of course in that day and they say this was the code that John 447 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:57,320 was talking about the Roman Empire which he didn't want to name because this book was 448 00:40:57,320 --> 00:41:04,520 going to be dispersed throughout the Empire but that he's talking about the Roman Empire, 449 00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:05,520 666. 450 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:17,840 Of course there are those who have studied names of various Roman Caesars, secretaries 451 00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:24,120 of state of the United States, and a whole host of other people and they've assigned 452 00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:33,040 numerical worth to the letters of their name and they come up with 666. 453 00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:39,200 All of those things fall short of giving us any real indication or idea as to who Antichrist 454 00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:40,640 is. 455 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:46,480 Sixth in the Bible is the number of man. 456 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:49,800 Man was created on the sixth day. 457 00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:53,600 Man was given six days to labor. 458 00:41:53,600 --> 00:42:02,480 The number six is one short of seven which is the number of perfection or completion. 459 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:05,680 Six stands for man. 460 00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:14,480 What we have here seems to be a human imitation of the Trinity, 6 and 6 and 6. 461 00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:24,840 666 may symbolically represent the highest that man can achieve apart from God. 462 00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:33,480 It is Satan's Superman who is the 666. 463 00:42:33,480 --> 00:42:39,760 This figure, this number, this symbol will undoubtedly be very clear to the believers 464 00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:48,520 of that day and it may well be while it's veiled to us, the unfolding of events in the 465 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:56,200 tribulation period will allow the believers of that day to use this verse to pinpoint 466 00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:57,560 who the Antichrist is. 467 00:42:57,560 --> 00:43:01,560 It will be very clear to them whereas it's veiled to us. 468 00:43:01,560 --> 00:43:05,920 I don't think we ought to be overly alarmed and concerned about that frankly because I'm 469 00:43:05,920 --> 00:43:08,280 not looking for the Antichrist. 470 00:43:08,280 --> 00:43:09,560 I don't think you are either. 471 00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:12,200 We're looking for Christ. 472 00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:18,360 His return for the church is going to precede the coming of this man of 473 00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:20,600 lawlessness. 474 00:43:20,600 --> 00:43:26,480 We may have some ideas and guesses and hints and thoughts as to who the Antichrist will 475 00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:31,200 be and how the false prophet will fit into this. 476 00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:38,040 We see the ecumenical movement which has been dead for 20 years or more beginning to be 477 00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:41,560 revived and picked up again. 478 00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:46,120 Is that the one world religion that's headed by this false prophet? 479 00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:55,720 As we get to chapter 17, we're going to be talking about some of that because it ties 480 00:43:55,720 --> 00:44:00,120 the two together, religion and politics. 481 00:44:00,120 --> 00:44:04,280 There are some very interesting things that are said in chapters 17 and 18. 482 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:12,440 I do think we can say this, that world religions today are heading toward an awful day of amalgamation 483 00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:17,640 under the lie of the false prophet. 484 00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:25,080 And under the flag of this religion, millions will follow the lamb with two horns into the 485 00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:30,240 lake of fire which is his eternal destiny. 486 00:44:30,240 --> 00:44:38,640 For many years, there was a way of interpreting the Bible and prophecy in particular that 487 00:44:38,640 --> 00:44:44,120 said that the world is getting better and better and better. 488 00:44:44,120 --> 00:44:48,480 And someday when the Gospel has been preached and the whole world has been converted, Jesus 489 00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:52,080 Christ will come again and establish his kingdom. 490 00:44:52,080 --> 00:44:53,080 It was called post-millennialism. 491 00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:59,680 In fact, it's being revived today. 492 00:44:59,680 --> 00:45:00,680 Did you know that? 493 00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:08,480 It's being revived in a group that's called the Kingdom Now or Dominion Theology Advocates. 494 00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:13,480 And their belief is that we need to establish Christ's kingdom now and bring the laws of 495 00:45:13,480 --> 00:45:16,880 the Old Testament to bear upon our culture. 496 00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:21,480 And we need to establish God's kingdom so that Jesus can come back again. 497 00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:26,880 It's just post-millennialism in a different wrapping. 498 00:45:26,880 --> 00:45:30,880 But as we look around us, is the world getting better and better? 499 00:45:30,880 --> 00:45:35,680 Is the world responding to the Gospel in such a way that we can see that the world is going 500 00:45:35,680 --> 00:45:37,200 to be converted? 501 00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:42,800 The answer to that, tragically, sadly, but truthfully, is no, it is not. 502 00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:46,160 The world is rapidly deteriorating and going the other way. 503 00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:51,400 The world is headed toward the apostasy. 504 00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:58,000 Now for those of us who know Jesus Christ, that is not something that is to be feared. 505 00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:03,240 It brings certain aspects of concern to us naturally as human beings. 506 00:46:03,240 --> 00:46:05,800 But we need not fear these things. 507 00:46:05,800 --> 00:46:09,240 We have a hope that supersedes all of that. 508 00:46:09,240 --> 00:46:11,800 It's a hope in Jesus Christ. 509 00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:14,000 It is a hope of salvation. 510 00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:19,120 It is the hope of His soon return. 511 00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:24,320 But let us not forget those that are in the darkness. 512 00:46:24,320 --> 00:46:28,400 Let's not get so wrapped up in the assurance and the blessedness and the hope that we have 513 00:46:28,400 --> 00:46:36,000 in Christ that we forget those who are lost and who are moving with the stream of the 514 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:40,840 world toward the worship of Antichrist through the false prophet. 515 00:46:40,840 --> 00:46:47,680 It must be burdened to share the truth, to be faith proclaimers of the Gospel, that God 516 00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:53,040 may reach and save those whom He would in this culture. 517 00:46:53,040 --> 00:47:05,400 God like for us to sing in closing, I lost the number. 518 00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:07,360 I shall find it again. 519 00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:12,920 Number 485, there we go. 520 00:47:12,920 --> 00:47:14,720 It is a chorus. 521 00:47:14,720 --> 00:47:15,720 Perhaps you've heard it. 522 00:47:15,720 --> 00:47:26,400 It says, the battle belongs to the Lord.