Revelation 13: Stanly Community Church

Transcription

1 There is a very definitive line between those who love God and those who do not. Of course, while it may not be difficult to recognize someone who lives a blatantly sinful lifestyle, being able to discern a true believer from a moral, religious hypocrite is not always that simple. The distinguishing characteristic of the Lord s followers is always uncompromising loyalty to His Word. Even in the most unimaginable sufferings, their faith in Him grows stronger, and their desire to do His will is sustained. The flip side is that life s difficulties will sooner or later expose the ungodly person s love of sin no matter how efficient they are at masking it. God will clearly draw the line between His saints and the unrepentant world of sinners at the end of this age. The severe troubles of the Tribulation Period will unquestionably divide the two (cf. Matt. 3:12; 13:24-30; 25:31-46). As the ungodly gravitate towards the satanic religion of Antichrist, the elect of God will hold fast to the Lord Jesus Christ. People will only be able to choose one of two options in that day: Either believe the lies of Satan being dispersed through the Antichrist s False Prophet, or believe the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. No one will be sitting on the fence when that time comes, as all will be forced to divulge where their true loyalty lies. Even now, in times of persecution, the dross of false religion is removed and the true Church remains loyal. How much more will that be the case just prior to Christ s return?! 1

2 The Lord Jesus Christ has revealed these end-time events in order to encourage His Church and the Tribulation saints. We need to know that the world s long history of sin and its false religions will be completely exposed and destroyed. And we are assured that God s promise of a Savior and His kingdom of righteousness will be absolutely fulfilled. This helps the Church maintain an effective witness for the truth and preserves the faith of future saints during those difficult days filled with deception. For this reason, Revelation 13:11-18 introduces us to the last of the world s false prophets. In our study of verses 11-14, we noted the power and performance of this second beast seen in the apostle John s vision. Operating under the authority of the Antichrist, the nonetheless powerful False Prophet deceives the world with his sorceries and propagation of the satanic lie that chief false doctrine that men and angels can attain god-like status. By exalting the Antichrist as an example of this blasphemy, the False Prophet will persuade the ungodly masses to idolize that son of perdition. Now we will consider that God sovereignly grants the False Prophet the opportunity to perform his apparent miracles and thus persuade the rebellious world to ultimately follow Satan. This, in turn, will lead to the final, unprecedented persecution of many saints who refuse to bow the knee to anyone besides the true Son of God.! 2

3 The Last False Prophet - Part II (13:15-18) His Permission (v. 15) After convincing the world that Antichrist has risen to the realm of deity because of his supposed death and resurrection, the False Prophet encourages people to fashion some kind of idol in the first beast s image that represents his authority (v. 14). They will evidently replicate the image which Antichrist makes of himself and sets up in the temple in Jerusalem. The complete falling away from the true God will be represented by this ultimate abomination of desolation (cf. Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15; 2 Thess. 2:1-12). The False Prophet is granted power to give breath to the image of the beast (v. 15a). It seems that this applies only to the original image established in the temple. Again, by conjuring some demonic illusion, this master deceiver is able to make this image appear as if it has lifelike qualities namely the ability to both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed (v. 15b). That is, the Satan speaks through the idol and calls on the followers of Antichrist to murder those who refuse to worship him. So the true and living God sovereignly permits the False Prophet to carry out this charade by not intervening to prevent it. It is by the Lord s permission only that Satan is allowed to express his blasphemy in this extreme way. As the satanic rebellion is on the verge of being crushed, the enemy is given leeway to fully expose his treachery.! 3

4 As has been pointed out in previous studies, God is allowing human history to unfold because of His redemptive purpose. The drama of the ultimate battle between God s righteous kingdom and the satanic rebellion continues until all of the elect among men are gathered into the kingdom. While the Lord redeems His saints, rebellious angels and men are permitted their expressions of blasphemy even to the point of persecuting the saints to the point of death (cf. Rev. 7). However, God has restrained evil from reaching this point until it is time for Christ to appear in glory (2 Thess. 2:7-8). Then He will destroy His enemies! But in the Tribulation, and in particular the last three and one-half years of great tribulation, God will permit the saints on earth to be martyred. The False Prophet will play a prominent role in the suffering and death of these believers. As he persuades the unrepentant world to worship Antichrist, he also is exposing those who are loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ. His Persuasion (vv ) The False Prophet s persuasive abilities are his greatest strength. The next three verses explain how he will force people to choose between God and Satan. He will use the world s hatred of God to secure their allegiance to Antichrist. Since they have no alternative religions from which to choose, they will readily identify with the one who appeals their selfish, godless desires.! 4

5 But Satan s agenda is total dominance. He cleverly baits the hook with the promise of a self-achieved future. As the world falls apart around them, people will accept Antichrist s supposed help in reaching their goal. Believing the lie that man can determine his own destiny apart from the Creator God and His righteous standards, they will take the bait willingly. Again, it is the only alternative they have. So, as unbelievable as it may seem, the False Prophet causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads (v. 16). This is a symbol containing either the name of Antichrist or a numerical equivalent ( the number ) of his name or perhaps both. It will likely be tattooed on either of these prominent parts of the body. Precisely identifying this numerical system would be mere speculation, but we do know that certain languages such as Hebrew, Greek and Latin all have numerical equivalents. Everyone who is not loyal to Christ will publicly take their stand with Antichrist and receive the mark. Otherwise, they will be ostracized from society, since no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark (v. 17). This may be some computer-based system, but again, we do not know for certain. We do know that the Lord s loyal followers will not be able to easily obtain the basic necessities to sustain their life much less access other resources such as money to conduct business.! 5

6 What precisely is this symbol? We cannot be dogmatic, but we do know that it is blasphemous and offensive to true believers in that day. The phrase, Here is wisdom (v. 18; cf. Rev. 17:9) indicates that true believers can understand the significance of the mark, and that is why they will not receive it. John seems to be saying that even those in the Church can have understanding regarding the significance. The number of the beast is the number of a man 666. And considering that Satan s rebellion is predicated on the lie that man can be like God, yet not be subject to Him, that is the best insight into the meaning of the name/number equivalent. The number six falls short of the number seven chosen by God in this book to identify perfection or completeness (cf. Rev. 1:4, 12, 16, 20; 4:5, Gen. 1-2, etc.). So the satanic rebellion and its most promising human, Antichrist, is nothing more than a man. Perhaps the three-fold repetition of the number indicates his failure to be divine like the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It may also reflect the rebellion s failure to establish the unholy trinity of Satan, Antichrist and the False Prophet. All in all, the identifying mark of the beast received by the ungodly world only signifies their willing participation in the rebellion. The loyal followers of the Lord Jesus Christ will refuse it, and the line will be clearly drawn between those who love God and those who hate Him.! 6

7 In our western culture, it has long been easy to pretend loyalty to Christ. Christianity has been tolerated by those who were so heavily influenced by it in the founding of certain nations such as America. Although most have not been true believers, they have nonetheless adhered to a strong religious, moral standard. Indeed, many forms of false Christianity abound. Intense persecution such as occurred in the early Church and subsequent generations has not been experienced here. However, that is rapidly changing in a society that is increasingly amoral. Religious hypocrites are deviating further from the doctrines of Scripture as they embrace humanistic beliefs. But at the end of this age, even the facade of loyalty to God will crumble. Then it will be either Christ or Antichrist with no middle ground. The False Prophet will lead the rebellious world in blind allegiance to Antichrist as the treachery of the rebellion is fully exposed. Satan will make every blasphemous effort to be like the Most High, but he will fall miserably short as will all those whom he deceives. For those who love the Lord Jesus Christ and the promise of His glorious appearing, it is easy to comprehend such a blasphemous final end to the rebellion. We can thank God that He has revealed these things to us, and we can bear witness to His kingdom with confidence. Are you clearly identified as a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ? Will persecution reveal your loyalty to Him?! 7