In the first half, of chapter thirteen
we meet the first beast; the beast
from the sea (the antichrist) Revelation 13:1-10.
He’s given a microphone to the world;
and the world will stand and applaud him, then bow down and worship him. We witnessed
last week, with real live current events, how easily and quickly this can happen.
It will appear, that the
antichrist is in control of the whole planet, yet, he’s on a very short leash,
with an expiration date quickly approaching. Forty-two months; three and a half
years.
Yet, in that short period of time, his
authority will reach to every tribe, tongue, and nation, and all who
dwell on the earth will worship him…except those whose names are
written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Revelation 13:7-8.
That drives him mad. Power lust never
has enough. The fires of hell are never
satisfied.
The one who answers is…
The Beast
from the Earth
11 Then
I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like
a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
This is the second “beast” we see, in
chapter thirteen. We don’t want to read this chapter to children, as a bedtime
story.
The word “another” in Greek is, állos;
meaning, another of the same or similar, kind.
This second beast, is cut from the
same cloth as the first. And we know the first beast receives his power from
the dragon—satan.
He comes up out of the earth, whereas
the, the first beast comes up out of the sea, in John’s vision. Remember,
rising up from the sea, symbolizes, rising up from among the people. Whereas
rising up from the earth, may symbolize someone rising from out of nowhere, and
or, from the depth of the earth, the bottomless pit.
Both men are possessed of the devil.
Depicted as
having horns like a lamb, to falsely reflect innocence and gentleness;
but he can’t help sounding like the dragon (devil), for out of the abundance
of the heart, the mouth speaks. Luke 6:45.
This second
beast is appropriately named the false prophet. Revelation
16:13, 19:20, 20:10).
12 And
he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes
the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly
wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that
he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of
men.
Since the
devil’s introduction in the Bible, he’s been trying to make himself like the
Most High.
Here we catch
a glimpse of his perverted hierarchy. The dragon (the devil, who thinks he’s God)
gives power to the first beast, who tries to imitate Christ—even gets wounded,
perhaps killed, and brought back to life, for a deceptive, lying wonder.
Then, of course he needs a “prophet” to point to him, like John the Baptist did for Jesus, so the second beast appears.
For added flare they imitate Elijah, by
calling down fire from heaven.
Notice the
works of satan, are perversions of the Truth. Jesus said he is the father of lies and a
deceiver.
How you have fallen from heaven, O day star, (lucifer) son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations. You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Isaiah 14:12-14.
14 And he deceives those who
dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight
of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the
beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He
was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the
image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not
worship the image of the beast to be killed.
Deception is
his gift and he performs lying signs and wonders to cause the world to worship
the first beast (antichrist).
Folks are
awe struck and obey his command to build an idol, an image, in honor of the
beast. Then, by demonic power or trickery, the image breaths and speaks…and
kills, any who will not worship it.
16 He
causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to
receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
You want to
see an amazing contrast? The word for “mark” in the original text is:
xáragma – picture a mark, like a brand burned into cattle.
Now, look at
the word God uses for when He seals, his servants (the 144,000). Sealed: sphragizó—
picture validation, secured, guaranteed, and backed by full authority of the
owner. Like a badge of honor. Like a bride taking the name of her Husband, and
all that He has, is hers. Like a child being adopted, given a new name, and becoming
an heir.
On their
foreheads.
We mentioned this when we looked at the antichrist’s head wound. But
it’s worth mentioning again. The Divine timing cannot be ignored.
Out of 1,189 chapters in the Bible, we just-so-happen to be
in the one, that talks about the head wound, and the mark of the beast, to the
forehead; and for the first time in my sixty-something years of life… I have a
head wound covered with a bandage on my forehead.
God still speaks. Sometimes it may be, with a loving head-slap,
wake up! The time is near!
When God, who dwells outside time,
enters time, we need to pay attention.
When time and eternity collide, the world calls it coincidence;
but God calls it—Providence.
LORD, thank
You for speaking to us. We’re listening, and longing, to hear what You have to
say.
Oh, and one
more thing, respectfully, LORD, You know I'm thoroughly thrilled that You're
speaking with us, thank You. Umm, but maybe I’m not exactly excited, that
You're using my head, as an object lesson… for the beast, and his mark.
Do You
think it'll freak some folks out, all the way out—the door?
Nevertheless,
not my will, but Yours.
Speaking of timing. The day before we started this study, a man, that many thought to be the antichrist, because of the mark on his forehead, died.
At ninety-one
years old, on Tuesday, 8.30.22, Mikhail Gorbachev, breathed his last. He’s the
man to whom, President Ronald Reagan said, “Tear down this wall.”
Oh, by the
way, some folks even called President Reagan the antichrist because of the
number of letters in his name. Ronald (6), Wilson (6), Reagan (6).
Recently some
have pointed to Putin, claiming he must be the antichrist. That idea is somewhat
problematic. Remember, in the beginning, the antichrist will be revered by much
of the world as a peacemaker. Putin doesn’t really fit that role.
Now, let’s
get back on track. The Bible isn’t a multiple choice, or, fill in the blank,
quiz.
So, instead
of trying to fill in a name, where God left a blank, we’ll focus on what He told
us.
Look at how
inclusive the language is: all, both, small and great, rich and poor,
free and slave.
In a word: everybody.
All the
people.
Buckle your
seat belt. We’ll see in a moment, how this applies to us, here, and now, today.
17 and
that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name
of the beast, or the number of his name.
Now, we add
to the picture. No buying or selling without the mark.
All the
money.
To summarize;
the two parts to the mark are:
1. ALL THE PEOPLE
2. ALL THE MONEY
Did you know
this has already been set in motion?
While the
world was watching death tolls going up, and cities burning down, mechanisms to
control, all the people, and, all the money, were quietly set in
stone, with thirteen days between each other.
ALL THE
PEOPLE:
May 1, 2020.
Perhaps you’ve heard of the TRACE act. It stands for: Testing, Reaching, And Contacting Everyone.
It
designates, one-hundred-million dollars a year for the purpose of deploying
teams to go to, all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and
slave, to diagnose health, administer vaccine (mark?), dictate quarantines.
NOTE: Please do not think I’m
saying the vaccine is the mark of the beast. I’m not. It is not. However, the
control-freakish-nature of the unconstitutional, irrational, mandates and
dictates, has claw prints of the beast all over it.
ALL THE
MONEY:
April 17,
2020, a patent was issued. Cryptocurrency System Using Body Activity Data.
It monitors
bodily functions, fluid levels, temperature, and awards cryptocurrency if “tasks”
are met.
In other
words, if you obey and are healthy, your monitoring device, (chip, tattoo, implanted
credit card, mark), will be rewarded with the ability to buy and sell.
If not… no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Now, if you’re
having trouble seeing the connection, wait until you see what the LORD has for
you in the last verse. It’ll remove all doubt.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who
has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is
the number of a man: His number is 666.
Oh, did I forget to mention some numbers?
April 17
2020: Patent WO2020060606, Cryptocurrency System Using Body Activity
Data.
<13
day gap>
May 1, 2020: House Bill 6666 TRACE act. Testing Reaching And Contacting Everyone
Jesus says, “on this rock (of revelation) I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18.
Dear family,
although this may be a scary message, please know, the LORD, did not give them
to us to scare us, but to prepare us.
He tells us
ahead of time, and multiple times, to not be afraid.
Furthermore,
He lets us know, that when see these things, we are not to cower but stand up,
lift up, and look up, for our
redemption, our salvation, is drawing near, even at the door.
When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:28.
No comments:
Post a Comment