I can’t imagine
how John must have felt when his spirit went to Heaven and he saw what he wrote in Revelation 13. It had to be quite frightening, and super overwhelming! John saw a beast rising up out of the sea. The beast had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. Written on each head were names that blasphemed God! I wonder what the names actually were? Could they have been “Pride,” “Liar,” “Murder,” “Evildoer,” “Wrong,” “Falsehood,” and “Discord” as described in Proverbs 6:17-19? This beast is described as looking like a leopard, but having the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. How could the beast have seven heads, but only have one mouth like a lion? It just does not make sense. How do ten horns come out of seven heads? The beast sounds absolutely deformed! Does the head represent seven nations? Do the horns reflect their abundant power? The scripture says, “And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority.” So, the dragon and the beast are two different beings, and yet, the beast takes on the characteristics of the serpent. The beast must officially be "The Antichrist." The beast must represent a distorted yet powerful global power. John saw that one of the heads was wounded. In fact, it he says it looked “wounded beyond repair” but then the wound was miraculously healed! This must be how the whole world gets duped - a wounded nation “resurrects from the dead.” Isn’t it like Satan to mimic Jesus - to bring a whole group of people back to life again? The global community will be utterly deceived; they will marvel at this amazing miracle, and then give their allegiance to the Antichrist. The will worship Satan for giving the beast his amazing power, and in doing so, they will also worship the beast. According to this awe-full Revelation that was given to John by the angel of God, the whole world will one day bow down to Satan. Humanity will be like the Days of Noah, when the Lord observed the extent of human evil on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. The scripture says the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.” Genesis 6:5-6 While in the spirit, John heard the people exclaim “Who is as great as the beast?” “Who is able to fight against him?” Then John saw the beast being allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. The beast was given authority to do whatever he pleased for forty-two months. I wonder why God will allow the Antichrist to be born? Why would God allow this creature to grow such powerful heads and deformed horns? If the Antichrist is going to speak terrible words of blasphemy against God and all those who dwell in heaven with Him, then why in the hell does God allow this evil beast to be born? Why, oh why does the Most High God allow the beast to have a temporary throne? Well, the answer is this - John said the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and conquer them because those who love Christ will pick up their cross and follow Him. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble.” The word trouble in the Greek means persecution, affliction, distress, or tribulation. The one who endures without being shaken is a true child of God. We get to prove that we have the same loving heart as him. Now some would say - Why would God allow his children to be enslaved and massacred if he really loves them? Why would a good God allow such an atrocity to ever happen? How could God sit back and watch this deformed global system be given authority to rule over every tribe, people, language and tongue? Why would God allow the people of the world to bow down to Satan? And how could people be so fooled that they would worship a man who wears the mark of Satan? Well, the answer is simple. “They are the ones whose names were NOT written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.” And there it is. Not everyone is part of God's elect. Some humans were not created as children of God. We must understand that there is an established Day of the Lord. On God’s sovereign timeline, the minds of people will be in total decay. And on this day, at the appointed time, the Lord will bring His judgement down. This day will look a lot like God totally being removed from the human government. People will throw out the Bible and stamp their feet upon it. Christians will be mocked for adhering to the will of the Holy Spirit, and because of this those who follow Christ will absolutely be hated. You see my friend, Jesus already gave us the warning. He said this world is not our home. It never has been. And yet, people want to continue to pretend that they can build their kingdom on their own. The oxygen we currently breath is going to run out. It is not going to last. It's a temporary blessing while God waits for his elect to be born. God made a promise from the beginning of time, and he continues to remain faithful to it. He said, Love the Lord with all your heart and do not serve any other gods, and I will always love you. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out all fear: and he that fears is not made perfect in love. Brothers and sisters in Christ - believe that God is perfect even when you are not. He planned every detail of your being from the beginning of time - he even planned for the day when the Antichrist would live. God already knows the members of the elect. He already knows the saints who are written into His Life Book. The Lamb of God was slain before the earth was even made. The Lamb of God chose to redeem, even before God made Adam and Eve. There has always been a plan! God is sovereign. Nothing takes Him by surprise. “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the sword. This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.” Verses 13:1-10
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