Sunday, January 21st, 2018 - AM - God's Wisdom or Man's Mark? (Rev. 13:11-18)

Today in the world of business, much is said about branding; in the realm of SEO and Social Marketing, executives are hammered with the verbiage of establishing a brand, and unifying company image.

Raise Need:

May I submit to you today that God calls us to much the same in our personal walk with Him?

Orient Theme:

What if your life could be google-searched? That's a scary thought, isn't it? If your life was exposed, would it betray the fact that you are a Believer in Jesus Christ? Can others see His unified mark upon your soul? or would they find someone who's focus on God has been drowned out in pursuit of other worldly allurements?

State Purpose:

Simply put, are you bearing in your body the branding marks of the Lord Jesus Christ, or are you bearing the Marks of Man? If you'll let me, I believe that from this passage of Scripture I can help you:

Main Thought

Discern the deadly differences between the receiving the Wisdom of God or the Mark of Man.

Sub-Introduction

Connecting Context:

In ; ; and 20:10, the beast from the earth is called “the false prophet.”

Revelation 16:13 KJV 1900

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

Revelation 19:20 KJV 1900

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Rev. 19:20

Revelation 20:10 KJV 1900

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

The dragon or Satan is the counterfeit Father (“I will be like the Most High”), “the beast” is the counterfeit Christ, and the false prophet is the counterfeit Holy Spirit. This completes the satanic trinity.

One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Christ and lead people to trust and worship Him (). The false prophet will point to Antichrist and his image and compel people to worship Satan through “the beast.” [Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 606.]

I. Looking Like the Lamb, Speaking As the Dragon ().

Revelation 13:1 KJV 1900

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

A. This Monster's Uprising from the Earth:

State Point -

This second beast comes up out of the earth whereas the first beast had risen out of the sea

Anchor Point -

Verse one states that this beast is "another," that is, it is another of the same kind of beast as the first monstrous and devilish leviathan of the first ten verses

Validate Point -

Some have seen this beast as having his ministry limited to a focused location under the global reach of the first beast (i.e. A. T. Robertson alluded to the possibility that he will arise from somewhere within Asia Minor).

Explain Point -

That he arises out of the earth tells us that he has a certain commonality with those whom he aims to deceive. They to are of the earth, or earthy, and will readily and blindly trust this false miracle worker's lies.

B. This Monster's Disguising:

State Point -

This second beast will be the master of disguise, so much so that even Holmes himself wouldn't recognize this Moriarty!

Anchor Point -

Notice these two key words to support this: he has two horns, whereas the first beast had ten; the description is given by John as being only from the neck up, whereas the first beast's entire body was in purview; Here, our focus is drawn to his horns, and his mouth; his horns are like a lamb; and his speech is as a dragon.

Validate Point -

You'll never know that this beast is deadly by how it looks. The only way to tell, with extremely careful discernment, is by what it says.

Explain Point -

When this monster arises, no one will look at it and immediately think, "That's a dangerous beast." It will look very well and good on the outside appearance. It will not be until this beast opens its mouth, that the truth can be discerned (by those who have God's wisdom) that its lies will have been forged in the very pits of hell itself!

[Apply Point] -

See the teachings of Christ in .

Matthew 7:13–23 KJV 1900

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Application:

"It's not that I don't trust anyone, but I don't trust just anybody." We as God's people will one day judge the Angels (),

1 Corinthians 6:1–3 KJV 1900

Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

...how much more the things of this earth? Be careful who you listen to, watch, learn from, and are influenced by, because their tongue will act like a rudder to your life-ship, and if you are careful, you'll fall asleep at the watch, and wind up like the Titanic! The pagan god of the Sea, Titan, certainly claimed his vessel, plummeting it to the depths of the sea, so likewise will the false god of this earth claim his own unsuspecting victims.

Transition:

When this monster comes to the stage of humanity, it will look as innocent as baby Jesus must have looked when He lay in that lowly trough as a helpless infant; yet, this false-lamb will be speaking with the serpent's forked Dragon-tongue, set on fire of hell. Now let's consider his authority and influence.

II. Exercising Authority & Exerting Influence ().

A. The Source of His Authority ().

Revelation 13:12 KJV 1900

And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

State Point -

The ultimate source of this beast's authority is the Dragon.

Anchor Point -

Notice that verse two states that he exercises "all the power of the first beast."

Validate Point -

That word power means "authority." Every bit of what this second beast does stems from all that was imparted to the first beast in verses one through ten. This beast will be the devils marionette puppet. This is the Antichrist's "Yes Man." The scheme hatched in the abyss will surface through the first beast who will then have his minister of deception perform all his bidding.

Explain Point -

The Dragon is the one whom John recorded gave the first beast EVERY BIT of his power. Without the Dragon, the Antichrist is NOTHING!

[Apply Point] -

The same applies here. Without the Antichrist, this False Minister is NOTHING! You see, God had His Two Prophets back in chapter 11, and here, now we see the devil's counterfeits. The Dragon himself imitating God the Father, the Sea-Beast imitating God the Son, and the Earth-Beast imitating God the Holy Spirit. Herein is seen the Satanic Trinity.

B. Influencing the World to Idolatry ().

State Point -

The whole purpose of this counterfeit is to dupe the world of men and women, whom Jesus came to save, into bowing the knee before a false god, who really is none other than the Devil himself.

Anchor Point -

Verse twelve continues on to reveal that as this second monster exercises his demonic authority, he does so to cause the earth-dwellers to bow down and worship the Antichrist.

Validate Point -

This is done through one act in particular: The Reincarnation of the First Beast (which was covered previously, see message on verses one through ten above).

Explain Point -

Out of all that John could have said about the First Beast's greatness and power, it is this one aspect that he provides by divine inspiration. This is the token. This is the tool. This is the thing that will stop the Earth-dwellers dead in their tracks, and cause them to fall to their knees in wonder and adoration before this "Satanic Head Now Wounded" to death and then healed back to seeming life.

[Apply Point] - Illustration:

Illustration:

In the last century in America, lawlessness has prevailed in some heinously devious ways. One of those ways are rings of thieves who made their living by counterfeiting federal monies. Minting their own fake dollars to look like the real thing, and then circulating that into society in an attempt to deceive the naive with whom they would conduct business (e.g. banks, stores, individuals, etc.). There are so many measures today that have been taken against counterfeit bills and coins, and yet occasionally, one of these false bills will surface. The devil's plan is no different, he fakes it so that he can lie to the unsuspecting masses. The question becomes, what does he stand to gain? While criminals were looking for a bigger bankroll or a hammock in the Bahamas, the devil all along has been looking to be worshipped. This is the theme of the Scriptures. He yearns for it more than anything, and will stop at nothing to have the world bow down before him.

C. Abilities of Great Significance ().

Revelation 13:13 KJV 1900

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

State Point -

This counterfeit of the devil will be so convincing, that he will look like Elijah of Old come in the flesh.

Anchor Point -

Notice that verse thirteen tell us that he "doeth great wonders." One of those wonders specifically is to make fire come down from heaven for all the earth-dwellers to see. [Side Note - Now, my personal opinion is that this fire, though it may be real fire, is merely an illusion of the devil's magic. I cannot base that on a particular chapter and verse, but here notice that it is "in the sight of men." Nothing is said to be burnt (unlike the account of Elijah's altar in ). Perhaps this one big David Copperfield Laser Show that the world will melt the heart of this world so given to entertainment and American (Athenian) "Idolatry."]

Validate Point -

The word translated wonders is the same word rendered signs in other places of Sacred Text, and stated to be miracles in the very next immediate verse.

Explain Point -

Not to be bored with redundancy, but with a sense of urgency, the verse records again the very PURPOSE of these "signs" and "wonders." It is SO THAT earth-dwellers will see them. Earth-dwellers need to see them, so that they will believe them. The world today still screams, "Seeing is believing!" Once they see, and believe, then the devil and his duping duo will be:

D. Pulling the Wool Over the World's Eyes ().

Revelation 13:14 KJV 1900

And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

State Point -

As John again reiterates for us that these miracles will be "the means of" [notice also the sense supplied by the AV translators given to us English readers in italics] which the Earth-dwellers will be deceived, he also unveils the Devils master-plan. The result will be world-widespread idolatry.

Anchor Point -

Deception is the emphasized heart of John's mini-chiasm of Hebraistic parallelism in these few but pointed verses. Yet we read a most intriguing element of John's record. These Earth-dwellers will be so moved by the stirring of their hopes and heart-strings, that they will hear this Second Beast indirectly command (Robertson) them to make an "image" to the First Beast, and in their desire to idolize this Reincarnated Miracle of Life before their eyes, they will unhesitatingly yield to this False Minister's wicked counsel.

Validate Point -

The immediate readers of John's day, the saints of the Seven Churches of Asia, would have readily understood this "image." To them, it may have looked like one of the many statues erected to Caesar, or perhaps they would have reached into their purse and pulled out a little coin, and look at an image imprinted into that metal, an image of one of Rome or Greece's many gods, or an image of the sitting Emperor, Domitian himself. This takes our minds back chapter two, where the Church is informed about where "Satan's seat is." Satan's throne is to be occupied by the Antichrist, and whereas God makes His ministers as flames of fire, the devil makes his ministers as ministers of righteousness.

Explain Point -

This Egyptian Magician makes fire come down from heaven in the sight of men and performs miracles in the sight of the Sea-Beast. P. T. Barnum & Bailey and the Ringling Bros. thought that they had "The Greatest Show on Earth!" There's coming a display by Satan that will make his and all others seem like a mere flea circus or Sea Monkey farm. This miracle workers words of seeming grace and power will convince the naive Earth-dwellers that the best thing they can do for god would be to make this image to commemorate the greatness and majesty of the First Beast, whose deadly plague was therapeutically healed.

Application:

Did not our Savior warn us this would be so? See -

Matthew 24:4–31 KJV 1900

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Transition:

The sign of this time will come from this Lamb-like Dragon-mouth, who will exercise deceptive authority from Satan and through signs and wonders will dupe the Earth-dwellers into idolatry; we now will look closer at the awful effects of his Deal-making, Deadly Impact.

III. Deal-Making, Deadly Impact (Rev. 13:15-17).

A. His Living Picture ().

Revelation 13:15 KJV 1900

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

State Point -

Watch carefully: The Dragon grants power to the First Beast; the First Beast gives authority to the Second Beast to do miracles; the First Beast then appears wounded to death by a sword and yet is reincarnated by the Dragon; NOW THEN, the Second Beast talks the Earth-dwellers into worshipping the First Beast Reincarnated and making an image to him; AND the Second Beast is given the ability to put a spirit into the image that was made by the Earth-dwellers so that it can talk; AND this image then somehow causes EVERY PERSON that refuses to worship it to be under the sentence of pending death!

Anchor Point -

When verse fifteen records, "And he had power" it literally has the notion of to him was given. Does this not send shivers up the back of your spine to consider the spiritual forces of darkness at work here? This is the stuff that nightmares are made of!

Validate Point -

Yet, I'm noticing more and more that people are drawn to darkness, as the Scripture reminds us that "men loved darkness rather than light, for their deeds were evil." These are the terrors of darkness that haunt the souls of men and women every night. As Martin Luther wrote in his timeless hymn, "The prince of darkness grim..." lurks, waiting for this moment when he can bring this "image" to life through a spirit, and the whole world will go nuts in adoration of what the devil is going to do!

Explain Point -

Friend, though the world give way to the works of this devilish miracle-working minister of Antichrist, I'm glad that I know whom I have believed, that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him, against that day!

[Apply Point] - Illustration:

Luther's words continue to resound the devil's demise, "And though this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, We tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, For lo! his doom is sure; One little word shall fell him." Notice closer how this demonic image will effect the death of God's true believers in that day by:

B. A Discriminatory Death Sentence ().

Revelation 13:16 KJV 1900

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

State Point -

Those who would not face premature death by a derailed government in that day would be known not by what they possess, but rather by what they lack; namely a demarcation that demonstrates their obeisance to the Beast's Demonic Image. They will face the severest discrimination because they will, like many in our own day now, refuse to violate their deeply held conscious beliefs, and boy will they suffer for their faith!

Anchor Point -

Notice in verse sixteen to whom this demarcation will be readily applied, summarized in one word by John, "all:" to the micro and the mega, to the aristocrat and the gutter-rat alike, to the Capitalist as well as the Marxist; none but those separated by God will escape this devil's tattoo. In fact, those who have it, will be so prideful to adorn it, they will boast it to each other, as being part of this elite crowd of the deceived Earth-dwellers.

Validate Point -

This image will wield such words of an Authoritarian nature that all the world will flock to his counsel of deception, and whether by their heady highminded boasting, or their sweat-labor to provide mere morsels for their own measly survival, they will all fall head-over-heels in line to get their branding, like sheep headed to the devil's slaughtering house blindly following their prancing Judas goat to destruction.

Revelation 13:17 KJV 1900

And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Explain Point -

Verse seventeen tells how severe it will be, as many of those who lived through the Great Depression, and understand all about government ration cards, and bartering home-grown eggs and potatoes for shoes and clothing will attest, that "no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." I hope your text like that of the AV delineates a triad here, rather than a redundancy. What I mean by that is simply that your Bible ought to record THREE conditions for exemption here, rather than TWO. The three conditions for exemption of starvation and bankruptcy in this awful day will be these: First, you must have the MARK (either on your right hand [work & labor] or in the forehead [intelligent elitism], JFB); or Secondly, you must have the NAME OF THE BEAST HIMSELF; or Lastly, you must possess the password, or as the text states, the NUMBER of his name.

Application:

Let's put this into perspective. You walk into the bank, and request the teller to make a withdrawal from your hard earned monies sitting in your account. Before the transaction can be completed, you're asked for one of three forms of identification. "Sir/Madam, I need to see your ID." Either one, you will hold out your right hand, or point to your forehead, or two you'll pull out your Good-ole Beastly Boys club card, or three, you'll punch in a magic number to get your money. If you cannot do that, you'll be fortunate to be able to escape out that facility before you'd be apprehended as an alien, and hauled off before to jail to await your execution. And lest you think I'm dreaming, our sordid human history of late has demonstrated the wickedness of these kinds of atrocities, and friend, it's happening in seed form right before our very Supreme Court today, and it will happen in full force under this wicked Minister of Deception.

Transition:

Looking like a Lamb, and Lying like Old Smaug Himself under the Lonely Mountain, this Minister of Deception has a tongue set on fire of hell, and magic fingers to woo the world into Satan's spider web of false worship, that he'll integrate a system so deviously diabolical that anyone who has deliberately, willfully, and unashamedly decided to follow and worship and serve the true God of the Bible will be sentenced to the stocks to await execution or starved to the grave through deprivation. Let us finish together by examining Wisdom's Parable.

IV. Wisdom's Parable () .

Revelation 13:18 KJV 1900

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

A. Where's Wisdom & Who Knows ().

State Point -

Lit., Here the sophia (wisdom) is! Wisdom that is from God is from above, and not of the earth. Jesus is wisdom personified in .

Anchor Point -

To find wisdom is to look no further than right here, in these verses. John tells us plainly of "him that hath understanding." That is, the one who has the mind. May I submit to you that we must have the mind of God on this. As patience and faith was the answer to overcome the First Beast, so wisdom from God is the answer to overcome the Second Beast.

Validate Point -

Even today, each of us is called to choose this day whom we will serve. Will we be Christ's disciple, take up our cross and forsaking all, I take Him? or will we fret over food and clothing? Will we serve God, and trust Him to provide for our tomorrow's, or will we fret under Mammon, and forget God?

Explain Point -

Like so many who will get out bed to go grind in the mill tomorrow morning to scrape out a living, just getting by, and some others that might wake up and run hot and heavy after the Almighty Nest-egg, in the day that this Miracle-working Deceiver works his magic on the world's minds, those who are living in the here and now, will despise the word of God and give themselves to the program of the Beast, so they can continue to either eat their measly morsels, or build their fleeting empires under his web of deception.

[Apply Point] -

The choice for them is the same choice for you and me. It's the same choice that I confirmed in my own heart years ago, as I decided to follow Jesus. I know where my treasure is, and that's where my heart is also. I'm seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and I'm thankful to report to you today, that there's not been a day that has past that I've not been blessed beyond measure. I used to fret, I used to worry about how my needs would be met on a daily basis, and that drove every daily decision I made. Until I met Jesus. Then I understood freedom. I understood God's loving provision and peace. I realized that I could not serve God and Mammon at the same time, and I gave it all over to Jesus, and have never looked back.

B. What's Known ().

State Point -

The way to understand what's happening here is to count the cost.

Anchor Point -

John says that the one who understands, or the one who has the mind, also has a command to count. This is not a suggestion, it is of imperative importance to stand at this crossroads today, and count the cost of what it means to truly live for God, no matter if times are good, or if times are bad.

Validate Point -

The Holy Spirit directed John to use this word by Divine Inspiration. Oh do we stand to profit from this one word of Sacred Scripture, as EVERY word is profitable!

Explain Point -

Interestingly, the only other place this word us used is in . Luke chapter fourteen and the latter part deals specifically with discipleship. There, the Bible says, "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?"

[Apply Point] -

Luke 14:28 KJV 1900

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Vines states that this word is "akin to psephos, "a stone," used in voting.

Application:

Today, I hope and pray that you will count the cost with me, and with all those who will live godly in Christ Jesus. I invite you, this moment, to cast your vote for Christ, and let it be counted in your life that you will live for God, no matter what may come!

Conclusion

To discern the Earth-Beast, or the vile False Prophet, we know that he will look like a lamb and lie like a dragon. He’ll exercise authority of the Antichrist and lead the world in idolatrous worship before him. He’ll have such an impact on the world’s economy that believers will die because of their fidelity to the One True God of the Bible. That’s the wisdom that John shares with us. Yet, today, the Holy Spirit is convicting the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Jesus calls to you today and invites you to Him.

Where is that young man or young lady today, right now that will have true wisdom? Where is that father, mother, grandfather, grandmother that will cast the ballot of their life for Christ, and determine to be counted among God's people? Who will say right now, I'm tired of being the devil's goat, I'm ready to become the lamb of Christ! I want to be counted among His sheep! Where is that lost sheep of Christ's today that has gotten lost in the world and is living in fear of tomorrow? Where is that one that Jesus left the ninety and nine for to come and rescue? Will you be the one today that will send the angels in heaven rejoicing, over one sinner that repenteth?

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