[Music]
Now if you are in a driving storm as I was this week
and you turn on your GPS system you can get some information as
to what's coming down the road. Seems like our tollway has been
stacked up recently with accidents and I can click on my
GPS and not only get weather, but I can get traffic
information, and see down the road just a little bit as to
what to expect. Maybe I take an exit, maybe I take a turn, or
maybe I just turn on some worship music and sit there. But
whatever it is, it's good to have some insight and some
foresight as to what's coming down the road. Now we've already
said we're in a spiritual battle. And certainly when you
get to the Revelation and now the Tribulation period, the
Great Tribulation, we know that this battle is going to
intensify; and culminating in the great battle of Armageddon
where the final world battle will be fought. And in that day
war will be ended. No more. And Christ the Victor will reign
forever and ever. But all of these battles in the process are
within the plan of God. Everything that... that happens
on earth is governed by God. I don't want you to see all this
disaster and tragedy on earth as something out of control. What
God does is allow evil to run its course and ultimately to end
evil as we know it. You can't talk about Last Days prophecy...
you can't talk about the Revelation without talking about
the antichrist. Who is the antichrist? Aka the man of sin,
the son of perdition or the son of hell. He's called in the
Bible the lawless one. The antichrist is the rider of the
white horse. And as we meet him here he is the beast. First
point is the identity of the antichrist. (I hope you're
taking notes.) The identity of the antichrist might surprise
you. Verse one says: 1) And I saw a beast rising out of the
sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and ten diadems on its
horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2) And the beast that
I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its
mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon (Who is the
dragon? Who is the dragon? Satan is the dragon) Satan gives him
power and his throne and great authority. Now the fact is the
antichrist is definitely a person. He has a personal
identity. But the antichrist is also a spirit who is in the
world today. John, the Revelator, the one who gave us
the book of Revelation, in his letter, 1 John, speaks of the
spirit of antichrist. Well, he speaks of both, the one who is
to come at the end of the age... the antichrist, the person who
is the antichrist. But he also speaks of the spirit of the
antichrist. What is the spirit of the antichrist? John tells us
it is the denial that Jesus is Lord. And people who deny Christ
and dishonor Christ are possessed by the spirit of the
antichrist which John said is already in the world. There's
been a lot of speculation through the years as to who is
the antichrist from political leaders, world leaders,
spiritual leaders, false messiahs. Jesus said one of the
signs of the Last Days would be the rise of false messiahs and
false prophets and false religious leaders, and these
certainly possess the spirit of the antichrist. Later on in
chapter 13 we'll briefly meet the beast who is the second
beast, the false prophet who is a cohort in the criminal
activity of the first beast, the antichrist. Are you with me yet?
[chuckle] There's a lot of characters to meet! But the
primary character here is this antichrist. And the spirit of
the antichrist is always in the atmosphere,
in the air and in all of those who deny Christ. So
through the years there have always been candidates that
Satan could easily slide into becoming the antichrist. So
whether you're talking... Some people looked at Nero and
Domitian and Hitler and Osama bin Laden. Well let me just say
all of those guys will be like boy scouts compared to the real
antichrist. The antichrist is something else, something more.
He is the final and fully, energized-by-Satan beast on the
earth. He... Just like Judas... When Judas betrayed the Lord,
don't think of Judas as being just a misguided individual who
lost his way. Jesus said he was the son of perdition, the son of
hell. And Satan entered into him... into Judas, and he
betrayed the Lord to the cross. So there will be another time in
which Satan will enter into an individual. When you think about
it... think with me here a bit... Satan doesn't know when
the Last Days are coming. He doesn't know when Christ is
coming. Jesus said only the Father in heaven knows when I'm
coming. So if Satan doesn't know, he always has to have
somebody ready, wouldn't you think? So somebody... You say,
"Is the antichrist in the world today? Is he alive today?"
Maybe. Could be. We don't know. I will say that it is foolish
and a waste of time as to try to speculate as to who the
antichrist actually is; some person that you know. The
antichrist is not your ex-husband, alright? [laughter]
And to speculate is foolish. In fact if you know who the
antichrist is... if you figure out who the antichrist is, then
I've got some bad news to you... to give to you. You've been left
behind. [laughter] because the antichrist is not revealed until
after the Rapture of the church. That time when Christ comes and
takes Christians into heaven and the Holy Spirit is removed;
indwelling believers. And so the identity of the antichrist is
unknown as to exactly who he is, but the word anti means... It,
of course, means against or an opponent. He is the anti-Christ;
he opposes Christ. He is... he is against Christ and the
kingdom of God, so we know that's true. But the prefix anti
can also mean... it can also mean in place of. In other
words, the antichrist is an imitator christ, a counterfeit
christ. He is a fraud; he is a fake; he is a knockoff. I was in
New York several years ago and over in Chinatown I came up to
one of those places that had a sign that said "Genuine fake
Rolexes here". [laughter] I was just reading this week online
about the counterfeit business in terms of products... clothing
and handbags and cell phones. You know, if you've got an
i-phone, you know. Now does every phone now look like an
i-phone? I mean it's an immitation. If you've got
something else, that's okay. But the i-phone changed the cell
phone world. And now everything looks pretty much like an
i-phone. There... It's the world of copies, it's the world of
fakes. Well, the idea of the antichrist... This is the one
who is the great pretender. He is a fraud. He is a forgery of
Christ. He is the devil's messiah. Satan has always been
an imitator! He desires to be worshipped as God. That's what
got the devil booted out of heaven to begin with... his
desire to be worshipped as God. That's still his desire. And now
he [1 Peter 5:8] "roams the earth seeking whom he may
devour." The antichrist is... If the devil has a son this is it!
- This is it! The antichrist whose purpose is to deny Christ
and deify Satan... the purpose of the antichrist is to deny
Christ and to deify Satan! The Scripture here in verse 1 says
that this beast rises out of the sea. This speaks of the
turbulence of the Tribulation, of the nations fomenting in this
disaster that has become the Great Tribulation. Satan will
make his appearance... Or the son of Satan will make his
appearance after the Rapture, as I mentioned, and he will gain
power in the second half of the Tribulation. In fact we're told
that (it will be in verse 5) 42 months into the Tribulation...
42 months left. So halfway in he will assume total power. So he
rises,... the antichrist rises in the vacuum of political and
economic chaos. Nations will be at war. The world will literally
be aflame. Israel will be reeling! Europe will be out of
control. Russia, China, all of the Middle East and beyond are
engaged in this disaster which has been described here as the
Tribulation. And we've been walking our way through these
dark days of the Tribulation. Jesus said in John 5:43, "I've
come in My Father's name and you did not receive. And if another
comes in his own name you will receive him." If you reject
Christ, you will not reject the antichrist. Let me say that
again. If you reject Christ in the day that comes in the
future, you will not reject the antichrist. If you reject the
[John 1:29] "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"
you will not ultimately reject... or... reject the
beast; you will receive the beast because he will come in
the power of Satan performing great miracles. That's what
we're told in verse 2. 2) To the dragon he gave power and a great
throne and authority. And 4) And they worshiped the dragon (verse
4) for he has given his authority to the beast, and they
worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who
can fight against it?" So in talking about his personality,
there are several things that are worth noting and I mention
very quickly. One, he is a Gentile, not a Jew. That comes
from the fact that he rises out of the Gentile nations. Chapter
17 of Revelation speaks of these nations, or the seas rather in
turmoil and turbulence as being the languages and the nations
and the peoples of the world. So when it says the beast rises out
of this raging sea, this turbulent tribulation, it's an
indicator that he is not a Jewish messiah but a Gentile
ruler. We're told that he has ten horns and seven heads and
ten crowns, all of this illustrative... symbolic
language to indicate his power and his authority. The horns
represent power and authority, the head... the crowned head
symbolizes his rule. This is all in accordance to what the
prophet Daniel gave us seven hundred years before. And I
would love to take you back to the book of Daniel because the
Last Days are prescribed and prophesied not only in the New
Testament but in the Old Testament; the book of Daniel
for one. And the book... In Daniel he spoke of the man of
sin and the lawless one and the last one; called him the little
horn. And he spoke of kingdoms that would come and prophesied
with these animals. And when you read here... We've got to take
time to do this, alright? Look at verse 2; it says and the
beast was like a leopard, he was like a bear, and he was like a
lion's mouth, and the dragon gave him power. And so you had
the leopard on his feet, the bear, and his mouth, the lion's
mouth. That's all right out of the book of Daniel who was
describing the kingdoms... the great kingdoms of the world in
ancient history. Babylonian kingdom, that's the lion; the
Medo-Persian kingdom, that is the bear; the Greek kingdom or
the kingdom of Greece which is the leopard; and then Rome...
the Roman legion which came with the iron fist of Rome and
controlled the world. And ultimately... you just got to
study a little more on this, or take my word for it right now...
Ultimately the antichrist will preside over a commonwealth, a
coalition of nations in Europe... in Europe that
represent a revived Roman Empire... a revived Roman
Empire. And the action that we read in Scripture all takes
place, not in America, but in this confederation of nations, a
revived European council, if you will, which seems to be
happening even today at some level... a coalescing. You have
the Euro now and many other signs that Europe is
confederating for the future. And ultimately the antichrist
will seize power. He'll make a promise to Israel. Israel will
be in great trouble during the Tribulation, and can barely
stand, and so the antichrist... the beast will come as a friend
to Israel, make a covenant, make a contract, betray Israel...
it's all happening there. When you read your Bible you see
Israel, you see Middle East, you see Iran, you see evidences of
China, Russia-Gog and Magog. All the action is somewhere else,
and you have to ask yourself the question: In prophecy where is
America? Where in the world is America? Because America is
absent in the prophetic Scriptures. The Scriptures are
silent regarding the United States! America is missing in
action. Why is that? What happens to America? Today
America, of course, is a world power... super power; the key
player in the political action of the world... world affairs.
But even the most optimistic regarding America know that our
powers and our presence is diminishing in the world. The
national debt is particularly troubling. The debt this country
owes. But beyond money, the moral decline, the moral
meltdown of this nation is sobering, startling and no
nation has survived the moral decay that we are experiencing
as a country at this hour. We know that
God said I will bless those that bless Israel and curse those who
curse Israel. And if America ever chooses to back off from
our closest ally in the middle east, Israel then trouble is
ahead and I'm just naming you some of the ways in which I
believe why America is not on the scene in the last days.
Economic collapse, national debt, moral disintegration,
spiritual decline! Another reason America would be out of
the scene is when the rapture happens, there millions of
Christians in the United States who will be gone. Just like
that. So that certainly affects the future of America doesn't
it? When millions of Christians in the U.S. are no longer here
it will trigger the end of America as we know it, thus all
the action in the Revelation is in Europe and in the middle east
and in China and in Russia. This beast, described as a powerful
persuader, he will be... not only will he be a person, a
gentile person and not a Jew but he will be a powerful persuader,
a compelling communicator. And people blinded by their sin will
be deceived and duped into the lies of the antichrist. Look
back in Revelation 13 chapter 13 verse 5: "And the beast was
given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words and it was
allowed to exercise authority for 42 months," that's the
second half of the tribulation. So he's got a mouth on him. And
he convinces people with words. You know all great leaders, good
or bad (great-good, great-bad), have the ability to communicate
and persuade. Hitler had that! In the midst of the struggles of
Germany and the poverty of Germany, Hitler with his
powerful, persuasive oratorical skills gained command of Germany
and nearly the world. And so powerful communicators... he
will use words, he will be convincing and compelling and he
will shape opinions. He will certainly control media. And
when he speaks... talks here about his words in Revelation
13... the world will hear his words and worship him! He won't
even need a teleprompter when he speaks. He'll just speak and
people will believe because he'll be energized by Satan. And
there will be an image built of... of the antichrist and the
whole world will worship him. He does it with wonders, he does it
with signs and miracles. And ultimately... I'm going to close
with this... there is a mark that is given. You've heard of
the mark of the beast... 666. We're told in Revelation 13
about this mark. Verse 18 says: 18) ... Let the one who has
understanding calculate the number of the beast for it is
the number of a man, and his number is 666. Six is the number
for man; six-falling short of seven, the number for God;
six-man was created on the sixth day, six days shall he work...
and so on. So six is the number of man. You have it three times.
Three is the number for the Trinity. So 666 is man deified.
666. And so there will be some kind of mark, probably a digital
mark, a brand, if you will, a digital brand. They'll put it in
your forehead; put it on your hand. You know, can't you just
see guys walking up... "Say, put it right there; just put it
right there." Our dogs have a little digital piece in them
right now. If they get lost, we can go find them, hopefully. So
digital mechanisms and computer chips and all the rest. It will
be easy to control commerce with this mark because we're told
that the mark of the beast means that you will neither buy or
sell without it. Verse 16 and 17: 16) And it causes all, both
small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be
marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17) so that no one can
buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the
beast or the number of its name. So in other words, the purpose
of the mark is merchandising. It's controlling commerce. How
do you rule? How do you rule? You rule the money. It's the
golden rule: he who has the gold rules. That's why many of these
CEO's and boards in some of these corporations that are
yielding to sin in their midst is because they care more about
the money. It's always been about the money! Always about
the money! And Satan knows if he can control the money, he can
control mankind. So you won't buy medicine, you won't buy
clothing, you won't buy housing, you won't buy anything without
the mark, without the brand of the beast. So I have a closing
question to ask you. Are you a name or are you a number? The
Scripture tells us right here in the Revelation, chapter 13 and
verse 8 that there is a book, the Lamb's Book of Life and the
names of those who are saved, who are on their way to heaven
are recorded... their names are recorded in that book. When I
was a little boy, six years of age, I went forward under a tent
where an evangelist was preaching, and I professed my
faith in Christ and received Jesus into my life as my Savior
and Lord. I've been following Him ever since. On that day
there was a recording angel who wrote my name in the Lamb's Book
of Life. And if you have trusted Christ... if you are a follower
of Jesus your name is there, too. "There's a new name written
down in glory, and it's mine, oh yes, it's mine." I'm in there!
And nobody's going to wipe it out. Nobody's going to blot it
out. It's permanent! We're secure in Christ! It's written
in the royal blood of Jesus! So I ask you, is your name there?
Is your name...? Are you a name or are you a number? The Christ
knows your name; the antichrist's got your number.
And you get to choose whether you are going to follow Christ
or antichrist, and you choose today. You choose today by
trusting in him and following Jesus who died for you on the
cross and rose again so that you can have eternal life. So I'm
going to ask that every head be bowed and every eye closed.
These are serious times, sobering times, scary times in
many ways but we live in hope because we know Christ. We live
in certainty and security and if you want to know that security
that hope in Christ today pray a prayer like this from your
heart, Lord Jesus I want to know you and follow you, I trust you
as my savior, I turn from my sin I trust in you. The Bible says
whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. So just say
Jesus, Jesus, save me, make me your child, and give me the
strength to profess you and openly follow you all the days
of my life until you come for me. Are you a name or are you a
number? I guarantee you according to God's word, if you
are praying to receive Christ right now
your name is written down
in the lamb's book of life. Make sure it's there by trusting
Christ today.
[Music]
Spiritual forces are at work behind every
victory, every defeat, every blessing and every
disappointment you experience. That's why I wrote my new book,
"Unseen" and it's why I want to send you a copy today.
Challenging popular opinion about spiritual warfare,
"Unseen" teaches you how to navigate this present world in
light of the forces that you cannot see and it's full of
practical, in-depth guidance about the spiritual realm in
which all of us, including you are a part. And my prayer is
that after reading "Unseen" you will come away enlightened about
the supernatural world and be encouraged that God can provide
protection, provision and power, His very presence to win
spiritual battles every day of your life. There is an unseen,
invisible world that surrounds us everyday, it's just as real
as you are. Want to know more? Then get the book, it will
completely change your attitude toward the spiritual world so
please order your copy of "Unseen" today.
Here's something
that's very much on my heart in these days. We need to continue
to support our greatest alley as Americans and that would be
Israel. We need to pray for the people of Israel, and that not
only includes the Jewish people but the Palestinians as well. We
need to pray that people, both Jew and Gentile would come to
faith in Jesus Christ and we need to support Israel and
Jerusalem it's capitol. And we need to pray like never before,
we need to pray for personal revival, I need to pray for
revival in my own life, for revival in our church and in our
churches, for revival in our communities, our nation. Pray
for spiritual awakening in America and let's pray that God
would move in these last days before he comes for his church
that our God would move in a mighty and powerful way in our
lives so that when we go to heaven we'll take as many people
with us as possible.
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