Turn with me to the book of Revelation
chapter 17. I would like to deal this evening
with verses 11 through the first part of the 14th verse. I've entitled this message this
evening, The Overcomers. the overcomers. In our study this morning, one
of the angels had explained the mystery of the woman and the
beast that carried her to the apostle John. We looked again
and we realized that this beast is this world and its government. It has been described in the
ninth verse that we looked at this morning as having seven
heads, seven mountains on which the woman sits. Now the woman
was said to sit, we saw back in the first part of the seventeenth
chapter. In the tenth verse we saw that
the beast is made up of seven kings. It said five of them are
fallen, their kingdoms have fallen. One is, that is, was in power
at the time of John's writing. We considered that it could have
been the Roman Empire and probably was. But the Scripture doesn't
say that, and so we assume of whatever the king was at that
time, the power it was in power. And the Scripture says, and the
other is not yet come. When he cometh, he must continue
a short space. In the eleventh verse, the Scripture
says, and this is where we'll pick up, And the beast that was
and is not, even he is the eighth and is of the seven, and goeth
into perdition. And the ten horns which thou
sawest are ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet, but
receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one
mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. And I'd like to deal with the
first part of this fourteenth verse. These shall make war with
the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them. And Lord willing,
we'll stop there for this evening. Now, I would like to say before
we get into this study this evening, that this blessed book that we
are looking at, there are some things that we do, as I said
this morning, know. We know that this is the revelation
of Jesus Christ. We know that. We know that the
Lord is setting forth in this book one thing, Himself and the
security that His people have in Him as we travel through this
life. From the fall in the garden until
the second coming of our Lord and the grand marriage of the
bride to Him, the Lord is keeping His people. In this book there
is great symbolism. as it was and is in the book
of Song of Solomon. And as I've told you before,
I do not claim to be able to see everything that is set forth. I know that I don't, Mitch. I
know I don't. But there are some things that
I think the Lord has been pleased to reveal. There are some things
that we have to look at other Scriptures to see. and to have a better understanding.
And the safest thing to do if the Lord has not been pleased
to reveal something to us, the safest thing to do is to say,
I have no light on that particular passage of Scripture. So I start
this message because I'm going to tell you right now, this has
been one that has truly I'm truthful as I can be. I think that I'm
truthful here. That I've asked the Lord, please,
if it please You, would You give me some light on this? Would
You teach us something? Because I would like to know
if You're pleased to reveal it. I know that if He's pleased to
reveal it, He will. So as we look at this symbolism,
as we look at this, let's pray together that the Lord be pleased
to teach us something. It says that the beast that was
and is not, and we know that it is this world's government.
I mean, we've gone over that enough. It says, made up of seven
heads, seven kingdoms, it says that the beast is the eighth. Now, the amazing thing about
that statement is that verse 9 says This is the mind that
hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains. It told us that this beast has
actually seven heads. There's seven. And it says that
the beast himself is the eighth. Now that terminology there just
kind of, our mind begins to try to look at that and compute exactly
What is that saying? Now, I know this, that the beast
itself is not one. It's not the eighth as the other
seven are. That is, he's not an individual
like the other seven. But he is, and he's said here
to be, a present binding. So much so that he's looked upon
as a singular entity. This, after looking at the words
and trying to get the meaning of that terminology there. This is what I think is being
said. He is that mystical person that
is actually made up of all the heads, the kings. We look at
a family. Here's a man and a woman and
they've got four kids. And they are a family. And it's
like the family itself is an entity made up. When I was a
few years ago, I was doing some work, some artwork for a military
institution. I heard something for the first
time. I'm sure you've probably heard
this before, but this was the first time I had ever heard this
particular terminology. Whenever the football team of
this institution would be out on the field, there were 11 men
on the field. There were 11 football players
on the field. But the whole corps of cadets
that sat up in the stands was called the twelfth man. They
were the twelfth man. That is what I believe is the
significance of what is being said here. The beast is made
up of seven heads, seven mountains, seven kingdoms on which the woman
sits. There are seven kings, verse
10 says, seven. Five are fallen, one is, the
other has not yet come. When he comes, there are seven
of them. And the beast itself, he is the eighth, so much so
that he's considered actually an entity of himself. In fact,
the Scripture says the beast that was and is not, even he
is the eighth and he is of the seven, his origin in the essence. He's so closely knit. You see
the unity of that union in one person and he is The eighth. He's of the seven. The origin
out of the same pit and his end shall be the same. He is the
representation of the whole group. And the Scripture says, and he
is of the seven and goeth into perdition. He goeth into ruin. The whole entity as a unit. One. There's seven of them. Here's
six people. A man, a woman, and four kids.
That's a family. How many families? One. One. One entity. One family. And so
here he is. He said to go into perdition. Now, our Lord said something
about perdition. Turn over to John 17.12. The
Gospel of John 17.12. John 17.12. All right, John chapter 17 and
verse 12. All right, I'm looking for the
Scripture and it's not, someone tell me, maybe it's 21. Maybe
I changed it around. I'm looking for the one that
talks about the son of perdition. Which one is that? Which verse
is that? Here it is, verse, well, it is 12. What was I doing? I'm
looking at it and I'm not reading it like it is. It is verse 12.
John 17, 12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them,
in thy name, those that thou gavest me have I kept. And none
of them is lost but the son of perdition that the Scripture
might be fulfilled." Now, that terminology there, the son of
perdition, it means this, the kinsman of ruin, the son of perdition. I've lost none. All that you've
given me, I've lost none except the son of perdition, the kinsman
of ruin." Now, the Lord spoke of Judas as the son of perdition,
the kinsman of ruin. Now, in 2 Thessalonians, just
listen to this, 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 3, "...let no man deceive
you by any means, for that day shall not come except there come
a falling away first, And that man of sin, the son of perdition,
be revealed." Now, if there is a revelation to be made, then
who is he talking about when he's talking about Judas saying
the son of perdition? None's been lost except the son
of perdition. That terminology encompasses
the kinsmen that are ruined, the son of perdition. all outside
of Christ, the Son of Perdition, the Kinsman of the ruined. Just
like when the Lord Jesus Christ was called the Son of Man, the
Kinsman, the Son of God, the Kinsman, the same, one of, knit
together. No man shall deceive you. That day, the day of Christ's
coming, shall not come unless there is a falling away first."
Now, that falling away first, now you know one thing for sure. If Almighty God has ever called
a man or a woman out of darkness, what's the possibility that they're
going to fall away? None. None. We're kept by the
power of God. falling away first. You know
that it's not from grace. You're not going to fall from
grace. This falling away has nothing
to do with true believers. This falling away. But it has
everything to do with nominal professors. That is false professors. Fake professors. Pretending. There's always tares among the
wheat. Always. Men cannot truly fall
away from that which they've never possessed. But they can
and they shall fall away from an empty profession of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And that man of sin be revealed,
the Lord said, the son of perdition. That countenance or that appearance
of sin be revealed. taken off, the son of perdition,
not merely Judas, but all like him, traitors. And as Judas,
the Scripture says, went to his place, so shall the beast who
is a culmination of all of this world's rebellion against the
Lord Jesus Christ. The Scripture says in verse 11,
And the beast that was and is not Even he is the eighth, and
is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And then the Scripture
says, And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings which
have received no kingdom as yet, but received power as kings one
hour with the beast. Now, as we consider these ten
horns, We are going to look back into the book of Daniel and try
to look at the Scriptures and see what does the Word of God
have to say about this beast that has the ten horns. This verse of Scripture is truly
one that we must seek the Lord's guidance and direction upon. We know that the ten horns which
thou sawest are ten kings. That's what it says. These ten
horns, that's what verse 12 says. The ten horns which thou sawest
are ten kings. That word there means emblems
of power. There are ten horns. There are
ten kings. Emblems of power. Now, turn to
Daniel chapter 2. Daniel 2. I'm going to read verses 31 to
35 first. Daniel 2, and then we'll go from
there. We're going to read a little bit in Daniel, so hold your finger
here. Daniel 2. Now, the key to this beast in
Revelation 17 is the description of ten horns. That's what he
says. The ten horns which thou sawest
are ten kings. So this beast that John saw in
the vision in Revelation 17 has ten horns. Daniel 2. Daniel 2 and beginning in verse
31. Thou, O king, Nebuchadnezzar had had a dream. That's what
happened. Thou, O king, sawest. And behold a great image, this
great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee,
and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine
gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his
thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron,
part clay. Thou sawest till that a stone
was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet
that were of iron and clay, and break them to pieces. Then was
the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, the gold, broken
to pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer
threshing floors. And the wind carried them away,
that no place was found for them, and the stone that smote the
image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth."
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. And in this dream, he saw this
image that was standing there, this great image. And it was
described. Daniel told him. He said, this
is what you saw in your dream. It started with a head of gold
and then silver and brass. It came all the way down to the
feet. And the feet were made out of
iron and clay mixed together. Alright? Let's keep reading in
verse 36. Now we have the interpretation
of that image. This is the dream, and we will
tell the interpretation thereof before the King. Thou, O King,
art a King of kings, for the God of heaven hath given thee
a kingdom, power, strength, and glory, and whatsoever the children
of men dwelled, the beasts of the field, the fowls of the heaven
hath he given unto thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over
them all. Thou art this head of gold. After
these shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another
third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the
earth. And the fourth kingdom shall
be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and
subdueth all things, and as iron that breaketh all these shall
it break in pieces and bruise, and whereas thou sawest the feet
and toes part of potter's clay and part iron, the kingdom shall
be divided, but there shall be in it of the strength of the
iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay,
and as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay,
so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. Whereas
thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves
with the seed of men, but they shall not cleave one to another,
even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people,
but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that
the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that
it break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver,
the gold, the great God hath made known to the king what shall
come to pass hereafter, and the dream is certain, and the interpretation
thereof sure." Now just hold your hand right there. Now so
far this is what we know. Nebuchadnezzar saw this image.
It started with the head of gold. Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel told him,
he said, you're that head of gold. You're the most prominent
one. There'll be others that come
out like you. They'll be inferior to you, inferior, until it'll
come down to where it's just toes of miry clay and iron. They're going to be weak. Now,
verse 42, that's what it says. As the toes of the feet were
part of iron part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong
and partly broken." Now these toes tell us that this whole
image actually is frail. It is flawed. We know that the
very foundation on which this image stands is weak. You know that. Now you try to
stand up and you can have the most healthy Head and neck and
shoulders and arms. But if your ankles, your toes
are broken. I had a broken toe. A little
toe. One little toe. And I'm telling you, I have never
in my life been so hindered. I have never kicked more things
and touched more things with that little toe. It was like
that little toe went to everything. I couldn't put my shoes on. It
was the most uncomfortable But if everything about my feet,
my toes and my feet and my ankle are all broken, nothing else
stands. This image, the very foundation
on which it stood, was weak. Now, verse 44 tells us something
about the toes of verse 42. As the toes of the feet were
part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly
strong and partly broken." But I want you to look at what verse
44 calls those toes. It says, "...in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed,
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand forever." So, so far we know this. In the midst of this
great image that's standing, it's weak because its toes are
made out of iron and clay, and in the midst of these weak toes
of this image, The Scripture says there's going to be another
kingdom that's going to be set up. It says, in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom in this world.
And I'll tell you what's going to happen. That kingdom is never
going to be destroyed in the midst. And it says here that
these, back in Revelation 17, hold your hand there in Daniel,
but it says that these These kings that we looked at, the
ten horns, which were ten kings, they received power as kings
for one hour with this beast. Just a short period of time,
alright? Now, further description of this
beast. The reason I'm going so slowly
through this is so we can understand what are these ten horns. What do we think? Let's look
at what are these ten horns because the Scripture is going to reveal
something very, very sobering. Over in Daniel chapter 7, we
continue seeing something about this. Daniel said in Daniel 7
verse 3, it says, 4 great beasts came up from the sea. diverse
from one another. So Daniel, he sees a vision.
And this sees the governmental, the rule of this world, the governmental
rule. Four powers. And it says that
the first three were dreadful. They were described. Look at
verses 4 to 6. The first was like a lion had
eagle's wings, and I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked.
It was lifted up from the earth and made to stand upon the feet
of a man, and a man's heart was given unto it. And behold, another
beast, a second like a bear, and it raised up itself on one
side. It had three ribs in the mouth of it, between the teeth
of it. And they said thus unto it, Arise
and devour much flesh. And after this I beheld, and
lo, another beast like a leopard, which had upon the back of it
four wings of a fowl. And the beast had also four heads,
and dominion was given unto it, I know this, whatever and whoever
these beasts here represent. Did you notice now the Scripture
did not say? It didn't name a kingdom. It didn't say Egypt. So far,
we've looked at three beasts, but here's what I know about
their character. I know this, they're courageous. I know that. The first one was
like a lion. I know this. The next one was
like a bear. Cruel. And I know this. The third one was like a leopard.
Stealth. Stealthy. Cunning. But this fourth
beast was one that caused Daniel some great grief. Look at verse
7. After this, I saw in the night
visions and behold a fourth beast, dreadful, and terrible, and strong
exceedingly, and it had great iron teeth, and it devoured in
breaking pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of
it, and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it,
and it had ten horns." Ten horns. He watched the vision. of the
destruction of this fourth beast by the Ancient of Days, starting
in verse 9 until verse 14. It says, I beheld till the thrones
were cast down. And the Ancient of Days, this
is in Daniel 7, 9, I beheld till the thrones were cast down. He
saw these four beasts that came to him. He said, I watched this
vision till they were cast down in the ancient of days. The Lord
Himself did sit, whose garment was white as snow and the hair
of His head like the pure wool. His throne was like the fiery
flame in His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and
came forth from before Him Thousands, thousands ministered unto him,
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him, and the judgment
was set, and the books were opened. And I beheld then, because of
the voice of the great words which the horn spake, I beheld
even till the beast was slain, his body destroyed and given
to the burning flame concerning the rest of the beast. They had
their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for
a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and
behold, One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven
and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before
Him, and there was given Him dominion and glory and a kingdom
that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him. His
dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and
His kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed." Now here's
what I know. Though there is much cloaked in that passage
right there, concerning exactly who they are, I do understand
this. God is going to destroy them.
I know that. I know that the Ancient of Days,
the Everlasting One, shall have absolute control and dominion
over these. Daniel, though about the fourth
beast, the one that had the ten horns, Daniel was very perplexed. Look at verse 15. After he saw
that in this vision, this is what would happen. These four
beasts are going to be destroyed. But look at verse 15. I, Daniel,
was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions
of my head troubled me. Daniel's heart was truly troubled
concerning the four beasts, but especially the fourth. I want
you to look at verse 16. Daniel did the right thing. He
sought some good counsel. He said, I came near unto one
of them that stood by, and I asked him the truth of this. So he
told me and made known the interpretation of these things. And then the
interpreter gave Daniel the interpretation in verses 17 to 28. Now, I know
this is a few verses of Scripture, but we're going to read them.
He said, these great beasts which are four, are four kings, or
emblems of power, which shall rise out of the earth. But the
saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess
the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. Then I would know
the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the
others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were as iron, and his nails
of brass which devoured and breaking pieces, and stamped the residue
with his feet, and of the ten horns that were in his head,
and of the others that came up, before whom three fell, even
of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great
things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and
the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against
them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given
to the saints of the Most High. And the time came that the saints
possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth beast
shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse
from all kingdoms, shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread
it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this
kingdom are ten kings that shall arise, and another shall arise
after him, and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall
subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words
against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most
High, and think to change times and laws, and they shall be given
into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of times.
But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion
to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom
and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdom unto the whole
heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most
High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. and all dominions shall
serve and obey him. Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my cogitations
much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me, but I kept the
matter in my heart." Now, as to the exact revelation and understanding,
now that was something that Daniel saw that greatly perplexed him. He saw four beasts. The fourth
one that had ten horns was the one that grieved him, grieved
him in his heart." Now, there are some things that are implied
in that passage of Scripture that I think will give us some
understanding of this great beast that I truly believe. is the
great beast that the believer sees and knows is there and realizes,
but for the grace of God, he would be consumed. No matter
how horrible the satanic kingdoms of this world shall be, we know
this, that we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Now
what Daniel saw in the revelation of that fourth beast in the asking
of the ten horns, he knows this, that the ancient of days rules. He knows that. Paul said in Romans
8.38, I am persuaded, we read this this morning, that neither
death nor life nor angels or principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor the things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus." You know that. You know
that. We have no doubt that Almighty
God that has everlastingly loved us, redeemed us, called us out
of darkness, shall keep us. We know that. our security that is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Still, Daniel, in the passage
that we read, sought God's revelation as to the fourth beast, that
one that had the four horns. We know that this beast is diverse. That's what he said. He said
the fourth was diverse. from all of the others. It is
different from all the kingdoms that it will devour or that it
will eat or tread down or break in pieces. This fourth beast
that has the ten horns, that beast itself has a universal
warlike character about him. And the Scripture says, that
these ten horns, back in Daniel 7 that we just read, are emblems
of power, shall actually arise and be the same as the beast
that we're looking at in Revelation. That warlike spirit is seen to
be anti-Christ. It's against the Lord. It wears
out. or it afflicts the saints of
God. This spirit of Antichrist actually
formed in the heart of these ten horns exhibits itself to
the point of thinking that they are actually more wise than God.
It says that they think to change times and laws. That's what the
Scripture says back in Daniel 7. in Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Ecclesiastes 3. The Scripture says in Ecclesiastes
3 and verse 1 concerning the times or the seasons. Ecclesiastes 3.1, it says, to
everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under
heaven. Verse 11 of Ecclesiastes 3 says,
Who is this? He who? The Lord Himself. He hath made everything beautiful
in His time. Also, He hath set the world in
their heart so that no man can find out the work that God maketh
from the beginning to the end. God Almighty has set the times,
the seasons, The Lord has set in order all things. This beast
with the ten horns, he's got it in his mind to change the
times and the laws, or the decrees. That is, in opposition to Him
that worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. This, the thinking of changing
the times and laws, is actually the thought or the attempt to
actually dethrone God, to be God. You remember that chapter
16 of the book of Revelation told us that the beast would
actually be judged. And I said again that chapter
17, chapter 18 tells us why. It describes this beast's character. the mystery Babylon, the mother
of harlots and this beast. This is why God is going to judge
them. This period of heinous rebellion
against Almighty God, the Scripture says, is going to be for time
and times and the dividing of a time. But no matter how horrible
this beast is, we know this, Our God reigns. That's what we
read back in Daniel 7. The Lord Himself reigns. When it comes right down to it,
the power of sin, the very heart and desire of the dragon that
the beast and that the false prophet have is going to fully
be revealed. Their very heart, their very
purpose, it's going to be revealed and God Almighty is going to
destroy it. Now, I want us to look, and here's
the question. We've looked at the character
of this beast. We know this, that this beast,
he is the eighth. He is of the seven. One entity. I know that it's this world's
government that the great whore sits never lose sight of who
we're talking about. The great beast of this world's
government and all of the stuff that is involved. And one that
Daniel saw manifested himself so much as to be the ten-horned
beast. The one that perplexed him the
most. The one that caused his very
heart to grieve. To what do these ten horns refer. I mean, if we get right down
to it, that's really what I'd like to know. I've read something
of their character. I've read how they go about to
devour the saints, to tramp down, to kill. It was the manifestation
of something that so perplexed Daniel. It said he grieved the
other three that he saw. It was as if he dealt with them
in understanding what they were, easier than he said. But that
fourth one, that fourth beast with these horns, to what was
Daniel seeing? What grieved him? I think that
these ten horns of power, and that's what they are, emblems
of power that come out from the governments of this world. These
ten horns, ten kings, Ten powers. I think that these are actually
representatives of the most dangerous revelation of who the beast really
is. These ten horns. This is the
one that exposes more than you'll ever realize or I'll ever realize.
What are they? Who are they? What do these ten
horns mean? These emblems of power. Turn
over to Matthew 13. I think that this right here,
these ten horns, and here again, the Scriptures does not set forth and it does
not name. I've read some parts where men
have written and they said, well, those ten horns actually started
naming, you know, the Chaldeans and this and that one and this
and that. And again, as I've said, how do you know that? You're
guessing. You're guessing. I pray that
what the Lord is pleased to reveal in this will give us truly some
insight on what are these ten horns, what are these emblems
of power. I know that they are the toes
that are mingled with the iron and the miry clay of the great
image. I know they are strong and weak. I know they are. I
know that they are going to be judged. I know that the stone
that was cut out by no hands is going to destroy the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself. I know that. I know His kingdom
is going to stand forever. But what are these ten toes that
Daniel saw that are actually referred to as kings? The ten
horns that Daniel saw that grieved him, what are they? Matthew chapter
13. Matthew 13 beginning with verse
18. Hear ye therefore the parable
of the sower. When any man heareth the word
of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked
one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is
he which receiveth seed by the wayside. But he that receiveth
the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word,
and anon with joy receiveth it. Yet hath he not root in himself,
but dureth for a while. For when tribulation or persecution
ariseth because of the word by and by, he is offended. Now watch
this next verse of Scripture. He also that receives seed among
the thorns is he that heareth the word, and the care of this
world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and
he becometh unfruitful. The cares of this world. Turn over to Matthew 16. Matthew
16, verse 24. Then said Jesus unto His disciples,
If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up
his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life
shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake
shall find him. For what is a man profited if
he gain the whole world and lose his soul? Or what shall a man
give in exchange for his soul?" Turn to 2 Timothy 4. We're building
a thought here. 2 Timothy 4, verse 6. 2 Timothy 4.6. Paul said, I am now ready to
be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I fought
a good fight. I finished my course. I kept
the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for
me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all
them also that love is appearing. Do thy diligence to come shortly
unto Me." Now read the next verse of Scripture. "'For Demas hath
forsaken Me, having loved this present world, and is departed
unto Thessalonica.'" The Scripture sets forth when it comes right
down to it. What are the horns of power,
the emblems that set forth the greatest threat to any man, any
woman in this world? The Scripture says in 1 John
2.16, for all that is in the world, now who is the beast? It's this world and this world's
governments that wars against God's people. The Scripture says,
for all that's in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but
is of the world. In Jeremiah 17.9, let's just
look at one more verse here. Jeremiah 17.9. before we continue
on. And I can see I'm out of time,
but I want to finish this portion right here before we stop. Jeremiah
17, verse 9. The Scripture says the heart,
that is, the old heart, the fallen heart, not the new heart. You
know it doesn't mean that. It means the heart of this world,
the heart that is in rebellion against God, the heart is deceitful
above all things, and it is desperately wicked. Who can know it? I, the
Lord, search the heart. I try the reins, even to give
every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of
his doings, as the partridge sitteth upon the eggs and hatcheth
them not, so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall
leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be
a fool." are emblems of power of this
world. The great beast that Daniel saw
that grieved him when he saw is this world itself and the
things of this world. The Lord said that there was
a sower that went to sow through some seed by the wayside. Some
fell by the wayside. It was gone. Some fell amongst
a stony ground and it sprang up for a while. It looked good
for a while. Some of it, though, settled down in some ground that
was thorny. And it began to flourish, it
looked like. But in time, the cares of this
world choked it out and it was not there anymore. It says, that these horns, what
are these horns? I honestly believe that the horns
of this, the emblems of power, are the things of this world. And the lust. Love not the world. Don't love the things of this
world. The very beast, that mystery
Babylon, the mother of harvest, No matter how great the rebellion,
Almighty God is going to put them down. God Almighty will
be victorious. I want to leave you before we
stop. I've got some more passages of
Scripture right here, but I want to just look at one verse of
Scripture before we leave, and Lord willing, we'll pick up here
next time. These horns of power, the horns
of this great beast. This is the beast that the believer
wrestles with and knows but for the grace of God, he'll go after
him if God doesn't keep him. Demas did. Paul traveled with
Demas. Demas preached with him. Demas
did this. But in due season, Daniel saw
this beast, these horns, these emblems of power. and whatever
they manifest. And I want to look at it a little
bit more next time. Whatever it is, and I'll look
at some manifestations of it. I've kind of just scratched the
surface on this. When the Lord said in John 21,
verse 15, when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon,
son of Jonah, lovest thou Me more than these? He saith unto
him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto
him, Feed my lambs. Now whether or not the Lord referred
to they were fishermen and they were on the seashore, Peter was
a fisherman. You remember after the Lord was
crucified, Peter said, I'm going back to fishing. And he didn't
mean for the day. He meant I'm going back to it.
That's what I'm going to do. The Lord asked him, and I truly
believe the reference is he was looking at the boats and the
nets and the fish. Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou
me more than these? The ten pawns of this world,
though the Scriptures does not set forth exactly what they are,
I can tell you this. They are the things of this world.
Love, not the world. Neither the things of this world. He that loves this world, the
love of the Father is not in him. Now, I understand that there's
a lot of things that we enjoy and we admire, but if God doesn't
keep a man, I'll tell you what that man will do. These emblems
of power, these ten horns, The things of this world, the beast
that manifests Himself in stuff, things. The Scripture sets forth
that if God doesn't keep Him in the parable of the sower in
due season, that man will go away. You remember when the Lord
asked His disciples, you know, after some had followed Him because
He said, that's a hard saying. I'm not going to hear that. Who
can hear that? And the Lord said, will you go
away too? And Peter said, where shall we go? You have the words
of life. Listen, we are tempted and tested
and tried. And the things of this world,
the things of this world, the beast of this world, the ten-horned
beast of this world, You know, if this was some kind of a big
figure or something like that, you know, we'd say, well, I'm
looking at that. That's Russia. That's Russia. That's Iraq. You know, we're
strong. We've got planes and stuff. That doesn't bother me. But let
me tell you something. When we begin to realize that
the things of this world this world and the things of this
world, the ten horns, the emblems of power that this world says,
love me. Look, when Satan tempted the
Lord, and I know we've got to go, when Satan tempted the Lord,
do you think that Satan would not give it his best shot? Do
you think he gave it his best shot? How did Satan try? to get to the Lord. He said to
him, he said, you're hungry. You know you can't trust God.
I mean, you can't trust your father, but since you're God,
you know what? Why don't you turn these stones
into bread? You know, the lust of the flesh.
He took him up on a high pinnacle and showed him. He said, look
at all these kingdoms right here. You bow down and worship me,
I'll give you everything. You worship me, the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eyes. He told him, he said, why don't
you cast yourself down? You know, it's written. He's
not going to let you dash your foot against, you know, the pride
of life. We face in this world, the greatest
beast that we face in this world is this world itself. The ten
horns of this world that wars against us. We're going to see
in the next few passages where those ten horns rebel against
the beast itself, against the woman itself. Amazing what the
Scripture is setting forth. But we're dealing tonight and
realizing tonight really where the battle is being fought. The
things of this world. And it grieved Daniel when he
saw what it was because he knew that the succumbing to that beast
right there reveals a lot. If God doesn't keep a man or
keep a woman, they will quit. And they will bow to this world
and to the things of this world, to the stuff of this world, Lust
of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
It's a horrible beast. But we're kept. God will keep
His people. Okay, dear.