We're turning this week to Revelation
chapter 13 and continuing this study through the book, which
we started on the 20th of September, I think, so we've been going
quite some time and there's a fair way to go yet. I've called this
message, The Dragon's War with the Woman's Seed. The Dragon's
War with the Woman's Seed, because if you remember at the end of
chapter 12 in verse 17, the dragon was wroth with the woman, angry,
furious, frustrated in fury, and went to make war with the
remnant of her seed. The woman's seed is the church.
The woman is the church. The seed is those who believe
the Lord Jesus Christ. The dragon was furious. because
he was defeated and he went to make war with the woman and the
remnant of her seed who are they? Those that keep the commandments
of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ this fundamental
conflict for supreme rule of the created order right from
the time when God created the heavens and the earth this fundamental
conflict for supreme rule of the created order God created
all things perfect He put the creation under the first Adam,
the man that he created in the Garden of Eden. But in the fall,
when Satan deceived Eve, and Adam was not deceived, he knew
what he was doing, and for love of his wife, he himself subjugated
his entire race, you and me, everybody else, to Satan's rule. We're under the rule of Satan
in this in this created order, in this world. And all sin and
rebellion against God, and that's what it is, that's what sin is.
Has God really said, said the devil? Challenging, constantly
challenging. Has God really said? And they
believed the devil rather than God and followed him. And all
sin and rebellion against God is intolerable, utterly intolerable
to the nature and law of God. You know, there's so few people
know that. There's only those who are believers that have any
sense of that. For like that hymn says, a sinner
is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made himself.
For the Holy Ghost convicts sinners of their sins. The Holy Ghost
shows sinners their need of a saviour. Jesus came for the sick. Who are the sick? Those that
know they're sick. Those that know they need a saviour. That's
who he came for. Not the others, who though they
are sick, mortally sick, they don't know it, and they won't
accept it, and they won't have it, because they're in the thrall
of Satan. And sin deserves God's eternal
condemnation and punishment. But God will have an unrivaled
kingdom of peace and righteousness. And all rebellion against him
will be subdued and will be eternally defeated. His kingdom will be
populated with citizens who are qualified. How? They're redeemed
rebels. They're redeemed, bought back,
purchased. What's purchased them? The blood
of Christ. The blood of the Lamb of God
has purchased their peace with God. He who knew no sin was made
sin for them that they might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. The blood of God's Son has cleansed,
will cleanse, all of his people from all of their sin. And in
his purpose, what's his purpose? His purpose is a purpose of grace,
to save his people from their sins. We read confidently, whatever
else seems to be happening, however bad it seems to be, he shall
not fail. He will save all his people. Not one of them will be lost.
But meanwhile, this world, and the conflict between God and
Satan, goes on until the decreed end. Three and a half times.
Time, times, and half a time. Means this. It's a long time,
but it has a definite end, and God has decreed it. In chapter
12, we saw Satan opposing the woman's seed, Satan opposing
the church. We saw Satan opposing and accusing
the Old Testament saints who were taken to heaven before Jesus
came to the earth and died. He's accusing and saying they're
not fit to be there, for they're sinners, they're liars, they're
cheats. Look at Jacob, what's he doing
in heaven? He's a liar and a cheat. He defrauded his... what's he
doing there? He's not qualified to be there,
but he's defeated at Calvary. For the woman gives birth to
the child. Our Lord Jesus Christ is born. Glory to God in the
highest, peace on earth, goodwill toward men. The Saviour came
in flesh. A body was prepared. He came
to redeem those who were in the flesh, in this human flesh, to
redeem his people from their sins. And at Calvary, in the
moment when Satan thought he was triumphant, and had finally
devoured that seed, in that very moment, he himself was completely
dethroned. He himself was completely defeated. When he was confident of victory,
that's when he suffered defeat at the cross of Calvary. And
as Colossians 2 says, he led captivity captive. He made an
open show of it, like the Roman emperors used to parade their
defeated enemies through the streets. This is what it's saying
Christ did. When he died at the cross, he
paraded Satan as defeated. He's defeated. He knows now there
is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Who shall
bring anything to the charge of God's elect? Who's going to
accuse those Old Testament saints now? Christ has died, as Michael
the archangel said he would, for his people. It's done. He's
victorious. And so Satan goes on, furious,
he goes on striving to mingle the woman's seed with the world.
That's what he's trying to do. He's constantly trying to get
believers to mingle with the world, to adopt the attitudes,
the principles, the ideas of the world, to live by the world's
ideas. It's one thing to be in the world,
it's one thing to have to make your living in the world, it's
one thing to enjoy aspects of the world, but it's another thing
to be of the world. Believers are not of this world. Satan goes on, making war with
God's believing people in this world, as we read in verse 17
of chapter 12. How does he do that? Revelation
13 tells us. I ought to warn you now, right
at the start. The prospect, what we're seeing
in this world, what we read in Revelation 13, is, at the same
time, alarming. It really is. It's alarming.
but also very comforting. Very comforting. Two beasts. We see two beasts. We read it
earlier. It's a vision. It's a vision.
It's not to be taken literally. It's a vision. Remember Revelation
1 verse 1? That he signified to his servants
through John. Signified. In symbols. This is
symbolic language, but it's clear enough. Why has God given his
people this vision? To signify what will happen,
so that we recognise it for what it is when we see it, and so
that we're not surprised or alarmed when it arises before our eyes,
which it is doing, in the days in which we live, so that we
prepare our minds and arm ourselves as saints. How are saints to
arm themselves? With the armour of God. Ephesians
chapter 6. Arm ourselves as saints to stand
firm in the darkest hour. Look at this first beast. John
says, in his vision, he 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. And the beast which I saw was
like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear,
and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him
his power, and his seat, and great authority. terrifying sight,
this great beast coming up out of the sea. What's it all about? What is the sea talking about?
Well, the sea is talking about humanity, about the world full
of people, in its political and economic striving. You know,
this world in which we live, is it ever like a flat, calm
sea? No. It's constantly in turmoil,
because of political strife, because of economic strife. These
are always the causes of wars, aren't they? And strife. How
do we know it is? Isaiah 57, 20. But the wicked,
in scripture, are always those who will not believe the gospel
of Christ. That's it. That's what God means when he
says the wicked are like the troubled sea. Humanity is like
the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire
and dirt. If you turn over a few pages,
you don't have to, but Revelation 17 and verse 15, and he saith unto me the waters
which thou sawest where the whore sitteth this is when we get round
to Babylon and false religion, where the horse it are peoples
and multitudes and nations and tongues. It's clear. The sea
is the sea of humanity. Humanity in this world. Peoples,
nations of the world, humanity in its political and economic
striving. And out of this sea rises a beast
with the characteristics of Satan. If you look at chapter twelve
and Well, verse 3 of chapter 12, the seven heads, the ten
horns, the seven crowns, we know who that is because verse 9 tells
us it's the great dragon is that old serpent called the devil
and Satan, he that deceives the world. That's who it is. But
this beast has got the same characteristics he's got seven heads and ten
horns and upon his horns ten crowns and upon his heads the
name of blasphemy it isn't the dragon, it isn't satan but it's
somebody, some thing some beast that does the bidding of satan
with the characteristics of satan his heads, his horns, his crowns,
his blasphemy blasphemy is opposition to God. And in verse 2, we see
he's a leopard, he's a bear, he's a lion. This one beast has
got characteristics of a leopard, and a bear, and a lion. If you
turn back to Daniel, chapter 7, there are very, very similar
words. In Daniel, chapter 7, what we
see is four beasts, verse 3. Four great beasts came up from
the sea, different from one another. One of them was like a lion,
another was like a bear, another was like a leopard. Very similar,
but these are different, distinct beasts. And Daniel chapter 7
tells us, later on in the chapter, that these beasts, verse 17,
these great beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall
arise. They are empires that would arise. They are empires, they are world
forces, but world forces that are distinct. This one is one,
unified one. with all the characteristics
of all the others. It's got the characteristics
of all those beasts that Daniel saw, but in one unified beast. The beasts speak of earthly kingdoms,
of political powers, but this beast is a combination, a unification
of opposing world powers. And where does he get his power
from? He gets his power from the dragon. Now look at verse
3. I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death, and
his deadly wound was healed, and all the world wondered after
the beast." We're in awe and admiration of this beast. All
the world was in awe and admiration of this beast. What's it talking
about? If this beast that John sees coming up out of the sea
with the characteristics of a leopard and of a lion and of a bear,
like the separate ones that Daniel saw, if it represents unified
world power, as opposed to distinct kingdoms which Daniel saw, and
I believe that's what it does represent, what could it refer
to? What could this wound refer to? When was the last time the kingdoms
of the world were unified? in one beast. When was the last
time? Now you have to think back a
long, long way to just after the flood. When they came out
of the ark and they bred and people began to multiply, we
read in Genesis 10 and 11 of one Nimrod arising. One Nimrod. It says he was a mighty hunter,
but that's not a good translation. It means, really it's better,
he was a rebellious panther. Rebellious in what sense? Rebellious
against God. He who had come from those that
came out of the ark, the eight souls from the... He was one
descended from them, like we all are. He was descended, but
yet, despite that, sin so arose. Satan so held control over many,
many people. Nimrod was this rebellious panther
against God. And he united world power against
God. He built the Tower of Babel.
He built the city of Babel. And that tower, what was its
purpose? To reach to heaven. It was to reach to heaven without
any of the religion of Abel, and of Seth, and of Noah, and
of Shem, and of all those that followed in that godly line.
We don't want that religion. We don't want your religion of
blood. We don't want your religion of
blood redemption for sin. We don't want, we won't have
anything, we'll get to heaven on our own. That's the last time
the kingdoms of this world were united. And God came down and
gave that people a mortal wound in the head. What did he do? He confounded the languages.
And any of you Go to another country where you don't speak
the language, and boy, you realize what a good job God did at the
Tower of Babel. He utterly confounded the languages. And he split up the nations.
And that's the wound that this is talking about. But as John
looks at this beast, which is unified world power, he sees
that wound, but it's healed. It's coming back together. Now
then, All the world wonders at this.
All the world shows willing allegiance to this beast. In verse 5 this
beast speaks blasphemies. He's given power for 42 months. Remember I told you that's 6
times 7, not 7 times 7. 6 times 7 is falling short, trying to be perfect. Six, falling short, times seven,
perfect. That's how long he gets, in God's
decree, to do his work. And in verse six there's more
blasphemy, and there's more falsehood, and there's more denial of sovereignty,
and there's more contempt for the gospel, which is the tabernacle,
to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle. He blasphemes the
gospel of redemption. This beast, this first beast
that John sees in his vision, I believe is what we're seeing
happening in the world in the last, well, especially the last
50 years. It's what the political leaders
of the world aspire to. They do. They do. They all aspire
to it. They aspire to a kind of a United
Nations government. They aspire to a federal rule
where everybody conforms to the one government. They aspire to
the whole of the people of the world in willing submission to
this great beast of world power, godless world power. They subscribe
to the removal of nation status. How many times do you hear today,
people saying, oh, I wish they wouldn't talk about foreigners.
We're all brothers together in this world. You see, this is
what this beast represents. And I'll tell you why it's a
beast and why it's not a good thing. Why is it a beast that
John sees? Why is it not a good thing? Why
is this brotherhood of man, the brotherhood of men all together,
all being great towards one another, and no borders, and freedom of
movement, and everybody's all great brotherhood of man? I'd
love to buy the world a Coke. That goes back a long time, doesn't
it? Do you remember that song? I'd love to buy the world a Coke. We're all friends together. Let's
all have a drink together. Why is it a beast? I'll tell
you why. because it is all contingent,
it is all utterly predicated on there being no gospel of blood
redemption for true righteousness and true qualification for heaven.
None of that. We will not have this man to
rule over us, they said of Jesus. We will not have this man. We'll
all be friends together and we'll build our tower of Babel, but
we will not have this man to rule over us. I tell you, we're
not there yet. We don't see a single world government,
but it's coming. It's coming. It's progressing
towards it. It's progressing towards. When
a commentary that I'm reading was written in 1966, and I find
it staggering what he speculated about in 1966, that when you
look at world events today, they've already happened. they're already
a reality. The things that he speculated
about 50 years ago are a reality today. Okay, the second piece,
look at verse 11. And I beheld another beast coming
up out of the earth this time, not out of the sea, out of the
earth. And he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
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. And he doeth
great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on
the earth in the sight of all men. This beast comes up from
the earth. It's more stable than the sea,
isn't it? Well, you know, you'd sooner
stand on solid ground than on a ship tossing and rolling in
the ocean. I think nearly everybody, unless
you're a dedicated sailor, you would be happier standing on
terra firma than on the rolling waves of the sea in a boat. So
it's separate, this second beast is separate from the sea of political
economic instability. And look, there's certain aspects
of this second beast that are quite alluring. Look, he's like
a lamb, he's like a lamb. Look, he's seeming like the Christ
of God, for Christ is the lamb of God. See, he's seeming like
the lamb, but he spoke as a dragon. He speaks with the voice of Satan. He's in league with the first
beast. He's encouraging the worship of the first beast. He's doing
wonders. What do you think these wonders
might be? Well, we can all speculate, and be in no doubt, this is just
personal opinion, but I think it fits so well. Are they not
the science, the technology, the philosophy, the religion,
the modern religion of, let's say, the last 200 years since
the Industrial Revolution, and especially the last 30 years. In that time, You know, the world
has gone from being a manual labor, agricultural, very stable
situation. Really, I know empires rose,
but it was all with swords and spears. 200 years ago, there
was really the massive increase in industrialization, the massive
advances in science and understanding of science. You think of the
things that have happened that we take for granted today. They're
all the products of 200 years or less. And some of the most
amazing ones are the products of the last 30 years. And they've
all set the paradigm of this world. I mean, the philosophical
shape of the world. The shape around which this world
weaves its society. That's what it is. It's the godless
evolutionary, don't need God, don't need God, the godless evolutionary
rationality. Do you ever listen to Radio 4?
where, you know, the god of this age, Professor Brian Cox and
his friends get on and they've got this thing called the infinite
monkey cage where it doesn't matter what it is they can explain
it in terms of nothing other than rational science and anybody
that doesn't believe that is an idiot who ought to be who
ought to be put in an asylum because they're not fit to talk
to, they're not fit to have anything to do with that's the paradigm
of the age in which we live and the world finds it very beguiling,
and it's rapidly advancing. Think how things have advanced
in the last ten years! Two hundred years ago, if I wanted
to go to New Zealand, I've got relatives in New Zealand, if
I wanted to go and see them, it would be, I think it was about
a six month journey on a sailing ship, in great peril. If I want
to talk to my cousin in New Zealand, 12,000 miles away now, I can
flash up my laptop and I can talk to her as if I'm sat on
the other side of the table from her, and we can just have a one-to-one
conversation with me, look at how rapidly it's advanced. Do
you know, I'm not saying that these things are in themselves
wrong, But these things are enabling the paradigm of this world, of
these beasts, which are against God. Don't think that I'm saying
that technology is against God. God is in control of all things.
But all of these things are signs of what these beasts speak of.
You see, it's all making an image of this modern society, in this
world in which we live, to be worshipped. Do you recall the
book of Daniel? the Nebuchadnezzar they were
taken away to Babylon and in Daniel chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar has his big dream
and Daniel interprets the dream and then Despite Nebuchadnezzar
having had that most amazing dream of how world history would
unfold, revealed to him by Daniel the prophet, the servant of God,
the very next chapter, chapter 3, what does Nebuchadnezzar do?
Bow down to God and... No, no. He sets up an image. He sets up a great idol. And
when the trumpet sounds, everybody is compelled to bow down and
worship the image. And those that don't, you know
what their fate was? The fiery furnace. Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego. That was literal. That was literally
true. And God rescued his servants
from that fiery furnace. But in picture language we have
that with these beasts. These beasts are that which opposes
God. They form an image that the world
bows down to. The world says I'm not religious.
Oh yes they are. They bow down to the image of
these beasts which are unified worldwide power and all the technical
wizardry that we've had over the last 200 years. And don't
forget as well how dramatic things have changed. In the last 200
years the population of the world has increased seven or eight
times. It is now so much bigger. In my lifetime, it has nearly
trebled. In my lifetime, the population
of the world has nearly trebled. Not far off. Not far off. In
the lifetime of most of you, it's at least doubled. Since
the early seventies, the population of the world has doubled. Really.
That's how it is. What we're seeing here are alarming
things. If you've got no other if you've
got nothing else to focus on, these are alarming things. It
even determines, look, verse 16, 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, a mark of allegiance,
you must wear this mark of allegiance. And that no man might buy or
sell, save he that had them, you see, you can't even do trade,
you won't operate unless you conform to the world and its
technology that this beast represents, determining who can trade, who
can buy and sell in human society. And who is the second beast?
Well, if you look at Revelation 19 and verse 20, it tells us
plainly. The beast was taken, and with
him the false prophet. The second beast is the false
prophet, that wrought miracles before him, by which he deceived
them that had received the mark of the beast. That's who it is.
The beast is worldly structures, worldly organisations, unified
world power, without God. And the second beast is the false
prophet, who supports him, who does miracles to support him,
like prophets do. They speak. And what's the number
of this beast? You see, because together, the
first and the second beast, they constitute Antichrist, that which
is against Christ and the gospel of his grace. But look, verse
18, 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, three score, and six. In other
words, six, six, six. Six times a hundred? plus six
times ten, plus six. Six is the number of creation. In six days, God created the
heavens and the earth. It's the number of creation.
But it's short of seven. For the seventh day was the day
when God was to be worshipped and honoured. And what does it
speak of? 666, 6 times 10 times 10, 10 is completeness,
it's worldly completeness, it's worldly perfection. So it's creation
in its worldly perfection. It speaks of the fullness of
creation, but without God. It speaks of the kingdom of the
world without God. Antichrist beasts picture the
highest development of the sovereignty of man in creation without God
and under the thrall of Satan. Now let's think for a moment,
time's going. Christ and Antichrist. The conflict between God and
Satan, I said right at the start, is what goes on. God has his
Christ. God has his Christ to glorify
his person, to save his people from their sins, to reveal his
person, No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son
who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known, He has
declared Him. But as God has His Christ, Satan
has his Antichrist, to blaspheme God, to enthrall the world, to
deceive with lying signs and wonders. Now, I must get you
to turn to 2 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians. Now you don't
have to go there, I'll read it for you. But 2 Thessalonians
chapter 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 be revealed the son of perdition.
Antichrist is what it's talking about. Antichrist. One man? I
don't know. I don't think so. I think it's
a spirit of antichrist. Is it the Pope? I think Spurgeon
said that if a detective were investigating Antichrist, he'd
probably go and arrest the Pope, and I don't necessarily disagree
with him, but I don't think it's just the Pope. It's all sorts
of things. All sorts of things. That man
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. Listen what he does.
He does exactly what the beasts of Revelation 13 do. Opposeth. exalteth himself above all that
is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in
the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Don't forget
I told you about these things. The mystery of iniquity. Whose
coming, verse 9, is that wicked shall be revealed. Verse 9, whose
coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs
and lying wonders. Is that not what the second beast
does? Lying wonders? With all deceivableness of unrighteousness
in them that perish because they wouldn't receive the truth. For
this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should
believe a lie. If you look at 1 John, 1 John. He talks about Antichrist quite
a lot. In 1 John and chapter 2 and verse 18. Little children, it is the last
time. And as you have heard that Antichrist
shall come, even now there are many Antichrists whereby we know. You see, it's the spirit of the
age. of the time, times, and half
a time in which we're living, Antichrist is the spirit of the
age. The beasts that John saw in his
revelation coming up out of the sea, that's Antichrist. Many
of them are there now. Verse 22, Who is a liar but he that denieth
that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist, that denieth
the Father and the Son. Antichrist, it's here now. Chapter
4 and verse 3, And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh is not of God, and this is that
spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should
come. And even now already is it, see, ever since the time
of John it's been in the world. The second epistle of John, verse
seven, for many deceivers are entered into the world who confess
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver
and antichrist. This antichrist is always there
throughout the 42 months, the time, the times, the half a time,
this period of time in which we're living from when Christ
came to when he comes again. But it's not yet at its full
manifestation. I don't believe it is. I believe
that's coming. The seeds are sprouting and growing
fast. How will it finally be manifested?
Will it be ISIS? I don't know. Will it be China?
Will it be the USA? Will it be the United Nations?
Will it be the European Union? I've no idea. But what this chapter's
telling us is this, and this is the alarming bit, times will
get very hard for God's people. Harder than they've ever been
before. Jesus says, that for the elect's sake those days will
be shortened for the elect's sake, because God cares for his
elect. More difficult than ever before.
Now then, this vision outworking, and I'm going to finish soon,
we can't stop these beasts coming to fullness of Antichrist. We can't stop it happening. It's
going to happen. God's word says it will happen. Did you notice
that for those beasts it kept saying, and it was given them. Who gave them? God gave them. God gave them. God set the bounds
of what they can do. Our God has set the bounds of
what Antichrist can do, how far he can go. But we can't stop
it coming. We can't do it by voting against
it. We can't prevent the world's
wholesale worship of the image of the beast. They're doing it
now and it's going to get worse. Don't think that any safety lies
in national politics. It doesn't. You know? Our friends
in America have got a presidential election coming up, and I really
am getting more and more tired of Facebook, but I look at what
some of them write, believers, and quite honestly, I despair
at some of the opinions I see. Voting for the Republican Party
is not going to stop these beasts arising. Any more than voting
for the Democratic Party will encourage it. It won't make any
difference. They're coming. You cannot, same
here in this country, conservative, it makes no difference, you cannot
do anything about it with national politics. We will all have to
submit to the powers that be. We're told, you know, these things
are ordained of God, submit to the governments as they're ordained.
But God's people will not worship the beast or his image. Look
at verse eight of chapter 13 of Revelation. All that dwell
upon the earth shall worship him. All, without exception,
no, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. There are those who
will not worship the beast, and that's the elect of God, for
their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. the one
who was slain for his people from the foundation of the world.
Let me read you again, Romans chapter 8. Listen, this is talking
about the age that we're in just as much as Revelation is. We
know that all things work together for good to them that love God.
to them who are the called according to his purpose. What, even when
the first beast and the second beast are united doing their
thing and the image is there and all who will not worship
the image will be killed and won't be able to trade? Yes,
God causes all things to work together for good. Why? For whom
he did foreknow in electing grace. He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called, he put them in his son, he named them with
his son's name. And whom he called, them he also
justified. How? In the Lamb, slain from
the foundation of the world, who came in time to shed his
blood. to purchase his people's redemption, that they might be
fitted to be citizens of his kingdom, and whom he justified,
them he also glorified. There's great tribulation that
we must go through. If we're still here, when these
things come to fruition, great tribulation. It's bad enough
now, but do you know something? Everyone chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world will not worship the beast and will
go to eternal glory. Verse 9. If any man have an ear,
let him hear. Do you? If you have an ear, where
did you get it? It's God-given. God-given spiritual
discernment. The natural man doesn't have
it. that the children of God do. You will hear God in Christ
speaking. Verse 10, you have the patience,
end of the verse, here is the patience and faith of the saints,
you have the patience and faith of the saints, however bad it
gets, to know this, to know this, to trust and rest confident in
God, that these terrible oppressors of God's people, who take captive
and killed, will finally be taken captive and be killed. Christ
has led captivity captive. Verse 18, you have the wisdom
of God. Here is wisdom. Let him that
hath understanding count the number of the beast. Here is
wisdom. You have that wisdom of God that
Christ is made unto us. Christ is made unto us, his people,
wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
He is made that. In him dwell all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge. And in that wisdom, you and me,
we, believing, can see the fatal shortfall of 666, of man without
God, of this utopian world that the first beast and the second
beast represent without God. He has but a short time. The
devil knows his time is short. We read that in chapter 12. He
knows, verse 12, he hath but a short time. He knows that.
He knows that it's a short time to go. And for the elect's sake,
Jesus says, for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened,
but fear not, as I said last week. Take the armor of God.
He's given the armor of God, the sword of the Spirit, the
shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet
of salvation, and so on, and stand fast. And look, I just
want you to look, look at this, look at verse 1 of chapter 14.
And I looked, and at the same time, he's not talking about
and then later when all these things are over, no, he looked,
and lo, a lamb stood on Mount Sion, and with him the 144,000
having his father's name. We saw earlier that that 144,000
more likely refers to the number of God's people on the earth. When they get to heaven, it's
a multitude that no man can number. But it's symbolical of them on
the earth. This is now on the earth. In these troubles, when
these beasts are doing their thing, the Lamb is still standing
on Mount Zion with his 144,000. Fear not, little flock, it is
your father's goodwill to give you the kingdom. I'll finish
with just one thing, or maybe just two. Do you remember Elisha? when he's surrounded by the Assyrians
in 2 Kings 6, and his servant's with him, and his servant is
saying, oh my lord, my master, it's dreadful for us, we're done
for, look, the Syrians are all around us, and Elisha prays,
lord, open his eyes, that he might see that those that are
for us are more than those that are against us, and the lord
opens his eyes, oh my master, look, look, look, the angels
of God all around, and the Assyrians were struck with blindness. In
Psalm 2, Psalm 2, honest, I'm finishing, really. Psalm, I could
go on. Why do the heathen rage and the
peoples imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against
his anointed. Isn't that what we've been reading
in Revelation 13, the world rising up? And they say this, what does
the world say? Let us break their bands asunder,
God's bands, God's constraints, and cast away their cords from
us. But God, the lamb on Mount Sion, he that sitteth in the
heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision.
Then he shall speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in
his sore displeasure. Yet have, listen, Revelation
14 verse one, yet have I set my king. upon my holy hill of
Zion. I won't read the rest of it,
you can read it for yourself. Yes, it's speaking of terrible
days, of terrible conflicts, of terrible troubles, but it's
speaking of this, the utter and complete safety of the people
of God.