God’s Vision For Israel – Part 4
Zechariah 8:18-23
February 5, 2017

In order to just get back in the flow real quickly tonight,
I would remind you where this section began.

We had a delegation arrive from Bethel and they had a specific question.
Zechariah 7:2-3 “Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD, speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”

The specific fast they spoke of
Was a fast commemorating the destruction of the temple,
And certainly on one hand it seemed strange to continue such a fast
With the new temple nearing completion.

So some would say, “So what’s the question? Just stop doing it.”

That seems like an easy answer,
But it was difficult for these refugees because they were afraid
That rejecting a fast like this might incur God’s displeasure.

To be certain this fast had long run its course, but they were afraid to stop
Because they thought it might cause God to set His face against them.

To answer that question we first studied chapter 7
Which helped us understand what it really means to seek God’s favor.

• God’s favor isn’t sought through ritual and ceremony, most of the time that is
more for the benefit of the worshiper.
• God’s favor is sought when we do the things He has commanded in His word.

Beyond that, Israel was clearly failing to understand that
They already had God’s favor;
Losing it should not have been their concern.

And chapter 8 has been a tremendous chapter in which God has been revealing just how much favor is actually resting on Israel.

This chapter contains 10 revelations from God regarding His vision for Israel.
We’ve already seen 7 of them.

1) HIS PASSION (1-2) – We learned that God is jealous for Israel.
2) HIS PLAN (3) – Which is to Return, Remain, Renovate
3) HIS PEACE (4-5) – Old men and young kids will be in the streets.
4) HIS POWER (6) – God can do this.
5) HIS PROMISE (7-8) – God will do this.
6) HIS PLEA (9-13) – Don’t be afraid since God is for you.
7) HIS PURPOSE (14-17) – Understanding that redeeming Israel fit God’s purpose.

God has been saying it in extremely clear terms
That His favor rests on Israel.

TONIGHT we look at the last 3 statements from God regarding His favor.
And all three of these have to do with
His promise to REMOVE THEIR SCORN.

If you know anything about Israel you know that they are a hated people.
They have endured the scorn of the nations
Since the day God called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeans.

Thanks to our study in Revelation we know why.
• Satan first sought to destroy Israel because she was the woman through whom the Messiah would be born.
• Satan then sought to destroy Israel because God is determined to redeem her.

But Israel is certainly a scorned nation.

We understand that this reality is actually true for all of God’s people
Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

John 17:14 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

We know that being one of God’s elect
Does not come with great admiration from the world,
It comes with great amounts of scorn.

THE MISTAKE on our part is when we interpret that scorn
As a sign of God’s displeasure toward us.

And many do that.
They face a little hatred, they face a little animosity, they face a little persecution, and instantly wonder why God is so angry at them.

Interpreting scorn like that is a mistake.
1 John 3:13 “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.”

1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”

John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”

We should certainly know better than to think
That scorn is a sign of God’s displeasure,
But unfortunately we don’t always remember this.

THAT IS WHERE ISRAEL IS HERE
• One of the reasons they are confused regarding whether or not they have God’s favor is because they are so hated in the world.

• They are fresh off of their 70 year exile and even know, while back in their home land have not been received well.

• This is just one of the factors that has them scared and nervous regarding God’s favor for their lives.

In His final 3 revelations to Israel God is going to reveal that
Their scorn and hatred and times of distress will not last forever.

God has a vision for that too…

We’ve seen the first 7
#8 GOD REVEALS HIS PARTY
Zechariah 8:18-19

When the delegation arrived in Jerusalem their question was simply regarding “the fast of the fifth”.

Well here find that there wasn’t just one fast that they kept which God hadn’t commanded, there were 4.
“The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth months” were also observed.

WHAT WERE THESE?

If we were to cover them in chronological order, we’d see them as these:

“the fast of the tenth” commemorated the beginning of the siege against Jerusalem.

2 Kings 25:1-2 “Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it. So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.”

The tenth month was sort of seen as the day it all began.
Certainly on the one year anniversary of the day the attacks started
A fast would be appropriate.

“the fast of the fourth” remembered the fall of Jerusalem.

2 Kings 25:3-7 “On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his army was scattered from him. Then they captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and he passed sentence on him. They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.”

Certainly it was a heinous event that occurred in their history
And a day of tragic remembrance.

“the fast of the fifth”, as you already know, remembered the burning of the temple.

2 Kings 25:8-12 “Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the LORD, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile. But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.”

The siege and fall of Jerusalem, along with the burning of the temple,
Was obviously a traumatic event in the lives of those who witnessed it.

The fact that fasts arose out of those situations is not surprising.

“the fast of the seventh” was a bit different.
This fast remembered the murder of Gedaliah.

2 Kings 25:22-26 “Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.” But it came about in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.”

Now there is more to this story which you can read about in Jeremiah 41-43,
But basically the point is this:

• There were a few who were left in the land of Israel after Babylon came and went. (the poor, those hiding in battle, etc.)

• Nebuchadnezzar left them there to keep the land from getting overgrown or overcome by wild beast, and he appointed a ruler over them.

• But they rebelled against that ruler, killed him, and then ultimately had to flee to Egypt.

The “fast of the seventh month” also then
Remembered a removal from the land.

And that is, I think, significant.
This was the day when God removed all the stragglers.
• God had promised through His covenant in Deuteronomy that if Israel broke the covenant He would remove them from the land.

• So it certainly would be strange for God to allow some to stay there simply because they were poor or good at hiding.

• Through this event God perfectly fulfilled His promise and removed even the stragglers who were left behind.

That made this event also traumatic for Israel.
After this event there were no Jews living in the Promised Land.

And this fast commemorated that.

So each of these fasts represented a time of scorn and affliction for Israel.
And to remember each of these events Israel had instituted a fast.

But God here has a new message for these people
Who were continually commemorating their scorn.

“The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah, so love truth and peace.”

Your fast is going to become a party!
Your fast is going to become a feast.

Instead of condemning their fasting, God simply says that
A day is coming when it will be rendered unnecessary.

There is coming a day when you will look back on those very events
Which were highly traumatic for you at the time,
Only instead of mourning about them, you will be celebrating over them.

And I think you all understand this.
• We’ve all walked through difficulties in life, which at the time caused us great grief that likely even drove us to fasting and mourning.

• However, years later, when we see the great things God accomplishes because of those hardships, we actually stop mourning those events and begin celebrating them.

This was one of the concepts behind a fast.

Think about Israel for a second.
Think about the hardship that they incurred throughout their slavery in Egypt.
• However, we don’t find them fasting in the 1st month because of it. Instead they take the Passover Feast celebrating God’s deliverance from it.

Think about the hardships associated with the wilderness wanderings.
• But we don’t find them fasting in the 7th month as they remember it. We find them celebrating the Feast of Booths as they remember hos God preserved them.

There is certainly a time for fasting, but there is also a time for feasting.

Consider this incident with Jesus.
Matthew 9:14-15 “Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

John’s disciples wanted to know what was wrong with Jesus’ disciples.
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

You spot the obvious problems with the reasoning behind what they thought fasting was for…

And Jesus really seems to give them one of those
“Are you serious?” looks.
The answer is: BECAUSE FASTING WOULD BE INAPROPRIATE.

“The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

Why would they fast while I am here?

Consider this statement from Jesus to His disciples.
John 16:20-22 “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. “Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. “Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”

SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE POINT.
There may in fact be a time for weeping and mourning and fasting.
But there is also a time for feasting and rejoicing.

And God reveals to Israel that in His vision for them
He sees an end to the fast and the instituting of a feast.

And then He says, “so love truth and peace.”
As opposed to religious rituals.

But you find out again that God’s favor is on these people as God reveals His party.
#9 GOD REVEALS HIS POPULARITY
Zechariah 8:20-22

These last two really go together, but let’s look at this one first.

Here we find a simple reality and that is that
There is a day coming when God will finally be the desire of all the earth.

The entire world is going to be overcome with a desire to seek God’s favor.
(21) “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.”

The desire will finally be for God.
(22) “So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.”

God sees a day coming when He is
The most sought after throughout the entire world.

Isaiah 45:20-25 “Gather yourselves and come; Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations; They have no knowledge, Who carry about their wooden idol And pray to a god who cannot save. “Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. “They will say of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’ Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. “In the LORD all the offspring of Israel Will be justified and will glory.”

Micah 4:1-3 “And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for war.”

We are obviously talking about that time which is commonly referred to as the Millennium. It is that 1,000 year reign of Christ.

A time in which the enemy will be imprisoned and Christ will reign upon the earth.

And in those days the world will flock to Him continuously.

Now the obvious question is, “What does this have to do with God showing His favor to Israel?”

That is why I said these last two really go together.

We know WHY the world hates God’s people.
It is because the world hates God.

We read it earlier:
John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”

So in order for God to reveal that
There is a day coming when their scorn will end,
He first must reveal that there is a day coming
When scorn for God will end.

It seems almost unfathomable now,
But there is a day coming when the whole world will flock to Christ.

And during that time God reveals a tremendous truth to Israel.
#10 GOD REVEALS HIS PEOPLE
Zechariah 8:23

The picture here is a wonderful one.
The world gravitating to God’s people
Simply so that they can have access to God.

You can see a brief picture of this even when Jesus walked on the earth.
John 12:20-22 “Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.”

The disciples almost appear to be acting like the Secret Service there.
But the idea is the same.

When people want to go to God they will go through God’s people.
And because the throne will be set up in Jerusalem,
They will go through the Jews.

“In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

And if you recognize it, that is A COMPLETE TURNAROUND
From what they were currently facing.

In their day ten people grasping the garment of Jew meant certain persecution.
In this day it will mean certain honor.

What do we call this?
VINDICATION

One of the reasons Israel struggled with God’s favor
Was because of the scorn they continually received from the world.

God reveals that it won’t always be that way.
There is coming a day when He will put His people on display.

And you should know that there is a vindication coming for all of God’s people.

Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

When Paul says “your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
That word “hidden” translates KRUPTO.
It’s where we get our word cryptic.

That is to say that
• Even today we are the people of God.
• Even today we are the people of truth.
• Even today we are the people who know the way.
BUT THE WORLD CAN’T SEE IT.

This causes us to be people of scorn and tribulation just as Israel was.

But Paul said this scorn should not keep us
From continuing to seek the things above
And to live our lives in a manner that is pleasing to God.

For the day is coming when Christ will be revealed from heaven.
And when that happens “you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

It will be a pretty wonderful feeling when Christ returns to rule and then singles you out from the masses as the one who was genuinely His.
• The gospel you preached…which brought you scorn
• The witness you gave…which brought you scorn
• The truth you stood on…which brought you scorn
• The commitment you maintained…which brought you scorn

WILL SOME DAY BE YOUR CROWNING GLORY
AS CHRIST WILL SHOW THE WORLD THAT YOU WERE HIS ALL ALONG.

This is the same thing God is promising to Israel.
It is vindication.

They were being scorned as God’s people
And some even saw this as evidence that they had lost God’s favor.

Not true…
• Their scorn had to do with the world’s hatred of God, not of them.
• And on the day when God returns to this world, establishes His throne, judges
sinners, and is glorified in the world, then His favor for them will be
certainly seen.

You may indeed fast now, but you won’t fast forever.
There is coming a day when that fast is turned into a feast.
It will be the day of the Lord’s return and reign upon the earth.

AND THAT’S A GOOD LESSON EVEN FOR THE CHURCH TODAY.
• We also live during a time of fasting (the groom isn’t here)
• And the scorn we face can cause us to question God’s favor

But we’d do good to remember the message God gave to Israel here.
HIS FAVOR RESTS UPON THEM
• His Passion is evident in His jealousy for them
• His Plan is to return and remain with His people
• His Peace will certainly be upon them
• His Power will make it so
• His Promise guarantees it
• His Plea then is that there be no fear
• For His Purpose is to redeem
• His Party is on its way
• Because His Popularity will someday come
• And it will be shared by all His people

This favor did not rest on the shoulders of
Whether or not they were good at keeping a ceremonial fast.
This favor was simply there because of
The sovereign prerogative of God.

WE CALL THAT GRACE.

I think the words of Jesus here are certainly fitting.
Luke 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”

You don’t have to live in fear of the future.
Our future is secure in the sovereign prerogative of God.
HIS FAVOR RESTS UPON HIS CHILDREN.

Here Is Wisdom
Revelation 13:11-18
January 29, 2017

As you know we are currently in the middle of
A very informative parenthetical section here in the book of Revelation.

IT IS A SECTION WHICH REVEALS THAT CHRIST REIGNS
Despite the rebellion and the rage of the enemy.

We’ve already seen:
1) The Child he couldn’t stop
2) The Battle he couldn’t win
3) The Woman he couldn’t kill

Now we are looking at the fourth major reality of the section:
4) The Throne he couldn’t keep

Chapter 13 is all about Satan’s attempt to establish his own earthly reign.
He is seeking to set up his own kingdom.

He is doing that through his own human puppet, whom we know as:
“Antichrist”.

As we saw last time, he is a man
• Who is controlled by a demonic spirit
• And who is used by Satan to unleash blasphemy against God
• And absolute terror against God’s people.

• WE SAW how he comes to power
• We saw how he blasphemes God
• We saw how the world will love him and see him as a savior from God
• We saw how he will persecute believers
• And we saw how God will allow him to do it

And through all this John made a very important point.
(9-10) “If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”

John used that horrific time as an example
To teach us what true perseverance looks like.

It is during the heat of battle that the worth of the soldier is proved.
Our faith and perseverance is proved in times of difficulty,
Not times of ease.

This morning we move on and we see that
Not only will God allow great persecution at the hand of the Antichrist,
But God will also allow A GREAT DECEPTION at the hand of the man
Who is known as “The False Prophet”
(Here is only called a second beast, but chapter 19 refers to him as the false prophet)

I told you last time that here we see Satan’s counterfeit trinity.
• Satan plays the role of the Father,
• The antichrist plays the role of the Son,
• This false prophet plays the role of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told us what the Holy Spirit would do:
John 15:26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,”

John 16:14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.”

These are precisely the things which this false prophet
Will do for the Antichrist.

In that sense, not only could we compare him to the Holy Spirit,
But he could also be easily compared to John the Baptist.
John was the one who came and pointed to Jesus.

Jesus said about John:
John 5:31-32 “If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. “There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.”

That is also a good example of what this false prophet will be.
(not necessarily a forerunner, but certainly a prophet on his behalf)

Similar to the way that John the Baptist showed up pushing men to Jesus,
So this false prophet will arise pushing men to Antichrist.

While the Antichrist is best known for blasphemy and brutality,
The false prophet is best described
Through his general appeal and deception.

And that is why under the ministry of the false prophet
WE LEARN ABOUT A TOTALLY DIFFERENT REALITY.

Under the persecution of the Antichrist we saw true perseverance.
But under the deception of the false prophet we learn about true wisdom.

In fact, I’ll go ahead and give you the spoiler…
Revelation 13:18 “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”

SO THIS MORNING WE ARE LEARNING ABOUT
THE NECESSITY OF WISDOM.

SO LET’S TALK ABOUT WISDOM JUST FOR A MOMENT.
The old adage is that “wisdom comes with age”.
I wish that were true, but it’s not.
Experience comes with age, which can be valuable, but not necessarily wisdom.

Wisdom is not what you know.
Wisdom is what you do with what you know.

Let me illustrate:
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.”

Both of those men had knowledge, but only one had wisdom.
Only one responded correctly to what he knew.

NOW THE BIBLE GIVES ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT ASPECT OF WISDOM.
Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Psalms 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.”

The Bible links true wisdom to a fear of God.

What does that mean?
A wise man knows that God is right and true and therefore must be obeyed even when the circumstances seem to dictate otherwise.

For example:
• A wife submitting to a disobedient husband
• A husband loving a rebellious wife
• A child obeying a foolish parent
• A missionary clinging to the gospel even without results
• A persecuted believer turning the other cheek
• A man building on the rock even when there is no storm in sight

When people obey God in spite of the circumstances
They are demonstrating the greatest wisdom there is.
It is people who act based on what God has said.

AND LET ME ASSURE YOU THAT WISDOM IS SO IMPORTANT.
It is important that you know what God has said,
And are willing to obey Him despite the circumstances.

NAMELY BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH DECEPTION AND EVIL INFLUENCE IN THIS WORLD THAT WILL SEEK TO PULL YOU AWAY.

A wise man obeys God despite the influence.
A wise man obeys God despite the deception.

That is why this passage is such a good instruction regarding wisdom.
• This passage reveals a time of ultimate deception and hardship.
• This passage reveals a time when things don’t make sense.
• And it is during those times that our wisdom is most readily put on display.

So this morning let’s look at this third person of the counterfeit trinity
And learn a little bit about the kind of wisdom that God wants us to have.

So let’s see three things about this false prophet (and false prophets in general)
#1 HIS PERSON
Revelation 13:11

John says here “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth;”

The first beast came up out of the sea, or the abyss, or the bottomless pit indicating his demonic origin.
This one comes “up out of the earth.”

The indication here is that the false prophet is a creature of earth.
That is why he is easily compared in one sense to John the Baptist,
Who was also a human used for a ministry and purpose.

Now John goes on to say that “he had two horns like a lamb”

• The Antichrist had 7 heads and 10 horns and was bombastic and
blasphemous and loud and brutal.
• This beast is not. He is gentle, he is appealing, he is soft and cuddly and
easy to love.

“and he spoke as a dragon.”
That does not mean that he spoke with brute force,
IT MEANS THAT HE WAS A LIAR.

He is the epitome of what Jesus warned us about:
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

This guy is a textbook false prophet.
• He comes looking peaceful
• He comes appearing gentle and loveable
• He comes with a great big smile and a TV show
• He is very likeable
• But his words are pure poison

The words that come out of his mouth may be smooth to the ears
But they are more dangerous than the breath of a dragon.

That is characteristic of false prophets:
Jeremiah 6:13-14 “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely. “They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.”

Jeremiah 27:14-16 “So do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you; for I have not sent them,” declares the LORD, “but they prophesy falsely in My name, in order that I may drive you out and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.” Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the LORD’S house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon’; for they are prophesying a lie to you.”

That is the danger of false prophets.
They tell you a lie which will lead to unavoidable destruction.

And people say, “Then why do people listen to them?”
Because what they tell you is exactly what your flesh wants to hear.

Remember what Paul told Timothy?
2 Timothy 4:1-5 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

• People want to have their ears tickled.
• People want preachers who will tell them that their sin is ok.
• People want preachers that promise them what their flesh craves.

False prophets know they are way more popular with the world
When they offer “Your Best Life Now”

THE OBVIOUS DANGER is that those things aren’t the truth
And they will lead you to destruction.

Sometime if you want an interesting study, skim through the book of Jeremiah and make note of the questions he asks.
(There around 20 of them and they are incredibly thought provoking)

My favorite is found in chapter 5
Jeremiah 5:30-31 “An appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?”

What a great question!
Yes, you can surround yourself with preachers will preach soft and cuddly and tell you what you want to hear, and it will cause you to have a truly great and wonderful day.

But what about the Day of Judgment? What are you going to do then?

That’s the point.
• False prophets appear gentle and wonderful and appealing,
• They do so to convince you to drop your guard against the dangerous words they are proclaiming.
• That is this false prophet here. (gentle in appearance, dangerous in word)

His Person
#2 HIS POWER
Revelation 13:12-15

The overall summary of his ministry can be found in verse 12.
This is his purpose.

“He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.”

His sole objective and purpose is to get people to worship the Antichrist.
That’s it, that’s all he’s about.

How does he get people to do that?
(13) “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.”

Where did he get that idea?
I’ll tell you where he got it.
Revelation 11:5 “And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.”

Remember the two witnesses who will be right here in Jerusalem preaching against the Antichrist?

While the Antichrist is spewing his blasphemies,
The two witnesses are calling men not to worship him.
And if you rebuke the witnesses they call down fire to incinerate you.

The false prophet demonstrates the same power,
Only notice he doesn’t kill people with it,
He just uses it as a demonstration of power.
(It’s all a ploy to make him look good and them look bad)

BUT THE POINT IS HE USES A COPYCAT TYPE MINISTRY.
(This is what false prophets do, they seek to act like real ones)

Remember when Moses went before Pharaoh?
God gave him two signs to perform in the presence of Pharaoh.

Moses could turn his staff into a serpent
And Moses could turn the Nile to blood.

But do you remember what Satan did?
Exodus 7:10-13 “So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and thus they did just as the LORD had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts. For each one threw down his staff and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Yet Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said.”

Exodus 7:20-22 “So Moses and Aaron did even as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said.”

Satan counterfeited the miracles of Moses and he does the same here.

Incidentally, that is why we do not seek out signs and wonders as the proof of our faith, and people who do so are gravely misguided.

Satan manipulates miraculous works,
They are not genuine evidence of the work of God.

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

The false prophet is working miracles just like those two witnesses and the world is buying it.

(14-15) “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

He works all sorts of signs, but the big one he uses is when he builds an image of the beast and makes the image come to life.

That is all it takes for the world
And they are convinced that this guy is the real deal.

“He must be a true preacher for who else could do such amazing works?”
“And he is telling us to worship the Antichrist, certainly he couldn’t be wrong.”
His Person, His Power
#3 HIS PLAN
Revelation 13:16-17

His plan is to secure undistracted devotion to Antichrist.

Certainly he begins by calling people to worship, but it doesn’t stop there.
He is looking to secure their decision.

Notice what he does next.
Here we find he provides a mark.
(16-17) “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.”

I wonder where he got that idea?
Revelation 9:4 “They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.”

Remember God sealed the foreheads of His bond-servants back in chapter 7.
Well here this false prophet does the same.

Do you see how good he is at muddling the truth and mingling in his own deceptions so as to make the truth harder to believe?

• You call down fire, I’ll call down fire.
• You work miracles, I’ll work miracles.
• You seal your followers, I’ll seal my followers.
• You talk about your reigning king, I’ll talk about my reigning king

It’s just very very very deceptive.

And we already know from earlier in the chapter that he is very effective,
For the whole earth will believe in the Antichrist.
Everyone except those whom God has chosen.

HE SEEKS TO SECURE MEN IN THEIR SIN
• This false prophet actually cuts off all access to food or commodity unless you have the beast’s mark.
• If you don’t worship the beast and submit to him, then you by default mark yourself as one to be slaughtered.

It is a deceptive message with a little extra added motivation.
At this point he has basically made it impossible to be a phony believer.

THERE IS NO WAY TO SECRETLY FOLLOW CHRIST ANY MORE
You are either in, or you are out.

So, I just want to make sure we are all seeing the picture accurately.

We have now on the earth an unparalleled time of tribulation and persecution on the earth at the hands of the Antichrist.
• And John said it is here that perseverance is revealed.

Now we learn that we also have an unparalleled time of deception on the earth.
• And John says it is here that wisdom is revealed.

So let’s look at that verse that everyone always asks about.
(18) “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”

Now I’ll go ahead and tell you from the outset that
THIS VERSE HAS BEEN WIDELY MISUSED.

It seems as though people read the phrase “Here is wisdom”
Then feel the need to reveal their wisdom by being able to crack the code of the mark of the beast.

And no shortage of people have tried.
• I’ve seen the numbers manipulated to say that it was Nero
• I’ve seen the numbers manipulated to say that it was Hitler
• I’ve seen the numbers manipulated to say that it was Kennedy
• I’m sure someone manipulated the numbers to point to Obama and in no time
someone will say that it is Trump.

The way they read the verse actually makes them feel like
If they have wisdom then they ought to be able to decipher the code.

Well, let me go ahead and break the news to you.
THERE IS NO CODE

I already told you that wisdom is not revealed by what you know.
Wisdom is revealed by what you do with what you know.

People ask, “Then why does it say, “calculate the number of the beast”?
“Isn’t John saying that there is some sort of hidden code here that must be deciphered so that we will be able to spot the Antichrist?”

FIRST OFF, you don’t spot the Antichrist by reason of this mark,
• You spot the Antichrist at the Abomination of Desolation.
• His revealing mark is his blasphemy against God
• And the fact that he claims to be God.

This mark is not a secret code that must be deciphered.
In fact John specifically tells you what the mark is.

“the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”

Most theologians agree that 6 is man’s number,
Citing that man was created on the 6th day.

But even that is somewhat insignificant here.
For John tells you exactly what to look for.
The mark he will pass out is 666.

Well then what did John mean when he said to “calculate” it?

“calculate” translates PSEPHIZO
Let me show another place it is used.

Luke 14:28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?”

Obviously there Jesus wasn’t talking about
Some sort of secret code that had to be deciphered.

Jesus was talking about following Him and then told the people
That they should not just run into this decision blindly,
But instead should count the cost of their decision.

They should consider all the ramifications of the cost of following Him.

Jesus implied this same thing over and over again
Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

Matthew 10:26-33 “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

If you are going to sign up to follow Jesus, then you’d better do your homework and figure out exactly what you’re signing up for.
Don’t run into the decision without calculating it.

AND NOW YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT JOHN IS SAYING

He’s not saying that there is some secret code to crack.
He’s saying that despite the heavy pressure to take this mark,
You’d better count the cost of the decision.

Yes it’s true that if you take this mark then
The Antichrist will stop trying to kill you and food will be available to you.

And since God has allotted for this man to reign for 3 ½ years,
You are promised up to 3 ½ years of peace and prosperity.

But at the end of the 3 ½ years there is a different story.
Revelation 14:9-13 “Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

So let’s make sure we understand this correctly.
• Take the mark and receive up to 3 ½ years of comfort and then an eternity of torment.

• Or refuse the mark and receive up to 3 ½ years of persecution (shorter if you’re martyred) but receive an eternity of comfort.

“calculate the number of the beast” before you receive it.

And friends I don’t mind tell you that this is TEMPTATION AT ITS FINEST.
This is what Satan always seems to do.

He offers temporary relief with an eternal cost.
He offers temporary satisfaction with eternal cost.

And don’t you think for a second that Satan hasn’t
Saturated the market with his false prophets to peddle it.

I mean come on, Olsteen even named his best seller book
“Your Best Life Now”.

Can you not see that this is precisely the message of the false prophet?
He’s certainly not offering your best life 4 years from now.

Listen to Peter talk about false prophets.
2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

Do you see what the push?
“sensuality” and “greed” and they malign the truth.

They get you to trade your eternity for what feels good at the moment.
That is the message of the beast and his false prophet too.

AND IT IS HERE THAT WISDOM IS DEMONSTRATED.

It’s like we said regarding perseverance.
• Perseverance isn’t proved in an air conditioned church with padded pews.
• Perseverance is proved in moments of tribulation and persecution.

It’s the same for wisdom.
• Wisdom isn’t proved in the day when temptation is absent.
• Wisdom is proved on that day when you are tempted to escape the struggle by
denying God’s truth.

WISDOM IS THE DECISION TO OBEY GOD
EVEN WHEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES DON’T MAKE SENSE.

On that day will you walk in wisdom?
On that day will you walk in fear of the Lord?

Listen again to these passages from Jesus.
Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Do you see the wisdom there?

Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.”
Do you see the wisdom there?

THAT IS THE POINT HERE.
Satan is doing everything he can to set up his earthly kingdom.
The two main tricks of his trade will be persecution and deception.

If anyone is to survive they must exhibit perseverance and wisdom.

AND THESE THINGS ARE NEEDED EVEN TODAY

Psalms 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.”