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December 29, 2007
Revelation 13-16
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Revelation
Chapter 13
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
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.
And 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.
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
If any man have an ear, let him hear.
He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
And I beheld another beast coming up 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 men,
And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
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Revelation
Chapter 14
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall 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 ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
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Revelation
Chapter 15
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
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Revelation
Chapter 16
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
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Thought for the day:
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The Tribulation period is going to be an awful time upon planet Earth. The book of Revelation spells out numerous plagues that will encompass the world. Anti-christ will be persecuting the Jews and any who choose to receive Christ as Savior. Imagine for a moment what it will be like for a believer during that time. The Bible teaches that many will receive Christ during the Tribulation (14:6, 15:2-3). Because of this they will endure tremendous opposition. They will be unable to buy or sell any goods (13:17). Revelation 13:7 states that Anti-christ will "make war with the saints, and overcome them." Daniel 7:25 tells us that he will "wear out the saints of the most High." Times will indeed be very difficult for the Christians.
Yet the Bible teaches that many will overcome Anti-christ. This does not mean that they won't be martyred, but it does mean that they will not surrender their beliefs or actions to him. Revelation 12:11 reads,
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
These words, while spoken of Tribulation saints, can be instructive to us as well. These saints had three characteristics. First of all, they were saved and put their confidence in the blood of Jesus Christ. They knew that the Lord was more powerful than Satan and that they could trust in Him because of their salvation. Second, they maintained a strong testimony. They were not afraid to live for the Lord or to speak out about what He had done for them in saving them and providing for them. Third, they were willing to die for the cause of Christ. They loved Him more than they loved themselves, and if that meant that they had to give their lives for Him then they were willing to do it. How much greater would our outreach be if we held to these same three principles! How much bolder we would be in our witness!
In Revelation 13 and 14 we see an expression used. It is "here is the patience of the saints" (13:10, 14:12). These two passages contain information that allows the saints of God to be patient during troublesome times. If it will work for the believers in the Tribulation period, then I believe it will work in our lives today. Revelation 13:10 says this:
"He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword."
This is a promise that those who persecute the believers will ultimately die at the hands of God Himself. Anti-christ will be capturing and killing believers, but he is going to be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20). Satan is attempting to destroy Christians, but he too will someday join Anti-christ in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10). Even today, those who oppose the people and Word of God will someday face the God Whom they have rejected and be judged for their actions. Therefore, we need not worry about them, and we certainly should not give in to them. We are on the winning side, and it would be foolish for one who knows that he going to be the victor to defect to the opposition.
Revelation 14:9-13 gives the other principles that allow the saints of God to be patient in the face of opposition. Verses 9-11 promise that those who take the mark of the beast will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. This encourages the saints to be faithful because they realize that even though the unbelievers may seem to profit in this world, they will be tormented throughout eternity. Always remember that the unsaved do not have a bright future. They may seem to have a successful lifetime, but their eternity is one of torment and agony. Why would we want to side with them? In verse 13 John adds,
"Blessed [are] the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."
This is given in contrast to the destiny of the unbelievers When a Christian dies he gets to go to Heaven to be with the Lord. He nows has rest forever, as opposed to the unsaved man in Hell who has "no rest day nor night" (14:11). He has peace as opposed to the unsaved man who has torment. Also, the Bible promises that the believers' works follow them. The world at large may not be interested in the Christian's faithfulness to God, but the Lord is. In eternity God will reward every deed that the believer has done for Him.
No matter what your circumstances may be, stay true to the Lord, for He is the Victor, and those who oppose Him will be vanquished and those who follow Him will be rewarded.
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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