The Great Deception (Part 2)

you

would you pray with me Lord we for these truths we sing we thank you that you call us to turn our eyes on Jesus and in him is fullness of life and forgiveness of sin and in him is peace and in him is help so thank you for Jesus Father we pray that we would just sit in just the reality of knowing Christ and being known by Christ that Christ would fill all in all and we could say Christ is our life I pray Father this evening a prayer of healing over Sue Ann who bust her head open this morning Lord we pray healing we pray that everything would heal back correctly Lord we pray your hand upon her Father I also pray for our good brother Richard who’s been dealing with just the remnants of shingles and the just leftover effects of the pain and itching Lord I just pray a special hand of healing on his head on his eye Lord Father we just pray your hand upon him and just healing by your grace Lord we know you care about these things and so Lord we give them to you and so Lord we pray you would bless our tithe our offering all that you call us to give we give joyfully to your kingdom in obedience and we pray it in Jesus name Amen you can be seated there

well friends we’re going to be in Revelation chapter 13 again this week we’re going to finish out this chapter verses 11 to 18 Revelation chapter 13 verses 11 to 18

verse 11 John writes then I saw another beast rising out of the earth it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon and it spoke like a lion and it spoke all the authority of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast whose mortal wound was healed it performs great signs even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet live and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast might even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain also it causes all both small and great both rich and poor both free and slave to be marked on the right hand or on the forehead so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark that is the name of the beast or the name of the beast or the number of its name this calls for wisdom let the one who is understanding calculate the number of the beast for it is the number of a man and his number is 666 I’ve had this summer which has been a hot summer hasn’t it and it won’t end I’ve had house flies really bad it drives me crazy house flies and so I eventually went to the store and I got these fly traps and I got these and I hung them out in the backyard like it’s said to do and let me tell you it works I’ve got hundreds of flies in these containers and it’s disgusting but the way that it works is there’s some horrid nasty smelling bait in there it makes you gag if you get around it and the flies go in the trap they can’t get back out it’s classic deception they’re lured in by what they think will be good for them but in the end it kills them it’s deception and last week we began talking about this great deception of Satan’s final moves to bring his kingdom his attempts to overwhelm the earth through his antichrist and if that didn’t seem bad enough it’s that much worse because we get a second beast we get a second beast and this second beast’s purpose is to establish this kingdom through deception

verse 11 says then I saw another beast rising out of the earth had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon so we’re going from the dead to the dragon who is Satan and the beast who is the antichrist so the second beast and the second beast seems as it will pretty innocent pretty mild non-aggressive because lambs are about the most non-aggressive gentle creature you could think of have you ever heard of someone running for their life from a lamb no you do that from a raging bull or a bear or something like that yet the second beast is the antichrist is only superficially gentle and harmless for it speaks like a dragon because ultimately it’s from the dragon Satan that it gets its power from which it comes and as the dragon is a worker of deception so the beast the antichrist is and so is this great deceiver this second beast and just as a matter of fact as the first beast had the prerogative to draw all nations to worship the dragon and itself verse 12 tells us that this this second beast his sole priority is not even to receive glory and worship the sole priority of the second beast is to get worship for the first beast from all the inhabitants of the earth verse 12 tells us he begins he guiles he charms and even uses force if he has to use force to get worship for the beast so its power its authority comes directly from the first beast and it causes the non-believing world to worship so obviously we want to ask this question who is who is that who is this second beast I want to read mounts he says if the first beast was the power of Rome whose insistence on worshipping the emperor was beginning to threaten the early church the second beast most certainly represents the imperial priesthood that assisted Rome in propagating the imperial cult this priestly role identifies the second beast as a religious power in John’s day the reference would be either to the local priest of the imperial cult or to the provincial council responding to the priesthood or to the church emperor worship throughout Asia John clearly saw Rome and emperor worship as the primary cause for the church’s suffering as Christ received authority from the father so the Antichrist receives authority from the dragon and as the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ so the false prophet glorifies the Antichrist so elsewhere in Revelation as we go the second beast is referred to as the false prophet the false prophet and you see him multiple times serving the purposes and the agenda of the first beast so the first beast claimed what did we say last week political governmental dominance the second beast on behalf of the Antichrist claims religious superiority for him all people must one way or another worship the Antichrist what is he then what is he really then the second beast he’s an advocate he’s an advocate advocating for the kingdom of Satan and he does it through a spirit of deception I want to say to you that this this third beast this false prophet then is a false advocate just as the Antichrist is a false Messiah and this false advocate attempts to do his work one through false signs and wonders false signs and wonders verse 13 it says it performs great signs and even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived so when you when you think about fire coming down from heaven probably if you’re remotely familiar with the Old Testament you immediately think of the prophet Elijah this is one of the great stories of the Old Testament really and if you remember what happened there the false gods of the Gentiles the Canaanites were the Baals and the prophets had drawn away the people of God to worship them to worship the false god these Baals and Elijah shows up and he says let’s put it to a test let’s see who can make this altar you know set ablaze and they cut themselves and all this and they’re crying out to the false gods and as it happened he’s mocking them the whole time and then Elijah calls down fire from heaven what the the false prophet is doing here what this third the second beast is doing here is is creating a parody of that and then I love how Gordon Fee says that everything that he does is a parody of what God does and it’s seen just as clear in Exodus when you think about the Pharaoh and the Pharaoh’s magicians it says in Exodus chapter 7 Pharaoh summoned the wise men the sorcerers and they the magicians of Egypt also did the same by their secret arts so remember the staff was cast down and it became a snake and Pharaoh says that his his magicians his sorcerers hey you can do the same thing and they do it but what happens to those serpents Moses’ Aaron’s staff eats up theirs and then as you go further it gets worse for them it says in Exodus 8 18 the magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats as Moses had but they could not so there were gnats on man and beast then the magicians said to Pharaoh this is the finger of God when we go to Acts there is Simon and remember Simon was something of a magician of a trickster who wowed people it says when Simon saw that the spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles hands he offered them money saying give me this power so that anyone on whom I lay hands received the Holy Spirit and Peter said to him may your silver perish with you because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money you have neither part nor lot in this world for your heart is not right before God repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven and here’s verse 23 and I think verse 23 grabs the heart of the Antichrist of Satan and it’s right here for I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity in other words Simon wanted to be seen as great he wanted to be seen as selfishly power and praise for men that’s why he wanted to be able to do signs and wonders yet when we look at signs and wonders and why they were done by Jesus and why they were done by the apostles it’s a very different story Jesus and the apostles did signs and wonders so that people would know the real presence and power of God is among you and knowing that the real presence and power of God was among them they would hear with open ears the gospel the gospel do you ever remember reading about Jesus doing signs and wonders and going that’s right y’all I’m awesome you should ooh and aw you should be amazed do you ever remember Paul or Peter doing it to wow the crowds never signs and wonders were done so that the word of God would have the gravity and the seriousness that it needed to be heard with to engender saving faith that’s why signs and wonders were done you remember Jesus when the apostles when the disciples say hey everybody’s you know the crowds are coming they want to see you again and Jesus says no that’s not why I’ve come I’ve come to preach the word and he moves on Jesus came in the power of God the Holy Spirit came with the same power through the apostles so that using signs and wonders many souls would be saved men women and children that’s why Jesus came that’s why the true advocate came the Holy Spirit to save sinners think about what Jesus said in John chapter 14 verse 26 but the helper the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all that I’ve said to you the Holy Spirit is a helper he guides us into truth he guides us into real life he must he must for in the Spirit is life alone in the Father in the Son is life alone of course we give worship and glory to God one because of intrinsic glory so what is intrinsic glory I’m giving God worship because no one is like him in his holiness in his righteousness in his power in his omnipotence God created all things like God just deserves glory because he is God but then I’ll also give God to glory give glory to God because he has has a certain glory in salvation God the Father willed it the Son accomplished it and the Spirit applied the work of Christ on the cross so there’s a there’s a glory to be given for what what God can do through through signs wonders the cross and the preaching of that and the power of the gospel that’s a that’s a glory of salvation that God wrought what worlds did Satan create how many planets did Satan create

what work of salvation has Satan wrought for fallen sinful humanity

there’s no reason to give any glory to Satan for whatever pseudo signs and wonders he does because he’s done nothing deserving what only God deserves the Spirit reveals that to us so what is Satan left to do then the only thing he’s been doing with fallen sinful humanity since the beginning deceiving deceive that’s his only tactic for getting followers for getting worshippers it’s to lead people to believe just like my my little fly trap in the backyard that this is good for you but ultimately it’s death it’s misery it’s destruction so this second beast is truly and I love how Mount says this a minister of propaganda he’s a minister of propaganda of lies truly the masses have always fallen under the spell of Satan truly today they do and in times friends it will be no different but I want us to stop and praise God that for you and I it’s different it’s different for you and I as Christians because those of us in Christ Jesus we have a paraclete a paraclete that’s the Greek word for helper there in that verse in John when Jesus says I’m sending you a helper the Holy Spirit I’m sending you a helper he said I’m sending you a paraclete paraclete means helper it means advocate it means counselor that’s what you and I have in the spirit so that you and I will never fall for the deception of the enemy you and I will always be able to discern truth from error you and I will always have this advocate navigating life with us in this world under the dominion of darkness I have a counselor who’s counseling and correcting and steering and preserving me I don’t think we give enough time marveling at that wonder like we praise God and we praise Jesus but gosh do we marvel that we have the very presence of the spirit of God within us keeping us and preserving us that’s such a rich spiritual truth to dwell upon you have Christian helper who points you continually heavenward to the life that is above in Christ Jesus and that’s and it’s no wonder then why think about this why Jesus would say what he says given that given that we live in a world that’s got a multiplicity of schemes and tactics by the enemy Jesus would say right after in verse 26 in verse 27 he says peace I leave with you my peace I give to you what do you mean you give me peace I give you can’t you can’t you see Jesus that Satan has all kinds of schemes can’t you see I’m likely to fall can’t you see the world is under his dominion how Jesus could you say you’re leaving and I could have peace because Jesus said I’m sending you the paraclete and he will be your perfect helper so then friends you and I have peace through the Lord Jesus Christ because he’s given us this true advocate though the day is coming the devil be strong and his schemes diabolical though we are weak and given to wander away we have this helper from heaven and by God’s sovereign grace he’s going to preserve us from falling prey to his to the false advocate you’ve heard of Adolf Hitler but have you heard of Joseph Goebbels Adolf Hitler obviously in third of the in charge of the third Reich and tried to dominate the world and massacred the Jews and all the horrible things that happened in World War II right but you know why in the beginning he was so effective at mobilizing his army and country it’s because he had a man named Joseph Goebbels and he was his minister of propaganda he got into the German mind and heart through newspapers and radio waves and TV’s and he so effectively saturated the German people with Adolf Hitler’s ideologies and plans and purposes against the Jews and against the world praise the Father praise the Son but oh praise the Spirit for his work within us that we are kept secondly I want to say to you you are to test you ought to test everything you hear every voice you hear John says in his first epistle test the spirits he tells us don’t just believe everything you hear but test the spirits to see if they’re from God if you have God’s Spirit within you you can test it and you don’t have to have a seminary degree just the Spirit Chase and Chris and I are going to a conference at the end of this month and it’s going to be chock full of the best academics preachers that I believe on the face of the earth and we’re excited to go but guess what none of them get to shake my heart and my mind now I believe they’re men of God and I believe they’re going to say a lot of great things but guess what everything I hear has got to be tested and that’s true for you whatever article you read whatever next best book is out there whatever Christian movement is going on whatever video or video series is happening you’ve got to test everything I like how John Piper calls it your gospel sniffer you know sometimes you just go ah something about that seems off I can’t say it right now but my gospel sniffer has been triggered you know so both inside the walls of the church and people who are claiming to speak for Christ and certainly then friends when we think about movements and culture or political parties I’m not saying it’s wrong to have a political voice or to have opinions on politics you should but be careful that it’s not the spirit of the age it’s not a political movement that has your best heart be sure that everything you do is run through the filter of okay is this biblical is it the spirit of God that’s governing me that’s not just our privilege in Christ Jesus it is truly our responsibility so test the spirits next I want to say to you um I’m going to apply the spirit of God in all things in other words Paul says in Philippians that he’s praying for wisdom and discernment so so it’s not enough to just go oh I’m a Christian everything’s going to work out Paul is actively praying that the Philippians would have a spirit of knowledge and discernment in other words I can’t just turn my brain on you know cruise control and assume things are going to work out I’m supposed to be actively in the spirit praying Lord I want to be led of the spirit I want to be sensitive and tender to the spirit so pray that the spirit would give you a greater degree of wisdom as you go through life and apply yourself to God’s word so that you would know more of God’s truth that the spirit could reveal to you more of what it means to be led of the spirit and walk in truth privilege yes responsibility absolutely and last have peace have peace there’s never a reason to go through life and think oh the devil’s going to get me I know it somehow I’m going to get in that bag of flies man he’s going to get me by the last no no because you don’t have faith and we believe that our paraclete is going to keep us until the end Jesus said Jesus commands have peace have peace so this false advocate works false signs and wonders preaches a false false gospel but he seeks to establish a false kingdom he seeks to establish a false kingdom verse 15 and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast might even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain also it causes all both small and great both rich and poor both free and slave to be slain to be marked on the right hand or on the forehead so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark that is the name of the beast or the number of its name

Ladd says on this here is here the crucial issue is made clear the conflict is not between religion and no religion nor between one religion and another it’s between Christ and the Antichrist it’s between God and Satan

the curtain is pulled back in the end and what do we see in the end times that every world religion every secular ideology I think funny enough even atheism itself in the end everything will be seen to be a tactic of the enemy in the end we’ll see the puppet master Satan behind all this and in the end this false prophet this second beast this advocate is going to demand complete and total loyalty this image that they’re told to make it’s of the Antichrist somehow it’s demonically animated it’s a vessel it’s a force to represent Satan and it’s a force and the second beast uses it to demand worship on pain of death it’s pretty serious it’s an all or nothing commitment to Satan’s kingdom and then we’re told that there’s a mark there’s a brand now that same Greek word is used for branding like animals branding slaves religious tattoos in ancient times even like documents in other words he’s going to require he’s going to demand a mark on you that can’t be taken off this second beast is going to demand complete and total irreversible loyalty irreversible loyalty take the mark die and or starve if you don’t so it’s truly a kingdom that stands opposed to Jesus’ kingdom in every way and we’re reminded of this truth that we’ve seen so often in Revelation and you see it all throughout the Bible there really is two kingdoms and we can’t be part of both can’t be part of both the kingdom of Satan the religion of this beast the antichrist the false prophet the dragon it’s a kingdom built on fear it’s a kingdom built on brute force and it’s a kingdom built on deception how could it how could it not be Jesus says in John 8 44 speaking to the Pharisees you are of your father the devil your will is to do your father’s desires he was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there’s no truth in him when he lies he speaks out of his own character for he is a liar and the father is a liar of lies so be sure of it friends the day will come when anyone who stands against King Jesus and his eternal kingdom they will suffer horribly but not because Jesus is tyrannical but because Jesus is executing just judgment as the judge against those who broke God’s good laws how did Jesus though establish his kingdom on earth did he come with a sword did he come with a sword did he come with a sword no Jesus built his kingdom on love sacrifice and truth do you remember being brute forced by Jesus into faith no Jesus wooed him to himself through the power of the gospel for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whomever would believe in him would not perish but have eternal life did the spirit the true advocate did he force any of us into submission no he graciously changed our wills that we would of our own volition choose and love and desire Christ the gospel of Jesus communicates judgment and punishment but only so that you are not going to be saved from it for he loves to save sinners this is what the spirit compels friends not forced servitude not forced servitude but changed desires clear vision of truth and error not just to see it but to walk in it to desire God from the heart and that’s to our eternal joy so God’s spirit the true advocate shows us truth but then because he abides in us he gives us power to actually walk in truth so you and I always as citizens of that kingdom you and I have a daily life we have a daily obligation a special task to see to it that we’re bearing Christian fruit in character and in deed you and I should take special care daily that we’re not just paying lip service to Jesus but service of life if we have the spirit for we have been lovingly wooed to that kingdom not beaten not dragged not forced that’s the spirit the grace of God Paul says this in Romans 8 you however are not in the flesh but in the spirit if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him but if Christ is in you although the body is dead because of sin the spirit is life because of righteousness yes Christ’s kingdom has overwhelmed well you and me but with the power of the word and the love of God and that’s the kingdom that will stand to the very end and on throughout eternity I read this week that I don’t know I guess lumberjacks is an old word but mills pass by larger trees in exchange for smaller ones and you would think if you didn’t know better that you would that they’re missing out on opportunity for more wood and a bigger tree but they know most of those bigger trees are hollow and rotten so like in storybooks you see like a raccoon or something living up in the big tree looks great but it’s weak and it’s soon to fall though it has an outward exterior that appears to be one thing I want to challenge us this evening church let us not pay lip service to Jesus yet our inward heart our spirit is devoted to a different kingdom what do I do? the apostle Paul simply says walk in the spirit if you have the spirit it’s a matter of obeying if you have God’s spirit walk in the spirit resist the flesh you can do it and you must do it let your life be lived under a microscope so that you may see those darker parts of your heart and Chase alluded to this in what he was talking about as we were talking about we’re worshipping repent the work of weeding out sin is never done friends until we’re in glory and if you have God’s spirit you’re not happy to have some part of you that’s pleasing to Satan or some part of you that fits in with the kingdom of Satan I want to be holy because I belong to Jesus’ kingdom I don’t want to yell at my wife or my children I don’t want to have a wrong thought I don’t want to have a wrong desire and I don’t want to kind of push it out like eh it’s not a big deal it’s a big deal because it doesn’t look like Christ and I’m His let us not be found to be hypocrites today certainly not in the day of judgment

last thing the false advocate gives false assurance the false advocate gives false assurance verse 18 this calls for wisdom let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast for as the number of a man and his number is six six six so this is this is probably the most infamous little verse in Revelation you know it’s been used you know in Hollywood horror movies or this that and the other all the time but the the this has to do with what’s called in ancient times gematria and that is kind of a system or code of associating certain numbers with certain letters so if you were to write out a few different numbers you could correlate that to the letter it was supposed to be and then you would have this this you know code that the writer is intending Ladd says neither the Greek nor Hebrew tongues use the word a system of numbers instead of numbers the letters of the alphabet stood for numbers for example A would equal 1 B would equal 2 C equals 3 and so on thus a name could be converted into its corresponding letter a wall scribbling found from Pompeii reads I love her whose number is 5 4 5 so so for centuries the last two millennia people have tried to take Hebrew and Greek and use this kind of gematria and come up with that name right and you can come up with Nero or you could come up with different you know rulers or you can come up with the Roman empire it’s not it’s not it’s not really a sure thing and I thought it was interesting one commentator had said Irenaeus who was not that far removed from the disciples you know that ancient church he wasn’t that far removed and he was stumped so it probably is a mystery that only John and his living companions really knew exactly what he meant by that but what I found most compelling considering this is it is it very well maybe not really a name so to speak at all if if it’s true that 7 is the number of perfection as we’ve said many times in this in this series then it would mean that Satan falls short of the perfection of Christ three times over as one has said it’s failure upon failure upon failure Satan’s attempt to emulate the Trinity Father, Son and Holy Spirit his attempts to overtake the Garden of Eden and deceiving mankind his attempts to overthrow the angels his attempts to stop Jesus and the work of the cross everything has come out to be in the end short of perfection and the the mark that he can imprint on his subjects is an imperfect seal yet it’s true for you and I this that our true advocate seals us with a perfect seal even himself and that’s the apostle Paul says in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 13 in him you also when you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and believe in him are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory and the glorious grace you and I for believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ and having the indwelling true advocate we are forever identified with the kingdom of Jesus that stands forever and we’re promised the possession of it our true advocate then gives us true knowledge to right and wrong and protects us from deception our true advocate walks with us in truth and empowers us and sanctifies us and changes us that we would have the very presence and power of Christ manifested in us and imperfection someday in glory and third friends he gives us not false assurance but every true assurance by the power of the cross and the empty grave that we are sealed with the love of Jesus forever and we can have assurance of eternal life and victory in Jesus that’s what our paraclete does if you jump to Revelation chapter 14 the very next chapter first verse get a different picture then I looked and behold on Mount Zion stood the Lamb and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads and I heard a voice from heaven like the Lord of many waters like the sound of loud thunder the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harp and they were singing a new song before the throne before the four living creatures and before the elders no one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth friend we see a beautiful picture of God’s people who’ve been sealed with the Spirit and ultimately have the name of the Father and the Son written on them and they are standing with God the Lamb who was slain victorious on Mount Zion and I want to say to you you have every reason to have that assurance and to have that peace if you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for His Spirit the true advocate the paraclete He keeps you and He preserves you and it’s all to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and it’s all to the glory of the Father

Lord we read these words and we need we need the faith not to just believe on them but to live out of the implications of them that all truth and all righteousness has been made known to us but Lord also Father that Your Spirit is changing us from one degree of glory to another that we may truly be like Christ standing above the fall of man standing above every sin standing above the fallen world standing above Satan and his schemes in Christ Jesus we’re found standing in victory what a wonder what a marvel oh Father what a divine gift of grace that You have given to sinners so unworthy so Lord we don’t want to for a minute just read this it’s just another passage it’s another sermon oh Lord here we find such grace here we find such rich truth of Your love Your unmerited love for sinners like us and it’s because You have loved us that we love You back so Lord we want to say as weary and faulty as we are we love You and thank You for saving us thank You for saving us and thank You that by the true advocate You’re keeping us thank You Jesus for Your sacrifice and we pray these things in Jesus’ name Amen

Preacher: Chad Cronin

Passage: Revelation 13:11-18