The Program of the False Prophet PT-1 (Rev. 13:15-18)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/3/2015 8:50 AM

My Worship Time                                                Focus:  The Program of the False Prophet PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 13:15-18

            Message of the verses:  “15  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. 16 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, 17 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. 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.”

            One of Satan’s strategies is to cause the governments of the world to have a law in which believers cannot follow.  When we look back at the third chapter of Daniel we see something similar in that a statute was made of King Nebuchadnezzar and everyone had to worship that statute or else they would die.  We read of a similar situation that will happen in the Tribulation Period from the verses that are in our text for today.  Now as we look at current events in our country we see something similar that just happened a week ago for now true believer who is walking with the Lord can believe that the Supreme Court in our country did the right thing in ruling that homosexual marriage is the right thing as the Bible speaks out against it from the very first chapters of the Bible when God created a man and a woman and then married them.  He completely destroyed a society because of this very act as we read latter on in Genesis. 

            Ok back to our verses in Revelation and I suppose that verse eighteen of chapter thirteen of the book of Revelation is a verse that even causal readers of the Bible know about for in it we have the famous number: 666.  I don’t think we will get that far today, but we will look at it soon to see exactly what we believe this verse means, but first we need to begin with verse fifteen.

            We have seen in our study of the OT prophets and also from our study in the book of Psalms that when they spoke of idols they would say that they have mouths but they do not speak, well this idol we are looking at in verse fifteen is different than all the other idols for the false prophet will somehow make it speak for we read that he “will give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak.”  John MacArthur writes “Breath translates pneuma, not zoe or bios, the Greek words normally translated life.  The false prophet will animate the image of Antichrist so that it gives the appearance of being alive.  With today’s amazing special effects technology and robotics, that is not out of the realm of possibility.  Add to that the world’s desperate need, amid the carnage of the Tribulation, to believe in a death conqueror, and the ruse become very believable.” 

            Now as I spoke of in the beginning of this SD the false prophet will then make it law that those “who do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”  When we go back to the sixth chapter of Revelation we saw that there were souls under the altar who had been slain for the cause of Christ, and probably many of those who have been slain were done so because of their refusing of worshiping the statute of the beast.  Remember in chapters 12-14 we go back and look at the Tribulation Period from the perspective of the Antichrist.  However we know that not all believers would be killed from this as there will be many who go into the Millennial Kingdom alive.  However it is the goal of Satan to kill all believers and all Jews so that the promised Kingdom for Israel will not take place thus making God out to be a liar or One who cannot keep His promises.  This will not happen as God will always keep His promises.  When I began to read the “Left Behind” series they made a point that after the rapture happened that all those who were alive on planet earth only one out of four would live until the end of the Tribulation Period.  Many who do live through this time will not be believers and will then die through the judgment of Christ when He returns as described in Revelation chapter nineteen and also prophesied in Matthew chapter 25 from Christ Olivet Discourse where we read from “32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.’”

              We look at verse sixteen, a verse that speaks of the mark of the beast, and it tells us that if you don’t receive this mark that you will not be able to buy or sell anything, and this mark effects all classes of people as far as the rich and the poor, the free man and the slaves, all will be required to receive this mark and this is another way that Satan is causing a division between those who are believers, who will not receive this mark with unbelievers who will as Satan tires his best to kill all believers.  John MacArthur writes “Mark (charagma; from charasso, ‘I engrave’) was the term for images or names of the emperor on Roman coins.  In the ancient world, such marks (tattoos or brands) were commonly given to slaves, soldiers, and devotees of religious cults (cf. Gal. 6:17).  God sealed, with a mark on the forehead of the 144,000 to preserve them from His wrath against the unbelieving world (7:2-3); the false prophet marks the unsaved to preserve them from Antichrist’s wrath against God’s people.  The mark will signify that the person bearing it is a worshiper and loyal follower of the Antichrist.  In much the same way, the Roman emperors required their subjects to prove their loyalty by offering sacrifices to Caesar.  Those who refused, like those who refuse to take the Antichrist’s mark, were subject to execution.”

            I will conclude this SD with a quote that John MacArthur makes from a man who lived under Bulgaria’s communist regime, which is actually quoted in the commentary of W. A. Criswell on the book of Revelation:  the  man states “You cannot understand and you cannot know that the most terrible instrument of persecution ever devised is an innocent ration card.  You cannot buy and you cannot sell except according to that little, innocent card.  If they please, you can be starved to death, and if they please, you can be disposed of everything you have; for you cannot trade, and you cannot buy and you cannot sell, without permission.”  MacArthur continues “The pressure to give in to the worship of Antichrist will be far worse than anything ever experienced in human history.  Life will be virtually unlivable, so the people are forced to bow to the demonized king, not prompted merely by religious deception, but also by economic necessity.”  Just a note that those of us living in today’s society realize that there is now a chip that can be implanted under the skin that can be scanned to see all information about a person, and many believe that this is a forerunner of this mark spoken of in verse sixteen.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It takes a lot of faith in the Lord to do the things that are right in life, to realize that this is not my home for I am just passing through to realize that we are not human beings going through a spiritual existence, but spiritual beings going through a human existence.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To trust the Lord to see me through the trying times that we live in and that I will be a bright light in the ever darkening place that I live in.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Peter” (Matthew 18:21).

Today’s Bible question:  “Where did Jesus go to be tempted by the devil?”

Answer in our next SD.

7/3/2015 9:48 AM 

The Power of the False Prophet (Rev. 13:12-14)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/2/2015 9:00 AM

My Worship Time                                                             Focus:  The Power of the False Prophet

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 13:12-14

            Message of the verses:  “12 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. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 14 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.”

            I suppose that this will come up a bit later but I want to focus in on the part of having the fatal wound of the Antichrist healed and as some believe was brought back to life again.  I know we have been over this before, but I believe that my opinion has changed a bit and one of the reasons that it has changed is that we read in verse fourteen that “he deceives those who dwell on the earth.”  Deception is one of Satan’s main ploys, and so it will also be what the Antichrist and the False Prophet will use and what better deception would there be than to fake a resurrection from the dead of the Antichrist.  Another thing that has caused me to change my mind is that Satan brings about death, for he has from the beginning of human history.  God told Adam and Eve that if they would eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that they would die but Satan deceived them into eating from that tree and they died spiritually which caused all of their offspring to also die spiritually, and eventually they died physically, and all of this was because of Satan deceiving them which caused death.  Now on the other hand our Lord Jesus Christ is life as John writes in John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  When a person trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins He gives them spiritual life which is eternal life so Christ gives life and Satan gives death so unless the Lord allows Satan to resurrect the Antichrist I don’t believe that he actually dies.

            Now in verse twelve we see that although it seems that the false prophet is a bit tamer than the Antichrist we read that “He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence.”  MacArthur writes “What is being said here is that the false prophet will exercise the same kind of demonic power and authority as the Antichrist does, since both are empowered by the same hellish source.  That he ‘exercises’ his authority in Antichrist’s ‘presence’ implies that Antichrist will have delegated that ‘authority’ to him.  The false prophet’s mission will be to use all the means available to him from the Antichrist to cause ‘the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast.’  He will lead the worldwide cult of Antichrist worship.”

            We have already discussed what goes on at the end of verse twelve which states “whose fatal wound was healed.” 

            Now at this point I want to look at a portion of what I wrote on the 20^th of August of 2005 when I studied verses 12-13 of Revelation chapter thirteen:  “This second beast, the false prophet, will have the authority of the first beast, the antichrist.  He is going to be like a puppet to the first beast.  One of his jobs will be to cause the “earth dwellers” to worship the first beast and one of the ways to get their attention will be to perform signs so that these earth dwellers will believe that these two beasts have actually come from God or in fact are god.  As stated before these two are a part of the unholy trinity, with the Devil making up the third part, and that the false prophet was going to imitate the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit does His work to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and in a sense this is what this false prophet is doing for antichrist.  Satan is not original, but has always wanted to be like God Himself. 

            “When Jesus was upon the earth the Pharisees would ask Him on more than one occasion to perform a sign to prove who He was and He would not do it.  This false prophet will perform signs to show the world who the antichrist and he are and the world will follow them all the way into hell.  2Thessolonians 2:9-12 gives more insight into the signs the false prophet will perform:  “9 This evil man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.  10 He will use every kind of wicked deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction because they refuse to believe the truth that would save them.  11 So God will send great deception upon them, and they will believe all these lies.  12 Then they will be condemned for not believing the truth and for enjoying the evil they do.”

            Now as far as Satan being able to perform these signs we only have to go back to the book of Exodus and see how Satan used two of Pharaoh’s magicians to cause a rod to turn into a snake, but in the end the staff of Moses also turned into a snake and swallowed up the snake of these false prophets.  2 Timothy 3:8-9 says “8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. 9  But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.”  It is believed that Paul is naming the two men Pharaoh used in the incident with the rod and the snake.

            We have recently studied the two witnesses from Revelation chapter eleven and it is possible that the false prophet is imitating these two wittiness for we read in chapter 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.”  Now verse 13:13 says of the false prophet “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.”  John MacArthur writes “The present tense of poieo (makes) suggests that he will repeatedly perform this supernatural act ‘in the presence of men’ to impress them with his power.  God has often demonstrated His supernatural power by sending fire from heaven (cf. 11:5; Gen. 19:24; Lev. 10:1-2; 1 Kings 18:38; 2 Kings 1:9-12; 1 Chron. 21:26; 2 Chron. 7:1).  Satan’s henchman will perform a similar sign, but his will be one of the ‘false wonders’ (2 Thess. 2:9) that will lure unbelievers to their doom.”

            Let us look at a couple of verses from the gospels to show that Jesus said that this kind of thing would happen:  Matt. 24:5, 11, and 24 “5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ’I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.”  “11 "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”  “24  "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”  Now we will look at Mark 13:6 “6 “Many will come in My name, saying, ’I am He!’ and will mislead many.”  John MacArthur writes the following on the word deceives:  “Deceives is from planao, and means ‘to wander.’  It forms the root of the English word planet, since the planets appear to wander through the heavens.  The world will be utterly vulnerable to his deception during the Tribulation.  There will be unparalleled disasters and unimaginable horrors, leaving people desperate for answers.  Having rejected the true gospel and blasphemed the true God (cf. 16:9, 11), the unbelieving world will be eager to believe the deceiving lies propagated by the false prophet.”  ( I think that many people in our country are believing a pack of lies at this time as well.)

            Now we have looked at the phrase “those who dwell on the earth” and it appears seven times in the book of Revelation, and we have discussed that this means unbelievers so those who are being deceived are unbelievers.  Mark 13:22 states “for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.”  True believers will not be deceived by what the false prophet is doing.

            As we see the power of the Antichrist and now the false prophet grow we will then see that the world will be ready to worship the Antichrist as being god, and this is what Satan has always wanted to be worshiped.  MacArthur concludes “The world will engage in the most shocking, blatant idolatry ever seen.  Like Nebuchadnezzar before him (Dan. 3), but on a global scale, Antichrist, aided by the false prophet, will set up a statue of himself as a symbol of his deity and worldwide worship.  This blasphemous image will probably be set up on the temple grounds in Jerusalem (cf. 2 Thess. 2:4) and will be connected with the abomination of desolation (Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Matt. 24:15).  It will be a tribute to the awesome power of Antichrist, ‘who had the wound of the sword and has come to life’ (cf. vv. 3, 12), to seemingly conquer death.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is good to know the truth of what is going to happen in the end times as the Bible has laid out for us in the book of Revelation and other books as well, but we as believers need to share this truth with those God brings into out path, especially in the times we are living in today in the USA.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To continue to trust the Lord as we go through these difficult times in our country, and to continue to pray for our country, and continue to tell others the truth found in the pages of Scripture.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Lighting.”

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him’?”

Answer in our next SD.

7/2/2015 9:58 AM

 

Who is the False Prophet? (Rev. 13:11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/1/2015 7:35 AM

My Worship Time                                                                     Focus:  Who is the False Prophet?

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                            Reference:  Revelation 13:11

            Message of the verse:  “11Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.”

            First I want to mention that I do not attempt to name who this false prophet will be, but just look at his personhood.  Next we want to look at the word “another” to see what that word means.  John MacArthur writes “Some view this second beast as an institution, a form of government, or an ideology.  But the use of allos (another of the same kind) indicates that he, like the first beast, will be a person.  Further proof of that comes from 19:20 ‘And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.’”  Now we see from this verse that what the Bible is talking about is a person, and it also named him as the “false prophet” in Rev. 19:20.

            When we were looking at the Antichrist (the first beast) he came up out of the sea as seen in 13:1, however this second beast comes up out of the earth.  Now he too will be indwelt with the power of a demon who is out of the abyss.  As we have been studying at the book of Revelation we have learned that there will come a time when there will be demons who are let out of the abyss as they had been kept there because of what they had done earlier on in the history of the world.  We have also seen that Satan and his demon hoard has lost a battle with Michael and has been kicked out of heaven for good so they are now on the earth, and we couple this with what we will learn that the false prophet does we have to believe that he is indwelt with a powerful demon similar to what Antichrist is indwelt with.  John MacArthur writes the following about coming up out of the earth:  “That the false prophet arises from the earth suggests that he will be subtler, gentler, less overpowering and terrifying than the Antichrist.  He will be winsome and persuasive, the epitome of the wolves in sheep’s clothing Jesus warned of (Matt. 7:15).”

            Let’s look again at the description of Antichrist in 13:1-2 “And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. 2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.”  Now we look again at the description of the false prophet from Rev. 13:2b “and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.”  This false prophet is different than the Antichrist, by what he does and how he does it through being a deceiver, but is subtle in doing this.  I suppose you could say he was a “con man.” 

            Both the Antichrist and the false prophet are products of hell, make no mistake about that for we see that the false prophet speaks as a dragon which is a strange voice for a lamb to have.  What we have here is that he will be Satan’s mouthpiece speaking the words Satan wants him to speak.  We can see this in our own government today as there are a person behind the scenes who do not have the ability to speak, but help put someone in power who has the ability to speak the words of the one who helps them get elected. 

            John MacArthur concludes “False prophets often appear meek, mild, and harmless.  They offer hope and solutions to the problems troubling men and women.  Yet they are ever the voices of hell, and when they open their mouths. Satan speaks.  So it will be amid the unspeakable horrors of the Tribulation.  The false prophet will come like a lamb, speaking false, deceptive words of comfort.  He will promise the suffering, tormented people of the world that all will be well if only they will worship Antichrist.  But those who fall for his subtle lies will face the terrifying judgment of God (cf. 14:9-11; 16:2).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  During my prayer time I pray for wisdom for myself and also for my Pastors each day.  Here is what I pray “Wisdom:  I Pray that the Lord will give our pastors, and myself wisdom in all of the decisions that we have to make today.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”   “I’m putting on the belt of truth.  I ask You to make it very clear to me what I am to accept into my life and what I am to reject.  Help me to see clearly the motives of others as they deal with me and converse with me.  Let me walk in Your truth, making decisions and choices according to Your plans and purposes for my life.”  The last part is a quote from a book written by Charles Stanley in a book he wrote about Satan.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord even though things in our country are not going well at this time, but remembering that God will never leave us nor forsake us and He is sovereign who has a plan and nothing will stop His plan from being completed.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Christians” (Acts 11:26).

Today’s Bible question:  “According to Matthew 24:27, with what is the coming of Christ compared”

Answer in our next SD.

7/1/2015 8:11 AM

 

           

Introduction to the Final False Prophet (Rev. 12:11-18)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/30/2015 7:05 AM

My Worship Time                                           Focus:  Introduction to the Final False Prophet

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 12:11-18

            Message of the verses:  “11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. 12 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. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 14 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. 15 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. 16 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, 17 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. 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.”

            In the verses above we see John writing about the coming false prophet, even he is not named in this section we see clearly that this is who John is writing about.  The Bible has much to say about false prophets and in our introduction to this last of the false prophets we will look at some verses in the Scriptures that speak of false prophets.  We must remember that Satan, the father of lies, is behind all false prophets, and the last false prophet will be the one who helps Satan deceive the world.  Deception is how Satan works as he causes people to believe his lies.  Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11:14 “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”  This verse speaks of deception.  MacArthur writes “From his first appearance on earth in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:2-6) until his final appearance at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20:7-8), Satan is a liar and a deceiver.  He constantly seeks to confuse people, ‘blind[ing] the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see ‘the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God’ (2 Cor. 4:4).”

            Let us look at a section from the book of Deuteronomy where Moses writes about false prophets as he warns Israel that they would come to lead them astray.  “1 "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ’Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.”

            I am not going to quote the verses that Jeremiah spoke about false prophet, but when we were studying the book of Jeremiah we stated that Jeremiah had many problems with the false prophets of his day and that they even were taken into captivity into Babylon to test the people there.  The following are some sections from Jeremiah that speak of false prophets:  (Jer. 23:16; 23:21-22; 23:25-32; 27:14-16; 29:8-9).  Now we will move into the New Testament to see what it has to say about false prophets and we first look at a familiar passage that we have looked at before in conjunction with our study of Revelation and that is Matthew 24 where Jesus speaks of the fact that Mt 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”  Jesus also spoke of this in Matthew 7:15 where he says “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”  Peter writes “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” (2 Pet. 2:1).  John writes in 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

            In his commentary on this section John MacArthur quotes John Phillips as he speculates on this final false prophet:  “The dynamic appeal of the false prophet will lie in his skill in combining political expediency with religious passion…His arguments will be subtle, convincing, and appealing.  His oratory will be hypnotic, for he will be able to move the masses to tears or whip them into a frenzy.  He will control the communication media of the world and will skillfully organize mass publicity to promote his ends.  He will manage the truth with guile beyond words, bending it, twisting it, and distorting it…He will mold world through and shape human opinion like so much potter’s clay.”

            As we look at the last false prophet we need to understand that in this Tribulation period there will be an unholy trinity as Satan represents God the Father, while the Antichrist represents the Lord Jesus Christ, and this false prophet represents the Holy Spirit.  We will see how the Antichrist through the aid of the false prophet will ride the “religion” into power and then will get rid of the religion and say that he is god.  So what we are looking at is the combination of the political and the religion during those last three and a half years of the Tribulation period.  We will look more at this when we get to chapter seventeen, but we need to realize that the false prophet will be a big part of confusing the people of his day to believe the lie that Satan is promoting during the Tribulation Period and that lie is the same lie he has used since he spoke it to Eve in the garden:  “1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, ’You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?" 2  The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3  but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ’You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’" 4 The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! 5  "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."”

            We will be looking at three key elements of the false prophet in our next few Spiritual diaries; his person, power, and program.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When I first became a believer I read and listened to Hal Lindsey and one of his books is called “Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth.”  As I study the book of Revelation and look at the current events I have to say that Satan is alive and well in the United States of America as he has his people spewing out his lies and people are believing those lies just as Eve believed them.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To trust the Lord to bring glory to His name through the events that are happening in our country.  To remember that I am on the winning side, and to be a bright and shining light in this world that is getting darker by the moment.

 Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “He would lighten the load Solomon had placed on them” (1 Kings 12:3-4).

Today’s Bible question:  “What were the disciples in Antioch called?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/30/2015 8:08 AM

Antichrist’s Admirers PT-2 (Rev. 13:8-10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/29/2015 8:46 AM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Antichrist’s Admirers PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 13:8-10

            Message of the verses:  “8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 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.”

            As we look back on what we back on what we learned in our last SD I want to continue on that theme for a moment longer because of the importance of remembering or perhaps just learning the fact that once God chose us in eternity past that we are secure in the salvation that He has given to us through Jesus Christ as He paid the price for our sins on the cross.  John MacArthur writes “Believers are doubly secure, because the ‘book of life’ belongs to ‘the Lamb who has been slain.’  Not only the decree of election, but also the atoning work of Christ seals the redemption of the elect forever.  Believers ‘were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold…but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ’ (1 Peter 1:18-19).  The Father will not undo the work of Christ in redemption (cf. Rom 4:25; Heb. 1:3) by allowing any of the elect to be lost.  Jesus Christ is ‘to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation’ (Heb. 5:9), and it is not within the power of Antichrist, Satan, or all the forces of hell to alter that glorious reality.  The very saints that Antichrist massacres during his persecution of God’s people are later seen triumphant and victorious in heaven:  ‘2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. 3  And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! 4 “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED."  Antichrist may take their lives, but he cannot destroy their faith.”

            Early in our study of Revelation when we were looking at the seven churches we saw a phrase at the end of each letter to each of the churches and it was “If anyone has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  This phrase, that is without the last part about the churches is used sixteen times in the New Testament, and it emphasizes a particularly important truth when it is used.  Now as far as when it is used in chapters 2-3 or Revelation it is a warning for the church to understand what it is that Christ is saying to them, but in our text today there is no mention of the church which could mean that because the church is now in heaven at the Rapture that is why that phrase is omitted.  We can compare Revelation 3:10 to make this point “’Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”

            This phrase here, introduces a proverb to us “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.”  If you were alive at this time when Antichrist is persecuting believers then this proverb would be of help as it contains some important practical truth.  What they are to do is depend upon the providence of God and so they will not take matters into their own hands, but trust in the Lord who controls all things and as Romans 8:28 promises “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  We can see from this proverb that those believers who are destined to die for their faith will do so, and those destined to go into captivity will also do so that is imprisonment.  Those who are destined to be killed for their faith will have this happen to them also, but it is in the hands of the Sovereign God.  MacArthur writes “God’s people must not retaliate against their persecutors; there is no place now, and there will be no place then, for militant, aggressive, violent believers terrorizing their persecutors.  ‘Those also who suffer according to the will of God,’ wrote Peter, ‘shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right’ (1 Peter 4:19).”

            Believers are not to act violently but to remember that they must exemplify “the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”  Remember what Peter wrote about how our Lord acted “while being reviled…did not revile in return; while suffering righteously” (1 Peter 2:23).  We believers follow the example we can be sure “that those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame (1 Peter 3:16).”  Peter goes on to say in 1 Peter 4:14 “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”

            MacArthur concludes “The message of this passage is clear.  Let the monstrous beast from the abyss do his worst.  Let Satan and his demon hosts have their hour.  God controls the future and believers belong to Him ‘In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us’ (Rom. 8:37), and we will triumph on the glorious day when ‘The kingdom of the world [becomes] the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever’ (Rev. 11:15).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  God’s timing is always perfect and in light of what is going on in our country this message was certainly needed to remind me that even though Satan is behind what is going on in our country that God is in control and this is comforting for me to know, for God has a plan for me and for all of those who name the name of Christ and in the end believers will be in heaven and Satan and all that he has used to bring about what is going on in our country if they do not repent will be in hell with him.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Praise the Lord who is in control of all things, and to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord so that others can see.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Faith, hope, charity (love)” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Today’s Bible question:  “Under what condition would Jeroboam and all Israel serve Rehoboam?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/29/2015 9:46 AM

 

           

 

           

Antichrist’s Admirers PT-1 (Rev. 13:8-10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/28/2015 7:12 AM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus: Antichrist’s Admirers PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 13:8-10

            Message of the verses:  “8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 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.”

            Let us look at Rev. 13:4 to give us a reminder to who the admirers of Antichrist are:  “4 they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?"”  We couple this with the highlighted portion of verse eight and we see that all who dwell on the earth will worship him with the exception of those who are true believers that is those who have been “written from the foundation of the world in the book of the life of the Lamb.”  We have no idea of how many believers there will be on the earth when the Antichrist begins to persecute them along with the Jews, but it has to be a fairly large number, and will probably be a part of the largest number of people who will be saved that ever was saved in that amount of time, that is the three and a half years.  Now I want to go back to the highlighted portion of verse four and say that when we see the words “all who dwell on the earth” it speaks to unbelievers for it has been seen also in verse 12, 14; 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 17:2, and verse 8 of chapter seventeen.  John even goes on to write about those whose name have been written in the Lamb’s book of life so show the difference between those who dwell on the earth.  Why is it that those who dwell on the earth are not saved? Because and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved (2 Thess. 2:10).”   Just because salvation is a free gift of God does not mean all will receive that gift, for many will reject the gift even though they know that it is true that if you accept it you will be saved.  John MacArthur writes “Scripture also teaches that the faithless will be judged because they ‘did not believe the truth, but too pleasure in wickedness (2 Thess. 2:12).  While the eternally elect are saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16; 5:24; Acts 13:39; 16:31; Rom. 3:22-30; 4:5; 10:9-10; Gal. 3:22-26; Eph. 2:8-9), the non-elect are lost because they refuse to believe the gospel (John 3:36; Rom. 1:18-32; 2:8; 2 Thess. 1:8-9; 1 Pet. 2:8; 4:17).  Unbelief and rejection always indicate those persons whose names are not ‘written…in the book of life.’”  These truths that MacArthur writes here are true, but at times difficult to understand, however salvation is a gift accepted by faith, faith that we are given by the Lord yet nonetheless faith and so there are many things in the Word of God that we must take by faith.

            MacArthur goes on and we will conclude this SD with this paragraph:  “Seven times in the New Testament, believers are identified as those whose names are written in the book of life (cf. 3:5; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; Phil. 4:3).  The book of life belonging to the Lamb, the Lord Jesus, is the registry in which God inscribed the names of those chosen for salvation before the ‘foundation of the world.’  (This phrase is used as a synonym for eternity past in 17:8; Matt. 13:35; 25:34; Luke 11:50; Eph 1:4; Heb. 9:26; 1 Pet. 1:20; cf. 2 Thess. 2:13; and 2 Tim. 1:9.)  Unlike unbelievers, the elect will not be deceived by Antichrist (Matt. 24:24), nor will they worship him 20:4).  Antichrist will not be able to destroy believers’ saving faith, for the Lord Jesus Christ promised, ‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels’ (Rev. 3:5; cf 1 John 5:4).  Believers have been in the keeping power of God since before creation, and they will be there after the destruction of this order and the establishment of the new heaven and new earth (21:1ff.).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the truth of salvation that I have been reminded of here in a very deliberate way from the pen of John MacArthur and mostly from the Author of the Word of God.  I know that there is no way I deserve the salvation that Christ paid for while on the cross, but I am so very thankful for it and pray that I will walk worthy of what He has done for me.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Herod” (Acts 12:20-23).

Today’s Bible question:  “What are three great Christian virtues?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/28/2015 7:47 AM

Antichrist’s Activity (Rev. 13:7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/27/2015 6:53 AM

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  Antichrist’s Activity

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                            Reference:  Revelation 13:7

            Message of the verse:  “It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.”  “7 And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation (NLT).”

            We see from this passage that the Antichrist was allowed to wage war, for although he is a very powerful dictator he still can only do what the Lord allows him to do.  You might say that he has a collar on attached with a leash and the Lord has the other end of it so he can only go so far. 

            We read that Antichrist will make war with the saints and that he will overcome them.  Now remember that we are now looking at the events of the Tribulation Period from the perspective of the Antichrist and in earlier chapters we have seen that there will be many people who are believers killed by his authority.  “9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" 11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also (Rev. 6:9-11).”  Now let us look at more of verse seven:  “and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.”  Antichrist will see a threat to his authority from those who are true believers and this is one of the reasons he will deal with them by killing all that he can. 

            Daniel 7:25, a verse we have looked at in earlier SD’s says “’He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.”  Now we must remember that this type of thing will begin to happen in the middle of the Tribulation Period when the Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel as seen in Daniel 9:27 “"And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."”  Jesus also spoke of this in His Olivet Discourse “"Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand) (Matthew 24:15).”  Paul spoke of this in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 “3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4  who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

            Let us look at something that Jesus said in Matthew 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”  The Antichrist will kill many true believers, but he will not destroy the faith that they have, for this faith was given to them when the Lord saved them.  John MacArthur writes “Genuine saving faith cannot be destroyed, because ‘neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom. 8:38-39).  Nor will the Lord Jesus Christ, who is infinitely more powerful than Antichrist or Satan, permit any true child of His to suffer the loss of eternal life (Rev. 3:5; Job 13:15; John 10:27-29).  But Antichrist will slaughter God’s people on an unprecedented scale as he expresses his world dominance.” 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  We can learn from what we have been studying in the book of Revelation that God is totally in charge.  God is the Supreme Being, and I think that one day those judges who voted to make marriage legal between people of the same sex will realize this one day, they will realize that they are not the Supreme Court and will be judged for their actions which is not only against God’s laws, but against the Laws of the United States of America.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Things are surely going downhill in our country but the Lord is on His Throne and nothing will happen in our country that is out of His control.  Roans 8:28 says “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jerusalem” (Acts 8:27).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who died after being eaten by worms?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/27/2015 7:28 AM