Happy Birthday, Aaron!

 

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. (Psalm 127:3-5 ESV).

 

There are holidays people observe that are based on events related to a nation’s history, such as the Fourth of July and Memorial Day. Other holidays, such as Christmas or Easter, are based on remembering religious historical events. But each of us has a peculiar holiday linked to our own person. Today is one of those holidays for me. My youngest son, Aaron, was born four decades ago today. Happy Birthday, Aaron. The picture I’ve attached was taken several years ago on the campus of Georgetown University, where he is an Associate Teaching Professor. Because birthdays are a “personal holiday” I have taken a little break from our series in the Revelation to celebrate a bit. And, I hope my celebration will bring some encouragement to you.

 

While the Bible doesn’t command a celebration of birthdays, there are good reasons to continue to celebrate the birth of a person. It is good to affirm the value of a person (cf. Genesis 1-3). God goes about creating a beautiful and good creation. His most celebrated creation is man. God forms humanity in a very personal way. We are unique. That uniqueness is called “fearful and majestic” (Psalm 139:13-14). We also celebrate simply because people are blessings from God. In Scripture we hear about the wonderful blessing that children are and how God cares for them while they are still in the womb (Psalm 127:3). Birthdays are a also a time for thankfulness. There is so much complaining, strife, and conflict that swirls around us. It is easy to be pulled down into focusing on troubles and trials and take people and things for granted. Birthdays provide an opportunity to thank God for the life of a person who is made in the image of the God of the universe and is an amazing creation.

 

So, today I celebrate the incredible gift God has given to Mary and me in our son. I pray you have the same love given and received from your children. If there are impediments to that joy of relationship, perhaps this might encourage you to restore that in the coming days to what God desires for you.

 

Happy Birthday, Aaron!

 

the Other Beast - Pt. 1

 

Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises 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 lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might 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 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. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. (Revelation 13:11-18 ESV).

 

We turn our attention today to the “other” beast. The Greek word here is allos meaning another of the same kind. This second beast looks different. He looks like a lamb instead of the first beast which had characteristics of the leopard, the bear and the lion. Yet any thought that this one is different in nature and purpose is removed when he opens his mouth, for he speaks like a dragon. That he looks like a lamb shows that he will come as a religious figure in some way trying again to mimic the true Lamb, the Lord Jesus. Yet this one is a counterfeit lamb. This is seen further in the verses to come when we will see how he acts. So, if you want to talk about wolves in sheep's clothing, this coming second beast will surpass them all. But despite how he looks and the image he tries to portray, he is but another beast of the same kind. 

 

The mission of this beast is to make all the world worship the first beast whose fatal wound has healed. So, in these first two verses we see a Satanic trinity working together in a perfect unholy alliance. I have previously mentioned that Satan and the Beast try to mimic the Lord Jesus with a counterfeit resurrection, thus “he will rise from a fatal wound.” And we see this mimicry again in this satanic trinity. The first beast, the Antichrist, comes to do the will of the dragon just as the Son came to do the will of the Father. The second beast comes to bring worship and glory to the first beast just as the Holy Spirit comes to glorify Christ. Even the use of miraculous signs is mimicking the real thing.

 

Tomorrow we will see more of this deception. Today I would encourage you to be very careful of those who claim faith but their actions prove a life much different. James helps us a great deal as he writes concerning genuine faith: But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:18). Be wise in these last days!

 

The Antichrist

 

One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” (Revelation 13:3-4 ESV).

 

It should be noted that the word 'Antichrist' means both against and in place of. That is, the coming Antichrist, while hating Christ, will usurp the place of Jesus and even try to mimic the real King in some ways. We see this with “the fatal wound” that he received. The Greek word here translated fatal is thanatos which literally means death. There will be some type of “death and resurrection” event that will leave the whole world in awe and mesmerized by the Antichrist. This will be Satan's day and if you think people are easily swayed today, what is coming is on a whole different level.   

 

Notice also that it says that men will worship both the dragon and the beast. Remember again that the dragon is Satan. Men will worship Satan. Think about that! Everything will be twisted and turned upside down in the coming day. Satan will be revered, and the God of heaven despised. Satan will be seen as the good guy and Yahweh as the evil one. And the coming day will not have atheists. There will be a choice that all have to make as to who they will worship - God or Satan, Antichrist or Jesus Christ. And scripture says that the vast majority will marvel at the Antichrist.

 

A.W Pink writes of this character that he will be an intellectual genius, an oratorical genius, a political genius, a military genius, a commercial genius, a governmental genius and a religious genius. And when examining scripture, we see how this is all possible (Daniel 8:23-25). He will rise in leadership, yet be fierce, insolent and skilled in the dark arts. He will be mighty in power, yet not through his own power. He will prosper while destroying to an extraordinary degree everything he touches. He will succeed through deceit and shrewdness. He will bring peace, and destroy many while they are at ease. He will magnify himself while opposing even the Prince of princes. He will be finally broken yet not through human hands.

 

As terrifying as it appears, hope and victory are on the horizon! Jesus is coming soon to right this wrong once and for all!

 

The Coming Beast from the Sea

 

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. (Revelation 13:1-2 ESV).

 

This chapter begins the end in earnest. There is one coming who will literally take this world by storm. And that's not a good thing. Scripture knows him by several names. Probably the most famous is 'the Antichrist' though we only see this name in the first two epistles of John. In Revelation “the beast” is used extensively with 37 mentions in 29 verses. A few other names and titles that he is known by is “the man of sin”, “the son of destruction”, “the lawless one”, “the little horn” and “the prince that is to come”. There is plenty of speculation about who it is and this has gone on for centuries, going right back to the time of Nero. It is none of these. However, he may have been born and is now awaiting his time.

 

We do have a clear description of what this person will be like. We see in this passage that the dragon Satan, whom we spoke of a lot in the previous two studies, stands on the shore of the sea. Since these last days will be a time when the Restrainer, the Holy Spirit and His work through the Church, have been taken out of the way. Having been kicked out of heaven the enemy knows that his time is now short and is allowed to bring forth his “beast”. Let's just make a few quick points on this passage:

 

§  The imagery of the beast, especially looking like a leopard, a bear and a lion, is from the book of Daniel. You might remember that while king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a dream about a glorious statue of a man, symbolizing the coming kingdoms on this earth, God gave His impression of those same kingdoms by picturing them as various vicious beasts. Thus, the one who is coming will combine aspects of these various previous kingdoms.

§  The beast comes out of the sea. The sea in scripture, as seen in the book of Revelation, speaks of the Gentile nations. And as we shall see in a few days, this stands in contrast with the second beast that comes from the land.

§  The beast has ten horns. Horns in scripture speak of strength and the ten horns are a pointer to the kingdom of the last days coming out of the revived Roman Empire, from which the Antichrist arises. This corresponds to the 10 toes of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the 10 horns in Belshazzar's dream (cf. Daniel 7:7,24). The ten horns are also interpreted for us later (cf. Revelation 17:12-13). These are ten nations that give power to the beast.

§  The beast has seven heads. The seven heads are both seven mountains and seven kings (or kingdoms) that exist throughout history (cf. Revelation 17). Each head is blasphemous, displaying gross disrespect for God, taking glory for itself and dwelling in pride. In future devotionals we'll see that the coming Antichrist, as Satan's man, will specifically speak out and blaspheme the God of heaven. He won't be able to hide his hatred for God desiring all worship for himself.

§  The beast resembles a leopard, a bear, and a lion. These represent the empires of Greece, Medo-Persia, and Babylon from the Old Testament (cf. Daniel 7). They are placed in the reverse order to what we see in Daniel because John is now looking back in time instead of forwards as seen in the days of Daniel.

§  The coming Antichrist will be specifically empowered and even possessed by Satan Himself. It is Satanic power that will grant Antichrist the ability to accomplish incredible feats, goals and wonders (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).

 

It is a time of great difficulty for the believer. Yet, there is great hope. This calamity will not last forever and the result will be the victory of the King of Kings, Jesus Himself!

 

The War in Heaven - Pt. 3

 

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:7-9 ESV).

 

Satan, this vile creature, is cast out permanently from having any access to heaven and is hurled to the earth. That is very good news for heaven, but very bad news for earth. It is always interesting to see the little glimpses into the spiritual realm that scripture gives us. I mentioned earlier that one book that clearly presents this is the book of Job. There we read:

 

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it." The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face." Then the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD. (Job 1:6-12).

 

In this amazing scene, the sons of God, angelic beings, present themselves before God to give an account of their activity. Among them is one called Satan. He has been watching one on earth called Job and when God raises the integrity of Job, His servant, Satan is quick to accuse him and pronounce that he is only faithful to God because of God's blessing and protection. God allows Satan to test Job, but with clear boundaries on what Satan can and cannot do. It is a truly remarkable scene. Now, in our reading today, Satan accuses the brethren before God day and night! We need to acknowledge that we see and understand these things dimly! But what is clear is that with this coming war, this all changes! Never again will Satan have access to the heavenly courts of God's presence. And never again will he be able to accuse one of God's children before the Lord. This begins the greatest affliction Satan could inflict on humanity still remaining on the earth. The end is very near!

The War in Heaven - Pt. 2

 

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:7-9 ESV).

 

The second question is who fights this war? Let's be clear that this is not God vs Satan! This is not Jesus vs Satan. That would be like George Foreman in his prime versus a high school featherweight. This is an angelic war with Michael and his angels in one corner, and Satan and his fallen angels in the other. So let's explore what we can learn about these two.

 

First, let’s look at “the Dragon” (Satan). The imagery of a dragon speaks of a fierce and powerful being, known for its ability to attack, harm and destroy. He is also linked to the serpent in the garden of Eden where Satan entered into the serpent. The serpent was sly, cunning, and deceptive. The serpent put deceptive questions into the minds of Adam and Eve.  saying 'Did God really say...' Satan, in the form of the serpent, loves to mix truth and error in a poisonous cocktail. The last days before the return of Jesus Christ will see Satan's attack in both the form of the dragon and the serpent. But it predominantly starts with the serpent. It starts with deception. He is also the “accuser.” The title “Devil” is from the Greek diabolos, which has the meaning of “defaming or “slandering.”  He is the master accuser of the brethren. He is also called Satan. The word Satan means “adversary” and reminds us that whatever form Satan takes, whether it is as a dragon or an angel of light, he is still and will always be, the adversary. He has different tactics and forms, but his goal remains the same.

 

We should also look at the angel Michael. On God’s side we have the angel Michael who is mentioned in only five verses in the Bible. These tell us that Michael is one of the chief princes in the angelic realm (Daniel 10:13). The first mention of Michael is to do with warfare. And what we will find is that every mention of Michael in the Bible is in relation to conflict and warfare. Michael was required to come to help the angel Gabriel bring his message to Daniel because Gabriel had been opposed by other powerful fallen angels. Michael is also Israel's protector (Daniel 10:21).  Speaking to the Jewish prophet Daniel, Michael is called “your prince”. We also see that Michael will take his stand against the enemy in the tribulation period (Daniel 12:1). Michael is also an archangel and has fought with Satan before (Judges 1:9). He is also the “chief, highest leader of the angels”. He is the only angel with this title in scripture. Finally, at just the right time Michael will battle Satan again, driving Satan and all the other demons out of heaven once and for all. Hallelujah!

 

The War in Heaven - Pt. 1

 

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:7-9 ESV).

 

The last few days we have looked at the first six verses in Revelation 12 and saw that it had some interesting characters. We've got the pregnant woman, crowned with 12 stars. We've got the wrathful dragon, out to devour. And then there is the promised child who is born and caught up into heaven, escaping the dragon. There is enough right there for an extensive book series. As we also saw, this vision opens up a panoramic view of scripture extending from the garden of Eden to the Second Coming of Jesus. In this ancient conflict, taking place both in heaven and on earth, we noted that the dragon failed to prevent the coming of the promised child despite numerous attempts at destroying both the promised line of the woman and the child himself.

 

When we think about heaven it is easy to think about God's throne and presence. Most of the time we also associate thoughts of peace, holiness and fullness of joy along with thoughts of heaven. We could also think of the praise and worship surrounding the glory and majesty of God. Rarely do we think of war. However, a war in heaven is coming. Currently, as we see in the book of Job, Satan is allowed to come before God and does so to live up to his name as the accuser of the brethren. A day is coming, however, when this will no longer be allowed. So, the key questions are when does this war occur, who fights in this battle and what is the outcome?

 

Let’s consider the first of these questions today. Many Biblical scholars place the time of this war in the mid-point of the Tribulation because of its context in this chapter and by linking it to the prophecy in Daniel 12 which states that Michael will take his stand to protect the people of Israel at this point. That could well be the end point for this war, but we don't know for sure. It is possible that this war begins at the rapture of the church. Knowing that the rapture of the church is a fulfillment of the Jewish wedding model, I don’t think Satan will have access to heaven when the bride is taken back to her heavenly home to be with her bridegroom. I won’t be dogmatic in this belief, but it makes sense to me that Satan will be filled with rage at the rapture of the body of Christ as this fulfillment of the child. He will then realize that the Church age believers have truly overcome him and will never come under his influence ever again. That is the essence of our hope! Once we are in our heavenly home, we won't have to see him, hear him, or come under his influence or accusations ever again. Now, that is truly good news!