As we look at the future unveiled, Revelation 13 and verse number 11. I don't know about you, but my cup is running over. I tell you, I'd rather be here in any place I know. Well, it's been good tonight. It's been good. Revelation 13 and verse number 11. John says, "...and I beheld." That means he's continuing to view the vision that began several chapters ago as we're in a parenthetical section in the book of the Revelation. And of course, John from his vantage point is seeing what is happening on the earth. I remind you that you need to know where you are in the book of the Revelation. There are different vantage points. At one minute, John's in heaven and he's viewing scenes in heaven. And then from the next vantage point, he's watching what's going on on the earth. And it's important to remember that while the wrath of the Lamb is being poured out on planet earth, the worship of the Lamb is taking place in heaven. And when you come to this parenthetical section, John is helping us to understand and giving us needed information to fill in the blanks. It doesn't really move the chronology of the book. As a matter of fact, when you get to chapter 15, you're almost to the end. And so as we're looking here, we're catching information about what's going on in the middle point of the tribulation period that will be a prelude to the end, the final bold judgment that we'll look at in chapters 15 and 16 that will begin the movement of the book to Armageddon and then on from there. He said, And I beheld, I continued to gaze and watch. another beast of the same kind, a beast of the same kind, of the same nature as the first beast coming up out of the earth. And he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed. And He doth great wonders, so that He maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which He had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword and did live. And He had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And He causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads, and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred, three score, and six." Let's pray. I ask God to help us. Father, thank You for the sweet Spirit. the good music, the great time that we've had together in the house of the Lord. Father, thank you for making our time thus far with you sweet and precious and drawing us close to you and to each other. And Lord, I pray that Christ will be real to us tonight as we study these verses together Lord, we learn of end-time events. And God, I'm glad that You're the Alpha and the Omega. You're the beginning and the ending. You're the one who began it all and You're the one who will consummate and bring everything in Your time to a conclusion. That we, as the people of God, may not get headline hysteria and worry about these things because, Lord, You're sovereignly in control. And Lord, that our only purpose and task right now is to do Your business to You come as Your servants. Help us to be faithful as we learn these truths and let them be motivational in our lives to win those that we love to Christ. Lord, that they don't face this awful time known as the tribulation period. And we'll thank You for that that You do for us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. The first part of Revelation chapter 13 details the advent of the Antichrist. And just as Jesus has His advent, His coming, so the Antichrist has his. John saw a beast rise up out of the sea, out of the chaos and the turmoil of the Gentile nations, and here a Satan inspired a Satan The old ruler will rise to power and rule the nations. But then when you come to chapter 13 verse 11, you meet a second beast. He said in verse number 11, And I beheld, as I continued to gaze, another beast coming up out of the earth. And it's important, and he's one like and kind of the first beast. That lets us know that we're not talking about some kind of monster. We're not talking about some kind of beast that we would think of as a monstrous animal. No, it's a man of beastly character, base in nature. He is depraved beyond depravity. There are the sum total of wickedness. And these two individuals will be key players on the earth during the tribulation period. One of them, you're going to find, will be a political ruler. The other is going to be a religious leader who will, in time, bring worship and unite the world in worship to the Antichrist. whereas the first beast comes up out of the seas, out of the chaos and turmoil of the nations. This next one, named the false prophet, will come up out of the earth, alright? And there we're talking about in symbolic, possibly he could be of Jewish nature, could be, but we know that he'll be some type of religious leader. This second beast is the agent of the first beast. Now, I have no idea what your notes look like. So, back there, guys, you're just going to have to guess at it until I get to the outline, okay? Alright? And so, I know I made it, but I can't remember, okay, what it looks like actually, you know, between my notes and your notes. So, just hang with me, and if you don't fill in the blanks, we'll try to get them filled in for you, okay? The second beast is the agent of the first beast. He carries out his wishes. He executes his authority. Look at verse number 12. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him. And so his is a delegated authority or power from this political ruler to this religious leader who will actually be his sinister minister of propaganda. I want you to notice as we look at this beast out of the earth, his deceptive appearance. His deceptive appearance. Look again at verse number 11. He said, And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. Now notice the Bible said he's like a lamb. Do you realize that Revelation is called the Lamb Book of the Bible? That the word lamb is used 27 times in the book of the Revelation, and in every time, every case, every instance, it's used of the Lord Jesus Christ except here. Because He is the Lamb of God. And so, you're going to find that this individual comes like a lamb. He's meek like a lamb. He's a religious type leader. Matthew 7, 15, Jesus said, Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. He's going to come in the guise of a lamb. He's going to be meek and mild. Boy, the first beast is a charismatic, powerful leader. This second beast will be a soft-spoken, meek, kind, I mean gentle, but boy, I tell you what, you're going to find that there's deception in his voice. There's deception in this man. He outwardly is like sheep, but like a lamb, he'll come in the guise of a lamb. He'll be meek and humble and mild. But friend, he has a mouth like a dragon. Notice the Bible said that he spake like or spake as a dragon. And we know the dragon, as we learned in chapter 12, is symbolic of Satan himself. He looks like a lamb, but he speaks with the voice of the devil. Notice he has two horns. Two horns. The first beast has ten horns. Alright? Ten horns. And we find that he is a political leader. The second man, the second beast, alright, has two horns. Two in the Bible is the number of testimony. Those ten horns speak of territory. Two horns in Bible prophecy speak of testimony. One is a political leader. The other a religious leader. Let me remind you, Jesus said this in John 8, verse 44, It tells us something about the voice of Satan. When he speaketh, he speaketh a lie, for he is a liar and the father of it, the originator of a lie. Can I tell you, friend, that Satan has never told the truth. Did you know that? Friend, every time he opens his mouth, it's a lie. It's a lie. You can't believe anything the devil says, but you can believe everything Jesus says. Amen? And we find that he's speaking the lie. And therefore, this man who speaks with the voice of Satan, that means he's empowered by the devil, that he's a great deceiver, he's a worker of falsehood. He's once spoken of in Scripture as the false prophet. Do you realize that all false prophets that have come throughout the centuries of time will give rise to this false prophet. He will be the sum total of deception as he seeks to deceive men and dupe men to worship Satan, Superman, the Antichrist. Hey, the world's calling for a man. The world's looking for somebody, some leader, somewhere to rise up and to bring peace and bring prosperity and bring the world out of the chaos and the problems that it has. And friend, can I tell you, the world is turned away from the Lord's Christ and so they'll receive the devil's antichrist. This man completes the dragon's unholy trinity. The dragon or Satan is anti-God. Anti-God. The beast, the antichrist. is anti-Christ. Where the dragon or Satan is the direct opponent of God the Father, so the anti-Christ is the adversary of God the Son. But then this false prophet is anti-Spirit. He is the adversary of the Holy Spirit. Just as God has His Trinity, Satan has his. Do you realize Satan's never had an original thought? Never has. He's a counterfeiter. He counterfeits everything God does. Do you know that God has his angels? The devil has his. God has his preachers? The devil has his. God has his book? The devil has his. Sure. God has his gospel? The devil has his. It's a false gospel. It's a gospel of works. Hey, the devil doesn't care if you're religious. He just doesn't want you to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Matter of fact, he uses religion to deceive men, and he gives them a taste, a false hope, a false impression or idea that everything's going to be alright and they're right with God because if they can just do enough religious deeds and enough religious works, and if you can just be devout enough in your religion, you'll get in. For nothing can be further from the truth. Religion never saved anybody, but a relationship with Jesus Christ saves anybody that calls on Him. Satan's program is a total counterfeit of God's program. This man is deceptive in his appearance. But notice, secondly, he is dynamic in his appeal. He is a dynamic individual. The work of the false prophet will imitate that of the Holy Spirit. He is anti-spirit. Look again, if you would, verse 12. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and he causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly Wound was healed. And just as it is the office work of the Holy Spirit of God to make Christ precious to us. See, the Bible said, Jesus said, now when the comforters come, He'll not talk about Himself. By the way, do you know that's what's wrong with the charismatic movement today? the Pentecostal movement of our day? You know why? Because it elevates the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit didn't come to witness to Himself. Jesus said when He comes, He's not going to witness to Himself. He's going to point you to Me. And friend, you can know the Holy Spirit's at work when Jesus Christ is elevated. And He's lifted up because the Holy Spirit doesn't talk of Himself. He doesn't elevate Himself. And by the way, do you know that's what charismatic in the Pentecostal movement? It elevates man. And the Holy Spirit will never elevate a man. He'll always elevate the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we find that that was the work of the Holy Spirit. So it will be the office work of this great counterfeiter to make the Antichrist, the man of sin, attractive to men. One of the things I pray every Sunday morning is this. before I preach. I say, Lord, today, help me to preach in such a way that the Holy Spirit can make Christ attractive to men, women, boys, and girls, that they would desire Him. I believe that's a right prayer. And just as the Holy Spirit seeks to make Christ attractive to men, to desire Him, to want to have a relationship with Him, so the False Prophet will draw men to the Antichrist. He will not speak of Himself. He will not promote Himself. He will not glorify Himself. He will cause the earth and them that dwell in to worship the first beast. And you know what? When men are worshiping the Antichrist, this first beast that we met in Revelation 13, They are in reality worshipping the dragon or the devil who gave him his position, his authority, and his power. They are worshipping the devil himself. Do you realize that in countries around the world, and when I was in Guyana, South America, when I was in Trinidad, you see Hinduism in its real light. And by the way, if you want to see Catholicism in its true light, leave America and you'll see it. It's watered down here. But when you go to Central and South America, they make no bones about it that they worship idols. That these statues of the saints that you see in their churches, in their cathedrals, that they worship them. that they're filled with idolatry. And friend, can I tell you that that is Satan's lie, to cause men to worship an image of God rather than God Himself. And Satan's work in doing that, and here's what God says, is that when a person is worshipping an idol, they're in reality worshipping Satan who's behind the idol. And boy, you never see such grotesque and demonic-looking idols until you go to Hinduism and their 500 million gods. When a Hindu comes to Christ, they come from the total darkness into bright light. It is far different from somebody in the South that's heard the gospel all of their lives getting saved. Totally different. Their commitment level is unbelievable. Because all their lives they've been worshipping some dead idol that has eyes but it can't see and ears that it can't hear and a mouth that it can't speak. It's got legs that can't walk and hands but they can't do anything. And it's never answered their prayers. It's never done anything for them. If anything, they're in bondage and darkness and misery. And then they come to the Lord Jesus Christ and they're set free. And that's true for everybody that comes to Christ. But boy, in these darkened countries, it's like anything you've ever seen. And Satan wants to put people in darkness. The devil isn't opposed to worship. He thinks worship is fine. Witchcraft, the occult, astrology, New Age thinking, the false religions of the world. Listen, all of that tells us of Satan's desire to be worshipped. And when man refuses to worship the true and the living God, the God who became man, they will in that day, during the tribulation, be tricked into worshipping the man who claims to be God, the Antichrist. But not only do I want you to see his deceptive appearance, not only do I want you to see his dynamic appeal, but thirdly tonight, I want you to see his deadly approach. Look at verse 13. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword, and did live." So how will this man, this false prophet, go about making his scheme of deceit, attracting the men and causing them to worship the Antichrist? Well, let me give you three ways and I'll be done tonight. First of all, he will be a master of miracles. He will be a master of miracles. What I mean by that is he's going to do wonders. Notice verse 13, and he doeth great wonders. That word wonders means signs. They're going to be supernatural in character, as He will cause fire to come down from heaven in the sight of men. I believe He will imitate the miracles of God's two witnesses that we met in Revelation 11. God has often revealed Himself by fire, and this deceiving prophet will do the same, because as I said before, Satan is a great counterfeiter. He's seeking to counterfeit the work of God and deceive men. Matthew 24, 24. Jot that down in your notes, would you? This is the Olivet Discourse, Matthew 24, 24. Jesus says this, talking about the end time events. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great wonders, insomuch that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect. This man will have such persuasive power. He will be like a master magician. He will be like a great man of bringing illusion to men and seemingly a master of miracles. And He will be so persuasive that if it were possible, He would even deceive those who know the Lord. But the good news is, He can't deceive them because they know the truth. They know the truth. And the more you... Let me tell you something. You're great. Somebody says, boy, I want to study all the cults. So I know, friend, the best thing you can do is study your Bible. It is. The more I know the truth, the easier it is I can spot a lie. Now I'm not saying it's wrong to understand cults and study other religions and know how to witness to people. I'm not saying that's wrong. But the best way to detect a lie is to know the truth. And that's why you need to be a person of the Bible, a person of the book. That's why you need to be in this book every day and letting God speak to your heart and learning the truth of God because it will keep you from being deceived. It will. How important that is. Let me say a word about Matthew 24 and 25. And just put this in your mental note, okay? Matthew 24 and 25 is pure prophecy. The church is not in Matthew 24 and 25. Let me show you something real quickly. Can I do that? I think this is very important because when people get in Matthew 24 and 25, they make a grave mistake in dealing with their context and you can make some pretty major blunders in preaching that creates some confusion in people's minds. The church, it's not even been born yet. It's still prophecy. It's the position of this pastor, this church, our Bible college, where we are. The church did not begin in the Gospels. It began on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts. Okay? And I don't fall out with people that see things different. They can be wrong if they want to. Okay. But I've got good reasons why. Okay? And I'm not going into all that. That's a whole different message. But just suffice it to say, that's where we stand as a church. Matthew 24 and 25, the disciples are asking Jesus a question about end time events as it relates to the nation of Israel. The key to understanding Matthew 24 and 25 is to realize that it is pure prophecy and the church is not here at all. Okay? Not even mentioned. Why? Because during the tribulation period, we're already in heaven when all these events take place. The rapture takes us to glory. Okay? Now, the rapture does not begin the tribulation period. Doesn't begin it. Alright? It actually closes out the age of grace, but it doesn't start what we know as tribulation period. I'll tell you why. The tribulation period begins with the peace treaty being signed, according to Daniel chapter 9, verses 26 through 28, with the Antichrist. Alright? So there could be a period of time after the rapture takes place of build-up. Okay? I don't think it'll be hundreds of years or thousands of years, but it could be 20 years, 25 years, especially if you believe that Babylon has to be rebuilt. If you believe, and we're going to get there, we're going to talk about Babylon that is in modern-day Iraq. And if you believe that Babylon has to be rebuilt, well, it's not been rebuilt. And for it to be in chapter 18, for it to be a thriving city, there's going to have some things to take place, alright? Or either Babylon's not going to be rebuilt. So there's some questions there. I'm not trying to confuse us all, but we're going to get there in Revelation 18, and you understand what I'm talking about, okay? So there's possibly some time lapse from the time the church is taken to heaven and the saints of God are raptured out and the actual signing of that peace treaty. Don't know how long. Could be a decade. Could be a year. It might be immediate. I have no idea. And by the way, I don't care because I'm going to be in heaven. Amen? Alright? But the church is not mentioned. The rapture is not here. The church isn't here. None of that is in Matthew 24. Alright? Now let me just show you something real quick because this is very important. I harp and harp and harp on this to our guys in preaching class and all of that because it's important. Because here's what I think happens. I think many times preachers take second coming verses and apply them to the rapture. It's not the same event. The rapture is Christ coming for its two aspects, okay? The rapture is Jesus coming for the saints of God, and we go up. Alright? The second aspect of the second coming is Jesus Christ coming to the earth in glory, and we come back with Him seven years later. Okay? You following me? Alright? From that time. So, we need to see that. Now, I want you to look, if you would, at verse number 40. I couldn't tell you how many rapture messages are preached from these verses. And it doesn't have anything to do with the rapture. Nothing. And I'm going to show that to you. Look at verse 40. Then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken in the other left. Well, there it is, preacher. There's a rapture. Well, hang on. Verse 41. Two women shall be grinded at the mill, the one shall be taken in the other left. Watch therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord doth come. Well, that's got to be the rapture, preacher. Well, it's not, and I'm going to tell you why. Let me show you the context. Look, if you would, in verse number 37. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." Alright, so now we're making a comparison. Alright? He's comparing the days of Noah to the Son of Man. That's right, preacher. I mean, they were wicked and vile and ungodly and wicked things was happening, and God had to destroy them all. That's the way it's going to be at the rapture. That's not what he's saying. Now, that may be true, but that's not what he's saying. Okay? Notice in verse 38 what he's actually saying. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark." You know what 38 is? That's business as usual. They were just going on about life. That means Noah for 120 years preached about a flood, and the people didn't listen, and they didn't care, and they went about the routine of life, until guess what? The flood came and took them all away. In judgment. Look what happens in verse 39, "...and knew not." until the flood came and took them all away." Took them out in judgment. Who was left? Noah, his sons, Noah's wife, and their wives. So watch this, in this judgment, alright, this is judgment, the rapture is not judgment, it's deliverance. Saved people are taken out, unsaved people are left for judgment. Are you following me? This is important, you've got to catch it. Alright? Now, watch this. Then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left. Within the context, do you realize what's happening? One's taken out not in deliverance, but judgment. The other's left to go into the kingdom. The millennial kingdom of Christ. Verse 41, two women shall be grinded at the mill, the one shall be taken in judgment. Because when you study the context, and you see he's making a comparison, and the flood took away a generation of people in judgment. And do you realize that right before the kingdom takes place, that Jesus sets up his thousand year millennial reign, every unsaved person on planet earth will be removed off of planet earth in judgment just like the flood. Do you know who's going to be left? Saved people to enter into the kingdom. You following me? And so it's a second coming verse, not a rapture verse. Alright? And so it's important that we understand that. And when we look at Matthew 24 and 25, because if you don't, what you're going to do is you're going to put the church here, and you're going to move stuff all the way around, and all it is is a table of contents. It's a chapter of chronology that teaches us about end time events. And that way it keeps us from being... crossed up in our proper understanding of end-time events. And so, when we come at the rapture, all the saved people are taken out in deliverance. We are delivered from the wrath to come. Tribulation period. But guess what? Everybody else is left here to face the judgment of the tribulation period. And friend, here's the good news. The good news, if you're saved tonight, you don't have to worry about a thing I'm preaching on. But if you're not, you'll be left here to face every bit of it. And Jesus said, For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets. The tribulation will be known as a time of great deception, and shall show great wonders. Insomuch, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect, that there is going to rise up this false prophet." Listen, that's why we need to be careful that we don't get headline hysteria and that we're looking for signs. Some people get so caught up in signs, they forget about the Scriptures. Friend, don't do that. Not only will this man be a miracle worker, but letter B, he's going to be a maker of an image. A maker of an image. Look at verse number 14. And to see to them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles, and have power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, and the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed. All right? And so how important is he's going to be the maker of an image? The false prophet will deceive men by making an image, an idolatrous image, of the Antichrist. It will give it, and will give it the semblance of life. It won't be alive, but it'll have the semblance of life. This image is mentioned seven times in Revelation, four times in chapter 13. It is some kind of talking statue. It'll have all the substance of life. but yet it won't really be alive. It'll be centered, the worship of that day will be centered in this image. Some believe it could be a television image beamed around the world, sort of like a computerized image that can talk and it looks lifelike and real. Others believe it could be some type of robotic type thing that's made. Now, you know what? Our forefathers couldn't even imagine that. But you know what? That's not really hard. Matter of fact, I know that there's ladies, you're right now waiting on that robot that comes in and washes the dishes and takes care of the floors and, you know, does all those things. I know, you know, you're waiting on your child to be the one to make that thing to solve that problem. But even now, I just watched this afternoon, them talking to some kind of little thing that they made. Amazon has one. All the... I think Google has one. And you just talk to it and it answers your questions. IBM has one. You know what I'm talking about? That thing is smarter than I am. It scares me. I mean, they've got talking elevators now. I mean, walk on an elevator and say, hello. It talks to you. I mean, they even have cars that talk to you. You know? And, you know, it's one thing he tells you, turn the light off, get gas, slow down. I mean, it's rough enough. Your wife's saying, hey, slow down. Turn here. Asks for directions over there. But now your car does it. That's why my wife won't let me have, she won't let me use the GPS when we're in the car together. She said, you don't need two women telling you what to do. And so, we won't do that. It's amazing the technology in our day. that can make this a reality. And do you realize that there's much of the world that would still... They don't have any idea of the technology that we have today. They don't. And it would not be hard to deceive the masses in third world countries that don't understand what's going on. But you say, Preacher, it won't deceive me. That's okay. It didn't have to deceive you. They'll force you. There won't be a choice. Do you know that there's computers that have the storage capacity of 10 trillion humans? 7 billion people could easily be controlled by such an all-knowing monster. Somebody said the more machines act like men, the more men will act like machines. Letter C, he will be an enforcer of a mark. Look at verse number 15. And he had power to give life into the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be what? Killed. You'll worship one way or another, willingly or unwillingly. And He calls with all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads, that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Now I want you to look at that word mark. Verse 16, he will receive a mark. Verse 17, save he that had the mark. That word mark means to brand. All kinds of questions about what this mark is. Many times we've preached it being some kind of computer chip implanted in the right hand or the forehead. I tend not to believe that. Because the verses tend to remind us that it's visible, you can see it. Now, I'm not going to tell you that the commerce, the banking, and the controlling that takes place could be a microchip. By the way, they're talking about stuff like that now. That's not anything new. They won't put it in dogs, children. Why not? I mean, goodness, chances are nobody's going to hit me over the head if I don't have cash. We go to a cashless society. You won't get mugged, robbed. You know, all of my banking health information and all of that. By the way, global markets. Have you ever noticed everything is a push for globalism? Now there's some resistance right now going on in the world toward that. The Brexit vote where they came out of the EU. Germany had a big vote here lately and they really made a big push there toward what we would consider nationalism. Pulling back from that globalism. No borders. No borders. George Soros is a big proponent of globalism and no borders. That is a big progressive agenda that moves us to globalism. That doesn't mean that all of these people understand what I'm talking to you. I'm just saying that that mindset is already in our world and we're not that far from it. That's why I think that even in America there's a sense of nationalism coming back. You don't want to give in to that too much. But anyway, what's going to happen in that day, there won't be any choice. I believe the mark here, and we'll talk about this microchip, I believe that has to do with the commerce and the banking and the buying and the selling, but I believe the mark is, I'm just going to tell you what, I believe it's a tattoo or a brand. I do. And here's why. Because that's exactly what that word meant in John's day. In John's day, soldiers would be branded or they would be tattooed with their legion that would show their allegiance to Rome and to the armies that they were a part of. Slaves would be tattooed in the Roman Empire or branded that would show their allegiance and their loyalty and the ownership of their master. There is such a tattoo craze in our day that even Christians are getting sucked into it. I had some folks get upset and they're no longer here because I preached on this, but that's okay. I like filling churches up, not emptying them. Amen? But that's not going to stop me from preaching the truth. And I'm just going to tell you now, God says this, that we're ought to be marking and cutting up our flesh. Okay? Now listen, what a person does before they get saved, or maybe in a carnal state, Can I tell you, aren't you glad one day God's going to clean us all up? Amen? He sure is. And we're going to love people no matter where they are, what they're at, who they are. We're going to love them. But you know what? There's no business of a Christian being in a tattoo parlor. Well, I put Jesus on my arm. Why don't you just live for Him with your life? I mean, you know, that's like people's got Jesus bumper stickers and they've got road rage. That makes you want to go to church with them, don't it? See, I can wear a Jesus shirt and a Jesus hat, and I can put Jesus all over me, but if I don't live right, it don't mean a thing. Much more powerful when my life and my lips match, amen? And I'm not going to quit preaching on that, and by the way, I'm not going to quit preaching on social drinking either. I'm just going to go ahead and put that out there. You say, how did you stick that in there? I don't know, the Holy Spirit just stuck it in, so there we go. And without it, listen, without this brand and without this mark, you don't buy, you don't sell. There'll be no living, only dying without the mark of the beast. You know when you're saved, you receive the seal of the Holy Spirit. God marks you as his own. He puts his Holy Spirit in your heart. and it's evidence you belong to him. Because the Bible says if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he's none of his. So we get saved, we get the Holy Spirit, and that's the mark, the ownership that we belong to the Lord lives in our heart. Do you know the devil's going to mark his children with the brand of the beast? It'll be put on all people and make them part of the world economic system. It speaks of a coming cashless society which Antichrist will use to control every person on the globe. It seems so simple, so reasonable, so necessary. No one will carry cash. Just go in the store, make your selection, run your hand under the scanner. It'll be so easy. No balancing, no cheating, no stealing. We'd all be for it if we didn't know Bible prophecy. Notice, if you would, the number of verses. Let me say this and I'll be done. I'm going to talk about this number and I'm going to be finished. You say, preacher, I'll tell you what. I'm just going to wait this thing out and Jesus comes, rapture takes place, I'm going to get saved. Well, number one, there's no guarantee you can. But secondly, if you could, there's no guarantee you will. Well, I'm not going to receive that mark. Can I tell you that it'll be harder for you to not take that mark, or a person to not take that mark than anybody could ever imagine? Can you imagine watching your child starve because you can't buy formula and baby food? And it's a little belly pooching out, crying for hunger, and all you've got to do is take a mark. It will amaze us what people will do when they don't have another choice. Because you know what? It's built into us to survive. And the only people that will escape this system are those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life in heaven, those saved during the tribulation period, and they will seal their testimony in their own blood because He's going to turn this world into a vast concentration camp and He will hunt down Jewish believers and Christian believers. We're going to call them Christian believers, okay? They're tribulation saints. They're a different group in the sense that they don't belong to the church, okay? We're in heaven. But that group right there, they're going to be hunted by the Antichrist. And this man right here, the false prophet, will have the Gestapo, whatever you want to call them, that their sole job is to hunt out those who won't receive the mark and either coerce them to receive it or die. And that's their choice. And there will be a vast amount of martyrs during the tribulation period that will seal their testimony in their own blood. You thought the Nazi Holocaust were terrible. Six million Jews. that lost their life at the hands of Hitler. By the way, do you know what? They received a number in their arm from Hitler. They didn't have a name anymore. They got a number. And they hunted them down based on that number. And they killed them. Atrociously. And I'm going to tell you something. What the Antichrist will do will make what Hitler did look like a walk in the park. Let's talk about his number and we're done. Verse 18. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred, three score, and six. Six, six, six. I remember I went to work as a high school teenager and I worked for a place and they paid me $6.66 in an hour. I said, Preacher, what did you do with that check? I cashed it. That's what I did. Don't get hysteria about the number. All kinds of superstition surrounds it. You know, there's 14 different people listed that somehow through number crunching and doing all this, they come up that somehow their name fits 666, like Hitler, John F. Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, I mean, down the line. But let's replace the superstition with Bible thinking, okay? God says something about this number. He said it's the number of a man. Man was created on what day? Sixth. It's the number of a man. Seven in the Bible is the number of God. Six, six, six, or three sixes, is man pretending to be God. This is the best man has to offer. But let me just promise you this, a six will never become a seven. This man tries to be God. He pretends to be God. He wants to be God, but friend, all he is is a cheap imitation. And that day when the Antichrist is in power, it won't matter whether it's a billion dollar deal or a loaf of bread, no sale. But folks, we need to understand that this man, try as he may, will never be God, and God has His number. And God is sovereign. And this man is never mentioned in Scripture that you don't see. this man's destruction. Let me show you their end and we're going to close up in prayer. Turn to Revelation chapter number 19. Look at Revelation 19.10. What a glorious day this will be. And the devil that deceived them, talking about the people on the earth, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. The seven took care of the six. Friend, listen. You know what that means? That when you know Jesus Christ, you're on the winning side. Amen. I'm glad I'm on the winning side tonight. What about you? Now, you say, preacher, how does this impact my life right now? How in the world can what we're preaching on make any difference? Number one, God said, when I read and study this book, that He's going to bless me. That's at the very beginning of the book. So anytime we read and study the Bible, especially the book of Revelation, God has promised a special blessing to the preacher and the church that preaches and teaches and reads and keeps and understands and knows the truths of this book right here. God said, I'm going to bless you. Number two, it ought to motivate you. I've got people that I pray for that if Jesus were to come tonight, they would have to face this terrible time. And I need to try to win them. And I need to pray for them. And I need to get a burden for them. Isn't that true? Sure. And it also should move us tonight that if you've never been saved, you need to come to Christ before it's too late. Let's bow our heads in prayer.