There was an ominous anniversary this past week. May 17th was the 20th anniversary of gay marriage in the U.S. The first so-called gay marriage took place on May 17, 2004 in Massachusetts. Of course, the perversion of marriage was made a national right in the Obergefell decision in 2015, but the first state-sanctioned marriage between a same-sex couple happened 20 years ago. There was an article in the Wall Street Journal this week that basically celebrated that anniversary. The article was entitled, How 20 Years of Same-Sex Marriage Changed America. The author, Molly Ball, who's fully supportive of perverse marriage, makes the comment that over 20 years, and I quote, what was once the white hot center of political debate has receded to the background. And she's right. What was once a contentious political debate and thought of as being a frontline cultural issue is now thought to be a settled issue from our culture's point of view, not God's. One of the statistics that was really fascinating is how the American perspective on gay marriage changed between 2013 and 2018. In 2013, 70% of Americans opposed gay marriage and 30% supported it. In 2018, five years later, those numbers reversed and 70% supported it and 30% of Americans opposed it. That is a seismic cultural shift over five years. Now, of course, those issues were percolating for several decades. I've even taught on some of this many times. But don't miss the fact that in the span of five years, the biblical understanding of marriage was replaced as a cultural norm with a demonic counterfeit. Here's another interesting statistic. Of all the marriages that have taken place since the Obergefell decision, Only 1.3% of those marriages are among same-sex couples. Now think about that. Our Supreme Court upended Christian marriage as the norm for 1.3% of the population. So how did this moral and cultural transformation take place so quickly? Well, here's the short answer. The devil has been very successful And specifically, the spirit of the false prophet has been astonishingly successful at promoting evil and wickedness and establishing a godless worldview that's hostile to a biblical worldview. And the saddest part is how successful our malevolent enemy has been in transforming these views among younger people. That's actually what accounts for a lot of the change. Young people go off to school, then college, or they're simply immersed in the secular culture and they develop views fundamentally different than the ones they were raised with. Sometimes the result is the renouncing of their Christian beliefs, but more often the change is something far more subtle. They head off to college, and when they leave, mom and dad, they know homosexuality is an abomination to God, but after college, and even after many Christian colleges, or after being neck deep in the secular culture, they come back with a different view. They might still say something like this, look mom, look dad, look grandma, look grandpa, I know homosexuality's not ideal, but it's just not that big of a deal to me. Make no mistake, that shift, as subtle as you may think it sounds, is a demonic victory. And the hordes of hell celebrate. And here's how that translates to a bigger victory. Parents and grandparents then hear this and decide they don't want to rock the family boot. Again, a demonic victory, not something else. You see, the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 1 that when a culture embraces that kind of abomination, it's committing cultural societal suicide, as God will give them over. And the only person who loves that is the devil, because he's the liar who's come to kill and steal and destroy. This morning as we return to our study in Revelation, We'll see how the beast of the earth, the devil's false prophet, engages in cultural manipulation and transformation to diabolical ends, and even get a little hint, I think, maybe more than a little hint, that one of the places he's gonna work over time is in and among young people. Let's first seek the Lord's blessing on the reading and preaching of his word, and then we'll get to work. Pray with me once more. Our great God in heaven, we thank you that your word is truly a light unto our paths. And we're thankful that your spirit has worked in us so that we know your word is true truth. We're convinced of its verities. We pray, oh God, as we hear the word this morning read and taught. that it will accomplish its good purpose in each hearer. And we ask all this in Jesus' name, amen. Well, let me ask you to turn your Bibles to Revelation 13. We're gonna read verses 11 through 18. By picking up where we left off last week, most of our attention will be given to verses 16 through 18. But we'll start reading in verse 11, Revelation 13, verse 11. This is the true word of God. Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs so that He even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom, that him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it's the number of a man, his number is 666. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever. May it bless it to our hearts this morning. Well, dearest congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, over the past couple weeks, our attention has been focused on a grotesque counterfeit, a counterfeit trinity. And we've learned about the three persons in this Trinity. We learned about the dragon who is the devil and functions like a counterfeit father. We've learned about the beast of the sea in verses one through 10 of this chapter, who is the Antichrist and something like a counterfeit son. And we began learning about the beast from the earth who is the false prophet and a counterfeit of the Holy Spirit. And that's really the word that could be writ large over much of Revelation 12 and 13, counterfeit. This is what the devil does and what he excels at, and that is mimicking and twisting and perverting the things of God or the things of God's creation. I mean, God sent his son, the Christ, into the world to establish a kingdom of righteousness. Satan raised up an antichrist to establish a counterkingdom, a kingdom that's blasphemous. The power of the Christ was demonstrated by his bodily resurrection. The influencing power of the antichrist comes as he appears to sustain a mortal wound and is healed. God sent his Holy Spirit into the world to direct his people to Christ, to draw the elect to Christ from every tribe and tongue and nation so that they could find grace and truth and salvation. The devil sends out a false prophet who draws people to the Antichrist, where they find deception, depravity, and ultimately, eternal destruction. It's one counterfeit after another. And it all has a single goal from the devil's perspective. God desires a people to worship him and to worship him alone and to worship him in spirit and truth. The devil's the father of lies and he covets that worship that belongs to God. Now remember what we've learned, the Antichrist, the beast of the sea, is the devil's program to pervert the state, to corrupt political entities, to immerse himself into the power structures of society. The false prophet, the beast of the earth, is the devil's program to pervert and corrupt true religion and to establish a false one. And make no mistake, every time a false teacher emerges in Christ's church, they're of the devil. That sounds like something you'd hear on Saturday Night Live. But they're of the devil. If they're purposely perverting the truth of the gospel, they are not decent folks who have a different opinion. They're people who are functioning under the authority and power of the false prophet. The reason the false prophet will be so successful is because of deceit. At first, he's going to seem so innocent, even lamb-like, we see that in verse 1, till he speaks. Then it's going to be clear that his mouth is filled with the words of the dragon. Another reason you'll be successful is that he's gonna perform great signs, even mimicking the great signs of biblical prophets like Elijah calling fire down from heaven. And the world is gonna see this. All those who are not called by God, they're gonna see this and they're gonna be convinced that it was that power that brought fire down to heaven that was actually able to bring the beast back to life. And people are gonna be so enamored with this power. that they'll be willing to persecute and slaughter those who don't worship the beast. That's where we pick up this morning. Now let me tell you, when we think about the mark of the beast, which is where we're headed this morning, we're dealing with one of those passages that probably has more unfruitful discussions than almost any passage in scripture. So I'll just give you a heads up. I'm gonna be very anticlimactic. But I want you to keep in mind a couple things. One, something we're learning. Will all these events take place at the end of time in a dramatic way in the personification of these, of the beast of the sea and the beast of the earth? Yes. But what we want to see is how these principles unfold throughout the gospel age, the age in which we live. That's why we're told here we need wisdom because we need to discern how the devil works and how his unholy trinity functions to pervert and corrupt. the things that God has made for his own glory. So, really last week our focus was on persuasion, and we're gonna see that this morning. This false prophet is very persuasive. He's gonna use persuasion as a tool. We're also gonna be reminded that when persuasion doesn't work, it's gonna go to flat-out coercion. Now, first thing we learn about the mark of the beast this morning is found there in verse 16. Let's read that again. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads. First thing we notice here is that Satan is an equal opportunity hater. Regardless of race, nationality, social or economic status, he hates all groups and categories of people with a vicious hatred and he wants to see them spend eternity in the lake of fire. And it's interesting, this too is a counterfeit, isn't it, to the gospel, right? Because in Christ there is no Jew, Gentile, free, slave, male, female. The devil's going to counterfeit that. And the devil wants to imprint his brand of ownership upon them. And to do this, the false prophet will deceptively have them take the mark of the beast. And again, we're confronted with another counterfeit. As we think about the mark of the beast, everybody gets so worked up. Is it gonna be a microchip? Is it gonna be a QR code or a barcode or maybe, I'm not sure it's going to be something so tangible, right? Because we've already, if we were reading through the book of Revelation, we would have encountered the fact that God's people have the sign of God on them, right? And it's not a physical sign. Listen to Revelation 7. I'm going to read verses 2 and 3. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having a seal of the living God. And he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees until we have sealed the servants of God on their foreheads, right? And presumably, none of you have a tattoo on your forehead that says, I belong to Yahweh, right? This is a spiritual truth. Also, in the very next passage we come to in Revelation 14.1, listen, it says, then I looked and behold a lamb. Now, you see, this is the true lamb and he's standing on Mount Zion, the one we come to and worship. And with him, 144,000 having his father's name written on their forehead. You see, God's people are sealed and how are we sealed? by the Holy Spirit. He's the deposit in us that God's given us to guarantee the inheritance that we have. This mark indicates that we belong to the Lord, that we're His. That's what's in Revelation 7 and in Revelation 14, that you and I have been purchased with the blood of Jesus and He has set His mark of ownership upon us. You see, the children of the devil, they're going to receive the mark of the beast. And it's a mark of ownership, right? And just as our mark from our heavenly father sets us apart from the world, there's a certain set-apartness to those who take the devil's mark. God's people are set apart from the world. The mark of the beast indicates that the world who receives his beast are set apart from God, right? So it's moving human history to those points where there's a very clear delineation. These are the people of God, these are not the people of God, and the battle is fierce. Counterfeit after counterfeit after counterfeit. Now, as I said, The number 666 has become a very fanciful term. Books are written about that term. Numbers are written about that term. But remember, in the book of Revelation, numbers are symbolic. Highly, highly, highly symbolic. So more likely, when you hear this number 666, it indicates that there's just simply gonna be something very distinct. that makes it clear visibly that this person belongs to the Antichrist. Now, I think perhaps what's more important than the actual number is what we're told about those who bear it and how it's gonna be administered. So I wanna take a moment and consider the symbolism. It tells us that this mark is gonna be on the right hand and on the forehead, on the right hand and the forehead. And again, we're gonna see another counterfeit. Now, as good Bible students, you'll probably remember there are a number of places in God's word where we find the imagery of hand and forehead brought together, right? I want to read a couple of those. I'm not going to have you turn there, but just listen very carefully. I want you to listen for language that speaks of hands and forehead. First from Deuteronomy 6, a really, really well-known passage. Deuteronomy 6, beginning in verse 4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes, which is the same as foreheads, right? That's why religious leaders, the Pharisees and so on, wore phylacteries. Listen to Deuteronomy 11, verses 18 and 19. Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them to your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, and when you lie down, and when you get up. I want to read one more passage. This is from Exodus 13, where you actually find the institution of Passover. Exodus 13 verses 8 and 9, and you shall tell your son in that day saying, this is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt. It shall be assigned to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes that the Lord's law may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand, the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. So in each of those passages, the imagery of hand and forehead is connected with the calling of God's people to teach, instruct, train, if I can say it this way, to properly indoctrinate the covenant people so that they're completely familiar with the mighty works of God that he's performed in history and on behalf of his people. In short, it's discipleship, right? The idea we find in the verses I just read is that we're to saturate the people of God in his word. And you probably picked up on this. Did you notice that in every one of those passages, it spoke very specifically about teaching our children. Now, If we use that to help us interpret this morning's passage from Revelation 13, as I think we must, because remember the Old Testament is the great interpretive key to the book of Revelation, then John is warning God's people further about the way the false prophet's gonna deceive. John's giving us this imagery of the mark on the hand and the forehead to show what method the false prophet will use to do the bidding of the dragon. I just mentioned it. God has advanced discipleship to sustain and advance his church. What is the great commission? To make disciples. And how's the first thing you do in making disciples? You teach them all that Jesus commanded, right? You indoctrinate God's people with truth. And here's the counterfeit that the false prophet will use to make disciples of hell. He'll convince people of lies. He will convince people that the Bible's not true. He'll convince people that salvation is not found exclusively in Christ. Or he'll convince people that salvation is not all of grace. Your contribution helps a little. And remember, the devil loves that lie. Because if he can get you to think your contribution helps just a little, he's contributing you to going to hell. It's taking the mark of the beast. It's gonna come through teaching, saturating people with world and godless instruction until they're fully invested in the lies of the dragon. And in our day, what that really means is fully invested in humanism and secularism and godlessness. And again, I think the Apostle John's giving us some subtle imagery here that provides us a critical warning that the standard method of operation for the false prophet It's gonna be indoctrination. And if we maintain the symbolism, where do you think that indoctrination is gonna be zeroed in at? Children. Young people. In case there's any confusion, when I say his method will be indoctrination, I mean he's gonna so flood the world with lies. He'll appeal to so many of our human prides and desires. that the fallen human race will accept his lies, embrace his lies, and come to hate one another, to hate anyone who questions his lies. And he'll direct that at young people. The results of this indoctrination are already clear, right? We keep hearing examples of it. But it's everywhere. Years ago, I was very ambivalent about things like culture and entertainment and had a very libertarian view about those things. I was wrong and I hope you'll forgive me to the degree that I communicated those things. The truth is much of what goes on in our culture and rule today are things that are directed to make you hostile to the things of God. There's no longer any sense of neutrality if there ever was. There are two kingdoms in a clash, a kingdom of righteousness and a kingdom of blasphemy. And the kingdom of blasphemy is not going to produce stuff that's noble and true and good and virtuous and builds up our soul. I mentioned how in the introduction some of these events transpired. In the year 2000, journalists were brought together from Knight Rider, CBS, CNN, Gannett, even Fox News in the year 2000. And here was the big question these journalists were asking, and it connects to the introduction. Should we report anything positive about the homosexual lifestyle. That was the question professional journalists were asking in 2000. Should we project anything possible, or excuse me, anything profitable about the homosexual lifestyle? Now 24 years have passed, and it's turned on its head. They will only project things that are very positive about the homosexual lifestyle. All this by saying that we've got to re-evaluate the sources from which we get information, re-evaluate the kind of entertainment we take in, re-evaluate the things we let have a place in our home, at the family altar. You know, the family altar, the big screen. We have to watch out because the devil is determined and he's so good at this. Well, I have a couple other illustrations, but I think I'm going to put these off. They're not important. I think you get the point. A lot of indoctrination is going to go on, and we're going to see more and more of that as Christianity seems to be waning. And we'll talk in a couple weeks about what it looks like to stand against that. But the first thing we have to know is that that onslaught is here. It's not coming. It's here, right now, and they want especially to convert our children. The way the devil will use this ultimately is by eliminating the way people can participate in the broader society. And that's one of the reasons it becomes very, very nerve-wracking for young people. If they want certain jobs, if they want a certain career path, if they want certain professional avenues to be their life goal, there's a real possibility those things could be closed off if things aren't changed. Look there at verse 17. No one may buy or sell except the one who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. It's interesting, in the book of Revelation, particularly in the first several chapters, a lot of the early churches had to deal with controversies that revolved around trade guilds, because these were major forces in society. They're sort of like our big union co-ops, only probably more influential. The problem for Christians was that these trade guilds paid homage to pagan gods, particularly Artemis and Apollo. And so if a Christian wouldn't, in the first century, wouldn't bow and kneel to these idols, they couldn't get a job that would allow them to feed their family. They were social outcasts. That's going to be in full swing when we get to the end of history, when the Antichrist is on the earth. Those who don't bear the mark of the beast are not going to be able to buy or sell goods. But we see that unfold now. Right? We just had a trial run of telling us who would and wouldn't be acceptable in polite society, didn't we? I mean, think about the COVID vaccine, irrespective of what you think about this experimental vaccine. If you didn't get the shot, you couldn't go to this place and that place. You were an outcast. Now you might be thinking, are you saying the COVID vaccine was a mark of the beast? No, I'm saying it was a trial run of the beast. And we failed. There were even professional elites who were saying things like this. You don't get the shot? And you have to go to the hospital? Let them die. Right? Quite a profound trial run. The problem is, saints are like all people. They want to fit in. They don't want to be opposed to the culture. They want to be accepted. That's what makes this weapon of the false prophet particularly dangerous. If you want to fit in, you must. And if you don't, you won't fit in. That is a powerful, powerful allure, especially to younger men and women. Well, I wanna move specifically to the number of the beast. Look there at verse 18. Here is wisdom. Let him who, excuse me, let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it's the number of a man, his number is 666. This may be a little anticlimactic, but I have to tell you, I don't believe the mark of the beast is, I don't think it's Bill Gates. But that's ‑‑ I've heard that. Some of you might know it's been bandied about. It could very well have been Ronald Reagan, right? Because his first and his middle and his last name all had six letters. I know, mind blown, right? There's a possibility that this was a reference to Nero. There's a way that people would use letters, and letters in antiquity corresponded to numbers, and there's a certain way you could get Nero's name to mean 666. But here's what you'd have to do for Nero's name to mean 666. First, you'd have to translate it from Greek to Hebrew, and not translate it, transliterate it, and then you'd have to misspell his name, right? My point is, it is an impossible task trying to fit 666 into identifying a distinct person. That's not what we're called to do. In fact, you may even have a note in your Bible, many, many of the manuscripts don't have this as 666, they have it as 616, which interestingly enough is West Michigan's area code. I'm just saying, we don't want to go there, right? No, I don't think that's what 666 means. Remember what we've been studying in the book of Revelation? What is the most important number in the book of Revelation? The number seven. And what does the number seven mean? Completion. Now, what have we been studying in Revelation 12 and 13? A counterfeit trinity. Now, if we were to talk about the true trinity, what number would come to mind? Seven, seven, seven. Why? Because the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-equal in glory and majesty. And the dragon, the beast of the sea, the beast of the field, a beast of the earth, they are equally incomplete. Equally incomplete. So rather than think about this number or fascinating yourself with great wonderments about what it means, Be aware of what the purpose of the mark is. It's to indoctrinate you to lies. Now, I'm not going to belabor this point, but the primary application is know your God. Immerse yourself in the word. Know truth so you won't be subject to counterfeit and lies. Learn good biblical doctrine. And most importantly, train up the next generation to know and love the Lord in the historic Christian faith. You want to know what 666 ought to motivate you to do? Disciple the little ones. Disciple the little ones. Because whatever God is gonna do ultimately, it'll be through them. May the Lord give us a heart for that mission, amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word and just the power and wonder of it. Even the great warnings it presents to us. We pray we heed these warnings, not by fancifully looking for bizarre signs, but by knowing that the enemy of our soul works through deception and counterfeits, by seeking to persuade and cajole men through evil thoughts that result in evil behavior. May we hear this and be committed to strong discipleship, particularly to our young people. The devil wants to put his mark upon the world as a mark of ownership when we are baptized. It is a mark of God's ownership upon us. Help us to be men and women of God who improve upon our baptism. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Brothers and sisters, as we prepare to come to the Lord's table, as you know, the invitation to participate in the table is extended to those who are trusting in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. who are members in good standing of a Bible-believing church. If that's you, then please do come and feast with the Lord. If that doesn't describe you, or if you're a believer who's living in unrepentant sin, when the elements are distributed, simply let them pass by, repent, and come back and feast with us next time. Now, as we come to the Lord's table, as you know, we confess with the historic church what we believe using the Apostles' Creed. That's found on page 851. in the back of your hymnal. 851. So dear Christians, what do you believe? I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Let me ask you to give your attention to the reading of God's Word. I'm gonna read Ephesians 2, verses 4 through 10, then I have a meditation from dear old Matthew Henry. Ephesians 2, verses 4 through 10. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you've been saved and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you've been saved through faith and not of yourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we're his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Again, I have a meditation here from Matthew Henry. You can listen or follow along. It is printed in your bulletin. Oh Lord, my God and my Father in Jesus Christ, I can never sufficiently admire the condescension of your grace to me. What is man that you're mindful of him and the son of man that you visit him? Who am I and what is my house that you've now brought me into a banqueting house with the emblems and banners of love over me? I have reason to say that a day in your courts, an hour at your table is better, far better, than a thousand days, than ten thousand hours elsewhere. It's good for me to draw near to God, blessed be the God for the privileges of his house and those comforts with which he makes his people joyful. Lord, I'm now commemorating the death of Christ. Lord, grant that by the power of that, sin may be crucified in me, the world crucified to me and I to the world. and enable me to never forget his death and that the life also of Jesus may be manifest in my mortal body. All of my outward affairs I submit to the disposal of your wise and gracious providence. Lord, you've saved my soul, do as you please with me. Only make all providences work together for my spiritual and eternal advantage. Let all things be pure to me and give me a glorious taste of your covenant love and covenant mercies. And that in everything I may do my duty and stand complete in it. Let my heart be enlarged in love to Jesus Christ and affected with the height and depth, the length and breadth of that love of his to me, which passes all knowledge and understanding. And as an evidence of that love, let my mouth be filled with his praises. Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive blessing and honor and glory and power, for he was slain and has redeemed a chosen remnant unto God by his blood and made them to him kings and priests. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let all that is within me bless his holy name, who forgives all mine iniquities and heals all my diseases, who redeems my life from destruction and crowns me with loving kindness and tender mercy, who has begun a good work and will perform it unto the day of Christ. As long as I live, I will bless the Lord. I will praise my God while I have my being. And when I have no being upon earth, and give me the confidence that I will do it better in heaven. Oh, let me be born up in everlasting arms and carried from strength to strength, till I appear before God and Zion for Jesus' sake, who died for me and rose again, in whom I desire to be found living and dying. Now to God, the Father, Son, and Spirit, be ascribed kingdom, power, and glory, henceforth and forever. Amen. Father, we thank you that you have given us this covenant meal, the Lord's Supper, a sacrament that is a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, given to remind us of Christ's great sacrifice on the cross, what he accomplished through his death, his resurrection, and ascension. We're thankful, oh God, that it's a meal that as we take physical elements and put them in our mouths to feed upon, we're reminded that these elements in a spiritual way feed and nourish our souls. So we pray, oh God, for you to work by the power of your spirit as we enjoy communion and fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We ask these things at his precious name, amen.