Sunday – January 24, 2015 Revelation 13:11-18 “The Beast Redux”

Sunday – January 24, 2015 – Read the Word on Worship

Sunday – January 24, 2015 Revelation 13:11-18 “The Beast Redux” from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

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Revelation 13:18
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”

Ever since John, the servant of God, wrote the Book of Revelation and mentioned the number 666, people have been trying to figure out the meaning of the mark of the beast. The number is mentioned in Revelation 13:16-18. Because the beast’s number will have something to do with the Antichrist’s name, scholars have been busy working equations to figure which world leaders have had names equaling 666 in some way. Depending on how you figure it, 666 can be made to add up to just about anyone’s name.

As time has passed, we have lost the true meaning of the mark of the beast. Even though it is clearly defined as a mark that will be placed upon the right hand or forehead, a number of people throughout history have attached new and even weird meanings to the number 666. The number has become trivialized by its repeated association with its every random occurrence. Some folks have believed the beast’s number was to be a certain year. Because of this, the year 666 AD was at one time considered the date for the advent of the Antichrist. When that date came and went without incident, many began to anticipate the year 1666 with dread. Nostradamus pointed to the year 1999 as an inverted 666 year.

A number of people have superstitions or phobias about this number. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobiacs is the term for people who fear the number 666. I once met a person who refused to ride in a car that had a license plate with 666 on it. Another person I know adds a stick of gum or something to his purchases if his check-out total at the store is triple six in any way. When President and Mrs. Reagan moved out to California, their house number was, you guessed it, 666. They had it changed to 668. Any time a bill numbered 666 is produced by a governing body like the UN or Congress, prophecy watchers give the document a good going-over to see if it has a connection with end-time events.

We may have to allow for the occasional sovereignty of God in His attempt to warn folks of the evils of this world. If there’s a wayward Christian at a convenience store buying a dirty magazine or a bottle of booze and the register rings up $6.66, I couldn’t think of a better number for God to use to get that person’s attention. Now on the other hand, the next time you receive your insurance bill and upon opening it, you discover it comes to $666.00 or you realize you’ve used 666 cubic feet of water – don’t go pulling your hair out. Unless it has a direct connection to the Antichrist or is some special message from God, 666 is just another number that randomly comes up.

Sunday – January 17, 2015 Revelation 13:1-10 “Enter the Beast”

Sunday – January 17, 2015 – Read the Word on Worship

Sunday – January 17, 2015 Revelation 13:1-10 “Enter the Beast” from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

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Word On Worship – Sunday – January 17, 2015 Download / Print

Revelation 13:1-4
Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast.”

Remember that this is still a parenthetical section describing one of the key forces, kingdoms, and personages of the Tribulation. The Bible has much to say about the plans, schemes and even the theology of our adversary.  In essence, what we have in prophetic Scripture is the rise of the beast and the false prophet is nothing short of the “trinity from hell” in that both are the product of the machinations of that old serpent, the devil or Satan.

Satan in fact as his own trinity – the devil, the beast, and the false prophet (Revelation 16:13). He has his own church, “a synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9). He has his own ministers, “ministers of Satan” (2 Corinthians 11:4-5). He has formulated his own system of theology “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). His theology is a counterfeit of the systematic study and understanding of God. He has established his own sacrificial system; “The Gentiles…sacrifice to demons” (1 Corinthians 10:20). He has his own communion service, “the cup of demons…and the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21). His ministers proclaim his own gospel, “a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you” (Galatians 1:7-8) to mislead the world. He has his own throne (Revelation 13:2) and his own worshipers (Revelation 13:4).

So Satan has developed a thorough imitation of Christianity, viewed as a system of religion. In his role as the imitator of God, Satan inspires false christs, self-constituted messiahs (Matthew 24:4-5). He employs false teachers who are specialists in his “theology,” to bring in “destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them” (2 Peter 2:1). They are adept at mixing truth and error in such proportions as to make error palatable. They carry on their teaching surreptitiously and often anonymously. He sends out false prophets. “And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many” (Matthew 24:11). He introduces false brethren into the church, who “had sneaked in to spy out our liberty…in order to bring us into bondage” (Galatians 2:4).

As followers of Jesus Christ we cannot allow our hearts and minds to be distracted by what appears to be the real thing. This is why it is so important that each of us take to heart and put into practice the admonition of the apostle Paul when he exhorted us to “test all things; hold fast what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). May we  be people of discernment and wisdom in order to distinguish between what is of God and what is counterfeit.