Revelation 13 - Verse by Verse Bible Study

By Pastor Steven L Anderson

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January, 2013

Now in Revelation 13 we read about the rise of the antichrist to power. But before we

get into chapter , jump back to chapter , verse quickly. The Bible reads "And

the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed,

which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. So we need

to have that in mind going into chapter , that this is about the dragon, or the devil,

or Satan, going out to make WAR with the remnant of the woman's seed. And then notice the last

two phrases there, "which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ".

So who is he going after here? Believers, people who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,

and who keep the commandments of God. Now look at chapter , verse . It says "And

I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven

heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of

a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his

seat, and great authority." So in these verses, we hear about this beast- seven heads,

ten horns, and that it is compared unto these animals, a leopard, a bear, a lion... Now

go back to Daniel chapter , and if you go back to Daniel chapter , we're going to see

some very strong similarities between Daniel chapter , and Revelation to help us identify

the identity of who this beast is, and what it means when God says that this beast rose

up out of the sea, and had seven heads and ten horns. Who is this? Well go back to the

book of Daniel chapter , and it becomes quite apparent who this is. Now, we're going to

start reading in verse number , "Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and,

behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts

came up from the sea", exactly like we saw in Revelation , except these are four SEPERATE

beasts. It says that they were "diverse diverse one from another. The first was like a lion,

and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up

from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear". So is this sounding familiar? The

first one was like a lion, the second a bear, "and it raised up itself on one side, and

it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it,

Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard"- again, the

same animal mentioned in Revelation , "which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl;

the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night

visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and

it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the

feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten

horns." Now, before we go on further in this passage, in the book of Daniel, you'll see

some of the same prophecies being repeated over and over again. And one of the common

themes in the book of Daniel is that he is often seeing a vision of these four kingdoms

that are going to come. And this is no different. These four beasts represent four kingdoms.

If you go back to chapter if you would, to the famous passage where Nebuchadnezzar

had the dream, and this is the one where Nebuchadnezzar forgets the dream. And he wants the astrologers

and the magicians and the soothsayers to tell him the dream, and the interpretation. Of

course they can't do it, Daniel and his three friends come, and Daniel is able to interpret

the dream, he is able to tell him, "you had a dream of this giant image, or statue, and

if you remember the head was of gold, the body was..." Let's go ahead and read the interpretation

of that dream, the giant image that Nebuchadnezzar saw. Go ahead and look at verse of chapter

. "This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou,

O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and

strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and

the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over

them all. Thou art this head of gold." So we see that this statue that's basically in

four parts; gold, silver, bronze and iron, the first part, the gold head is Nebuchadnezzar.

It is the Babylonian empire. It says in verse , "And after thee shall arise another kingdom

inferior to thee". Now, this is important. I want to point out the fact that he is referring

to that gold head as both being the kingdom, AND him personally, because he says "another

KINGDOM is going to arise, inferior to THEE", speaking specifically to Nebuchadnezzar. So

what I want you to see is that these beasts represent both a kingdom AND a king. They

represent BOTH. Because a lot of people will argue about this, saying "well, you know the

beast in Revelation is a man, the antichrist." And then some will also come along and say

"no, no, the beast in Revelation, it's a system, it's a government." Here's the thing, it's

BOTH. It's a kingdom AND a king. And we see that clearly in Daniel here. It says "after

thee", verse , "shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom

of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong

as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that

breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet

and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but

there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed

with miry clay." Look at verse . "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven

set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other

people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for

ever." So what do we see in chapter here? Four kingdoms prophesied. Worldwide, powerful

kingdoms, followed by a kingdom that God sets up- not man- and that kingdom it says, will

never be destroyed. Well, if we study the book of Daniel, we study the Bible, we know

that the first kingdom is Babylon, that's Nebuchadnezzar, right? The second kingdom

represented by this part of the body right here, is the Medo-Persian Empire that came

and took power after the Babylonians, then after the Medo-Persian Empire, was the Greek

empire, and then after the Greek empire, was the one that was mentioned as being as strong

as iron, which is the Roman Empire. And the Roman Empire was pictured by the feet of the

statue. And the feet have ten toes. Back in Daniel chapter , we see the same thing. We

see four kingdoms, and the fourth one has ten horns. So you see the ten horns correspond

to the ten toes, and it's the same four kingdoms being lined out in Daniel , as what we saw

in Daniel chapter . Look more closely if you would at verse of Daniel , because

this would be the one representing Nebuchadnezzar. "The first was like a lion", now first of

all the lion is the strongest among beasts, it's the king of the jungle. The Bible tells

us that it is the greatest animal in that way. And of course, Nebuchadnezzar was the

supreme king of the four kingdoms. And it says that "The first was like a lion, and

had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up

from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it."

Look, this is discussing the story about what happened in Daniel chapter number , where

Nebuchadnezzar, if you remember, his wings were plucked as it were. His sanity was removed

from him, and he was driven among the beasts of the field, he ate grass like an ox, he

lost his mind. He ate grass like an ox, the fingernails of his hands grew like claws,

and his hair became as bird feathers. Then eventually, a man's heart was given unto him

once again. He was lifted back up onto his two feet. And that's described here in verse

, proving that Daniel is talking about the same four kingdoms that are talked about

over and over again in the book of Daniel. Ok, why is that important? Well, let's keep

reading in Daniel chapter . "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth

beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and

brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all

the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold,

there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first

horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man,

and a mouth speaking great things." Okay, I want you to notice that phrase, "a mouth

speaking great things". Go down if you would to verse number . It says "these great beasts

which are four, are four kings". So first of all, we know that there are four kingdoms,

here it says that there are four kings. It's both. And it says "But the saints of the most

high", verse , "shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for

ever and ever." Jump down if you would to verse , it says "I beheld, and the same

horn", remember this is the horn that spoke great things? "I beheld, and the same horn

made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and

judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed

the kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which

shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it

down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings",

and on and on. You say, "Pastor Anderson, I'm totally lost, what are we talking about

here?" Okay, these four kingdoms preceded the first coming of Jesus Christ. You have

the Babylonian empire, then the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek empire, and then the Roman

empire, these universal kingdoms where they took over everything, all of the civilised

world at that time. Christ came the first time during the Roman Empire, during that

fourth kingdom. But you see, at the second coming of Christ, the Bible talks about ANOTHER

worldwide kingdom. And that's what we see in Revelation . And if you look at Revelation

, he uses those same animals to represent it because basically this beast of Revelation

represents a worldwide kingdom, just like what was prophesied back in Daniel chapter

. And this worldwide kingdom is like a repeat of the Roman Empire. Jesus Christ came the

first time while the Roman Empire was in rule. This new world empire that we see in Revelation

is likened unto the Roman Empire. It's similar to the Roman Empire in many ways,

in the sense that it is going to be as strong as iron, it's going to crush all opposition,

and it's going to devour the whole earth, or take over the entire world. Go back if

you would to Revelation now, with that knowledge in mind. And if you remember back

in Daniel , it talked about this "little horn" on the beast that had ten horns, it

specifically hones in on one of the horns, and it says that this horn spoke great things,

spoke blasphemy, and it says "I beheld and the same horn made war with the saints and

prevailed against them". With that in mind, let's go back to Revelation , understanding

what this beast represents. The beast represents things. When we see the beast mentioned

in Revelation, number , it represents the worldwide kingdom having heads and ten horns.

But number , it represents the man who is at the head of that kingdom, who is the antichrist,

or the man of sin, or the son of perdition. It represents both, that's why it's foolish

to say "well, no, it ONLY represents the man" or "no no, it only represents the kingdom".

No, it's both. And that's clearly represented in Daniel . Revelation :, it says "And

I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven

heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of

a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his

seat, and great authority." So he's put in power by the devil himself. Verse . "And

I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed:

and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave

power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast?

who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great

things"- that's exactly what we saw in Daniel , "and blasphemies; and power was given unto

him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,

to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was

given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given

him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship

him", and on and on. So, what we have here is a worldwide kingdom, a kingdom that rules

over- look at the end of verse - ALL kindreds and tongues and nations. I mean, he is ruling

the entire world. Like the Roman Empire took over that part of the world back then, this

end times worldwide kingdom will take over the entire world; all nations, all tongues

will be under control of this one world government. The man at the head of it, the Bible teaches,

is going to receive a deadly wound, and his deadly wound is going to be healed. And that's

going to cause ALL the world to marvel, and everyone to worship him and say that there

is no one like him. Now, when it says that he receives a deadly wound, some people will

say "well, he received a wound that would normally kill you, but he was healed of it."

Well, I look at that, and I don't think that people would really be that amazed if that

happened. And then other people will say "no, he actually died." And I'll tell you right

now, he actually does die, and the proof for that; flip over if you would to Revelation

, there is a couple of places to prove that. If you think about it, there have been a lot

of people who have gone through things that should have killed them and survived, right?

Did the whole world wonder? Was the whole world amazed? No. For example, the congresswoman

in Tucson that was shot point blank in the head, and everybody thought she would die,

but she survived. Because sometimes people can amazingly survive these types of deadly

wounds, or wounds that would normally be deadly. But the reason that the whole world is going

to marvel at this deadly wound that he receives, and is healed of, is because it's going to

be just that- a DEADLY wound. He is going to die and come back. Look if you would at

Revelation , verse . It says "when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast

that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome

them and kill them. So the antichrist, or the beast here, is seen as ascending out of

the bottomless pit. Basically coming back from the dead. Go if you would to Revelation

, where something similar is stated, in verse . The Bible reads "The beast that thou

sawest WAS and IS NOT, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit. Now, if you study your

Bible, when it uses the term "is not", it means that the person being spoken about is

dead. For example, when they thought that Joseph was dead back in Genesis, they said

"Joseph is not". And that's a term that the Bible often uses. So when it says that "the

beast which thou sawest was and is not", it is saying he used to be alive, now he is not

alive anymore, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition. And

they that dwell on the earth shall wonder. What amazes them is that he was, he is not,

and then he is going to ascend out of the bottomless pit. And they will wonder, whose

names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. And again,

we will go into that more, once we get into Revelation . But it says "when they behold

the beast that was, and IS NOT, and yet IS". He is back from the dead! Now look, Jesus

Christ died and was buried and rose again. The antichrist will seek to replicate that,

or duplicate that, and basically show people that he really is Jesus Christ, by coming

back from the dead after receiving this deadly wound to the head. Now go back if you would

to chapter . So we see that the beast having seven heads and ten horns represents an entire

worldwide one world government, global government, worldwide kingdom. But it also represents

the MAN at the head of that kingdom, who the Bible calls the antichrist, or the son of

perdition, the man of sin, or the beast. Now it says in verse number , "And I saw one

of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the

world wondered after the beast." Look at verse . "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking

great things and blasphemies"- and here's a key right here in the second half, "and

power was given unto him to continue forty and two months." So we see the antichrist

comes into power over the whole world, he begins to be worshipped by the whole world

when he receives this deadly wound and his deadly wound is healed. That's what makes

everybody wonder, that's what makes everybody begin to worship him, and from that point

when he takes power of the whole world, how long does he continue? Forty two months. Now,

how many years is that? That's three and a half years, right? So, when we think of the

seven year period often called Daniel's th week, when we think of that years in which

a lot of the events of the book of Revelation play out, which half of that seven year period

is the antichrist going to be reigning in? Is he going to be reigning in the first half,

or is he going to be reigning in the second half? Well that question is easily answered.

Go to Revelation . This is when we see, toward the end of God pouring out His wrath,

at the END of the seven years, God is pouring out His wrath, and it says in verse "And

the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full

of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven".

So, wait a minute, when the fifth vial is poured out, which is toward the very end of

God pouring out His wrath, it says that it is poured on the kingdom of the beast. So

is the beast still in power? He is still in power. So he is still continuing in that forty

two months, which makes it clear that we are talking about the second half of the week

here, when we are looking at the forty two months that the antichrist, or the beast is

reigning. Another thing that proves that, is that in Revelation , which again covers

events at the very end of the seven years, when the two witnesses are killed, they're

killed by the antichrist, which shows that he is still in power. Not only that, but in

Revelation , flip over if you would to Revelation , we're in Revelation anyway. Look at Revelation

:. The Bible reads "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that

wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of

the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast into a lake of fire burning

with brimstone." So, he's thrown into the lake of fire at the very end of the seven

years, right before the millennium starts, at the end of chapter . That's where we

see him coming out of power. So when it says "he continued forty two months", we're talking

about the second half of the week. That's the forty two months that we are dealing with.

Let's go back to chapter and keep reading. So it says in chapter , verse number that

he continued forty two months. It says in verse , that he "opened his mouth in blasphemy

against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power

was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth

shall worship him, whose names are NOT written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from

the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into

captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with

the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." In Revelation we saw that

the dragon goes out to make war with the saints. Next thing you know, he is putting this guy

in power. Because the Bible says that he is the one who gave him seat and his authority.

And when the dragon, or the devil, puts this guy in power, what does the guy set out to

do? To make war with the saints. So basically, when the antichrist comes to power and begins

to persecute the saints, he is fulfilling the will of Satan; he is fulfilling the wrath

of Satan that we saw in chapter verse . Now here is my question. How can the dragon

and the antichrist make war with the saints, if the saints are supposedly all gone in the

pre-tribulation rapture? They're all gone, right? And people will say "no, no, Pastor

Anderson, these are different saints, these are the tribulation saints", which is not

a biblical term. But they just make this up and say "well these CAN'T be them, these are

different people that he is making war with, this is a different group." Now I have heard

some people say "well, we KNOW that these are NOT 'church-age' saints, because of the

fact that it says that the devil overcame them, and Jesus said "upon this rock I will

build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it". And so these cannot

be 'Church age saints', they MUST be 'tribulation saints' ". These are not even biblical terms.

In fact, turn to Ephesians chapter , because I want to show you once and for all right

now, there is no such thing as "the church age". We hear these theological terms, and

we take them for granted, and people will talk about "we're living in the church age".

Let's see if the "church age" is biblical right now. Because people will tell us that

"well, we KNOW that these CANNOT be church age saints, because they're being overcome

by the devil." Well, look what it says in Ephesians :. "Unto him be glory in the

church, by Christ Jesus, throughout ALL AGES, world without end, Amen." Now, can you honestly

look at that verse, and then look at me and tell me there is a "church age"? Where are

you getting this stuff? The Bible never mentions a church age. It says glory is going to be

to Him in the church throughout ALL AGES. So how can you say that there is a "church

age"? Moses was with the CHURCH in the WILDERNESS! And right now, you are sitting in a local

church. And the Bible says there is going to be glory to Jesus Christ in the church

throughout ALL AGES. So there is no end to "the church age", there is no "church age".

Glory to God in the church throughout ALL AGES. But you see, we just hear this theological

jargon, and oftentimes we just take it for granted and accept it, even though it has

NO BASIS in the Bible WHATSOEVER. But you see here... Go to Matthew if you would

where that scripture comes from about the fact that the gates of hell shall not prevail

against it. Because look, the Bible said, in Revelation , that the antichrist is going

to make war with the saints and OVERCOME them. The wording that it used back in Daniel chapter

, was that he would make war with the saints and PREVAIL against them. Now look, what does

that mean? It means that he is defeating them physically, does it not? I mean, we are talking

about physically speaking, he is going to physically be at war with them, and they're

going to physically be defeated. Now look, this is mentioned in Revelation :. The

Bible says "behold, the devil shall cast some of into prison that ye may be tried; and ye

shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of

life." The Bible is saying "look, the devil is going to cast some of you into prison,

you're going to be KILLED, many of you. Be faithful unto DEATH, and I will give thee

a crown of life." So look, is God saying that we're not going to be defeated physically?

Or is he telling us in many cases, we WILL be defeated physically. He is saying "look,

some of you are going to go to prison. Some of you are going to be killed. Physically

we're going to be defeated." But wait a minute, are we being defeated spiritually? No, because

the Bible says "For whatsoever is born of God OVERCOMETH the world. And this is the

victory that overcometh the world, even our FAITH." The Bible says in Revelation :

"and they OVERCAME him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony",

it says "and they loved not their lives unto the death". So are they being killed? Yes,

but even in being killed, it says they overcame the devil. The Bible says "for thy sake we

are killed all the day long, nay, IN ALL THESE THINGS, we are more than CONQUERORS". Look,

we're on the winning side. They can kill us, throw us in jail, prevail against us, overcome

us in THIS LIFE, PHYSICALLY defeat us, BEAT US, jail us, kill us like they did to the

apostles and prophets, but they can NEVER defeat us spiritually, we are on the winning

side. And if you're beheaded for Christ, he said you're going to be ruling and reigning,

and you are going to receive a BETTER resurrection if you are killed for the cause of Christ.

So is that really "defeat" in a spiritual sense? No, it's only a physical defeat in

this world, but you're more than conquerors in Christ. Now look what the Bible actually

says. Because here is what they'll say... "Well, these CANNOT be church age saints,

BECAUSE they are being overcome by Satan, and the Bible said the gates of hell shall

not prevail against the saints." Well let's look at what the passage actually teaches

in Matthew , beginning in verse . It says "I say also unto thee"- this is Jesus speaking-

"that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell

shall not prevail against it." Let me point out one thing first of all. Number one; is

Satan the gates of hell? Let me ask you this. Is hell Satan's kingdom that he rules over,

like Porky Pig with a pitchfork or something? No. You see, hell was created by God. And

guess who has the keys of hell? It's not Satan. Satan's not walking around with a keychain

for hell. No, Jesus Christ said "I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive

forevermore, Amen." He said "I HAVE the keys of hell and of death". Jesus Christ has the

key of hell. Jesus Christ is the one who is the ruler of this world and this universe.

He is over heaven and hell. Look, the devil is not going to be ruling and reigning in

hell. The devil is going to be tormented in hell someday. People that worship Satan, they

think they are going to be ruling and reigning in hell with Satan. And there is a famous

saying that says "it's better to reign in hell, than to serve in heaven". You are not

going to be reigning in hell; you are going to be burning in hell, okay? And the Bible

NEVER teaches that the devil has any power or authority over hell. God is the one whose

breath like fire and brimstone kindles the fires of hell the Bible tells us in Isaiah.

He is the creator of hell; HE is the one who is the superintendent of hell, not Satan.

And so when the Bible says the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, "gates of hell",

does not equal Satan! Can somebody tell me how "the gates of hell" is equivalent to “the

devil”? Not at all. And in fact, if you just simply read the next verse, it makes

it clear what he is talking about here, when he says "the gates of hell shall not prevail

against it". He says "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against

it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Now look, what's the

opposite of hell? Heaven. He says "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of

heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever

thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Now when we talk about "the keys

of the kingdom of heaven", we think about the fact that Jesus Christ preached against

the Pharisees, who preached a false gospel, who preached false doctrine. And he said that

they shut up the kingdom of heaven against men. And remember he said that people who

were entering into heaven, they made sure that they didn't get to heaven. He said "you

don't go in"- and I'm paraphrasing- "you don't go in the door yourself, and you've prevented

them that WOULD'VE gone in!" He said "you're keeping people out of heaven with your lying

FALSE doctrine!" And he called that "shutting up the kingdom of heaven against men". Shutting

the door, not allowing people in. Look, what the Bible is teaching here when he says he

gives unto us the keys of the kingdom of heaven, that's referencing the fact that we have the

ability to go out and preach the gospel and basically point people toward the doors of

heaven, and get people saved. And look, if we preach a false gospel, we're shutting up

the kingdom of heaven against men. If we preach the true gospel, we're pointing them right

to that door. Jesus said "I am the door. If any man enter in by me he shall be saved,

and shall go in and out and find pasture". We have the keys of the kingdom of heaven

right here with the word of God and the Gospel. This is what opens the door to heaven. Faith.

And faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Look, He is talking about

the difference here, in verses and , between people going to heaven, and people

going to hell! He is saying "look, the gates of hell are not going to prevail against it!

On the contrary, you have the keys to the kingdom of heaven." And so look, if we are

killed physically, that doesn't violate this. What he is saying is, you are not going to

go to hell, you are going to go to heaven. You are going to win people to Christ, and

you are going to get them to heaven. You are going to save them, so that they can go to

heaven. You say "aarrrghgh, 'save' them?" Paul said "I am become all things to all men,

that I might by all means SAVE some". And the Bible says "others SAVE with fear, pulling

them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. You see, the Bible is

teaching here that the church has the truth. It's the pillar and ground of the truth, if

it's a Bible believing church, and a Bible preaching church, we have the keys of the

kingdom of heaven. And we're talking about going to heaven versus going to hell. So look,

if the devil casts some of us into prison... If the antichrist prevails against the saints,

does that mean that the gates of hell prevailed against us? Does that mean that we are no

longer heading into the kingdom of heaven? Absolutely not. And so that's a total twisting

and misuse of this passage. We're on the winning side in the end. We will be victorious, we

know that. Let's go to Revelation . So we've talked about the antichrist, we talked about

his global government and worldwide kingdom that he is going to set up similar to the

Roman empire, compared to the Roman empire in the sense that it will devour and break

in pieces and be as strong as iron. And this kingdom is not just like the Roman Empire,

but it's actually like all four of the kingdoms. That's why it was likened unto the leopard

AND the lion AND the bear. It's like the Babylonian empire, it's like the Medo-Persian Empire,

it's like the Greek empire. It's like all of the above, because it's a worldwide global

government. One man will eventually rise out of this global system. It starts out as a

global system, with multiple heads and multiple horns. But one man rises up, that "little

horn" rises up to pre-eminence. That one head is wounded to death. That man that receives

the deadly wound dies and comes back from the bottomless pit. He eventually will be

worshipped as the antichrist, he will be worshipped and wondered after, and he will rule over

the entire earth, and he will use that power to persecute the saints. To persecute them

that have the testimony of Jesus Christ, according to Revelation :, and he will overcome

them. Meaning he will KILL them, he WILL have them thrown in prison, etc. Look down if you

would at verse . It says "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, let me just point this out. It says he

had two horns like a lamb and he spake as a dragon. That tells me that he looked like

a lamb, but when you look at what he is saying, it's of the devil. Go if you would to nd

Corinthians chapter . Now, this term is not used in Revelation , but this is what's

known as "the false prophet". And we derive that term from later in the book of Revelation.

For example, chapter :, it talks about the beast and the "false prophet which did

miracles before him and deceived the nations". Everything that this guy does in Revelation

is what the false prophet is described as doing. So this guy is known as "the false

prophet". And the Bible tells us that the false prophet had two horns like a lamb, but

he spake as a dragon. Now in nd Corinthians chapter number , we have a warning about

false prophets. And in nd Corinthians chapter number verse , give me a second to get

there, it says "And no marvel...", well look at verse . "For such are false apostles,

deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel;

for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if

his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according

to their works." So we see here that the devil's ministers, those who serve Satan... They will

masquerade as a Bible believing preacher. He is saying "look, they'll make themselves

look like the apostles of Christ. They will look like a true prophet of God, a Bible believing

preacher." But he said "that shouldn't surprise you because Satan himself is transformed into

an angel of light, so his ministers will be transformed also." So this false prophet of

Revelation , it said he had two horns like a lamb, but he spake as a dragon, because

what he is saying is of Satan. Because he is telling people, "worship the beast, worship

the one who had the deadly wound and was healed". Now, this tells me that he is going to be

masquerading as a Bible believing preacher. He is going to be looking like one of the

ministers of light. This false prophet is going to be a man who is a false preacher

in whom people have confidence. He will point people to the antichrist and say "this is

Jesus Christ, this is the Messiah, this is God, this is who we need to be worshipping,

we need to make an image unto him." Now, I thought this would have been Billy Graham,

but he's too old now to fill this role. But he is going to be a guy like that, basically

a preacher that everybody likes. And Billy Graham is one that everybody likes, BUT, he's

one who also accepts ALL false religion, and promotes all false religion. I mean, Billy

Graham says "I'm just as comfortable in a Catholic Church, in a Mormon Church." He says

"Muslims will be in heaven, Hindus will be in heaven." He said "Muslims are just following

the light that they have, and I believe that we'll see them in heaven." He is one that

basically says all religions are going to heaven. And you say "one time I heard him

say you had to believe in Christ!" Of course he is going to talk out of both sides of his

mouth. He's got two horns like a lamb but he speaks as a dragon. The devil often tries

to seem like he is telling the truth also. But we see there are a lot of false preachers

today, the Rick Warrens of this world, who basically just accept all false religion,

they seek to bring together all religions and "let's put aside our differences, and

let's all join together and hold hands and sing kumbahyah". And basically this false

prophet is going to be one who reaches out to ALL religions of the world and says "look,

let's all unite, let's all worship this messiah". The "Christians" will believe that the antichrist

is the second coming of Jesus Christ. They'll say "look, he's Jesus." And then the Jews

will say "the messiah is finally here!" Because they think the messiah hasn't come yet. They

reject Jesus Christ. And then of course, the Muslims are waiting for the "Imam Mahdi",

and they're going to say "that's him", when he shows up. And they're going to point to

the antichrist and say it's the Imam Mahdi. And the "fifth Buddha" is what the Buddhists

are looking for, and the "Krishna"... whatever. All religions are waiting for this messianic

figure, and the antichrist will fulfil all of it. And the false prophet will be the one

who does the preaching, and he will also perform miracles to try to get everybody galvanised

behind the antichrist. Let's keep reading in Revelation . First of all, it says that

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 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" So people are going to

believe him because of the miracles that he is doing. And it says "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." So this is how he makes war with the saints.

He says "you must worship the image of the beast, or you will be killed." You say "well,

how did he have power to give life to the image of the beast?" Well, goodnight. With

the technology that we have, you could make images come to life, and talk, right? That's

what the word "animation", bringing things to life, if you look at what that word literally

means. And so basically they're going to have an image that speaks and is alive and so forth.

And if you don't worship the image, you're going to be killed. And he says that those

whose names are written in the book of life are not going to worship the image. This is

how he makes war with the saints. Go to nd Thessalonians chapter . Let's tie this in

with nd Thessalonians chapter , about the antichrist. nd Thessalonians chapter number

is actually a perfect fit with Revelation . You know, it's amazing how consistent

the Bible is, it all just fits together perfectly. Once you understand it, once you've read it

and put it together... It all fits together so perfectly and precisely. Look at nd Thessalonians

chapter verse , and see how this fits in exactly with what we read in Revelation .

It says "Now we beseech you brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our

gathering together unto him." What do we normally refer to that as? Most people call that the

rapture, right? When Jesus Christ comes in the clouds, and we're all gathered together?

It says "we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our

gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither

by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling

away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition". So why are people running

around saying that this could happen at any moment? Doesn't he say here, don't let anybody

deceive you, by saying that the day of Christ is at hand? It's NOT AT HAND. That day SHALL

NOT COME, except there come a falling away FIRST. And we don't have time to do it, but

if we look up the seven times that the day of Christ is mentioned, it can easily be proven

that this is referring to when Christ comes in the clouds and the trumpet sounds, and

the rapture takes place. It says here, "Let no man deceive you by any means, for that

day shall not come, except there come a falling away FIRST, AND that man of sin be REVEALED,

the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that

is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he

is God." So which is going to happen first? The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our

gathering together unto him, OR the antichrist saying that he is God? Which one happens first?

The antichrist is going to be revealed and say that he is God first, that's what it says.

And it says anybody who tells you otherwise is deceiving you. So we see that the antichrist

is going to basically be worshipped AS God. Now, back to our timetable in Revelation.

We noted that he is going to be ruling and reigning in the SECOND half of the week, did

we not? Meaning that his forty two months reign would start at the midpoint, right?

Well, those of you who have studied Daniel and Revelation know what happens right at

the midpoint of the seven years, is what's known as "the abomination of desolation".

And the abomination of desolation is tied in with the antichrist setting up this image

in the house of God, the temple of God, where he is saying that he is God. And these things

all fit in perfectly with the timetable with which we are dealing. And it says here that

he "sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that,

when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that

he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only

he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked

be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy

with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan

with all power and signs and lying wonders". Isn't this what we saw in Revelation chapter

? Signs and lying wonders? Wonders are miracles. All the miracles and the signs that he's going

to use to deceive them that dwell on the earth into worshipping the antichrist who in this

passage is mentioned as saying that he is God, going into the temple of God, saying

that he is God. Verse , "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because

they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God

shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might

be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." So we see

again, the masses being damned, the masses believing on him, the masses being deceived

by the miracles that the false prophet will perform before the Antichrist. They'll be

sucked in by it. They'll be tricked by it. Look, the Bible tells us that this will take

place BEFORE that day of Christ comes. BEFORE our gathering together unto him. That's why

we're still going to be here, that's why he's going to be making war with the saints, because

the saints are still here, it's pretty simple. You say "well, Pastor Anderson, right there

you just read in verse , the verse that proves a pre-tribulation rapture! And it amazing

how you just blew right by it Pastor Anderson!" Because everyone who is here can see it crystal

clear in verse , right? Everybody saw it, right? The pre-tribulation rapture, "so clearly

there" in verse . "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth

will let, until he be taken out of the way." There it is, any questions?? "There it is...

Rapture, tribulation, Christ coming in the clouds, the trumpet sounding, the elect...

I mean, don't you see it? Oh, you don't see it? Ohhhhh, you don't have a Scofield reference

Bible? THAT'S the problem! You mean you only have God's word? That not enough! You mean

you are actually just reading the Bible on your own? You're never going to figure this

out on your own that way. You need the Scofield reference Bible because it has a whole bunch

of notes that will explain this to you, and tell you that when the Bible says "he who

now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way", that's talking about the Holy

Spirit being taken out of the way!" Okay, newsflash! The Holy Spirit is God! You don't

take GOD OUT OF THE WAY! HE'S GOD! I mean, how do you sit there and say "oh yeah, the

Holy Spirit is going to be taken out of the way!" You and what army is going to take the

Holy Spirit out of the way, HE'S GOD! But in the Scofield Reference Bible, it says "this

is none other than the Holy Spirit being removed, because He indwells the Church. And the church

age is over". It's all just man-made stuff. There is no way you would EVER read this in

a MILLION years and come up with that, that it's the Holy Spirit being taken out of the

way. Now look, pronouns are words that take the place of a noun. "He" is a pronoun, is

it not? And pronouns have an antecedent. An antecedent is a noun, to which that pronoun

refers, right? I don't just walk up to you and say, "He came to church!" You'd say "who???"

Because first I have to tell you, "I have a friend named David, and he came to church",

right? Then it would make sense, because the antecedent is David. You know what antecedent

means? Before. So first you tell us who you are talking about. For example, the pronoun

"I". I would say "my name is Steven Anderson; I am the Pastor Anderson of Faithful Word

Baptist Church." The "I" is referring to who I am. Now, if you don't know me, and I just

start calling myself "I", you might say "who are you?" If I say "he came to church", you

would say "who is "he"?" "Oh, my friend David. Didn't you know that?" "Well no. You didn't

tell me. There was no ANTECEDENT to your PRONOUN." So, if God's going to start talking about

the Holy Spirit and calling him "he", shouldn't he have mentioned the mentioned SOMEWHERE

before this? And of course, the Holy Spirit is not mentioned WHATSOEVER in this passage.

This passage made no mention of the Holy Spirit whatsoever. So we can't just decide that "he"

means whatever we want "he" to mean. I mean "he" is Mickey Mouse there. There is just

as much evidence for "he" referring to Mickey Mouse, as there is the Holy Spirit, because

neither one of them is mentioned in this chapter here. If we're just going to make stuff up,

right? So, when it says "he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way",

first of all, the Holy Spirit is not only God- so you don't just "take him out of the

way, just get him out of your way". Not only that, but the Holy Spirit is OMNIPRESENT.

It says in Psalm about the Holy Spirit specifically, and about him being omnipresent,

it says in verse , "wither shall I go from thy SPIRIT, or wither shall I flee from thy

presence". So it's talking about getting away from the Holy Spirit of God. It says in verse

, "if I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art

there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell on the uttermost parts of the sea,

even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." Look, it's clear.

He said "you can't get away from God's Spirit. God's Spirit is EVERYWHERE. God's Spirit is

GOD HIMSELF, and is OMNIPRESENT. You don't just "take him out of the way", it's BLASPHEMOUS

to sit there and say "oh, you just take God out of the way, get him out of the equation..."

He's GOD! So when they say "he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way,

that proves a pre-trib rapture, because if we're going to take the Holy Spirit out of

the way, and the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, you know, +=, I guess we're going

to be taken out of the way!" See how this logic is just reading stuff into here that

isn't really there. Just adding to the scripture stuff that's not there at all? Okay, well

you say "who is the "he"?" Well, if we actually read the passage and see who is mentioned,

the "he" that's mentioned would be the man of sin. That's somebody who is actually mentioned.

That's actually an antecedent to the pronoun. You say, "Well, how is he going to be taken

out of the way?" By being killed. He's going to be killed, and then basically, his body

is going to be under the complete control of Satan. Now, we don't understand maybe every

bit of how exactly this is going to work, but the wicked antichrist will be revealed

AFTER the son of perdition, or the man of sin receives the deadly wound to his head

and is taken out of the way. Now again, that's outside the scope of this sermon. I've done

sermons where I delved into that, and we looked into a lot of scriptures on that, and analysed

that. We don't really have a lot of time to go into the details on that right now. But

we see here that there is no way in the world that this is talking about the Holy Spirit.

That's just made up doctrine that has no basis in reality. Let me say this. When Judas Iscariot

betrayed Jesus Christ, he is also known as the son of perdition. Only two people are

called the son of perdition, Judas Iscariot and the antichrist. And the Bible talks about

how when the sop is handed to Judas, Satan entered into him, and he was actually possessed

by Satan. And I believe that the antichrist will also be possessed by Satan, and that's

what I wanted to say. I don't know if I made that clear earlier. Now if you would, go back

to Revelation , we will quickly finish up here. It says of the false prophet in verse

, "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 threescore and six." So this is of course, the famous

well known mark of the beast. And notice, your King James Bible says that it will be

located IN your hand, or IN your forehead. All the modern Bibles are changing that to

ON the hand. When the Bible says it is IN the hand, this could be something that's implanted.

We don't know exactly what this is going to be. It could be an implantable chip of some

kind. That's speculation, but it does say that it is going to be IN the forehead or

IN the hand, and that you're not going to be able to buy or sell unless you have this

mark in your right hand or forehead, and that it gives us that number, the famous . We

see the technology in place where this could be implemented TOMORROW. Now, it's not going

to be implemented tomorrow. There's a whole chain of events that lead up to this that

are laid out very clearly in Matthew , but let me say this, this could be sometime in

the near future. Because we see the technology easily in place to eliminate cash. See, you

can't do this in a society where people are using cash or coins, because of the fact that

there would be a black market where people are just exchanging money without going through

the proper channels. Today there are people who do all kinds of cash transactions, and

they don't pay taxes on it, and the government doesn't know anything about it, right? But

HERE, we have a government that is able to stop anyone from buying or selling, unless

they have this mark. Basically all of their purchasing is going to be done through this

mark. Now, if this were and implantable chip, you can easily see how you could maybe go

to a store, pay for things, and then just scan to pay for things. You could easily see

how the money could go electronic. I've noticed more and more that there are places that do

not even accept cash. And I know that I myself, rarely even use cash anymore, because a lot

of times I'm working and travelling for business, and it's just a lot easier to use credit cards,

and you can track all your expenses and everything. And it seems like these days, less and less

people are carrying cash, or using cash. And people are moving over to doing everything

as an electronic transaction. Even on the airplanes now. You buy a bag of peanuts, and

you literally scan your credit card on the plane. Not only that, coke machines now, even

a coca-cola machine! That's when you know you are paying too much for Coke. It used

to be quarter, and now you're using a credit card. It's like "how much is this thing? Seven

dollars or something?" But we're seeing now, that a credit card is being accepted EVERYWHERE,

and then now they’re selling these little things to plug into your smart phone where

you can take credit cards. Well, pretty soon instead of taking a credit card to your smart

phone, you will just scan the mark, or the implantable chip. That's the way it's going

folks, and we can see this prophecy being fulfilled. Now here's the thing. Paper money

can be worthless tomorrow if they say it's worthless. The paper doesn't have any intrinsic

value. Now if we were dealing in Gold or Silver, okay, at least Gold and Silver have a use.

Paper is just a piece of paper. And just like the confederate money, as soon as the confederate

states of America were defeated, all of a sudden, none of their money was worth anything

anymore. So tomorrow, if they wanted to, they could say "turn in all your cash, it's not

going to be worth anything after a certain date, it's all going electronic now. It's

all going to be through cashless means." And the way they could EASILY sell this to people

is to say "you know what, we'll get rid of crime. No more drug dealing and black markets,

and we'll be safer, and it's for the children." And they'll eliminate cash, and make it to

where you must have a mark in your hand or in your forehead to buy or sell. It's around

the corner. You say, "This is a depressing sermon. This is not what I wanted to hear

on Wednesday night." Okay, but let me close on this one thought. Back up if you would

to verse number . This is back where he talked about the antichrist making war against

the saints and OVERCOMING them. But look what it says in verse , "He that leadeth into

captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with

the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." What's God telling us there?

Everybody is going to get what is coming to them in the end. He that leadeth in to captivity

shall go into captivity. He that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. We

don't have to worry about this and be defeated. The Bible says "fear NONE of those things

which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison". He is

saying "look, bad things are going to happen but fear NONE of those things which thou shalt

suffer." Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world, we're more than conquerors,

we're on the winning side. Our patience and our faith is to know that in the end, the

score will be settled, every wrong will be righted, and we will be rewarded for whatever

we endure for Jesus Christ. So this isn't anything to be depressed about or upset about,

but it is something that we should know about. And most Christians today don't know about

this stuff. They don't know Revelation . They're not even having this explained to

them. And when their church does touch on Revelation, they just say "well isn't it great

we're going to be gone!" And they give them this false hope and this fairytale. Look,

it's good to know about it, and to understand it going into it so that we will not be perplexed

and confounded. But let me tell you something. I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight. This

doesn't keep me up at night. I'm not going to sit around and say "oh man, I don't know

if I have enough food stockpiled, I don't know if I have enough weapons and ammo. Look,

enough weapons and ammo is an oxymoron- I'm just kidding. Ha ha. But I'm just saying,

in the end, Jesus Christ is our hope. We know that we're saved; we know we're on the winning

side. Look, are hard times ahead? This may happen in our lifetime. It may happen

years from now when we're all gone. We don't know the timing. But if it does happen in

our lifetime, my attitude is "even so come Lord Jesus". Bring it on. You know what? It'd

be great to be in that generation. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Either

WAY, we end up in heaven. EITHER WAY we rule and reign with Christ. And so, don't be sad

or down, or depressed about this or scared all the time. God has NOT given us the spirit

of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. I'm not afraid of this. I want

to know about it. I want to prepare for it- mentally, spiritually, physically. But I'm

not scared of it. Because greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world. Let's

bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father we thank you so much for your word. Thank

you for warning us, thank you for giving us a description of what will take place. Telling

us about this kingdom that's going to take place, this worldwide kingdom. The man of

sin, the son of perdition, the war with the saints, that he will make war against them

and overcome them, kill them, put them in prison. There are going to be those that are

going to be persecuted. And Lord, we know that people are being persecuted right now.

Yea and all that will godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Lord, help us to

realise that we're more than conquerors, and if we do have to face these things, help us

to be faithful unto death. And in Jesus' name we pray, Amen.