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Psalms 118:1-14 Oh, give
thanks to the LORD, for He is
good! For His mercy endures
forever. Let Israel now say, "His mercy endures forever." Let the house of Aaron now say, "His
mercy endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD now say, "His mercy endures forever." I called on the LORD in distress; The
LORD answered me and set me in
a broad place. The LORD is on
my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those
who help me; Therefore I shall see my
desire on those who hate me. It
is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD
Than to put confidence in princes. All nations surrounded me, But in the name
of the LORD I will destroy them. They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me;
But in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. They surrounded me like bees;
They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the LORD I will
destroy them. You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the LORD helped
me. The LORD is my strength and
song, And He has become my salvation.
Father God we give thanks for all you do in our lives.
Bless us and send your Spirit to each of us to lead us through each day in a
fashion so that we become more like your Son, Jesus Christ. In Jesus name we
pray, Amen!
Revelation 17:8-18 NKJV
The
last lesson was about the great harlot riding the scarlet beast with seven heads
and ten horns. This lesson is about that beast, who he is, his purpose, and
where he comes from in the spiritual world. This can get confusing real fast
and I will do my best to explain it in a fashion to be understood.
8 The beast
that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go
to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not
written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the
beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
The beast that you saw
was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition; This beast is a fallen angel that we
talked about back in Revelation 13:2 and he has great power. This beast was
locked up in the bottomless pit and still is, but during the Tribulation he
will be release to assist the antichrist with great miracle working power. This
beast assisted Alexander the Great in the takeover of the Grecian Empire and
then he was locked up in the bottomless pit. This angel has been confined to
the pit now for around 2300 years.
Go
to perdition; After
this fallen angel is release for a short while, he will be thrown into the Lake
of Fire for eternity. Revelation
20:10 The devil, who deceived them,
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false
prophet are. And they will be
tormented day and night forever and ever. This verse also tells us something else. Do you know
what it is? It tells us that Hell is a real place of torture. The torture is
day and night without any rest. The torment will last forever and ever. Just as
body and soul reunite at the Rapture and a glorified body is the result, those
that die in sin will also be reunited in body and soul, but they will not
receive a glorified body, but one that will feel the pains of Hell.
And
those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the
Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that
was, and is not, and yet is;
Those on earth that will marvel will be unsaved individuals because they will
not understand what is going on. They won’t know the truth of the Bible and
this is why they will marvel at the powers of the Antichrist. It will be the
beast that rises from the pit that will give the Antichrist his wonder working
power.
9
"Here is the mind
which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
Here
is the mind which has wisdom; A mind that has wisdom is referring
to those that can understand what scripture says. Many people interpret the
Bible or attempt to interpret it under their own power without the help of the
Holy Spirit and this is why there is so many books on the market that
misrepresent what God is actually saying. The authors of many of these books
interpret scripture using thought for thought instead of word for word. There
is a big difference because thought for thought is a person’s opinion and many
times human emotions and feeling enter into the interpretation. This is also
why there are so many religions in the world today. People twist the fact so that
scripture fits their lifestyle.
So this phrase is actually
referring to Born Again Saints. When a person becomes a child of God the Holy
Spirit takes up residence within the person because they become a temple. It is
the Holy Spirit that teaches a Saint what the scripture really means. I can
attest to this because before I was saved scripture confused me, and what I
thought it meant was not necessarily true. Bible scripture took on a whole new
meaning for me and all of a sudden I could understand what was being stated. I
also could understand the relationship between the OT and the NT. Without the
help of the Holy Spirit I wouldn’t be doing this or teaching Bible Study on
Thursday evenings.
The
seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits; This phrase is referring to the seven
empires which six of them have ruled and dissolved, but there is one still to
come. They are referred to here as mountains and the woman meaning the Great
Harlot that dominated these nations with false religion. Seven head, mountains,
nations, empires, kings all refer to the same thing. Five empires rose and fell
before Jesus time, the Roman Empire was during and after Jesus time, and one
empire is still to come, consisting of a coalition of ten nations (i.e. 10
horns) that will fall under the control of the Antichrist.
10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen,
one is, and the other has not
yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.
There
are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come; As stated in the previous verse these
are the mountains, heads, nations, etc. The five fallen are Egypt, Assyria,
Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. The “one that is”, refers to the one ruling
during John’s day, the Roman Empire. The one to come is the Antichrist kingdom
which will only last a short time, during the Tribulation. Daniel
Chapter 7 speaks of
these kingdoms also.
11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also
the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
This beast mentioned here
is the same as the one in verse 3. This eighth head which is of the seven
refers to the Antichrist in human form, but will be under the power of this
satanic beast from the spiritual world. This beast is the same one that helped
Alexander the Great to swiftly conquer nations and take control. After this
Grecian take over, this beast was locked up, is still locked up, and will be
release during the last half of the Tribulation. After this beast is release
for a short time in the future, he will be thrown in the Lake of Fire forever.
This beast is as a leopard which is very fast. Daniel also stated this beast
had wings also signifying swiftness. Daniel 7:6 John also describes this beast
as a leopard in Chapter 13:2. Alexander the Great’s takeover was one of a very
short time frame.
I hope I haven’t confused
you, just in case I have I will clarify with this:
|
Question
|
Answer
|
|
What
is the seven heads, empires, kings, mountains, nations, crowns etc.?
|
These
are all the same, only being referred to in different ways. As mentioned
previously 6 have come and gone with one to come during the Tribulation.
|
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Who
or where does the seventh head or empire come from?
|
The
seventh head will be a confederation of ten nations, often referred to as ten
horns or ten crowns, etc., that will form during the Tribulation. This
confederation of nations will be of the old Roman Empire. Daniel saw these
ten horns on the beast, which represented the Roman Empire (Daniel 7:7), because of this we know the
ten nation confederacy has to be located in the old Roman Empire territory.
Exactly which of the ten nations in this particular area are included, we
aren’t told.
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Where
will the Antichrist come from?
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He
will rise up out of this confederation of 10 nations. There is strong
indication that he will emerge from Syria. Scripture supports this which is
too lengthy to go into here.
|
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Beast
that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven. How
can he be the eighth and of the seven?
|
The
seventh head is the ten nations.
The
Antichrist comes from the ten nations.
The
Antichrist will rule the ten nations by the power of this beast and we know
that the Antichrist, who is referred to here as the “little horn,” will come
up among these ten nations, and in fact, to begin with, will be one of the
ten. He will soon overcome the others, and thereby, become the master of the
entirety of the ten nations. That’s why he is referred to, in a sense as the eighth
head.
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12 "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings
who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as
kings with the beast.
This verse is referring to
the confederation of the ten nations that will come together during the
Tribulation and will submit to the rule of the Antichrist. There purpose in
becoming united will be to wage war on Israel and with Jesus and His Saints.
They will exist only for a very short time, because when Jesus comes He will
wipe out all evil, Satan, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, every fallen
angel, every demon spirit, and in fact, every unredeemed soul who has ever
lived, who threw in with the Evil One.
13 These are of one mind, and they will give their
power and authority to the beast.
This verse is talking
about the confederacy of ten nations. With the help of the satanic beast that
will be release, the Antichrist will perform great miracles that will be
unexplainable. These ten nations may not totally agree with the Antichrist, but
because of the great things the Antichrist will do, they will go along with him
and support him in what he does, therefore submitting their power and authority
to the Antichrist.
14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb
will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and
faithful."
This of course is
referring to the battle of Armageddon and Jesus and His Saints will defeat all
evil and cast it from earth. Those that will be with Jesus will be those taken
up at the Rapture and persecuted Saints. They will be Born Again gentiles and
saved Jews, in other words anyone that lives by faith. It will be those that
have come to the Cross and believe and understand why Jesus came to earth in
human form to die in our place, and that He rose from the dead in three days,
and ascended into Heaven and now sits at Gods right hand. It will be those that
fully come to this understanding and repent of their sinful lifestyle.
15 Then he said to me, "The waters which you
saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.
This verse explains verse one
of this chapter. The “waters” represents great numbers of people, and nations,
including all tongues around the world. The “harlot” sits on all of these
people, in effect dominating them and keeping them in false religion and
sending them to Hell. She is keeping them in religion instead of in the
finished works of the Cross. Their faith is in anything other than Jesus
Christ.
16 And the ten horns which you saw on the beast,
these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn
her with fire.
Now that we know where the
confederacy of the ten nations come from, who will ultimately be their ruler,
and what the Great Harlot represents which is false religion, we can understand
why she will be annihilated. The Antichrist will demand all to worship him and
his religion. This means all religion, Islam, Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran,
Hinduism, etc. The only true religion if you want to call it religion, is
believing in Jesus Christ and what He did for us. The great Babylon has fallen!
17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill
His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until
the words of God are fulfilled.
Just as God harden Pharaoh’s
heart to bring about His will, He will touch the hearts of the leaders of the
ten nations to be of one mind and serve the Antichrist.
18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city
which reigns over the kings of the earth."
The woman refers to
rebuilt Babylon that is portrayed in the next chapter. Babylon represents false
idolatrous religion, and that is exactly what the Antichrist will form when he
requires the unified ten nations and rulers around the world to worship him.
Next
week we will learn more about this city Babylon.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him
and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God."
Bill
Wiesbrock https://www.facebook.com/bill.wiesbrock?ref=tn_tnmn
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you
believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord
Jesus I know I am a sinner. I confess my
sins to you; I am sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a
sinful lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness of all
of my sins. I believe that only you can
forgive sin. I commit my life to you and
ask you to come into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.” (John 3:16,17;
Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1
John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom.
1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
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