Revelations 13:11-15
11. 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.
12.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.
13.And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14.And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15.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.
How much proof would it take to convince a modern, enlightened individual to believe that God does indeed exist? Such a person would be quick to declare that if only God would give a sign, if only He would show Himself, there would be ample proof to call Him Lord. The thing is, even if He were to provide us with this again now, the scornful would still scorn, the proud would not be humbled, and the distention and strife would continue on still. How can I know this? People do not change. We are still committing the same old sins of murder, theft, and lying which we have been doing for the past six thousand years or so. So when God, manifested in the flesh, came two thousand years ago to reveal Himself and was mocked, beaten, and crucified, you can be sure of a similar outcome today.
Jesus gave us many signs while He was on earth. So many signs and miracles that:
...if they should be written every one, I suppose the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.
-John 21:25
That is a lot of signs. Jesus healed the sick, made the blind to see, raised the dead, walked through walls, fed 5,000 with only five loaves of bread and two fish, cured the lame, turned water into wine, and many, many other miraculous acts. Even the trees and the sea obeyed His commands. He read the pharisees minds and rebuked them, cast out demons, and walked on water. But he didn't come to do just that. He came to explain the law, to fulfill the prophesies, and ultimately, to pay the price for our sins. The people followed Him everywhere He went, just to listen to His teachings, and yet the pharisees hated Him! They – better than all the others – knew the scriptures and the prophesies they contained. They saw with their own eyes Jesus fulfilling those prophesies. They saw the signs and wonders Jesus did. Even with all this proof right before their very eyes, they refused to believe. They sought to have Jesus killed on several occasions, and finally, they succeeded. Not just the Pharisees though, even the common folk demanded his life. When given the choice between freeing Jesus and freeing the murderer Barabbas, the chose to free Barabbas! They demanded – and received – the blood of the Christ to be shed.
If those people, despite the proof, denied Jesus, why would it be any different today? Jesus also took precious time to warn us that seeking a sign is not a proper course of action on our part:
2. He answered and said unto them, “When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red
3. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
4. A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto them but the sign of the prophet Jo'-nas.” And he left them, and departed.
-Mathew 16:2-4
A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, does this sound familiar? So, for those demanding a sign, you are setting yourself up to be deceived. In fact, Jesus went one step further with His warning. If you are to see a sign you should scrutinize it very carefully.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
-Mark 13: 6
The dragon and the beast will deceive many in the end days with their signs and miracles, they will go and deceive the whole world. The next big sign that comes from Jesus will be when He returns to earth the second time to rule with His saints. If you aren't right with God by then, you will be in big trouble! That day will be unspeakably wonderful for those who have believed and repented, but it will be unspeakably horrible for those who have not.
This beast which Revelations speaks of fits the idea of a god which most people seem to have. He rains fire onto the earth, and does seemingly great and powerful works, and flaunts his apparent god-like powers as he demands worship. Jesus was meek and humble, which does not seem to fit with the worlds view of how a god should act. His ways are unfathomable, and they do not make sense to us. This could explain why so many will be deceived into thinking they must worship the beast. Regardless, God has shown His proof, and now it's up to us to believe and repent.
11. 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.
12.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.
13.And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14.And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15.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.
How much proof would it take to convince a modern, enlightened individual to believe that God does indeed exist? Such a person would be quick to declare that if only God would give a sign, if only He would show Himself, there would be ample proof to call Him Lord. The thing is, even if He were to provide us with this again now, the scornful would still scorn, the proud would not be humbled, and the distention and strife would continue on still. How can I know this? People do not change. We are still committing the same old sins of murder, theft, and lying which we have been doing for the past six thousand years or so. So when God, manifested in the flesh, came two thousand years ago to reveal Himself and was mocked, beaten, and crucified, you can be sure of a similar outcome today.
Jesus gave us many signs while He was on earth. So many signs and miracles that:
...if they should be written every one, I suppose the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.
-John 21:25
That is a lot of signs. Jesus healed the sick, made the blind to see, raised the dead, walked through walls, fed 5,000 with only five loaves of bread and two fish, cured the lame, turned water into wine, and many, many other miraculous acts. Even the trees and the sea obeyed His commands. He read the pharisees minds and rebuked them, cast out demons, and walked on water. But he didn't come to do just that. He came to explain the law, to fulfill the prophesies, and ultimately, to pay the price for our sins. The people followed Him everywhere He went, just to listen to His teachings, and yet the pharisees hated Him! They – better than all the others – knew the scriptures and the prophesies they contained. They saw with their own eyes Jesus fulfilling those prophesies. They saw the signs and wonders Jesus did. Even with all this proof right before their very eyes, they refused to believe. They sought to have Jesus killed on several occasions, and finally, they succeeded. Not just the Pharisees though, even the common folk demanded his life. When given the choice between freeing Jesus and freeing the murderer Barabbas, the chose to free Barabbas! They demanded – and received – the blood of the Christ to be shed.
If those people, despite the proof, denied Jesus, why would it be any different today? Jesus also took precious time to warn us that seeking a sign is not a proper course of action on our part:
2. He answered and said unto them, “When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red
3. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
4. A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto them but the sign of the prophet Jo'-nas.” And he left them, and departed.
-Mathew 16:2-4
A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, does this sound familiar? So, for those demanding a sign, you are setting yourself up to be deceived. In fact, Jesus went one step further with His warning. If you are to see a sign you should scrutinize it very carefully.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
-Mark 13: 6
The dragon and the beast will deceive many in the end days with their signs and miracles, they will go and deceive the whole world. The next big sign that comes from Jesus will be when He returns to earth the second time to rule with His saints. If you aren't right with God by then, you will be in big trouble! That day will be unspeakably wonderful for those who have believed and repented, but it will be unspeakably horrible for those who have not.
This beast which Revelations speaks of fits the idea of a god which most people seem to have. He rains fire onto the earth, and does seemingly great and powerful works, and flaunts his apparent god-like powers as he demands worship. Jesus was meek and humble, which does not seem to fit with the worlds view of how a god should act. His ways are unfathomable, and they do not make sense to us. This could explain why so many will be deceived into thinking they must worship the beast. Regardless, God has shown His proof, and now it's up to us to believe and repent.
No comments:
Post a Comment