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[0:00] Good morning, good morning everyone. It's good to see you. We're going to get cracking! straight into the word this morning. We've got a fair bit to get through and some background! into our text this morning. And so my desire is that it's not too technical. It's not too difficult for us to understand. So we're in Revelation 13. It's the big one through this morning. And we are breaking 13 into two separate sessions. So this morning we're going to do the first half and then in two weeks time we're going to do the second half. Next week Bill is going to be preaching from Mark chapter 9 verses 30 to 32. Great. And so you know Bill's got three verses. This morning we're going to cover a lot of ground. So you know so there. So let's just pray really quickly and ask God to help us. Father thank you for your word Lord. We believe that your word is true despite what we think sometimes but despite what this world thinks. Lord we believe that here is life for us. Lord we pray that your Holy Spirit would illuminate these things to our hearts.

[1:12] And Lord we pray Lord that we would understand these things Lord that they wouldn't be difficult for us. Lord we believe Lord that you are God who speaks and you speak today. And you speak by your word. And so we pray as we open. Lord speak to us. Speak to our hearts in Jesus name. Amen. So last week we looked at the red dragon from chapter 12. And we saw that the kind of the story the story of the Bible is that the red dragon Satan has brought chaos into the world. So where God created everything. Genesis chapter 1.

[1:51] He created it in order. And he said that everything was good. Satan the red dragon has sought to undo that. And everything that is associated with death and disorder and and decreation of the order is of Satan.

[2:05] And so we see that everything that we struggle with. Everything that is like death and decay and the reason why stuff breaks down and why we get tired and and all of that. Why we sin. That's all of the devil's doing. It's all of Satan's doing. It's it's his attempt to bring chaos. And one of the ways in which he has done that we saw last time is that he um he's he uses or he he persecutes the thing that God is using to bring about um order and uh restoration and renewal.

[2:49] So the the the person that he he that brings restoration or renewal is Messiah is Jesus. And Satan is persecuting the thing that brought about Messiah and is going to bring about um peace and restoration in the future and that's Israel as as Linda has already said.

[3:05] And so he has chosen to go after Israel as God's chosen nation to bring about Messiah first coming and Messiah second coming. Um and so the Bible talks about this time where Messiah will bring in peace and order to the world when he returns to set up his kingdom.

[3:24] And so it's important that we see that this great war of the world is like that. It is that you have this opposition to what God is doing and God wants to do.

[3:36] Um God created everything in order and good. Satan led a supernatural rebellion that led to a human rebellion. And in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 God promises to put all of that right.

[3:48] And ever since there's been this ongoing issue of the chaos and corruption of the world. And part of the corruption is that you um you get evil nations rise up.

[4:00] Right. And the story of the Bible is that you get evil nations rising up against Israel. And so the story of Egypt and Exodus. The story of Assyria and second kings and Jonah and Isaiah.

[4:11] The story of Babylon in second kings Jeremiah and Daniel. These nations rising up against um against Israel. Uh these are nations that were opposed to Israel.

[4:22] Because um God uh was doing a thing through Israel. God's vehicle to bring Messiah to bring peace and order into the world. And look we need to remember that kind of thing.

[4:33] That kind of setting as now we come to Revelation 13. If we don't remember that God created everything good and in order.

[4:44] And Satan is coming against that. We miss a lot of what Revelation 13 is about. So you get this general feel that as you read this text.

[4:57] That it's just about chaos and corruption. That Satan is wielding in the world. And it's it's brought by Satan. And it's against God's people.

[5:10] And the plans of God. So uh Revelation 12 verse 17. Um ends with this phrase that we we we kind of stopped ourselves from looking at last week.

[5:22] Um because it really belongs to chapter 13. In my view the ESV translators disagree with me. I'm fine with that. Um but I think the King James translators agrees with me. So I'm fine with that.

[5:33] So um. You should read anything else. You're not. Uh so um uh Revelation 12 17 says this. That he the dragon that is Satan stood on the sand of the sea.

[5:47] Now in ancient um in ancient thought the sea was commonly the reservoir for evil. Now it's not literally right. So it was just a Jewish thought that the sea represented the reservoir from which all evil comes from.

[6:05] And it's kind of stored. So anything coming out of the sea was really emblematic or symbolic of evil. Um that's why you get a reference in in Revelation 17 about the sea being the nations.

[6:20] It's the nations as opposed to Israel. It's the the Gentile nations. Um it's it's wrapped up in all that symbolism of uh the reservoir of evil.

[6:30] And so Satan is standing on the sand of the sea. And I saw he says and we're just going to read this whole chapter together. Right because we just need to get it in the context of this chapter.

[6:45] I saw John says a beast rising out of the sea. With 10 horns and 7 heads with 7 diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard.

[6:57] Its feet were like the bear and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. And one of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound.

[7:10] But its mortal wound was healed. And the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshipped the dragon. For he had given his authority to the beast.

[7:20] And they worshipped the beast saying who is like the beast. And who can fight against it. And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words. And he was allowed to exercise authority for 42 months.

[7:33] And it opened his mouth to utter blasphemies against God. Blaspheming his name and his dwelling. That is those who dwell in heaven. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given over every tribe and people and nation and language and nation.

[7:48] And all who dwell on earth will worship it. And everyone whose name was not written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the lamb who was slain. And if anyone has an ear let him hear.

[8:02] If anyone is to be taken captive to captivity he goes. If anyone is to be slain with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

[8:17] Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. And it had two horns like a lamb. And it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all authority of the first beast in its presence.

[8:28] And makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast. Whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs. Even making fire come down from heaven in front to earth in front of people.

[8:41] And by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast. It deceives those who dwell on earth. Telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast.

[8:55] So that the image of the beast might even speak. And might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all both small and great.

[9:05] Both rich and poor. Both free and slave. To be marked on the right hand of the forehead. So that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark. That is the name of the beast.

[9:16] Or the name of his number. Or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast. For it is the number of man.

[9:27] And his name. His number is 666. Dun dun dun. So we get to the famous 666 passage.

[9:39] Which we are going to cover in two weeks time. So I want us to notice a few things. Just as a preliminary observation. Before we kind of get into the details of the text.

[9:50] The first is. That there are two beasts. Like that is super obvious. Right? Verse 1. We see a beast rising out of the sea.

[10:01] And clearly again. This is not a literal sea. Right? I know some commentators have gone. Well that's got to be the Mediterranean Sea. That just ignores the context. And the Jewish thinking of what is being written.

[10:15] It is a beast rising out of the iniquity. Of sin. Of the reservoir of evil. Revelation 11 says that.

[10:25] 11. 11. 7 says this. When they had finished their testimony. The beast that rises from the bottomless pit. Will make war. So. Where does the beast come from? The beast comes from the bottomless pit.

[10:37] Doesn't come from the sea. Figuratively. Yes. It comes from the sea. The writer is saying. Everything that is evil. Everything that is bad. Everything that is troublesome. Is embodied in this beast. And that phrase actually is repeated in chapter 7.

[10:51] When the beast is actually rising from the abyss. Or the bottomless pit. Then the sea is a representation of that. So then there's this second beast. So we have this first beast. That is rising up from the sea.

[11:04] And then we have a second beast. In verse 11. That is rising out of the earth. So we have a beast that is rising out of the sea. And a beast that is rising out of the earth. We have a sea beast.

[11:15] And we have a land beast. Now the question is. Who are these beasts? Because the text is wrapped up. In. What these beasts are doing.

[11:28] So the question is. Who are these beasts? And how is Satan using them against the people of God. And the plans of God. That's kind of the question of the text. One good question to ask is.

[11:41] And to help us kind of answer that question. So another question to help us answer that question. Which you'll love if you just like asking questions. Are there any other passages in the Bible.

[11:53] That have two beasts together? Probably. Yeah. So. The most obvious person is places to go.

[12:04] Oh Daniel. Daniel has four beasts together. And they're all land beasts. Do we have anywhere in the Bible. That we have a sea beast and a land beast together. And you know this is a setup.

[12:16] Because you know I'm going to say yes. Job. Right. Good. So. Matt gets an extra potato. Just note that. Right. At the end. So. For those listening on podcast later.

[12:27] We're having a fellowship meal afterwards. Just want to clarify. That we don't give rewards in church. That are potatoes. Just like that's a general thing. Right. So. The answer is yes.

[12:39] In one of the earliest books of the Bible that we have. That's the book of Job. Most people think that Job was alive and contemporary. You know. Alive at the same time as Abraham. Right. So in Job.

[12:50] You have a clue to who these beasts are. In Job 40 and 41. Is the only place in the Bible. Where you have two beasts. One from the sea. One from the land. That seem to be in opposition to God.

[13:02] Right. And remember the. The book of Job. The context of the book of Job. It starts with what? It starts with Satan opposing God.

[13:13] Right. And then opposing the people of God. So the context works. Job 40 is describing. And we'll pull it up on the screen. Job 40 is describing.

[13:26] A monster called Leviathan. And whether Job. Is up for the job of challenging it. And it was great that.

[13:37] And it wasn't a setup at all. That Hannah wrote. Read from Job 38 this morning. My heart did fail a little bit. When she said Job. I thought she's going to go Job 40. And she didn't. She went Job 38. But the content.

[13:47] The whole conversation is. Is over those. Those chapters. God is saying. Job. Are you really able. Are you really able to challenge. Either the thought processes of God.

[13:59] Look. You can't even challenge Leviathan. Right. And that's chapter 40. Job is being challenged. God is saying. Job. Are you up for challenging Leviathan.

[14:12] Or should you leave it up to me. That's the kind of the deal. Right. And so. In Job 40. We read this. And I'll just tell you now. This is the Septuagint version. You're seeing on the screen. There is a reason for that.

[14:24] If you want to talk about that later. You can. But it's just a different translation. So. We read in Job 40. 18. If a flood should happen. It is. It is. It is not taken.

[14:36] It is not taken notice of. It trusts. That the Jordan. Shall rush up in his mouth. Shall one take its eyes. Look. This is basically describing. A deep sea creature. And Job is going.

[14:47] Are you going to catch it. Are you going to. You're going to throw in a hook. And be able to pull it out. Are you going to be able to do that. Being caught in a snare. Shall one pierce his nose. Are you able to do that Job. And will you lead the serpent.

[14:59] By the fish hook. And put a halter around his nose. So. That's kind of the context. He's describing. This. This great sea monster. In chapter 40. And he's challenging Job.

[15:10] Job. Are you up for that. Are you able to do that. Think about Leviathan Job. Are you able to go fishing. And pull it out. And it could. You know. Clearly. It's a rhetorical question.

[15:21] Right. In Job 40. 42. Will you play it. Will you play with it. Like a bird. Or will you tie. It like a sparrow. For a child. And again. Like. It's a rhetorical question.

[15:32] The answer is no Job. Obviously. You can't control Leviathan. That's the point. You can't control Leviathan. Why? Because it's Leviathan. You're no match for it.

[15:44] And then Job 41. There is not anything upon the earth like it. Like. There's nothing like it. Can we just. Read that again. There's nothing like Leviathan.

[15:56] Now that. That kind of indicates. This is probably a unique thing. Like there's one thing. Is there anything like it? No. Being made to be mocked. Um. At. By my angels.

[16:07] Which is a really interesting phrase. Which you don't have time to go into. But. It sees everything that is high. And it itself. Is king. Of all that is in the water. So really interesting.

[16:18] In the Septuagint. You've got this big sea monster. Called Leviathan. Leviathan. Also appears in our Bibles too. So don't. Um. Don't stress it. It's just. There's some words that are just different. In Psalms.

[16:28] And this is the ESV. This sea monster. Notice this. This sea monster has more than one head. Right. So. Psalm 74. Verse 14. You crush the heads of the Leviathan.

[16:39] You gave him as food. For the creatures of the wilderness. So. Um. The Psalmist is going. Okay. I. I'm. I'm familiar with this sea monster. This sea monster has more than one head. Now.

[16:49] Do we know any monsters that have more than one head? Like. I. I can't think of any or many. Like. I'm not a botanist. I don't know. But. Or a zoologist. I can't think of many.

[17:00] Isaiah says that Leviathan. Is not just a sea creature. But one day. This sea creature. Is going to be punished. In the final judgment. Right. So. Isaiah 27.

[17:11] In that day. The Lord with his. With his. Hard and great and strong sword. Will punish Leviathan. The fleeing serpent. Leviathan. The twisting serpent. And he will slay the dragon.

[17:23] That is in the sea. Like. That's just a weird verse to put in. If it's like. Well. What about the. What about the other animals? Well. We'll get on to it in a minute.

[17:33] The other animal from the land. Is. Beer moth. Or. Rahab. Like. And he says the same thing. About both animals. Isn't that like an unjust thing. If he's just like. Well. What about the cats?

[17:44] Surely the cats deserve some punishment. Right. So. Like. Why. Why are you signaling out Leviathan. And beer moth. Right. So. I'm reading Revelation 13.

[17:57] And. And all about this sea beast. And I'm saying. Hmm. That beast looks like Leviathan. And you get down to verse 11. I read about the land beast. And I'm saying. Wait a second. I know this guy too.

[18:09] Right. So Job 40. 15. Behold. Beer moth. Or Rahab. In some translations. And you've got this description. Of this creature. And it's a land beast.

[18:21] And look. The interesting thing is. Leviathan and beer moth. They appear in the same passage of scripture. Right. We're not talking about. You know. Two different. Two different books of the Bible.

[18:32] Two different authors. Two different centuries. Or whatever. We're talking about. In the same sentence. In the same conversation. These guys appear. And. We get this description of this creature.

[18:43] This land beast. And he says. Behold. Beer moth. Which I made. As I made you. He eats grass like an ox. Behold. His strength is in his loins. His power in the muscle of his belly. He makes his tail. Stiff like a cedar.

[18:54] And the sinews of his thighs. Are knit together. And look. Some people go. Well there's a dinosaur. And I'm like. It reads like. Like Revelation 13. So.

[19:07] Two beasts that oppose God. And that's the kind of the context. One from the sea. One from the land. And you might say. Well yeah. Actually. But there's three creatures. In Revelation 13. Isn't there?

[19:20] Right? So we have. The land. With sea beasts. The land beasts. And we have the dragon. Satan. And you might go. Well. For that to work. You've really got to have. Three beasts in your story. And I'll go.

[19:32] Okay. So. Job 26. Verse 12. By God's power. He stilled the sea. By his understanding. He shattered Rahab. Which is another name for Behemoth. By his winds.

[19:43] The heavens were made fair. His hand. Pierced. The fleeing. Serpent. So he talks about the sea. He talks about the land. He talks about the serpent. So all that to say. The idea between the two beasts.

[19:56] Leviathan. And Behemoth. May very. Well be behind. What the language. That John is using. All right. It's first and foremost. Not from Daniel 7.

[20:08] All right. But Daniel 7. Is going to help us. As you'll see in a minute. It's absolutely going to help us. But first and foremost. The language. That John is using. Is language from Job.

[20:20] About two great. Two great creatures. Leviathan. And Behemoth. And then we have the dragon. Who we've already identified. As Satan. So.

[20:32] That's not the only thing. That John has in mind. Look again. At the first two verses. And I saw a beast. Rising out of the sea. With ten horns.

[20:43] Seven heads. Ten diadems on his horns. And blasphemous names on his heads. And the beast that I saw. Was like a leopard. Question. Was it a leopard?

[20:54] Why? Because it was like a leopard. Now I don't think it means. That it had spots. Or that it couldn't change. Right? So.

[21:06] It was like a leopard. Its feet. Were like. Like a bear's feet. Its mouth. Was like a lion's mouth. And to it. The dragon. Gave his power.

[21:17] And his throne. And great authority. Now. Wrapped up in this language. Of Job. 1441. Is this idea. Of this beast.

[21:27] That is representing. Or has characteristics. Of beasts that we know. The leopard. The lion. And the bear. Now. Second question.

[21:39] Where do we get those beasts from? Daniel 7. Alright. So. The first place we go to. Is Job 4041. Absolutely. But we can't deny.

[21:51] That verse 2. Specifically. Is unquestionably. A reworking. Of Daniel 7. 1 to 7. So let's read that. Because that's going to help us. And I know you'll say. Well.

[22:01] I'm not too sure. It's going to help us. I'm hoping it's going to help us. Daniel 7. 1 to 8. Says this. In the first year of Belshazzar. The king of Babylon. Daniel. Saw a dream. And visions in his head. As he lay on his bed.

[22:12] And then he wrote down the dream. And told the sum of the matter. And Daniel declared. I saw in my vision. By night. And behold. Four winds of heaven. Were stirring up the great sea. If you remember. Back in Revelation.

[22:23] We've seen these four winds before. This is a. This is. This is a. Prime. If you want to say. A primordial. Viewing of Revelation. What's going on in Revelation.

[22:34] It's a different perspective. I saw. I saw in. I saw in my vision. By night. Behold. The four winds of heaven. Were stirring up the great sea. And four. Great beasts. Came out of the sea. Different from one another.

[22:46] So that kind of plays into the beast. Coming out of the sea. Right. From Revelation 13. Verse 4 says. The first was like a lion. It had eagle's wings. Then I looked. Its wings were plucked off.

[22:57] And it was lifted up from the ground. And made to stand on two feet. Like a man. And the mind of. A man was given to it. And behold. Another beast. A second one. Like a bear. It was raised up on one side.

[23:09] It had three ribs in its mouth. Between its teeth. And was told. Arise. Devour much flesh. And after this. I looked. And behold. Another. Like a leopard. With four wings of a bird on his back. And the beast had four heads.

[23:20] And dominion was given to it. And after this. I saw in the night visions. And behold. A fourth beast. Terrifying. And dreadful. And exceedingly strong. And it had great iron teeth. It devoured.

[23:30] And broke in pieces. And stamped. What was left with his feet. It was different from all of the other beasts that were before it. And it had ten horns. And I considered the horns. And behold. There came up among them.

[23:42] Another horn. A little horn. Before which three of the horns were plucked up by its roots. And behold. In this horn were eyes. Like the eyes of a man. And a mouth. Speaking great things.

[23:53] And what a terrible dream to have. Like I ain't sleeping for a week after that kind of dream. So Daniel sees four beasts. He sees verse four.

[24:04] A lion. Which had eagle's wings. A bear that raised up itself. On one side. With three ribs in its mouth. That's verse five. In verse six. A leopard.

[24:14] Which had four wings and four heads. And in verse seven. A beast that was unidentifiable. It's only described as dreadful and terrible.

[24:25] With iron teeth and ten horns. And the interesting thing is. Is that. After Daniel saw these four beasts. There's this angel standing by.

[24:37] And Daniel has the peace of mind. At least to kind of go to the angel. What am I seeing? Explain what is going on. Tell me the meaning of this. And so the angel says in Daniel 7.17.

[24:49] These four great beasts are four kings. Who shall rise out of the earth. So. We don't have to go too far. To kind of figure out what these kingdoms and kings are.

[25:03] Or these beasts are. Because the angel go. Okay let me tell you what the beasts are. The beasts are kings or kingdoms. In Daniel chapter two. Previous to this. We read how King Nebuchadnezzar also had a dream.

[25:14] Of four kings and four kingdoms. And so we see in that story. We see a lion. And we see a bear. And we see a leopard. Just as we've seen in Daniel 7. Now.

[25:25] I think that's more than. More than a coincidence. Right. So. In Daniel 7. Excuse me. In Daniel 2. We understand. That the lion is the Babylonian kingdom. And we understand that the bear.

[25:37] Is the Medo-Persian kingdom. And here. You know. We see that the bear. Has three ribs in its mouth. Symbolizing the three kingdoms. That it conquered. So the Babylonian kingdom. The Lydian kingdom. The Egyptian kingdom.

[25:48] And then. The third kingdom. Is the leopard. The Greek empire. Which has four heads. Symbolizing how the kingdom. Was split up. After Alexander the Great. Into four kingdoms.

[25:59] After the civil war. And then the fourth beast. Which again. Is only identified. As having ten horns. So. Daniel 2. And Daniel 7. Are saying the same thing. So.

[26:12] Back in Revelation 13. Verse 1. Look. In a couple of weeks. We're going to wrap this together. And some of it. Will start to make sense. Okay. So. In Revelation 13. Verse 1. I saw a beast rising out of the sea.

[26:23] With ten horns. That is Daniel 7. 7. Right. So. Daniel 7. 7. Same thing. Beast rising out of the sea. With ten horns. This is the beast.

[26:34] That is unidentifiable. The fourth beast. Brushy. Now. Skip down to Daniel 7. 23. And all of this is coming on the screen. Daniel 7.

[26:46] 23. Where we get more information. About the fourth beast. There we read. As for the fourth beast. There shall be a fourth kingdom. On earth. Okay. So. Daniel sees four beasts.

[26:57] And the fourth beast. Is a fourth earthly kingdom. Great. What about it? Well. It shall be different. From all of the other kingdoms. It shall devour.

[27:08] The whole earth. So. That's the way. It's going to be different. From. The other kingdoms. And it shall trample down. And break. And trample it down.

[27:18] That's the earth. And break it into pieces. And then the ten horns. Are identified. As ten kings. In verse 24. As for the ten horns. So you're all thinking. This is like.

[27:30] A little bit freaky. Right. So I've got this beast. He's got ten horns. What are the ten horns? So I've got a kingdom. Explain to me the ten horns. So. As for the ten horns. Verse 24. Out of this kingdom.

[27:41] Ten kings. Shall arise. Easy. Right. So we've got a kingdom. And we've got. Ten kings. From that kingdom. And another.

[27:52] Shall arise. After them. And he shall be different. From the former ones. And he shall put down. Three kings. Or kingdoms. So we have. We have a kingdom. The beast.

[28:03] And we have horns. That represent. Kings. Ten kingdoms. Kings. Federating together. Now additionally. We have seven heads. Now.

[28:16] Revelation 17. Verse 9. Tells us. Quite clearly. That the seven heads. Are seven mountains. Now this isn't. Any kind of beast. That we're aware of.

[28:27] Right. So multiple heads. Lots of kings. And mountains. Right. And then it says that. It has. Seven diadems. Or crowns.

[28:38] On its horns. And blasphemous names. On its head. So you get this idea. That this is a wicked kingdom. Of kingdoms. Ruled by wicked kings. Like it's just repeating.

[28:50] That phrase. Over and over again. Right. Like if you. If you didn't get it. With the beast. And the idea of. You know. The chaos beast. Rising out of the sea. Leviathan-ish. Like.

[29:00] Right. If you didn't get that. Then he's spelling out. Okay. Let me tell you about this beast. It's wicked. Wicked. Wicked. Three times wicked. And then the traits.

[29:11] Of this kingdom. That the traits has. Or the characteristics. That are. That it has. Are all of the traits. Of the other kingdom. That's what verse 2. In our text says. In Revelation 13.

[29:22] The beast. That I saw. Was like a leopard. It was like a bear. And like a lion. It had all of the characteristics. Of the other. Three kingdoms.

[29:33] There in Daniel chapter 2. And the kingdom. Seems to be associated. In some way. With seven mountains. Now verse 3. Says this. And to it. That is the beast.

[29:44] The kingdom. The king. Whatever. To it. The dragon. Gave his power. And his throne. And great authority.

[29:57] And one of his heads. Seemed to have a mortal wound. So a wound. That should have killed it. Okay. But it's mortal wound.

[30:08] Was healed. So it didn't kill it. And the whole earth. Marvelled. As they followed. The beast. Now let's just pause there. And see if we can quickly speculate.

[30:19] As to who or what this beast is. So. The view that sees this beast. As picturing the Roman Empire.

[30:30] Rests. On some degree. By identifying. Nero Caesar. Caesar Nero. As. As the wounded head. Other supporting evidence.

[30:41] Is the mention of the seven mountains. Of which. Of course. Rome is famous for. And then. Finally. The description of the fourth kingdom. Of Daniel 7. 7. Is another pointed to Rome.

[30:53] The blasphemous names. On the heads. Are also an indication. That this is Rome. Because of the titles. Given to the Roman emperors. And during the first. And second centuries. But taking the beast.

[31:04] As the Roman Empire. Also has significant problems. There is no historical situation. That can really fully satisfy. All the criteria. Regarding the beast.

[31:16] Also. The idea of the Roman Empire. Covering the entire world. Even the known world. At that point. Just isn't in the history books. The beast is pictured.

[31:27] As a worldwide empire. So instead of seeing this. As the Roman Empire. Some see this. As a type of revived. Roman Empire. In the future.

[31:39] This certainly has an element. Of truth for it. Because the last of the four. Daniel's four world empires. The one that the. The Messiah. Crushes. At the end. Certainly is.

[31:50] Is Roman in nature. Right. Jesus comes back. Crushes that empire. And I think the answer. Actually. Lays in. In.

[32:01] Some part. Again. Back in Daniel 7. Where we see an event. That happens. To the horns. So. In verse 7. After this. I saw in night visions.

[32:11] Behold the fourth beast. So that's the one. That is. Kind of taking our attention. At the moment. In Revelation 13. This fourth beast. Terrifying. And dreadful. And exceeding strong.

[32:22] It had great. Iron teeth. It devoured. And broken pieces. And stamped. What was left. In its. With its feet. It was different. From all the other beasts. That were before it. And it had ten. Horns.

[32:33] So remember. The horns are kings. So I'm looking for ten kings. Or I'm looking for ten kingdoms. And I considered the horns. And behold. There came up. Among them.

[32:43] Another. Horn. So another. King. This time. It was a little one. Lots of people are going. Well that's Napoleon.

[32:54] Because like. He was a little guy. Right. Alright. Okay. So. Before which. Three of the first horns. Were plucked up by the roots. And behold. In this horn.

[33:06] Were eyes of the eyes of the man. And mouth speaking great things. So. All that to say. Is that this beast. Seems to be. A world. Empire. That has a kingly. Leader.

[33:18] And to be honest. There are some parts of this chapter. And chapter 17. And Daniel 7. And Daniel 2. That seem to personify. The beast. So where the confusion.

[33:29] Sometimes comes. Is you read something about the beast. And the beast is called a he. Right. And the beast is personified. So that.

[33:41] You kind of get this idea. What is the beast? Is the beast a person? Or is the beast a thing? And actually. I think it's both. I think the beast is a thing. But it's being run by a person.

[33:52] And so it's embodied. It's the embodiment of a person. I think it's helpful to keep them separate. And I think it's helpful to keep them separate. To see that the beast is this global entity.

[34:03] And that follows a leader. Known in Daniel 7. As Little Horn. Right. Or to use the New Testament language. Antichrist. That's how John describes.

[34:15] The same character in 1st John. And he's called Antichrist. Not only because he is against Christ. And there's not only. You know. One Antichrist.

[34:26] John says. There has been many Antichrists. He's not called Antichrist. Because he is against Christ. He's called Antichrist.

[34:37] Because he is mimicking Christ. Right. He is imitating Christ. Just like Jesus. He is given power and authority. Just like Jesus.

[34:48] He has been healed from a mortal wound. Just like Jesus. He is worshipped. Just like Jesus. He's been given a kingdom. Right. So there is this character. In our story. Of one who is.

[35:00] Pitting himself. Against Jesus. As Jesus. And so this is. Satan's final attempt. To stop Jesus.

[35:11] From receiving his kingdom. And make the world. His own kingdom. In his efforts. To disrupt the plans of God. And to destroy. His people. Satan organizes.

[35:21] A future. World government system. That unites against. The work of Jesus. And a holy coalition. Of nations. If you like. Revelation 17. Verse 14. Says that they will make war.

[35:33] On the land. It says in verse 7. Of our text. Also it was allowed. To make war. On the saints. And conquer them. And authority. Was given over. Every tribe.

[35:43] And people. And nation. Language. And nation. And look. So. The question is. Really. On. What do we do. With a text like this.

[35:55] I mean. You know. We could spend. Exorbitant amount of times. Kind of figuring out. Who was the beast. Where is the beast. What is the beast doing.

[36:07] Is the beast arrived yet. And all of that. We could spend lots and lots of time. Doing that. I'm. I'm pretty. Pretty sure. There's limited value. In doing that. What do we take.

[36:19] From a. From a section of scripture. Like this. Because on the one hand. Like. Removing it. Somewhat. From this text. What we see. And I hope you.

[36:30] Do recognize. This. And I hope you recognize. I'm not talking about anyone. Here. But. But let's just say. Out there. Wherever out there. For you is. Right. Is that. Generally.

[36:40] When you come to sections of scripture. Like this. Or. You get. You get. Just general issues. In the church. Out there. You see. Two. Sides.

[36:52] Of an argument. And I think the media. Is really. Really good. At pitting. Two sides. Against each other. And like. There's never. Any middle ground. There's no. There's never. A third way. Right. Um.

[37:03] So. On the one hand. You have. Kind of like. And I'm just going to. Stereotype. As much as I can. Just to prove the point. Right. So. You have. On one side.

[37:13] Like. Utopians. And. Utopians. Um. Suggest. That there is a rosy. Future. Everything is really. Going to be. Good. In the future. And.

[37:24] Um. You. Just have to recognize it. And you have to work together. To bring. That about. You have to ensure that. Government. And leaders. Are accountable. And making the right decisions. And then.

[37:35] On the other hand. You have the pessimists. I'm not too sure. What the. Opposite is. Of a utopian. But. Dystopian. There you go. Um. Maybe. Um.

[37:46] You have. You have. I'm just going to call them pessimists. And. The pessimist. Only sees. That there is. A secret. Political. Elite.

[37:57] Now working. To bring about. A Machiavellian plot. You know. To control the world. Or. Some would simply argue.

[38:09] That a text like this. Is another way. To approach this text. Is. Is. Only here. To warn us. Of the future. So that we can go about. Evangelizing now.

[38:22] Not a bad. Outcome. But hardly the reason. The chapter is in the Bible. So. How should we look at it? How do we deal with. A chapter like this? Well.

[38:33] I think. Um. The gospel speaks. Into both sides. Of. This grand big argument. And the grand big argument. Is going on. On the. In the world right now. And if you're unaware of that.

[38:44] You need to become aware of that. Um. You know. Um. A reference. A word that was used earlier. Was woke. And certainly the woke. Contingent.

[38:55] The woke people. Whatever they. Whatever that is. Is part of that argument. Right. But then you also have. The kind of the radical. Fundamentalist. On the other side. Right. And the news outlets.

[39:07] Are really. Really. Good. At. You're either in one camp. Or you're in the other camp. Right. You're either against everything. Or you're for everything. Or at least.

[39:18] You're for everything. How you define for everything. So. How do. How should Christians. Deal with. This chapter. And deal with that. Argument. Because both.

[39:28] The utopians. And pessimists. Are promoting. A Christian view. Of society. And humanity. But just one part of it. And it's really.

[39:38] Really important. That we see this. Those who are looking. For utopia. Aren't wrong. To want to make society.

[39:49] Better. That is part of the creation. Mandate. Right. To make society. Better. Genesis chapter 2. Verse 15.

[40:00] The Lord. This is the creation mandate. The Lord God. Took the man. Put him in the garden of Eden. To work it. And keep it. That's the creation mandate. The issues of climate change.

[40:11] For example. Have at its core. People. Who care about the planet. And our stewardship of it. A planet that God created.

[40:21] And said was good. And people who are potentially. Unknowingly. Partaking. In obedience to God. That's one view.

[40:35] And it's one. Part of one view. But where there is the unbiblical balance. Of course. Is that their trust. In centralized authority.

[40:46] In concentration of power. Without very much. You know. Very very clear. Checks and balances. Is actually naive. About what the Bible says. About the human heart.

[40:57] And the consequences of the fall. Government can't produce revival. Government can't bring renewal. Government can't bring justice.

[41:08] And peace. And at every level of government. And even that includes the church. And even includes this church. There needs to be accountability. Why? Because leaders are sinners.

[41:18] First and foremost. And if we. If we are petitioning government. On this issue. And that issue. And this issue. We need to know. That actually that will only go so far.

[41:28] Why? Because leaders are sinners. And so they are right. To want to make society better. But they are wrong.

[41:39] To put their hope. And trust. In centralized authority. And concentrations of power. And so the exhortation for us. In that instance. Is this. What are we doing. To engage productively. In local and national government.

[41:50] To bring about a better society. It's creation mandate. Now look. The flip side is this. And this is probably the one. We're most familiar with.

[42:02] And I'm not saying. That you're all pessimists. I'm not saying that at all. But it's probably the one. That we're most familiar with. Just knowing who you guys are. I know that you're not. Utopians.

[42:13] For the most part. Unless I don't know you. And then there's an issue. So on the flip side. The pessimists are not wrong. To be suspicious of control. And concentrated power.

[42:25] Not wrong. But the problem is. Is that their cynicism. Stops their ears. To the responsibility. We all have to work together. Paul said this.

[42:37] In Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10. He said that we are his workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus. For good works. Which he's prepared beforehand. That we should walk in them. So God has prepared.

[42:49] Good works for us. To walk in. We should do them. We should be. Christians. Who are actively engaged. In good works.

[43:00] Don't believe me. Read James. Right. A charge. We cannot meet. Unless we work together. In some form. And pessimists.

[43:11] Actually tend to abandon. Any and every form. Of collaboration. Or community. Because of the belief. That they might. They just might. Be guilty. Of taking part. In.

[43:22] Big government. Or scandal. Or secret. Or this. That and the other. Failing to see. That the biggest government. On earth. Belongs to Jesus. And it's called his church.

[43:34] And he is using it. That is the vehicle. For. His plans. And his purposes. Being worked out. In this world. And the problem is that.

[43:45] That God says to Jeremiah. About living in. In captivity. This is what he said. He said. Build houses. And live there. Live with them. Live in. In captivity.

[43:57] With the Babylonians. Plant gardens. What does that mean? It means. You're going to stay there. For a while. Right.

[44:08] Don't just plant gardens. Plant gardens. Expect. That in. Six months. Nine months. You're going to be. Bearing fruit. You're going to be there. Settle down. Plant gardens.

[44:20] Eat their produce. Take wives. Have sons. Daughters. Take wives for your sons. Give your daughters. To marriage. That they may bear sons. And daughters. Multiply there. Do not decrease. But seek the welfare.

[44:32] Of the city. Where I have sent you. Into exile. And pray to the Lord. On his behalf. For in its welfare. You will find your welfare. And so look. The exhortation is.

[44:43] What are we doing. To bring about the welfare. For the city of Southampton. Like what are we doing? And so look. Both the optimist. And the pessimist.

[44:54] Take one part. Of this complex truth. And make it. The whole. The utopians. Underplay the full. The pessimists. Underplay the creation mandate.

[45:05] The utopians. Have this over realized. Secular esculptality. What I mean by that is. Is that the millennial kingdom. Can be brought about. By human hands. It can't.

[45:16] Jesus is our savior. He is our deliverer. He is coming back. Whilst the pessimists. Take human greed. And sinfulness. As the reason. Not to work.

[45:28] Not to work for peace. Not to work for the prosperity. Of the cities. Which we find ourselves in. So. How do we respond. To the debate. Around government. And justice. And so on. Four really. Really quick things.

[45:38] Because I'm hungry. Four really. Really quick things. That we can. Respond to. Positively.

[45:50] From this. These first. Eight verses. First. We need to separate. They're all there. Check that out. We need to separate. The politics. From the person. I hope you understand.

[46:01] What that means. To separate. The message. From the messenger. There are. Some very. Concerning. Views. Within government. Like if you.

[46:12] If you know. Anything. About. Anything. You'll know that. Some of them. Are quite alarming. But that doesn't mean.

[46:22] In of itself. That government. Is always wrong. We need. To. Take the issues. One by one. And we need to pass them. Through the bible. People. And not side.

[46:34] With a view. Just because. It's the political party. That we voted for. There's a danger there. Isn't there. Like. You know. Labour. Conservatives. Lib Dems.

[46:45] Independence. Independence. Independence. They have. Good bible. Believing MPs. And we need to be. Less partisan. And more Jesus. James 1.

[46:57] Verse 19. Is always. Is just good wisdom. For any situation. Know this. My beloved brothers. Let every person. Be quick to hear. Slow to speak.

[47:10] Slow to anger. Like. That's just good advice. Anytime. There are. Politic. There are. Politics. And issues. That we.

[47:21] Fundamentally. Disagree with. But the person. Who holds. Those views. Aren't the enemy. Isn't that a common theme. That we've seen in revelation. That our common enemy.

[47:31] Is actually. Satan. He is the one. His power. Is at work. The person. In front of us. Doesn't have the horns. And isn't wearing.

[47:42] A red suit. So. Firstly. Understand. We need to separate. The message. From the messenger. Secondly. We need to represent.

[47:52] Jesus. To the people. So for example. What is it. That distinguishes. A biblical concern. For justice. Well. Why do we care.

[48:03] About justice. If we do. And we should. But why do we. Well. We have a God. Who is a father. To the helpless. That's why. No one else.

[48:14] Does. The reason. That we should. Care about justice. Is because. God cares. About justice. Deuteronomy. Chapter 10. Verse 18. He executes. Justice.

[48:25] For the fatherless. And the widow. He loves the sojourner. Giving him food. And clothing. Psalm. Chapter 10. Verse 14. But you. Do see. For you. You note. Mischief.

[48:35] And vexation. This is. This is. Talking about God. That you may. Take it into your hands. To you. The helpless. Commits himself. You have been. The helper. Of the fatherless.

[48:45] James chapter 1. Religion. That is pure. And under fire. Before God. The father is this. To visit orphans. And widows. In their affliction. And to keep oneself. Unstained from the world. James point. Is that you can't claim.

[48:56] To have faith in God. And ignore those. Most vulnerable. And marginalized. In society. Thirdly. We need to ensure. That government.

[49:07] Hear our voice. Ensure that government. Hears our voice. The corporate. And capitalist. Focus of big government. Gives privilege. To certain minorities. At the expense of others.

[49:17] We know that. And they are. The relatively. Underemphasized. And unglamorous. Populations. Those who have no voice.

[49:28] Including the unborn. And the infirm. Christians. Should be vigorous. In advocating. For their inclusion. And flourishing. In society. Now you might say.

[49:39] Well I'm. I'm the only person. What. You know. I'm only one person. What can I do. To affect change. And have my voice heard. Three things really quickly. Number one. Vote. Vote.

[49:53] Like in. In a. In a society. Where. Um. Voting. Percentages. Are at. The all time. Lowest. And there are loads. And loads. Of reasons. For that. One of them.

[50:04] Confidence. In government. Right. Just. It's a cycle. But vote. It's our right. To vote. It's our responsibility. To vote. Have your.

[50:14] Your voice heard. Secondly. Write your MP. About issues. Go to the surgeries. I don't mean. The doctor's surgeries. Like. Go to the surgeries. Like.

[50:25] Most MPs. Have surgeries. On a Friday. You can rock up. Uninvited. Without booking. And go. I want to talk to you. About this issue. Right. Thirdly.

[50:36] Get equipped. Subscribe to organizations. Like Christian Concern. Or Christians in Politics. Find out what's going on. Right. Pray for you. Pray for your local MP. Pray for Christians in Politics. Ensure that the government.

[50:49] Hear our voice. Fourthly. We are to compare. Constantly. As a daily practice. The broken systems.

[51:00] Of this world. To the glory that awaits. And invite all. To join us in it. That's the goal. Isn't it? Is to compare.

[51:10] This broken world. And to tell people. This broken world. Is not going to be broken forever. And to invite us. And to invite them. In. To that glory.

[51:22] Titus chapter 2. Verse 13. Says this. And this is key. We are never told. To go look out. For the Antichrist. Or the beast.

[51:32] Or whatever. Right. In comparison. What are we told? Titus chapter 2. Verse 13. Wait for the blessed hope. The appearing. Of the glory. Of our great God.

[51:43] And saviour Jesus Christ. What are we. What are we. Supposed to be waiting for. What are we. Supposed to be looking for. We're supposed to be. Waiting for. And looking for Jesus. And keeping our eyes.

[51:53] On him. And so we are to. Compare constantly. On the news. We're supposed to. Watch the news. And go. Jesus come back.

[52:06] And then invite. Other people. Into that. And so. That's what we get. From these. Eight verses. That.

[52:17] Yes. Government. Is corrupt. But not all of it. God. God is doing a work. And we need to pray. That he will continue that work.

[52:28] And we need to be. Sensible. And godly. And gracious. In our dealings with people. That we. Disagree with. But we have to stand firm. On the truth of the word. So.

[52:41] Next week. Bill. Is going to come and share. Actually. Just the gospel. Right? Pretty much it. Giving him three verses. And then we'll come back.

[52:52] To revelation. Chapter 13. The following week. Let's just pray together. Shall we? Father. We. Come to you lord. And we want to recognize. First and foremost. Lord. That. This is a challenging. Passage.

[53:04] Of scripture. For us to understand. Lord. And. We. Might not understand. It in totality. We might not. Get bits of it.

[53:16] Lord. But we want to. Rest in the fact. Lord. That. The government. Is your government. Lord.

[53:26] That. That. The. The best government. In the world. Is a theocracy. And lord. One day. You're going to reign. Lord. You're going to reign here. Lord.

[53:37] Help us. To keep our eyes. On that. Lord. And. Lord. We don't want to be. Ignorant. Of Satan's devices. Lord. And his strategies. Lord. Lord. But we don't want to get. Carried away either.

[53:49] Lord. We want to see. The good that you're doing. Lord. And the good. That others are doing. As part of their. Their homage. Odeus. As part of their creation. Mandate. Lord. But we also want to. Hold people to account.

[54:00] Not to our standards. But to yours. Lord. So lord. We pray. That you would help us. Lord. Help us to engage. Positively. Lord. Help us to. To. To be a voice.

[54:12] Lord. For those who have no voice. Lord. Help us. To. To speak up. Lord. For those who are. Persecuted. Lord. For those who. Are vulnerable. And lord.

[54:23] Help us. Lord. Not to be. Downcast. By the things of this world. Lord. Help us. Keep our eyes. Fixed. On what is coming.

[54:35] Which is glorious. Lord. We don't want to. Shut ourselves away. In our. Houses. And just. Gain knowledge.

[54:47] And kind of. You know. As so many have done. In the past. Just. You know. Isolate ourselves. And. Just wait. In that sense. Lord. We. We want to be. Actively. Inviting.

[54:59] People. To wait. For the blessed hope. To look out. For Jesus. And so. Lord. We pray this week. That you would help us. To bring your name.

[55:10] Into everything. That we do. Lord. To. To bring. Grace. And mercy. Lord. To bring the truth. The defining line.

[55:21] Of your word. Lord. To be bold enough. To say. That is wrong. But we see that. That part of it. That is. That is right. Lord.

[55:31] Help us. To engage. Lord. Nationally. And. Locally. In. The issues. That. Affect us. And affect our neighbors. Lord. We pray. Lord. For this city.

[55:42] Of Southampton. Lord. We pray. For the city. And the outskirts. Lord. For the MPs. And for the. The local councillors. Lord. That. That they would be making.

[55:53] Righteous. And just decisions. Lord. We want to see. Lord. A. Revival.

[56:04] In this city. Lord. A renewal. That only comes. By knowing you. And so. Lord. We pray. Lord. That your. Gospel. Would be known. Lord.

[56:14] That you are. King Jesus. Which means. That you have a kingdom. And Lord. We pray. Lord. That you would bring. That kingdom. To bear. In this place. Lord.

[56:24] That there would be. Hearts. That return to you. Repenting. Of their sins. Pledging allegiance. To you. To follow you. All the days. Of their life. Lord.

[56:35] Help us. To be encouraged. Lord. To be able. To see. As we've seen. In the. Previous weeks. To. To squint. For the good things. To hearken. Unto the. The way.

[56:46] That you are. Speaking. Into this world. Lord. May we be encouraged. Lord. That you haven't. Left us. You haven't. Abandoned us. Lord. But there are still people.

[56:57] Even as Paul said. There are people. In this city. That still. Still are yet. To come to know you. Lord. We believe that. Lord. Help us. To reach them. In your name.

[57:10] Amen. Amen. Thank you.