And we are starting into Revelation Chapter 13 this morning, which is one of the most fascinating, the most attention-drawing chapters in the Bible, because it has to do with the beast, Satan's beast, as you see here in the title for this morning's message. eight verses of Revelation chapter 13. And the beast is also known by another title that is much more famous, and that is the antichrist. The antichrist is a person who is very interesting, and there's not only a godly interest in what God has revealed concerning the man of sin, the beast, but there's also a morbid interest, I think, in the world and in the flesh, in this man of sin. And so we must recognize that God reveals what He reveals for a purpose when it comes to His family, His children. That this is a chapter that God has given to us for a reason, and we must discover that reason and use God's Word wisely. The world is going to do what they do with God's Word, and God speaks in such a way stumbling block for those who are in the world. And so let us pray that God will fill us with wisdom and understanding to be able to see the purpose for which God has revealed this stunning and fascinating chapter concerning the rise of the beast, Satan's beast. Let's look into Revelation chapter 13, verses 1 through 8. I'll read the first eight verses, you follow along in your Bible. rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns, and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, 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. 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 it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its 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 it over every tribe and people and language and nation. And all who dwell on earth will worship it. Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. Those are our verses for this morning. In Revelation chapters 12 and 13, We are backing up from the precipice that we have arrived at at the end of chapter 11. Chapter 11 of the book of Revelation was the end of the first major section of the book, that through the unveiling of the judgments of God written down in that scroll that Jesus Christ received from the hand of God back in Revelation chapter 5, We then saw the judgments of God, the decrees that were being poured out upon the world in rebellion against Him at the end of this age, in the seal judgments, followed by the trumpet judgments, seven trumpets of judgment that were all a part of the seventh seal. And as that seventh trumpet led us, once again, right up to the second coming of Christ and the final resolution of the conflict between God and the evil world, We are now going to back up again, as we did last week, looking into the final three and a half years before the end, to examine what is the action, what is the role that Satan is going to play during this final period before Christ returns. And we saw at the end of Revelation chapter 12 that Satan, after being cast out of heaven, that he then goes after Israel, God protecting and providing for Israel during this time of great tribulation in the wilderness. And then when Satan is no longer to vent all of his fury upon the woman Israel, then he goes off to make war against the rest of the saints who are living on the earth at that time. Now, that is what Satan's activity is throughout this final three and a half years. But he doesn't do his activity directly. Satan does not come and personally attack Israel, or personally attack the saints. But instead, he uses his proxies to do so. He uses his agents to do so. And so that's what chapter 13 is going to reveal to us, Satan's beast. the proxy, the viceroy through which Satan carries out his desires and his schemes, and he is known as the Beast. John sees him as a Beast in verse 1, rising out of the sea. Now the connection between this Beast and Satan is clearly established in the text. You go back to chapter 12 in the last verse there, the last part of verse 17, and you see that Satan, after going to make war on the rest of Israel's offspring, throughout the world, that then he, that is Satan, stood on the sand of the sea. And as Satan stands on the sand of the sea, that's when John sees the beast rising out of the sea. So once again, this last part of chapter 12 is connecting all of what we've learned about Satan's activity with what we're now going to learn about the activity of the beast. And this connection is not only there through that connecting verse, but it's also clearly established in the text that we just read, where we see, in verse 2, that to the beast, the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. So where does the beast get his power? He gets it from Satan. And when people are worshipping the beast, as it says there at the end of verse 4, who is like the beast and who can fight against it, they are actually worshipping the dragon, whether they know it or not. That because they are worshipping man, Satan's king, Satan's leader, the one who is carrying out Satan's plans and purposes, that when they worship him, they are actually worshipping the power behind the throne, which is Satan, the dragon. In the same way, when we worship Jesus Christ, we are worshipping the Father, the Father who has empowered him, the Father who has strengthened him. that the world worships the beast, and therefore I worship Satan, so Christians worship Christ, and thereby worship God. We see this connection between the beast and Christ, and Satan and God the Father throughout the text and throughout the book. Satan is an impersonator. That's why the title that is most well known among Christians for the beast is the Antichrist. He stands in the place of Christ. He is the imitation, Satan's imitation of Christ. Now, the book of Revelation nowhere uses the term Antichrist. However, John does use that term in his letters. In 1 John and his other letters, he refers to the Antichrist in several places. But here, he is referred to as the beast who rises out of the sea. Now, the interpretation of the beast rising out of the sea with his seven heads and ten horns and ten diadems, all of this is dependent upon a proper interpretation of Daniel chapter 7. The imagery that John is drawing from here that the Holy Spirit is leading John to draw from here is from the Old Testament book of Daniel, and in particular, chapter 7. In fact, Daniel chapter 7 is so much tied together with this section in Revelation that we're actually going to go back and read most of Daniel chapter 7 together now. I'd like you to turn with me back to Daniel chapter 7, and I put one verse up here for now, but we're going to read a large section. from Daniel chapter 7 in order to be able to understand what John is describing when he describes this terrible beast and his head and his horns. Let's take a look there. Daniel chapter 7 is the beginning of the second half of this amazing book. It's the beginning of the section of the book that is most relevant for the study of New Testament prophecy and the second coming of Jesus Christ. book of Daniel. So let's read it, starting there in verse 1. In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. So just as John is seeing visions and writing about those visions, so Daniel in 700 years, yeah, about 700 years before similar visions from God, and wrote down the dream, and told the sum of the matter, as it says there at the end of verse one. Daniel declared, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. So see the connection there from the very beginning. Where does the beast come out of? It comes out of the sea. Where is Daniel seeing? He's seeing the winds of heaven stirring up the waters of the great sea, and verse three says, four great first was like a lion and had eagle's wings. Then I looked as its wings were plucked off, 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. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, and it was told, arise, devour much flesh. After this, I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back, and the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night's visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful, and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different 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 horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes, like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. That is a fascinating picture. Verse nine continues. As I looked, thrones were placed, and the ancients of days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like pure wool. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him. A thousand thousand served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. I looked then, because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed, and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away. and a time. I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the ancients of days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this, so he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things. These four great beasts, he said, are four kings who shall arise out of the earth, but the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever. Then I desired to know the truth, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broken pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up, and before which three of them fell. and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them. He shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law, and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven of the Most High. His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him." Alright, with that in mind, let's go back to Revelation 13 and take a look then at the details now that we have a better understanding and can make more sense of it. So this beast that is rising out of the sea, I'll let you know, this is the fourth beast. The first three were the kingdoms of Babylon, the Medo-Persian kingdom, and then the kingdom of the Greeks, first with Alexander the Great and then divided into four parts after his death among his generals. The fourth beast is the Roman Empire. The fourth beast is different from the others. And how exactly it is different was not told to Daniel, but it was clear that there was something important about the distinction, about the difference. And the beast that is rising out of the sea here in Revelation chapter 13 is that fourth beast. with the ten horns. Now, not only does the beast have ten horns, as was described in Daniel 7, but we are told here in Revelation 13 that he also has seven heads, with ten diadems on the horns and blasphemous names on his heads. Now, notice the similarity between Satan's beast and Satan himself. The beast has seven heads, Come back to the previous chapter, in chapter 12, and when it comes to the description of the dragon, notice back in chapter 12 verse 3, the dragon had seven heads and ten horns. And the dragon had not ten diadems, but he had seven diadems. The diadems were on his head. Now, the difference between the dragon and the beast, besides the fact that one is a commixture of beasts that is dreadful and terrifying, as Daniel said, is that the beast, the focus on his rule, his reign, which is what a diadem, a kingly crown represents, is on the horns. And we were told back in Daniel chapter 7 why the beast has ten horns. The ten horns represent ten kings. Now, that's going to be very significant for understanding the little horn. Daniel chapter 7 said that out of these ten kings, there's going to come up a little horn that supplants and displaces three of those kings. That little horn is the final king, the final ruler over this kingdom, this empire. Christians have talked about a revived Roman Empire. that the Roman Empire has fallen, and yet it is going to have a resurgence, a new form, before the coming of Jesus Christ. And we get that from Daniel chapter 7, along with what is written concerning this kingdom in Revelation 13. Now, when we are looking at kingdoms in the Bible, starting in the Old Testament, moving into the New Testament, they are portrayed as these destroying, ravenous, Because mankind thinks of the kingdoms of the world as monuments to the glory of man. And when Babylon received the vision to Nebuchadnezzar about the kingdom that he was in and the kingdoms that were going to come after him in Daniel chapter 2, in that vision, Nebuchadnezzar saw the kingdoms of this world as this glorious statue of a man with a head of gold and shoulders of silver and a waist of bronze and legs of iron and clay. And that picture of a man is how mankind looks at its kingdoms. But when God looks at the kingdoms of this world that are ruled over by Satan, the dragon, he sees not a glory of man, but instead he sees destruction. He sees the mind of a beast. He sees irrational destruction and ferocity. And that is what is so much a part of human empire and human kingdom, is that beast-like destruction and attacking one another. These beasts are going to give way to another kingdom, as was revealed in Daniel chapter 7. Now, one thing I'd like to point out for you, once again, is that while you've got the bear and the leopard, the lion and the dragon, and this other terrifying beast that all represents Satan and his kingdoms, Jesus Christ is also portrayed from the animal world in the Book of Revelation. He is the Lamb. He is the One who is not destroying and trampling, but He is the One who has given Himself as a sacrifice for others. He is the One who allowed Himself to be destroyed, to be trampled by the wheels of the Roman Empire as it turned and destroyed through crucifixion. And it is that Lamb who is going to receive the kingdom from God forever and ever. Interesting contrast between the lamb and the dreadful and terrifying beast coming out of the ocean. where true power lies, and this beast has only a short time. Now, as we examine the way that the Old Testament prophets treat kings and kingdoms and the imagery that is used for them, the Old Testament prophet will go back and forth between talking about the human king and the evil spirit behind that empire. Going back to Isaiah and his description of the king of Babylon, We study that, and we realize that it's not just talking about the human king of Babylon, but it's also talking about the power behind the throne, Satan. In Isaiah 14, verse 12, as part of the taunt against the king of Babylon, it is written, How you are fallen from heaven, O Daystar, son of dawn! How you are cut down to the ground! you who laid the nations low. And so this interchange between the king, the kingdom, and the power behind the throne is one that starts in the Old Testament prophets and continues into the book of Revelation. So that here in chapters 12 and 13, you've got to focus on Satan. And then you've got to focus on the kingdom that he is bringing up out of the tumultuous waters of mankind. And then that kingdom is also It goes back and forth in the imagery between the kingdom itself and the ruler of that kingdom. This is something that is natural to us when we think about a foreign country like Russia. We often will refer to the ruler of that country, and he's the one who's representing that country. And so Putin ends up becoming a representation of the nation of Russia. Same thing with China. Their ruler is one that, therefore, is what comes to mind when you think of, well, what is China doing? Well, what's their ruler doing? And they're just interchangeable with one another. And that's the way it is in scripture in talking about this beast. This beast that is rising out of the sea is both the kingdom that is ruling over the earth during these final three and a half years and the king who is ruling over the earth. And so the imagery gets a little convoluted. Sometimes it's hard to know, is this verse talking about the whole kingdom, or is this verse talking about the individual king, the man of sin, the antichrist as we call him. Keep that in mind as we go through chapter 13 and then continue through the rest of the book, that there's this interplay between the king and the kingdom, and they are in fact united and amalgamated together in the way scripture We see his similarity to Satan, with the seven heads and the ten diadems. And then we also see that the beast is pictured as a combination of the beasts that we read about in Daniel chapter 7. In verse 2, that the beast, his body is like a leopard, but his feet are like a bear, and his mouth is like a lion. And this is going in reverse order from what we read in Daniel 7. In Daniel 7, the kingdom of Babylon, was portrayed as a lion, and then the kingdom of the Medes and the Persian was a bear, and then after that the Greeks were the leopard. But Daniel was looking forward, and so he started with the lion and then moved through to the kingdom of the leopard, whereas John is looking back. So he starts with the leopard and then moves back towards the lion. Very interesting to see that from two different angles, and that this fourth beast is different because he is an amalgamation, he is a compilation of all of the terrible things about the other kingdoms. The lion, the devouring lion, well, we'll save that for another time. I don't want to go into that. We've got to stay on the fourth beast. The beast, rather than mankind becoming like God, when we seek to exercise authority and we seek to build our kingdom, rather than becoming like God, we become like the beast. A very interesting perspective from God. It's a downward evolution, not an upward evolution, when we follow Satan and sin. We become more beast-like and less God-like. Satan is the one who is behind these powers, and I want to remind you, we talked about Daniel 7.24, the Ten of Morons, the Ten Kings, and then the last one that shall be different, that last one is who we're going to be focusing on here in Revelation 13. I want to remind you in Luke Chapter 4 that when Jesus was on the earth and Satan came to tempt Him, Satan promised that he could give to Jesus all of the authority of the earthly kingdoms. all of their power, all of their glory. For it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will." Satan is going to give all of the authority, all of the kingdom, all of the power, all of the nations. He is going to have this global reign to this final beast and the Antichrist, the king, who is over this final beast. a united world, because we know that there is going to be a united world, and we know that it's not going to be a kingdom of love and peace and joy, as people in this world have vain hopes, but that it's going to be a kingdom that crushes and devours and destroys. That it's going to be a kingdom full of blasphemy. It's going to be a kingdom that opposes God and destroys the people of God. throughout the whole world, and so we are not excited about a united world. In fact, this goes back to the Tower of Battle, and God's purpose and design was to create separate nations so that mankind could not unite in their animosity towards God, because that's what man will do. When man unites, and when God allows Satan to bring all the power together under one rule, what will mankind do when they are united? They will not build a utopia. No, they will build hell on earth because of the demonic source of this unity opposing God and God's people. That's what's clear here in Revelation chapter 13. The dragon gave his power and his throne and his authority to this man, and it's going to happen. This is a future prophecy. Now, look at verse 3. Very interesting detail about the man of sin here. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound. This is where it becomes kind of convoluted in the imagery. What exactly do the heads represent? Well, in verse 3, the head represents one of the rulers of the kingdom. However, it could also mean that the head represents one of the kingdoms. Because why does this beast have seven heads? Well, why does the dragon have seven heads? Because each one of the heads is representative of one of the seven kingdoms that has been important in biblical history in God's dealing with the people of Israel. Starting with Egypt, then moving through to Assyria, then going to Babylon, then going to the Medes and the Persians, then going to Rome, and then going to the revived Roman Empire. That's the seven heads of biblical prophecy and this reference correctly. And so one of the heads seems to have this mortal wound, and yet it is healed, and the whole earth marvels and follows after the beast. So some interpreters come to this verse and say, well, one of its heads is one of the kingdoms. And so the Roman Empire has died, it's received this mortal wound, and yet it's going to be revived, and it's going to come back. And then all the world is going to follow after this kingdom and be 13 makes it clear that we're not talking about a kingdom coming back to life, but we're talking about an individual coming back to life. Notice what it says in verse 3, it talks about he seemed to have a mortal wound. Now, one of the things I don't like about the ESV translation here in chapter 13, I try not to pick on translations too much, but no translation is perfect, and you've got to compare and contrast translations when you're studying scripture. The term that is used for the beast is a neuter term. The beast is neuter in the original Greek. And yet, throughout the chapter then, when it refers to the beast with a pronoun, it doesn't use the neuter pronoun as you would expect, but it uses a masculine pronoun, showing that we're not just talking about a kingdom, but we're talking about a person. If you just wanted to keep on talking about a kingdom, you'd use the neuter pronoun. John does not use the neuter pronoun. It's not one of its heads. It's one of his heads. And his mortal wound was healed. Worship and follow Jesus Christ. No, they have not. And they will not. But I'll tell you what message they will receive, and what message they will believe, and who they will worship, is Satan's counterfeit. When the Antichrist comes and receives a mortal wound and is healed from it, then all of Earth is going to mourn. then they're going to follow and they're going to worship the dragon. Notice what it says there in verse 8. All who dwell on the earth will worship Him. Not it. Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. They will worship Him. And they will worship Him, as it says, wound that was healed. Come down to verse 12. You see that the inhabitants of the world worship the beast whose mortal wound was healed. And this false prophet, he makes great signs, making fire come down from heaven in front of the people and causes people to worship the beast. So, the point here is that the imitation, the false Christ, is going to receive a mortal wound and he's going to be somewhat miraculously healed. How exactly this is all going to play out, we'll have to wait and see. Does he actually die and then brought back, or does he just look like he's going to die and then he's brought back? The text is not exactly precise on that. But the text is clear that people are going to think that he should have died, and then he's alive, and this is going to cause them to worship him. Now, we've got a verse here I think that's very relevant on this in John chapter 5, verse 43. Jesus said to those who do not believe in Him, I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. The imitation Christ, who does not come in the name of the Father, but who is actually empowered by Satan, and what was Satan's original lie to mankind was that you can be like God, And the day that you disobey, the day that you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, your eyes will be opened, you'll be like God. And so Satan comes to us and he tells us, don't do what God tells you to do, do what you want to do. As long as you're not hurting other people, as long as it doesn't affect others, do what you want. Do your will, not my will be done. And so Satan is coming in his own name. Satan's man comes in his own name. And people who are filled with the spirit of the evil one, they receive that. They love that. Like, yes, I get to do what I want. I'm master of my own life. I'm in charge of my own fate. I don't have to do what God says. The whole world follows after him. and through him they worship the dragon, even if they don't know it. Notice the blasphemy that is here in verse 1. The blasphemous names that are on his head. And then you see that blasphemy repeated throughout the rest of the chapter. You see blasphemy in verse 4, when they say, Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it? This is language that is taken from scripture that is then misattributed to Satan's man and Satan. Exodus chapter 15 verse 11. When God first took a people to belong to himself and showed off his mighty power and his mighty deeds, the song of Israel, the song of Moses in Exodus 15, Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness? also in glorious deeds doing wonders. And when Satan sets up his final kingdom and gives all of his authority, all of his power to this king and his kingdom, then the world is going to worship and they are going to say, who is like the beast? Do you know what Michael's name means? Michael means who is like God. And Michael just defeated Satan in the previous chapter. And Michael defeated Satan because he knows there is no one like God. and glorious deeds, no one who can do wonders like God. And by the authority and the power and the name of God, Michael, giving glory to God, defeats Satan. Now you have this beast, this king, this willful king, as he is called, the little horn of Daniel's vision, comes on the scene, and he is showing miracles, showing wonders, comes back to life, apparently. His prophet, as we will see next week, is able to call down fire from heaven and make people worship the beast. and they will follow after him, and they will give glory to the beast that they should have been giving to God. Who is like God? That is the name Michael. Who is like you, O Lord? Well, they say the same thing, misattributing it to the beast. Now, if Michael was able to defeat Satan, A few years ago we were studying through 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. That is where we learn more about this beast in Paul's letters. He is very interesting, very fascinating, very powerful. No one liked him in human history. Yet all Jesus has to do in order to destroy man is to show it. As soon as Christ is unveiled, like him. Satan may try, Satan may put forth his imitation, his counterfeit, and people might believe him. People are fools. Another verse that does the same thing as many of these in the Old Testament is part of our scripture reading. Psalm 113 verse 5, Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on a mount? That's what the believer's heart says. It doesn't look at a kingdom, it doesn't look at a king and say, oh, there's nobody like him. There's nobody like God, the One who sits upon the throne. He's the One who has our awe. He's the One who has our attention. He's the One that we wonder at, the One that we follow. The false Christ has a worldwide rule. He's brought back from the dead. He receives authority from a supernatural source. He has prophets who do miracles. He receives the world's worship. All the things that should be done by rule, because God has brought him back from the dead, because he receives his authority from God the Father, and because his prophets and apostles did mighty miracles. The world has had their chance to follow Christ. And as soon as God says, enough, they've had their chance, they haven't repented, they haven't believed, they haven't followed Christ, then it's time for the Antichrist. And you'll see how quickly they follow him. This is why God writes this down. This is why God reveals it to us. I don't understand Christians who look at the book of Revelation and those who interpret it as future prophecy and say, well then, if all of this is in the future, and it has nothing to do with the present, then it's only relevant to that future generation. What a foolish thing to say. You have not thought things through. God wrote down what Moses, his prophet, did in Egypt with Pharaoh. Was that only relevant to the people who were there, to the people who experienced it and who lived it? Why did God write all that history down for us? Because God reveals his power and his glory through history. And the greatest revelation of God's power and glory in history is yet to come. And God doesn't want us to miss out on that. He doesn't want us to just be able to read what happened all the way back in the days of the Exodus. He wants us to be able to read about what God is going to do in the future. His greatest victory, His greatest glory, so that we can rejoice in it now. History. That's how God reveals Himself. Prophecy is history written in advance. I don't have to live through this in order for it to be relevant to me. It's relevant to me because this is God's world, and I'm living my small part of God's story, and I need to know how this story ends, and I need to be able to rejoice that though the wrong seems oh so strong, that God is the ruler yet. And I love to see this beast destroyed. gave this to us, so that we can see that Satan's imitation, he's going to succeed. He's going to have the whole world coming after him and following him for three and a half years. The ultimate evil king. What does he get? Forty-two months. That's it. That's all he gets. And after that, as Daniel said, then the kingdom and the power and the glory of all of the world is going to be given to the Son of Man, to the saints of the Most High. And they are going to receive a kingdom that has no end. God has written a story for us, history in advance, so that we can persevere, so that we can endure in this time that we're living in. And He's written it for those who are going to be going through it. Not only is this great for us, but you know what? Those Christians who are living during this time are going to need this book. They are going to need to know that God predicted all of this. That God has got it all under control. That it is only for a short period of time. And when those Christians living during this time period, they come to this book and they read about all the world coming and worshipping this false Christ. They are going to say, not me. I am not going to do that. I am not going to worship Him. And those are the ones whose names have been written in the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of the world. And those are the ones who are going to read verse 9, and they're going to have an ear to hear. And they're going to say, those who are to be taken captive are going to be taken captive. Those who are going to be slain with the sword are going to be slain with the sword. It's all going to happen according to God's predetermined plan. And so I am just going to do what God tells me to do. and I'm not going to worship the beast, and I'm going to worship Christ, and even if they kill me for it, so what? In three and a half years, I get resurrected, and the beast gets thrown into the lake of fire. They know the end, and so that gives them the perseverance, the endurance, to be able to go through the darkest time in world history. Well, there's still a lot more to be said on this, the blasphemous words that come from his mouth, the 42 months that he has to operate, and the war that he perpetrates on the saints. The blasphemy and the war, the abomination and the desolation is the focus of verses 5-8. And then we're going to focus more in on that application as well. What does it mean to have your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life? And what does it mean for the saints to endure Very important concepts, very important themes for us to explore together. We're going to have a word of prayer. Jerry, remind me, do we have a closing song? No. Right, no closing song. So after our prayer, greet one another and have a great morning. Let's bow our heads together. Father, we come to your word and we want to understand what you are communicating to us. We want to understand why you are communicating it to us. We want to have ears to hear what you are saying to us in your church today. Lord, not just for us, but we want your whole church throughout this region, throughout this country, throughout this world, to read and understand and rejoice in all that you have revealed to us. Lord, there's a lot of division in the body. There's a lot of confusion and misunderstanding. Lord, help us to do our part, to promote the unity, to preserve the unity, to patiently instruct, to humbly serve others with what you've given to us and the truth that we hold dear. Lord, help us to be humble servants who believe everything that's written in your words Lord, show us where we're not understanding your word correctly. Show us where we are wrong and need to be challenged. Show us where we're misplacing the emphasis and need to be corrected. And Lord, use other Christians and other churches to do that for us. Use us in the lives of other Christians to encourage them and build them up and strengthen them so that all of your church can come to maturity, we can all stand firm in our faith, We can all persevere against the attacks of the enemy, and we can all together be rejoicing and triumphant as you lead us from victory unto victory through faith in your Son, Jesus Christ. No, I need orange juice.