(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Revelation chapter number 13. Revelation 13, we'll read the entire chapter as our custom. Revelation 13, the beginning of verse number one. And I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns, ten crowns, and upon his heads, the name of blasphemy. And the beast, which I saw, was like into a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority. And I saw one of his heads, as it were, wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed, and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon, which gave power unto the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth and blasphemed against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, and power was given unto him over all kindreds and tongues and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the land slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity. He that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 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. And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them that dwell therein, to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them a dole on the earth by the means of those miracles, which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them a dole on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by his sword and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause it as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads, and that no man might buy or sell, save he that hath the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. And his number is six hundred threescore and six. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening. And God, I thank you for your word. And I just ask that you please give us a tender heart to your word. I ask that you please be with our pastor, God strengthful, and fill him with your spirit. We love you. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Amen. All right, well, we're there in Revelation chapter 13. And like we've announced tonight, I'm preaching a sermon on the mark of the beast. And I've had a lot of questions about this, something that people have asked about, and people are interested in learning about the mark of the beast. And, you know, I preached a lot of sermons about end times prophecy. And we're going to basically walk through Revelation 13 and go to different passages and scriptures as we do it. But we're going to do it by just focusing on the mark of the beast. So obviously, you're going to learn a lot about end times prophecy tonight. But I want to look at these passages through the lens of the mark of the beast, just so I can actually focus on the mark and teach you some characteristics about the mark of the beast. And I'm going to give you six thoughts tonight in regards to the mark of the beast. So I would encourage you to write these down and to have them for your own notes. Because tonight, I would say there's a lot of people that are confused about the mark of the beast. And I hear a lot of weird things. And, you know, something that comes from good people, and I'm not mad at them. But I hear weird things about the mark of the beast and what people think the mark of the beast is. And it makes me think that people just don't know a lot about the mark of the beast. Because, I mean, recently, I was trying to think of things I've heard recently. I've heard recently people have said things that if you open up a Gmail account, you've taken the mark of the beast. And here's the thing, I'm not mad at you if you believe that, but you obviously don't know what the mark of the beast is. If you think, you know, people say the Seventh-day Adventist will say that worshipping on Sunday is taking the mark of the beast. And again, if you believe that, I don't agree with that at all. But if you believe that, you don't know what the mark of the beast is. People will say, if you get vaccinated, I've had people say that to me. If you got vaccinated, you took the mark of the beast, you know, because they injected these metals into your body. And here's the thing, I'm totally against vaccinations. But getting vaccinated is not the mark of the beast, okay? The Bible is very clear about what the mark of the beast is. Recently, I've even heard people say the coronavirus itself is the mark of the beast. And I'm not even sure what that means. Like, the mark of the beast is not something you can catch, okay? So people have all sorts of weird ideas about the mark of the beast and what it is. And what I want to do tonight is just kind of break down the Bible for you and give you six just concrete characteristics about the mark of the beast. That way, you won't be confused, you know, the next time some plague comes upon us and start thinking it's the mark of the beast. The Bible is very clear what the mark of the beast is. Now, for us to get to the place in Scripture where we learn about the mark of the beast, I want to just kind of develop a little bit of this chapter. In chapter 13 is where we learn a lot about the mark of the beast. It ends with, the chapter is about the mark of the beast towards the end. But there's context that leads us into that. And Revelation 13 is all about the Antichrist. And in this chapter, what we see is that there is a political rise to the Antichrist. He rises as a politician and he brings the entire world under a one-world system or a one-world government. Are you there in Revelation 13? Look at verse 1. Notice what the Bible says. And I stood upon the sand of the sea and I saw a beast. Now, the beast there is referring to the Antichrist. And notice, I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns, ten crowns, and upon his heads, the name of blasphemy. And of course, this is all symbolic. This is not literal. This is an allegory that we're getting end times prophecy through. And there's connections there to the book of Daniel and to Babylon and all that. And we won't take the time to develop that. I've preached sermons on that before. But here you have the beast who's rising up out of the sea. Notice verse 2. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard and his feet as the feet of a bear and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. Notice the end of verse 2. And the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority. Now, let's just from the Bible again figure out who is this dragon that is giving the beast his power and his seat. The word seat in the Bible is often referring to like a throne or a seat of authority. And then notice and great authority. Now you're there in Revelation 13. Just flip back to Revelation chapter 12 and look at verse number 9. Revelation chapter 12 and verse 9. Just to get the context of who this dragon is. Revelation chapter 12 and verse 9. The Bible says this. And the dragon was cast out. Notice because John is using and it's an allegory. It's imagery that he's using to explain this end times prophecy. So he wants us to know who this dragon is. It says and the dragon was cast out. Notice that old serpent called the devil and Satan which deceived the whole world. He was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him. So it's very clear who the dragon is. He gives us all the names that he could give. He says it's the dragon, the old serpent called the devil and Satan. So the dragon is the devil. And in Revelation 13, the Bible tells us that the dragon, the devil, gave him the beast, the antichrist, his power and his seat and his great authority. So we see the political rise of the antichrist where the dragon is basically getting behind him and the the devil is helping him to unite the world under a one-world system. And you say well how do you know it's a one-world government, a one-world system? Look down at verse number 7. Same chapter. Revelation 13 and verse number 7. The Bible says this. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints. We'll come back to that later in the sermon. And to overcome them, notice, and power was given him, talking about the beast, because who gave him the power? It was the dragon, right? The dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority. Here we're told and power was given him, notice, over all kindreds and tongues and nations. So here we have the beast, a political leader, but he has power, he has great authority, he has a seat over all kindreds and tongues and nations. That's a one-world government. That's the entire world. All nations, all tongues, all languages, all kindreds, all families are united under the authority of the beast that has been given his power by the dragon. So there's a political right. And we could preach more about that, but I just want you to understand the context. There's a political rise to the beast where he sets this one-world government. But I want you to notice, secondly, there's also a physical rise to the beast, or you could call it a religious rise to the beast where he sets up a one-world religion. Notice verse number three, Revelation 13. And I saw one of his heads, let's talk about the beast, as it were wounded to death. And his deadly wound was healed and all the world wondered after the beast. The Bible tells us that this beast, he receives a wound. The Bible says that he saw his head as they were wounded to death. He receives a wound to his head and it should kill him. It's something that should kill him. But the Bible says, and his deadly wound was healed. And what I believe is happening here is that this political leader, this anti-Christ is going to rise up in a political way. He's going to unite the entire world under a one-world government, all kindreds and tongues and nations. And then he's going to receive a wound to the head. This might be an assassination attempt, you know, or something like that, where people are going to see that he was wounded and everybody's going to assume he's dead. But then the deadly wound will be healed. And what I believe is happening here is that the anti-Christ is going to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ in the same way that the Lord Jesus Christ died and was buried. And three days later, he rose from the dead. This anti-Christ is going to be wounded to the head and he's going to die and he's going to come back. And I don't have time to develop all this. He's going to come back as the son of perdition. He's going to come back being with Satan himself, having possessed him. And he's going to come back. And when that happens, there's going to be a religion formed around him where they're going to say, this is the Messiah. This is God. This is the, you know, the Lord Jesus Christ. Basically, they're going to say this is the one we've been looking for and they're going to accept them. They're going to worship him. So there's a political rise. And then there's an actual physical rise where he dies and rises back up. There's a religious rise. He sets up a one world government and he sets up a one world religion. I want you to understand that that is the context that leads us into the mark of the beast. So let's talk about the mark of the beast. What are the characteristics about the mark of the beast? Because, you know, when I sit here and say the coronavirus is not the mark of the beast, getting vaccinated is not the mark of the beast. Setting up a Gmail account is not the mark of the beast. You know, whatever you're worshiping on the Sabbath on Sunday, excuse me, it's not the mark of the beast. You say, well, what makes you say that or what gives you the authority to say that? Well, the Bible is clear about what the mark of the beast is. And I'll go ahead and give you these characteristics. Number one, the mark of the beast is something that is received only after worshiping the image of the beast. The Bible is clear that the way that you receive the mark of the beast is after worshiping the image of the beast. Notice verse number four there, Revelation 13 and verse four. And they worship the dragon, right? That's the devil, which gave power unto the beast, and they worship the beast. This is after the beast was wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed. Verse three, after he rises up from the dead, the Bible says, and they worship the dragon, which gave power unto the beast. And they worship the beast saying, who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? He's already conquered the whole world through warfare. Now he's risen from the dead and people are saying they're wondering at the beast or worshiping him. They're saying, who is like unto the beast and who's able to make war with him? Notice verse five, Revelation 13 and verse five. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and power was given unto him to continue 40 and two months. That's three and a half years, times, times, and half a time. Notice verse six, and he'll open his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven. So obviously he's going to declare himself God. He's going to declare himself deity. He's going to blaspheme the true God and people are going to worship him and you'll receive the mark of the beast only after worshiping the image of the beast. Notice verse seven again, and it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them and power was given unto them over all kindreds and tongues and nations. Notice verse eight and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So the Bible says, look, all the world is going to worship him and people are going to receive the mark of the beast after worship. So you don't have to worry that you're going to accidentally take the mark of the beast because that's a question that's often asked. What if I accidentally take the mark of the beast? You know, I was vaccinated. What if I took the mark of the beast? Look, you will get the mark of the beast after you worship the antichrist or the image that is set up in regards to the antichrist. Look at verse number 11, Revelation 13 and verse 11. And I beheld another beast. Now this is a different beast. This is another beast. You know, who is this? This is a false prophet. And this is a prophet or a religious leader that comes alongside the antichrist and basically causes people to worship the antichrist after his death, burial, resurrection, imitation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice verse 11. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns like a lamb. Notice how he's described. He had two horns like a lamb. You know, when you think of a lamb in the Bible, who do you think of? The Lord Jesus Christ, right? The lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. This guy, he has two horns like a lamb. What does that mean? He has the appearance of being Christ-like, right? Matthew 7 15 talks about wolves and sheep's clothing. He looks like a lamb. He looks like a Christian. He looks Christ-like. Notice he had two horns like a lamb and he spake as a dragon. Now we already know who the dragon is, right? That's the devil. So he looks like a lamb, but he speaks like a dragon. And the Bible says in first Timothy 4 one, talk about the doctrines of devils, right? This guy is a false prophet. He looks good on the outside, like a pope or like Joel Osteen on the outside. He looks real nice and real friendly, real Christian-like. But when he opens his mouth, it's the doctrines of devils. It's the dragon speaking. This is who the second beast is. It's the false prophet. Notice verse 12. And he exercises all the power of the first beast. Because remember, the dragon gave the first beast his power. He exercises the power of the first beast before him. Notice what he does. And causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed. So look, this is not something that you're going to accidentally do. It's not something that you're going to just, you know, I got vaccinated and I didn't know it and I accidentally took the mark of the beast. The Bible is clear that a characteristic of the mark of the beast is that the mark of the beast is something that is received only after worshiping the image of the beast. Number two. I'm going to give you six characteristics and maybe you can write these down. Number one, the mark of the beast is something that is received only after worshiping the image of the beast. Number two, the mark of the beast is something that people are deceived into taking. Now let me clarify what I mean by that. And what I mean by that is that people are actually given a strong delusion, the Bible says, so they're not deceived and like they're tricked into doing it. They know exactly what they're doing, but they do it because they've fallen for a deception. They have not learned the truth. Are you there in Revelation 13? Look at verse 13. Revelation chapter 13 in verse 13. The Bible says this, and he, this is the false prophet. Notice, doeth great wonders. He's performing miracles so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And let me just say this. The Bible documents the fact that false prophets can perform miracles. What the devil is the one who gives the beast his great power and seed and authority. And the devil can give power to the false prophets. And I think a lot of false prophets are faking their miracles. But if we could prove that Benny Hinn was actually healing people and actually doing miracles, that wouldn't make him a good prophet. The only thing that would make him a good prophet is if he's preaching the word of God. And you know, false prophets themselves can perform miracles. And this false prophet, the Bible says, and he doeth great wonders so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. Now keep your place there in Revelation 13 and go with me to Matthew chapter number 24. Matthew 24, first book in the New Testament should be fairly easy to find. Matthew 24 is that famous Olivet Discourse where Jesus explains the end times process and the chronology of the end times. I want you to notice what Jesus said about it, because the Bible says in Revelation 13 that this false prophet, he's going to do great wonders. And those wonders are going to be very convincing. And the Bible even tells us how convincing it's going to be. Matthew 24, look at verse 24. For there shall arise false Christs, right? We already saw that the beast and false prophets. We already saw that the second beast, right? And where it says another beast coming up out of the earth. Notice what it says, and shall show great signs and wonders. Those are the great wonders mentioned in Revelation 13, 13. There's going to be false Christ and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders. Notice how great and how convincing are these signs and wonders going to be in so much that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. See, these wonders are going to be very convincing, very deceptive. In fact, to the point where Jesus said they're going to be so great that it would, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Now, here's what that means. It's not possible to receive the very elect, to deceive the very elect. And the word elect is referring to people that are saved. That's clear throughout the Bible. The Bible teaches that no saved person is going to fall for the Antichrist. No saved person is going to receive the mark of the beast by accident, by mistake. They just thought it was Jesus. The Bible says it is not possible that the very elect will be deceived, but the Bible does say this, that there shall arise false Christ and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. He says, if it was possible, even Christians would believe it. That's how good it's going to be. That's how deceptive it's going to be. That's how convincing it's going to be. So the mark of the beast is something that people receive when they worship the image, but they're going to be deceived into that, not tricked into it like they didn't know that they worship in the image, but they're going to be deceived into believing that the Antichrist actually is God in the flesh, that this is actually the Messiah. This is actually the second coming of Christ. You know, whatever they believe about it, they're going to believe that it's true. And the Bible says, look, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. It's not possible, but if it were possible, that's how convincing it's going to be. Now keep your place in Matthew 24. We're going to come back to it, but go back to Revelation 13 and look at verse 14. Now, along with these great wonders. And like Matthew 24 said, the great signs and wonders, along with all that, there's also going to be a strong delusion that is going to come upon the earth. Revelation 13, look at verse 14. And deceiveth them. You see those words? Deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles. So they perform these great wonders and miracles. And then the Bible says that because of that, he 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 of the beast, which had the wound by a sword and did live. I'm going to come back to that in a minute, but go with me to the book of 2 Thessalonians chapter number 2. If you find the t-books, they're all clustered together, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Titus. Find 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, and let's talk about this. Because the Bible says that he's going to deceive them, right? It says, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles. What is this referring to? This great deception of the great wonders and the great signs and wonders that the beast and the false prophet are going to do. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, look at verse number 3. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 3, the Bible says this, let no man deceive you, right? Because lots of men are going to be deceived. And he says, let no man deceive you by any means for that day. What day? The context is the day of Christ, the day of the rapture, the day of our gathering together. He says, look, let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come. People teach, oh, you know, we believe in the imminent return of Christ. He could come at any moment. There's nothing that has to happen before his coming. Well, that's not what 2 Thessalonians 2-3 teaches. It says, look, that day shall not come, except there are some things that have to happen before the day of the rapture comes. What are they? Except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition. See, there has to be a falling away that comes before the rapture. There has to be a falling away that comes. And you say, well, what is that falling away? Well, notice he's going to tell us what the falling away is. But I want you to notice that even in this verse, he tells us, let no man deceive you by any means. 2 Thessalonians 2-3, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first. Notice, and that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition. Even in this verse, we're told that the falling away is connected to the man of sin being revealed the son of perdition. Now skip down to verse number 11 and notice he explains to us what the falling away is, because people ask, what's the falling away? Notice 2 Thessalonians 2-11, and for this cause, God, notice it's God that does it. God shall send them strong delusion. He's going to send them a strong delusion. Doing what? Notice, that they should believe a lie, and that they all might be damned, who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. The Bible is clear about what the falling away is. The falling away is a strong delusion that God sends, that people might believe a lie, and that they all might be damned. What is that referring to? Now look, who's doing this? It's God doing it. Now look, when God causes people to cross the line, where he just says, I don't want them to believe, I want them to be damned that they all might be damned who believe not the truth. That's called becoming a reprobate. When God gives you over to a reprobate mind. So look, the great falling away, is the fact that there's going to be an explosion of reprobate. Now there's always been reprobate, but in these end times, there's going to be an explosion of people having their conscience seared, and they're going to be given over to a reprobate mind, and it's going to happen because God is going to send a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, and that they all might be damned who believe not the truth. Well, what is that? What is causing just an explosion of reprobate upon the world, that the Bible calls a falling away? We'll go back to Revelation 13. Revelation chapter 13, and notice verse number, actually go to Revelation 17, if you want. I'm sorry, Revelation 17, and look at verse number 8. Revelation chapter 17 and verse 8. Revelation 17 and verse 8, the Bible says this, the beast that thou sawest was and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition. That's all talking about the physical rise of the beast, him, you know, taking, dying and coming back, and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder. They that dwell on the earth are going to be in wonder and amazement. Who's going to be in wonder and amazement? Whose names were not written in the book of life, from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was and is not and yet is? And those words, was and is not and yet is, is referring someone that was dead, and now he's alive. They're going to wonder at him, but who's going to wonder at him? Those whose names were not written in the book of life, because the very elect are not going to be deceived. The Bible says it's not possible for them to be deceived. God is not even going to allow elect people, save people to believe in this antichrist. Go back to Revelation 13. Look at verse number 8. Revelation 13 and verse 8. The Bible says this, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names, notice, are not written in the book of life. So everyone, they're going to worship him, but only those who are, whose names are not written in the book of life, of the lamb slain from the foundation world. Save people aren't going to worship him, but here's what happens. When they take the mark of the beast, they become a reprobate. That is the strong delusion. That is the falling away. What's the falling away? The falling away is an explosion of reprobates. What causes that? The mark of the beast. The fact that people worship the image, they receive the mark, and then they become a reprobate. The Bible is clear. Once they take the mark, they've lost their opportunity to be saved. And today people say the weirdest things are the mark of the beast. There are people who are attacking me and my friends, you know, my pastor friends, who went to live stream only services because of the coronavirus. And they're attacking us. And here's what they're saying. They're saying churches going live stream only is the falling away. Like we are taking part in the antichrist agenda. They're saying you want live stream only. That's the great falling away. The fact that churches went live stream only. It's like, have you read the Bible? The Bible is super clear what the falling away is. The falling away is an explosion of reprobates. And if you get up and say, oh, going live stream only is a falling away. You're just proving the fact that you don't know what you're talking about, that you don't understand what the Bible is talking about. And you know what? Let me just go ahead and get something off my chest. Because today, you know, I'm getting attacked and my friends are getting attacked. And honestly, I really couldn't care less about getting attacked. But it bothers me when I see my friends getting attacked and having to fight these battles. And you have pastors today that are taking this opportunity, this coronavirus thing, because they're preaching is so lame and boring that nobody wants to listen to them instead of getting better at preaching. So they can actually have people want to listen to them. They're taking this opportunity to say, oh, let me try to attack these other pastors, because maybe if I can bring them down a little bit, I can, you know, lift up my influence or lift up my popularity. And you've got these pastors today. You're making all these videos trying to attack us because we went to live stream only. Let me explain something to you. How hypocritical these videos are and how deceptive they are. You know, in the state of Texas and in the state of Florida, the governors there never forced the churches to lock down. So you have these pastors in Florida and Texas, and I'm not talking about Pastor Shelley. Okay, I love Pastor Shelley. He's a good guy. But you know, you got these pastors in these states and they're making these videos. It's embarrassing. They're getting like a schoolgirl. They're all giddy. And they're making these videos about how we never shut down our churches. We are strong. They're liberals. They're part of the falling away because they went to live stream only. And we're so big and we're so tough. Look at us. We never shut down our churches. Hey, hypocrite, you were never asked to shut down your church. How are you taking a strong stand? How are you taking a strong stand? Look at us. We never shut down. You were never asked to shut down. It's hypocritical for you to make videos saying, oh, we're more spiritual. We're more of a stronger leader. We're not afraid of the government. The government never asked you to shut down. You're like, and then they equate themselves to Daniel. We're like Daniel, who Daniel was told not to pray. And then he got thrown into lines then. How are you like Daniel? I missed the part of the story in the story of Daniel where an exception was made for Daniel by the governor, where the governor said, oh, Daniel, except for you. Okay, here's the thing. Daniel actually was thrown into lines. Then you live in a state in Florida and Texas where you never were even asked to shut down. So don't sit there and act like you're taking some strong stand. And you're some great spiritual leader. And look at me. You know, we never compromise. You were never asked to compromise. Let me explain something to you. There's three camps. There's basically three things that pastors have done across this country and even in the new IFB movement. The first camp is the camp that I find myself in and my friends find ourselves in. When the churches were asked to lock down or whatever, we basically said, I don't care about this. This is not the battle I want to fight. This is not the hill I want to die on. This is no big deal. Whatever. Let's just comply and let's try to, you know, get through this and we'll get back to normal soon. Then there's another camp. They said, here's what they said. They basically said, we're going to comply too, but we're just going to complain about it the whole time. We're going to comply too, but we're just going to, you know, talk about the founding fathers and talk about the constitution and talk about how I'm not happy. It's like, look, you shut down too. How are you taking a stronger stand? The only difference between me and you is you complained about it the whole time. And then there's the third group. This is the worst group. They were never even asked to shut down. They were never even asked to close the door. And then they're making these videos about how we never shut down and we kept the church going and we should be the leaders of the new IFB or whatever that means. You were never asked to shut down. You're a hypocrite. You're a liar. You're trying to act like you took a strong stand. You didn't take a strong stand. Your governor didn't force you to shut down. So look, in these three categories, who's actually fought the government in any of these categories? Nobody has. Because the guys who are acting like they did live in states where, well, and here's what they'll say, oh, well, if they would have asked us to shut down, we would have. Oh yeah, because that's how the story of Daniel goes, right? Where Daniel was actually given an exception to pray, but he stands up and makes a YouTube video and he's all giddy like a schoolgirl where he's talking about, yeah, but if they would have told me I couldn't pray, I would have. Look, just shut up. Why don't you actually preach hard sermons and actually fight some real battles and not have to try to come up with some fake battles and try to, you know, bring people down to try to help your YouTube subscribers? Maybe nobody wants to listen to you because your preaching sucks. Maybe nobody wants to listen to you because you're boring. Maybe we should do is actually study the Bible, actually preach good sermons, and then maybe people want to listen to you instead of just trying to criticize people who are just trying to, you know, preach good sermons and make good documentaries and make good content and they're just winning in life and they're trying to reach people. Maybe you shouldn't be such a terrible preacher and then people actually, instead of trying to just grow your influence by knocking people down. And then you got these guys, right? People are sending me clips. Oh, this guy's preaching to you about you. And it's like some guy I've never even heard of, you know, just some guy in some other country, they're preaching about, you know, and then they're getting up and they're like, well, our church didn't have to shut down because we have, you know, some small church and I'm not against small churches. We, you know, Verity Baptist Church was small at one time. They've got some small church and they're like, yeah, but if we, but if I did have 51 people, I wouldn't shut, then shut up. If you're not actually at risk, if you're not actually fighting anything, look, we've got like 15 people here tonight. We've had like 15 or 20 people. Every time I preach, you got some little church and you never had to shut down because nobody even noticed that you were still open. I'm not mad at you. Just don't make a video trying to act like you're big or you're tough or you're whatever, telling that we're part of the falling away. You don't even know what you're talking about. The falling away, the Bible is clear, is a time where God sends a strong delusion that they should not believe. Why don't you study the Bible, preach some sermons people actually want to listen to, and then you have to try to criticize people to grow your influence. So there, I got it off my chest. Let's move on. What are the marks of the, the characteristics of the mark of the beast? Well, number one, the mark of the beast is something that is received only after worshiping the image of the beast. And number two, the mark of the beast is something that people are deceived into taking, but they're deceived by God because God sends a strong delusion that causes them to believe a lie. God gives them over to irreparate mind. All of this connected to the mark of the beast. Number three, go back to Revelation 13, if you would. Revelation 13. The mark of the beast is something that transitions the end times chronology and timeline that transitions from general chaos to specific persecution in the Bible. Now, what is it that transitions us? And I don't have time to develop this. I preached about this on Wednesday night in the sixth church of the seven churches of Revelation. But when you look at the seals of end times prophecy, you have six seals. The first four are characterized by four horsemen. Those first four seals are basically a chaos and destruction of the entire world. The whole world is basically being destroyed by wars and rumors of wars and famines and pestilences and all those things are happening. The whole world is basically being destroyed. And it's really an attack on Christians, but it's an attack on Christians by trying to just destroy everyone's life. And if you remember, we talked about it in the Wednesday night sermon, it's similar to when Herod wanted to kill Jesus, baby Jesus. But he does it by trying to kill all of the babies two years old and under. And that's what the end times is going to be like. The first four seals. It's the devil and his wrath just causing wars. Because what prompts? What's the first seal? It's the antichrist coming on a white horse. The devil gives him his power and his seat and great authority. He goes forth conquering and to conquer kind of like World War Two where Hitler, you know, invades one little country and invades another country. And that kind of sets off a world war. This guy starts conquering little lands that sets off a world war. We have World War Three where nations rise up against nations and kingdom against kingdom. And it creates this world war that then creates a famine. Then there's earthquakes, pestilences. These four horsemen create just chaos upon the earth. But then when you get into the fifth seal, now we go from just general chaos for the whole world to specific persecution of believers. What transitions that? It's the mark of the beast. And it's the specifically the image of the beast. Revelation 13, look at verse 14. Revelation 13 and verse 14, the Bible says this, 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. Right? Because the beast takes a wound to the head and then he heals from it. He recovers from it. Then the false prophet declares him God and says, this is God. This is God in the flesh. We need to worship him. And then he says, look, we should make an image. Notice verse 14 and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles. The false prophet is doing the 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. So this image, I believe this is going to be a like a statue that is made of the Antichrist that people are going to have to worship. Now you may ask, well, what makes you think that this image is something like that? Like an idol. Go to Daniel chapter number 11. Daniel chapter number 11. Towards the end of the Old Testament there, you have the major prophets. You have Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and then you have the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter number 11. Daniel chapter number 11 verse 31. The Bible says this, an arm shall stand on his part and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength and shall take away the daily sacrifices. Notice, and this is all talking about end times prophecy. And they shall place, why don't you notice those two words? They shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. So the abomination that maketh desolate is something that gets placed somewhere. Go to Daniel chapter 12 and look at verse 11. Daniel 12 and verse 11. And from the time that the daily sacrifices shall be taken away, notice, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up. So something they're going to place somewhere is something that's going to be set up. It's this image or this idol. Similar to how Nebuchadnezzar created an image that people had to worship and those who did not worship were thrown into the fiery furnace. That's going to be similar to the antichrist. There's going to be this image created and people have to worship the image in order to take the mark of the beast. And those who don't worship the image, this image kicks off a specific persecution of believers. Go back to Revelation 13. Look at verse 15. Revelation 13 and verse 15. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast. Now this is interesting. Here now you have an image and he gives life to the image. The image is able to communicate. Notice that the image of the beast should both speak and cause those that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. So he gives life to the image and the image is able to speak. And look, this might be something supernatural. This might be artificial intelligence. We already have you see these robots that are able to talk and look like human beings. But this image, he's able to give life unto the image that the image of the beast should both speak and notice and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. So he says, look, if you don't worship the image, you're going to be killed. And this is going to be the way that they're going to bring specific persecution on believers. This is going to be the great tribulation when they set up this image, which Daniel said that they shall place the abomination that make it desolate, that they that the abomination that make it desolate shall be set up is what Daniel says. Go to Matthew 24. Matthew chapter number 24. Matthew 24 and verse 15. Matthew 24 and verse 15. The Bible says this, when ye therefore shall see. This is Jesus speaking. When he therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, the prophet stand in the holy place, who so readeth, let him understand. Jesus said, look, when you see the abomination of desolation, here's what you need to do. Verse 16. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. He said, when you see the abomination of desolation, when you see that image set up, realize this is not a drill. You need to run for your life. They're about to institute great persecution upon believers. Notice verse 21. Matthew 24 verse 21. For then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time. No, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. And we know that the antichrist, he wants to do this for 42 months. He wants to do this for three and a half years. He wants to do this for the rest of his kingdom. God shortens it to 75 days and brings it the rapture and takes us out of here because he says, look, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. This is going to be a time of great persecution and a time of great killing of Christians. Go to Revelation chapter six. Revelation chapter six. The mark of the beast, because you get the mark by worshiping the image and the image kicks off the great tribulation because those who don't worship the image get put to death. The mark of the beast is something that transitions from general chaos to specific persecution of believers. Revelation six, look at verse nine. It's the fifth seal. When you open up the fifth seal, you have the abomination of desolation. You have the mark of the beast. So don't tell me that something we're living through right now is the mark of the beast. Revelation six and verse nine. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar, notice the souls of them that were slain. Why are they slain? For the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true does thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth. And white robes were given unto every one of them. And it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season until their fellow servants also and their brethren notice that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. So notice you have just all these believers being killed, the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony. Why? Because they're refusing to worship the image and they're being put to death as a result. They're refusing to take the mark of the beast. Go to Revelation chapter 12, Revelation 12. And I don't have time to develop Revelation 12. I'm preaching out of Revelation 13. But if you listen to my Wednesday night sermon, then you'll know what I'm talking about. And if you haven't, I would encourage you to listen to that sermon about the seven churches of Revelation, church number six. But in Revelation 12, you have this woman who represents mankind, but she also represents the Lord Jesus Christ in the sense that what brought us the Lord Jesus Christ. So obviously, Jesus was a human being. He's the son of man. So he came through humanity. But she also has these 12 stars, which represents the nation of Israel, the Old Testament nation of Israel, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And obviously, Jesus, descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David. So it's the woman, but she's bringing us, you know, the Lord Jesus Christ. And what the devil does is that he attacks this woman. Right. Look at verse six. And the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared of God that they should feed her there. A thousand two hundred and three score days. A thousand two hundred and three score days is one thousand two hundred and sixty days. We're looking at the same, you know, forty two months, times, times and half a times, all of that. And here this woman, you know, this is the four seals, the chaos upon the whole world, the entire world. All mankind is feeling the hurt. And in fact, the only reason that people are even surviving this is because God is just helping people in general, but specifically Christians. But by helping all of mankind, he's helping Christians to overcome this. But then notice in verse number 13, there's a transition because the devil realizes that this isn't working. Right. He sent a flood and God opens up the earth to drink in the flood. He the woman is giving wings where she can go to the wilderness. The devil realizes this is not working. So then he transitions. Look at verse 13. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child and to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished up for time and times and half a times, forty two months, three and a half years from the face of the serpent. Notice verse 15 and the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood, which the dragon cast out of his mouth. So he's attacking the woman in general. And God is helping mankind in general, but he's doing it because he wants to protect his people. Notice the transition. Verse 17 and the dragon was wrought with the woman. And so here's, you know, Revelation 12 leading up to this, you know, especially starting in verse six, that seals one, two, three, four, just general chaos and warfare upon the earth. Revelation 12, 17. Here we have seal number five. And the dragon was wrath was wrought with the woman. Notice and went to make war with the remnant of her seed. Notice who specifically which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. So here the dragon goes to make war with the remnant of her seed, human beings, but not just any human being, those which have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Well, here's the thing that correlates perfectly with Revelation 13 when it says that it was given unto him to make war with the saints. This is a time of great persecution. The mark of the beast is going to be a time is going to be a thing that transitions us during end times prophecy from general chaos, the four horsemen, the whole world being destroyed to a time of very specific persecution of believers. How's that going to happen? They're going to set up an image. They're going to ask everybody to worship the image. Those who don't worship the image are going to be put to death, and those who do worship the image will receive the mark of the beast. And by the way, and we're going to talk about it here in a second, but this is how they get people to want to take the mark. They get people to want to take it because they connect it to this government system where they say you can't buy and sell without it. So unsaved people, they're telling unsaved people, hey, you can't buy and sell without it, and you have to worship the image of this man that you're wondering at, that you're an amazement at because you saw him die and now he's alive again. They're going to worship him. They're going to become reprobates. They're going to receive the mark, but no true believer is going to do any of that. Revelation chapter 13. So I said number one, the mark of the beast is something that is received only after worshiping the image of the beast. I said number two, the mark of the beast is something that people are deceived into taking. And what we mean by that is that it's a great falling away, that God gives them great delusion that they might be damned. Number three, the mark of the beast is something that transitions from general chaos to specific persecution of believers because believers refuse to worship the image and to take the mark. Number four, the mark of the beast is something that physically goes into your hand or on your forehead. So when people say things like, oh, worshiping on Sunday is the mark of the beast. That's silly because the Bible says this is something that's actually going to go physically inside of you. Revelation 13, look at verse 16. And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, notice, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead. So this is something that they're going to receive now, you know, before hundreds of years ago, before we had the technology we have now, you know, people believe that there's something that was going to be put on you like a tattoo, like printed, you know, on your hand or on your forehead. What's interesting is that the King James and by the way, that's what new Bible translations say on your hand or on your forehead. The King James Bible says in that they will receive a mark in their hand or in their forehead. Of course, today with our technology, we can see how this is something that could be brought to pass because I'm sure people in the past, they thought, how are they going to put something in your hand that's going to control whether you can buy or sell? I mean, I can buy or sell anything I want, you know, maybe 200 years ago, 300 years ago, people would not have been able to understand that. But today you and I can see that. We can see the technology that would allow for that. In fact, let me read an article to you. This is from NPR. It's entitled, thousands of Swedens are inserting microchips under their skin. And here's what it says. It says technology continues to get closer and closer to our bodies, from the phones in our pockets to the smartwatches on our wrists. Now, for some people, it's getting under their skin. In Sweden, a country rich with technological advancements, thousands have had microchips inserted into their hands. The chips are designed to speed up users' daily routines and make their lives more convenient. Accessing their homes, offices and gyms is as easy as swiping their hand against a digital reader. They also can be used to store emergency contact details, social media profiles or e-tickets for events and rail journeys within Sweden. Around the size of a grain of rice, the chips typically are inserted into the skin, just above each user's thumb, using a syringe similar to that used for giving vaccinations. The procedures cost about $180. So many Swedens are lining up to get the microchips that the country's main chipping company says it can't keep up with the number of requests. More than 4,000 Swedes have adopted the technology, which one company, Biohacks International, dominating the market of requests, excuse me, dominating the market. The chipping firm was started five years ago by Johan Ostenlund, a former professional body piercer. After spending the past two years working full-time on the project, he currently is developing training materials so he can hire Swedish doctors and nurses to help take on some of the heavy workload. Having different cards and tokens verifying your identity to a bunch of different systems just doesn't make sense, he says. Using a chip means that the hyper-connected surroundings that you live in every day can be streamlined. And let me say this, I don't think that the 4,000 Swedish people that have taken this chip have taken the mark of the beast either. I don't think this is the mark of the beast. But what we can see is that this is technology that's going to lead to that. It's technology that is laying the groundwork for you to be able to have something inserted in your body that then can be used for you to be identified, to be used specifically to control your ability to buy and sell. Notice Revelation 13 and verse number 17. Revelation 13 and verse 17. Well, look at verse 16 just to get the context. And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. Notice, and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred threescore and six, or six, six, six. And of course, we know that man was created on the sixth day. So the number six is the number of man. And here we have the Trinity of man, right? Six hundred and six, six, six, six. So we see that when you take this mark, the Bible says that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark. And again, hundreds of years ago, people might have been like, well, how is that possible? How would that work? Well, notice, let me read you a little bit more from this article. It says Sweden's largest train company has started allowing commuters to use chips instead of tickets. And there's talk that the chip could soon be used to make payments in shops and restaurants. I see no problem for it becoming mainstream. I think it's something that can seriously make people's lives better. Bar Gizzy said. Osterlund believes that there are two key reasons microchips have taken off in Sweden. First, the country has a long history of embracing new technology before many other others and is quickly moving toward becoming a costless society. Only one in four people living in Sweden use cash at least once a week. And according to the country's central bank, the risk bank, the proportion of retail cash transactions has dropped from around 40 percent in 2010 to about 15 percent today. So they're saying, look, these people in Sweden, they want to take this chip in their hand because they can use it. They'll be able to use it instead of having tickets to get on the train, to get on an airplane. They'll be able to just scan their hand and all the information will be there and then they'll be able to start making start making payments using it at the restaurants and stores. They can just, you know, have somebody scan their hand and it'll be connected to their banking accounts. They'll be able to make payments. They're talking about how they already have it connected to these special locks so they can just walk into their houses and just, you know, wave their hand and the door unlocks and opens and on all those things. So look, we can see how this technology could be used to control someone's ability to buy and sell. The mark of the beast is going to be connected to this because this is going to be an incentive for people to take the mark. It's going to be an incentive because they're going to say, look, you can't buy or sell. You can't go to the store. You can't get on an airplane. You can't, you know, do the things you need to do without this mark. So this mark of the beast is something that is used to control people's ability to buy and sell. This is what the Bible teaches about the mark of the beast. I know there's lots of conspiracy theories out there and movies and things, but the Bible is very clear about what the mark of the beast is. What is it? The mark of the beast is something that is received only after worshiping the image of the beast. So don't worry, you know, if you got vaccinated, don't get vaccinated again. Okay, listen to my sermon on vaccinations. Vaccinations are not good for you, but don't sit there and be worried. Did I accidentally take the mark of the beast? I got vaccinated. Unless you worship the image of the beast, you know, and that's why you got vaccinated. I think you're good to go. The mark of the beast is something that is received only after worshiping the image of the beast, and that's the abomination of desolation. The mark of the beast is something that God sends a strong delusion that because of the great wonders done by the false prophet, they are deceived into taking it, and they become reprobates as a result. And God does it that they might not, that they might be damned. It's the great falling away. It's connected to the great falling away. So look, don't let somebody tell you, oh, the coronavirus is the great falling away. Church is going live stream only is the great falling away. When somebody says that to you, just realize this guy has no idea what he's talking about. He hasn't actually studied the Bible. Number three, the mark of the beast is something that transitions from general chaos, the four horsemen, you know, bringing damage upon the earth to a very specific persecution of believers that is brought on because of the abomination of desolation, the image of the antichrist. People who worship it receive the mark. People who refuse to worship it are put to death. Number four, the mark of the beast is something that no Christian is ever going to take. No unbeliever is going to take it because the Bible says that it's impossible. It's going to be very convincing that if it were possible, it would deceive the very alike, but it's not possible. I'm sorry, number four, the mark of the beast is something that physically goes into your hand or your forehead. And again, we can see with the technology of today how that could be like a chip or something like that. And then number six, the mark of the beast is something that is used to control people's ability to buy and sell. So the Bible teaches us what the mark of the beast is. The Bible is very clear about what the mark of the beast is. And look, you and I need to just study the Bible to know what the Bible teaches about these things so that we're not fooled by people who don't know the Bible trying to get us all scared about everything and be afraid to say, oh, this is the mark of the beast. This is the mark of the beast. Look, the Bible is clear with the mark of the beast. Obviously, are vaccines laying the groundwork for the mark of the beast? Yes. Or is that chip in Sweden laying the groundwork for the mark of the beast? Yes. Are there all sorts of things happening with our world and uniting of the government that is going to lead us in that direction? Yes, that's the way we're going. That's the direction we're going. But just be clear about what the Bible teaches in regards to the mark of the beast. And let me just end by saying this. For those of you listening out there and maybe you're some new preacher or young preacher and you want to make a name for yourself, let me just give you some advice. Here's how you make a name for yourself. You read the Bible, you study the Bible, you preach great sermons, you create great content, and then people want to listen to you. OK, don't try to be, you know, I'm tired. I watch my good friend, Pastor Anderson, who's constantly just trying to help young preachers and new preachers, sending people to them and people just milk him for whatever he's worth. And then they stab him in the back, you know, after they feel like they've gotten enough out of them or after their pride has lifted them up. Look, you know what? Instead of feeling like you need to stab somebody or criticize somebody or bring someone down so that to make you look good, why don't you just become better? Why don't you just grow? Why don't you just learn? Why don't you just actually preach sermons and ask God to help you build a church where people actually love you and care about you? And then that way you don't have to be so insecure all the time and attack good people that haven't done anything to you. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for allowing us to be able to study the Bible. And Lord, thank you for Verity Baptist Church. Lord, thank you for the fact that our church is filled with people who are not just engaging all this drama on Facebook and all this fighting and going back and forth. But Lord, I pray that you would just help us to be people who just are in the word, in the Bible, learning, growing, understanding, being watchful about the end times, but also not being carried about with every wind of conspiracy theory and just being able to know and understand exactly what the Bible actually teaches. In the massless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.