Rethinking Revelation Chapter 13 (Part 10)
In this week’s Blog, we continue our discussion about Christians being the temple of God, and the supporting Scripture.
In II Thessalonians 2:4 Paul used the Greek word naos for temple, not hieron. He used the Greek word for the human body not the Greek word used for the temple building. He is discussing Christianity and the falling away in the Last Days; therefore, we can conclude this prophecy is referring to the human body. This verse is a good definition of humanism, the religion of the new-age movement. It has swept through our country in recent years and has been one of the major causes for the rapid deterioration of our country’s moral values. It is why many Christians have fallen into deception and are no longer committed to biblical standards.
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Rethinking Revelation Chapter 13 (Part 9)
Revelation 13:7 is a stern and important warning to everyone living in these Last Days. It reads, “Also it (the beast or superpower) was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer (overcome) them” (Revelation 13:7a RSV).
The word conquer as used in this verse means to defeat or subdue like one army by another; just as we did to Germany and Japan in WW II. It does not mean to obliterate or eliminate. I again refer to Dr. Billy Graham’s research a few years ago that discovered around 90% of American Christians are living defeated spiritual lives. We know what to say in Christian circles, but our actions or fruit has been broadcasting our weakness to the world and its standards. That is, deception.
Deception is a terrible thing! One of the greatest warnings Jesus gave about the Last Days was about deception. He said, “For false Christs and false prophets (teachers) will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible” (Matthew 24:24).
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Rethinking Revelation Chapter 13 (Part 8)
In the previous BLOGS I identified the first 5 of the 6 descriptive characteristics for the “beast” of Revelation 13. Today we will cover the final characteristic.
Test # 6: Descriptive Characteristic, “on each head a blasphemous name.” Throughout Scripture, blasphemy was one of the gravest of sins. To blaspheme is to make light or sport of the name and sovereignty of God. To misuse His name in any way that is not marked with a sense of awe and majesty is viewed as blasphemy. Jesus was condemned to death by the religious leaders because they claimed He misused the name of God by declaring who He was, therefore, blasphemy.
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Rethinking Revelation Chapter 13 (Part 7)
We continue this week with #2 of the six descriptive characteristics of the “beast” in Revelation Chapter 13.
Test # 2: Descriptive characteristic, “coming out of the sea.” This phrase also appears in Daniel. So, the angel’s interpretation of Daniel’s vision can be used to understand John’s vision. Daniel writes, “Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea” (Daniel 7:3). Daniel’s four beasts (Daniel 7:1-7) refer to a succession of world powers from Daniel’s day that shaped Israel’s history before the time of Christ and Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 AD. These include the Babylonian Empire, Media-Persian Empire, Greek Empire and the Roman Empire.
In Daniel’s account, a succession of peoples from different geographic bases conquered one another, bringing together people from Africa, Asia and Europe in a mixture of customs, cultures and languages. From this historical review, we can infer that “coming out of the sea” involves a culturally and ethnically diverse empire or nation. This fits with Revelation 17:15, which reads, “The waters you saw …are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.” As a nation of immigrants, the United States fits this description.
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Rethinking Revelation Chapter 13 (Part 6)
There are six descriptive words and phrases in verse one of Revelation chapter 13 that describe what is called a “beast.” They are: (1) “beast” (2) “coming out of the sea” (3) “ten horns” (4) “seven heads” (5) “ten crowns on his horns” and (6) “on each head a blasphemous name.”
Test #1: the “beast.” The actual meaning of the word “beast” as used in prophecy should be abundantly clear. Remember, God’s inspired Word is the highest authority we can use to determine the meaning of a word in Scripture.
Fortunately, the Old Testament prophet Daniel speaks of “beasts” in chapter seven of the book of Daniel. There, an Angel reveals the meaning of this word “beast.” According to the interpretation given to Daniel, the word “beast” in prophetic Scripture refers to a kingdom, an empire, or what we would call a superpower. Elsewhere in the Book of Daniel, the four “beasts” he saw are described as the superpowers of Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece (under Alexander the Great) and the Roman Empire. To help describe three of the “beasts” he saw, Daniel, in the first part of chapter seven referred to them as a wild animal. For Babylon, it was a lion, a bear for Media-Persia, and a leopard for Greece. John used all three of these animals in Revelation 13:2 to describe the characteristics of the “beast” he saw in the Last Days. This indicates the Revelation 13 “beast” is one of the greatest superpowers in the history of mankind. This is what our government has become since World War II.
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Rethinking Revelation Chapter 13 (Part 4)
A few years ago Dr. Billy Graham, in a spirit of love and concern, said according to his research a large percentage of Christians in America are living defeated spiritual lives.
The majority of Christians admit they do not understand the root cause of the breakdown in our country’s moral values nor are they aware of how the enemy has conducted such a successful campaign to corrupt our society’s values. Sadly, this lack of understanding has caused millions of Christians to be hurt by Satan’s insidious tactics and a countless number of Christian families to be torn apart.
Before I share what Scriptures reveal to be the identity of this “beast” in Revelation 13 I need to follow a biblical principle of interpretation the Apostle Paul followed. On the road to Damascus Paul had a revolutionary encounter with the Lord that revealed Jesus was the Messiah. From that moment, and for the rest of his life, Paul was totally dependent upon the Lord. However, those who heard him preach did not have the same dramatic revolutionary encounter that Paul experienced on the Damascus road. Their belief came as he explained the good news of the Gospel and how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies foretold about the Messiah.
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Rethinking Revelation Chapter 13 (Part 5)
In my last BLOG we reviewed the importance of knowing how Satan operates (not knowing has contributed to the reason why many born-again Christians have suffered a major spiritual defeat in their lives). If you are new to this BLOG, you may want to read through the previous BLOGS in this category to understand more on this topic.
There are other examples in Scripture where Satan used deception that caused someone to disobey and fall, including some of the spiritual giants. Consider Samson, King Saul, King David, King Solomon, and Peter denying that he was a follower of Jesus.
Satan also used deception in his attempt to get Jesus to disobey his heavenly mandate. This account is found in chapter four of both the gospels of Matthew and Luke. When you read these verses notice Jesus always stood firm, and counter attacked by quoting scripture; a lesson we need to learn and exercise.
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Rethinking Revelation Chapter 13 (Part 3)
In my previous BLOG, we left off as we approached the question “WHY?” (Considering the drastic deterioration of moral values in America in such a short period of time)… (If you are just joining this BLOG, please be sure to read Part 1 and Part 2 for the full story).
Why has this happened in a country that has more Bible colleges, seminaries, churches, Christian books, tapes, videos, evangelistic outreaches, Christian bookstores, and TV and radio stations than the rest of the world combined? Why are so many of our efforts failing? Why is our enemy, Satan, prevailing against Christian values in our country?
In June, 1971, the Lord gave my wife and me the answer to this question. It came about by a warning from the Lord through an understanding of a prophecy from the book of Revelation chapter 13. The warning was simply that Christian values in America were going to come under a severe attack by our spiritual enemy, Satan. My wife and I believed this warning, even though at the time the fact our country’s moral values were going to rapidly deteriorate could not be seen. A review of the last forty years would show the moral values in America have declined precipitously, which confirms this prophetic warning has come true.
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Rethinking Revelation Chapter 13 (Part 2)
This is a continuation of an introduction about Bob Fraley, if you are just joining this BLOG, please be sure to read the previous BLOG for continuity…
The second most important part of my life following my relationship with the Lord is the family. I won’t go into detail in this BLOG about our family since our testimony is fully covered in my book, The Blessings of Obedience. (Read the end of this BLOG to see how you can get a free download of the book in its entirety).
This brings me to the last two areas, of how I spend my time. Since 1973, I have been a part of developing two successful manufacturing companies that produce high tech extruded aluminum alloys for the aerospace industry. In the first company, I was a minor stockholder. Then in 1997 I founded my own manufacturing company making the same product. Since I come from a highly technical background it may help you understand the depth of my approach and how thorough I am in exploring the meaning of the Greek text when I research the Scriptures.
Rethinking Revelation Chapter 13 (Part 1)
For the thoughtful Christian the prophetic warnings about a “beast” in Revelation chapter 13 can be made clear. Namely, this moment in which we are living will be the most difficult time ever for Americans to be committed followers of Jesus Christ.
I am bold to make such an assertion; however, it comes out of over forty years of intense study and thousands of research hours on the study of what the Bible has to say about the end times. In addition, I have published several well received books and articles on prophecy. Now, under the leading of the Holy Spirit I feel compelled to summarize some insights and conclusions from my research for you to consider. It’s my prayer that God will use this information to motivate you to think seriously about the implications for your own life and ministry.
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