Awake, Ready, & Unafraid
Introduction
Revelation 13:7-10
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given 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 Lamb 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 of the saints.
Human history has two trajectories:
Perdition history: There are those who Paul says are walking he according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2). There is a very real spirit world that has influence over the world. The "world" has a destiny and as it heads towards its end sin burrows itself into human institutions so deeply that sometimes Christians do not even recognize it. Perdition history will find its end in the eschatological figure of the antichrist.
Salvation history: There are also those who do not walk in the flesh, but follow the Spirit. They march t the beat of a different drummer. They are born of water and the Spirit. Their trajectory is the new heavens and the new earth where righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). All the kingdoms of this world already belong to the Lord. It was inaugurated when Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected and it will be consummated when appears in glory! Every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!
We experience the tension between the already and the not yet. We know that Jesus is Lord and His reign is already happening in us, but the world around us has not submitted to Him.
Human society and culture with all of its trappings is a mixed bag:
There are aspects of human culture that align with God's will and purpose for humanity.
There are aspects of human culture that are contrary to God's will and purpose for humanity.
There are aspects of human culture that are neutral. They are neither good nor bad. They just are.
The two most prominent writers of apocalyptic literature in Scripture, Daniel the prophet and John the beloved disciple, were no strangers to this tension. Daniel lived in Babylon in captivity when he wrote his prophecy. John lived under Roman rule and wrote the Revelation while banished to the volcanic island of Patmos.
Not every aspect of the Babylonian world that Daniel lived in was bad. Not every aspect of the Roman world that John lived in was bad. A portion of the book of Daniel is written in the language of Babylon. John wrote the Revelation in Greek.
Daniel did not however embrace every aspect of Babylonian culture. Neither did John embrace every aspect of the Greco-Roman culture.
We are often given to extremes. Sometimes we throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. Other times we hole so close to our own culture and elevate our ways of doing things that we put our culture on par with Scripture. It is hard work to sift through it all and so most people don't do it. It is dangerous work, so for everyone, it probably is not safe.
We can easily find ourselves aligned with human governments and institutions to the place where we no longer see their flaws and lose our prophetic voice. We can easily see all the flaws in human institutions and governments to the place where all we do is rage against the machine.
The first-century Christians used the metaphor of the Babylonian captivity to describe their lives as they lived out their Christian life in the Roman empire.
There is continuity in the writings of Daniel and the writings of John. Some have mused that Daniel is looking across the river in his vision at John and John is looking across the river in his vision at Daniel.
Revelation 13 makes heavy use of Daniel 7. There are many parallels.
In Daniel's dream, he is standing by the Mediterranean Sea and sees a spiritual struggle above it. There are four beasts that arise out of the Mediterranean Sea(7:1-3):
The first beast is like a lion with eagle's wings (7:4). The lion and the eagle were symbols of ancient Babylon (Jeremiah 4; 27; Ezekiel 17). Its wings were plucked off and it was made to stand on the feet as a man and a man's heart was given to it. When Nebuchadnezzar became boastful about his kingdom, the LORD humbled him until he acknowledged the one who truly rules in the kingdoms of men.
The second beast was like a bear which was raised up on one side with three ribs in its mouth (7:5). It symbolizes the Medo-Persian empire that immediately followed the Babylonian empire.
The third beast that Daniel saw was like a leopard that had four heads and four wings (7:6). Like a leopard, Alexander the Great was a swift conqueror. When he died his kingdom was divided between his four generals.
The fourth beast is described as diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns (7:7-9). The fourth beast is Rome. One of the horns which represent rulers or kings in the dream has boastful things to say against God and makes war against the saints.
All of these nations (beasts) dominated the nation of Judah. They warred against the people of God.
In Revelation 13, John sees one beast arising out of the sea, probably again the Mediterranean Sea. Patmos is in the Aegean Sea which is a part of the Mediterranean. John sees a diverse beast. This beast seems to be a composite of the four beasts that Daniel saw. It has the body of a leopard, the mouth of a lion, the feet of a bear, seven heads and ten horns. The immediate vision of this beast represents the Roman empire, but it also has further fulfillment that extends to our day.
The beast that John sees has all of the aspects of human culture and society that Daniel saw: Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman all wrapped into one. The beast represents the culmination of the sinful aspects of human society and culture. It represents the fruition of perdition history. It represents the way the spirit of antichrist has worked in human history to try to destroy all that is holy and good.
It receives its power from satan whom chapter 12 depicts as a dragon. There are aspects of the world around us that are energized by satan himself and eventually, a little horn will arise to boast against God and make war against the saints.
This beast, like Nebuchadnezzar rules over all people, and languages, and nations. Also, like Nebuchadnezzar, this beast makes a one-world religion that worships the government and thereby worships satan, perhaps even unknowingly.
Sin can become so incarnated into the institutions of humanity that even Christians do not recognize it. We are immersed in our culture, and we must step outside of it in order to see clearly.
Daniel and John were both given to visions. They saw clearly what was going on around them. And yet Daniel served in Nebuchadnezzar's court. He outlived Nebuchadnezzar. He served under Nebuchadnezzar's grandson Belshazzar. Daniel was there when Cyrus the Persian invaded Babylon and conquered it.
Daniel never lost his ability to speak truth to power. He never found himself so aligned with a world leader that he lost his allegiance to God. And it did not matter what others did, he purposed within himself that he was going to do what was right.
Revelation 13 has another beast that arises out of the earth that looks like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon. This beast represents the false prophet that performs miracles and deceives the world into worshipping the beast and the devil. He also causes everyone to receive a mark in their forehead or hand that symbolizes their allegiance to the beast (government) and they could not buy or sell without the mark, whatever it is.
There are people in John's vision, who like Daniel will not compromise their principles. There are those like Shadrach, Meshech, and Abed-Nego who will not bow down to the image that the world system is trying to get them to bow to.
Our text speaks to this truth and I believe it is relevant to where we are in the world today.
1. The Enemy Will Make War Against Us
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Sometimes it looks like the enemy is winning in the present. We face the world, the flesh, and the devil every day. There are things that are against us, and they're always will be. One day it with come to a head and it will seem that we are losing completely.
2. The World Will Go Along With The Enemy Sometimes
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him...
As we look around us there are moments when we can become discouraged because of the brokenness in the world around us. There are practices that we lament are embraced by the world around us.
Dr. James Littles made a statement in a course that I took years ago. He said he was not surprised when the world around me lives in gross sin and becomes worse. Its just sinners behaving like sinners.
Remember when the culture and society behave that way that they are just doing what is normal.
3. Use Your Fighting Words
...whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb 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 of the saints.
I watched a prophecy teacher the other day who admonished his hearers to buy guns. John tells us the opposite here.
John echos Jesus' words, "Put up your sword. He that lives by the sword will die by the sword. We do not fight the way the world does.
Praise is our weapon. When we sing His praise into the dark it changes everything! They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives unto death.
The enemy is going to use tactics of intimidation to control you if you let him. Those John saw whose names were written in the Lamb's book of life would not be intimidated! They were like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They refused to bow down, and they did not do it with carnal weapons. They did it with spiritual weapons.
Fear cannot survive when we praise God.
Romans 13:8-14
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
We will overcome by living consistently for God. It is not a sprint, it is a marathon! Keep going!
