Some Characteristics and Actions of the Beast

The title of the message this morning or this afternoon is some characteristics and actions of the beast in antichrist. The beast has several titles in the Old and New Testament. There are over 20 titles given to the person that is generally referred to as the beast or antichrist. Some of the titles include the following. We'll come back and read a scriptural reference, and you can go online. You can google titles of the beast, and it will give you 20-something titles of the beast or antichrist. Some of the titles include King of Babylon, Little Horn, Prince that shall come, Man of Sin, Son of Perdition, Antichrist, Beast, and so on. And so, let's look at some of the scriptures that refer to these titles that we have just mentioned here. In Isaiah 14 and verse 4, the King of Babylon. The King of Babylon is one of the titles.

So, in Isaiah chapter 14 and verse 4, Isaiah 14 and verse 4, I don't know what what this is going to be like.

Isaiah chapter 14 and verse 4. It's always the page that I'm looking for, just stuck. In verse 4, you shall take up the proverb against the King of Babylon and say, How has the oppressor ceased? The golden city ceased. The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked and the scepter of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke. He that ruled the nations in anger persecuted and none hinders. And it goes on describing some of the characteristics of the beast and antichrist. He's also known as the little horn. In Daniel now, in Daniel chapter 7 and verse 8, we'll see that he's also known as the little horn. In Daniel chapter 7 and verse 8. Daniel chapter 7 and verse 8. I considered the horns and behold there came up among them another little horn before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots and behold in this horn were the eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things. We're going to talk about some of the great things that he spoke. Also, he is called the Prince of Persia and we know Iran is Persia in chapter 10. If you look at verse 19, Daniel was praying when this vision came, what we call the 70 weeks prophecy. And he said the angel that brought in the message, Gabriel, said I would have come the moment she started praying but I was delayed by the Prince of Persia and I had to go back and fight against the Prince of Persia. So if you look at Daniel 10 and verse 19, I don't know what I said, but Daniel 10 and verse 19.

And he said, O man greatly beloved, fear not. Peace be unto you. Be you strong. Yes, be strong. And when he had spoken to me, I was strengthened and let my Lord speak for you have strengthened me. So Daniel was delayed in coming to the aid of Daniel and revealing to him what the prophecy was saying. And the prophecy said that he had to go back and fight the Prince of Persia. So this shows that the demons are over the nation. Satan has an organization. There's a prince over the various nations and it's called a prince and there is a hierarchical structure that means greatest to the least in the demonic realm of things. The pre and the Prince of Persia. So I had asked you to look at Daniel 8 and verse 9, but it's just repeating that one of the titles of the Antichrist is the Little Horn. In Daniel 9.26, I believe I won, Daniel 9 and verse 26.

In Daniel 9 verse 26. And after three score and two weak shall Messiah be cut off but not for himself. And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary and the end thereof shall be with a flood and unto the end of desolations are determined.

In 2nd Thessalonians, and this is really the the cornerstone of the beast and antichrist prophecies.

In January of 1970, we had a visitor to our sing-along. It was a Sunday night, as I recall, in the field house where the Franz Joseph Strauss, who was called a strong man of Germany and the strong man of Europe.

And we were speculating that was 56 years ago that Franz Joseph Strauss would be the beast. So we had a sing-along with the beast. And here we are 56 years later and we're still talking about the beast, one that is to come. And as I said in Daniel, he's also called the the prince of Persia. So in the the beast power is still being talked about by us today.

And one of the key scriptures with regard to that, as I mentioned, is in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2. 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2. And verse, we'll start in verse 1. Of course, the apostles thought that Jesus Christ was going to come shortly. In fact, Paul wrote 2nd Thessalonians largely to tell them that the day of the Lord was not yet come upon them, that many things had to happen before he would come.

So in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 1, now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him. So Christ had not come, that ye be not shaken in mind or trouble, neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter, as from us. So some people were writing letters saying Christ has already come. We have even had people who have left the church of God saying that Christ has already come, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

So there are two titles of the beast or the antichrist, the man of sin, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God. Now, you could read over that very easily. He opposes and exalts himself against everything that is called God. Why? Because, as we shall see, he claims to be God himself. So he claims to be God, or that is worshiped, so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Also, in Revelation chapter 13, the first verse or two there, in Revelation 13, we'll see, Revelation 13, I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having seven heads, ten horns, and upon his horns, ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And that's one of the things that the beast, one of his great actions, is the blaspheme, the name of God, and everything that is of God. Verse 2, and the beast which I saw was like a leopard, feet was like the feet of a bear in his mouth, as the mouth of a lion and the dragon, that as Satan the devil gave him his power and his seat and great authority.

So he's energized, he's possessed by Satan the devil. And so the world, as you notice in verse 8, and all the world, all that dwell upon the earth, worship him, whose names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life, slain from the foundation of the world. So we want to make sure that our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Now one of the actions of the beast, the Antichrist, is given in verse 5. There is given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power is given unto him to continue three and a half years, 42 months, 1260 days.

And he opened his mouth and blaspheming against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. So he is against God. Of all the characteristics and actions of the beast, one of the most devastating ones and the deceptive ones, and on the one hand, has to do with the fact that he exalts himself against God, and he deceives the world into believing that he is God.

And as we read from 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, he sits in the temple of God proclaiming that he is God, and he deceives the world into worshiping him. Now in Matthew 24 and verse 24, which we call the Olivet Prophecy, Luke also has a parallel prophecy, and so does Mark of Matthew 24.

And so we read here in Matthew 24 and verse 24. Matthew 24 and verse 24.

For there shall it arise false christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, and so much that if it were possible that they should or they shall shall deceive the very elect. Those miracles are one of the ways by which the beast and the false prophet. The false prophet is the one who is performing the miracles. Of course, in times past we have thought, well maybe the pope is performing the miracles. Maybe the pope is a false prophet, but the the pope really has to change because one of the vows that the pope takes is to uphold God in Christ, even though he sits there and claims he is the vicar in the place of Christ here on the earth.

But the false prophets performs signs, wonders, and miracles, and through those signs, wonders, and miracles, deceives the whole world. So large numbers of people will be deceived into believing that the end of Christ claimed that he is God and that he is the God of the Bible. You will deceive them into believing that the real God is an imposter.

As Scripture reveals, the beast is the Antichrist, and we'll cease from Scripture that he blasphemes the true God, which is the spirit of Antichrist. Now we'll read the verse in the Bible that says that the spirit of Antichrist is to deny the Father and the Son.

So if you go to 1st John, chapter 2, and verse 22. 1st John 2 and verse 22. We'll see that the the definition according to Scripture of the Antichrist in 1st John chapter 2 and verse 22. For it had been, I'm in Peter, in 1st John 2 and verse 22. Who is a liar but he that denies Jesus is the Christ. So of course one of the things that Satan the devil who energizes a beast says in Matthew 8 verse 44 that Satan is a liar and a murderer.

He was a liar from the beginning. Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ. He is Antichrist that denies the Father and the Son. As we read from Revelation 13, one of the things that the Antichrist does is to blaspheme the true God and those that are in heaven.

Whoever denies the Son the same hath not the Father. He that acknowledged the Son hath also the Father. So we see the Bible definition of the Antichrist is to deceive or and deny to deceive the whole world and believing that he is God and to deny the true God, the God of the Bible.

So that is one of the great deceptions that is coming upon the world. In fact, the deception is going to be so great and we've got to make sure that we're not or do not fall prey to this deception of science, wonders, and miracles that I mentioned earlier. Now back to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and now verse 10.

And with deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved. Do we love the truth? Well, in the 70s, 80s, even into the 90s, we had close to 150,000 people keeping the Feast of Tabernacles worldwide. Today, I doubt it's the 10th of that.

Maybe it's 15 to 30,000 counting other Church of God organizations that keep the Feast of Tabernacles because they thought that they were getting in on the ground floor and they would know when Christ was going to come. As we are going to read, that Christ is going to come at a time in which the world is saying, peace, peace, and there is no peace. So with deceivableness, deceivableness of unrighteousness in that it perish because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved.

What is the Bible all about? The Bible is all about salvation. The Bible is all about being in the kingdom of God, or being in the family of God. It is not necessarily about the beast, the false prophet, or any such thing, but we should be aware of the deception and the delusion that is going to come. If you don't love the truth, it says God sends them strong delusion.

Verse 12, that they might be damned, who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in righteousness. So what is the truth that they deny? Well, they accept what the false God who sits in the temple of God claiming he is God proclaims, and they deny God and Jesus Christ, which is the spirit of antichrist that we read from 1 John 2 verses 22 and 23.

So as we shall see from the scripture that the antichrist deceives the peoples into believing that the God of the Bible is a deception. In fact, that's what the people believe, who love not the truth. They are deceived by the one sitting in the temple of God saying he is God.

The antichrist is also called the willful God, and as we've already noted from Revelation 13, he blasphemes the name of God. That is not the only place in the Bible where it says he blasphemes the true God. We go back to Daniel. Go back to Daniel after Ezekiel once again going to Daniel 11 and verse 36. We're the willful king, the one who does whatever he wants to do and eventually plants his Tamarindacles in Jerusalem, as we will see here as we read. In Daniel chapter 11 and verse 36. Daniel 11 and verse 36. Daniel 11 verse 36.

Daniel 11 verse 36. And the king shall do according to his will. That's why he's called the willful king. And shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god. And shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, as we read from Revelation 13. And shall speak against the God of gods.

And shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods. And shall prosper till the indignation shall be accomplished. For that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Nor the desire of women, nor regard any god, for he shall magnify himself above all. We've already read the verse from 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 3. He sits in the temple of God, claiming that he is God. But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces. And in the margin in a lot of bibles it says the God of munitions, the God of armed forces. Of course, we have a president now who boasts that America has the strongest military on the face of the earth. As one commentator said, well you could win every battle and yet lose the war. How so? They said, well, one of the reasons why Delafiv was hit last night with 23 strikes was because Israel ran out of interceptors. So they're in a war of attrition, protracted. You'll run out of weapons before we do. And as some sources say, they've been prepared for the war for 45 years. You could have the strongest military and yet lose some critical battles. He shall honor the God of gold and silver and with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in his most strong holds with a strange God, whom he shall acknowledge and crease with glory. He shall cause them to rule over many and shall divide the land for gain. So here we see a lot of the actions of the beast and the Antichrist. We've already noted that he receives power from Satan the devil. Now we go to Daniel chapter 8 to see how he comes to power. Daniel chapter 8, oftentimes I've even discussed with a minister, when I well-known you, some of the old timers might know his name, if I called his name, whether or not the verses of Daniel 8 that I'm about to read have been fulfilled. Well, obviously some have not been, but a large number of them have not been fulfilled. Some have been fulfilled.

So in Daniel chapter 8 verse 19, he said, Behold, that's the angel, the messenger angel, Gabriel speaking. Daniel was perplexed by what he had saw, the goat pushing at the round, and he said, Behold, I will make you to know what shall be in the last end of the indignation. This means the last very end of time. For at the time appointed, a time yet the end shall be. There is an appointed time for the end to come, and it will come upon the world as a thief in the night, as we will see later from a verse in the Bible. The man which you saw having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia, and the rough goat is the king of Grisha, Alexander the Great, and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king, Alexander the Great. Now that being broken, Alexander met an untimely death in his early 30s. Wherefore stood four stood up, his four generals. The kingdom was divided into four areas. Four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. They won't have the power of Alexander the Great. And in the latter time of their kingdom, the latter time of the kingdom, that was divided, Alexander's kingdom. When the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. That has not yet happened. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. What power is it? Satan the devil. We read from Revelation 13 that Satan gives the end time beast his power and his authority, and he blasphemes the people of God, and he causes him to worship him. The whole world worships him, except those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. He shall destroy wonderfully and shall destroy. And that word, destroy, really means corrupt and mighty, and the holy people. I wonder, will we be deceived? Will we be corrupted if this should happen in our lifetime? Is it happening in our lifetime? And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper. That is the occult magic. As I've already mentioned from Daniel, we read about the prince of Persia, which stood the angel Gabriel, so he cannot come to Daniel until he was neutralized. And he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace. And one of the things we'll talk about, one of the great deceptions that is coming on the world after a mighty war and a covenant of peace is signed, that that peace is going to be broken, and many people will be deceived by peace. He shall all stand up. See, this proves that it is the end time. He shall stand up against the prince of princes. He will stand up against Christ when he comes again, but he shall be broken without hand. God and Christ are going to intervene. Christ intervenes, and the flesh melts off their their bones, and they are there for the fowls of the heavens to feast off, as it talks about in Revelation 19. Maybe we'll have time to read that. Now, you look at Revelation 17, and we'll see. We'll see once again that this is end time prophecy. It has not been fulfilled, the final fulfillment of it, in Revelation 17 and verse 14. These shall make war with the Lamb. They fight against Christ. The nations of the world are going to be gathered together at a place called Armageddon. It's not the battle of Armageddon, as the world talks about. It's the battle of the great day of God Almighty. They're gathered together at a place called Armageddon. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome to Him, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and they that are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. We want to be among the called, the chosen, and faithful. You would not be sitting here today, I don't believe, unless you were called chosen and faithful, at least to this point in time.

So they make war with the Lamb, and you see, now when we read about it, Daniel chapter 8 makes war with the Lamb. That's why we know it's for an end time, because this one makes war with the Lamb, and those that are with Him. So of course, the saints are going to accompany Christ when He comes back.

So for decades, we have seen so much about UFOs and aliens from outer space. In fact, Pope Francis even said that he would baptize an alien if he asked to be baptized. So it may be that the Catholic Church, when it's all said and done, the Pope becomes the false prophet. I don't know whether or not that would happen or not, and neither do you. But we know for the past three or four decades, a lot has been written about the occult, about UFOs and aliens from outer space.

So the deception is going to be so great.

Satan and the beast and false prophet are going to release, and we'll read about that in Revelation 16 and verse 13. You know, the book of Revelation, in a broad sense, is divided into the seven final trumpet plagues, and the last trumpet plagues are what is called the the bowls of wrath, the seven bowls of wrath.

Let's pick it up in Revelation chapter 16. It's interesting to note that the people who are being plagued by the by the plagues, it talks about it after the first woe, where the plagues are poured out on the environment, as recorded in Revelation 8, that the people don't repent and turn to God those who are hardened against God and Christ. They will just turn there and read the last couple verses in Revelation.

This is Revelation 9, the last two verses. In Revelation 9, and the rest of the men which were not killed by those plagues, Revelation 9.20, and the rest of the men which were not killed by those plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, they continue to worship devils, demons, and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone, just as the beat the Antichrist does. We read about in Revelation chapter 11, which neither can see nor hear nor walk, neither repented they of their murders nor of their sorceries, farmaquia, the occult of their fornication, nor of their thefts. They are liars and murderers. All liars are thieves and all thieves are liars. So, once again, we see that from Revelation chapter 13, where the beast and the false prophet and Satan the devil are still in league. So, the last woe is Revelation 16, where the last plagues are poured out, the seventh trumpet plague. So, verse 12, and the sixth angel poured out his vial, this is a sixth trumpet plague, upon the great river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, and the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. Of course, the arch enemy now of the United States is, and for that matter, for much of the rest of the world, perhaps they don't know it, is China. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, so out of the mouth of Satan, that old serpent Satan the devil, who is deceiving the whole world of Revelation 12.9, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. And they are gathered together at Armageddon, and that's why a lot of the world basically says, and it says in verse 16, that they are gathered at Armageddon. They call it the battle of Armageddon. It's the battle at Armageddon, but it's the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Verse 14.

So they are still in league. So what is the message that is sent out that would cause the nations of the world to gather all of them together to fight this great battle? I would speculate that they broadcast that a great invasion is coming. Now, it could be an invasion. How would it be from the nations of the world when all nations are gathered together and everyone is deceived except those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life? But anyhow, wherever the invasion comes from, some think that the invasion will come from outer space, and the armies of the nations must defeat them. Of course, who is coming from outer space? It is Christ and the saints who have been resurrected and there with him, as we'll read from Revelation 19. So the speculation would be that some kind of deception that is not readily apparent is coming. And as I said for the past several decades, we have heard about UFOs and about invasion from outer space. Hollywood has made several movies depicting UFOs and aliens, not to mention the Star Wars series, which a lot of church members say, oh, I'm a Trekkie. I remember one time when I was teaching at ABC in the early 2000s that I got on the Star Wars and said, you shouldn't be watching Star Wars because it's really not a picture of reality. Oh, some were offended. I'm a Trekkie. I love to watch Star Wars because I like to see the good man triumph over evil. Well, the triumph that Satan is going to try is the triumph over good as opposed to over evil.

So I guess the reason that some like the Star Wars trilogy or series was because it depicted good versus evil. So now even the government is taking up on the UFOs and Star Wars. There has to be some kind of powerful propaganda that would cause all nations together at Armageddon to fight the great battle against God and the returning Christ and the saints.

So the current battle that the US is waging against Iraq is being waged in the name of peace, making the world a safer place for all nations. Well, we'll get rid of all of the of Iran's nuclear capabilities. Of course, Pakistan has the bomb, the rogue nation in one sense. You might say Pakistan has the bomb, France has the bomb, France is the only European nation that independently has the bomb. Other nations such as Germany has the bomb but was given to them through a NATO agreement earlier on. So that Germany and some of the other European nations also have the bomb but not independently. So a great deception is coming. Anything that I'm saying now is not to say. Don't quote me as saying that this is a fulfillment of end-time prophecy in which a peace covenant is signed between Israel and neighboring nations. At present, Israel is not even in control of the Temple Mount. Jordan is in control of the Temple Mount and they have the WAF as they call it in Arabic over the Temple Mount and Israel is not supposed to set foot on there to do any kind of religious activity. But from time to time you read that such and such a group sneaked in and offered sacrifice. But right now they're not in control of it. Jordan is. And there's still a temple to build and for one to sit in the temple and proclaim that he is God. We don't know if the current war will somehow merge into a world war. We don't know that. It might. It might not. And that is a great... the tables really have to turn in spite of what Fox News and the President might say. The war might turn. And in a lot of commentators, if you watch YouTube will say that it has turned and there's no way that the U.S. could win. If that is the case, things will have to change dramatically.

Only God knows what is going to happen. How will the current war end? It may not end with a peace treaty that allows Israel to build a temple. It may not end in such a way that a bench of the nations will be deceived and fight a war in the name of destroying an invasion from outer space or to make the world safe for peace. Scripture makes it clear that Persia or Iran is not going to give up on their goal and desire to destroy Israel. If you look at Ezekiel 38, oftentimes we talk about Ezekiel 38 and 39. The question is, when will this happen? Will it be before the millennium or will it be shortly after the millennium? As I recall in some of our earlier literature back in the 50s and 60s, some said, well, it'll be at the beginning of the millennium, which I find difficult to accept, but perhaps so. In Ezekiel 38 verse 1, And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set your face against Gog, the land of Magog, the cheap prince of Meshach and Tubal, and prophesy against him. And say, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, O God, O Gog. So who's against Gog, the God? Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the cheap prince of Meshach and Tubal. And I will turn you back and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth and all of your army and horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia is the first one named. Iran is the first one named. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya, and Libya was already defeated in the so-called Arab Spring during the Obama administration. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with him, all of them with shield and helmet. Gomer and all his men, the house of the garment of the North Quarters, and all his men, and many people with you. And so we don't know, is that going to happen before the millennium? Well, they go to take, as you read in the succeeding verses, they go down to take a pray of the people that are gathered out of captivity and restored in the land, and they're dwelling there without walls or armaments or any such thing. Similar to what now we see, now there's a time coming to show the deceptive power of the devil. Now we read Matthew 24, 24, which says, if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived. Now we read that the deception can be so great by Satan the devil that even after a thousand years, and we go now to Revelation chapter 20, that even after a thousand years in which we are sitting as kings and priests over nations, and we are ministers of the Lord, as it says in Isaiah 61, that Satan is released out of his pit, and he goes out to deceive the nations. And what happens?

Verse 7 of Revelation 20, and when a thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth. Gog and Magog together them together to battle the number of whom is as the sand of the sea, and they went up on the breath of the earth and accomplished the camp of the saints. The camp of the saints will be in Jerusalem and Zion. God is and Christ are going to rule from Jerusalem and Zion, as it says in Revelation chapter 2, in Isaiah chapter 2, and Micah chapter 4. They went up out of the breath of the earth, encompassed the camp and the saints about, and the beloved city, which is Jerusalem, and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beasts and the false prophets were cast, as in chapter 19, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. So it's the beasts and his minions and demons that are tormented forever and ever, never to deceive humankind again. So this shows the great power of Satan the devil and his ability to deceive. Now some have recently made fun of, and I've seen the presentations on YouTube and news sources, made fun of those who believe in Bible prophecy. You better believe that there are people in Israel who believe in Bible prophecy, and that they are fighting a war to make Bible prophecy come true. The ambassador from the United States to Israel is whom? Mike Huckabee. Mike Huckabee is an ex-governor of Arkansas and also a minister. And I'm quain. He, one of the last pictures that I saw was Mike Huckabee talking with Netanyahu. And so there is perhaps a religious dimension to what is going on even now. And of course we have a president who says, I'm going to make the world as safe for all nations. And as I said earlier, Israel is not even in control of the Temple Mount at present, much less built a temple or have one sitting in the temple of God saying that he is God. Another way that the earth is deceived is through that of peace, that a great peace is coming. So eventually a war is coming so dramatic, so terrible, that a peace covenant will be signed between Israel and the nations that fight against them, that people will be deceived through peace. Now, as I have read from Ezekiel 38, Persia did not give up on their plan to destroy Israel. Whether it's before the millennium, shortly after the millennium begins, or at the end of a thousand years, Gog Magog is still there after Satan is released, as we read from Revelation chapter 20. Now, in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, But at the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that are right unto you, for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes, how as a thief in the night, but when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as surveil upon a woman with a child, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You have to love the truth, else you will be a strong delusion that you would believe the lie. So do you love the truth? Are you called chosen and faithful? Well, there are so many that have tended to church for years who have left the church, who thought, oh, we're living in the end times. Whether or not we're living in the very last days, I don't know for sure. You don't know. It's been 56 years since I had I sing along with the beast, the so-called beast of that day. 56 years, sing along in the fieldhouse.

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overcome you as a thief. You are all the children of light and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. That word sober means watchful. For they that sleep sleep in the night, and they that be drunk in our drunk in the night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love. And for a helmet, the hope of salvation, that's the big picture always burning brightly in your mind. A helmet permeates the whole head. It protects the head. So if you keep your calling in mind what you're promised, I have not seen, ears not heard. Neither has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him.

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love. And for a helmet, the hope of salvation, for God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation, deliverance by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us. And we'll be keeping the Passover in just a few days for now. Whether we wake or sleep, whether we're dead or alive, we should live together as radiant, glorious spirit beings in the kingdom of God. So God is the one who only knows whether or not we're living in the last days, but we have to live our lives as if we are living in the last days. Just before the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty, the two witnesses will finish their testimony, and their dead bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days, and then they are resurrected. And a voice comes up among them and says, come up here, come up here. Doubtlessly, they are a sin to heaven.

And then God intervenes. Look at Isaiah 24. We're about through here today. I'm out of gas a long time ago. In Isaiah 24, I would encourage you, as you prepare for Passover, to read. And as you have listened to this sermon, most of you have just sat there. That was your jaw open. And Isaiah 24. Read Isaiah 24, 25, 26, because it speaks at the time that I'm speaking of here today. Isaiah 24, verse 1. Isaiah 24, verse 1. Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste, and turns it upside down and scatters abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be as with the people, so with the priests. It's everybody. It's not any certain group. As with the servant, so with the master. As with maid, so with the mistress. As with the buyer, so with the seller. As with the lender, so with the borrower. As with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly empty. Listen to this verse. The land shall be utterly empty and utterly spoiled, for the Lord has spoken this word. The earth mourns and fades away. The world languishes and fades away. The haughty people of the earth do not speak their language. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they've transgressed the law, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore, hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men will out. You want to be one of the ones that is left. One of the ones that is left. So Christ and the saints are coming to fight the great day of the God Almighty. We have read Revelation 16 verse 13 where Satan, the beast, and the false prophet, first of all dry up the armies of the rivers of the Euphrates, tigers Euphrates, and they dried up to prepare the way of the kings of the of the east. And this great army comes together of all nations all over the earth to fight the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Then, after the marriage supper of the Lamb and the resurrection, let's look at what happens. You need to read Revelation 19. It describes the flesh melting off the bones of the people that God, when God intervenes, as we just read about from Isaiah 24.

In Revelation 19, and we'll start in verse 11. Revelation 11 and verse, I mean 19 and verse 11. 19 verse 11. And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse, and he that set upon him was faithful and true and in righteousness. He does judge and make war. He does judge and make war. God says that this kingdom were of this world my servants would fight.

And his eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in white linen, fine linen, white and clean, as those that wear the fine linen, white and clean, at the marriage supper of the Lamb described in this chapter, verses 6, 7, and 8, and so on.

And out of the mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. What is that sharp sword? It is the word of God. God speaks, and the flesh melts off their bones, and the fowls of the air are there to feast and harvest the buzzards and so on.

His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his die a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And of course, out of his mouth goes this sharp two-edged sword, which is the word of God. We look at one final passage in Scripture. If you go to Luke 21, Luke 21 is also a Luke's version of the Olivet prophecy. Luke has some points that Matthew doesn't.

In Luke 21 and verse 19, In your patience, possess you your souls, or your life essence.

In your patience, possess you, whether you live or die the second death. And when you shall see Jerusalem compass with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let them which are in the midst of it depart out, and let not them that are in the countries enter there then too. Of course, speaking of the time in which they were living. So in your patience, possess you your souls. Now verse 34, Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged, with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life. And so that day comes upon you unawares, that we read about from 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. For as a snare shall it come, and all that dwell on the earth, and all shall worship the beast, except those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy, that you may be counted worthy to escape all the things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. And we ask, as we ask at memorial and funeral services, are we ready to look on the face of God?