In this episode of ‘Hope for Today’, Bible teacher David Hawking takes us deeper into Revelation 13, exploring the prophetic vision of the Beast with Seven Heads. As we unravel the identity and influence of the beast, we delve into one of the most contested discussions in Christian eschatology – the tribulation period and who it affects. Find solace in the assurance provided by Scripture that the Church will be delivered from the wrath, with its believers secured by faith in Christ.
The tribulation period is not for the church of Jesus Christ. We have been promised to be delivered from the wrath to come. You say, well, maybe that’s just hell. Well, that’s obvious. All believers are saved from hell. No, the wrath that we’re going to be delivered from is the Revelations discussion of the tribulation. You say, how do you know that? Because in 1 Thessalonians 5, it says, the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. It’s the day of the Lord that is the wrath of God. And in verse 9 of 1 Thessalonians 5, it says, God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation. We’re not going to be going through the tribulation. You say, what if you’re wrong? I’ll change my view, okay? Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
In Revelation 13, the vision that God gave John takes a darker turn. Beasts emerge with blasphemies against the God of heaven and miracles that seduce the nations. The whole earth will stand in wonder, and then they’ll fall on their faces in worship, worship that doesn’t belong to the beast, worship that belongs to God alone. The prophets warned of this, the apostles spoke of it, and John saw it unfold before his eyes. This is the great deception, the final rebellion against the Lord. And in this edition of Hope for Today with Bible teacher and author David Hawking, we go even deeper into Revelation 13 with day three of David’s message, The Beast with Seven Heads. Stay with us. Just before our lesson, let me quickly say that our nation, we’ve been shaken in recent weeks. And God’s people, we must be found in prayer. Amen. If you’ve been affected, or no matter what’s going on in your life right now, we will stand with you in prayer. Call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, and share with us how God is using this program in your life. But more than that, tell us how we can pray for you. You can also share your prayer need by mail if you like at Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., Together, we’ll give thanks for the work of God in our hearts. Amen. And we’ll seek the Lord who hears and answers. Wow. And please remember to pray for us, too. Well, here’s David with day three of The Beast with Seven Heads.
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chapter 13 beginning at verse 1 and I stood upon the sand of the sea and 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 the beast which I saw was like a leopard and his feet were like the feet of a bear and his mouth like the mouth of a lion and the dragon gave him his power and his seat or throne and great authority And I saw one of his heads as though it were wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon who gave power unto the beast. And they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like 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 blasphemy 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 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 a sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Now in the opening three verses we have the identity of the beast presented to us and this is a troublesome matter in Revelation. Let’s go back to Revelation 13, verse 3. We looked at the identity of the beast. I want to talk a little bit about the influence of the beast. And I want you to notice six things here. First of all, at the end of verse 3, notice the adoration that he receives. Not only the adoration he receives, but look at the arrogance that he displays at verse 5. Notice also the authority that he exercises. It is limited. Verse 5. In the fourth place, look at the anger that he has toward God in verse 6. You’re now seeing somewhat of his character. It says he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God. In the fifth place, look at the attack he makes on the saints in verse 7. You know, I actually had a man last week who said, I think we’re in the tribulation. We’re very close to the middle of the week. And I said, I’ll tell you something. I’m going to be out of here before the great tribulation comes. And if we’re already in it, then I’m going to go to the mid view. He says, you’re just pushing this along however you want. I said, I’m going to keep pushing it and pushing it until I’m out of here. Because the Lord said that we’d be delivered from that wrath. And I don’t care if you put it at the end of the tribulation or it’s the last three and a half years or it’s a whole period of time. We’re going to be out of here before the wrath of the Lord comes. That’s what the Bible says. I want to trust God. Look at the affiliation of all those who worship him. This is interesting. Verse 8. All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. Well, when we say all, we have a certain description of the all. whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Now there’s a problem in this text in the Greek language. I hate to bring it up, but it is kind of serious in application. The problem is this. The phrase, from the foundation of the world, does it go with the word slain or does it go with the word written? Now let’s look at it again. whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world of the lamb slain? Or is it saying, whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world? Look over chapter 17, verse 8. Take it just a step further. Chapter 17, verse 8. Talking about the beast going into perdition. Middle of the verse. They that dwell on the earth shall wonder… whose names were not written in the book of life. What’s the next phrase? From the foundation of the world. So we have here another reason. in biblical interpretation, to argue one of those views. You interpret the Bible with the Bible. Here the words lamb slain are not in the text. And the words from the foundation of the world are connected to what is written in the book of life. Now, a lot of people make a lot out of this. It kind of puts them in two camps as to whether they’re Calvinists or Arminians or whatever. But I just want you to understand something. All of us, to begin with, this is a possibility. We’re not in the book of life. And that when you come to know the Lord, your name is written in the book of life. So then at the end, it says, whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. That’s one view. Another view is that this passage means that everybody is either in the book or not in the book before the world was ever made. And whether or not or what the process is as to how you come to Christ makes little difference. In other words, whoever is going to get saved is going to get saved and God’s going to see to it. And then a lot of people say, well, that’s true. Then why witness? I mean, why, you know, why do anything? You know, why not just Play around all day. Let it happen or whatever it is. So you know there are extremes of opinion. But this text is not really saying what some people are trying to make it say. All it is saying is that those who are unbelievers never have had their names written in the book of life. Well, that doesn’t surprise me because even on the other view, you don’t get your name written in the book of life until you become a believer. No unbeliever ever has had his name written in the book of life, whether it was from the foundation or whether it was in 1993. You understand what I’m saying? In other words, be careful how you push a text. Now, I’d like you to see just a couple of things here. Turn to Luke chapter 10, verse 20. I don’t know about you, but it’s very important to me to make sure that my name is written in the book of life. For one obvious reason, if it’s not, I’ll be in hell. That’s what Revelation 20, 15 says. Whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. So I definitely want to make sure my name is written in the Lamb’s book of life. Now in Luke chapter 10, we have an interesting story. Verse 17, the 70 that Jesus sent out returned with joy saying, Lord, even the devils, the demons are subject unto us through thy name. They were really excited casting out demons. He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. That’s just a way of saying, where do you think you got the power? You know, that message could be said to all of us as believers today. Sometimes we get confused. Well, where do you think you got the power? And by the way, God has healed a lot of folks without anybody’s help. Amen? God has actually healed people when nobody believed him. He is not subject to us having a great crusade and we need mighty faith in God to see this healed. No, you don’t. No, you don’t. It’s not your great faith in God. It’s faith in a great God. There’s a lot of difference between those two things. One emphasizes man’s ability. The other emphasizes God’s. God can do whatever he wants to. As a matter of fact, right now, God could be healing somebody of a major disease. But I have no advanced information. And I don’t believe any of the other people saying they do have it either. Let me tell you something. God is the one who has the power. They came back and said, boy, you can’t believe what happened. All these demons are being cast. Who do you think gave you that power? I’m the one that sent you out. I’m the one that gave you that power. And oh, by the way, you’re excited about the wrong thing. My translation, but you read it. Verse 20, notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you. You cannot believe how the power of God came down on us. Wait a minute. God doesn’t tell us to be excited about that. I mean, praise the Lord and bless him. But, you know, be careful what you’re saying. He said, no, that’s not what you should be thankful for and excited about. Well, what should we be excited about? Rather rejoice because your names are what? Written in heaven. Now that’s something to rejoice about. And that puts all of us down where all the kids can get the cookies on the bottom shelf. Amen. It’s all down where it belongs. You know what we should all rejoice in? No matter what gifts God has given to us, rejoice in one thing, that your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life. It’s written in heaven. That’s the big question. Is your name written in heaven? Now flip over to Revelation 2, verse 17, in the messages to the seven churches. To the believers. The overcomers, he says in verse 17, I’ll give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth except he that receive it. We’re talking about our name being written down in heaven. I simply want you to see that the name, according to that verse, the implication of the grammar is that the name was not already in the book, that the name was, quote, given to them because they are overcomers. That’s what it says. Chapter 3, verse 5. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life. People say, ah, it was there, and he’s saying he’s not going to take it out. No, that isn’t what he’s saying. He’s saying because you are an overcomer, your name is written there, and he won’t ever erase it once it’s there. Look at verse 12. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God. He shall go no more out, and I will write upon him the name of my God, the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and I’ll write upon him my new name. Sounds like he’s going to do that to all of those who are the overcomers who truly believe that Jesus is who he claimed. So it wasn’t that their names were already written. It’s that they’re going to be because they overcome, because they believe. Who is he that overcomes? 1 John 5, 4. But he who believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Now look at chapter 20. Jump all the way to 20 and look at verse 15. I’ve been quoting it. It says, Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Chapter 21, verse 27. There it’s talking about the new city, heavenly city. There shall in no way enter into it anything that defileth, neither he that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. I’d say it’s pretty important to have your name written in the book of life. You say, how do you get your name written in the book of life? According to the Bible, by being an overcomer. You say, oh, I’ve got to get rid of my smoking habit. I’ve got to overcome that. Well, that’s a good thing for your health, but that isn’t what he said. Overcomer, oh, you know, I’ve got a lot of problems. Well, I’ve been trying to lick them. I sure hope I can overcome. Well, he wasn’t talking about your problems either. Turn to 1 John chapter 5. I don’t think we should leave here with any doubt in our minds. 1 John chapter 5, verse 4. This is the same writer of Revelation. He’s not tricking us. He’s consistent in what he says. 1 John 5, 4, For whatever is born of God overcometh the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world. Our human performance in following the 36 steps that was laid out. No, that isn’t what it says. It says even our faith. Now look at it, verse 5. If that wasn’t enough. Who is he that overcometh the world? But he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. Hey, the whole issue is who are you believing in? You’re trusting yourself or you’re trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. The moment you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, you’re an overcomer. And God writes your name down in the book of life. And by the way, once he writes it down, he isn’t going to blot it out. That’s a wonderful promise, isn’t it? And you’re not going to go to hell either. Because your name is written in the book of life. The only one who goes to hell is the one who hasn’t got their name written in the book of life. I think that’s great. Turn to Revelation chapter 13, and let’s just look at the final instruction here. Verse 9 and 10. I think that’s wonderful. What encouragement to our hearts. Hey, you might have a lot of things to be sad about or rejoice about. But if I read Jesus correctly, there’s one thing that ought to really excite us all. We can walk out of here and say, you know what? I believe Jesus is a Christ, the Son of the living God, and my name’s written in the Lamb’s book of life. Now that’s something to get really excited about. Wow. Revelation 13, 9 and 10. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity. He that killeth with a sword must be killed with a sword. Here’s the patience and the faith of the saints. Let me split that up to explain it. There are really three things there. One deals with our responsibility. If you have an ear, let him hear. He’s not just making up a little cute line that’s trite and obvious. If you have an ear, then you’re in the end group. No, he’s not saying that. You see, a lot of us who have been given ears by God are not really listening. And it’s interesting to me that in Revelation 2 and 3, he says seven times to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. A lot of times we’re listening to other voices, other messages. But are we listening to what the Holy Spirit is telling us? You might be interested in prophecy and finding out who the beast is, who the Antichrist, all that stuff. But I ask you, it comes from Jesus. Did you hear what he wanted you to hear? Our responsibility is to make sure we’re listening to the voice of the Spirit of God. This is the word of the living God, not somebody’s fanciful interpretation about future events. This is a critical book for our understanding and our salvation. It’s a book about Jesus, our blessed Lord. The second thing deals with God’s retribution. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity. He that killeth with a sword must be killed with a sword. You know, there’s going to be such terror and tragedy in the tribulation. People are going to be wondering, you know, who’s getting away with what? And God simply lays off the law of retribution that he gave back in Genesis 9, verse 6. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood by man shall his blood be shed. Whoever takes folks into captivity and slavery, they’re going to go too. And whoever kills with a sword, they’re going to be killed with a sword. In other words, God is saying to all of us, I’m in charge. Don’t worry anymore. Don’t worry at all. I’m in charge of everything. Nobody’s getting away with anything. And the fourth thing deals with our reward as believers. When he says, here is the patience and the faith of the saints. God will bring his revenge and will reward his servants, no matter how they’ve suffered, even including martyrdom. I feel like saying to us all, be patient, weary pilgrims. We’re going to be home soon. And we’re going to be rewarded. And we’re going to see him face to face. Let’s pray. Lord, I thank you and praise you for your wonderful word, how it refreshes our hearts. And Lord, we do believe that soon and very soon, Our Lord Jesus is going to come for His church. We’ll be caught up to meet Him. And forever we’ll be with the Lord. No more sickness or pain or death or suffering or sorrow anymore. God will make all things brand new. God, I don’t know who in this audience has been listening with the ear that’s bent towards the Spirit of God, but Lord, I pray for those that are not sure about their own relationship to You, that they might understand that that the key issue is to have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And nobody’s name is going to go in there who has not believed that Jesus is the Son of God. He’s the Savior of the world. He’s the one who died on the cross for our sins and rose again for our justification. And one day he’s going to come again, King of kings and Lord of lords. And those of us who have been walking a very uneasy and uncomfortable line We call ourselves believers, but we haven’t been living that way. God, I just pray you would convict us by the Holy Spirit. We might get right with God. Now, God, I pray by the power of your wonderful spirit, you might draw us to the Lord Jesus and we’d fall down at his feet in faith and belief and trust to commit ourselves to the only one who can take us all the way to glory. It was he who said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but through me. God help people right now who are listening to turn to the Lord Jesus before it’s too late. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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Listen, folks, no one else can save you from sin, death, and hell except our Lord Yeshua. His Hebrew name is Yehoshua, and it means the Lord is salvation. There’s no salvation in any other name. You have to turn to the Lord. Romans 10 says, whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. You know, if you’d like to know more about having a real relationship, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we have a free booklet for you called What Is Christianity? and a Bible study by mail. Again, both of these are free if you don’t know Jesus, if you’re not yet a Christian, or even if you’re new to the Christian faith. Call us at 800-75-BIBLE in the United States or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And Bible by the numbers 24253. And just before David takes us home with today’s study, Matt’s here. And we want to share a powerful Bible study package with you. Something very special that goes along with… Our current series. We have David’s original sermon outlines and notes for each message in our current Revelation series.
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You know, these are great for following along through the series and then into the future when you want to review or share it with others.
SPEAKER 01 :
Discover and experience Revelation in a deeper, more encouraging fashion with our Revelation radio series on MP3 and David’s message outlines and sermon notes. You know, Jim, the Revelation series sermon notes pack is just ten dollars. That’s sermon notes for each message in the entire series, 48 messages altogether. And you can purchase or download at davidhawking.org or receive them by PDF CD when you call us.
SPEAKER 02 :
And then you can save and store all your learning in our current series with the Revelation Radio Series Message Pack. All 48 messages on MP3 format. Download or MP3 CD. Special price this month, Jim, just? Just $30. Or on DVD, a special price this month for the DVD set, $50. Go to davidhocking.org or call 1-800-75-BIBLE. In Canada, at 1-888-75-BIBLE. And Bible by the Numbers is 242-53.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, if you’d like to send in a special donation, above and beyond the cost of any resources you might purchase, our address is Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO7Oaks.com. Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. Remember, every dollar, every penny you give goes to help keep this broadcast going out over the radio waves and online, helping to ensure that those who are without hope have the opportunity to hear the truth found only in Jesus Christ and His Word. Well, as promised, here’s David to close out our time in God’s Word.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, friends, as you have heard today, it is very important to understand this beast or Antichrist or the man of sin, according to the Bible, he’s going to speak a lot of blasphemy. And he’s going to blaspheme God, blaspheme his name, blaspheme his tabernacle. And here’s an interesting line, them that dwell in heaven. Well, we believe that’s the result of the rapture and God’s people. are in heaven, praise the Lord, but on earth, the Antichrist, during the tribulation, is just pouring out his anger, and he’s making war with those who are coming to believe in the Lord. Wow, what an issue. It says also in verse number 8 of chapter 13 of Revelation that all that dwell on the earth will worship him. and it describes who they are. Their names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth. Wow. Well, we appreciate all of your comments to us. By the way, remember that we have a special offer every month, and take advantage of that. Well, plan to be with us. We’ll still be in chapter 13 next time.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, next time on the program, we move into one of the most controversial and talked-about passages in the entire Bible, the Mark of the Beast. Revelation 13, verses 11 through 18 is the passage. And, well, you don’t want to miss it. And invite a friend to listen along with you as well as we bring you the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible right here on Hope for Today. Hope for Today
