| Date Sermon Given | 1982-10-10 Morning |
|---|---|
| Bible | Revelation 13:1-18 |
| Attachment | PDF: English, Korean, Korean-English |
On the Last Days
1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?" There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.
I have given detailed interpretations of this passage many times, and today I intend to testify simply, focusing on general aspects of the beast that came out of the sea.
The Prophets and Symbolism
We see in Chapter 13 of the Revelation two beasts, a dragon, God who has saved us, and the saint. How many characters are there? Two beasts, a dragon, God, and the saint: five in all. It is written about the five characters in Chapter 13.
We should not interpret these characters literally because they were written indirectly and symbolically. Therefore the reason that God recorded the conclusion of the Scripture, the eschatology, symbolically is to make those who are uninspired by the Holy Spirit unable to understand the symbolism, but to make only those who are inspired by the Holy Spirit able to understand and keep it in mind. That is why it is the doctrine of the last days.
The symbolization has little to do with morality, nor is something about society or ethics or economy. It can be what we have never thought before or what we will never be able to understand even though we hear it, or it can be what we conclude has nothing to do with ourselves. Each prophecy concludes each historical event in the New Testament.
Aware or unaware of this word, we are to encounter a conclusion, in which some will lose in ignorance and in empty faith, others in spite of foreknowledge will be too weak to overcome, and still others will win as they are prepared.
God wrote the Prophets using symbolism to reveal future secrets; He did not write them in plain words because, if otherwise, Satan would rage and that would make him and his hosts harder for the saint to bear. Now the symbolism dictates either that one have understanding who is to understand, or that another not have understanding who is not to understand.
God grants one when reading the Prophets to understand more brightly and realize and remember firmly, but He keeps another from understanding, making him incomprehensive so as to let them slip and pass him by. Daniel is a prophetic Book, so the writing is in symbolism when it comes to the last things.
Verse 1
Here a beast came out of the sea. The sea symbolizes iniquity. A beast has come based on iniquity, and in verse 11 there is another beast out of the earth. The earth means morality. There is another beast that has come based on morality.
The beast that came out of the earth has two horns like a lamb and speaks as a dragon. Also the beast that came out of the sea is said to have seven heads and ten horns with ten diadems on the horns.
Also it is said that the beast speaks blasphemies. The beast that came out of the sea is said to have seven heads and ten horns with a diadem on each horn. The beast is very blasphemous. Blasphemy is a preposterous, irrelevant, and vain word; exaggerated ten or a hundred times to be abominable, and having nothing to do with the one that utters the blasphemy. One is said to blaspheme when he magnifies himself claiming that he can do what he cannot actually do, not even a thousandth or a ten-thousandth.
Verse 2
The beast that came out of the sea is said to look like a leopard. A leopard is a tiger, a ferocious beast of prey with a black-spotted yellowish fawn. The beast out of the sea appears quite like a leopard, but in fact it is not a leopard. It appears to be like a leopard to the people in the world or people with no faith, but that it looks like a leopard does not necessarily mean that it is a leopard. It is not a leopard to a man of faith, but it becomes like a good blanket of tiger skin.
"His feet were like those of a bear." The feet of the beast out of the sea are like those of a bear. A bear is also a beast of prey powerful in pulling to tear. The feet of the beast look like those of a bear; with its foreleg a bear pulls any object to put under its subjection. The beast commands such fear.
What looks like a fearsome and powerful bear to a saint of no faith looking at the world becomes a valuable material means like a good horse to ride on for a saint of faith.
To a man of no faith, the beast out of the sea has the mouth like that of a lion. A lion is also a beast of prey with a powerful bite to cut anything to devour.
To a man of no faith, the beast appears with three aspects: like a leopard, like a bear, and like a lion, and the beast has ten horns and seven heads.
However, "the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority." It is the dragon that gave these to him.
The dragon assumed a form of serpent when he came into Adam and Eve in the old garden of Eden, and when the serpent overcame them to become the king of the world, he came to be represented as the dragon. Also there is another name of a red dragon; a red dragon means an indignant dragon. A red dragon is the dragon at war or at work in iniquity. Here the dragon indicates Satan. Satan is revealed as a serpent in the garden of Eden and as a dragon or a red dragon in the Book of Revelation.
Now, "the dragon gave him his power." "Satan gave his own power to the beast." "Satan gave his throne to the beast." "Satan gave his authority to the beast." The beast. Let us remember the beast fast.
Verse 3
"I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast."
When the one-seventh was hurt, people said, "It is of no use. It is vain. It is ruined." When that strong thing was ruined, people thought that it was going to be ruined completely, and said, "That is now ruined. It is good for nothing." Now it has been immediately healed and restored intact. It looked as if it were going to perish but it has been immediately recovered. This is what one hardly understands but the one with understanding. It looked hurt but is now healed.
Everything in the world that is judged as unnecessary will come to be decided as necessary. The wise will not waver once they watch the unnecessary thing appear as unnecessary. The foolish man will follow what has become necessary that was once concluded unnecessary. Man is of two sorts: one who will not follow what has become healed, and the other who will watch and follow what has been healed. This is also hard to understand, and is perceived only by a man of understanding.
"Ah, I see from this that honor is of no use." It is seen of no use temporarily, and then honor, money, authority, worldly entertainment, and position in the world emerge as necessary. Of course they will all return to naught, but the state during which something appears vain is transient, and the state during which it appears useful is longer. Then people submit to the beast, saying, "Who is bigger than this, who is greater than this beast?" This is the authority that the dragon gave to the beast.
"His fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast." No one would follow this beast if what transgresses the word of God were ruined and finished visibly according to the word of God. No one would follow it if other transgressing things were finished perishing conclusively, but its ruining is watched a short time and its intact state is watched extended thereafter.
"Man doing this or that on the earth all died. Man died in the end. There is nothing left when one dies." Man's death can be watched infrequently and sporadically, but the reason for living abounds in the world. Men live watching this, but those are rare who live conscious of death. But there are men of conscience, unbounded by time and space, and it is impossible to imprison them. They are out of this prison, looking far and wide, and viewing the whole range. "That is of the sort which will be fatally wounded to die. That is to perish even though it is filling the world."
The time segment for what is perishing is short and only once in a while. Everything we hear and see is about man's being born and living this or that way, but it is rare to hear and see about man's death. People would pay attention to death should they hear and see about death all the time, but in fact dying is sighted shortly and rarely, and living is prevalent and continuous so that people are inevitably oriented to living only.
A wise man of the Holy Spirit would rather pay attention to what is just dead than all of what is alive. A wise man understands, "Even though it is so many in number, its end is that death," and is minded to prepare himself according to this view. This is a man of the Holy Spirit, and this is hard to understand.
Verse 4
"He gave his authority to the beast." Who is the dragon? The Satan. Satan gives his authority to the beast. Let us defer indicating who the beast is. We will see it in the end of this sermon. The beast. The beast will dash us in fury. You can identify him even though I do not name him explicitly. What does the beast indicate? You can find out at least who the beast is if you think carefully.
"They worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast." As the dragon gives his authority to the beast, the beast worships the dragon. The beast worships the dragon. All the beasts worship the dragon. The beasts all belong to the dragon. The dragon governs all the beasts.
"They worshiped the dragon ... and they worshiped the beast." Now men worship the two, the dragon and the beast. It is men that worship the two.
"Saying, 'Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?'" Therefore, "The beast is the best," because the dragon has given him authority. "The beast is the best. What is better than the beast? Who is better than the beast?" No one denies the beast. All the people are centered on the beast and belong to the beast, living hoping for him.
"There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies." Whom did the beast receive the mouth from? The dragon. He has received a mouth to utter big words a billionth of which he cannot do. He is noisy, but he is unable to perform even a billionth of what he clamors.
Verse 5
"Arrogant words," "blasphemies." There are words which only God can say. The beast who cannot say them says them, and who has no right to say them says them. What is an example of 'arrogant words'? "Nothing impossible! It is almighty! It is omnipotent!" What is 'the almighty science'? Blasphemy. 'Almighty materialism' is a blasphemy. It is an abominable word. It is an arrogant word, a billion times inordinate.
"And authority to act for forty-two months was given to him." Forty-two months is three and a half years. The time from the creation until the Second Advent of Jesus is measured seven, and is symbolized as seven years in Daniel several times. Three and a half years is for the Old Testament era and the other three and a half years is for the New Testament era.
"And authority to act for forty-two months was given to him." Whatever the beast may do, his authority is to be concluded after forty-two months in the New Testament era. Conclusion. Satan will be thrown into the abyss. Also the saints will be raised all from the dead and transformed, and there will be some remaining, propagating race on the earth who will be multiplying exceedingly fast during the millennium.
The saints who will be resurrected will be like angels. The saints will be then in the world, and visible if others want to see them, and tangible if others want to touch them, and available to have a meal together if others want to. The saints will look like man but at the same time they will be like angels.
There will be no Satanic temptation while Satan is confined in the abyss. The propagating race will submit to the saints and will be taught by the saints, and the saints in turn will be practicing the government of the kingdom of heaven which they will be ushered into. The saints will be practicing the future governorship until the thousand years are completed when Satan is released from the abyss.
It is not certain whether the population of the propagating race then will be larger than that of the present world or smaller, but it is conjectured to be as large as that of current world. As Satan is released and leads the propagating race astray, the propagating race will become Satanic and they will defy and resist the saints. Assuming that the saints are of the same as they, they will gather themselves to destroy the camp of the saints, and fire will come down from heaven and devour them. The propagating race will be thus completely finished.
Verse 6
"And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God." The beast now opens his mouth in blasphemies against God. He slanders God. He calumniates God. That which has been created lives in the midst of the whole creation and blasphemes God. Communism is also what blasphemes God. Atheism which denies God is also what blasphemes God. God has predestinated them to blaspheme God Himself. Everything blasphemes God, and the whole blasphemes God; now faith comes from denying all the powerful, and admitting the invisible God to be true and powerful and real, instead of all that are visible.
"In blasphemies against God." He blasphemes the name of God. To blaspheme His name means to oppose whatever God does. We ought to take it as usual to experience that. This is what God predestinated, to distinguish the believer from the unbeliever, and to manifest the perseverance and faith of the saint.
"... to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven." Tabernacle means the Church. The Church is in the earth, but it is not in the earth. It is in heaven; children of God dwell with everlasting lives in higher dimensions, and they are not of the same kind as the propagating race.
Verse 7
"It was also given to him." He will receive authority from the dragon. "... to make war with the saints." The saints here are individual saints. The beast will wage war with the saints, "... and to overcome them." They will win. They will win superficially over a saint and thoroughly over another saint, but they will be completely overcome by a true saint.
It seemed that they overpowered Jesus to crucify Him, but in fact it was what Jesus submitted Himself to God to complete the final obedience. They thought that it would come to an end when they killed Him in the cross, but it was only that He completed the propitiation through His death. They appeared to win but inside the Lord won. This shows how the battle of the saint is waged.
"It was also given to him ... to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and tongue and nation was given to him." He is given authority over people, every tongue, nation, and tribe. He governs and rules them. So there is none greater than he. Now that he is great, everyone professes that he is right, and lives following him. Only will the one remain intact who believes that God made the word of covenant and He promulgated it in prophecy; but even the elect who are not true will be secularized.
Verse 8
"All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain." Everybody worships the beast, hopes for the beast, and depends upon the beast as the greatest. They worship the beast.
The people will all live belonging to the beast to serve him, except those who are the elect and regenerate. Even those who are regenerate but unfaithful will belong to the beast to serve him throughout their lives.
The constructional salvation depends upon one's life, and a completely failed life will not command the constructional salvation but the foundational salvation only. The one whose work is burned up will be saved, in shame and through fire. Even the elect who are unfaithful all will worship the beast, and of course all who are not elected will worship the beast. Who is the beast whom everything is centered on?
Verse 9
"If anyone has an ear, let him hear." Anyone can hear with the physical ear, of course. What is the ear? It is the ear with which one adopts, as his own, the knowledge of the Old and New Testaments, and with which he appraises and judges, and with which he admits what is provided and promised by this knowledge. It is the ear that recognizes the knowledge of God. One can hear this word who recognizes the knowledge of God, but one cannot hear this word who does not recognize the knowledge of God. Again, one cannot hear who does not have the conscience in faith.
There is the One who has created all these, and fed and brought them up. Now there is the Owner, or Master. The rest betray Him and do whatever they wish. In the human world, an old and crippled parent who is rich may be subject to the exaction of his children. "Grandfather, do not let us do this. It is no use your sitting on the money. We will lift you up and put you aside, and take the money." "Father, we will borrow your money in bank account and you have to give us the bankbook. We will repay you later." Children can take by force what money their parents own, and that is it. It is helpless if the owner of something is powerless.
It works on human being, but this One never becomes old. This One, the Creator, never gets old or feeble. He has provided human beings with instructions, and granted them to do whatever they wish about what He has established, but in the end He will recompense according to their deeds. We should not think this One as man who gets old and feeble. He never gets old, nor does He get feeble.
He wants to pick out the one who will admit Him and His covenant, and admit His laws as true and right, and admit His justice. He wants to pick out the one who will follow Him while ten others are trying to prevent him from following Him, while a thousand others are trying to prevent him, and while the whole world is trying to prevent him. He dispenses the world and the age of Church because He wants to pick the one. He never gets old.
Verse 10
"If anyone leads into captivity, to captivity he goes." Whoever will take this step while keeping anything in possession will be captured by the beast. The saint is being brought up to be a king who will transcend the beast eternally as his master and will rule the beast eternally as his king.
It is a matter regarding what is in the earth; "I do not think that I can go without this. I must carry this along. I cannot give this up." "Then it will make you renounce the truth." "Yes, but I cannot give it up even though I will have to give up the truth." "Then it will grieve God." "Yes, but I cannot give it up even though I will have to grieve God." "Then it will make you oppose yourself to God." "Yes, but I cannot give it up even though I will have to oppose myself to God."―this person is of futile. Everything is finally concluded through this single issue.
"If anyone leads into captivity, to captivity he goes." If there is any single thing that a saint thinks more highly than the Lord, the truth, his own true man, and this salvation, he will be led into captivity. That is what hooks him. He may escape in some other situations, but there is no escaping when he is hooked. "If anyone leads into captivity, to captivity he goes."
Therefore, "None of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." The Lord may not be pleased even if a saint follows Him. It is a matter of 'more than whom.' Whom does the saint love more? Whom does he depend upon more? What does he do more than what he would do to God? God is willing to be received only when He is exalted more than anyone or anything else when compared and weighed. When the saint loves someone most, an other one second most, and a third one third most, God would not accept to be loved fourth most. God is not such a One.
He ever argues about that. "Let Me see. You have begotten Isaac, your favorite. Offer Isaac as a burnt offering to Me." It was when after a sleepless night Abraham was delighted to offer his son that God said "Now I know that you fear Me." That is, "Now I know that you admit that I am the greatest and all things belong to Me and I am the Ruler. Then I can give you Isaac with blessing. If you had thought Isaac more highly than Me, I could not have given Isaac to you with blessing because all would perish when Isaac grows up." It is said 'Now.'
"If anyone leads into captivity, to captivity he goes." We cannot follow the Lord unless we give up all our own possessions. Let us suppose that a saint is going with ten things, or objects. God says to him and he answers; "They are heavy for you. You had better leave them here and go on your way. I can give you what you need whenever you need one." "I would rather carry them with me." After he goes some distance, God says, "Leave this here." "Yes, I will leave it here."
"Let Me see. Let Me see how much what he likes is in conflict with Me." Now God says to him who is carrying ten objects. "Leave all of them here." "Yes." It is proven that he is not hesitant. Then God gives him the ten objects. He can give him and He can commit to him the objects because he regards God more highly than them.
The saint can be persistent. "I will not follow You if I have to give this up here." "Then what are you going to do?" "I will stay here for a while, and then I will follow You later." The saint stays there with his ten objects. In the end God will say to him, "Decide which of the two you will choose, the word of God or the ten objects." God will surely require this of the saint.
The saint can be worse than he is persistent. The person carries with himself ten, twenty, or a hundred of what he values more highly than God. There can be no argument between God and him, and God is condoning him in the hope that he may become alive. God's connivance at his conduct does not mean his salvation.
"If anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed." 'To kill with the sword' means that it is a worldly strategy. Worldly strategy is the strategy of violence and artifice. To lie well is also quite effective. Communists win every war by lying, and by half-lying. It is very likely that an assassin might be present here now. He would kill me later any time it is convenient to kill me. I am saying this to let you, brethren, know in advance. You cannot hear about this anywhere but here.
Lying is a strategy in the world. Doing something with money is a strategy in the world. Doing something with power is a strategy in the world. Doing something with coaxing and cajolery is a strategy in the world.
Our strategy is not like theirs. Our strategy is to take up the full armor of God, and our arms are what He has given, the sharp two-edged sword which is the truth of God. Our strength is what God Himself is doing inside us. So for example, however hard we may desire, we cannot push if He forbids us to. We have our fist which is small and weak, but we have the same fist to break anything that is bigger than the earth. We will break it when God commands us to break it. This is the strategy of God.
'Anyone killing with the sword' means the worldly strategy. Anyone who employs a worldly strategy may seem to be wise, but he is doomed to perish owing to the very worldly strategy. So even though the word of the cross seems to be foolishness, it is not. It is of wisdom. Let us remember this firmly too.
"Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints." What the saints are generally doing is that they go up to the ninth floor with one more floor to reach the destination, and they will give up the final floor and turn back. The saint must give up all his possessions, must not use the worldly strategy but the strategy of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the truth, and must use only the strategy of the salvation of love of Christ; Jesus used this strategy to win. Then even though the beast looks like a bear or a leopard to the others, he does not look like a bear to the saint and he does not look like a leopard to the saint. They are what the Lord has given to the saint as gifts of love; they can never harm the saint.
It is not until the saint leaves God because of the beast that any harm will be initiated to hurt him. It is when the saint becomes closer to Him because of the beast that he will accompany the Lord at the dens of lions and the mountains of leopards. So when the saint has conserved his submission to God and his fear of God, then now that it has been manifested how he, like Daniel, loves God, how he exalts Him, and how he keeps His commandments, the saint will be a delight to God, the light to the world, and a crown of glory in the eternal world.
Conclusion
Up to now we have talked about the beast which came out of the sea. The beast out of the sea means the world. The seven of 'the seven heads' is the number of God, and 'the seven heads' means the leading thoughts in the world, as many as it can be, a hundred or a thousand. The ten of 'the ten horns' is the full number of man, and 'the ten horns' means the power in the world, as many as it can be, a thousand or ten thousands. All the strength is of the beast except the strength of the truth and the Holy Spirit, and the strength of God and the truth.
God created the universe and has placed the saint in the middle of it, to train and discipline and establish him as ruler of everything both in the spiritual and material worlds. Therefore we should not be narrow-minded. I talked about the beast out of the sea this morning, and I am going to testify about the beast out of the earth in the afternoon Service.
The first beast looks like a leopard, a bear, and a lion, and receives authority from the dragon, and talks. The dragon makes the whole mankind worship the beast, and the second beast tells those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the first beast. The first beast blasphemes God and His tabernacle, and makes war with the saints and overcomes them.
All these cannot affect the saint who takes hold of God and the truth, giving up all things. These are all to be used by him. The saint is not allowed to have even a thing, besides God and the truth. But every other thing will become of use once the saint becomes the true man who has God and the truth only.
Selected Sermons 04 1982-10-10 Afternoon On the Last Days (Continued) Revelation 13:15-18
15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.
The beast in verses 1 through 10 symbolizes the world, and the beast in verses 11 through 18 symbolizes false Christianity. False Christianity.
Two Points to Prepare for the War Against the World
What we have to do against the beast coming first is not to worship him. We are not to worship him as the greatest, and then we will obtain our victory. We need two points to prepare if we will not worship the beast.
One, we must take hold of nothing. We must entrust our life and death to the Lord, ups and downs and highs and lows to the Lord, and all success and failure to the Lord; only will the one who owns nothing be able not to worship the beast. That decides the faith of a true saint.
Almost all the saints today are masters of what they own, and now at last anyone, who is not willing to entrust all to the Lord but would do everything himself, must worship the beast. He will come to worship the beast, serving him highly and belonging to him, which is indicated in the saying, "If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes."
The other, we must fight, with the Inspiration and the truth following the teachings in the Scripture, not to lose God, the truth, and the true man. We must strive to take hold of God, the truth, and the true man only; we must not think any other thing, and we must not depend upon other means or power which are all the swords in "if anyone kills with the sword, with sword he must be killed."
Our battle is not to lose God, the truth, and the true man. The strategy to win the battle to conserve these three is nothing but to follow the Holy Spirit and the truth. Anyone who has any tactics other than these two, the Holy Spirit and the truth, he has already become a young of the beast coming up out of the sea. He now belongs to the beast. It is said in verses 1 through 10.
We must remember that we are to perish if we grasp anything else and keep it. If we employ worldly strategy, we will fail because of that. The body may be fattened as much as desired and may live long to die without pain, but we are now talking about the constructional salvation, and we are saying that this salvation will fail―we may succeed in everything, but not in our salvation.
How to Discern a False Christianity
Verse 11
"Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon." Now the second beast which came up out of the earth symbolizes false Christianity. Where is this false Christianity coming out?
"Beast coming up out of the earth." The earth here means morality. Meaning opposite to the sea, morality means the laws which mankind has established, and all the society and ethics which mankind has organized.
Christianity based on morality is manifested as moral Christianity, social Christianity, political Christianity, ethical Christianity, humanistic Christianity, and purification movement Christianity; these already came out and have almost occupied the world.
Jesus is the Lamb and here the beast is called a lamb. The term a lamb sounds more innocent and younger than the term the Lamb, and it looks better and kinder than Jesus.
However, "he spoke like a dragon." Now we can identify the beast. The beast is discernable when we see that he speaks like a dragon. The beast speaks of man, not of the Inspiration and the Scripture; he only uses words of the Scripture. What is he talking centering on? We can judge him when he is talking centering on man instead of God and on the world instead of the kingdom of heaven.
The serpent said to Eve when he was tempting her, "Eve, you are better than God. Live on your behalf and live centering on yourself." This worked on her―"Yes, I would rather be a better God than He." So she fell. We should be alert believing rightly to enter into true victory.
"He spoke as a dragon." However noisily the world may rattle and however greatly millions of people may gather and claim, we must test if their testimony of the word is that of a dragon.
Anyone can employ the Scripture. The serpent, Satan, used the Scripture when he was tempting Jesus, "Command that these stones become bread; throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple, as you will not strike your foot against a stone." These are all quoted from the Scripture.
Everyone uses words in the Scripture when testifying, but a conscientious person can easily discern a testimony that is made of words in the Scripture whether it is true or not, by testing if the testimony is centered on God, on behalf of God and for God, or if the testimony is centered on man and is using God on behalf of man. Thus a testimony can be clearly discerned.
People know how to judge a testimony; but after they quench the inspiration of the Holy Spirit a few times, saying, "But ... ", God will not allow them to know the truth. This is how we become unable to judge a testimony.
"He spoke like a dragon." He talks like a dragon. The dragon is no one but Satan, the king of the earth. Even though he testifies using words of the Scripture, we can identify him because he speaks like a dragon.
Verse 12
"He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed." Where did the first beast come from? He came up out of the sea. How many heads does he have? Seven. How many horns does he have? Ten. What are on his heads? Blasphemous names. What are on his horns? Ten diadems.
Now, "He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence." He does everything with emphasis on morality, etiquette or ethics, instead of on the commandments of God or on God, and people will follow him. The authority which he exercises is not that of the truth, and not that of the Inspiration. Whose authority is it written that he is using? He uses the authority of the first beast. The authority of the beast.
It is where you can pick out false Christianity. You cannot pick it out elsewhere. False Christianity. Big church buildings and a large membership do not necessarily mean true Christianity. Our church, Seobu Church, has a large membership but it does not necessarily mean that our church is indeed of true Christianity.
If what a church teaches is words of a dragon, that church is of false Christianity. If a church exercises authority of the world instead of authority of the truth and the Inspiration, that church is of false Christianity. "He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence." There are churches that take worldly authority as their source of strength, and live and work with the worldly authority in background.
There are other churches that try not to use secular authority available to them and wait for God and the truth to work for them, and they acknowledge what God and the truth approve as their support and strength. Also they are aware that what diverges from the truth will perish even though all the authorities in the world may support it, and thus they do not profess such authority as their strength.
There are churches that exercise the authority of the beast. There are churches that speak as a dragon. They are of false Christianity. "And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast." Who is the first beast? The beast that came up out of the sea, whom the earth and those who dwell in it are made to worship. To worship the beast means to do everything for the beast's sake. One may seem to believe in Jesus, but in fact it may be that the one serves the beast. One appears to live in faith, but it may be that what the one really serves, exalts, and hopes for is the beast. The first beast. So much for false Christianity to discern. So much for false Christianity to discern clearly.
"Whose fatal wound was healed." The current beast is nothing but the first beast whose fatal wound was healed. It is quickly destroyed while the world is saying that it will go well. When it is ruined people immediately say that it is ruined, but soon it is restored.
Then emerge two kinds of people. Watching it destroyed unexpectedly, one says, "They can be destroyed in the future as it is destroyed now," keeping in mind that it can be destroyed and paying no attention to the fact that the beast is now healed. The other says, "It can be restored even though it was that much ruined," keeping in mind that it can be restored and paying no attention to the fact that it can be destroyed; this one living only paying attention to the recovery of the beast will perish.
Should it not be concluded perishable now that it is demonstrated that it is a little destroyed? The salvation of God cannot be accomplished without the world―this is a difficult saying. "One of whose heads had been slain and was healed." We do not know how much difficult it is to understand this truth. This is very hard to understand.
Take an example of a healthy person. That healthy person has caught a cold and is now suffering in bed temporarily. Then seeing the sick person in bed, there is one who says, "The body can fall sick however healthy it may be and it can die in the end." There is another who says, "I saw the person fallen sick just a while ago and he is now recovered and healthy." People live looking at one thing with two different views.
There are two kinds of mankind: one lives viewing the body to be ever in health and the other lives viewing the body to be subject to sickness, injury, and death. This belongs to life and that belongs to death.
Verse 13
"He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men." 'To make fire come down out of heaven' means that their movements are fierce. Fire means fervor. Their movements are so intense and forceful, and people are attracted to the strong and great movements. People are inclined to the movements.
Verse 14
"And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life." Now, people are all made to magnify, exalt, and venerate the beast instead of God.
As a believer in Jesus, we must not love the world and the things in the world, as it is written, "If anyone loves the world more than God, the love of God is not in him." We can attain salvation only if we become such that it is easier for us to renounce the world than to renounce God when the world and God are weighed. Given the world and the kingdom of heaven, which would you give up? The one who would rather give up the world than the kingdom of heaven will be given the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is not cheap as one may think. Jesus worked the vicarious redemption for us to enable us to go to the kingdom of heaven because man cannot possibly attain the salvation, not because the kingdom of heaven is cheap and vain. Never.
God will give what belongs to the kingdom of heaven to the one that esteems the kingdom of heaven over the world, and God will become his God to give him the salvation when he exalts God over all the creation and himself; the salvation will not be given to him otherwise. It is only because God is waiting for us to come to a decision that God allows us to vacillate.
"He deceives those who dwell on the earth, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak."
Who is the beast? The one who represents the world, or the speaking beast. That this beast speaks indicates that it is a man. The one who has taken the world in his hand, he has risen above the world now, higher than God. Higher than God. The man is higher above than God.
Verse 15
"And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed."
"As many as do not worship the image of the beast." Here comes this. "Cause as many as do not worship to be killed." If one tries to overcome, if one does not worship the image of the beast, "he causes as many as do not worship to be killed." He causes anyone, who does not worship the beast that came up first, to be killed.
Then what is the beast that came the second doing for? What is the second beast acting an agent of? What is the second beast being used for? What is the second beast exalting? What is the second beast for? What is the second beast doing for? Having received the authority from the first beast, the second beast is serving the first beast, it is for the first beast, and it is acting as the agent of the first beast. This is false Christianity. The false Christianity.
We ought to know first before we believe. Christianity is not that easy to believe in, but what is truly sanctified can reign heaven and earth, and it can reign and tread under foot the spiritual world and material world. It is competitive, not incompetent. It can command and take as servants the host of heaven and angels. Why? The one who is truly sanctified is full of God inside himself. He moves connected to God, so he is like a God to the creation even though he himself is a creature. There is nothing in him different from God. Inside him, he is a creature and not God. Outwardly, God whom he is connected to is manifested through him, which makes him overcome the world.
He does not yield to worship the beast that came up out of the sea first even though he is forced to worship the beast. How can he endure now that he refuses to worship the beast? He can endure because he has already given up everything. Despite a threat to kill him, he has entrusted his life to the Lord, living and dying, and ups and downs and highs and lows, and victory and defeat. Having entrusted all to God, he has nothing to do but to love and serve God according to the laws of God. He does nothing but that.
The second beast forbids the saint to do that. Even though the second beast tries to forbid him and threatens to kill him, is it effective to threaten to kill him now that he has committed his life and death to the Lord? Is it effective to threaten to impoverish him? Is it effective to threaten to starve him? Of no avail. There is no means to engage the saint. Anyone but he cannot but worship the first beast.
Now the cunning beast that came out second has assumed the authority of the beast that came out first. Speaking like the first beast, or a dragon, the second beast appears to be a lamb with two horns, looking in every way of the religion of Jesus Christ, in every kindness of the religion of Jesus that everybody respects, in every love of the religion of Jesus, and in every morality of the religion of Jesus.
The second beast is not Jesus the Lamb but is a false Christ, and is a young of the first beast, because "He spoke like a dragon. He exercised the authority of the first beast. He told those who dwell on the earth to serve and exalt the first beast, and the image even spoke." Somehow the second beast has had the world back himself up to become a prince to rule it as a false Christianity, as a talking image, and as a man himself.
Verse 16
"And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead." 'Right hand' means a deed. 'Forehead' means thoughts. They are forced to accept the thoughts of the beast or to do deeds of the beast.
Verse 17
"And he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name." 'Forbid to buy or to sell' means to forbid commercial activities, that is, to make it impossible to live on the earth. Making one unable to live.
Thus, is it not reasonable to go a way for an easier living? Why should we ever bear and serve Jesus who is persecuted, mocked, despised, and contemned? Why should we ever go a way in which it is impossible to live and trade? As many as are killed, then is there a point in following Jesus? It is a true believer that follows the Lord when as many as are killed and are not allowed to buy and sell. God has created the universe to pick out this believer. God has created the spiritual world for that. God loses nothing. God is not deceived.
Therefore "the word of the cross appears to be foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it appears to be the power of God." That is why Paul said, "Many walk enemies of the cross. Their end is destruction." How long will it last, if ever, that is good in the world?
We can see people with good things, very good things in the world. It is desirable to believe in the Lord with good things, to become connected to the Lord and to please Him. It is good because the Lord has given it, and it is good because He is pleased to make it better. If, however, it is a good thing in the earth that has been acquired by selling the Lord, the truth, and the eternal salvation, it is only pitiful and miserable, and in fact it is anything but good.
"He provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark." What is the mark? 'The name of the beast.' What does this mean? It means the name of the world―the world of this or that and the things in it. The world and the things in it.
Anyone will be killed who does not put the world and the things in it into his own mind, into his deeds, and into what he worships. As many as do not place the world and the things in it before the Lord, the truth, the kingdom of heaven, and the salvation, will be killed. They will be forced until it is impossible to live. They are thus bullied. Bullied in every way, why bother to bear and carry Jesus who is not wanted, who is bad for everything and good for nothing and only burdensome to us? Why bother to take hold of the truth and carry it? Why not collect and throw away to burn down every copy of the Bible? "Filthy and detestable Jesus!"
The one who does not worship the beast in these very circumstances, he is the one who believes in the Lord. He is the one whom God can put in charge of all things. For God, what is it good for to entrust anything to the one who will change when encountering even a little difficulty?
Verse 18
"Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six."
The number is nothing but the number of the beast and the number of man. What does it mean? It is the one who bases himself on the world of money, the one who bases himself on the world of power, the one who bases himself on the world of entertainment, the one who bases himself on the world of arts, and the one who bases himself on the world of man.
Somehow he has not been occupied by God, but has been occupied by man or something in the world. He has enthroned in himself such things as the world or man, not the Lord. In this struggle for the throne, the Lord lost and has not been enthroned; the world and man have occupied the choice throne, the highest throne, and the noblest throne in himself.
"Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six." It is excellent, but it cannot attain to the number of God.
Therefore, one is required to risk being killed if he is not to be given this mark. One must refuse this mark even though he may lose his life; but he cannot refuse it when at the same time he wants to sustain his life intact. One has to be determined not to receive this mark even though consequently he may not sustain his life in the world; but he cannot choose not to receive the mark while keeping his life in the world. When false Christianity tries to convert the true Christianity into false Christianity, they will kill as many as they need since they know this.
Therefore only the one can overcome false Christianity who has already given up life on the altar. Even though he is not allowed to sell or to buy, he will readily give up the commercial activities. He deems it the will of God should he starve to death because of lack of business. He deems it the will of God should he be imprisoned to death. And he deems it the will of God should he be reduced to begging. Either forbidden to earn a living or denied life itself, only the one, who will worship Him and who will observe His laws, can pass without worshipping the beast.
Conclusion
There are two beasts; one came up out of the sea and the other came up out of the earth. Does the one who had two horns like a lamb not seem to be younger and more innocent? One came out of the earth and the other came out of the sea.
What is symbolized by the beast like a leopard, like a bear, and like a lion? It is settled if the beast is not actually what it looks but it just looks like a leopard, a bear, and a lion. However violently it may confront the saint like a leopard or a lion, it cannot intimidate him who has already entrusted his life and death to the Lord. A leopard cannot threaten him, and it matters nothing whether a lion comes or not. This is a conclusion of faith.
Let us remember the two beasts, and the one who does not worship the beast nor is given the mark of the beast, and the victory that comes thereafter. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saint. Here is wisdom. It is good to have wisdom, but let us not fail in the middle of the progress. It is the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to carry out until the end.
He will hear who has ears to hear when he hears this word. He will entrust to the Lord his life, his body, possessions, and all things of his in the world, and he will serve God according to His laws.
The one who lives a life of serving God according to His laws, and acknowledges such life as the only source of his strength, he will overcome. God picks him out. He is needed in the kingdom of heaven. He is a worker of the kingdom of heaven. Anyone who is not like him would be of no use there, only rubbish to clear out.
First, to serve God. What is the other? The laws to serve God. What is the third? The one living like this. We are the ones to go with these three, and the final salvation will be attained only when we go with these three.
Though the Church in Sardis has a name that they are alive, they are in fact dead. Why? Their deeds have not been found completed. We should remember that it is concluded when reaching the summit. Every life in faith has a climax, that is, crossing over a hill, the last hill. Jesus too was grieved and distressed to the point of death to cross over the climax, to fulfil the holiest and impartial law of God, so as not to infringe the utmost fairness of God through any one cell in His body not willing to go on. Such is the way of life. We cannot go while carrying even a thing. "None of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." No discount.
Entire mankind with one accord will submit to the beast that came out of the sea. It is becoming more solitary to continue believing in Jesus. Further the beast that came out of the earth acts an agent of the first beast. Anyone fleeing to the Lamb, or a true saint, is now isolated, and as many as are killed.
Why does He allow us to be killed? To die is not a matter since it is appointed for men to die once. If we are to die the death already appointed for men, then we ought to die for Him, the truth, and the kingdom of heaven, which is nothing but the very victory of Jesus. Let us understand, and believe without discounting. It is not that easy to believe in Jesus.
