You know, if you read Daniel and you follow up on his prophecies, you have to come to the conclusion that this is phenomenal work, it's spiritual work. Whoever authored this Behind Daniel, which is God. Is worthy of being worshipped. But the world says no. Not enough proof.
We'll tell you what the proofs are. We will not accept This dictation of terms by God. You can worship anything we make. You just can't worship the Maker. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston.
Ricky is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the last book of the Bible, Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. Today on Cross-Reference Radio, Pastor Rick will continue teaching through the 13th chapter of the book of Revelation.
So Revelation 17, 9, that's where the city of Seven Hills is. What we know is that to be we know that to be Rome. unprecedented global rule and uh this Incidentally is where the woman sits who rides on the beast Revelation 17.3. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, that's this one here, full of blood. He continues, on a scarlet beast full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Well, the ten horns are the heads of state with the power to enforce its will. And they're going to turn on this Woman that is a religious entity, Revelation seventeen. 16. and the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, Make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. You see the brutal language that belongs in the Scripture?
God said, I'm not going to edit that out. That's what's happening. That's what's going to happen. is going to be violent. And you won't forget it once you read it.
And so, of course, the apostate church will be left behind, they will function. As an apostate church until that moment, until Antichrist says, you know what, now they're an irritant, they're getting in the way, and they will be dealt with. No one else. That it's a harlot speaks of its unfaithfulness and its paganism, its leavened spirit. It's not a wife.
It's never been a wife. These are important little. Absences and inclusions of words that speak volumes to us. Any anyway That no one else fits the bill. She's bedecked with all sorts of jewels that speaks of her wealth.
There's no religious organization on earth that has got the wealth. of the Roman Catholic Church in her vaults. Are hidden tapestries and statues and gold and things that we don't get to see, and no one gets to know about. Even the oil. companies That's all going to be lost to Antichrist when he deals with them.
So the woman that rides the beast is what I. I believe that points to when we get to chapter 17, we'll lay it out even more. Anyway, and I'm certainly not the only one. If you think that's hard preaching against Roman Catholicism, then you should go listen to the Reformers, because they are brutal. They thought the popes were the Antichrist.
Well, John picks up this numerical imagery from again Daniel with the ten toes and the statue of clay. And the ten toes, of course, doesn't take a genius to connect that. to these ten heads uh ten horns, that is, that are on the seven heads. The Apostles seize this monster as the final world government. But let's come back to the Ten Horns here.
the power unto Antichrist. 10 is a number of governing Unity of different parts, different parts coming together. That is how it shows up that way often in Scripture, that governing unity made of parts. Here, well, if you have. seven heads with ten horns.
You could have three heads with two horns, and all the rest with one.
Well, you could have four heads with one horn. Uh or you can have one head with four horns and the rest only get one horn. I'm just going to show you that because if you start getting too deep into prophecy, you can lose your mind on certain points because it's just not enough information, but it doesn't have to have more information. You can understand from that mathematical equation That some of those heads have more power than the others. but they're all in it together.
And that is the world. as we know it.
So Antichrist. He is the beast over these other heads. He's one of those heads. Daniel chapter 7: I was considering the horns. And there was another horn.
a little one coming up among them before whom the woman Three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there In this horn were eyes like a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words, which gets repeated by John and defined between Daniel and John, totally in rhythm together. And on his horns ten crowns, Well, these are they're they're rulers of the world, and that means they have armies and nations and resources in back of them. And they'll be able to quite easily persecute converts.
Now, when the church was born, Rome did not know what to do with the church. They thought the Christians were a sect of Roman, of Judaism. And so they they sort of left the Christians alone. They didn't persecute the Jews directly. They conquered them.
They gave them a pass on many things. And so they gave the Christians a pass too. But once they realized, hey, wait a minute, the Christians aren't part of Judaism, they began to persecute the Christians.
Well, that's going to be repeated. And these seven years, the Christians will be persecuted the whole time. But The Jews wouldn't will get a pass for three and a half years. And then that pass Will be taken with, you know, pulled away, and they will be persecuted for the last three and a half years, and that's when they'll begin to wake up. and realize that this is just like the prophets said.
And this man speaking the pompous words is indeed the Antichrist that the Christians have been preaching about. And on his horns ten crowns. I've covered that already. Daniel 7:24. The ten horns are ten kings who shall rise from this kingdom.
Now he's connecting the Roman Empire to the future kingdom of Antichrist when he talks this, and another shall rise after them, and he shall be different from the first ones and shall subdue three kings. And part of this is because no one has ruled the entire world. But these characters that Daniel presents will. We just read over, what is it, verse 7, every tribe, tongue, and nation.
Well, it's not happened before. Alexander tried it. Napoleon tried it. Others have tried it. But then they couldn't pull it off.
They get large sections, but not the entire world. And globalization. With modern technology and And industry will allow this. And all the things that go with that, the commerce, the ability to interact with each other is unprecedented. You don't have to send a messenger or a horse anymore.
Well, you can. But it's quicker to just text them. Anyway, and on his head's a blasphemous name. These are the Christ haters. You cannot blaspheme a man.
You blaspheme deity. Only God can be blasphemed, and of course. They're not, there's more coming. Verse 2.
Now, the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like a bear, and his mouth. like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, and His throne is And great authority.
So there's Satan pouring everything into. His uh is his little protege. This is Daniel's fourth beast. in Daniel's prophecy and These animals are all predators. They will do violence.
And this exceeds the power and ferocity of the Roman Empire. in the last days.
Now, well, well, let me put it this way. What we have here Is this Joining. Of those powers that Daniel talked about, the Babylonians, the Medo-Persians, the Greeks. Uh and then the Roman Empire They're all merged together in Antichrist. He's going to have all that power.
and more than what those kingdoms had.
So John He sees this eclectic beast. This global hodgepodge of world powers. in its final form. in its revived form, with Western civilization leading it. Globalization will achieve this.
And we we Christians, we see the evil of globalization. We see that, you know, let's strip them of their culture and let's just get everybody on the same page. And to do that, you've got to get Christ out of the way. We now have a resistance against that. But it won't last.
But eventually. Other players will come in. and get it back to its perversity. Uh and that's you know uh that's it's not uh Just facts. It doesn't care about the emotions of of anyone.
It's just the facts that's going to be.
So the beast of Daniel's vision represents The kingdoms in the last days, the last kingdoms. It sums it up. This final This uh A final revived empire. We'll have it all. Historians will love it as they're writing about it.
All the pundits will be interviewed and they're just going to love what's happening. And the Christians will be out of the way and they'll make their little barbs against it because they're all blasphemy is on the head of the leaders and the people adore it.
So together they portray this destructive force of wickedness embodied in the beast, the leopard. Spotted. Beyond change. That was right. You know the scripture, you know, you know, can a leopard change its spots?
No, it cannot, unless God does something.
Well, this character is wicked as Satan is, and can't be otherwise. Satan cannot be good. Didn't have it in them. He has decided who he is. And he loves being who he is, and God knows that.
And it's fixed.
So the leopard, the bear, the bear leaves a large footprint, and it's a powerful footprint. And the wickedness of Antichrist will leave its footprint on the planet. The lion, with its large fangs, the killer bite. Of the lion, the ferocity, violent characters these are, and Antichrist. will again Combine these images from Daniel's prophecies that have already come true.
Daniel's prophecies concerning Babylon, Medo, Persia, the Greeks, and the Romans, it's all come true.
Well Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard.
Well, again, the the beast isn't adequate description. It defines who this person is. And so here's a great contrast that you might notice. God has His spotless Lamb. Satan has his spotted leopard.
That's the imagery that's given to us. First Peter. Chapter one The precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish, and without spot. You know, if you read Daniel and you follow up on his prophecies, you have to come to the conclusion. that this is phenomenal work, it's spiritual work.
Whoever authored this Behind Daniel, which is God. is worthy of being worshipped. But the world says no. There's not enough proof. We'll tell you what the proofs are.
We will not accept This dictation of terms by God. You can worship anything we make. You just can't worship the Maker. It's insanity. It's the mystery of lawlessness.
The prophets did not see coming well mannered gentlemen rising into the future world government. They saw men that will behave like animals. Spotted leopards, Bears and lions. That's who John sees coming out of the the sea. He didn't say and I saw businessmen in finely pressed suits that were all really just nice people.
and they just manage the world in a wonderful way. That's not what he saw. He tells us what he saw. in words that we can that every generation can understand. vicious, bloodthirsty, Christ-hating, animal-like human beings.
Well, the dragon gave him his power. Dragon's been defined already. We know who that direct reference to Satan, Lucifer, and his hordes. It says the dragon gave him His power, his throne, and great authority.
Well, of course he did. Second Thessalonians. And I repeat some of these verses. I know, I have the notes, I know I've said them in previous studies. But that's what it takes for those of you who's trying to keep up.
It takes for some repetition. And for those of you who are already versed in these things, you just get satisfaction out of hearing things you already know and believe. Yeah, you get them. You're saying that to me. Anyway.
2 Thessalonians chapter 2. The coming of the lawless one, another moniker of Satan, of the Antichrist. He's the vile person, the beast, the Antichrist. He's got a bunch of names. And here's one, the lawless one.
is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders.
Now, a lot of good commentators get confused with these lying wonders when it comes down to this. False prophet Are his miracles genuine? Or are they fake?
Well, you're gonna side with me when they get there and you'll see why. Anyway, let's go back to this. We're coming to it soon, some of it. Verse. Uh look, I can have some fun from here too.
And verse 3, And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed, and all the world marveled and followed the beast.
Well, this is a development. His popularity is escalated by an assassination attempt. It's reemphasized twice more by the false prophet in verses twelve and fourteen of this chapter. But I mentioned to you, some think the lying wonders are not real wonders, they are lying wonders. I'm not so sure of that.
I think that they are wonders but they're lying as to where they come from.
Well, this is an example. Zechariah chapter 11.
Now, Zechariah is dealing with the end times in the Jewish people. A very dominant part of his his prophecy. And he is dealing with it in chapter 11.
So he says, Woe to the worthless shepherd. Pause. A shepherd in the Old Testament was not only someone who kept sheep, but it was a ruler. A ruler was to shepherd the flock, and when they did not take care of the people, they were known as worthless shepherds. Ezekiel thirty four, I think it is, has a whole story on this.
But here's one in Zechariah. Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock Well, he makes a covenant with the Jews, as he's taking care of them. like a shepherd would. And then he breaks that covenant.
Well, a sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye. His arm shall be shall completely wither. and his right eye shall be totally blinded.
Okay.
Well, Zechariah, why are you telling us that? Who is this person? There's nobody that fits this description. Where does this match up with anybody in Scripture?
Well, I think it matches up right here. Because again, his is an end times theme. related to Israel. And he's mortally wounded. He's not supposed to survive this.
And he does. The six other heads are not harmed, but the Antichrist one is. And now, some will allegorize that and say, well, it's really the government. It's a no, there's a person. He is.
He's uh Wounded severely, and his deadly wound was healed.
Well, it looked like a death blow.
So the ones that say, well, these are lying wonders, they're not. really wonders there. fake miracles, smoke and mirrors, there's magic going on.
Well I have a lot of problems with that. One of them is when Moses and Aaron face the magicians of Pharaoh, And Pharaoh's magicians put down their rods that turned into serpents, and Aaron's rod swallowed them.
Well, if that's smoke in mirrors And it doesn't make any sense. It could just expose the magic, but they actually swallowed them. This is a physical interaction. Satan was granted powers and they were defeated in front of everybody.
So, I have no problem.
Now, if you say, no, I think they're just lying wonders, they're not really miracles, well, that's fine. It's certainly not an. uh something to argue over. But I think when you see it For what it is. You understand that people are watching somebody, they're fact-checking them, and they're realizing, you know what, this guy has got power like we've never seen, and they fall in love with him.
His deadly wound was healed, and all the world marvelled and followed the beast. He's immortalized now. The man of sin, which is another name for him. And so I apply Zechariah 11, 17. To him.
Nothing fake about his wound, a serious wound that he survives. Verse 4.
So they worship the dragon who gave authority to the beast. And they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?
Well, they become fanatics at this point. They're not listening to anything. Except the tribulation saints, they'll know 'cause they've been reading Scripture and they know this is just what it's been called. And we're going to side with Christ knowing That they're going to kill us for it. How powerful is that?
Boy, it makes us wonder, what would I do? What would you do if you say, boy, they're going to kill me? What's going to happen to my family?
Well, if they're believing with me, they're going to kill them too.
So they're actually worshiping the power behind the beast. Which is Satan? They don't see it that way. John is helping them out.
Well, today when we share things about what's going on in the world, When we look at boys wearing girls' clothes and stuff like that, we point out to the world. This is not just Craziness. This is satanic. They don't understand that. They push against that.
And it's up to us when the Lord opens the door to lay it out for them. to explain it to them. With one goal in mind. to saving their soul. We're not trying to just win the argument.
We're not trying to just, you know, have better government. That'd be nice. The main thing is saving souls.
So the very thing the devil craves is to be worshipped. Treat it like God. Isaiah chapter 14 verse 14, I will be like the Most High. What did he say to Jesus in the wilderness? Bow down and worship me.
Because that's what he craves. He couldn't even help himself. Christ made sure, he says, I want that in ink. I want that printed. I want generations to know Who is this character, without a doubt?
And they can line it up with the Old Testament, and that's how we get our witnesses in Scripture. confirming Scripture. Anyway. They, after he survives this, they will ascribe divinity to the Antichrist and love every minute of it. This is the one we've been waiting for.
For what? Waiting for what? What are you waiting for?
Well The one world religion is is part of the coming globalization. And uh That idols are not just these lifeless images. There's a network of demonic powers behind all of them. Any time a human being says, I think God is this. If he doesn't get it from the Scripture, Then it's idolatry.
and of its idolatry, its satanic influences, regardless of how subtle it may be. And this is again New Testament teaching. Even Paul taught that.
Well, the great tribulation converts. rather die Then genuflet. The Beast. And the Jews will, as a nation, come around as the persecutions. Of the Christians won't move them, but once the beast goes against their temple, And them directly, that's when they'll start coming around.
So the bravery of the Born of faith And he's Great tribulation converts. accepting Christ's sentence Of eternal salvation rather than fearing the sentence of death from Antichrist. How many of us miss that when we think of the book of Revelation? When we think of the book of Revelation, we think of, you know, what's all the hell breaking loose on earth. How conscious are we that our God is so merciful, He's still saving souls?
In the midst of all this, and that those getting saved know it's coming.
Now maybe not all of them, they might not all get a chance, but many of them will certainly know. I'm a believer in Christ. I don't have many Daves. They're gonna find out. They're gonna come get me.
And they're not going to tolerate it. I will be killed. More to come on that because the scripture is going to drive this home, and it will also drive home the punishment that, well, let me get ahead of myself. And they worship the beast. Why not just worship Jesus?
He's the one that's got all the proof.
Well. They have all their excuses. Six times in this book. In this book it is pointed out that that if you worship this beast, you're done. There's no forgiveness.
There does come a point where there is no forgiveness, and individuals won't want it anyway. That's in Revelation 14, verse 9, verse 11. Revelation 15 verse 2. Revelation 16 verse 2 Revelation 19 verse 20. in Revelation 20 verse 4.
Why did I take the time to say that? Because we tend to think, you mean there's no more chance to hope? Yeah, there comes a time when there's no more hope. Yeah. Um This has been Cross Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston.
This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreference radio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings. While you're there, you can also find links to follow our program on your favorite podcast app, as well as links to get connected with us on Facebook and YouTube. There's also an interviews tab where you can learn more about Pastor Rick's heart for ministry.
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