Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith. Could conditions get so bad that the world would cry out for a dictator to set things right? You bet. His name, the Antichrist. This coming world ruler will utter words of peace, but do deeds of war.
Only the glorious physical return of Christ will stop His reign of terror. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Irwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Irwin Lutzer is in a series on seven signs of Christ's return. Today we turn again to the Book of Daniel for sign number three: the rise of a world dictator.
Pastor, these days we can put Daniel chapter seven and news headlines side by side and see the same thing. Dave, you have summarized it so well. A day is coming when the antichrist is going to rule, but the good news is Jesus is going to return. He's going to destroy his enemies, and he will triumph as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And to all who are listening, I want to encourage you to make sure that your faith and trust is in Jesus Christ, so that you will be exempt from the judgments that are still to come.
I'm holding in my hands a book entitled "When Jesus Returns." For a gift of any amount, we're making it available for you because we want you to think about the future. We want you to anticipate the return of Jesus. And no matter how difficult life becomes, you know, as a believer, that it will end very well. As a matter of fact, it's going to end gloriously. Here's what you can do: go to rtwoffer.com.
But for now, let's go to the pulpit of Moody Church. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them, and he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. Wow! And all the inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast. All those whose names have not been written in the book of life, belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
Awesome. The worship during that period of time is so important that that's why the next message that I preach is going to be simply on end time religion and the kind of religion that will operate during that period of time. It's too important to simply deal with in passing. But I want you to notice that the authority of the beast is absolutely overwhelming, and all worship him.
Now I believe that there will be saints during the tribulation period, because they will be converted sovereignly by God, and the everlasting gospel will be preached, and so forth. And that's why you have saints that appear here, even though many of us think that we ourselves are going to be snatched away and already in heaven. But I want you to notice the authority that he has. Men and women throughout the whole world worshiping him. Finally, at last, the religions of the world will be unified.
Except that there are some God's people who do not worship the beast, and as a result of that, as we shall see in a moment, they are in terrible, terrible difficulty.
Now. We've talked about the dragon who corresponds to God the Father. We've spoken about the beast, the Antichrist, who corresponds to Christ. Who then is the one who corresponds to the Holy Spirit?
Well, he's mentioned here in verse eleven. He is the one who later on is called the false prophet. You'll notice it says in verse eleven, "Then I saw another beast coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast." Let's pause here for a moment and remind ourselves of the responsibility of the Holy Spirit.
Is to point to Christ. Jesus said regarding the Holy Spirit, He will not speak of Himself, but He shall speak of Me. Notice how this beast now does not want to attract any personal attention, but He causes other people to worship the first beast, and He does miracles to prove it. You'll notice it says that He is able. Verse twelve.
He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And you'll notice he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs, he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast. He deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
That's maybe the abomination of desolation when there is an image actually set up there next to the temple, as Daniel said, and Jewish people are supposed to bow down and worship that image. They are to worship the beast. Notice it says he was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image of the beast to be killed.
Now, does that mean that Satan has the ability to give life? I don't think so. It could be that this is some kind of fakery, trickery, where he takes an image and actually appears to give the image life, and that is proof that everyone should worship the image and to worship the beast that the image represents. And if not, they are put to death.
Well, thank you for hanging in. We've been quoting a lot of scripture, or I should say, reading a lot of scripture. Antichrist is going to set up a worldwide religion, and most will follow it. Let me give you stage number four in his career. He will maintain economic controls.
Economic controls. Notice, we're just continuing to read at verse sixteen. He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. Oh boy. Is verse eighteen ever true?
This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast. For its man's number, his number is six, six, six. Of course, you know there's been a lot of speculation as to how Antichrist will control the world and control economics, because if you control economics, you control the world. Hitler personally was terribly exasperated that he could not control people more than he could.
He was bothered by the fact that there were people even within his empire who were not bowing to him and who were not following his orders, and and there was really nothing he could do because the people, personally and privately in their hearts, you see, were able to stand against him, even if they didn't do so publicly. And this bothered him to think: when you are a control freak, when you are so demonized, it troubles you to know that there are subjects within your realm who are not under your authority.
Well, of course, as I mentioned last time, Newsweek magazine had an article which I quoted, in which they said that experiments are being done where you can have chips, biochips, that are actually on your hand or on your forehead, and in this way, scanners will be able to enable you to do business. And maybe it says even a cashless society would be best, and all that we would have is electronic money. And whether or not the beast is going to do it that way, all that we know is that technology today is in place that has never happened before in history, where it would be possible to control people economically. And if you control them economically, you control their fate, at least in this world.
Now, what happened to those who do not submit? What about those who say, "No, I would rather not buy anything if it means allegiance to the beast." Look at chapter fourteen, verse nine of the book of Revelation. A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or the hand, he too will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of His wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever.
There is no rest, day or night, for Those who worship the beast in his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name, this calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. Wow! So, what's going to happen is those who follow the beast may win in this life, but they most assuredly are going to lose in the life to come. He will maintain strict economic controls. Number five.
And I think this is the best part. He will end in the lake of fire. Take your Bible, and you're already in the Book of Revelation. Turn just a few more pages to chapter 19. Chapter 19: Jesus Christ comes to Earth.
We'll be reading the first part of the chapter when we talk about His return in another message. But notice in verse 19, this is how it all ends. Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet that had performed the miraculous signs in his behalf. With these signs, he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped his image.
The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with a sword that came out of the mouth of the rider of the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. It's a terrible, ugly scene. But notice now you're in chapter 19. Look at chapter 20, verse 10.
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. And they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. I hope that this very quick tour, this very quick tour, of Antichrist's career, has been somewhat helpful. But what I'd like to do now is to make some summary lessons that we can apply and recognize in our own lives based on what we've said. Number one, the first lesson, is a lesson on submission.
My dear friend, if there's anything that Antichrist teaches us, no matter what view we may hold of him, if there's anything that is clear, is this: that no will pitted against God is able to stand. Nobody who takes on God will ever win. Notice where the beast and the false prophet and the devil end up, and I need to remind you of that. I talked to a person one time who was so angry at God because of suffering that he and his family and his relatives had endured. That he says, "If there is a God, and if I have to stand before Him, and if I will be judged by Him, I will spit in His face." He said, "You know, there are three different responses that we can have to God and His mysterious ways in the world.
One is atheism. It's a terrible response." Atheism creates far more problems than it ever solves, and no one is really an atheist. It is impossible to hold that point of view rationally.
So, atheism is one possibility. The other is anger. You can say, if that's the way God is, I want nothing to do with Him because look at the way in which He's running His world. I don't like what God is doing in my life. There's a third response, and that is awe.
To say, "Oh Lord, in light of the fact that you are so great, in light of the fact that I am so small, and you are God, and I am simply a created being," oh Father, I yield to you in every area of my life that you bring to my attention, because I recognize that my will standing against you will never succeed, and that your way is best. What a lesson! What a lesson there is to teach us. The first one is the lesson of submission. Let me give you a second lesson.
The second lesson is the power of the economy. The power of the economy. Notice how the antichrist controls his subjects. They have to take his name. And by the way, we do not know what six six six represents.
There have been all kinds of suggestions. Maybe it just means the number of a man, one less than seven, which is the perfect number. But what does seem to be clear is that the mark of the beast has to be taken on the hand or the forehead. If you want to go to Dominic's and buy a loaf of bread, you will not be able to do it unless you take the Mark of the Beast, which is symbolic of the fact that you are on his team and you are worshiping him. That's the way it's going to be set up.
Now, my dear friend, I want you to know something: that once you begin to tangle with the economy, you have people who are going to be obedient. A few years ago, there was a presidential candidate whose slogan was, "It's the economy, stupid." Now that is bad statesmanship, but it is excellent politics. It is always, always the economy, whether it's a law-breaking president in America or whether it is the rise of anti-christ in Europe. It will always be the economy. Listen to the words of William Shirer in his monumental book, The Rise and the Fall of the Third Reich.
He says this. It would be misleading to give the impression that the persecution of Protestants and Catholics by the Nazi state tore the German people asunder, or even greatly aroused the vast majority of them. It did not. A people who had so lightly given up their political and cultural and economic freedoms were not, except for a relatively few people, going to die or even risk imprisonment to preserve freedom of worship. What really aroused the Germans in the 30s were the glittering successes of Hitler in providing jobs, creating prosperity, restoring Germany's military might, and moving from one triumph to another in his foreign policy.
Not many Germans lost much sleep over the arrest of a few thousand pastors and priests, or the quarreling of the various Protestant sects, and even fewer paused to reflect that under the leadership of Rosenberg, Bormann, and Himmler, who were backed by Hitler, the Nazi regime intended eventually to destroy Christianity in Germany. And to substitute the old paganism of the early tribal Germanic gods and the new paganism of the Nazi extremists, as Bormann, one of the men closest to Hitler, said publicly in 1941, "National Socialism and Christianity are irreconcilable." So, under pressure of economics, needing to live, excited about jobs. Mine Kampf was put on the altar of churches as a substitute for the Scriptures, and swastikas adorned the German churches because they said that's the only thing we need to do in order to live. I want to tell you today that whenever people are hungry, they will always act as if their souls are of less importance than their bodies. They will take care of their bodies.
They will say, "I will live," and if I need to compromise and if I need to worship the beast in order to live, I shall do so. You know, it's very easy for us to be critical of the church in Nazi Germany. After doing some studying on the topic, I have concluded I am not sure that we would do any better, because you see, we too want to live, we too want to have our Christianity, but we too want to hang on to that which is very dear to us, and sometimes we are willing to compromise because of it. You know, there are students in our universities and colleges today who love Jesus Christ, but who will not witness in any way, shape, or form because they don't want to rock the boat. They want to make sure that they get their degree.
And then there are nurses who Christian nurses who perhaps participate in abortions because they say to themselves, "If I do not, why indeed I may lose my job." And so you have compromises being made in the workplace, compromises being made at every level of society on the part of Christians because we say to ourselves, "I need to compromise in order to get to where I'm going." Now I just have to ask you this question, as I ask myself: If we are so easily willing to compromise when our lives are not at stake, would we really have taken the side of righteousness when our lives were at stake, and the possibility of being thrown into a concentration camp was a real live possibility? That's an important question to ask. The economy will always determine where people are at because people say, "Let us be fed well. Let us have our nests. Let us be willing to surrender whatever needs to surrender because a person has to live." You and I know that the whole history of the church is based on the premise throughout history that people don't have to live.
There were people who gave their lives for Jesus Christ, saying there is something more important than living, and that is following the Lord Jesus Christ.
So there's a lesson about submission. There's a lesson about the economy. There's also a lesson about preparedness. Preparedness.
Now we don't know when Jesus Christ is going to return. We don't know when He's going to return. We cannot be in any way dogmatic as to how God is going to exactly wrap up history. There's always been those dangers of making predictions that have not come true, and we try to avoid that. But at the same time, the Bible is very clear that in an hour when we think not, the Son of Man is going to come.
In the twenty-fifth chapter of the book of Matthew, Jesus tells an interesting story that actually relates to the time of Christ's coming, but it has application to us today. He says that the nation of Israel is like ten virgins, and he says five of them had oil in their lamps, and the other five did not. And so the rumor was that the bridegroom was coming. And those who did not have oil said to themselves, "Would you give us some oil so that we can be ready for the bridegroom?" And the five who were wise said, "No, we can't give you any of our oil. You have to go where it is sold so that you will be ready." While they were on their way, the scripture says, "To buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.
The virgins who were ready went in to him into the banquet, and the door was shut." Later, the others also came, saying, "Sir, sir," they said, "Open the door for us." But he replied, "I tell you the truth, I do not know you." And Jesus said, "Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day nor the hour." And even if Christ doesn't come in our lifetime, we are accountable to Him for all we do for every day that we live.
So, either way, when He comes, we need to be ready. Because in an hour, when you don't think so, He will come. Two questions: Are we ready for His coming? Secondly, are we faithful in anticipating that day? Let's pray together.
Our Father, we want to thank you today for your faithfulness. We thank you that Jesus was willing to die because to Him there were things more important than living. And we pray too, Father, that whether we experience the kind of thing that we've talked about today or not, that in our own individual lives you might make us faithful. Help us to remember that we are accountable to you. And Father, we think of the great deception that is going to take place upon the earth, even as we shall discuss in the next message.
And we pray, Father, that you will make us people who are not deceived. And for those, Father, who may be here who have never received Christ as Savior, they have never believed on Him. We pray that even now they may come under the protection of Christ. Cause them, Lord, to believe. We pray.
And even as I close this prayer now in silence, why don't you pray to God and tell Him whatever it is that you need to tell Him? If you've never received Christ, do that right where you are seated. Say, Jesus, I'm a sinner. I receive You as my Savior. If you know Him, yield everything that is on your mind to His care.
Our Father, we ask that the work that you have begun in us would not end until it is finished. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. My friend, this is Pastor Lutzer. Running to win exists so that we might be able to get the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world, and we are so encouraged when we receive reports of those who have accepted the Lord and whose lives.
Have been transformed by the gospel. I'm holding in my hands a letter from someone. Actually, it's a Portuguese-speaking listener, because running to win is in various languages. This person says, "My wife and I have been listening every day. After I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my only sufficient, exclusive, and eternal Savior, I was freed from idolatry, freed from pseudo saints, freed from alcoholic drink." And I've seen my whole family serving the Lord.
We receive reports like that because of the many partners who support this ministry. I want to ask you a question: Would you be willing to consider supporting the ministry of Running to Win on a regular basis? Of course, the amount that you give would be entirely your decision. But I want to encourage you to do that—to at least investigate what that would mean, so that you would become a part of this ministry. And every testimony that we receive, well, it's your testimony as well.
Here's what you can do: go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com, and when you're there, you click on the Endurance Partner button. Endurance partners are those who not only pray for us but say, "I want to become a partner in this ministry." And for all those who do, from the bottom of our hearts, we say thank you. Once again, go to rtwoffer.com, click on the endurance partner button, or if you prefer, you can call us at one eight eight eight two one eight. Ninety-three thirty-seven.
This is not a ministry of a man, of a church, or an organization. This is your ministry. Thank you for investigating the possibility of investing with us as we get the gospel around the world. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. Running to Win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life.
Erwin Lutzer concluding the rise of a world dictator, the third sign in his series Seven Signs of Christ's Return.
Next time we confront sign number four, the rise of one world religion. Thanks for listening. This is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
