Truth Matters - Weekend, 8

Hey, this is Mike Zwick from If Not For God Podcast, our show.

Stories of hopelessness turned into hope. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just seconds. Enjoy it, share it. But most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. Welcome to the weekend edition of Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis.

Heard daily on this station at 8 20 a.m. and 5 20 p.m. Truth Matters is a ministry of the Truth Project, whose mission is to empower men and women in the Christian faith to teach biblical truth in the culture and marketplace of ideas, using the Bible as a sacred trust of truth and sharing the message of Jesus. Learn more about the ministry of the Truth Project at www.projecttruthmatters.com.

And let's join Dr. Cheryl Davis for this week's extended edition of Truth Matters. This time, she explains the characteristics of Satan, the Antichrist and the false prophet. Program of the Antichrist is mentioned in verses three through four. Satan will use the death and resurrection of the Antichrist.

The beast will be wounded, but then be healed and the whole world would worship him because they will think he is a deity because he was able to be raised from the dead. So in review, we know that the Antichrist will be charismatic, clever. We know that he'll be cultic. We know that he'll be cruel. We know that he will come up and conspicuously. We know that he will gradually gain power.

We most likely know that he will come from the government of Rome and that he will be a gentile. But just to take a break here to tell you where we are on the timeline, we are in the middle of the three and a half years of the tribulation. The great tribulation, which is the last three and a half years, is characterized by Daniel in chapter nine, verse 27. But in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. He will turn to politics, to religious worship of the Antichrist, and on the wing of abomination shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate, which is the bold judgments.

And I'm going to read Matthew chapter 24, verses 15 through 28, as I think that gives light into where we are on the timeline of end time events. Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, which is what I read before, the prophet standing in the holy place, whoever reads, let him understand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the house top not go down to take anything out of his house.

Let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant, to those who are nursing babies in those days, and pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. But then there will be great tribulation, such as not been since the beginning of the world until this time, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved.

But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. That if anyone says to you, look here is the Christ, or there, do not believe it. For false Christ and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Therefore, if they say to you, look, he's in the desert, do not go out.

Look, he's in the inner rooms, do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, the eagles will be gathered there. For wherever the carcass is, the eagles will be gathered together.

We are at the midpoint of the tribulation and the start of the great tribulation. I'm going to continue to read in Matthew chapter 13, verses 11 through 18. I just want to read that as I think that is very important. And he answered to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has to him more will be given, for he will be given abundance. But whoever does not have even what he has will be taken away from him. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Therefore, if they say to you, look, he's in the desert, do not go out.

Look, he's in the inner rooms, do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, the eagles will be gathered together.

We are at the midpoint of the tribulation and the start of the great tribulation. I'm going to continue to read in Matthew chapter 13, verses 11 through 18. I just want to read that as I think that is very important. And he answered to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has to him more will be given, for he will be given abundance.

But whoever does not have, even what he has, will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing that they do not see, and hearing that they do not hear, nor do they understand. Then then the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive. For the hearts of his people have grown dulled, their ears are hard of hearing, their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that eyes should heal them. But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear. For assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

And we know that this is the purpose of parables, and we know that this describes the partial blindness that has been placed on the Jews, because they rejected Christ when he came, and that this sets up the scene for the time of Jacob's trouble, as Israel will be judged for having blind eyes, but the 144,000 who have kept the commandments of God will be great evangelists. But who is the beast from the earth, and that is the false prophet. In verses 11 and 12 we hear, Then I saw another beast coming out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and spoke like a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth, and those who dwell in it, to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that even he who makes fire come down from heaven on the earth and in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs, which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast, who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, that no one may buy or sell or exchange one, except who has the mark, or 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 it is the number of a man. His number is 666. So here we see much discussion about the false prophet. With the addition of the second beast we have an unholy trinity that is created.

If you remember when satan was cast down to the earth, he was cast out of heaven in revelation 12 verse 9. We see a beast from the sea who is the antichrist, and now we see the beast from the earth who is the false prophet. The first person of the holy trinity is God the father, the second person is God the son, the third person is God the spirit. But in the unholy trinity we see first person is satan, the second person is the antichrist, and the third person is the false prophet.

Just as the true God exists as a trinity, so does the counterfeit God. The task of the false prophet is to point people to the antichrist, just as the holy spirit points people toward Jesus Christ. Revelation chapter 19 verse 20 links the antichrist and the false prophet. So let me read revelation chapter 19 verse 20 even though we haven't gotten to that yet. I think it's a key verse for us to understand. Then the beast was captured and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image.

These two were cast alive in the lake of fire burning with brimstone. Satan causes his false prophet to appear like a meek and gentle lamb when in reality he has a heart of a destroyer. If you read Matthew chapter 7 verse 15, those who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. The antichrist and the false prophet are paired significantly. The antichrist's focus is politics while the false prophet's latter emphasis is religion. In the tribulation, in the absence of true religion, a false religion will be necessary to solidify the political power of the antichrist.

Political power will marry itself to false religion to give itself a mark of acceptability. This really plays on the way we were created. Ecclesiastes 3 11 says that he has set eternity in the hearts of man. Every man searches for ultimate truth. It is our search for transcendence. We are created to worship to give God glory.

But we will fill that vacuum with many other things. So ultimately Satan will use religion and use our vulnerability to unite the world under the leadership of the antichrist. So let's talk about the deeds of the false prophet and how it will happen. And we find that in verses 13 through 14 of chapter 13. He performs great signs so that he even makes fire come down from heaven and on the earth in the sight of men and he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.

The false prophet will have the power to counterfeit the miracles of God such as calling down fire from heaven. If you remember this is very similar to the two witnesses that we studied before. Calling down fire from heaven was associated with the power of God in the old testament.

And we find that in four different occasions. In Genesis chapter 19 verse 24 Then the Lord rained down brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. So that was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. We find Leviticus 10 verses 1 through 2 Then Nadab and Abihu the sons of Aaron each took his censer and put fire in it put incense on it and offered profane fire before the Lord which he had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them and they died before the Lord. In 1 Kings 18 verse 38 in the story of Elijah Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and it licked up the water that was in the trench. We see this very similar to the same mission that Elijah will have as the second witness that we see in verses 3 through 6 of chapter 11 of Revelation. And I will give power to my two witnesses and they will prophesy 1260 days closed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and two lamp stands standing before the God of the earth. If anyone wants to harm them fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies.

If anyone wants to harm them he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy and they have power over waters to turn them to blood and they strike the earth with all plagues as often as they desire. Let's look at the deception of the second beast as this is real interesting. As we say before that Satan is a great deceiver. In verses 14 through 15 we see Really what you see the false prophet is setting up a great masquerade. The false prophet deceives the people into building an image which is used as a focal point for the worship of the antichrist. The image will likely be set up in Jerusalem as a counterfeit to the temple of God. We don't know what this image will be as some think it will be a hologram. Some people think that the pope is a hologram today you should actually google that.

But this will be the gathering place to worship the antichrist. The false prophet does not give life but he has granted power to give breath to the image that he should speak. Some say it is ventriloquism. Some say it's a hologram.

Some say it's a computer like Alexa. We don't really know but the false prophet makes the image seem to be alive. The media will broadcast around the world the messages and this will be the focal point of every person's day. This image is the abomination of desolation that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24 verses 15 through 18. This is the same abomination of desolation that Daniel spoke about as well. The image of the beast is a signal for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. He tells the disciples that when you see this you need to flee to the mountains.

Things are going to get worse than ever before. But notice the demands of the beast. He causes all small and great, rich and poor, free and slave to receive the mark on the right hand or on their foreheads. That no one may buy or sell except one of those who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. If you remember in Revelation chapter 7 verse 3 I'm going to read that. Saying, do not harm the earth the sea and the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. The Lord caused the mark to be put on the foreheads of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists. We see that also in Revelation chapter 14 verse 1.

But what God does Satan also imitates. It's his way of counterfeiting. It's a form of control to mark those who are loyal to the beast. Those without the mark will be deemed traitors and boycotted by the commercial system that the beast controls. Those without the mark will die from exposure or starvation or illness as a result of not being able to purchase what they need. We tend to think that only those without the mark will suffer. But really those with the mark will suffer as well. We can see that in Revelation chapter 14 verses 9 through 11. And when we get to that in the future we'll discuss it. But people really are going to face a choice. One, to reject the mark and suffer at the hands of the beast or to accept the mark and suffer at the hands of God.

I don't know about you, but I'm all about getting the temporary suffering here on earth so that I can spend an eternity at peace and prosperity with God. You've been listening to the weekend edition of Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Truth Matters is a ministry of The Truth Project, a North Carolina-based ministry dedicated to teaching biblical truth and sound theology to those inside and outside of the church. If you'd like to listen to these messages on demand, go to projecttruthmatters.com and click on the podcast link. Dr. Davis is also available to speak to your ministry group or church function. She can be reached by email at CherylDavis at projecttruthmatters.com. Or if you'd like to send a letter, the address is Project Truth Matters Post Office Box 159, St. Paul's, North Carolina 28384. You can hear Truth Matters devotionals on weekdays at 8 20 a.m. and 5 20 p.m. Until next time, let's all work together to teach a biblical truth, to assist, equip, edify, and encourage one another, and bring the gospel to the world. Because truth matters. This is the Truth Network.