 Okay. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to BC 308, our course on Revelation and Daniel. Thank you for joining the class today. Let's please take a moment to pray and then we will get started. Good one of us. Please pray. We'll start. Loving Father, once again, Lord, we thank you. We praise you, Master, for this beautiful day, Lord. Lord, I thank you for bringing us together, Lord, to know you, know your world better, Lord. I pray and ask your grace upon us, Lord. I sincerely pray for Pastor Lord as he's leading us, guiding us through your world. Lord, Holy Spirit, Lord, you take complete control of him, Lord, and let you speak to us, Lord. In Jesus name I pray, amen. Amen. Amen. All right. So last week, we stopped at the end of chapter 12. And chapter 12 is a very interesting chapter. So just to quickly review a few points. Chapter 11 onwards is the middle of the tribulation. Chapter 11 verse 1, middle of the tribulation. So what we're reading in chapter 11, chapter 12, and now we're going to, today we're going to see chapter 13. All these things are starting off from the middle of the tribulation because it's very clear. We saw in chapter 11, we also saw in chapter 12. The scriptures are telling us 1,260 days or 42 months or a time, times and half a time. So when you read that, you know, he's telling us clearly it's three and a half years, meaning it's the second half of the tribulation. So we're going to pick up now from chapter 13. I'm so sorry. One more point. Revelation 11, we read about the two witnesses who will begin the ministry in the middle of the tribulation till the end of the second half of the tribulation. Chapter 12, we saw Satan making one final attempt. He's trying to break into heaven, you know, like almost like taking, trying to, let me get that God. But Michael and the Archangel stop him, push him back to the earth. He has only one place. If you want to do anything, try it on earth. So he comes with great vengeance. He knows his time is short, only three and a half years left. He knows his time is short and he goes with great vengeance against Israel and against those who have the testimony, the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Because we're 17, Revelation 12, 17, right? That's where we stop. So let's pick up from chapter 13. Now what we are seeing in chapter 13 is starting from the middle of the tribulation. There is the Antichrist and we will also see in chapter 13 introduced to us a false prophet. So these two people are working together. And they are basically putting in place, as we will see, and we're just using these terms. The Bible doesn't use it. A global economic system, a global financial system, and also a global religious system. So you see in chapter 13 that the false prophet and the Antichrist are working together. And what are they trying to do? They're trying to control people all over the world through two things. A financial system, through money and religious system, through some kind of belief or religious system. That's how they're trying to control people everywhere. Okay, so let's read chapter 13. We'll read the first part, which is verses 1 to 10. Somebody could read that for us, please. Revelation 13, 1 to 10. Revelation 13, verses 1 to 10. Then I stood on the sand of the sea and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns and on his horns ten crowns and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard. His feet were like the feet of a bear and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne and great authority. 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. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast and they worshiped the beast saying, Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. And he was given authority to continue for 42 months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name, his tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names have not been written in the book of Life of the Lamb. Slain from the foundation of the world. If anyone has a year, let him hear. He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity. He who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. So, let's look at this. So John is standing on the sand on the seashore. He's seeing the sea and then he's seeing these things happen. So that's kind of the picture that's there. And the sea in Scripture represents nations. We get this explanation. If you just turn to Revelation 17 and verse 15, we see here the explanation given. Revelation 17, 15 said, then he said to me, the waters. The waters are the big seas that you're talking about. The waters which you saw where the harlot sits are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues. So I'm just picking out one verse, but we will be reading it when we come to chapter 17. So even there, the waters, the sea that you're seeing, what does it represent? He says it represents peoples, multitudes, nations. It represents the nations. So that's what waters or seas represent in prophetic imagery. So he's seeing a beast rising and this beast has seven heads, ten horns, and each of those horns have a crown. There's a blaspheme, his name on this beast. And this beast, verse two, is like a leopard, bear and a lion. Now, a lot of what we are reading here in this section of chapter 13 connects back to Daniel. You know, when we were doing Daniel, let's read to Daniel first. Daniel, when he was having the visions from God, and we see this from Daniel chapter seven, chapter eight, he also has all these images. He's seeing these different kinds of beasts coming. And then when you compare, you find that the leopard represents Greece. Bear represents the Medes and the Persians. The lion represents the Roman Empire when you compare. So we remember in chapter two, he saw this big image, different parts. Then in chapter seven, he saw these different beasts, bear and lion and leopard, lion with the eagle's wings and all that. Then chapter eight, the ram and the goat. So he saw these things. So if you put them all side by side, then we can easily interpret verse two here. Basically, this beast who is the Antichrist, he's coming from among the nations. He's supported by 10 horns, 10 leaders. And again, Daniel also tells us that there were 10 horns and then a small horn came up and he over through or he overpowered three of those 10 horns and he came into power. That is Daniel's we see in Daniel. So that's given here again, 10 horns. So this beast is actually coming into power from a region that used to be part of the former, the Greek, Medes and Persians and Roman Empire. He's coming from that region. He's being supported by the people of that region. He's coming into power. So, you know, when we look at the modern political world for us, it is okay. It's really part of this European Union. It's part of Europe and these countries which were part of the Roman Empire then today are part of modern day Europe. Not all of Europe, but major part of Europe. Those were the regions of the former Roman Empire going into Greece and coming over into Turkey and Medes and Persians. So he's gaining support from that part of the world. There are 10 leaders, 10 horns who are supporting him, which again, nicely it matches with what Daniel said. And he's coming into power and this man is speaking blasphemies against God. So he has a name. His name itself is a blasphemous name. And again, this matches very, connects very well with what we read in Daniel. This man is speaking against the Prince of the Most High. He's speaking blasphemies against God is what Daniel was saying. Same thing is being repeated here. He's speaking blasphemies against God. So the man, the person Daniel spoke about who in chapter nine is referred to as the abomination of desolation is being referenced here in this language here. But here we're seeing some more information. It says the dragon gave him power. This is in the verse two. The dragon gave him his power. That means this beast is not just an ordinary man. He's getting his power from the dragon. Chapter 12 we saw the dragon is the old serpent Satan, the deceiver. So actually Satan is empowering this man. That's why we call him Antichrist. He's against Christ and he's empowered by the devil. So the dragon is giving his power, his throne and great authority. And it's also saying here in verses three and four, it seems like there's been an attempt to kill him. It says, I saw one of us says as if it had been mortally wounded, but he was healed. So maybe, and this is again, we're not sure, but many commentators and scholars would think like it was an attempt to kill him, but he survived. So people are even more taken up by him. That's a deadly wound, but he survives. This Antichrist and all the world marveled and followed the beast. So the world is following this man. He's having global influence, this leader. And it's saying when they worship the beast, they're actually worshipping the dragon. Verse four, they worship the dragon who gave authority to the beast and they worship the beast. Who is like the beast? Who can fight against him? That means this man has come into so much power, political influence. This is in the middle of the three and a half years. In the middle of three and a half years, this Antichrist has come into power. There's been an assassination attempt trying to kill him, but he survived. He's been supported by these 10 horns or 10 leaders. He's got influence, you know, this whole region that is represented by the Greeks, the Medes and Persians, by the Roman, former Roman, but they're all supporting him. And the world is following him, but this man is getting his power from the dragon. And when they worship the beast, they are worshipping the dragon. And then it's saying verse five on, he starts speaking blasphemies, things against God, blaspheming God's name and his tabernacle. Just like how Daniel was saying, same thing is being repeated. So this is the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy, that man that Daniel spoke about. So here again, I just wanted to point out that, you know, some people will say, oh, you know, the things that Daniel spoke about, they may point to some historical figure and say that person already fulfilled that prophecy and that it refers to that person, but it cannot because here we are seeing Revelation 13 in the middle of the tribulation is when Daniel's prophecy is being fulfilled. So if somebody says, oh, that person whom Daniel spoke would already came and went, we can say, no, no, no, no. He's going to come. How do you know Revelation 13? It's happening in the middle of the tribulation is very clear. It says here he's been given 42 months to do all of these things. Right. That is three and a half years. That is verse five is he will do this for 42 months, three and a half years. So it's going to happen in the second half of the tribulation. So there is no way that the things that Daniel spoke about about the abomination of desolation, the man who will come and desecrate the temple and all of that could have been fulfilled by some historical figure. No way because Revelation 13, that man is going to come. He's going to fulfill prophecy. Daniel's prophecy. Okay. So just keep that in mind. So he's going to speak these blasphemies for 42 months, Revelation 13, five and verse seven. He is going to make war with the saints. So this antichrist is going to go after believers, the saints, the people who are following Jesus in the middle of the tribulation. So you can see he himself is going to go after those who believe God's word and have a testimony of Jesus. The devil is working through him. The dragon is working through him. He's going to make war with the saints and his influence verse seven is global. He has authority with tribe, tongue and nation. I mean, this man is global. So some people use the term of one world leader. They use the term one world leader. That means there has never been a leader like this who has influence over the nations. He's got so much influence right here. It says verse seven authority was given to him over every tribe, tongue and nation. He said all who dwell on the earth will worship him. People around the world will be taken up by this. So that's why they say a one world leader. Meaning doesn't mean like every person is going to follow. But globally, many, many people will follow this antichrist. They will come under his spell, so to speak. But that has never been seen an evil leader like this before. That's how much influence, but his influence is coming from the dragon. That's why he's having so much influence over the world. And we're saying it says those whose names have not been written in the book of life, in the book of the lamb, they are going to worship him. So basically these are people who are not going to enter into God's kingdom. They're going to follow this antichrist. And in those days, verse nine, verse nine and 10. So if you can have here to listen, if you can listen to what I'm saying, you receive it. Those who lead people into captivity, they themselves will go into captivity. Those who kill by the sword, they themselves will be killed by the sword. So here is the patience and faith of the saints. So he's saying, look, the saints are going to be persecuted so much in those days. But they just have to be patient and they have to have faith. And what is their consolation? The consolation is this. These people who are taking people and putting them into prison, one day they themselves will go into prison. These people who are killing by the sword, one day they themselves will be killed by the sword. So I'll just keep quiet, just patiently endure and I'll keep my faith in Jesus. So that's what John is saying. This is the patience and faith of the saints. It's almost like the saints. At that time, you cannot do anything, but you have this patience and faith. These people who are putting people into prison, they themselves will go into prison. God will put them. These people are killing us, one day God will take care of them. So we'll just be patient. We will have faith. Here is the patience and faith of the saints. So basically this man is going to have so much influence and he's going to trouble the saints. He's going to attack. He's going to make war on the saints and God is going to let it happen. But the saints have to endure with patience and faith. So this is the Antichrist. He's coming to power. What is interesting is they will also rise another person who will work with the Antichrist. And that's what we're going to see versus 11 to 18. Somebody could read that please. Revelation 13 versus 11 to 18, please. Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns like a lamp and spoke like a dragon. And 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 he even makes fire come down from heaven 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. 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. And that no one may buy or sell except one 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. So it is the number of a man, his number is 666. So chapter 13 verses 1 to 18. Now John is seeing something which Daniel didn't mention. So you don't see this in the book of Daniel or in fact in any of the other Old Testament prophecies. This is something very exclusive to the book of Revelation. John is seeing another beast. Somebody else is coming on the scene and he has delegated authority from the first beast. He is like his agent or a representative. He is exercising the authority of the first beast so the Antichrist is empowering this man. And this man is like a prophet. Why? He is doing science and wonders and he is getting people to worship. So his influence is in that realm of worship, of getting people to worship the image of the beast. So it's like a religious influence. He's doing science and wonders and he's deceiving the whole world. But his goal is you must worship the image of the beast. So we call him the false prophet and in Revelation chapter, just a quick jump here. Revelation 20 he's called the false prophet. So Revelation chapter 20 verse 10. The devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. So Revelation 20 10. So the second beast is called false prophets, false prophet. So yeah, also in Revelation 19 20. 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 worshiped the image. So Revelation 19 20 and verse 10 both these places. It is referring to the beast and the false prophet. So the second person, Revelation 13 11. The scriptures are calling him false prophet. That's why we are saying he's a religious leader and he's deceiving people through signs and wonders and miracles. And his goal is you must worship the image of the beast. Now I don't know how he's going to do this, but this false prophet is able to do two things. He's able to give life to the image, like make it appear as though it is alive. And through that image, he's even able to kill people. This is the image will speak. This is in verse 15, Revelation 13 15. It's like he's giving breath to this image of the beast. It's peaking and is even able to kill those who do not worship the image of the beast. Now how exactly he's going to do it? You know, is it completely spiritual or is it some other way? I don't know, but what is interesting is in some parts of the world, they have created robots that can actually see, speak and in shrines, where they used to have statues of some saint. They have replaced those statues with these robots. So, you know, when people go to these shrines, the days before they used to worship, there's to be a statue. But now when they go to worship, there's a robot. The robot opens the eyes. The robot actually speaks. It can quote scripture. It'll get to tell you a verse. It will say things to you. So it's almost like the statue has been replaced by a, not a living thing, but a robot that can see, that can speak, that can do a little more. Now people get inspired. They get inspiration or they feel like some spiritual experience. So I'm just wondering, I'm not saying that is the way, but I was wondering that maybe this image of the beast that has eyes and that can speak and that can even kill. Obviously, the next step is they can, you know, shoot out a laser beam or something powerful through the robot and kill people that can also be done. Right? So could that be what John was seeing here? Possible, I don't know. But this is very strange. This false prophet, he's showing signs and wonders. He's exercising authority from the beast. His whole plan is to get people to worship this man. So we have seen two things so far. A one world leader. That means a leader who has so much influence on the world. Second, a religious leader, a false prophet, who's deceiving people around the world. Getting them to worship the image of the beast. Two things. Then we are seeing these two people are working together. The Antichrist and the false prophet are working together. And the third thing we see is a financial system because it says here, verse 16, he causes everybody to receive whatever rich or poor, free or slave. People all over the world, you have to receive the mark of the beast. You have to have it on your foreheads or your right hand. And you cannot buy or sell except if you have the mark of the beast or the name of the beast or the number of his name. That means there has to be something about this beast put on your right hand or on your forehead. Only then you can buy or sell. You can, you know, financial system. Buy or sell is financial system. And this applies to everyone, rich or poor. You know, saying free or slave just like it's global. It's affecting everybody. You have to have the mark of the beast or you could say a brand, whatever this, you know. And he's saying the number is 666. Now, whether the branding of this whole thing is literally 666, maybe, but verse 18, we will see how, I mean, we won't be around to see it, verse 18 is a clear sign to people in the tribulation. Hey, you cannot miss this. When you see this 666 being forced on your right hand or your foreheads and that this number 666 is being used for you to carry out financial transactions, then no mistake, it's the mark of the beast. So we won't be here, but Revelation 1318 is for the people who will be in the tribulation at that time. Clearly, clearly, clearly, number is 666. If you see it, you can have it on your right hand or on your forehead to buy and sell. This is what John wrote 2000 years ago. Now, again, I'm just imagining today we have the technology to actually do these things, one which they've already done it. You can have a small chip implant on your right hand or on your forehead somewhere and you just can automatically detects. You can do your transaction. Nowadays, you tap, the transaction goes through. You have a plastic card, credit card, you just have to tap it and money can go from your bank account. Transaction happens. All you do is tap. So now the plastic card has the chip. What they are trying to do is say, can we put it in your hand? Can you put it in your head? So we don't have to carry a plastic card. We just walk. You can just nod your head or wave your hand. It's done. So I'm just imagining that we have the technology to do this today, that people actually receive a mark or an implant or something. And you become part of that particular, you call it the beast economic system. And then you buy yourself, you do things because you have the mark of the beast. So in chapter 13, we have seen a one world leader, a religious system and a religious leader and a one world economic system being put in place. And all this is coming from the middle of the tribulation to the end, second half of the tribulation. But when we look around today, we are seeing that all of these things are very possible. It's possible today. The kind of technology we have, the kind of systems we have, financial systems we have, all these things can happen. Any questions before we go to chapter 14? Yes, Zafina? Two questions. First is about the tribulation in chapter 13 verse 3, where it says, I saw one of the soldiers who was mortally wounded and his deadly wound was healed. So what is the wound and what was actually healed over here? And the next two, three, about verse 7, it says it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. So does it mean in the tribulation saints are powerless? Won't they have the power to overcome the devil at that time? Because we see they are being overcome by the devil. But so does it mean the saints are powerless? They are just meant to just be patient and die. They are not going to walk supernaturally or that's my question. So the first question, chapter 13 verse 3, the beast, his head was mortally wounded. We compare that with later the later verse, verse 14, chapter 13 verse 14, it says, he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do on the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. That's verse 14, end of verse 14. He was wounded by the sword and lived. So to go back to verse 3, I saw one of his heads, it had been mortally wounded and his deadly wound was healed. So we're connecting these two, verse 3 and verse 14. He was mortally wounded. By what? He was wounded by the sword and lived. So that's what we're saying that maybe this wound, being mortally wounded in verse 3, is a wound by the sword, meaning they must have been in an attempt to kill him. Now in those days, they didn't have guns. So we can replace sword by the gun or maybe it's literally somebody to kill him with a knife. We don't know. But what we are saying is this was an attempt to kill him by the sword. But he lived. That means that attempt to kill him didn't succeed. And that's why we are saying, he was wounded by the sword and lived and people all over the world, they started following this antichrist, this beast. So that's what that wound, mortally wounded, it almost killed him. Almost killed him. But he lived. The next question, verse 7, it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. So the answer is yes. In that sense that the antichrist will remember, the antichrist war against the saints is, I'm going to kill you because you are following Jesus. But there's also a spiritual battle. That is, the devil is going to try to do things. So Revelation 12.11, it says, And they, the saints, overcame him by the blood of the lamb. And by the word of the testimony, and they loved not their souls, lives even unto death. So how will it play out exactly? It could be that the antichrist is saying, hey, wherever there are believers, let's kill them. Believers are standing up and saying, we will not deny the blood of the lamb. We will not deny our faith in Jesus. You do what you want. And God will divinely protect them. Some will live, but some will die. They don't, they love not their lives unto death. So he might persecute them. It's okay. You don't receive my mark, no food for you. You can't buy yourself. It's okay. We don't care. Whatever we can. So there's going to be this kind of war on the saints by the antichrist in different ways, in different forms. Some will result in physical death. Some will result in, okay, you cannot buy it. You can't buy food. Go do your own gardening or whatever. You live however you want. You can't buy yourself because you refuse to take the mark of the beast. They come by the blood of the lamb. They still, you know, stand firm in their faith. They refuse to give in to the mark of the beast. And so there's going to be this conflict, right? But God has allowed this man, this antichrist to have authority and to exercise influence for those three and a half years. He's allowed. So he's going to do all kinds of things. And God's permitted that to happen. And the saints will have to be patient, endure and have faith, knowing that one day God will take care of things. He will judge here. And like it says there in Revelation 13 verse 9, 9 and 10. Yeah. Yeah. Any other questions? Yeah. Yeah. So in the chat, it says, mortally wounded by whom? Yeah. So this passage doesn't tell us by whom? It only tells us how. It's, you know, we saw in verse 15 that, sorry, it was 14. Yeah, it was 14. That he was wounded by the sword and lived. So it doesn't tell us by whom, but it tells us by what? By what? By the sword. So was it a physical knife sword or was it a gun or whatever? It's a weapon, right? But it doesn't say who used it. Assuming it's some other person who we don't know. But that's why we say there's an assassination attempt on his life, an attempt to kill his life. But he survives. If you want to imagine it, and I'm just using my imagination. What does the Antichrist do? In the middle of the tribulation, he stops the sacrifices. He desecrates the temple. He begins to speak blasphemies against God. So who do you think will get angry? It's the Jewish people. Say, hey, you promised seven years of peace. You know, we signed a peace treaty, seven years of peace. But now in the middle of the seven years, you've changed. And you've come and destroyed and desecrating our temple. You're coming and putting yourself in our temple. You think the Jewish people will keep quiet? No. They'll be the first ones to go against him. So I'm using my imagination here. The scripture is not saying this. I'm assuming when this Antichrist tries to come and sit in the temple of the temple in Jerusalem and put himself up as God, there's going to be at least one Jewish man who's going to say, I will not let it happen. So it's highly likely one of the Jewish people are going to come against him. So I mean, the scriptures don't say it. I'm just thinking about it. So chapter 14, I'll just give an introduction and then we will take a break and read it after the break. In chapter 14, remember chapter 14 is on the second half of the tribulation. So somewhere in the second half of the tribulation, the 144,000 Jewish evangelists are servants of God. In chapter 14, we see them in heaven. So in Revelation chapter 7, we read, God had marked 144,000 Jewish servants. They've been marked by God to serve him. Revelation 7, at the beginning of the tribulation. Revelation 14, when you come to the second half of the tribulation, these people are in heaven. So there is a big question. How did they get to heaven? Were they raptured? Did they die and then were resurrected? Or did they die and just their souls are appearing in heaven? The answer is not clear. As we will read, we will read chapter 14, but there are some clues by the language that is used. So we will just look at that and say, maybe this is what it's the most likely way these 144,000 Jews go to heaven. So that's first part of chapter 14. And then in the second part of chapter 14, very interesting, we see God using angels to make announcements. Now this is unusual because during the church age, God does not use angels to preach to the masses. He's using the church. The church is supposed to go and preach the gospel to every creature. During the church age, the angels are ministering to the saints. They come, they're protecting us, serving us, etc. But it is the church that is preaching to the nations. But here in the tribulation, something has changed. In the tribulation, God is using angels to announce to the world. It's almost like these angels are proclaiming the gospel, proclaiming announcements to the nations. So this is also something to think about because it tells us the church is not around. The church has been raptured. The church age is over. The seven years of tribulation are coming after the church age. Yes, there are believers, but it's not like the global body of Christ on the earth. That's the church has been raptured. There are people who believe us. They're genuinely saved. But many of them are being martyrs and God is using angels to proclaim. So we'll read that in chapter 14. And then end of chapter 14, there are two major announcements which these angels make. One is about the harvest of souls that will take place. So in the tribulation, there are going to be many who will be saved and second announcement is about the judgment that is about to come, the day of God's wrath. So all of that is in chapter 14. We'll go for a break, come back and go through chapter 14. So we'll see you in 10 minutes.