(Revelation) Revelation 13:14-14:12 — Zac Poonen

The False Prophet’s Supernatural Deception

Now we want to turn to the book of Revelation and chapter 13 and continue where we left off last week. We saw that in the book of Revelation we have the description of the Antichrist and the false prophet, one a political leader, the other a religious leader, who together are going to head up the government of the world in the last days before Jesus returns.

And we were considering how this false prophet described in verse 11 onwards, verse 13 it says, he performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in the presence of men.

Supernatural signs by which he deceives the people. It says in verse 14, he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform. And we notice that phrase, it was given him, meaning that God permitted him to exercise certain supernatural powers, and the preparation for this type of deception through supernatural miracles is already beginning to take place.

And if we are wise, we shall be on our guard when we see the supernatural, that we don't swallow everything that comes our way as though it belongs to God. And I want to give you one example from the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 8, where it says in the city of Samaria, Acts of the Apostles chapter 8, verse 9, there was a certain man called Simon who was formally practicing magic in the city, and astonishing the people of Samaria claiming to be someone great.

That was by the miracles and signs, wonders that he did. And all the people in Samaria from the smallest to greatest were giving attention to him saying, this man is what is called the great power of God.

Now there's going to be something like that in the last days when the Antichrist and false prophet rise, something of that type of response. This man is what is called the great power of God. And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.

Testing Miracles by the Word of God

Now we can ask ourselves, why does God allow Satan and his evil spirits to exercise supernatural power? Wouldn't the problem be solved if God withdrew supernatural abilities from the hands of Satan and his evil spirits?

But we read in the book of Deuteronomy that there is a purpose with which God allows false prophets and those who are the agents of Satan to exercise supernatural power. And that's in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 13 and verses 1 to 5.

There it says that if a prophet arises in your midst and he gives you a sign or a wonder that is just some supernatural miracle, and that sign and wonder comes true, it's a genuine miracle by supernatural power.

And then he teaches you things, let me paraphrase those words, he teaches you things which are contrary to the word of God. You must not, verse 3, listen to the words of that prophet. And then we can ask why in the world then does God allow him to exercise a supernatural miracle?

Here is the answer. Because the Lord your God is testing you. And we could say he's testing you to find out whether you'll follow the word of God or whether you'll be taken up in wonder with supernatural science.

So the thing we need to ask ourselves whenever we see a supernatural sign or miracle being performed by anyone, whether it's in the name of Jesus or not in the name of Jesus, is to ask ourselves is this person leading people to obedience to the word of God?

If not, we've got to just write it off and say it has no value. Now if we don't develop that sense of discernment in these days, then as we approach the end, we'll find that we are thoroughly deceived.

We need to exercise that discernment. The Bible says don't believe every spirit. We need to exercise discerning of spirits to see whether it's from God or not. Revelation 13, 14, he deceives those who dwell on the earth.

The Image of the Beast and the Political State

And then it says in the middle of verse 14 that he does these miracles in the presence of the beast, that is in the presence of the Antichrist. And he tells 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 we consider the satanic trinity, that is the devil, Satan, the dragon, the Antichrist, and the false prophet counterfeiting the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And just like the Holy Spirit exalts Christ, we find here the false prophet is exalting the Antichrist.

And so to further exalt the Antichrist, this is religion and politics, hand in hand together, the Antichrist, the political leader, and here he's got this religious leader supporting his ministry, just like religious leaders' support is sought even today for political power.

You find that particularly in countries like the United States, where people come to political power, they want the support of religious leaders, and they canvass that support. This is all the preparation for the final day when religion and the state will be united.

It is already united in many countries, and we find this. And it says here, to exalt the power of the Antichrist, he says an image must be made, a statue. This reminds us of Nebuchadnezzar, who built a statue and got people to bow down to him and said, if you don't bow down to me, bow down to the statue, you're going to be punished.

And there was a remnant in that day, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who stood up, very small number. While everybody bowed down, there were three people who stood erect, and there are going to be the equivalent of that in the last days too.

There are going to be those who are going to stand erect and who refuse to bow down. That's what God is preparing us for in these days. And it says here in verse 15, there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast.

This is an amazing thing, what it says here, that there's going to be some type of fantastic supernatural deception that is going to imitate creation. Can you think of that? To imitate creation. Man is in the scientific world, is in the pursuit today of creating life.

Well, God's going to permit a fantastic amount of deception here, and it says here he's going to give breath to the image of the beast, and the image of the beast will even be able to speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed, exactly like in the days of Nebuchadnezzar.

The Abomination of Desolation in Daniel and Matthew

Now, this image is probably what is going to be placed in the temple in Jerusalem in the last days, and is what perhaps what Jesus referred to in all likelihood as the abomination that causes desolation.

You remember, and Jesus said that in Matthew 24, and verse 15. We looked at that some time ago, where Jesus was speaking about the last days, and people asked, the disciples asked Jesus what was going to be the sign, and one of the things he said was, verse Matthew 24, 15, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, and it says in the brackets, let the reader understand.

We are expected to understand that, not to be ignorant of it, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. I just want to give you a little background to this from the book of Daniel. If you turn to the book of Daniel, which Jesus referred to, following Jesus' exhortation there, let the reader understand.

We need to understand. If you turn to Daniel chapter 11, I mentioned in an earlier study that in the book of Daniel, we see about these kingdoms, the kingdom of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome is not mentioned, though it is pictured there, but before the Romans came into power, between the Grecian empire and the Roman empire, something happened in between, which is described in Daniel chapter 11, and that is when Alexander the Great, who was the great emperor of Greece and a world ruler, died all of a sudden at a very young age.

His kingdom was divided up between four of his generals, and two of those generals who were most powerful, one ruled in Syria and one in Egypt, and in between Syria and Egypt was the land of Israel. This is what is described in Daniel chapter 11, the king of the south, Egypt, and the king of the north, two of Alexander's generals.

This is a period between the reign of Greece and the reign of Rome. You will understand why I am saying this when you consider here. It says here in verse 35, let's look at verse 31, and forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary, fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice, and they will set up the abomination of desolation.

Now, what happened was, about 175 years before Christ, there was a king of Syria whose name was Antiochus Epiphanes, and he was one of the generals of, the descendants of one of the generals of Alexander the Great, and he came down into the city of Jerusalem, stopped the sacrifice, he sacrificed a pig on the altar, and he set up a statue of Jupiter in the most holy place of the temple.

Thus, he desecrated the sanctuary, and that's referred to here as the abomination of desolation. That's actually happened. That happened 175 years before Christ, but Jesus says in Matthew 24 15 that there is going to be a repetition of that in the last days, and therefore Antiochus Epiphanes, who lived 175 years before Christ, is a type of the Antichrist who's going to come, and something similar that took place there is going to take place again at the end of the age, and we see here a little description of him, which is also going to be true of the Antichrist in the last days.

It says here in verse 32, by smooth words, he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but in those days the people who know their God will display strength. That's going to be fulfilled in the last days.

If we know God, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we will be able to stand. Otherwise we'll collapse, because he's got all the smooth, flattering words to deceive people. In verse 33, those who have insight among the people will give understanding to many.

Those who have revelation on the word in those days will explain that this is the fulfillment of prophecy, yet they will fall by the sword. And it says here, verse 35, some of those who have insight will fall in order to refine, purge, and make them pure until the end time.

Verse 36, this is a clear reference to the Antichrist. The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god. He will speak monstrous things against the God of gods, and he will prosper until the indignation is finished.

For that which is decreed will be done. And it goes on to say that in verse 38, he will honor a god of fortresses. In other words, he will rule by power. And it goes on to say how he is going to enter, verse 41, the beautiful land.

That's referring to Israel, and many countries will fall. Now we can turn back to Revelation 13 and see that this is the fulfillment of what Jesus spoke of the abomination of desolation. This image that's going to be placed in the most holy place of the temple.

The Man of Lawlessness and the Love of Truth

Let's turn now to 2 Thessalonians, and chapter 2. This is a New Testament passage referring to the Antichrist. 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2. It says here, Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, that you should not be quickly shaken from your composure, as though that day of the Lord has already come.

For it says here in verse 3, Let no one deceive you, for that day of the Lord will not come unless the apostasy, that is the falling away from the faith, comes first. And I just want to tell you that falling away has already begun.

It's already begun in Christendom. The falling away from that true faith with Jesus and the world, the faith that leads to a godly life. They've fallen away from that. The beginning, anyway. And the man of lawlessness, or the man of sin, is revealed, the son of destruction.

That is the title Jesus used for Judas Iscariot, the son of destruction. And Satan entered into him. Here is another person who is going to come at the end of time, called the son of destruction, the man of lawlessness.

What does he do? He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship. He takes a seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. That's how it's going to be. And he says, don't you remember that I was, while I was still with you, I was telling you these things.

That means when Paul was in Thessalonica, he felt it important enough to teach them about the coming of the Antichrist. It is something that all believers need to know about. And then he says in verse 6, you know what restrains him now.

What is it that restrains the full revelation of the Antichrist? That is the power of the Holy Spirit manifested through the overcomers in the church of Jesus Christ in the last days. That's what's restraining.

But it says in verse, because that time has not yet come, but the time is drawing near now, when he will be revealed. Verse 7, for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains, that is the Holy Spirit, restraining, not eliminating the power of Satan, but restraining the power of Satan, will restrain until in God's time that restraining influence is removed.

And the Holy Spirit moves out of the way so that the Antichrist can be revealed. And then, when that restraining influence is removed, the lawless one will be revealed, and he will rule the earth for three and a half years.

That is what we have seen in the book of Revelation. His coming, verse 9, is in accord with the activity of Satan with all power and sign, and we can say deceptive wonders. With all the deception of wickedness, there are going to be supernatural signs and wonders in abundance.

But it's all meant to lead people astray, and that's why we have to be very careful in this area of supernatural signs and wonders that we don't get led astray by them. And it says here in verse 10 and 11 that God allows people to be led astray because they do not love the truth.

So these supernatural signs and wonders are going to be a means by which God is going to allow people to be deceived because they did not love the truth. And so our salvation in the last days is going to be by loving the truth.

That is the protection against all deception. Then we shall not be deceived now, we shall not be deceived then. Then I want you to turn back to Revelation 13 .15. It says here, there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

Television, Idolatry, and Spiritual Compromise

Now this is quite something to create an image and to make that speech and to get people to worship it. I'm reminded of television and video. There is an image and the image speaks and there are people all over the world who worship.

Why, what do I mean by worship it? They spend hours in front of that TV and video who have no time for prayer. I'm talking about believers. No time for studying the word of God. They have come to worship the image that speaks on the TV screen.

It's just the preparation for a godless Christendom that has a form of godliness without that inner devotion to Jesus Christ. Little by little, I'm not saying the television is the antichrist, I say all these things are means by which Satan is preparing the world for the revelation of the antichrist, where men begin to worship something other than the true and living God.

The Mark of the Beast and Secret Compromise

Now we come to Revelation 13 .16. It says here, and the false prophet now, 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.

This is called the mark of the beast. There's going to be a mark they have to receive on their right hand or on their forehead and he provides that there will be no, no one should be able to buy or to sell even the necessities of life except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Now this teaches us that the antichrist is going to give people the option of either being public followers of him or secret followers of him. Public followers of him means the mark is on your forehead, secret followers of him means the mark is in your right hand and you can keep it hidden.

Now this has an application for us even today because we have considered in 1 John 2 .18 and 19 that the spirit of the antichrist is already at work in Christendom and it is possible for people today to publicly follow the antichrist.

For example, the prostitutes, the gamblers, the drunkards, the film stars, they publicly follow the antichrist but it is also possible to secretly follow the antichrist, to do unrighteous things in one's office with one's right hand, sign false statements, get a little more money, give a little bribe with the right hand and then come and sit in the meeting as a spiritual brother, spiritual sister to praise God and have a reputation.

That is to get the mark of the beast right now in your right hand, right here. And you see there are people who don't want to have it on the forehead because then they won't have a good testimony in the assembly but they'd like to have it secretly somewhere because there's some profit from it in the world by compromise.

And here is where our faith is tested and our devotion to Jesus that we stand clear of this mark of the beast in any form, not on our forehead and what is even more dangerous, not secretly on our right hand where the other believers don't know anything about what we're doing in our private life and our private financial affairs, etc.

But we stay clear like the apostle Paul, we say, I have the marks of Jesus Christ on my body, Galatians 6 .17. I don't need the mark of anyone else. And we see here it's going to be quite a test in the last day when you have to, for example, if you can't buy food unless you have the mark of the beast, that's going to be quite a test.

The test that came to Eve in the Garden of Eden was a test of food. And the first temptation that came to Jesus in the wilderness was the test of food. You're dying. Why don't you turn the stones to bread?

And Jesus said, it's not necessary to live. It's only necessary to obey the word of God. And I want to tell you this, brothers and sisters, it's the person who has that attitude who is going to be an overcomer in the last day.

It is not necessary to survive. It is only necessary to obey the word of God. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. If we don't have that attitude, that it's better to obey God's word and die rather than compromise and live.

We are going to be sucked away in this apostasy and falling away that there is in Christendom already. Further, verse 18 says here, here is wisdom and let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast.

For the number is that of a man and his number is 666. Six in the Bible is the number of man. Man was created on the sixth day. That's why we say six is the number of man. Seven is the number of perfection when God rested.

And eight is the number of a new creation because the eighth day is the beginning of a new week. You know that. And in music, the eighth note is the beginning of a new octave. So eight is the number of new creation.

It is all in creation, the number eight. And six is the number of man. Now what does it mean when it says let him calculate the number of the beast? In the Greek language in which the New Testament was written, they use alphabets, the Greek alphabets, numbers.

For example, the Greek alphabet alpha has got the value one. And like that, right down through the letters of the Greek alphabet, each alphabet has got a numeric value. And I want to tell you something here about the name Jesus, the name Jesus.

It's difficult to write it in English, how it is written in the Greek language, but the closest to writing it in the English would be Jesus with. Six letters I H S O U S. And in the Greek language, these letters have got each has got a different value.

And when you total up the value of these different letters in the Greek language, Jesus, the total value comes to eight hundred and eighty eight. You see, that's very significant. It's eight hundred and eighty eight.

It's exactly eight hundred and eighty eight. If you're interested in the value of each, it's ten plus eight plus two hundred plus seventy plus four hundred plus two hundred. That's eight hundred and eighty eight.

That is the number of the new creation. Jesus rose up on the first day of the week, that is the eighth day, and began a new creation. Now here is the Antichrist, whose number is six hundred and sixty six.

And this seems to indicate that whoever the Antichrist is going to be, his name is going to add up to six hundred and sixty six. That will be one indication that this is the man. And also, we can say that since six is the number of man, six, six, six, is man's attempt to be like the Trinity, to be like God.

The Overcomers and the Name of the Lamb

And this is the significance of six three times, because God is the Trinity, the Antichrist, man attempting to be God. Now we move on to chapter fourteen, and there is a contrast here. Just like there were those who received the mark of the beast on their right hand or forehead, here we read of certain other people who also have a mark, but this mark is not in the hand or the forehead, it is only on the forehead.

Chapter fourteen, verse one. I looked, and behold, a lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads, not on their right hands.

Notice the contrast. What does it teach us? It teaches us that the followers of the Antichrist can be public followers or secret followers, but the followers of Jesus Christ can only be publicly known as his followers.

There is no such thing as a secret follower of Christ. That's a lot of humbug. People talk about it, but Jesus said, if you don't confess me before men, if you are ashamed to confess me before men, I will be ashamed to confess you.

That's why I say, dear friends, if you're working in an office, I hope the mark of the Lord is so evident symbolically that it's on your forehead, so that everyone in your office knows that you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no such thing as having a little mark on your hand and being a secret follower of Christ. Anyone sitting here who thinks he's a secret follower of Christ, I just want to tell you you're living under a world of delusion.

There is only one type of follower of Christ, a public, openly known follower of Jesus Christ, who's got the mark right on the forehead. Everybody knows. And I tell you, it's an absolute shame for a lot of believers in our land.

I see Hindus who come to the offices with the something like the mark of the beast on their forehead, and Christians who are absolutely ashamed to be publicly known as followers of Jesus Christ. Shame on them.

What type of Christians are they? I'll tell you, compromisers. They're not in this number here. They're not the people who are unashamed to boldly admit that they are followers of Jesus Christ. They are wondering whether they'll get that promotion if they confess to be followers of Christ.

They are wondering whether they'll get that increment. They are lovers of money, lovers of promotion, not bold witnesses of Jesus Christ. The Lamb and his followers are marked by this. They are publicly known as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Their relatives know that they are wholehearted disciples. They are not compromisers in the midst of their unconverted relatives. They are not compromisers in their office. They are not compromisers in their neighborhood.

The mark is clearly seen. And every time we see a Hindu man with a mark on his forehead, let that speak to us. If that man is not ashamed to show that he worships the devil, why in the world should I be ashamed to admit that I am a son of the living God?

The Lamb was standing with 144 ,000, having his name and the name of his father written on their forehead. Now, this has a symbolic meaning, too, because in the Old Testament, name symbolized nature. Verse 1, I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion.

With Him, 144 ,000. Now, this is not the 144 ,000 that we saw earlier in chapter 7, because they were from the tribes of Israel, 12 ,000 each. And the tribes of Israel certainly don't follow the Lamb.

That's clear. They don't believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. This is another group altogether. This is from the church. This is what the book of Revelation calls the overcomers. You read off in Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3, he who overcomes, he who overcomes, he who overcomes.

This is the group spoken of there. And their characteristic is they reflect the nature of the Lamb and of the Father. And that's a good question to ask ourselves in our attitude towards other people. Do I reflect the nature of the Lamb who, when he was sheared, kept his mouth shut, who, when he was slaughtered, was silent, who could see people taking away his rights, stripping him, and be silent?

I'll tell you, some people say, you mean to say it's such a small number of overcomers? I ask you this question. How many believers have you seen in your life who never lose their temper, who can learn to keep quiet under provocation?

I tell you, it's a pretty small number. Who know how to follow the Lamb in being silent, when deprived of one's rights? Who know what it is to take up the cross and die? There are not many. But here are those who wholeheartedly followed and who have now that nature which they inwardly acquired has begun to shine through their personality in their face.

And it says the nature of his Father. That is God's desire for every one of us, that we grow up to maturity where we can be like fathers towards other people. God is training us. We start off as children, we grow up to be sons, we read that in 1 John 2, and then we grow up to be fathers towards other people, denying ourselves to serve them, longing to lead others onto maturity.

His nature, the nature of the Lamb, and the nature of the Father. Brothers and sisters, this should be our passion, that the nature of the Lamb of God and the nature of the Father should become ours so completely that it begins to be reflected through our personality.

Blessed are those who take that seriously. I believe with all my heart, I don't have a shadow of doubt in my mind, that these are the overcomers. And it says here in verse 2 and 3, I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.

That's the music of heaven. It's a music full of praise, worship, joy, ecstatic joy in the presence of the Father. And it says here there were certain people on earth who learned this while they were on earth.

These are the ones who stood on Mount Zion. Now, Mount Zion, mentioned in verse 1, is just another name for the heavenly Jerusalem. And if you turn back to Revelation 3, I want to tell you who has got the name of Jerusalem written on them, Revelation 3 .12.

We considered that when we studied Revelation 3, but just to refresh our memory so that we understand it clearly. He who overcomes. Not everyone, but he who overcomes. I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, says the Lord Jesus.

And he will not go out from it anymore and look at the names that are going to be written on the forehead of whom? Of the overcomers. I will write upon him the name of my God. What is the name of God that Jesus revealed to us?

What is it? Father. That's right. I have revealed your name to them, Jesus said in John 17. That's the name of Father. And he's going to write that name on the forehead, not of everyone, but the overcomers.

And the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, that is the bride of Christ. Now that verse clearly teaches that it is the overcomers who constitute the bride of Christ, which comes down out of heaven from my God and my name, the name of the lamb.

Notice that the name of the father, the name of the lamb, and the name of the new Jerusalem. That's what we see in Revelation 14. They stand on Mount Zion, which is the heavenly Jerusalem, and his name and the name of his father.

So when you put Revelation 3 .12 into Revelation 14 .1, it's pretty clear that this is referring to the overcomers. We've only got to compare scripture with scripture, get rid of our preconceived ideas and traditions, and we understand it clearly.

Learning the New Song of Praise

And they learned that they sang a new song, it says in verse three. These overcomers, they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And listen to this, Revelation 14 .3, no one could learn the song except the 144 ,000 who had been purchased from the earth.

Now this is quite significant. Why is it that no one else could learn the song? Is it because these people were musically minded? It's got nothing to do with being musically minded, I'll tell you that.

There are a lot of people in the devil's camp who are musically minded. I mean, the film songs teach you that. It's not a question of being musically minded, it's a question of having a heart to learn this new song.

What is this new song? The new song is, as we know from Revelation 5 .9, thou art worthy to receive praise and honor and glory and dominion and power. It is a song which doesn't have a smell of complaining or grumbling or murmuring in it.

How many of us have learned it? Do you know that God gives us an earthly lifetime to learn that song? The song of heaven, a song of praise and thanksgiving, completely free from even a smell or trace of grumbling, murmuring, and complaining.

How many believers are there who have learned to be 100 free from grumbling and complaining when they miss the train when the food is not up to the mark, when somebody who promised to do something for them does not do it, somebody takes away their rights, somebody does some terrible evil to them, or to their children perhaps, somebody speaks evil perhaps of them or their children.

What a lot of opportunities we have to follow Jesus, taking up the cross, and to learn that new song. It is impossible to learn that song unless we are willing to take up the cross and die to our own rights and to our honor and to our own self.

That's how we learn the new song. And so it says here there's a small group of people who fulfill the word of God which says in Philippians 2 13 14, do all things without grumbling and complaining, all things, who fulfill the word of God in 1 Thessalonians 5 18 which says in everything give thanks.

They learned it, they learned it in their earthly lifetime, and the word learn teaches us that it is an education. The word learn is a word from the field of education. It's something I have to go through in this earth and educate myself in.

I have to learn how to sing this song. I don't know it enough to start with. This is being spiritually musically minded, to take up the cross and to learn that song. No one could learn that song except these.

Why? Because the others heard about taking up the cross, but in the moment of temptation they didn't take up the cross, and so they never learned that song. And what a sad thing it is when a man's been a believer for 20, 30, 40, 50 years and he still hasn't got victory over murmuring, over a bad temper, over grumbling and complaining and bitter words and backbiting words.