Let me invite you to come in and take a seat as we begin.
It's good to see you all today.
In the book of Isaiah, chapter 45, verse 22, God says this,
Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other.
So we live in a world where it can be increasingly hard to tell what's real and what's fake, right?
And that's not just the case on the internet or on a news cycle.
It's also true of the spiritual life.
Sociologists and some philosophers of modernity describe it as the Nova effect.
Every day there's an increasing number of options that seem to present themselves
for our spiritual consideration and consumption.
Boom!
They just multiply.
But you know, in the midst of the book of Isaiah,
the God of the Bible, one true creator and redeemer,
has revealed himself definitively in Jesus Christ.
We see the glory of God in the face of Jesus.
He makes himself unmistakably free to us.
And this God says,
I am God.
There is no other.
Turn to me and be saved.
So in worship, we have an opportunity to respond to this call of God.
To turn to him.
To find a real God who's made himself known and has saved to be rescued.
So let's stand and let's sing together.
Amen.
Thank you.
This is my story.
This is my song.
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story.
This is my song.
Praising my Savior all the day long.
You were the word at the beginning.
One with God the Lord knows time.
Your hidden glory and creation.
Now we build in you, O Christ.
What a beautiful name it is.
The name of Jesus Christ my King.
What a beautiful name it is.
The name of Jesus.
You didn't want heaven without us.
So Jesus you brought us down.
When sin was great.
When sin was great, your love was greater.
The name of God.
The name of Jesus.
What a beautiful name it is.
What a wonderful name it is.
The name of Jesus Christ my King.
What a beautiful name it is.
Nothing compares to this.
What a wonderful name it is.
The name of Jesus.
What a wonderful name it is.
The name of Jesus.
Death could not hold you.
The veil tore before you.
You silenced the lost.
How sin and gain.
The heavens are roaring.
The praise of your glory.
For you are raised to life again.
And you have no rival.
You have no equal.
Now and forever God you raise.
But yours is the kingdom.
And yours is the glory.
Yours is the name.
Above all names.
What a powerful name it is.
And nothing can stand against.
What a powerful name it is.
The name of Jesus.
And you have no rival.
You have no equal.
Now and forever God you raise.
Yours is the name of God.
Yours is the kingdom.
Yours is the glory.
Yours is the name.
The name above all names.
What a powerful name it is.
The name of Jesus Christ my King.
What a powerful name it is.
Nothing can stand against.
What a powerful name it is.
The name of Jesus.
What a powerful name it is.
You may be seated.
Good morning church.
Our reading this morning is taken from the book of Daniel chapter 7 verses 7 to 18.
That is Daniel 7 verses 7 to 18.
It is on page 697 of the Pew Bible.
When I am done reading I will say,
This is God's word to which I invite you to respond,
Thanks be to God.
In this passage, Daniel is already part way through describing a vision that he had received.
So once again, Daniel 7, 7 to 18.
I read,
After this, in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong.
It had great iron teeth.
It devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet.
It was different from all the beasts that were before it.
And it had ten horns.
I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots.
And behold, in this own horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool.
His throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire.
A stream of fire issued and came out from before him.
A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
I looked then, because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking.
And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed, and given over to be burned with fire.
As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man.
And he came to the Ancient of Days, and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed.
As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me.
I approached one of those who stood there, and asked him the truth concerning all this.
So he told me, and made known to me the interpretation of the things.
These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth.
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.
This is God's word.
Amen.
Let us pray.
Father God, we thank you for the gift of your word, and for the ways it helps us to see you clearly.
In the midst of the increasingly self-promoting and boastful world that we live, we are glad that you remain the one worthy of all true worship.
The Ancient of Days, in a class of your own, with no rival or equal, in heaven above or on earth below.
We rejoice with the thousand thousands that serve you, and join the innumerable hosts of creation to sing your praise.
Yet, Lord, no sooner we rise from worship than the vision begins to fade, as we are sworn by the voices of beasts and idols that seek to usurp your position of worship in our hearts.
They speak great boasts and lies, promising to fulfill our deepest desires, things we only ought to seek from you, if only we would worship and serve them.
We would claim to be wise and spiritual enough to see through the folly and lies of their boast, Lord, but alas, we are often deceived.
Even worse, Lord, more often than we dare acknowledge, we become like them, claiming to have achieved by our merit and skill the true victor who, through his death and resurrection, rescued us from our sin and our reigns in majesty.
We see him, to whom one day every knee will bow and tongue confess to his everlasting dominion.
We see him who will fulfill our deepest longings, promising to wipe away every tear from our eyes, and to give us a share in his kingdom for our possession forever and ever.
We ask that you help us keep that vision.
We ask that you have given to everyone who has turned from self-reliance and self-salvation to trust wholly in Christ,
that a perfect ransom has been paid for you by God's own Son, the perfect Son of Man, Jesus Christ,
and all your sins have been forgiven.
So let's...
This is...
Is...
Peacarlúng...
We...
In all that score
Bowing to the Father's will
He took the crown of thorns
Oh, that rugged cross
My salvation
Where you love poured out
Over me
Now my soul cries out
Hallelujah
Praise and hallelujah
To Thee
Please stand as we continue to worship
The scent of heaven
God's own soul
To purchase and redeem
And reconcile the very ones
Who nailed Him to the tree
Oh, that rugged cross
My salvation
Where you love poured out
Over me
Now my soul cries out
Hallelujah
Praise and honor
Now my death is paid
It is paid in full
Now the curse of sin
Has no hold on me
Whom the sun sets free
Oh, is free indeed
Now my death is paid in full
By the precious blood
That my Jesus
Now my death is paid in full
Now the curse of sin
Has no hold on me
Whom the sun
Whom the sun sets free
Oh, is free
Indeed
Oh, that rugged cross
acs my salvation
And VI
Praise and honor run to thee
See the stone is rolled away
Behold the empty tomb
Hallelujah, God be praised
He's risen from the grave
Oh, that rugged cross of salvation
May your love float out over me
Now my soul cries out
Hallelujah
Praise and honor run to thee
Please be seated
Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 that the cross has not only removed the barrier between us and God, but also between us and one another.
The new community the church is a gospel reality
So we pause to mention just a few things happening in our corporate life together
First if you're visiting or if you're new
Feel free to fill out one of our welcome cards in the pews in the boxes at either exit of the sanctuary and we'd be happy to connect with you or to pray for you
Coming up next Sunday
March 3rd
After the service over lunch, we'll be hosting Trinity 101
Now Trinity 101 is a class for those who are interested in membership at Trinity
Or if you're new and you just want to learn more about the church
You can come to Trinity 101 as well
Everyone's welcome to come to that
You can fill out an RSVP for Trinity 101 on the home page of the website
If you just go to our home page and scroll down there should be a button there to RSVP for Trinity 101 next Sunday
Also next Sunday at 9 a.m.
Our adult Sunday school class is continuing in the book of Ephesians
And next Sunday we're coming to that great passage in Ephesians 5 about marriage
So if you'd like to come and learn more about a biblical vision of marriage and all those good things
You come next Sunday at 9 a.m.
To adult Sunday school
Two more things a couple of weeks from now our youth group will be heading out on spring retreat
March 8th through 10th or winter retreat sort of depends in New England
How the weather decides to be that weekend?
It will either be a spring retreat or a winter retreat
If you are in middle school or high school
Our youth group meets every Sunday after the service in the fellowship hall classroom downstairs
So if you want to learn more about youth group, you can come talk to me after the service and
Beth and I be happy to connect you with our youth group leaders
And get you plugged into to our youth ministry
Last thing
Good friday and easter are coming up believe it or not easter is march 31st this year
And we'll have our good friday service on march
29th at 6 30 as well
Let me encourage you to start thinking who you might invite to come with you to either of these services
These are great services to invite friends who might not normally come to church
And the gospel will be clearly presented in both of those services
So consider who you might bring along
Well
As a church
We see of our city as we reach here locally
We have an impact globally
And john and anita hinkson
Have been at the vanguard of this work for many many years here in new haven and at yale university through their work at the rivendell institute
Many of you know and love john and anita
As they have been members here at trinity for
Well
Probably longer than most of us right john
But not all of us
And they have been mentors and models for
Last thing that he wrote before the lord took him
He identified some of these challenges that we the church in america
Really really discouraging
We we really are struggling
With attractiveness and we have a deep need
For transformation
Conformity to the image of christ
Second one that tim mentions
Is uh
We we seem to be really challenged with our ability to take the wonderful good news of the gospel
And communicate it
Such that it is actually heard
As good news
We have this challenge we struggle with this challenge
Of thoughtful translation
Of the gospel
Such that it's heard
As good news
So those are a couple of the challenges that we face and again
I I don't mean to be over dramatic
As a church as a people of god across the ages we've always faced challenges like these
So nothing new here
But these are a couple of the challenges that we at rivendell are trying to put our attention to
And and anita and I have been
Seeking to respond to these challenges all the years that we've been here many decades
And uh trying to cultivate disciples of jesus as growing image bearers and witness bearers
Mark 2 13 describes jesus it says of jesus he went out
Again
And the people came to him
And he taught them
See that he went out
He was missional
He took the initiative to connect with those around him and he did it again and again and again
This was his this was his practice
And he went out and the people came to him
That was he was attractive
They found something in him that just drew them to him
He went out
And the people came to him and he taught them
He was able to impart
He had good news to offer them
And he communicated that
So that's what we that's what we try to do
We seek to sow to present and future in that sense
It's also a place where so much of the discourse that animates our nation is kind of forged
It's it ideas of the currency of the university
So it's a wonderful place to bring gospel truths there
And particularly
We find ourselves I'm convinced
In a time where to use Paul's expression
A wide door for effectual service is opened to us
As he says in first corinthians
So what is this new wide door?
Well
I'm going to try to make this super short
I love this stuff as an historian
The university has long operated
Unicipate
So as a result many Christians in the academy
Have found themselves undergoing this very secular apprenticeship
As they are cultivated in their disciplines
And have very few models
Or very much opportunity to begin to ask the question
Well what bearing does my faith have in this discipline?
What are some of the riches that the gospel might bring
To the questions that my discipline asks
The challenges that we face
So very little of that is done
Now lately
Here's some of the good news
Lately
This enlightenment model of how we should do the university
Is really starting to fray significantly
And it's a fascinating story
I'd love to tell it in like some time
But this supposed neutral rationality
That the university prizes
Really like a suit
That you could just take off
And leave behind
Isn't it more like a skin
That you just bring with you inevitably?
In fact
Inevitably we see through lenses
That we each and every one
Have been grinding all our lives
Through all of our experiences
And that's what we've got
To engage with knowledge with
So all this to say
That this old model
The enlightenment model of the university
Is really fraying
And now people are realizing
Hey
We inevitably bring our perspectives
Let's bring them
In the hopes that they can contribute
So we want to try to encourage Christians
To begin to think this way
And in terms of their contribution
That they can make
In a sense
To sow to
What we might call
A Christian renaissance
Whereby we as believers
In our different disciplines
Are beginning to ask
Well what are some of the riches
Of the gospel
That I can bring to bear
In my discipline
Some of the motivations
Some of the insights
Some of the intuitions
That I can then bring to bear
On the puzzles
And the projects
That the academy has
For the common good
And notice
For the common good
This is the way
We need to frame it
In contrast to a way
That often it can be tempting
To frame it in
In terms of the culture war
Where we're thinking
In terms of a power struggle
Okay
These people think this way
And we think differently
And we just need to beat them
In this power struggle
No, no, no
We need to think in terms
Of the common good
And this sort of Christian contribution
Brought into the context
Of the academy
Is going to require
Some sort of sensitivity
And thoughtfulness
In its contextualization
To really make a contribution
But there is a contribution
To be made
So how do we go about
Sowing to these things?
Well one
By engaging
That is
Finding
And maybe forging
Contexts
In which
It is very natural
For us to be able
To bear witness to Christ
Finding or forging
Those places
It's very natural
To just speak of these things
One of the places
That I've made reference
To a few times now
Is a sauna
Where a whole lot of people
From the university hang out
And they're sitting there
And we have conversations
About meaningful things
All the time
There's a place
Dinner tables
Hikes
So many places
That we can find
Where it's natural
To communicate the good news
But then also
Coming on the side
Believers
And helping to equip them
To be able to do
These things well
Creating a womb
If you will
Where these good
Capacities can gestate
So what Anita and I have done
In our particular task
At Rivendell
Is putting together
It's a lot of fun
And you know
There is such a hunger
For the gospel
We're finding
Yeah
You remember how
Jesus said to Paul
In Corinth
I guess it was
Go on
Communicating the gospel
For I have many people
In this city
And we trust that the Lord
Has many people
In this city
I'll just give one
Quick illustration
As I say
One of the wonderful places
We found
Is the sauna
Of a local gym
That we go to
Where a lot of
University folk hang out
And it's
Come to have a reputation
Of a place where you can go
To talk about
These meaningful things
In fact
Just the other day
There was a fellow
That came up
And he pressed his
He pressed his face
Up against the
Glass door
And he said
Hey is
Is this the place
Where we talk about
Meaningful things in life
I've heard
That there
That you guys do that
And is this
Says yeah
Come on in
So when he comes
And he
He was a ripe old age
He was a professor emeritus
That was there
And he comes in here
Come on in
And here
You've been here before
No first time
We'll take the
Take the lower bench here
Not a humble thing
It's just less hot
Yeah yeah
Come on in
And we're going at
We're going at
Gospel conversation
And Kierkegaard
And Hegel
And that
And he's just having
So much fun
And as I'm watching him
About 10-15 minutes in
But it was just so wonderful
You don't know
How long it's been
Since I've had
Conversations like these
I really need these
And we're finding this
Again and again and again
So the harvest
Is ripe and white
So we just want to be
Workers to go out there
And thank you
For your partnership in this
You as a church
Have come alongside us
And allowed us to do this
All these many years
And we're really grateful
For this partnership
In Asia, Africa, South America
The Middle East
The Pacific Islands
In your providence
You have gathered people here
In New Haven
From all these places
So we thank you
For the faithful labors
Of John and Anita
And how through their work
They have
Let our love for you
Lord Jesus abound
With the freedom
Of your love for us
Your forgiveness of sins
The hope we have in you
Of a good and certain future
The purpose you give
To each and every day
Be like a stream
That wells up in our hearts
Pushes over the banks
You are God
And there is no other
You're the one we've been
Looking for this whole time
And now where else
Would we go?
How deep the Father's love for us
Cause my sin upon his shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Why should I gain from his reward?
I can't
Before we begin
I want to do something real quick
This is not a book giveaway
Sorry, I will need these
For the next couple of weeks
Or months
Three books on the book of Revelation
If you're interested in
Finding something to read
Blessed by Nancy Guthrie
It's new
It has a whole series of podcasts
If you want to listen
Rather than read
It's been very good
Vern Poitras
The Returning King
A Guide to the Book of Revelation
It's small
But very powerful
And then
The commentary that I've spent
Most of my time is
Greg Beal
This is Little Beal
There's a big one
So this is
This is your user friendly version
It's only 400 pages
Instead of 800
So
But
If you're looking for those
They also were sent out
A couple weeks ago
In the weekly newsletter
As an attachment
And if you need to find that again
You can contact the church office
And we can direct you again
To getting those
We continue in the book of Revelation
If you were here in the fall
You would remember that when
We looked at the situation
Of the churches in the first century
One of the pressures they faced
Was the rise of the cult of the emperor
In the first century
There were slowly but growing
Worship of the emperor
Throughout the Roman Empire
Initially it was only
Worshipping dead emperors
So you had to have been
In the past tense
In order to get a temple built for you
But by the end of the first century
They were starting to build temples
To living emperors
And the emperor was being exalted
To a high level
And Christians were facing
A challenge
Because the empire they lived in
Was providing great things
It was providing peace
It was providing security
It was providing economic prosperity
The travel
The roads that they built
The ways that they improved society
For many people
It was something that they wanted
To be a part of
And yet
The emperor was increasingly
Being raised up
And of course
We also know
That for the Christians
It wasn't always a great thing
When the emperor
Had so much power
In society
Because when the emperor
Decided he didn't like Christians
Or he wanted to blame Christians
For things that were going wrong
Persecution ensued
And there was great suffering
In the church
In the midst of this
Imagine yourself
As a first century Christian
And thinking
You know what
They're right
That's the life I want
I'm just going to say
Okay
I'll worship the emperor
How bad can it be
Now
We sit here in church
And we think
Would we do that
Well
You know
There are lots of stories
Throughout human history
Where people
Captivated by something
That met their longings
In particular ways
And showed great promise
And power
Turned their allegiance
To these things
This is what happened
In Germany
In the 1930s
This is what happened
In America
As white people
Embraced a view
Of race
That was so contrary
To God's plan
In the church
And listen
It happens globally
It happens politically
It happens societally
It happens personally
When we laugh
With the bully
Rather than stand up
For the kid
Who's picked on
At school
Or when we
Allow
A colleague
To continue
Speaking poorly
Of one of your
Co-workers
Unfairly
And unjustly
How easily
We get caught up
In things
Greater than us
Because we want
To belong
Because we want
To prosper
Because we want
To find life
This morning
We're going to look
At Revelation
Chapter 13
And if you want
To turn there
It's page 972
In your pew bible
We're going to be
Looking at a picture
And we're in a section
In Revelation
12 through 14
Where we see
That there's a real
Spiritual warfare
Going on
That we are involved
In right now
Between the forces
Of God
And his kingdom
And those
Who would stand
Against it
And we saw
There was a dragon
In the
Revelation
Symbolic language
The dragon
Symbolizing Satan
Pursuing the woman
Who was giving birth
To the church
And these pictures
This image
Of this grand battle
And so this is what
We saw in chapter 12
In chapter 13
What we see
Is an extension
Of that vision
We see going back
And saying
Okay how did this
Battle
How was this battle
Waged
And what we will see
Is that the battle
Here is waged
Through counterfeit
Power
And being a symbol
Of Satan
So here we go
Then the dragon
Became furious
With the woman
And went off
To make war
On the rest
Of her offspring
On those who keep
The commandments
Of God
And hold
To the testimony
Of Jesus
And he stood
On the sand
Of the sea
And I saw a beast
Rising out of the sea
With ten horns
And seven heads
With ten diadems
On its horns
And blasphemous names
On its heads
And the beast
That I saw
Was like a leopard
Its feet were like a bear's
And its mouth
Was like a lion's mouth
And to it
The dragon gave his power
And his throne
And great authority
One of its heads
Seemed to have
A mortal wound
But its mortal wound
Was healed
And the whole earth
Marveled
As they followed
The beast
And they worshipped
The dragon
For he had given
His authority
To the beast
And they worshipped
The beast
Saying
Who is like the beast
And who can fight
Against it
And the beast
Was given a mouth
Uttering haughty
And blasphemous words
And it was allowed
To exercise authority
For forty-two months
It opened its mouth
To utter blasphemies
Against God
Blaspheming his name
And his dwelling
That is those
Who dwell in heaven
Also it was allowed
To make war
On the saints
And to conquer them
And authority
Was given it
Over every tribe
And people
And language
And nation
And all who dwell
On the earth
Will worship it
Everyone whose name
Has not been written
Before the foundation
Of the world
In the book of life
Of the lamb
That was slain
If anyone has an ear
Let him hear
If anyone is to be
Taken captive
To captivity he goes
If anyone is to be
Slain with the sword
With the sword
Must he be slain
Here is a call
For the endurance
And faith of the saints
Then I saw another beast
Rising out of the earth
It had two horns
Like a lamb
And it spoke like a dragon
It exercises all the authority
Of the first beast
In its presence
And makes the earth
And its inhabitants
Worship the first beast
Whose mortal wounds
Was allowed to give breath
To the image of the beast
So that the image
Of the beast
Might even speak
And might cause those
Who would not worship
The image of the beast
To be slain
Also it causes all
Both small and great
Both rich and poor
Both free and slave
To be marked
On the right hand
Of the forehead
So that no one can buy
Or sell
Unless it has the mark
Unless he has the mark
That is the name
Of the beast
Or the number
Of its name
This calls for wisdom
Let the one
Who has understanding
Calculate the number
Of the beast
For it is the number
Of a man
And his number is
Six
And this is God's word
So what do we do
With this
Well today I want
To take a classic
Bible study approach
To this
We're going to explain it
What does it actually say
And then we're going
To interpret it
What does it mean
For us
And then we're going
To respond to it
How do we then
Respond to the truth
Of this passage
So if you're taking
Your notes
There's our outline
First we're just
Going to explain it
And we're going
To start
There are two beasts
That are obviously
They dominate this chapter
Right
Two beasts
Are the central images
And what are they
Well clearly they are
Agents of the dragon
They are like him
They have horns
They have crowns
They
For the first beast
The second beast
Speaks
As if he were dragon
They come with power
And authority
Again we see the authority
Given to the first beast
By the dragon
His authority
His thrones
His power
The second one
Shows power
By doing miraculous things
These miraculous things
Are a part of the wonder
Of these beasts
You know it's fascinating
Because beast seems
To be a negative image
And yet what we see here
Is that people marvel at
And flock to
And end up following these beasts
Partly why
Because they're doing miracles
The first beast
Has a wound
That should have killed it
And yet it lived
And the second beast
Performed signs and wonders
Using imagery
That we might have pulled
From the Old Testament
When in
First Kings 18
Elijah calls
They come with this
This massive
Powerful image
Of
That's calling the world
To respond to them
Now
You're here
And what you see in Daniel
Is that
These are actually
Representative
Of governments
And political powers
They're kings
And kingdoms
That will rise up
Against God
And his kingdom
In the world
The final thing
We need to explain here
Is the number
Because everybody
Knows this number
Right
And you know
In the last couple of years
People have wondered
You know
Is getting a vaccine
The mark of the beast
Or is using a tap card
On our credit card
The mark of the beast
Or
There are all these
Different ways
In which we've wondered
Well I'll tell you what
When we talk to
Bible study
Bible commentators
About what the number
666 is
They don't know
They have a lot
Of really creative ideas
There's this whole thing
Called gemetria
Where you
Take letters
And you line them up
With the numbers
In the alphabet
So A is 1
And B is 2
And then you add them together
And if you put
Nero Caesar
Transliterated from Greek
Into Hebrew
In just the right way
You might get to 666
And
The most compelling
Argument
That I found
Is that we have
Seen numbers
In the book of Revelation
Be symbolic of things
Throughout the whole book
And we know
That the number 7
Is the number of perfection
Or completeness
Or fulfillment
And so the number 666
Is the not quite number
And it's repeated
Three times
It is the
Counterfeit number
This is almost like
The perfection of God
But not quite
And this idea
Of counterfeit
Is not something
That I just made up
As we look
Through this passage
In fact
What you see
Is this beast
In its compelling
Nature and power
Is like
Christ
And the Holy Spirit
The first beast
Is like Christ
Think about
What we know
About Jesus
He said
All authority
Has been
In heaven
And on earth
Has been given
To me
Therefore go
And preach the gospel
The first beast
Is given authority
And power
By the dragon
Right
Jesus rises
From the dead
And says to Thomas
Put your hand
In the wound
In my side
The mortal wound
That should have
Killed me
Put it in my hands
And feet
And the dragon
Comes and says
I have a mortal wound
Too
And it's
Been healed
The counterfeit
So that we might
Be led astray
Into false worship
This of course
Is a pattern
That we know
Is throughout
The Bible
Romans 1
25
Talks about this
We exchange
The truth of God
For a lie
And worship
And serve
The creator
The creature
Rather than the creator
Who is blessed
So
What is this imagery about?
It's about these beasts
Who come like
Counterfeit saviors
Counterfeit gods
That promise
Power
And victory
And success
And salvation
But who are not
The true
And living God
And this whole vision
Seems to be given
So that
The church
Might be prepared
To see it clearly
And to respond
With perseverance
This is what verse 10
Is about
You may have wondered
It was kind of a weird
Interlude
Right?
It's this
Look with me
In verse 10
Right?
If anyone has
Here
Let him hear
Oh
That if anyone
Is taken captive
To captivity
He will go
And if anyone
Is slain
With the sword
Must he be slain
Here's a call
For the endurance
And faith
Of the saints
In the face
Of these beasts
Knowing what
They're gonna do
For true Christians
To stand firm
In believing
And following Jesus
They will suffer
These things
They will go
To captivity
They will go
To death
And the call
Is to persevere
Through that
Because there is
A greater hope
On the other side
That we see
In verse 9
We'll talk about
This at the end
But those
Whose names
Are written
In the Lamb's
Book of life
The Lamb who
Was slain
For us
Even if we die
Persevering
In faith in him
Yet we will live
Because of that
And so this is
The purpose
That God gives us
For this
Passage
This is
Smorgasbord of images
What do we do
With it
Well
If you were
At our Sunday school
A couple weeks ago
This is gonna be
A review
There are lots
Of different ways
That people
Have interpreted it
There are four
Schools of thought
Throughout the church
One of them
Is fairly patently
Not true
Because they tried
To identify
The beast
With particular people
Along the way
In history
And so
You know
Charlemagne
Might have been
The beast
Well he wasn't
Because it wasn't
The end after him
So whatever it was
We know that can't be it
Right
And so
But there are three others
That are worth
Worth considering
One is called
The preterist
Which sees
These as images
That would be fulfilled
In the first century
So this is all about
The Roman Empire
Christians facing
The Roman Empire
And the challenges
That they face
And the beast
Might be
Nero
Or Domitian
Or Diocletian
It might be
Addressed
Ready
If this might come
Right
If you're familiar
With Hal Lindsay
In the late great
Planet Earth
Or
Tim LaHaye
Jerry Jenkins
In The Left Behind
This is their take
Right
So Nicholas Carpathia
Is the beast
In this
In this image
If you're familiar
With that
The third school
Of thought
Is called
The idealist thought
That says
These images
Are giving pictures
Or seem to describe
Some stuff
In the first century
And they do seem to
We do think
That there is a growing
Or a trajectory
Where at the end
It will get worse
And there may very well
Be a particular
Beast
Or antichrist
And we'll get to that
In a minute
There may be
Something in the future
That we'll get to
But even now
We see that
These things are going
Going on
That these dynamics
Are true
In the life
Of the church
In the world
So we don't have
To choose
And say
But we can say
The beast
Have expressed themselves
In Rome
They are expressing
Themselves
In our world today
And they will express
Themselves
In the future
And this is
This is
Consistent
With what we see
In other parts
Of the New Testament
In particular
Where it talks about
What happens
In the future
Josh is going
To help me
Given our time
We're not going
To read all
Of these passages
But when Jesus
Talks about the future
And the coming
When the disciples
Say tell us
When will these things
Be and what will be
The sign of your coming
At the end of the age
Right
Matthew 24
He says
Many will come
Not just one
But many will come
In my name
Saying I am the Christ
In verse 5
And then in verse 11
He'll say
Many false prophets
Will arise
So Jesus is saying
Look
You're going to see
This over and over again
Right
And then it says
But at the end
There will be
An end to this
And
The one who endures
To the end
Will be saved
Paul
In 2nd Thessalonians
Chapter 2
Talks about
A figure called
The man of lawlessness
And he takes his seat
In the temple of God
Proclaiming himself
To be God
That is the very nature
Of the counterfeit
That we see
Right
And it seems to be
An individual here
But then in verse 7
It talks about
The mystery of lawlessness
That is already at work
So we see the ongoing nature
And yet maybe
A future person
Who will embody this
In its fullness
1st John
Talks about this
If you remember
When we preached
The 1st John
Tyler did a great job
With this
The antichrist
Is coming
But I tell you now
Many antichrists
Have come
And then in verse 22
Here
This is the antichrist
He who denies
The father and the son
So is it one
Or is it both
Well
The New testament image
Is that
These both
These are both true
So if you're wondering
Why we take this
Interpretive approach
Why we do it this way
It's because we think
The new testament
Actually gives us
A complex picture
But are ultimately
Leading us to destruction
I was actually struck
By what John
Was talking about earlier
With regard to the enlightenment
Because
Good heavens
The enlightenment
Was an intellectual movement
That gripped the western world
And maybe the whole world
For hundreds of years
Exalting human reason
And logic
And understanding
To such a height
And it had a promise
Of a
It presented a promise
Of progress
Of success
Of utopia
Of fulfillment
And it was beastly
For those underneath it
Because it was the enlightenment
That produced things
Like the french revolution
So we can
Yale university
Opened up
Mental health
Sites
To care for
Advocate for positions
We can support candidates
But let us
Never ever
Confuse them
Or let them
Take a counterfeit role
That God means
To have in our lives
Alone
In the person
And work
Of Jesus Christ
Katie and I
Were talking about this
The other day
And she said
You know
One of the things
That's scary
Is that
The church
Can be the most
Gullible
And vulnerable
To this
Because we come
To everything
With religious fervor
But we need
To make sure
That our religious
Worship is clear
So that
As we live out
Our lives
For Christ
And for his kingdom
We do so
In a way
That makes Christ
The center
Of all that we do
And friends
We do need to
Recognize as well
My time is short
So
But I just want
To recognize
That deceit
That it's not
Just things
Out there
Because the church
Itself is constantly
Under attack
The false prophet
The second beast
Comes
And as you look
Ahead in Revelation
In chapter 17
You will see
That there's this
Unholy trinity
Of the dragon
The first beast
And the second beast
Who is then later
Called the false prophet
And we know
That there are
Dynamics within
Our church
Even today
We know
That there is
Such a desire
In the western world
And even
Throughout the whole world
Where the gospel
Doesn't become
The gospel
Of Jesus Christ
This is why
Cults are so
Attractive
Because they tell you
You must do
These things
And then you're okay
And the gospel
Of grace
Is that we will
Never be good enough
And that only
By the blood
Of Jesus
Shed for us
And our coming
Trains people
To no counterfeits
Do you know
What they do?
They give them
The real thing
And they make them
Study it carefully
And they look
At the ink
And they feel
The paper
And they look
At the design
And they notice
The watermarks
And there are
All these different
Tests that they use
But they give them
The real thing
And then when
They start to give them
The real thing
Mixed in with
Counterfeits
They kind of know
Even when they don't
Even when they can't
Tell you exactly
What it is
They go
Yeah this doesn't
Feel right
And then they look
At it
And they can find
Why it's
Why it's a counterfeit
Friends
This is how we
Respond to this
Chapter of the Bible
We need to look
To Jesus
We need to know
Him so well
That we won't
Get drawn away
By the counterfeits
That our world
Seduces us with
By the counterfeits
That our church
Falls into
In false teaching
We know
At the end
That Jesus
Will win
In Revelation
19-20
These
The beast
And the false prophet
They are judged
By the one
Who comes
Riding on a white horse
And they're cast
Into a lake of fire
And they will be destroyed
And the counterfeit
Will be shown
For what it is
In verse 20
In chapter 20
Verse 10
The dragon
Will likely be cast
Into the same
Lake of fire
These counterfeits
Will not last
And if we put
Our hope in them
There
They will destroy us
But instead
Let us
Set our hearts
And our minds
On the Lamb
Who was slain
I want to close
By just
Reminding us
Of what Scripture
Tells us
Jesus
Born of all creation
For by Him
All things were created
In heaven
And on earth
Visible and invisible
Whether thrones
Or dominions
Or rulers
Or authorities
All things were created
Through Him
And for Him
And He is before
All things
And in Him
All things hold together
And He is the head
Of the body
The church
He is the beginning
The firstborn
From the dead
That in everything
He might be preeminent
For in Him
All the fullness
Of God
Was pleased to dwell
And through Him
To reconcile
To Himself
All things
Whether on earth
Or in heaven
Making peace
By the blood
Of His cross
And in Philippians 2
Paul reminds us
That though He was
In the form of God
He did not count
Equality with God
A thing to be grasped
But emptied Himself
Taking the form
Of a servant
Being born
In the likeness of men
And being found
In human form
He humbled Himself
By becoming obedient
To the point of death
Even death
On a cross
Therefore God
Has highly exalted Him
And bestowed on Him
The name that is above
Every name
So that at the name
Of Jesus
Every knee should bow
In heaven
And on earth
And under the earth
And every tongue
Confess
That Jesus Christ
Is Lord
To the glory of God
The Father
Friends
Here's the thing
I want you to see
In both of these passages
Do you know
What is unique
About the glory
Of Jesus
He died for us
He laid down His life
He didn't take His power
And impose it on people
He didn't force
But He came
And He loved
And He laid down
His life for us
One of the ways
We know
That there's a counterfeit
Is when it says
You can either
Wield your power
Without any restraint
Or you can have it all
Without any cost
Because neither of those
Are the gospel
And my friends
We need to gird ourselves up
But if we see Jesus
If we know
How great He is
Then no matter how hard
That storm will be
We will persevere
And we will be those
Whose names are written
In the Lamb's book of life
The Lamb who was slain
Let's pray
Lord we thank you
That you are a great God
And a great Savior
And Lord we ask for your help
For we are wayward
And our hearts do so often turn
Lord we are deceived
Lord save us from this
And by your spirit
Give us discernment
So that our loyalty
And our worship to you
Would be full
We pray this in Jesus name
Amen
Well friends
As we close our service
As the music team comes up
We're going to sing a song
Oh Lord
A fount of perfect wisdom
My eye is good
Am I unending need
Faithfulness
My refuge in the night
O Lord
My rock
My redeemer
Gracious Savior
Of my ruined life
My guilt
And cross
Laid on your shoulders
But in my place
You suffered blood
And died
You rose
The grave
And death
Are conquered
You broke
My bonds
To sin
And shame
You rose
Now gave
And death
I conquered
You broke
My bonds
To sin
And shame
Oh Lord
My rock
And my redeemer
May all my days
Bring glory
To your name
May all my days
Bring glory
To your name
Friends
Thank you for joining us
For worship
We hope you'll stick around
For fellowship
There's coffee downstairs
Don't forget next week
Trinity 101
We'd love to have you join us
Please sign up if you can
And I think
That's the end
So let me send you out
With a benediction
Now to him
Who is able to keep you
From stumbling
And to present you blameless
Before
With a benediction
To don't forget
To don't slip
Into wash
And Ral�ah
Don't
vs
Tik
Not
Pas
I thought you were going back to birth school.