Greg Laurie - The Mark of the Beast (03/01/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie warns about the coming Mark of the Beast in Revelation 13 as part of the Antichrist's rise during the Tribulation, urging believers to stay faithful to Christ instead. He contrasts the devil's mark with God's seal on His people, especially the 144,000, and calls everyone to get right with Jesus before it's too late.
The Mark of the Beast and End-Times Warnings
Well let's grab our Bibles and hang a hard right to the book of Revelation. And the title of my message today is, "The Mark of the Beast". Hello to Harvest Orange County as well. Why don't we begin with a word of prayer.
Father, we believe that Your Word is true. And Your Word has told us that Christ is coming back again. And Your Word has also told us that certain things will happen before that to alert us, to cause us to be ready. So as we talk about some of those things, as we think about what Your Word says, help us to not just read it, but help us to hear it. And then help us to keep the words of this book. Because as we have seen, there is a blessing promised in Revelation to the one who reads, hears, and keeps the words of it. Speak to us from Scripture, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
I heard the story about two Christians that were standing by the side of the road. They had a sign. And on it they had written these bold letters, "The End Is Near. Turn around before it's too late." Well the first driver that went by rolled down his window. He yelled out, "Leave us alone, you religious nuts," and then there was a screeching of tires and a big splash. And one of the Christians turned to the other and said, "Maybe we should just come up with a sign that says, 'Bridge Out' instead."
The End of the World. We have heard of this before. Didn't Chicken Little have something to say on that topic? Always talking about the end is near, the end is near. But are we the only ones saying it? Well actually we aren't. There is a group of atomic scientists that get together periodically. And they update the Doomsday Clock.
Closer to Midnight: Signs of the Times
Now the Doomsday Clock was established back in 1947 as a way for atomic scientists to warn the world about the danger of nuclear weapons. And the idea was when that clock struck twelve, when they set it to twelve, that meant it was the end. Man was going to detonate this weaponry. And so sometimes they move it back a minute. Sometimes they move it forward a minute. When it was established initially in 1947 they set the clock at seven minutes till midnight. Back in 2010 it was moved to six minutes till midnight because they thought some progress had been made. But they have just updated it for 2013 and they have set the Doomsday Clock to five minutes till midnight. So it is closer.
And really we have never been closer to the end of the world than we are right now. But the Bible also speaks of a new beginning that will also take place. A time when righteousness will reign supreme. There will be no perversion. No murder. No terrorism. No war. No starvation. No problem of any kind. Why? Because Isaiah 11:9 says the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth. That is the good news.
The bad news is it is going to get worse before it gets better. And here in Revelation 13 we are looking at spiritually dark times and what the Bible describes as the tribulation period. Satan's son, if you will, has emerged on the scene. The man of perdition. The man of sin. The beast. But best known as the Antichrist. He is the most evil man who has ever lived. History's vilest embodiment of sin and rebellion.
The Antichrist's Evil Agenda Revealed
So what is the Antichrist's agenda? Well last time we discovered that number one he is coming to deify Satan. Verse four it says they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast. Or they worshipped the dragon. And they worshipped the beast. Saying who is like the beast. Now we know that the dragon is speaking of the devil. Revelation tells us that. And the beast is the Antichrist. And so there is full tilt devil worship breaking out globally.
Number two. He is coming to defy and take the place of Jesus. Verses five and six of Revelation 13 talks about him blaspheming God. He is Satan's imitation. Remember the prefix "anti" not only means against. It also means instead of. He is not merely coming to oppose Christ. He is coming in the place of Christ. So he comes to defy and take the place of Jesus.
Thirdly, he is coming to kill all Christians. Verse seven. He was granted to make war with the saints. Granted to him and to overcome them. And authority was given to him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. He will relentlessly hunt down and murder followers of Jesus Christ.
The False Prophet and the Mark of the Beast
And we also know that Antichrist will survive an assassination attempt. Now if he is literally killed and somehow comes back to life. Or if this is just some ruse he comes up with, the effect will be the same. People will perceive him as being dead and living again. Remember, Antichrist is Satan's fake Jesus, if you will. His imitation Messiah. So this is the devil's attempt to recreate the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Antichrist in effect rises again.
Well, Antichrist is not going to work alone. He is going to have his devilish worship leader, his religious guru, the false prophet, at his side. Let's read about him. Revelation 13:11. Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence and causes the earth and those that dwell in it to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed.
He performs great signs, who even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those that dwell in the earth by those signs, which was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell in 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... We'll stop there.
Those three numbers, 666, are the Mark of the Beast. Now if you Google the number 666, you will find 543 million results. And you'll probably find 543 million ideas about what it actually means. I don't think anyone can answer this with complete certainty, but this much we do know. Antichrist is going to introduce a cashless society. He's going to require people to take a Mark no man can buy or sell without it. The end game of this is to cause people to engage in devil worship.
Technology and the Coming Cashless System
So this is a scenario that's unfolding before us here. Now, by the way, this has all been predicted in the Bible. And, you know, it's fascinating to see the technology that we're talking about effectively already here. I mean, 40 years ago, this would have seemed impossible, if not implausible. But now, with all of the developments in the tech world, we can see how such a thing could actually unfold before our eyes in real time.
As Mark Hitchcock, an excellent writer on the topic of prophecy, points out, and I quote, "...the fact that the words of Revelation 13 were penned in the age of wood, stone, swords, and spears, makes this prophecy one of the most powerful proofs of the inspired nature and reliability of God's Word that one could have imagined. Who could have predicted a one-world economic system that controls all commerce but God?" End quote. And that's right.
By the way, this is not a big stretch for the Lord because, excuse me, He knows the future just as well as we know the past. And sometimes we don't even know the past that well, right? We forget details. I'm always amazed. I'll have an adventure or something happen and I'll tell my wife about it. And I'll explain what happened. She always asks these questions and interrupts me mid-story. And says, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. What color shirt was he wearing?" Who cares? Let me finish this story.
She always wants detail, detail, detail. So finally I finish. And then maybe a month later I'm telling the story and she'll say, "You left out a part." I'll say, "How do you know? You weren't there." She said, "No, but I remember." And you know what? She's right. She remembers it better than I remember because I forget details.
God's Perfect Knowledge of Past and Future
So I'm not always great at remembering every detail of the past. But God is. And not only does God remember every detail of the past. He also knows the future with complete accuracy. God is not going out on a limb when He tells you what is about to happen. In fact we read the Lord's own words in Isaiah 46:9-10. "Do not forget the things I have done through history. For I am God. I alone. I am God. And there is no one else like me. Only I can tell you what is going to happen before it happens. Everything I plan will come to pass. I do whatever I wish." I love that.
The Mark of the Beast. The changing global economy right now is really interesting. It is so fluid. And we don't know where it is going to end up. But in a way we do. I saw a discussion on the Fox News Channel about the changing economy. And one financial expert was being interviewed. And he said, and I quote, "the real reform is some kind of a banking union where everyone signs on board. That there is going to be some kind of a banking overlord. A banking union that everyone is going to have to bow down to. Can this actually happen?" End quote.
Well there will be an overlord with a solution that people will literally bow down to. And the leader of it will be the Antichrist. And he will have his Mark. The Antichrist economic policy will be very simple. Take my Mark and worship me or starve to death. No Mark. No merchandise. No seal. No sale.
And the technology of course to do this is already here. I read an article in the New York Daily News with the headline, "Human Barcode Could Make Society More Organized." The article says, Microchip implants have become standard practice for our pets, but have been a tougher sell when it comes to putting them in people. But there are already, and increasingly, ways to electronically track people.
From RFID Chips to the Future Mark
Since 2006, new U.S. passports include radio frequency identification tags, also known as RFID, that store all of the information in the passport, plus a digital picture of the owner. In 2002, an implantable ID chip called Verichip was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The chip could be implanted in a person's arm, and when scanned, could pull up a 16 digit ID number containing information about the user.
One writer commenting on this said, we need to get this technology into place as quickly as possible. They said, "I would insist on every individual having a unique ID permanently attached, a barcode if you will, an implanted chip to provide an easy, fast, inexpensive way to identify individuals." End quote.
So you can see the logic of it, right? You don't have to carry a wallet around. It doesn't matter if you lose your credit card. You have your ID on you at all times. All they have to do is scan it. Now, am I saying that this technology will be the Mark of the Beast? No, I'm not. I'm just saying the ability to technically pull this off exists.
Now, I don't know when the tribulation period is. It could be, you know, five years from now. It could be 20 years from now. But I'll tell you this. With the developments in this kind of technology today, you could see how this is totally plausible. And no one will be able to buy or sell without this Mark, the scripture tells us.
But let's not overreact, okay? Don't be alarmed when you're leaving California Adventure and going into Disneyland and they put a stamp on your hand. It's okay. It's not the Mark of the Beast. Don't lose any sleep if you go to an office building and it happens to be 666, okay? These things are still in our future.
The Great Delusion Coming on the World
But we know this. A great delusion will come upon the world. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 says, Evil men will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of wicked deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction because they refuse to believe the truth that would save them. So God will send great deception upon them and they will believe the lie.
What I find interesting about that verse is it says, they refuse to believe the truth that would save them. When we're doing a crusade in a community, I get opportunities to talk to the press. They'll ask me, what is this thing we're doing? Why are we doing it? And I'll often say something along the lines of, look, here's what we're doing. This is an event for the skeptic, for the non-believer. This is an event for the outright atheists to come and examine the claims of Christ and hear what the Bible says and make an intelligent decision based on the facts, not their perception of the facts.
Here's what I find. A lot of people will reject Christ without even knowing what He says. They'll reject the Bible without even reading it. They'll even say, the Bible is full of contradictions. And you'll say, really? Oh yes. Yes. You've read the Bible? Oh yes. And so maybe you have a Bible with you and you pull it out. Well I have a Bible. Put that thing away. Why? Put it away. Do you ever permit to carry that? Okay. Well what are these so-called contradictions in the Bible that you have a problem with? They can never identify them because they haven't read it.
They refuse to believe the truth and instead they believe the lie. What is a lie? Well when it's fully realized in the tribulation period, the lie is that Antichrist is God. You see? So people will buy into this. God will send them a delusion.
God's Mark on His Faithful People
What does that mean? Those who turn from the truth of God to Antichrist and refuse God's answer of salvation will be turned over to their own self-willed choice. God will confirm their choice and send a deluding influence on them. Best illustration I can think of is the story of Pharaoh. You remember how miracles were performed by the hand of God through Moses and Aaron. And what do we read? Pharaoh hardened his heart. Another miracle, Pharaoh hardened his heart. Even another miracle, Pharaoh hardened his heart. And then suddenly it changes and says, God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
So what's with that? I've even had people say, it's a contradiction in the Bible. It's not a contradiction. It's a progression. Or maybe I should say a regression. Initially, Pharaoh did harden his heart. And he hardened it again. And he hardened it again. And he hardened it again. And then God hardened it. What does that mean? A better translation of God hardening it would be God strengthened it.
Listen. God has given you a free will. He's not going to force you to believe something you don't want to believe. And He will come to you and seek to convince you of the truth of the Scripture. The Holy Spirit will work on your heart. But you have the ability to resist Him. And if you harden your heart, and harden your heart, and harden your heart, there will come a day when God will strengthen you in your own resolve.
Sort of like Regis Philbin used to ask, "Who wants to be a millionaire?" God will say, "Is that your final answer? Are you sure? Okay. Now I am going to strengthen you in your resolve." That's the bad news. Where He would strengthen you in your unbelief.
But the good news is, for the person that is responsive to the Holy Spirit, and believes in Jesus, listen to this, God will strengthen you in that as well. And that will give us that strong faith that we need.
The Devil's Final Bet and Ultimate Defeat
And so, this is what's happening. The devil is going to bet the farm on this. He's going for the jugular. He's betting everything that he has. And he will succeed for a time. And then he will be judged and put away forever.
Now interesting thing about the description of the false prophet. Look at verse 11 again. I saw another beast coming out of the earth, who had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke like a dragon. Okay. The first beast of Revelation 13, the Antichrist, is ominous and powerful, with seven heads and ten horns and ten crowns, speaking of political authority. In contrast, the second beast is like a docile lamb, reminding us that he is a spiritual leader.
In contrast to the Antichrist, having the horns that represent power, this beast comparatively seems harmless. Yet verse 11 tells us, he spoke like a dragon. He looks like a lamb. He spoke like a dragon. So when you think of a lamb, you think of a creature that is not aggressive. And when you think of a dragon, well we know that's a devil. So we know he's as lethal as the Antichrist.
The False Prophet: Looks Harmless but Deadly
Sort of like the difference between an adult rattlesnake and a baby rattlesnake. If you've ever seen an adult rattler coiled up, using the rattle, you know what that means, right? Don't approach that snake. Back away. We know that. But if you've ever seen a baby rattler, they're almost cute. Because they're like a miniaturized rattlesnake. Their little head, little fangs, little rattle. So you look at it, look at this thing. Oh, you pick it up, little baby. Look at this. And a little rattler goes. And you go, oh, little rattler. And you find out later that, drop for drop, the potency of the venom of a baby rattler is actually stronger than an adult's.
So people say, oh, the Antichrist, here's one thing, but this guy, he won't be called the false prophet, by the way. Hi, I'm the false prophet. He'll have a much cooler handle than that, for sure. But this guru, this spiritual leader, will mislead many people. And have his own language to mislead them.
From Darkness to Light: The 144,000 Redeemed
Even now we're already moving toward a global economy and a global religion. The watchword of the day is tolerance. And we have new verbiage today that means different things. Think of some of the popular terminology. Women's reproductive rights. Death with dignity. Religious tolerance. Now who would oppose things like that? Why would we oppose a woman's reproductive rights? Or oppose someone dying with dignity? Or being tolerant?
But what do these things really mean? Women's reproductive rights means they have the right to murder their unborn baby? Well I don't agree with that. Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Since Roe v. Wade in 1973, 54 million babies have been aborted. Death with dignity means the euthanasia of the elderly. Religious tolerance means you tolerate every religion except the one that dares to say Jesus Christ is the only way to God the Father. It's new verbiage for a new time.
The new world order is coming. Former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev talked about that in a news conference when he said, and I quote, "The victims of the September 11 attack on the United States will not have died in vain if the world leaders used the crisis to create a new world order. We could get a new world order that is desirable for all of us." End quote. Sorry, Comrade Gorbachev. I'm not interested. But many will be. And this Antichrist will inaugurate this new world order.
Antichrist and the Rebuilt Jewish Temple
Another thing Scripture tells us is Antichrist will be involved somehow in the rebuilding of the Jewish temple. This is significant because there is no Jewish temple right now. In fact, the last one was back in 70 AD.
The first temple was envisioned by King David, built by his son, King Solomon. It was destroyed. It was ultimately rebuilt by King Herod and destroyed. Now why is that important? Because Jesus, in what we call the Olivet Discourse, Matthew 24, talking about the end of the world. What will be the signs of the end of the age? He starts by saying, "You see this building? Not one stone will be left upon another that will not be brought down."
Now that is key. Because Matthew 24 is largely about events that have still not happened. But he starts with an event that now we can look back with 20-20 hindsight and see it happened exactly as Christ said it would. This building, this magnificent temple, not only will it be brought down, it is going to be dismantled stone by stone. That is a very specific prophecy.
The Prophecy of the Temple's Destruction Fulfilled
Back in those days they didn't have explosives. Today they will blow a building up in Vegas to make room for another building. They will blow up later. And you have seen some of those videos. And they have this incredible hotel. And they have got all the explosives in the right place. And the camera is set. And it sort of shakes and crumbles and falls in place for the most part.
Jesus is saying that building will be taken. How would that happen? And why would that happen? Because when you go to Israel today you will find that most of the civilizations that have been there over the years will build right on top of the other one. In other words they will just take a building and adapt it for another purpose.
So you can look at the walls of Jerusalem and you start with those stones going back to the time of the first temple. Then you have the time of Herod. Then you have the Muslim invaders. Then you have the Crusaders. And all the groups that have come and gone since then. And the stones just changed. But you can see it all. But the temple is gone. There is no temple. Why? Because Jesus said there wouldn't be. He said it would be dismantled.
So in 70 A.D. Titus and the Roman legions come into Jerusalem. Someone sets fire to the temple. There is gold in it. The gold melts into the crevices of the stones. Titus gives the command to dismantle the temple stone by stone. He retrieved the gold and the prophecy was fulfilled. You see?
Signs Pointing to the Third Temple
So Jesus said that temple is going to be taken down. But now scripture says that temple is going back up again. And it is interesting because a poll was taken recently among Israelis and two thirds of them want to see the temple rebuilt. So anytime you open up a newspaper and you read about a third temple, pay attention Bible student, that is a big time sign of the times.
And this couldn't even have happened until the Jews were back on their homeland again. Why would anybody else want to rebuild the Jewish temple? And also it couldn't happen until Jerusalem was in Jewish control again. So right now we look and we see things are in place. There is even the temple institute that is dedicated to the rebuilding of the third temple.
Why does it matter if the temple is rebuilt? Because the Bible says it will be rebuilt. Antichrist will erect an image of himself in it. And he will command people to worship it. And this is a key moment in the tribulation period that is described by Jesus as the abomination of desolation.
Matthew 24, Jesus said in verse 15, "When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place," that is a temple, "let them that are in Judea flee to the mountains. Pray your flight is not on the Sabbath day, for there will be great tribulation, such as there has not been since the beginning of time, nor ever will be."
Paul gives us more detail in 2 Thessalonians 2:4. Speaking of Antichrist, he says, "He opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or his worship. So he is as God, sitting in the temple of God, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and pretended miracles, with lying wonders."
God's Faithful Marked and Protected
Now we are going to shift gears. And we are going to go from Revelation 13 to Revelation 14 and read just a few verses. We are going to go from darkness to light, from the world's future to our future as believers, and to another kind of Mark that we as believers want in our lives.
Revelation 14:1. Then I looked and behold a lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 having his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing on their harps.
They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. These are ones who are not defiled with women, for they are virgins. They are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit. And they are without fault before the throne of God. We will stop there.
Who Are the 144,000? Messianic Witnesses
So who are these people? Well we learned about them earlier. Remember? There are 144,000 Messianic believers. By that I mean these are Jews that have found Jesus as the Messiah. And they are sent out by God during the Tribulation to proclaim the Gospel. They are also protected by God. Antichrist cannot take them out. He can't even take one of them out.
So the last time we read about them, they are on earth preaching the Gospel. Now we read about them here in Revelation 14. And they are in heaven. What I love is there are still 144,000. Not 143,999. Not one of them was lost. Jesus said in John 18:9, "Of those whom you have given Me, I have not lost one."
Listen. God doesn't lose us. He will get you safely to heaven. He never takes His eyes off of you. And what is true of these believers in heaven should also be true of believers on earth. There are five takeaway truths about these believers we need to be aware of.
Takeaway 1: Marked by God's Name
Number one, they have the Mark of God the Father, not Antichrist. They have the Mark of God the Father, not Antichrist. First one, having His Father's name written on their foreheads. His, speaking of the Lamb. So in other words, the Father of the Lord Jesus, the heavenly Father. They have His name on their foreheads.
As you know, my mom was married and divorced seven times. So I had a lot of last names to choose from. You know, pick your name. Who do you want to be? I won't tell you what all those names were. But I thought about it for a while and I chose one name. It was the name of Oscar Lorry. Oscar Felix Lorry. One of the guys my mom married. The only guy she married that I ever loved and respected. And I might add, the only father who treated me like a father ought to treat his son.
Though he was not my biological father in every way he behaved as a father toward me. So I had all these names to choose from as my last name. And I chose his name because it was the name above all names. In the same way we can choose who our father is. You have two choices. You can be of your father the devil. Or you can be a worshiper of your heavenly Father.
So you have to ask the question, who is your daddy? If you are smart you will choose the name above all names. The Lord Jesus Christ. And that is what these believers have done. And that is what we ought to do as well.
Takeaway 2: They Sing a New Song
They have the name of their father. And it is interesting that it is a Mark. Notice that. They have his Mark. His name written on their foreheads. You know when you travel and you are licensed. And they pull out that mysterious little light. And it is blue. And they kind of go over your license. Whoa. What is that thing? You know. Is that like one of those things from Men in Black? I don't know. You know. What are they looking for? Like residue from explosives in case you are a terrorist? No.
Here is what it is. It is sort of like a miniature black light. They are looking for a hologram. At least the way I understand it. On your driver's license basically authenticating it. So they are just making sure everything is kosher. And they probably want to make you paranoid too. They might hold it up and kind of point it around a little bit. Just a little black light. That is all it is.
But you see with that little light they can find a Mark that you cannot see visibly. But they can see it with their light. There is a Mark on you. God can see it. He knows who belongs to Him. And in that day there will be a Mark on those people of the Antichrist. We want God's Mark. We want His ID tag attached to us. We want to proudly say we belong to Him.
And the Bible says when the Holy Spirit comes into our life we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. And the idea back in biblical times is when a king would send something he would seal it. It would be his document. It would be his seal from his signet ring imprinted in the wax. Oh okay that belongs to the king. Don't mess with it. You belong to the king. He sealed you. He has marked you. You have his ID tag on you. You are his property.
I read a story about an old gentleman that was known for his godly life. Someone asked him one day, "What do you do from being tempted old man? What do you do when you are tempted?" Brother they said old man. And he said, "I just look up to heaven and say, 'Lord, your property is in danger.'" I like that.
Number two, they sing a new song. They sing a new song. Verse two. Heard a voice from heaven like the voice of many waters. Like the voice of loud thunder. I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne. Before the four living creatures.
Now it is true there will be harps in heaven. You know people will say, "Oh heaven is going to be boring. Sit around in a cloud playing a harp." Okay. Well not everybody is going to play a harp. But there are harps. And you understand that a harp is merely a stringed instrument. So this is the point of reference for John. He is describing a stringed instrument. They were playing a string thing like a harp.
Hey maybe it was a guitar. Maybe you could update it and say, "There were a lot of guitarists rocking out on their electric guitars." I mean just get the idea. It is not boring. This is a celebration of a new song that is being sung.
Takeaway 3: Living Pure and Holy Lives
And you know what? Every believer should have a new song. Psalm 40 says, "He lifted me out of the pit of despair. Out of the mud and the mire. He has given me a new song to sing. A hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be astounded. They will put their trust in the Lord."
If you have trusted in Christ, if you have been lifted from a pit of despair, you have a new song. Did you know that? I don't mean literally. It has to be a song. You don't have to walk around to people and say, "Hi, I used to be an unbeliever. You know, something like that. But now I am a Christian." No, you just... It is the idea of you have a new message. Stop singing the old song. Sing the new song. Let other people know what Christ has done for you. That is what these believers did. This is what we have to do.
Number three. They live pure lives. Verse four. They are ones who are not defiled with women for they are virgins. Now, this may be literal and or symbolic as well. To be defiled means they are not immoral. Here is a simple truth to remember. It almost seems ridiculous to bring this up, but I am going to state it. If you are single, you are not supposed to have sex. Are we clear? If you are married, you are only supposed to have sex with your spouse. A member of the opposite sex, I might add. That is the way it is. Everything else is a sin.
Well I disagree. Who cares? I mean really. Well that is not politically correct. I do not care. It is biblically accurate. Here is what the Bible says. If you have an argument, your argument is with God. It says in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "Don't you know that those that do wrong have no share in the kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin who are idol worshipers, adulterers, prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, abusers, and swindlers, will not inherit the kingdom of God."
The purity of the 144,000 and of the believer probably speaks of a spiritual commitment though. The Bible on more than one occasion uses the metaphor of having other gods as being like adultery. James says this in James 4:4, "You adulterers and adulteresses. Don't you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God. If you want to be a friend of the world, you are the enemy of God."
To love this world means that you are committing spiritual adultery. So you have a choice. You can be the world's friend and be God's enemy. You can be God's friend and be the world's enemy.
Takeaway 4: Sincere Faith Without Hypocrisy
Number four, they are sincere in their faith. They are sincere in their faith. Verse five, "And in their mouth was found no deceit and they are without fault before the throne of God." There is no deceit or hypocrisy of any kind in their life.
You know, sometimes people put on an act and try to appear to be a Christian. And we need to understand what a hypocrite is. Because, you know, I think we misuse the word a lot. Let's say that you are building something and your non-believing friend is there. And you miss the nail and you hit your thumb. And you scream. Maybe you even scream a word you should not have screamed. And right away that non-believer says, "Hypocrite!"
So then you take the hammer and thank them. You thank them for bringing that to your attention. But really, are you a hypocrite? I don't think so. I think you are a human. Oh, so you are excusing sin now? No. I am just explaining it. We are sinners. I am a sinner. You are a sinner. We do sin still, unfortunately.
The Bible even says if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
So when I mess up, notice I didn't say if I mess up. When? I will. You will. I will say the wrong thing. I won't do the right thing. I will fall short in some way, shape, or form. It is only a matter of time. When I do it, if I say, "Man, I am sorry for that. That is not the way I should be as a Christian." That does not make me a hypocrite. That just means I am a flawed person like you.
A hypocrite is different. The word hypocrite originally was not a negative word. Today it is a criticism, even an insult. Hypocrite! You have to say it like that too. You don't just say, Hypocrite. Hypocrite! But originally the name just meant actor. It was interchangeable with actor.
So if a person was an actor they were a hypocrite. Back in the days of early Greece they had drama. Greece really introduced drama to the world. They would put these plays on. And when you are playing a character you would have a little mask. You would hold in front of your face. That meant you were portraying that character. So when you had that mask in front of your face you were the hypocrite. You were the actor.
So what does it mean when the Bible says we're a hypocrite? It means we're playing a part. It's not really us. Judas was a hypocrite. He pretended to be something he was not. He pretended to be a follower of Jesus when he was the enemy of Jesus.
So it's when we act as though we're Christians, but we aren't. And maybe we fool a few people. Listen to this. You'll fool some of the people all of the time. You'll fool all of the people some of the time. But you will never fool God any of the time.
And so these believers, the 144,000, there's no hypocrisy in their life at all.
Takeaway 5: Following the Lamb Wherever He Goes
One last thing. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Verse 4. I love that. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let them deny himself, take up the cross and follow Me."
I think sometimes Jesus has a lot of people today that are more like Twitter followers. You know, if you tweet, you have followers. And you see someone, you say, "I'm following them." So when they tweet, you can see what they said. That's how a lot of us are with Christ. I'm a follower of Jesus. Did He tweet today? Yeah, it's a little more than that.
Jesus said to Matthew 2,000 years ago, "Follow Me." Matthew wasn't even a believer when he said it to him. He was a tax collector working for Rome. Christ walked right up to him, looked at him. In fact, it could be translated, looked right through him. He said, "Follow Me." Matthew bolted up from that table and began to follow Christ.
But it's interesting to think about what that means when Jesus said, "Follow Me." It could be translated, "Follow with Me." Follow with Me. Not follow behind Me. Follow with Me. In other words, let's take a walk together.
The other day I went and walked with my wife. And I bolted out the door. She said, "Slow down and wait for Me." Sorry. That's not the way to walk with your wife ahead of her. And that's not the way to walk with the Lord ahead of Him or behind Him.
To be a follower of Jesus means we are never alone. He walks with us. And you know, sometimes my wife will take a walk with her girlfriends, right? She goes, "I'm going on a walk." Who are you going with? She identifies the girls. I say, "You're going on a talk, not a walk." It has nothing to do with walking. It's a talk. She goes, "It's true." And her talks last long. Like two and a half hours. I mean, I'm going to walk. Maybe it lasts 45 minutes. It's over with.
But well, you know what? The Lord wants to go on a talk with you. Not just a walk. It's not like, How fast can we move? No, it's just like, Hey, come on. Let's hang out. So what's going on? Tell me about your life. What are you dealing with? What are your questions? What are your concerns? It's a walk. It's a talk. It's fellowship. It's companionship.
But it's also interesting, this phrase, "Follow Me," that Jesus said to Matthew, in the original language, could be translated, "Walk the same road." But it also means to do it continuously. And also it's implied in the original language. It's a command.
So a paraphrase would be Jesus speaking, "I command you to follow me each and every day." Not just Sunday. He doesn't want to be your Sunday Jesus. He wants to be your Monday Jesus. And your Tuesday Jesus. And your Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Jesus too. Each and every day.
Notice it says of these people, "They follow the Lamb wherever He goes." He wants you to follow Him where He leads. You know sometimes we may not want to follow Him. Where are you going Lord? Oh, I don't want to go there. No. You follow Him everywhere.
Jesus said, "You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you." It's not for us to pick and choose the things of the Bible we like and agree with and reject the others. This is a package deal. We walk with Him each and every day. Are you doing that?
Because I'm going to tell you something. These 144,000 one day they are walking with God on earth and the next day they are walking with the Lord in heaven. And that's how it's going to be for us. One day we start our journey on this planet and the next day we wake up in heaven. If you are a believer.
That happened for Enoch. The Bible says Enoch walked with God and was not for God took him. So the Lord said, "Come on, let's go for a walk Enoch." Okay. Walking around. The Lord said, "You know what? We are closer to my house than yours. Why don't you come to my house today?" He started on one shore and ended on another.
And if you walk with the Lord on earth, you will also walk with Him in heaven. And if you walk away from the Lord on earth, you will not be with Him in heaven.
Are You Ready to Meet the Lord?
So I close in asking you, Are you ready to meet the Lord? Why is that important? Because the end is near. Because Christ is coming. And to the point, your end could be even nearer, as could mine. We don't know when life will end. That is why we want to get right with God right now.
Jesus Christ, who is described here as the Lamb. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Why is He called the Lamb? Because 2,000 years ago, like a lamb, He was slaughtered for our sin. Like a lamb submits. He went willingly to the cross and died in our place. And then He rose again from the dead. He is alive and with us right now.
And He stands at the door of our life. And He knocks and says, If we will hear His voice and open the door, He will come in. Is Christ living inside of you? Are you ready to go to heaven? If not, do you want to be? I am going to give you an opportunity to get right with God as we close in prayer.
Let's all pray. Father, thank You for Your Word to us now. And now I pray that You will speak to the hearts of these that are here, these that are watching, that do not yet know You. Lord, would You help them to see their need for Jesus and help them to come to You right now, we pray.
Now when our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, as we are praying, if you want Christ to come into your life, if you want your sin forgiven, if you want to be ready for the Lord's return, would you raise your hand up right now and let me pray for you?
Maybe you are living in sin. Maybe you are doing one of the things I mentioned today. It might be immorality. It might be worshiping an idol. It might be stealing. I don't know what it is. But it is a sin. But if you repent of that sin, God will forgive you. But you have to ask for His forgiveness. Would you like to ask God for His forgiveness now? If so, raise your hand up. Let me pray for you.
Wherever you are, God bless you. Lift your hand up. You want Christ to forgive you. Lift your hand up. I'll pray for you now. Maybe you have fallen away from the Lord. You want to come back to Him. Lift your hand up. Let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless each one of you that is raising your hand.
You that are in overflow, I can't see. It doesn't matter. Outside here at Harvest Riverside, there We are at Harvest Orange County. Raise your hand as well. This is between you and the Lord.
Alright, you that have raised your hand, if you would please, I want you to stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment or recommitment. Again, wherever you are, you want your sin forgiven. You want Christ to come into your life. You have fallen away from the Lord. You want to come back to Him. Stand to your feet. I am going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand up wherever you are. God bless you. God bless you. Stand up. That is right. You heard me right. Stand up. Others are standing. Stand up. God bless you that are standing. Anybody else? Stand now. And I'll lead you in this simple prayer of committing your life to Jesus. God bless you. Anybody else? There's still time. Stand up now. Make your commitment to Christ. Or your re-commitment if you need to. One final moment. Anybody else? Stand now. God bless you. Anybody else? God bless each one of you.
Now, you that are standing, I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. And in this prayer, you are asking God to forgive you of your sin. You are asking Christ to come into your life. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Pray this now.
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. But you died on the cross for my sin. And paid the price for the wrongs I have done. I am sorry for that sin. I turn from it now. I ask you to come into my life. And be my savior. And be my Lord. And be my God. And be my friend. I choose to follow you, Jesus. From this moment forward. In your name I pray. Amen.