The deception will be great. Matthew 24:3-5.

 

Doesn't this title have a familiar ring to it? 

What was Jesus' first response when the disciples ask Him these questions?

“As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.” (Matthew 24:3-5 NASB)

As you noticed above, the NASB used the term "mislead." 

Do you realize that any magician, "worth his salt," is a master at misdirection? The words are similar, but if you look up the simple word mislead, you will find the Greek word planaō. 

The first thing Strong's concordance says in the definition of planaō is “to (properly cause to) roam.” 

Roam, in my mind, lends itself to the results of someone misleading you. 

To roam is to stray or wander, among a few other words. Alternative words that explain planaō are "seduce or deceive."

Imagine this scenario if we used the word seduced to convey what the false prophet will do.

We associate seduction as typically being between a man and a woman who are NOT married to each other. If you were the spouse of one of these people, your reaction to what they are doing may not be so cordial or mild.

Why say all that?

Because we read things like the NASB translation of Matthew's account and we glance over a simple word like mislead and completely miss the depth of passion that God was trying to convey.

• He (the false prophet) will also be the enforcer of Sharia;.

  This coincides with the tribulation becoming even more deadly, especially for the Jews in Israel.

  "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” (Matthew 24:8 NASB)

Considering what we have seen, how could tribulations become greater unless it is in the number of killings and the associated violence?

Islam and the caliphate that will arise will aggressively begin killing anyone who is not a Muslim.

Allow me to refresh your memory about who we are talking about.

• and it spoke like a dragon

Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

Simply stated, the dragon is Satan; therefore, the human empowered by the dragon speaks like Satan – the deceiver. Let that sink in.

The false prophet presents himself as peaceful, almost like Jesus, but he speaks like Satan. It is NOT the tone of voice, it is the words that make him like Satan, and Satan is a deceiver. So the false prophet will, at some point, speak with the express purpose of deception.

Rabbi Baruch Kahane

Perhaps the knowledge that the Jewish religious council had selected a man to be the high priest in the “new” temple when it is built, and they have already trained him. His name is Rabbi Baruch Kahane, but if you do a search for the high priest in Israel, you will find that the Rabbi stepped back from the position as he did not feel the timing was appropriate.

And, in case you hadn't noticed, Satan does not present himself like the grotesque images we see in movies; he is subtle and seductive. Eve found that out - that is, until Satan goes into fury mode.

Revelation 13:6 ESV "It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven."

Satan can and does become furious. The idea of making war on "her" offspring will be developed as we go.

Revelation 12:17 ESV "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."

• It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence. 

The first beast is a man. We were told that he emerges from the sea, so we know that he is NOT a Jew. This man does NOT sustain a bullet wound to the head, die, and rise again. Daniel 7:8 tells us that this man will have a mouth uttering great boasts. The word "boasts," italicized, indicates that it was added for clarity. In this, it seems inappropriate because the Aramaic word translated as “uttering great boasts” is rabrab and also means domineering.

This is a timing issue, and it is difficult to be precise.

What does it mean to be precise when you are God, the creator of time?

We know that there will be a seven-year period of destruction upon the earth, and the clock seems to start with the removal of the church from the earth (the rapture). There seems to be an immediate entrance of a “world” leader. Islam calls him the Mahdi, the 12^th or hidden Imam, the leader of the global Islamic caliphate. We call him the Antichrist or the first beast.

This entrance of the second beast - the one that has horns like a lamb – seems to be at the midpoint of the seven-year period.

Why say that?

Because there is a rapid escalation of events at the mid-point and our false prophet, who has operated quietly in the temple, suddenly gives himself over to this Mahdi, performs the signs, and steps up as the enforcer of this disgusting and bloody sharia law.

Everyone seems to know that the Antichrist will sign a peace treaty. We keep saying it will be with Israel, but scripture says, is that it will be with many. That may not include Israel. When I first wrote this, I guess that none of us would have thought that Russia and China would be in Syria fighting against Isis. Russia believes that defending Bashar Assad is key to defeating Isis, while President Obama is set on removing the Syrian President from power. (There are many good theories on what this is all about, and most have to do with the Federal Reserve Bank.) So, while the Antichrist may be juggling aspects of his worldwide deception, this second beast steps up and handles the enforcement aspect for him.

• and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.

This Jew turned Muslim - temple priest turned desecrator, and a deceiver on a grand scale, makes all the earth worship the first beast.

I need you to consider the description of the beast once again.

“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.” (Revelation 13:1-3 ESV)

Multi-headed, with ten horns and seven heads, it looks like a leopard, a lion, and a bear. However bizarre this thing seems to be it is given a mouth; in other words – a spokesman - the Antichrist.

In the world of clues, this is huge,

“One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed,”

First, there is no such animal; second, Daniel plainly defined the Babylonian empire as the first of these heads. Historically we know that the Medo-Persian empire was the second, and the Grecian empire was the third. Since we now know, we are looking at empires and not a human as the head, what one empire fits this description better than any other? The answer is the Ottoman empire, and the world thought they were finally killed off in 1924.

Guess what? 

They came back to life in 1979 with the Iranian revolution.

And, I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain. Revelation 13:3,4.

Recently, while talking to the son-in-law, he asks me, how do the events going on around us tie into the church's being caught up and the antichrist entering upon the scene. He has his own ideas, but he does NOT read a Bible, he relies solely on internet teachings. (To think that you can listen to these people without being discerning is a trap of the enemy, Satan. You have to know your Bible, or will be lead into false teachings that will bind you to guilt and prevent you from enjoying the freedom in the Holy Spirit, nor will you understand things like the Revelation.)

I responded by telling him that my own journey to understand the Bible came out of a desire to undo lies and false teachings that I learned in church. Surprisingly, the word lies evoked a negative reaction, as though the church would never try to manipulate your emotions and actions. Religion seems to have one purpose as it tries to control you; they do this because they do not trust the Holy Spirit's ability to lead and guide you.

Jesus told the disciples that the Holy Spirit will come after He goes away.

"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; (John 16:7-8 NASB)

Jesus did go away.

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. (Acts 1:8-9 NASB)

And finally, even if I don't have an internet pastor in Indiana, I can read my bible knowing that He will guide me and teach me.

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. (John 16:13 NASB)

So, the short answer, is yes, everything we are experiencing and see is leading to the great reset. This reset includes the purposeful collapse of economies, the decline of nations (America), and the collapse of others, such as Afghanistan; and, even though they deny it and cannot see it, the answer includes God's wrath.

Have you noticed that China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the regular players are buying into the Middle Eastern poker match?

People groups that we thought would never be able to play on a global battlefield, have had $85 billion dollars in arms and equipment handed to them.

Did you notice how quickly China and Russia dove into the bloody ruins to place bids on the armaments?

The ten nations that are going to come against Israel are already aligned, and God, tells us that He will put a hook in the nose of Gog, draw him into battle against Israel, and he will die there. Oh, don't get me wrong, Israel will take a frightful beating in the process, but the antichrist – one who comes out of the beast from the sea, will bring about some form of peace; and, if you are paying attention, then you know that Israel is not named among those the antichrist makes this peace with.  

It's a lot to take in, I know, but if I can understand it then you can too.

                                                                                        Page one.

If you can understand that -

• Both the serpent and the dragon is Satan;

  Genesis 3 Satan is referred to as the serpent.

  In Isaiah 26:21 God speaks of coming out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth. With this statement, we have the context for Isaiah 27 where God refers to Satan as Leviathan and the serpent that lives in the sea. Revelation 12 tells us that the angels clashed with the dragon and threw him down to earth. Satan is the dragon.

• That the sand of the seashore represents not only the nations, but more specifically the Middle Eastern nations – the Muslim nations coming against Israel in the last days;

  God was talking to Abraham in Genesis 22:17 when He said, “ I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore.” That seed came through both Isaac and Ishamel.

• That the beast coming up out of the sea represents kingdoms, empires, and nations; and that these nations, with the exception of the fourth empire and its offshoots, have been shown to us in Daniel's prophecies. Daniel 7:17; 2:31-33

• The ten horns and seven heads represents, as Dr. J. Vernon McGee tells us, “...a later development of the fourth empire, as seen in the ten toes, and not a separate kingdom. Note: the horns do not grow out of a dead beast, therefore, we are looking at a kingdom that is alive today,

  “and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates.” (Daniel 7:20 NASB)

  "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. 'As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.

  (Daniel 7:23-24 NASB)

  
  

  We know historically that the third beast was Alexander the Great; who then was the fourth?

The fourth empire, in opposition to repeated teachings, was the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires. Sure, they had strength, but the strength was halved.

In what way did they end up becoming different since they both came out of the Grecian empire?

They both became assimilated into the Islamic/Assyrian empires that eventually surrounded them and were both ingested into the Assyrian ways and ideology.

then you can count yourselves among those that Daniel was speaking of when he said,

“And the teachers and those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness (to uprightness and right standing with God) [shall give forth light] like the stars forever and ever.” Daniel 12:3 AMP

We covered Revelation 13:1, so let's fly through two or more.

Revelation 13:2 Moffatt NT (2) "The Beast I saw resembled a leopard, his feet were like a bear's, and his mouth like a lion's. To him the dragon gave his own power and his own throne and great authority."

1. We are not making this up, nor are we going to try to assign this imagery to some Chinese creation. It is what it is, imagery that represents empires or kingdoms. With imagery like this, “The Beast I saw resembled a leopard, his feet were like a bear's, and his mouth like a lion's,” it is easy to see how destructive this thing has been and will be.

2. Pay attention to the words here. “To him the dragon gave his own power and his own throne and great authority.”

   Immediately the empire idea has settled upon one person. I can understand this as, NO empire, with the exception of perhaps the Roman empire has operated with anything other than a dictatorial head, the Romans had a senate, for all the good it did them.

Page two.

3. How many people in the world have we seen where the dragon gave them the power to commit their atrocities?

   The numbers could be quite high as God has used men to move His plan forward, and Satan, has readily empowered them. Nebuchadnezzar, King Ahab, Haman, Hitler, Pol pot of Cambodia, you should be getting the point.

   Consider the recent news about Afghanistan. For certain, most of us are appalled, but is there anything about what happened that makes sense? NO, and that is because Satan is empowering the decision-makers across the globe and especially here in America.

Keeping in mind that our first understanding of the beast is that it represents kingdoms, empires, or Caliphates.

I want you to see what many believe to be the finest interpretation put into the hands of man, the KJV.

Revelation 13:3 KJV "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast."

A beast with seven heads.

Where and how do you come up with the idea, that in the last days, almost at a time that for the church, won't make a bit of difference, someone will put a bullet into the head of this new world leader that kills him, just so that he can be raised up to life again?

You don't, as one the empires, possibly a Caliphate, sustains what, to the world seems like a deathly wound.

How do you kill an empire or kingdom?

Slowly, in most cases. This was the case for the Ottoman Empire, an Islamic Empire, but its end came in 1924 and the entire world breathed a sigh of relief because they all thought this global threat was done with (dead.) So much for that dream, as it finally, after many attempts to revive it, came back to life in 1979 with the Islamic revolution in Iran.

Revelation 13:3-4 NASB ... And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; (4) they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?"

• And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast.

  The whole earth?

Is that the same thing as Governor Newsom of California, saying that 80% of the state had been vaccinated with the Covid 19 garbage? Not a chance, it's more like 20% and the Governor is trying to make himself look good.

But didn't we talk about seeing the world in biblical terms?

We did, and all God is concerned about is the region He said He would give to Abraham. Sadly, for the Mid-East, that is most of it, or as the passage says, the whole earth, as far as the Muslims are concerned.

Revelation 13:3b AMP ... and the whole earth went after the beast in amazement and admiration.

Some, who display wisdom, will tell you that the Muslims will NOT follow after anyone who is NOT a Muslim. That means they will not follow after Emmanuel Macron of France, or Angela Merkel of Germany, and now, after Afghanistan, there should be NO ONE following after President Joe Biden of America.

Page three.

But, what about former American President Barack Obama?

They might follow after him because he has openly stated that he loved those blaring wake up calls to Islamic prayer time, and he is still pushing his weight around Washington DC.

Does the world go after Obama in amazement and admiration?

Not yet, but they might when he jumps in the middle of a ghastly fight in Israel and calls for peace, and gets it.

• “they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast.”

  Wait a minute. The majority of the world has no grasp that there is a dragon/serpent/Satan, nor that could or would give his power or authority to the beast. Add, that this same world has no grasp on the idea of there being a beast/empire issue. What they do have is Allah.

  Have you ever given any thought to the idea that Allah is just another name for Satan?

  Consider that one day, the false prophet will set up an image of the beast.

  Since NO ONE has seen Allah or Satan, how would that work out?

Back to a dose of reality for a moment.

• “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him”

  We are getting ahead of the horse here when we focus on Barack Obama as this is a ruling/warring body, not so unlike the Taliban, or the Iranians.

  Since the common bond in the Middle East is Islam, then we should be looking for anything that comes close to the Caliphate idea, something that unifies them toward a goal, such as destroying Israel. Since the Taliban recently had a victory handed to them, the Middle Eastern world is looking at this band of bullies as unbeatable.

Context!!!!?

What does verse four tell us?

they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?"
(Revelation 13:4 NASB)

Satan gives his authority to the beast.

Authority, what kind of authority does Satan have?

Satan has, for the moment dominion over the earth, thanks to Adam; and, he has deception, that is it. If you have been paying attention, we have a power-mad group of people trying to exert authority over the entire earth.

The beast?

We know that the beast is representative of a kingdom, although those are rare these days, but we also learned that the beast empire produces a man, the antichrist, who is also known as a beast, and not because of physical prowess.

So when the dragon/Satan gives the beast his authority we could be talking about an empire that gains some Satanic power (although this the idea is only marginally logical,) or we are talking about one person who speaks as though he has control over this group of people and somewhat global control as well.

Page four.

It seems that we have to make a distinction between the two as we try to make people understand the Revelation. There is only one good way to explain the situation and that is through the usage of context.

Verse 4 also says they worship the beast. This conversation could still go two ways. Try to imagine a worship of the country of Iran.

It doesn't seem to fit the narrative, does it?

If this is the embodiment of a god, say, Allah, in a man, then worshiping the beast makes all the sense in the world. And though, as of this date 09/06/21 I have no good clues as to who this is, we do know he is coming and is most likely ready, waiting in the wings.

John Gill's commentary states that they are “subject to him as their temporal lord, to whom they give homage; obedience, and tribute, but in a religious way.

The word worshiped - Strong's Greek concordance G4352 proskuneō, tells us that it means to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand.

You may not love the Pope, but most people, given the chance to pay their respects, would kiss his hand in homage.

I will end the Bible study here, but you need to know that there is a good chance that we, the church,, will be raptured out of here at any moment. I wanted you to understand and know Jesus through the Revelation; and, if you do not know Him, that you would come to know Him. His thoughts toward you are good and life with Him is peace. Believe that He is, and come to Him.

For God loved the world so dearly that he gave up his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life, instead of perishing. (John 3:16 Moffatt NT)

This belief will work even if the rapture has come, the only problem is that you chose to push the boundaries of God's grace and will now have to prove your commitment to God through martyrdom. If you can remember back to the Taliban overrunning all of Afghanistan, setting aside how complicit America was in that happening, those “zealots” found and killed all the Christians in that country within a few short weeks of their take over.

You see, it's not just God wanting to see your heart, He already sees that. You still have the drive of crazies trying to reduce the population, while ignoring the fact that God's wrath is being poured upon all the earth because of their unrepentant sins.

Come to Him. Run to Him, and give Him your life.