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Based on a sermon preached at MPC on the 16th Oct 2021

He has been called the most successful double agent of World War II. Juan Pujol Garcia, known by the British codename Garbo and the German codename Alaric Arabel, was initially turned away by the Allies when offering his services. Originally from Spain, Juan became a successful agent for the Germans, who asked him to travel to Britain. He agreed—but instead he went to Lisbon and created bogus {fake} reports for the Nazis.
Eventually, the Allies accepted Pujol. He moved with his family to Britain where he created a network of nearly thirty fictional agents for the Germans. Garbo played a key role in misleading the Germans on the timing and location of the invasion of Normandy in 1944. His fictional spy network was so convincing that his German handlers did not try to recruit additional spies in the United Kingdom.
The devil is like a double agent, for what better way could he bring down God’s church than by corrupting it from within? Jesus warned His disciples of a coming deception: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15)… The devil used deceived church leaders who looked like genuine believers, but they led many away from Bible truth.

Garbo successfully mixed truth with error and led the Germans astray. Satan has done this and more—and the Bible predicts that before the end of time Satan will work “with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10). But we can spot fictitious reports from Satan if we stand on the Word of God (Matthew 7:24–27).

LINK: After failing multiple times to persecute the church – Satan will come bring the most deadliest deception and he will focus his attacks ONLY on the remnant church.

Keys to unlock the prophecy of Rev. 13.

Please remember these keys that help us unlock Bible Prophecy:

Dagon = Satan (Rev. 12:9)

Beast = Kingdom (Daniel 7:17, 23)

Waters = Populated place (Rev. 17:15)

Earth/ Dry land = An area populated (Opposite of Waters)

The battle of is intensifying

Revelation 12:17 NKJV

¹⁷ And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The dragon focuses his attacks on who? The remnant. The remaining faithful ones. Not the world of Christendom.

Who is remnant:

1. The keep the commandments of God (including the fourth)
2. They have the testimony of Jesus Christ – John tells us what that is.

Revelation 19:10 (NKJV)

…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

A prophetic Gift. A prophetic message. After studying Revelation 10 and Revelation 12, we concluded that the remnant is the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Who is the first beast?

Revelation 13:1–3 NKJV

¹ Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. ² Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. ³ And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.

Revelation 13:15–18 NKJV

¹⁵ He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. ¹⁸ Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

Let’s compare what we just read with Ch. 7 of the book of Daniel. Keep Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 in mind. Here we will only single out a few verses.

(Table put together by Amazing-Discoveries).

Furthermore, note the following clues derived from the Study of the book of Daniel that can help us identify this beast:

Clue 1-It arises from Western Europe

Clue 2 -It is a ‘little’ kingdom

Clue 3 -It arises after the 10 tribes of Europe were established

Clue 4 -It overcomes three political powers as it rises to prominence

Clue 5 -It is different from the other ten powers

Clue 6 -It would have a man at its head who speaks for it

Clue 7 -It would speak blasphemies against God

Clue 8 -It would persecute God’s people

Clue 9 -It would be in power for 1,260 years

Clue 10 -This power would attempt to change times and laws

“The first beast of Revelation 13 is none other than the Dynasty of the Papacy.”

Many other scholars have come to the same conclusion.

The beast–which has a mark that we must avoid–obtained its power, authority, and capital city from the dragon. According
to Revelation 12:3-5, the dragon is the power that sought to destroy the child Jesus at the time of His birth. It was Satan who inspired Herod, a king for the pagan Roman empire, to slay all the male babies in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:13, 16). To whom did pagan Rome give her authority and capital city? History is clear that pagan Rome turned over its power and capital city to the church of Rome. The following historical quote is typical: “The Roman church … pushed itself into the place of the Roman World-Empire, of which it is the actual continuation. … The Pope, who calls himself ‘King’ and ‘Pontifex Maximus,’ is Caesar’s successor.”* So Point 2 fits the papacy, as well.

*Adolph Harnack, What Is Christianity? (New York: Putnam, second edition, revised, 1901), p. 270.

IT IS NONE OTHER THAN THE CATCHOLIC CHURCH (Catholic means universal). Note that Rev. 13:3, 7says that all the world wondered after the beast. This is a political power and a spiritual power at the same time. Rev. 13:6. So look nowhere else.

Revelation 13:2 (NKJV)

² Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

• During the Dark Ages, a period when the church (because of the political power, received from a Roman Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century), brought in false teachings and corrupted itself, the church sank into deep darkness. Thus, the church lost the Lordship of Jesus]. Furthermore, because of the new wave of sun-worshipers entering the church like a flood, Sabbath was abolished by the Catholic (universal church) for Sunday – the day of the sun to make it easy for pagans to continue their worship and traditions. This is how Satan gave the beast power and authority, in that the church became not only the dominant religion of the time, but it also bragged political rule over Rome. The church was no longer the pure bride of Christ but rather became a prostitute.

This is the antichrist, that Paul spoke about when he said:

2 Thessalonians 2:4 NKJV

⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

To the amazement of any reader, history tells us that the Papacy claims divinity:

POPE LEO XIII

“We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.”

[The 1870] inaugurated an era of renewed respect and devotion for the pope. The church had emerged from the period of the French Revolution stronger than ever and has increasingly received recognition as a political and moral authority. Jesuit teaching explained that when the pope mediates, it is God Himself who mediates through him. Catholic musicians composed hymns of praise to glorify Pius IX (pope from 1846 to 1878). Some church propagandists even called the holy father “the vice-God of humanity.” Finally, in 1870, church leadership pronounced the infallibility of the pope a dogma. From then on, the prestige of the Papacy has only grown.

– Secrets of Revelation – Jacques Doukhan

Let’s pause here and let us shift gears. Keep in mind that the enemy has been defeated terribly and now, he has a plan to persecute God’s people. So, what we find is that Satan brings on two allies to help in this battle. You can rightly say, a counterfeit Trinity. We’ve identified the Papacy as the first ally, but who is the second?

 

Who is the land beast?

The land beast arises after the wound was healed.

Identifying the land beast:

The Four Identifying Marks of the second Beast helps us pinpoint as to who this power or Kingdom would be: Read first Rev. 13:10-17

1. It’s nature – It’s not religious and receives no worship (unlike the first beast). It’s more into economics and politics (Rev. 13:12, 15, 17).
2. It’s time – It appears after the wound of the first beast is healed (v.12). Therefore, this beast would appear at the end of the eighteenth century.
3. It’s space – It comes from dry land. The word used there for land is the word that can be translated as “Earth” in Greek. When you compare this to what appeared earlier (Rev. 12:16), historically, there is no doubt that this is a new world.
4. It’s character – It sounds harmless. It’s a lamb. This evokes images of innocence and Christianity to the first hearers of this message. However, one should not be fooled, this beast would change in character and roar like the dragon. Its activities are more political and economic in nature.

“When the first beast was going into captivity in 1798 (see on ch. 13:10) the United States was growing into prominence and power. The nation arose, not in the Old World, with its teeming multitudes, but in the New World, with its relatively few inhabitants (see Great Controversy p.439–441).”^[1]

The seal of God vs. the Mark of the Beast

First let’s identify the “Seal of God” – Exod. 20; Ezekiel 12:20; 20:12; Jer. 9.

1. The Seal in ancient times was stamped in the middle of a document
   1. Biblical scholarship has shown that the 10 commandments follow the format of an ancient covenant document which was stamped with the seal of ownership and authority in the centre. At the centre of the 10 commandments, we find the name of rulership –the Lord God. We find he is the creator, the One who made everything. We also find his territory: He made heaven and earth. Thus, we can see that the fourth, commandment (Exodus 2:8-11) serves as the seal in the centre of the document.
2. God has a sign between Him and His people – the Sabbath. This was their external identifying mark if you will.
3. The Seal of God is given to those who are obedient to Him
4. God’s people are said to be commandment keeping people
5. The first four commandments deal with how and when we worship (and these are the ones the beast has broken).

Therefore, the Sabbath is more than a day – it is a symbol that communicates, who we worship, that God is the creator and sustained of life.

THE MARK OF THE BEST – Rev. 13:15-18

1. It is a counterfeit of the true seal of God
2. The beast himself says that his mark of authority is Sunday. This could not have been any clearer.
   1. “Of course, the Catholic church claims that the change was her act… and the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters. – Letter, Oct. 28, 1895 from C.F. Thomas
   2. “Perhaps the boldest things, the most revolutionary change the church ever did happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday … not from any directions noted in the Scriptures, “but from the church’s sense of its own power. People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become 7th Day Adventists, and keep Saturday holy.” – Saint Catherine Catholic Church Sentinel, May 21, 1995
3. The beast’s number is 666. A number that is associated with Babylon. A number of which is mentioned before Solomon’s moral downfall.
4. It was on the sixth day that man and animals (including the serpent) were created.
5. While God’s number representing perfection is 7, number six falls short.
6. Lastly, when you look at one of the Pope’s official title ““Vicarius Filii Dei” in Latin (the language of Vatican), when the Roman numerals representing each of those letters are added, they add up to 666.

What is the mark of the beast?

Please note that there are two major warning in this chapter. The biggest of which is deception. There is also a word that is repeated often in this chapter and that is worship. We are warning continuously against false worship. Therefore, the Mark of the beast will be a counterfeit of the Seal of God. It will have to be linked to worship. It will have to be a counterfeit of the Sabbath of God and many people unfortunately will fall for this deception.

The Apocalypse depicts the mark of worship as being stamped on the right hand or on the forehead (verse 16), imagery borrowed from the book of Deuteronomy, in which it applies to faithfulness to God’s law: “Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads”

(Deut. 6:8; cf. Ex.13:9). For Jews such language is particularly meaningful, since it evokes their daily habit of binding the Tefillin on the hand and forehead to remind themselves of their total submission to the law, involving both actions (the hand) and thinking (the forehead).

– Jacques Doukhan

Mark Finley has summarised it this way: “The mark of the beast is the exaltation of human religious tradition above God’s commandments. It puts human rules above the latter, and it prioritizes the ecclesiastic dogmas rather than the inspired revelation. This is a false system of worship that will try to replace the holy day, that is, the Creator’s Sabbath.”

“While number seven in the Bible represents that which is perfect and

complete in God’s work (see Rev. 1:20; 5:1; 8:2; 16:17), number six is the symbol of that which is incomplete and partially true, which can even be more dangerous than a whole lie. The number six repeated three times (666) refers to a trinity that proclaims lie, falsehood, and deceit. In this case, it is a triple trap of “man” and human organization.”

My summary:

We should expect in the land of the free (United States of America) to see a dramatic change, we should expect religious oppression to come (and the war will be over worship). The worship of God would be under attack. Both in their hearts and in their actions, people will accept and practice a religion that replaces God’s Law for Human Law (thus the mark cannot be a microchip).

Socially and psychologically and even through entertainment, we are seeing already a change that is surprising. A change that is demonic and an atmosphere that is dark. With current exercise of fear and mandates around the world, the land beast together with the sea beast are exercising and setting up a stage for totalitarian rule. Thus, paving the path for a global ecumenical worship. A day is already proposed in the “LAUDATO SI” (a papacy encyclical). Sunday has been suggested in the past around the world as a day of rest and as a day when all activities should cease. In the land of the free, blue laws relating to enforcing of this very same day has been tried before. However, we are expecting a full-fledged appeal to the world to unite on this day. When the world will adopt this day as a day of rest, and when we mankind will be forced to revere this day or else loose on the opportunity to buy or sell – who ever will concede will then be receiving the mark of this beast.

A national Sunday law therefore will be the visible key visible sign. The identifying mark. This day will be declared a day of REST globally.

The foundations are being led

Today, there is a lot of talk about the Vaccines. I believe that the “vaccine” is not being positioned as an issue of worship. However, we see elements like those talked about in Revelation 13. This could well mean that the beast and his allies are setting up the foundations.

The Bible says, there will be compulsion, coercion, fear mongering exerted on the public by the world Superpower. Well, seeing what is happening globally right now, It is possible that a stage is being set up for future developments.

The governments worldwide are saying “no jab no pay, no seat, no flight, no club etc.” The method of coercion and the method of force is fundamentally opposed to the very essence of God’s government. The freedom of Choice.

That methodology is similar to what the beast has used in the past. We are heading in this landscape of which will benefit the beast’s bidding. This will make it easy for the “Image of the beast” to be set up.

We are entering a very dangerous phase. If you negate the exercise to use your own God given conscious especially if God places a heavy burden upon you regarding what to do and what not to do – then slowly you are conditioning yourself to putting your control in the hands of the government.

Does this mean we should now stop trusting or obey the governments in all things? NO.Should we be taking the vaccine yes or no? That’s up to you to decide. All I am saying is, the compulsion atmosphere around us, if we blindly accept this style of leadership and remain silent about this deviation from the respect of individualistic decision-making process then we are setting ourselves up for something dangerous.

What we are seeing around the world is not some random chance.

IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE:

Just like church and state combined forces to persecute Jesus

Just like church and state combined to bring the purity of the church into deep darkness

So will it be in these last days. When you see the church and the state working together, know that coercion will follow and persecution.

Today, more than ever before the Christians, and religious organisations are combining forces and are working together with the Governments – especially in the USA. There are “Christian Right” groups that are interested in making the Government do their bidding. Soon they will form an Image to the beast.

What is the Image to the beast?

PLEASE NOTE:

Satan is not worried that you want to worship. He says, sure. However, he wants to sell you his form of worship.

This explains the lukewarmness we have in Christianity today – a form of godliness but denying God’s power. And what is that exactly? You are in the church, but you are not converted. You may be in the church, but you support the claims of the beast. You say that’s not possible? The bible says so. The issue is not if you are in the church but if you worship in the Spirit and in the Truth.

There will be great miraculous signs (performed by the false prophets aided by the false trinity), my friends the whole world will wonder after the beast and deception will be great that even if possible the elect would be deceived (Matt. 24).

The Good News however is that those who are hungry and Thirsting, those who take God’s word and apply it in their own lives, those who are growing in their characters will, those who love the truth will stand.

The message of this chapter is, “get to know Jesus and remain faithful or else you will be deceived.” If you remain faithful – you will not fall for the deception and will not receive the mark beast. Have a love for the truth. Focus on that.

Take note friends. In past ages, the Jewish nation and its leaders knew the prophecies concerning the Messiah but missed the Messiah when He came. They had their own views of how things would happen.

PREPARATION IS TODAY

Great Controversy (Chapter 39—The Time of Trouble) p. 623

It is in this life that we are to separate sin from us, through faith in the atoning blood of Christ. Our precious Saviour invites us to join ourselves to Him, to unite our weakness to His strength, our ignorance to His wisdom, our unworthiness to His merits. God’s providence is the school in which we are to learn the meekness and lowliness of Jesus. The Lord is ever setting before us, not the way we would choose, which seems easier and pleasanter to us, but the true aims of life. It rests with us to co-operate with the agencies which Heaven employs in the work of conforming our characters to the divine model. None can neglect or defer this work but at the most fearful peril to their souls.

Great Controversy (Chapter 39—The Time of Trouble) p. 625

Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive. By the Bible testimony these will detect the deceiver in his disguise. To all the testing time will come. By the sifting of temptation the genuine Christian will be revealed. Are the people of God now so firmly established upon His word that they would not yield to the evidence of their senses? Would they, in such a crisis, cling to the Bible and the Bible only? Satan will, if possible, prevent them from obtaining a preparation to stand in that day. He will so arrange affairs as to hedge up their way, entangle them with earthly treasures, cause them to carry a heavy, wearisome burden, that their hearts may be overcharged with the cares of this life and the day of trial may come upon them as a thief.

The Hymn: 606

Once to every man and nation
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood,
For the good or evil side;

Conclusion

If you have nothing to stand on – you will fall for anything

If you do not have the love of the truth and willing apply it regardless the cost the times ahead will overwhelm you and you will fall.

HOWEVER, the good news is that this book begins by reminding us that Jesus is standing with the church and that history is in His hand.

secondly, we read there in Revelation 13:9 that there will be a faithful remnant. There will be a people of God who will overcome the beast, his image, and his mark.

Appeal

It maybe that you recognise that you are NOT standing strong in your faith and that you need by the help of God to prepare now. I appeal to you to pray and ask God to help you stand.

PRAY

^[1] Francis D. Nichol, ed., The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7 (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1980), 820.