Overcoming The Dragon
Part four
In the
last part of this message we said the entity we all refer to as "the
Antichrist" is primarily an invisible
demonic prince. We said that the things Christians normally associate with the
term "Antichrist"—such as a
Global Government and Religion, and a world leader—are simply
manifestations of this demonic prince.
Before
the final empire of Antichrist can be established, the Visible Church must be
rendered impotent. Antichrist must first deceive the majority of those who
claim to be Christians—and this is exactly what we see happening right now. The
Babylonish Religious System, which calls itself the Church of Jesus Christ, is
being completely overcome by the spirit of Antichrist. This is why we have been
focusing in our writings on the fact that Antichrist is first and foremost a
demonic power.
However,
it seems that most of God's people do not have ears to hear this truth. They
know instinctively that behind all the evil we see is the power of the Devil,
but the fact that Antichrist is primarily a powerful religious spirit is still not a reality to most of us. We still
tend to think in terms of an individual world leader who will eventually take
his seat in a rebuilt Jewish Temple.
The same
is true when it comes to the seven-headed "beast" in the book of
Revelation. Most of us still think in terms of a human leader who will be
killed—or at least appear to be killed—and then come back to life in order to
deceive the whole world. This is far from the truth.
First of
all, this beast does not represent an individual human leader. It represents a
world empire. Secondly, the empire it represents is a manifestation or
expression of the same Antichrist spirit
which has deceived and overcome the Visible Church. Notice what the angel said
about this beast when he explained its meaning to John:
And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou
marvel? I will tell thee the mystery
of the woman, and of the beast that
carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast
that thou sawest was, and
is not; and shall ascend out of the
bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth
shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Revelation 17:8
The
angel told John the beast would: "...ascend
out of the bottomless pit". As we have said before in our writings,
the bottomless pit is a spiritual
pit. No human being or political government resides in that pit; so no world
leader or world empire can
"ascend" out of it. The inhabitants of that pit are supernatural
creatures.
The fact
that only spiritual creatures inhabit
that pit is revealed when John sees the pit opened. What comes out of that pit
are demonic creatures that look like "locusts". As you read the description of these
locusts, it becomes obvious they are not actual insects, and they didn't come
out of that pit to have lunch! Their scorpion-like tails that inflict pain,
along with their human-like faces and hair, reveal that they are demonic,
intelligent and malevolent.
Another
reason we know they are not insects is because they have a king over them, and
the Scripture says locusts: "...have
no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands" (Prov. 30:27). These creatures have a king, and he is called "the angel of the bottomless pit" (Rev. 9:7-11).
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a
beast rise up out of the sea, having
seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns,
and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Revelation 13:1
Some
people get confused regarding where the beast comes from because John said he
saw this beast: "...rise up out of
the sea". The sea represents the nations of the earth, for when one of
the angels shows John the "judgment of the great whore" (Rev. 17:1), he says she "sits on
many waters". He then says these many waters: "...are peoples, and multitudes, and nations,
and tongues" (Rev. 17:15).
But how
can the beast arise from two different places at once? The answer is, what John
saw in his vision (the beast rising up out of the sea) was a symbol or word
picture of an external, visible government which would arise from the nations. The beast comes up
from the sea because it is the nations
who are clamoring for it. It is the
nations who are calling for a Global Government which will bring them
peace, prosperity and security. What we see in the visible realm of politics is what John saw in his vision—the
formation of a Global Empire. However, when the angel explains the mystery of the beast to John, he
said the beast will ascend from the bottomless pit. Thus, the angel is
explaining the true source of what
John saw in his vision.
The
final world empire (beast) is not being built by the nations (sea). Nor is it
being built by the leaders of the nations (the horns on the beast). It's not
even being built by secret political societies like the Illuminati, the CFR,
the Rothchilds, etc. The source of
everything we are witnessing in our day—whether it be the apostasy sweeping
through the churches, or the formation of a Global Religion, or the building of
a Global Empire—is a spiritual creature. The source of all this is a
demonic prince who has ascended out of the bottomless pit!
The
concept of a demonic "prince" being the source of world empires and
their rulers should not be strange to us because the book of Daniel teaches
this very clearly.
Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from
the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten
thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood
me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to
help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia....Then said he, Knowest
thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the
prince of Grecia shall come.
Daniel 10:12‑13 & 20
In these
accounts we have a revelation of how things really operate in the spirit realm.
The human king of Persia was not doing what he did through his own wisdom and
might. He was being empowered by, and sustained by, a demon prince called
"the prince of...Persia".
The
prince of Persia fought against the angel who was sent to Daniel, in order to
prevent Daniel from getting the message God was sending him. The fight between
this wicked prince and the angel who was sent to Daniel was so fierce,
Michael—who is also called a "prince"—had to come to the aid of the
angel.
Not only
did the angel have to fight the prince of Persia to get to Daniel, he said he would have to fight that prince in order to get back to wherever he came from. Then he told Daniel that after
he had gone, another prince called "the
prince of Grecia" would come. This demonic prince is the one that
empowered Alexander the Great.
Each of
these world empires had a spiritual
prince ruling over them. We can see the same thing again, when God speaks
through the prophet Ezekiel to the "king of Tyrus" (Ezek. 28:11-19). In this instance, the
Lord is addressing no less that Satan himself.
We saw
the same thing in the last part of this message, when we looked at Daniel's
description of the "little horn", which is a reference to the human
Antichrist. He will do things that no man can do. He will throw some of the
stars (saints) to the earth and trample on them; he will set himself up to be
as great as the Prince of the host, which is the Lord Jesus Christ; and he will
cause truth to be cast to the streets (Dan.
8:9-12). It isn't the human political ruler that does all these things.
It's the spiritual prince who dwells inside this leader who does them.
Just as
Daniel's vision of the little horn is a description of both a human ruler and the spirit that empowers him, so John's
vision of the beast is a description of both a visible empire and the spirit
that builds it. There is the visible government, which the people of the earth
can behold with the eye, which is no
great mystery. The mystery lies in the relationship
between the visible government and the invisible prince that is really in
charge of it.
We
believe the prince that is building Satan's last world empire is the spirit of Antichrist, and that it
has already ascended out of the
bottomless pit. This prince has already destroyed (spiritually) the Visible
Church, and is now in the process of rebuilding
it into a Global Church which bears its
image. Those who remain part of this new Global Church will eventually be
conformed to that same image and they will be damned.
The
spirit of Antichrist is building both a Global Church and a Global Political
Empire. The purpose of the Global Church is to lead the nations into Dragon Worship through the worship of
the Global Empire. The purpose of the Global Empire is to force this Dragon Worship on the entire population of the planet,
and to destroy any body who refuses to participate in this worship.
This is
what John is describing in Revelation chapters twelve and thirteen. First, we
see a Woman clothed with the sun, ready to have a child. Next we see a Great
Red Dragon standing in front of the Woman, waiting to devour that child as soon
as it is born (Rev. 12:1-4).
The
Dragon plans to bring every person on this planet into utter subjection to
himself. But he knows the Woman is going to give birth to an overcoming remnant
of believers who will not only thwart his design, but completely take away his
dominion. So he is before the Woman, waiting to devour that remnant as soon as
it is born.
When the
Woman births the manchild, it is immediately caught up to God. This is not a literal rapture or ascension. It's a
picture of the overcomers living and moving by the Spirit. They will be walking
and living in heavenly places and be protected from the face of the Dragon.
Thus, the Dragon will not be able to overcome them spiritually.
When the
Dragon realizes he can't get to the manchild, he turns his attention to the
Woman and begins to persecute her (Rev.
12:5-6). But the Woman is given two wings and flies into the wilderness,
where she is protected (Rev. 12:13-14). The
Dragon is so infuriated because he can't overcome either the Woman or the
manchild, he goes off to make war on the remainder of her seed (Rev. 12:17).
The next
thing John sees is the seven-headed beast rising up out of the sea, which
represents Satan's final world empire. This empire will be the means by which
the Dragon can overcome God's people physically,
for it will have the power to completely lock them out of the global, economic
system. The saints will not be able to buy or sell. This means they will starve
to death unless they are kept alive through God's supernatural provision.
And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and
his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and
his seat, and great authority. 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. And they worshipped the dragon
which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is
like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Revelation 13:1‑4
The
description of the beast as a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of
a lion, tells us that outwardly, it
will have some of the same notable characteristics of previous world empires:
Leopard = The empire of Greece
Bear = The empire of Persia
Lion = The empire of Babylon
The
description of the beast as having one of its "heads" wounded as unto
death and then healed, has nothing to do with an individual human leader dying
and coming back to life because the heads represent empires.
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go
into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were
not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they
behold the beast that was, and is not,
and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
And there are seven kings: five are
fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he
must continue a short space.
Revelation 17:8‑10
Please
notice that the angel tells John the seven heads of the beast represent seven
"mountains". Whenever the Scripture refers to mountains in a symbolic
way, it's always talking about
kingdoms or empires. This is why the angel went on to say: "...and there are seven kings". Each
empire had its own "king".
Many
prophecy experts say the Woman who rides this beast is Catholicism and the
beast itself is Rome because Rome sits on seven literal hills. However, if this
were true, the "kings" would be a reference to the Popes of Rome. But
speaking of these kings, the angel said: "...five are fallen". How could five of the Roman Popes (kings)
have fallen by John's day when the Papacy hadn't even been invented yet?
Each of
the heads on the beast represents a world empire and its king. Each kingdom
(head) is not the actual beast itself, but a particular (partial) expression of the beast. The seven world
empires, represented by the seven heads of the beast are: Assyria, Egypt,
Babylon, Medeo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Final World Empire.
So much
for the heads. What about the beast itself? When the angel describes the beast,
he seems to be making contradictory statements; for he says that in John's day:
~ The
beast was (had previously existed as
an empire).
~ And is not (that empire no longer existed).
~ Yet is (it existed in some form in John's
day).
~ And shall ascend out of the pit (in the future).
These
statements will only make sense if we understand that: (1) the heads are a partial manifestation of the beast; and
(2) the source of all these partial manifestations are demonic princes.
Whenever a manifestation (head) of the beast is in existence, then the beast
can be said to exist. When that manifestation (head) has been destroyed, then
the beast can be said to no longer exist. This is how it can exist and not exist at the same time.
One of
the heads of the beast had existed as a world empire before John's day, but it had been destroyed. So in John's time,
that particular manifestation (head) of the beast no longer existed. Thus, the
angel could say the beast was and is not. The beast, as it was represented by
that particular head, no longer existed. But speaking of the same beast, the
angel then turns around and says it "is". The fact that the beast
"is" means that in John's day, it existed as an empire—the Roman
empire.
What we
have in the vision of the beast with seven heads is the story of past, present
and future world empires. Five of the heads of the beast (empires) had already
fallen by John's day. The sixth head (the Roman Empire) existed in John's day.
The seventh head (the last empire) would come at some future point relative to
John's day. As we have already seen, each of those past empires were actually
ruled by a demonic prince. No doubt the same was true of the Roman Empire. In
fact, we believe the prophet Daniel alluded to this prince when he said:
Know therefore and understand, that from the going
forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah
the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after
threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come
shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with
a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Daniel 9:25‑26
In this
prophecy, Daniel explains the timing of the coming of Israel's Messiah. After
saying Messiah will be cut off at a certain point, he says the people of "the prince to come" will destroy
the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. Of course, most Bible teachers and
scholars agree (as do we) that "the people" Daniel referred to here
was in fact the people of the Roman army, which did destroy the city of
Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D.
However,
we disagree with the scholars when it comes to the identity of "the
prince" of those people. Most teachers assume the prince Daniel is talking
about was Titus, the Roman general who led the army that destroyed Jerusalem.
Some say the prince was Vespaian, the father of Titus, who at that time had
taken the throne after Nero's then-recent suicide. But we believe Daniel was
referring to the spiritual prince who
was in charge of the whole Roman Empire (as well as its army).
History
has a nasty habit of repeating itself. Just as in 70 A.D., when a demonic
prince brought about the destruction of the literal
city of God and His temple, so in 2008 A.D., another demonic prince is
destroying God's spiritual city and
temple.
It's
important that we understand the meaning of the heads of the beast from the
sea. If we don't, we will never understand what John meant when he described
how one of those heads, which appeared to be dead (destroyed), comes to life again. That head will be the last world
empire, and in some sense it will be a revival
of one of the heads (empires) that fell before
John's day. Once again, the five empires (heads) which fell before John's day
were: Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, Medeo-Persia and Greece. The last head on the
beast from the sea also corresponds to the forth "beast" Daniel saw
in his visions.
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a
fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had
great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with
the feet of it: and it was diverse 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 little horn, before whom there were three of the
first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like
the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
Daniel 7:7‑8
The two
main points we want to notice in this vision are: (1) this beast (empire) was different from all the other beasts
Daniel had been shown; and (2) it had "ten horns". The reason it was
different from previous beasts (empires) is because all the previous beasts,
like the previous heads on the beast from the sea, were only partial manifestations of Satan's wicked
nature. This forth beast, which answers to the last head on the beast from the
sea, will not be a partial revelation but the full revelation of his nature.
As we
put together all the various pieces of information the Scripture provides, the
picture that begins to emerge is this: when the five empires of Assyria, Egypt,
Babylon, Medeo-Persia and Greece were conquered, the demonic prince that ruled one of them was put into the bottomless
pit. In the last days, this same demonic prince will be loosed from that pit
and he will proceed to conquer the world again,
through a group of political leaders (kings, horns) who will open themselves up
to his influence.
These
political leaders are the "ten horns" of the forth beast, and also
the "ten horns" on the beast from the sea, as well as the "ten
toes" of the man's image in Nebuchednezer's dream. From among these kings,
one will arise to become the final, human Antichrist
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