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0:52The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes, he must remain alone. While the beast, which was and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. The ten horns, which you saw, are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These have one purpose, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.

1:56These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because he is Lord of lords and king of kings, and those who are with him are the called and chosen and faithful. Well, as we continue working our way through Revelation, just by way of review of where we've been in this chapter 17, there are several elements of a superpower. One involves a military, one involves an economy, and one involves an ideology, that which keeps the superpower together. And the same is going to be true about Satan's final empire. And what we witness in chapter 17 is the fall of this religious structure, this internal cohesion. That breaks down. In chapter 18, see the breakdown of his economic power. And in chapter 19, you're going to witness the fall of his military. Military might.

3:03In verse 1, we're told what the purpose of chapter 17 is all about. Look at verse 1. Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot. So it's a purpose of Revelation is to show John the judgment of this woman who rides the beast. He sees this harlot. She is dressed or described by what she is sitting on. In verse 3, I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, having seven heads and ten horns.

3:43He notices that she is clothed in purple in verse 4. She is wealthy, adorned in gold. She has a gold cup full of abominations. She indulges in that which is offensive to God. And in verse 5, we understand what she's about, what she promotes. Babylon, a name written on her, just like the prostitutes of Rome, across her forehead, probably on a band. Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. She is the one that gives rise to all others, this false religious way of thinking that elevates man above, going all the way back. Taking the mind all the way back to Nimrod's Babylon and that first tower of Babel.

4:41And in verse 6, she's described by what she opposes, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Christ. She despises the saints because they don't go along with her industry. They don't partake. They don't buy what she sells. And she is antagonistic to the witnesses of Jesus because they testify that her ways are wrong and evil. And after seeing this, in verse 7, the angel notices that John is put into a state of wonder. He's astonished. He's shocked. What John has just witnessed is one of the greatest evil that will ever come upon planet Earth. In fact, as you think about where we've been in this six and seven seals, you get, it describes the rise of the greatest evil empire that has ever come upon planet Earth, still to come, with the white horse at the very beginning, the opening of the seal. You see the rise of this great, disastrous monster, beastly creature.

5:59And The trumpets describe the day of the Lord, the judgment against that beast, and the bulls describe its final destruction. So, really, what you have in Revelation chapter 7 is the rise and fall of the greatest horrors that earth has ever seen. I realize that's something in the future. This is something describing something in the future, but it's very relevant to today because we all face loss, pain, trial, difficulty, and beastly circumstances of all sorts. But as John is looking at this, this angel comes and says, I'm going to explain to you what is going on. Verse 7. And the angel said to me, Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. So he says, Look, don't wonder. I'm going to explain this. John is taken in, probably not just by the severity of it. He's seeing something that just totally grips him and maybe even frightens him.

7:25So John is perplexed. He's like, Wow, what? What is this? Probably feeling very small in light of this great beast and woman that he sees and the horrors that are coming to his eyes. And the angel says, let me explain this to you. And notice the order in which the angel says, I will tell you the mystery of the woman. I will tell you the mystery of the beast that carries her. And then he goes to the seven heads, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. And that's exactly what he's going to do. He's going to go down and he's going to tell them. He's going to explain these things to him. Now, it's interesting. He's going to do the order a little differently. He's going to put the woman at the end.

8:21But it's not just the horror that's being put on display here. It's the glory of God. Even in the midst of this horrific scene, this passage is about the glory of God. The glory of God is revealed in the vision of this harlot and beast, and that is what the angel is going to take him to see. But he's going to spend the most of his time talking about the horrors of the beast. And it's going to be against that backdrop that the glory of God. Is going to be seen. And then he's going to talk about the harlot and her horrors. But then it's against the backdrop of who she is and what she does that the glory of God is going to be put on display. And so that is what we're going to look at this morning. We're going to walk through the first part of this and look at verses 8 through 14 and look at the glory of the Lamb, glory of God's Lamb, put on display here in these verses. So I want you to see the glory of God's Lamb. I want you to see God's glory here.

9:45As we walk through this explanation, this angelic explanation of these events, really of the most horrific monster that ever arises on planet Earth, I want you to see the glory of one infinitely greater, so that you will wed your soul to him. The question comes to us today: who are you with? Who is your soul joined to? And as we go through this text, I want you to see the one to whom your soul needs to be wed.

10:25And His glory, it is infinitely superior to that. Of the beast, this horrific beast. But I'm troubled in soul that there are many here today that may have their hearts and minds joined to this system of the world and this horrific beast. Even though he's still to come, the system is very much alive and well today. And so, I want to invite you, even as we walk through this text, I want to invite you to wed your soul to the one, to the glory of God's Lamb, to this individual that we see that so outshines everything in this passage. So, first of all, the glory of God's Lamb is seen in what he overcomes, seen in what he overcomes. And like I said, most of this text is going to be spent on the beast, even though John has seen the woman. Before the angel explains the judgment of the woman, he's going to spend a lot of time talking about the beast that carries her. And really, the language is: I want to explain to you the beast that is putting up with her. The word for carrying her is the beast that is tolerating her, bearing with her patiently. And so, right off. The bat, you get a picture that there's no real love between the beast and this woman, and that's going to be part of God's judgment upon her. But first, he's going to spend a great deal of time talking about this beast, specifically talking about the beast's career. Look at verse 8: The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast that he was and is not and will come. See this beast which you saw. So, John sees this beast, seven-headed, and all that. It's about to come up. We're in Texas, fixing. I want to tell you about this beast that's fixing to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And all those who aren't written in the book of life, they're going to wonder. John, they're going to do what you're, they're going to be put into this state of wonderment. But they shouldn't be if they knew the truth.

13:22This beast you saw. Now, I take this, what is he just seen? He's just seen this beast with the seven heads. And don't think in your mind that this is like some hydra with seven big heads. It's more like a leopard with bare feet claws. We've already seen this beast described in chapter 13, different heads. But I take this reference here: the beast you saw is the whole beast, not just the seventh head. We'll come to that in a moment. You see, the beast isn't always roaming around.

14:01Satan, there are punctuated points in history where Satan energizes a king and the nation under that king for unique attacks or special assignments against God. So it doesn't negate the fact that Satan is always in operation. He's always operating in the kingdom of this world because he rules this world. But there are punctuated points where, under the political influences, he pulls together an empire and then navigates that empire to take on special, gross, organized attacks against God. That's what's about to come up. Notice he was and is not and is about to come. This ugly beast has raised. Its head in history, ugly heads in history. He's making it clear he was. He is not. He's not currently in operation in such capacity. But soon he will be. He will once again come in its organized and satanically energized national and international capacity.

15:24Notice where he's going to come from. He's going to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. You remember in chapter 13, verse 1, after Satan is thrown out of heaven. You remember that scene? It's no contest. Finally, the day comes. Michael and his angels go and they kick Satan out of heaven. And then the dragon, in verse 13, stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And I saw the, and the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.

16:12And I saw one of his heads, as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast. They worshipped 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? War with him. So that becomes the question. Who is able to wage war? He's about to come up out of the abyss, out of that satanic realm, that place where Satan himself is energizing. And he's about to come up. And that speaks of that moment when he is going to be energized. And look at where he's going to go. He's going to go to destruction. He's going to go to destruction, to ruin, to annihilation. This is the very last time that this ugly beast will raise his ugly head against God and his people in this fashion.

17:17But the whole system, the personality, the head, all of this is going to its absolute destruction. But notice there are some that are going to marvel at this, those whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. What does this text tell us? It tells us there is a book. There is, in the mind of God, there is a book with the names. It exists. And it contains those who are appointed to live, appointed to life.

18:00You see, if there wasn't anyone appointed to life, what would the purpose of creation be? As we look around our universe, scientists, just looking at the natural world, say, it seems like everything we see around here has been put in such order so that man can live. And then we look into the text of Scripture and we see the same thing: that creation itself is for the image-bearers. That God purposed, the invisible God purposed to put himself on display.

18:45And so he's going to create an image-bearer. But guess what? Before there's an image-bearer, there must be a place where that image-bearer can habitate. And so creation itself is necessary for his image-bearer, for those he's appointed to life. You see, at the foundation of the world, there was such a book that had the names of the image-bearers who would live, who would bear his image, and this necessitated the whole of creation and everything that we read in Scripture. And that's why there's going to be a redeemed humanity. That's why there's going to be a humanity. We're going to put on resurrected bodies, ones that will never die, so that we can enjoy and inhabit the new creation, the new heavens, and the new earth. We live in a world right now that's fit for fallen man. But all of that is for those.

19:59But those who are not part of that eternal state of life, they're going to look at this beast and they're going to, who in the world is like this? Who can overcome? Wow. They're going to stand there and just be overwhelmed. We don't have to be overwhelmed at life's difficult circumstances because we know the God who has revealed himself and what his ultimate purposes are. So it's like this whole, it's like the whole main purpose for God allowing this beast to come up is to show his destruction to the universe. This beast is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. It's going to be on display for the whole universe. That's the whole purpose. So as you see these events unfold, it's about God showing us where evil is. Takes us, shows us what evil is, defection from the true God. Listen, if you do not honor God as supreme in your life, that you are in the way of evil. And every time you do not honor God as God, every time you think a thought that does not honor God as God, and every time you let that thought develop and you think and meditate upon that thought, you are going down the path of evil and you can be sure that there is destruction.

21:30And what we're seeing in this text is a description of this most horrific monster, sin at its culmination, sin taking its most organized and final stand, God allowing it to come to place just to show where it ends up. Shows us what evil is, what evil does, and where it will end up for the whole universe to see. Notice also in that last statement, they will wonder at the beast who was and is not and will come.

22:16They will see the beast. They will see the beast. They will ask who is like the beast. And just read in Revelation 13:3, one of its heads will look like it had been. Slain, a fatal wound which was healed. And so the angel first of all says, John, there's a beast that you saw. Now let me tell you what they're going to, a future generation is going to see. They're going to see at the end of verse 8, they will wonder when they see this future generation, they will see the beast that he was and is and will not. So now it seems like there's a this control of the seventh head, the beast under the control of this seven head, was, is not, and will come.

23:07They will see this event. It seems to be related to the individual king over this empire. Not simply just a revived kingdom, but even a revived king that was dead and came to life. That's the beast's career in a broad brush. It's the first thing the angel describes. Let me tell you what you're seeing in a big fashion. Then he's going to get very descriptive. Look at what he says. Next, he's going to look at the beast's seven heads. Look at verse 9. Here is the mind which has wisdom. The heaven head says, heaven says, no, the seven heads are seven mountains on. Which the woman sits.

24:03And they are seven kings, five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must remain a little while. Here is the mind that has wisdom. That statement. What this statement tells us is that its meaning is not going to be easily grasped, but it is accessible to a biblically informed mind, a historically alert mind, and a spiritually illumined mind to put it together. And then he goes on to explain the seven heads. The seven heads are seven mountains and seven kings. Notice that. There are many who stop, don't read the conjunction, and they read it, there are seven kings, the seven heads are seven mountains. Period. And they quickly make it, well, Rome sits on seven mountains. Therefore, this must be speaking about Rome. No, the conjunction is important. These seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings. Mountains. Mountains in the Old Testament often spoke of peoples. For instance, David reveals. Referred to his kingdom, his people, as mountain. In Psalms 37, David says this: O Lord, by your favor, you have made my mountain to stand strong.

25:45In Obadiah 1:21, Esau and his nation is referred to as a mountain. And then in Jeremiah 51:24, listen to this. But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all their evil that they have done. Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain. Now, Babylon's down there at the river Euphrates. It's hardly a mountain. But it's just, it's metaphorically throughout, you see this idea of a mountain being referred to as people. And when you see the kings, specifically here, the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings. It's a perfect description of an empire. In fact, when Christ returns in Daniel 2:35, you remember that big statue that Nebuchadnezzar sees of the gold and the silver and the bronze and the iron, and then these feet with ten toes and this mountain.

27:00This stone that was cut without hands come and it hits this great mountain on the feet. Listen to what Daniel 2:35 says. Then the iron and the clay and the bronze and the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. Judgment on this whole, all of this conglomerate of nations. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the earth. Speaking of a people, kingdom.

27:42And so you think about this metaphor. What is a physical mountain? A physical mountain is a geological feature that stands out among the plain, isn't it? In relationship to the plain. Think about what a mountain is metaphorically, referring to empires or civilizations across the plain of humanity that rises above, that stands out as significant. And look at what the angel says, verse 10. And they are seven kings, five has fallen. Literally, there's a word there that doesn't show up in the New American Standard.

28:31These five have fallen. It's like the angel is pointing them out. These ones. These five have fallen. And a literal translation, and the one is, and the other is to come. It's like the angel is pointing it out. And it's very clear in John's timing. These five, they've already come. The sixth one is. Guess who that is? That's John's time, Rome. He pinpoints it. And any schoolboy or schoolgirl who has studied history to any kind of depth understands the five ancient kingdoms that came before Rome. You have Greece. Preceding Greece, you have Persia, or media Persia, Persia. Before that, you have Babylon. Before that, you have Assyria. Before that, you have Egypt. And that's just a pretty elementary study of history. These are the major empires, five of them. And of course, just preceding Egypt, you have Nimrod's Babylonia, Babylon. And that's what gave rise to all the others.

29:56But notice, the seventh is still today. Come. These five, fallen. This one is the seventh, still to come, and when he comes, it will remain for only a little while. Now, look at verse 11. He goes on, still pointing to the last head, I believe. The beast which was, now he's looking at the seventh head. Five have come. One is, the other one's still to come. And this beast, which was and is not, is himself an eighth and is one of the seven. And he goes to destruction. What is he doing? Literal. And the seventh, he is also the eighth.

30:48Literal translation. And the beast who was and is not, he is also, he himself an eighth. Seventh, also the eighth. You see, and what's happening here is there's such a marked difference in this seventh head. There is a fatal wound that has been healed. There's something about this seventh head that speaks about two tenures in office, two stints, two characteristically different terms. The first, there he is, a head, a beast, something. Relatively minor compared to the second stint. And it's during this second stint that he leads the empire and all to destruction.

31:45That's his description about the heads. But then he goes, now he's still looking. Okay, you're looking at this head. By the way, seventh, he's also the eighth. Something about there's two distinct elements of this final expression of this beast. Now, let's look at the ten horns up here. And that's where he goes next. Look at verse 12. The ten horns which you saw. Notice how he's just going through. This is what you saw. Let me explain to you what you saw. The ten horns which you saw, verse 12, are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom. But they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

32:32Again, these ones. Notice that the ten horns are contemporary with the seventh head. Who are these ten? I don't know. It's not necessary to try to identify these. Oh, you can. Many have. I mean, you can come up with that. They may be ten prominent leaders of the whole world system. That time they could easily be ten kings associated with Middle Eastern powers there all around Israel, ten kings out of that in the vicinity, or some combination thereof.

33:17But it's interesting to note, just by looking at the text, there are ten kings. They receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. They're not like monarchs that come from a long line. They receive a king like, they're like kings. It says they received authority as kings, like a king would, like a rise of a dictator over a realm, or like a king. And it's interesting to note that they do not seem, in their rise to power, they do not seem to be interested in ruling themselves. They only come to power for a short time and for one purpose. They don't seem to be interested in ruling, but supporting the beast.

34:12And so all of their diplomatic efforts are about giving or consolidating power to the beast. And so they come to power for an hour. Come to power for an hour. Wasn't Isn't there an hour of power? Well, that's it. They come with this hour of power. But it's interesting and important to note that they grant their power to the beast. And what this does is this further bolsters the beast's monopoly on power. But notice, it's against this backdrop that we see the beast's career, the seven heads, and the ten whores, this horrific beast, but it's against this background that we see the glory of the one who will overcome them. Look at verse 14. These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings.

35:38It's comforting to know that there is one whose power and glory outshines, outdoes this horrific evil. And what you have with this king or this kingdom is you have a Satanically energized organization that is making its last stand. Remember, Satan has already been kicked out of heaven. And it wasn't any contest there. When the time came, Michael and his angels threw him down. And in his rage, in his emotional rage, he wants to lash out against God in every way he can. So he goes after Israel. He goes after those who follow Christ. All of those. He goes after them to thwart. That's the way. And then he can't do anything to the woman. He can't do anything to Israel. So then he takes out all of his aggression on those who follow the Lamb.

36:47But even they, even the kings, the ten kings, they have someone they must answer to. Even the Lords and the commanders and all involved, they have somebody they must answer. And so do we. They will wage war. But notice who overcomes them. Look carefully. Who overcomes them? The Lamb overcomes them. Not the Lamb's people. The Lamb. The Lamb. Now you've got Michael who's thrown Satan out of heaven and all of his minions. Christ's enemies thrown out, put out. Now he's. Comes to reign.

37:33It is not his people that establish his kingdom on earth. It is the Lamb himself. It is the Lamb personally and directly that establishes his kingdom. And this is why I cannot go down the road of postmillennialism. There is the idea that the world is going to be put into a play. The kingdom is going to be established through the work of God's people. When I come to a text like this, I simply see a different way that this kingdom that is in heaven is going to come to earth. And it is the Lord, it is the Lamb Himself, personally and directly, that is going to come and subdue the ten kings.

38:34And anything less diminishes his glory. He is going to come. And the image we're going to see is he's going to get his clothes stained with blood. You're going to see the peasant from Galilee glorified. He's not going to just lend the dirty work to someone else. He is going to come in justice and righteousness. And he is Going to come. We already saw the grapes of wrath, the wine press, the hailstones. He's walking right through that. And look at those who are with him. His people are with him.

39:19The glory of God's Lamb is seen in what he overcomes, but it is also seen in those who are with him. Look at those who are with him. The end of verse 14. Those who are with him, they are the called, they are the chosen, they are the faithful. That's who's with him. What does called mean? They were ones who were invited to come to him, just like all of you are being invited today. Through the preaching of God's word, even at this very moment, you are being invited into a loving relationship with your king.

40:12And even as I'm speaking, you can lift up a prayer in your heart and say, Christ, I want that. I want my soul wed to yours. They are called. They are invited to come to Him. They are invited to belong to him. That's who the called are. They are chosen. They are selected by an act of his freedom. He is the free one. He chooses. They are called. They are invited to come to him. And they are called by an act of his own choosing.

40:53And notice this. They are faithful. What does faithful mean? They are believing in him. They are trusting in him. They are exhibiting fidelity. Fidela, I absolutely love your name. Fidela. Fidelity. That's the word. Trusting, exhibiting faith. As I know you are now and continue to do. I see you. You've been an encouragement to me in this area, all my ministry. Faithful, believing, trusting, exhibiting fidelity. You say, well, I have to be chosen. Let me say this to you.

41:42Do you want to be chosen? If you want to be, you will. Don't get tripped up on that. Called. You're called. Oh, chosen. Faithful. There is a group of people, an army that comes with him, behind him, and with him. There is an army of people who say he is preferred over this world, over this beastly system. He is to be esteemed. He is admired in my heart. He is precious. He is the one I love. That's what this whole army is saying. He is the one who is worthy. We have beheld his glory. We have seen his goodness, and we love him.

42:46They have wed their hearts to him. And notice they are what they are because of what the Lamb has done for them. He called them. He chose them. And because of that, they have become faithful. It's him. And not only, and listen, this is who the scripture says we are if you're in him, faithful. So guess what you do? Go be faithful. Go show fidelity. And when you fall on your face, get up and get up and then get back down on your face and ask God for forgiveness and then get up again and go.

43:31Look, we are what we are because of what the Lamb has done for us. He is precious. He is to be admired. What we've seen this morning the glory on displayed even in this passage, which has a backdrop that is very dark and very scary for many. But it's against that backdrop that we see the glory of God. We first see that glory of God revealed in his Lamb, the glory in God's Lamb. And we can see that in what he has overcome. We can see that in those who follow him. He is esteemed. He is loved.

44:14You are called this morning. Come to him. Be among those who triumph through him. Don't put it off a second. Don't say, yeah, I'm going to think about that this afternoon. Right now. Lift up your heart to him. If you hear his voice now, this moment. You were called this morning. You were called right now. Lift up your heart and respond now. Oh, how good that is, called. Listen, I don't know what kinds of beasts you're facing today. They come in all shapes and sizes, don't they?

44:56But yield your heart to the Lamb of God. You see, the beast we read about today has ten kings. And you notice something about those ten kings? They are ready. They are willing to yield all of their powers, their authority, and their affections and their energies to the false Messiah. Doesn't our Lord deserve more? He's the true king. Shouldn't we do that as well? Oh, that we would be of the same mind, that we would be ready, willing, and able, and quickly yielding to him all of our authority. Whatever authority you've given me, Lord, I give it to you for your glory. Whatever power, whatever energy, whatever affection, whatever there is in me, Christ, you are worthy of it all, and I give it to you. And oh, that we would all, as a church, have this same mind.

46:06That's the purpose of the church. That's what he's doing, is growing us all in this one oneness of mind, purpose. Well, the invitation to you today is to wed your heart to him. And if you have already wed your heart to him, wed your heart to him and all love him more. For truly he is worthy. Worthy of it all. And this life will soon be over. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we bow our hearts. We see the goodness of your Son revealed in these pages. We see and hear your call upon our lives. Lord, you're here in our midst. These are the words that you gave to be spoken today on this occasion. Father, it is you who have ordained these circumstances. And Father, we just ask now that you would have your way in us, that you would make Christ more glorious than he ever has been before in our hearts of all of us here today. Father, expand your glory. Let us see him more. Father, we thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.