the things not connected for the TV to work. I don't know if there's something off there
if you want to check that. Sorry about that. So we're in Revelation chapter 13, and obviously
we're still going through the book of Revelation. And here in Revelation chapter 13, we're going
to see that the Antichrist is actually going to rise again from the dead, okay? You might
not be aware of that because as you see all these like pre-Trib movies that are really
popular and stuff like that, I don't think they really focus on that, but that's what's
going to cause people to start worshiping the Antichrist. Notice what it says here in
Revelation chapter 13, verse number 1. 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. And so here John is seeing this vision, and
it says he stood upon the sand of the sea, okay? So he's basically on the beach, is in
this vision. Can you imagine being on the beach and then all of a sudden you see this
giant beast rising up out of the sea, okay? That'd be kind of pretty scary, okay? I know
there's probably some big water animals out there that we don't know about, but this would
be pretty scary, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns. Now
later on, not in this sermon but in this series, we're going to kind of explain some of those
things like the seven heads and ten horns. There's a lot of symbolism there. But this
is referring to the Antichrist that's going to be rising up out of the sea, okay? Now
he doesn't see a person rising up out of the sea, but this does represent the Antichrist.
Verse two, 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. So basically this is going to be kind
of a combination of all those major empires that have existed before when it talks about
the leopard, which represents the Grecian empire, the bear and the lion. And then it
says this, and the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority, okay? The
dragon here in verse number two, this is referring to the devil, okay? And the devil's the one
that gives the power to the Antichrist. Now realize today that the devil is the god of
this world, okay? Lower case G, but he basically is the one that's controlling a lot of things.
When Jesus came, he didn't come and set up his empire and start ruling. He came to die,
okay? During the millennial reign, he's going to reign and it's going to be his rules, but
as of now you say, why are there so many pedophiles and all this wickedness and abortions? Well,
it's because Satan's the god of this world and because we do not follow the laws of the
Bible. See, if you actually followed the laws of the Bible and had the punishments given
for those things, the wickedness would be gone. I mean, when you think about abortion,
murdering an innocent child, and look, it doesn't matter if it's before they're born
or after, it's still murder, okay? They're alive from conception. And look, biblically,
the penalty for that would be the death penalty. I think a lot of people, a lot of women, a
lot of guys who got a woman pregnant would be very careful before they decided to abort
in a baby if they knew the penalty is the death penalty. But see, in today's world,
we don't follow the rules of the Bible. Why? Oh, we think they're too harsh. We think Mr.
Pedophile deserves chance number 50 to reform his life. Just give him a couple years in
jail and put him out on the streets. We got to give him some drugs because when he was
a child, something happened. I'm sure something did happen when he was a child and I feel
bad for the child, but when he grows up to be the predator, I don't feel bad for that
person. And we give these people chance after chance, after chance, after chance. Look,
the death penalty existed before the Mosaic law, okay? It existed before the Mosaic law.
So people say, well, you know, it's done away with, you know, first off, it's not done away
with anyway, but the death penalty was around before Moses, okay? And so look, when it comes
to why is there so much wickedness in this world, it's because Satan's the God of this
world and he gives the antichrist his power and his seat and great authority. And see,
what you're seeing in this verse is if that someone were to basically make allegiance
with the devil, the devil could rise them to influence and power, okay? There's many
rock musicians, pretty much all of them will say that they sold their soul to the devil.
I don't think they're all just joking about it, especially when you see the music that
comes out of their mouths where they're blaspheming God. I do believe many of them have
sold their souls to the devil and guess what? The devil gives them some influence in this
world. You say, why? Because God's not the one who created the entertainment industry,
okay? The devil's the one that's in control of that. And so the devil has the power to
promote people and here he promotes the antichrist. Verse three, and I saw one of his heads as
it were wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed, okay? So here it's mentioning
the antichrist was wounded to death. He was killed, then his deadly wound was healed.
Now if you remember as we talked about earlier on in Revelation, when the antichrist first
comes, he has opposition, okay? Not everybody's ready to just pledge allegiance to him as
the ruler and leader. He actually has three specific people it mentions that are his opposition
and right at first, he does not take power. He subdues them later on. But what changes
everybody to just worship the antichrist is when his deadly wound is healed and he
rises again from the dead. When he rises again, everyone's like, you know what? We'll worship
him as God. He's obviously the true God. We're going to worship him. And then it says in
all the world wondered after the beast. And so nations will just basically bow down to
the antichrist. Kingdoms will say the antichrist can rule. We'll submit to him and only a remnant
of saved people are really going to be the ones fighting the battle anymore to try to
win souls to the Lord during that time period. Now go to Luke chapter 16, Luke chapter 16.
See it's interesting to me that when the antichrist rises again, the Bible says all the world
wonders after the beast. Now that'd be a pretty good sign. I mean, if you saw somebody rise
again from the dead, you'd be like, wow, that's pretty powerful. I would want to follow
that person, right? But what's interesting about it is there was a man who did rise again
from the dead 2000 years ago. And see, when Jesus Christ rose again, people didn't believe
on him. I mean, the antichrist rises again. All the world wonders after the beast. When
Jesus rose again, they didn't start believing on him. Why is that? Well, notice what it
says in Luke 16 verse 27, Luke 16 verse 27 in Luke 16. This is probably the best story
to talk about hell in the Bible. And this is a real event that took place. It's not
a parable. It's not merely a story. And we know that because real names are used here
with Lazarus and Abraham. Verse 27, and here the rich man is in hell and he's basically
pleading for his brothers that are not in hell. Verse 27, then he said, I pray thee
therefore father, that thou would ascend him to my father's house. For I have five brethren
that he may testify on to them, lest they also come into this place of torment. He says,
you know what? I want my five brothers to hear the gospel. I want them to get a chance
because he's told you can't cross over. You don't have a chance anymore. Those that want
to come to you can't. Okay. People in heaven, do you realize they wish they had a chance
to go to hell to try to rescue those people? That's what we see in Luke 16, but you can't
because when you die, it's done. There is no chance. And the ones in hell, they can't
cross over either. Wherever you die and end up, you're going to be there forever.
But then what you see in this story is this man says, man, I wish someone would talk to
my brothers. Okay. Now this man is in hell, but realize that when you die, you're going
to have the same wish for your unsafe family that, that you didn't give the gospel to while
you were here. It's like you were so afraid during Christmas time. Oh, I'm worried they're
going to reject it and get mad at me and everything like that. I mean, so you're going to just
basically let them go to hell is pretty much what you're saying. I mean, you could give
them a chance and risk the fact that maybe that relationship could be severed, but if
you don't give them the gospel and nobody does, they're spending forever in hell. Okay.
And you're going to wish you had a chance. This man ends up in hell and he wants his
brothers to hear the gospel. Notice what it says in verse 29. Abraham saith unto them,
they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. Now what does that mean? They have
Moses and the prophets because Moses is long dead. The prophets are long dead. What Abraham
is saying is they've got the word of God. They've got the law of Moses, the first five
books of the Bible. They've got the prophets of the Bible. They've got the scriptures.
And so he says, you know what? They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. Let
them hear the word of God. Okay. Those five brothers, they can hear the word of God. Verse
30, this is the one who's in hell and he said, nay, father Abraham, but if one went onto
them from the dead, they will repent. What he's saying is if one rises again from the
dead, they will change their mind about what they believe. They'll get saved. Okay. Now
we know this is what the word repent means because of the next verse is not talking about
repenting of your sins, but what this rich person thinks is this, that you know what?
If one rises again from the dead, they will believe all they need is a sign. And isn't
this true throughout the entire new Testament, all of these unbelievers, they beg for a sign.
Just give us a sign, God, and we're going to believe. Just give us a sign, God, we're
going to believe. But notice what it says in verse 31 and he said onto him, if they
hear not Moses and the prophets, and that's the word of God, they hear not Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. Now there we
see the definition of repent because notice it talks about repenting in verse 30 and verse
31 it talks about being persuaded. So what Abraham saying is they won't be persuaded
and change their mind even if someone rises again from the dead. Now, Jesus Christ is
saying this, he's telling the story of what Abraham had said and who's the one who's going
to end up dying and rising again? Jesus Christ. Did everybody believe on Jesus when he rose
again? Not at all. See what Abraham said is they have the word of God, they have Moses
and the prophets, and if they're not going to accept that, they're not going to believe
if someone rose again from the dead. You say, why? Well, go to Romans chapter eight, Romans
chapter eight, Romans chapter eight. And here's the reason why, because salvation is a spiritual
thing. Salvation is a spiritual thing. See the ones that want a sign, oh, the devil is
going to give you a sign and you're going to follow it after because your faith is based
on evidence, physical evidence. The problem is that's not salvation. People don't get
saved through physical evidence. You say, brother Sucky, I'm going to start this, this
creation ministry. Okay. I'm going to find all these fossils and I'm going to scientifically
prove that the earth's young and evolution's false and all this stuff is bogus and everybody's
going to believe. Well, not according to the Bible. Now, look, I don't believe in evolution.
I think it's, I think it's ridiculous. I mean, I believe the earth is young. The Bible teaches
that, but look, showing people scientific evidence that doesn't get them saved. What
gets them saved? Moses and the prophets, the gospels, the book of acts, the book of Romans,
the book of first Corinthians. It's the word of God that is quick and powerful and sharper
than any two edged sword. Okay. What's interesting is you think of stories in the Bible. I mean,
you remember at the end of the book of acts, you know, Paul has a snake on him and then
everyone's like, surely he's a murderer. And then all of a sudden he shakes it off into
the fire. And after like five minutes, people are like, oh, he's a God. It's like he was
a murderer for half a second. Then you change your mind and you're like, he's a God. Okay.
Because this is how the world is as they worship things. They see evidence, they see this vision
of Mary in the sky or this vision of this cross in the sky. And they say, okay, I believe
that now, but that's not salvation. Salvation is understanding that salvation is a free
gift. It's eternal life. It's not of works. And look, just seeing somebody rise from the
dead, that doesn't get you to believe those things. You have to actually hear the gospel.
Okay. And so that's what our salvation is based on. Notice what it says in Romans eight
verse 24 Romans eight verse 24 for we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not
hope for what a man seeth. Why doth he yet hope for? See, we are saved by hope. It's
not something that's physical evidence. It's something we believe and know to be true,
but it's a hope in the fact that it has not occurred yet. We're saved by hope. We're not
trusting in physical evidence for our salvation. We're saved by hope. Now the world, they trust
in physical evidence and you know what? The person that's going to give them physical
evidence is going to be the devil and they're going to believe that. Okay, but look, even
if someone rose again from the dead and said, well, this is proof that Jesus is the way
to heaven. Look, that doesn't get people saved. They have to actually hear the gospel. Okay.
And by the way, your testimony doesn't get anybody saved either. So the Bible says it's
the testimony of Jesus Christ that gets people saved, that he died and was buried and rose
again. You got these repentance of sins preachers and they'll stand up here and say this, man,
I used to be a massive drunk. I was a drug dealer. I was a really wicked person and then
I changed my life and gave my life to God. Now I'm on my way to heaven. Well, first off,
that's not salvation, my friend. Quitting drinking is not salvation. Quitting smoking
is not salvation. And look, if that's what salvation is, I guess I'm in trouble because
I've never smoked before. So if I had to quit smoking to be saved, I guess I'm going to
go to hell until I start smoking and then I have to quit that. Okay. That's ridiculous.
And they stand up here and brag about the sins they've committed. Why would you stand
up here and brag and say, I used to be a fornicator and a drunk and I did this and
this and this. I mean, why would you brag about that? And yet you have a lot of Baptist
preachers that stand behind the pulpit and you've heard them before. You've heard them
stand behind the pulpit and talk about how they were such a bad person. It's like, well,
look, you know what? I don't have that testimony. My testimony is I was homeschooled. My testimony
is I didn't go out and party and get drunk and sleep around. It's like, you know, and
here's the thing. If that's your past life, that's fine. The past is the past. We don't
bring it up and you shouldn't bring it up either. It's like we're not going to condemn
you for something you did 10 years ago. The past is the past. Forgetting those things
which are behind and reaching forth onto those things which are before. So, hey, you don't
have to bring it up. We don't need to know about it. It's fine. But don't brag about
that. And don't think that's going to help somebody get saved at the door because it's
not. Look, people that aren't saved change their lives all the time. There are people
that are drunks that quit drinking, that don't believe on Jesus. There's people that smoke
two packs of cigarettes a day and then they quit smoking cigarettes. I mean, Malcolm X,
one of the most famous Muslims, he was a really wicked person before he became a Muslim. Does
that prove that Islam is correct because he stopped trying to kill people and stopped
doing drugs and stopped drinking and fornicating? No, it doesn't prove Islam is right. And look,
you quitting drinking doesn't prove Christianity is right. What proves Christianity is right
is Moses and the law and the prophets, the word of God. Okay, go to Romans one, Romans
chapter one, Romans chapter one. I mean, think about the story in the Old Testament with
Elijah versus the false prophets of Baal and the false prophets of the grove. I mean, you
got these people that can't figure out what God do we believe in? It's like, is it the
God of the Bible or the God of the prophets of Baal? It's like, good night. If you're
trying to figure out, is it the Christian God or the Muslim God? It's like, I don't
know what to tell you. I don't know why you're in our church if you're not sure. I don't
know if Muhammad is the way to heaven or Jesus is the way to heaven. It's like, and that's
how they were before Elijah in 1 Kings 18. And then all of a sudden, you know, Elijah
calls down fire from heaven and then they all just bow down on their knees and say,
the Lord is the God, the Lord, he is the God. Does that mean they all got saved? No,
they weren't even sure which was the true God. It's like, they're just fickle people
that see that and say, well, this must be the way. It's just like, no, getting saved
is when you hear the gospel and you understand it and you believe it and you call on Jesus
Christ and you're saved. Okay. Getting saved is not, I saw some sign. Now I know this is
the way to heaven. It's like, I prayed to God. I mean, is Christianity the way to heaven?
And I got this burning feeling and I'm like, he must be the way to heaven. I mean, did
you know that that's what Mormonism is? Every Mormon talk to them about why they believe
what they believe. And here's their answer if they're being honest with you. Because
look, I lived in Utah one summer or two summers actually. I've been in Utah quite a bit. I've
talked to a million Mormons in the US and everything. And look, this is what they say.
They say, well, in the book of James, the Bible says, if any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and a braith not and it shall be given him.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. And what they say is this, what you should
do is just pray is the book of Mormon, the word of God. If you lack wisdom, just ask
of God and he'll let you know. So according to them, just about every religion I hear
about a new religion. It's like, is Mohammed, was he a prophet of God? I need to pray about
that according to them. Is Hinduism, is that another form of Christianity? I mean, was
Buddha the real deal? It's like you got to pray about everything according to them. And
every single Mormon will say the reason why they believe is that they prayed about it
and they got a burning feeling in their bosom. It's called the burning of the bosom. That's
why Mormons believe in Mormonism. Every single one of them. They are taught by their parents
to pray about it and God's going to manifest it. And here's the thing, the parents will
tell the kids, we prayed about it when we were kids and then God gave us this feeling
and we knew it was right. And I don't deny they got that feeling. I'm pretty sure they
did and I'm pretty sure it came from the devil. And see, if your religion is based on these
feelings and experiences and things like that, look, that is not salvation, my friend. Salvation
is what you believe and it comes from the word of God. Notice what it says in Romans
1 verse 16. Romans 1 verse 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is
the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also
to the Greek. So what it says here in Romans 1 is the power of God unto salvation. It comes
down to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Okay?
It's the power of God to the Jew and to the Greek. And by the way, to the Mormon or the
Buddhist or the Hindu or the Muslim or whatever religion it is, to the Catholic, to the Protestant,
whatever. Okay? The power of God unto salvation is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Okay? Why is
that important? Because you've got millions upon millions upon millions of dollars poured
into these apologetics ministries and people think these are ways that people get saved.
I mean, Christians literally think we need to stage a Christianity versus atheist debate
here and after a three hour debate where we study evolution and disprove all their arguments,
everyone's just going to get saved. Nobody gets saved that way. They get saved when they
actually hear the gospel and they believe on Jesus Christ. And see, the world looks
at that as being foolish. It's too simple, right? You just explain the gospel in 20 minutes
and people believe and they get saved and yeah, that's how people get saved. How did
you get saved? Did you have some fossil that proved it or did somebody just open up the
Bible and show you what it took to get to heaven and you believed in God saved? It's
like, I remember when I got saved, I didn't know if I was going to heaven before that.
Someone explained the gospel and I went from doubting for 18 years and not knowing to believing
on Jesus Christ like that. Why? It's the power of the word of God. It's the gospel through
using the word of God. The word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two
edged sword. And it's much sharper than a fossil you find in the ground and it's much,
much sharper than any other evidence you want to talk about. Okay, so these apologetics
ministries you have out there, according to the Bible, that is not how you get people
saved. Now turn in your Bible to second Peter one, second Peter chapter one, second Peter
chapter one. And what is said as you're turning to second Peter one, if you remember in Matthew
12, when they want this sign and he says, there shall no sign be given to you but the
sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was, or Jonah was three days and three nights in
the whale's belly, so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth, referring to Jesus Christ. And what the Bible says is the sign for the unbelievers
is simply this, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Okay, but I want you to realize
that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is just as powerful through the
word of God than actually seeing it. I mean, you would think, and here's the thing, I get
why you would think this because I myself also would think this as well, that if people
just saw this, they would believe, right? You would think that if people saw Jesus rise
again from the dead, they would all believe that. But that's not the truth. And that's
what Abraham said. You would think that if they just saw Jesus rise again, they would
all believe, okay? I mean, if that were the case, then I'm sure God would manifest himself,
but salvation comes down to faith, and that is the evidence. The evidence is not this
physical manifestation. Faith is the evidence, okay? That's what the Bible teaches. It's
not works, okay? Second Peter chapter one, verse 16. Second Peter one, verse 16. And
so this is throughout the entire Bible. And let me just say this, this is why, and I'll
show you this here in a second, but this is why when somebody comes and gives you a story
about something they experience and they say, Well, this is why you should believe that.
It's like, I don't believe people's personal testimonies over the word of God. I will never
believe personal testimonies over the word of God. You know, there's a lot of people
that will tell you people can lose their salvation. And here's why they say that. Well, I knew
someone that believed and he became an atheist. I mean, don't you hear that? Sometimes I knew
someone who did believe, and then he became a Muslim or whatever, and they expect me to
reject what the Bible says based on their testimony, okay? Because they know someone
he did believe, and then he didn't. So and first off, when it comes to what you believe,
that's something of the heart, okay? Just because someone goes to church does not mean
they believe. It doesn't mean they understand the gospel. But people want you to want to
get you to reject what the Bible says based on a testimony. Well, what did Peter say here
in verse 16? 2 Peter 1, verse 16. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables
when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were
eyewitnesses of his majesty. Okay? Now obviously Peter saw the resurrected Jesus Christ. He
says, we're not just following some fable we heard about. We actually saw it. For he
received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the
excellent glory. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And that's actually
referring to before the resurrection at the mount of transfiguration. And in verse 18,
and this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mount. We
have also a more sure word of prophecy. Where unto ye do well that ye take heed as unto
a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in your
hearts. So he says there's a more sure word of prophecy. You say, what is more sure than
actually seeing it with your own eyes? What does it say in verse 20? Knowing this first
that no prophecy of the scriptures of any private interpretation for the prophecy came
not an old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost. What is the more sure word of prophecy according to the Bible? The word
of God. This is more sure than any testimony. And look here, this is what Peter saw with
his own eyes. He said, I will believe what I see in this book above what my eyes saw.
You say, why? Because your testimony sometimes can be wrong. When you hear somebody tell
you this is their testimony, it's like, look, I don't care who it is. If there's a verse
in the Bible that disproves that, then that testimony is wrong. Now, could they have seen
the devil or could they have been imagining or dreaming? Yeah, any of those things could
be true. They could have seen someone that was disguised as an angel of the light, a
devil, a minion of darkness, but look, if the Bible disproves something, then it disproves
it. We go with the word of God and Peter saw something with his own eyes and you know what
he said? This is a more sure word of prophecy. I mean, there are people that write books
and go back to Revelation 13. There are people that write books and make millions of dollars
and they'll say things like, you know what? I got to go to heaven for 30 minutes and I
came back down and I'm going to write a book about it and they make millions of dollars.
What's funny about it is these people that go to heaven and then come back down, they
write a book and the things they saw in their vision are against the things of the Bible,
right? I mean, whenever you hear somebody who went to heaven, like they say, I went
to heaven and I came back and look, it's usually when they're doing like LSD or some major
drugs or something. It's like, it's funny how you're doing major drugs and all of a
sudden, oh, I'm up in heaven. It's like, and look, I saw something the other day where
they said people that are on heavy drugs, you know, there's people that thought that
they were like the Christ on earth or whatever. And it's like when they were doing heavy drugs,
like he gave him this feeling like, like they were basically really strong and powerful
and they thought they were like an angel or God or something like that. But look, whenever
you have these people that tell you these stories, I went to heaven and I came back
down and then you asked them, well, what did Jesus look like? And they'll give you
a full description. They'll tell you he had long hair, he's really skinny, he looked kind
of like a woman and everything like this. It's like, that's not the Jesus of the Bible,
my friend. Jesus didn't have long hair. It's, it's kind of funny that their descriptions
are that painting by Michelangelo or whomever, you know, you know, a long time ago, 500 years
ago. It's like the basis of Jesus Christ is the fact that, you know, they, that this painting
somebody made, but it goes against what the Bible says. What I find interesting is nobody
knows what Jesus looked like. I mean, did you know that there's people who existed before
Jesus Christ and we've got sculptures of what they look like? I mean, isn't that true? We
know what some people look like that existed before Jesus. I mean, think of Alexander the
Great or people such as that. They've got sculptures, they know what they look like,
and yet Jesus was far more famous than any of them. I mean, it's not even close. The
world tries to make you think Alexander the Great was as famous as Jesus. It wasn't even
close. I mean, our whole basis of BC and AD, and I know they've changed it now, is based
on Jesus Christ, okay? Because he was so famous, and yet we don't have a picture or a sculpture
of Jesus today. You say, why? Because I don't think God wants you to be an idolater and
worship some image. He doesn't want you to know what he looked like. Now, we can go off
what the Bible says, and knowing what the Bible says, men are told to have short hair.
Obviously, men are supposed to be strong and not be effeminate. Obviously, you know, Jesus,
you know, looked like a man. But it's funny, in all these paintings, Jesus is always white.
It's like, I didn't know Jesus was born in America. I guess the Mormons were right. It's
like, I had no idea. I mean, I grew up in the US. I had no idea that Jesus was born
in the US. Maybe he was born at the same hospital as me, right? I mean, it's ridiculous. He's
always white in these paintings, and obviously, he wasn't. But we don't really know what he
looked like. Why? Because I don't think God wants us to know, okay? But notice what it
says in Revelation 13, verse 4. Revelation 13. So look, what I'm trying to say is this.
If somebody gives you this story, well, this is what heaven's like. I mean, it's just like,
you know what? They have no clue what they're talking about. They were doing drugs, or they're
just trying to lie to you to make money or whatever. Or people will go to hell, and they
say, well, this is what it looked like. It's like, hell is dark. It's like, they go to
hell, and they say, well, there was this and this and this. Hell is dark, according to
the Bible. It's like, so you didn't see anything if you went to hell. The only thing you were
doing is screaming if you were in hell. They say, I went to hell, and I saw this and this
and this and this and this. It's like, hell is dark. It's like, you didn't see nothing
if you were in hell, my friend. Okay? So notice what it says in Revelation 13, verse 4. And
they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast, and they worshiped the beast
saying, who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? Well, I mean, somebody
2,000 years ago rose again from the dead. And by the way, you know, the Bible says Jesus
resurrected himself from the dead. Okay? So that's a little bit more powerful than the
Antichrist. So who's like unto the Antichrist? Well, Jesus did it himself. He resurrected
himself from the dead, according to John 2, verse 5. And there was given unto him a mouth
speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to continue forty
and two months. Okay? Now, this is midway through Daniel's 70th week, three and a half
years in, and he's going to continue for forty and two months. That's his power. If
you remember, the last half of the tribulation is forty-three months. So there's one month
hanging there. Okay? We've talked about that before. But he's given power for forty and
two months. Okay? So the first point we have, we talked about the resurrection of the Antichrist.
But the second thing I want you to understand here tonight is this. Just because somebody's
very religious does not mean that they're good. Okay? Notice what it says in verse six,
Revelation 13, verse six. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme
his name and his tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven. Now, let me ask you a question.
Was the Antichrist religious? Absolutely. He claimed to be God in the flesh. It doesn't
really get much more religious than that. Then you're claiming that you are God, right?
Or a manifestation of God. He's claiming to be God. He's religious, and he's also blaspheming
God. Okay? Just because somebody's religious does not make them a good person. Verse seven,
and it was given unto them to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and power
was given to them over all kindreds and tongues and nations. So he's making war with the saints.
Now, I understand the Catholic Church says that a saint is someone who's been dead for
50 years that we declare to be a great person, but I don't think the Antichrist is making
war with dead bodies in a grave, my friend. It's like he's making war with people that
are alive because if you're saved, you are a saint according to the Bible. If you're
saved, I mean, I'm a saint. Not because I'm such a great person, but because I believe.
That's what the Bible teaches. Okay? So he's making war with the saints. He's making war
with the believers. Now, turn to Acts 19. Acts chapter 19. Look, just because somebody's
religious does not mean they're a good person. I mean, if you look at a lot of the most religious
people in history, a lot of them are really, really bad people, and the world will lift
them up, and they'll say, well, they're so religious. How could you say this? I mean,
look, aren't Muslims pretty religious? They pray five times a day, and you know what the
most religious Muslims do? The most religious Muslims hop into a plane, and they intentionally
try to kill a bunch of Christians, or they intentionally try to kill America because
they say America is a great Satan. Now, they're right about that. I mean, America really is
kind of the great Satan. I'll agree with them on that. Okay? That's a whole another sermon
that we're going to cover in like six weeks or so. The Bible talks about Bible prophecy.
But look, they hop into a plane and try to kill a bunch of people. Now, they're very
religious, right? I mean, they're willing to die for what they believe. They believe
that just killing a bunch of Christians is going to get them a free pass into heaven.
There's no question they're religious. Are they good people, though? No, they're not.
They're doing wicked things. Just because you're religious does not mean you're good.
Look, one of the most famous religious people of the 20th century is Gandhi, right? I mean,
everybody knows Gandhi, right? Really famous. And everything you hear about Gandhi is how
he's such a great person, right? I mean, did they ever tell you in school how Gandhi slept
in the same bed with a bunch of naked young girls? I mean, did they not teach you that
in school? I didn't hear that in school. You know how I learned that? I learned that because
we go on the internet. Nobody denies it. Gandhi spoke about it himself. I mean, they were
usually his nieces that he was sleeping with. You say, why? Because Gandhi had determined
that sex was a sin, and he wanted to test how spiritual he was. So he'd sleep with a
bunch of naked young girls in bed. You say, Brother Stuckey, I've never heard that before.
I encourage you go to Google. Nobody denies that. You know what they say? Well, I mean,
it's a different culture over there. You don't understand. It's different than the Philippines.
You know, India's Yeah, India is a lot different than the Philippines with us. But look, that's
not normal, my friend. Or I mean, all I'm trying to tell you is this. You look at a
lot of these really religious people. They end up being pedophiles and perverts and bad
people. And look, I encourage you go to go to Google when you get home today or tomorrow
and check out what I said in Gandhi, and it's a fact. Nobody even denies it. Okay,
it's a known fact. So look, being a really religious, I mean, Gandhi started a cult.
He started he had everybody living in his own commune. And basically, you know, you're
away from the rest of the world was like this little cult that he had, and he told you,
you couldn't eat certain foods and things such as that. And look, Jim Jones, who knows
Jim Jones, he went to Guyana, and he claimed to be Jesus Christ, he claimed to be the second
coming God on earth, basically. And he went to Guyana, he brought like hundreds of people
with him. And so basically, he started this church just in the middle of Guyana, away
from the rest of the world. And you know, he claimed to be God in the flesh. And then
it turns out, like many of the people that were part of that culture, they said that
they were molested by Jim Jones, both men and women. It's like, boy, he was he was such
a great person, he claimed to be God in the flesh, and then he's molesting a bunch of
people. And often you see that with really religious people. There's a lot of really
religious priests out there. They do all these religious ceremonies, and then a bunch of
them are a bunch of pedophiles. Being religious does not mean that you're good. Okay, now
being religious is it's not a bad term in the Bible. The word religion can be good or
bad in the Bible. The Bible speaks about pure religion and undefiled. So there is a pure
religion. If people ask me, Brother Stuckey, are you religious? Yes, I am. I don't tell
people, no, I'm not religious. I'm spiritual. I don't say that. I am religious. I go to
church three times a week. I read the Bible. I pray. I go so many. Yes, I'm religious.
What I'm trying to tell you, though, is being religious can be good or bad. It depends on
what you believe. And the Antichrist is going to be very religious, but he's not going to
be good. Notice what it says in Acts chapter 19. Here's another example of very religious
people that are not good. Acts 19 verse 23. And the same time there arose no small stir
about that way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith which made silver shrines for
Diana brought no small gain onto the craftsman. And so this man Demetrius, he made silver
shrines. Basically, his job was to make idols. His job was to make idols. He made money off
of it. Now remember, the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. Okay, we
live in a very idolatrous country. There's no question about that. Outside of India,
we might be number two in the world. We're certainly in the running. Okay, we're a very
idolatrous country. And let me tell you something. When we live in an idolatrous country, there
are many people that make money through idolatry. And look, if you were to try to get rid of
all the idolatry in this country, there would be people who would want to kill you. You
say why? The love of money is the root of all evil, my friend. I mean, literally, you
could have people that would want to kill you. You say why? Because of the fact they
make their money off of idols. And in this story, we're going to see that, okay? And
it says here in verse 25, whom he called together with workmen of like occupation. So like occupation
means there's other people that make idols. You live in a really idolatrous place, a lot
of your money that you're making is through idolatry. And said, sirs, you know that by
this craft, we have our wealth. We make our money by making idols. Now the second commandment
is thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. And so look, it's idolatry is a wicked
sin. And it might seem normal to you because you grew up here. But let me tell you something,
the Feast of the Black Asherine is not normal, my friend. It's weird. It's bizarre. It's
bizarre to think that just rubbing the feet of this morbid idol of Jesus is going to heal
you of some disease. That's weird. It's not biblical. And let me tell you something, if
you were to try to take out that holiday and all these idols, you'd have people that
would want to kill you. You'd say, why? Many people make their money off that. And many
bad people are intentionally using other people to make money through their idolatry. This
is what we see in this story. They have their wealth from idolatry. Verse 26, moreover ye
see and hear that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath
persuaded and turned away much people saying that they be no gods which are made with hands.
So Paul was preaching against idolatry. So then it says this in verse 27, so that not
only this our craft is in danger to be said it not, but also that the temple of the great
goddess Diana should be despised and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the
world worshipeth. And so in verse 27, if you notice the first thing he says is this, that
you know what? Our craft is in danger. You know what he's number one concerned about?
How he makes money. Notice how he mentions Diana second. He's like, oh, I'm worried that
people that are worshiping Diana, she's going to be defamed. The first thing he mentions
is the fact his craft is in danger. Why is that? He cares more about money. What he's
doing is he's using Diana as an excuse to want to attack Paul because Paul is causing
people to not want to buy idols. But the one thing that's on his mind out of his own lips,
out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. In his own lips, he says our craft
is in danger first. Why? Because he's concerned about money. Okay. And it says all the world
and all Asia is worshiping Diana. It's kind of funny because I don't think anybody really
worships Diana anymore. I mean, she was pretty famous back then, and that idols just kind
of gone from history pretty much. Okay. Then it says in verse 29 and the whole city was
filled verse verse 28 verse 28. And when they heard these things sayings, they were
full of wrath and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. She got all these
religious people, and they're really angry, and they're saying, Great is Diana of the
Ephesians. Verse 29. And the whole city was filled with confusion and having caught Gaius
and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one
accord into the theater. And when Paul would have entered in under the people, the disciples
suffered him not. Paul's not allowed to go in. They don't let him because they think
that he might get killed. They think these people are gonna be killed for preaching against
idolatry. Go down to verse 24 verse 34 verse 34. Notice how long this takes place. But
when they knew not that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours
cried out. Great is Diana of the Ephesians. Two hours. They're screaming. Great is Diana
of the Ephesians. Now, is there any question that they're religious? All they're saying
is great is Diana of the Ephesians. Great is Diana of the Ephesians. They're just crying
out over and over and over again. Very religious people. Okay, but they want to kill Paul.
They want to kill these people that are speaking against idolatry. Verse 35. And when the town
clerk had appeased the people, he said, ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth
not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great goddess Diana and
of the image which fell down from Jupiter? So you see these very religious people and
yet these same people would have no problem with killing somebody. Look, being religious
does not mean you're good. Okay, turn to Revelation 13. Revelation 13. I mean, during
the Dark Ages, there was a lot of really religious Catholics that were perfectly fine with burning
people alive, letting people die. You know, oftentimes how they would burn you to death.
What I mean, they would burn you to death in the most inhumane possible and most inhumane
way possible. You say, What do you mean? They would usually put wet grass underneath you.
So when you burn to death, it was going to take like 20 hours. Not just they burn you
to death in 10 minutes, and that's it, but they would make it as slow as possible. Very
religious people that hated anyone who's preaching the truth. Okay, being religious does not
mean you're good. And in fact, I would say this. If somebody is a religious teacher,
a religious leader, and they've got the wrong gospel, they're not preaching, believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, that would make them a false prophet. And in the Bible, that's
a worker of iniquity. Now you say, What's a worker of iniquity? Someone who does a lot
of sin, a worker of iniquity or sin. Okay, someone who sends a lot, really religious
people are actually bad people if they don't believe the right thing. Okay, false prophets
are the worst scum of the earth. Now they will talk like they're really nice. But look,
do you really believe these Pentecostal preachers that have $50 million in their own private
jets and everything, and they say they can heal you of cancer and all this stuff? Do
you really think they're good people, but just confused about the gospel? No, they're
lying to people and stealing from people. They're not good people. And look, being a
really religious person, if you don't have the right gospel, you're a false prophet.
You're a bad person, according to the Bible. Okay, notice what it says in Revelation 13.
First we saw the resurrection of Jesus. Then we saw that just simply being religious does
not mean that you're good. Next, I want to talk about the Book of Life in Revelation
13. This will be the last point we talk about here today. But Revelation 13, notice what
it says in verse eight. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, referring
to worshiping the devil. But then it's going to clarify what does it mean by all the earth
is going to worship him? Because it's not saying every single person on earth is going
to worship him. All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written
in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Now, the Bible
says the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Obviously, we know that Jesus Christ
was always going to die for the sins of the world. But it said these people, their names
are not in the Book of Life. Their names are not in the Book of Life. You say, what does
that mean? Okay, well, there's there's a lot of false understanding about this in the Bible.
Some people believe that there's two books, the Book of the Living and the Book of Life.
And the Book of Living are for people that are alive on earth, but the Book of Life is
a spiritual thing. The Bible doesn't teach that, okay? But what most people believe,
which is wrong, they believe that if you get saved, your names get entered into the Book
of Life. The Bible does not teach that, though. The Bible does not say that when you get saved,
your name is entered into the Book of Life. The truth is your name's in the Book of Life
before you get saved. In fact, every single person, their name is in the Book of Life
from the beginning. You say, why? That's the book to determine whether or not you're going
to heaven or not, okay? And if your name's in that book, you're going to heaven, okay?
But if your name's not, and here's the thing, when you die unsaved, it will get removed
from the Book of Life, okay? And then you will end up in hell. But here's the thing.
What the Bible's shown us are people that are alive, but their name's not in the Book
of Life. Why? Their names got removed from the Book of Life. See, the Bible never teaches
your names getting added to the Book of Life. What the Bible says is this, your names can
be removed from the Book of Life. Now, if you're saved, your name's never going to be
removed from the Book of Life, because you were given eternal life, so you will always
have life spiritually, okay? So if you get saved, you have eternal life, you're always
going to be saved no matter what. But the Bible teaches that those that die unsaved,
their names are removed, and then they go to hell. But the Bible also teaches that people
that are alive on earth can have their names removed from the Book of Life as well. And
see, there are people that can basically be like zombies, walking dead men, my friend.
The Bible speaks about people that are walking dead men, and they're physically alive, but
their names are not in the Book of Life. Now, here in verse 8, it talks about people that
are worshiping the devil whose names are not in the Book of Life. Their names were in the
Book of Life before. See, some people think, well, this is saying anyone who's not saved,
they're going to worship the devil. That's not true. During the end times, some unsaved
people do not worship the devil. They don't worship the Antichrist. You say, how do you
know that? Because God leaves soul owners on earth, right, to get people saved. Not
every unsaved person is going to worship the Antichrist. The ones whose names are not in
the Book of Life are people who had their names removed from the Book of Life. Now,
some of these people probably had it removed a long time ago, but this is the chapter,
and we're going to talk about it next week with the abomination of desolation. And what
the Bible teaches is, anybody who makes the choice to worship the devil and take the mark
of the beast, they are a walking dead man. They can never get saved. They can never believe
on Jesus Christ. Now, we know that as believers, we could never take the mark of the beast.
You say, why? The Bible said that if it were possible, he will deceive the very elect.
What that's saying is, if it was possible for someone who's saved to get deceived, then
they'd get deceived because this is going to be so deceptive. But he said, if it were
possible, saying it's not possible. What he's saying is, the resurrection of the Antichrist
from the dead and the miracles and signs, it's going to be the greatest deception that
has ever existed. And look, many unsaved people will decide to take the mark of the
beast because they see it and they say, man, this must be the real deal. Okay? No saved
person is going to do that. Okay? But when people decide to start worshiping the devil
and they choose sides with the devil, they can't undo that decision, my friend. Their
names are removed from the book of life. So these people that are worshiping the devil,
their names are not in the book of life, my friend. Why? It's removed. Now go to Revelation
three. I'm going to, I'm going to prove this to you. I'm going to prove this to you. So
look, the book of life and book of the living are the same book, my friend, same books.
It's referring to people and you say, why is it that everybody's name is in the book
of life? Okay. At least at the beginning because God intends everybody to get saved. God wants
everybody to get saved. I mean, bye bye Calvinism. It's like, you know what? Every's name, every
name was in the book of life. I mean, if everybody was a reprobate from the beginning,
why does the Bible teach that everybody's name's in the book of life? They're obviously
not reprobates then. Okay. And so look, God intended everybody to get saved so their names
are in the book of life and God intends every baby that's born, every five year old, every
six year old, he intends them to get saved, believe on Jesus and go to heaven one day.
But unfortunately most don't go to heaven. Unfortunately most do rejected and unfortunately
their names are removed from the book of life if they die unsaved. And even more unfortunately,
sometimes people's names are removed before they even die physically because they have
decided to either reject Jesus so long or to worship the devil. Basically they pushed
it too far where God says your name's removed. Okay. You're never going to believe you're
never going to get saved. Okay. Everyone who takes the mark of the beast, the Bible is
very clear they will go to hell. Okay. Revelation three verse five. Let me show you the book
of life here. A couple of references to the book of life. He that overcometh, revelation
three verse five, the same shall be clothed in white raiment and I will not blot his name
out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my father and before his angels.
So the Bible says the person who overcomes, the person who overcometh, his name will not
be blotted out of the book of life. Okay. That's saying that you know what? His name
is in the book of life and it's not going to be blotted out if he overcomes. Now if
you were to look at that verse alone, you'd say, brother Stuckey, it sounds like you have
to do good works to go to heaven. You got to overcome. Go to first john five, first
john five. Everything we, we, we teach and preach here, we prove with the Bible. See
brother Stuckey, there's so much Bible in every single sermon. I can't imagine preaching
a sermon without a lot of Bible to be honest because I don't want your faith to stand in
the wisdom of men, but in the power of God and God's words. Okay. First john five verse
five. What does it mean to overcome? See, people assume, oh, you got to live a good
life to go to heaven. The Bible does not teach that. First john five verse five, first john
five verse five. Who is he that overcometh the world? Remember in Revelation it talked
about overcoming. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God. The person who overcomes is the person that believes on Jesus Christ.
Okay. It's not the person that lives a good life. It's not the person that quits drinking.
It's not the person that quits smoking and gives her life to God. It's the person that
believes on Jesus Christ. And here's the truth. There are people that are drunks that have
overcome and will be in heaven because they believed on Jesus Christ. And there are people
that never drink alcohol at all, that have not overcome, that have not believed on Jesus
and they will die and go to hell one day because salvation is not of works. My friend
and works do not prove your salvation. It's all based on what you believe. That is the
evidence. Okay. There are drug addicts. There are people that smoke and and look, you say,
Brother Stuckey, are you condoning those things? Look, I don't think there's a church in town
that preaches against those things more, but they have nothing to do with getting to heaven.
You got to put things in their proper place. Yes, we preach really hard about cleaning
up your sin. But you know, when I go soul winning, has anybody ever heard me say, Well,
you know what? I saw you smoking a cigarette there. You better you better quit smoking
or you're gonna go to hell. Have I ever said that? Has anyone ever heard me say, We got
to quit drinking. You got to start coming to church. You got to get baptized. Look,
obviously we preach those things from the pulpit. But when you're going soul winning,
you teach them believe on Jesus Christ, because that's how a person overcomes. Okay. And so
the person that overcomes the world is he that believeth he or she. Okay. He or she,
the person that believes that Jesus is the son of God. That's what the Bible teaches.
Okay. So the Bible says, If you believe that Jesus is the son of God, believing you're
the one who overcomes. Go to Revelation 17 Revelation Chapter 17. Say, Brother Stuckey,
what happens if you don't believe that Jesus is the son of God? Like, if you believe in
oneness? Well, I mean, you got to believe that Jesus is the son of God, right? I mean,
isn't that what the Bible says? You got to believe that Jesus is the son of God, my friend.
It's like, Yeah, you got to believe in the Trinity. Okay. It's from the beginning. Jesus
was here at the very beginning. In the beginning was the word, the Bible says. Okay, Revelation
17 Revelation 17. Notice what it says about this book of life. Revelation 17 verse eight.
The beast that thou sawest, this is referring to the Antichrist, the beast that thou sawest
was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition. So he
was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit. Why? Because he's rising again
from the dead. He was and is not. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, people
worshipping the devil, 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. Okay. And
so the names of these people, it says, which were not written in the book of life. Now,
there's a few different ways to look at this. And the way I would look at this is during
this time, their names were not in the book of life, but the book of life was written
from the foundation of the world. So during that time, their names are not written, but
this book was written from the foundation of the world. Okay, that's the way that I
would look at it. Some people would look at it like this. Well, you know, obviously,
God knows what's going to take place so we can speak about things that are not as if
they are. And you know what, that is true. Okay. But you know, these people worshipping
the devil notice their names are not in the book of life. Why? Because anyone who takes
the mark of the beast, their names are going to be removed, okay, which 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. So when they see the beast rise again, these people, their
names are going to be removed because they're going to take the mark of the beast. Go to
Revelation 21. Revelation 21. Revelation chapter 21. So what are we seeing? Well, we're seeing
that people's names can be removed from the book of life while they're alive. And we've
seen many examples of that, okay, that if your name's not in the book of life, then
you know what? You're going to go to hell. That's what the Bible teaches. Revelation
21 verse 27. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book
of life. Now, obviously, we've all made a lie before, but if you believed on Jesus Christ,
God sees zero of your sins. I mean, quite honestly, all of us have done a lot worse
than just tell a lie, okay? But the Bible says if you have a single lie on your record,
you're guilty. So if a person lived a perfect life but just told one lie, but they did not
believe on Jesus, according to the Bible, they would go to hell for one lie. That is
enough to condemn you to hell, okay? Us that are saved, those sins won't be even seen.
But it says they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. So the only people that
are going to be in heaven are the ones whose names are in the Lamb's book of life, okay?
This is something that God intended everyone to be saved. God wanted everybody to go to
heaven. Their names were in the book of life, but some people's names are removed when they
do certain things. And worshipping the Antichrist, that will get your name removed from the book
of life when you choose to take the mark of the beast, okay? Now, go to Exodus chapter
32. We'll look at two more places, Exodus 32. In Exodus chapter 32, Exodus 32 is one
of the most interesting chapters in the Bible. Obviously, you know, the golden calf that
people were worshipping, and Moses and Joshua come, and Moses is really angry. It's a very
famous story. But there's something I want to show you that maybe you've never noticed
before in Exodus chapter 32. Notice what it says in Exodus 32, verse 31. Exodus chapter
32, the second book of the Bible, verse 31, Exodus chapter 32, verse 31. And Moses returned
unto the Lord and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin and have made them gods
of gold. Yeah, I mean, idolatry is a pretty great sin. It's pretty bad. But notice this.
Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin. Now, notice what is after the word sin there,
okay? You see a dash there, right? I mean, your Bible should have, unless there's a mistake
when they typed it, you should see a dash after the word sin, okay? So Moses is saying,
you know what? Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin. What that's telling you is he pauses
for a second. He's making a statement and he stops, okay? I mean, that's how specific,
that's why we know the King James Bible is the word of God. Even down to that, the Bible
is showing you this, that he's making a statement and he stops. And what he's saying is, you
know what? These people that have done this wicked thing, he's asking, he's pleading,
God, please forgive the sin of these people, these unsaved people, okay, that are worshiping
this golden calf. If thou wilt forgive their sin, and if not blot me, I pray thee out of
thy book which thou hast written. And Moses is saying, basically, can I take the place
of these people whose names are getting blotted out of the book of life, okay? Now obviously
that's not possible because we have eternal life. But this is actually the heart of Moses
here. Moses is saying he would be willing to go to hell for them, for them to get a
chance to get saved. That's pretty amazing because I would not be willing to do that.
It's like, not a chance would I ever say that unless I was just not thinking. It's
like, man, I'm not going to have my name blotted out, okay? And it's just like he's saying,
you know what? I would be willing to have my name blotted out. It's pretty similar to
what Paul says, that he would be willing to be, I can't remember, like a curse for his
brethren in Romans chapter 10. He's saying he's willing to take the place for them to
have a chance, okay? His kinsmen according to the flesh, okay? And when you see really
great people of the Bible, and here's what's funny, people would say that Moses and Paul
are two of the most hateful people who ever lived, right? Most people didn't like them
because of what they preached, and yet these same people cared so much about people that
they would be willing to go to hell for somebody else. That's what Moses is saying. He's like,
you know what? If thou wilt forgive their sin, and if not blot me, I pray thee out of
thy book which thou hast written. What is he saying? Well, he's saying he understands
that these unsafe people that are doing this, God's probably going to remove their name
from the book of life. This is the book that's being referred to. I mean, because when you
commit a major, major wicked sin such as this, okay? Now I understand unsafe people, I mean
unsafe and safe people, they drink, they do drugs, you know, they fornicate, commit adultery.
I understand people commit these sins, but look, Exodus 32, worshiping this golden calf,
worshiping another God. Look at the Ten Commandments, and this covers the first two Ten Commandments,
and they're doing it right there and causing everybody to basically rebel, and it's not
just that in Exodus 32. You see that these people are committing wicked sins like fornication,
although it's discreet about saying that and doing other wicked things. Imagine any drunken
party what's going to take place, okay? That's what's taking place, and these are religious
people, right? They're worshiping a golden calf while they're blaspheming God and doing
these wicked things, okay? And he says, you know what? If not, he says, if thou wilt
forgive their sin, and if not blot me, I pray thee out of that book which thou hast written.
What does it say in verse 33? And the Lord said unto Moses, whosoever hath sinned against
me, him wilt blot out of my book. And you know what? God says, you know what? The people
that have done this, they're getting blotted out, Moses. And look, you know, usually God
answers Moses's requests, right? Moses begs for the people to get a chance, but obviously
God's not going to blot out Moses. And God's saying, you know what? This is just too severe
of sin for me to allow it to pass. Now go to Revelation chapter 13, Revelation 13. Now
we'll close up with these couple verses. But let me just say this, because there's a false
understanding where people seem to think that, you know, if you're more hardcore, that's
automatically better, okay? I mean, somebody would look at Moses in this situation and
say, well, Moses is weak, look at him. I look at Moses and say, man, he's like the
most loving, caring person that you're ever going to see, that he would be willing to
be blotted out, okay? But what I want to tell you is this, because I am pretty merciful
with this church, right? I mean, you don't see me just getting, you know, if somebody
does something wrong or if I'm mad at them, just kicking people out left and right, I'm
pretty merciful with people, okay? And realizing the future, I'm sure we're going to have people
that get kicked out of our church in the future because they've done really bad things. And
so, there's nobody that's getting kicked out, don't worry, okay? There's nobody's done
anything, everything's fine, I think we've got great unity right now. But let me just
say this, that if somebody ever does get kicked out in the future, know a couple things. One,
they had a lot of chances. And number two, don't be upset if I let someone stick around
too long that's causing problems. You say why? Because like Moses, I want to give people
a chance. It's like I remember the first person that we ever really kicked out of this church,
you know, like who was with us for a couple months, you know, he was just here trying
to steal money from us and he pretended to be like us, but he wasn't at all. And he was
going out preaching a false gospel, you know, this is like a year ago. I mean, I think we
were at Bayview, we weren't even in this church building. And he was basically just pretending
to be like us because he was trying to get money from us and everything. And I mean,
everybody wanted me to kick him out a long time ago. They're like, you know, brother
second, this guy's not like minded, he's, I mean, he was falling asleep during every
sermon. And it makes sense because he spoke zero words of English. He didn't speak a little,
no, he spoke zero words of English. He didn't understand anything that was being said, but
he's like the biggest fan of this preaching and everything. And yet he literally, he didn't
understand any English. Like I've never met anyone in my life that understood less English
than him. But supposedly he loved the preaching here. He was just here to try to get money
from us and everything like that. And look, everyone wanted me to kick him out earlier.
And you know, honestly, I probably should, but you know what? It's good that you're merciful.
Okay, it's good to have a leader that does because here's the reason why we all make
mistakes in our life. And you don't want to just every time you make, I mean, do you like
bosses at work that if you make a mistake, they scream at you and say, I'm going to fire
if you ever mess up. Look, usually when you mess up, you're aware you mess up. I'd like
bosses that you know what didn't yell at me, you know, because I've made mistakes at work
before various jobs I've had. And I've had bosses that just screamed at me for messing
up. And I've had other ones that made it clear to me I messed up. But, you know, they didn't
yell at me. They didn't make me feel like I was a terrible, horrible person. Okay, that's
how Moses was. Okay, he actually cared about the people. Notice what it says in Revelation
13 verse nine. We're going to close up here. Revelation 13 verse nine. If any man have
an ear, let him hear. Okay, so when he says if any man have an ear, he's not literally
saying, you know, if you have an ear, he's saying, if you can hear this message, okay,
and if you can see this message with your eyes. So basically, everybody just pay attention
to what he's saying. Let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity.
He that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith
of the saints. And next week, we're going to look at that. We're going to look at the
abomination of desolation because this chapter we only covered half of it. It's a lot of
information in this chapter. But what we saw here tonight was we talked about the Book
of Life. But mainly what we talked about was the resurrection of the Antichrist. And what
you need to realize is that is what's going to get people to believe on the Antichrist.
Because look, if the Antichrist came now and said, Worship me, I'm God, nobody's going
to worship him. Very few people. Now there have been people that have lived that have
claimed to be God on Earth. You know, there's many different like false, you know, gods
on Earth. I mean, even in the Philippines, you know, famous people that say that they're
God on Earth or the Son of God or whatever they say. I mean, in India, there's like,
like 100 gurus that say that they're, you know, God on Earth or whatever. And they have
followers. I mean, some of them have, you know, a few, few million followers or whatever.
But look, they don't get the whole world to worship them. The only reason the Antichrist
is going to get the whole and here's the thing, they have lying signs and wonders. Okay, because
they do mystical trips, tricks that are fake and stuff like that. Like there's a guy in
India, he's long passed away. His name was Satya Sai Baba, I think was his name. And
he was like a guru or a Swami. And he said he was an incarnation of God on Earth. And
he had millions of followers. He's one of the richest people. He was the richest God
on Earth in the world at the time. And he was doing these lying signs and wonders, this
magician tricks and everything turned out to be a pedophile. Imagine that. But you know,
here's the thing about this. He only had a few million followers. The Antichrist will
have all the world wonder after why he's going to rise again from the dead. And people
that are looking for a sign, the devil's going to give it to him. Let's close in word prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and seeing your word and
seeing what the Bible says here in the book of Revelation. And help us just have a good
understanding of what's going to take place during the end times. And you know, help us
understand also God that you know, people even though the end times might not happen
in our life, and maybe the mark of the beast will not take place in our lifetime, God,
at the same time, there are people that that die unsaved now and there are people that
are living that could reject you for so long and they could have their names removed out
of the book of life. Help us as a church to do everything we can to get those people say
we pray this in Jesus name. Amen.