marketing of the beast

Revelation 13:11-18

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

all flesh is as grass

1 Peter 1:24-25 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Matt 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Faith

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Gabriel and Michael

Daniel 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me [Gabriel] one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Here we see that Gabriel (see Daniel 8:16; 9:21) was withstood 21 days until Michael (Daniel 10:13,21; 12:2) came to help him.

Gabriel is also the angel that gave the message to Zacharias concerning the conception of John the Baptist.

Luke 1:19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

Gabriel also gave the message to Mary concerning the conception of Jesus

Luke 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

We also see that Michael is an archangel and that it was Michael who contended with the devil over the body of Moses (which God Himself buried in Deut 34:5-6).

Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

On a side note, in saying “The Lord rebuke thee” Michael follows the same example of Jesus in the account in Zecharia 3:1-2 where Satan is the accuser (Rev 12:10) and Jesus is our advocate (1 John 2:1).

We also see Michael leading his angels in battle against the dragon and his fallen angels.

Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

shaped by truth – vision

Get saved – repent and believe in Jesus (Mark 1:15; Acts 3:19; Acts 20:21)

Get filled – be filled with the Holy Ghost and power to be a witness (Acts 1:8; Eph 5:18; Gal 5:16; 1 Cor 12:8-10)

Get faith – study your Bible (Rom 10:17; Heb 11:6; Prov 4:7; 2 Tim 2:15-17; 1 Pet 3:15)

Get fellowship – gather with other believers (Heb 10:5)

Get healthy – be good steward of your body (Rom 12:1-2; 1 Cor 6:12-20)

Get prepared – get out of debt, build up food stores (Prov 6:6-11; Prov 22:7)

Get going – go into all the world and share the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 13:47)

Get fruitful – abide in the True Vine and be a branch that bears fruit (John 15:1-5)

repent ye, and believe the gospel

Romans 3:20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

Galatians 3:10 “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”

Acts 3:19  “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”

Mark 1:15 “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”                          

Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 43:11 “I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no saviour.”

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Acts 17:30 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”

Mark 1:15 “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 3:25 “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”

Colossians 1:20 “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

1 Corinthians 15:3,4 “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”

Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Ephesians 2:8,9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Romans 4:5 “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

John 3:36 “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

Matthew 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Romans 10:9,10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”

John 11:25,26 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

He judgeth among the gods

John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

Here Jesus is referring to Psalm 82:6

Psalm 82:1-8
God standeth in the congregation of the mighty;
he judgeth among the gods.
How long will ye judge unjustly,
and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
Defend the poor and fatherless:
do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Deliver the poor and needy:
rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
They know not, neither will they understand;
they walk on in darkness:
all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
I have said, Ye are gods;
and all of you are children of the most High.
But ye shall die like men,
and fall like one of the princes.
Arise, O God, judge the earth:
for thou shalt inherit all nations.

God established governments for the purpose of keeping thing peaceable. (Rom 13:4)

Here when God refers to “gods” He uses the term to refer to judges, magistrates, kings, chieftains, and rulers on the earth who, by their position as judge and/or ruler, hold a position to decide life and death, and dispense justice and are thereby in a representative position of God.

Judges have the opportunity to exercise godly judgement, however when they begin see themselves as the ultimate authority they are making themselves gods.  The symptom of this is that they “judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked, Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked”.

In the Psalm, they are rebuked by God and instructed to “Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked”

When they do not heed the Lord’s rebuke, they walk in darkness without understanding and “all the foundations of the earth are out of course” for they call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).

God reminds them even though they have a high position as a representative of God, they are still mortal and die like all men are appointed to die and then be judged (Heb 9:27), even as the princes (angels) that fell will be judged (John 16:11).

Even when the governments of this world are corrupted, it is God who is the ultimate authority and judge above all.  It is He who will dispense the final judgements on the earth and inherits rulership over all the nations.