You may remember that last week I opened my message with a question – “Don’t you know there’s a war on?” We looked at how we are involved in this war – “a Spiritual Battle” – at who the enemy is and how the Word of God is our Sword (our protecion) – closing with our perfect example of how to win that war. We learned from Jesus himself who dealt with the enemy (Satan) with these words “It is Written”.
Today, I’d like to continue on with this theme. You are most likely aware that most sermons have 3 points and they are taken from 1 Scripture passage. This morning my message looks at 3 Scripture passages and has 1 point.
Wayne read for us from one of those passages found in Revelation Chapters 12 & 13 but I will also draw from 2 others found in the Books of Daniel and 2nd Thessalonians. The point will be that – we are quickly seeing the warnings from God through His Word of where our world is heading (in other words – END TIMES) and most of all that we need to recognize those signs and be prepared. When I was sharing with Wayne my approach for this message – he reminded me that yes we do need to be prepared but that we also have family, friends and neighbours who need to hear what’s happening all around us and how it doesn’t come as a surprise to us – Why? – because it is not a surprise to God and He provided us with information so we will not be led astray by the enemy and how we need to share that truth with everyone we can – before it’s too late.
So let’s begin with Daniel chapter 12 verses 3 & 4: “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”
Note here that this section in our Bibles is titled ‘THE END TIMES’ so let’s take a few minutes and see just how this applies to OUR times. The good news is that we can be classified as wise and actually shine like the stars in heaven IF we make a choice to lead others to Christ – not just for a little while but for ever and ever. That my friends is our goal for you in bringing you this message.
But what other signs do we see in our generation relating to this command – “to close up and seal the words of the scroll until the TIME OF THE END.” There are 2 signs – 1st that many will go here and there. That my friends is really only possible in our day and age. Imagine – in 1914 we saw the first passenger plane taking people here and there between Tampa and St. Petersburg. In 1935 Quantas operated it’s first international passenger flight from Brisbane to Singapore. We saw commercial air travel boom through the 1950’s – a time that ushered in the jet age. But let’s move along to 2015 when statistics show that U.S. airlines and foreign airlines serving the U.S. were at an all time high of 895.5 million but (listen to this) in 2019 that number rose to 4.5 billion. I would suggest Daniel wrote that in the time of the end – MANY will go here and there – that time has come – it is here and now.
But what about the second sign that goes with that “to increase knowledge.” In other words, we will see an exponential growth of knowledge. Imagine if you will – until 1900 knowledge doubled every century. By 1950 it doubled every 25 years. In 2000 it doubled every year and “get ready” – now it doubles almost every day. The sad state of affairs is that we know more BUT we’re no wiser – knowledge is not a utopia. Matter of fact we see more depression, more suicides, more isolation and more confusion than ever before.
Now let’s move along to 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 titled “The Man of Lawlessness.” Verses 9 and 10 tell us “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, wonders and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”
So who is this man of lawlessness? It’s important to note that he is the leader of the forces of evil. This is the only place where he is referred to by this name and interestingly the word “coming” in this verse is the same word used of Christ’s coming in verse 9 “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.” In other words – he is not Satan but he is empowered by Satan with miracles, signs and wonders. In verse 4 we hear that “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” Here we see that he is not merely a political or military man, but he claims a place above every god and everything associated with worship. The sad thing is – there will be many many people who will believe him.
Now let’s move along to the passage of Revelation chapters 12 and 13 that Wayne shared with us earlier.
There are 3 players in these passages (Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet – the unholy trinity) that we need to be familiar with in order to recognize them in the here and now.
First of all in 12:9 we hear “The great DRAGON was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the DEVIL, or SATAN, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth and his angels with him.”
Then we hear a warning in verse 12 “But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
Later in verse 17 we hear who he goes after “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to war against the rest of her offspring – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” yes that would be Christians.
Chapter 13 begins with these words: “And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.” And we see that John sees a beast coming out of the sea. “And I saw a beast coming out of the sea.” It’s important to note that the sea in Scripture actually refers to a time of chaos and instability – it’s not a body of water. Satan (the dragon) is seen as waiting for the beast which many commentators believe is the ‘antichrist’ – either a leader or a global government with him as the leader and he gave this beast his power and his throne and great authority. There is no doubt – the beast is ruled and empowered by the devil.
If we were to read on in this chapter we would see that this beast was actually fatally wounded but was healed. The result of the “miraculous event” was the world following and worshipping the beast and the dragon for a period of 1260 days while he blasphemes God – makes war against the saints and conquers them. It also says he was given authority over every tribe, people and nation and that “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast”. But – be comforted with these words – those whose names have been written in the lamb’s book of life – those belonging to Jesus are not included with those who worship him.
So – how will we recognize this scenario? We must be ever watching out for a beast – a someone or some empire type group with extra power and influence on our world. I would suggest we are seeing these type of groups in our world right now.
Now let’s move along to the section titled “The Beast of the Earth ‘ where we are introduced to the False Prophet who is by the way – the religious spokesman for the Antichrist (verses 11-12a). “He had 2 horns like a lamb but it spoke like a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast.”
The False prophet is the spokesman, right hand man, and worship leader for the antichrist. He will be a worldwide religious figure. Even though the Dahli Llama is recognized by 600 million people as their spiritual leader and the Pope has 1.3 Billion followers – they both will pale in comparison to those who will follow the religious influence of the False Prophet who will not only tell you what you want to hear (remembering the itching ears from last weeks lesson) but he will perform some sensational revelations that will have people eating out of his hand. He will also be a miracle worker. Imagine an incredibly well liked and respected religious leader telling you to worship someone else as God – be watchful for such a person.
Now to the technology of our day and how it fits in with these next verses (15-17) “He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. He also forced everyone small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.”
Sounds a little bit like Genesis 2:7 doesn’t it? – Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living creature. Sounds like a false prophet will seemingly replicate giving life to this image that has been created…whatever it is – remember that has always been Satan’s goal – to be like God. Back in the 80’s we would think this was very far-fetched but not so much anymore.
Consider with me that this image might be some form of Artificial Intelligence. Here are a few bullet points about AI’s.
I’m sure you’ve heard of Elon Musk who at one time was one of the origional founders of ‘Open AI’ – one of the world’s leading AI creators and surprisingly this is what he said “Humanity will not be able to keep up with it.” Which I would consider is a dire warning. His ethical concerns led him to distance himself from the company.
Now to GOOGLE. Imagine how they could give a digital assistant to every human being on earth and in doing so could totally censor all information we’re seeing while it could push a political agenda to the entire world in any language on earth.
Here is another example of how Satan plans to copy God. In Acts 2: 1-6 “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard the sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.” Just like AI could do in our day. In truth Satan has never had an origional thought.
Imagine everything we see and hear being controlled by companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, twitter (or Satan) etc. I don’t know about you but I think this is already happening.
WARNING – there is a major move by ‘Open AI’ that will greatly increase it’s parameters this summer that will give them even more computing power and with that the more accurate and intelligent they become and it’s due out this summer. The bad news is we’re in for a major shock – people will not know they’re speaking with an A.I., it will be so natural and human like in it’s conversation. To most people it will seem very real. You may agree that even now the devil is getting us to become comfortable through programs like Google Mini or Alexa. I know when I say to my Google Mini AI – ‘Hey Google – good morning’ – SHE responds with Good morning Sharleen and then goes on to share with me my schedule for the day from my calendar on my phone, the weather for our area and news highlights. My husband will often make very important inquiries like – Hey Google did the Jays win last night?” I find it hilarious as well when he’s told something he doesn’t like he replies with “What are you stupid?” Funny yes, but typical of how we are growing more and more accustomed to talking to an AI.
Lastly this morning let’s finish up with some information that relates to how we as a society are being programmed to accept what could be considered a ‘mark’. Again a few key examples of how this is already happening:
– For e.g. – in Dubai there is a nail salon who can place a microchip on a finger nail covered up by a special polish that will include information such as the recipients passwords, credit card info, health information and so on that can also be updated regularly whenever you might want or need to change anything. This same type of chip is being experimented with at MIT using tattoos to help specifically with health information – at least that’s the start up goal.
– In Sweden there were 10,000 people (back in 2021) who had chips placed in their hand using the same technology as Credit Card chips that could double as your Credit Card, keys, ID, wallet and so on. It is called human micro chipping.
– Now just this week I saw a report explaining how Amazon is making it possible to have your palm screened so they can verify your identity the same way facial recognition does. They’re telling us their hope is that this technology could not only be used for shopping but as replacement for tickets at music and sporting events, and as an alternative to your office keycard, vehicle or residence locks, allowing access with just a swipe of your hand. The problem is – many many people will think this is great – where do I sign up? Wayne also just read how the Canadian Government have already started using facial recognition. Get ready for the mark my friends.
– if you were to go online you could also see a Robot called Minda created by Osaki University that provides Buddhist teachings. What is really scary is that those sitting under it’s teaching have begun to see it as human sounding and the monks see it as a good way to provide for their followers.
This is what will lead the world to worship the image of the beast and society will be led to accept the mark becoming mandatory IF they want to be able to buy or sell or perhaps even to be involved in society (like attending church, going to the mall etc.) and of course to be able to travel.
I suggest that whole process began with our ready acceptance of vaccine mandates and passports and we should be aware that the World Economic Forum’s plan is to not only chip people but to put them under a control factor – the control of the AntiChrist. Keep listening for what this Global entity (the World Economic Forum or WEF) is saying and be aware of it’s intent. And I warn you as well – every electronic product you have in your home is logging and keeping your personal information in order to use it to not only control you but to lead you into buying products etc. (for e.g.) have you ever looked online for a specific product and then every time you turn on your computer – there’s an ad for that very product – coincidence – I don’t think so. I know that Wayne just ordered a new golf club online and now everytime we open Google, Youtube etc. there are numerous ads for golf clubs.
Now to my final point – ALL of what I’ve shared with you today should be shared whenever you get the chance with friends, family and neighbours. Society needs to be aware of Satan’s involvement in – the Globalist leaders Network – Political agendas – the mainline media’s programming of our thinking and the ongoing propaganda. You may have heard that if what we think or speak doesn’t go along with them we are labeled conspiracy theorists and the list goes on.
There is of course good news that we need to hear about the victory that is ours with the return of the Lord Jesus. That will be the message that you hear all about next Sunday when Darlene Tustin shares with us. She shared with me that these 2 messages have been perfect as a lead into what she wants to share next Sunday. For that I’m grateful – God has brought these messages all together for such a time as this as we have been privileged to step in for our Officers who are away these 3 weeks.
Let’s bow now in prayer – focusing on asking for God’s protection in the days ahead – in what I believe to be – the Last Days – the End time. Yes my friends the answer to the question: “Don’t you know there’s a war on? – is YES. This is a war that is not going to end anytime soon – our enemy is as we saw last week – prowling around around like a roaring lion – looking for those he can devour and he’ll use whatever means is available to him. BE AWARE – BE VIGILANT – BE ALWAYS READY WITH THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT – THE WORD OF GOD – IT IS WRITTEN.
Let’s Pray