Okay, hello everybody. It's good to see all of you. Your beautiful and handsome faces. It's seriously one of the highlights. I think for me, I love Fridays because I think because you guys have just done, I wanted to say you guys have done such a good job of welcoming me and my family too.

So thank you so much to all of you for welcoming us. And you know, Kazee and I were talking about it a few weeks ago, but we were saying Berean already feels like our home church. And that's saying something because I was at the old church, my old church for about 20 years.

And so for me to be able to look at this church and feel a deep sense of love already for people and be, feel the love from people too. That is something that I really wanted to thank you guys for. So thank you so, so much. And I hope that as people are constantly filtering in, if you guys kind of just even look around at the people around you, I hope that you and I will become people and a ministry and a church that love each other, not as the world loves, not as all the love that we can muster up with our own strength, not that kind of love, but the love of Christ that would sacrificially give and love without condition.

And man, it would be so amazing to see Berean be characterized and marked by a Bible preaching, Bible believing church that so believes it, that it works itself out and being one of the most loving churches you can see in Southern California, you know. So let's always be encouraging each other of that.

I know the end of the school year is coming up and in the beginning of the school year, there's this like drive, right? It's like try to welcome people, but by the end, everyone's just like, okay, let's just survive every man for himself. You're like, everyone's like just crawling towards the finish line.

I'm dying, I'm dying. But let's crawl together. Let's pull each other up and fight this together and love one another and we could do this together. A few announcements here. First announcement, college serve month is going to be beginning very soon. So please be on the lookout for the Facebook thing that will probably come out sometime in the near future.

Has it come out yet? It's going to come out tomorrow. Okay, here's the thing. Now every year that ticks by, I feel like we check Facebook less and less because there are just so many notifications. And yet, Berean, we are a church that really utilizes Facebook. Meaning if you want to serve and try your best to be diligent in looking through at least some of the notifications that kind of matter.

And can I also say this? Man, you guys are awesome. My college ministry I see and I've been hearing is always the first ones to step up and serve and things like that. You guys are setting great example to the rest of the church and really serving in love and that's been awesome.

Let's do even better. Let's be people who see it and don't say like, "Oh, I'll respond to it like a day before, a week before." But as soon as it comes out, let's make room in our schedules to say that, "I really want to serve the church in these manners." And so when this thing comes out tomorrow, hopefully it will be inundated with this desire and the signups from 90 collegians who want to serve and love the church in that manner.

So let's do that together. Next one on May 5th, this is Saturday, cross class hangouts is going to be happening. So please keep that marked in your calendars. And last one is going to be all church cleanup, which is happening tomorrow from 8.30 to 12.30. And then on Sunday from, anyone know from Sunday, 2 to 4?

2 to 6? 2 to 4? 2 to 4 o'clock. 2 o'clock to 4 o'clock. So can I, just for like, just out of my own curiosity, did you guys sign up for the, if you guys signed up for the all church cleanup, can you raise your hand? Okay. That's about half of us.

If the other half, if you guys still want to serve, I think you can just come. And then wherever there's need, just kind of fill in. So full disclosure, I forgot to sign up. So I'm going to be here though. And that's such a bad example. I'm so sorry.

But I think it's going to be a great time. I heard about this crazy building project that happened about a year ago where we moved from the Airway campus to here. I was not a part of it. So when I look around this church, I'm like, wow, this is a nice church.

But when like Pastor Peter and Pastor Mark tell stories about it, I'm like, whoa, you guys went through all that? And they have like this camaraderie. And I feel like I'm this outsider looking in. I'm like, wah, wah. I'm so sad. But like there's this desire. It's like, man, I wish I was a part of that.

And there's a part of it where when you get involved and you're cleaning and even tonight, I don't know if you guys saw, but there was an announcement made to the church saying, hey, is there anyone that could help us put like set up the security cameras around the church and things like that?

If you're able, was that not put up? Okay, maybe that's not for the general public. Oh, okay, okay, you guys saw it. Okay. So like when things like that come out, like let's really try to be a part of these types of things because I believe that sometimes simply through service to the church, your love for the church really does grow.

And it's kind of a cool thing to see. That's by the way, this is a side note, if you're struggling in faith, if you're like you're beginning to feel the tinge of apathy, you know, and just things aren't as, you feel like it's not as exciting as it used to be.

You know, the worst thing you could do is sit down and wallow in that. And one of the better things you could do while you're doing all the right things is go out and serve, go out and love, go out and say that I am going to choose to be a part of the body and encourage others and in that you will be encouraged.

So that was that. Now, as we were singing that last song, I was kind of thinking through, even just theologically, and as we're coming to this understanding of what it means to come and behold Him. Why do we sing that? What is the purpose of beholding God? And it came to my mind because I was talking to someone this week who was saying that they were having a hard time reading Scripture.

It just wasn't so sweet these days. And as we were talking, one of the questions I asked this person was, you know, like what is the point of Scripture? Why is it that we're commanded to read it? And what is it about Scripture that changes our hearts? And the answer was telling.

And this was actually one of my old church members, and we're just catching up via Facebook and stuff. And what they said was striking. And I think it's striking because I myself fall into this. It's because they said it's because it tells God's commandments, what He wants of us.

And as I was thinking about that, I was like, man, is that the first thing that I think about? And I think so. It helps us because it instructs us. And there is an element of that. But more than that, we have this understanding that even the law of God, though they are a list of commandments, what the law of God was supposed to do was to show who God is.

It's a picture. It's drawing a picture of who He is. And basically when He says like, you know, do not steal, He's saying do not steal because I am one who does not steal. And there's this idea of not just looking to the law, a list of things that are given, but that this is painting a picture, all of scripture is painting a picture of God.

And scripture itself is causing us to behold Him. And that's where worship stems from. Not knowing the Christian things to do and the fact that we need to read the Bible at the very least so that when small group goes around, I can say I read the Bible, you know, things like that.

That's not what we're driven by. That's not what's going to give us life in scripture. It's as we read it, we look at it and we're like, oh my gosh. And we come to our small group and we're like, dude, let me tell you who God is. I found out a little bit more about Him.

And that's what we're sharing about. We're sharing about who He is and how great He is. And in that place, you know what's cool? Worship becomes spontaneous. It's you just can't keep it in. You're like, He is so good. And you're driven to pray to God. Thank you. You know, that's when thank you comes out before any of the requests that we have.

And thank you comes out before any of the venting that we're doing before our God. We just have a mindset of, man, the beautiful God that we serve. So with that said, can we come before this God and realize that we are not praying to open air. We're not just thinking words in our minds.

We are speaking to our God. So let's pray together. Oh God, I sometimes can't believe that you are here in our presence now. And that you are listening to us. You are so close. A God so great and one that we proclaim and exalt as majestic and glorious would be so close to us.

And Father, thank you that we can pray in this manner then. Thank you, God, that sinful people have audience with the King, with the God of the universe. God, who are we? And Father, in this place, we almost so boldly ask of you, our Father, to give us what we demand of you.

We demand, God, more of you. That we want to know you more. That we want to see you in the pages of Scripture. That we want it to be something that is beyond studying text. Father, that as we study, regardless of the skill of the preacher or the teacher, that your word would be the way by which the Spirit would illuminate our eyes.

That the things of this world would not be the things that we consider beautiful and desirable and attractive. But Father, all things fade away as shadow. And God, we see you. So God, thank you that in Revelation we can see this. And we pray, Father, that as we leave these Bible studies, always we are exalting you.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Okay. Well, Revelation 13, today is going to be a little bit different. And my formatting is beginning to, for these worksheets, are beginning to get more and more like just squished together. It's getting hard. And today, we're going to be doing something a little bit different than we've been doing up until this point.

And the reason is because we have to have a better scriptural understanding of the Antichrist. So that's the first thing we're going to be going through today. A scriptural run-through of who the Antichrist is. Because we've talked about the Antichrist. And a lot of today's text in chapter 13 is going to be dealing with this Antichrist.

Before we get into that, though, we have to address discussion question number three from last week. Because that was the one I got literally, I think over 15 people came up and asked the same question. Okay? Like, how do we discern whether something is of demonic activity or not?

And I heard everyone, there were a lot of groups that were arguing, and people broke friendships because of the arguments and stuff. You don't have to. That was actually a trick question. The point of that question was to kind of paint this picture of the fact that we're not supposed to look for demonic activity under every rock.

So it's not like, you know, I got into a car accident. That was a demon. You know, it's not like that kind of thing. However, the idea of this is, is that though we're not able to know for sure whether something is of, like, demonic activity or whether this is a test of God or whether it's just a coincidental thing, which by the way, we're not going to go into it, but what is coincidence, right?

Rather than these kinds of things, we're going to be talking, we're talking about this as an idea of having a spiritual lens as to how we see things, broad point of view, in broad strokes. So when we see things, how quick are we to be vigilant of the fact that we are residing in spiritual warfare?

So that is, it's almost like a backdrop, rather than trying to figure out the nitty-gritty. Do you guys understand what I'm saying? So rather than scientifically trying to pick out what was of demonic origin or not, we're saying, as we look at things, we go, "Huh, why did that happen?" You know, or, "Oh, that's interesting.

I wonder why." You know, we're so quick, especially in the Western world, when something happens, to attribute it to, like, our rationality, right? We're just quick to do that. And so instead of being so quick to jump into that kind of viewpoint, we want to be prayerfully always on guard.

So that's what that means. We weren't able to get into Ephesians 5 and 6 last week, but in Ephesians 6, when it's talking about the whole armor of God, every armor piece is a defensive armament. Do you guys remember the one offensive piece of armor? The sword. And what was the sword?

The word. Okay. And that's really telling. Because in that, if you want to be spiritually keen and aware, and you want to go into battle spiritually, you cannot always be on the defensive. And the only way to be on the offensive, then, is through the word of God. So I had a friend who used to do this, and it was, like, the cheesiest thing, but it really worked for me.

Like, anytime, like, we would...and he got this from one of our, like, Christian heroes of the faith, but whenever we would pass each other at UCSD, back in college, he would go, "On guard!" And every time, I'd be like, "Dude, stop!" Oh, man, it was so embarrassing, because people would be around me.

He'd go, "On guard!" And he'd be looking straight at me. And what he was basically saying is, like, you know, like, "On guard, like, are you ready?" With scripture. And so what he had said was, "Whenever I say 'on guard,' think of a memory verse." So he'd say, "On guard!" I'd be like, "Oh, dang it, oh, John 3, 6, 7..." All that to say, when you guys ask each other, "How has your scripture reading been?" It's not a Christian exercise, you know?

It's not just like, "Hey, how have you been doing your scripture reading?" "Just because." Or like, "Oh, I've been doing pretty well." Or like, "Oh, I haven't been doing that well." Or, you know, that's how we tend to react, right? But for real, this understanding of we are always in scripture together, meditating on it together, that we will sharpen each other with it.

That if we're talking, rather than saying, like, "Have you been reading?" Ask, "What have you been learning?" And then, if you're the other person, tell them! Tell them what you've been learning! So if you've been in John, tell them, "Today, I read John 14, and I learned this." And then, say, even go deeper than that.

Go like, "Hey, when did you read that? Was that three weeks ago, or was that today?" Sometimes we'll take one thing we learn, and we'll kind of walk around with it, and then when someone asks you, "What have you been learning?" We'll pull out the one thing from that one day.

But rather than that, always be on guard in scripture. And as we do this, hopefully we can become a ministry and a church that is always on guard. That we can pull these things out and push each other. Memorize scripture together. Sorry I'm taking so much time right now, but memorize scripture with one another.

Get together in groups and say, "Hey, do you want to memorize through Philippians chapter 2?" And then say, "Yeah, I want to memorize." If you say that to someone, most people are not going to say no. If they say no, there's something wrong with them. So say, "Hey, do you want to memorize through this together?" And wait for them to say yes.

And then go through the chapter together. Read through it, and then memorize it together. These are some of the best things you could do. Not just go get boba and things like that, which are cool, but we want to grow in the faith together. Anyway, let's talk about the Antichrist.

A scriptural run through the Antichrist. Well, if you could turn your Bibles to Daniel chapter 2. Please turn there. I don't have it up for you. So all of Roman numeral 1, you're going to have to flip through scripture with me. Daniel chapter 2, verse 31. Now, Revelation, a lot of it, you need to have a firm grip of some of the more eschatological texts in the Old Testament, like Daniel, Zechariah, Ezekiel, and so on and so forth.

Daniel is probably one of the most important books you need to know when it comes to Revelation. And this is going to provide a backdrop for us as we think about how the church was reading the book of Revelation from the time it was written. Chapter 2, verse 31.

It says, "You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was a fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay." And then after this, if you continue to read through, all the way through verse 45, you're going to see that this stone comes and breaks it down, and that this stone is going to be something that becomes a great mountain, if you look at verse 35, and it fills the whole earth.

And this was a dream, right, given to King Nebuchadnezzar, and Daniel is interpreting it for him. So if you look at verse 36, it says, "This was the dream. Now we will tell you, the king of its interpretation, 'You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hands he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the fields, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all, you are the head of gold.

Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things, and like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these.

And you shall saw the feet and toes partly of potter's clay, and partly of iron, and shall be a divided kingdom. But some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle." And it continues.

So there's this image of this statue, and I have it written out for you here. We could pass through the intro today. Yeah, let's go through this one. Oh, man. All right, Daniel 2.31 to 4.45, and this is what we see, right? The gold head. He says, "This is you, O king." So this is Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. He's talking about a kingdom that comes after. Did you guys see that? What's the kingdom that comes after Babylon? Medo-Persia. Okay, so it's Persia, but there was Media and Persia, and it became kind of a unified kingdom. And so Medo-Persia, that was the silver chest and arms.

And he says, "Another kingdom's going to rise after." Do you guys know what that is? Greece. Okay, now, hopefully this stuff is starting to stick. We've gone through this multiple times. And lastly, probably the one of most importance for today's study is going to be the legs and the feet and the toes.

It's going to be Rome. Okay, just the iron legs. Let's go to the next one. Oh, was it not there? There was nothing after the iron. Okay. Oh, oh, too bad. Well, it's Roman colonies. That's your thing there. That's the iron clay feet and toes. And so this is describing something, that these kingdoms are going to be moving like this, and then finally there's going to be a kingdom that's different than all the kingdoms, and it's this kingdom of Rome.

So remember, Daniel's written way before. This was during the time of Babylon. And Daniel was predicting this. That's why Babylon is named. But Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome are not named. Why? Because they have yet to exist. This is why a lot of historians do not believe that Daniel was written in the time where it was supposed to have been written, because they say, "There is no way Daniel could have prophesied about these kingdoms." And yet, we know that he did.

And he actually was able to, with great...it was just perfectly prophesied of, of these kingdoms that were to come, and also that this kingdom of Rome is going to be exactly how he describes it. It's going to be a kingdom where it doesn't absorb and make these other kingdoms become a part of its kingdom, but it would absorb it almost like toes, right?

Feet and he's talking about these feet like as these toes, there's 10 toes, that there are going to be these little colonies or little kingdoms that kind of come out of Rome. And we know that in history because Rome was a kingdom, a power that held that in high regard.

Any questions about that? Was that clear? Okay. You guys know a little bit about the history of Rome and how they would colonize rather than absorb? They wouldn't conquer and then like, like everybody a part of this nation over here now, they're just Romans. But they would continue to give their own identity, but they will colonize them in that manner.

All right, so there's a statue in Daniel chapter 7. So can you turn there, verse 3? Daniel chapter 7, verse 3 through 8. So statue of four parts. Now we're going to talk about a dream of four beasts. Again four. Verse 3, "And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.

The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings. Then as I looked, its wings were plucked off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man and the mind of a man was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one like a bear.

It was raised up on one side and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth and it was told, 'Arise, devour much flesh.' After this I looked and behold, another like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads and dominion was given to it.

After this I saw in the night visions and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth and it devoured and broke in pieces stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it and it had ten horns.

I considered the horns and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things." So now four beasts again, the first three are labeled, the fourth one it says is different than the rest.

And out of this one, ten horns spring out, just like the ten toes that were seen in the statues. Now if you swing over to verse 23, he interprets it. "Thus he said, 'As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth which shall be different from all the kingdoms.

It shall devour the whole earth and trample it down and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom, ten kings shall arise and another shall arise after them. He shall be different from the former ones and shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the most high and shall wear out the saints of the most high and shall think to change the times and the law and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.'" And it continues here.

Things should be like perking up your ears now, right? Interesting, interesting stuff that this kingdom is going to arise and then there's just going to be this one person that comes out of it who is going to speak words against the most high and wear out the saints of the most high.

Very different than the imagery of the beast, right? He's describing what the beast is. It's a kingdom. Now he's saying out of this kingdom, a person is going to arise. So now if he's describing the vision, then this is no longer symbolism, right? So when we're reading the vision itself, we're thinking symbols.

These aren't actual beasts that are going to arise because later on he says these are kingdoms. But now when he's describing it again, I'm saying this so you get it, an actual person is going to arise out of this kingdom. And it says in verse 25, he's going to wear out the saints of the most high for three and a half years, right?

That we already learned what that is now. Okay. Now I'll turn to Daniel chapter 9, verse 24. Verse 24 says, "Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and profit, and to anoint a most holy place.

Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word, to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one," mark that one in your mind, "a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for 62 weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.

And after the 62 weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be a war. Desolations are decreed," mark that one in your mind, "and he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week." Notice that this is now a person.

"He shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering, and on the wings of abominations shall come one who makes desolate until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator." Now you're hearing repeating words now, right?

We see desolations are decreed. We're seeing he's going to make things desolate. And we're seeing also that something's going to be poured out upon the desolator. There's going to be abominations during this time. And it says these strange numbers, right, these weeks. And these are the 70 weeks. Now let me explain a little bit of what the 70 weeks are.

If we go to the next slide. So it says that there's going to be, yeah, back to that one. So it says that there's going to be seven weeks, and then there's going to be 62 weeks, and then there's going to be one week. Now for the sake of time, we're going to jump past the time in between the seven and 62 weeks, okay?

And there's a time in between the 62 and one week. And it says here, if you guys could look down, that between that time, let's see here, it's in verse 26. After the 62 weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. Now weeks were a way for them to describe years.

So let me explain this to you. One week is seven years. Every day being one year. This was a common practice. So this isn't something you need to like question, okay? This is like, just take my word for this one. So then seven weeks is how many years? Seven weeks is how many years?

One week is seven years. So seven weeks is? 49. 49 years, yeah! Okay, cool. You guys could clap for her. All right. 62 weeks then is how many, B? Okay, I can't even remember. I forgot. 62 times seven. All right, so it's like 400 something years. And then it says there's gonna be one week, which is?

Seven years. Okay, cool. So let's do it this way. There's going to be 69 years, right? If we, I'm sorry, 69 weeks, the first two numbers there. And 69 weeks is what, 483? Something like that, 483 years. Yes? Everyone with me for now? These numbers are fairly important. Everyone with me?

Okay. And it says after 483 years that the anointed one is gonna be cut off. Now who do you guys think the anointed one is? Jesus. We don't have the time to go into the timeline of this. But the time when this kind of like this timer is set off is from this part of this time when King Artaxerxes, he decreed.

He made this decree about the, and this was in the time of Medo-Persia when he gave Israel the time to rebuild the temple and rebuild the city walls and all these types of things. And there was a year that this was set off. And about 483 years after that is actually around the time when Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross.

Which is very interesting. Now, that leaves us one week, right? We're like, man, Daniel got it. Daniel somehow figured out, and he didn't figure it out, right? It was a vision, that 483 years after the time there is going to be a Christ who is cut off, crucified in our case.

And then this one week is going to be happening. And this one week is gonna be a time where it's talking about this abomination, it's talking about these desolations, it's talking about this one guy that's gonna arise. And for how long is this person going to rule and reign?

If you guys look down at the text. I'm gonna make you guys look for it. Look down. How long will this guy kind of have, like not sovereign rule, but like have control? It's half the what? Half the seven years, half the week, right? So it's gonna be how many years?

Three and a half years. Okay now, things are starting to click a little bit, right, as you go through the book of Daniel. All right. Now turn to Daniel chapter 12. Now Daniel's concluding his prophetic book here. Poor Daniel. You know, like, just got owned through this book. Have you guys ever had like the most intense dream, and you wake up and your whole body is just like shaking and stuff?

Poor Daniel, right? Chapter 12, verse 1, it says, "At that time shall arise Michael." Do you guys remember when Michael came out in Revelation? Chapter 12. "The great prince who has charge of your people, and there shall be a time of trouble such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.

But at that time," he's talking about future events, "your people shall be delivered. Everyone whose name shall be found written in the book, and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn, many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." So he is told, "Shut this book." But we never find out what happens in that last week. You're like, "Oh, no, no!" You're like, "Ah, what happened?" And so there is so much debating going on, right?

Now do you guys know the intertestamental period, the time between the New Testament and Old Testament, about how long that silent period was? Anyone? If you think you know, just say it out loud. 70? No. About 400. Okay, about 400. Okay, about 400 years of silence. We always look through the Old Testament, we think it's written in some kind of chronology or whatever, but it's not.

So it's not like what happens in the very beginning. If you ever had a chronological Bible, it will show you exactly when things were written. So things like what happens in Nehemiah, even though that's found more in the middle of the New Testament, that's something that chronologically happens towards the end when things are rebuilt.

And so when Daniel is prophesying this, it is around the time before when God stops speaking to prophets. So it is around that time. And he's told here to shut this book, we never find out what happens about that one week, and then we finally get to Revelation, until we find out what he's talking about.

Now there's a huge gap then, right? There's a huge gap. And if you guys are putting two and two together, it's not that hard to understand that this last week is the tribulation period that we've been talking about for a while. Now what is that gap? Why does God function in this kind of way?

It almost doesn't make sense. How could a logical God say there's going to be 70 weeks, and then it's like there's 69, and arbitrarily all this time in between until one day God says that now's the time? Well, think about it. It says in 2 Peter 3 that to God, a thousand years is what?

It's like a day, and a day is like a thousand years. A thousand years is like a day. So for him, time is not anything of that much importance. It's something that he uses to help us, but for an eternal God, he sees in a different manner. Now think about it.

God says that the offspring would come to Eve. We talked about the offspring last week, the singular offspring. And Galatians, Paul told us the answer to that. It's going to be the Christ, the Messiah. Would come, what did they think? They were looking at the babies they were bearing.

Like, is this the offspring? Is it going to be Abel? And Abel gets killed, and then, "Oh no, Cain, how could you? You don't want to lose him. We're doomed." It could be like that way, but it's not. And so from there, they're constantly looking for the Messiah for thousands of years.

They're like, "What is this? God, how can you say that the offspring is going to come? Eve, you're going to bear an offspring?" And then finally, thousands and thousands and thousands of years later, we get to this point, and it's like, "Oh, there's Jesus." So God functions in this manner.

In Galatians 4, verse 4, it actually says something about the gospel, about when Jesus is going to be born. It says, "When the fullness of time came." For God, there is a fulfilling of the gospel according to his timing, according to the fullness of time. Galatians 4, verse 4, if you guys want to look that one up.

And so now in Daniel, we see that there's going to be these four kingdoms. We're going to see out of this one kingdom, this person is going to come out, and this one person is going to be doing something for three and a half years. And during that three and a half year period, there's going to be something called the abomination of desolation.

That's what we know through Daniel. Can you turn with me to Matthew, chapter 24? Now we're fast-forwarding, right? Now imagine all this historical stuff that happens in between the time of Daniel and the time of this book, Matthew. Matthew, chapter 24, and here's Jesus. This is called the Olivet Discourse, meaning this is actually the last discourse that he preaches in Matthew, one of the last things he preaches to his disciples.

And he's telling them of the signs of the close of the age in verse 3. So look down at verse 3. It says, "As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?'" Isn't that cool?

They know that Jesus, he has said it like now, that he's going to be leaving, and so they're saying, "This time of your coming, tell us." And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray, for many will come in my name saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray.

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place." Get this part. "But the end is not yet." That's key. "For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

All these are but the beginning of the birth pains." Meaning, these are like the contractions that happen in the beginning, before you give birth. Meaning this is not the birthing period. Verse 9, "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.

And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased and the love of many will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations.

And then the end will come." This is all before the tribulation as we know it. Now verse 15. So the end has come, right? "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place," that is, that this person is going to go into the holy place and trample it.

And verse 15, this is so tongue-in-cheek, right? Let the reader understand. Verse 16, "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in the house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.

And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days. Pray that your flight may not be in winter or in Sabbath, for then there will be a great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ,' or 'There he is,' do not believe it, for false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect." See I have told you beforehand, he's saying that.

He's saying, "Hey, I'm warning you of this." So if they say to you, "Look, he is in the wilderness," do not go out. If they say, "Look, he is in inner rooms," do not believe it, for as lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Verse 29, "Immediately after tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other." There is going to be a time when we look up into the heavens and into the clouds, and we're going to see the coming of the Son of Man, right?

Jesus' second coming. Now we are called to decipher all this stuff. But all we know is that Jesus is saying a little bit more stuff, and we still don't know what the heck he's talking about. But he is talking a little bit more about this abomination of desolation that's coming and this great tribulation that's coming.

We're going to skip. Can we go to the next slide? Okay, we can read this one. "Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed." You guys see this? There are so many different passages in Scripture.

We're seeing this man, this person that's going to come out. It says, "The son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called God or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, abomination of desolation, proclaiming himself to be God." Okay, next slide.

1 John 2.22, "Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is Christ? This is the Antichrist. He who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also." And in chapter 4, ooh, small. "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

By this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard was coming." So he's coming in the future, and now is in the world already.

That's what a lot of you guys had questions about, right? Spiritual children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world, therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.

In verse 4 there, if you guys see, "For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world," you're left to wonder, "Is that Satan?" But he was just talking about this guy Antichrist, so is that the Antichrist? We're gonna try to solve all of this today, okay?

Okay, any questions up to this point? Is anyone completely lost? There's understanding that this, I'm just displaying the prophecies right now. You guys could really ask questions if you want to. It would be helpful, because I don't know if I make sense. Yes? Uh-huh? Uh-huh? Yes. Okay. Oh, okay, I'm sorry.

I'm saying yes, I heard your question. Okay. So, no one will know, right? No one will know. So, I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question.

I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question.

I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question.

I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question.

I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm gonna ask you a question. So then, Emily's question was, then, because right now there are unreached people groups, why do we say something like Jesus can come at any moment? Alright, so there are different schools of thought.

There is an understanding also that even though we're trekking towards that, at any moment, there can be, like in a way that we do not understand, that every nation will be reached. And though we have like these numbers of how many unreached people groups there are and we try our best to kind of keep track of these things, then like we can say like, oh, we checked the last box, right?

We got the last unreached people group. And then we can start to think like, oh, then can we predict it? Then the end will come. Well, it says later on in Matthew that we can't predict it. So there's this element of even that, we can't predict. So there's like, for example, there's one pastor that I highly respect who thinks that this is gonna be done in a miraculous way.

That there's gonna be a time when the gospel is going to be preached in a supernatural way where all of the earth is going to hear about Christ. So it's interesting stuff and it's all speculation. Any other questions? That was a great question. Okay, well if there's no other questions, let's go into Roman numeral two, the first beast.

Okay, let's put it all together now. Number 13, verse one. It says, "And I saw a beast rising out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads." Okay, where did we see a beast rising out of the sea?

In the book of Daniel, right? We heard about these four beasts that are gonna be rising out of the sea. It says that there's this one beast that's rising out of the sea and then where have we seen the ten horns and seven heads? The dragon. Okay, so if you guys look back at chapter 12, verse three, you're gonna see this dragon had ten horns and seven heads.

Now a question to you guys is this. Why do you think the first beast has these ten horns and seven heads? What is this relationship that's happening with the dragon? The answer is actually right in the text if you guys wanna look. Like, "Oh, interesting. They have the same amount of heads and horns.

Why?" Anyone? Mm-hmm? Perfect, right on. That's exactly what it was, that he was given the authority of Satan. So whoever this first beast is, it's given the authority of Satan himself. Let's look at verse three there. "One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.

And they worshipped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?'" First bullet point here, the first beast refers to a kingdom and a man. So if you wanna think about it in this manner, if you guys think about Adolf Hitler, right, and you think about the Third Reich, you tend to kinda almost use them in a synonymous way.

Adolf Hitler was, was Nazism, right? And so that's how this is kinda being used. This is a kingdom and a man. So Daniel attests to the fact that this beast is a kingdom, and we're gonna talk about him and being a man very soon. Next bullet point, this is the same beast that is mentioned in Revelation chapter 11, verse 7.

In Revelation chapter 11, verse 7, it says, "And when they have finished our testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them, and conquer them, and kill them." So the first beast coming out of the sea, this is the next bullet point, there are a couple options as to what sea refers to.

Why is it coming out of the sea? Well, we saw in Daniel that these four beasts were coming out of the sea, there are four kingdoms, and so I believe that's number two. But let me read number one first. The number one is, "The beast comes from a general evil place, as the sea was seen as a place of evil that would one day be done away with, as seen in Revelation 21.

I have this passage up for you guys here. The sea was seen as a place of evil, and that in the new heavens and new earth, we're not going to go into what this means, but it says, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more." The sea was generally seen as a dark, mysterious, deadly place.

They lived right next to the Mediterranean Sea, which was so big that it acted almost like an ocean. Many people perished, but it was the only way by which they could have a lot of their food source, as well as all the trade and trafficking that would happen during this time, so you had to brave it if you wanted to thrive as a nation.

The sea was seen as an evil place, so maybe this beast is coming just from a place of evil. Revelation 11, verse 7 can further attest to the fact that this beast came out of the bottomless pit. Is this a reference to the bottomless pit? Maybe. I believe, number two, the beast comes from a far-off nation.

For example, as Roman boats would be seen coming by sea. We saw that in Daniel chapter 7, verse 23. Do I have that slide? Daniel 7, 23? Okay. I put verse 1 through 8 there, but it's actually verse 23. "Thus he said, 'As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, and it shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces.'" So Revelation plus Daniel equals this beast is a kingdom, right?

Okay. Next bullet point. "The ten horns and seven heads are to show this beast similarity to the dragon," as we saw in Revelation 12, 3. We further see that this is the authority of Satan given to him, as we see in chapter 13, verse 2. So the beast has the same power over the world as the dragon.

It's the same power, same authority that Satan had. We talked a little bit about Satan and his power last week. Well, let's see who, in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 4, talking of Satan, "In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." If you look up top there, the God of this world.

He has this rulership, even though we know that God is sovereign and ruling over all, that Satan is given a type of authority over the world. And now we know, during this time that we're reading about, in this case, it is greater than ever, because he's locked out of heaven, right?

And all the demons running rampant on planet Earth. And so now all of this power is transferred then to this first beast. Next bullet point. "The formation of the four beasts found in Daniel 7." I don't think I have this one down. So if you guys remember the four beasts that came out of the sea in Daniel 7, we saw that it looked like these different creatures, right?

A bear, a leopard, and a lion. It says that a fourth beast came that was exceedingly terrifying and greater than all of these other ones. Well here, we see one that is all of the above, right? A conglomeration. You see that in verse 2 of chapter 13. It says, "The beast was like a leopard, feet were like a bear, its mouth was like a lion." So all three of those kingdoms are hit.

And it says, "This is the fourth kingdom." Now the cool thing is, we're talking of Rome, but we're not talking of Rome anymore, right? Now this is the whole principle of the prophetic already but not yet. That Rome came and it was during that time period when Jesus was crucified.

He was cut off at the 69th week. Now from here, during the last week, an extra measure of prophecy is given to show that this was another shadow of what is to come. That Rome was just a shadow of this final thing that's going to be happening. That Rome was but a picture of what the world would look like.

A world that's led and that Satan has authority over. So next bullet point down. Think about the kingdom of the world found in Revelation chapter 11 verse 15. In chapter 11 verse 15 it said that, "Then the seventh angel blew his temple and there were loud voices in heaven saying, 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.'" Remember that we talked about though there are many kingdoms, why is it being used in a singular sense?

Well, this is kind of the same thing that we're talking about. Now the world has unified. The world is unified in this pursuit to worship this beast and to this dragon. Next bullet point. So this beast, who is it? This is the Antichrist. The one that we've been talking about through Daniel and Matthew and a bunch of other texts.

Second Thessalonians, etc. The spirit of the Antichrist has always been around. So even though this is going to be a tangible, physical man that comes about, the spirit of the Antichrist has always been around and we know that through passages like 2 Thessalonians 2.5, 1 John 2.22-23, and chapter 4 verse 1-5.

And that this Antichrist, what this Antichrist is meant to do is to lead people astray from the real Messiah. And I want you guys to add something here. From the real Messiah, by claiming deity himself. A way he does that is by saying that I am the Messiah. And so when we read through passages, do I have those passages up?

In 2 Thessalonians 2.5, we already read this but let's look at it again. It says, "For that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first." And we're seeing this. "And the man of lawlessness is revealed, the Antichrist, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself." And he takes the place in the temple.

Next slide. And we saw this one too, right? This is the Antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Next one. And that this Antichrist is going to be the one who does not confess that Jesus is from God. And that the spirit of the Antichrist, if you look there at verse 3, is coming now and in the world already.

So the spirit is here. So this Antichrist is going to be almost this picture. Like this is the image of what the world looks like now. That claims deity, that says, "I want to sit on the throne." And we can attest to that, right? And we're going to be talking about that in just a second too.

Next bullet point. "If Satan is behind the Antichrist by giving him power and authority, then we understand that this is more than a man and a kingdom. This is a living embodiment of unbelief of human hearts that are deceived by Satan." And next bullet point down, the Antichrist is still an actual man.

Paul sees him as a person to come. Also he is identified with personal pronouns throughout Revelation. Not to mention through all the prophecies that came before, it was used with personal pronouns. Next bullet point, he mimics the Messiah by having a mortal wound that is healed. And then it says that the world marvels, right?

But he's mimicking the Messiah. He's mimicking deity, right? Christ's death and resurrection. So due to this, they marvel at the beast and they worship the dragon. And then the beast proclaims blasphemies against God. If you look at verse 5, at chapter 13, read with me. "And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for 42 months." Remember that number.

"It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven." Now everything that's going on there, that is the abomination of desolation that we saw. That he's going to come into the temple and almost take the throne and say that, "I am God, worship me." Look at those words that are used.

Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it? That should actually, if you're familiar with scripture, sound familiar because all through the Old Testament, it is used as something that is told of God. So for example, in Exodus chapter 15, verse 11, "Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" Next one. Psalm 113.5, "Who is like the Lord our God who is seated on high?" Next one. Isaiah 40.18, "To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?" And so in chapter 13, verse 4, when it says, "Who is like the beast and who can fight against it?" And this Messiah-like guy sits on the throne and everyone is starting to marvel and worship, you see what's going on.

The world is worshiping a false god. Next bullet point down, "This blaspheming of God, his name and his dwelling is the same abomination of desolation found in Matthew and Daniel." Then in Daniel chapter 7, verse 24 to 25, oh, I wrote it down, okay. Look at verse 25. It says, "He shall speak words against the Most High and shall wear out the saints of the Most High and shall think to change the times and the law." And we see him doing that.

Look down at chapter 13, verse 7. "Also, it, the beast, was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation. All who dwell on earth will worship it and everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world and the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes. If anyone is to be slain with a sword, with a sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints." By the way, in verse 10, if you look there, it says, "If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes." You're like, "What is this talking about?" "If anyone is to be slain with a sword, with a sword must he be slain." This is talking about if there are any believers during this time.

If there is anyone who has held out and become believers during the time of this tribulation, then do not resist. It's this idea of go and be taken captive and be killed. We're going to see at the end of chapter 13 when we're talking about the mark, there's going to be real ramifications of this bifurcating of two types of people that continues to happen through revelation.

The people who worship Satan and the people who worship God. All right, next bullet point. This is kind of more an application type thing. We all worship something. We either worship God himself or we worship everything the beast and the dragon represents. There is no in between. So though we typically identify different idols in our lives, they all belong to evil.

I want you guys to think a little bit about your own lives, right? Think about everything you do in life on a moment to moment basis. This is the spiritual reality. You are either worshiping God or you are worshiping something evil. That's it. What is being clarified here in Revelation is the reality of life today.

It's just being shown in stark contrast and detail. This is amazing because I think, we think a lot of our day is neutral, right? Like watching a TV show, playing ping pong, we think it's neutral. There is an active worship going on in that time and place. Question to you is think about your own day and think about what's going on.

We can go on with this one but I'll let you guys stew on that one. Next bullet point. He has authority for 42 months which is again the last 3.5 years of the great tribulation. Notice again that it says that he is allowed authority. He is allowed authority. It is an illusion when people think they are in control.

It is an illusion even for Satan to think that he has control during this time. He is given it. If you guys look to chapter 13, you're going to see that every time it says that it was given him. It was given him. It was given to him as permission from God.

Remember that in Job 1.12. Conquering the saints means that he can harm them and even kill them, not take their salvation. That would be bringing peace to us. He cannot take their salvation. That is why in verse 10 it said, "Just go and be taken captive. Go and be killed.

Don't pledge allegiance to the beast so that you can survive. Just go and die because you're going to be with me." Roman numeral three, the second beast. The fact that the second beast will come from the earth might show that this is someone nearby and local. This comes from chapter 13 verse 11.

It says, "Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast whose mortal wound was healed.

It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people. And by the signs that is allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.

And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark that is the name of the beast or the number of its name." So we saw the beast coming out of the sea from far off land.

Now this is someone probably local. Now think about this. If there is an Antichrist that is coming from a far off land, then you want someone that feels more local, right? To attest for this person. So we're seeing the works of another person here. And it says that he will look like a lamb, which is Jesus, but he will speak like a dragon, which is Satan.

This is likely a false prophet. If Antichrist, this Antichrist that we're talking about, if he is the one claiming to be God, this is the false prophet that is like, so if he is a false God, here is the false prophet. Does that make sense? Because there is the real God and then there are his prophets.

That's why we have this. Now there is the false God and here is the false prophet, the one who attests to him, who points to him and says, "Thus saith the Lord." This is the type of guy that's coming out. False prophets are very winsome and attractive in speech.

A bulk of what they say might even be truthful. Not the truth, truthful. So false prophets are very winsome and attractive in speech. Let's look at some text here about false prophets. You could swing through all of these. Matthew chapter 7, verse 15 through 20 says, "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from the thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased trees bear bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Thus you will recognize them by their fruits." So he's telling us how we can recognize a false prophet. Now the false prophets being talked about in Matthew there is most likely talking about these Jewish leaders, the Pharisees who are saying this is how you're going to be saved and things like that.

But he's saying even here with these types of false prophets you will recognize them by their fruits. Next, Galatians 1, 6 through 7. Now this is the working of the false prophets, the Judaizers. "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.

Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ." This is a false prophet that has done this, a false teacher. And look, can you believe that there are people who have just heard the gospel, who are so close to the time of the death and resurrection of Christ, and they are already being led astray.

Paul is using a very strong language here, right? Not only in the fact that he's saying they're going to be accursed, but that I am astonished, I am like flabbergasted. What? Like how can you already have been led astray? And these aren't dumb people. We're not saying, "Oh, you know, like if they're led astray, they're dumb." If you say that, you're dumb, right?

Like that's how it should be. What it is, is the fact that they're led astray means that these false teachers are winsome and attractive in their speech. That's what false prophets are like. Next one. 2 Timothy 4, 3-4. "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears," here it is, "they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." Now if we're talking about the dragon and the first and second beasts, we're saying like, "Okay, these are the ones that are like, 'Oh, all the people are victims.'" Like they're the ones being tricked.

But actually there are two parts to this, and this is a passage that I think really sheds light on it. "They will accumulate for themselves teachers to what? Suit their own passions." Right in line with this. Mankind during this time, they are not the victims. They are just like this.

This is one kingdom of evil. That's just how it is. Next one. And then 2 Peter 2-1. "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who brought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction." So these are false prophets.

Next bullet point there is false prophets walk amongst us today. We're going to move on from this. We're going to come back to that at the end. We're almost done here. We must learn to discern truth from error because these false prophets are going to bring false teaching. And so we must discern truth from error.

Now right here I have 8 consequences of false doctrines written for you. And this is from a guy named Tim Chalice, and I thought it was excellent how he broke it down. So here are false doctrines. False doctrines confuses truth and error, while sound doctrine distinguishes truth and error.

False doctrine prevents godliness, while sound doctrine promotes godliness. False doctrine promotes sin, while sound doctrine prevents sin. False doctrine elevates ungodly leadership, while sound doctrine qualifies godly leadership. False doctrine permits false teachers, while sound doctrine protects against false teachers. False doctrine removes God's blessing, while sound doctrine ensures God's blessing.

False doctrine debilitates the church for times of difficulty, while sound doctrine equips the church for times of difficulty. False doctrine weakens the future church, while sound doctrine strengthens the future church. And there's an element of all of this where you will know them by their fruits. So if you see the false doctrines, these things are going to be happening.

It's going to confuse truth and error. It's going to prevent godliness. It's going to provoke sin. It's going to elevate ungodly leadership. It's going to permit false teaching. It is going to remove God's blessing. It is going to debilitate the church for times of difficulty. It is going to weaken the future church.

And so how can we discern, right? This is what's going to happen. This is the consequence. Well, the next slide, I have for you a little chart here. So how can you tell? Well, this is a simple one. There's a truth portion and a false portion. So if the origin of the false teaching, if it's from the creator or if it has to do with the creator, then you accept it.

But if it comes from creation or has to do with creation, you reject it. Now don't think too deeply into that one. Authority, if it's biblical, you can accept it. If it's unbiblical, don't accept it. Now we're like, "Uh, duh," you know, like, "Pastor Nathan, come on." Isn't it crazy how like just that second one there is so, like, we're really bad at it?

Like if a false teacher were to come to you and say something, like they said a passage and then they described it, would you be able to discern whether that was biblical or unbiblical? Consistency, is it familiar or is it unfamiliar? This is more important than you might realize too.

Like if it's something that has been tested and proved throughout history, then you can accept it. But if it's unfamiliar, someone's coming up with like, "I have this new knowledge," then you're like, "Uh, uh," you know, like, "Please get away from me." All right. Quality, if it's sound versus unsound, that means it holds weight, it's rational, it's logical, it makes sense.

And this might be like another "duh" thing too, but you'd be surprised at how there are so many false teachers out there who are propagating things where you're like, "Do you not see that your A is false and so your B is false?" And like, you know, now this is one thing, one like trick I'll say to you guys.

There are going to be people who say something A and it's going to be false. And so you're going to be like, "Oh, that was weird." But they're going to move really quickly on to B. So A, therefore B. But B actually makes sense. Okay. But A is connected to it.

So A is the origin, goes to B, and then from there it just goes C, D, E, F. Now if you believe B and on, it all makes sense. But when you want to test it to see if it's sound or unsound, you need to get to the origin of it.

So they're going to say things like, "Well, do you believe this?" And you're going to be like, "No, I don't believe that." "Well, but what about this?" And you're going to be like, "Oh, I guess that kind of makes sense." And from there they're going to take it. If you guys have ever read the book The Da Vinci Code or something like that, that's all that book is.

It says very false things at its foundation. And then because of that, everything logically makes sense after that. And so the whole of the argument sounds good. "Dude, then what's wrong with our faith? What's wrong with our Bible?" And then you realize, "Oh, but the beginning of it's wrong," meaning the whole thing is false, right?

It's kind of like that. The next one down there is benefit. Is it healthy or unhealthy? Just so simple. Is this good for us or is it not? Value, is it profitable or unprofitable? Same thing. So the Christian's responsibility there, if it checks all these things on the left side, accept it.

If it checks even one of the right side, you got to like, "Uh." Okay? All right. Next slide. So some false teachers through history. There's one at the time, Brian McLaren. He is the prosperity and then the postmodern gospel. I kind of came through this guy so we can call him a false teacher.

Next one. Benny Hinn. You guys have maybe seen him. People make YouTube videos of him pretending to be a Star Wars guy and stuff. Have you seen that? It's so funny. Benny Hinn is a guy who slays people by the spirit. So people will come in droves and lines and then he'll do this and they'll start convulsing and stuff.

And then he gets his jacket. He pulls off his jacket and one at a time he goes down the line and hits each person. Every person is falling down, being slain by the spirit. And there's a YouTube. I'm wasting time but I don't care. There's this YouTube video where someone put a lightsaber instead of the jacket.

It's so funny. I'm going to show you guys. It's so funny. It shouldn't be funny though. Next one. Charles Taze Russell. Anyone know who this is? Huh? Oh, anyone know who Charles Taze Russell is? Jehovah's Witnesses. Nice. Great. Founder of that. Know these things. Okay. Next one. Ellen White.

Anyone? Seventh Day Adventist. Did I write this down? How do you guys know this? Good job. Next one. Joseph Smith. Mormons. Someone said that with great confidence. Next one. Mohammed. Islam. Okay. All right. It says that this false prophet, the second beast, will do a few things. It says that he's going to exercise the authority of the first beast, make people worship the first beast, perform great signs that look very similar to prophets of old, tell people to make an image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast.

So, this is a great example of a false prophet. Next one. Muhammad. Islam. Okay. All right. It says that this false prophet, the second beast, will do a few things. It says that he's going to exercise the authority of the first beast, make people worship the first beast, perform great signs that look very similar to prophets of old, tell people to make an image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, and then make a new image of the first beast in their minds, song and break off.