December 22

The antichrist will be the most powerful and evil ruler that the world has ever known. He will be responsible for great acts of cruelty, especially towards God’s people (Daniel 11:31-35; Mark 13:9-20). He will force some of them to leave their homes (Hebrews 11:37-38); he will murder many of them. They will suffer much. However, he can only hurt and kill their bodies; he will have no power over their spirits (Matthew 10:28). During their lives, God will help them (12:14-16). When they die, they will go to be with God in heaven. So, even in this terrible situation, God will be looking after his people.

God knows the people who truly belong to him (John 10:14). Even before he created the world, he chose them to be his children (Ephesians 1:4). He wrote their names in his book (Daniel 12:1). That book is a register of the names of all the people who will be citizens of the New Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:23).

God made that possible by the death of Christ, here called the Lamb. Like the lambs (young sheep) that people offered to God in the temple (God’s house), Christ died for the sins (evil deeds) of other people (John 1:29; Isaiah 53:4-7). He died so that God could forgive his people. As God’s people, they are now under God’s protection (Psalm 91). Their bodies will be in great danger, but their spirits are safe.

God is looking after his people, so his people must show endurance and faith. People sometimes translate endurance as patience but it means more than just to wait. Someone with endurance stands firm during his troubles, so that those troubles cannot disturb his relationship with God. Faith means that a person trusts God loyally during his troubles (Hebrews 10:35-39). That is how God’s people will live during their greatest troubles (Habakkuk 2:4).

and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in 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 the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
~ Revelation 13:8-10 ~ From: usefulbible.com

Zechariah 2:1-3:10
Revelation 13:1-13:18
Psalm 141:1-10
Proverbs 30:18-20

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New Testament: Revelation 13:1-13:18

Summary: The First Beast, The Second Beast

Revelation 13:1

The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. ~ Revelation 13:1