Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #23 of Revelation, chapter 13, and we are going to read Revelation 13:12-13:

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,

I will stop reading there.  This refers to another beast, a second beast, which came up out of the earth.  The earlier beast we read about came up out of the sea, but both beasts are speaking of Satan.  God is just giving us a different vantage point to look at the rule of Satan during the Great Tribulation period.  In the case of the first beast that came up out of the sea, it is speaking of the general rule of Satan as Satan ruled over the churches and the world.  But, in the case of this other beast that “had two horns like a lamb, but spoke as a dragon,” Satan is coming to look like Christ and he appears “like a lamb,” but he speaks as a dragon because he tells lie.  The Lord is focusing our eyes upon what happens to the churches once Satan is loosed. 

Again it says in Revelation 13:12:

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.

This verse is basically restating what it said in Revelation 13:3:

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Then it said in Revelation 13:8:

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

So we see that God has covered this ground before, but it is so important because Satan is taking over the churches and this is one of the main parts of the Great Tribulation period.  It is extremely important, so the Lord is going back over it.  He wants to remind us that this beast is going to cause the first beast, Satan, to be worshipped.  I think God mentions “worship” four or five times in this chapter; the reason for that is that it is one of the main characteristics of the time when Satan takes over the churches.  As 2Thessalonians 2 tell us, the man of sin takes his seat in the temple showing himself that he is God.  Satan longs for the worship of men that were created in the image of God – they were created to serve and worship God.  But Satan longs to receive their worship in order to make himself appear to be as God.  He desperately wants to be like God.

So this other beast is going to direct the worship to the beast that came up out of the sea, or Satan, who was loosed from the bottomless pit and whose deadly wound was healed.  We went into detail discussing this when we saw the same language in verse 3.  When Jesus went to the cross, Satan was bound and, in a sense, received a “death blow” at the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ when he was bound and he could not prevent God from sending forth the Gospel into the nations of the world via the churches and congregations; God established the Word of God all over the face of the earth.

Let us go on to Revelation 13:13:

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

This beast does “great wonders.”  The Greek word translated as “wonders” is Strong’s #4592.  It is translated as “signs,” “miracles” or “wonders.”  For instance, in Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus a question and it says in Matthew 24:3:

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

The disciples are asking for a “sign” of Christ’s coming and of the end of the world.  Jesus does not tell them, “Do not ask that question and do not seek that sign.”  We do find elsewhere that the Lord says, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall be no sign given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.”  But, by saying that, Christ is basically saying that they will receive no “sign” in the physical realm – in the heavens or any other outward type of sign.  An evil and adulterous generation looks after those kinds of signs.  But the “sign” that the Bible permits and which God does allow is the “sign of Jonas,” and the “sign of Jonas” can only be understood by reading the Bible.  In other words, God has hidden in His Word certain indicators, certain evidences and certain “signs” that He plans to unseal at the time of the end (as He said to Daniel, in Daniel, chapter 12).   When the Word is unsealed at the time of the end, these “signs” will appear and then you will have the sign of Christ’s coming and the end of the world. 

Here, it says in Matthew 24:24:

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

These two words translated as “great signs” are the identical two Greek words translated as “great wonders” that we have in our verse in Revelation 13:13: “And he doeth great wonders.”  And Matthew 24:24 is putting it in the context of false Christs and false prophets that arise at the time of the end, the time of the Great Tribulation and the Great Tribulation really begins the end phase of the end of the world and this matches or agrees with Revelation 13:13.  It helps us to understand that we have been correct in understanding that the beast that has “two horns like a lamb” is Satan trying to look like Christ.  And how does he do that?  He does that through false prophets that are “deceitful workers.”  There will be false Christs (because Christ is the essence of the Gospel) and there will be false prophets; the things which they declare will not be truth.  So this is just confirmation that we have correctly understood what is going on with the beast in Revelation, chapter 13.

Let us go down to verse 29 of Matthew 24 and keep in mind the disciples’ question to the Lord: “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”  The conjunction “and” indicates that they are also asking what the sign will be for the end of the world.  Jesus is going to answer their question, very specifically, in Matthew 24:29-30:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

We have discussed this before.  This is not to be taken literally, but if it were literal and if, immediately after the tribulation, the sun, moon and stars were darkened, it would not be just a “sign” of the end, but it would be the actual end of the world.  So there would be no need for a “sign” because that would have been the end – you  cannot have life on earth without the sun, moon and stars, especially as Revelation, chapter 6, describes the stars falling to earth; if a star came anywhere near the earth, it would burn up the earth instantly.  So there is no possibility that this is literal and Mark 21 tells us that there will be “days” (plural) after that tribulation, so that tells us there will be a period of time after the Tribulation.  The sun, moon and stars are the time keepers, so you cannot have time without the time keepers, so, necessarily, the literal “sun, moon and stars” still have to be in the heavens above in order to keep track of days in “those days after that tribulation” when the figurative “sun” is darkened, and so on.

So God is telling us that the sun being darkened, the moon not giving her light and the stars falling from heaven are “signs.”  They are signs of what?  Remember, it is the response to the disciples’ question: “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”  It is the sign of the end of the world.

Let us go over to Luke, chapter 21, which is the parallel chapter to Matthew 24.  It says in Luke 21:5-7:

And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?

Again, what is that sign?  Then look at Luke 21:25:

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Here, God does not say the sun is darkened and the moon does not give her light and the language like we find in the parallel chapters in Matthew and in Mark.  Here, He simply says there are “signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars,” and this helps us to realize that we were correct in understanding Matthew 24:30.  Verse 29 spoke of the putting out of the lights of the heaven and verse 30 said, “Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man,” the sign of His coming and of the end of the world.  Now when Judgment Day occurred on May 21, 2011 and God shut the door to heaven, He put out the lights of the Gospel to this earth and it is a very trying and grievous time – there is no question about that – and, yet, it is also a huge “sign” to all that have eyes to see and ears to hear; that is, to all that look to the Bible for the sign.  Remember, the Bible said it would be the “sign of the prophet Jonas.”  We have to go to the Bible to see it and this is the “sign” that God permits and allows.  There is nothing wicked about looking to the Bible to see a “sign.”  It is only evil if you want to see a (physical) “sign” up in the sky, or if you want God to do some outward miracle to confirm something to you; an “evil and adulterous generation” seeks that kind of a sign.  It is through the Bible, the Word of God, that we understand that “immediately after the tribulation,” the sun (not the literal sun, but the spiritual sun that represents the Light of God) went out; and the moon (not the literal moon, but the spiritual moon that represents the light of the Law or Word of God) went out; and the stars (not the literal stars but the spiritual stars, the true believers, and the light of the Gospel they carried into the world) are no longer there.  We cannot bring any light if God is not sending forth the Light, so we understand these things from the Bible. 

God defines the “sun, moon and stars” from the Bible and we are able to pinpoint it to the date after the Great Tribulation (immediately after), as it concluded after 23 years, a full 8,400 days, on May 21, 2011.  Then the Gospel lights went out and God has kindly and graciously given us the “sign” that ought not to be missed.  In a sense, He is saying, “Look up into the heavens and what do you see?  You see darkness.”  The Bible has been rolled up like a scroll, according to Revelation, chapter 6, and the light is out all over the earth.  There is thick darkness that “might be felt,” spiritually, and it has come upon the world and there is no more salvation.  God is not saving anyone and He has not saved anyone since that day, nor will He save anyone ever again, because He has completed His salvation plan. 

So this darkness has engulfed the whole earth and we find ourselves sitting in that darkness, as we are still here on earth, living in the Day of Judgment.  The “darkness” is the sign and Jesus is answering the question of the sign of His coming and of the end of the world, which means we have progressed through the Great Tribulation into Judgment Day.  Shortly, Judgment Day will be complete and 10,000 days of judgment is the likely time when Judgment Day will be completed, as the number “10,000” points to completeness.  Very shortly, God will do what He said He would do with the world and He will destroy the earth.  The spiritual condition of the world is only revealed in the Bible.  You will not find this definition in the churches and you definitely will not find it in the world.  The world is in a state of pitch dark blackness; it is in the spiritual condition of “hell,” as God has made the world like the grave for all the wicked when He shut the door to heaven, guaranteeing their eternal death.  This “darkness,” in a way, is a wonderful declaration from God Himself to His people that He is coming and the world will shortly end. 

I recently heard a song and it was uplifting.  It is normally uplifting when I hear it and I cannot remember too much of it, but I remember this one lyric: “It is always darkest before the dawn.”  Yes, it is always darkest before the dawn and we have entered into a time of darkness, the like of which has never been before in the history of the world.  The world is in terrible spiritual darkness and just like Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den and a stone was put in front of it, we can be sure it was very dark in there and he had to spend that night in the dark with lions that were probably roaring and, certainly, they were ravenous and hungry beasts.  Even though God had shut their mouths as far as devouring Daniel, with their aggressive tendencies, we can be sure that it was an unpleasant night for Daniel, even though he trusted in his God.  It was certainly dark, but then the dawn came and King Darius of the Medes and the Persians (who is a wonderful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ) comes to the den of lions and the stone is removed.  Can you imagine the light that rushed in and shined in the darkness?  Then Daniel was lifted up out of the den and there was great celebration by the king and great glory given to God.