CALVARYMAC HAPPENINGS
- Annual Vision/Operations Meeting // Tonight // 6P - Join us as our staff, ministry leaders, and church board share what is happening at CalvaryMac, our current financial resources, and what is next for CalvaryMac. If you can’t join us in person, you can watch online (live or later) at https://subspla.sh/4p4wgrx.
- Calvary Youth Winter Camp ‘23 // January 27-29 // Trout Creek Bible Camp - We are heading to Trout Creek Bible Camp for Winter Camp this year! We will be leaving CalvaryMac on Friday, January 27th at 5pm in a big yellow bus and will be returning on Sunday, January 29th (roughly 2pm) in the same big yellow bus. Winter cabin camping and time in the Word is on the docket, as well as loads of other fun things! Don’t miss it! Register at CalvaryMac.com/Youth.
- Financial Peace University // Begins January 26 - Join the millions who never have to worry about money again. With Financial Peace University, you’ll learn the proven plan to pay off debt fast and save more money for your future. Financial Peace University is a nine-lesson course that teaches you how to save for emergencies, pay off debt fast, spend wisely, and invest for your future. And no complicated financial blah blah blah over here. For over 25 years, Dave Ramsey’s been teaching commonsense, biblical money principles that work. Every time. Register at CalvaryMac.com.
- Ladies Retreat // April 21-23, 2023 // Silver Falls CRC - Ladies, join us for our April 21-23 retreat in Silverton. Spots are limited and you don’t want to miss this time of fellowship and teaching from Christa Jackson. Register at CalvaryMac.com/Women.
- HUMBLE: the Week of Prayer and Fasting // February 19-25 - SAVE THE DATE! The Week of Prayer and Fasting is coming up February 19-25, 2023. This will be one of the most powerful weeks CalvaryMac has ever experienced. Plan on being a part of it as we come together as a church family to seek the Lord.
SERMON NOTES: REVELATION 13:5-10
The Antichrist is a mere pawn in God’s epic plan to reveal His glory.
Gambit = A chess player sacrifices one or more pieces to gain a strategic advantage in position.
This final seven-year Great Tribulation is God’s strategy to end pain, suffering, and remove evil from the earth without sacrificing perfect justice, grace, and humanity’s free will. The Tribulation is the King’s
REVIEW // KEY INSIGHTS FROM REVELATION 13:1-4
- In the vision God displays for John He makes it clear that this beast, while a unique and a separate person, is a reflection of Satan himself—a wicked imitation of Jesus’ relationship with His Father.
- This man will not be what he appears to be. Thus, God wants John, and those who read Revelation, to view this person with a biblical lens. While to the world he will appear Christlike, in reality he will be a terrifying monster.
- While God allowed Daniel to see the first prophetic wave revealing the four empires leading up to the Messiah’s first coming, he also showed Daniel the second wave revealing the powers ruling the earth at the Messiah’s second coming.
- The ruler symbolized by this beast out of the sea will appear to die by a lethal wound. However, he will then appear to come back to life. As a result, people of the world will be filled with wonder and follow the leadership of this man of lawlessness. He will truly an Antichrist, who even imitates Jesus in His death and resurrection.
- When the Antichrist comes to power there will be a societal paradigm shift. The scientific community will be helpless to save the planet after just the first 3.5 years of the tribulation. But in the second half, the Antichrist will prove the supernatural not only exists, but is far superior to the current modern world-view our society holds. He will leverage these signs and wonders to appear invincible.
REVELATION 13:5-6 // A GLOBAL PLATFORM
The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies… —Revelation 13:5a
blasphemy - blăs’fẽ-mē - to speak with contempt about God or to be defiantly irreverent. Blasphemy is verbal or written reproach of God’s name, character, work, or attributes —GotQuestions.org
blasphemy - blăs’fẽ-mē - lies that are actually the opposite who God truly is. —Brian
Just as the beast itself symbolizes the Antichrist; the mouth given to the beast symbolizes a communication
Who will give the Antichrist this global platform?
Option 1: Satan
The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. —Revelation 13:2b
Option 2: God
Nobody can speak and have it happen unless the Lord commands it. Both bad and good things come by the command of the Most High God. —Lamentations 3:37-8
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. —James 4:13-16
While all power, wealth, fame, and influence the Antichrist possesses will come directly from Satan; The Adversary can do nothing outside of God’s permission (see Job 1-2). This global platform to defame The Lord’s name & reputation will ultimately be
The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. —Revelation 13:5
1,260 days = 42 months = 3.5 years = time, times and half a time
Scripture continues to identify the same time period throughout the Old and New Testament using multiple calculations so that we will know not to interpret the time period as symbolic, but rather as a
He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time. —Daniel 7:25
“The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.” —Daniel 11:36
It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. —Daniel 13:6
God’s sovereignty is obvious in that He has delayed the end until the technology for Bible teachers to communicate to a global audience cheaply and effectively exists. The Antichrist will obviously try, but fail, to suppress, destroy, and
Why will this global leader slander the Church at this point? Because new Christians, whom accept Jesus as Lord in the first 3.5 years of the tribulation, will find a way to protect, study, and distribute the teaching from pastors we access so freely today. He will lie and smear the names of Bible teachers, whom at this point will be living in heaven, to keep people from hearing the
REVELATION 13:7 // A GLOBAL WAR
It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. —Revelation 13:7a
Scripture lists three distinctive groups identified as God’s holy people:
1. The Church - At this point the Church has already been caught up (1 Thess. 4).
2. The Jewish people - At this point the Jewish people are protected in the wilderness (Revelation 12:6)
3. Tribulation Saints - At this point the only possibility
Satan will empower the regime of the beast to wage
And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. —Revelation 13:7b
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. —John 19:8-11a
While the Antichrist will come to (and maintain) power via Satan’s authority, political skill, and military might, he (and Satan) will have no
REVELATION 13:8 // A GLOBAL RELIGION
All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast… —Revelation 13:8a
One might be able to make an argument that this refers to Nero and Rome 1) If John had written it before AD 68, and 2) If John had written “The whole world…” as in the whole known world (i.e. the Roman world). However John specifically wrote “All
All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life… —Revelation 13:8a
The Book of Life
1. The book of life is real. The Bible says it will be opened and read on the Day of Judgment.
2. The book of life is important. Whether or not our name is written in the book determines if we go to heaven or hell.
3. The book of life declares our Kingdom citizenship. Our name in the book assures heavenly birthright.
The idea is that John is communicating here is that worshiping the beast and having your name in the Book of Life are mutually exclusive. In other words you cannot worship the beast (i.e. look to him and his government for salvation, hope, and life) and simultaneously be
…the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. —Revelation 13:8b
This deeply meaningful title for Jesus reminds us that God’s plan of redemption was set in place before He even created the beings who would be redeemed. God wasn’t “surprised” by the fall of Adam or any other evidence of the fallen nature of man. God isn’t making it up as He goes along. It is all going according to plan. —David Guzik
REVELATION 13:9-10 // A HARD TRUTH
Whoever has ears, let them hear. —Revelation 13:9
If its true that this has been God’s plan all along, that this King’s gambit is to unleash Satan and his puppet to blasphemy God’s name, lie about His character, deceive the nations, and unleash an all out war to successfully persecute and kill every Jesus follower, then there is a significant implication: God will
“If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword they will be killed.”
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people. —Revelation 13:10
Accepting Hard Truth takes a biblical lens:
1. 3.5 years of suffering is a blink of an eye compared to eternity.
2. Believers may physically die on earth, but immediate wake up in the presence of Jesus.
3. God will allow this suffering because it serves His purposes to wrap up and end the kingdom of man while establish the Kingdom of God without sacrificing the free will of humans.
The Antichrist is just a part of the master plan of God to reveal His Glory in relationship with human beings.
The Antichrist is a mere pawn in God’s epic plan to reveal His glory.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE END TIMES?
Bring your toughest questions to The Gathering // Tuesdays // 7P - You may have questions or feel the need to process the book of Revelation. Join us on Tuesday evenings at 7pm in the Auditorium to discuss how end times prophecy relates to current events.
If you want to take the next step in your relationship with Jesus take Planted, our online Christianity 101 course that is also our baptism class. Just go to CalvarMac.com/baptism to get started.