REVIEW
 
Well, we are getting close to concluding our series on the Book of Revelation. Today’s message is what just might be the next to last message as we get into the rise & fall of Babylon, the Beast, and God’s judgment of the sin contained in the world.   
 
So, let’s quickly review what we have covered thus far:

1. In part one, we began by seeing that this Book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. In other words, He is the Revelation of Revelations, and worthy of all the attention in this Book. Yes, Jesus Christ is the very spirit of prophecy.
2. In part two, we looked at what the Spirit is saying to the Church both of yesterday and today. We saw that even in the midst of the church’s need for correction and rebuke, He still sees us as golden and precious in His sight.
3. In part three, we saw how John was taken up to heaven to see the things which would take place. So, we learned that the things he saw were from a heavenly and spiritual perspective—the same perspective we should see current world events through. And like the apostle John, when we come up hither, we will see the throne of God, the worthy Lamb of God, etc. In short, we will see the glory and not the gory.
4. In part four, we moved on to the description of the Great Tribulation, and what we learned was while there are certainly “Woes” involved in this time-period, to us there is a completely different perspective to be had. We get the “Wows” because God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” So, even though the birth pangs will be present, we are “expecting” the birth of something beautiful!
5. In part five, we looked at the utter demise of the dragon and his angels and studied how he has been disarmed, dethroned and defeated—past, present, and future! Therefore, now our salvation has come! Yes, today is the day of salvation. And we are to live from the perspective that we are ultimately victorious even though it might seem like the devil has the lead in these last days.
6. Then, last week, in part six, we looked the antichrist, his false prophet, and the mark of the beast that we’ve heard so much about in the Body of Christ. But we learned that the devil does not just have a counterfeit Christ; there is an anti-trinity—showing us that the devil counterfeits all that is God. And the reason why he copies God is because he knows God’s way works. And, church, we need to know His way works to, and begin following God’s pattern and structure too. We even saw that the mark of the beast was an idea stolen from God because we have three witnesses in Revelation that says that the people of God are sealed and marked too (See Revelation 7:3, 9:4 & 14:1). So, if we are marked and have His seal, then we need not fear being deceived in that day. Yes, we have God’s protection from deception as long as we handle the Truth and become intimately acquainted with Him.

 
A GOD OF JUDGMENT?
 
So, as we pick up in the end of Revelation chapter 14, we see the angel’s reaping of the earth’s harvest and the grapes of God’s wrath. Then in chapters 15 & 16, we see what is described as the Bowl Judgments, which are the last seven judgments to be poured out on the earth before the end will come.
 
Now the judgment and wrath of God is certainly something that we see saturating the Book of Revelation, isn’t it? It is inescapable—for Revelation’s pages are filled with plagues that are sent by Him and his anger towards the sin & unrighteousness that will be present on the earth in the last days.
 
In fact, this part of Revelation about judgment & plagues has actually been a tool used by many well-meaning evangelists to convert people and see them repent from their sins. Yes, Revelation is probably the greatest evangelical tool that has been used to see people saved.
 
However, I see a wrong mentality present in the way many people understand these truths about the wrath of God and His judgment. What I think many people don’t understand is that it is not His will to be angry and judge people. No, I don’t believe that is our Father’s heart at all!
 
Now is there a wrath towards sin? Yes! Is He going to judge the world? Absolutely! But the thing we need to understand is that this is not His heart. God never has desired to judge people. Yet He does it because He has to, not because He wants to. 
 
Now the chastening of the Lord is different. Back in their day, children were raised differently than the world raises its kids today. They would let their children go through difficult situations in order to see them grow up by making good, correct decisions through the adversity. But that is not what this is referring to. What we see here is a judgment of sin and unrighteousness which is by far the most common cause of God’s judgment people are exposed to.
 
In fact, when we study the Old Testament, we see the children of Israel being judged time and time again. But in the vast majority of all of these “judgments” we do not find them obeying God, following after righteousness, etc. No, the judgements came as a result of their failure to obey Him and heed His voice.
 
THE WAGES OF BABYLON
 
Which leads us to chapter 17 where we see another vision that the apostle John had—that being of a harlot riding on the back of a beast. Many see this as “Babylon”—a symbol of a religious system and/or government that will be carried and led by the antichrist. In other words, we are seeing here the reign of the antichrist in the Last Days through his one world government and religion.
 
Now as we’ve made the point of throughout this study, this does not mean that this is how this one world government will appear. I highly doubt it will be called “Babylon,” but what it symbolizes is that ancient city of Babylonia that the Bible speaks much of. So, “Babylon” represents the epitome of a godless society—which is obviously what the antichrist will reign over.   
 
But as we move on to chapter 18, we see the Fall of Babylon—which we learned will be close to the time that the antichrist and his false prophet will be cast into the lake of fire. This will be around that third strike called on the devil where he will be “out” for good. Amen!   
 
But what I want you to see from all of these judgments & plagues that will be poured out in these last days is that God’s wrath is not reserved for the righteous and holy. It is reserved for the devil, his angels, and all of those who serve him. In other words, hell is not reserved for servants of the Lord; it is reserved for the devil and his angels.
 
For example, in Matthew 25:31-46, when Jesus explained how the Son of Man will judge the nations, He described it as a shepherd dividing his sheep from the goats. And Jesus then clearly teaches us what the conversation will be in that day between the shepherd and his sheep/goats. But what I want you to notice is what He said to each one …
 
Notice first verse 34— “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” Then He goes on to describe why they were considered His sheep and were placed on His right hand. But notice that Jesus said they would “inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world.” That means that God’s plan from the very beginning was for a kingdom to be prepared for mankind. But notice what Jesus said when addressing the goats that were gathered on His left hand. Verse 41 says, “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” Notice this judgement was not prepared for them, but for the devil and his angels. So, when we compare what Jesus said to both the sheep and the goats, we see that God Himself has prepared for us an everlasting kingdom. But the judgment of everlasting fire was not prepared for us. It was reserved for the devil and his angels. But based on this passage of Scripture, we see that the goats will be sent there nonetheless, even though the judgment, punishment, and wrath was never intended for them.     
 
You see, we learned earlier in this series from First Thessalonians 5:8 that you and I are not appointed to wrath, but to obtain salvation. But that does not mean that you and I cannot experience the judgement that we were never appointed to. 
 
This is why I believe that question of “How can a good God ever send someone to hell?” is not based on correct thinking. The truth is things like judgment, punishment, hell, etc. are not what God appoints people to. People make choices that determines those things. This is why the Lord told His people in Deuteronomy 30:19-20— “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
 
So, the choice is ultimately ours! We are the one who choose life or death, blessing or cursing. It’s not God choosing that for us. Sure, He had to choose to make those things available for us to choose. But He will not force it on us. So, if someone persists in making poor choices, He will let them.
 
So, in a lot of ways, our lives are a product of the choices we make—the choice to do things God’s way or our own way. We know what Proverbs says, right? “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12). So, this means that there are Scriptural principles that are laid out to us by the Lord, and by embracing them in our lives, we choose the life God has prepared for us. In other words, there are spiritual laws that will consistently produce the same results if we take heed to them.   
 
THE FALL OF PRIDE
 
Let’s look at a specific Biblical principle that illustrates what I am saying that’s along the lines of what we are looking at in Revelation today:
 
Revelation chapter 18 describes to us the “Fall” of Babylon, right? Well, I would venture to say that we all have heard the following statement from the Book of Proverbs— “Pride goes before a fall.” This comes from Proverbs 16:18 that says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
 
Now how many of you know that this “Babylon” that we are reading about—since it was a city built by the devil himself—was likely built on pride since the is a distinguishing characteristic of Satan. So, should it surprise us that Babylon will fall? Absolutely not! Why? It is because this is a law, a principle, and is just the way it works.
 
Like we say because of the law of gravity— “What goes up, must come down.” Likewise, a person or a people who lift themselves up, will come down. We need look no further than the Babylon of old to discover this:
 
We all know that the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, suffered from the sin of pride and lost his kingdom for it. No more than twelve months after being warned by Daniel the prophet of God's displeasure with him, Nebuchadnezzar looked out across the great city of Babylon and said in his pride, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30)
 
But noticed what happened in verses 31-32: “While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”
 
Then in verse 33 we see the fruit of his fall: “That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.”
 
Now this example of Nebuchadnezzar’s pride and subsequent fall is probably one of the most extreme examples of this principle we have the entire Bible. Of course, other than the fall of Lucifer as a result of his pride. But my point is—This is a law, and it’s not that God had planned for Nebuchadnezzar to be brought to this low place. In fact, we know it wasn’t because in the proceeding verses, we see that he humbled himself, gave glory to God, and apparently experienced a restoration in certain areas. He just simply fell as a result of his own choice to think more highly of himself than he ought to have thought.
 
So, my point is there are spiritual laws & principles that will yield specific fruit—whether towards life or death.
 
THE WAGES OF SIN
 
Now let’s pick up in Revelation chapter 18 where we see further evidence of this by God’s judgment upon Babylon: It begins with angel coming down from heaven with great authority pronouncing judgment over the great city falling.
 
Then verse 4 says something very interesting: After the angel makes his statements, we read this: “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.’”
 
Notice the angel referred to the judgment that would come upon Babylon as “her plagues,” not “your plagues.” In other words, they are not for His people, but are strictly reserved for sin. But this verse also indicates that if His people do not “come out of her” (i.e. remain enveloped in her ways and  choices) and share in her sins, then they can and will (unless they repent, of course) receive of her plagues.
 
But, again, this is not God’s choice; it’s the choice of each and every one of us as to who we are going to serve and what we will share in. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! Amen?
 
Now if you continue reading in Revelation chapter 18, you will see the following statements regarding sinful Babylon— “render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works” (verse 6) and “In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow” (verse 7). All of this sounds a lot like a New Testament principle that we see from the pen of the apostle Paul …
 
You see, the Bible is crystal clear that the wages of sin is death. The apostle Paul said in Romans 6:23— “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Now if the gift of eternal life is not forced upon us, but must be received by our choice to receive it by faith, then why would the wages of sin—that being death—be forced on us? It’s not. It too is a choice.
 
Now I understand that everyone will die—for that choice was made for us by Adam in the garden. But I’m talking about “death” has the absence of God, His promises, and His blessing on our lives. That part is in our control. And when one persists in choosing sin over righteousness, the same death principle applies to all of us.
 
Let me explain: Paul was teaching in Romans chapter 3-6 of the free gift of righteousness and how everyone who receives the Way of this free gift—the Lord Jesus Christ—has been redeemed, forgiven, and sanctified in Him. But a question came up in Paul’s teaching, and a legitimate one in that, that can we continue in sin then if we are made righteous by His grace and the sin-issue has been taken care of? Paul’s response to his own question was— “Certainly not!” Then in verses 16-23, he begins to explain how if someone presents themselves as a slave of sin then they are that one’s servant. And if sin becomes our master, then we can expect the wages that our master administers. This is what led to his statement in verse 23 that the wages of sin is death.
 
So, I say all of this to say that sin demands judgment. Death is its offspring. It doesn’t matter you or who’s you are. If you or I choose to the way of unrighteousness, death will eventually follow if we do not repent. That is why it is on us to choose life and choose blessing! We choose them by faith—a faith that follows the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Amen?
 
So, all of the death and judgment that we see in the end times is not because God delights in pouring out His wrath—for He is not an angry God, but One who delights in grace & mercy. However, the sin that will permeate the world in the last days demands the completely righteous judgment of God. And this is why we will see the wrath of God poured out on the earth. But, again, when you see God judging folks in the Bible, you do not see God judging righteousness. It’s sin, transgression, and iniquity that the Lord punishes, not holiness, righteousness, and obedience.
 
WE REAP WHAT WE SOW!
 
But let me end today’s teaching by flipping the script: Just because it is true that the wages of sin is death and there will be judgment on the sin of the world, this is not to just be taken negatively. You see, just as it is true that the wages of sin is death, the wages of righteousness is life! And just as it is true that there will be negative judgments, there will be positive ones too!
 
You see, only see the judgment at the end of Revelation as being negative, but we have a lot of other Scriptures that talk about rewards being dealt in that Day See Second Corinthians 5:10. In fact, the word that’s used in many cases to describe the judgment seat of Christ is the Greek word bema which was oftentimes used to describe how someone was rewarded for winning some athletic competition. This wasn’t a somber time, was it? No, this was an exciting time for the winner!
 
Saints, we are called to be the winners! We just need to run in such a way that we obtain the prize! Then that day won’t be a day to dread, but a day to look forward to!
 
So, church, while the tendency is to only hear these truths from the negative slant, we need to understand that just as this works against people who make wrong choices, it also works for people who make right choices! Amen!
 
For example, we talk about the law of sowing & reaping, and most of the time people only refer to that negatively like— “You know, brother. You will reap what you sow.” Totally emphasizing that if you sow bad seed, you will reap bad fruit. What should our response be if someone says that to us? We should respond with— “Praise God!” Why? It’s because it is just as simple to make good choices and sow good seed as it is to make bad choices and sow bad seed—and we have chosen to sow good seed!
 
If I will sow unto righteousness, I will reap a righteous reward. I can absolutely expect that in my life. So, let’s not take this only from the perspective of— “Oh, I better not make a mistake and open myself up to the wages of sin.” No, let’s focus on following God’s principles and doing what He said!
 
So, in light of all of this, who is it that will eat from the bowls of wrath? It’s not the wise, the righteous or the holy, it’s the world and those who persist in unrighteousness that are partaking of God’s wrath. In other words, the death, plagues, and destruction that are to come are coming for sin’s sake, not for righteousness’ sake.  

REVIEW
 
So, we are continuing our series today based on the Book of Revelation entitled “The Revelation”—this being the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ in His resurrected and glorified state! So, it is a message containing the good news of Jesus’ ultimate victory, not just the bad news that most have made it out to be. That means that when we read this Book, we don’t need to get stuck in the chapters in the middle that prophesy the negative things that will take place during the end-times. No, we need to understand that Jesus, being the Alpha and the Omega, is the beginning and the end of this Book of Revelation. So, let’s focus on our ultimate destination of victory, not the bumps in the road before we get there. 
 
So, we are now on part six of this teaching and we have covered some important things in the first five parts:

1. As I just said, we have learned that Jesus is the very spirit behind end-time prophecy. He is the Revelation of Revelations. Therefore, when we study this final Book of the Bible, we need to see the Gospel of Jesus throughout its pages.
2. Then we spent a week talking about Revelation chapters 2-3, learning about the seven golden lampstands—which were the seven churches of Asia Minor that Jesus had the apostle John write letters to. In this message, we studied what I called seven pillars contained in these seven letters to the churches, which were seven things that we see repeated and emphasized in these seven letters that not only related to the church then, but to the church of today as well.
3. We then moved on to Revelation chapter 4 & 5 and looked at a big transition in this Book. We saw that the apostle John was invited to come up higher and see things from God’s perspective in heaven. I made the point that I believe this statement is extremely important in leading into the things John saw and wrote down for us. Why? It is because everything the Lord showed him that was to take place was from “up there.” In other words, it was from heaven’s perspective, not an earthly, carnal perspective. So, I made the point that we need to “come up hither” too and become more spiritually minded concerning these things contained in Revelation because when we do, a new perspective of the Revelation will occur. Like the apostle John, we will see the throne of God, the worthy Lamb of God, etc. In short, we will see the glory and not the gory.
4. Then we moved on to Revelation chapters 6-11 where the Great Tribulation began to be described. And what we learned was while there are certainly “Woes” involved in this time-period, to us there is a completely different perspective to be had. We get the “Wows”, not the “Woes”! And the biggest “Wow” that we took away from it is found in First Thessalonians 5:8— “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Sure, we are going to have some birth pangs to endure. Yes, there might be some discomfort as these things come to pass. But we learned that no matter the pain or the discomfort, we know that we know that the baby is on the way! All of this pointed to the fact that you and I ought to be “expecting” (i.e. hope) because, oh “baby,” do we have something to look forward to! Amen!
5. Then, last time, we turned our attention to Revelation chapter 12 where John saw a great sign in heaven. In this vision, he saw a woman ready to give birth to a child and a dragon present to consume that child. But we saw in verse 5 that she bore the male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.” Church, this verse describes everything from the birth of Christ to His ascension to the right hand of God! Glory to God! And I can just imagine that this beat-down the devil got seemed just about as quick! Before the devil knew it, he was disarmed, dethroned, and defeated! So, we saw this is how that war in the heavenlies described in verses 7-9 went down: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, but the dragon did not prevail and was cast out. We saw how Jesus described him being cast out as lightening from heaven. So, as verse 10 goes on to say, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before God day and night, has been cast down.” So now salvation has come! It didn’t say yesterday salvation or tomorrow salvation; it said now! So, now is the day of salvation! Then we learned how we overcome the defeated dragon in Revelation 12:11—through the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, and not loving our lives to the death. But we also learned in Revelation chapters 18-20 the ultimate defeat of the dragon which is to come. Therefore, since we know the outcome of the game, we don’t need to be troubled when these end-time events come to pass—because we know that we win. It’s like if someone ruined the end of a suspenseful movie for us—it will remove many of the negative emotions that come from not knowing what’s going to happen. Amen!

 
NOW ARISES THE BEAST
 
So now, let’s move on to chapter 13 in the apostle John’s Book of Revelation where we see something else “arising” (literally, a beast arising from the sea). Now we understand that this “beast” is what is commonly referred to as the antichrist. And, oh, we’ve all heard a lot about this guy, haven’t we? Heck, some of us might have even been a part of those conversations. But the antichrist has certainly been a topic of conversation in a lot of parts of Christendom because people’s desire to identify him or when he is coming has been a hot topic of discussion for some time.
 
Now the “antichrist” is described by the apostle Paul as “the man of sin” and “the son of perdition” (perdition being a state of eternal condemnation and damnation) (See Second Thessalonians 2:3-4). Paul goes on in this passage to describe the antichrist as the one who “opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped.” Paul even describes him as one who will “sit as God in the temple of God…”  
 
But what the apostle John saw in Revelation chapter 13 was different: He saw some kind of beast rising out of the sea.
 
Now as it is with the devil himself, the antichrist is not going to come looking like this beast that John saw. As we’ve noted, the things John saw were from a heavenly, spiritual perspective. So, what we will see from this earthly perspective will not appear like this at all. It will be much more deceptive and appealing to those who do not know the truth. You see, the devil himself comes as an angel of light, and his earthly representative will come in like fashion to where the whole world will be deceived, including many Christians.  
 
But that’s just about all I am going to say about him. And the reason why is because I don’t want to glorify and magnify him any more than he already has been.
 
HOW TO HANDLE THE COUNTERFEIT
 
You see, I wonder why there is this inordinate desire in people to talk about him. I’m of the opinion, that instead of emphasizing the antichrist, why don’t we focus our attention on being more “Pro-Christ” (which is essentially being Pro-Life because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life).
 
You see, the prefix “anti” literally means “against, opposed to, opposite of, or instead.” So, all the antichrist is, is a “Christ counterfeit.” I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed that the devil loves to copy the original article and use the things of God for his own purposes. And he does the same here with the first beast, known as the antichrist.
 
But like I have learned through years in banking, the best way for one to recognize a counterfeit is to study the genuine article thoroughly. When I handled money for hours on end, I found that when a counterfeit bill was presented to me that it stuck out like a sore thumb. Now the client who accepted the fake bill didn’t recognize it when someone passed it off on them nor did they recognize it when I told them it was fake. But to the person who handled money all day, a counterfeit bill was obvious.
 
It is for that reason that I strongly believe Christians should spend the majority of their time studying the truth as opposed to error. I have seen believers spend their time studying this false religion and this bad doctrine in an attempt to become more familiar with it. They do it for noble reasons such as wanting to reach the people who ascribe to those wrong beliefs or so to make sure they don’t fall for those lies. But I am of the persuasion that we need to be doing the opposite—both becoming so familiar with the Word of God and spending time getting to know the Word Himself. The reason is because as it is with recognizing counterfeit currency, the more we know the true, genuine article, the more we will be able to distinguish between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
 
Speaking of handling money, do you remember how John said in First John 1:1 that he had “handled” the Word of Life. Then he proceeds in his epistle to talk about the spirit of error and how they can be kept from being deceived by the spirit of antichrist. So, the protection from deception of the antichrist spirit is found in having heard, seen, and handled the truth Himself. This is certainly done through studying the truth to show ourselves approved, but it is also in knowing Jesus on a personal and intimate level. If we handle Christ like so we will have a hard time being deceived when the spirit of antichrist is before us. 
 
In fact, it’s not just the anti-christ that we see in the 13th chapter of Revelation: It’s the Anti-Trinity! If you read the entire chapter, you see that the dragon (i.e. the devil) was the one who gave the antichrist his power, throne, and authority (See Revelation 13:2) just like God the Father gave His Christ the same. We even see in verse 3 about how the antichrist apparently will have a mortal, deadly wound to his head (See verse 3) and that wound will be healed. Some take this to mean that he will be raised from the dead, which will cause the world to marvel and follow him. Sounds a lot like Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, doesn’t it? Again, the devil’s plan is to ultimately counterfeit what the Lord God has done!
 
Then, moving on to verse 11, we see another beast coming out of the earth and this one—known by many as the false prophet—is said to exercise all the authority of the first beast and cause everyone on the earth to worship the antichrist that he is representing. I don’t know about you, but that sounds an awful lot like the Holy Ghost who is said to not do things on his own authority but to represent the Lord Jesus Christ and lead us all to glorify Him. This false prophet also is said to perform all kinds of great signs on the earth for the antichrist similarly to how the Holy Spirit is here with us today to perform various signs, wonders and miracles through the Christ’s church.
 
So, again, what we see in this chapter is not just the antichrist, we see the anti-trinity: The dragon, who is the devil, being a type of God the Father. The antichrist being a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the false prophet being a type of the Holy Spirit. The devil will counterfeit everything that is God.
 
THE RANK & FILE OF THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS
 
We even see this in the rank & file of the kingdom of darkness in Ephesians 6:12 where Paul describes the devil’s structure of authority with his demons. In this verse, we are told— “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
 
Now it is noteworthy that the apostle Paul began by saying that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Why, you ask? It is because that is exactly what the devil wants us to think—that our warfare is carnal and aim all of our aggression on other physical human beings. If the devil can get you and I to aim our anger at other people and see them as the issue, then we are playing on his turf. This means that we are giving the devil the home-field advantage. No, the truth is that we are really wrestling with the devil’s workers, which is a specific structure, rank and file.
 
Paul begins by referring to the first class of demonic spirits called “principalities”: The word used for “principalities” is the Greek word arche. This word literally means “first ones, leaders, or preeminent ones from ancient times.” It is where the title “arch angels” comes from, which are the highest-ranking angels in God’s kingdom. So, it would be accurate to say that “principalities” are Satan’s “arch demons.” In other words, they are the highest-ranking demons in his army.
 
Interestingly enough, Satan is called in Ephesians 2:2, “the prince of the power of the air” and in John 12:31 and 16:11, he is called “the prince of this world.” The word “prince” that is used in these references comes from a derivative of this same word for arche, the word archon—thus showing us that just as Satan is referred to as a ruler or a prince, these principalities have been given a ruling position within the devil’s ranks.
 
Now the next group of demonic spirits listed are “powers.” The Greek word for “powers” is the word exousia and would better be translated as “authorities.” These are apparently the second level in the ranks of Satan’s army. They are the demonic spirits that were given a certain amount of authority by Satan himself and they exercise that authority over the next two levels of demonic spirits listed.
 
These two levels of demonic spirits are the classifications of demons that we more regularly deal with in our everyday lives— “the rulers of the darkness of this age” & “spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
 
Let’s quickly look at the third level in Satan’s kingdom— “the rulers of the darkness of this age.” The word “rulers” here comes from the Greek word kosmokrateros, which describes “raw ruling power that has been brought into order and arranged.” So, this particular class of demons has been brought into rank and file and specifically arranged so that their raw power can be best utilized against this “age.” The word “age” describes the “characteristics of a society.” This means that these demonic spirits’ jobs are to influence and inspire society’s philosophies and ideas. Inspire them with what? Paul revealed to us that their job is to flood our society with “darkness!” In other words, “the rulers of the darkness of this age” focus more on a specific generation’s belief system and on a specific society’s philosophies rather than working against us on an individual level. In other words, these demons are working more on this world’s system than they are on us individually.
 
You see, this is why the devil is called in Second Corinthians 4:4, “the god of this world.” This title reveals to us that what Satan rules over is this world’s system—influencing the population’s general beliefs, ways of thinking and philosophies. And he obviously does this through this particular class of his army— “the rulers of the darkness of this age.”
 
Now, the fourth and final level of demonic spirits that Paul listed are the ones that we more regularly deal with in our everyday lives. And they are called “spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” First of all, notice that they are called “hosts.” This word “hosts” carries with it the idea that there are a bunch of these particular kinds of demons—denoting a multitude. So, this means that this is likely the most populated classification of demons.
 
Yes, there are thousands upon thousands of these lowest ranking demon spirits, and Paul says that they are “in the heavenly places.” Now this term “heavenly places” describes the earth’s atmosphere all around us. And the phrase “of wickedness” shows us that they are simply imitating their master…
 
Now when you study out this word “wickedness” you see that it describes things that are “evil, bad and vile.” Therefore, the desire of these spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places is to influence us into all that is evil, bad, or vile, which would include “sin, ungodliness, oppression, sickness, poverty, etc.” These are the demons that get directly involved in our lives and try to manifest “wickedness” in us, whether it be by trying to influence us to sin and live ungodly or by trying to bind us with some sort of physical, emotional or mental infirmity.
 
THE POWER OF UNITY
 
So, when combining both what we’ve seen in Revelation chapter 13 and Ephesians 6:12, we can clearly see that the kingdom of darkness is not disorderly and chaotic. There is actually a lot of organization in the devil’s camp. Therefore, by seeing the order and arrangement that Satan has in his army, we can understand why he has been so effective against mankind. It is because we tend to succumb to one of the devil’s biggest ploys, which is to divide or de-unify us.
 
Friends, we have countless things that promote division in our world today. Naturally, we have things like political factions and racism. Spiritually, we have our denominations and our doctrines. On the other hand, the devil has had his army working together and thus the reason for his success and our failures. We have far greater power in us than he has and if we could learn to come together and operate in our proper rank and file, we would be unstoppable by the enemy. Amen?    
 
So it is no wonder why Satan fights unity so much! It is because He fears the body of believers who might join together with one common goal. This is why you see church splits. This is why you see division in the community. And this is why you see such an escalation of divorce. It is because his number one goal is to divide! For a house divided against itself cannot stand.
 
Do you remember when Jesus was accused of casting out demons by Beelzebub (see Mark chapter 3)? What was His response? He said that Satan cannot cast out Satan, for a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:25). So, as we have seen, there is order in Satan’s camp. It is not perfect chaos. He has a systematic order in his kingdom because he knows the power of operating in this way. Friends, he has order, and each demon in his kingdom works according to their assignment and their position. 
 
So, let’s quickly turn over to Genesis chapter 11 and see an example of how Satan inspired the event called the Tower of Babel: In this chapter, we see the story of a man called Nimrod, and this man had a plan. He and his people decided they wanted to make a name for themselves. So, they planned to build a tower that would reach to the heavens lest they be scattered across the earth. Well, God saw what they purposed in their heart to do and came down and divided their language because He said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them” (Genesis 11:6). That is a powerful statement!
 
GOD’S STRUCTURE WORKS!
 
But again, my point is, we can see that the devil counterfeits everything that is God. Why? Because he knows it works. Yes, the devil knows that God’s structure of authority and His way of operating works! And, church, we need to know it works too!
 
For example, God basically said something similar that he did in Genesis 11:6 but this time is was out of the mouth of Jesus when He said that nothing shall be impossible for us. And why was there the prospect of this people accomplishing anything and nothing being impossible for them to do? It was because they were one! It was because they all had one language! It was because they had tapped into a spiritual law that when a people become one and they pursue a common goal—with one mind, one mouth, and in one accord—nothing shall be impossible for them.
 
So, if this is a true principle for Satan and the ungodly, how much more do you reckon this will work for the body of Christ!?! I guarantee you that if it works for them tenfold; it will work for us a hundredfold! And, as a matter of fact, the Lord said it this way—if one can put a thousand to flight, then two can put ten thousand to flight! This is why the Bible tells us that a threefold cord is not easily broken—because when two of us agree on earth concerning anything we ask; God gets involved and all things are possible!
 
We’ve already seen it work like this in the Book of Acts, haven’t we? Acts 2:1-3 says, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord and in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues (that’s the only thing you will ever find divided in God’s kingdom), and one sat upon each of them. And then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
 
Friends, when they gathered together in that upper room in one accord, the Holy Spirit—the anointing Himself—came upon each one of this royal priesthood and took ordinary men and women and made them extraordinary! That oil was poured out on them and was mixed with those tongues of fire and they became the light of the world. Hallelujah! They became that golden lampstand filled with oil and with fire at the wick to burn bright in this dark and perverse generation. But how did it all start? As they were in one place and in one accord!
 
So I encourage you today—do not let the kingdom of darkness bring division into your house, our house, etc. Guard your hearts from those spirits of strife and division that seek to de-unify us from others. It is a ploy of our enemy—he arrays his army in a unified way for the primary purpose of de-unifying us. Don’t let him do it. Don’t give division place. Amen.
 
YOU ARE MARKED AND SEALED!
 
Finally, let’s look at what the apostle John saw next in verses 16-18. It was that mark that the antichrist & false prophet caused all of the human population to receive, commonly known as the mark of the beast.
 
Now this, like the antichrist and many other negative parts of Revelation, have caused a lot of anxiety and fear in the body of Christ. I have even seen movies made about this and in these movies, you see the people actually being given a mark on their foreheads of 666. That is not what the apostle John saw!
 
While it is true that there will be something that will be required to buy and sell in that day, Revelation 13:17 does not tell us that the mark will be a literal 666; it says to let him who is wise & understanding calculate the number of the beast. That means that the numbers themselves are not that evil, mark of the beast.
 
Now before we go on a tangent, trying to figure out what this mark is and what the numbers 666 add up to, let me say this—Why would we spend our time trying to figure out the mark of the beast when there is also a mark given to us by God? That’s right! The Bible says that you and I already have a mark—no, not the mark of the beast, but the mark of the Lamb!
 
You see, according to the following chapter (Revelation 14:1), He puts His seal on the foreheads of those who are His. And as we saw earlier in this series, this seal that the Lord put on the foreheads of His people was a sign that kept them from harm (See Revelation 7:3 & 9:4). So, if one has the seal of God on the forehead, they are kept—from both harm upon their person and from the deception of the enemy. That’s something to get excited about, right there! 
 
Let me give you a good biblical example of this: Second Timothy 2:17-18 tells us— “And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.”
 
Allow me to take some liberty with this verse in order to make a point: Let’s say it this way— “And their message will spread like cancer. The antichrist and his false prophet are of this sort, who needless to say are so far from the truth and will overthrow the faith of even many of the elect.”
 
How many of you know that they could have camped on this verse and started wringing their hands worrying about how these false teachers were evidently capable of overthrowing the faith of some through their false teachings like many have feared concerning the antichrist. But what does Second Timothy 2:19 go on to say? “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.’”
 
Church, that is what we need to focus on when it comes to the antichrist and his mark—the “nevertheless” that says that we stand on the sealed, solid foundation of God! That means that you and I do not have to be moved when the worst of times and greatest deceptions occur—because we stand on that solid foundation that has the following seal— “The Lord knows those who are His” and “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” Amen!
 
Saints, we have to know that God’s mark on us says He knows us! What a remarkable thing to know that God knows you and I! Praise God! But here is the truth that reiterates what we said earlier—He knows those who know Him. And because he knows us by name and we know His name, He will keep and protect us! Amen!
 
But the second thing is how we can make sure we have protection from deception—departing from iniquity. You see, sin deals with the action or lack of action that is wrong; iniquity, on the other hand, deals more with the character or nature of the wrong action. In other words, iniquity seems to be the motivating factor behind wrong behavior. Therefore, for us to allow iniquity is to allow more of an opportunity for entering into deception. This is why the heart is to be guarded with all diligence. Amen?
 
So, when it comes to the great deception that will come in these last days, let me share with you something the Lord told me early in my Christian walk when I was concerned about ever being deceived myself:
 
Knowing I was called to the ministry, I was concerned as to whether I would teach things that were incorrect, thinking I was teaching the right things. So, I pleaded with the Lord to protect me from ever being deceived. So, the next morning after praying that, I woke up to these words replaying in my spirit— “Second Peter, Second Peter, Second Peter…” After laying there for a bit, I finally realized that the Lord wanted me to get up and read that Book of the Bible. And to make a long story short, He showed me from Second Peter 1:5-8 that all I need to do is walk in the light that I know, and He will always keep me free from deception. In other words, what the Lord was teaching me was that in order to not led astray by error, all I need to do is walk in the truth that He has given me.
 
Church, there are things we can do to keep ourselves from the great deception to come. But the same truths will keep you and I from the spirit of antichrist that John told us is already in this world (See First John 2:18 & 4:3). So, let’s walk in the light as He is in the light! Let’s handle the Word of Life so that we can discern the counterfeits. It is all based in knowing Jesus—both through an intimate relationship with Him and through the Scriptures. Let’s be Pro-Christ, and we will live Pro-tected.