A key characteristic of the world in the end-times is that the nations are angry. This anger is fueled by the wrath of the dragon himself, and is instrumental in bringing about the final persecution upon God’s people. But are we at risk of imbibing this same spirit of anger within the church today?

<p>A key characteristic of the world in the end-times is that the nations are angry. This anger is fueled by the wrath of the dragon himself, and is instrumental in bringing about the final persecution upon God’s people. But are we at risk of imbibing this same spirit of anger within the church today?</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Alistair Huong: Them That Dwell on the Earth

Alistair Huong

Sunday and Them That Dwell On the Earth

Father in heaven, we're thankful that you have brought us together this evening.

We come before you tonight asking for your blessing.

You know that we have some technical difficulties.

And so we pray that you might speak to us regardless, and that you will bring to mind the things that need to be discussed.

I pray that you will guide our weekend together, and especially as we remember October 22, what has been deemed the great disappointment.

It is a reminder that we have a high priest who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities, who is interceding for us, and who will come for us soon and help us to be ready for that day.

Bless us this Sabbath now, we ask, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

So this weekend we're doing a three-part study together this evening and actually tomorrow afternoon they're really connected, there's really part 1 and part 2, but tomorrow morning our message is still related, but you will see it's going to be a thread running through as opposed to a part 1 and part 2 sequentially.

And really we're gonna be discussing prophecy this weekend together and we'll be thinking particularly regarding Revelation chapter 13 and also Revelation chapter 18 and the idea of coming out of Babylon.

But tonight, as you can see, our title is Sunday and them that dwell on the earth.

And so we're going to do a quick review of Revelation chapter 13 and then we're going to take a bit of a deeper dive in 1 particular aspect of Revelation chapter 13.

Revelation chapter 13, a quick overview of the outline of the chapter.

I know I'm drastically oversimplifying what this chapter talks about, but Revelation chapter 13 begins with the first beast that comes out of the sea, and that beast represents the papacy or the Roman Catholic Church state power and then sequentially later on a second beast arises out of the land and this beast is the United States of America.

I know I'm not proving any of this, this is review, right?

And then after that, there is this thing that is set up, it's called the image to the beast.

But it's also called the image of the beast, which we're going to discuss, that slight nuance, what is that all about?

And then the chapter ends with this thing, the ominous mark of the beast.

This is basically the 4 major sections of Revelation chapter 13.

So what say, the image to the beast is set up at the passing of the Sunday Law.

That's what the statement is talking about.

And in particular, it's talking about an image to the first beast, right?

And so it's going to kind of look like the first beast.

We'll be discussing this a little bit more, but just for now, Sunday law is the beginning of the image to the beast.

Great controversy, page 449, as men then reject the institution which God has declared to be the sign of his authority and honor in its stead that which Rome has chosen as the token of her supremacy, they will thereby accept the sign of allegiance to Rome, the mark of the beast.

And it is not until this issue is thus plainly set before the people and they are brought to choose between the commandments of God and the commandments of men that those who continue in transgression will receive the mark of the beast.

Does anyone currently have the Mark of the Beast?

The Mark of the Beast sometimes in shorthand we might say things like, you know, Sunday is the Mark of the Beast.

The Mark of the Beast is only instituted when several things happen.

Number 1, when the issue regarding Sabbath, the law of God, Sunday, law of God versus law of man, is plainly set before the people and they are able to make an informed decision and then they are forced to choose between the commandments of God versus the commandments of men.

Then and only then is the mark of the Beast an issue.

So nobody currently has the mark of the Beast, but this distinction is important because sometimes we think, oh, Sunday or Sunday Law, therefore that must be the mark of the Beast.

Well, that's actually not technically the case.

There are actually steps to this, and there's a reason why this is important, and you'll see why as we go along.

So Revelation chapter 13, there's an image of the beast, which is also called the image of the beast, and that's when the Sunday law is initially invoked, and then eventually it turns into a mark of the beast and that happens when we are forced to choose Sunday versus Sabbath.

If we choose Sunday in rejection of the Sabbath we receive the mark of the beast.

If we accept Sabbath instead of Sunday we then receive the seal of God.

That's the truth and the counterfeit issue.

So now, Who is responsible for passing the Sunday Law?

That's really the essence of our study today.

Every time there's some significant headline news, right?

Oh, there's another Supreme Court justice that's Catholic.

You know, these types of things always stir up conversation on this subject.

Who actually is responsible for passing the Sunday law?

Or maybe another way to put it, who's responsible for setting up the image to the beast?

Because we just read that the Sunday enforcement is when the image to the beast is set up.

Revelation chapter 13, verses 14 and 15, it says this, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast, notice that, which had the wound by a sword and did live, and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." So there are a couple things I want to mention here.

Number 1, let's just answer the question, based on what we just read in this passage, who makes the image to the beast?

It is not a singular agent, it is not even a singular beast power, it is them that dwell on the earth.

Okay, we're going to discuss a little bit more what that means, but I want to just take a look at this.

The image to the beast, when we think about this idea, like when I give something to someone, it's like a gift.

That word to and of, all of a sudden, it's not just an image to the beast, like I'm not just giving this to the beast like in honor of, in recognition of my fealty or my loyalty to him.

Now it becomes an image of the beast, meaning now it's become a clone.

It's become a replacement or a replica of the beast.

So when we talk about the image to the beast, initially there's a Sunday law that's passed and the Sunday law is in homage of the beast, in honor to, in recognition of the beast's power and authority, but then it gradually shifts, and it might not be that gradual, and it metamorphs into a clone of the beast, meaning it becomes a system that looks and speaks and behaves like the first beast.

Okay, keep that in mind because this is an important point later on.

Okay, but the question is who's responsible for the Sunday Law and them that dwell on the earth, they make the image to the beast.

Okay, so let's take a deeper dive into this.

Saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast.

Ellen White here is quoting the verse we just read.

And then she explains, here is clearly presented a form of government in which the legislative power rests with the people.

A most striking evidence that the United States is the nation denoted in the prophecy.

So this defines for us, who are them that dwell on the earth?

According to this passage, it's the people.

The people in whom the legislative power rests.

So specifically, we're talking about the citizens, the populace, the society at large, the voting public in the nation.

Political corruption is destroying love of justice and regard for truth, and even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance.

Liberty of conscience which has cost so great a sacrifice will no longer be respected.

Where does the demand for Sunday Law, where does it originate?

Comes from the people, the popular demand, public favor.

It's when the politicians read the polling, right?

And they say, oh, this is what the people want.

Daniel: The Greatly Beloved

Father in heaven, thank you for bringing us safely together today.

We thank you for the peace that we can still experience and to worship in.

I pray that you will guide us into all truth today.

Speak to us, teach us something from your word, and help us to be more like you at the conclusion.

We ask and we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.

The title of our message this morning is Daniel, the Greatly Beloved.

So when I ask you, what comes to mind when you think about the Bible character Daniel?

These are all of the things we think about when we think about Daniel.

We might even think about the fiery furnace even though he wasn't there, it's still in chapter 3 of the book of Daniel.

But what about if I ask you the question, what does God think about Daniel?

Well, we don't have to guess because the Bible actually tells us straight up what God thinks about Daniel.

To be more specific, we're told what the angel Gabriel thinks about Daniel, but Gabriel being the messenger from God, I assume they're on the same page.

So let's begin in the book of Daniel in chapter 9 asking this question, what does God think about Daniel?

Daniel chapter 9 and we will read verse 23.

Daniel chapter 9 verse 23 and Daniel is praying, you remember the prayer of Daniel, and angel Gabriel is sent to respond.

Verse 23 says, at the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth and I am come to show thee." This is Gabriel speaking.

Therefore understand the matter and consider the vision.

Oh okay, so Daniel is acknowledged by the angel Gabriel as being someone greatly beloved.

Let's continue in chapter 10 and verse 11.

And he, this is angel Gabriel again, and he said unto me, O Daniel, a man, there it is again, greatly beloved.

Understand the words that I speak unto thee.

Fear not, peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong." So what does God think about Daniel?

Isn't that what we would like God to say about us?

If our name comes up in the judgment, I just want to think that God has a smile on His face and He says, that is my beloved son, or that is my beloved daughter.

And speaking of which, what other Bible character do you remember in Scripture where God said exactly that?

This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased.

So is it fair to say that Daniel must have some Christ-like characteristics?

At least God reveals in his interactions and these terms of endearment that he considers Daniel to be a beloved child of his.

Now actually that's not the main point of the sermon, even though I think there's a lot more we can mine from that, but the point is this, Jesus, he grew in favor with God and man.

Daniel, my contention is, likewise was beloved by God and beloved by his fellow men.

That's actually going to be the balance of our sermon.

We're going to get there in just a moment, but I still need to set the stage with 1 more point.

We're going to come back to Daniel, but Revelation chapter 18, we're going to read a few verses here as we lay the groundwork for what we're trying to accomplish in this message this morning.

So, Revelation chapter 18, we're going to begin reading in verse 1.

This is often referred to as the fourth angel that comes down from heaven.

After the 3 angels' message, it adds its voice to the final warning that the 3 angels give in Revelation 14.

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory.

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Let's skip down to verse 14.

And I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her sins and that you receive not of her plagues.

So at the very closing scenes of earth's history, there is an angel that is lightening the earth with his glory with a very specific message.

Babylon has fallen, and God's people who are in Babylon come out of her.

What Bible character do you know of, lived in Babylon, was not tarnished by Babylon, gave a prophetic message that Babylon is fallen, and were saving people out of Babylon?

So here's the point, we're putting these 2 thoughts together.

Is it possible that Daniel being greatly beloved has something to do with his capacity to give the warning message, the judgment message that Babylon has fallen as well as being successful in saving souls out of Babylon.

That's my thesis for the day is that yes indeed.

The point I'm trying to make is that yes the final message is going to go out, but I believe we as Adventists, we've become very good at defining, articulating, defending what the message is, but we also have to consider the quality of the messenger, the 1 who actually delivers that message.

And the point is I believe Daniel is an illustration to us of how to marry both of these things.

We know that Daniel was an incredibly intelligent person.

He was taken as a slave, marched across the desert, he was made into a eunuch, conscripted into the king's service, he went through the University of Babylon for 3 years, and at the end of it, he was 10 times wiser than all the wise men.

Meaning at the end of 3 years of university, he was 10 times smarter, had 10 times more papers written, had 10 more degrees, whatever you want to say, more than his own teachers.

Daniel, did he have a high IQ, you think?

You do all the research, effective leaders, effective influencers, they may not be the A plus students, but they were A plus in people skills, relationships, and emotional intelligence.

And this is really what my point is today.

Daniel shows us an example of completeness of Christian character, of not only knowing the Bible, but knowing how to communicate it to people and how to win people.

So this is what we're going to do for our time together.

We're going to do a speed run through the first 6 chapters of Daniel.

We're going to skip chapter 3 because Daniel's not featured there.

But the historical section, the historical narrative section of Daniel, we're going to speed run through it, paying a special attention on Daniel's relationships, Daniel's interpersonal interactions with the Babylonians in his life.

And we're going to look at it while paying attention to the broader context in which these interactions took place.

So I'm guessing that most of us have heard these Bible stories before.

And so I'm going to take the liberty of just flying over them really fast, assuming that you can fill in the blanks of the details.

Nebuchadnezzar the king comes to Jerusalem, raises the city to the ground, destroys the temple, massacres all the people, well almost all the people, kills Daniel's parents.

He takes the cream of the crop of the young people back to his kingdom, and he is going to assimilate them into his government.

He wants to take the brightest, the best and the brightest from all of his conquered nations so that he can enhance his kingdom.

Daniel is brought to the king's court and Daniel was forced to become a eunuch and Daniel was sent to the University of Babylon for 3 years.

Now it's important to notice what Nebuchadnezzar did not do.

Nebuchadnezzar did not use force, he did not coerce, he did not beat these slaves into submission.

He gave them free tuition to the best schools in the land.

He gave them probably a nice dormitory to stay in, in which there might have been a free subscription to Netflix and Hulu and HBO Max.

The Nations Are Angry

Father in heaven, we thank you for bringing us safely together again this Sabbath afternoon.

We ask that you will speak to us through your word, through this study.

Help us to have clarity of thinking as we consider the momentous times in which we live and the end times that are upon us and your soon return.

And I pray Lord that we might be actuated by a spirit of love towards you to accomplish the work they've given us to do.

And so please be with us as we spend a thoughtful hour this afternoon, send your spirit to teach us, to be our teacher and our guide, and be with those who may still be on the way.

We commit these things to you now, we ask in Jesus' name, amen.

You see that the title of our message this afternoon, but last night we actually began this study in Revelation 13 in which we were looking at the idea of the image to the beast and this thing called the Sunday Law.

And we looked at how the people of the earth, also called them that dwell on the earth, are those who are responsible for setting up the image to the beast, or rather, the people that, the population at large, the general population, are the people who actually demand from the government the Sunday Law.

And this presentation this afternoon is a continuation of that study from last night and we're going to look at how the issue transpires and escalates.

So the nations are angry, that's the title.

Where do we find that concept or that phrase in scripture?

It is actually found in Revelation chapter 11 and verse 18.

And the nations were angry and thy wrath is come and the time of the dead that they should be judged and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets and to the saints and them that fear thy name small and great." So what period of earth's history is this passage speaking about?

Well it's talking about the time of the judgment of the dead.

That's the time frame that this passage is talking about in which the reward of God's people, those who are having their names passed before the judgment, the reward is being determined.

Well, we're talking about the pre-advent judgment.

We're talking about the end time judgment of God before the Second Coming.

Now, the bolded text here is what we looked at, is where the title of our message comes from, And it tells us that during this time, near the end of time when God's judgment is happening, what is the condition of the world?

What is the emotion that God saw fit to characterize the nations of the world by?

And if I can tie this in to what we were talking about last night, if them that dwell on the earth representing the general population and the people of the world are what's talked about, would it then not stand to reason that the nations being angry also represents people in the world that are getting angry?

All right, so it looks like we are having a bit of anger.

So we're going to go to Matthew 24, which is Christ's famous chapter about the end times and apocalyptic eschatology.

And we're going to see this idea of the nations being angry expounded upon by Jesus.

How does he describe the anger at the end of time?

Matthew 24 verses 9 through 13, Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." Does that sound like nations being angry?

And then shall many be offended and shall betray 1 another and shall hate 1 another And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many.

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." So the nation's being angry, the people, the population being angry is manifest in hatred, in betrayal, in the love of many waxing cold, in backstabbing, in persecution, in affliction.

Why is anger the defining characteristic of the world at the end of time?

Well, we have a clue in Revelation chapter 12, verse 17.

It says, and the dragon, and who's the dragon?

Wrath, fury, enraged, outraged, angry, Right?

The dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with who?

The remnant of her seed, which represents God's people at the end of time, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Well, 1 clue is that there is a devil named Satan who is extremely angry.

And Desire of Ages, page 353, illuminates how that anger transfers to others.

It is the dragon that is wrath, it is the spirit of Satan that is revealed in anger and act accusing.

But God's servants are to be representatives of him, and the spirit that is kept gentle under provocation will speak more effectively in favor of the truth than will any argument, however, forcible." So the end-time anger and the hatred and the wrath towards God's people, by the people of the world, by the nations of the world, the nations that are angry, what is that actually a reflection of?

Well, it's merely a reflection of Satan's anger.

It is Satan controlling the nations, manifesting through them his emotions.

And so now, the wrath of the dragon comes to full fruition.

His fury reaches its zenith, its peak, at a certain period of time.

And this is exactly the period of time that we were discussing last night.

Revelation chapter 13 verse 11, And I have beheld another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had 2 horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

We discussed how the second beast that arises out of the earth represents the United States of America and this prophetic power is predicted to speak as a dragon.

And what emotional state did we just discuss the dragon as being in at the end of time?

So what kind of speech do you think this lamb-like beast is going to spew out of its mouth?

And so Revelation 13, 14, and 15 now, this is exactly where we were last night, it gives us an inkling as to what that anger, the angry speech rather, speaking as a dragon is going to sound and look like.

And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword and did live, and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast.

And the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." That last line there is instructive.

If you don't do as I say, If you don't worship as I say, we're going to kill you." Well, that sounds a whole lot like what we read in Matthew 24.

It sounds like the nations that are angry.

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Series

Alistair Huong: Them That Dwell on the Earth

The Nations Are Angry

Transcript

Description

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Attachments

The Tides of Change Part 1

53m

Of Love and Revolution

34m

Be Ye Therefore Perfect

43m

The Mount of Blessings

Retaliation and Vengeance

37m

Understanding Difficult Topics

5. The United States in Bible Prophecy

1h 14m

Back to the Mission

Tears of the Remnant

59m

God is Love?

18-The Antichrist’s Accomplice

1h 11m

How Heaven’s War Became Ours

1h

Trump, Biden and the Image to the Beast

1h 8m

Sheep Among Wolves

46m

Eric Walsh: Must Be the Music

Culture, Spiritualism, and the War for Your Soul

1h

Return of the Gods

55m

Sound Doctrine