Revelation 13- Simply the beast, which side will you go on? (HM)

v1-10-

¹ Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God. ² This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority. ³ I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. ⁴ They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. “Who is as great as the beast?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?”
 ⁵ Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months. ⁶ And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. ⁸ And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made—the Book that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered. ⁹ Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. ¹⁰ Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the sword.                                                                                     This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he wanted Jesus to show his power by turning stones into bread, to do miracles from jumping of high places, and to gain power by worshiping him (Matthew 4: 1-11). Basically, Satan's plan was to rule the world through Christ, but he refused. Woo! He then turns to these beasts...he obviously isn't strong enough on his own, that he needs the help of inhuman creatures. But, with the help of an ordinary man who came to Earth, we are strong enough to win. :D

Even the power given to the beast will be limited by God. The beast will have authority, but only for a limited amount of time. Even while the beast has power, God will still be in control. So don't give up!

Just like yesterday, although the beast will conquer God's people, he will not be able to harm them spiritually. Refusing to worship the beast will result in temporary suffering, but....we will be rewarded with eternal life in the end :) THE CHALLENGE IS TO BE YOURSELF IN A WORLD THAT TRIES TO MAKE YOU LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.

Don't fall into Satan's trap and turn away from God when hard times come. Instead use those tough times as opportunities for testifying for God.

v11-18-

¹¹ Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon. ¹² He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. ¹³ He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. ¹⁴ And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. ¹⁵ He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die. ¹⁶ He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. ¹⁷ And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. ¹⁸Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

 The first beast (yes, there's two!) came out of the Sea, but this second beast comes out of the Earth. He seems to be doing good with all these miracles, but the purpose of his miracles is to deceive. This is why, we must ask ourselves with every miracle we see...

"Is this consistent with what God says in the bible"

The second beast gains influence through the signs and wonders he can perform on behalf of the first beast. Allowing the bible to guide our faith will keep us from being deceived by false signs/teachings, however convincing they seem. 

This mark is designed to mock the seal that God places on his followers (Revelation 7: 2-3)

² And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, ³ “Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.”

Just as God marks his people to save them, so does Satan to protect them from God....seems weird talking about being protected from God! Makes you think why you would need saving from God. 

Those who accept Satan's mark show their willingness to follow Satan and rebellion from God. To refuse the mark, means to commit yourself entirely to God.

So which mark would you prefer?