In chapter twelve, John saw the pregnant woman and the dragon. She represented God’s chosen people. The child with whom she was pregnant was Jesus, our Redeemer. The dragon represented Satan, the great deceiver. Satan was waiting for the birth of Jesus and waiting to conquer Him. The child, ultimately, ascended and the woman was protected, and the dragon was angry and has sought throughout history to tempt mankind. You and me, he seeks to tempt and conquer. In chapter thirteen, the dragon gave some of his authority to two beasts. These two beasts are believed to be two men who will be given power. They will pretend to come in peace but they will be used by Satan to seduce as many as he can, to reject God. One of these beasts will be the antichrist and the other will be the false prophet. All three of these persons will form an unholy trinity. They will seek to control everything including buying and selling. Everyone will be forced to have a number. This number will be placed on the forehead or the hand. This number will give praise to the evil one, Satan. His number is 666. Those who surrender to our Redeemer, Jesus- are warned and commanded not to take the number.
In chapter fourteen, the Lamb stood with the 144 thousand on Mount Zion where they were recognized for their deeds and were presented as first-fruits to God. A new, bold, and beautiful song, which only they knew, was sung before the throne. Then, John saw three prophetic angels. The first angel flew mid-air continuing to spread the eternal gospel. The second angel announced that “Babylon the great had fallen,” (representing all “great” empires of men.) And, the third angel warned not to worship the beast, his image, nor to receive his mark. Here, John heard the second of the seven blessings, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” Finally, John saw the great harvest of the earth occur and a sickle was given to the angels to reap the last of all evil.
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