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See Terms.
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Hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. I am your host, Ali Yost. It is a joy and honor to be here with you guys today. Sorry, I was getting suspicious of my S's again. I think I'm thinking too much about it now at this point. Like, I don't know what it is, but I feel like anytime I do my intro, my S's are so much harder than they typically are. Okay. Anyway. Hey guys, Happy Friday. How's everybody feeling? How's everybody doing? I'm very excited for today and this is what we're doing. Okay. I went back and forth about this. I don't know why I would go back and forth about something like this, but I was like, should we just take a break from Revelation and like, you know, I don't know, just detour for a second and then get back to it. And I say, let's just keep going. Let's just finish the Book of Revelation. We still have 10 more chapters to go, so I'm not sure if we're actually going to do all of that today. It might be two more episodes where we do it. We get through a good amount of that today and then next week, or we do it all today. I don't know. We'll all be surprised at the end of this. But I say, is there a bug in here? Hey, it's another one of those dinky little fruit flies. Okay, how are they getting in here? What is it anyway? Let's just do it. Let's Just keep reading, okay? I'm learning, you're learning. We're all learning. Let's just finish the book of Revelation together, okay? What do we say? Do we like the idea of that? Okay, first and foremost, guys, first and foremost, we do have our Christ. Okay? We're gonna be reading from our Bibles today. Very, very grateful for the word of God. Thank you, Jesus, for the word of God. Today I'm gonna be reading the new living translation, which is nlt from my handy dandy, cute little yellow Bible that I tell you guys about every time. If I. I really hope you guys can't see this fruit fly. He is on the corner of my eye, and if he's being picked up on camera now, I'm paranoid he's landing on me. Also, guys, I have my little boop boop. I've got my little squish back today. Um, yeah, maybe it's just one of those days again where I just need something to help me not feel so stimulated. I think it was the checklist I woke up with this morning, to be honest. Do you guys relate to that? I woke up this morning with a to do list. That was heavy. And so immediately I was like, where's my squish? I need my squish. But I have my dot. He's with us. Beep, beep. Anyway, my Bible. Here it is in all its glory. Very. My dot hasn't been wanting to stay on my knee, though. Bub. Hey, Bub. Stay right there, Bubba. Everything and everyone is Bubba or Bubs to me. I don't know why, but lately everything has been Bubba, Bubba. Like, even if somebody's cutting me off in traffic, I'm like, bubba, Bub, Bubs. Why'd you do that to me? Bubba. Everybody's Bubba. It's kind of cute and fun. Anyway, he's Bubs. Bubs doesn't want to really stay on my knee here. Stay right there, Bob. I promise we're gonna get to the point of this episode, guys. Sorry. Anyway, we have our Christ. This is my Bible from Hosanna Revival. That's what I wanted to tell you. I'm. I'm not sure. The yellow might still be sold out. But sign up for notifications if you'd like, because I do believe they do have plans to restock it, which is great news. It's not just sold out, it's coming back. But they also have a ton of other really beautiful Bibles as well. Hosanna Revival, is it. Like, I hype them up in every episode. They don't pay me to say this transparently. The code that I have with them, it's an affiliate link. So I do make commission from that code transparently. But they don't pay me to hype them up like this. Like, I genuinely believe in them and I love them so much. And anytime I've interacted with them and their team, they are just so unbelievably kind and they are so genuine. And so I'm going to hype up any company that is run by people who are so genuine and kind, and I love what they're doing. And they just make the most beautiful, like you can. Like the way that they put love and intentionality in the pieces that they make. They also have, like, journals and calendars and planners, and it's all so gorgeous. The quality is amazing. And so you're welcome to use my code if you'd like to save on anything from Hosanna Revival. It's just my first and last name, Ali Yost, and it should be active all the time. It should be working for you no matter what. Unless they're running, like a big major sale, which I just learned a few weeks ago, that if they are doing, like a crazy site wide sale, which I don't think happens that often, they will turn off all of their affiliated links. So if it's not working for you, maybe that's why. But more every more times than not any other time, it should work. It's always active. So available to you. You're welcome to use it. I love them. What else? Oh, and we have our Coffee on Ice today. Duh. It's the name of the podcast. We got our Christ and we got our Coffee on Ice in our new glass tumbler from our merch that we just launched not too long ago. We have Christ with Coffee on Ice on the front and then Jesus on the back. I have my white font here. We also have it in black. And then we also have a bunch of amazing merch that we've been working on for a few months now, going back and forth with the design of it. I'm very, very, very, very proud of it. I've been talking about it every week because I'm just so excited about it. I'm so proud about this launch. I think it's the coolest thing we've ever made. And so we'll put it on the screen here for you guys to see all of my faves. And you guys are welcome to check it out. No pressure to buy anything. Just look at it because I'm so proud of it and excited about it. I think they're beautiful and they're so fun and it's perfect for evangelizing and telling people about the goodness of God and how much they are loved by Jesus without even having to open our mouths. Hopefully it just starts a conversation and then you can tell them and testify to what Jesus has done in your life. But I'm very proud of the merch we created, so that is available too. Okay, that's it. Now let's get into the Bible, the Holy Bible we're going to continue to read in the Book of Revelation. If you missed our last episode and even the episode before, you might be a little confused because we started at the very beginning of Revelation. Now we're gonna be picking up at chapter 11 because we've covered until chapter 10, which last week's episode was a very different tone than the week before. Last week's was just a little more intense. So you know what? It's okay. We're buckled in today and we are expecting anything. Okay. Cuz transparently, you guys, I don't know if I've actually read the entire book of Revelation. When I first opened it with you guys a couple weeks ago, I was like, I think I have, but if I did, it was a long time ago. I don't think I've read through the entire thing. So we're all in this together. I won't do that. I thought about singing the song we're all in this Together, but then I was like, I'm not going to do that to everybody. Good thing I didn't. Anyway, so, yeah, if you didn't listen to last week's or the week before, you might be a little confused. So I would encourage you to listen to those two episodes before you get to this one. But if you're all caught up, then you're right where you're supposed to be. Hey, here we go. I would still love to give you guys a little bit of a recap on what we've covered so far though, because it has been a week since the last time we talked about this. And so we'll just do a quick little refresher of the brain and then continue in chapter 11. Does that sound good? Okay, great. Okay. So at the beginning of the. Of the Book of Revelation, we are introduced to a vision of Jesus that was given to Apostle John, who was exiled on the island of Patmos. Okay. So we know that that's where the setting is.
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And.
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And it all starts with this Massive encounter and vision of the redeemed, glorified Jesus. Jesus. Then after we see that vision of Jesus with his hair white as wool, his eyes like fire, right? Jesus then speaks directly to the seven churches, correcting them, rebuking them, but also encouraging them in all the ways that they were being faithful and in all of the ways that they lacked faithfulness. And he was preparing them to remain faithful in a difficult world. And then we move on to the next few chapters, like 4, 5, and 6, where John is taken into the throne room of heaven, where we see God seated at the throne and he is surrounded by worship, right? So that was when the 24 elders, the creatures with all the eyeballs, were worshiping God. And then we also meet the lamb that was slain. There was that part where an angel was like, who is worthy to open the scroll? And John starts to weep because he's looking around and it's. No one is actually worthy to open this scroll, which the scroll represented God's plan entirely like God's plan for judgment, redemption, and the fulfillment of history. It's God's plan, is what's inside the scroll. And so then at that moment, we see a lamb as if it has been slaughtered. And that's. It's Jesus. And that is the lamb who was able to actually open the scroll. And then at the beginning of chapter six is when we see Jesus slowly start to open the seven seals of the scroll. And in each seal that was opened, we see events unfold that reveal both the brokenness of the world and God's sovereign control over history. So there are wars, famine, death, persecution, and cosmic disturbances like the stars falling out of the sky. That was a crazy image. The sun turning blood red, the sky rolling up like a scroll, earthquakes happening, right? Reminding us that history is moving toward God's appointed end. So that was when we were first starting to really be introduced to, like, oh, this is the end of the world. This is what the end times is going to look like. Okay. And so now fast forward to chapter 10, which is where we had left off last week, is the pace did slow down a little bit in chapter 10, which I think we all kind of needed for a second. Check our pulses and go, okay. But chapter 10, John encounters a mighty angel and is given a small scroll to eat. You guys remember this part? This part was kind of cool. So the scroll is sweet in his mouth, but bitter in his stomach. A picture that God's word is both beautiful and difficult. The message of God brings hope and salvation, but it Also contains warnings and judgment that can be hard to receive. Okay. Can be hard to swallow. And so that's okay if that's what we're experiencing as we are reading the book of Revelation. Where's my squash? Okay, so now that all brings us. Are we still hanging in there? That was just the recap, guys. I know. Buckle in. Like, these episodes are not our typical episodes. It is what it is. It's just a lot. But now, bringing us to chapter 11, we're going to encounter two witnesses, continued themes of God's faithfulness, and another reminder that even when the world appears chaotic, God is still accomplishing his purpose. Something that we have seen over and over again so far in Revelation is that things are not always as they appear from an earthly perspective, meaning what looks like chaos on earth is actually under God's authority in Heaven. Revelation continually pulls back the curtain so we can see reality from God's point of view, meaning even in all the chaos of the world. I think Revelation is continually pointing us back to the fact that God is in control. He is on the throne. Jesus is king. He is worthy. He is the one that is redeeming all of humanity. And God has a plan for everything to work out in the way that he had planned. And so even in the chaos of the world, you know, I had mentioned, I think maybe it was in the episode a couple weeks ago where, like, we see what's happening in the world and we see what's happening with AI and we freak out. We're like, oh, my gosh, we have all this fear. But the truth is, is, like, everything that's happening right now is not a surprise to God. And so if there's anything to take from Revelation, it is the hope that God is still in control. And he's promised us that his goodness, faithfulness, and his love will prevail, overcome, and win in the end, that the last person to speak will be Jesus and not evil. Okay, so chapter 11, verse one. Everybody crack open your Bibles. Crack open your Bibles with me. We're going to start at chapter 11, verse one. Okay, the two witnesses. Then I was given a measuring stick, and I was told, go and measure the temple of God and the altar and count the number of worshipers, but do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days. These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth. And if anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die. They have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish. When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them. And he will conquer them and kill them. And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called Saddam and Egypt, the city where their Lord was crucified. And for three and a half days, all people, tribes, languages and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them. All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who who had tormented them. But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them and they stood up. Terror struck all who were staring at them. Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, come up here. And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched. At the same time, there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake. And everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of Heaven. And the second terror is past. But look, the third terror is coming. Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet and there were loud voices shouting in heaven. The world has now become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever. The 24 elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him. And they said, we give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the One who is and who always was. And for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were filled with wrath. But now the time of your wrath has come. It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants, the prophets, as well as your holy people and all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest. It is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth. Then in heaven, the temple of God was opened and the ark of his covenant could be seen inside the temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm. Then I witnessed in Heaven. An event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. She was pregnant and she cried out because of her labor pains and. And the agony of giving birth. Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his head. His tail swept away one third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born. She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and. And was caught up to God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days. Then there was a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle. And he and his angels were forced out of heaven. The great dragon, the ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world, was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, it has come at last. Salvation and power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth, the one who accuses them before our God, day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Therefore rejoice, O heavens. And you who live in the heavens, rejoice. But terror will come on the earth and the sea. For the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time. When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle, so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time. Times and half a time. That's an interesting sentence that I don't get. For a time. Times and half a time. Okay, we'll break that down in a second, I guess. Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth. But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the Mouth of the dragon. And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children. All who keep God's commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus. Then the dragon took his stand on the shore beside the sea. 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. 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. 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. 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? Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for 42 months. And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling. And that is those who dwell in heaven. 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. 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. That belongs to the lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. 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. Okay, God. Okay, we're almost done with chapter 13. I'm just going to finish that off, and then we're going to reflect, okay? We're going to talk about all of that.
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Okay?
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The beast out of the earth. This is chapter 13, verse 11. Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. How many beasts are there?
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Ugh.
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And they sound so ugly. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon. Ew. 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. He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast. He deceived all the people who belonged 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. 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. What a bunch of freaks. Sorry, we're almost done. Okay. Verse 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. 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. Wisdom 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. All right, let's talk about it. Let's talk about the number 666. Whoa. Let's talk about the fact. Let's talk about the fact that there's going to be a point in time in this world where the devil is going, oh, my gosh, is going to his last act of claiming people and trying to rob God of people. And he'll successfully do it like people are going to do. This is the mark of the beast. This beast is going to require everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. 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. What if my friends secretly hate me? What if something bad happens because I didn't do that thing? Does God really still love me after what I've done? If you've ever had thoughts like that that seem to play on repeat, you're not alone. Intrusive thoughts can feel incred, incredibly real and urgent. And for some people, they can actually be signs of ocd. OCD is so much more than what people think it is. It can affect relationships, faith, fears, guilt, and so many other areas of life. Now, the good news is that OCD is highly treatable with a specific kind of therapy called erp, or Exposure and Response Prevention. That's why I wanted to tell you guys about NO cd. So NOCD is the world's leading provider of OCD treatment. They're licensed therapists and specialize in ERP therapy. And treatment is completely virtual, covered by insurance, for over 138 million Americans. With support Even in between sessions. So you're never facing OCD alone. To learn more about starting OCD therapy with no CD, go to nocd.com and book a free call with their team. That's nocd.com let's be honest. Gas, groceries, and eating out are expenses that aren't going away anytime soon. If I were looking for a way to get more value out of those everyday purchases, Upside is exactly what I'd be using. And I do use it. The free Up Upside app lets you earn cash back on gas, groceries, and dining. And here's how it works. You open the app, claim an offer, pay with your card like you normally would, and earn cash back. It's simple. There are over 100,000 participating locations, so chances are there are offers where you're already headed. And you can even use Upside alongside your existing credit card and loyalty rewards. It's one of those small habits that can really add up over time. Upside has given back $1 billion to its users. To find out how much you could earn, download the free Upside app and use promo code on ice. Get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas. That's promo code on ice. So chapters 11 through 13, I think what we're seeing now is the curtains are really getting pulled back where now John is being shown and is showing us what's happening behind the scenes of human history. Like in this, in the spiritual realm. And what we know for sure after reading chapter 11 is they prophesy for 12, 60 days, which is three and a half years. They call people to repentance, they are opposed by the beast, they are killed. God raises them from the dead, and then they ascend to heaven. After doing a little bit of research. Okay, again, this is. This is just what I'm finding. I'm not saying that I am the end all, be all. Like, we should continue to research and learn as much as we can about the book of Revelation because it's a crazy book. But from what I found is there are theologians out there that land in one of like three categories, I guess. One being that they believe the two prophets are literal prophets. They are two literal future prophets. The other category is Moses and Elijah because the miracles resemble theirs. And then the last one is some theologians believe that it is a symbol of the faithful church bearing witness to Christ throughout the age. Okay, but what matters most isn't necessarily identifying them, but seeing the pattern, which is God's witness may appear defeated, but God vindicates them. I think that's the biggest takeaway that we should have from that, from the two witnesses that is explained to us and shown to us in chapter 11. Then chapter 12. This one's wild. So chapter 12 was the woman, the child, and then the dragon. And when I looked this up, there's like, some really intense imagery and, like, artwork that people have made about this chapter, which is so cool. But this chapter is one of the clearest behind the curtain moments, I think in Revelation, there's a lot of imagery and there's. There's a picture that we are literally. I mean, I don't know if you guys were seeing it in your mind, but I was. And so obviously, the major characters are the woman who's giving birth, the child, the dragon. So the woman, most scholars believe she represents faithful Israel or the people of God. Broadly right, us. Hey, us. The imagery comes from Joseph's dream in Genesis 37, the child. So this is almost universally understood as Jesus Christ. The child is born, destined to rule the nations, and is caught up to God. How are we birthing Jesus, though? I don't get that. Okay, so right at that point, though, my question is, like, if it's true that the woman. This is healthy. This is just healthy to process and discuss. I don't know. I could look back at this episode in a year and be like, girl, you tried. You really tried. That's fine. I'm coming to this humbly, guys. But my thought with that is, like, if we're the woman giving birth and Jesus is the baby, that doesn't feel right. That feels backwards, because we didn't come before Jesus. Like, if anyone's birthing anyone, it's. You know what I mean? Like, how is it we're birthing Jesus? That doesn't make sense. And so that actually is exactly why a lot of scholars don't think that the woman is exclusively the church. But I guess after looking it up, I guess many theologians understand the woman primarily as Israel, or more broadly, the people of God through whom the Messiah came. In that case, the woman gives birth to Jesus because she represents God's covenant people from whom the Messiah came. So I guess she's often understood as God's covenant community. If someone says the woman is the church and the church gave birth to Jesus, that doesn't fit the biblical timeline very well. The stronger interpretations recognize that the woman must include the faithful people of God before Jesus birth because the Messiah comes from her. That makes more sense in my brain, I think now the dragon was made very clear. Okay. At least the dragon we are. We know for sure, for sure is Satan, because John explicitly reveals that and tells us that the dragon clearly tries to destroy the Messiah but fails. I feel like that part out of all of it was the clearest to me. The baby was definitely Jesus. The dragon was definitely Satan. The dragon tries to destroy the Messiah but fails. Okay, Then we see war in heaven involving. So this is when we get to kind of see, like, the curtain is removed and we get to see what's happening behind the scenes. The things in the unseen that we just can't see with the naked eye. Michael the Archangel. We love Michael. He's good guy. So we see a war involving Michael, and the result of that is, is we see that Satan is actually defeated and cast down. They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. That's a Bible verse I've heard a few times. I'm sure you guys have heard that one a lot too. That it is, we will. We will overcome the enemy by the blood of Jesus and the power of our testimony. It is by Christ's sacrifice and faithful witness. Okay. Chapter 13 was the craziest for me. Okay, I don't know if you guys relate, but this chapter introduces Satan's counterfeit Trinity. So we've said this before on the podcast, and it's pretty clear at this point, I think even in our daily lives, we see the way that Satan is not original. Okay? If he's gonna make something, it's a counterfeit of something God has already created. Why does he do that? Because he just wants to be God. Because he's jealous, he's prideful, he's selfish, he's literally evil, and he just wants to be God. Okay? He envies the power that God has. He'll never be God. He knows it. He knows his future. But he will always make a counterfeit. Like whatever God has created, Satan tries to make the opposite of that and a really perverted, evil, blasphemous version of that. Okay? And so with that being said, these beasts that we are introduced to in chapter 13, that is Satan's counterfeit trinity, right? Because we have the Trinity through our Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Many theologians note the parallels. Okay, so the parallels of the Trinity that we get through God and then the Satanic counterfeit. So we have the Father, and Satan's version is the dragon, and then we have the Son, Jesus, and Satan's version is the beast that came after the dragon. And then we have the Holy Spirit, and then the Satanic counterfeit is the false prophet. The dragon gives authority to the beast. Hello. Does that sound familiar? Just as the Father gives authority to the Son. The false prophet points people to worship the beast, just as the Holy Spirit points people to Christ. Yeah, he's not unique, guys. He's not. He has not an original thought in his brain. This is a very dark version of God's kingdom that Satan is now trying to replicate and deceive people. It's all through deception and manipulation. And if people do not know any better, if they are not educated with the wisdom that comes from God, they're going to fall for it. That's why we need to continue to tell people about the wisdom of God and that true wisdom really comes from God, his Holy Spirit, the Word of God. Because without it, we will be deceived. There will be a lot of people at this time in history will that will be manipulated to believe that this is the truth. And we saw that manipulation where these people were like, witnessing the miracles of. Was it the dragon bringing the beast back to life? Whatever. Same literally again, Satan just trying to be God, trying to replicate the miracles and the resurrection of Jesus. And so then we move on to the mark of the beast. This part, y'. All. Was anybody else getting chills during this part? I hated it. But this is where Christians often become fascinated and where we need humility. What does scripture actually say? The mark is on the forehead or hand connected to allegiance to the beast, connected to buying and selling, connected to worship. Receiving the mark is always tied to worship and loyalty to the beast. Also, guys, just so you know where I'm getting all of these sources from, of what I'm reading from this, because sometimes you guys ask that. These are backed up from some sources from the Gospel Coalition and pthu. Just some cool articles that I found about this. But anyway, some people argue. Again, we never. We don't know because it hasn't. We don't. It hasn't happened yet. And this is a major Christian view. I guess I don't know. From what I'm finding most people believe this is true is that it's more of a symbolic allegiance versus like a physical allegiance. Many respected scholars such as Greg Beal and Sam Storms argue that the mark is primarily symbolic. In Revelation 7, God's people are sealed on their foreheads. Few Christians believe God literally tattoos believers. The seal represents ownership and allegiance. Likewise, the beast's mark represents belonging to the beast. The forehead symbolizes thoughts. The hand symbolizes actions. In other words, you think like the beast and live like the beast. This view sees the mark primarily as spiritual allegiance rather than an actual physical stamp on your hand or your forehead. Just something to consider. Okay, Number two, future literal mark view. Many evangelical and dispensational theologians believe a future world ruler will institute an actual economic system requiring a literal mark or identifier. They point to the inability to buy or sell, global control language, a future Antichrist system, but some kind of economic system that we would have to live by requiring a literal mark or identifier. I guess that's another perspective. Number three is a first century Roman Empire view. So some scholars believe that John's first audience would have connected the beast with the Roman Empire and emperor worship. Christians in the Roman world often faced pressure to burn incense to Caesar, declare Caesar as lord, participate in emperor worship. Refusing could have economic consequences. Under this view, the mark symbolizes participation in an anti God political religious system. What about 666? So again, there are multiple views about this part. A large number of scholars believe 666 may refer to Emperor Nero through a Hebrew numerical calculation. Others note that 7 often represents completeness, but 6 falls short of 7. So 666 may symbolize humanity trying to be God, but obviously Falling short. So seven equals completeness. Six means falling short. Then 666 becomes a picture of ultimate human rebellion. Humanity trying to be God but always falling short. It's like evil's counterfeit version of perfection. I'm also probably a little guilty of this too, because I think my interpretation of 666 has always been like, that's the devil's number. I mean, a lot of popular Christian culture has treated 666 as if it were a magical, demonic number. But Revelation itself actually focuses more on what the number represents, which is false worship, misplaced allegiance, rebellion against God, following the beast rather than Christ. So the emphasis shouldn't be like, be afraid of this number. Because, like, if we're being honest, like, you know, you get your number at the restaurant to pick up your food and you have 666 and now you're scared. You think that you're about to have the worst day ever. You think the devil is coming for you. You got to watch your back, you got to look over your shoulder. That's not the emphasis here, okay? The emphasis is be careful who you give your worship to. This episode is brought to you by Glorifai, the one Christian daily devotional app. One thing I really appreciate about Glorify is that it helps create intentional moments with God throughout the day, whether I have five minutes before recording or while I'm out on a walk. It's an easy way to slow down, spend time in scripture and refocuses my heart on Jesus. I love listening to their daily meditations. Like they have these meditations where they are simply just reading scripture and I will actually put that on at night and it just does something to my nervous system. Like that's just what the Word of God does to you. And so no matter what time of the day, no matter where you're at, the Glorify app is an incredible resource. They're also hosting a really exciting event called the Tribe Conference in Silicon Valley, bringing together Christian leaders, creators and tech founders to talk about faith, technology, and using your voice for God's Kingdom. Tickets are $299. They're also sponsoring many attendees to come for free. If you apply now, listeners to the show can also get full access to the Glorify app for just $29.99 for the entire year, which is their lowest price ever. Go to glorify-app.com ally that's glorify d app.com alli here at Christ With Coffee and Ice we obviously talk a lot about purpose here, about finding the path God has set for us. And when it comes to education, that path should lead to a future that matters. That's why when I heard about Grand Canyon University, I was so impressed because are a private, nonprofit Christian university in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona that believes education shouldn't be a privilege, but an affordable path forward for everyone. GCU is grounded in Christian truth. They are working to empower the next generation to lead with integrity and serve with purpose. And they make it accessible. Did you know GCU has kept tuition at the same rate on its traditional campus for 17 years plus in 2025 alone, they awarded over $404 million in institutional scholarships. Whether you're a degree on campus or online, find your purpose at GCU. Private Christian Affordable Nonprofit. Visit gcu.edu to learn more. That's why the chapter actually ends with wisdom and discernment. John wants believers to recognize the spirit and system behind the beast rather than becoming obsessed with the numbers. So to summarize all of that, okay, major takeaways after all of this blabbing and processing is the dragon is Satan, the beast is Satan's agent or Kingdom, and 666 is the identifying number of the beast, not the devil himself. This is interesting. There's one more thing that I just found about the buying and selling. Revelation 13 says people could not buy or sell without the mark. If a Christian refuses to participate, they could lose business opportunities. They could be excluded from commerce. They could face social isolation. In that sense, allegiance to the beast wasn't merely theological. It had economic consequences. The pressure looked something like, compromise your faith and life gets easier. Sounds familiar. That's exactly the pressure Revelation is warning about. Honestly, that's a lot of what the world tells us today that might already be happening right now, so many times as believers that I think we are tempted and have maybe even believed at times. That that statement is true, is that if we compromise our allegiance to Jesus, if we compromise our faith, our life will get easier and we will get more opportunities and things won't be as hard. That actually is literally already happening today. How's everybody doing? Okay. Wait, actually, quick intermission. Is everyone doing okay? Do you need to refill your coffee? Don't have another coffee? Actually, one coffee a day. That's it. But do you need to get some water? Do we need a bathroom break? Yeah. Let me know how we're doing. Okay. Is my squishy distracting? I don't know. It's helping me. Let's go into chapter 14. We're gonna read just a little bit more. Then I saw the lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like a roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together. This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the 24 elders. No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb. They have told no one lies. They are without blame. And I saw another angel flying through the sky carrying the eternal good news to proclaim to the people who belong to this world. To every nation, tribe, language, and people fear God. He shouted, give glory to him, for the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water. Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, babylon is fallen. The great city is fallen. Because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine. Of her passionate immorality. Then a third angel followed them, shouting, anyone who worships the beast and his statue, or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand, must drink the wine of God's anger. It has been poured full strength into God's cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur. In the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief, day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name. This means that God's holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, write this down. Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work for their good deeds. Following them then I saw a white cloud. And seated on the cloud was someone like the son of man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came from the temple and shouted to the ones sitting on the cloud, swing the sickle, for the time of the harvest has come. The crop on earth is ripe. So the one sitting on the clouds swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested. After that, another angel came from the temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel who had power to destroy with fire came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with a sharp sickle, swing your sickle. Now to gather the cluster of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment. So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God's wrath. The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and the blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse's bridle. Then I saw in heaven another marvelous event of great significance. Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues which would bring God's wrath to completion. I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire, and on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them, and they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the lamb. Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King. Of the nations who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name, for you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed. Then I looked and saw that the temple in heaven, God's tabernacle, was thrown wide open. The seven angels who were holding the seven plagues came out of the temple. They were clothed in spotless white linen and gold sashes across their chests. Then one of the four living beings handed each of the seven angels a gold bowl filled with the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. The temple was filled with smoke from God's glory and power. No one could enter the temple until the seven angels had completed pouring out the seven plagues. Okay, so that was chapters 14 and 15. And I think it's safe to say that in those chapters is actually a major turning point from, like, all the darkness that was then. Sorry, my squish. I love my squash. My squish is helping me right now. I'll put him down, though. So after all the darkness of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. In chapters 12 to 13, John is shown a reminder that God wins. His people belong to him, and judgment is coming for evil. So Revelation 14, the 144,000 on Mount Zion. John sees 144,000 again, but this time they are standing with the Lamb. This is meant to be a sharp contrast to chapter 13, because in chapter 13, people receive the mark of the beast. But then in chapter 14, God's people bear God's name. The primary point most theologians emphasize is ownership and allegiance. The question isn't merely who has a mark. The deeper question is, who do you belong to? I think that's the biggest takeaway from these last couple of chapters is like seeing that contrast of who has your allegiance? Who do you live for? Who do you belong to? And then we are introduced to the three angels. So the first angel calls all people to worship God because judgment is coming. This is the very last call, the very last opportunity that God gives people to turn to him. This is the final gospel invitation, which, again, I think is really beautiful. And I think that it reveals God's character as merciful. Even still, up until this very moment, he is still giving people the opportunity to turn from their wickedness and accept him as their Father and give their lives to him and love him so that he can also love them back. Like it's God's mercy, right? But this is kind of the last call where it's like, all right, this is it. This is the Last invitation for people to accept the gospel. And then the second angel announces the fall of Babylon. And Babylon becomes a symbol for every worldly system that opposes God and seduces people away from Him. That's what Babylon represents. While ancient Babylon was a real kingdom. Okay, so that was a real thing once upon a time. Most scholars see Revelation's Babylon as representing something larger than a single city. So again, just representing anything. Every worldly system, culture, whatever, that opposes God and manipulates people away from Him. Babylon is just the world and the ways that the world operates. And then the third angel issues a severe warning against worshiping the beast. So in this section, it reinforces something we discussed earlier, which is the mark of the beast is consistently connected with worship and allegiance. So this angel is warning everybody about consciously aligning oneself against God. This is the last warning of going against God. And then this is like, right in the middle of chapter 14, we see the harvest of the earth. John sees two harvests. So some scholars understand them as pictures of final judgment. One gathers the righteous, the other gathers the wicked for judgment. And I think the point of that is just to show us that God sees evil and he will ultimately deal with it. He will harvest the people who are good and faithful, and he will harvest the ones that are evil, and both will go to their rightful places. So to summarize both chapters 14 and 15 in one big sentence, it would be, before God judges evil, he reminds his people that they belong to him, that Babylon will fall, so the systems of this world will fall, and that faithfulness to Christ will ultimately be vindicated. And the truth about the beast is the beast has power. Okay, so another thing we can acknowledge is, yes, the beast is powerful, the devil is powerful, but the lamb is victorious. Jesus is the one who already has the victory. That is what we should carry out of today's episode and out of reading chapters 11 through 15. What a day. Okay, so that means that we have 16, 17, 18, 19. Oh, wait, 20, 21, 22, 22. Seven more chapters of Revelation. You guys think we can do it? You think we can do it in the next episode? Wow. Okay, so here's the thing. Really proud of you guys. Love you. Thank you for being here. If anything, these episodes are just really good for us if this is the first time we've ever touched Revelation in our lives, you know, and there is still an invitation to learn more. But I love y', all, and I actually would really, I would love so much if you guys could also bring any of your wisdom interpretation, Revelation about the Book of Revelation to the comment section. I would love to hear what you guys have to say about this stuff. And it's fascinating, you know, it's really cool. And again, I'm not sure we will ever fully be able to. I don't think we will. I don't think any of us will be able to fully grasp or understand the magnitude of who God is. And the Book of Revelation, like what John experienced and saw and is writing to us. I'm sure he could hardly even understand it. It's a lot, you know, but. But I'm grateful we're reading it and we're breaking it down as much as we can. But it is really fascinating. It's. It's very fascinating and it's super interesting and it'll keep you thinking for a long time. I know I will be for the rest of my day and week, probably. I love you guys. Happy Friday. I will see you guys next time, same time, same place. But before we go, can we do something really cool today? Can we show somebody how cool Jesus is? Can we walk more like him, Talk more like him, Be more like Jesus today? I love you guys. Okay. I'm really proud of you. Have a great day. Have such a great day. And like, have like a little sweet treat or something. Okay? I love you. I'll see you next time. Bye.
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