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Revelation 13:7
The Beast made war with and overcame the Saints and was given power over all peoples during the Great Tribulation
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And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations
.
INTRODUCTION
Today, we continue with our study of Revelation 13, and we are now on verse 7 of that chapter. The title of this study is the beast made war with and overcame the Saints, and he was given power over all peoples during the Great Tribulation! In this study, besides refreshing our minds as to who the true Saints were and still are, we will see just how and why the beast (Satan, his fallen angels, his counterfeit Christians, and unsaved people) made war against the Saints and overcame them during the Great Tribulation from May 21, 1988 when, according to the
Biblical Timeline of History
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Let's first notice that it was given unto him to make war with the saints. Him, of course, refers to the beast, and since the beast refers to
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but it is such common knowledge to those who study the Bible even just a little that this word refers to those who are truly saved and believe in Jesus Christ, the Elect, that it is not necessary for us to waste time on the subject here. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church has misled many on this subject because they have defined Saints as those who have done sufficient good works according to the judgments of their church leaders. But that is a complete misconception of the term Saints (Holy Ones), for in God's eyes, no human, except Christ Himself, could ever do enough good and perfect enough works to be called a Saint. No, it was when people were born from above by May 21, 2011 into eternal life as a gift through the faith of Jesus Christ at the hand of God alone when those people became Saints. It had nothing to do with their own works, but the works of Christ on their behalf by His death on the cross and resurrection to pay for and cover their sins - past, present, and future sins - so that God now legally sees them as being newly resurrected souls without sin, Holy ones, Saints by the calling and choosing of God alone. Thus, just like we all (the Elect) were eternally saved, we also became Saints not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy ... by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost (2Timothy 3:5). Indeed, it is by grace ... through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). And every person who God has gifted with eternal life to be a Saint or Holy One is a Saint who is on equal standing with every other Saint because, having become
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nor usurp authority over a man, for it was the woman who was deceived and not Adam (1Timothy 2:12); then there was and still is their sinful allowing for men who have divorced and remarried when their previous wife or wives are still living to become Pastors, Elders, or Bishops when God said they must be husbands of just one wife, not two or more wives as they would have if their previous wife or wives are still living (1Timothy 3:2), for Christ still sees each spouse that they think they divorced in pagan courts (the public court system) as still being their wives until they have physically died (see
Divorce, the Big Lie
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ended.
There were and still are, of course, many other false things in the Church as a whole to include all the Christian churches worldwide that led to God bringing His Judgment upon them beginning on May 21, 1988 at the end of the Church Age and even to this day. For instance, the false teaching of infant baptism: not only the garbage of the Catholic Church that is way off base by thinking that infant baptism removes original sin, but also the garbage of the Reformed Churches, except, of course, the Reformed Baptists who see this issue correctly, that think that the old ordinance of outward circumcision has become the ordinance of outward physical baptism when the truth is, the ordinance of outward circumcision was completely fulfilled at the cross when Christ was cut off in the flesh for our sins. The ordinance of water baptism is something new, but this is all a longer discussion with not enough time in this study. But let me say this, there is a different explanation for the so-called household baptisms than virtually all the Reformed Churches think.
Another false teaching in many of the evangelical churches of our day is Dispensational Premillennialism, which incorrectly teaches that the nation of Israel will bring forth much fruit of salvation through Jesus Christ in the near future when Christ taught the exact opposite, that the nation of Israel would be cursed forever to never bring forth the fruit of salvations in Christ (click
here
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written in this book
...
By saying this, God let us know that by the end of the 1st century in 95 AD when it was believed that the book of Revelation was completed, there would no longer be any person that would receive direct messages from God, for that would be an addition to the word of God through a person. Therefore, direct messages from God in voices, new writings, dreams, visions, tongues, so-called words of knowledge, prophecy, and the like, came to an end by the end of the 1st century AD, and all the churches and people that still practice these things are a lie. In fact, God used this charismatic or deceptively called Full Gospel to infiltrate many of the churches as part of His Judgment plan against the Church as a whole. Not all the churches fell prey to this aspect of God's Judgment, but many did, and it was through these type of churches that many false prophets arose with lying signs and wonders such as miraculous healings; counterfeit salvations; direct messages from God in voices, dreams, visions, tongues, so-called words of knowledge, prophecy, and the like; and even the touching of people on their foreheads to make them fall backward, which we will discover in our eventual study of Revelation 13:13 is the fulfillment of what we are therein told is the calling down fire from heaven by the beast in the presence of men. And, as we will see when we study Revelation 13:13, because the sign and wonder of making people fall backward is the fulfillment of the beast calling fire down from heaven in the presence of men, this gives further evidence that the
Biblical Timeline of History
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for this falling backward of people by the false prophets touching them on their foreheads became especially apparent in the churches exactly during the time period that the Biblical Timeline
This is how we can be sure that Judgment Day began on May 21, 2011, and Judgment on all the Christian churches began on May 21, 1988. Don't let yourselves be deceived!
But now, even the churches that did not fall prey to the charismatic false gospel had various other false teachings that led to God bringing His Judgment upon them as well. Besides those false teachings and practices already mentioned, it would require many more messages to even begin to cover all the falsehood that had infiltrated all the various Christian churches that made up the House or Temple of God, the Church (all the Christian churches worldwide), in leading up to and through the Great Tribulation from May 21, 1988 to May 21, 2011, and even to this day. Nevertheless, one of the most deceptive and insidious false teachings of the devil in the churches was and still is the false teaching that Christ died for everyone, and now it is up to each individual person to accept or choose Christ to obtain their eternal life. Or they may not believe that Christ died for everyone because they know the Bible better than the others, but they still preach and teach that one must accept or choose Christ to be eternally saved so that it is at least partially up to the people themselves as to whether they become saved. They may even admit that God does most of a person's salvation, but they still think that that person plays, at the very least, a small part in his or her salvation. These false gospels are everywhere. They are the gospels that think by saying the sinner's prayer, for instance, that one becomes saved. Or by coming forward to an alter call, one becomes saved. Or by being
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Thus, up until Judgment Day on May 21, 2011 when any possibility for eternal life came to an end for all who had not already been eternally saved, people could never become saved by doing something like just believing, or by doing anything else for that matter, but they were saved entirely because of God alone who chose only a particular few from the foundation of the world to be granted the gift of saving faith at some time in their lives that only came from God and not from man in any respect. Again, as we read in Ephesians 1,
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According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love
:
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Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will
[it was not because we did something like believe in or choose him ourselves],
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To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved
.
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In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace
;
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Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence
;
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Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself
:
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That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him
: {heaven: Gr. the heavens }
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In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of
[our will? No]
his own will
...
And we read,
Mt 1:21
And she [Mary] shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save
[all who accept or believe in Him? No,]
his people from their sins
.
{JESUS: that is, Saviour, Heb }
No, He did not come to earth to die for everyone. He clearly came to only die for and save His Elect or Chosen Ones who He had chosen and predestined before this world even came into existence, for, as we previously read, He works all things after the counsel of His own will including having died for only His people. So, not only did Christ not die for everyone, but it is also not up to anyone but God as to who becomes eternally saved and who does not. As God wanted to make it clear to all His true disciples, He said,
Joh 15:16
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit
...
Now, there are many more false teachings and practices which crept into the Christian Church, and because the Holy Spirit began to be removed from all the Christian churches on May 21, 1988 at the end of the Church Age, the beast was able to spiritually kill the Elect in the churches by silencing them in one way or
whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service
.
Notice how being cast out of the synagogues is equated to being killed, which refers to being spiritually killed by being silenced and not by being physically killed. This is how the Elect or Saints were killed during the Great Tribulation. It was the same as if they had been cast out from the churches and, therefore, killed because they were silenced in the churches as if they had actually been cast out of the Church or killed (see
Revelation 11:7-10
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Now, why does God list 3 different things - every tribe, and language, and nation - that the beast was given authority or power over? Well, the number 3 in the Bible can symbolize the purpose of God (see
Bible Number 3
CONCLUSION
In this study of Revelation 13:7, we saw that during the Great Tribulation from May 21, 1988 to May 21,2011, the beast was given by God to make war with the Saints who we found are the Elect or true believers in Jesus Christ, for only they have had all their sins - past, present, and future sins - paid for through the death and resurrection of Christ. And, according to God's law, they are, therefore, accounted as sinless, and thus, they are Holy Ones or Saints not based on any thing that they have done, but based completely on what Christ has done for them on the cross. They did not make themselves Saints because of the good deeds that they had done and the judgment of any church or people, but they became Saints by the works that Christ did on their behalf. And it is Christ also who then does the good works through His Saints; therefore, no Saint should ever be venerated or lifted up because of their good works, for any good work is not of them, but of Christ alone. This is why Saint Paul said of himself,
Ga 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me
...
So, only Christ should ever be venerated, prayed to, and worshipped, for all the good works of the Saints are the good works of Christ Himself working through them. And so, the Saints are nothing, but Christ is everything. So repent and take down your pictures and statues of Mother Mary or any other Saint; stop praying to Mary or any other Saint; throw away your Saint Christophers or emblems of any other
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Saints. These things are an abomination to God!
Next, we learned how the beast (Satan, his demons, his counterfeit Christians, and unsaved people) made war with the Saints during the Great Tribulation. With the Holy Spirit having had departed from all the churches beginning on May 21, 1988 to allow for the beast to whom God had given power to completely take over the Church as God's Judgment against them, the Saints (the Elect) therein were not strong enough to overcome all the false teachings, false practices, false Christians, and false gospels that had infiltrated all the Christian churches to one degree or another in leading up to and into the Great Tribulation. In fact, the Saints (the Elect) were spiritually killed by the silencing of them in the Christian churches through spiritual oppression by Satan and his fallen angels, and by the Saints being ignored, being looked down upon, being called false prophets, being separated from, being given no standing, being not allowed ministry, and in some cases, being cast out of their churches. In one way or another, the Saints were silenced and not allowed to bring the truth by power in the Christian churches worldwide. And, as we shall see in a future study of Revelation 13, only those who had received that Mark of the Beast were able to teach or declare in the Church, but the true Saints (the Elect) were silenced (spiritually killed).
Then, we saw that the beast was given power by God over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations during the Great tribulation, which simply means that the beast was given authority over all peoples; in particular, all the unsaved or counterfeit Christians in the Christian churches worldwide of all kindreds, and languages, and
nations. And the reason that God defines all peoples by three different words (kindreds, languages, and nations) is to emphasize that it was the very purpose of God for the beast to be given power or authority over all the unsaved people in and even outside the Christian churches worldwide during the Great Tribulation. Like a puppeteer, the beast was able to cause the counterfeit Christians in and outside of the churches to think, say, and do whatever he wanted to, and God is still allowing this to take place even to this day to continue His wrath against the Church, and to also bring the Final Judgment against the entire world ever since May 21, 2011.
Finally, we learned that the reason why God gave the beast to make war against the Saints (the true believers) and to overcome them was because by being a part of the Christian churches worldwide as one external body with them after God had abandoned them by removing from them His Holy Spirit beginning on May 21, 1988, they shared in the sins of the churches. And so, God used the beast to chastise or discipline His true people unto repentance, and then He called them out of all the churches to escape the wrath upon them, and they have remained outside the churches, even to this day, and will do so until Christ commands them to return to the new Jerusalem in heaven even as King Cyrus of Persia who was a type of Christ that conquered Babylon in 539 BC (a type of this world to be conquered on the Last Day by Christ Himself) made the command for ancient Israel who were exiled into Babylon due to their sins to return to their earthly Jerusalem (read Ezra chapter 1). But that is another study in itself!
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The beast accomplished these lies against God and His people during the Great Tribulation from May 21, 1988 when the
well-proven
Satan, his demons, and his unsaved people and counterfeit Christians, it would be better to have translated him, which refers to the beast, as it because this beast is neither him, nor her, but it. Indeed, the Greek language allows for either him, her, or it, depending on the context, but the beast as a whole does not have one sex, per se, so it must be it.
Next, notice that this beast was given to make war with the Saints. The verb was given is in the Indicative Mood, Aorist Tense and Passive Voice of the Greek. The Aorist Tense in the Indicative Mood refers to a point in the past when the beast was given to make war with the Saints, and the Passive Voice means that this beast did not give itself to make war with the Saints, for it was passive in the matter, but it was given by someone or something else to make war against the Saints (see
Greek verbs
And who are the Saints? Normally we would look up this Greek word hagios that is translated as Saints or Holy Ones everywhere it takes place in the Bible to see how God defines the word,
silenced in the Church so that they could not bring the truths of God's word in their own churches, but instead, the true Saints were silenced by being ignored, separated from, spiritually oppressed by Satan and his demons, treated badly, called false prophets, and in some cases, even cast out from their own churches (see
Revelation 11:7-10