January 28: THE ISSUE OF WORSHIP

Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. Revelation 19:20

It is impossible to over-emphasize the systemic nature of the beast and the false prophet. The Babylonian system, powered by the dragon, is a mindset imparted to those who accept the unbiblical precepts that constitute Babylonian thinking. At the return of Christ, the three-part confederacy of the unholy trinity will be shattered (16:19). Paul referred to this mindset as the mystery of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Our opening verse is the revealing of Satan’s deceptive scheme which he implemented through the cooperation between the two major kingdoms of Revelation 13, called the beast and his image (also known as the beast and the false prophet).

The careful Bible student will make a clear distinction between the Babylonian system itself that Satan has maintained over many centuries, and the individuals that have lived and operated in the shadow of this system. Satan is not above forcing or tricking people into worshiping him, and those who are faithful to the Word have recognized these tactics. As the day of Christ approaches, Babylon’s long-standing unbiblical principles will be utterly exposed (2 Thessalonians 2:8). The entire mindset will crumble, dissolve, and evaporate, placing each individual alone before God without the support of the false system in which he or she had trusted. This modus operandi, long held above the Lord and His truth, amounts to a worthless idol. Remember that the issue of worship is the central controversy of the ages. The plea (Revelation 14:7) to mankind from Heaven at the end of time identifies Who alone is worthy of our worship. The Giver and Sustainer of life is the One who made heaven and earth…*

At the arrival of Christ, the counterfeit kingdom of the beast and his image will cease to exist. The mindset behind it will be annihilated by being captured and cast alive into the lake of fire. The symbolism of fire conveys total and complete destruction. For all the divine instruction and history of the world presented in God’s Word, the sincere reader who is convicted, repentant, and receptive to cleansing from sinful ways will be sanctified and made ready for Heaven by the Holy Spirit’s power (often symbolized by fire). Beloved, look to the One who has eyes like a flame of fire (2:18) and say from your heart, “Search me, O God, and know my heart… see if there is any wicked way in me. And lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24). The individual who embraces divine counsel can put error and wrong thinking to death for good, for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29)

“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” [Now hear the answer!] He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, he who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands refusing bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil. Isaiah 33:14b-15

*Compare Revelation 14:7 to Exodus 20:11 in the fourth Commandment