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In the last days ,there will be a city that is the center of Antichristian civilization. The world will be governed by one central world leader identified as the beast. There will be one central world government organized under his leadership.

The whole of that Antichristian Civilization will have but one central mission. They will rise up in angry rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ and those who follow Him. But their judgment will come. They will go with the Beast to destruction—to everlasting separation from God and everlasting suffering.

Throughout human history, we have been seduced by the enemy to join him in an ongoing rebellion against God. This rebellion will worsen in the last days, culminating in one final battle. It occurs here in the book of Revelation. It is not the battle of country against country or army against army. It is the epic final battle of men against God. That battle is called the Battle of Armageddon. What is important today is that you determine whose side you are on. If you are in rebellion against God now, will you be a part of the rebellion against God then. If you bear the marks of belonging to the devil now, will you bear the marks of belonging to the devil then?

The general theme throughout this book is the same. The church on earth is in trouble. The devil is constantly seeking to devour the people of God and the purpose of God. Despite the devil’s efforts, God’s people are safe, they are sealed. But over and over we have seen that they are not sealed from sickness, suffering, sorrow or even death. But they are sealed from the wrath of God. They are marked as belonging to Him. Are you?

What happens to you in the future depends upon whether or not you belong to the Lamb or to the Dragon. But don't misunderstand. At this very moment, there is a mark upon your life. You either belong to Jesus and you follow Him or you belong to the Devil and follow him. Chapter 14 contrasts the ultimate security of those who belong to Jesus and the eternal suffering of those who don't. To whom do you belong?

The Beast Rises to focus Satan’s fury on the rest of the Woman’s offspring. Who are the rest of her offspring? They are the people of God’s purpose. These are they who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. These are the believers in the end time who become the focus of Satan’s fury. Our generation of Christians knows very little of suffering for the faith. But those who have gone before us knew much and faced much. That suffering always resulted from Satan’s fury against the message of the Messiah. But believers stood fearless and alone in the face of persecution or death for their commitment to Christ. So in the last days, working through his agent, The Beast, the dragon will make war on the saints.

In this age, the church is the people of God’s purpose… and not all the church!!! The people of God’s purpose are those who refuse to bow their knee to the dragon.

a. They carry the message of the Messiah into the world.

b. They face the wrath of the dragon.

c. They must trust God to protect and to provide.

d. They must be faithful to Christ and not bow their knee to the dragon even it means death!

What kind of suffering are we talking about now. We are not talking about sickness. We are talking about the great tribulation. This is the tribulation of the church. It is the trial of the church by fire. It is the passion of the church—the suffering of the church.

There are many pieces to this picture. I hope to put them together for you here. Clarity comes when you see the whole picture for what it is. The church of John’s day was suffering when they received the message of this book. They needed to understand why they were suffering and what God was going to do about their suffering. Never once in this book does God promise deliverance from suffering. That is important for us to understand. Now we have come to the part of the book that helps explain the reason for their suffering—the background of their suffering—and how they will be delivered from their suffering.

Are God's people protected from sickness? NO.Are God's people protected from sorrow? NO. Are God's people protected from suffering? NO.Are God's people protected from death? NO.

But the worst of all fears in this book is none of these. It is the WRATH OF GOD.

The Greatest Danger in the Book of Revelation Is the Impending Wrath of God.

The Greatest Need in the Book of Revelation is Protection from the Wrath of God.

Only Those Who Come to God Through the Blood of Jesus Will Be Protected from the Wrath of God.

Are you Protected or Unprotected?

When I was growing up, my parents bought me a set of Popular Science books. There were 10 or 12 books in the set and each one was about the size of an encyclopedia. One of my favorite parts of that series was the series on the human body. In one section of Popular Science, there were these transparency pages. Some of you will remember this as I talk about it. On the first page, there was nothing but the skeleton of a human body. The next page was a transparency, that when laid over that skeleton showed the position of all the vital organs in the body. The next page was another transparency that revealed the placement of all the muscles and ligaments in the body. Finally, the last page was a transparency that covered that body with skin. When all the pages were in place, there before you was a finished human body. It was shown to you layer by layer.

That is how I see that John lays out this book. It has many layers. Each layer presents a picture. But it takes all the pictures to show us the full picture. If I see them as linear—then I will get confused. But if I see them as many layers of the same picture, everything begins to come clear. As our journey continues, ask God to help you hear what the Spirit might be saying to you through this book!