Revelation 13:11-18; Psalm 51:3-6

Revelation 13:11-18
We have read about the first two characters of the "evil trinity"--the dragon who is Satan and the first beast which is the antichrist. Today we will meet the other beast or false prophet. John tells us in his gospel that there is no truth in Satan; he is a liar and the father of it. And so in the end times, he will show forth a counterfeit trinity: the dragon is the counterfeit father, the antichrist is the counterfeit son; and the false prophet is the counterfeit holy spirit. This second beast or false prophet makes the "earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast (the antichrist). v. 12 The false prophet is given power to perform "great and miraculous signs," and by so doing he is able to deceive the inhabitants of the earth. He is even able to set up an image of the antichrist and give breath to it so that "it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed." vv. 13-15  Further, he will force everyone, "small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name."vv. 16-17  Then v. 18 tells us that the number of the beast is man's number, or 666. Many have speculated on exactly what this number 666 means, but the truth is that no one in our time knows for sure.

I realize this sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but we must realize that God gave John this vision so that we will have an idea of things to come. We continue to trust God--secure in the knowledge that He is perfect and His way is perfect too!

Psalm 51:3-6
As believers, we all have need to confess our sins to God. We are not perfect children, and we fall far short of God's standards. David's confession here in Psalm 51 is after his sin with Bathsheba has been exposed by the prophet Nathan. (2 Samuel 11) David gives us a pattern for honest and complete confession. Notice that we can go directly to God with our confession; it's not necessary to go through any human individual.

• "I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me." David did not try to suppress his conscience or guilt but he freely admitted his own sin.
• "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." Even though many others were hurt by David's sin, he realized that his sin was essentially against God Himself.
• "so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge." David knew that God's standards are always right.
• "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." This is the doctrine of "original sin" or "the depravity of man." We were not "born good." We were born sinful. No one had to teach us to do wrong; it just came naturally. No one had to teach us to defy our parents, or to lie, or to throw tantrums! We were naturally selfish and self-centered from birth on, and only God can make us good through faith in His Son Jesus.
• "Surely you desire truth in the inner parts you teach me wisdom in the inmost place." We are inherently sinful, but God wants us to be right with Him truthfully from the inside out! When our most inward heart is right toward God, our actions will please Him as well.