Tape 6 by Malcolm Smith The Woman and the Beast

Revelation 12-13.

‘A great sign appeared in Heaven, a woman clothed with the sun and the moon at her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars and she was with child and she cried out in labour and pain to give birth.

Now remember, if I continue to repeat this, but we are going back again. Look at Revelation as a Vision, stop, a Vision, stop and you will continually begin with the first coming of Christ and all that transpired thereafter and you will end with the end of all things. Not every Vision emphasis the first coming, they almost assume it. Not every Vision emphasises the end, they just assume it. But gradually each Vision takes its own view, so we went from the First Vision, all the way and the end was fuzzy, just assumed. The next Vision it was just emphasising the first coming of Christ, the Lamb upon the Throne and the end was a silence in Heaven for half an hour, it just peters out. Then the Vision we considered , that got a lot closer, it just assumed the first coming of Christ but at the end they told us of the ecstasy for those in Heaven, and the woes for those on earth.

Now we start all over again with the 4^th Vision, and again it is principles we are looking at. Now where does this Company of people we are dealing with in all these Visions, where do they come from? Do they just happen? No they come from a long history, and in this next Vision we deal with that long history, and we find that it is a woman, clothed with the sun in all the glory. Again, as we open the Old Testament Scriptures it becomes very very simple – the description given of that woman is almost the very same that Joseph gave of an Israel not yet born. Do you remember when Joseph came down to breakfast and told his dream, and he said, I saw the sun and the moon and he saw the stars bowing down, and here you have the very same words used concerning that woman. Also you will notice the fact that it is a woman. In the Old Testament that is used many many times. Turn at your leisure to Chapter 50 of Isaiah and verse 1, it says, we are not dealing with the exact exposition of that verse, but this is how it describes Israel – it says, ‘raise the certificate of divorce by which I have sent your mother away’. – or, ‘to whom of my creditors did I seal you?’ He refers to the nation of Israel as a woman, and then you will find in Isaiah 54.5 similarly ‘Shout for joy oh barren one, you who have born no child’ It speaks again there that more numerous will be the sons of this woman than of the married woman’ It is neither here nor there what he was really talking about, the point was he was addressing Israel as a woman. And so it is a theme of the Old Testament, a woman who was glorious with the glory of God, she was the Bride of Jehovah. That became apparent in our first Scripture there – the Bride of Jehovah.

And so here is a woman, and she is pregnant. Israel of the Old Testament is a pregnant woman. If you trace the seed, even before Israel was Israel, the promised seed, Genesis 3.15 – the seed of the woman, and then you move on to Noah who carries the seed through the Flood, he gives it to one of his sons called Shem, and Shem carries the promise. The promise is re-made or enlarged upon to Abraham, and of course then is the beginning of the Israeli nation, in Jacob and his 12 sons you have the first public view of this woman who was to be known as the Bride of Jehovah, and right there that woman is pregnant with a promise that God gave. The promise of the chosen one of God, the promise that one day a Descendant will come and all nations of the earth shall be blessed. By the time David is King, the pregnancy is advanced, because now we know it shall be a descendant of David. He shall have a descendant who shall sit upon a throne for ever and ever, and through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and the Prophets the promise becomes bigger and bigger, and the Scripture refers to her as a pregnant woman about to give birth. Take Jeremiah chapter 4.31 – again speaking of Israel he says, ‘For I heard a cry as of a woman in labour, the anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands saying, Woe is me, for I faint before murderers’. So here is Israel, not just Israel, but the daughter of Zion – we don’t have time to pursue that idea, Zion, a company of people who worshipped God in Spirit and in truth in those Old Testament days. And here it says of Israel, the true Israel, the believing Israel of the Old Testament – crying out as a woman about to give birth to a child but she is confronted by murderers. If that does not fit this passage – a woman about to give birth confronted by a great dragon. This is Israel of the Old Testament that it speaks of. In the book of the Prophet Micah you will have a similar verse. In Micah 4.8-9 you can read about it, where it speaks of Israel as a woman about to deliver a child. So the Israel or the Church of the Old Testament, is described as a pregnant woman, glorious with the glory of God. That is why Israel in the Old Testament was the chosen nation, because they carried the chosen one. The Church of the New Testament is the woman delivered of that child, and now living in His strength and power.

Who was this child that was born to her. It states again in chapter 12 of Revelation. It says she was with child, that she cried out in labour in pain to give birth, now it speaks in 3 and 4 about the dragon, we will come to that in a moment. In verse 4 and 5 it says she gives birth to a son, a male child who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her child was caught up to God and His throne. Now really, does that need an interpretation. We have the key to that – the Bible tells me who that is in Psalm 2.9 where it specifically speaks of Jesus in plain words, it speaks of the Lord’s anointed in His resurrection, and it says He shall rule with a rod of iron, and so we have the very expression used in Revelation 12 interpreted for us by Psalm 2.9. Notice also in this very book it says in Revelation 2.27 it speaks there, ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron as the vessels of a potter are broken to pieces, as I also (who is this speaking?) received authority from My Father. So that very verse from Psalm 2.9 is quoted in Rev. 2.27 we have got the key to this portion here. So the man child which Israel delivered Jesus said in John chapter 4, ‘Salvation is of the Jews’ Christianity is Jewish, really Jewish – we are not completed Jews just Jews of God.

Out of Israel came the man child, Jesus Christ, and standing in front of the woman the whole time, says the Scripture, was the dragon. Again you don’t need much interpretation for that. It says another sign (v 3) appeared in Heaven, a great red dragon, having 7 heads, 10 horns on his head were the 7 diadems whose tail swept away the 7 stars and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. V.9 interprets for us – sometimes in the Revelation that it is so important you know the interpretation, it throws in the interpretation – the great dragon, the serpent of old, who is called the Devil, Satan, who deceives the whole world, just in case you miss who it is! It gives you a clear description.

Notice how he is described. It says he has seven heads – each one was crowned, the number 7 is the number of fullness. It is normally spoken of God, of His fullness, but on this occasion is spoken of the Devil, with 7 crowns. It was a fullness of royalty. It was a royalty that could not be added to. 10 horns – we have often discussed before 10 means completion – when you count up to 10 you have to start again with 1, so 10 is for completion. Horns, we have also seen speak of power, or authority in power, so here this monster that appears in a cosmic operatic screen. It is telling us something, it is a shorthand for something – saying that the Devil is a ruler on earth, he does not have this across the Universe, but on earth. In the time that we are speaking of he is standing before the pregnant Israel with a fullness of royalty. He is the God of this world He is the prince of the power of the air, with fullness of royalty and complete power over the minds of men on this earth. Behind all the nations stands the Devil.

Notice that he said that he swept a third of the stars with his tail. Stars we have seen speak of messengers, angelic beings, it says a third of the angels fell, became demons. Notice that, those of you who are afraid of devils – that there are twice as many angels as there are demons. Nice to know. Hear some people talk today you would think that there is half an angel for every 3 demons! Only a third of the stars, and whatever that means, it means not all – twice as many angels as there are demons.

And it says that he stood in front of the pregnant woman, ready to devour the Child as soon as it was born. All history speaks of that and if we had time we could go right through all the Old Testament history seeing how the Devil was seeking to devour the chosen one even before He was born. It is a thrilling story all the way – what was behind Pharaoh as he sought to throw the babies in the river? The Devil was searching, the Devil knew that somewhere in the Company of people there was someone who would ultimately bring forth the chosen one. So get rid of all the males in the nation – behind it was the dragon wanting to devour the Child even before it was born. It comes to some thrilling moments – do you remember Athaliah who went into the royal nursery there and killed all the babies there, only she missed one, and that one was the one who carried the promised seed. And so it goes on, it is a long story you could follow through the Old Testament, right up until the New Testament, when you come to Herod. What was behind Herod when he said,’ kill every man child in Bethlehem’? It was the dragon.

Now the Child has been born and the dragon’s mouth snaps shut – but he missed. It says he was totally defeated – curtailed, the Child was caught up to God and His Throne – the whole finished work of Christ is summed up in His Ascension – there is assumed the cross, the burial, assumed the resurrection, now He ascends and in that Satan has failed, the man child ascends. And you have got such verses put in there as Ephesians 1.19 through the end of that chapter where it says that He ascended far above all principality and power, every name that is named Or you have I Peter 3.22 where it says that He made all principalities and powers subject to Him. Times have changed. Suddenly he who had power, has lost his power. In John chapter 12 31-33 where it speaks of the Prince of this World being judged at the Cross. Done! At that time in our chapter, 12 it says there was war in Heaven. Now war in Heaven was at the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And he who had power and authority over the minds of men, he lost that power. That is one of the things we are going to return to later on, but let it be established that this chapter tells us that he lost his power when Jesus Christ rose again from the dead.

And it says that at that time the Heavens rejoiced, all those in the Heavens rejoiced. Who is that? Know Thyself. If you are born again, it says that you sit in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And inside you, inside your spirit you are designated to dwell in Heaven, and when you realise the finished work of Christ and realise that He has cast Satan down and broken his power, then along with everyone else we rejoice. Special mention made there that Michael made battle with the Devil. If you trace Michael, there is not much in the Bible, but he is the highest order of angel, that is about as much as we know, but he always stood up on behalf of Israel, and so here, Israel, the woman – and Michael that magnificent spirit person who stood up on behalf of that person, who stood up on behalf of Israel, is seen in that final battle. The Devil who had ever sought to consume Israel has now been cast down. And the Heavens rejoiced.

Satan had lost all his power. He once had power, but he has lost it. His power, it was in the Law of God, for he could always point to the law and say, you have not kept it. And it made you his prey, and you cringed before that law of God and you knew you had not kept it. The Bible says in I Cor 15 that the strength of sin is the law. I think some of you who have not fully seen the finished work of Jesus might even cringe before the law yet. You look at that law and you say ‘I am unworthy, unworthy, unworthy’ And the Devil says, you should belong to me, and you say, Right. The strength of sin is the law, but now he is cast down, and so the Scripture says that they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the Word of their testimony and they did not love their life until the death. They overcame the Devil. How did they do it? By the blood of the Lamb. What does that mean? It means that I look back to the Blood of the Lamb. Back to the great victory that has, past tense, been accomplished, and I rest upon that once for all shed Blood of the Lamb. Whenever you meet anything that is Satanic – we do not initiate a battle, we recognize a battle which has been won. They overcame him, not by a fight but by the Blood of the Lamb, which has been fought. We are not fighting, we are recognizing it has been fought.. And by the word of their testimony they overcame the dragon by resting on a once for all accomplished fact, and their testimony to that fact, and also they loved not their lives unto death, which is very significant. It means that sometimes you overcome the Devil by being killed. Now that does not make sense, but you might as well get used to it, Revelation is full of it. In Hebrews 11 it says there is not time to tell of all the mighty exploits of faith – they subdued kingdoms, shut the mouth of lions – that is faith! Had the dead raised, give it to us, that is faith. Others endured mockings and scourgings, who died? Faith? Yes, sometimes faith raises the dead, sometimes faith walks boldly into the arena to be torn apart by lions. Faith – they loved not their lives unto death. I know that it is done. I give testimony to that and even if I die, I die an overcomer, because I will not give in.

So here are the rejoicing ones over the Devil who is totally defeated. However, it says that now that he lost the child he turned his attention to the woman who had given birth to the child. That is the Israel of the New Testament. That is the Church. We don’t really have time to go into that, we have done it elsewhere, but the Church is the extension of the true Israel. Read Romans 11 – it says the roots of the Church are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And the stem, as it grew, is the Old Testament believers, and those Jews who did not believe in the Messiah, they were broken off, thrown out of the New Israel, and those Gentiles who did believe in the Messiah were grafted in. And so get used to it. Your roots are Israeli. Your roots are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You are the other end of Israel and the glorious pregnant woman is the stem of the tree, and the woman now delivered of the Child is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other Israel in the Bible.

And so here is this woman, the Church, and the Devil turns his attention to her, and says that she was protected in the wilderness, given the wings of a great bird to fly there. That is so Old Testament Do you remember in Exodus 19.14 God describes bearing Israel on eagle’s wings out of Egypt There is the clawing Pharaoh seeking to get the people of God and by miracle power, by deliverances beyond the minds of men God took Israel to Mount Sinai to fellowship with Him. The same idea is brought out in Deuteronomy 32.11 - Do you remember in Isaiah chapter 40.31 – "They who wait upon the Lord shall rise up as wings of eagles. Why do we have such a problem with Revelation 12 that uses that same symbolical language? But as the Church of Jesus Christ waits upon the Lord, so the Holy Spirit becomes wings of eagles. The wings of eagles in that verse refers back to Exodus – the idea that God takes you back into His place, and there you fellowship with Him, even though the world is hard upon your heals, God handles them.

And it says ‘Out of the Devil’s mouth there came water’ We are back to water again. We have already seen in our last hour that water is where spirits drink. So it also says in Revelation 1 that out of the mouth of Jesus his words were like the sound of many waters. And here we have out of the Devil’s mouth a spring of water. Remember in I Tim. 4.1 it says that the Church should be ready. It says that there will be doctrines of demons, hard on the heels of the Church comes a spewed out river out of the mouth of Satan. If he can’t persecute the Church he will send a river of the doctrine of demons to sidetrack her. You watch it, it is happening right now. There is a charismatic renewal, the Devil can’t persecute, so out of his mouth he spews the doctrine of devils. What do you look for in a doctrine of devils? Any doctrine which sidetracks you to a philosophy, to an idea. Any doctrine that exalts Jesus Christ as Lord, you can rest ok. No doctrine of devils ever does that. But anything that sidetracks you, that gets you all bound up in rules and regulations Fast Days, Holy Days, Little Days, Big Days, Do This, Do That, Don’t do This, Don’t do that. It is a doctrine from the Devil which sidetracks you from the main issues. But it says that the earth just absorbed all the water, or as the Scripture says ‘When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up His standard against him’.

The Devil needs help. It is a Satanic trinity. So suddenly the whole scene changes we are back to the cosmic stage again, although this time it is the raging waters of the sea. Throughout the Old Testament it is established that the sea, in all its raging, is like and is likened to the nations of the world – they are the restless, tossing sea, and it says that out from that sea came a great beast. Ten crowned horns, 7 heads full with the names of blasphemy. It had a body like a leopard, it had the rending teeth of a bear, it had a lion’s mouth. Any echoes? Ever read Daniel chapter 7 when he saw the nations of the world, one like a leopard, one like a bear, one a great monster? The Church is the embodiment of the Holy Spirit. We are facing here world governments, the embodiment of the Devil. If the Devil doesn’t come eye-ball to eye-ball, then he will come through his body which is the governments of this world. Interestingly enough, all the governments of the world think they are terrific. God says, you are a dirty, ugly beast.

The ten crowned horns – the completion of power, the seven heads, using the letter 7 again to mean the fullness – of governments. All the major governments of the world. And let me say this, not only do we go back to ancient Babylon when we say the governments of the world – it also includes the British Empire and the American governments too. There is no government under God on this earth. If we were what we claimed to be, then the King would be Jesus. Every government in this world is included in this – the 7 – it is a fullness. All the governments of this world. Some are certainly better than others, but when all is said and done, the Devil uses them in his own unique way. Having said that, I am not anti-American at all, I am pro-American, but I have to have a Scriptural view. The Roman Empire was pretty good too, I would not have minded living during some times of the Roman Empire. They all thought they were good, and in the eyes of men they were good, but God said when all is said and done you are part of the whole beast and you are doing the Devil’s work in the long run.

Satan wanted to give Jesus the 8^th Head. Remember that? He said I will give you the Kingdoms of the world, and then he got into the head of the Jewish world, and the Jewish people came and offered Jesus a literal kingdom on earth, and He turned them down, because He was not about to become the 8^th head. He was about to establish a kingdom that was quite ‘other’ than all the kingdoms of the world. Think about that. Blasphemy. What is blasphemy? It is that self-sufficiency, that arrogance, that independence which says I can do without God. It is the establishment of self as the absolute, it is declaring that power is in affluence, power, might. That sounds pretty American, doesn’t it? You can blaspheme in many different ways. In its extreme it is cursing God, it is saying away with God.

The very first government of this world was established by a man in Genesis 10 and 11 by a man called Nimrod. I wish we had time to go into this but Nimrod is worshipped throughout time and throughout the earth under many different names. He was the first man to call himself God over against God, and one of the many names that Nimrod was worshipped under is Atlas. Atlas is seen lifting the Heavens. Do you know what that originally meant? Nimrod was a man who emancipated men from God. He pushed the heavens away from man and he was worshipped as the Atlas or the great emancipator who broke the ties of covenant and lifted the heavens away from man. That is the world – we are free from God. Psalm 2.1 and 2. Nations raging at a holy God, names of blasphemy and the whole world looks at its affluence and might, and says, who is like the beast. Oh, it’s got to be right, it is might. It couldn’t be wrong, it is great.

And John looked at it and suddenly he saw it receive a deadly wound – a sigh of relief. We are back again – the Kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ. Jesus rose again from the dead, and the nations of this world received a deadly would. The Devil seems as though he’s lost, but lo! Look, he said that the wound is healed., although the nations of this world are smitten at the cross, they are still here. What is happening? The wound is healed, the beast wasn’t really killed? Oh yes, hang around, wait and see, you will soon find out that that would is for real, for the kingdoms of this world are still here, and in the midst of those kingdoms, although its Jesus is declared Lord now, but the Gospel must be preached right to them, right in them, right to them. It looks as if the wounds that was inflicted upon anit-Christian nations, peoples, it looked as if that wound was so healed, that it had no effect. Time will tell – a very very deep eternal effect. But right now we stand among the nations of the world and we proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord right in the middle of those nations.

I think we have got to understand that repentance includes changing our minds about the beasts as well as about God. I am personally shocked at the way we English-speaking peoples adore the beast. I met it in England, I met it in America. Who is like the beast? The British way of Life, stiff upper lip and all that and everything that goes with it. We worship the British way of life, best ever! Come over here salute the flag, America. Watch it. I am not saying be anti-British, anti-American, I am saying don’t be carried away into nationalism or a patriotism that puts a nation before God. We repent of the beast, baptism in water according to Scripture is that I am cut off from my society to enter the grand society of Jesus Christ. The Church is called a Holy Nation. We have joined an international nation, and the very first command our King gives us is to behave ourselves in the nation we find ourselves, to obey the authorities, respect them. But to understand we have but one King. That was the whole issue of the early Church, that is what it is here for. Do you say the beast is Lord, or do you say Jesus is Lord? And they were the best citizens Rome ever had, but they said, Jesus is Lord. Governments that oppress the Church, Governments that lead you away, the power, force and might – when the Devil tries it it doesn’t always work. ‘You throw them to the lions’ And what happens? Everyone wants to become a Christian.

So, the big beast needs a little helper, and out of the earth came a little beast – it looked like a lamb, spoke like a dragon, and expressed all the authority like the first beast. Now we have a problem. I had no trouble with the Devil when he came out bloody red, the murderer, the liar. We know him. Great anti-Christian governments, governments that speak blasphemies, no trouble, as they oppress we thrive. But a little sheep. That is what the whole book is about, a Lamb who had been slain. Here is a lamb as it had been slain. The Devil works through governments, but he also works through a counterfeit church that talks about Jesus the Lamb, but not the Lamb as it had been slain. Talks about Jesus but if you have ears to hear, you can hear a dragon snarling. Later on in the book this beast that looks like a lamb is called the false prophet. Prophet is one who speaks forth on behalf of God. Here is the false prophet. At the very heart of it all the word anti-Christ does not been to be against Christ. The word anti-Christ means to be over against Him, an alternative if you like.

Do you know what they called Nimrod? One of his titles in ancient Chaldea was Zaroastra – it means "the seed of the woman" Those ancient peoples held the promises of Genesis 3.15 that the seed of the woman would come and deliver the human race, and they called Nimrod Zoroastra which means the seed of the woman. Here is your anointed one, here is your Messiah – here is the emancipator of the human race. He is an alternative to Jesus Christ. The Devil doesn’t say that Jesus is wrong – he said, look at mine. I don’t come and throw stones through your paint shop window, I open one up next door. I don’t believe communism is the anti-Christ. Communism is against Christ, that is the governments of the world. Anti-Christ, whatever, whoever, however, is religious. I think we are a lot closer to anit-Christ when we go to Church than when we are standing at the Berlin Wall. Little lambs that bleat like dragons – an alternative – here is the lamb as it had been slain, the Lord’s Christ. The devil says, - here is a lamb, my alternative. This religious beast. Jesus called them in Matthew 7.15, wolves in sheep’s clothing, or II Cor 11.14 speaks of the Devil as an angel of light. And he is the one that expresses the authority of the first beast, they are all part and parcel.

I can identify the denominations of today that are linked to that little lamb. Has your denomination given your cash to help support militants? The religious beast and the government beast, they all work together. You say ‘Government, military action, oppression, what has that got to do with religion?’ Amen, what has it got to do with the Church, but the "Church" of today seems pretty tied in together. There are court cases going on in Manhattan right now with certain members of "Church" which is to do with militants. World governments’ military action all tied in with the Church? The Church? Yes, that is what Revelations 13 is talking about – beware of this little lamb that bleats like a dragon but is in fact linked up with the second beast of the Satanic trinity, who is like the beast? It is so big it must be right. And the little lamb goes bbaaaa. I can’t go against my Church, I must do what my Church says, and then you get that other stuff that says, I must submit to my authority. Not when my authority is a dragon, the only authority I submit to is God and God’s people. And the Scripture, Peter who wrote more about submission that anybody else, says we must obey God rather than men. And who was he refusing to submit to on that day? His religious authorities. If you submit to the dragon even if he dressed like a sheep, he will take you to dragon-fold, not sheepfold. You say, well, I am filled with the Spirit. That was what this book was written for, to tell Spirit-filled people to watch out who they are following.

If you follow a sheep that speaks dragon words and you get dragon stomach-ache, don’t go to a charismatic shepherd for alka-seltzer. You should not have gone where dragons feed. More people in my meetings have to get their heads set straight because they were fed weeds on Sunday morning by anti-Christ in the pulpit. And they think expect one charismatic meeting a week is going to straighten them out. That is no way to live and know We have to find out. We have repented of the dragon, we have repented of the beast and we have repented of the lamb that is not a lamb. We gave ourselves away to the Lamb as it had been slain, and that meant persecution. That is what is happening here. Why? Because you refuse to bow to the beast, and you refuse to bow to the lamb that was a dragon, so you are going to get persecuted for it. A lot that goes under the name of submission today is just being scared of persecution. But stand up and follow the Lamb wherever He leads us. We come in our next Vision to the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, the company of 144000 and there clawing to get them is the dragon and the beast and the other little beast. It depends which camp you are in – that is what it is all about.

It says all those who follow the beast, they are given the mark of the beast, and it says it is 666. I don’t think there is too much problem there. We have already seen that the Church receives a mark – the seal of the Living God. What is 6? 7 is the number of fullness, and normally it speaks of God, His fullness, perfection. 6 is certainly the number of man. The day on which man was created – Day number 6. Man who never quite made it to fullness in God. 7 is fullness. Well sin means missing the mark. We never reach God’s rest day of 7 except in Christ. 666 – humanism, man – ‘you shall be as gods’ I – total self-centredness. And it is administered by the little beast, it looks like a little man. I tell you where you can hear 666 – where you are told that Salvation is by doing your best, salvation is by man pulling himself up to God by his own bootstraps. 666. It is not a number that you are going to see in a man’s forehead, no this is a seal in a man’s spirit. This is the way he looks at life.

Notice in fact that it is on his hand and on his forehead. What do you do with your hand? You work. The way you work is 666. You work for self, you work out of self, your whole life-style is self-self-self, I. What do you do with your hands? You reach out to shake hands, you reach out to make friendships, except the community is the body of the world where man is central. It was on the forehead. What do you do with your forehead? You think. The philosophies when man is central. And if we could go through all the philosophies which are taught as fact educationally, we realise they are there because man must be at the centre and push God out.. We have seen in other studies that the only reason evolution comes in is because man cannot face the fact that God made him. Once man has admitted he is created by God he has to face God, so he does away with God and puts man in the centre, and says we evolved. The philosophies of men that put self at the centre, so we are stamped with the mark of beast. We are stamped with the mark of religious beast. I, I, I, our hands are stamped according to the way we work, according to our friendships. We are back again is it the mark of the Living God, the mark of the Lamb in our foreheads or is the mark of the beast. If I am going to bow to the beast, if I am going to say my church is so right I could not offend them. I am going along with the crowd, I am receiving the mark of the beast, I am doing as they say, I am yielding my money, my time my person to them, the beast, the beast, and ultimately to the dragon. If I yield myself to the Lamb as it had been slain, that is the mark. This is not merely, yes I believe in Jesus Hallelujah!

This whole book we noticed from the beginning it talks about ‘witness’ – martyr, and we saw that those who overcame the dragon are those that loved not their lives to death. They were not merely reciting a church catechism and saying, isn’t it lovely, I believe it! This is standing up to be counted and knowing that if you are counted you might be dead tomorrow. The martyr’s mentality. Jesus Christ is Lord, and I follow Him, means a repentance from the world, the world church, the Devil himself as well as myself, to receive the seal of the Holy Spirit in new birth. Amen!

If you follow this chapter through you will find that it uses two words that are important. 13.9-10 it says, speaking of what the first beast will do to you, persecution, about being killed with the sword, and it ends up, and this is your comfort if you are under religious persecution by a government. Here is perseverance and the faith of the saints. If you are facing the persecution of the first beast, you need patience, perseverance. That speaks for itself. But when it speaks of the other, it speaks of ‘wisdom’ and goes on to speak of the mark of the beast, the philosophy which comes from the little lamb. If you face the world governments, you need patience, but brother, when you face that other little beast, you need wisdom, that is the difference. I am not patient with anti-Christian church – I just need wisdom, and when I see it, avoid it, get away from it. So the dragon has his two helpers. If you meet one you need patience, if you meet the other, you need wisdom. And personally, give me world governments any day, I know where I stand. But when a little white woolly lamb comes along, I need the wisdom of God to look on its neck to see if there is a gash to see if it has been slain. And if there is not blood in what it says, it is a false lamb. And I have got to have wisdom to discern what is coming out of its mouth, is it the words of Him whose voice is like that of many waters, or is it the sound of a dragon. I must beware, I must follow truth.

Now these are the principles that occur. The Church came out of Israel, the Church is the New Israel. They are those who in the Heavens rejoice, but while they walk on earth, they still face a very real dragon, and although the Kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ, yet they are still here, and it looks as if their wound has been healed, and frankly they have got a helper in an anti-Christian church. But walk among them says the Scripture, things are not what they seem to be, the man-child rules, the end is near, have patience and wisdom and you will make it through.

The original set of 12 tapes can be obtained from Malcolm Smith's web site.
They are suitable for group study.

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