SPECIAL INTERLUDE: A PROPHECY TRILOGY FOR OUR ERA

Part III: God's Coming World Conquest For The Truth

(Revelation 17:1-21:27)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Two Church members have reported that due to the unsettling COVID-19 pandemic and recent presidential election, views have circulated that lead people they know to think and act in unedifying ways. To address this need, we are taking an interlude in our trek through the Bible to give three sermons on relevant Bible prophecies.

(1) One trial we face is the lack of assurance of what is true about the COVID-19 vaccines and whether it is even Biblically right to be inoculated with them: on the one hand, a Washington Post story reported, "Some churches and Christian ministries . . . are making false claims that vaccines contain fetal tissue . . ." (Elizabeth Dwoskin, "On social media, vaccine misinformation mixes with extreme faith," February 16, 2021; washingtonpost.com) while on the other hand, ABC affiliate WFIN in Findlay, Ohio on March 5th ran the March 3rd story from the main ABC office in New York by Sasha Pezenik entitled, "Johnson & Johnson vaccine rekindles religious dilemma over morality of using fetal tissue" (wfin.com) that claimed "much of the research for coronavirus inoculations relies on the use of material derived from human fetal tissue," with the companies involved in the research being "Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson" that have produced America's three vaccines! Thus, many believers aren't sure what vaccines may have been derived from aborted fetuses, and whether it is even right to be inoculated with them!

(2) Further complicating this issue, "(r)esearchers at the Sloan Kettering Institute have found that changes in an information-carrying molecule called messenger RNA can inactivate tumor suppressing proteins and thereby promote cancer. The findings pinpoint previously unknown drivers of the disease." (Matthew Tontonoz, "In a Twist, Scientists Find Cancer Drivers Hiding in RNA, Not DNA," August 27, 2018; mskcc.org) This report added, "It's important to note that mRNAs are a normal component of all cells and the specific ones discussed here are not involved in mRNA-based vaccines, like the one developed against SARS-CoV-2," that is, against COVID-19. (Ibid.)

However, this report offers no statement of proof that the mRNA material(s) used in the COVID-19 vaccine(s) do not promote cancer or some other health problem! One wonders if the vaccines produced are being made too quickly with too little knowledge by scientists that may lead to unintended, serious consequences down the road!

(3) Two people in our Church independent of each other recently asked me about this whole matter, and I told them that I was still trying to discern the truth on it! They expressed interest that I share my findings with them. I have since studied the matter closely, I've come to a conclusion and believe it necessary to share it with the Church!

Need: So we ask, "With the lack of truth we face today on critically important issues, what should we do?!"

I. Paul in 2 Timothy 3:13 predicted that we would face increasing levels of deception from ungodly people.

II. Accordingly, Paul taught us in 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 how we are to respond effectively to this challenge:

A. We must heed the instruction we received from godly teachers whom God has sent our way, 2 Timothy 3:14.

B. Above all, we must heed written Scripture as God's inspired Word until Christ returns, 2 Timothy 3:15-4:2.

C. [I have applied these truths to arrive at the "Conclusion" findings in resolution to the "Introduction" matter.]

III. Also, Revelation 17:1-21:27 encouragingly predicts that God will destroy all that is a lie or that deceives:

A. Christ will defeat the deception of the final world false religion, Revelation 17:1-18:24, especially 17:16-17:

1. By the time of the future Great Tribulation, the world's false religions will have merged into a single, false religion known to us now figuratively as the "great whore" or "Babylon the Great," Revelation 17:1-6.

2. This religion will be centered in Rome (Rev. 17:18) and influence people worldwide, Revelation 17:15.

3. God will motivate the Antichrist and the ten kings of the Revived Roman Empire to hate this false religion and destroy everyone in it (Rev. 17:16-17), avenging its sins against true believers in history (Rev. 19:1-3).

B. Christ will defeat the deception of the antichrist and the false prophet, Revelation 19:1-21, especially 19:11:

1. When Christ returns, He will fight the Antichrist's world armies, defeat them and cast the Antichrist and false prophet into the lake of fire to suffer conscious, constant torment forever, Rev. 19:11-21; 20:10.

2. Christ is introduced in this judgment as the "Faithful and True" One (Revelation 19:11) in great contrast to the faithless and deceitful Antichrist and the false prophet, Revelation 13:4-6, 11-18.

C. Christ will defeat the deception of Satan, Revelation 20:1-10, especially 20:3b, 7-10:

1. After defeating Antichrist and the false prophet, Christ will bind Satan for a thousand years in the bottomless pit so that he cannot deceive the nations during Christ's thousand-year reign, Revelation 20:1-3.

2. Great Tribulation martyrs will then be raised and rule with Christ in His thousand-year reign, Rev. 20:4-6.

3. At the end of this thousand-year reign, Satan will be released and deceive the nations that will then be full of unbelievers, and these unbelievers will rebel against Christ so that God will destroy them, Rev. 20:7-9.

4. Satan will then be cast into the lake of fire to face conscious, constant torment forever, Revelation 20:10.

D. Christ will defeat the deception of the unsaved, Revelation 20:11-15, especially 20:15:

1. After Satan is in the lake of fire, God will judge all unsaved people according to their works, what will condemn them, so God will check the book of life to see if they trusted in Christ, Revelation 20:11-15a.

2. Anyone whose name is not found in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire to face conscious, constant torment forever, Revelation 20:15b with Christ's description of eternal torment in Luke 16:22-31.

E. Christ will thus be eternally triumphant over all deceit as the God of truth, Revelation 21:1-27, esp. 21:8, 27:

1. God's blessings in the new universe are revealed in Rev. 21:1-8 and in the New Jerusalem in Rev. 21:9-27.

2. Revelation 21:8b and 27 state that all that is a lie or that lies will have no part in the new universe and city!

Lesson: Starting with the Great Tribulation and continuing to the judgment of the unsaved, Christ will overcome all deception of false religions, the antichrist and false prophet, Satan and the unsaved. Meanwhile, we are to rely on the truths God's reputable servants taught us and ultimately His Word to overcome all the deception we face.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) May we be encouraged that God will eventually overcome all deception, and heed what God's reputable teachers taught and ultimately His written Word to overcome deception.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

We now apply 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 to address the issues raised in the sermon introduction (as follows):

(1) As for heeding God's messengers, my godly parents told me that God gave me a mind, that I should use it, and Proverbs 20:12 claims that God gave us ears and eyes as our best personal sources of empirical insight.

(2) So, using my eyes and mind, I found the truth about the vaccines: (a) I found Jay Wallis' article, "VERIFY: Yes, fetal cell lines were used in the development of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine," March 5, 2021, from the ABC affiliate WFAA in Dallas, Texas (wfaa.com) that claimed " . . . (F)etal cell lines were used to manufacture and develop the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine." (b) I also found Isaac Schorr's piece, "The Facts about the COVID Vaccines and Fetal Cell Lines," December 20, 2020 by the National Review (nationalreview.com) that stated, " . . . (B)oth the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines" for COVID-19 used "HEK 293 kidney cells" that "originated with an abortion" to test their vaccines. Thus, (c) Sasha Pezenik's ABC story (Ibid.) rightly stated that Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson used fetal material to develop their vaccines. (d) In addition, the Washington Post story (Ibid.) disingenuously implied that the vaccines did NOT use fetal material by claiming that such material was NOT PRESENT IN the vaccines without explaining that the vaccines were developed BY USE of aborted fetal material!

(3) In then viewing Scripture, I noticed these guidelines: (a) abortion is murder, Exodus. 21:22-23 (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 141), and (b) murder is a capital crime since the victim is made in the image of God (Genesis 9:6), (c) making murder the sin of demeaning God. (d) Also, Proverbs 14:15 ESV claims, "The simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." (4) I then applied these guidelines to the vaccine issue (as follows): (a) if receiving a vaccine that used the surviving cell lines of a fetus who was made in God's image and murdered by abortion causes me to receive a vaccine that was formed by the initial means of demeaning God, I cannot receive a vaccine thus far produced by Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson without sanctioning the demeaning of God! (b) Also, if the long-term effects of using mRNA-based vaccines are unknown except for a possible higher risk of cancer, applying Proverbs 14:15 leads me not yet to use mRNA-based vaccines even if no fetal material was involved in their development. (c) I must look elsewhere to gain protection from the coronavirus!

(5) If as a result of this message (a) a believer concludes that his having been inoculated by a COVID-19 vaccine violated Scripture, but he did so unaware of the vaccine company's use of aborted fetal tissue in developing it, God holds the medical and government authorities accountable -- not the believer! (b) If a believer is convicted that he sinned, but the sin was committed before he was saved, God forgave him at salvation, Colossians 1:13-14. (c) If a believer realizes he sinned after salvation, he is forgiven if he confesses it to God, 1 John 1:9. (d) If a believer feels guilty over a sin he has already confessed to God, 1 John 1:7 claims God keeps on (present tense, katharizei, U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 814) cleansing him from all sin, and the believer needs to trust God's promise in that verse!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life. May we be encouraged that Christ will one day overcome all that is false, and may we rely on what God's reputable messengers have taught, but especially on written Scripture, to handle deception in our day.