The Beasts and the Hero - The Book of Revelation

In this Bible Story, John sees images of past, present, and future evils. Yet each time, the evils are dealt with by the armies of God. And John beholds one final stand against darkness by the true Hero of History - Jesus. This story is inspired by Revelation. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Revelation 14:1 from the King James Version.

Episode 243: After the vision of the glorious throne room, John was given another vision. This time the vision was about the history and future of the earth. John saw a Dragon who battled with the armies of God and tried desperately to consume the child of Israel who was destined to rule the nations. But God rescued the woman and her child and the armies of heaven cast out the dragon banishing him to the earth. Even here the Dragon continued to pursue the woman and make trouble for the children of God. Other beasts were called up as well to deceive the people into following them. But Just as things looked their worst, salvation from God came as Jesus descended from the skies on a white horse.

Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world’s greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.

Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.

Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.

Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.

Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard

Producer: Ben Gammon

Hosted by: Pastor Jack Graham

Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith

Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray. And I looked and lo, a lamb
stood on the Mount Zion Revelation fourteen one. As the
final battle unfolds before me in the Book of Revelation,
I pray that the magnitude of the battle doesn't go
unnoticed in the life of believers. As the cosmic battle

(00:24):
between good and evil takes place. MY spirit is rejoicing
because I know that this is a fixed fight. Through
your word, God, I recognize that the beast is Satan
and that the warrior is Jesus. I also acknowledge that

(00:44):
through the one act of Christ Crucifixion, he conquered Satan,
sin and death in one swoop. Heavenly Father, I thank
you that the armies of the Lord are fighting on
our behalf. I thank you that, because of your redemptive
plan for my life and for the life of your children,

(01:07):
we don't have to be swallowed up by Satan and
his beast. I praise you because the mark of the
beast will never be a sign that I receive for
myself or for my family. I declare that I am
Yours God. I declare that for the rest of my days,

(01:28):
I will fight on the side of my savior Jesus
Christ to rescue all his children who are lost in Jesus' name. Amen,
thanks for making prayer a priority in your life to
hear the Bible come to life. Stay tuned for the

(01:49):
Bible in a Year brought to you by Bible in
a Year dot com.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
The Beasts and the Hero. In our last story, John
was taken up by the spirit to see a vision
of God's throne room. He was told to write down
what he saw so that all the churches might be
enlightened about things to come. Now, John sees images of past, present,
and future evils. Yet each time the evils are dealt

(02:26):
with by the armies of God, and John beholds one
final stand against darkness by the true hero of history, Jesus.

Speaker 3 (02:38):
Hello Jack Graham once again with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year podcast. We're so grateful for the
millions of people who have downloaded the Bible in the
Year and would encourage you to invite others to join
us in this journey as well. In our previous episode,
we heard how John, the Apostle of Jesus, was caught
up in a vision and saw the Lord standing before him.

(03:00):
He was at first terrified, but Jesus told him not
to fear, but to write down what he would see
here and share it with seven churches and churches and
Christians for generations. Then John was taken to heaven, and
he saw the very throne room of God. He saw
heaven with his own eyes. There every creature an angel

(03:21):
cried out and praise to God and call Jesus worthy
of honor and praise and glory forever. Today we'll hear
is John has shown evil in tribulations, not only in
the past but the future. But in the midst of
tribulation and terror. We see that our God is the
ultimate victor, that Jesus overcomes and we overcome with him.

(03:42):
John will see a final battle, the Battle of Armageddon,
in which Jesus gives us victory forever and vanquishes the enemy,
the devil himself. Let's listen now to this reading from
the Revelation.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
After being shown the fate of the earth, I saw
great vision in heaven of things to come and things
that have already happened, an image of reality, a picture
of evil and its inevitable demise. I saw a woman
clothed with the brightness of the sun. The moon was
under her feet, and on her head was a crown

(04:18):
of twelve stars. Her beauty was staggering. She was pregnant
and in anguish giving birth. Her pain was great, and
her agonizing screams shook the earth. Another sign appeared in heaven.
A great dragon emerged with seven heads and ten horns.
His presence was that of pure evil, and he was

(04:39):
shrouded in darkness. His wings stretched further than the breadth
of the earth, and I watched his mighty tail swing
into the stars. He cast a third of the stars
down from heaven to Earth, and great was their fall.
My heart raised as I watched the dragon fly over
the woman who was giving birth. He waited for the child,

(05:01):
like a lion stalking its prey. He knew that the
child was meant to rule over all the nations. When
it emerged from the woman's womb, the dragon pounced to
devour it. The child was caught up by God and
taken to his throne. The dragon roared in agony as
it watched the child rise to heaven and the woman
flee to the wilderness. Then I saw a bright light

(05:25):
emerge from the blackness of the night. I saw Michael,
the Archangel, glistening in glory. His sword was drawn, and
the host of Heaven's armies were behind him. The dragon
roared and flew towards Michael. The angels descended with swords
drawn to fight the dragon. Great was their battle. Michael
fought valiantly, with the angels of Heaven behind him. The

(05:47):
dragon raged against the angels, but was defeated and cast
down to the earth. Its wings were clipped, and the
serpent slipped through the earth, seeking to deceive the world.
I heard another voice from Heaven, saying, the salvation and
power of Christ has come against the enemy. The forces
of darkness have been conquered by the blood of the
Lamb and the word of the saint's testimony. Rejoice. The

(06:12):
dragon looked for the woman so he might devour her,
but she was given wings to fly away from him.
From the serpent's mouth came a torrent of water to
consume her. But the earth swallowed up the waters, and
the dragon stood on the sand of the sea, lamenting
his defeat. Then I heard the earth shake beneath the
dragon's feet. The sea rumbled, and the waves were great.

(06:35):
From the sea arose a beast with ten horns and
seven heads. The beast was like a leopard, and its
feet were like bear paws. The mighty beast worshiped the Dragon,
and the dragon gave the beast all its authority to
wreak havoc on the earth. It was given a mouth
to spread lies throughout the world. For forty two months,

(06:56):
it spat forth venomous deceit and corrupt truths. It made
war against the saints of God, and many from the
earth fell at its feet to worship it. The saints
of God endured its rule and ward against it until
the finisher came. Then the earth shook again, the mountains
split and burst openly. Another beast rose. It had two horns,

(07:19):
like a ram. It spoke with the slithery deceit of
the Dragon, calling all men and women to worship the
first beast. It marked every man and woman with a
mark on their forehead or right hand with the name
of the beast, or the number of its name. Its
number was six six six. Wrath was poured out on

(07:40):
the earth, and judgment reigned and ruled for thousands of years.
I looked upon the desolation of the earth, sorrow, evil,
and madness, plagued all within it. The beasts loomed over
the earth, destroying all in their wake. Then I heard
voices from heaven. I looked up and saw light from
it were the voices of a great multitude, singing, Hallelujah.

(08:04):
Salvation is coming from the Lord. His judgment is just.
The marriage of the Lamb has come. Watch as he
redeems his bride. Then I saw heaven split open my gates,
and behold a white horse descended from the skies. The
one riding the horse was called Faithful and True. He
was the warrior of justice, the finisher. His eyes were

(08:26):
like flames of fire, and he was wearing a robe
dipped in blood. His name was called the Word of God.
He rode towards the beast with intent to kill. From
his mouth was a sword. It extended to strike down
all the evil nations below. He rode with the fury
of God almighty. Like the wind. He galloped, and I

(08:47):
could see riding carved into his thigh saying King of
Kings and Lord of Lords. I watched as the beast
rose up against the white rider. He gathered the evil
armies of the earth and ran towards him. The mighty
horseman and the beast clashed. With a swoop of his sword,
the rider enveloped the armies. The beast raged against him,

(09:08):
but he was not equal to the Lord of lords.
His horns were ripped from his head and his knees
were torn from his land. Instance with decisive justice, the
hero of history cast the beast into the lake of fire.
God's chosen hero, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, had defeated evil
once and for all.

Speaker 3 (09:32):
In today's reading the Apostle, John has given a vision
of great conflict, a conflict that began in eternity, passed,
continued through the generations, and will continue to the end
of time, but will culminate in a great battle between
God and Satan, between good and evil. John sees a

(09:53):
woman who appeared in heaven, clothed in brightness like the sun.
She appeared to be beautiful and majestic, with a crown
of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, crying
out in the pains of childbirth. This woman apparently represents Israel,
the nation chosen by God who gives birth to the
child who is the Messiah, the Savior. His name is Jesus. Next,

(10:15):
John saw another sign in heaven, a great red dragon.
The dragon was symbolic of pure evil. The dragon was
the great deceiver, Satan himself. The dragon swept a third
of the stars from the sky, representing other angels that
fell when Satan rebelled against God. The dragon stood before
the woman, prowling like a stalking lion, hoping to devour

(10:36):
the child when she gave birth. Satan has done everything
that he could possibly do to destroy God himself, but he,
of course cannot. God did not allow the dragon to
take the child. Jesus was born. He lived a perfect life.
He died on a cross for the sins of the world,
and he was raised from the dead, ascended to heaven,

(10:56):
and now sits on the throne of God as worthy
of all praise, glory, and adulation. And yet there's still
a battle going on. Next, we heard how John saw
the archangel Michael as he led a great battle against
the Dragon the Devil. The angels of heaven joined Michael
and the dragon the Devil was cast down from heaven

(11:17):
to the earth, where it continued to deceive. This imagery
reveals things that have already happened in one sense, but
also what is yet to come. Satan still prows like
a roaring line, waiting and watching for whom he may devour.
He always seeks to stop God's plans and destroy people,
defeating God's Church, their spiritual battles with Satan going on

(11:41):
all around us, with principalities and powers and demon forces.
We know is true. We must be aware. We must
be alert to the fact that the lying serpent, the devil,
the great dragon himself is still on the loose, and
we must be ready for spiritual battle, relying on the
power of the Cross in the name of Jesus, by

(12:02):
the power of his Blood. Listen to these great words
and mark them. In Revelation twelve, verses ten through eleven,
and I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, now
the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our
God and the authority of Christ has come. For the
accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses

(12:22):
them day and night before our God. And they have
conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by
the word of their testimony, for they love not their
lives even unto death. What a powerful scripture we overcome
Satan to this very day with the blood of the
Lamb Jesus, by the word of our testimony, our own faith,

(12:45):
and that we love our lives, not even until death,
that we are willing to lay down our lives for Christ.
John's vision continues telling us of a future time when
a beast will come. This beast is the anti Christ.
He is not the devil himself, but the son of Satan.
The beast will torment the saints who follow Christ in

(13:06):
the tribulation period, and they will endure many things. Evil
and sorrow and pain will be rampant on the earth.
It will be hell on earth, as judgment comes from
the throne of God. These visions should strike fear in
the hearts of unbelievers, but to believers they remind us
that we have escaped this coming judgment, that we have

(13:27):
hope in Christ because of what Christ has done for
us in forgiving our sins. By His blood. We overcome
and we live in Christ forever because He is coming
for us. Yes, Jesus is coming, agains talked about over
and over again in both the Old Testament and New Testament.
Though he came the first time as the Lamb of

(13:48):
God to take away the sin of the world. He
comes the next time is the lion of the tribe
of Judah, in judgment upon all unbelievers, but with hope
forever and heaven to those who trust in Christ. When
Christ comes, he will defeat the enemy, the beast, once
and for all. The devil will be thrown into hell
and chain forever, and ultimately into the Lake of fire,

(14:11):
Hell forever and ever. The ultimate purpose, the point of
the Book of Revelation is that Jesus is making all
things new. There is a new heaven and a new
Earth that is coming. That our God reigns, and that
nothing in this world, its history, or its destiny is
out of the hands or the control of God Almighty.

(14:34):
We as believers can look forward to the day when
Christ comes and takes us home. Evil has an expiration date,
and though we don't know exactly when that will be,
we can look to the signs of the times, and
all around us we know that we are getting near
the end. One day, and one day soon the time
will come when God will deal with judgment upon all

(14:55):
who deny him. And then we who know the Lord
will share his glorious future, and we will be with
the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords forever.
Dear God, we thank you for this eternal hope that
we have in You. We thank you for Jesus and
the promise that you will come for us. We pray that,
in the midst of evil that is all around us,

(15:18):
in the midst of suffering and tribulation and pain, that
we will be faithful to you. May we always look
to you, the Lamb of God who takes away our sin,
and believe in you and live for you until you
come for us in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for
listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor

(15:38):
Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download thepray dot Com app
and make prayer and Bible study the priority of your life.
If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you
love because by sharing this with others, you can make
a difference in their lives, a big, big difference. You
can help ensure that more and more people hear these
life changing readings from God God's Word. With a gift

(16:01):
today to keep these gospel centered messages reaching people around
the world. Please give now at www dot Bible in
a Year dot com and if you want more resources
on how to tap into God's power for Christian living,
visit Jack Graham dot org. When you visit us at
Jack Graham dot org, you will find many free resources

(16:24):
as to how you may grow in your faith and
share your witness with the Gospel. We would love for
you to take us up on that offering. God bless you.