Tues.’s Devo - The Beast, the Dragon and the False Prophet

Read: Zechariah 2:1-3:10; Revelation 12:18-13:18; Psalm 141-1:10; Proverbs 30:18-20 An angel took Zechariah to meet two other angels. One was on his way to measure Jerusalem and the other came to tell Zechariah that one day Jerusalem would be filled with people. The Lord would protect the city and his glory would be in the midst of her. God had sent his people to Babylon but he was calling them home so he could destroy the nations who had plundered them. God told Zechariah to rejoice because He was coming to live among them and many nations would join them. Jerusalem would once again be his chosen city. Then the angel showed him Joshua who was the high priest. Satan came with him to accuse him. God shut Satan up and rebuked him. The angels took Joshua’s dirty clothes off him and put new clean clothes on him and put a clean turban on his head. He told him he would be given authority over his Temple and he would walk with him if he followed God’s ways. Joshua was a symbol of Jesus, the High Priest that was to come. Joshua was a symbol of the people of Israel that would come back to the Lord and God would wash their sins away and give them a new start. The sins of the whole world were removed on the single day that Jesus died on the cross. They point to the day when Israel will turn and see Jesus as their Messiah in the end. In Revelation, the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. A beast rose out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns and ten crowns on its horns. Every head had blasphemies against God written on it. This beast looked like a leopard, had feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. The beast got its power from the dragon. One of the heads had a fatal wound on it but was miraculously healed. He worshiped the dragon which caused the people on the earth to worship both. The beast was given the authority and power to say anything he wanted to against God for 42 months. He waged war against God’s people on the earth and ruled the nations. The heathen worshipped the beast. Another beast came from the earth and he had two horns but spoke like a dragon. (This is the False Prophet.) He had power over the first beast and required all the earth to worship the first beast. He did astounding miracles and made fire come down from the sky. With his miracles, he deceived the world He ordered the people to make a statue to the first beast and gave life to this statue so that it could speak. If you didn’t worship the statue, you were killed. He also required everyone to take a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. No-one could buy or sell without the mark. The number that represented his name was 666. Lord, you are the only one we will worship or bow to. Thank you that you never leave us or forsake us.