
Saint John on Patmos by Gaspar de Crayer
Those who desire to follow Christ as a true biblical disciple will find that the world will not appreciate your efforts, no not in the least. I think of the recent Christian martyrs in the Middle East and elsewhere. It seems that the spirit of antichrist is gaining more power and influence to destroy the witness of Christ.
Some of those martyred may not belong to the same church group that I do, but nonetheless, if they had faith in Christ, His sacrifice on the cross for their sin, and faith in the power of His resurrection, then they are just as much a Christian as I am.
Now, that does not mean that I subscribe to the ecumenism of the Roman church, other mainline denominations, or any denomination for that matter. The religious systems that most of them espouse these days are mostly anti-biblical, but that does not diminish the plain and simple faith of those who have discovered true saving faith in the power of the gospel apart from religious acts and rituals of the flesh .
To be clear, I believe in the simplicity of the Christian faith. Jesus never meant that to be saved from the power of sin required great devotion to a church system, eating a communion wafer, climbing a 1,000 steps on ones bloody knees to kiss the feet of a crumbling, decaying statue of a long dead saint, or other works including baptism. Baptism itself does not save, nor does it turn a sinner into a saint. At that point all you have is a wet sinner with a false sense of salvation.
The Bible is clear that to be saved from sin requires only faith in the gospel which is this: Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures…(1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
That is the gospel of Christ, and salvation begins with simple faith that Christ obtained that salvation when He was on the cross–He took the wrath of God that I deserved. Jesus is our sin-bearer, He became that sin before God the Father and the Father poured out His wrath in so much power that Jesus lost the sense of His Fathers presence.
My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27:46
What more could I add to that? Truthfully, there is nothing I can add and that is why religious systems and works of the flesh will never produce salvation; because those things are an attempt to work around the simplicity of the gospel. If works could produce eternal salvation then Christ would not have faced the cross. At that point the cross would be a worthless act. But the cross is far from worthless–it is actually the power of salvation:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16).
So we are back to the simplicity of the cross. The gospel of Christ is the power of salvation. Not works, not baptism, not the cup of wine or the communion wafer, or the blessing of a preacher or a priest–the GOSPEL and ONLY THE GOSPEL.
“For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Faith and only faith in the gospel produces the power of God leading to the salvation of a sinner–“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).
Paul said that the word of faith for salvation is in your heart and in your mouth–“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach” (Romans 10:8).
And that faith, that simple faith, is able to produce salvation because it believes the simple gospel message:
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:9-10, 13).

Coptic Egyptian Christians moments before they are beheaded by ISIS militants in Libya.
When I saw the video a few months ago of the Egyptian Coptic Christians being beheaded for their faith in Christ by ISIS several of the men said, “Yeah, Lord Jesus Christ.” Think of that for a moment–“Yeah, Lord Jesus Christ.”FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED! Its that simple, yet it is also that profound.
Why I have I called this post Embracing the Beast? Its simple. The world and the world system that lies in the lap of the evil one refuses to bow the knee to the only one who can save from the power of sin. Instead they embrace the philosophy and religion of the Beast, which is a Dragon, that Serpent of old, the Devil, who refused the God of heaven and in turn he became a Beast.
The world system hates the simplicity of the gospel of Christ, and so those who choose the Beast act like the Beast, who was a murderer from the beginning.
God sent John the Baptist as a prophet, the last of the Old Covenant prophets, and he was beheaded by a beast named Herod (Mark 6:16).
Herod is just a prophetic picture of the Beast, and the Beast system called Babylon the Great. At the end of days a Beast will rise from the depths of the abyss and bring ruin and destruction to humanity. But before that there is one thing this Beast will do: He will compel his followers to join the Beast system and receive an image in their mind, and a mark on their flesh (Revelation 13: 15-17).
Those who follow the Beast will be branded in their soul, and in their flesh, just like common cattle; and they will become beasts. In that way, those who follow the Beast will fully embrace their godless master: and become marked beasts themselves.
What of those who simply believe the saving gospel of Christ? They will not embrace the Beast and so they will be beheaded–just like the Coptic Christians who simply by faith called upon the name of the Lord–“Yeah, Lord Jesus Christ.”
Revelation 20:4:
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Will you by faith believe the simple gospel of Christ, or will you embrace the system of the Beast?
Choose life, choose Christ. But be warned: those who refuse the Beast system will face the fires of persecution. Once the Holy Spirit releases His restraining power this world system will degenerate into Babylon the Great. And the Beast system will begin the work of its evil master, who is the epitome of what it means to be a Beast.
Embrace Jesus Christ and by faith believe the gospel. Yes, true Christians will suffer persecution, but for those who are saved a glorious future is waiting, because “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Thanks for visiting.
Jeff Wingo
If you would like to learn more about the Beast system of Babylon the Great and the coming Great Tribulation, and Bible prophecy then I recommend my book Alien Antichrist, The Terrifying Truth about UFOs and Aliens, Antichrist, and the End of Days.
The Antichrist Beast and the Beast system of Babylon the Great is part of Bible prophecy, it will happen. Get the book, increase your knowledge of Bible prophecy and you will not be caught off guard like a thief in the night. You may get the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and at other fine bookstores as a print on demand title. And, if you have Kindle Unlimited or Kindle Prime you may download a copy free for a limited time!
Here is the link to Amazon:
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Thanks again for visiting. I hope that my articles are a help to you. Please send me your comments, criticisms, and suggestions. I would love to hear from you! If there is a topic you would like me to research and address send that as well.
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