Welcome to another episode of 30 Minutes in the New Testament.

30 Minutes of New Testament is a 1517 podcast network podcast.

You can go to 1517.org slash podcast.

Check it all to the podcasts that are living over there.

And while you're over there, make sure you go to the events page and get yourself signed up for the Here We Still Stand regional event in Bentonville, Arkansas. It's the first week of May,

and you want to be there. Eric's going to be there. I want to be there. A whole bunch of other people

are going to be there. It's going to be a good time. It does sell out every year. Tickets are right now

available, so you can go there, find those, or click the link in the show notes. Just scroll down, find it. Get yourself registered. We'd love to hang out

with you. Last week, we were talking about the mark of the beast. Yeah, we were up in that

mark of the beast, and it was a good conversation. We talked about what we thought it wasn't,

how it had to do, certainly, with faith faith and what you were relying on.

And now we are transitioning into chapter 14, where we're going to get to talk about

the 144,000.

Yes, indeed.

That number is being brought up again.

And, of course, last week when we were together, we talked about this sort of unholy Trinity of the dragon, the sea beast, and the land beast, for lack of a better name or title.

That's just kind of the way they're described as sea beast and land beast and then this dragon character.

And of course, the dragon represents the devil.

And these other beasts basically represent great world powers, probably Rome back in that day.

Almost certainly Rome is being referred to and other powerful political leaders within the Roman Empire.

People like Nero then, but really it could be any powerful politician of any time to some extent.

But the purpose of this sort of unholy Trinity is to persecute God's people.

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