Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism
will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery.
2 When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice.
But when the wicked are in power, they groan.
3 The man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father,
but if he hangs around with prostitutes, his wealth is wasted.
4 A just king gives stability to his nation,
but one who demands bribes destroys it.
5 To flatter friends
is to lay a trap for their feet.
6 Evil people are trapped by sin,
but the righteous escape, shouting for joy.
7 The godly care about the rights of the poor;
the wicked don’t care at all.
8 Mockers can get a whole town agitated,
but the wise will calm anger.
Proverbs 29.1-8
There in v5 we read that to flatter friends is to lay a trap for their feet. Flattery in those days meant a few things, like when people say a whole bunch of nice things to get someone to do what they want, or when someone gives someone a lot of money or makes something really easy that would otherwise be impossible, or like how the internet has made the whole world "rich" with "powers" and "abilities" and "currencies" and all that the web promises. It's all flattery. Flattery also means "slippery" like slime or butter or grease. When insanely evil people take advantage of generally "more ordinary" people, they usually do it through flattery which encompasses all of these definitions.
As for my companion, he betrayed his friends;
he broke his promises.
21 His words are as smooth as butter,
but in his heart is war.
His words are as soothing as lotion,
but underneath are daggers!
22 Give your burdens to the Lord,
and he will take care of you.
He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
23 But you, O God, will send the wicked
down to the pit of destruction.
Murderers and liars will die young,
but I am trusting you to save me.
Psalm 55.20-23
There in v21 we read about words which are as smooth as butter, but about the heart which has war within. The same word for "flattery" is here in the phrase that we have interpreted into "smooth as butter."
"The next to come to power will be a despicable man who is not in line for royal succession. He will slip in when least expected and take over the kingdom by flattery and intrigue.
22 Before him great armies will be swept away, including a covenant prince.
23 With deceitful promises, he will make various alliances. He will become strong despite having only a handful of followers.
24 Without warning he will enter the richest areas of the land. Then he will distribute among his followers the plunder and wealth of the rich--something his predecessors had never done. He will plot the overthrow of strongholds, but this will last for only a short while.
Daniel 11.21-24
There in v21 we read about the end times guy who stirs up the world for war after plundering the riches of the kingdom he gained by flattery.
What man is calling "Artificial Intelligence" today is rapidly going to fade into being something else that man will still call the same thing, yet people will be in it and it will be in them hook, line, and sinker.
Jesus Christ is Lord
9 “This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings. 10 Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief.
11 “The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction. 12 The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast. 13 They will all agree to give him their power and authority. 14 Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”
Revelation 17.9-11
Here in Revelation we read about a beast with many heads where a woman rules over and with seven kings. There is an eighth king too, in the same sinking boat. The beast is the world system which worships the internet and mankind and all the rest of man's creations as gods. We are witnessing the last few days before people are stirred up to "choose a side" against God or against God. There will be no good choice given by the world for those who desire to choose life and life abundantly. Jesus Christ is the only Way, Truth, and Life, the only Way to God our Father in Heaven. There is no other salvation or savior.
The world is giving their power over to this last and final beast, for a very short while, which the Bible tells us is an hour, and also that it is roughly 7 years long.
Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon. 12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. 14 And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. 15 He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.
16 He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. 17 And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. 18 Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.
Revelation 13.11-18
Here we read about this end times beast system again. The name is the number, which is 666, which is WWW. Here in the NLT version of the Holy Bible, we read a book written by a man who wanted to have a Bible which was translated so that his young children could understand it, and it is very good to get a lot of the "meaning" out of the more "meaningful" Passages from the Bible which is difficult for some people to read when they read the old KJV, but for the student of the Word, who is very interested to know what God actually caused to be recorded in the early Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic, which was translated over and over and over again, it is imperative to know and be intimately familiar with the King James Version, because it is a faithful and original reproduction of the original text in such a way that it was translated and retranslated according to exacting standards, which had a massive benefit for us today, because once we get familiar with the Olde English style of writing, we can rely on the language to lead us to God.
The KJV is beautiful as a poetic book, as a history book, as a literary time capsule and as a prophecy book, but when you stop and think about it, the fact that its claim is that it's the Book written by God, it has an elevated position which no other book or physical or conceptual thing that exists can take the place of, and nothing else can compare to it. For those who believe and have believed that this book is the Book of God, they need not go anywhere else, because every time they open the pages of the Bible, God meets them there in those pages, and why should they seek elsewhere?
Over the years, I have known people who are men of God and women of God who have led lives which honor God, and they lead a life as a good example for others to be able to know Jesus Christ through their actions. Some of them read Bibles that were not the KJV, and their lives have the same spiritual fruit as those who read the KJV. God says that we will know them by their fruits, and I can say that by this one metric, there are several other good translations of the Bible which are good to study alongside the KJV, though I generally do not use any others unless it is for someone else who is new to the Word, or someone who might miss something if it were in the KJV, then I will sometimes use the NLT as I have used here, above.
But for this last Passage from Revelation 13, it is important to point out that it's probably an error of sorts there in Revelation 13.14-15 where it says the word "statue," because although this is a possible usage of the Greek word from which this is interpreted, the more correct English word is "image." The final beast of all will require people to make an image to the beast and/or receive a mark of the beast. There will be a real mandate with no wiggle room. It will be compliance or the sentence of death and many people will be beheaded for refusing to go along with this system.
This is the future we are looking at, beginning somewhere around September of 2023, perhaps as late as spring of 2027, but by 2031 it will all be over, and God has many blessings in store for those who remain faithful and do not worship the beast and who do not receive the image of the beast or the mark of the beast or make any of these things or promote any of these things. God has many blessings in store for His patient people.
It is important to know this Passage from the KJV:
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 13.9-18
Much more important to know than that is this:
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3.16-17
