It is a grievous thing when the soul becomes more exercised over the schemes of the Evil One than it is over coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. I say to you, let the beast do what he will, let him employ all the engines and inventions of man, yet the counsel of the LORD shall stand. Have you forgotten that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church? Why then fix your gaze upon the dragon’s instruments when the eye of faith should be set upon the Lamb who was slain and who lives forevermore?
I perceive a great danger in this cry, for while you bid men to look to the elect as those who have some special knowledge of these devices, you may unwittingly turn their eyes from the one and only hope of salvation. What is the mark of the elect? It is that they are forever "coming to Christ." Not coming to a party, not coming to a peculiar insight into prophecy, but coming to a Person. As it is written, "To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious." The whole Christian life is drawn in one line, coming unto Christ. You are to be always coming to Him, coming to Him for spiritual food, for spiritual garments, for washing, guiding, help and health! Coming, in fact, for everything!
I ask you, where is your trust? Is it in your ability to discern the beast’s tools, or is it in the finished work of the Lord Jesus? The elect are not those who boast in a secret knowledge of the enemy’s plans, but those who are made willing in the day of His power and who come, just as they are, to Him who says, "Him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out." That coming is not a bodily motion, for He is in heaven; it is a mental coming, a spiritual coming, it is, in one word, a trusting in and upon Him. And this coming is not to be done once and then forgotten; it is to be a lifelong perpetual coming, a nearer and dearer coming as the days roll on.
You speak of getting ready for the day of the Lord. Amen, and amen! But tell me, what is the best way to be ready? Is it not to be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, but that which is through the faith of Christ? You do well to sound the alarm, but beware lest you sound a false alarm that draws men to watch for a bot rather than to wait for the Bridegroom. The Lord Jesus Himself is coming, and He is coming quickly. He has said, "I am even now upon the road." We are to be as servants who keep the watches of the age for Christ, with our lamps trimmed and our lights burning, not peering into the darkness for every terror the night may bring, but listening for the cry, "Behold, the Bridegroom comes!"
The Revelation was not given to make us experts in the beast’s devices, but to unveil the glory of Christ. Every sign and wonder must bow before this great truth: the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, is on the throne. He is the Amen to all the promises, and He says Amen to every trembling sinner who comes. If you have repented of your sins and called upon the name of the Lord Jesus, then you are among His elect, and your business is not to be terrified by the shadow of antichrist, but to be about your heavenly Father’s business, doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with your God.
Let me entreat you, do not suffer this present age to make you afraid. What if the enemy uses a new thing? The old Serpent has a thousand wiles, but the Seed of the woman has bruised his head. Our fear of coming short must not lead us to unbelief. The way is by faith. I am not, therefore, to fear believing, but rather to fear distrust and unbelief. Listen for a moment: if the devil himself should stand before you in a visible form, your soul’s safety would not be in running from him in your own strength, but in fleeing to Christ. So it is with this bot. It is but a thing of wires and wheels; it has no power over you unless you give it the place of God in your heart.
The day of the Lord is coming, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. In that hour, what will it profit you to have deciphered all mysteries if you have not come to Christ? But if you have been always coming, always trusting, always leaning upon Him, then you shall come forth from the grave to the resurrection of life, and no bot or beast shall be able to harm you. Therefore, set your affection on things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Come to Him now, come again, come more often, come for larger blessings, come with greater expectations, and do not waste your strength in crying out against the tools of a defeated foe. Let your cry be, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"