Revelation
13:1-10.
The
Antichrist – Satan’s Superman.
“The streets of our country are in turmoil.
The universities are full of students rebelling and rioting.
Other nations are seeking to destroy our country.
Yes, danger from within, and danger from without.
We need law and order.
For without law and order, our nation cannot survive!”
This is a quote from Adolf
Hitler in 1932.
You see, dictators rarely
take over by brute force. Political problems / economic problems pave the way
for dictators. In the 30’s, Germany’s economy was in shambles, people were
starving, inflation was harsh, and communists stirred up riots in the streets
and on university campuses.
Germany was in turmoil and
confusion, on the verge of collapse. And no one was able to create order out of
the confusion, and then appeared Adolf Hitler! A voice of authority during
chaos. He was viewed as a Saviour of Germany, because the rioting stopped, men
started working, people were eating, and there was a new sense of national
pride.
You and I know the
result in hindsight, as people turned admiration into worship, and Hitler
turned out to be a demon-possessed monster. Yet as bad as that was, Hitler
could not even play 3rd string compared to the antichrist.
Revelation 13:1-10.
1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And
I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten
crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.
2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard but had feet
like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast
his power and his throne and great authority.
3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a
fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The entire world was
astonished and followed the beast.
4 Men worshiped the dragon because he had given
authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is
like the beast? Who can make war against him?” The Beast out of the Sea
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words
and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty–two months.
6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to
slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.
7 He was given power to make war against the saints
and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people,
language, and nation.
8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the
beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to
the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
9 He who has an ear, let him hear.
10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity
he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be
killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the
saints.”
This is the antichrist. The
last world-wide dictator. Sometimes called the man of sin/son of perdition, here
he is called the beast out of the sea. evolutionists say that is where we
started, well another is coming out of the sea, called a beast.
This is not some sci-
fiction make believe story this is what John saw in his vision from Jesus. So,
let us take a moment to unpack this revelation.
These chapters or
Revelation reveals how the Dragon fought against Jesus but failed. It reveals
how he even today seeks to destroy the Church and any of its offspring. The
Dragon attacks Churches and Christians even today.
We need to know that Satan
will raise up evil people, evil beasts, deceptive false prophets in our time
and in the end time, he hates Christians, he hates the Church, and He wages war
against them.
Christ through John unveils
the future end time battle and the characters involved in this great epic
battle. It unveils the conditions and the signs of the times so that those with
wisdom could see the signs of the time.
Revelation 13 In the end of
time which is prior to Jesus’ 2nd Coming to the earth (We spoke before that He
came to the air at the Rapture), the dragon will rise beasts to fight against
and kill the people of God (Israel and those that now believe). They will also
establish an evil empire.
Those who are not written
in the Lambs book of life will be deceived by Satan’s empire. Many will believe
the Dragon is all powerful, and that no one can stand against him because of
his great strength, ability to do miracles and demonstrated power.
The two beasts who are
controlled and under The Dragons power will be deceiving and focused on
attacking God, criticizing His holy name, they will wage war on the saints, and
they will seek to destroy the reputation of Heaven and all who live in Heaven.
The beast from the earth
will look like the Lamb but will be a fake counterfeit of the slain “Lamb of
God = Jesus.” He is also known as the false prophet. This false Christ will do
miracles to deceive the people of the earth to follow the Beast and the Dragon.
This earthly beast will
also institute the one world system where you must have a mark to buy or sell
anything. It will be either on your forehead or hand. This mark is called the
mark of the beast and is reflected in the number 666.
People living in this
period will need to have wisdom, patient endurance and perseverance, they will
need to be faithful to the Lord through this trial and this Great Tribulation
as the times will be horrendous for those faithful ones living in this period.
It is important to know
that those who are written in the Lambs book of Life will be saved, but the
Dragon through His beasts will target anyone who holds to God’s commandments
and who testify of Jesus.
As we read these chapters
today, we need to ask ourselves the questions, “What do we need to learn from
this vision? What words of wisdom and revelation do we need to understand from
this vision, so we know Christ better from these passages?”
We need to expect criticism,
bitterness, and persecution from the world. We need to know that as a Christian
there is a spiritual war raging in the background of history and in our life
even today.
He will attack us for our testimony of Jesus and try
to stop us. Jesus Himself warned us that they persecuted Him, and they will
persecute us to as we testify about Him. John 15:20: Remember what I
told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me,
they would persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they would obey
yours also.”
Matthew 5:10: “Blessed is those who are persecuted because of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Satan is waging war on
Christians he has since Jesus’ death! He has not stopped, nor will he stop! He
is on a revengeful mission to undermine God and His throne to exalt himself.
One of the signs of the end times is a great apostasy
in the church. A rejection of God’s Word, the Bible and an embracing of Satan’s
designed lies and deceptions. In these end times there is a rewriting of what
is sin and what is not sin. A redefinition of what is right and wrong.
It is an adamant stand against God’s Word and truth
which is a sign of the end times.
Isaiah 5:20: “Woe to those who call evil good and good
evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for
sweet and sweet for bitter.”
Let us see some things
about this beast:
One. The doctorship of the Beast.
Verse 1.
1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And
I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten
crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.”
What is this sea
representing?
Isaiah 17:12 “Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise
like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, which make a rushing
like the rushing of mighty waters!”
Revelation 17:15 “And he said to me, the waters which you saw, are
peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”
The sea represents all of
humanity, the nations of the world. During the great Tribulation they will be
in mass confusion/turmoil, do not forget what has already happened up to this
point. Waters turned to blood/fresh water poisoned/famine on a world-wide
scale/chaos reign, like the raging sea during a storm, the nations will be
churning, seething, tossed in all directions!
When, in the Great Tribulation,
the world is looking for answers during the greatest upheaval of all human history,
the beast will rise out of the sea! Doing the Roman Emperor days, worship in
the early centuries A.D., they had to say, Caesar is Lord, or be thrown to the
Lions, people cheered, for they believed he was Lord!
Two. The description of the Beast.
Verse 1-2.
1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I
saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten
crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.
2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard but had feet
like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast
his power and his throne and great authority.”
If ever there were a child
of the devil, the offspring of Satan, here he is! His ancestry goes all the way
back to Lucifer. “You are of your father, the devil.” The antichrist
will be able to say, as Jesus did, if you have seen me, you have seen my father!
He will be the visible expression of the invisible devil!
The 7 heads represent 7
mountains Revelation 17:9.
Which city is this
referring to? Rome?
Next is the 10 crowns Revelation
13:1. Ten horns/ten crowns, these represent the same thing as the 10 toes
in Daniel’s statue, the 10-nation revived Roman Empire in Europe.
The vision that the Apostle
John had of the revived Roman Empire
(Revelation 13:1-2), the Roman Empire in its last stage, reveals the fact that the “last
stage” of the Roman Empire will include all the characteristics of the whole
Four Empires, Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and Roman.
This is seen in the
character of the “Beast” John saw
come up out of the sea. It was like unto a Leopard (Greece), with the feet
of a Bear (Medo-Persia), and the
mouth of a Lion (Babylon). The fact that the body of the “Beast” was like a Leopard (Greece), reveals the fact that the preponderating
feature of the revived Roman Empire will be Grecian, and that therefore the
“Ten Federated Kingdoms,” represented by the “Ten Horns” of the “Beast.”
When
the “United nations” were formed, many Christians saw this as a sign of the
time of the Antichrist, when he would be elected as its Head. Or when the
common market came about, a group of countries imposing few or no duties
on trade with one another and a common tariff on trade with other countries.
Mark of the Beast many Christians cried out!
Then came the European
Economic Community or European Union. All signs of a “United states of the old
European nations becoming as one.” Wonder what Daniel would say today? Or John?
Again, ONLY God knows all the answers to these studies, because the Book of
Revelation is the VISION of Christ to John, and even then, some pages are
“sealed up” until “end times.”
Watch out for Europe, they
already have their “Euro” dollar and are uniting. “The United States of Europe”
is a term first coined by Winston Churchill,
Verse 3.
3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a
fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The entire world was
astonished and followed the beast.”
Notice the leopard, bear,
lion etc. of this chapter, now turn to Daniel 7:
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of
Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote
the dream and told the sum of the matters. 2 Daniel spoke and said, I saw
in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the
great sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea,
diverse one from another.
4 The first was like a lion (kingdom of
Babylon) and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked,
and it was lifted from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a
man’s heart was given to it.
5 And behold another beast, a second, like to
a bear, (Medo-Persian empire) and it raised up itself on one side, and it had
three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto
it, Arise, devour much flesh.
6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a
leopard, (ancient Greece under Alexander the Great) which had upon the back of
it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given
to it.
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and
behold a fourth beast, (the antichrist) dreadful and terrible, and
strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in
pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from
all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.”
Back to Revelation 13:2 “like
unto” all 3 animals! Is he a composite of all the world dictators which
have ever served under Satan? All the
Caesars/napoleons/hitlers/stalins/khomenis/nebuchadnezzars/Alexander the Great/Saddam
Hussein’s/Khadafi’s all rolled into 1?
John 5:43 “I am come in my father’s name, and you receive me not: if
another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.”
We have quickly looked at his
family likeness, family lineage, he is just like those that have gone before
him! Now let us look at his family legacy.
Verse 2.
2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard but had feet
like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the
beast his power and his throne and great authority.”
The “unholy spirit,” Satan,
will fill and empower the antichrist, 2 Thessalonians 2:9 says, “Even
him, who is coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and
lying wonders.” Is the antichrist alive today on earth? Where is he, if so?
Why does he not take over now?
2 Thessalonians 2 talks about
this, revealing there is a restraining force in place holding him back, it is
the Holy Spirit in our hearts, but once the salt is removed (rapture), he will
be free, no more preservation!
We have seen his
dictatorship (rising out of an angry sea with 7 heads and 10 crowns), his
description: his family likeness, lineage, and legacy. What next?
Three. The desirability of the Beast.
Verse 3.
3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a
fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The entire world was
astonished and followed the beast.”
Why would the people of the
world follow a man like this? What is his appeal? It is interesting, that the
antichrist will be extremely popular, for many reasons, not the least of which
will be his imitation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
He will receive mortal
wound to the head, appear to die, and then appear to resurrect. Another Satanic
counterfeit! This would be here, plus inverse 12 (talking of 2nd
beast…the false prophet). Then again in verse 14, 3 times this mortal
wound is mentioned in chapter 13, it must be important!
Here is what we do not know
about it:
Whether actual or simulated (verse 3 “as it were”).
It will gain him great popularity (verse 3 all the world
wondered after).
His desirability is great, do not get off track because he is called
the beast, which is a reference to his character, not his appearance. Even
Satan is called a Dragon, but he is an angel of light in appearance!
Here is a practical
application: Here is what we can learn from this that will apply to us. The
devil has always been an imitator (Martin Luther called him God’s ape!) His
last words before falling from heaven “I will be like the highest.”
He is a master-counterfeiter!
There is an example in Matthew
13:38 of “counterfeit Christians,” when tares are mixed into the wheat! Profession
without possession. Initially you cannot tell, but eventually their true colors
show!
Again the 10 virgins of Matthew
24, all had lamps, but only 5 had oil.
Again 2 Corinthians
11:13, speak about “counterfeit ministers.” They stand behind pulpits,
preach in churches, but do not believe the Bible/virgin birth/sinless
life/resurrection/hell/absolutes, they strive to be politically correct/take
polls, go with flow, all leading to a different gospel! And a different Christ!
Some believe all good
people go to heaven and all bad to hell! Without repentance, turning away from
sin, or turning to God for salvation. Satan has always been a counterfeiter, and
the same will be true in the Great Tribulation! He will imitate the
resurrection.
Four. The determination of the Beast.
Three things he will be
determined to do:
1. Deify himself.
Verse 4.
4 Men worshiped the dragon because he had
given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who
is like the beast? Who can make war against him?” The Beast out of the Sea.”
They “worshipped the
beast,” he wants that!
2 Thessalonians 2:34, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that
day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin
be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposed and exalted himself above all
that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple
of God, shewing himself that he is God.”
It has already happened
dozens of times, at least: Rome called their leaders gods! So did Egypt!
Germany had Hitler. China had mao-se-tung as God. Russia had Lenin, who has
been dead for years, and still his body is encased in state under glass,
multitudes pass by it all the time.
2. Defy God.
Verses 5-6.
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words
and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty–two months.
6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to
slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.”
He will be a master of words.
Blasphemes against God name/ God’s tabernacle (heaven)/ and those that dwell
there (us!) He hates us and will try to convince the world that we who were
raptured are missing because of a great judgment of God against us!
Sound crazy? The Bible
says it is a lie so clever that even the elect would believe it if it were
possible! Blasphemy will spew out of his mouth like sewage! Ironic that Jesus
was always accused of blasphemy, then was rejected. But the antichrist will be
blindly accepted, though he blasphemes!
3. Destroy the
saints.
Verse 7.
7 He was given power to make war against the saints
and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people,
language, and nation.”
This speaks of they that
are saved during the Great Tribulation by the witness of the 144k! (See chapter
7). The antichrist will try to rid the earth of every believer of God. Why
do some say they will wait to get saved?
The Bible promises they will
not. 2 Thessalonians 2 also says God will send strong delusion to them
which have rejected Christ today.
Five. The deception of the Beast.
Verses 8-10.
8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the
beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to
the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
9 He who has an ear, let him hear.
10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity
he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be
killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the
saints.”
We have a lot to study in
these chapters, this you must do for yourself under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, who helped John to write down Christ’s vision. I do not have all the
answers, I just try to answer the meaning of these words.
I heard this story:
“Years ago a man lived on
long island/always wanted a barometer to put on mantle/saved $ and got a nice
one delivered to his home/took out of box, noticed needle pointed toward sector
indicating a hurricane on the way/assumed it must be broken, shook it, tried to
adjust it to the kind of day it was/kept pointing to hurricane/just set it on
the mantle/went to work in the city.
First, he wrote a scathing
letter to company he bought it from saying “you would think for that kind of
money it would work!”
When he got home late that
evening the barometer was gone, so was the house, the great hurricane of 1938
had swept through the area, and took his house plus the barometer. The
barometer did not need adjusting at all, it just needed believing!”
The Bible tells of a
spiritual hurricane of judgment which is on the way as we speak! It does not
need to be adjusted, just believed! No need to face the antichrist if you
accept Jesus Christ today!
Next time we will be
looking at the Beast’s agent of deception, the false prophet, the beast out of
the earth.
The Beast out of the Earth.
11 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 astound 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.”
We have spoken about the antichrist, now we are moving
to the anti-spirit. This completes the Satanic trinity/will be a religious
leader, a false prophet, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Three things about the false prophet:
1. He will be a worker of worship.
Verses 12,
15.
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.
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.
The devil is not
opposed to worship. He is up to his ears in worship, and the false prophet’s
job is to point people to the antichrist in worship. Verse 11 says the
false prophet will be like a lamb, not a demon of darkness, but an angel of
light! Scripture teaches that the antichrist and his sinister minister the False
Prophet would succeed at deceiving the very elect if it were possible!
The devil does not want casualties as
much as he wants converts! He wants to be worshipped. He even tested Jesus to
worship him in Matthew 3 “all this will I give You, if you will worship me.”
Look at all of Satan’s activities in the world today,
they all reveal his desire for worship. Witchcraft-the-occult-spiritism-astrology-new
age religion.
As humans, we are created with an inborn desire to
worship something. It is an inherent need to look up to someone. Missionaries
will tell you they have never found a people group not engaged in some form of
worship (sun-rocks-ancestors-nature, etc.), even a self-proclaimed atheist worship
himself!
How many here hate the devil with a righteous hatred?
When we look at the lives-families he destroys-people enslaved-even believers
he is hurt, affected their attitudes, etc.
If you hate him, here is the greatest thing you can do
to give him a black eye, spend time worshipping Almighty God! When we worship
God, on our knees before Him, we give to God the 1 thing Satan desires the
most! (Make Him priority).
God wants us to be a worshipper! Many
of us are only a worshipper when our workload permits. No, that is not what God
is looking for, He wants us to choose Him! God does not want workers who
worship, He wants worshippers who work!
Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his
knees!
2. He will be master of Miracles.
Verses
13-14.
13 He
did astound 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.
Want to talk about showmanship? He will call fire down
from heaven like Elijah did! Satan knows just what to do to excite curious
crowds! More so today, it is important to understand this: Satan has the power
to work miracles! All that glitters is not God!
Read Matthew 24! Jesus warns us of “false”
prophets, pastor, teachers, and miracles etc. I remember seeing a video of a
well known Amirican evangeltist that came to London to minister. Sharing that
his ministry was not about him, but about Christ. Yet, he mentioned his own
name about ten times in the next five minutes.
You cannot tell if
a man is from God because he can do miracles.
Why would God allow the devil to have power to do
miracles? The answer is in the Word of God.
1 “A man who tells what
is going to happen or a dreamer of dreams may come among you. He may give you
something special to see or do a powerful work.
2 And what he tells you
will happen might come true. But if he says to you, ‘Let us follow other gods
(whom you have not known) and let us worship them,’
3 do not listen to the
words of that man who tells you what will happen or that dreamer of dreams. For
the Lord, your God is putting you to the test to see if you love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 13:1-3.
God will allow a false prophet to perform a miracle,
to see if the people are willing to follow miracles at the expense of His Word!
Any Christian Movement, which focus on signs and
wonders, and not the Word of God, take care. Are the leaders putting forth false
doctrines, that multitudes are swallowing them hook, line, and sinker, though they
have no Biblical basis. Many are looking for an enjoyable time experience in
church, regardless of the doctrine preached.
Some Christians will travel around the world for the
latest “enjoyable time experience” in God, but what God is being manifested in
their midst? Take care reader, the devil is leading thousands astray.
Several times an unbeliever of God, have said to me
that they had no time for Christ. Yet, they were caught up with the strangest
of ideas, which were leading them into a form of worship, but denying the power
of God. Anything from aliens from another plant, new age, to tarot card
reading. Worshipping false gods, lead by false prophets and leaders.
People are blown about by every wind of doctrine,
fooled by signs and wonders, and lay their Bible aside! The false prophet will
be a worker of worship, a master of miracles, and a controller.
3. Controller of Business.
Verses 16-18.
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.”
We must be careful as we make suggestions
concerning the “Mark of the Beast.” Some people can make people like
Hitler’s name equal the numbers 666. This is playing games.
We all know the technology exists today for
it to all happen today through fingerprints/passports/driving licenses/bank
cards/microchips/bar codes, etc. etc.
My bank statement can not only tell be
how much I spent over the month, but where I spent it, the day I spent it, and
the shop receipt tells me the time I spent it. I can buy an item made in China,
with nothing more than a few numbers on a plastic card.
Then we have pin numbers for our bank
cards, accounts, laptops, etc. I just bought a smart watch to check on my
health readings. It asked the question what did I weigh? Then went on to tell
me it would not share that fact with nobody else. Thank goodness my watch is
not going to report me, ha, ha.
We are carrying around today in our
wallets, purses, or even on our phones the power to buy and sell using a number.
Click on any barcode and see the details for the item. How easy the “mark of
the beast” will be able to keep track of every human being on the earth, at any
time, any place, whenever he wants to. It is already here. Government bodies
can know everything about you, where you are, what you buy, what you watch,
where you go, etc.
And with cc tv, cameras in the skies above us, what
you are doing while reading this. Daily people are filling social media sites
with pictures and videos of themselves, their family, holidays, interests, etc.
even to what coffee they like.
The False Prophet will use
the “Mark” to force people to worship the Antichrist. For without the “Mark”
you cannot buy or sell. Once a person receives “The Mark” their decision is
final.
Conclusion:
Jesus will give you a NAME,
not a number.
End of chapter 13.
