Behold the Man of Sin
What in the World is Going on? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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I want to be honest with you this morning. From the moment we began our study of the book of Revelation, I have dreaded coming to chapter 13. In order to understand this passage well you must have a working knowledge of nearly all the Bible, especially the book of Daniel. You will see why in a moment.
Today our study brings us face to face with a man known by many names, “man of sin, the son of perdition, the willful king, the little horn, the king of Babylon, the prince that shall come, the king of a fierce countenance, the wicked one, the beast, or quite simply, the Antichrist”.
We will look at the first ten verses today, but for now let us read together verses 1-2 to set the tone...
Friends, every time I read this chapter I thank my God that I will not be here when this man comes on the scene.
Let us pray and then look together at what the Bible says a bout the coming man of sin.
I’ll point out first what the Bible tells us about...
His Nature v. 1
His Nature v. 1
If you were paying attention, then when we read verse 1, you said to yourself, “Hey! That sounds familiar.” Read Revelation 12:3
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
In chapter 12 we are introduced to Satan described as a “great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his heads”. In Revelation 13 we see a similar sight, with a few minor details changed.
Chapter 12 describes Satan, but chapter 13 describes the antichrist. The antichrist will be a world ruler, who will conquer the enemies of Israel in a peaceful conquest and set himself up as their defender. However, he is not their defender, but their destroyer.
Why does his description in chapter 13 resemble that of Satan in chapter 12? When Satan is cast from heaven he will then come to earth and personally possess the antichrist. The prefix “Anti” has two possible meanings, and this man will fulfill both. “anti” means to be against something or to be in place of something. The first opposes the second i-mitates. The coming man will oppose and imitate Christ.
For now let us look at how verse one describes his nature. We see he is...
Beastly
In chapter 12 verse Satan, who empowers the beast, is described as a “great red dragon
We have already said that this is symbolic of his fierce nature
Satan never rests in war against God.
In chapter 13 verse one we read that the antichrist is attributed the moniker of a “beast”
The word in the original means “wild beast” and untamable creature.
Like Satan who gives him his power, the antichrist will be fierce in his persecution of God’s people.
But not only is he beastly, but he is...
Bossy
He will be a world dictator.
The seven heads and ten horns represent the following
Seven heads = seven kings
Ten horns = ten kingdom confederacy, known popularly as the “revived Roman empire” (More on this later)
How do we know this?
By looking at a parallel passage: Rev. 17:9-12
“9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.”
These kings and kingdoms will all be under the control of the antichrist
Later on he will receive help from the second beast in Revelation 13, the beast from the earth
This beast is called the false prophet
Together with Satan, the two beasts make up an “unholy trinity”
Satan in opposition to God
Antichrist in opposition to Christ
False prophet in opposition to the Holy Spirit
The worst part of his nature is that he will be...
Blasphemous
Blasphemy is to speak evil of God. The word literally means to “vilify”. In other words, the antichrist will lead these seven world leaders to speak evil of God, to make God out to be the bad guy.
Friends, that is exactly what Satan has been doing ever since he first slithered into the garden of Eden. From the moment he first spoke he has been accusing God of withholding from us what is best and right. With the simple phrase, “Yea hath God said?” we were set on a path of destruction. Destruction is in the nature of Satan, therefore it will be in the nature of his man.
Notice next what the Bible says about...
His Nationality v. 2
His Nationality v. 2
You say, “Is this really important?” Well, it’s important enough that two prophets mention it! Notice how it is...
Described by Daniel 7:1-7, notice the beasts:
Lion
Babylon, ruled by Nebucadnezzar
This kingdom was known for its might and voracity
Bear
Persian empire
Known for its brute force
Leopard
Greece
Known for the swiftness with which Alexander conquered the world
We don’t know (nondescript)
Rome, but also something else
Notice how Daniel described them, Daniel 7:7 “7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, 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.”
It is dreadful and terrible, meaning frightening
Exceeding strong - everyone feared Rome
It is destructive in power
It was yet different from the other beasts in that it could not be described
It had ten horns - we know the Roman Empire was divided into ten districts
Described by John Pay attention to the order, it was “like unto a...”
He is describing the beast from the sea
Nothing like anything he’d ever seen
Reflection of the fourth beast of Daniel in this way, next he describes it having....
Leopard
feet like a bear
mouth as a lion
Notice the order is in reverse?
He started with Daniel’s nondescript beast (Rome)
Moved onto the leopard (Greece)
The bear (Persia)
Lion (Babylon)
Did he get it wrong? NO!
When Daniel was writing, the Roman empire was future
When John was writing it was his present, and Greece, Persia, and Babylon were in the past.
Daniel was looking forward
John was looking backward
Why is this all important? Because it lets us know the antichrist will be a Gentile! He will rise up from the sea, just as we read in Daniel 7:3 “And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.”
The best way to understand the meaning of the word sea here is in reference to the Gentile world powers, we get this when we compared it with Revelation 17:15
And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
For these reasons we conclude that the antichrist will be a gentile. We have seen his nature and his nationality. Lastly, let's examine what the Bible teaches about…
His Narcissism v. 3-10
His Narcissism v. 3-10
Nacissim refers to one’s obsession with themselves, in a word: Pride.
Since his fall from grace, Satan has sought to lift himself up. When he takes possession of the antichrist he will accomplish this in the following ways. Notice first…
His Wound v.3
A mortal wound is dealt
It would appear that he is attacked, possibly by one of the ten kingdoms, but we do not know
Whatever, or whoever it may be, what is plain is that the wound is life threatening, and there is no hope of survival
A “miracle” occurs
Some have suggested that he literally dies and Satan resurrects his body to mimic that of Jesus
I disagree with this view becasue only God has power over life
I do not believe that God would grant this power to Satan, not even temporarily
It is better to remember that Satan is a liar!
Most likely what happens is he fakes his death, and likewise his resurrection
This level of deception would be in his ability, and only the unsaved will believe it anyway. His narcissim is demonstrated next in…
His Words v. 5-6
Three times in these verses we read that he will speak of blasphemy
He will accuse God of being the villian
He will accuse God’s people of being villians as well
His evil words will turn the world against the saved remnant and lead to…
His War v. 7
He will excercise full control over the nations that follow him, possibly through the influence of the seven kings
He will lead a war against God’s people, Israel and the gentiles that have followed them
His Worshipers v. 4,8
Finally, with only 3 and half years to go, Satan will get what he has always wanted: He will be worshiped.
Read
Revelation 13:4 “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”
Revelation 13:8 “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
Only a narcisist would attempt to lift themselves up to the level of God.
Church, there is a day coming when the man of sin will be revealed, but the Bible tells us that will not happen until after the rapture of the chruch. If I wasn’t sure that I’d go in the rapture, I would not leave here until I knew for sure that I was saved.
Concluseion:
Let’s bow our heads and pray as Gwen and Todd come forward.
With our heads bowed and eyes closed, no one looking around. Has the Spirit of God spoken to you this morning? How many of you know right now without any doubt, that if the rapture took place today, you’d be in heaven? Will you raise your hand?
How many of you that just raised your hands that you know you are saved and heaven bound, how many of you know someone who doesn’t know Jesus as their Savior? Don’t raise your hand, but commit to God right where you are that you will pray for that one regularly.
If there is anyone today listening to me that doesn’t know Jesus, I’ll simply say this: Don’t leave here today without getting that settled in your heart.