Sermon Tone Analysis

This is the reasons that I wanted to get into Revelation.

This is one of the sections of Scripture that freaks people out the most.

I want this passage to be comforting to the people of God.

And I’m excited and blessed to preach it to you today.

By nature, our discussion today will end up being more technical as I show you some stuff to make sense of what we’re seeing in this chapter, but if you hang in there with me, I think you will find this chapter to be one of the most comforting in all of Scripture.

Remember where we are: we’ve just seen Satan try to eat the baby Jesus, he’s cast out of heaven, and goes off to make war against us Christians.

And he’s going to do that with evil and chaos.

And we saw him standing on the shore of the sea (evil, chaos).

Let’s read the first few verses of this chapter.

This is the reasons that I wanted to get into Revelation.

-13:8

If I'm a Jew, this imagery of the beasts coming out of the sea reminds me of because all four beasts come out of the sea.

And the beasts in Daniel are lion, bear, leopard, something so corrupt and evil it defies explanation.

Here, we have a beast that looks like a leopard, bear, lion, thing.

If I'm a Jew, what does this imagery of the beasts coming out of the sea remind me of?

- all four of the beasts come out of the sea.

Description of the beast- leopard/bear/lion beast ()-

- Lion - Bear - Leopard - Something so corrupt and evil it defies explanation.

This is a combination of all the beasts of .

And this beast represents Rome, as did the fourth beast of .

And so that’s the interpretation.

But we have beasts here today, don’t we.

Anti-Christian governments and anti-Christian religions.

Don’t we have those?

The beast receives the Dragon's power, throne and authority, but do you know who gave the dragon his authority?

God.

God knows the value of suffering.

He knows what it can produce in those who are his.

God knows the value of suffering.

He knows what it can produce in those who are his.

Satan is just a pathetic puppet who thinks he has free will.

But the ministry of the beasts is a parody of the Trinity- a feeble, weak imitation.

There is no power that can rival the one true God, found in the Father, Son, and Spirit.

But the ministry of the beasts is a parody of the Trinity- a feeble, weak imitation.

Beast- fatal wound, but is healed.

Who does that sound like?

Cheap imitation of Jesus.

Cheap imitation of Jesus.

What does it cause people to do? Worship him.

"OMG!

HE LOOKED DEAD AND NOW HE'S HEALED!

AHHH!!!"

What does it cause people to do? Worship him.

"OMG!

HE LOOKED DEAD AND NOW HE'S HEALED!

AHHH!!!"

Worship him.

"OMG!

HE LOOKED DEAD AND NOW HE'S HEALED!

AHHH!!!"

And the people ask, "who is like the beast and who can make war against him?"

"Who can stand?”

Remember chapter 6?

, anyone?

Best kinds (most effective) of heresy are the ones that are hard to figure out if they're true.

And this is what the beast is doing here- a parody.

That’s why the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons do so well.

They’re cults that approach the truth, but are just different enough to be preaching a different hope and a different Gospel.

But the beast uses verbal and physical weapons.

Blasphemes God and makes war on saints.

If your life seems hard right now, it’s not an accident.

The Beast is waging war on you.

The Beast is waging war on this church.

Some of you have felt it over the last few months.

Because we’re starting to push in a direction of faithfulness- because Jesus is shaking us out of our corporate apathy, the beast is attacking us.

Beast from the sea (there's two- one from sea and one from earth)- goal is to have all humanity worship beast.

Worship is war.

Complete authority

Beast from the sea (there's two- one from sea and one from earth)- goal is to have all humanity worship beast.

Worship is war.

What does 9 remind us of?

What does 9 remind us of?

If the authorities want to take you to captivity because of the gospel, Go.

If the authorities want to kill you because of the gospel, die.

This requires endurance because it goes against everything that we are trained to do, instinctually do, and want to do.

Because if we are the body of Christ here on earth, we need to ask ourselves, "what did the actual body of Christ do when it walked the earth?"

Summary of beast #1:

The goal and function is and goal of Roman empire- the same- conquer everyone and get them to worship them.

Rome existed for conquest.

The beast from the sea epitomizes Rome, and so I suggest that John refers to the Roman government here- and we'll see more evidence for this interpretation in , .

Application is any anti-Christian government who demands worship by verbal and physical weapons.

Christian's response is to endure patiently so that we can also have it said of us that we overcame the dragon by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony and that we did not love our lives so much as to shrink from death.

Out of 70 times in Revelation, the word "earth" is use negatively 45 times.

What's being communicated?

If this is your home, it doesn't look good for you.

Non-Christians are earth-dwellers.

They don't have a heavenly perspective.

4 times is positive, 21 times neutral.

Non-Christians are earth-dwellers.

They don't have a heavenly perspective.

And the beast’s parody continues: Looks like lamb/speaks like dragon.

Looks like lamb/speaks like dragon.

References the first beast's "death and resurrection".

This is a mockery.

References Elijah (authority of prophets, or church).

Sometimes they would have idols in temples where people would enter behind the idol in a secret passageway and speak through the idol.

This beast's goal is to get people to worship the first beast.

This beast mocks the Holy Spirit in the unholy trinity.

He does it through deception and forces people to have a mark.

1st beast- Roman Government

2nd beast- Roman imperial cult