Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: Revelation 13:1-10; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

Theme: This chapter portrays the designs of Satan to wage war against God’s people.

Date: 09/02/2018 File name: Resurrection29.wpd

ID Number:

Ever since the moment Satan and his demonic forces rebelled against heaven, there has been a supernatural, God-opposing, evil power throughout the universe.

From its earliest chapters, the Bible shows that the Evil One and all who function in his kingdom have constantly opposed God’s plan.

At the end of the age, a personality the Apostle John calls The Antichrist, will rise to the pinnacle of world leadership and will act in opposition to Christ and all who name the name of Christ

I. THE BEAST OUT OF THE SEA — THE DRAGON’S GREAT DECEPTION

“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 whole 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?””

(Revelation 13:1–4, NIV84)

1. in chapter twelve the Apostle John writes that “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.

... ” (Revelation 12:9, NIV84)

a. in chapter thirteen, we are told how Satan will attempt to do that

2. although chapter 13 tells us about two beasts, the dragon of chapter 12 remains the focus of both chapters

a. at the end of the age Satan employs two helpers to aid him in his domination of the world

1) he first calls forth a beast out of the sea and

2) he then summons the beast out of the earth

3. these two beasts work together to blaspheme God, glorify Satan and persecute God’s people

a. this morning our attention will be devoted to the first beast — the one commonly known as the Antichrist

4. John pictures Satan, standing of the shore of the sea, either waiting for or perhaps summoning the first beast

a. John himself interprets the term sea symbolically in 17:15 telling us that the sea represents the peoples and the crowds and nations

b. this is simply John’s way of telling his readers that Satan’s false-messiah will rise out of the sea of humanity — he will be one of us

c. he will come to deceive, and may even deceive many professing Christians

5. let me share with you five characteristics of this beast who rises out of the sea who Satan will use to deceive the whole world

A. 1st, SATAN’S GREAT DECEPTION WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH A FALSE CHRIST

1. Satan’s great deception will be accomplished through a false-Christ that the Church has referred to as the AntiChrist

a. interestingly, the bible never refers to this false-Christ as the AntiChrist

1) this is perhaps the most pervasive myth about the Antichrist

2) this false messiah is given many colorful titles in the Bible:

a) he is the Seed of the Serpent (Genesis 3:14-15)

b) he is the Idol Shepherd (Zechariah 11:15-17)

c) he is the Prince that Shall Come (Daniel 9:26-27)

d) he is the Little Horn (Daniel 7:7-9)

e) he is the Son of Perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

f) he is that man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

g) he is the Abomination of Desolation (Matthew 24:15)

b. but despite its ubiquitous use in contemporary theology, Satan’s False Messiah isn’t directly referred to as “The Antichrist” in the Bible!

1) that said, the False Messiah that will come into the world will be an antichrist

4. John’s primary characterization of Satan’s false-Christ in the book of Revelation, is simply “the Beast”

a. it is from the Apostle John’s three minor letters to the Church at Ephesus that he refers to a specific Antichrist

“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come.

This is how we know it is the last hour.”

(1 John 2:18, NIV84)

1) the Apostle writes in 1 John 4:3 that the spirit of the antichrist ... is already in the world

ILLUS.

John is here using the word “spirit” in the way we speak of a “spirit of cooperation.”

a) he is referring to a frame of mind or worldview that binds people together and that animates a person’s or a group’s actions — in this case — in opposition to God and His redemptive work

b) it is a Satanically inspired “spirit” and opposition

b. the Apostle writes that — even in his era — there are already many antichrists in the world

1) how do we identify an antichrist?

2) in 1 John 2:22 the Apostle is blunt “ ... whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ.

Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.”

5. how do we identify the Antichrist?

that’s the question the Church has been wrestling with for 2,000 years

B. 2nd, SATAN’S GREAT DECEPTION WILL BE A POWERFUL LEADER SATANICALLY INSPIRED

1. Satan’s false-messiah is described as having the characteristics of three of the greatest carnivores on the planet — the leopard, the bear, and the lion

a. we cannot read this chapter in Revelation without referencing the Old Testament prophetic Book of Daniel (Daniel 7:2–8, NIV84)

2. now, the good news is that Daniel interprets his vision for us, and this in turn helps us interpret Revelation

" ‘The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth."

(Daniel 7:17, NIV84)

a. the most commonly accepted interpretation is that these four successive world empires are: Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome

1) the first portrayal is that of the leopard, noted for stalking its prey, its amazing speed in capturing prey, and its swiftness in dealing the deathblow

2) the second picture is that of a bear, who with its powerful paws is able to tear its victims apart

3) the third, the lion’s mouth symbolizes cruelty as it suffocates it’s prey by clamping its mouth down on it’s victims throat, and then devours it

4) the forth, Rome, is simply described as terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong ... with teeth of iron and claws of bronze

b. the beasts of Daniel’s vision are a depiction of force, speed, savagery, and relentlessness

3. in chapter 13 John describes the beast he sees coming up out of the sea with the combined attributes of the first three beasts of Daniel’s vision

a.

I think what John is doing is attempting to describe an end-time scenario were all the nations of the world are hostile to Jesus Christ and his Church

ILLUS.

A new book about Vice President Mike Pence just came out a few days ago, ,,.and it’s highly critical of his Christian faith.

The author calls him a “Christian Supremacist,” Frank Burni, religious columnist for the New York Times calls Pence a “holy terror” and says he dangerous because he actually believes the Bible!

1) John’s beast was like a leopard, and his feet like a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion (vs.

2)

2) all of the characteristics of the three are encompassed in this first beast

3) John’s Beast out of the sea is simply all-powerful, and over-powering

b. this description has led a lot of Christians to believe that the Beast that comes out of the sea is not a specific man, but rather a specific empire or even a secular worldview that comes to dominate all the world’s cultures

c. many bible students believe this end-time empire is the establishment of an empire that rivals the old Roman Empire — the forth Beast of Daniel’s vision

1) so then, there is that interpretation that sees the Antichrist as a world-ruling empire controlled by Satan

2) but world-ruling empires need powerful earthly leaders

4. many believe the Beast the comes out of the sea to be a person

a.

I like pastor and author David Hocking’s approach to the issue

1) he writes that the Beast of verses 1-7 is a modern, world-encompassing totalitarian government, that is ruled over by a powerful leader — he is the “little horn” of Daniel.

The two will be so closely associated that you cannot speak of the one without the other

ILLUS.

Consider world empires of the past.

We cannot think of the Greek Empire without also thinking of Alexander the Great.

We cannot think of the Persian Empire without also thinking of Artaxerxes.

We cannot think of the British Empire without thinking of Queen Victoria.

And we can’t think of the Soviet Empire without thinking of Joseph Stalin.

We cannot think of Germany’s Third Reich without thinking of Adolf Hitler.

2) some empires are synonymous with their leader

b.