The Beast from the Sea
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Introduction
Introduction
In the last chapter, we were reminded of Satan’s persecution of Israel. After Satan, the dragon, has been kicked out of heaven with his angels, we are told that Satan comes down to the earth having great wrath.
He persecutes the woman, pursues the woman, and seeks to destroy the woman! But God protects Israel from Satan’s attack on Israel. Seeing that Israel will be protected for a time and times and half a time—Satan turns to her offspring and the obedient to persecute them. Those who know Jesus Christ and trust Jesus Christ during the tribulation period will feel the blunt of Satan’s blows!
In this chapter, we will see the emergence of an Unholy Trinity: the great Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet.
Y’all know the devil is an imitator…He takes what God does and he tries to duplicate it.
You see, Jesus, the real Christ, is a revelation of God the Father. In John 1, there are three verses that are worthy of note, John 1:1, 14, 18. These verses teach us the truth that Jesus is a living, breathing revelation of God the Father. In verse 18, the word “declared’ translates the Greek word that gives us our English word “exegesis”. The word means “to narrate, to explain, to lead out, to draw out’. It speaks of “an explanation, or a narration”.
In preaching, we use exegesis to “lead out and explain” the truths contained in the text. When Jesus came, He came to “explain, to lead out, to narrate” God. In other words, Jesus Christ was and is God in the flesh. He was able to say, “I and my Father are one,” John 10:30. He was also able to say, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father,” John 14:9. Jesus is God incarnate; He is God in the flesh!
In the Antichrist, Satan attempts to duplicate this relationship between Jesus Christ and God the Father. The Antichrist will be a living, breathing revelation of the devil. He will be the devil incarnate; he will be the devil in the flesh.
We know that our God is a triune Being. He is one God Who manifests Himself in the Persons. He is Father, Son and Holy Ghost. All three are One God, yet each is an individual Person. They come together to make up the Holy Trinity.
In Revelation 12–13, we are introduced to the Satanic or Unholy Trinity. Satan imitates God the Father. The Antichrist imitates God the Son. The False Prophet, who we will look at next week, imitates God the Holy Spirit.
The Bible certainly is not silent about this man. There are more than two hundred passages that deal with the antichrist, including information about his nationality, his career, his character, and his tragic end.
There are several traits of the antichrist revealed in this chapter:
1.The Antichrist Will Be A Beast
1.The Antichrist Will Be A Beast
Revelation 13:1 (KJV 1900)
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast
Let me remind you that we are looking in the middle of the Tribulation here and the Bible says there will be a “beast” who will come onto the scene and this beast, as we shall see, will be the Antichrist.
The word “beast” refers both to a world empire and to its ruler. The empire and its ruler are so closely related that it is often difficult to determine whether “the beast” refers to the world empire or to its ruler.
The Antichrist is certainly not a new character in the Tribulation, it just that now he throws off the disguise and reveals his true satanic nature. Up to this point, the antichrist has been a smooth-talking counterfeit, a dictator of diplomacy. Now however, he is the very spawn of the devil, the son of Satan, as if he is an outgrowth of the great red dragon.
2.The Antichrist Will Be A Dominate Political Leader
2.The Antichrist Will Be A Dominate Political Leader
Revelation 13:1 (KJV 1900)
1 having seven heads and ten horns,
Note carefully the description of the Beast—he bears close resemblance to the dragon. In Revelation 12:3 the dragon is described...
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.
Then in chapter 13 verse 1 John describes the beast that is called out by the dragon. The beast, “having seven heads and ten horns” resembles his father because he will receive from his father power to rule.
Referring here to the empire of the Antichrist, we see it has seven heads.
This refers to the continuation of six previous empires. This final form of Gentile dominion is the successor to, and the continuation of, six previous Gentile kingdoms, the Egyptian, the Assyrian, the Babylonian, the Persian, the Grecian, and the historical Roman.
This beast (empire) has “ten horns” crowned with “ten crowns,”
It is a federation of ten kingdoms. Ten kings unite their kingdoms to form the revived Roman Empire, Dan. 2:42; 7:24; Rev. 17:12–17.
The “ten horns” look at the future history of the Beast while the seven heads look at the past history. The antichrist comes up from among other world leaders and he begins among them as an insignificant figure, but as his power and influence grows, he becomes the king of other kings.
3.The Antichrist Will Have Blasphemous Names
3.The Antichrist Will Have Blasphemous Names
Revelation 13:1 (KJV 1900)
1 ...and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
This world ruler will be defiant to God, speak blasphemies of God, and will receive worship and praise as God. He will take for himself names that defy God, denounce God, and deify himself.
One writer said, “Names of blasphemy on his heads speak of his utter defiance of God. Blasphemous titles assumed by the Roman emperors of the first and second centuries, and of certain succeeding Roman leaders, are the forerunners of names that the beast will proudly display … Defiant and flagrant opposition of God and His Christ in the eyes of men is presented to us in the beast’s blasphemous conduct.”
4.The Antichrist Will Be A Vicious Political Leader
4.The Antichrist Will Be A Vicious Political Leader
Revelation 13:2 (KJV 1900)
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion:...
The beast will be fast (leopard), he will be forceful (bear), and he will be ferocious (lion)...
This imagery comes from Daniel 7:4-6 and in that context Greece was the leopard, Medo-Persia was the bear, and Babylon was the lion.
The Antichrist will have the vicious nature of all of them combined. He will be the cruelest leader ever and he will quickly rip people to shreds and devour them and no one will be able to escape from his ferocious attack. He embodies all the elements of the persecutors of God’s people down through history.
5.The Antichrist Will Be Satanic
5.The Antichrist Will Be Satanic
Revelation 13:2 (KJV 1900)
2 ...and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Instead of being spirit-filled, we see he will be Satan-filled!
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
Satan rules in the world, but that isn’t enough…He needs a physical body; he needs a man to do his bidding...
6.The Antichrist Will Be Resurrected
6.The Antichrist Will Be Resurrected
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
The interpretation of this verse is debated. One of the seven heads is wounded to death and is healed. If the head refers to one of the seven heads mentioned in verse one, then this is a reference to a world empire that appeared dead and gone but is revived. The old Roman Empire is going to be revived from obscurity. The Anti-Christ will play a vital role in its revival.
You will also find that many scholars also interpret this verse to be a reference to a wound that the Anti-Christ receives. He is seriously wounded by a sword and appears to be slain but is restored to life.
John says, “as it were wounded to death.” We know that Satan does not have the power to give life. Christ alone has the power of resurrection. The Anti-Christ may use this incident to declare he is God.
This is one of those passages that is difficult to figure out and explain. We do know that this wounding incident is very important because John mentions it three times (vs. 3, 12, 14).
The fact that he recovers from this wound causes the world to wonder how to make war with the beast. He will appear to be invincible, like a god...
7.The Antichrist Will Be Worshiped Along With Satan
7.The Antichrist Will Be Worshiped Along With Satan
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?
This is really interesting; Jesus rises from the dead and the world refuses to believe. But Satan’s messiah appears to rise and the whole world is amazed and forms a church to worship him (13:4, 12, 14).
Sad, they would not worship Christ and His real resurrection, but they will worship the beast and his fake resurrection.
The Beast not only rules, he is idolized. The present celebrity culture shows us how easily that could happen. This demonstrates the utter depravity of people.
This, of course, is what Satan has always wanted since the beginning: to be worshiped as God.
8.The Antichrist Will Be Limited In Time
8.The Antichrist Will Be Limited In Time
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
His blasphemous mouth is full of satanic speech. Satanic speech is arrogant speech. He will arrogantly speak against God’s name, God’s Temple, God’s people, and even those who dwell in heaven. Someone who speaks arrogantly against God’s sacred things is satanic.
Notice his time is limited to forty-two months, which is 31⁄2 years. It will be the final 31⁄2 years of the Great Tribulation when the Antichrist will do his destructive work.
9.The Antichrist Will Wage War With Believers
9.The Antichrist Will Wage War With Believers
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
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.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
It was given him...we keep seeing that phrase. Who gave the antichrist this power and this much freedom to do all these things? Satan might be the intermediate source, but God is the ultimate source. This is all according to God’s plan – God’s delegated power to the forces of evil to ultimately bring about His purposes on earth.
What this means is that God will permit the antichrist to make war against His people and God will permit the antichrist to overcome His people. Specifically, the target will be Israel, but it will also include any believer.
There will be no middle ground at this time. There are only two world religions during this future time. If your name is in the Lamb’s book of life, you will be hunted down. If your name is not written there, you will worship the antichrist. It’s either God or Satan.
Why does the antichrist pull out all the stops? He does so because his time is short; because he only has forty-two months left. He will be passionate to dishonor Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Conclusion
By the way, if only we would have such passion to honor Jesus Christ, knowing our time to serve Him in this life is short. Who knows how many months you and I have left to bring Him glory with our lives? The antichrist is passionate to defy God. Are we passionate to obey God? He blasphemes, do we praise? He corrupts others, are we converting others? Are we passionate to honor Christ?
Though the man antichrist is no threat to us, we must guard against that spirit.