Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

We have come to the 13th Chapter of Revelation and we will be taking a look at an unholy trinity that includes: The Dragon (Satan), The Beast (the Antichrist), and the False Prophet.

Verses 1-10 describe the Antichrist and we will break those verses down today.

Before we do that, we should understand that the person of the antichrist is not unique to Revelation or apocalyptic Scripture.

He appears in the Old Testament, New Testament, the Gospels, and Epistles.

It is therefore important for us to understand who this person is and what he is going to do.

Those that diminish and dismiss the study of prophesy and end times are subscribing to and presenting a false or incomplete gospel.

We see the signs of the times throughout our world and one of the more obvious foreshadows of the tribulation period is in the next several chapters describing the antichrist’s political, economic, and religious global dominion.

In fact these signs were emerging at the time of Christ and continue to grow in intensity as the time of Christ’s return grows closer as a testimony to God’s eternal and victorious plan.

Even before Revelation was written they knew the antichrist was coming

It is obvious that in the early church, the coming of the Antichrist was something that was prominently taught by the apostles to the churches.

If it was taught by the apostles, then it was taught by Jesus to the apostles.

In addition to the Antichrist, he is known as:

The man of sin/ Son of Perdition (2 Thess 2:3) This double appellation is probably the most awful, the most important, and the most revealing title given to the Antichrist in all the Bible.

It diagnoses his personality and exposes his awful character.

It tells us he will be possessed of a twofold nature: he will be a man, and yet more than a man.

He will be Satan's parody of the God-Man.

He will be an incarnation of the Devil.

The world today is talking of and looking for the Super-man.

This is exactly what the Antichrist will be.

He will be the Serpent's masterpiece.

The Lawless One (2 Thess 2:8).

He is the antitheses of Christ, who is the Righteous One.

The Antichrist will oppose all righteous and moral law that the Bible upholds.

The Antichrist will set himself up in direct opposition to all authority, both Divine and human.

The Beast (cff.

Rev 13) "The Beast" is the title by which he is most frequently designated in the Revelation: there are at least thirty references to him under this name in the last book of the Bible.

The Greek word signifies a wild beast.

This name "the Beast" contrasts the Antichrist from the true Christ as "the Lamb"; and it is a significant fact that by far the great majority of passages where the Lord Jesus is so designated are also found here in the Apocalypse.

The "Lamb" is the Saviour of sinners; the "Beast" is the persecutor and slayer of the saints.

The "Lamb" calls attention to the gentleness of Christ; the "Beast" tells of the ferocity of the Antichrist.

The "Lamb" reveals Christ as the "harmless" One (Heb.

7:26); the "Beast" manifests the Antichrist as the cruel and heartless one.

The Bloody and Deceitful Man (Psalm 5:6)

The Wicked One (Psalm 10:2, 4)

The Man of the Earth (Psalm 10:18)

The Mighty Man (Psalm 52:1-7) Here again we have mention of his boastfulness (v.

1), his deceitfulness (v. 2), his depravity (v.

3), his egotism (v.

4), his riches (v. 7).

The Enemy (Psalm 55:3)

The Adversary (Psalm 74:8-10, Isaiah 59:19, Lam 4:11-12, Amos 3:11)

The Head Over Many Countries (Psalm 110:6)

The Violent Man (Psalm 140:1)

The King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4)

Son of the Morning (Isaiah 14:12)

The Spoiler (Isaiah 16:4-5)

The Branch of the Terrible Ones (Isiah 25:5, Zech 6:12)

The Profane and Wicked Prince of Israel (Ezekiel 21:25-27, Zech 6:13)

The Little Horn (Dan 7:8-11, 21-26, 8:9-12, 23-25)

The Prince that Shall Come (Dan 9:26)

The Vile Person (Dan 11:21)

The Wilful King (Dan 11:36)

The Idol Shepherd (Zech 11:16-17)

The Angel of the Bottomless Pit (Rev 9:11)

The coming of the antichrist will be Satan’s last effort to overturn God’s Kingdom and Israel.

In Chapter 12 we saw how Satan was cast down from Heaven by Michael and the warrior angels of God.

This, I believe, was at the Rapture of the Church and the start of the Tribulation Period.

With the rise of the Antichrist, Satan sets up a global kingdom that promises peace and eventually makes war with Israel and the seed of Israel.

Chapter 13 now brings the culmination of Satan’s war as the Antichrist is indwelled by Satan himself.

The fact is many already live under Satan’s influence and power.

They are deceived to his schemes and power.

The Arrival

Chapter divisions can sometimes interfere with good Bible interpretation because in many cases the text isn’t supposed to be divided where the chapters divide.

The division between verse 17 of chapter 12 and verse 1 of chapter 13 is a good example of this.

We need to remember that the dragon (Satan) is making war with Israel and the Saints of God.

The posture of this war is he is standing on the seashore.

This helps us better interpret verse 1 of Chapter 13:

The origin and ancestry of this beast is from Satan himself.

In fact, What these two verses tell us is that Satan is planning the antichrist and this world system.

Satan is standing on the shore as the mastermind, designer, and inaugurator of this world system.

In other words, the antichrist and his world system isn’t something that will just ‘popup’ at the start of the tribulation.

Instead it is something that will be unveiled, fully launch and be inaugurated at Satan’s command to the beast in the sea.

To understand the beast, we must understand his origin, which is described as the sea.

The sea is a representation of earthly origin, as opposed to a heavenly, spiritual, or demonic.

Christ's origin is the realm of heaven, but the beasts, come from the sea and the earth and is a worldly system of men.

The sea, a body of water, symbolizes "peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues" (Revelation 17:15).

With that we can expect this system to be a man-made, but demonically inspired system that Satan will empower to world dominance.

The “Beast” is something that is a powerful monster.

It is a word used to describe any living creature except humans.

Which means that we have to examine if the antichrist is a human or a system.

I would answer with yes.

First, we know that the antichrist is a man but incorporated in him is this world system.

We also know that the antichrist is indwelt by Satan himself.

Could the antichrist also be some sort of human - AI transhuman?

We know that the antichrist will be a powerful, charismatic, genius world-leader that all other nations will bow down to and surrender their power.

Prince Charles refers to a man that could be the antichrist: https://youtu.be/tEeLoyHKHOM

The 10 horns and 7 heads with 10 diadems are a global imperial monarchy.

It is the same beast we saw in Revelation 12:3 “3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.”

Horns are a symbol of power and control, 10 is a number of a unified world with all political, military, economic, and religious control unified by the beast.

Many commentators assert that the beast’s seven heads correspond to the seven Roman emperors after Augustus Caesar: Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian.

This interpretation is not certain, since there were others who briefly ruled as emperors.

Simon Kistemaker therefore urges us to see the numbers ten and seven as symbolic of “completeness and fullness,” indicating the comprehensive power and authority exercised by the beast.

The Great Reset is likely the emergence and early formation of such a kingdom.

In 2020, members of the world’s elite met at the World Economic Forum and launched the Great Reset initiative to transform the world economy.

Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive director of the Forum, wrote, “Every country, from the United States to China, must participate, and every industry, from oil and gas to tech, must be transformed.

In short, we need a ‘Great Reset’ of capitalism.”

“The Covid-19 crisis, and the political, economic and social disruptions it has caused, is fundamentally changing the traditional context for decision-making.

The inconsistencies, inadequacies and contradictions of multiple systems –from health and financial to energy and education – are more exposed than ever amidst a global context of concern for lives, livelihoods and the planet.

Leaders find themselves at a historic crossroads, managing short-term pressures against medium- and long-term uncertainties.”