The King Is Coming - 6

The Mark of the Beast and the Unholy trinity

Introduction: This is the sixth lesson in the series, The King is Coming. In this lesson, we will cover two different topics (which actually cover several chapters),

The Mark of the Beast and the Unholy Trinity.

The Man on the White Horse and Armageddon.

When we speak about the Coming of the King, we are referencing the Lord Jesus Christ’s return.

We have been endeavouring to lead you up to all the events which precede the Second Coming of the Lord.

Let us begin by reading a passage in I John 2:18.

John penned this epistle to Christians. He is writing to Christians to encourage both those who are spiritually mature and those who were babes in Christ to abide in fellowship with God.

God has designed the Christian life for His children to be in intimate fellowship with Him.

There was an intimate fellowship that John describes in I John that God desires for all His children.

In this Epistle, John gives warning to the enemies of our fellowship with God, which is our flesh, this world’s ways, and Satan Himself.

He states this in I John 2:18:

1 John 2:18 “18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.”

Let’s pray.

Dr. Lee Robertson commented on this passage, “There are many antichrists in the world today. All movements and men against our Savior are antichrists. But let us notice that there is coming an Antichrist. When the Word of God speaks of the Antichrist, the masculine pronoun “he” is used.”

We can see this in Revelation chapter 13. The pronoun used in that passage is “his.”

Look quickly on the way there to Revelation chapter 4.

Revelation 4:1–2 “1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. 2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.”

From chapter 4 moving forward, John has been caught up “in the spirit” the Bible says, and is recording for you and me the best way he can what he is seeing.

Obviously, like Paul the apostles words in II Corinthians, these things are really impossible to verbalize fully.

Paul stated that He “heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” II Corinthians 12:4

And so, as we think about the book of Revelation from chapter 4-22, there are things that John is describing, that are difficult to verbalize.

Revelation 13:1 “1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”

We discussed in previous lessons, the Antichrist will be empowered by Satan.

He will be against anyone who is for Almighty God.

In the midst of this seven year period known as the Tribulation, He will rule the world and He will use His power to kill and destroy.

“The Beast as set before us in Revelation 13 is the dragon’s masterpiece of delusion. Satan has always wanted people to worship him, and now through the work of the Beast they do so, for verse 4 says,” - Dr. Lee Robertson

This reference that Dr. Robertson alludes to concerning Satan is found in Isaiah 14 beginning in verse 12—which speaks to Satan’s aspirations to be like the Most High God.

This is also seen in the Lord’s wilderness temptation where Satan tempts the Lord with the goal to get Jesus to worship him.

We understand that to worship anyone or anything other than God is to sin.

I like the verse found in Exodus 34:14 spoken to the children of Israel, “14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:”

But notice what we see once again in Revelation chapter 13 verse number 4.

Revelation 13:4 “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 leads us to the third person of the unholy three mentioned and that is the False Prophet.

Up to this point we have identified two main agents involved in the war against God in the last days.

The first is a fallen angel, our Adversary, whose name is Satan. He is spoken about in the Bible as the dragon/serpent. He once was an angel of light but rebelled against God.

Then during these last seven years preceding the Second Advent of the Lord we have a dynamic Satan empowered figure who we identify as the Antichrist.

In verse 2 of Revelation 13 we are told of Satan empowerment of the Antichrist.

Revelation 13:2 “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: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”

But in verses 12-15 we are introduced to another figure. He is “another beast...” and referred to commonly as the False prophet.

This title is found in Revelation 16:13, Revelation 19:20 and Revelation 20:10.

False prophets are found throughout the Bible.

Deuteronomy 18:21–22 describes the test for false prophets.

Deuteronomy 13:1–3 gives a warning concerning following signs and wonders that cause people to worship idols and false gods.

1 John 4:1–2 gives the admonition that there are many false prophets that have entered into the World.

The Lord Himself gave the same warning comparing them to ferocious wolves according to Matthew 7:15–16.

Other verses that allude to these false prophets are:

Jeremiah 14:14; Jeremiah 23:32; Zechariah 10:2; Matthew 24:11, 24; Mark 13:22; Luke 6:26; Acts 13:6; II Peter 2:1; Jude 4–7

Like the Antichrist, the False Prophet will be the antitype of all who preceded Him.

Notice with me what the Bible says, Revelation 13:12–15 “11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”

The First Beast is a world ruler.

The Second Beast is a religious leader.

The Bible, in this passage, gives us many details behind this third figure:

He will be a man.

Again, this passage uses the masculine pronoun in describing the second beast.

He will exercise all of the power of the first beast. vs. 12

He will cause the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the Beast. vs. 15

He will deceive those on the earth by miracles. vs. 14

He will be able to call fire down from heaven and do great wonders. vs. 13

He will cause the people of the world to make an image to the Beast. vs. 14

He will give life to the image --- it will speak and whoever will not worship the image shall be killed. vs. 15

But then notice further the last three verses of this chapter:

Revelation 13:16–18 “16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”

“In the tribulation, men will either worship the Beast or starve.” - Dr. Lee Robertson

According to this passage, there will be no exclusion of any to buy or sell unless they have this mark, whatever it may be.

In our day, with the continual push for a cashless society, purchasing ability can easily be controlled.

It was pointed out to me, that many Christians today fret about this matter of the mark.

The mark of the beast is introduced during the Tribulation period according to the Scriptures, so no Christian has to worry about taking the mark.

However, we may of course see some kind of precursory move toward whatever that mark may be.

Many, as they look through the lens of Scripture, can see these things falling into place.

In times past, it was more science fiction and guessing how these things could take place.

But as we can see, it is not too far fetched to see how buying and selling can be controlled.

At the end of this passage, we have the expression concerning the number of the Beast.

The Bible says in verse 18, “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: ...”

It is the number of a man according to the Word of God, which is the number 666.

One expositor stated concerning this number that whoever are saints during the tribulation will understand what this number means when it is needed. “They will know and understand this man, and His number will be plain to them...”

“Many people have tried to arrive at this mysterious number. It has been pointed out that the word Latin spelled in Greek letters, lateinos, makes six hundred sixty-six in their numerical value. Others have called attention to the same fact concerning Nero Caesar spelled in Hebrew---the numerical value comes to six hundred sixty-six. But putting aside vain guesses, we know that six is the utmost reach of man. Man was created on the sixth day. God’s great human opponents have been marked by the number six. Goliath was six cubits in height. His spear’s head weighed six shekels, and he had six pieces of armor. Nebuchadnezzar’s image was sixty cubits high and six broad. These are but few of the sixes which attach themselves to men.” Dr. Lee Robertson

Perhaps the number 6 in addition to the number of man means rebellion toward God to the fullest extent, thus the triple identification.

The tribulation will mark the height of pride of man— and this is certainly the number of the Beast.