Revelation 13

Revelation 13

Imagine that you're living in Germany in the 1920s and you're graduating from high school or graduating from university and you’ve just fallen in love with a woman in the 1920s and imagine planning your wedding imagine planning your life what you're going to do for your job are you going to go to university. And you are a German living in Germany, the center of sophistication and culture it has this rich heritage it's the center of the christian world in many ways in terms of the reformation and martin Luther and this rich heritage of what came out of Germany you know this is the backdrop to who you are you come from let's say you come from a lutheran family you're very familiar with the scriptures you attend church every Sunday your family is very devoted to God and you have a life of of perceived holiness and you you're a good person you’re in love with this person that you're going to marry you're building your life…now imagine this it's 1929 or 1930. The season starts to shift… Now what if someone told you in the 1920s and 1930s that within 10 years a dictator would emerge from the scene, he was not even from your country, but he would emerge from a different country. And he would rise in the midst of an economic crisis in your country in the wake of a war and that over the course of a number of years he would take your country from a democracy to a dictatorship. And in a number of months that he would impose legislation that he would begin a brutal anti-semitic crackdown targeting the jewish people for their annihilation. That he would pressure the national state church that he would pressure all the religious communities to submit to the policies and the legislation of this empire this reich that he wants to build that will last for a thousand years… What if you knew that within 10 years he would he would start and kick off a global military conflict that would take the lives of 50 million people over the course of about three and a half years. And that he would deceive the church, and he would break the church, he would attempt to annihilate the jewish people he would catch an entire continent not even not just Europe but he would catch the continents into war he. What if someone told you that he would pull the united states into war and he would pull north Africa into war and he would pull the middle east into war into this violent vortex….Now imagine that you're in the 1920s 18 19 20 years old…The question is this, would you live differently if you knew that was coming number one and number two how would you live if you knew that was coming

I wanted to start tonight by asking this question because we can understand the antichrist through this tangible real life realistic example of world war and because it may be the clearest example of what's coming … And we are told all about this throughout the scriptures… So, a part of the message throughout history of this great day of the Lord that is coming it for you to live and prepare the next generation that it is coming. This was Israels downfall. They did not listen to the commands of God time and time again… They didn’t heed his warning. But those that did, were ready and strong, such as Daniel, for what was coming. And he was able to endure it without his faith crumbling. So, tonight, we continue our discussion of Revelation with that sobering thought in mind. This is coming, one day, maybe sooner than you or I think. But lets dive in…

Someone read Revelation 13…

First, lets think through, why does God allow stuff like this to happen?

Why would a good God allow deceivers and false leaders to rise up??? We have answered that question a bit, but let’s continue that conversation. Do we all agree that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever? Then turn with me to Deuteronomy 12…Deuteronomy 12:32- chapter 13. (God allows false prophets to arise in order to test us).

2 Thessalonians 2… the end comes when a man will rise to great power and be persuading many to rebel against God… If ww2 was a dress rehearsal, and Covid was checking the temperature, the question continues to be how far will people go to listen to global political mandates? How will people just go with the worldly flow… The devil works daily to deceive people into turning away from the true and righteous ways of the Lord. And the Lord’s constant message has been, hold fast to what I say!

The First Beast

Ok, what is this beast… Understand that the beast is not the dragon. In the revelation the dragon stands on the sea shore, and there is a beast rising.. The beast is a continuation of the beast in Daniel 7… but can also be known as the antichrist…But lets interpret this through Daniel 7 because we need the OT to interpret revelation.

In Daniel 7 we see the fourth beast, described. This is the imagery of revelation 13…Especially Daniel 7:23-28….

The imposing, boastful king or kingdom of Daniel 7 who oppresses the Jews and tries to “change the set times and the laws” (verse 25).

This person is also seen in other scriptures as …

- The leader who establishes a 7-year covenant with Israel and then breaks it in Daniel 9.

- The king who sets up the abomination of desolation in Mark 13:14 (cf. Daniel 9:27).

- The man of lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12.

- The first beast—the one from the sea—in Revelation 13. This beast receives power from the dragon (Satan) and speaks “proud words and blasphemies” (verse 5) and wages war against the saints (verse 7).

Thankfully, the Antichrist/beast, along with his false prophet, will be thrown into the lake of fire, where they will spend all eternity in torment (Revelation 19:20; 20:10).

What is the Antichrist? In summary, the Antichrist is the end-times false messiah who seeks, and likely achieves, world domination so that he can destroy Israel and all followers of Jesus Christ.

The Second Beast

The second beast is a false prophet. He doesn’t come out of the sea, he comes of the earth. He is a false Christ. It is described as having two horns like a lamb… This beast, while much more appealing to the eyes, is ultimately just as evil as the dragon and the first beast. In fact, in some ways, this beast may be more devastating because clearly his purpose is to deceive, and everything about him from his appearance to his actions is designed to provoke religious deceit. He is the counterfeit Jesus. Reference Revelation 4-5… Jesus is THEE lamb, with 7 horns. horns are ancient near east descriptions of power… The counterfeit has 2 and Jesus has seven. The counterfeits power is fake, or weak… it isn’t sovereign like Jesus’… Jesus is complete and perfect. This is one with an appearance like a lamb with TWO horns… False prophets are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are fake, deceivers.

Now, the beast has an image… That is interesting. What is an image? Well some claim it to be a mark. On the forehead and the hand etc. Again, I will put my vote in that we read Revelation too literally and not symbolically like the ancient apocalyptic literature is to be read.

The beast has an image… or a mark… just as God does. What is the image of God?

Colossians 1:15 ESV

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

ahhh… There are others…

Colossians 3:9–10 ESV

9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

The image in my opinion is not so much a visible tatos or sing on you, but what/how you worship.

The Mark of the Beast

There has been so much fear about what the mark of the beast is. The text does say that it call for wisdom…. However, there is one thing about it that makes it a mark. There is a rejection of Jesus associated with this. That’s clear. There is a difference between a follower of Jesus and one who is following the world.

It causes someone not to be able to buy or sell unless they have the mark, and that mark is of the beast… So, we need to calm down when we think of technological things being created. However, the thing is clear, does it cause you to purely reject Jesus? That will be the global mark of the beast in the end times…

Look at Exodus 13:3-10… Especially 9… Deuteronomy 6:4-9 THIS IS A SIGN on your body… it is a constant reminder for you. This contrasts a mark of God, to constantly remember to a mark of the evil one in which they forget God and rebel..

The mark of the beast is in contrast to the mark of the angels…

Ezekiel 9:1-3… Also, we have already seen that the angels were going to mark the 144,000…

What is the mark?

It is either the name or the number of the beast. But what is that? What is his name?

Well it is not necessarily his name given at birth.. Look at Revelation 19:11-16. We see a picture of Jesus, and Revelation says his name is “The word of God’ and ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords’… Well Jesus’ given name was YESHUA…

A Name is a little bit more than that. It is mission, Reputation, character, it is what that person lives for. What is his number?

Who knows. There is nothing in the scriptures that point to it. But both the name and the number are pointing to parallel things about this beast. Pointing to his evil mission, character, etc…

When we worship Jesus, we worship in his name. His name brings life and power and authority. Giving the name of your earthly king might get you into some prestigious places or out of some hard places in the jurisdiction of that King… The beasts will have a false earthly power on earth, and many will subscribe to his name.

(this content is a la carte) When they take the mark, they are making a confession against the one true God. Daniel 11:37-38… The God of the fathers, means the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob… Has no desire for women, meaning he could care less about their wants. He has one purpose! His own.. He lives for himself. Psalm 2… The nations rage against the Lord God, and against His anointed King. What About the image of the Beast?

Daniel 3:1-6… This image was not likely to be in the image of a man. If you take the dimensions given they would stretch a man to look super thin and goofy… When in reality it was probably some type of pillar.

Crf… Hosea 3:4-5… we see a list of things that are good tied to “household gods’… it seems as though this is a list of normal things. Not graven images. But could possibly be a pillar, a flag, an emblem tied to a certain meaning.

(A good example of this is today this is seen in the Minaret… this is a tall post in all muslim countries. It is a sign of their worship. It is tall, it has the emblem of Isalm on top of it, and it has a speaker attached to it. Thus it talks, and at its sound, four times a day, those who are muslim bow to it in worship of their god… )

My friends, the question tonight is, are you being strengthen to know the God of all creation? Do you know him enough that if someone came to you trying to deceive you, you would recognize it? Do you worship him? Worship him strong enough that earthly power can’t persuade you to give him up? Do you love him and need him enough that being cut off from the market cant persuade you to bow down to reject the name of Jesus? The message again and again in this book is, hold fast to your confession of faith. Christ is king, he is lord, in this life and in the next. He gives authority, and he takes authority away. He is the savior, no one else can save you. Bow your life to him and live as a living sacrifice.