Revelation 13:1-14:13
Notes
Transcript
Handout
INTRO
PRAYER
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MESSAGE
1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
The Sea represents the nations / evil
horns of power / heads of the dragon
military power - Dan 7 - horns and beasts
Diadems = crowns of a ruler
2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.
Encompassing the other godless nations all in one = ultimate fulfillment
lions mouth - ravenous - dangerous - /// Christ = Lion of Judah
Dragons power… throne
2 Cor 4:4 = god of this world
Eph 2.2 = prince of the power of the air… spirit of disobedience
3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.
Mortal wound healed
Rev 13:14 = wounded by the sword and yet lived
same WORD as the lamb who was “slain”
resurrection?… two witnesses … Moses in Egypt
public display - marvel / follow
4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
Note the direction of worship…
not because of goodness / worth… power!!
who is like our God…!
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.
The Beast was given this mouth
haughty and blasphemous - claiming to be God
note the limitations given the beast
6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
2 Thessalonians 2:4 “4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.”
Matthew 6:9 “9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation,
Allowed to make War
against the saints
to conquer them… wait a minute??
8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
Everyone will worship the Beast !!
only those who before time began will not
Is your name in the book of life??
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I wanna jump forward to V11 now
11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.
Lamb / Dragon
looks like a Lamb / speaks like a snake !!
12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.
Authority of Beast
worship leader
mortal wound healed… ! Jewish / Muslim / christian ??
makes the earth worship
13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people,
It Performs Signs = two witnesses
great signs = fire from heaven
14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
Deceptive signs
create an image ?? why?
mortal wound healed… big deal !!
15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.
Give breath to image… Genesis
Genesis 1:27 “27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Exodus 20:4 “4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”
kill those who do not worship - OT story
Daniel 3:14 “14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?”
16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,
False Mark… hand / head
sign of ownership / fielty
17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.
Monetary controll
name or # of name
The Antichrist and his False Prophet are surely coming by the power of Satan to wage war against and subjugate all the earth.
Persecution of Christians under these two will be extreme and intense.
Only those who are written in the Lambs book of life will not follow him.
You will be marked by the lamb or marked by the beast… is your name in the book?
Following the flesh may bring short term pleasure but will bring long term pain.
1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
BUT Then!!
Mount Zion…Promised place of power and might of the King !!
Stood the LAMB…His 144,000
Joel 2:32 “32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”
marked with HIS name on their foreheads
2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
A voice that is beautiful and terrifying
The 144,000 New Song
4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
These are those who
have been faithful to the bride of Christ
are pure in their doctrine
they refuse to participate in the fornication of spiritual prostitution to the world !!
These are also those who
are faithful to the call of Christ
are ethical and speak the truth of God
6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Even Now God Invites !! = The 1st Angel
He sends a messenger directly overhead to proclaim the Gospel !!
To every people !!
He tells us “Do not fear the beast!!”
Matthew 10:28 “28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Fear God alone!
Fear Him for His Righteousness
Fear him for His Judgements
Fear Him as the creator
Another Angel Speaks = The 2nd Angel
This is what we were talking about earlier
Babylon is the symbolic name of the world power that is against Gods people
i wonder if America is Babylon
she made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality
Another Angel Speaks = The 3rd Angel
Make your choice
if you chose the beast over the lamb you will receive the fruit of your choice
There is a real God / Devil / Heaven / Hell / choice !!
Your choice is Final !!
Brings me to VERSE 12-13…
The Antichrist and his False Prophet are surely coming by the power of Satan to wage war against and subjugate all the earth.
Persecution of Christians under these two will be extreme and intense.
Only those who are written in the Lambs book of life will not follow him.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear: 10 If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
The KING of Kings and the LORD of Lords is also surely coming to wage war against the wicked and to vindicate His name and His people.
The eternal gospel is available for you today, Jesus has warned us in advance that these days are coming.
Therefore this is a call for endurance and faith of the saints.
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
Following the flesh may bring short term pleasure but will bring long term pain.
Following Jesus may bring short term pain but will bring long term pleasure.
11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
This is what we aim for when we say LOVE ACTS…
CLOSE
Group Questions
What are the dangers of too much speculation regarding the exact identity of the antichrist? If the point is not to speculate about the precise identity of the antichrist, why does John give us this description?
Why does the beast imitate Christ in this passage? How is all sin ultimately a perversion of God’s goodness? Why do you think God allows the beast to reign and even blaspheme His name? How does this evil fit into God’s ultimate plan?
Is “deception” the best way to describe the work of Satan? Where do you see this in Scripture? What does it mean to be “spiritually discerning”? How can we cultivate spiritual discernment?
The false prophet looks like a lamb but talks like a dragon. What role does speech play in revealing what’s in our hearts? What parallels do you see between the description of the false prophet in this chapter and false teaching that is spread today? How does a unified world religion help Satan accomplish his goals? What is required of religious truth claims for all faiths to unite?
Why aren’t miracles alone enough to prove the validity of a person or event? From the biblical perspective, what else must be present to confirm that something is of God?
Why do you think the concept of divine wrath has fallen out of favor with many who consider themselves to be Christians?
What would you say to someone who believes that, in the end, everyone goes to heaven? How does this passage correct that belief? What passages of Scripture point to the exclusive claims of Christianity? How would you explain to someone why biblical Christianity cannot endorse the validity and equality of all faiths?
Why are those who die “in the Lord” blessed? How does this differ from many prevailing notions of death by Christians and non-Christians alike?
Read Matthew 26:39 and Revelation 14:9–10. How does Jesus’ work relate to the wrath of God?
Whom has God placed in your life with whom you need to plead with to flee the wrath and judgment of God?