The Unholy Trinity
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
I mentioned a few weeks ago that not only is Satan a master manipulator, the father of lies, but he is also an IMITATOR.
In today’s message from Revelation 13 we are introduced the “Unholy Trinity.” This trinity of sorts imitates the genuine trinity, otherwise known as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
This “UNHOLY Trinity” is made up of the Dragon (Satan Himself), the Beast from the Sea (the Antichrist) and the Beast from the Earth (False Prophet).
In this 13th Chapter we find Satan trying to override God’s kingdom with His own. In some ways this is in the introduction to his final rebellion.
We have already been introduced to the Dragon so we will not spend a lot of time on him today, but I do want you to notice what is said about him in this particular chapter. Notice Revelation 13:1-4
Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
I. The Dragon: Satan (v. 4)
I. The Dragon: Satan (v. 4)
We find in this passage that the “beast’s” (Antichrist’s) power comes from “the dragon.”
Not only does his power come from the dragon, but he has been able to ascend to power and have “great authority” because of the dragon as well.
We will look at some of these verses in closer detail in a few moments, but I want you to notice what happens to the unbeliever’s on earth in verse 4:
So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
Whether they realize it or not, when they begin worshipping the Antichrist, they are actually worshipping Satan himself, which is something he’s always wanted...he’s always wanted the worship that is entitled to God and God alone! We find him saying this in...
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
The Greek word that is used for worship “includes the notion of bowing down and acknowledging divine status.”
Kendall Easley says:
...the world’s people are so deceived that they worship Satan as God; they give the monster the divine status that belongs to Jesus. The monster is truly a pseudo-Jesus, an Antichrist.
And that’s who we are introduced to next...
II. The Beast from the Sea: The Anti-Christ
II. The Beast from the Sea: The Anti-Christ
There are several important things to note about this “beast rising from the sea.” First:
He has Seven Heads and Ten Horns
He has Seven Heads and Ten Horns
Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.
Does this ring a bell? Note Revelation 12:3
And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
There is one notable difference. The dragon in Revelation 7 had 7 diadems on it head, whereas this beast is wearing 10 crowns, and instead of having diadems on its head, it has blasphemous names on its head.
Gwyn Pugh believes this difference is related to a shift in focus to one great world empire and a confederate of nations/world leaders under the Antichrist’s control.
Animal Like Characteristics
Animal Like Characteristics
Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
We also see from this passage that the beast was “like a leopard,” it had the “feet of a bear” and a mouth “like a lion.”
These characteristics are seen in Daniel 7:3-8
And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
“And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’
“After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
We know from both secular history and biblical history that these three animals in Daniel’s vision represented 3 empires in world history:
The Greek Empire (Alexander the Great)
The Medo-Persian Empire
The Babylonian Empire
It’s as if the 3 greatest empires in ancient world history, with their destructive, ferocious and crushing power, are all wrapped up in the Antichrist. He will be the embodiment of not only Satan, but destructive, ferocious, and crushing power to rule for a time.
The reason I say that he is the embodiment of Satan is because Revelation 13:2 reminds us that the “dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.”
A Mortal Wound That is Healed
A Mortal Wound That is Healed
And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.
One of the heads of this beast suffers a MORTAL WOUND. This term is the same exact word that is used for “slain” in Revelation 5:6
And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
The word for “healed” is the same exact word that John uses for “came to life” in Revelation 2:8
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write,
‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:
Some see this “healing” as a figurative resurrection of the Roman Empire while others see it as a literal healing or resurrection.
Regardless of whether the the Antichrist is literally resurrected, or miraculously healed it is hard to say, but either way his recovery is a “supernatural event.”
Remember I said earlier that the enemy, Satan, is a master imitator. It seems now he is seeking to imitate the resurrection of Christ.
After this supernatural healing takes place, the ENTIRE WORLD is amazed and begins to worship (v. 4) this beast (with a few exceptions) (v. 4). For 42 months (3 1/2 years) he remains in authority speaking “great” and “blasphemous things”
Notice Revelation 13:8
All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
This “worship” may be what the Apostle Paul referred to in 2 Thessalonians 2:4
who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
He Hunts Down and Kills Followers of Christ
He Hunts Down and Kills Followers of Christ
Notice again Revelation 13:7
It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.
He will be a one world leader, who will be able to make war with the followers of Christ and send them to Heaven early
Kendall Easley says this:
The Revelation passage teaches the inevitable coming of unjust suffering on the saints through the Antichrist monster. As far as the saints are concerned, If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. This is similar to what Jesus had taught his disciples: “You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” (Matt. 24:9).
Even though it appears that the Antichrist is victorious, what he does not realize is that he is going to suffer a far worse fate than those he is seeking to destroy...He will one day be captive in the lake of fire and will be ultimately destroyed and defeated.
What can we learn from this? Once again I quote Pugh:
Gwyn Pugh: The material in Revelation should not only be used to inform people about the future, it should be mined for principles for living in the present. The deceptive and destructive potential of the culture around us will continue to increase as the Tribulation draws closer. Even now, the spirit of antichrist is at work to redirect worship from God to the things of this world and ultimately to Satan himself. That spirit seeks to destroy genuine faith in Christ. Christians must develop an ability to discern between external appearances (“signs” that are often satanic deceptions) and truth or reality.
As we conclude Revelation 13 our attention now turns to...
III. The Beast from the Earth: The False Prophet
III. The Beast from the Earth: The False Prophet
Let’s notice some characteristics about him:
He Looks Like a Lamb, but Speaks Like a Dragon
He Looks Like a Lamb, but Speaks Like a Dragon
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
Throughout Revelation the “lamb” has pointed to Jesus and the “dragon” has pointed to Satan. Once again we see Satan’s counterfeit powers at work, but when this beast opens his mouth, his true character is revealed. Kendall Easley says:
His appearance was like Christ the Lamb; his speech was like his true master, Satan the dragon.
This reminds us of Jesus’ warning during the Sermon on the Mount:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
He Points the World to Worship the Antichrist
He Points the World to Worship the Antichrist
And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
And he deceives those who dwell on the earth—by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.
While the first beast (the Antichrist) will be a political figure, the False Prophet will be a religious figure. His main duties will be to promote the Antichrist and point people to worship him.
Swindoll notes:
Blinded by unbelief and sin, the world will easily fall prey to the second Beast’s deceptive message and methods. Intellectually attracted to him, emotionally drawn by his appealing style and convinced by his amazing signs, they will voluntarily submit and obey [and worship]. (Insights, 184)
He Has Supernatural Powers
He Has Supernatural Powers
He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
He will use these signs and powers to further deceive people. It seems as if he will enable an inanimate object of the Antichrist to be able to speak, and those who refuse to worship this image will be murdered.
He Will Initiate the “Mark of the Beast”
He Will Initiate the “Mark of the Beast”
He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
No one will be exempt from receiving this mark. It doesn’t matter who they are: it doesn’t matter if they are filthy rich or dirt poor, it doesn’t matter if they are slaves or slave owners...they will be forced to take this mark which will be the only way people will be able to buy or sell anything legally during this time.
There are many theories as to what this mark might be. We know technology is available TODAY, and has already been used in some parts of the world, to place a microchip under someone’s skin that can house all of their medical info and financial info.
It is referenced as 666...we know that “6” is the number of man, whereas “7” is the number of God. Repeated 3 times, it may represent the dragon, the antichrist, and the false prophet...this unholy trinity. Daniel Akin calls this the “TRINITY OF IMPERFECTION.”
We know that God MARKS those that are “His”, and once again we see the Antichrist imitating God and marking those who are “his.”
saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
We have no way of knowing if the Antichrist is alive and well on planet earth today. We should not waste our time trying to figure out what the “mark of the beast” is or “who the Antichrist is.”
Let me suggest some better ways to spend your time based upon 2 Thessalonians 2
First we need to
Cultivate Spiritual Discernment
Cultivate Spiritual Discernment
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
Remember the False Prophet will “look” like a lamb, but will speak like a dragon. His outward appearance will be “deceptive and appealing.” IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY A COUNTERFEIT YOU NEED TO BE INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH THE REAL THING.
Secondly...
Understand Neutrality is Impossible
Understand Neutrality is Impossible
In God’s Word Jesus tells us that we are either FOR and AGAINST Him. If you do not follow God’s Messiah—the Lord Jesus Christ—then you will follow a substitute Savior of some kind.
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Trust Jesus TODAY!
Trust Jesus TODAY!
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