Lesson 18: The Beast
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Intro:
Intro:
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.
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.
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.
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?”
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.
6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
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,
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.
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.
1) The Beast Described
1) The Beast Described
a. The names of the Beast
a. The names of the Beast
The Bible calls this beast by several different names. What names are given in the following verses?
4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased!
King of Babylon
12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!
Day Star, Son of Dawn.
8 I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
Daniel 7:
9 Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
Daniel 8:9
Little Horn
23 And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise.
King of bold Face
26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.
Prince who is to come
36 “And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.
King
3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
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.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
Man of Lawlessness
1 John 12:18
18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.
Antichrist
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.
Beast
Revelation 13:6
All different titles and descriptions.
b. The nationality of the Beast
b. The nationality of the Beast
Center of much controversy and speculation
One’s interpretative view influences the way this approached
To Try and put all references together and treat them literally:
What the Bible says:
rises up from the sea
most of the time, this is used to refer to “sea of nations” and often means Gentiles
calls him the little horn which arises out of Grecian Empire
Thus may be part Greek
Ties him to the Roman empire
Some see this as indicating his roots are in what was once the Roman Empire or some form or revived roman empire (much like the European Union).
36 “And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.
37 He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all.
Pays no attention to God of Fathers:
may indicate he is part Jewish
Composite Picture:
Roman-Crecian Jew appears on the scene. Jew by birth, but not religious practice.
Scholars like Tim LaHay believe he will come from the EU or some similar revive Roman Empire.
c. The Nature of the Beast
c. The Nature of the Beast
Called the Antichrist, he will in many ways be the opposite of Jesus.
Let’s compare them:
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
Came to do God’s WIll
7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,
43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
In father’s name
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
humbled self
Philippians
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.
exalts self
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
despise by men
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.
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?”
worshipped by men
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
does Father’s will
John 6:
36 “And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.
Does own will
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
came to save lost
24 His power shall be great—but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints.
Comes to destroy
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
Son of God
3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
Son of Destruction
2) The Work of the Beast
2) The Work of the Beast
a. Rise to Power
a. Rise to Power
How does say he will rise to power?
25 By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand.
He will arise and become a world ruler through his diplomacy. He will usher in what appears to be a new age of world peace.
b. One World Government
b. One World Government
He will rule the final kingdom of vision.
Where does he get his power according to ?
12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.
13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.
14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
15 And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.
The world centralizes power
EU, UN, and several others are trying to put more power into fewer hands.
This is not inherently wrong and evil
However, this is a tool which will be used by the AC.
c. One World Economy
c. One World Economy
13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.
Rev 17:
1 single currency and monetary system which will control all.
US currency is the currency of international deals for now
EU has 1 currency (though Brexit threatens it)
Rumors abound of China/Russia trying to gather gold and return to a gold based international currency
There has been much talk, but little success, of uniting Africa into 1 economy.
D. One World Religion
D. One World Religion
He will be the focus of a final world religion.
36 “And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.
37 He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.
39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price.
Also 2 Thess. 2:1-12
He will call himself a god
Demand worship
Already we see the ecumenical movement pushing to get us all to merge.
“we all worship the same god” is the call
Having a priest, a rabbi, and an imam all pray
The call for tolerance is leading to accepting all views
We speak the truth in love
Never hate the ones who are wrong, always love, but correct them, eternity is at stake!
E. Covenant with Israel
E. Covenant with Israel
27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
Dan 9:27
Makes a 7 year peace with Israel, and breaks it 3.5 years in.
Can give rise to a new temple being built.
F. Miracles of the Beast
F. Miracles of the Beast
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.
Seemingly mortal wound which heals
What did Jesus say in warning in ?
23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.
24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
He will be a faker
Conclusion:
Beware!
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
Be prepared
Know the word
Witness