Satan’s Grand Deception

Revelation 13:1-18

Revelation 13:1–18 (NLT)

1 Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God.

2 This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority.

3 I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast.

4 They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. “Who is as great as the beast?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?”

5 Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months.

6 And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in heaven.

7 And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation.

8 And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.

9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

10 Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the sword. This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.

11 Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon.

12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.

13 He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching.

14 And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life.

15 He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.

16 He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead.

17 And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.

18 Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

INTRODUCTION:

Have you ever given any thought to Satan? Have you ever wondered what he is like — really like?

To some he is the horn—headed, hoof—footed, red—faced, pitchfork—wielding devil. This type of devil we can readily recognize.

The Word of God paints a picture of Satan that is drastically different than most of us imagine him to be.

In our text, we find a couple of facts that we many times do not think about.

I - SATAN IS A MASTER OF DECEPTION (Revelation 13:1-10)

A- Satan deceives men about the true wages of sin.

1. Satan deceived Adam and Eve about sin -he disguised it to appear to be the way to wisdom. (Genesis 3:6)

Genesis 3:6 (NLT)

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.

2. The true wages of sin is pain, suffering, and death (Romans 6:23).

Romans 6:23 (NLT)

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

B- Satan deceives men about their true spiritual condition.

1. Satan has deceived many into believing they are ok without Christ.

a. They think they are good people.

(1) Jesus said, "There is none good but God." (Matthew 19: 17)

Matthew 19:17 (NLT)

17 “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”

2. Satan has deceived many that there is plenty of time to prepare for eternity:

a- The fact is that not a one of us is guaranteed tomorrow!

(Proverbs 27:1)

Proverbs 27:1 (NLT)

1 Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.

C- Satan deceives men with counterfeits

(Rev. 13: 1-10)

Revelation 13:1–10 (NLT)

1 Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God.

2 This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority.

3 I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast.

4 They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. “Who is as great as the beast?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?”

5 Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months.

6 And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in heaven.

7 And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation.

8 And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.

9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

10 Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the sword. This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.

(2 Thess. 2: 1-12)

2 Thessalonians 2:1–12 (NLT)

1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him.

2 Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.

3 Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction.

4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

5 Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you?

6 And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes.

7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way.

8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.

9 This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.

10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.

11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.

12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

1- He counterfeits the joy of the Lord with the shallow pleasures of the world.

2- He will one day present to the world his ultimate and final counterfeit (text)

a. This beast is none other than the antichrist .

1) Notice the source of his authority (Revelation 13:2)

Revelation 13:2 (NLT)

2 This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority.

a) The dragon (Satan) will give him his authority

2) Notice his deceptiveness- (Revelation 13:4-10)

a) The deception will be so complete that the whole world will follow him. (Revelation 13:3-5)

Revelation 13:3–5 (NLT)

3 I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast.

4 They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. “Who is as great as the beast?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?”

5 Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months.

b) The deception will be so complete that the whole world will worship him as god. (Revelation 13:8)

Revelation 13:8 (NLT)

8 And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.

II - SATAN IS A MASTER OF RELIGION (Revelation 13:11-18)

A- Satan's establishes religions

1- He establishes religions to turn men eyes off of the truth. Christ'.

a- religions with good moral codes:

1) Buddhism

2) Hinduism

3) Mormonism

b- religions with prophets who rob Christ of His rightful place:

1) Islam (Mohammed)

2)Mormonism (J. Smith)

3)Christian Science (M. B. Eddy)

2- If he can keep man's eyes off Jesus, he can never be saved

a. No matter how "good" a man is, without Christ, he is lost.

(2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

2 Corinthians 4:3–4 (NLT)

3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.

4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

B- Satan's Ultimate religion. (Revelation 13:11-18)

1- It will be a one-world super-church. (see Rev. 17)

a- All faiths united in one ecumenical religion .

1) This one-world church will be opposed to those who are true followers of Jesus.

a) He will be united with the Antichrist

(Revelation 13:7)

Revelation 13:7 (NLT)

7 And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation.

2- It will be headed by a "prophet " who will work deceptive signs.

a- He will call fire down from the Sky (Revelation 13:13)

Revelation 13:13 (NLT)

13 He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching.

b- He will perform a counterfeit resurrection of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:3, 12)

Revelation 13:3 (NLT)

3 I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast.

Revelation 13:12 (NLT)

12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.

c- He will cause a statue to appear to live (Revelation 13:14-15 )

Revelation 13:14–15 (NLT)

14 And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life.

15 He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.

d- He will persuade men to take the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:16-18)

Revelation 13:16–18 (NLT)

16 He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead.

17 And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.

18 Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

3- Not everyone who claims to be God’s messengers are from God.

(Matthew 7:15-23)

Matthew 7:15–23 (NLT)

15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.

16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.

18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.

19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.

20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’

23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

CONCLUSION :

My friend, don I t be deceived! Satan is not a friend, but a foe; not a god, but a rebellious angel who is already defeated.

Don 't be deceived by him - know him for what he is. . . a deceiver who wants to rob you of eternal life.

The only way to escape the Soul-damning clutches of Satan is by turning the control of your life over to the Lord Jesus Christ. Why not do it now?