The Beast from the Earth
Notes
Transcript
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Introduction
Introduction
Over the past several weeks, we have spent a lot of time talking about the devil and what he will be doing during the Tribulation period.
I mentioned last Sunday evening that he is an imitator…He hasn’t had an original thought in over six thousand years!
I mentioned that in chapter 13, we are introduced to the unholy trinity…We all know there is a Holy Trinity...
The Holy Trinity is comprised of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is these three individuals Who are one God. Satan has a trinity too. His trinity, however, is anything but holy.
The unholy trinity is composed of Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet. Each member of the Holy Trinity has a specific purpose. God the Father receives the worship of His people through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the facilitator of this holy worship. He stirs up the heart of the believer and causes him or her to worship God.
Remember, Satan is an imitator. His trinity functions exactly the same way. In Satan’s unholy trinity, Satan receives the worship through the person of the Antichrist and the False Prophet facilitates this worship.
We’ve already looked at the first two members of the unholy trinity - that is Satan and the Antichrist.
Tonight, we will get a glimpse of the False Prophet. He is the person who will guide the world’s religion during the Tribulation Period.
We are moving rapidly toward a one-world government and a one-world religion…Churches are not exempt from being swept into this…We are seeing it all around us, I gave example after example in the series we did on the Book of Jude.
Ya’ll remember what an apostate is, right? There are two things that define an apostate, (1) They deny whatever truths of Scripture they don’t want, and (2) they practice whatever behavior they want…They know the truth, yet turn away from it!
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
The closer to the end of the church age we come, the more resistant our world will be to the exclusive claim of Christ that He is the way, the truth, and the life. The refusal of the world to worship Christ alone will soon be replaced by a world that will eagerly worship the antichrist alone. This will happen with the help of a partner and that’s the subject of tonight’s message…The Beast from the Earth.
Notice with me...
I-The Description of the False Prophet
I-The Description of the False Prophet
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
John sees another beast of the same sort as the first. He comes up out of the earth.
Some believe this refers to the land of Israel and means the false prophet will be a Jew. Others say the earth is a reference to the abyss.
The difference in origin from the first beast may be intended to help us distinguish the two beasts from each other. It is also possible that the earth, in contrast to the turmoil of the sea, implies the false prophet is calmer, more peaceful, and subtler than the antichrist.
Like a lamb, he has the appearance of a friend.
He has “two horns like a lamb.” The two horns signify strength but not great strength. The antichrist is powerful with 10 horns (13:1). The false prophet is one with much less strength. And he has the appearance of a lamb.
The word “lamb” appears 29 times in Revelation. Twenty-eight of those times it refers to Jesus. This is the one time it refers to someone or something else. There is deceptiveness in this person, and once more we are reminded of the truth, “Looks can be deceiving!”
With the appearance of a lamb, this beast gives the impression of being harmless and gentle. However, Jesus warned us in
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
We are reading of the most ravenous wolf of all…The Bible says that he is a mouthpiece, a megaphone, for Satan… “he spake as a dragon...”
Jim Hamilton writes, “This beast speaks like Satan, and Satan speaks against God’s word, blasphemes Jesus, and tells lies meant to result in the death of Jesus and his people. Christians do not tell lies to get other people killed.… Watch out for lambs who talk like dragons.”
II-The Deeds of the False Prophet
II-The Deeds of the False Prophet
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Just as the devil gives power to the Antichrist, so the devil also empowers the False Prophet...
He directs the world to worship the Antichrist…Notice this…The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to point people to Jesus Christ.
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
The purpose of the False Prophet is to point people to the false Christ.
Think about it…As repulsive as we think Satanic worship is today, one of these days, the entire world will be involved in it.
As the magicians of Pharaoh copied the miracles of Moses, so the antichrist and the false prophet will have power to work miracles and wonders by Satan.
The true test of a prophet is his message, not his miracles. But men are too easily infatuated with supernatural displays.
People hear of some healing preacher and they flock to see him. We can understand how easy it will be for this satanic duo to deceive millions by their miracles.
Using miracles, the false prophet deceives the world into believing that he is the prophet of God and the antichrist is God.
Listen, not all miracles are of God. Why don't psychics play the lottery? The same reason that Benny Hinn doesn't make hospital calls!
There is more than one spirit in operation in this world. Don't think it strange that people will follow a sharp-looking, smooth-talking demon-powered man who does mighty works.
It happens all the time! Honestly and what is really disturbing is that what is happening in the modern-day charismatic movement is really demonic and actually paving the way for the Antichrist and the false prophet.
III-The Deception of the False Prophet
III-The Deception of the False Prophet
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
One specific sign miracle the False Prophet performs is “that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.”
Here he duplicates the miracle of Elijah (1 Kgs 18:28; see Mal 3:5–6) and the two witnesses (Rev 11:5).
The spectacular nature of these miracles mesmerizes and deceives the earth dwellers. Amazingly, they reject the true fire of 11:5 for a false fire in 13:14. But their deception and seduction do not stop here.
The false prophet tells them to make an image, an idol, to “the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live,” and that is exactly what they do.
Like Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2, a great idol will be erected, this time to honor and worship antichrist.
IV-The Domination of the False Prophet
IV-The Domination of the False Prophet
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
The False Prophet gives breath to this image and the ability to speak. It seems that this image will be something unique and special for the world to be in awe about it. The False prophet requires that the image be worshiped.
Failure to obey in this matter would result in death. Christians will be beheaded for their refusal to worship this image of the Anti-Christ.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Our world is heading for some very dark days. The time to escape the coming nightmare is now! If you have never trusted Jesus as your Savior, I challenge you to come to Him for your salvation. Come to Him and be saved today!
If you are saved, you can praise the Lord because you will miss these things. But, you and I have family and friends who will be here. We are living in a world filled with people who will be here. We should seek the Lord on their behalf. If He would have you do that you come and call on Him as He leads.