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No claims of absolute originality are made for this material. As one man said, "I milk a lot of cows, but I churn my own butter." Please use these sermons as the Lord leads, but nothing on this site may be used for profit without my expressed, written permission!
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Back To The Future – Sermon #31 THE BEAST FROM OUT OF THE SEA Intro: In our last study we met the Antichrist. We tried to
consider what the Bible says about this coming world ruler who is called the
"Man of Sin"; the "Son of Perdition". The
Antichrist gives us an opportunity to see how Satan operates. The devil is an
imitator. He takes what God does and he tries to duplicate it. You
see, Jesus, the real Christ, is a revelation of God the Father. In In
preaching, we use exegesis to "lead out and explain" the
truths contained in the text. When Jesus came, He came to "explain,
to lead out, to narrate" God. In other words, Jesus Christ was and
is God in the flesh. He was able to say, "I and my Father are one,"
In
the Antichrist, Satan attempts to duplicate this relationship between Jesus
Christ and God the Father. The Antichrist will be a living, breathing
revelation of the devil. He will be the devil incarnate; he will be the devil
in the flesh. We
know that our God is a triune Being. He is one God Who manifests Himself in the
Persons. He is Father, Son and Holy Ghost. All three are One God, yet each is
an individual Person. They come together to make up the Holy Trinity. In
Let's give our attention once again
to this man who will be known as the Antichrist. These verses give us some
important details concerning his mission, his methods and his miracles. Let's
consider these first ten verses of A. v.
1 a How He Originates – As
John stands on a sea shore, a mysterious "beast' rises from out of
the sea. This is symbolic language. The "sea" in the Bible
represents the masses of humanity. This individual will come from among men. In
other words, while he may possess power that surpasses all the other great
rulers of me, he will be nothing more than a man! The
Antichrist will be empowered by Satan and he will wield tremendous power and
authority. But, unlike Jesus Christ, he will have a human mother and father. He
will not be a God-man like Jesus. He will be a man who receives his kingdom and
his power from Satan himself. Where
will he come from and what will be his nationality? No one knows! One fellow
has suggested that George W. Bush is the Antichrist. He has assigned a
numerical value to each of the letters in President Bush's name and he claims
they equal 666. According to the Bible, and we will see this in a minute, he
will lead a ten nation confederacy that resembles the revived B. v.
1 b-2a How He Operates –
These verses give us a little insight into this man called Antichrist. The
symbolic language tells us something about what kind of man he is and also
something about the nature of the kingdom he will rule. 1. Seven Heads – The explanation for this
is given in Rev. 17:9, "The
seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth." 2. Ten Horns – Horns are a symbol of power and authority. Again, these
horns are explained by Rev. 17:12.
We are told that the ten horns are "ten kings". 3. Ten Crowns – These ten kings have great
authority and power. The Antichrist will arise from among this confederation of
ten powerful kings. 4. The Names Of Blaspheme – These world
leaders will stand in open defiance of all that is holy or that has to do with
God. (Note: Many believe that what we are seeing here is a revival
of the ancient We
are already seeing this process come to pass in the European Union. This union
is comprised of twenty-five European nations with five more who are candidates
for admission. The land area occupied by these nations covers much of the land
area occupied by the old (Note: To understand the description given of this beast in
these verses, you have to go back to Daniel
speaks of a "lion", verse 4.
This beast pictures the Babylonian Empire. Like a lion, ancient The
Bible is teaching us that the Antichrist will possess the power and the
personality of all these ancient empires. He will combine all their strengths
and possess none of their weaknesses. 4. Body Like A Leopard – His rise to power
will be swift. 5. Feet Like A Bear – He will crush his
opponents. 6. Mouth Like A Lion – Like a lion he will
devour all who dare stand in his way. 7. Called A Beast – The word "beast'
refers to "a wild animal'. It is used as a
metaphor of a man who is "brutal, savage, and ferocious".
Like a wild animal, Antichrist will attack the kingdoms of the world and he
will destroy all who get in his path. He will be a fearsome, powerful man. C. v. 2b How He Officiates – We are told that the Antichrist rules
the world, but not by his own power. He is Satan's Superman. He is energized by
the Dark Prince. We are told that Satan gives him three things. 1. His Power –
This word refers to "strength, power and ability. 2. His
Seat – This is his "throne". He rules because Satan
has given him dominion. 3. Great Authority – This word refers to the "ability
to do as one pleases". The Antichrist will do as he pleases on
this earth for a time and no one will be able to stop him. The
Antichrist will accept the offer Jesus refused in (Note: There is an interesting parallel that I want to point
out today. The human heart was made to be occupied. When you are lost, the
heart is occupied and controlled by Satan, Eph.
2:1-3. When a person is saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your
heart and assumes control of your life. If you have never received Jesus as
your Savior, then Satan is your lord and your master,
I. The Appearance Of The Beast II. v.
3-4 THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE BEAST A. v.
3 He Receives The World's Wonder
— At some point during the Antichrist's reign he will die. It may be an
assassination or some other form of upheaval, but he will be killed. As the
world watches and mourns the death of this very popular man, a miraculous thing
happens; this dead man comes back from the dead. He experiences a resurrection. Remember,
I told you that Satan is an imitator. In this verse we are told that Satan
seeks to duplicate the resurrection. God's Son died on the cross and rose from
the dead and the world, for the most part, ignores Him. This man will die and
rise again and the world will wonder after him. He has the world right where he
wants it; eating out of the palm of his hand. B. v.
4 He Receives The World's Worship
— Whether this resurrection is real or just a bit of satanic slight of hand we
do not know. Yet, the citizens of the world will be taken in. they will be so
caught up in the power, the glory and wonder of the Antichrist that they will
actually give him their worship! The world will bow before this hellish king
and give him what they have steadfastly refused to give God. Just
as God receives the worship of man through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ; Satan
will receive the worship of men through the Antichrist. He will be getting what
he has always wanted. Men will worship the Beast and the devil. What a tragedy!
While Heaven rejoices over the fact that Satan has been cast out of Heaven, Rev. 12:10, the "earth
dwellers" give their worship to the devil. (Note: The world will declare the Antichrist to be
undefeatable. What they fail to understand is that there will come a day when
Antichrist will be defeated and cast into Hell, Rev. 19:20; 20:10. Yes, Jesus Christ will be able to defeat the
devil's superman with no problem. But, may I also point out the truth that
God's people living during the Tribulation can defeat him as well, Rev. 12:11. Satan has power and the
Antichrist will have power. But, they will face on Who has all, power, Matt. 28:18. He will defeat them,
destroy them and judge them!)
I. The Appearance Of The Beast II. The Achievements Of The Beast III. v.
5-8 THE ACTIVITIES OF THE BEAST (III. The Antichrist will use his
newfound power over men to further Satan's agenda. These verses tell us what
kind of man the Antichrist will be. A. v. 5-6 He Defies God — The Antichrist
will be a man of great oratorical ability. He will be able to move the masses
with the power of his tongue. If you have ever seen films of Adolph Hitler, you
have seen a man who understood the power of the tongue. By his words, he
stirred up a nation and convinced them that they could rule the world. He
convinced the German people that they were superior to all others. Hitler's
words brought about unbelievable suffering and innumerable deaths. Hitler once
said, "You say something long enough and loud enough and people will
eventually believe you." When
the Antichrist comes, his power with words will make Hitler seem like a
babbling idiot! He will galvanize the nations of the world with the power of
his words. He will speak "great things" and they will
believe him. He will speak blasphemes against the God of Heaven and they will
worship him. He will use his words to attack everything that has to do with God
and the world will hang on every word. He will do everything in his power to
turn humanity against God. He will even declare himself to be God! B. v.
7a He Destroys The Saints —
Antichrist will make it his mission to seek out and destroy anyone who still
worships God. There will be people saved during the Tribulation. These people
will become the focus of the Antichrist's intense hatred of God. He will not be
able to defeat the 144,000 Jewish preachers as they travel the world preaching
the Gospel of the Kingdom. He will not be able to defeat the two witnesses who
stand in C. v.
7b He Dominates The Nations —
The Antichrist will rule the world! Every nation will come under his power and
domination. He will be the ultimate world ruler. He will be the king of the
world! D. v.
8 He Deceives The Masses —
This verse is crystal clear! Every person who is not saved by god's grace will
eventually bow in worship if Satan and his superman. Notice
that these worshipers are called "all that dwell upon the earth".
The word "dwell" means "to settle down". This phrase
refers to people who have chosen to make this world their home. They have
decided that they aren't interested in Heaven or in anything God can offer
them. They have staked all their hopes and their futures in this world. God
abandons them to their choice! They want the world and He lets them have it,
with all the consequences that come with such a decision. These
"earth dwellers" have refused God and His Messiah and they
have chosen Satan and his false messiah. Does gives them up and let's them go
after the world and the god they have chosen, (Note: Which world have you chosen? The Lord will allow you
to have the Christ you want. You can have the Lord Jesus Christ if you will
receive Him. If not, you may live in this world long enough to worship the
Antichrist.) Conc: The final two verses of our text have a special message for us today. Verse 9 says, "If
any man have an ear, let him hear' . Do you recognize that statement?
We have seen a statement like it several times before, Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22. If you go and read these verses
you will find that they say, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches". Do you see what is missing? Two
things are missing here, the "Spirit" and the "churches".
Both the Spirit and the church were removed from the world at the Rapture. The
age of grace has ended and the world is in the grip of the Great Tribulation.
When God speaks here, He does not warn His people, He warns the earth dwellers,
but it is too late for them to repent. They are locked in to their choice and
they will worship the Beast and hey will die and go to Hell. Verse 10 drives this point home. The whole
point of verse 10 is that people
reap what they sow, Gal. 6:7. If you
live for the devil, you will reap the devil. If you reject Jesus, you will be
rejected by Jesus. The time to make a choice is today! There will come a day
when it will be too late. When will that day be? No one knows
but the Lord! It could be today, tonight or tomorrow. There will come a day
when God will stop calling you and He will abandon you to your choice. If you
are not saved, you need to come to Jesus today. If
you are saved, verse 10 had a word
of hope. The "patience and faith of the saints" is the knowledge that in
the end, Satan and Antichrist will be defeated. In that day, God and righteousness
will reign. The
main thing today is for each person in this room to be sure which world they
are hooked into. Are you an "earth dweller''? Are all your hopes
and dreams locked up in this world? Or, are you a citizen of Heaven? Have you
received Jesus as your Savior? If so, you will not face the Antichrist or the
horrors of the Tribulation. Do
you know where you are going? Would you like to be saved? If He has spoken to
your heart, you mind Him today!
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Copyright 2003 by Alan Carr |
