Revelation 13:1-10 | The Antichrist | 2.7.21

anyway anyway with that said here we are revelation chapter 13. we're going to be looking at verses 1 through 10 and uh we're going to be looking at the subject of the antichrist and what i'll be doing is i'll be reading those 10 verses to you and i'm going to give to you an introduction laying a foundation developing it and then moving on into the study i have to be honest with you it's it can be complicated and so i take my time to try and make sure i'm accurate with this and so uh i'll be giving to you as as i mentioned an introduction then i'm going to begin looking at this verse by verse we'll be looking at verses 1 through 10. revelation chapter 13 beginning at verse 1 john writes 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 beasts 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 and he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and he was given authority to continue for 42 months then he opened his mouth and blasphemy against god to blaspheme his name his tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them authority was given him over every tribe tongue and nation 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 if anyone has an heir let him hear he who leads into captivity shall go into captivity who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword here is the patience and the faith of the saints so what we're going to have a picture of here an introduction to if you will is uh the kingdom of antichrist and we're also going to get a picture of the one who is referred to as antichrist and so as we begin we need to begin with a foundational kind of illustration and thought you see we live in a world that is very familiar with what is called knockoffs we've all heard of that what's a knockoff well a knockoff is an unlicensed copy of something that's intended to be sold at a lower price than the original all you need to do is go to a swap meet or various places and you can buy what they call knockoffs you know a gucci purse or or chanel number five you can you know i've done that i didn't realize it you know and i bought marie some perfume and a swap meet for christmas and i was real thrilled i mean it was a gallon and it was only 10 bucks and you know so anyway we're all familiar with not i really did we're all we're all familiar with with knockoffs it can be jewelry they can be jeans makeup they can be shoes they can be furniture artwork they can be cologne sunglasses even cars and watches there are what are called knockoffs some of them look like the genuine thing but they they just will never match the quality of the original so we know there is the genuine and we know that there is the fake well satan is in the business of producing what we would call knockoffs what he presents in other words looks genuine but what is offered doesn't match the quality of the original so what we see in scripture is that satan offers a a false jesus a false spirit he offers a false gospel he has false ministers and he even has a false kingdom now paul wrote about this in second corinthians in chapter 11 verses 3 and 4 when he said i fear lest somehow as the serpent deceived eve by his craftiness so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in christ for if he who comes preaches another jesus whom we have not preached or if you receive a different spirit which you've not received or a different gospel which you have not accepted you may well put up with it this is the false things that he that he provides these are the things that satan tries to to present to us as if they're the real thing he has planted even in christian churches false christians and there are false christians in every church and jesus spoke of this and he gave a story to illustrate it it's the parable of the wheat and the tares when you look in the gospel of matthew in chapter 13 there are several parables or stories illustrations that jesus gives concerning a variety of things related to the church and in matthew chapter 13 verses 24-30 and then verses 36-43 he gave a parable of of a man who had sowed good seed in his field he says that when men slept his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and then he went his way the grain sprouted and produced a crop but there were what are called tears and tears sprouted amongst the wheat his servants saw this and asked the owner why the field had tears and the owner knew hawaiian and told them that an enemy has sowed these tears his men wanted to go into the field to remove the tares the owner said no he said that if they went in to remove tears they might also remove real wheat he said let them continue to grow and at the time of harvest the reapers will remove them so he later explained the parable saying that the tares are sons of the wicked one now when you planted wheat you had what are called darnell darnell looks like wheat and you don't know the difference until it is fully bloomed you know and so that's how you can tell the difference between darnell and wheat well the problem is with darnell is darnell is something that actually is used to dull the senses and is also a poison so when you read about jesus using the term the tares and the wheat what he's saying is the enemy has sowed something it's called a soporific it's something that dulls the senses something that makes you drowsy and he has sown that in the church in the form of what are called terrors and not only do these darnell do these terrors cause the church to become drowsy but the tares also poison the church and so when jesus chose to use this illustration of wheat and tares it isn't just that these look like the real thing it's the effect that they have on the real thing and that's why the men said there are there are tears in in the field we should go and pull them out and and the owner says no we're going to let them grow until they're fully blossomed because when they're fully blossomed then they can be pulled and it isn't going to be you who pulls them out it's going to be the angels in the last day and that's what he's speaking about you see the enemy that sowed him because he says an enemy sowed them is the devil and he sews his his uh counterfeits amongst the wheat and given the peril jesus made it clear that the church was going to be infiltrated there would be people in the visible church who were not saved but they still attend they still go to church well how can that how is it possible that people who don't know the lord will be members of good standing in a church how how can that happen well jesus said while men slept when men slept the church is asleep it's a sleep in the light it's not on the alert it's not aware of infiltration so what happens is the devil inspires the devil inspires people to go to churches the devil inspires unsaved people sometimes even pastor churches and you may say here in california at this time is that possible are you kidding me are you saying that there are unsaved people pastoring churches and the answer is absolutely in germany they have the national church i've been to germany several times they have what is called the national church you don't even have to be a christian to pastor it you just go through school you get the credentials you have a church and that's the it's the state church and so that exists to this day and is it possible that there are churches pastored by unbelievers in in other places yeah i've heard the testimony i remember a pastor who was teaching in a church service who had pastored a church i think he had said something like 20 30 years and one day as he was giving the message the spirit of god said to him you're not even saved and you're preaching messages he said i was so convicted i gave my heart to christ through my own message that actually happens you may not believe it but it's true that people pastor churches they're up here just like i am preaching to people about jesus and all but they don't know the lord that they're preaching about not only that but every time a pastor can teach myself included there are always people well it's possible for them always to be people listening to the message of course who who don't know the lord but maybe they've been members in good standing for a long time maybe they're even on church boards or serving in committees or doing ministry in fact they don't know the lord and what happens is their lack of knowledge of god actually dulls the spirits of those who do know him so somebody who loves the lord and is speaking about jesus to somebody else may have a friend goes to the same church and that person who goes to the same church later on speaks to the believer and says you really you know you're too hard too harsh you're too judgmental and they're dulling that person and making it so that that person doesn't even preach the gospel i remember many years ago now i was at my house we were having a youth uh gathering at my home when i was a single man and a young lady was in the front room my parents front room and i was seated next to her this girl had been in the church that i was attending at that time it was a local church it wasn't a calvary it was a baptist church that i was attending at that time while i was going to biola and i had friends there so i would go to the youth group there for fellowship and and she was seated there on the couch as i was visiting with her she was in the choir she went on youth uh trips with the kids you know to various places and and all and she'd been part of this church for for five years and she was about 18 years old at that time and and i i asked her a simple question i said uh gail her name was gayle i said when did you uh when did you get saved when did you give your heart to the lord gail she said so i'm not i said you're not wait a minute you're telling me you're not you sing in the choir she goes yeah i do why do you do that i like to sing i say really well you can't sing no i said really you're kidding me i said why haven't you ever given your heart to christ i gotta ask how could you be part of a church and not know jesus she says you know i've never been asked about giving my heart to jesus i guess i never think about it i said really i said well now we're having a conversation about it i said you realize certain things i shared the gospel with her and i said do you want to get right with god do you want to give your heart to jesus gail she said you know i do this was a girl that was in the church for years singing in the choir going on youth events part of the bible studies that's how i met her she didn't know the lord is it possible that people can go to church do those things and not know the lord absolutely and and when this happens in the parable jesus says these are people many of them are people who have been planted there those who don't give their hearts to christ gail did but those who don't give their hearts to christ who act as one who dulls people i was i was with the same group a similar group of people from the same place we were on our way somewhere i turned and began to speak to a young lady who was going with us on an outing and and i turned to her and i said uh when did you give your heart to christ she says i'm not a believer in christ i said really why not and i had a conversation with her and i'm sharing with her the gospel isn't that what christians do so i'm sharing with her the gospel sounds like i was always talking just a girl so but anyway maybe i can lead my wife to the lord which actually i did but that's a different story so so i said to her the gospel and and and when we all arrived later on one of the guys took me aside and said you're pushing jesus down people's throats and i started thinking is that what i'm doing when i tell them about the lord is that interpreted as pushing jesus down people's throats what happened to the church well you have tears amongst the church you can dull the life of the church and jesus gives a parable about that he says the enemy does that he sows tares amongst the wheat and jesus is saying that the church is going to be infiltrated there'll be people in the church the visible church who aren't saved but they still attend how does it happen again when men slept well the church is asleep in the light and the devil's inspiring people and sometimes even to and this sounds odd but even to pastor churches others just simply attend you see what happens when you don't teach the word the tares can become comfortable that's why jesus would use the phrase when men slept they're not aware well part of it would be that the the pastor teachers those who are leading are not proclaiming the truth of the gospel and so people can become very comfortable if they're entertained if they're informed if they like the variety of entertainment aspects of the church the personality and eloquence of the pastor and a variety of other things the the things that are offered that they like the events the retreats you name it and they can come they can be there and and ultimately sometimes they can even influence and in fact the church was asleep the word of god is not being preached very often in that church you know satan also produces false signs and wonders he can do that when moses stood before pharaoh moses turned his own staff into turn the staff into a snake in exodus chapter 7 verses 11 and 12 it says pharaoh summon the wise men and sorcerers and the egyptian magicians also did the same thing by their secret arts each one threw down his staff and it became a snake but aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs satan is a counterfeiter he attempts to duplicate what god does he wants to be like god he even is has a counterfeit messiah and that counterfeit messiah the scripture refers to that one as antichrist now the antichrist we'll be looking at him in just a moment but but antichrist will not be clearly recognizable from outer appearance it's not like he's going to walk into a room with a a red cape and horns or something like that with a tail he's not going to do that he's going to come in and he's going to be beautiful he's he's going to have a beauty and an attractiveness about him you see satan is a master of using outer appearance to deceive people man habitually looks at the outside and so he's he disguises his evil with beauty in second corinthians 11 13 and 14 paul said such are false apostles deceitful workers transforming themselves into apostles of christ and no wonder for satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light this has been called the beautiful side of evil if you could see if i could see with my eyes and and apprehend what the enemy really is if he was really fully disclosed the the perversion and twisted the malice the evil you wouldn't have anything to do with them but he disguises himself like that old story of little red riding hood and the wolf who dresses up to to deceive her he disguises himself in and you don't see him you you don't recognize him and he he's a counterfeiter is what it is and his his evil is actually attractive and anti-christ is attractive he's charming he'll be intelligent eloquent charismatic especially persuasive he's going to fit into the world's movers and the world shakers he's going to have the backing of of hollywood and and and all the other production um the companies that produce the movies and all throughout the world they'll have their backing he'll have the backing of the politicians and and all the talk show hosts and and all the media they're all going to think that he speaks in a wonderful way he's so eloquent he's bringing the right message we need to hear this and anybody who disagrees with him well that person ought to be banned he'll fit in lecturing at major universities giving speeches perhaps before congress or the u.n he's going to bring solutions that people are are striving for he's going to bring solutions to the climate situation energy problems the various wars and and various religious wars and he's going to draw the admiration of the world when you look at scripture the antichrist is the subject of over 100 passages in scripture he's referred to in in second thessalonians and first john in the book of daniel obviously various times here in the revelation and he's spoken of quite often there are those who wonder if he may be presently alive on planet earth and that's something i can't answer i can't say that he is or he isn't we don't know but every day brings his emergence closer to be honest with you you know as we're looking at this i have to speak of the antichrist we need to speak we need to be prepared we need to be aware but i prefer looking at jesus christ and not the antichrist but if we're going to have the whole counsel of god we have to view him also and by looking at him we have the blessing of being prepared to preach the true christ and so that's what we'll be looking at here in this chapter so beginning at verse one that was your introduction verse one i stood on the sand of the sea i saw a beast rising up out of the sea having seven heads ten horns and on his horns ten crowns and on his heads a blasphemous name notice this notice how john says that he saw a beast rising out of the sea there are various ways that commentators look at this phrase out of the sea some think it's literal they think he's literally coming out of the mediterranean others say that it may be speaking of coming out of the abyss he may be speaking of the sea of humanity because that's an image that is later used in revelation chapter 17 verse 15 where it says he said to me the waters which you saw where the harlot sits are peoples multitudes nations and tongues so it may be that it's out of the sea of humanity and out of the sea of humanity emerges the beast the antichrist one who is empowered by satan antichrist is a human being he's also identified in scripture by various names he's called the man of sin he's called the son of perdition he's the lawless one the little horn he's the willful king he's also known as the beast but he's especially known by the name antichrist he is one who blasphemes and opposes jesus he is anti-jesus but he also presents himself as messiah instead of the real christ you see during the tribulation in the midst of the chaos and confusion antichrist rises to power people are looking for longing for someone to bring peace to the world they're going to desire a strong leader a charismatic leader to bring unity in the midst of all the confusion and chaos this worldwide longing it's not just here in the states it's throughout the world this worldwide longing will give him opportunity to gain power to deceive the world the question has to be asked how how will that happen why would he be welcomed like that uh one the world has been prepared to receive this kind of person throughout its history there's been a long line of would-be rule is dating back thousands of years there have always been people who have wanted to rule the world we're familiar with some of their names scripture speaks of them like nebuchadnezzar or alexander the great we know that the roman caesars in in the early days the roman caesars wanted to be world rulers we know in in more recent times stalin and hitler and mel and others like that have this ambition to rule the world that's not something that's new so antichrist will succeed at what all the others fail to do he's going to be welcomed this one will be welcomed as the political world ruler now one of the things that is a bit unique about antichrist is not only is it going to be a political leader and we'll see this more clearly later on in revelation not only is he a political leader he is also going to have a be a religious leader he's he's the embodiment of what it means to reject jesus christ the true messiah in in a very basic sense the the an antichrist is as someone who denies jesus as as messiah in first john 4 verse 3 every spirit that doesn't confess that jesus christ has come in the flesh is not of god this is the spirit of the antichrist which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world that that spirit of antichrist is already here that spirit has been here and john wrote 2000 years ago he says it's already here we see it we see that spirit in our day because it's not new to our day it's been something that the world has done whenever the gospel has been preached wherever churches have been planted there's a spirit of rejection no jesus christ cannot be the true christ no we don't believe that we have our own religion we have our own beliefs we have our own prophets we have our own leaders now jesus christ no he's okay for you christians but we follow moses or he's okay for you christians but we follow buddha or we follow muhammad there's always been a spirit of rejection of jesus christ it's not you and and so john pointed that out this he said is the spirit of antichrist which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world you see the church had been taught and warned and even been exhorted to be on the alert to be aware because in first john chapter 2 verse 18 john said little children it's the last hour and as you have heard that the anti-christ is coming even now many antichrists have come by which we know that it is the last hour what is going to happen how will antichrist be welcomed by the world well false prophets false prophets are preparing the way for him false prophets prepare an atmosphere of acceptance people already have an inclination to receive what he's saying this is because he's going to teach what they approve of he's not going to say something to them or give a message that's going to call them to do something that they're not already inclined to do what he's going to do is he's going to tickle their ears what he's going to do is he's going to say things that they want to hear and they that they believe already that's how he gets in he's going to he's going to say things that that people think yeah that's right that's how it should be that's it's a real simple process fellows and ladies we already know that we already know that all you got to do is watch tv all you got to do is watch a commercial all you have to do is watch a movie it's already there this attitude this acceptance of something that is other than christ is already there those of you who share your faith with people you have those responses you have people say that to you say things of rejection i've i've shared this more than once over the years but i was on a train my wife and i were doing ministry in europe and we were on a train uh coming in england on we were in dover begun on a train and we were on our way to london and as we were on our way to london uh a young woman sat across from marie and me sat actually was she a question yeah she and it doesn't matter she was there anyway she she was an american she was from massachusetts and and she sees us and begins to speak to us and she says um i said where are you from oh i'm from massachusetts and and she started just telling me her whole story and i'm i'm cool with that yeah tell me i'm interested you know yeah i'm from massachusetts such and so city and she goes i i i said well what are you doing in in in here where are you going well i'm going to london i'm going to be working there oh really what do you do oh i i i sing dirty songs in bars that's what she said she called them body b a w d y body they're nasty nasty songs i sing nasty songs i said really sing me one no i said really i'll buy your album so i said really she goes yeah and she's telling me all about her her life and her story and this and that and i'm i'm really interested you know i listen to people i want to hear what she's all about you know i'm not i'm not judging her i'm not doing it i'm just letting her talk she's american and she's telling me who she is and if the lord gives me an opportunity i'll share if not then i just listen i mean i'm not going to shove something down throw but she got mad because as she's telling me that she finally says in you what do you do oh boy here we go so i said well i'm a pastor that's as far as i got she says this is true she looks at me and she says kind of an angry well it was angry not kind it was angry she says i hate it when people shove jesus down my throat she said that and i'm looking and you ask me what i do i'm a pastor so i punched her i got mad no i now sing a song so i said so i said really you hate it when christians shove the gospel down your throat i hadn't said a word i had said i'm a pastor that was it that set her off i said you don't like christians shoving things down your throat but it's okay for you to shove your philosophy down our throats she gets all insulted she goes what do you mean when do i shove my philosophy down your throat when is my philosophy shove down your authority i said every time i turn on the television every time i drive my car and i see a billboard every time i go to a movie every time i listen to a song every time i read a magazine article or a newspaper your philosophy is shoved down my throat 24 hours a day every day and you're telling me that i shoved my philosophy down your throat i haven't even spoken to you shut up woman no i said i haven't i haven't even i'm a little tired forgive me i said i said i haven't i haven't said a word to you but see it's true guys and you know it and i know it you know it and i know many of you will watch the super bowl today nothing wrong with that i sleep during it it's a good nap but my jersey you know but what kind of commercials are going to be on today well either food uh beer sometimes harder liquor i mean that's what you that's right i mean that's the commercials if they didn't think that those commercials could convince you why would they spend the hundreds of thousands of dollars for 30 seconds for that commercial why would they do that they know that it affects you it's creating an atmosphere we already have that atmosphere we just don't see it we're just not aware of it it's because we've gotten used to it that's the way it is it's kind of like a baby the first time a baby hurts the baby gets hurt with you know uh maybe a needle when they get a shot or whatever and they react like you know it's the worst pain well it is it's the worst pain they've ever felt but they get older and that pain no longer is as bad why because the first they always said the first cut is always the deepest the first pain is always the most serious and then what happens you kind of get used to it and sometimes you get so used to it that you become a boxer you get used to it that's what happens talking to you and that's what happens you get used to it well guess what the atmosphere of ungodliness is something you can get used to you can get used to it and that's what's going to take place you see the false prophets would be fostering an atmosphere to accept him we already have that disposition to receive what he's offering and he's going to appeal to our carnal appetites in the old testament book of jeremiah chapter 5 verse 31 the prophet said the prophets prophesy falsely the priests rule by their own power and my people love to have it so but what will you do in the end he's tickling our ears with these kinds of things his message is going to appeal to the natural man and it will not call for repentance again that's an ancient method that the devil has used to deceive people and in the old testament book of lamentations chapter 2 verse 14 it reads your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions they have not uncovered your iniquity to bring back your captives but have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions they haven't called you to repent they haven't called you to break before god to say god be merciful to me i'm a sinner well in order for people to receive him in his message delusion needs to take place jesus taught his men that deception would be the distinguishing mark of the last days he was speaking to his men in matthew 24 he had spoken concerning all the stones and everything being torn down as they were showing him the beauty of the temple and it intrigued them so in matthew 24 verses 3 and 5 it says as he sat on the mount of olives the disciples came to him privately saying tell us when will these things be what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age and jesus answered and said to them take heed that no one deceives you it's your responsibility not to be deluded take heed that no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying i am the christ and will deceive many be on the alert what is the primary sign of the last days delusion deception preparation for antichrist that is the sign and today spiritual deception is normal it's even accepted by many including christians because many reject actual bible teaching they'll believe pretty much anything paul said in second timothy chapter four he said a time is coming when people will no longer listen to right teaching they will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear and that's taking place you see after the rapture a great rejection of christ is going to result false prophets will proclaim antichrist as messiah and at that time this one who's also the man of sin the antichrist he will be revealed he is the son of perdition and so john is speaking of that and go back to verse 1 you think are we going to get to verse 10 yes we will so he said 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 john describes him john is describing not only an individual antichrist but also a kingdom this is one who is dedicated completely to satan he's empowered demonically and he is what has been called consummate evil his description is similar to what we saw in chapter 12 verse 3 describing satan now antichrist has noticed seven heads ten horns and on the horns are ten crowns now the seven heads represent kings we see that in revelation 17 verse three kings that are over seven successive world empires egypt assyria babylon middle persia greece roman antichrist kingdom he has 10 horns as i mentioned before horns in the bible can be used to represent power psalm 75 10 says i will cut off the horns of all the wicked but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up so that represents power so the horns tell us that the kings who are ruling under antichrist have great power he has 10 crowns crowns are symbolic of governmental authority even nations we know that antichrist is a world ruler the number 10 represents the world it says on each head there are blasphemous names and when it says on each head is a blasphemous name that describes the nature of his kingdom now in many kingdoms over the ages rulers have given themselves divine titles each nation's leader will be a rejecter of god and blasphemous even during the early days of the church part of the persecution that real believers went through was when nero was demanding that there would be a a pinch of incense burned uh in front of an image and the phrase that caesar is lord was to be uttered by the individual who was offering that pinch of incense and because believers said no jesus is lord and caesar is not great persecution broke out it's happened in history before it will happen again and he wants to be known by a divine name now notice in verse 2 it says the beast which i saw was like a leopard his feet were like the feet of a bear his mouth like the mouth of a lion and the dragon gave him his power his throne and great authority and so this description of his kingdom reminds us of a vision that the prophet daniel had 600 years before you see in daniel chapter 7 verses 1 through 8 daniel had a dream previewing such successive kingdoms leading to the antichrists and when you look at the different uh descriptions and it's it's all uh interpreted for us he saw a lion representing the the kingdom of babylon he saw a bear which is medo-persia he saw a leopard which represented greece and he also saw a terrible beast now the first three descriptions are the same given in revelation 13 2. the interpretation for this was given in daniel when speaking of the forced fourth beast in daniel 7 23-25 thus he said the fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth which shall be different from all other kingdoms and shall devour the whole earth trample it break it to pieces the ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from from this kingdom and another shall rise after them he shall be different from the first ones and shall subdue three kings he shall speak pompous words against the most high shall persecute the saints of the most high and shall intend to change times and law then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time a time and times and half a time represents three and a half years well this fourth empire is like is like the roman empire incorporating the attributes of the other three but notice in verse two it says the dragon gave him his power his throne and great authority this dragon is satan satan gave him his power at this time god will allow him to rise to power 2 thessalonians 2 verse 7 for this lawlessness is already at work secretly and will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way he is satanically energized and because he is no human being will be able to withstand him that's why they're saying who is able to make war with him no human being can withstand him he will have unrestrained freedom of action nobody is going to stop him in daniel 8 23-24 it says in the latter part of their reign when rebels have become completely wicked a stern-faced king a master of intrigue will arise he will become very strong but not by his own power he will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does he will destroy the mighty man and the holy people antichrist is going to develop a government a government that is satanically empowered and is a dictatorship and the entire world will come under his spell in verse 3 he said 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 this may be in most commentators that i that i used said this is an assassination attempt but it is a counterfeit death a counterfeit death burial and resurrection which will cause people to think he's the true messiah his deadly wound was healed and what happens is the world marvels and follows him so his apparent death and resurrection convinces people that he is messiah this is a world leader this isn't a a local leader and so what happens it says in verse 4 they worship 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 so the word the world will worship him why they believe he's messiah notice in verse 4 it says they worship the dragon that is the heart of satan's rebellion as recorded in isaiah 14 i will be like the most high god i will be worshipped his desire to receive worship is what led to the rebellion of satan against god in second thessalonians two verses three and four paul said don't let anyone deceive you in any way for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed the man doomed to destruction he will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called god or his worship so that he sets himself up in god's temple proclaiming himself to be god he went on in verses 9 and 10 of 2 thessalonians 2 and he said the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles signs and wonders and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing they perish because they refuse to love the truth and be saved they refuse the gospel you speak to someone about jesus and they say it's good for you it's not good for me i can't i can't tell you how i was when i first got saved in i was so excited about telling people about the lord and i would tell them you know jesus and he changed his lives they say well you know that's good for you and i'm glad and i still remember one guy who said to me you know you needed god you know i don't and i still remember someone saying yeah you christians you need you need a you know you need someone to carry you you know you need a crutch you know it's what you need you guys need crutches you know and i said no i don't i don't need a crutch i need a stretcher i i can't walk i said no crutch i could still walk but a stretcher no i need a stretcher because i can't walk and i need jesus to carry me there's nothing wrong with admitting my weakness and the problem that many people have is they're refusing to to acknowledge their own and so this one is self-important he's given a mouth that says in verse five speaking great things and blasphemies god allows him to use the tactic of arrogantly insulting and showing contempt for god in daniel 7 25 again it says he shall speak pompous words the word pompous simply means self-important he shall speak self-important pompous words against the most high and blasphemy is his method of undermining god because blasphemy actually reduces god he's going to speak satan's frustrated hatred and rage he'll speak it out because satan has frustration in rage against god and he's going to be the one who speaks it in daniel 11 36 and 37 this willful king the king will do as he pleases he will exalt and magnify himself against every god and will say unheard of things against the god of gods he will be successful until the time of wrath is completed for what has been determined must take place he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women nor will he regard any god but will exalt himself above them all he will speak things against god notice daniel said he will say unheard of things against god and you say is that possible of course again watch tv you can you you can use god's name in vain i've i've been watching a tv program a regular program and somebody uses god's name in vain and i think of the scripture which says to us i will not hold him guiltless who uses my name in vain and yet they say it's so easy it's in songs the kids are singing today the young people listen to they they hear it and and and it's dulled them but you can't use other words you can't use some words in our society i don't want to even repeat them or even call you know bring to mind the words that i'm referring to but you know that there are words that have banned they've been banned you can't say these words you can't say these words whatever they may be and you know them they're the unnamed words but you can use god's name in vain and it's just part of the dialogue somebody wrote that down in the script and said you say this and the actor says it and sometimes it grieves my heart to see believers uttering those words and i'm thinking somebody's not teaching you the word of god god said i will not hold him guiltless he takes my name in vain and yet you can't use the q word and you can't use the n word and you can't use there's so many words that we're being told you can't use and i agree i don't think you should use those words who's to say that you should i don't think you should i just i don't but don't tell me that that those words are equal to the name of god and what has happened is he will speak these blasphemies and people are so used to hearing it they don't think anything of it not a thing it says in verse 5 he was given authority to continue for 42 months he was given authority which tells us that the authority he has he's received from the lord and it's limited he's not going to rule forever he exercises authority during the seven year period his complete rule doesn't materialize until the last three and a half years since what's called the great tribulation it will begin it appears when he breaks the covenant that he had made with israel because in first thessalonians 5 3 it says well well people are saying peace and safety destruction will come on them suddenly as labor pains on a pregnant woman they will not escape he will be completely defeated when jesus returns in revelation 19 20 the beast was captured with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf with these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image and the two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur i wanted to make sure to say that because he doesn't get away with what he's done he will be judged and i wanted to make sure that we had an upbeat moment with this guy because he's such a downer it says in verse 6 he opened his mouth and blasphemy against god to blaspheme his name his tabernacle those who dwell in heaven it was granted to him to make war with the saints to overcome them and all authority was given him over every tribe tongue and nation satan's mouthpiece he utters contempt toward god all things that are holy psalm 36 1-3 says an oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked there's no fear of god before his eyes for in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin the words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful he has ceased to be wise and to do good my mom was speaking to a woman one time my mom used to love to share the gospel and she was sharing with a woman and as she shared she said to the woman do you think you'd like to give your heart to christ and the woman my mom told me said to her yes i would i'd like to give my heart to jesus and so my mom said then pray with me and my mom said that she said repeat after me and we'll and you can open your heart to christ and she says okay my mom says god forgive me a sinner and when my mom said that she said the woman said i am not a sinner and there my mom said david can you believe that she said i am not a sinner and i said yes you are go to hell that was my mom that was she really did that was my mom and i said mama no that that that's that's not that's not how you preach the gospel mama oh she's gonna go to hell i said mom please you're smiling when you're saying that that's that was my mom she had a lot to learn she had such a zeal but this woman refused she said i am not a sinner but we all have sin fall short of the glory of god there's no perfect person on the face of the earth only one jesus christ and so these people will hear these things and agree and he's going to basically get accepted it was granted in verse 7 for him to make war with the saints to overcome satan's instrument he persecutes the jewish and gentile believers these by the way were mentioned to us in chapter 7 verse 9 and verses 13 through 17 these are what are called tribulation saints you see many believers worldwide will be persecuted and will perish as martyrs and the dream of worldwide conquest is realized by antichrist verse 7 all authority was given to him over every tribe tongue and nation well it says every tongue tribe a nation he had authority it's a counterfeit again it's a counterfeit of what we call the millennial or the thousand-year reign of christ it's not the the reign of christ or peace and all it's the great tribulation it actually results in world war worldwide war and it'll end when jesus returns it says in verse 8 all who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names notice whose names have not been written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world all who dwell on the earth is another way of speaking the unbelievers these are the ones who rejected the gospel they're unsaved both jew and gentile second thessalonians 2 10 paul spoke of them as those who did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved but those whose names he says are written in the lamb's book of life will not worship him the book of life speaks of god's record of those who are saved and these are the ones who have been saved and secured by christ some of those will be persecuted to the death but they cannot be removed from jesus's hand and then he says this if anyone has an ear let him hear he who leads into captivity shall go into captivity he who kills with a sword must be killed with the sword here is the patience and the faith of the saints listen up listen up you see we have been warned there is already a spirit of ecumenicalism where everything just kind of mounts into one you believe in this god i believe in this god but really it's the same god under different names some of you have heard that argument i have well you call them jehovah i call them allah that's the same god no it's not but they say it is and so what you end up with is a spirit of ecumenicalism where you have the bumper stickers that say coexist and that's really a spirit of the age where people are drawing you and that's what's happening but we've been warned that's what he's saying if anyone has an ear let him hear by hearing the message of the gospel by knowing that that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god by knowing that that that we're appointed into wrath until we receive christ and he takes upon himself our sin that's the reason he came that he died he was buried resurrected in order that i might have life in him he forgave me of my sins and i trust him for that and i became a believer and now i follow god this is part of the christian gospel but people don't want to hear it they want to know that in the in their their they make the best effort and they do the most that they can and i'm a good person i'm not a bad person yes you are and so am i that's why i need a savior i'm a sinner i'm a sinner i need christ there's nothing wrong with admitting the truth well this spirit of ecumenicalism where everything's all the same it's growing now and it's going to continue growing until he's accepted the world will wonder after the beast but genuine christians we resist we will be persecuted to the death and people say why do you churches still meet when government tells you not to because we don't give in to the spirit of the age because we know that jesus christ is to be worshiped we've been commanded to do that we've been commanded to fellowship we take precautions we don't try and cause people to get ill but we are here to worship jesus christ and there are many even believers who get mad at us people like me and they say you don't love people and i say to them no you don't love the lord because if you love the lord you would worship him i can worship him at home that's why you do that every sunday with your bunny slippers when's the last time you told somebody about jesus christ was the last time you served him when's the last time you got involved when is the last time you gave when is the last time you did anything other than saying i'm a christian no there are there are terrorists in the church now i'm not calling anybody here a tear i'm not i'm not saying to you on on uh watch it online that you're a terror because i know some of you are crying right now i'm not talking to you that way what i'm saying is that's just a fact isn't it am i talking to myself no that's a fact that's a fact and when i think i'm better than god when i think i don't need a savior i am wrong i needed jesus christ he saved me transformed me he forgave me he gave me well my name is in the lamb's book of life and i will see him one day face to face not because of any righteousness that i have but because of his righteousness that's the gospel and the church has passed that on for centuries in in mark 13 11-13 i'll close with this it says whenever you are arrested and brought to trial do not worry beforehand about what to say just say whatever's given you at the time for it is not you speaking but the holy spirit brother will betray brother to death a father his child children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death all men will hate you because of me but he who stands firm to the end will be saved and in christ here we are we shall stand we stand in jesus christ we will stand because he makes us to stand we have victory we are more than conquerors our names are written in the lamb's book of life and one of these days we will see him face to face and i long to hear him say well done my good and faithful servant so we will hold firm to jesus christ no it's jesus christ not the antichrist

Channel: Calvary Chapel Chino Valley

Views: 654

Rating: 4.8461537 out of 5

Keywords: Bible, Pastor David Rosales, cccv, Church, Teaching, Worship, God, Christians, Bible Study, Jesus, A Jesus People Community, Calvary Chapel Chino Valley, David Rosales, Pastor, Calvary Chapel, Holy Spirit, Gods Word, Chuck Smith, Teacher, Pastor David, End Times, Rapture, Trinity, Antichrist, A Sure Foundation, Prayer, Pray

Id: K_4oOv1iZR0

Length: 56min 37sec (3397 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 08 2021