God Is Coming, pt. 14

Hello again! Last Sunday, Terry took us on a brief tour of the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation. This chapter is packed, but Terry’s teaching gives a great overview of what’s going on. To listen to this message, simply click play on the audio player below. *Note: the recorder did not get turned on right away, so the first part of the message is not available. I have included some notes that cover the missing few minutes, as well as the rest of the message.

God Is Coming, pt. 14

Intro: When the devil’s access to heaven is cut off, he goes on a frenzy against God’s people, Israel (kind of like what Hamas did last October). Satan’s goal is to destroy God’s people, & he’ll use whoever is willing to do that.

Revelation 12-15 is a bit of background, explaining things going on during the Tribulation. The Book of Daniel is very similar – he prophesied 500 years before Christ. If you know Daniel’s writings, this section will make more sense. (Note: I’ve included the chart below which shows some of the correlations between Daniel & Revelation 13).

Revelation 13

• v. 1 – The Beast from the Sea
  • beast = dangerous, venomous animal
  • has 10 horns & seven heads (Revelation 12:3; Daniel 7:7-8, 20, 24; Revelation 17:9-14)
  • the little horn (Daniel 7:8)
  • the Lawless One (2 Thessalonians 2:7-10)
  • symbolic of all unbelieving kingdoms throughout history
• v. 2 – The Beast Further Described
  • many similarities found in Daniel 7 (see chart above)
  • his power comes from the Dragon (Revelation 12)
  • Where is God in this? He’s there waiting for people to turn to Him while He allows Satan his opportunity to get the worship he craves (Isaiah 14).
• v. 3 – The Beast Wounded
  • the beast APPEARS to die and come back to life
    • counterfeit miracle of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ
    • the motive is to deceive
• v. 4 – Satan Worshiped (*Note: this is where the recorder was turned on)
  • the beast (Antichrist) is worshiped
• v. 5 – Antichrist Speaks for the Dragon
  • Satan gives him words to speak & authority to rule
  • Antichrist means “in place of God”
    • many antichrists have come throughout the years (1 John 2:22), but this one is the ultimate
• v. 6 – Antichrist Speaks Blasphemies
  • speaks against the one & only true Living God
• v. 7 – Antichrist Given Power
  • will be GIVEN power (does not come from himself, but from the dragon, who is allowed by God during this time)
  • will make war against God’s people
  • will have authority over all the earth
    • 2 Thessalonians 2
    • when you reject the truth, you open yourself up to worship something deceptive to take you farther away from God
• v. 8 – Worship
  • all on earth will worship Satan
    • except those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (those who have accepted Christ as their Savior and rejected the Antichrist)
• v. 9 – Admonition
  • God is pleading with mankind to pay attention before it’s too late
• v. 10 – Slaughter
  • God’s people will be heavily persecuted
• v. 11 – Second Beast (from the Earth)
  • 2 horns, like a lamb
    • appears meek
  • speaks like a dragon
    • is a deceiver
  • the first beast will be a political leader of the one-world government
• v. 12 – Authority of the Second Beast
  • exercises authority from the first beast
  • makes people worship the Antichrist (therefore worship Satan)
  • is the “False Prophet”/a religious leader
    • Revelation 19:20
• v. 13 – Great Wonders
  • the False Prophet is empowered to counterfeit miracles
    • 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10
      • lying signs and wonders
      • test the spirits, use discernment
      • 2 Corinthians 11 – Satan and his angels masquerade as angels of light
• v. 14 – The Image
  • Worldwide deception
  • Daniel 3
• v. 15 – The Image Lives?
  • the False Prophet is given power to bring the image to “life”
    • it speaks
    • must worship the image or be killed
• v. 16 – Mark of the Beast
  • Everyone on earth (100% inclusive)
  • mark on the forehead or the right hand
    • is a counterfeit of the seal of God (the Holy Spirit)
  • lots of speculation on the mark
    • in the original language, the mark is a tattoo or branding
    • think of the tattoos the Nazis put on the Jews in the concentration camps
• v. 17 – The Beast Economy
  • must have the mark to participate in the economy
  • can’t buy or sell anything without the mark
• v. 18 – Number of the Beast
  • told to calculate the number of the beast
    • is the number of a man
    • his number is 666
      • God’s perfect number is 7 (completion)
      • 6 is close to 7, but not quite – may appear god-like, but is not God
• The False Trinity
  • “Father” – Satan/the Dragon
  • “Son” – Antichrist/Beast from the Sea
  • “Holy Spirit” – False Prophet/Beast from the Earth
  • Seems like it’s close to God, but not quite – test the spirits!
• This is all to take us back to the Kingdom of God, to clean up our mess, & to restore all back to His perfect paradise.
• Good News of the Gospel – God wins!