THE BEAST FROM THE EARTH
Revelation 13:11-15 (KJV)
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.
Intro:
Ill. The Satanic Trinity. Many things that Satan does, are a direct attempt by the devil to copy God. In my last article, we looked at the Anti-Christ, in this article, we are confronted with the “Anti-Holy Spirit”.
The last one was the governmental, economic, military leader; this one is the leader of false religion. There will be a one world religion! It’s coming and is even now on it’s way. The world is getting ready for the advent of a new global community that will embrace all religions, (Ill. The Pope , Ill. A leader in the Ecumenical movement – A person with worldwide connections has even been in the church!)
Let’s spend some time today looking at this beast from the earth. The evil man known as the False Prophet.
I. v.11 THE APPEARANCE OF THE BEAST
A. Out Of The Earth – Literally. from the land. Probably from Israel, possibly a Jew.
B. Two Horns – Power and authority. (Ill. No crowns)
C. Like A Lamb – Gentleness and association with Christ. This is the Anti-Lamb! He claims authority as the chosen of God. (Ill. People will flock to hear anyone who claims to speak for God!)
D. Speaks As A Dragon – With deceptiveness – Ill. 1 Tim. 4:1) He is intent on devouring people’s lives and souls – 1 Pet. 5:7. Ill. Satan and every demon are liars! – John 8:44
II. v. 12 THE AUTHORITY OF THE BEAST
A. He is empowered by the devil and acts with the authority of the Anti-Christ.
B. He causes the world to worship the Antichrist and the Devil – (Ill. Ecumenical Movement and one world church!) Ill. 2 Thes. 2:4. Ill. The repulsiveness of devil worship! One day, the entire world will do it and think they are worshiping God who come down to man! A Deception to be aware of in the tribulation.
III. v.13-15 THE ACTIVITIES OF THE BEAST
A. Miracles – v.13 – Fire from Heaven – (Ill. Elijah – 1 Kings 18; Mal. 4:5-6; A duplicate of Elijah’s miracle!) Note : Not all miracles are of God – Ill. So called Charismatic movement! Not all men of God do miracles! (Ill. John Baptist – Matt. 11:11; John 10:41!)
B. Miracles – v.14 – Uses the miracles to convince people to go away into idolatry!
C. Miracles – v.15 – The image they make moves, speaks and demands worship. All who refuse to worship the image are destroyed. (Ill. Robotics? Reality?)
Conc:
As we conclude these thoughts on this second beast, let me ask you some questions.
1.) How open are you to new forms of worship?
2.) Do you believe that all religions can operate under the same umbrella?
3.) How important is pure doctrine to you personally?
4.) Do you think it is acceptable to worship with people of a different
faith?
In these last days, we will begin to see more and more of these things coming to pass. We will begin to see an erosion of the truth and a disappearance of the distinctives that mark us as Christians from others.
You will worship someone! Either the Living God or the Devil! Yes, you will bow before one or the other!
Be aware my brothers and sisters!
Blessings!
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Flaming the Revival Fire In Christ 