THE BEAST FROM THE SEA
Revelation 13:1-10 (KJV)
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
Intro:
Chapter 6-11 reveal the events of the tribulation, chapters 12-19 unveil the personalities involved in the tribulation period. We are going to meet two beasts in this chapter.
One is the Beast from the Sea. He is a world dictator. The son of perdition, the Antichrist.
The second, the Beast from the Earth, we will meet next article. He is a world acclaimed and accepted religious leader. He is the false prophet.
Today, I want to spend some time looking at these 10 verses. They paint for us a portrait of the Antichrist and his activity in the tribulation period.
Let’s learn more about the Beast from the Sea.
I. v.1-2 THE DESCRIPTION OF THE BEAST
(Ill. The attractiveness of and the readiness for the Antichrist.)
A. v.1 His Appearing
1. Sand – The people’s of the earth. (Ill. Sea = Restlessness) Psa. 2:1
2. Heads – Intelligence. (Ill. Man uses only 10% of brain!)
3. Horns – Authority and power. (Ill. Power Given to him – Ill. v.5, 7)
4. Crowns – Confederated rulling power. (Ill. The kingdoms of the earth – Dan. 2:31-45) (Ill. Revival of Roman Empire – It really never failed! Ill. All the attempts to revive it – Charlemange, Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler. ( Ill. Humpty Dumpty.) (Ill. Daniel 7:1ff)
5. Blasphemy – Expend all power and intelligence blaspheming God.
B. v.2 His Appearance
1. Leopard – Swiftness and unchanging (Jer. 13:23)
2. Bear – Ill. The walk and ferocity of the bear.
3. Lion – Fearless and fierce
C. v.2 His Authority – He receives his position and his power from Satan. (Ill. Like father like son! – John 8:44 ) (Ill. Rev 12:3 – The resemblance is striking!)
II. v.3-4 THE DECEPTION OF THE BEAST
A. v.3 An Object Of Wonder – (Ill. Wound healed) The world rejected the resurrection of Jesus. It will believe in the resurrection of “satan”! (Ill. Rev. 17:8)
B. v.4 An Object Of Worship – They refused to worship the real Christ, but they will devote all to the false one. (Ill. Heaven is still rejoicing over Satan’s defeat, Rev 12:10, but the earth dwellers are worshiping him (satan). Sad case! Misplaced worship! )
III. v.5-10 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BEAST
(Ill. His purposes are on display for all to see.)
A. v.5-6 To Defy The God Of Heaven – Satan can not touch God, His Sanctuary, or the Redeemed in Glory! He is reduced to screaming and name calling! Pitiful!
B. v.7a To Destroy The Saints Of God – Satan cannot harm the glorified saints, but he can destroy those who are not specially sealed on the earth. He will use all the tortures of the ages to attempt his extermination of God’s people!
C. v.7b To Dominate All The Nations Of The Earth – He will not be satisfied until every nation is under his thumb. (Ill. Alexander the Great! He cried when there were no more kingdoms to conquer. Antichrist will not cry, he will carry out!)
D. v.8-10 To Delude The Masses – The peoples of the world who are not saved, will bow the knee before the Antichrist and worship him. (Ill. 2 Thes 2:1-12).
1. They will worship him (satan).
2. The saved will never bow to him.
3. His day will come – Gal. 6:7; Rev. 20:10
4. This is the patience of the saints! We are on the side of the victorious! God has won, Satan is defeated. Let there be rejoicing in the hearts of the Lord’s people! Amen!
Conc:
Sad days are coming! Aren’t you glad that we have the Lord’s promise? We are leaving and going to be in Heaven with Him (JESUS) when all this comes down.
Our duty now is be ready and be telling.
Bring someone’s name to Jesus today and stand in the gap for the salvation of their soul.
God Bless!
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Flaming the Revival Fire In Christ 