The Identity of the Antichrist

Transcript

GR 2028
01/21/2018
The Identity of the Antichrist
Revelation 13:1; Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

We’re going to the Book of Revelation in your bibles in the thirteenth chapter, and when you turn to Revelation 13 put a marker in there and I’d like you to turn back in your bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2. We’re spending extensive time in the Book of Revelation, and it’s not primarily, to satisfy our curiosity about future things. It’s because we might come to know, and understand, and appreciate our God more fully, be more faithful to Him. In Paul’s last letter he wrote to Timothy he said in verse 15 of 2 Timothy 2, “Be diligent” to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” and it takes discipline, it takes concentration, it takes work. We are to be diligent to present ourselves approved to God and what greater responsibility than to be approved by our God. That means we handle accurately the word of truth. We devote ourselves to it, we study it, we think upon it.

I think we dishonor the Lord when we’ve turned our church services into just brief times where we give self-help talks, words to encourage people and send them on their way. God expects us to take seriously His word, to be able to handle it accurately. It’s the word of truth and the church is the pillar and support of the truth so we are concerned to be accurate and diligent and while you’re in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16. “All Scripture is inspired by God, God breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

I say this because recently I was reading an article by a man and he’s well respected but he was categorizing different levels of importance in Scripture and somehow Eschatology got bumped down toward the bottom as something we can all disagree on and just get on with things and I think it’s much more serious than that. The Book of Revelation is just as much the word of truth as any other portion of Scripture. It’s just as much necessary for our growth and development to be equipped and prepared to do everything God wants us to do so I want to encourage you as we plod along through the Book of Revelation. Hopefully we won’t get to complete the book because the Lord will come but if not we will continue on, so come to Revelation 13.

We are in the middle of the book literally, as far as the flow of the book goes. We are talking about the seven-year period leading up to the return of Christ to establish His kingdom. That will come in chapter 19 of the Book of Revelation. We’ve moved through a series of judgments poured out on the world beginning in chapter 6 going up to chapter 10. We had the seals and the trumpet judgments that will take the lives of over half the earth’s population. Then we’ve come to the middle of this seven-year period and we have an interlude. Rather than moving on in the series of judgments we have a break and really what is happening is we are getting the additional information necessary to help us understand what is going on, particularly during the last three and a half years and of particular interest is what is going on with Israel.

We’ve seen judgments being poured out on the world but remember this last seven-year period completes God’s program for the nation Israel to prepare them for the kingdom that He promised to them, so it’s about Israel. The Church has been taken to heaven before this seven-year period begins. Chapter 12, chapter 11 as well talking about particularly people or peoples that are important. In chapter 11, we saw the two witnesses that will testify during this last three and a half year period be preserved by God, until their work is finished and then they’ll be killed.

We come to chapter 12 we talk about Israel in the opening verses. Then we talk about the devil, then we talk about Christ, then we talk about Michael the Archangel, then we talk about the devil attacking the nation Israel. All these things begin to unfold in the middle of this seven-year period when Jesus in Matthew 24, you’ll remember, talked about this time. He said, when you get to this middle period, tribulation for Israel is going to break out on a scale never seen before and so Israel needs to leave their land and go to hiding places. Now the last part of chapter 12 talked about the devil persecuting the nation Israel and the nation Israel is given a refuge by God in verse 14. “The two wings of the great eagle” chapter 12 verse 14, “were given to the woman, so she could fly into the wilderness to her place where she was nourished for a time, times and a half time.” That three and a half year period called 1,260 days in verse six of chapter 12, called forty-two months in chapter 13 verse five, so we’re talking about that last three and a half year period.

The dragon in verse 17 is enraged with the woman and the woman portion of Israel that has found security in the place God prepared. The devil can’t get to them so he turns attention on making war with the rest of Jews that couldn’t escape from the land of Israel, that are scattered throughout other places in the world. “The dragon went off to make war with the rest of her children.” Chapter 13 opens, “the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.” Now we’re ready for an unfolding, if you will, of further information and what we’re going to talk about in chapter 13 are two key individuals that will be the instruments that the devil will use in accomplishing his purposes in the world during this last three and a half year period. They’ll be two beasts, the first beast and the second beast. The beast out of the sea and the beast out of the land.

You’ll note verse one of chapter 13. “Then I saw a beast coming out of the sea.” Then down in verse 11. “Then I saw another beast coming out of the earth.” These become the two key individuals during this last three and a half year period in accomplishing Satan’s purposes and plans. Now before we look at the identity here I want you to turn back to the Gospel of Luke chapter 4 and this is recording the temptation of Christ by the devil at the beginning of His public ministry. We’ve read this in the Gospel of Matthew on other occasions as well and verse five of Luke 4. “And he,” referring to the devil, “led Him,” referring to Christ, so the devil led Christ “up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.”

You see something of the awesome power of the devil. He could transport Christ to a high mountain and then had the ability to unfold before Him all the kingdoms of this earth and the glory that characterized them. “And the devil said to Him,” in verse six, “I will give You all this domain and its glory0”. Note this, “for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.” Then come in here as we talk about earthly powers and the Antichrist who will be dominating this last three and a half years, you realize something of the sovereign power of the devil. He says all these kingdoms, the ruling of the nations of the earth has all been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

He is a being of awesome power, wisdom. Remember when God created him He created him full of wisdom. Now he is a fallen being and God rules over all. In the plan of God with the sin of Adam, Satan has assumed authority and control and under the plan of God Satan has the power to move his people around, to put people in power. Satan says I can give You these kingdoms. You can rule the world, under me. You see Satan’s desire is to replace God. Remember Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28. “I will be like God, be like the Most High. I will elevate my throne.” This is the conflict. Obviously, the devil failed in this attempt to get Christ to bow before him but you see his power and that’s what’s being manifested.

Come back to Revelation 13. Restraints on the devil have now been removed, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. The restrainer is removed and I take it the Holy Spirit at the Rapture that occurred at the beginning of the seven years, now as the seven years unfold, Satan has been moving and manipulating to bring to power his Antichrist. The one he can see, that he will appoint and place, put in place to replace Christ and rule over the creation, so we saw in chapter 13 verse one, “the dragon is on the sand of the seashore. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea having ten horns, seven heads and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.” The beast, this is the man that we commonly call the Antichrist and I’ve got a brief list of some of the names and titles given to the Antichrist in Scripture because you know we’ll sometimes mention different names and important we understand we’re talking about the same person but these different names or titles reveal something about his character.

Here are the beasts. We’ll talk more about that. I want to walk through. I’ve picked seven. If you want a more complete list, you can look up a book on prophecy or a commentary and they might give ten. There are more than this. I just thought these are prominent, so we’re going to start with Daniel chapter 7, so why don’t you come back to Daniel. I want you to see the passages where these names or titles are used so at least you’re familiar with that. Daniel 7 and leave a marker in Daniel here in 7 because we will be coming back to Daniel and spending some time here but first we’re just going to just highlight some of these names so if you’ll put the first name up, the little horn. These are names and titles of the Antichrist and in Daniel 7; we’re running through the nations of the earth.

We’ll come back and talk about that but when you get down to, verse eight. “While I was contemplating the horns,” and we’ll say more about that later. “Behold, another horn, a little one,” that’s where the title for the Antichrist, little horn comes from. He comes on to the scene here in Daniel 7 as another horn because there were 10 horns and then another one, a little one, came up among them and being a little one indicates his insignificance. Relatively unimportant at the beginning, little in comparison to the ten horns but very quickly he will become the major one but the title for the Antichrist, little horn, so sometimes I’ll refer to the little horn of Daniel 7. That’s where we’re getting; it’s a title for the Antichrist. Shows him relatively insignificant during the beginning of this seven-year period. He will grow as time passes.

Come over to Daniel chapter 9 for another title. The prince who is to come. Daniel chapter 9 and this is where we have the seventy sevens, Daniel 9:24. Seventy sevens seventy weeks, weeks of years, 490 years decreed for the Jewish people and Jerusalem and it’s broken down. They’ll be seven sevens, 49 years, then there’ll be sixty-two weeks, verse 26, after the seven, so after a total of sixty-nine sevens, 483 years, Messiah will be cut off, the crucifixion of Christ and have nothing and the people of the prince who is to come; there’s the title for the Antichrist. He’s called the “prince who is to come.” That’s the same person called the little horn in chapter 7. The same person called the Antichrist later as we’ll see we commonly call the Antichrist.

The people of the “prince who is to come” so he comes out of that. He comes out of the Roman Empire, the revived Roman Empire, as we’ll see, will destroy the city and the sanctuary. They destroyed the city and the sanctuary in 70 A.D. The “prince who is to come” is yet future. That will become, more clear as we progress here in a little bit as well. Verse 27, “he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week,” but in the middle of the week, he’ll put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering, so it is his signing of this covenant with Israel that marks the beginning of that seven-year period. The clock begins to run again for the nation Israel. When he signs that, we are seven years away from the return of Christ. We won’t be here as the Church; we will have been raptured to heaven, so he makes the covenant.

Remember, he’s a little horn when he comes on but he’s a man of great brilliance, as we’ll see, great intelligence, and great charisma. He is able to work with this confederacy that has come about as the Roman Empire has been revived, ten nations, he signs an agreement, but in the middle of the week, so that’s where we are when were in chapter 13. We saw in chapter 11 that the temple will have been rebuilt by the time you get to the middle. Sacrifices and offerings are going on for that first three and a half years. In the middle of the week things change and that’s the persecution we talked about in chapter 12, when Satan loses access to heaven. We get the name the “prince who is to come” in verse 26.

Come over to chapter 11. You see we get several names or titles for the Antichrist out of just the Book of Daniel. Daniel 11 verse 36. Then the king will do as he pleases so we call him the “willful king” because he’s the king who will do as he pleases, so sometimes when I’m talking about prophecy and the Antichrist, I’ll say he is the “willful king” of Daniel 11. That’s where the title comes from the king will do as he pleases. This king as we’ll see in later studies is the Antichrist, the same person as we’re going to see as the beast, in Revelation chapter 13 verse one.

Come over to the New Testament to 2 Thessalonians, an important chapter in the rise to power of this man. Second Thessalonians chapter 2 verse three and again we don’t have time for the context as we’ve talked about some of this. We will talk further in future studies but verse three, “let no one,” 2 Thessalonians 2:3. “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first,” now note this, “and the man of lawlessness is revealed.” The man of lawlessness. His life is characterized by lawlessness, rebellion against God, a man fully empowered and enabled by the devil to carry out the devil’s intentions. He is a man of lawlessness. He is the willful king he does his own will, not the will of God. He’s in rebellion against God.

Down in verse eight. “Then that lawless one will be revealed” and he’s yet future because his life will come to an end with the appearance of Christ, so we don’t have any problem. He’s not yet here. He hasn’t come on the stage and left because he’ll come to his end according to verse eight when Christ comes. That will be in chapter 19 of the Book of Revelation and he’ll be cast into hell, as we’ll see. You have another name here for him as well, the fifth name after the man of lawlessness; he’s the son of destruction. He’s doomed himself to destruction. He’s committed to a ministry of destruction but his ultimate doom is the doom of the devil. He will be going to an eternal hell.

Then we come to the name the beast. Go to Revelation 13, we just read that, “the beast t coming up out of the sea.” This is a personal being, who will act, who will worship and so on as we’ll see but the beast describes something of his character. He’s fierce he is a destroying foe. Back up to chapter 11 verse seven. “When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes out of the abyss will make war with them” when he kills the two witnesses, so the beast again. Come over to chapter 17 verse 11. “The beast that was and is not and is himself also an eighth and one of the seven, he goes to destruction.” You see how the connection, he’s the son of destruction; he’s going to destruction, so he is the beast that denotes something of his character.

Now I’ve left to last, number 7 the Antichrist. That’s the most familiar name for him that we use, the names and titles but it’s interesting where it comes out. Come to 1 John chapter 2, that’s just before the Book of Revelation. First John chapter 2 and we’re told in verses 15, 16, “do not love the world nor the things in the world” and so on. Verse 17, “the world is passing away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever. Children, it is the last hour.” God’s people are to be living in expectation of the final realization of all that God has prophesized and promised.

“Just as you heard that antichrist is coming” and there’s where the title Antichrist comes from. He is the devil’s counterfeit who is really opposed to Christ. The devil’s attempt to replace Christ, to put on the throne of the world his own king to thwart and frustrate the purposes of God. “Antichrist is coming, even now, many antichrists plural have appeared” and that’s just an indication as we are moving into last times, it’s been 2,000 years but you see John and those early apostles, where they’re living. In light of these truths, they are to control their behavior. That’s why he could tell them “don’t love the world and the things in the world. The world’s passing away” don’t get entangled here. We are to be living our lives in expectation.

These are Christians that say, “well, I know it’s been a long time, the Lord’s going to come sometime but you know I’ve got things to do” and somehow the things to do begin to absorb our lives and there’s less and less time for serving the Lord and living for Him. The context we have here, don’t love the world, the things in the world. Remember the Book of Revelation promises blessing on those who heed these things, live in light of them. It’s just not to satisfy curiosity but if you’re not interested in future, things just don’t bother with study. We’re to be living in light of these things. There are antichrists who have already appeared, and some of them had started out professing to be part of the believing group. Verse 19. “They went out from us but they weren’t really of us” because they didn’t stick and if they had been true believers they would have remained in the fellowship of believers but they’re not really of us.

While you’re here, come over to chapter 4 of 1 John verse three, “every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and it’s already in the world.” The devil’s already at work. There are many false Christs. There are many leading people away from the truth, denying the truth, but that final culmination of all those in the person of the Antichrist is yet future. Come to Second John verse seven. “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.” They’re not the final one that’s coming but these are all forerunners, indicators of what is coming.

What do we do with that? “Watch yourselves that you do not lose what we have accomplished, that you may receive a full reward” because if you don’t stay true, it is a good indication that you don’t belong to Him. Verse 9. That’s why the teaching, you know, this is truth. We live in the truth. We are to be characterized by God’s truth. These are not just facts we study. This book is alive and powerful, the source for our salvation that is the stimulus for our growth. Be careful, so what we are studying for the future we see things unfolding and the closer we get to that time the more real these things will be.

The Church will be removed before that seven-year period begins but things are going to begin to fall into place so come back to chapter 13. I say this because the beast coming out of the sea is the man we call the Antichrist, the little horn of chapter 7, the prince who is to come of chapter 9, the willful king of chapter 11 in the Book of Daniel. The man of lawlessness, son of destruction in 2 Thessalonians to the Antichrist in 1 John 2. All the same person revealing different aspects of his sinful rebellious character.

Now let’s look at chapter 13 verse one. “I saw a beast coming out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten diadems and on his heads were blasphemous names.” Now that we’ve come to chapter 13 verse one let’s go back to the Book of Daniel. You know the bible has God as its author, and it is a continuity in that sense, so understanding what the Old Testament says in prophecy prepares us for what God says in the Book of Revelation when we just take it as it’s explained. So in the Book of Daniel chapter 2 and chapter 7 in particular, we have information that prepares us for Revelation chapter 13. When God gives additional revelation, He doesn’t change what He said earlier. He may add to it, He may clarify but it’s not as if He’s changing things, so in Daniel chapter 2 Daniel had revelation of coming empires. He had the interpretation for Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, he saw this man, an image with different metals in different parts of the man’s body. He didn’t know what it meant. God revealed to Daniel what Nebuchadnezzar’s dream meant, so Daniel gives the interpretation, so in chapter 2 and we can put these up, we have them altogether on a screen.

This is a review. You see four empires revealed in chapter 2 beginning in verse 36 Daniel interprets. He first told them what the dream was; “now I’ll tell you the interpretation. ‘You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom,” so you see ultimately, it’s God who put Nebuchadnezzar in power but the devil has authority under God. What he does is always consistent with the purpose of God and moving things toward His appointed goal, so Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon is the head of gold at the end of verse 38, “you are the head of gold.” We put Daniel chapter 2; the head of gold represents Babylon, then you have another empire and you see as you’re going down, the metals deteriorate in quality but they increase in strength. In other words, you could have a sword of pure gold. It would be very valuable but it wouldn’t help much if you were going to battle with the person who had a sword of iron. There’s a purity in gold and a value but it doesn’t have the strength of iron so this is where we’re going. Medo-Persia was the second empire pictured by the bear, then you come to Greece, then you come to Rome and that’s where we want to look, verse 40.

There will be a fourth empire strong as iron because iron crushes and shatters all the previous empires and outshines them in strength. Then you’ll see, verse 41, you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay partly of iron. Note the iron continues. That’s important because we talk about a coming revived Roman Empire. Remember that really when you come to the toes you have a 2,000-year gap from what Daniel’s writing about with the Church starting, God’s program with Israel going on hold. Rome will continue but now we don’t talk about the Roman Empire ruling but it’s going to come back into power. That’s why the iron continues. There’s no indication of a break here because, remember, the Church Age does not exist in Old Testament prophecy. It exists in the plan of God but He’s chosen not to make it known until we get to the New Testament, particularly Acts chapter 2 and following.

All right so the toes were partly of iron, partly of clay so this revived empire is not going to be as strong as the original Roman Empire. It’s going to be strong, but it’s got clay mixed in, so it’s a mixture of strength and brittleness. Reminds you a little bit, of what we see in like the European Union. I’m not saying that is the fulfillment but you see a picture of something like that, a potential strength there but there’s the weakness because it is a combination. This will be a combination of ten nations put together so, verse 43, you saw the iron mixed with common clay. They will combine with one another in the seed of men but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron doesn’t combine with pottery.

Verse 44, “In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom, which will never be destroyed.” Those kings, what kings? The ten toes. If that’s not clear we’ll go to later revelation and He’ll tell us these ten toes are ten kings or kingdoms and it will be when they are reigning, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom but that hasn’t happened yet. Now those who don’t take prophecy literally say, “well we just take this as it is so you have these earthly kingdoms and then Christ came, when He came, and was born at Bethlehem He established a spiritual kingdom and now He’s ruling the earth so it’s a spiritual kingdom that’s replaced the others.” That’s the doctrine for example of Roman Catholicism.
That’s why the pope is the Vicar of Christ on earth. He is administering Christ’s kingdom on the world and that’s why ultimately he sees himself as having the power over earthly kingdoms. That’s been demonstrated down through history but that’s not what the Scripture says. This kingdom is going to crush and destroy the other kingdoms. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms. It will endure forever. I don’t think that’s happened yet. As I look around and turn on the news and so on.

Come over to chapter 7 and you’ll see in the chart we put these side by side because in Daniel chapter two Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and Daniel interprets it. In chapter 7, Daniel is given a vision but it covers the same material. Verse one; this is later, now Nebuchadnezzar has died. Belshazzar is king of Babylon, Daniel has a dream and visions and he related a summary of what he saw and what happened. Verse 3, “Four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another” so it’s similar to what we have; the four parts of the man’s body that great metal image, now we have four beasts. “The first is like a lion, the wings of an eagle, kept looking, the wings were plucked up from the ground, it was made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind was given to it.”

Remember Nebuchadnezzar? What happened to him? He was the head of gold. Babylon was a short-lived kingdom. There were other kings but only Nebuchadnezzar stands out. What happened? He went crazy and lived like an animal for seven years, out of his mind, eating grass, and then God restored his mind and well you’re familiar with the account so you see now details are being filled in here. “Another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. It was raised up on one side.” You see we’re getting a little more detail. This is the Medo-Persian Empire. You see the bear raised up on one side, because at the beginning, the Medes were the dominate element in this combined empire, Medo-Persia but later then the Persians became stronger and they dominate the empire. This bear has three ribs in his mouth and they probably refer to, the three main kingdoms conquered by the Persians under Cyrus and his son. Lydia in Asia Minor 546, Babylon in 539, Egypt in 525 so just see how much detail God gives in what’s goes on and the unfolding.

Then you have the leopard. That leopard is very quick, verse 6. It was a leopard. It had on its back four wings of a bird and you remember Alexander the Great conquered the world by the time he was 33. What was significant, he didn’t have the largest and most dominant armies that lumbered across things like the bear, but he could move his armies with lighting speed like had not been seen before, so this leopard has four wings and then you’ll see what happens? The beast also had four wings, the beast also had four heads and dominion was given to it. What happened to Alexander’s empire after he died? With the maneuvering in it, it ends up being divided among four of his generals.

Then you have the fourth beast, dreadful, terrifying, and extremely strong. It had large iron teeth so the same kind of picture. Rome was iron in chapter two because it’s so powerful it can crush everything. Here this beast has iron teeth; it devoured, crushed, trampled; and note the end of verse seven, it had “ten horns.” Remember the toes in chapter two on the man you have encountered recently. You can count your toes when you go home, not now, ten. I say that because some people who don’t take prophecy literally say well chapter two doesn’t say it had ten toes, it just says toes but here you have the same picture with different imagery, its ten horns.

“While I was contemplating the horns.” Now we’re going to get more information. “Another horn,” a little one. Remember that’s one of the titles for the Antichrist, a little horn. He comes up among the ten. He “came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it,” so what happens here? Now you have one comes and he becomes really one third of this confederacy because he takes over three of the kings places “and behold this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.” Eyes in the Scripture depicts wisdom, intelligence. Remember the devil is filled with wisdom. He’s able to administer a kingdom that covers the world, maneuver his people around in positions of authority, and he is enabling and empowering this man in a greater way than anyone else has been.

What happens next? We have the kingdom that follows this little horn so verses nine down through verse 14 and now verse 14. “To Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom,” referring to Christ and so on. You get to verse 15 we have to back up, because Daniel says “my spirit was distressed within me, the visions in my mind kept alarming me.” You can understand, all this, you know I wake up I have a headache. What does this all mean? I know something about the four beasts because He interpreted that, I know something where we’re going but here these great beasts. “I approached one of the angels that are there in his vision. He goes and says to him can you tell me precisely what this means so he had made known to me,” at the end of verse 16, “the interpretation.”

“The great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings.” A king and a kingdom are related and we do that today. We’ll talk about Russia or we might talk about Putin who is the leader of Russia, use it interchangeably. What is Putin going to do? We mean what is Russia going to do. What is Russia going to do, what is the leader of Russia going to do? We do that we do that with our own country so the angel gives him a nice concise summary. “These great beasts are four in number. Four kings or kingdoms will arise from the earth but the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages.” How’s that for a summary?

Four nations come, Christ comes and replaces them. Daniel says I’ve got more questions, verse 19. “I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, different from all the others, the meaning of the ten horns that were on his head and then that little horn that other horn which came up, and replaced three of them that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts which was larger in appearance than its associates.”

He started out as a little horn, but he ends up as the big one “and I kept looking and the horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them.” Now that carries us to where we’re going. Remember the end of chapter 12; the devil went to wage war against the Jews. Then we come to chapter 12 where we talk about the beast because understand how he’s waging war and what he’s doing, he’s raised up the Antichrist, this little horn and he’s waging war with the saints and he’s being victorious. Christ said if he didn’t intervene, there wouldn’t be anybody left alive on the face of the earth. That would include the Jews, there could be no kingdom; God loses.

This went on until the Ancient of Days came, judgment was passed and here we come. So come to verse 23. “The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, different from all the other kingdoms.” Verse 24. “As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise.” You note they came out of that kingdom, the fourth beast, Rome, so we’re not making it up when we say there will be a revived Roman Empire. “It comes out of that empire, that kingdom, ten kings or kingdoms will arise, another will arise after them and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.” He’ll speak out against the Most High, wear down the saints of the Most High and note the end of verse 25. “They will be given into his hand for a time, times, and a half time.” The very expression we saw in chapter 12 but the court will sit, his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. Then he’s called “the son of destruction” he’s doomed to destruction as we’ve seen.

“Sovereignty, dominion, the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to Him,” to the Messiah, “to the saints of the Highest One, an everlasting kingdom” so there you have that overview. So what has happened with Daniel chapter seven, he’s given additional information and further explanation. It didn’t change anything from chapter 2 but now things are clearer and details are filled in. This is what happens with additional revelation from God. He doesn’t change things but He does clarify, add to it. The Church has come into existence. God has put Israel on a sidetrack if you will. His focus now is on the Gentiles, the building of the Church. Oh, then He’s done with Israel? No, He just put them on a pause so to speak. He’ll pick back up after the rapture of the Church when this coming Antichrist signs an agreement with Israel. The clock runs. We have seven years. It doesn’t matter we’ve had 483 years, the plans not done because at the end of this 490 year period Christ will come to earth to rule and reign. It hasn’t happened so the last seven years haven’t been there. All right, let me see if there is anything else, I want you to do. While you’re here come over to chapter 9.

I mentioned this but before we leave just again the seventy weeks in verse 24. Then you have the sixty-nine weeks ending after the Messiah is executed in verse 26. Then “the prince who is to come,” coming out of the Romans, those who destroyed the city and the temple in 70 A.D. “he will make a firm covenant,” verse 27, “with the many for one week.” In the middle of the week, he’ll put a stop so here we go that’s where we are in Revelation chapter 13 and we’ve been there in chapter 12 and chapter 11. We’re in the middle of the week; he’s filling in details so we can understand more fully, what God is doing with the nation Israel because two things going on in this last seven-year period. Pouring out God’s wrath on an unbelieving world and finishing, bringing to fulfillment and fruition His plan for the nation Israel, which means that Israel must be brought to the place to bow before God, acknowledging that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed their Messiah. Call upon Him to come and rescue them as the Old Testament prophets said He would.

We’ll be in chapter 19, which prepares us then for the kingdom in chapter 20. All right, let’s go back to Revelation chapter 13. We’re really moving in the Book of Revelation this morning but so much of this, now we start out and see a “beast coming up out of the sea having ten horns and seven heads.” That’s not new material. “On his horns were ten diadems; on his heads were blasphemous names. Coming out of the sea this beast.” There are different views on what the sea is; some take it as the abyss because in chapter 11 verse seven it says “the beast comes out of the abyss.” Some take the sea to be the Mediterranean Sea because Rome controlled that great region around the Mediterranean and may be looking west from Israel.

I think the most simple view, and the view I think I would prefer (it won’t change anything ultimately) is simple. This refers to the sea of peoples, the mass of humanity on earth. The devil in the plan of God has raised up this beast out of all the peoples on the earth. Come back to Isaiah 17. Isaiah 17 uses the sea and the waters to represent the nations of the earth in his prophecy. Isaiah 17 verse 12. “Alas, the uproar of many peoples who roar like the roaring of the seas, the rumbling of nations who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters, the nation’s rumble on like the rumbling of many waters,” so I think that’s the picture here. He comes out of the mass of humanity; the nations of the earth raised up by the devil, again the plan of God to be his man.

Now the devil couldn’t corrupt Christ and get Him to bow before him. He was successful with Adam but he couldn’t get Christ so I’ll raise up the man who will be my messiah and represent me and we will establish a kingdom. So back in Revelation 13, the beast coming up out of the sea having 10 horns and 7 heads. Now we’ve seen the 10 horns in Daniel chapter 7 and they were interpreted for us as ten kings or kingdoms that come out of that fourth kingdom. Here we have seven heads and the heads have blasphemous names. The horns have crowns, diadems. You’re familiar in Greek there’s two kinds of crowns basically, the diadem and the stephanos. The diadem is the ruler’s crown the stephanos is the victor’s crown. A king could wear both because he may have become king by his victory. Christ is seen in Scripture wearing both the stephanos and a diadem because He’s King of kings and Lord of lords but He’s also the One who won the victory. The diadem is on their heads. The picture is these are rulers.

You have seven heads. What about the heads? We have another chart. Why don’t you put up that Major Empires in Biblical History. If you’ve been here, we have repeats because we have the same thing being brought up again and again, as God knows how forgetful we are. These are the major empires in biblical history that connect with Israel. That’s all the bible’s concerned about, Israel is the apple, the pupil of God’s eye. It’s the center of the world, so all that matters in the bible are the empires that intersect with Israel. Daniel in the revelation given to him picked up with the empire in power while he was living. He was in Babylon; he had been carried there as a captive.

The Book of Revelation goes back to the beginning of Israel’s history. When did Israel become a nation? Well, they went down into Egypt as a large family of seventy people. Came out as a nation of two million and Egypt, of course, familiar for their enslaving the Jews and so on. So that’s the first nation that really intersects with the nation Israel. Then Assyria, which conquered the northern ten tribes and carried them into captivity and then we pick up with where Daniel is and Babylon has conquered the southern kingdom and carried them into captivity. Then you have the four empires mentioned, Babylon, Persia or Medo-Persia but Persia had become dominant, then Greece, then Rome. Now Rome we saw is going to have ten horns come out of Rome and then out of the ten horns is going to come a little horn so that’s where we get seven and then eight. Now he talks about seven heads.

Come over to Revelation 17. Look at verse three. You’ve run out of time but I haven’t so look at verse three. “He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.” Now we see the seven heads and ten horns connected with the woman. We’ll have to get to that when we get to chapter 17 but we come down verse eight. “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction.” We know who that beast is. That’s the first beast in Revelation 13. Now here’s the mind, verse nine, which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings.

I don’t think this is Rome. Literally, this says the seven heads are seven mountains are seven kings so the mountains, the heads are kings. They represent the same thing. The heads represent a king or a kingdom. The mountains represent a king or a kingdom. There are seven kings. Now note what he does, there are seven kings; five have fallen. Ok, count they’re down to five. As John writes those first five empires down through Greece are gone, one is. Rome is ruling as John writes. The other has not yet come. What other? Well, the ten nations that come out of that fourth one. We know that because when he comes he must remain a little while, that “seventh empire and the beast, which was and is not is himself an eighth and one of the seven and goes to destruction,” so you see what happens.

We have and that’s why I put on here, all these can be called Rome because seven and eight are a revival of the Roman Empire. They come out of the Roman Empire but they are different enough to be distinct, so we call the seventh nation, the ten nations, the seventh kingdom, and then “the Antichrist,” verse 11, he’s an eighth. He’s one of the seven but he’s an eighth because he’s different enough. He comes out of that seventh one. The ten horns, which you saw are ten kings. They haven’t received a kingdom yet, that’s future but they’ll receive authority as kings with the beast. They have one purpose they give their power and authority to the beast.

So for the first three and a half years we have ten nations. They’ll be in power for a short time, then they agree, the Antichrist, I mean he’s got the intelligence; he’s got a mouth speaking great things, he can captivate people with his oratory. Then we will come to the kingdom, which we are preparing the way for. So I thought we were going to talk about the beast because the beast is going to be killed and of course, everybody agrees on what the beast is except not everybody does. Some think it’s the empire, who seems to have died and now has revived, some think it is the literal Antichrist and my plan was to go through verse three and solve that for you but since we’re out of time, we’ll have a word of prayer and pick up next time.

Let’s pray: Thank You Lord for Your word. Lord we are reminded that You are an awesome God. You have put down in words, black and white for us to read the details not only of what has happened but of what will happen, and Lord everything down to the minute detail will happen as You have said because You are the God who has ordained all things. Lord how important it is for us as Your people, living in a world moving towards destruction, moving toward greater and greater rebellion against You, how important it is that we are careful. That we don’t fall in love with the world, the things of the world which are passing away, but are living our lives in the last hour looking for, eager for, the return of our Savior to take us into Your presence. That this final phase of Your program for Israel can be carried out and we can be prepared for the kingdom in which we will rule and reign. We give you praise in Christ’s name. Amen.