Beware The Beast

We'll be right back. Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the insightful lessons and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. Scripture offers prophecies to warn us of the future and edify us as we live through these last days. Revelation 13 describes a man, the Antichrist, who will rise to power during the Great Tribulation. If you have your Bible, turn now to Revelation chapter 13 beginning in verse 1 as Adrian Rogers begins this prophetic message, Beware of the Beast. There is a beast lurking in the wings of history ready to spring onto this world. That beast is not an animal but a man with the heart of a beast. He is an arch criminal.

He has many aliases. He's called in the Bible the man of sin. That is, he is the epitome of evil. He is the man of sin. He is called the son of perdition. That means he is headed for judgment. He is called the Antichrist.

Anti means against Christ and instead of Christ. And in the passage that we're going to look at today, he is called the beast. Look, if you will, here in Revelation chapter 13 beginning in verse 1. John says by divine inspiration, And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea. Now the very first thing I want you to notice today is the social agitation that delivers the beast.

The social agitation. Here's a beast that comes up out of the sea. Now remember all of this is done in emblems.

It's done in symbols. So we're going to think not only about what the beast means and who the beast is, but what does the sea represent? Well, the Bible tells us. In Revelation chapter 17 and verse 15, The waters which thou sawest are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues, that is in languages. So the sea, this roiling, seething sea represents the nations of the world.

And no wonder. For Isaiah chapter 57 says that the wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God to the wicked.

This world will never have peace. It's like an ocean belching out of its depths, mire and dirt. And out of this sea of distress, out of this seething sea of humanity that has no rest, there's going to come the antichrist.

There's the social agitation that delivers him. Now here's the second thing. I want you to see the satanic attributes that describe the beast. Notice how he is described here in verse 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. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were at the feet of a bear, and his mouth was at the mouth of a lion, and the dragon gave him his power and his seat.

That means throne and his authority. Well, there's a lot here, and we don't have time to get into it completely, but in chapter 13, verse 1, you almost find the same devil that is described in chapter 12, verse 3. There appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his heads. And now comes the beast, and the beast is described the same way.

Why? Because the beast is going to be the son of Satan. He is going to be the devil in human flesh, like father, like son.

When Jesus Christ, who was the son of God in human flesh, was here upon the earth, what did he say? He said, He that hath seen me, hath seen my father. The beast can say, He that hath seen me, hath seen my father. He is the offspring of the dragon. And then all of these other creatures there, the lion, the bear, the leopard.

Daniel tells us that these represent all of the empires of the past. What I believe that God is giving us here symbolically is that this antichrist is going to have the beastly characteristics of all of these others. He's going to walk with the stateliness of a lion, yet his teeth will shred and tear.

He's going to have the grappling strength of the bear with his fierce claws to embrace and to hold. He's going to have the rapid spread like the leopard who, like Alexander the Great, and by the way, the leopard kingdom represents Greece and Alexander the Great, to spread rapidly his kingdom across the earth. But again, I want you to understand that this man has these beastly characteristics, and the world that has rejected God's lamb is going to receive the devil's beast. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 9 says, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.

He will be the visible expression of the invisible devil. The devil is going to give to his son this great power. Did you know that when Jesus was here on earth, the devil appeared to Jesus and tempted Jesus? In Luke chapter 4, the devil said to Jesus, if you worship me, I'll give you the kingdoms of the world.

Put in your margin Luke chapter 4 verses 6 and 7. Here's what Satan said to Jesus. And the devil said unto him, all this power will I give thee and the glory of them.

That's the glory of the kingdoms. For that is delivered unto me. Who delivered it unto him?

Adam did. And to whomsoever I will give it. Satan said it was given to me, Jesus.

I'll give it to you if thou therefore will worship me, all will be thine. Now notice Jesus did not say it is not yours to give. Had it not been his to give, it would have been no temptation.

This was a temptation. It was a legitimate offer in the sense that Satan could make this offer. He said to Jesus, look, if you will bow down and worship me, I will give you incredible power. Jesus said, get away from me. Thou shalt worship the Lord God in him only. But there's coming another, and Satan will make the same offer to another man, and this other man will say, yes, all right, I'll do it. I'll worship you.

I will be a worshiper of Satan, and Satan will deliver to this one the kingdoms of this world. And so you have to understand, folks, that this beast has these satanic attributes, and when you see the beast, you're going to see the devil in human flesh. Now, we talked about the social agitation that delivers him. The satanic attributes that describe him, thirdly, I want you to see the seductive appeal that disguises the beast. You see, don't get the idea if he's a beast that he has long claws, that he's hideous. That is speaking not of his appearance. It is speaking of his heart, of his mind. He has a beastly nature, but outward he's going to be suave.

He's going to be wonderful. Look, if you will, in verses 3 and 4. 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. And they worshiped the dragon, which gave power unto the beast.

And they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? And who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things. What an appealing man this man will be in the eyes of the world. Daniel tells us that he will come as a great peacemaker.

And with these incredible words, he says, and with peace he will destroy many. Don't think of him as hideous. Even the devil himself appears as an angel of light. Doubtless, he's going to be handsome. He's going to be charming. He's going to be clever.

He's going to be greatly intelligent. He will be a global charmer, and perhaps there's some imitation of a resurrection. The Bible says one of his heads is wounded unto death. And then he comes back, perhaps it will be Satan's imitation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Perhaps that will be the master stroke. The devil will bring the world to the feet of this false Messiah. And Satan's propaganda machine will tell the story worldwide. What a marvel he will be. It will look like the millennium.

The thousand-year reign is at hand. And the beast will be known as the greatest benefactor the world has ever seen. And they'll say, we have peace at last, because nobody can make war against the beast.

And how wonderful he is. And so you see the seductive appeal that disguises the beast. But now I want you to see the sinister ambitions that drive the beast. Now, why did Jesus come? Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost.

The thief comes but to kill, to steal, and to destroy. Let me mention some purposes now, some ambitions, unholy ambitions that the beast will have. Number one, to deify Satan.

Look in verse 4. And they worshiped the dragon, of course the dragon is the devil, which gave power unto the beast, and they worshiped the beast. You see, Satan has always wanted to be worshiped. In Isaiah chapter 14, Satan said, I will be like the most high.

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. Satan said to Jesus, I'll give you the kingdom to the world if you will bow down and worship me. So what is the purpose of the beast? To deify Satan. And the reason we're having so much satanic worship in the world today, it's amazing, it's horrifying, but we can tell that Satan is getting bolder and bolder and bolder. He's getting more arrogant. He has ripped off the disguise, and he's saying, I want to be worshiped.

This will be the quintessence, the epitome of all of that. But number two, not only does he want to defy Satan, he wants to defy the Savior. Look, if you will, in verse 5. And it was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. And these blasphemies will pour like lava from his lips, and with burning eloquence he will turn people away from any belief in the true God and to his own lies. And he will be such a clever liar that Jesus said if it were possible, he would deceive the very elect. You say, I wouldn't believe his lies.

Friend, without the protection of Almighty God, not only would you believe his lies, you would gladly believe that he tells the truth like no other man ever told the truth. He's coming to defy Satan. He's coming to defy the Savior.

He is coming to destroy the saints. Look in verse 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, tongues, and nations. Now, there are going to be some tribulation saints. The church will be taken out before the tribulation. But there will be a great multitude saved after the rapture. Not those who have heard and refused the gospel, however. They will come to the Lord Jesus Christ, and they're going to be persecuted. And the devil is going to want to wipe these from the face of the earth and the beast will have one last fling against God's people and will drink his fill with the blood of the martyrs. Verse 7 says it was given unto him to make war with the saints. Next, not only is he going to come to destroy saints, but he's coming to dominate society.

Look in the last part of this. And power was given him over all kindreds and tongues, that means languages, and nations. He will have global control. He is going to bring everybody into a unification.

Now, how will he do this? Well, he will bedazzle some and he will browbeat others. He will do it with reward or he will do it with persecution. But all the world will follow after the beast. He will dominate society and fifthly, he will delude sinners.

And verse 8 says, And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him. They'll be deceived. They'll say, Is not the beast wonderful? Obviously, they won't call him the beast.

They'll have some wonderful name for him. You see, the devil doesn't really want casualties. He wants converts.

He wants to be worshiped. And the closer we get to the end time, we're going to see a rise in Satan worship, demonism, and witchcraft. He's coming to delude sinners.

Now, let's move to the fifth thing here. And we're talking about this beast. And let's look at the supporting agent that declares the beast. Begin now in verse 11. Now, this is the false prophet, as we're going to see. The devil imitates God.

Martin Luther called him God's ape. And just as there's a holy trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, there is an unholy trinity, the dragon, the beast, and now the false prophet. And the false prophet will be to the beast what the Holy Spirit is to Jesus. He will cause people to wander after and to worship the beast. That is, this false prophet, as the Holy Spirit would cause us to worship Christ, will cause people to worship the antichrist. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast.

Now, this sinister minister of propaganda, this anti-holy spirit, will have three chief methods to bring the world into unification under the rules. The fire, the image, and the mark. Now, the fire you see in verse 13. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. Now, what is this? What does this represent?

I don't know. But he has power to set the heavens ablaze. All the world will see it. But not only is there the fire, there is the image. Look beginning in verse 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. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. Now, had you read that to my great-great-grandfather, he would not have understood it. We have no difficulty understanding images that speak today.

You have one in your living room right now that can speak. The Antichrist will have no trouble, no difficulty speaking to the whole world, an image that speaks not only virtual reality, but a person with compelling, persuasive rhetoric backed up with incredible signs and diabolical lies. And so there will be the image. And then last of all, there will be the mark, beginning in verse 16.

Watch it. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in the forest, that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Hear his wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man and his number is six hundred threescore and six. Six is the number of man. Man was created on the sixth day.

Three is the number of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Seven is the number of perfection. Man is a six. He's not a seven. He is man, not God. But three sixes is man trying to make himself God. Six, six, six, six, six, the mark of the beast. Now this master of miracles will be a control of commerce.

Everything is controlled by commerce and this is the way that the enemy is going to control the whole world by a cashless society. Friend, it is coming. There will be a global control and this sinister minister of propaganda, this false prophet is going to cause the world to worship the beast with the fire, with the image and with the mark.

It is coming. Well, out of the sea, the seething sea, there's going to come a beast, but he won't seem like a beast. He'll be handsome, suave, articulate, compassionate, wise.

He'll be a peacemaker. And all the world will say, at last, at last. And Israel will say, oh, our Messiah has come. Jesus said, I've come in my Father's name. You wouldn't receive me. For another shall come in his own name. Him you will receive. Now, folks, I believe that before that happens, perhaps today, the trumpet will sound. You say, Pastor Rogers, I'm not so sure you've got it all just right.

Maybe I don't. Well, I tell you one thing that I know that I know, and that is Jesus is coming and you better be ready. The way to be ready is to give your heart to him to be twice born. You were born physically. You became a living soul. You could no more cease to exist than God could cease to exist because you're made in his image, timeless, dateless, measureless.

You were born the first time. But without a second birth, you'll never have the eternal life that God wants you to have. You'll have eternal existence, but you'll never have eternal life until you know Jesus. Jesus said, I've come that you might have life and have it abundantly.

Now, here's the wonderful thing. You can receive that gift by faith, but you must lay your pride in the dust. Be willing to turn from self and sin to Jesus and give your heart to him. That's not a penalty that you pay in order to get to heaven, though.

I'd be a Christian if there were no heaven, just to know Jesus in this world, to know the Lord Jesus. I want you, if you've never received Christ, to pray this prayer with me right now. Pray it from your heart. Dear God, I know that you love me, but I confess that I'm a sinner and my sin deserves judgment.

But I need and want mercy. Jesus, you died to save me, and you promised to save me if I would trust you. I do trust you, Jesus. I believe you're the Son of God. I believe you paid for my sin with your blood on the cross. I believe that God raised you from the dead, and right now, right now, yes, now, Jesus, I am trusting you to save me. Come into my life, forgive my sin, cleanse me, and begin now to make me the person you want me to be.

And, Lord Jesus, help me never to be ashamed of you, because you died for me. In your name I pray. Amen. Amen.

And if you've prayed to receive Jesus Christ just now, would you let us celebrate with you? We invite you to our Find God's Love page at the website, where you'll find answers you may need about your newfound faith. Go to lwf.org slash radio and click on the tab that says Find God's Love.

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For information, go to the website, lwf.org slash radio. Well, we're so glad that you studied in God's Word with us today, as we live in hope on the edge of eternity. Remember this, Jesus is coming back soon. Would you be bold enough to point people to Him today? We hope you'll tune in next time for more from Adrienne Rogers, right here on Love Worth Finding. Recently, we received this message from a donor on our Love Worth Finding app.

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