Pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers has introduced people all over the world to the love of Jesus Christ, and has impacted untold numbers of lives by presenting profound truth simply stated. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here's Adrian Rogers. 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 Anti-Christ. 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.
Now, the evolutionists like to tell us that we have sprung from the Beast. No, no, no. We're headed to the Beast. There is a man who is indescribably wicked, hideously handsome. Brilliantly able, that Antichrist, that beast that we're going to look at today.
Look, if you will, here in Revelation chapter thirteen, beginning in verse one, 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 is a beast that comes up out of the sea.
Well, 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, and languages.
So the sea, this roiling, seething sea. Represents the nations of the world, and no wonder, for Isaiah chapter fifty-seven 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 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. And think of the social situation today. Think of it. Think, for example, of the former Soviet Union. Think of what is happening now to Russia.
Her economy is crippled. And there is still a proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Some are not even really certain where all of those weapons are. And many of those former republics now have become headquarters for Islamic fundamentalists with their ancient hatred of Israel. And that wounded, hungry Russian bear is sniffing out new morsels. To devour a very unstable society, and then compound that now with the dragon China, that powerful, powerful nation that has nuclear ability, and now has the technical ability to deliver nuclear weapons to the United States. Think of Red China with an army of 200 million.
That's exactly what the Bible prophesied, and it's what the Red Chinese are boasting today. And then compound that with what is happening in the heart of Europe, the old Roman Empire. There has come the unification of Europe, the United States of Europe. They have their own money now, the euro. They're getting standardization, and so that they can have world trade and world commerce like they've never had before.
And out of this increasing strength of unified Europe is going to come the Antichrist, and then compound all of that with the false cults, the demonism. The famines, the economic collapse, the plagues—new plagues that are erupting all over the earth—and just put all of that in the mix together, and what you have is a world in turmoil. And out of this roiling, seething sea, there comes a beast. There comes a beast. 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 one. 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 as the feet of a bear, and his mouth was as 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 thirteen, verse one. You almost find the same devil that is described in chapter twelve, verse three. 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 has 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. He's 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. Second Thessalonians chapter two and verse nine 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.
This beast has these satanic attributes, and when you see the beast, you're going to see the devil in human flesh.
Now we've 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 three and four. 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 worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast, and they worshipped 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'll 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, 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 four, and they worship the dragon. Of course, the dragon is the devil, which gave power unto the beast, and they worshipped the beast. You see, Satan has always wanted to be worshipped. 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 kingdoms of the world if you will bow down and worship me." So, what is the purpose of the beast? To deify Satan.
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 worshipped." 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 five, and there 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, "Oh, 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 is coming to defy the Savior. He is coming to destroy the saints. Look in verse seven, and it was given unto him to make war with the saints and 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 are 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. I don't know all that will happen. There will be the guillotine. There will be the noose.
There will be the electric chair. He will reduce men's minds to rubble. There will be. Prisons. There will be concentration camps.
There will be torture. There will be terror. But no one. Who is a Christian will be immune from this rain of terror. Verse seven 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 eight 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 worshipped.
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 look at the supporting agent that declares the beast. Begin now in verse eleven, 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.
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 wonder 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 beast, 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. Maybe he'll just set the heavens ablaze from pole to pole and say, "Look at that." Maybe it will be an atomic explosion in the stratosphere to say you'd better knuckle under. I don't know what it will be, but he has power to set the heavens ablaze.
All the world will see it. It'll be the most bedazzling thing that you've seen. 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. 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 foreheads, 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. Here is 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 three score 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—the mark of the beast.
Now, this master of miracles will be a controller of commerce. You don't understand how how you are tied to commerce. Without commerce, you can't buy clothes, you can't buy gasoline, you can't buy food, you can't pay rent, you can't pay a bus fare, you cannot get a haircut, you cannot come, you cannot go. Everything is done by commerce. You say, "Well, I'll just be a farmer." You can't buy seed, you can't buy fertilizer.
Everything is controlled by commerce, and this is the way. That the enemy is going to control the whole world by a cashless society.
Now listen, this is happening already. A microchip is currently being used in what's called a smart card, and the smart card has the data in the card that tells about you. And they've been issued to servicemen. I preached on this one time. A serviceman came up to me.
He said, "I'm going to give you my smart card." Here's my name. The computer chip is on this card. All the data concerning me is in this card. He said, "I'm out of the service now, but I have the card. All my information is there.
I have that card in my desk drawer." Do you know what the name of the card is? The name of the card, M A R C, Mark. That's what they call. That's an acronym for something. But it was very interesting to me.
The the very card is called Mark. And we're talking here about the mark of the beast. They're also already putting little computers, about the size of a grain of rice, in the ears of animals.
So that if you lose your pet, you can find your pet, track your pet. Already, criminals are being shackled with a device that monitors their whereabouts wherever they go because the prisons are so overcrowded. 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.
As a matter of fact, an Associated Press article reported this. Listen to this. This is just recent. I was astounded. Researchers have created a computer circuitry in a single molecule.
You know what a molecule is? Listen, a computer circuitry in a molecule. A breakthrough that could open a brave new world of tiny computers.
Now listen to this. Billions of times more powerful than current PCs. Not thousands of times, not millions of times, billions of times more powerful than current PCs and sensors that could be injected into the bloodstream. Brave new world. Brave new world.
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. But 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, and we'll be leaving here. You say, Pastor Rogers, I'm not so sure you've got it all. Just right.
Maybe I don't. But I'll tell you one thing that I know that I know, and that is Jesus is coming, and you better be ready. And 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. Your soul will go on, endless, timeless, dateless, measureless. You were born the first time, but without a second birth, you will 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.
Forget anyone else is here, 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, save me, Lord Jesus, 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. If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with Him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website lwf.org. For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call one eight hundred two seven four five six eight three.
Thank you.
